LIST OF CONTENTS
Do we want the cheetah back?
NEWS FROM INDIAN STATES
Assam 3
Habitat
protection vital to save River Dolphin in the Brahmaputra
Study on implications of the Forest Rights Act around
Nameri NP and Sonai Rupai WLS
Opposition to proposal of gifting rhino horns
More stringent punishment for poaching in Assam
Opposition to eviction for expansion of the Kaziranga NP
Gujarat 5
MoEF
rejects proposed port at Poshitara adjoining the Gulf of Kutch Marine NP
Mobile phones and flying squads to tackle
man-elephant conflict
NEAA
rejects thermal power station close to Anshi-Dandeli TR
Night traffic banned through Bandipur NP
Displaced fisherfolk ask for full fishing
rights in Tawa reservoir in Satpura TR
Rise
in Giant squirrel population in Bhimashankar WLS
Forest Dept employees warn of
strike
Large scale transfers; PAs left
unprotected
Land adjoining Balpakram NP reclaimed from illegal miners
Orissa 9
223 tribal families to be shifted from
Similipal TR
Punjab 10
Ranjit Sagar Dam reservoir to be
declared a wildlife sanctuary
Rajasthan 10
Great
Indian Bustard sighted in Tal Chappar Wildlife Sanctuary
Tamil Nadu 10
Animal census in Point Calimere
WLS
Uttarakhand 11
SC abandons elevated corridor for elephants in Rajaji
NP
‘Steering
committee’ for tiger conservation
Proposal to re-introduce the cheetah to India
Report on Ecologically Sensitive
Areas in India
Four
PAs proposed for inclusion on UNESCO heritage list
SCB’S Distinguished Service Award to Dr Kamal Bawa
National Green Tribunal approved
CEE plans Hoolock gibbon conservation programme in NE
1st installment of CAMPA money for eight states; dissatisfaction with amount of money being released
Centre
sends teams to assess situation in eight tiger reserves
SOUTH ASIA 15
Bangladesh
US, Germany pledge US $19 million for reforestation of
Chunati WLS
Nepal
121 breeding tigers counted in PAs in Nepal
UPCOMING 16
Great Himalayan Bird Count, Winter – 2009
International
Conference on Wildlife & Biodiversity Conservation
World Tiger Summit in Ranthambore TR in 2010
Global Tiger Workshop in Kathmandu
Call for
Papers: People and Protected Areas - India case studies
Research position for project on Snow leopard
phylogeography and conservation
Research position for Population genetics of
a montane bird in the Western Ghats
Research positions on bio-resource ecology and climate
change in the Sikkim Himalayas
Diploma in International Wildlife Conservation Practice
Part
time environment education work in Mumbai
National Conference of Ministers of Environment and
Forests, 18/08/09
Future of Conservation Network, 19/08/09
Protected Area Update
Vol. XV, No. 5,
October 2009 (No. 81)
Editor: Pankaj
Sekhsaria
Editorial Assistance:
Reshma
Illustrations: Madhuvanti
Anantharajan
Produced by: Kalpavriksh
Ideas, comments, news
and information may please be sent to the editorial address:
KALPAVRIKSH, Apartment
5, Shri Dutta Krupa, 908 Deccan Gymkhana, Pune 411004, Maharashtra, India.
Tel/Fax: 020 – 25654239.
Email:
psekhsaria@gmail.com
Website: www.kalpavriksh.org
***
Publication of the PA Update Vol. XV, No. 5 has been
supported by the Duleep Mathai Nature Conservation Trust, the Foundation
for Ecological Security, Greenpeace India, the Royal
Society for the Protection of Birds and the Indian Bird Conservation
Network.
Do
we want the Cheetah back?
It is not anymore a question only of
academic interest. The ball, in some senses, is already rolling. A meeting was
held in Rajasthan in September (see national news) where a host of
international and national experts including representatives from state and
national governments met to discuss and debate a proposal for the
re-introduction of the cheetah to India.
A
decision may not be taken for a while as the issues related to availability of
habitat and prey, of management and possible conflict with humans are studied,
analysed and decided upon. There are many areas where the feasibility of the
re-introduction will have to be carefully studied and this is what the meeting
has proposed to do.
But
the question really is a more fundamental one. Why do we want the cheetah back?
There seem to be two different answers to this. One it would seem, and the
Minister for Environment and Forests, Mr. Jairam Ramesh too referred to that -
is to regain a part of the lost glory and history of this country. The other,
as has been pointed by some wildlife experts, is that the cheetah, like the
tiger, is the apex species of the grassland habitat and it’s presence would,
both, indicate and ensure the health of this badly abused ecosystem.
Prima
facie the arguments seem valid, but if looked at carefully, both have serious
problems. It is certainly important to realize that grassland habitats are
extremely productive but undervalued and abused. There is no doubt they should
be conserved but introducing the cheetah from Africa hardly seems to be the way
to do that. There are far simpler and effective ways to do it if we have the
common sense and political will for it.
It
is also an extremely unfortunate part of our history that this glorious animal
was shot into extinction nearly six decades ago. What is a scarier reality is
that many species of plants, birds and animals stand today on the verge of
joining the cheetah into that void called extinction. Flagship programs -
Project Tiger and Project Elephant, for instance, face serious challenges and
some might even say that they are floundering. How prudent would it then be to
get into something new without ensuring the success of what we already have on
hand?
Rather
than spending huge amounts of time, human resources, energy and money towards
an ‘esoteric’ bringing back of the ‘dead’ the effort has to be concentrated on
preventing it happening again – with other species. That would be a far more
worthwhile and valuable endeavour.
We
can’t undo the extinctions we have caused already. Let the fate of cheetah be a
grim pointer to that reality.
NEWS FROM INDIAN STATES
Habitat
protection vital to save River Dolphin in the Brahmaputra
A study carried
out under an IUCN Sir Peter Scott Fund project has expressed the need to
protect the habitat of the Ganges River Dolphin to save the species from
extinction.
According to the study the total
population of the Ganges River Dolphin is around 2,000 and of these between 240
to 300 can be found in the Brahmaputra river system. This study was conducted
in the 1,044km stretch of the Brahmaputra River system, primarily in Assam. A
similar study carried out in 2005 had estimated the dolphin population to be
250.
Oil India Limited (OIL) has proposed
to start prospecting for oil along the bed of the Brahmaputra River using air
guns and explosives; hence the need was felt for the study - to get an estimate
of the population here.
The research has identified eight
river sections as potential protected areas and suggested that community-based
dolphin conservation is the best strategy to save the dolphins. The project
also carried out 32 awareness campaigns along the Brahmaputra valley, focusing
on fishing communities. Research has also shown that accidental killing through
fisheries by-catch, poaching for oil, dam building and the proposed seismic
survey in the Brahmaputra River are the major threats to the dolphins. (Also see PA Updates Vol XV,
No. 1; Vol XIII, No 2; Vol XII, No.3; Vol XI, No 5 and No. 46)
Source: ‘Ganges River Dolphin in dire straits’ 20/07/09 http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/brahmaputra_river_dolphins___psf_final_report.pdf
Contact: Sarah
Horsley, IUCN
Email:
sarah.horsley@iucn.org
Lynne Labanne, IUCN Species Programme.
Email:
lynne.labanne@iucn.org
Study on implications
of the Forest Rights Act around Nameri NP and Sonai Rupai WLSs
Kalpavriksh recently conducted a short
exploratory study on the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of
Forest Rights) Act, 2006 in the areas around Nameri National Park and Sonai Rupai
Wildlife Sanctuary in Assam. The objective was to gauge the status of
implementation of the Act, understand people's perceptions and also the
possible implications for, both, the biodiversity and forest-dependent
communities of the area.
Given
the historical context of this area, the findings of the study suggest that
some modifications are needed to the Act and certain conservation safeguards
should be integrated before the Act is implemented here.
Some
of the possible resolution measures suggested for this particular context
include the need for:
(a) an amendment of the cut-off date of
the Act from 2005 to 1980
(b) steps to highlight conservation
aspects of the Act, such as community forest rights provisions
(c) steps to prevent ethnic conflict
resulting from varying eligibility of claimants under the Act
(d) steps to actively involve
communities in conservation efforts
(e) steps to prevent fresh encroachments
(f) steps to regenerate forest areas on
which claims have been rejected
(g) steps to expeditiously recognize the
rights of eligible claimants
Contact: Arshiya
Bose, Kalpavriksh (for a copy of the report.
Email:
arshiyabose@gmail.com
Divisional Forest Officer, Nameri Tiger Reserve Western Assam Wildlife Division, P.O. Koliabhomora, Tezpur – 784001, Assam. Tel: 03712-220854(O), 220803(R
DFO, Sonai-Rupai WLS, Sonitpur West Division, P.O. Tezpur, Dist. Sonitpur - 784 001, Assam. Tel: 03712-220093(O), 220091®
Opposition to proposal of gifting rhino horns
The Assam
State government has proposed to gift rhino horns to visiting dignitaries and
museums all over the world in a move to get rid of the large number of horns
that are now lying with it. The state government is reported to have also
approached the Central government for help as the proposal will need diplomatic
communication with various countries. The Forest Department intends to present
these horns in order to preserve them, and many forest officials are reported to
have welcomed the move.
