NatureNews
NatureNews - A WWF digest of environment news on the Internet
NatureNews for the week ending September 7, 2007. To subscribe to NatureNews, please write to Library.
Environment - General
WWF partners with Marks & Spencer on eco-plan
Under a new partnership, WWF will support a plan by Marks & Spencer that aims to combat climate change, reduce waste and safeguard natural resources. Known as Plan A, the British retailer has committed to making its operations in the UK and Republic of Ireland carbon neutral, sending no waste to landfill and significantly extending sustainable sourcing by 2012. “We are taking bold action already within our own business, although we have a long way to go," said Stuart Rose, Chief Executive of Marks & Spencer. "We have also promised to reach out to our customers, our staff and our suppliers to help them to take action to reduce their own environmental impact. We have already made some real inroads here, but we are delighted that we can now accelerate this process with expert support and advice from WWF.” For more: http://www.panda.org/news_facts/newsroom/index.cfm?uNewsID=112500
WWF-Pakistan invites nominations for 2008 awards
Director of WWF-Pakistan Hammad Naki Khan said that factories should get enlisted in Pakistan Environmental Reporting Awards (PERA) that would be held in April 2008. He addressed an information session on submitting reports for the awards, organised by Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and WWF. Hammad said WWF was functional in more than 130 countries to preserve nature and water habitats, and had joined hands with ACCA to protect Pakistan’s environment by encouraging industries through PERA. He said unfortunately the government’s policies including the Environment Protection Act 1997 could not be implemented the way it was meant to even though it was needed. ACCA’s head of Education and Policy Development Dr Afra Sajjad said PERA had been established to spot out organisations that reported their actions’ environmental and social impacts. She said PERA started in 2001 and had grown tremendously because it was the Ministry of Environment and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) were endorsing it. The awards had provided motivation to Pakistan’s corporate sector to report their environmental, social and sustainable activities in a formal manner and be acknowledged for their achievements. She said the aim of the awards was to identify and reward innovative attempts to communicate corporate performance and to reward transparency in environmental, social and sustainability reporting. For more: http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007%5C08%5C29%5Cstory_29-8-2007_pg7_42
Joint plan to protect Nilgiri biosphere
Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala are expected to come out with a joint action plan to protect the Nilgiri biosphere, and, in particular, the wildlife therein. The Union Government funds the efforts at protecting the Nilgiri biosphere, and at present the three States independently receive funds for the conservation programmes. Though the three States enjoyed a common boundary along the Wayanad, Bandipur-Nagarahole and Mudumalai ranges, they do not share a common approach to protecting the biosphere, resulting in poachers of one region operating in the protected areas of the other. For more: http://www.hindu.com/2007/09/03/stories/2007090360541000.htm
Conservationists vs. conservation
Even as the tiger crisis makes the headlines, conservationists should be doing all they can to garner greater public support for wildlife conservation. Instead, we are making many more enemies. Across the country in dozens of sites, the fragile livelihoods that communities living within forests have carved out for themselves are being snatched away by insensitive conservation laws and programmes. The people, who have for centuries considered forests their mother, are being alienated from them. In March this year, there were reports of widespread forest fires in the Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary (BRT WLS), in Karnataka. Once famous as the hideout of Veerappan, BRT WLS is a stronghold of the elephant and other wildlife, as also home to a few thousand Soliga adivasis. Newspaper reports cited forest officials blaming these adivasis for the fires, suggesting that they were probably taking out their anger on the government for having banned collection of non-timber forest produce (NTFP). For more: http://www.hindu.com/mag/2007/08/26/stories/2007082650030200.htm
Climate Change & Energy
Targets Agreed for Greenhouse Emissions in Post-Kyoto Era
Delegates to a United Nations climate conference from 158 nations have reached broad agreement on a range of targets for greenhouse gas emissions cuts in an effort to lower the risk of global warming. The target would apply after the current global framework for managing climate change, the Kyoto Protocol, expires in 2012. A group of industrialized countries bound by the protocol agreed that emissions should be reduced by 25 to 40 percent below 1990 levels to avoid the worst effects of climate change - such as frequent and severe droughts and water shortages in large parts of the world. At the conclusion of the conference, UN climate officials said the target would guide talks at the major international climate summit to be held in December in Bali, Indonesia. For more: http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/aug2007/2007-08-31-01.asp
WWF says Asia-Pacific coal rush worsens global warming
Growing dependence on cheap coal to power rapid economic growth in the Asia-Pacific could undermine efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that is blamed for harmful changes in the world's climate, experts said. Between 2001 and 2006, coal use around the world grew by an unprecedented 30 percent. Asia, led by China, accounted for almost 90 percent of the growth, the WWF said at the launch of a climate change report in Sydney. "The Asia Pacific region is at a critical moment with regard to coal use, and is grappling with the difficult question of how to balance burgeoning energy needs with the well-being of the planet and local communities," the WWF report said. Coal, the most abundant conventional fossil fuel, is responsible for a quarter of the world's total carbon emissions. According to the International Energy Association, economic growth in India and China will account for 70 percent of the increase in global coal consumption by 2030, primarily in the electricity and industrial sectors. The WWF said coal related carbon emissions increased by 31 percent between 1990 and 2004. If left unchecked, global coal related emissions will increase by 63 percent by 2030, compared to required greenhouse gas reductions of about 50 percent by 2050 to keep climate change at manageable levels. For more: http://uk.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUKSYD2879720070904
Climate Change And Its Impact On Developmental Activities
Climate change due to rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is one of the most serious environmental concerns of our time. General expansion of economic activity, increased population and use of fossil fuels are responsible for man-made emission of Green House Gases (GHG). To address the problem posed by Climate Change the International community has set up the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1992, based on the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities of countries". The objective of UNFCCC is to stabilize GHGs concentration in the atmosphere to prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. Later in the year 1997, Parties adopted the Kyoto Protocol which sets legally binding targets for GHG reductions by industrialized countries during "first commitment period", 2008-2012, totaling 5.2% below their aggregate 1990 emissions. The projected climatic change indicates adverse impacts on developing countries in many ways resulting in changes in frequency, duration and intensity of extreme events such as heat waves and heavy precipitation events. Climate change would also increase the threats to human health due to increase in vector borne diseases. The impacts of climate change would fall disproportionately upon developing countries and would further exacerbate inequities in health status, access to food, clean water and other resources. India in particular is seriously concerned about the climate change because of its dependency on climate sensitive sectors like agriculture and forestry for livelihoods. For more: http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=30757&kwd=
Dryland farmers and climate change
