From pankajs@VSNL.COM Sun Jun 19 12:15:27 2005 Date: Sun, 12 Jun 2005 18:13:46 +0530 From: Pankaj SekhsariaTo: nathistory-india@Princeton.EDU Subject: Call to save white-winged wood duck [ The following text is in the "iso-8859-1" character set. ] [ Your display is set for the "US-ASCII" character set. ] [ Some characters may be displayed incorrectly. ] Call to save white-winged wood duck Correspondent : Staff Reporter SOURCE : The Assam Tribune, Thursday, June 09, 2005 JORHAT, June 8- Given the fact that the white-winged wood duck (Cairina Scutulata) has been pushed to the edge of extinction, a green NGO named Friends of Nature has suggested generating awareness and implementing community-based conservation programmes to save the rare avian species. Dashing off a press note to this newspaper, the organisation's director Mriganka Krishna Gogoi felt that protected areas like Nameri, Dibru Saikhowa and Dehing Patkai alone could not offer the requisitive foraging and nesting space for the rapidly depleting population of the bird, "which today numbers around 300-400 members in the wilds of Assam". Incidentally, "the species which is nocturnal in nature and tree dwelling, is officially recognised as the State bird", he mentioned. "Inhabiting tropical rain forests of South East Asia, the birds usually forage for food in the water in flocks of threes and fours", Gogoi added. "As largescale encroachment of their natural habitat has been continuing unabated, the shrinking bird population has been primarily confined to isolated pockets of Kolha, Tinkopani, Tirap, Upper Dehing, Dirak, Joypur, Dilli, Dumdooma and Dangori reserve forests", it was pointed out. "The foraging and breeding sites of the birds have been severely polluted in recent times by mining and oil exploration activities by the concerned authorities", Gogoi alleged. "Unfortunately, accentuating the situation even further, rampant hunting and smuggling of eggs and ducklings have also dwelt a severe blow to the conservation efforts", he reasoned. As per a recent assessment made by the NGO, "the stronghold of the species exists only in the Patkai range and Dehing valley", the release claimed. "Over and above official protection accorded to the bird, minus, people-oriented conservation programmes in the near future, the future of the species does not seem too bright", the green NGO speculated. SOURCE : The Assam Tribune, Thursday, June 09, 2005 C/o Kalpavriksh Apt. 5, Sri Dutta Krupa 908 Deccan Gymkhana Pune 411004 Tel: 020 - 25654239 / 25675450 Email: pankajs@vsnl.com; pankaj@leadindia.org