Indian Kolaput - In a stream in Odisha, eastern India, native villagers catch eels and fish to celebrate dinner for the annual Harvest Festival. Bounties for public agriculture, foraging and fishing mark the beginning of a new season.

But fish and other resources have been declining.

“Today, the rain is late, affecting our agriculture and causing production to decrease,” said Paraja Tribeswoman Sunita Muduli from Pupondi village. She stood in the freshly cultivated fields and would again sow millet before the increasingly unpredictable monsoon rainfall.

Indigenous peoples have lived in these villages for thousands of years. They continue to make traditional practices of tilling millet and rice, as well as making plates of leaves and fruits foraging from the forest, local brewing, etc.

With the pressure of changing climates, these practices are making the best efforts to not meet the needs of the community yet, advocating the Indian authorities to protect and restore their lands as the country with more than 1.4 billion people tries to adapt to a warm world.

Women are leading. With the help of local NGOs, Muduli and others from 10 villages surveyed the gradually decreasing resources and mapped the resources that needed to be restored.

Comparing state government data from the 1960s with results, they found that public areas in many villages shrank by 25%.

These women created what is called a dream map, showing their villages in ideal state. The most prominent of their bright colors is green.

Muduli and others plan to submit their maps and surveys to local government officials, the first step in requiring rural development funds to preserve or restore public areas. Women are estimated to need $2 million – ambitious greetings India’s poorer regions often work hard to ensure and implement government projects.

Nevertheless, these women believe they have a 50-50 chance of success.

"We want to make sure these resources are available to our children," Moodley said.

This is the first time that many women have formally led an outward community effort. This gives them more confidence to talk about community needs, they say.

"Our forests are rich in resources. Unfortunately, rainfall is reduced, temperatures are rising and our forest coverage is down. But once we get the right we deserve, our priority is to revitalize and thrive the forests," said Saita Dhangada Majhi of Pangan Pani Village in Pangan Pani Village.

They seek rights to their common lands that will require outsiders, including authorities, to seek permission from villagers to make any changes to them.

India is one of the most vulnerable climate-affecting countries in the world. According to the 2025 Climate Risk Index, 400 extreme events occurred in the country between 1993 and 2022, killing 80,000 people and economic losses approaching $180 billion.

Odisha is one of India’s poorest states and one of the most vulnerable to climate impacts. A 2023 study published by researchers at Fakir Mohan University in Odisha found that food production there has fallen by 40% over the past 50 years due to climate change.

Most Indian farmers rely on raising agriculture, and about half of the cultivated land depends on downpours. Livelihoods are affected as the monsoon becomes increasingly unpredictable.

Bidyut Bidyut Mohanty of the Odisha-based nonprofit society that promotes rural education and development said that indigenous peoples in India feel the greatest impact most because their traditions depend heavily on forests and natural products. The organization helped Odisha villages carry out dream maps.

Mohanty said climate change is affecting "their existence."

He said the Forest Commons “was seen not only as the lungs, but as a hidden kitchen for the indigenous community.”

Women's survey found that the resources available ten years ago had decreased or disappeared. In Muduli's villages, fruits such as mango, guava, Javanese plums and Indian currants have dropped sharply. Resources used to make traditional musical instruments and other items have become even more rare.

Climate experts say the Odisha project may be a model that is replicated in India and other countries. The United Nations reports that 80% of the world's biodiversity lies in areas controlled by indigenous peoples.

Women from marginalized and vulnerable communities are most affected by climate change, and indigenous women in Odisha are an inspiration.

“They are actually leading from the front line,” she said.

Segar added that their work is crucial to deciding where India’s efforts on climate change should focus, noting that the country is developing a national adaptation plan.

It is not clear whether Dream Map will be part of the program. The women behind them say their projects give them a formal understanding of themselves and their community’s long-standing intuition.

They want to pass it on to generations.

“Forests are our lives,” said Purnima Sisa of Badakichab Village. "We have been born in this forest and one day we will die in the forest. This is our life and livelihood."

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