This year, the global community was alarmed by the prospects of global warming and climate change when the former United States Vice President Al Gore’s movie, The Inconvenient Truth, won the Academy Award. The movie sparked debates, but more importantly, brought global attention to the issue of climate change. At the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), we believe climate change will make dryland agriculture even more risk-prone especially in the developing world. Thus, for farmers struggling under the burden of cultivating land under the ever-present threat of drought, floods, mid-season dry spells, land degradation, and water scarcity, such problems associated with climate change will have to be answered more frequently. Unless the livelihoods and resource base of such vulnerable rural communities can be made more resilient, coping with climate change may be next to impossible for poor dryland farming communities. Working over decades with poor farmers in the drylands of Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, ICRISAT’s research shows that a combined effort to deal with current climate uncertainty, land degradation, and water scarcity is the only way by which the resilience of these communities can be brought about. For more: http://www.hindu.com/2007/08/30/stories/2007083055871100.htm
Forest & Biodiversity
A walk in the woods
Lean and sprightly with a penetrating eye, 63-year-old areca (supari) farmer and retired university professor Mahabaleshwar Narayana Hegde, affectionately known as “MNH”, leads the way through young forest trees and newly-sprung grasses i n the Belekal Reserve Forest range at Gubbigadde, about 16 km from Sirsi in Karnataka’s Uttar Kannada district. A loud whooping bird-call rings through the trees; MNH whoops back in reply, and grins at my questioning face. “Someone out there in the forests is wanting to know if he has company”, explains MNH. “This is our system of communication in the forests.” Belekal’s forests, though muggy and steamy, resemble deep woods instead of the dense overgrowth of the jungles of tropical rainforests. The reason is soon clear. “All this that you see,” says MNH with a wide sweep of his arms, “has been left to regenerate these last 30 years, since ‘Appiko’ began.” The Appiko (“to embrace”) movement, started on September 8, 1983 by fiery activist Pandurang Hegde who was inspired by Sunderlal Bahugana’s Chipko movement in U.P., used the same method of villagers hugging the trees to save them from being felled by the State, which had no laws then against felling of timber inside protected areas. Appiko saved thousands of trees in the Sirsi belt and through protective action from 1983 to 1990 in various Western Ghat forests from Kodagu to Uttar Kannada districts saved trees from being felled and was responsible for the setting up of laws prohibiting timber felling in reserve forests in Karnataka. For more: http://www.hindu.com/mag/2007/09/02/stories/2007090250090400.htm
Marine & Oceans
HSBC Program To Help Rare Dolphin In Yangtze River
WWF says the reported sighting of a Yangtze River dolphin, or baiji, means there is still a chance to protect cetaceans in the Yangtze from extinction through a program established with HSBC. The Chinese media reported that a local businessman in Tongling City in Anhui Province filmed "a big white animal" with his digital camera on August 19. The footage was later confirmed to be a baiji by Professor Wang Ding, a leading scientist in baiji study at the Institute of Hydrobiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. It is the first baiji reportedly found in the Yangtze since a scientific expedition last year, during which no single baiji was spotted. "The finding of baiji proved our thoughts and presents a last hope to save the species with strengthened measures," said Dr. Zhu Jiang, senior programme officer at WWF-China's Wuhan Office. "The protection strategies and action plan will be implemented under the WWF-HSBC programme to conserve the baiji and the Yangtze together with related stakeholders." For more: http://www.chinacsr.com/2007/09/04/1655-hsbc-program-to-help-rare-dolphin-in-yangtze-river/
Wildlife & Endangered Species
Rarest elephants protection plans
Scientists helping protect the smallest and rarest elephants in the world are hoping to set up a fieldwork centre on the island of Borneo. The Bornean elephant is only found in the northern part of the island and was recognised as a new subspecies in 2003. Cardiff University has also studied orang-utans in the Malaysian state of Sabah, Borneo, for several years. The rainforest where both species live has been damaged by logging and the growth of oil palm plantations. The elephants live in the Kinabatangan flood plain in Sabah and there are thought to be around 1,500- 2,000 in the wild. For more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/6963064.stm
Indonesia seeks plan to save rare tigers, elephants
More than 100 experts and officials met in Indonesia to try to draft an action plan to save Sumatran elephants and tigers threatened with extinction. Satellite images show large areas of lowland tropical forests, the primary habitat for elephants and tigers, have been cleared on Sumatra island mainly due to farming and logging, the WWF conservation group said. Between 1990 and 2000, a total of 8 million hectares (20 million acres) of lowland forests have been lost to development, the group said. Shrinking habitats have led to conflicts with humans, resulting in the deaths of 42 people and 100 elephants between 2002 and 2007, said the group. "Immediate action is needed to save threatened tigers and elephants and increasing conflicts between people and the animals," WWF Indonesia spokeswoman Desmarita Murni said. For more: http://www.enn.com/animals/article/22456
Captive bounty
With all the playfulness of a litter of kittens, half a dozen giant pandas in the pen swat at each other in between mouthfuls of bamboo. These are sub-adults — about a year-old, part of a generation of panda baby boomers — born last year. The Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Base, where the cubs are on display, boasted a record 12 newborn animals in 2006, all of whom survived. To put this number in perspective, the total number of captive panda births in China in 2005 was 12 and only nine in 2000. The Chengdu base, China’s second largest breeding centre for pandas, was not alone in enjoying a bounty of babies last year. Countrywide, 34 cubs were born in captivity in 2006, 30 of which survived bringing China’s current population of captive-bred giant pandas to 220. With so many animals being born, experts say that the panda — for decades the symbol of the world’s most endangered species — is well on the path out of critical danger. The Chinese Government has set a target of 300 for the population of captive-born pandas over the next few years. This, according to Hou Rong, a senior researcher at the Chengdu base, will be enough to allow the captive-born panda population to be self-sustaining and thus guarantee species survival for several decades to come. Hou explains that the improved breeding and fostering techniques have enabled the burgeoning panda population at the Chengdu base. The techniques have advanced to the point where more than 60 per cent of female pandas in captivity now give birth regularly, up from a mere 33 per cent in the 1990s. The survival rate of cubs has also more than doubled over the last decade to around 70 per cent. For more: http://www.hindu.com/mag/2007/08/26/stories/2007082650020200.htm
Illegal wildlife trade grows in India
India's illegal wildlife trade is growing with crime syndicates making millions of dollars from the killing, smuggling and selling of rare animals like tigers, the head of a wildlife watchdog said. "The situation regarding the illegal trade in wildlife parts in India is very grim," Samir Sinha, head of TRAFFIC India, the wildlife trade monitoring arm of WWF and the World Conservation Union (IUCN), told Reuters in an interview. "It is a vast, a varied trade ranging from smuggling of rare medicinal plants to butterflies to peafowls to tigers and it is difficult to predict how big it is, but the threats and dimensions suggest that the trade is increasing." The tiger is facing the threat of extinction with early results from a new census suggesting there could be as few as 1,500 tigers left in India, compared to a century ago when there were around 40,000. Leopards, rhinos, reptiles, birds and insects as well as rare species of trees and plants are also being smuggled into southeast Asian countries and China. For more: http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSDEL8332720070817
Corpus fund to protect Asiatic Lions
The Gujarat Government has created a corpus fund for the protection of the Asiatic Lions at its only abode — the Gir sanctuary in Junagadh district of the Saurashtra region in the state. Stunned by the recent series of incidents of poaching of the Gir lions, the State Government has initiated the measure particularly to blunt the criticism of the animal lovers who want a part of the lion population to be shifted to Madhya Pradesh for the safety of the species threatened with extinction. According to an official spokesman of the State Government, the corpus fund has been initiated with an initial allocation of Rs. five lakh per annum to provide rewards to the local population to encourage them to cooperate with the government machinery, or fight against the illegal poachers to save the animal. The spokesman admitted that the amount allocated was inadequate for the huge sanctuary covering over a 1,400 square kilometre area, but said the funds could be readjusted as and when necessary. For more: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/09/02/stories/2007090255960900.htm
Bishnois guard wildlife with ferocity
As one drives out of Jodhpur, the barren brown topography turns to green.