The Indian Army too is said to have
requested the FD to provide them with rhino horns so that these could be
displayed in various army museums across the country.
Environmental
activists and organisations including Aaranyaak and People for Animals have,
however, expressed their opposition to this move. They have warned that such a
decision may legitimize poaching to a certain extent and could fan the
aphrodisiac myth about the rhino horn.
About 500 rhinos are reported to
have died in Assam in the last 30 years and many of these are believed to have
been poached (see PA Updates Vol XV,
Nos. 3, 2, & 1; Vol XIV, No. 2; and Vol XIII, Nos. 6& 5).
A number of rhino horns that were
seized from poachers or retrieved from dead rhinos are now decaying due to lack
of proper preservation. The largest number of such horns is believed to be in
the possession of the Golaghat district treasury, since the Kaziranga National
Park is under its jurisdiction. The state government has also constituted a
committee headed by the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests for the purpose
to gather data on the number of horns it has in it’s treasuries.
Source:
Rahul Karmakar, ‘Greens see red over Assam rhino horn gift plan’, Hindustan Times, 08/06/09.
‘A home for rhino assets - Assam
may send rotting horns to world museums’, The
Telegraph, 04/06/09.
Contact:
Bibhab Talukdar, Aaranyaak Samanwoy Path (Survey), PO Beltola, Guwahati - 781 028, Assam. Email: bibhab1@sancharnet.in
More stringent punishment for poaching in Assam
The Assam State Assembly recently passed
the Wildlife (Protection) (Assam Amendment) Bill-2009, incorporating more
stringent provisions to check wildlife crimes, including a life term for
poaching.
The
Bill (now an Act) has made first-time poaching a punishable offence by
imprisonment from seven to ten years in place of the earlier provisions of
three to seven years. For a second offence, the quantum of punishment will
extend from ten years to life imprisonment.
The bill had been drafted after pursuing the matter with the
Centre besides having discussions with wildlife experts, NGOs and members of
judiciary.
Source:
‘Assam makes Wildlife Protection Act more stringent’, The Assam Tribune, 17/07/09
Opposition to
eviction for expansion of the Kaziranga NP
Takam Mising
Porin Kebang (TMPK), the student body of the Mising indigenous community has
strongly opposed the eviction of their community in the name of the sixth
expansion of the Kaziranga National Park. The body has alleged that the State
Government was planning to settle the suspected Bangladesh nationals in parts
of the national park between Jakhalabandha and Bagori along the national
highway and it was to facilitate this settlement that eviction notices had been
served on the indigenous people of 18 villages under Bakoridoloni Gaon
Panchayat, Bartamuly Gaon Panchayat and Rawnamukh Gaon Panchayat in Sonitpur
district.
It has also been pointed out that
the government was turning a blind eye to the rapid encroachment in the Orang
National Park, the Pobitara Wildlife Sanctuary and the Laokhowa Wildlife
Sanctuary. Yet, about 10,000 Mising people who have been living in the areas
around Kaziranga for a long time and have been paying land revenue since 1947,
have been asked to vacate about 15,000 hectares of land for the expansion of
the national park.
According to other reports, hundreds of unidentified people (suspected to be
Bangladeshis) have, over the last six months, occupied the tapus, chars and chaporis of the Brahmaputra in the southern side
of Sootea, Jamugurihat and Tezpur in Sonitpur district. The places so occupied include Labtapu, Dhakaltapu, Longketapu,
Piajtapu, Kalibhomora, and Burhachapari. The new arrivals are reported to have
constructed innumerable small huts and even started cultivation on the land by
challenging the local people as they are numerically larger than the locals.
They have also started occupying and fishing in big beels like Kathdhora,
Bowalmari, Chenidhora, Gajalimora, Lathimari, Nangkhowasuti, and Jaranipuri.
It has also been
alleged these new settlers lend a helping hand to the poachers in fishing and
killing wild and endangered animals of the sixth addition of KNP. The local
administration, forest and police departments, it has been pointed out, have also
not taken any action though the situation has been brought to their notice a
number of times.
The Mising student’s body has said that the focus of the government
should be on evicting these encroachers of doubtful origin and also to protect
the park’s land area from the erosion of the Brahmaputra.
(Also see PA Update 41)
Source: ‘Encroachers posing
threat to Kaziranga, local inhabitants’ The Assam Tribune, 27/08/09
‘Mising
body raps Govt over move to evict locals’, The
Assam Tribune, 11/09/09.
Contact:
Director, Kaziranga NP, PO
Bokakhat, Dist. Golaghat – 785612, Assam. Tel: 03776-268095(O), 268086®
Chief Wildlife Warden –
Assam, Rehabari, Guwahati – 781008, Assam. Tel: 0361-2566064. Fax 2547386
MoEF rejects
proposed port at Poshitara adjoining the Gulf of Kutch Marine NP
The Union Ministry of Environment and
Forests (MoEF) has rejected the proposed port at Poshitara adjoining the Gulf
of Kutch Marine NP, and asked the private developer to look for an alternate
site. The decision was taken in a recent meeting of the Standing Committee of
the National Board for Wildlife.
The
MoEF rejected the Gujarat government’s proposal to conduct an environmental
impact study of the project, stating that a national level study to assess the
cumulative impact of all the forthcoming port projects on the Indian coastline
was already underway and that it would be inappropriate for this particular
project to be considered until that report came in.
Wildlife
experts who carried out the inspection of the port also said that the proposed
site of the port was adjacent to the Gulf of Kutch Marine and would pose
serious threat to the marine biodiversity.
Source:
‘Environment ministry opposes port at Poshitara’, PTI 05/08/09
Contact: Conservator of Forests, Gulf of Kutch MNP, Ganjiwada Nagar, Nagnath Gate Police Choki, Jamnagar – 360001. Tel: 0288-2552077 Fax: 0288-2555336
CWLW - Gujarat, Block 14, Dr. Jivraj Mehta Bhavan, Old Sachivalaya,
Gandhinagar-382010, Gujarat. Tel: 02712-230007. Fax: 221097.
Mobile phones and flying squads to tackle
man-elephant conflict
The Jharkhand Forest Department (FD) is distributing mobile phones to
villagers to keep track of the movements of wild elephants. It has also
constituted flying squads to drive away the elephants that enter villages. The
FD has listed 600 villages that regularly face problems because of wild
elephants and each of these villages is to be given one phone. Over 100 such
phones have already been distributed.
The phone which will
be given to the Joint Forest and Village Defense Committee member of each
village will have contact numbers of all relevant forest officials
Since the formation of
state of Jharkhand in the year 2000, 679 people have died and 1,020 have been
injured by wild elephants. 90 elephants have, at the same time, been killed in
Jharkhand by poaching and electrocution. (Also see PA Updates Vol XV, No. 1; Vol. XIV, No.
2; Vol. XI, No. 6 and Nos. 55, 52, 47, & 39)
Source: ‘Jharkhand distributes mobile phones to
tackle elephant menace’ IANS, http://www.prokerala.com/news/articles/a72522.html 17/08/09
Contact: PCCF, Jharkhand, At- Doranda, P.O. Doranda, Ranchi. Tel: 0651-2500455(O), 2500413(R) Fax: 0651-500413
NEAA
rejects thermal power station close to Anshi-Dandeli TR
The National
Environmental Appellate Authority (NEAA) recently issued a stay on the
conditional permit issued by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests
(MoEF) for the Hanakona thermal power station in Karwar.
The conditional permit certificate
was issued to the power company in June. The MoEF had suggested that any
objections to the permit should be filed within 30 days, following which
objections were filed by the North Karnataka District Consumers and Citizens
Welfare Association and Hanakona Thermal Power Station Virodhi Horata Samiti.
The objections stated that the site
of power station comes within the 25 km. radius of the forests of the
Anshi-Dandeli Tiger Reserve and therefore violates the guidelines issued by the
National Tiger Conservation Authority.
It was also pointed out that the
company had secured the permit directly from the MoEF, instead of securing it
from the State Pollution Control Board, Gram Panchayat and other government
departments. Forest officials are also reported to have said that the company
has submitted false documents to the ministry.
Source: ‘Power project stayed’ Karwar, Deccan Herald, 26/08/09
Contact: DCF, Dandeli Wildlife Division,
Dandeli – 581325, Uttar Kannada, Karnataka. Tel: 08284-231585(O), 230114(R).
Fax: 230300.
Night traffic banned through Bandipur NP
The Karnataka High Court has banned vehicular traffic at night
inside the Bandipur National Park. A division bench recently passed the order
and no vehicles will be allowed now on the stretch of two roads in the Bandipur
forests in Chamarajanagar district from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.
