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IUCN World Conservation Congress - Bangkok |
Our understanding and knowledge of ecosystems has grown enormously
in recent decades. The 3rd IUCN World Conservation Congress aims to explore
and demonstrate how this knowledge relates to many of the world's most pressing
development and sustainability challenges - be they productivity, poverty, peoples'
rights to a healthy environment or profitable enterprises.
The Congress will encompass: IUCN Commission meetings, the World Conservation
Forum and the Members' Business Assembly and will be attended by at least 3,000
participants. The World Conservation Forum (18-20 November) will explore relationships
between people, conservation and development under four themes: Ecosystem management
- Bridging sustainability and productivity The Ecosystem Approach emerged as
a response to societal concerns for the need to balance human needs for nature
conservation and economic productivity. This theme will highlight lessons learned
from around the world to manage land and seascapes based on the ecosystem approach.
Tools and mechanisms best suited to bridging sustainable use of biodiversity
and productivity will be explored.
Health, Poverty and Conservation - Responding to the challenge of human well-
being This theme will explore the circumstances under which the sustainable
use and conservation of natural resources can meaningfully contribute to reducing
poverty and improving peoples' health and well-being. Workshops will address
the links between conservation and issues such as hunger, access to safe drinking
water and livelihood security. Challenges and targets highlighted in the Millennium
Development Goals and the WSSD Plan of Implementation will be used as a starting
point for discussion. Biodiversity loss and Species Extinction - Managing risk
in a changing world Relationships between risk and global change, including
globalization, security and global warming, and the impact of change on our
capacity to reverse the loss of biodiversity and secure ecosystem integrity
will be explored. The effectiveness of approaches to monitor change and assess
risks to biodiversity and people will be reviewed. The tools and mechanisms
to better manage conservation interventions and address species extinction will
be identified. Broadly, the workshop will address vulnerability and adaptation
to climate change; meeting the World Summit on Sustainable Development target
of reversing the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010; and capacity and technology
transfer needs to conserve species.. Markets, Business and the Environment -
Strengthening corporate social responsibility, law and policy This theme will
explore how markets can function more sustainably, how companies can manage
biodiversity in their operations, how to develop new business based on conservation
and sustainable use of biodiversity, and the role of governance frameworks.
It will show how business can both support and benefit from sustainable use
of natural resources, and identify the steps needed to ensure that markets work
for both people and nature. The core message is: trade, investment and business
are important if we are to link biodiversity conservation with improvements
in livelihoods.
Bhittarkanika mangrove forests destroyed by fire |
Dated : 15th April,2004
Large patches of mangrove forests have been destroyed by fires at Narayanpur
and Krushnapriyapur villages in the Bhittarkanika National Park. It is believed
that honey collectors had lit some fires to scare away bees while collecting
honey inside the mangroves.Collection of honey is illegal inside the National
Park. The local fire brigades at Pattamundai and Kendrapada could not help due
to lack of expertise and inadequate equipment.
Due to woeful shortage of forest guards, the National Park's famed mangroves
are not protected and trespassers enter it every day for illegal honey collection,
shrimp seedlings and firewood collection. Grazing by buffaloes is common . The
state government is yet to take adequate steps for protection of this famed
mangrove forest patch which also has been recognized recently as a Ramsar site
being a wetland of international importance . The forest contains most of the
mangrove species of the world including some extremely rare ones. It is learnt
that due to the absence of a dedicated fire protection system or equipment,
every year, valuable tracts of mangrove forests are lost due to fire.
Biswajit Mohanty,
Wildlife Society of Orissa
Nupur Basu
Tuesday, March 23, 2004 (Bangalore)
Just six years back, it was proudly billed as India's 25th Tiger Reserve. Today,
over 80 per cent of the Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary in Karnataka stands destroyed
after a massive fire that has been blazing over the last three weeks. Wildlife
enthusiasts and environmentalists are, however, crying foul. They have accused
the Forest Department for not taking timely action to contain the flames that
ravaged the sanctuary, which plays home to endangered species such as tiger,
bison, sambaar, the large malabar squirrel, the flying squirrel and a splendid
variety of bird life.