It's the first hint that it's the land of the Bishnois, a sect that started there hundreds of years ago and now has followers in Haryana Punjab and Madhya Pradesh. The name Bishnoi, a corrupted form of the Hindi word for 29, comes from the number of rules or teachings that every Bishnoi must follow. The dirt track that Salman Khan and his friends drove down one September night in 1998, looking for game among the hundreds of Chinkaras and blackbucks that roam these fields, are owned by farmers like Mange Ram. ''There are so many animals that shelter here. We protect them. That is our way of life. If someone comes here to shoot, we beat them up. It's good that Salman is in jail. This will forever cure him of the hunting habit and send a message to others,'' said Mange Ram, Farmer. It was farmers like him who chased Salman Khan's car that night. And it is this compassion for animals that makes Bishnoi villages a haven for wildlife, dwindling elsewhere in Rajasthan. For more: http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20070024488&ch=8/31/2007%209:18:00%20AM
Guardians of nature
In an effort to protect the fast dwindling wildlife population in the Sahyadri range, a group of volunteers are working tirelessly to spread awareness on the importance of wildlife conservation. Karnataka's wildlife is fast dwindling. But driven by sincere work and sheer conviction, a few naturalists and trekkers are fighting for what is left. A few volunteers from an organisation called ‘Green Earth’ are silently working for the conservation of evergreen forests and wildlife in the Karnataka-Goa border. These volunteers are moving from village to village in the Western Ghats region, spreading awareness about wildlife conservation and its importance. Trekking this belt of around 250 km several times in the last two decades has made these volunteers tough. The 250-km-long stretch of Sahyadri, a hill range in Belgaum and Karwar districts, includes Western slopes, crest hills and around 150 villages. The forests in this stretch harbour many endangered species comprising Black Panther, Tiger, Gaur, Elephant, Leopard, Sloth Bear Dhole, etc. The Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary, Anashi National Park, Katigao and Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary of Goa come under this belt. For more: http://www.deccanherald.com/Content/Sep42007/spectrum2007090323148.asp
Asiatic black bear near extinction in Iran
Asiatic black bear, a rare species of fauna, can be found in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan and is one of two distinct species of bears living in Iran. The habitat of black bear is southeast Iran, particularly Kerman, Sistan-Baluchestan and Hormuzgan provinces. This rare species lives particularly in mountainous and forest areas. Black bear is omnivorous and its diet is mostly honey, insects, small vertebrates, invertebrates and different kinds of fruits. According to UN classification, Iran`s black bear is on the verge of extinction and it might be completely wiped out in the near future. The only way to save the black bear is by preparing conditions for their reproduction. This rare species can be found in the protected forest area of Pouzak in Nikshahr. For more: http://www.iranmania.com/News/ArticleView/Default.asp?NewsCode=53814&NewsKind=Current%20Affairs
NHAI projects to ensure safe wildlife passage
Public-private partnership has now made a foray into wildlife conservation. The decades-old national highway passing in the elephant-rich area of Rajaji National park between Haridwar and Dehradun has been infamous as a killing ground for the pachyderms. But the modern highway that has to be constructed on a build, operate and transfer (BOT) basis will have two exclusive elephant corridors. The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has sought the National Wildlife Board's clearance to build two 750-metre-long flyovers in the Rajaji National Park stretch of the Delhi-Dehradun highway. The area below flyovers will be ''elephant corridors'' that will at least reduce danger posed to them while crossing road. ''The Uttranchal government wanted some steps to be taken for the safety of everyone — elephants and road users. We have now sought the Wildlife Board's clearance for these two flyovers. Once the Supreme Court also clears it, these would be bid out,'' said a senior official. For more:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Business/India_Business/NHAI_projects_to_
ensure_safe_wildlife_passage/articleshow/2312948.cms
Various Steps Including International Cooperation For Protection Of Tigers
Various steps including International Cooperation with Nepal have been implemented to protect tigers. The initiatives taken by the Government of India for conservation of wild animals including tiger consists of Legal steps, administrative steps and financial steps. Under Legal steps Amendment of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 for providing enabling provisions for constitution of the National Tiger Conservation Authority and the Tiger and Other Endangered Species Crime Control Bureau comes into force. The punishment in cases of offence within a tiger reserve has been enhanced. The Act also provides for forfeiture of any equipment, vehicle or weapon that has been used for committing any wild life offence. Administrative steps includes .Strengthening of anti-poaching activities, including special strategy for monsoon patrolling, by providing funding support to Tiger Reserve States, as proposed by them, for deployment of anti-poaching squads involving ex-army personnel / home guards, apart from workforce comprising of local people, in addition to strengthening of communication / wireless facilities. Constitution of the National Tiger Conservation Authority with effect from 4.09.2006, for strengthening tiger conservation by, inter alia, ensuring normative standards in tiger reserve management, preparation of reserve specific tiger conservation plan, laying down annual / audit report before Parliament, constituting State level Steering Committees under the Chairmanship of Chief Ministers and establishment of Tiger Conservation Foundation. Constitution of a multidisciplinary Tiger and Other Endangered Species Crime Control Bureau (Wildlife Crime Control Bureau) with effect from 6.6.2007 comprising of officers from Police, Forest, Customs and other enforcement agencies to effectively control illegal trade in wildlife. In principle approval has been accorded for declaring eight new Tiger Reserves. For more: http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=30552&kwd=
Eco-tourism in national parks worries wildlife conservationists
The pristine backwaters of the Kabini, home to a variety of wildlife near Mysore, have been attracting nature lovers in hordes. But this increasing interest in eco-tourism among travellers has become a cause of concern for those involved in wildlife conservation, what with Bandipur and Nagarahole National Parks reaching their saturation point as far as tourism is concerned. While a few resorts were permitted to conduct wildlife safaris in the past, the Forest Department recently received several applications seeking permission. At present, over 10 eco-tourism resorts, including Jungle Lodges and Resorts, a State Government undertaking, are operating in the area, attracting a large number of tourists from India and abroad. Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF), Wildlife, I.B. Srivastav confirmed that he had received around five applications from the eco-tourism resorts operating in the Bandipur and Nagarahole area seeking permission to operate wildlife safaris in the tourism zones. “We have calculated the carrying capacity of the area, and it is almost reaching the maximum point,” he said. For more: http://www.hindu.com/2007/08/30/stories/2007083055360600.htm
Wildlife Act to be made stringent
The Salman Khan case may have hogged headlines but behind the scenes, the government is moving fast to strengthen provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, as well as improve enforcement against poaching and other wildlife crimes. The ministry of environment and forests is close to finalising amendments that will strengthen criminal provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act. At the same time, the first-ever meeting of the advisory board of the National Wildlife Crime Control Bureau will be held. The advisory board, constituted recently, is chaired by the director general (forests) and also has DIG level or above officers from the Narcotics Control Bureau and the Central Bureau of Investigation. The board, set up by the ministry, has also brought in expertise from outside the government by co-opting people from non-government institutions in the field. They include Sameer Sinha from Traffic India, Ashok Kumar from Wildlife Trust of India, Sanjay Upadhyay of Enviro Legal Defence Firm and Ashok Desai of Wildlife Protection Society of India, besides others. For more: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Wildlife_Act_to_be_made_stringent/
rssarticleshow/2338266.cms
Birds
Vulture population plummeted by third in past year (in Israel)