The
Deputy Commissioner of Chamarajanagar had, in June, passed the order
restricting night traffic on NH 212 (Gundlupet-Sulthan Bathery and
Gundlupet-Ooty), both passing through the Bandipur forests. This order had
evoked significant opposition following which a second order was passed to
revoke the ban (see PA Updates Vol. XV, No. 4 and Vol. XIV, No. 6)
A public
interest litigation (PIL) was filed in the court challenging this move
following which the division bench passed an interim injunction, staying the
second order.
The Kerala
government, meanwhile, has decided to approach the Supreme Court to oppose the
ban. Kerala politicians have said that Karnataka should have first tried
alternative measures like imposing speed regulations. They also said that an
increase in animal populations had aggravated the problem. Traders and vehicle
operators have also planned various modes of agitation against traffic
regulation.
Source: ‘High Court bans night
traffic through Bandipur forest’, The
Hindu 28/07/09
‘Rejoice
over ban on night traffic in Bandipur sanctuary’ (IANS) http://www.headlinesindia.com/environment-news/forestry/rejoice-over-ban-on-night-traffic-in-bandipur-sanctuary-18353.html
‘Night traffic ban in tiger
corridor has Kerala’s claws out’, The
Indian Express, 31/08/09
Contact: Field Director, Bandipur Project Tiger Reserve, Aranya Bhawan, Ashokapuram, Mysore – 570008, Karnataka. Tel: 0821-2480901(O), 2484980 (R).
Chief Wildlife
Warden -
Karnataka, 2nd Floor, 18th Cross, Malleshwaram, Bangalore
– 560003, Karnataka. Tel: 080-3341993 / 3345846. Email: pccfwl@vsnl.com
MADHYA PRADESH
Displaced
fisherfolk ask for full fishing rights in Tawa reservoir in Satpura TR
The Tawa Displaced Adivasi
Fish Production and Distribution Cooperative Society (TDAFPDCS) has demanded
that all fishing rights in the Tawa reservoir in the Satpura Tiger Reserve
should be restored to those who had been displaced by the Tawa dam. They have
claimed that these displaced people have the first right on the fish in the
reservoir and this should not be denied to them.
The appeal was part of a resolution passed on June 30,
2009 during the General Body meeting of the organization that was held in
Kesla. It was also suggested that fishing permits should be issued to the
co-operative committees rather than to individuals. This, they have argued,
will help eliminate middlemen and ensure better management, protection and
distribution of the fish.
Concern was also expressed over the Supreme Court order
of April 2009 that is related to fishing
in Tawa reservoir. It was argued that if the shortcomings in the order were not
sorted out it would have negative impacts on livelihoods of the fisherfolk and
also on fish conservation.
The SC order allows for fishing in only one part of the
reservoir and also allows for only 400 individual fishing permits. This has
been termed as both unfair and non-workable because the reservoir cannot be
segregated in this manner. They have also pointed out that presently there are 1600
fishers who are part of 38 primary societies. The SC order would therefore be
unfair to a majority of the people dependant on the reservoir for their
livelihood.
Fear has also been expressed that there will be
irregularities and corruption in the process of the distribution of these 400
permits. The Society has suggested that the local organizations should be
represented on the committee that will give these permits. The meeting was
attended by a number of people from the Kesla and Sohagpur Block.
(Also see PA Updates Vol, XIII, No. 2; Vol. XII,
No. 2; Vol. XI, No. 4; and No. 44)
Source: Press releases by the TDAFPDCS dated
01/07/09 & 03/07/09.
Contact: Co-ordinator, Tawa Matsya
Sangh, Kesla, Dist. Hoshangabad – 461111, Madhya Pradesh. Tel: 07572- 272291.
Director, Satpura NP Pachmarhi, Dist. Hoshangabad – 461881. Tel: 07578-252130. Fax: 07578-252217
CWLW,
MP, Van Bhawan, Tulsi Nagar, Bhopal 462003, Madhya Pradesh. Tel: 0755-557371/
550391.
Rise in Giant squirrel population in Bhimashankar WLS
A census
conducted by the Forest Department (FD) in the Bhimashankar Wildlife
Sanctuary in June has counted 1,297
Giant squirrels (Ratufa indica
elphinstoni), also known as Shekaroo.
This is a significant increase from the 1,180 squirrels reported last year.
The FD employed indirect methods of
calculating the number that primarily included the counting of nests built by
this animal just the setting in of the monsoon. The giant squirrel is known to
build six to eight nests around the area it has marked.
The Giant squirrel is also the state
animal of Maharashtra.
Source:
Umesh Isalkar. ‘Giant squirrels at home in Bhimashankar, count up’, Times News
Network, 18/07/09
Contact: DCF, Wildlife Pune, (Bhimashankar WLS). New PMT Building, 3rd Floor, Shankarseth Road, Swarget Pune-411042. Maharashtra. Tel: 020-24471465
Forest Dept
employees warn of strike
Class III and
IV employees of the Maharashtra Forest Department (FD), threatened in the 2nd
week of September, to go on strike in support of their demands of pay parity
and absorption in the service after the state’s forthcoming assembly elections.
The Maharashtra State Forest Guards
and Promoted Foresters Union (MSFGPF) and Maharashtra State Forest Employees
and forest Labour Union (MSFELU) said that employees - forest guards,
foresters, permanent labour and daily wage labour - would wait for a month
after the formation of the new government in the state before resorting to the
strike.
The forest guards are demanding pay
parity with revenue inspectors, and foresters with Naib tehsildars of the
Revenue Department. The existing pay scales (fifth Pay Commission) are
2750-4400 for forest guards as against 4000-6000 for revenue inspectors, and
4000-6000 for foresters against 5500-9000 for the naib tehsildar.
The Unions pointed out that the
demands were being raised since 1993, and the Principal Chief Conservator of
Forests (PCCF) had recommended as long back as in 2002 that pay parity be
granted. The government, however, is still to issue the necessary orders.
Source:
‘Maharashtra Forest Dept employees warn of strike’ http://news.webindia123.com/news/Articles/India/20090910/1338891.html
Large scale transfers; PAs left unprotected
The Maharashtra Forest Minister, Babanrao Pachpute recently effected
large scale changes in the postings of forest officers in the state leading to
concern that a number of PAs would now remain unprotected.
Over 350 forest personnel including over 240 range forest officers
(RFOs) and the field director (FD) and conservator of forests (CF) of the
Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) have been transferred without replacements.
The same situation is seen with more than a dozen other RFOs from other wildlife areas.
It has been pointed
out that many of these transfers have been effected regardless of continuity of
postings and this has left a number of important posts vacant.
The Tadoba Andhari and
Pench Tiger Reserves are believed to be worst affected. The transfer of the
Director of TATR, and of RFO Tadoba without replacements has left the tiger
reserve headless. Similarly posts of the other RFOs in the reserve - Kolsa, Moharli and the one for Protection will be vacant because of
transfers and retirement of officers.
Similarly two RFOs at Pench Tiger
Reserve, for East Pench and the other in charge of the anti-poaching squad have
been shifted to Paoni and Kuhi respectively, without any replacements. The RFOs
post for West Pench too is to fall vacant as the present officer is to be
promoted to the rank of an Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF).
The other PAs that are
expected to be affected because of the transfers include the Melghat Tiger
Reserve, the Bhamragarh WLS in Gadchiroli, the Chaprala WLS, Yawal WLS,
Bhimashankar WLS and the Chandoli NP.
It has also been
pointed out that in the eight protected areas in the Nagpur Wildlife Circle, of
a total 17 RFOs only three had training in wildlife.
(Also see PA Update Vol XV, No. 1 for story on shortage
of RFOs in Tadoba Andhari TR)
Source: ‘Minister
ignores wildlife areas again’ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS-City-Nagpur-Pachpute-ignores-wildlife-areas-again/articleshow/4796507.cms
Contact: Field
Director, Tadoba-Andhari
Tiger Project, Mul Road, In front of Sanchiti Chamber, Chandrapur – 442401,
Maharashtra. Tel: 07172-51414(O), 56382(R)
Land adjoining
Balpakram NP reclaimed from illegal miners
The Garo Students Union (GSU) and the
Chitmang Hills Anti Mining Forum (CHAMF) have recently reclaimed the land that
had been illegally denuded of forest for constructing a road to the proposed
mining spot in Gongrot Aking bordering the Balpakram National Park (see PA Updates Vol XV, No. 1 and Vol XIV,
No. 6). The land that was reclaimed lies in the in Halwa Atong Aking in the
South Garo Hills District of Meghalaya.
In
a symbolic gesture of returning the land to the forest, an 85 strong contingent
of GSU members and other NGOs of South Garo Hills planted saplings on the 1.5
Km of road that has been cut through standing forest. Though a commitment has
been taken from the headman of Halwa Atong Aking to not permit any further
illegal activities on the land of his village, the anti mining coalition had
decided to maintain a constant vigil to ensure that no fresh moves to start
road constriction are made.
The anti mining coalition has also
petitioned the Ministry Of Environment and Forest’s regional office in Shillong
regarding the violation of the Forest Conservation Act. Similarly a complaint
has also been filed with the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council for
prosecuting the headmen of Gongrot and Halwa Atong Akings for felling of
standing forest, that too with malafide intent of illegal mining.