"It has been very bad. About 270 square kilometers of the Muthodi range has
been burnt. The fires started on March 2 and intensified and swept through up
to the 20th of this month," said Roy Machia, Bombay Natural History Society.
She also demanded an investigation into the causes that led to the fire and
reasons for why authorities took so long to control it. Bamboos facing axe According
to the wildlife watchers, the timber lobby now wants the Forest Department to
allow them to fell the bamboo - a move which is in direct contravention of the
Supreme Court order, banning removal of even a blade of grass from any reserve
forest in the country.
"It has been bandied around by the forest authorities that when you have dead
bamboo, you are going to have an extensive fire that cannot be controlled. In
the last four years since bamboo started flowering and dying in 1998, there
have been no fires or few fires in our area," maintained Machia. Forest Department
officials were not available for comment.
Farming is one of the most destructive activities for the environment
and must become more eco-friendly, a book by the conservation group WWF said
on Friday. Despite employing 1.3 billion people and producing some 1.3 trillion
dollars (1.1 trillion euros) worth of goods annually, the world's largest industry
destroys areas of forest more than four times the size of Switzerland every
year, according to the book, "World Agriculture and the Environment".
"Agriculture has had a larger environmental impact than any other human activity
and today it threatens the very systems we need to meet our food and textile
needs," said author of the book Jason Clay. "New kinds of agriculture can produce
the food needed to feed an increasing population and still accommodate all the
other life forms on the planet," he said in a statement. Animals suffer at the
hands of excessive farming, with oil from palm trees posing a particular threat
to endangered mammals such as Asian elephants, Sumtran rhinos, orangutans and
tigers, the book said. Agriculture also wastes 60 percent of the 2,500 trillion
litres of water it uses each year, at a time when water resources in the Americas,
North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, China and India are already scarce. In
addition, government subsidies to farmers encourage mass farming of a particular
product with chemicals and heavy machinery, which imperil wildlife. As a result,
bird populations in England for example have dropped 77 percent over the past
three decades, the book claimed. Governments in big consuming countries such
as China, Japan and the United States should redirect money spent on subsidies
and market barriers towards paying farmers to protect the environment, suggested
Clay. WWF said together with the World Bank it was also exploring financial
incentives for environmentally-friendly farming activities.
ROB CRILLY, Environment Correspondent April 12 2004
It is the world's largest coastal mangrove forest and home to rare varieties
of wild cat and river dolphins as well as around 500 of one of the world's most
endangered species - the Bengal tiger. It is also home to more than six million
Bangladeshis, who live in and around the forests which stretch over the border
into India. The close proximity of humans and wild animals has led to the usual
problems: poaching and illegal logging have been blamed for falling numbers
of tigers, and competition for food has prompted the animals to attack humans
or forage in the villages. Yet the Bengal tiger is facing a new and less familiar
threat, this time from a Scottish oil and gas company, according to environmentalists.
After winning Bangladeshi government approval to take over two exploration blocks
in the area from Shell, Edinburgh-based Cairn Energy has announced in its annual
report that it plans to conduct seismic surveys for deposits in the two areas.
Block five covers the Sundarbans, and Block 10 lies along its eastern edge.
Environmentalists yesterday warned the work could further disrupt the tigers'
habitat. Craig Bennett of Friends of the Earth, said: "Activities that happen
anywhere in the north of block five carry risks - accidents could allow oil
into the water or water courses could be diverted, affecting conditions downstream
in the Sundarbans. "There are also socio-economic issues. Building facilities
for large numbers of workers anywhere could cause migration of people into the
protected part of the forest adding pressure to the area." The Sundarbans stretch
80 miles along the Bangladesh coastline, and are part of a delta formed from
sediments deposited by rivers, including the Ganges and the Brahmaputra. Streams
and channels separate hundreds of islands within the forest, which is designated
by Unesco as a world heritage site. Last month, a team of researchers reported
that about 500 Bengal tigers were living in the region, but warned they faced
unprecedented threats from economic exploitation both by the six million people
who live in the area and outside companies.
Tigers have suffered liver damage caused by increasing levels of salinity in
the water, brought about by reduced flows of freshwater in the swamps as humans
use upstream supplies. However, despite the threats, last month's census suggested
the Bangladesh Sundarbans are home to more than twice the number of tigers found
in any other forest. Cairn Energy insisted yesterday that it's exploration would
not harm the tigers' habitat. Bill Gammell, chief executive, said the company
was more interested in exploring for gas around the city of Khulna, further
inland from the Sundarbans. "We will not get involved in that area," he added.
