Back
News
Next

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.

Top

 

 

 

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


Top

 

 

 

 

Fire destroys Bhadra wildlife sanctuary

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.

Top

 

 

 

 

1 billion Farmers Destroying Environment.

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.

 

Top

 

Oil & Gas Firms Threaten Sunderbans

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.

Top

 

Western Ghats forest ranges rich in wildlife too

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

Top

 

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

Top


Kokkare Bellur as tourist spot may spell doom for birds

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.

Top

India-Myanmar (Hukawyn-Namdapha)


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.

Top

Habitat manipulation in Kudremukh

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

Top

 
Email
Sahyadri
ENVIS
Energy
GRASS
CES
IISc
Email