Source: ‘Reclaiming Land From Illegal Miners in Halwa Atong
Aking, South Garo Hills District, Meghalaya’, Press Release by the GSU,
12/08/09
Contact: Secretary,
CHAMF, C/o President GSU South Garo Hills Unit, Simsang Bridge Junction,
Bolsagre, Baghmara, South Garo Hills, Meghalaya. Tel: 09436742958. Email:
ginsadawa@gmail.com
223 tribal families to be shifted from Simlipal TR
The
Orissa Forest Department has said that 223 tribal families residing in six
villages in the core area of the Simlipal Tiger Reserve (STR) will soon be
shifted out. These villages include Jenabil, Bakua, Kabatghai, Jamuna, and
Khadia Settlements (I) and (II) in the Upper-Barha-Kamuda Range of Simlipal.
The decision was taken at the second
Rehabilitation and Periphery Development Advisory Committee meeting held under
the chairmanship of Revenue Divisional Commissioner, Central Division. The STR and the Forest Department were represented in the meeting by
the STR Field Director cum Conservator of Forests HS Upadhaya, Deputy Director
Manoj V Nair and three DFOs from Rairangpur, Karanjia and Baripada.
Meanwhile, an allocation of Rs ten lakh for each displaced family has
also been received for their resettlement and rehabilitation and for ensuring
all basic amenities at the places of their relocation outside the sanctuary.
The families to be
displaced have been assured that they will be relocated to places of their
choice as per the guidelines of the National Tiger Conservation Authority. Some of the displaced families have opted for their relocation at
Amdiha and Kapand model housing colonies, while others have sought their
relocation at Arjunvilla near the Manda forest range. (Also see PA Update Vol. XIII, No. 3)
Source: ‘223 tribal families to be shifted
from Similipal Tiger Reserve core area’, http://www.odishatoday.com 13/08/09
Contact: Director, Simlipal Tiger Reserve, P.O. Baripada, Dist. Mayurbhanj – 757002, Orissa. Tel: 06792-252593(O), 252773(R) Fax: 256705
CWLW– Orissa, Plot No. 8, Shahid Nagar, Bhubaneshwar – 751007, Orissa. Tel: 0674- 2512502 / 2513134 / 2515840. Fax: 512502
Ranjit Sagar Dam reservoir to be declared a wildlife
sanctuary
The reservoir of the Ranjit Sagar Dam in Gurdaspur district of
Punjab is to be soon declared a wildlife sanctuary. A declaration to this
effect was made recently by the Punjab Governor, Gen SF Rodrigues (Retd.) after
he held a meeting with officials
of Forest, Wildlife, Horticulture, Soil Conservation, Agriculture, Animal
Husbandry and Town Planning Departments to discuss the modules of the project
in detail.
The dam was
constructed over the land belonging to Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and
Kashmir states. Except Punjab, all other states have declared their respective
area as a wildlife sanctuary. Though the Punjab government had agreed to notify
30 per cent area of the dam reservoir as a sanctuary, revenue officials had not
provided the necessary land records, thus delaying the implementation for many
years.
Source:
Chander Parkash. ‘Dam reservoir to be made wildlife sanctuary - Govt to issue
notification soon’, The Tribune,
06/09/09
Contact: Chief Wildlife Warden, Punjab, SC No. 2463-64,Sector 22-C, Chandigarh - 160022.Tel: 0172-2705828(O), 2675661(R). Fax: 2705828
Great
Indian Bustard sighted in Tal Chappar Wildlife Sanctuary
A pair of Great
Indian Bustards (GIB) was sighted at the Tal Chappar Wildlife Sanctuary in Churu
district in August. The female bird was spotted on August 1, and the male was
seen the next day. This is the first time in 30 years that the GIB has been
sighted in this sanctuary.
Forest officials have suggested that
the birds may have migrated to the sanctuary from Bikaner and the area where it
was spotted was immediately closed to tourists.
Source: Anindo Dey, ‘Rare bustard sighted at Churu
sanctuary’, Times News Network. 09/08/09
Contact: I/c Tal Chappar WLS. Dist. Churu, Rajasthan. Tel 0291-2544371 / 2433656. Fax: 0291-2629038
Animal census in Point Calimere WLS
The Forest
Department (FD) conducted a one-day wildlife census in August at Point Calimere
Wild Life Sanctuary. The animal census is held in the dry season of April, but
because of the water logging due to heavy cyclonic rain in April it was
postponed to August.
The count was conducted with the
help of 165 people, including 130 students from seven colleges. The census
covered roughly a quarter of the 1,650 hectares sanctuary and was based on
King’s technique of ‘direct-transect count’. The count was conducted with the
help of 25 transects with each team of five to six members being led by a FD
official.
A similar census for birds will be
held in the first week of January.
Source: PV Srividya ‘Wildlife census taken’, 03/08/09 http://www.cmsindia.org/cmsenviscentre/newsletter/enews/NewsDetails.asp?id=27022
Contact: Wildlife Warden, Point Calimere WLS, 110, Public Office Road, Nagapattinam – 611001. Tamil Nadu. Tel: 04365-22349
SC abandons elevated corridor for
elephants in Rajaji NP
The Supreme Court (SC) has abandoned the
proposal of building two elevated corridors for elephants to cross over the
highways and railway line passing through the Rajaji National Park. The
National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has instead, been given permissions
for the construction of three flyovers for vehicles here (PA Updates Vol XV, No. 3, Vol XIV, Nos. 5 & 3; Vol XIII, No. 5, Vol XII, No.
2).
The
NHAI had proposed a flyover either for the elephants or the vehicles, and had
been pleading for a speedy solution as lakhs of pilgrims would be coming to
Haridwar next year for the Ardh Kumbh.
The
NHAI and the Railway ministry both were agreed on the proposal of the flyover
for elephants and the apex court’s Central Empowered Committee (CEC) too had
cleared it by a majority of 3:2.
The
Amicus Curiae Mr. Harish Salve has, however, been opposed to the elevated
corridors for the elephants and pointed that the animals could face problems in
climbing the flyover and that such a solution had not been tried anywhere else
in the country. The proposal was subsequently dropped.
It
has however been pointed out that the present arrangement still does not solve
the problem of the elephants needing to cross the railway track, something that
has caused many deaths in the past (see PA
Updates Vol XIV, No. 4 and Nos. 40, 36, 34 & 32).
Source: Dhananjay Mahapatra. ‘SC
shoots down flyover corridor for elephants’ Times News Network. 25/07/09
Contact: Director,
Rajaji NP, 5/1 Ansari Marg, Dehradun – 248001, Uttaranchal. Tel: 0135-2621669
Fax: 2621669
CWLW, 5, Chandrabani, Mohobewala, Dehradun, Uttaranchal. Tel: 0135- 2644691
‘Steering committee’ for tiger conservation
Three years after the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA)
had made the proposal, the Uttar Pradesh government has set up its State
Steering Committee to supervise tiger conservation in the state.
The committee
will be headed by Chief Minister Ms Mayawati, while the State Forest Minister
will be the vice-chairperson. The Principal Secretaries of the Forest, Tribal
Welfare and Social Welfare Departments will be members of the committee
Five other states
– Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh
have already set up these steering committees.
Source:
UP sets up steering committee to oversee tiger conservation, The Times of India, 22/07/09.
Contact: CWLW Govt. of Uttar Pradesh, 17, Rana Pratap Marg, Lucknow – 226001, Uttar Pradesh. Tel: 0522-206584(O), 237715 & 223015(R). Fax 0522-222061/ 206188
Proposal to re-introduce the cheetah to India
International
and national wildlife specialists met recently in Gajner, Rajasthan to discuss
a Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) proposal for the re-introduction of the cheetah
which went extinct in the wild in India about six decades ago. The proposal is
to bring in cheetahs from countries such as Tanzania, Botswana and Kenya in
Africa, and keep them in captivity in semi-wild enclosures until they get
acclimatized to local conditions.
The meeting was attended by
officials of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF); the National
Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA); Chief Wildlife Wardens of four states -
Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh - that hold potential sites
for cheetah reintroduction; representatives from the Wildlife Institute of
India (WII); IUCN; international cheetah experts, and members of Indian and
International NGOs.
The meeting debated several issues
pertaining to cheetah reintroduction including habitat and prey availability,
man-animal conflict, professional project management and source of the
reintroduction stock..
The WII presented a comparative
study of the potential cheetah reintroduction sites in India and it was
suggested that in terms of habitat suitability, density of human settlements,
and other considerations, cheetah reintroduction was possible in certain sites.
It was also pointed out, however, that site-specific management would be
necessary and these sites should be studied in greater detail before a final
selection can be recommended. Some of the sites considered include the Tal
Chappar Wildlife Sanctuary in Rajasthan, Velavadar WLS in the Saurashtra region
of Gujarat and the Banni grasslands in Kutch, also in Gujarat.
The Chief Wildlife Wardens (CWLW) of
the four states pointed out that several issues such as habitat, prey
availability and conflict with humans will have to be examined in greater
detail.