A recent survey of the population of wild vultures in the North (of Israel) suggests that the carrion eaters' numbers have dropped by 33 percent over the past year. Researchers say the birds may have been poisoned by local farmers. Israel Nature and Parks Authority (INPA) staff sighted only 85 vultures, compared to 130 in August, 2006. Ecologists working for the INPA attribute the drop to a succession of poisoning incidents by farmers in recent months. The farmers leave the poison out as bait to kill wolves that prey on the herds of cattle. The worst of the poisoning incidents apparently occurred in June, as nesting season was in full swing. Researchers found the carcasses of four adult birds and three vulture chicks in the area of the Gamla cliffs. For more: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/897833.html
Reptiles & Amphibians
New leap in amphibian research
The Centre for Environmental Management of Degraded Ecosystems (CEMDE) at the University of Delhi is taking up an ambitious project that can pitchfork research into the amphibian diversity of the Western Ghats onto a higher plane. The region is considered one of the hottest biodiversity hotspots in the world. The project, supported by the Department of Biotechnology, Union Ministry of Science and Technology, envisages developing DNA barcodes for the amphibian fauna of the Western Ghats, according to eminent frog scientist S.D. Biju, a reader at the CEMDE. With the development of the DNA barcode system, identification of new species of amphibians from this region will become easier, thereby opening doors to unknown information about the amphibian diversity of this region. Dr. Biju, who is the chief investigator for the project, had shot into international fame in 2003 with the discovery of Nasikabatrachus sahydrensis, a new species of frog belonging to a new family, which he and a Brussels-based evolutionary geneticist Franky Bossuyt had reported in the science journal Nature. Biologists worldwide had described that event as a “special, one-in-a-century find” because the previous discovery of a new family of frogs was way back in 1926. For more: http://www.hindu.com/2007/09/03/stories/2007090357052000.htm
3000 frogs recovered from smugglers in Assam
After big mammals like Rhinos, it is the turn of Bullfrogs in Assam to fall prey to the poachers and smugglers. Worst of all, the latest incident happened very close to the Kaziranga National Park. Not only the big mammals, the smugglers in Assam are concentrating on small amphibians also. Forest Department had to believe it after recovery of at least 3000 bull frogs, belonging to rare species of frogs, from a village close to the world famous Kaziranga National Park (KNP) on 29th of August. Toads were found lying abandoned aside National Highway 37 in 14 jute bags used for carrying rice. This is the single largest recovery of toads in India. Bags were found in Methoni tea garden, 7 kilometers away from Kaziranga, known for its century old Rhinoceres (Rhinoceres Unicornis, one horned Rhino found largely in Assam and rarely in West Bengal and Nepal) conservation history. The frogs have been identified as Indian Bullfrog, locally known as Bor Bhekuli or Brahmini (Hupal; Batracus tigerilus), listed as endangered amphibian in Red Data Book. Earlier, Guwahati city police had recovered 85 Bullfrogs from Guwahati Railway Station from a smuggler. When labourers of the tea estate noticed the abandoned bags they tried to ascertain what it was. As soon as they came to know that they were frogs, they informed Center for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) at Panbari near Kaziranga. CWRC informed the Park authorities accordingly. Ranger Dharanidhar Bodo and CWRC director Dr Anjan Talukdar rushed to the spot and rescued the toads. Later, they found more than 200 frogs in each bag when they were released in paddy fields in presence of KNP Director, S N Burhagohain, and Divisional Forest Officer, Bankim Sharma. For more: http://www.merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=126170
Wetlands, Rivers & Water
China Rivers Threaten Sixth of Population
Polluters along two of China's main rivers have defied a decade-old clean-up effort, leaving much of the water unfit to touch, let alone drink, and a risk to a sixth of the population, state media said. Half the check points along the Huai River and its tributaries in central and eastern China showed pollution of "Grade 5" or worse -- the top of the dial in key toxins, meaning that the water was unfit for human contact and may not be fit even for irrigation, national legislators were told. Years of crackdowns and waste treatment investment have reined in some of the worst damage to the Huai and Liao Rivers, but industrial pollution remained far too high, Mao Rubai, chairman of the National People's Congress environment and resources protection committee, said in a report. The rivers posed a "threat to the water safety of one sixth of the country's 1.3 billion population", the China Daily said. For more: http://www.enn.com/top_stories/article/22406
Glacial river faces pollution threat
The Sindh, Kashmir’s only glacial river and a major source of freshwater in the State, is facing an environmental threat on account of some 30 toilets built on its banks by the Army and a kennel farm set up by the kin of a Minister, allegedly without administrative approval. M. Saleem Beg, convener of the Jammu and Kashmir Chapter of the Indian National Trust for Art and Culture (INTACH), said these could have a severe impact on the river, which originates from the glaciers in the Himalayan ranges in the Sonamarg belt. In a letter to General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Srinagar-based 15 Corps Lt. Gen. A.S. Sekhon, he said the Army had built the toilets at Neel Grath, the nearest village where the glacial waters form the stream. There were other structures of the Army on the banks in the Sonamarg area “whose function and use could not be known as these could not be accessed.” Mr. Beg said the world over glacial waters are treated as a pristine and precious gift of nature. “Glacial waters are not just the property of the State. These belong to the world community.” He said that the Supreme Court and the Jammu and Kashmir High Court had forbidden human activity within 100 metres of the waterbodies. For more: http://www.hindu.com/2007/08/31/stories/2007083162992600.htm
Education
Youth inspires wildlife course- Darrang College and WWF join hands to immortalise conservationist
For some, a lifetime is not enough. And then there are those who manage to attain immortality at 31. Pankaj Sarmah, a Darrang College alumnus who chose to follow elephants when his classmates were busy pursuing career options to rake in the moolah, will have a department in his alma mater named after him as recognition of his conservation initiatives. Pankaj died of cerebral malaria last year and WWF-India, for which he worked, decided that starting a certificate course in wildlife conservation at Darrang College in his memory would be the best tribute. Armed with a Masters in zoology from Gauhati University, Sarmah had trudged down the North Bank Landscape trying to identify what made elephants and men so incompatible. The three-month certificate course on Wildlife Conservation in Assam in the department named after him will be a continuation of that very initiative. For more: http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070820/asp/northeast/story_8211230.asp
AWARD
Ullas Karanth wins Paul Getty Award
Ullas Karanth, wildlife biologist best known for his prolific research and writing on tigers, has been given the prestigious J. Paul Getty Award for Conservation Leadership for 2007, an annual award conferred to “honour outstanding contributions to international conservation.” Karnataka-based Dr. Karanth has spent much of his life working on protecting the dwindling tiger population of India, with special focus on the Nagarahole National Park. He is also the director of the Wildlife Conservation Society — India Program, which focuses on wildlife conservation through scientific research, national capacity building, policy interventions and site-based conservation. The Paul Getty prize includes a cash prize of $200,000 which will be used to establish fellowships to support postgraduate students in conservation-related fields at an institution of the winner’s choice. Source: http://www.hindu.com/2007/09/06/stories/2007090651740300.htm
EVENTS
Solar Energy Asia 2007; 16 - 19 October 2007; Singapore; http://www.terrapinn.com/2007/solar
12th World Lakes Conference; 28 Oct - 2 Nov 2007; Jaipur, India; http://www.taal2007.org/
Environmental Education towards A Sustainable Future: Partners for the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development; 26 November 2007; Ahmedabad, India; http://www.tbilisiplus30.org
10th International Symposium on Environmental Issues and Waste Management in Energy and Mineral Production; 11 December 2007; Bangkok, Thailand; http://www.mpes-cami-swemp.com
WWF partners with Marks & Spencer on eco-plan