"It's never been a part of the licence that Cairn or Shell has been interested
in getting involved with.
"When we signed the licences, we said we weren't planning to get involved with
that area. We don't intend to get involved in the Sundarbans whatsoever." Mr
Gammell said exploration would only take place several miles from the Sundarbans
and added that the company had an environment policy that committed it to preventing
pollution and protecting biodiversity. "We will only look at the north part
of the block so I don't think it's even close," he said. Cairn, valued at more
than £1bn on the stock market, was one of the first Western companies to win
rights to explore for oil and gas in Bangladesh. Every day it pumps 170 million
cubic feet of gas ashore from its Sangu gas field in the Bay of Bengal. It announced
net profits of £47m earlier this year, but has recently been removed from the
Ftse4Good index, designed to promote ethical practice around the world, after
it failed to produce an annual human rights report. Mr Gammell said the problem
was the result of new rules for oil and gas companies aimed at assuaging some
of the concerns of anti-globalisation campaigners who fear the impact of such
companies on developing countries. Cairn has recently published a corporate
social responsibility policy which Mr Gammell said took account of the new requirements.
TIRUNELVELI, MARCH 21. A recent survey conducted in four forest
ranges of the Western Ghats has proved that this forest, known for its herbal
wealth, also houses a significant number of animals, despite a drought-like
situation in the higher reaches due to successive failure of monsoon.
The survey, carried out in an area of 36.80 sq. km coming under the Courtallam,
Kadayanallur, Sankarankoil and Sivagiri ranges between March 5 and 7, has provided
information about the presence of a tiger and a leopard outside the Kalakkad
Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve.
The carnivores were spotted in the Courtallam and Sivagiri ranges respectively,
according to Forest department sources. Though the area taken for the survey
was only 10 per cent of the total area in the four ranges, 16 teams, comprising
40 forest officials and 35 volunteers from Tiruchi, Thanjavur, Theni, Rajapalayam
and Tirunelveli, were formed. While the volunteers were trained in survey techniques
by three forest officials — Manoj Kumar Sarcar, H. Venu Prasad, both District
Forest Officers, and J.S. Ambrose, an Assistant Conservator of Forest — on
March 5, the actual field work was conducted on March 6 and 7.
The teams were trained to identify the wildlife on scene and also to identify
the wildlife hidden or passed through the area by their pugmark, scat and dung
samples. Besides the lone tiger and the leopard, this survey area indicates
the presence of 33 elephants - 23 female, six adolescents, three calves and
a male, wild boar - 13, bison - 14, sambar - 30, deer - 28, barking deer - 2,
thar - 15, mouse deer - 1, hare - 1, bear - 1, mangoose - 3, common monkey -
31, Niligiri langoor - 9, Hanuman langoor - 40, lion-tailed macaque - 21, Malabar
squirrel - 17, hornbill - 1, eagle - 1, serpent eagle - 1, peacock - 14, fowl
- 7, python - 2, star tortoise - 1 and monitor lizard - 1.
http://www.hindu.com/2004/03/22/stories/2004032202560500.htm
Cross breeding of wild and domestic buffaloes at Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve |
Kathmandu, March 19: A proposed move to cross-breed wild buffaloes
with domesticated ones through artificial insemination at Koshi Tappu Wildlife
Reserve has irked conservationists.
The World Conservation Union (IUCN), Nepal, under the assistance of the World
Bank, has proposed to use semen of wild buffaloes in domesticated buffaloes
to produce a more hardy and valuable cross. The reserve is home to over 150
threatened Asiatic Wild Water Buffaloes. The project,titled 'Reduce Land Use
Conflicts through Local Incentives', seeks to conserve biodiversity and prevent
overgrazing by creating incentives for poor farmers to reduce livestock pressure
to wildlife inside the Reserve, according to information posted on the World
Bank website. IUCN-Nepal bagged the US$ 194,000 World Bank project under the
Global Environment Facility funding through global competition. Proponents of
the project argue the project is innovative in many ways. If implemented, they
say, it would be the first example of the use of any wild animal's genetic material
as an incentive for biodiversity conservation in Nepal. They also argue that
the project will tackle the challenge of reducing cattle population in Nepal's
socio-cultural context.