The WTI and WII will develop a
detailed blueprint of the project, to be presented to the authorities for their
consideration.
Source: ‘Top international and national wildlife specialists meet to
discuss cheetah reintroduction into the wild in India,’ http://www.wildlifetrustofindia.org/current-news/090909_experts_discuss_cheetah_reintroduction_in_India.html
Report on
Ecologically Sensitive Areas in India
A report titled ‘India’s Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESAs): The Story so Far’, a study on the
history and current status ESAs in India was published recently by Kalpavriksh.
The study traces the chronology of
the notifications declaring ESAs and also reflects on the various mechanisms
through which each of these ESAs came to be declared, rejected or remain
pending with the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF). The detailed
account of each of the ESAs, a comparison of the provisions, and understanding
the range of actors involved, throw critical light on the trajectories each of
the ESAs have followed in their declaration and implementation.
Based on indepth interviews, review
of a range of documents from government records and also those shared by
activists/NGOs, the report arrives at some conclusions. These are both at the
level of understanding the advantages that ESAs offer as a landscape-level
planning tool for the conservation of multiple-use areas. At the same time the
report also raises some critical concerns on how ESAs have come to be declared
as well as implemented.
The report has been authored by
Meenakshi Kapoor, Kanchi Kohli and Manju Menon of Kalpavriksh. The work on the
report was supported by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)-India’s Civil Society
Collaboration for Environment Governance Initiative.
Contact:
Meenakshi Kapoor, Kalpavriksh
Email: meenakshi.em@gmail.com
Rahul Priyadarshi.
Email: rahul_priyadarshi@rediffmail.com
Four PAs
proposed for inclusion on UNESCO heritage list
Four protected areas from different
parts of the country have been placed on the Tentative
List of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites. These are the Desert National Park in
Rajasthan, the Great Himalayan National Park in Himachal Pradesh, the
Bhitarkanika Conservation Area in Orissa and the Neora Valley National Park in
West Bengal.
UNESCO keeps these sites on the
tentative list for a year before the full nomination based on rigorous and
competitive processes is granted.
Source: ‘Desert National Park in
UNESCO heritage list’, The Hindu 12/07/09
SCB’S
Distinguished Service Award to Dr Kamal Bawa
The Society for Conservation Biology
(SCB) recently awarded Dr. Kamal Bawa with it’s Distinguished Service award for
2009.
The
award was given in recognition of his important contributions to conservation
in India through the establishment of the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology
and the Environment (ATREE) and its activities, and was presented in SCB’s
annual meeting held in Beijing, China in July earlier this year.
SCB
(http://www.conbio.org) is an international professional organization dedicated
to promoting the scientific study of the phenomena that affect the maintenance,
loss, and restoration of biological diversity. The Society's membership
comprises a wide range of people interested in the conservation and study of biological
diversity: resource managers, educators, government and private conservation
workers, and students make up the more than 10,000 members world-wide.
National Green Tribunal approved
The Union Cabinet has cleared the proposal for the setting up of the
National Green Tribunal (NGT) along with benches in different regions (see PA Update Vol XV, No. 4).
Once established, the
NGT will become the only forum where civil cases pertaining to the entire set
of environment related laws, including public interest litigation, would be
entertained. It will also address all substantial questions relating to
environment.
According to the
proposal, the tribunal will not be bound to follow the procedure laid down in
the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 or by the rules of evidence contained in the
Indian Evidence Act, 1872, but will be guided by the principles of natural
justice. It will have the regular powers that other judicial institutions
carry. The appeals against this tribunal would go to the Supreme Court.
The NGT will have a
full-time judicial member as its chairperson, and, three fulltime technical
members — one an expert in physical, life sciences or engineering; one an
expert in law and another with administrative experience in environmental
policy.
The Law Commission,
had in its 186th report in 2003, recommended the setting up of green benches.
This is 2nd attempt since then on part of the government to set up
an exclusive green bench like this one.
Source: Mahendra Kumar Singh & Nitin Sethi,
‘Green tribunal gets Cabinet go-ahead’, Times News Network 25/07/09.
CEE plans Hoolock gibbon conservation programme in NE
The
Centre for Environment Education (CEE), North East is planning a ‘Site Specific
Conservation Education Programme (SSCEP)’ in selected hoolock gibbon
sanctuaries of Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Meghalaya and Tripura. The program
will be executed by forming clusters, each of which will involve 20-25 schools
and a local NGO partner.
The programme will involve
development of gibbon educational packages in the context of the North-east to
support classroom teaching-learning; orientation workshop series for NGOs and
teachers, year-long school cluster activities, evaluation information and
attitudinal changes brought about by the project; thorough pre- and
post-project Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) surveys.
Great Ape Campaigns will be
organized at select places with support from the local Forest Department.
Campaigns will also emphasize on community participation and local protected
area management.
Inputs and partnerships will be
sought from a number of organizations that include the Primate Research Centre;
the Gibbon Conservation Centre; Wildlife Areas Development Trust, Assam;
Wildlife Trust of India; Zoo Outreach Organization; local NGOs, institutions
and allied departments.
Source: ‘Hoolock gibbon conservation programme’ The Assam Tribune, 03/08/09
Contact: Simanta Kalita, CEE
North East.
Email: simanta.kalita@ceeindia.org
1st installment of CAMPA money for eight states;
dissatisfaction with amount of money being released
According to
information from the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), the 1st
installment of the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority
(CAMPA) money was to be released to eight states in the month of August. The
eight states were Uttarakhand, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh,
Karnataka, Sikkim, Goa, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Assam; all of whom have
opened their State CAMPA account according to approved guidelines.
These guidelines envisage a three-tier system — a
state-level CAMPA governing body under the chairmanship of the chief minister,
a state-level CAMPA steering committee under the chairmanship of the chief
secretary and a state-level CAMPA executive committee under the chairmanship of
the principal chief conservator of forests. There will also be a national CAMPA
Advisory Council headed by the Union Minister of Environment and Forests for
monitoring, technical assistance and evaluation.
States are expected to utilize these funds for enhancement of forest cover in six million hectares of degraded
forest land all over the country, through a
scheme under Annual Plan of Operation (APO). Union Minister, Mr. Jairam Ramesh also announced that
the operational details would be left to the states, and the centre would only
plan and monitor the utilization of the funds.
A number of states,
have however, expressed their dissatisfaction that only 10% of the total amount
would be released to states on a pro rata basis every year, for the next five
years. The dissatisfied states include Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Andhra
Pradesh and Maharashtra who have together contributed 55% of the Rs 9,900 crore
principal of CAMPA funds. Orissa which is the highest contributor with Rs 1,311
crore, will receive Rs 130 crore, while Chhattisgarh with a contribution of Rs
1,230 crore will get only Rs 123 crore this year. The other three big
contributors—Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra — will get Rs 95 crore,
90 crore, and 90 crore, respectively.
The states have argued
that the funds would not be sufficient for any meaningful project. They have
also demanded more flexibility in planning, saying that the three-tier system
suggested undermines the country's federal structure.
The apex court has asked the CEC to
file status report on the issue after six months.
(Also see (Also see PA Updates Vol XV,
No. 4 and Vol XIV, Nos. 6 & 2).
Source:
‘Provide Rs 1K cr to states for forests: SC to Campa’ Financial Express, 11/07/09
Urmi A
Goswami, ‘States unhappy with 10% release of afforestation funds’, 17/07/09, http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4787301.cms?flstry=1
‘First installment of CAMPA to be
released to 8 States tomorrow’, MoEF Press
Release, http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=51913,
17/08/09
Centre sends teams to assess situation in eight tiger reserves
In an attempt
to avoid a repeat of the Panna and Sariska-like situations where tigers were
wiped out, the Centre recently decided to send three teams to assess the
scenario in eight "critical" tiger reserves and take adequate steps
to save the big cats.
The move comes after it was felt
that tigers in Dampa (Mizoram), Buxa (West Bengal), Namdapha (Arunachal
Pradesh), Valmiki (Bihar), Palamau (Jharkhand) and Manas in Assam would become
extinct if adequate and timely interventions were not initiated to save the
last species. The Indravati TR in Chattisgarh and Nagarjunasagar Srisailam in
Andhra Pradesh have also been identified for the study by the teams comprising
experts from NGOs.
A
senior official from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) said that
these teams will re-evaluate the existing strategies and explore alternative
conservation measures. The team members will also
identify administrative or ecological problems besides managerial problems in
the identified areas and will submit reports within two months on the basis of
which further corrective measures would be taken.
Source: ‘Centre sends teams to assess situation in 8 tiger reserves’, The Hindu, 13/08/09
Contact: Dr. Rajesh Gopal NTCA,
Annexe No. 5, Bikaner House, Shahjahan Road, New Delhi-110011.Telefax: 2338
4428. E-mail: dirpt-r@nic.in
BANGLADESH
US, Germany
pledge US $19 million for reforestation of Chunati WLS
The United States of America and Germany
have agreed to donate US $19 million for the reforestation of the Chunati
Wildlife Sanctuary in Bangladesh under a global climate change mitigation
project. The sanctuary lies about 350 km (219 miles) southeast of Dhaka and is
also a major corridor for the movement of Asian elephants between Myanmar and
Bangladesh and home to an important timber species under threat.