Under a new partnership, WWF will support a plan by Marks & Spencer that aims to combat climate change, reduce waste and safeguard natural resources. Known as Plan A, the British retailer has committed to making its operations in the UK and Republic of Ireland carbon neutral, sending no waste to landfill and significantly extending sustainable sourcing by 2012. “We are taking bold action already within our own business, although we have a long way to go," said Stuart Rose, Chief Executive of Marks & Spencer. "We have also promised to reach out to our customers, our staff and our suppliers to help them to take action to reduce their own environmental impact. We have already made some real inroads here, but we are delighted that we can now accelerate this process with expert support and advice from WWF.” For more: http://www.panda.org/news_facts/newsroom/index.cfm?uNewsID=112500
WWF-Pakistan invites nominations for 2008 awards
Director of WWF-Pakistan Hammad Naki Khan said that factories should get enlisted in Pakistan Environmental Reporting Awards (PERA) that would be held in April 2008. He addressed an information session on submitting reports for the awards, organised by Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and WWF. Hammad said WWF was functional in more than 130 countries to preserve nature and water habitats, and had joined hands with ACCA to protect Pakistan’s environment by encouraging industries through PERA. He said unfortunately the government’s policies including the Environment Protection Act 1997 could not be implemented the way it was meant to even though it was needed. ACCA’s head of Education and Policy Development Dr Afra Sajjad said PERA had been established to spot out organisations that reported their actions’ environmental and social impacts. She said PERA started in 2001 and had grown tremendously because it was the Ministry of Environment and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) were endorsing it. The awards had provided motivation to Pakistan’s corporate sector to report their environmental, social and sustainable activities in a formal manner and be acknowledged for their achievements. She said the aim of the awards was to identify and reward innovative attempts to communicate corporate performance and to reward transparency in environmental, social and sustainability reporting. For more: http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007%5C08%5C29%5Cstory_29-8-2007_pg7_42
Joint plan to protect Nilgiri biosphere
Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala are expected to come out with a joint action plan to protect the Nilgiri biosphere, and, in particular, the wildlife therein. The Union Government funds the efforts at protecting the Nilgiri biosphere, and at present the three States independently receive funds for the conservation programmes. Though the three States enjoyed a common boundary along the Wayanad, Bandipur-Nagarahole and Mudumalai ranges, they do not share a common approach to protecting the biosphere, resulting in poachers of one region operating in the protected areas of the other. For more: http://www.hindu.com/2007/09/03/stories/2007090360541000.htm
Conservationists vs. conservation
Even as the tiger crisis makes the headlines, conservationists should be doing all they can to garner greater public support for wildlife conservation. Instead, we are making many more enemies. Across the country in dozens of sites, the fragile livelihoods that communities living within forests have carved out for themselves are being snatched away by insensitive conservation laws and programmes. The people, who have for centuries considered forests their mother, are being alienated from them. In March this year, there were reports of widespread forest fires in the Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary (BRT WLS), in Karnataka. Once famous as the hideout of Veerappan, BRT WLS is a stronghold of the elephant and other wildlife, as also home to a few thousand Soliga adivasis. Newspaper reports cited forest officials blaming these adivasis for the fires, suggesting that they were probably taking out their anger on the government for having banned collection of non-timber forest produce (NTFP). For more: http://www.hindu.com/mag/2007/08/26/stories/2007082650030200.htm
Climate Change & Energy
Targets Agreed for Greenhouse Emissions in Post-Kyoto Era
Delegates to a United Nations climate conference from 158 nations have reached broad agreement on a range of targets for greenhouse gas emissions cuts in an effort to lower the risk of global warming. The target would apply after the current global framework for managing climate change, the Kyoto Protocol, expires in 2012. A group of industrialized countries bound by the protocol agreed that emissions should be reduced by 25 to 40 percent below 1990 levels to avoid the worst effects of climate change - such as frequent and severe droughts and water shortages in large parts of the world. At the conclusion of the conference, UN climate officials said the target would guide talks at the major international climate summit to be held in December in Bali, Indonesia. For more: http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/aug2007/2007-08-31-01.asp
WWF says Asia-Pacific coal rush worsens global warming
Growing dependence on cheap coal to power rapid economic growth in the Asia-Pacific could undermine efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that is blamed for harmful changes in the world's climate, experts said. Between 2001 and 2006, coal use around the world grew by an unprecedented 30 percent. Asia, led by China, accounted for almost 90 percent of the growth, the WWF said at the launch of a climate change report in Sydney. "The Asia Pacific region is at a critical moment with regard to coal use, and is grappling with the difficult question of how to balance burgeoning energy needs with the well-being of the planet and local communities," the WWF report said. Coal, the most abundant conventional fossil fuel, is responsible for a quarter of the world's total carbon emissions. According to the International Energy Association, economic growth in India and China will account for 70 percent of the increase in global coal consumption by 2030, primarily in the electricity and industrial sectors. The WWF said coal related carbon emissions increased by 31 percent between 1990 and 2004. If left unchecked, global coal related emissions will increase by 63 percent by 2030, compared to required greenhouse gas reductions of about 50 percent by 2050 to keep climate change at manageable levels. For more: http://uk.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUKSYD2879720070904
Climate Change And Its Impact On Developmental Activities
Climate change due to rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is one of the most serious environmental concerns of our time. General expansion of economic activity, increased population and use of fossil fuels are responsible for man-made emission of Green House Gases (GHG). To address the problem posed by Climate Change the International community has set up the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1992, based on the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities of countries". The objective of UNFCCC is to stabilize GHGs concentration in the atmosphere to prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. Later in the year 1997, Parties adopted the Kyoto Protocol which sets legally binding targets for GHG reductions by industrialized countries during "first commitment period", 2008-2012, totaling 5.2% below their aggregate 1990 emissions. The projected climatic change indicates adverse impacts on developing countries in many ways resulting in changes in frequency, duration and intensity of extreme events such as heat waves and heavy precipitation events. Climate change would also increase the threats to human health due to increase in vector borne diseases. The impacts of climate change would fall disproportionately upon developing countries and would further exacerbate inequities in health status, access to food, clean water and other resources. India in particular is seriously concerned about the climate change because of its dependency on climate sensitive sectors like agriculture and forestry for livelihoods. For more: http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=30757&kwd=
Dryland farmers and climate change
This year, the global community was alarmed by the prospects of global warming and climate change when the former United States Vice President Al Gore’s movie, The Inconvenient Truth, won the Academy Award. The movie sparked debates, but more importantly, brought global attention to the issue of climate change. At the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), we believe climate change will make dryland agriculture even more risk-prone especially in the developing world. Thus, for farmers struggling under the burden of cultivating land under the ever-present threat of drought, floods, mid-season dry spells, land degradation, and water scarcity, such problems associated with climate change will have to be answered more frequently. Unless the livelihoods and resource base of such vulnerable rural communities can be made more resilient, coping with climate change may be next to impossible for poor dryland farming communities. Working over decades with poor farmers in the drylands of Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, ICRISAT’s research shows that a combined effort to deal with current climate uncertainty, land degradation, and water scarcity is the only way by which the resilience of these communities can be brought about. For more: http://www.hindu.com/2007/08/30/stories/2007083055871100.htm