However, there are others who do not buy the argument. The project may be an
innovative one, but proper legislation should be formulated before embarking
on such an issue as it would have long-term policy implications, argues Dr Ravi
Sharma Aryal, a law expert of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES). "It is illegal to move ahead with such
a project without framing the legal basis," he said. "The extraction of semen
is to exploit wildlife and there is no law that governs the process."
He sees no justification that the project will contribute significantly in poverty
reduction of the local people. Baffaloes are kept by relatively well-off famlies;
so this has little to do with the poor, and artificial insemination, as claimed
by the proponent of the project, does not boost milk production, he reasoned.
The project, according to the project document, is expected to raise the income
of at least 200 households by 20 per cent, and improve the relationship between
the protected area authority and local communities. It would also cause a 15
per cent decline in the number of domesticated cattle inside the park. Dr Aryal
also argued that the move will not address the conflict between the park and
the people, since it does't address the grazing problem. "We need to do lots
of study to establish the biological, scientific and social basis of such programmes,"
said Dr Dinesh Bhuju, an ecologist with the Resources Himalaya, a non-profit
organisation.
"The impact on wildlife and its genetic pool should be properly studied before
launching such a project," he said. Sameer Karki, an official at IUCN-Nepal,
argues that the project was just a "pilot test." "We will follow guaranteed
and precautionary measures to make sure there is no adverse impact on wildlife."
The government is likely to take a decision on the matter soon. Said Narayan
Poudel, deputy director general at the Department of National Park and Wildlife
Conservation: "We have as yet not approved the project."
C/o Kalpavriksh
Apt. 5, Sri Dutta Krupa,
908 Deccan Gymkhana,
Pune 411004 India
Tel: + 91 20 25654239 / 25675450 Fax: 25654239
Email: pankajs@vsnl.com
The State Governments proposal to develop Kokkare Bellur, the
bird-sanctuary in Mandya district, as one of the important tourist spots in
the State, has raised a number of questions regarding the safety of the birds
and their habitat.
The villagers, bird lovers and environmentalists, are concerned over the possibility
that the Rs 73 lakh the government is planning to pump in to create infrastructure
for tourists may commercialise the place and endanger the habitat of birds.
The government is planning to set up a canteen with service counter, information
centre, twin cottages, landscaping and seating arrangements for bird watchers,
display boards, construction of approach roads, bird watch towers along with
toilets and drinking water.
Minister of State for Tourism D B Inamdar, however, allays the fears by stating
, The government has designed a comprehensive plan keeping in mind the development
of the village. The project will be implemented in such a way that the natural
habitat of the birds is not disturbed. The intention of the Department of Tourism
is undoubtedly good but commercialisation may happen beyond ones control and
affect the already-dwindling bird population, villagers and bird lovers fear.
Their apprehension may not be unfounded. The bird population is already on the
decrease due to various factors and this may be the last nail in the coffin,
they feel.
The increasing human and livestock population over the years has been straining
the resources. The steep rise in the demand for firewood and fodder is resulting
in the felling of huge canopied trees, which are home to hundreds of birds.
Also, the dried ponds have left the birds with little choice for source of food.
The impact is already obvious. The birds have already started shifting to Mysore
in search of water bodies and large canopied trees, says Mr Manu K, a member
of the Mysore Amateur Naturalists, a non-profit organisation conducting conservation
activities with the villagers. In such a situation, the sudden exposure to commercialisation
and increased volume of tourists are more likely to disturb the serene atmosphere
of the village. No doubt the villagers may benefit in the form of employment
opportunities. But in the long run, the villagers will have to pay the price.
Development in the right spirit is what is needed, says Shivu, a villager.
Of course there are some solutions. The department can consider setting up some
of the facilities like canteen at a safe distance from the sanctuary. And at
the same time, it should look at spending considerable amount of funds on improving
the facilities for the birds by planting more trees and de-silting of the lake.