Under
the project, to be implemented over the next four years, trees will be planted
to help restore 2,000 hectares of forest land and to decrease carbon emissions
in the region. The project will help restore the severely degraded sanctuary,
raise awareness through public education, and create alternative income
opportunities for over 125,000 people who live in communities in and around the
sanctuary. (also see PA Update XII,
No. 1)
Source: ‘Bangladesh to get $19 mln for reforestation project’, http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSDHA532275
NEPAL
121 breeding
tigers counted in PAs in Nepal
A nine-month research conducted to
study tiger population in all the protected areas (PA) in Nepal has revealed
the presence of 121 breeding tigers in the country.
The
study was carried out jointly by the Government of Nepal, the World Wildlife Fund
(WWF) and the National Trust for Nature Conservation with support from Save the
Tiger Fund and US Fish and Wildlife Service.
Chitwan
National Park (NP) reported a population of 91, and is relatively healthy in
comparison to the data from three other PAs which suggested declining numbers;
Parsa Wildlife Reserve (WR) has an estimated four tigers, Shuklaphanta WR,
eight tigers and Bardia NP has 18.
The
report has suggested that these numbers are not strong enough to withstand an
ever increasing demand for tiger parts and derivatives and that concerted
conservation efforts were required as the remaining population was vulnerable
to poaching, habitat loss and encroachment.
WWF
has also committed to support the government of Nepal’s Tiger Conservation Action
Plan 2008-2012, which plans to increase the population of tigers by 10 per cent
within the first 5-year period.
Source:
‘Nepal's Tiger Numbers Remain Constant despite Political Upheaval And Poaching,
Census Reveals’ WWF Press Release, http://www.worldwildlife.org/who/media/press/2009/WWFPresitem13170.html
Contact: Lee Poston,
WWF.
Email: lee.poston@wwfus.org
Great Himalayan
Bird Count, Winter – 2009
The Great Himalayan Bird Count, Winter –
2009 has been tentatively planned for November 7-10, 2009. The count will be
conducted over 36 popular trekking trails situated in the river-valleys of
Tons; Yamuna; Bhagirathi; Bhilangna; Ganga; Mandakini and Alaknanda in Garhwal
Himalayas and will also include the Asan & Jhilmil Jheel Conservation
Reserves in Dehradun & Haridwar districts respectively.
16
Groups will be undertaking the 36 different treks of about 10 kms each. Each
Group size will be a maximum of five birders plus 2-3 urban school students and
will include local village youth, forest staff and govt. school students from
nearby villages.
Contact: Prateek
Panwar, Action & Research for Conservation in Himalayas, MDDA Duplex
Villa No. 3, Sahastradhara Road, Opp. Petrol Pump, Dehradun- 248001,
Uttarakhand. Tel: 0 9412054216/ 0135-2114649.
Email:
arch.himalayas@yahoo.co.in; arch.birdcount@yahoo.in
International
Conference on Wildlife & Biodiversity Conservation Vis-à-vis Climate Change Management
The Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural
Sciences & Technology of Kashmir (SKUAST-K) in collaboration with the
Association of Indian Zoo & Wildlife Veterinarians (AIZWV) is Organizing an
“International Conference on Wildlife & Biodiversity Conservation Vis-à-vis Climate Change” from 27-29
April 2010, at Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Complex (SKICC), near
Dal Lake in Srinagar, J&K.
The
conference will deal with a number of topics that will include among others
- Importance of mountain wildlife biodiversity
conservation.
- Natural ecosystems, biodiversity conservation and nature- based solutions to
increasing resilience and reducing vulnerability to climate change.
- Status & distribution of endangered temperate wild herbivores
- Climate change and wetlands
- Aquatic wildlife conservation
-Displacement of wildlife & integrated approaches in their rescue,
health care and rehabilitation/relocation for management and conservation
biology.
-Sustainable resource Utilization and Biodiversity
Conservation.
- Future developmental priorities & biodiversity Conservation.
Contact: Dr. Khursheed Ahmad,
(SKUAST-K). Tel: 0194 2262312 / 9419543879. Email: Khursheed47@gmail.com
hangulconference@skuastkashmir.ac.in;
World Tiger Summit in Ranthambore TR in
2010
The Ranthambore Tiger Reserve will be the venue for the World Tiger
Summit to be held in 2010 (either October or November). 200 experts from all
over the world are expected to be present at the summit that is being held in
India for the first time. Ranthambore which is home to 44 tigers will be
showcased as a role model to the delegates.
The summit will also
seek to strengthen and expand a system of tiger reserves across 13 countries,
including India, Indonesia, Thailand, China and Russia.
The recent tiger
census in India which is based on a new methodology, would also be released
during the summit.
Source: ‘World Tiger Summit in Ranthambore next year’, The Hindu, 10/08/09
Global Tiger Workshop in Kathmandu
The Government
of Nepal in association with the World Bank and other Global Tiger Initiative
(GTI) participants will host the Global Tiger Workshop in Kathmandu from
October 27 to 30, 2009.
The aim of the workshop is to frame
innovative on-ground strategies for tiger conservation based on best practices
identified during the last few decades as well as extensive consultations with governments,
NGOs, conservation experts and practitioners. This milestone meeting will also
serve the purpose of implementing Decision 14.70, adopted at the last meeting
of the Conference of the Parties to CITES, and further consolidating and
promoting action-oriented solutions towards the fulfillment of the GTI
objectives. The Workshop will build on suggestions from international experts,
existing national Tiger Action Plans and recent research to articulate:
(1) targets,
objectives and activities for the long-term conservation of tigers;
(2) policies
and practical measures for the integration of tiger conservation into national
development objectives;
(3) principles
of international co-operation and harmonization of national, regional and
trans-boundary management and, ultimately,
(4) a set of
urgent actions to stop the further decline of wild tiger populations.
The output of the Workshop will be a
Global Strategy for Tiger Conservation, and will be reported to COP15. This
Strategy will also form the basis of the Global Tiger Summit and the Asia
Ministerial Conference on Wildlife Enforcement and Tiger Conservation, to be
held in 2010 (see story above), that would endorse, at highest political
levels, ambitious targets and specific commitments for tiger conservation in
each of the tiger-range countries. This Workshop will be attended by senior
officials and conservation practitioners both from tiger-range and other
countries.
Source: http://www.globaltigerinitiative.org/global-tiger-workshop-kathmandu.Html
Call for Papers: People and Protected Areas - India case studies
Case studies
from India on the subject ‘People and Protected Areas’ have been invited for
the Annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers (AAG), to be held
in Washington DC, from April 14-18, 2010
The paper session seeks to engage
scholars conducting research about or in Indian protected area and reserve
communities. Topics are open but papers examining policy initiatives,
community-based conservation, JFM, community reserves, conflict with wildlife,
interactions with the Forest Department, or methodologies for fieldwork are of
special interest.
The organizer and session chair is
Monica Ogra, of the Department of Environmental Studies and Globalization
Studies Program, Gettysburg College.
Contact:
Monica Ogra.
Email: mogra@gettysburg.edu
Research
position for project on Snow leopard phylogeography and conservation
For work on the enigmatic snow leopard
and use of genetic data to try and understand population structure, a one year
position is available in collaboration with the Nature Conservation Foundation
and the International Snow Leopard Trust.
Contact: Uma
Ramakrishnan.
Email:
uramakri@ncbs.res.in
Research
position for Population genetics of a montane bird in the Western Ghats
Work involves use of micro-satellites to
help understand the colonization history and connectedness between habitat
patches inhabited by the White-bellied Shortwing in the Western Ghats. Read
more about the project at www.tinyurl.com/robinv .
Contact: Uma
Ramakrishnan.
Email:
uramakri@ncbs.res.in
Research
positions on bio-resource ecology and climate change in the Sikkim Himalayas
Several long-term research positions are
available as part of a Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India,
funded project on Technological Innovations and Ecological Research for the
Sustainable Use of Bioresources in Sikkim. The project is jointly implemented
by the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) (Tata Institute for
Fundamental Research, http://www.ncbs.res.in, Bangalore, and the Ashoka Trust
for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) (http://www.atree.org),
Bangalore.
Applications
have been sought from qualified, highly motivated candidates for various
research and technical positions at the Junior Research Fellow (JRF), Senior
Research Fellow (SRF), Post-Doctoral Fellow levels, and in GIS/Remote Sensing.
The research positions can potentially lead to a PhD based at the two
institutions. All salaries will be in accordance with DBT specified norms.
The
areas of research encompass both basic and applied ecology and include the
mapping and monitoring of faunal and floral biodiversity, field and laboratory
measurements of biodiversity and ecosystem services (carbon, hydrology,
pollination, bio-resources) and their response to climate change, and work on
sustainable use of bio-resources by local communities.