Forest & Biodiversity
A walk in the woods
Lean and sprightly with a penetrating eye, 63-year-old areca (supari) farmer and retired university professor Mahabaleshwar Narayana Hegde, affectionately known as “MNH”, leads the way through young forest trees and newly-sprung grasses i n the Belekal Reserve Forest range at Gubbigadde, about 16 km from Sirsi in Karnataka’s Uttar Kannada district. A loud whooping bird-call rings through the trees; MNH whoops back in reply, and grins at my questioning face. “Someone out there in the forests is wanting to know if he has company”, explains MNH. “This is our system of communication in the forests.” Belekal’s forests, though muggy and steamy, resemble deep woods instead of the dense overgrowth of the jungles of tropical rainforests. The reason is soon clear. “All this that you see,” says MNH with a wide sweep of his arms, “has been left to regenerate these last 30 years, since ‘Appiko’ began.” The Appiko (“to embrace”) movement, started on September 8, 1983 by fiery activist Pandurang Hegde who was inspired by Sunderlal Bahugana’s Chipko movement in U.P., used the same method of villagers hugging the trees to save them from being felled by the State, which had no laws then against felling of timber inside protected areas. Appiko saved thousands of trees in the Sirsi belt and through protective action from 1983 to 1990 in various Western Ghat forests from Kodagu to Uttar Kannada districts saved trees from being felled and was responsible for the setting up of laws prohibiting timber felling in reserve forests in Karnataka. For more: http://www.hindu.com/mag/2007/09/02/stories/2007090250090400.htm
Marine & Oceans
HSBC Program To Help Rare Dolphin In Yangtze River
WWF says the reported sighting of a Yangtze River dolphin, or baiji, means there is still a chance to protect cetaceans in the Yangtze from extinction through a program established with HSBC. The Chinese media reported that a local businessman in Tongling City in Anhui Province filmed "a big white animal" with his digital camera on August 19. The footage was later confirmed to be a baiji by Professor Wang Ding, a leading scientist in baiji study at the Institute of Hydrobiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. It is the first baiji reportedly found in the Yangtze since a scientific expedition last year, during which no single baiji was spotted. "The finding of baiji proved our thoughts and presents a last hope to save the species with strengthened measures," said Dr. Zhu Jiang, senior programme officer at WWF-China's Wuhan Office. "The protection strategies and action plan will be implemented under the WWF-HSBC programme to conserve the baiji and the Yangtze together with related stakeholders." For more: http://www.chinacsr.com/2007/09/04/1655-hsbc-program-to-help-rare-dolphin-in-yangtze-river/
Wildlife & Endangered Species
Rarest elephants protection plans
Scientists helping protect the smallest and rarest elephants in the world are hoping to set up a fieldwork centre on the island of Borneo. The Bornean elephant is only found in the northern part of the island and was recognised as a new subspecies in 2003. Cardiff University has also studied orang-utans in the Malaysian state of Sabah, Borneo, for several years. The rainforest where both species live has been damaged by logging and the growth of oil palm plantations. The elephants live in the Kinabatangan flood plain in Sabah and there are thought to be around 1,500- 2,000 in the wild. For more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/6963064.stm
Indonesia seeks plan to save rare tigers, elephants
More than 100 experts and officials met in Indonesia to try to draft an action plan to save Sumatran elephants and tigers threatened with extinction. Satellite images show large areas of lowland tropical forests, the primary habitat for elephants and tigers, have been cleared on Sumatra island mainly due to farming and logging, the WWF conservation group said. Between 1990 and 2000, a total of 8 million hectares (20 million acres) of lowland forests have been lost to development, the group said. Shrinking habitats have led to conflicts with humans, resulting in the deaths of 42 people and 100 elephants between 2002 and 2007, said the group. "Immediate action is needed to save threatened tigers and elephants and increasing conflicts between people and the animals," WWF Indonesia spokeswoman Desmarita Murni said. For more: http://www.enn.com/animals/article/22456
Captive bounty
With all the playfulness of a litter of kittens, half a dozen giant pandas in the pen swat at each other in between mouthfuls of bamboo. These are sub-adults — about a year-old, part of a generation of panda baby boomers — born last year. The Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Base, where the cubs are on display, boasted a record 12 newborn animals in 2006, all of whom survived. To put this number in perspective, the total number of captive panda births in China in 2005 was 12 and only nine in 2000. The Chengdu base, China’s second largest breeding centre for pandas, was not alone in enjoying a bounty of babies last year. Countrywide, 34 cubs were born in captivity in 2006, 30 of which survived bringing China’s current population of captive-bred giant pandas to 220. With so many animals being born, experts say that the panda — for decades the symbol of the world’s most endangered species — is well on the path out of critical danger. The Chinese Government has set a target of 300 for the population of captive-born pandas over the next few years. This, according to Hou Rong, a senior researcher at the Chengdu base, will be enough to allow the captive-born panda population to be self-sustaining and thus guarantee species survival for several decades to come. Hou explains that the improved breeding and fostering techniques have enabled the burgeoning panda population at the Chengdu base. The techniques have advanced to the point where more than 60 per cent of female pandas in captivity now give birth regularly, up from a mere 33 per cent in the 1990s. The survival rate of cubs has also more than doubled over the last decade to around 70 per cent. For more: http://www.hindu.com/mag/2007/08/26/stories/2007082650020200.htm
Illegal wildlife trade grows in India
India's illegal wildlife trade is growing with crime syndicates making millions of dollars from the killing, smuggling and selling of rare animals like tigers, the head of a wildlife watchdog said. "The situation regarding the illegal trade in wildlife parts in India is very grim," Samir Sinha, head of TRAFFIC India, the wildlife trade monitoring arm of WWF and the World Conservation Union (IUCN), told Reuters in an interview. "It is a vast, a varied trade ranging from smuggling of rare medicinal plants to butterflies to peafowls to tigers and it is difficult to predict how big it is, but the threats and dimensions suggest that the trade is increasing." The tiger is facing the threat of extinction with early results from a new census suggesting there could be as few as 1,500 tigers left in India, compared to a century ago when there were around 40,000. Leopards, rhinos, reptiles, birds and insects as well as rare species of trees and plants are also being smuggled into southeast Asian countries and China. For more: http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSDEL8332720070817
Corpus fund to protect Asiatic Lions
The Gujarat Government has created a corpus fund for the protection of the Asiatic Lions at its only abode — the Gir sanctuary in Junagadh district of the Saurashtra region in the state. Stunned by the recent series of incidents of poaching of the Gir lions, the State Government has initiated the measure particularly to blunt the criticism of the animal lovers who want a part of the lion population to be shifted to Madhya Pradesh for the safety of the species threatened with extinction. According to an official spokesman of the State Government, the corpus fund has been initiated with an initial allocation of Rs. five lakh per annum to provide rewards to the local population to encourage them to cooperate with the government machinery, or fight against the illegal poachers to save the animal. The spokesman admitted that the amount allocated was inadequate for the huge sanctuary covering over a 1,400 square kilometre area, but said the funds could be readjusted as and when necessary. For more: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/09/02/stories/2007090255960900.htm
Bishnois guard wildlife with ferocity
As one drives out of Jodhpur, the barren brown topography turns to green.