Increasing the meagre annual compensation, given to the tree- owners as an incentive
not to fell them , may also help in protecting the valuable trees used for nesting,
says Nagesh, another villager. Perhaps, the department can also think of promoting
the sanctuary as a place for eco-tourism and study of birds. This combined approach
may help restore the symbiosis between humans, birds and development in Kokkare
Bellur.
There is good news for wildlife conservation in South Asia with a large new
14,000 sq km conservation area being formed on the India-Myanmar border.
Many on this list may already be aware of the proposed expansion of Myanmar's
Hukawng Valley Wildlife sanctuary, which will triple the size of the sanctuary
on the Myanmar side to around 12,500 sq km. The expanded park boundary will
also run along the India-Myanmar international border south of Namdapha and
along the Patkai range in south eastern Arunachal Pradesh. The combined protected
/ conservation area from both sides will total around 14,000 sq km. This is
a welcome development for both countries and wildlife lovers as it can open
up cross-border conservation initiatives. Many of you will recall Hukawng Valley
also being home to several species of flora and fauna including tiger, elephant,
gaur, dhole, clouded leopard, various primates, birds and also the recently
discovered leaf deer etc. Once the Hukawng Valley park is enlarged it will also
become the world's largest tiger reserve.
If anyone in NE India or elsewhere has further information on this, please post.
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2004 07:45:46 PM
]
MANGALORE: The Karnataka State Forest Department has recently taken up several
habitat manipulation activities in Kudremukh National Park (KNP) harmful to
the natural ecosystem of the rainforests. The forest department is forming a
series of bunds across the natural streams in KNP, spending lakhs of rupees
of central funds in the guise of soil and water conservation project. Another
reason being given by the forest departtment for the works is employment generation!
It is estimated that more than 12,000 mts of bunds are being constructed at
various locations in the Park across most of the fresh water streams in KNP.
These bunds are additional to the hundreds of bunds already constructed during
the earlier years. Total of 50,000 bunds and 20 large check dams were formed
upto the year 1999 as per the first management plan for KNP, several large trees
were submerged and killed due to water logging around these check dams (see
pic).
Conservationists G N Ashokavardhana from Arohana and Dr Krishnamohan Prabhu
from Western Ghats Forum for Conservation of Natural Ecosystem (WG FORCE), Moodbidri,
say that applying concepts of water conservation measures which were primarily
evolved for dry states like Rajasthan in the rainforests of the Western Ghats
were hundreds of perennial streams originate is completely unscientific. They
also point out that the forest department is also planting thousands of saplings
on the natural grassland vegetation of the Park altering the natural forest
composition of the Park. The extensive acacia plantations made earlier by the
department is now acknowledged by everyone that it has negative effects on natural
ecosystems.
The Park is seen as a living laboratory for biologists and nature lovers. The
recent plantation activities by the department is seen as an attempt to disrupt
the natural evolution process of these sensitive ecosystems. Ecologists and
conservationists have consistently appealed to the forest department that such
habitat manipulation activities are completely unscientific, unwarranted and
a waste of public money.
At a time when there is severe shortage of funds for protection activity and
lower level field staff welfare, diverting money into such unnecessary habitat
manipulation activities is more often damaging to wildlife rather than improving
it. They have appealed to the government to stop such non scientific habitat
manipulation practices from wildlife reserves and focus on protection, wildlife
habitat consolidation and wildlife corridor recovery programs to conserve our
endangered natural ecosystems for posterity. Conservator of Forests R Sugara
told The Times of India that the works were being carried out as per the centrally
sanctioned development project. He did not offer any convincing reply regarding
the need for such measures in KNP, but added that it was only to a limited extent.
Whether state board for Wildlife had given the sanction, Sugara claimed the
management project had been approved by the state Chief widlife warden.
Pointing out at the Naxalite problem which had surfaced reently, he said this
would also generate employment and minimise intrusion of `outsiders' into the
park. When asked whether the park should be used as employment generation tool,
he said the priority is conservation and the works will generate employment
and also act as fire retardants (the conservation measures).
C/o Kalpavriksh
Apt. 5, Sri Dutta Krupa,
908 Deccan Gymkhana,
Pune 411004 India
Tel: + 91 20 25654239 / 25675450 Fax: 25654239
Email: pankajs@vsnl.com