Candidates
with backgrounds in life sciences, botany, zoology, geo-sciences, ecology,
environmental science, social sciences and remote sensing/GIS and with
demonstrated field experience and interest in working in Sikkim and the
Northeastern India will be considered. Depending on the position, laboratory work in
Bangalore will be combined with field measurements and observations in
Sikkim. The GIS/RS position will be
based in Bangalore. Short-listed candidates will be interviewed by project
Scientists in Bangalore or Sikkim.
Interested candidates should send their CV
and statement of interest by email to: sikkimdbt@ncbs.res.in. Applications
will be reviewed until suitable candidates are found.
Diploma in
International Wildlife Conservation Practice
Applications have been invited for the
WildCRU's 2010 Postgraduate Diploma in International Wildlife Conservation
Practice. This newly established eight month full-time course is designed to
enhance the skills of conservation practitioners teaching the field, analytical,
planning and reporting techniques necessary for effective conservation research
and action. The course will focus on survey and analysis methods commonly used
in the study of felids and other mammals in the developing world.
Students will take modules on wildlife ecology
and behaviour; monitoring skills including camera-trapping, radio-tracking and
line transect surveys; GIS analysis, and population management. The course will
run from February to September 2010. Students
will take a one month online preparatory course from their home countries,
followed by seven months of residential training at the WildCRU's
Recanati-Kaplan Centre in Tubney in the UK.
The
2010 course will accept up to 10 students and applications from developing
countries have been particularly invited. The final application deadline is
20th November 2009. For full details check www.wildcru.org/diploma
Contact: Dr Lucy
Tallents, Zoology Dept, University of Oxford, Recanati-Kaplan Centre,
Tubney House, Abingdon Road, Tubney, Abingdon OX13 5QL, UK, Tel: +44 (0) 1865
393125, Fax +44 (0) 1865 393101. Email: wildcru.diploma@zoo.ox.ac.uk
Part time environment education work in Mumbai
The Energy
Research Institute (TERI) Mumbai office has initiated a project to promote
activity based environment education.
The candidate should be someone with a research background as well as
skilled in field work. The job includes visiting schools, municipal
authorities, and NGOs in Thane, Navi Mumbai and Mumbai, conduct Internet search
and reviews on different topics/themes that will be assigned. Knowledge of
Marathi will be an added advantage.
Contact:
Saltanat Kazi, Associate Fellow,
TERI, 318 Raheja Arcade, Sector 11, CBD Belapur, Navi Mumbai. Website: www.terin.org Tel: 022-27580021/ 9326112410.
Email: saltanat.kazi@gmail.com
PA related matters
before the Supreme Court appointed Central Empowered Committee in July and
August 2009
- Application to save wildlife in the Narmada valley
- Matter related to the construction of roads in the
forest areas of Kodagu including Brahmagiri, Pushpagiri and Talakaveri WLSs and
Kadamakal and Pattighat Reserve Forests.
- Application seeking stopping of all construction
activities and for removal of all structures in and around the parks in sectors
14A, 15A and 16A of Noida in Uttar Pradesh and in and around an area within 10
kms of the Okhla Bird Sanctuary
- Application seeking use of 2.96 hectares of land in
the Kashi Wildlife Division, Ramnagar, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh for non
forestry purpose
- Seeking permission for laying of a water pipeline
over 0.170 hectares of land in the Majathal WLS, Himachal Pradesh
- Application seeking permission to divert certain
lands from the Majathal WLS, Himachal Pradesh for submergence by Kol Dam
Hydro Project
‘In the Supreme Court' is based on the Forest Case Update, which is a web-based initiative to provide information and updates on developments related to forests and wildlife in the Supreme Court of India.
Contact:
Ritwick Dutta & Kanchi Kohli. Forest Case Update Editors, E-180,
Greater Kailash 2, New Delhi-110048. Email: forestcase@yahoo.com Web: www.forestcaseindia.org
Member Secretary, Central Empowered
Committee, Room No. 106, Paryavaran Bhavan, CGO Complex, Lodi Road, New Delhi -
110003. Tel: 011- 4361297
National
Conference of Minister of Environment & Forests emphasize on sustainable
environmental management and to increase green cover
The one-day National Conference of
Ministers of Environment and Forests emphasized that sustainable environmental
management was a shared responsibility involving all levels of government
supported by the public at large, civil society groups, private sector, the
scientific community and other stakeholders such as traditional forest
dwellers. The conference which was organised today was preceded by a
preparatory meeting yesterday, i.e. on 17th August with senior officers dealing
with environment and forests from the Centre and States. This two-day meet succeeded to enhance the
cooperative effort and identify concrete actions in priority areas for
protection of the environment and forests.
The
Conference recognized the growing pressures on the ecosystems and the
weaknesses in the existing mechanisms, in which context the need was underlined
for urgent institutional reforms commensurate with the goals of the Environment
Protection Act 1986, the Forest (Conservation) Act 1980, the Wildlife
(Protection) Act 1972, the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest
Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 and other relevant laws. It
also welcomed some of the recent initiatives taken by the Union Ministry of
Environment & Forests, including, but not limited to, the following:
·
Operationalization of the State-level CAMPAs and
disbursement of funds for restoration and regeneration of natural forests;
·
Additional central assistance of Rs 500 crore provided in
the 2009-10 Budget for restoration and regeneration of forest cover;
·
Provision of Rs 600 crore for the Intensification of Forest
Management Scheme and Rs 365 crore for Capacity Building in the Forestry Sector
Scheme during the XIth Plan;
·
Provision of Rs 250 crore in the 2009-10 Budget for the
National Ganga River Basin Authority and the steps taken to ensure speedy
operationalization;
·
Steps taken to eliminate bottlenecks or impediments, as
exemplified by recent measures to enhance the transparency of the environmental
appraisal process and addressing conflict of interest issues, synergizing the
forest conservation and forest rights legislations, and issuing guidelines for
enhancing convergence between the NREGA and afforestation programmes in
coordination with the Ministry of Rural Development;
·
Dropping the Integrated CMZ notification of 2008 and
allowing it to lapse, and in its stead, taking steps to effect the required
adjustments in the earlier CRZ regime; and
·
The introduction of the National Green Tribunal Bill, 2009
in the Lok Sabha.
The Conference underscored the need to
promote green initiatives, local innovativeness and cost-effective solutions
taking into account the need to address non-uniform environmental performance
in the country. The discussions brought out the need for approaches in the
direction of ‘green federalism’. One solution discussed was that states could
be offered incentives for retaining high forest cover. Another aspect was the
need for comprehensive measures integrating the safety, health and
environmental dimensions. It was also recognised that ecological security was a
cornerstone for all-inclusive growth. Thus, when assessing the environmental objectives
against developmental concerns, it was recognised that there would be
trade-offs and difficult choices may need to be made, sacrificing the immediate
benefit for long term environmental security.