It's the first hint that it's the land of the Bishnois, a sect that started there hundreds of years ago and now has followers in Haryana Punjab and Madhya Pradesh. The name Bishnoi, a corrupted form of the Hindi word for 29, comes from the number of rules or teachings that every Bishnoi must follow. The dirt track that Salman Khan and his friends drove down one September night in 1998, looking for game among the hundreds of Chinkaras and blackbucks that roam these fields, are owned by farmers like Mange Ram. ''There are so many animals that shelter here. We protect them. That is our way of life. If someone comes here to shoot, we beat them up. It's good that Salman is in jail. This will forever cure him of the hunting habit and send a message to others,'' said Mange Ram, Farmer. It was farmers like him who chased Salman Khan's car that night. And it is this compassion for animals that makes Bishnoi villages a haven for wildlife, dwindling elsewhere in Rajasthan. For more: http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20070024488&ch=8/31/2007%209:18:00%20AM
Guardians of nature
In an effort to protect the fast dwindling wildlife population in the Sahyadri range, a group of volunteers are working tirelessly to spread awareness on the importance of wildlife conservation. Karnataka's wildlife is fast dwindling. But driven by sincere work and sheer conviction, a few naturalists and trekkers are fighting for what is left. A few volunteers from an organisation called ‘Green Earth’ are silently working for the conservation of evergreen forests and wildlife in the Karnataka-Goa border. These volunteers are moving from village to village in the Western Ghats region, spreading awareness about wildlife conservation and its importance. Trekking this belt of around 250 km several times in the last two decades has made these volunteers tough. The 250-km-long stretch of Sahyadri, a hill range in Belgaum and Karwar districts, includes Western slopes, crest hills and around 150 villages. The forests in this stretch harbour many endangered species comprising Black Panther, Tiger, Gaur, Elephant, Leopard, Sloth Bear Dhole, etc. The Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary, Anashi National Park, Katigao and Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary of Goa come under this belt. For more: http://www.deccanherald.com/Content/Sep42007/spectrum2007090323148.asp
Asiatic black bear near extinction in Iran
Asiatic black bear, a rare species of fauna, can be found in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan and is one of two distinct species of bears living in Iran. The habitat of black bear is southeast Iran, particularly Kerman, Sistan-Baluchestan and Hormuzgan provinces. This rare species lives particularly in mountainous and forest areas. Black bear is omnivorous and its diet is mostly honey, insects, small vertebrates, invertebrates and different kinds of fruits. According to UN classification, Iran`s black bear is on the verge of extinction and it might be completely wiped out in the near future. The only way to save the black bear is by preparing conditions for their reproduction. This rare species can be found in the protected forest area of Pouzak in Nikshahr. For more: http://www.iranmania.com/News/ArticleView/Default.asp?NewsCode=53814&NewsKind=Current%20Affairs
NHAI projects to ensure safe wildlife passage
Public-private partnership has now made a foray into wildlife conservation. The decades-old national highway passing in the elephant-rich area of Rajaji National park between Haridwar and Dehradun has been infamous as a killing ground for the pachyderms. But the modern highway that has to be constructed on a build, operate and transfer (BOT) basis will have two exclusive elephant corridors. The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has sought the National Wildlife Board's clearance to build two 750-metre-long flyovers in the Rajaji National Park stretch of the Delhi-Dehradun highway. The area below flyovers will be ''elephant corridors'' that will at least reduce danger posed to them while crossing road. ''The Uttranchal government wanted some steps to be taken for the safety of everyone — elephants and road users. We have now sought the Wildlife Board's clearance for these two flyovers. Once the Supreme Court also clears it, these would be bid out,'' said a senior official. For more:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Business/India_Business/NHAI_projects_to_
ensure_safe_wildlife_passage/articleshow/2312948.cms
Various Steps Including International Cooperation For Protection Of Tigers
Various steps including International Cooperation with Nepal have been implemented to protect tigers. The initiatives taken by the Government of India for conservation of wild animals including tiger consists of Legal steps, administrative steps and financial steps. Under Legal steps Amendment of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 for providing enabling provisions for constitution of the National Tiger Conservation Authority and the Tiger and Other Endangered Species Crime Control Bureau comes into force. The punishment in cases of offence within a tiger reserve has been enhanced. The Act also provides for forfeiture of any equipment, vehicle or weapon that has been used for committing any wild life offence. Administrative steps includes .Strengthening of anti-poaching activities, including special strategy for monsoon patrolling, by providing funding support to Tiger Reserve States, as proposed by them, for deployment of anti-poaching squads involving ex-army personnel / home guards, apart from workforce comprising of local people, in addition to strengthening of communication / wireless facilities. Constitution of the National Tiger Conservation Authority with effect from 4.09.2006, for strengthening tiger conservation by, inter alia, ensuring normative standards in tiger reserve management, preparation of reserve specific tiger conservation plan, laying down annual / audit report before Parliament, constituting State level Steering Committees under the Chairmanship of Chief Ministers and establishment of Tiger Conservation Foundation. Constitution of a multidisciplinary Tiger and Other Endangered Species Crime Control Bureau (Wildlife Crime Control Bureau) with effect from 6.6.2007 comprising of officers from Police, Forest, Customs and other enforcement agencies to effectively control illegal trade in wildlife. In principle approval has been accorded for declaring eight new Tiger Reserves. For more: http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=30552&kwd=
Eco-tourism in national parks worries wildlife conservationists
The pristine backwaters of the Kabini, home to a variety of wildlife near Mysore, have been attracting nature lovers in hordes. But this increasing interest in eco-tourism among travellers has become a cause of concern for those involved in wildlife conservation, what with Bandipur and Nagarahole National Parks reaching their saturation point as far as tourism is concerned. While a few resorts were permitted to conduct wildlife safaris in the past, the Forest Department recently received several applications seeking permission. At present, over 10 eco-tourism resorts, including Jungle Lodges and Resorts, a State Government undertaking, are operating in the area, attracting a large number of tourists from India and abroad. Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF), Wildlife, I.B. Srivastav confirmed that he had received around five applications from the eco-tourism resorts operating in the Bandipur and Nagarahole area seeking permission to operate wildlife safaris in the tourism zones. “We have calculated the carrying capacity of the area, and it is almost reaching the maximum point,” he said. For more: http://www.hindu.com/2007/08/30/stories/2007083055360600.htm
Wildlife Act to be made stringent
The Salman Khan case may have hogged headlines but behind the scenes, the government is moving fast to strengthen provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, as well as improve enforcement against poaching and other wildlife crimes. The ministry of environment and forests is close to finalising amendments that will strengthen criminal provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act. At the same time, the first-ever meeting of the advisory board of the National Wildlife Crime Control Bureau will be held. The advisory board, constituted recently, is chaired by the director general (forests) and also has DIG level or above officers from the Narcotics Control Bureau and the Central Bureau of Investigation. The board, set up by the ministry, has also brought in expertise from outside the government by co-opting people from non-government institutions in the field. They include Sameer Sinha from Traffic India, Ashok Kumar from Wildlife Trust of India, Sanjay Upadhyay of Enviro Legal Defence Firm and Ashok Desai of Wildlife Protection Society of India, besides others. For more: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Wildlife_Act_to_be_made_stringent/
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Birds