In
light of the above, the Conference agreed upon the need to:
·
Establish an empowered Environmental Protection Authority,
within a year, under the Environment Protection Act, which would be an
autonomous, professional and
science-based body, fully authorized to undertake effective implementation of
the legislation and rules therein, as well as monitoring compliance with
safeguards stipulated as part of environmental clearances;
·
Initiate a time bound programme for preparation of
State-level Action Plans on Climate Change consistent with the National Action
Plan on Climate Change with a view to enable communities and ecosystems to
adapt to climate change effectively;
·
Coordinate effectively the working of the Centre, States
and Urban Local Bodies for river and lake cleaning programmes; to significantly
enhance the resources allocated for these programmes; and seek
bilateral/multilateral assistance for the effort and put in place new
implementation mechanisms, e.g., special purpose vehicles, drawing upon the
experience gained over the past two decades;
·
Set up empowered structures in the States, headed by the
respective Chief Ministers; complemented by tripartite Memorandums of Agreement
(MoAs) between the MoEF, the State Governments, and the Urban Local Bodies
concerned to effectively plan, coordinate and implement river conservation
activities in an integrated manner. States will allocate dedicated funds for
meeting Operation and Maintenance (O&M) expenses and consider measures for
mobilization of resources for this purpose by levy of user charges, cess, etc.;
·
Conduct an immediate survey of the 17 categories of highly
polluting industries in the current year at the State level to ensure
compliance of relevant standards;
·
Work out a time-bound action programme for handling the
industrial clusters having serious environmental pollution levels, to be
implemented jointly by the Central and State Pollution Control Boards. For
this, the Central Government will draft guidelines for identification of
critically polluted areas and the monitoring protocol to be enforced. High
level monitoring at the State Level of these areas will be undertaken to ensure
timely intervention;
·
Expedite sanctions under the Water Cess Act due by the
Central Government to the State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs), with action
to be taken according to a system to be devised to enable disbursements to the
SPCBs without delay;
·
Strengthen the SPCBs by allocating greater budgetary
resources and sanctioning additional posts wherever needed in terms of
technical manpower and infrastructure, as a primary responsibility of the State
Government. The Central Government will provide assistance to the Central and
State PCBs for this endeavour;
·
Set up and strengthen, in view of the decentralized
appraisal procedures, State-level Environmental Impact Assessment Authorities
and Coastal Zone Management Authorities, with professional and technical
expertise in the environment and forest related fields, supported by technology-enabled monitoring mechanisms for
enhancing environmental compliance;
·
Put in place innovative funding mechanisms, public-private
partnerships and special purpose vehicles for setting up common facilities,
such as common effluent treatment plants (CETPs), treatment, storage and
disposal facilities (TSDFs) for hazardous wastes, and devices for treating
bio-medical facilities, keeping in view the need to substantially enhance the
assistance by the Central Government;
·
Operationalize the crisis management systems to handle
chemical accidents and related
information using the web-based Chemical Accident Information and
Reporting System. Preparation of emergency plans for the Maximum Hazard (MAH)
units will be expedited;
·
Modernize and revitalize forest administration at various
levels, particularly at the cutting-edge level of forest guards and rangers,
including with regard to new recruitment, improvement of working conditions and
better incentives for field-level staff. States will endeavour to bring the
Forestry personnel on par with the Police Force in terms of remuneration and
service conditions;
·
Speed up action under the CAMPA guidelines, using the
Compensatory Afforestation Fund, for regenerating forests and increasing forest
and tree cover;
·
Mobilize local community participation as the primary
instrument for protecting wildlife and for promoting conservation and
sustainable management of forests;
·
Recognize the imperative of linking forest development with
sustainable livelihoods of the dependent communities. Fresh impetus to be
provided to community participation with a focus on scientific management of
Non Timber Forest Produce (NTFP) and forest plantations;
·
Act effectively against poachers and, simultaneously, amend
the Wildlife Protection Act, as necessary, to enhance its effectiveness for
protecting the reserves;
·
Expedite tripartite MoUs for availing central assistance
under Project Tiger along with effecting the requirements of buffer-zoning and
the stepping up of intelligence networks;
·
Take concrete steps, with the Centre and States working
together, for addressing the special needs of communities living in and around
the wildlife habitats, supported by management plans for the protected areas,
which recognize the local communities as stakeholders;
·
Expedite notification of critical wildlife habitats to
facilitate implementation of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest
Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 taking into account cases
where the statutory settlement of rights may be required before diverting
forest land under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980; and
·
Ensure apportionment, by the State Governments, of Central
Assistance for implementation of Divisional Plans for Strengthening of Forestry
Administration in Naxal Affected Districts, for improving the field situation
in areas affected by left wing extremism.
In reply to several questions, Shri
Jairam Ramesh, Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests (I/C) said
the Ministry will call a special meeting for Elephant Project with states
having elephant population and problems. He also reminded that the Ministry has
projects for ‘vulture’ besides tiger. He informed that the ministry will look
into the problem of the neelgai soon.
The minister also informed to make a proposal to institute medals for
meritorious service of forest staff working in the field. Ministry will
institute special fund for forestry staff welfare fund to support the families
of ground staff in case of injury or death, he added.
The
Conference was inaugurated by the Prime Minister. The Conference thanked the
Prime Minister for his thought-provoking address, which set out a national
agenda for the conservation of natural resources, modernization of forest and
wildlife management, sound environmental planning and sustainable development.
Source: http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=51960, 18/08/09
Future
of Conservation Network
Press Release 19/08/09
Implement Critical Wildlife
Habitats and Community Forest Rights for Better Conservation!
Conservationists, social activists, and government
officers from across the country today commended the Ministry of Environment
and Forests for its recent circular requiring state governments to comply with
provisions of the Forest Rights Act, when applying for diversion of forest lands
for any non-forest use. This was cited as an example of how the Forest Rights
Act 2006, could be a major tool for conservation, by participants at the 2nd
National Workshop on Critical Wildlife Habitats and Community Forest Rights,
held in Delhi on 17-19th August 2009. The Workshop was organized by
the Future of Conservation Network, a coalition of conservation and social
action groups.
The
Workshop discussed the provisions of the Forest Rights Act 2006, and of the
Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act 2006, which enabled the declaration of
Critical Wildlife Habitats, Critical Tiger Habitats, and Community Forests.
These were highlighted as important new tools for safeguarding India’s forests
and wildlife, as also water sources. Additionally they are crucial for securing
livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people. These points have been
reinforced by the Prime Minister at the State Environment Minister’s Conference
in New Delhi where he stated that “Tribal
Rights Act is an opportunity to guarantee the legitimate rights of forest
dwellers and to bring them in the frontline of the environment movement for
regeneration”
Initial
implementation of these provisions has shown their potential. For instance, two
communities in Maharashtra have just this week secured legal protection for
their community conserved forests.
Participants
however expressed concern regarding the following:
1. There are significant delays
in most states, regarding the implementation of these provisions;
2. Community Forest Rights (vis-à-vis
individual rights) have not been encouraged in many states.
3. Due democratic and
knowledge-based processes (as required by both the Acts) are not being followed
in many cases, for instance in many protected areas (national parks,
sanctuaries, tiger reserves) where local communities are to be consulted.
4. In some areas, such as tiger
reserves, communities are being told they cannot claim rights, though the Acts
provide for it.
5. State governments are facing
serious capacity constraints in implementing the Act, and at the Centre, the
Ministry of Tribal Affairs has hardly any staff to handle an Act affecting
millions of people.
6. Vested interests are
attempting to misuse provisions of the Act in many places, to enlarge areas
under encroachment, without adequate checks by the government.
Many of these issues emerge from a lack of
understanding and misinterpretation of the Act and its rules.
The Workshop participants stressed the need to:
·
Intensify processes of identifying Critical Wildlife Habitats through democratic
means and using best available knowledge (modern and traditional).
·
Ensure that threatened species are fully protected within the process
and implementation of the Act.
·
Encourage and facilitate Community Forest Right claims, especially to
protect community conserved forest areas.
·
Ensure full establishment of rights within protected areas including
Tiger Reserves, and initiate a dialogue which would help secure such areas for
conservation with the help of local communities.
·
Use all available funds, including those under CAMPA, to facilitate
community based forest conservation.
·
Initiate a dialogue on the collaborative arrangements between
communities and the Forest Department, in community forest areas and protected
areas.
Participants also expressed the hope that states and
the centre would strictly implement the new MoEF circular mentioned above, for
this would be a strong tool to check the deforestation caused by mining,
industries, expressways, and other such projects.
Contact: Vishaish Uppal, WWF – India.
Tel: Mobile 09818345439 Email: vishaish.uppal@gmail.com
Arshiya Urveeja Bose, Kalpavriksh. Email: arshiyabose.research@gmail.com
Regarding illegal mining in
Nagarhole NP…
In pursuance of the report ‘Illegal sand mining in
Nagarhole NP’ (PA Update Vol XV, No.
3), I would like to state that the Veeranahosahally Wildlife Range is one among
the seven ranges under the Nagarahole National Park. It is the northern most
part, which is abetting Sollepura S.F. on Northern & Eastern side. The
Sollepura S.F. is not included in the National Park notification No. AHEF 91
FWL 87 Bangalore Dt: 08/11/1988.
During
the rehabilitation programme for the Tibetans, a portion of Sollepura S.F. was
denotified and distributed on lease and during the consolidation of the
national park boundary by digging Elephant Proof Trench (E.P.T.), a portion of
the left out Sollepura R.F. which was under the jurisdiction of Hunsur
Territorial Division was annexed to National Park to avoid encroachment between
1993-94.
As
the Tibetan rehabilitated area is next to the E.P.T., the agriculture land
allotted to them remained fallow for years due to severe crop depredation by
wild animals like elephants, and wild boar.
As
is known Elephant Proof Trenches are not a full proof solution and the Tibetan
Society therefore, started construction of lining the outside peripheries of
the EPT Wall at their expense. Lining
work was done for about 5 Kms in that particular stretch. Surprisingly wherever the lining work was
completed the man-animal conflict was seen to have drastically reduced.
The
Tibetan Society people were in practice of collecting sand from outside the
E.P.T. in streams touching the E.P.T. for these lining works. On that particular day i.e. 11/03/2009 the
Tibetan Society workers crossed over the E.P.T. to collect the sand from the
annexed extra area which is not the part of the National Park.
Office
of Working Plans Mysore Division, have surveyed the National Park boundary
during 2008-09 and fixed the R.F. Stones pertains to Veeranahosahally S.F. On
inspection and verification of the boundary it was noticed that the particular
spot from where the sand was transported is located 1 Km away from the park
boundary. The GPS reading of the spot from the where the sand was collected has
been reported to higher authorities as below N 120 12’ 131” E 760
15’ 250”
A
case (FOC 12/2009-10 on 11/03/2009) was registered for having collected the
sand by tractors even outside the Jurisdiction of National Park by the
Veeranahosahally Range Forest Officer.
The matter has also been reported to the Deputy Conservator of Forests,
Territorial Division, Hunsur and higher authorities.
I
would therefore like to point out that no mining works were done in the
Nagarahole National Park as it was reported in the June 2009 issue of the PA
Update
Deputy Conservator of Forests
Hunsur Wildlife Division
Hunsur
Email: dcfwlhun@gmail.com