Vulture population plummeted by third in past year (in Israel)
A recent survey of the population of wild vultures in the North (of Israel) suggests that the carrion eaters' numbers have dropped by 33 percent over the past year. Researchers say the birds may have been poisoned by local farmers. Israel Nature and Parks Authority (INPA) staff sighted only 85 vultures, compared to 130 in August, 2006. Ecologists working for the INPA attribute the drop to a succession of poisoning incidents by farmers in recent months. The farmers leave the poison out as bait to kill wolves that prey on the herds of cattle. The worst of the poisoning incidents apparently occurred in June, as nesting season was in full swing. Researchers found the carcasses of four adult birds and three vulture chicks in the area of the Gamla cliffs. For more: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/897833.html
Reptiles & Amphibians
New leap in amphibian research
The Centre for Environmental Management of Degraded Ecosystems (CEMDE) at the University of Delhi is taking up an ambitious project that can pitchfork research into the amphibian diversity of the Western Ghats onto a higher plane. The region is considered one of the hottest biodiversity hotspots in the world. The project, supported by the Department of Biotechnology, Union Ministry of Science and Technology, envisages developing DNA barcodes for the amphibian fauna of the Western Ghats, according to eminent frog scientist S.D. Biju, a reader at the CEMDE. With the development of the DNA barcode system, identification of new species of amphibians from this region will become easier, thereby opening doors to unknown information about the amphibian diversity of this region. Dr. Biju, who is the chief investigator for the project, had shot into international fame in 2003 with the discovery of Nasikabatrachus sahydrensis, a new species of frog belonging to a new family, which he and a Brussels-based evolutionary geneticist Franky Bossuyt had reported in the science journal Nature. Biologists worldwide had described that event as a “special, one-in-a-century find” because the previous discovery of a new family of frogs was way back in 1926. For more: http://www.hindu.com/2007/09/03/stories/2007090357052000.htm
3000 frogs recovered from smugglers in Assam
After big mammals like Rhinos, it is the turn of Bullfrogs in Assam to fall prey to the poachers and smugglers. Worst of all, the latest incident happened very close to the Kaziranga National Park. Not only the big mammals, the smugglers in Assam are concentrating on small amphibians also. Forest Department had to believe it after recovery of at least 3000 bull frogs, belonging to rare species of frogs, from a village close to the world famous Kaziranga National Park (KNP) on 29th of August. Toads were found lying abandoned aside National Highway 37 in 14 jute bags used for carrying rice. This is the single largest recovery of toads in India. Bags were found in Methoni tea garden, 7 kilometers away from Kaziranga, known for its century old Rhinoceres (Rhinoceres Unicornis, one horned Rhino found largely in Assam and rarely in West Bengal and Nepal) conservation history. The frogs have been identified as Indian Bullfrog, locally known as Bor Bhekuli or Brahmini (Hupal; Batracus tigerilus), listed as endangered amphibian in Red Data Book. Earlier, Guwahati city police had recovered 85 Bullfrogs from Guwahati Railway Station from a smuggler. When labourers of the tea estate noticed the abandoned bags they tried to ascertain what it was. As soon as they came to know that they were frogs, they informed Center for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) at Panbari near Kaziranga. CWRC informed the Park authorities accordingly. Ranger Dharanidhar Bodo and CWRC director Dr Anjan Talukdar rushed to the spot and rescued the toads. Later, they found more than 200 frogs in each bag when they were released in paddy fields in presence of KNP Director, S N Burhagohain, and Divisional Forest Officer, Bankim Sharma. For more: http://www.merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=126170
Wetlands, Rivers & Water
China Rivers Threaten Sixth of Population
Polluters along two of China's main rivers have defied a decade-old clean-up effort, leaving much of the water unfit to touch, let alone drink, and a risk to a sixth of the population, state media said. Half the check points along the Huai River and its tributaries in central and eastern China showed pollution of "Grade 5" or worse -- the top of the dial in key toxins, meaning that the water was unfit for human contact and may not be fit even for irrigation, national legislators were told. Years of crackdowns and waste treatment investment have reined in some of the worst damage to the Huai and Liao Rivers, but industrial pollution remained far too high, Mao Rubai, chairman of the National People's Congress environment and resources protection committee, said in a report. The rivers posed a "threat to the water safety of one sixth of the country's 1.3 billion population", the China Daily said. For more: http://www.enn.com/top_stories/article/22406
Glacial river faces pollution threat
The Sindh, Kashmir’s only glacial river and a major source of freshwater in the State, is facing an environmental threat on account of some 30 toilets built on its banks by the Army and a kennel farm set up by the kin of a Minister, allegedly without administrative approval. M. Saleem Beg, convener of the Jammu and Kashmir Chapter of the Indian National Trust for Art and Culture (INTACH), said these could have a severe impact on the river, which originates from the glaciers in the Himalayan ranges in the Sonamarg belt. In a letter to General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Srinagar-based 15 Corps Lt. Gen. A.S. Sekhon, he said the Army had built the toilets at Neel Grath, the nearest village where the glacial waters form the stream. There were other structures of the Army on the banks in the Sonamarg area “whose function and use could not be known as these could not be accessed.” Mr. Beg said the world over glacial waters are treated as a pristine and precious gift of nature. “Glacial waters are not just the property of the State. These belong to the world community.” He said that the Supreme Court and the Jammu and Kashmir High Court had forbidden human activity within 100 metres of the waterbodies. For more: http://www.hindu.com/2007/08/31/stories/2007083162992600.htm
Education
Youth inspires wildlife course- Darrang College and WWF join hands to immortalise conservationist
For some, a lifetime is not enough. And then there are those who manage to attain immortality at 31. Pankaj Sarmah, a Darrang College alumnus who chose to follow elephants when his classmates were busy pursuing career options to rake in the moolah, will have a department in his alma mater named after him as recognition of his conservation initiatives. Pankaj died of cerebral malaria last year and WWF-India, for which he worked, decided that starting a certificate course in wildlife conservation at Darrang College in his memory would be the best tribute. Armed with a Masters in zoology from Gauhati University, Sarmah had trudged down the North Bank Landscape trying to identify what made elephants and men so incompatible. The three-month certificate course on Wildlife Conservation in Assam in the department named after him will be a continuation of that very initiative. For more: http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070820/asp/northeast/story_8211230.asp
AWARD
Ullas Karanth wins Paul Getty Award
Ullas Karanth, wildlife biologist best known for his prolific research and writing on tigers, has been given the prestigious J. Paul Getty Award for Conservation Leadership for 2007, an annual award conferred to “honour outstanding contributions to international conservation.” Karnataka-based Dr. Karanth has spent much of his life working on protecting the dwindling tiger population of India, with special focus on the Nagarahole National Park. He is also the director of the Wildlife Conservation Society — India Program, which focuses on wildlife conservation through scientific research, national capacity building, policy interventions and site-based conservation. The Paul Getty prize includes a cash prize of $200,000 which will be used to establish fellowships to support postgraduate students in conservation-related fields at an institution of the winner’s choice. Source: http://www.hindu.com/2007/09/06/stories/2007090651740300.htm
EVENTS
Solar Energy Asia 2007; 16 - 19 October 2007; Singapore; http://www.terrapinn.com/2007/solar
12th World Lakes Conference; 28 Oct - 2 Nov 2007; Jaipur, India; http://www.taal2007.org/
Environmental Education towards A Sustainable Future: Partners for the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development; 26 November 2007; Ahmedabad, India; http://www.tbilisiplus30.org
10th International Symposium on Environmental Issues and Waste Management in Energy and Mineral Production; 11 December 2007; Bangkok, Thailand; http://www.mpes-cami-swemp.com
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