tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86375575012761907312012-01-19T17:25:04.415+05:30Because we are all at some crossroads all the timePANKAJ SEKHSARIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798223946431718400noreply@blogger.comBlogger2621100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637557501276190731.post-65530199271928272532011-11-25T16:14:00.000+05:302011-11-25T16:15:35.483+05:30Dear Friends,<br />Below is the list of contents and editorial from the new issue of the Protected Area Update (Vol. XVII, No. 6, December 2011).<br />If you would like to receive the entire issue as an attachment, please write to me.<br />thanks<br />Pankaj Sekhsaria<br />Editor, Protected Area Update<br />C/o Kalpavriksh<br /><br /><br />PROTECTED AREA UPDATE<br />News and Information from protected areas in India and South Asia<br /><br />Vol. XVII No. 6<br /> December 2011 (No. 94)<br /><br />LIST OF CONTENTS<br />EDITORIAL <br />A rich and diverse menu<br /><br />NEWS FROM INDIAN STATES<br />ANDAMAN & NICOBAR ISLANDS<br />- Navy proposes missile testing on Tillongchang WLS; NBWL to inspect site<br /><br />ANDHRA PRADESH<br />- Opposition to road inside Kambalakonda WLS<br />- More than 90 tigers at Nagarjuna Sagar Srisailam Tiger Reserve<br /><br />ARUNACHAL PRADESH<br />- NBWL sub-committee to study impact of Demwe Lower on Kamlang WLS<br /><br />ASSAM<br />- Villagers in Khalingduar Reserve Forest, adjoining Bornadi WLS perform Ganesh puja to keep jumbos at bay<br />- Dam projects to impact Dibru-Saikhowa NP; public hearing postponed indefinitely<br />- Home guards, casual workers protecting PAs not paid for seven months; quitting posts<br />- Kaziranga NP opens to tourists four days before schedule<br />- Two Malinoises (Belgian shepherd dogs) for anti-poaching operations at Kaziranga NP<br /><br />GOA<br />- Centre asks Goa to cancel nod to mines within 10 km radius of PAs<br /><br />GUJARAT<br />- Maldharis threaten agitation against eviction from Gir<br />- Forest officer transferred for stopping lion shows in Gir; challenges transfer order<br /><br />HIMACHAL PRADESH<br />- Sainj power project threatens Great Himalayan NP<br /><br />JAMMU & KASHMIR<br />- Hangul population on the rise<br />- Wildlife awareness camp conducted near Sudhmahadev Conservation Reserve<br /><br />JHARKHAND<br />- Elephant bridges to be built over canals in Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary<br />- Mushroom cultivation project initiated near Hazaribagh WLS<br /><br />KARNATAKA<br />- Greater Talacauvery NP opposed as it may displace more than two lakh people<br />- Nagarhole guards allege intimidation by kin of senior police official; threaten strike<br />- Extension of Bisile Reserve Forest range for creation of elephant corridor meets opposition<br />- More speed barriers on highways inside Bandipur National Park<br />- Move to restore night traffic through Bandipur Tiger Reserve<br />- Community forest rights for Soligas in the BRT Wildlife Sanctuary<br /><br />KERALA<br />- 45 frog species sighted in Shendurney WLS<br />- Ornithological survey of Malabar records 341 species<br />- 10 year, Rs. 58.8 crore tiger conservation plan for Parambikulam TR<br /><br />MADHYA PRADESH<br />- 25 tribal women to be trained as wildlife guides in Kanha TR<br /><br />MAHARASHTRA<br />- Farmers, villagers oppose Sahyadri Tiger Reserve<br /><br />MANIPUR<br />- Climate change threatens Keibul Lamjao NP<br /><br />MEGHALAYA<br />- Meghalaya claims 47 tigers in state: seeks detailed tiger survey<br /><br />ORISSA<br />- Crocodile attack leads to ban on collection of nalia grass from Bhitarkanika NP<br />- Housing projects coming up adjacent to Chandaka Wildlife Sanctuary<br /><br />RAJASTHAN<br />- FD to train Sariska TR villagers in wildlife protection<br />- Rs 5 crore, 5 year ‘Project Panther’ adjoining Kumbhalgarh WLS<br />- Water from Ajan Bund released for Keoladeo NP<br /><br />SIKKIM<br />- FD’s GPS mappings helped pilots in earthquake relief in Dzongu<br /><br />TAMIL NADU<br />- Sathyamangalam WLS expanded to 1410 sq kms<br /><br />WEST BENGAL<br />- Elephant calf killed by a train inside Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary<br />- State to get Rs 400 crore loan from JICA for wildlife conservation<br />- Honey bees, chilli crackers to scare away elephants in North Bengal<br />- Domestic elephant shelter in Jaldapara not safe from wild elephants<br /><br /><br />NATIONAL NEWS FROM INDIA <br />- Genetics helping to trace tiger poaching<br />- RBS Awards for wildlife conservation<br /><br />SOUTH ASIA <br />- Simultaneous tiger estimation in Manas across Indian, Bhutanese border<br /><br />NEPAL<br />- Invasive climber poses threat to Chitwan NP<br />SRI LANKA<br />- UNESCO seeks report on the alleged road through Sinharaja forests<br />- Kodigahakanda forest to be declared a wildlife sanctuary<br /><br />UPCOMING <br />- National Conference on Biodiversity Assessment, Conservation and Utilisation<br /><br />OPPURTUNITIES <br />- Openings with FERAL for work in the Western Ghats<br /><br />IN THE SUPREME COURT<br />READERS WRITE<br />PERSPECTIVE <br />- When students discuss conservation science<br /> <br />EDITORIAL<br /><br />- A rich and diverse menu -<br /><br />It is only a subjective assessment, but one can say with confidence that the PA Update this time has one of the most richly diverse set of stories that have appeared within the covers of one single issue of this bimonthly. The issue covers a period of about three months prior to its publication and yet one sees the range and diversity of subjects that wildlife conservation in India deals with. Many of these issues have been regularly covered in earlier editions of the PA Update, but what is striking this time is so many of them coming together in the way they have.<br /> There are stories from areas that have never been reported on before such as the Tillongchang Wildlife Sanctuary in the Nicobar Islands and the Sudhmahadev Conservation Reserve in J&K. The last few weeks have, for example, also seen the death of one elephant calf each in a train accident (again!) in Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary (WLS) and in a road accident in Bandipur National Park (NP). While the Karnataka Forest Department is planning more speed breakers on roads inside the park to prevent speeding vehicles, the Kerala government and the Centre are seeking to revoke the ban on night traffic in Bandipur imposed to prevent, precisely these kinds of accidents. In Andhra Pradesh, meanwhile, we have a situation where an NGO is opposing road construction inside Kambalakonda WLS for fear that it will increase encroachments inside.<br /> The plight of field staff in protected areas is seen again in Assam and also in the Nagarhole NP. Home Guards who are the frontline of protection have been deserting their posts in Assam in huge numbers because they’ve not been paid salaries for more than seven months. In Nagarhole they’ve been forced to threaten a strike because they are being intimidated by police and their kin because they are merely performing their duties. In Gujarat the Maldhari community is protesting moves to evict them from the Gir NP, while in a significant first in the Biligiri Rangan Temple WLS in Karnataka the Soliga tribals have been granted community forest rights under the provision of the Forest Rights Act. There is what might otherwise be called the quirky kind of news too – the domestic elephant shelter in Mahananda WLS not being safe from raids by wild elephants, villagers in the vicinity of Bornadi WLS in Assam performing Ganesh puja to keep the wild pachyderms at bay and Kaziranga NP being opened to tourists four days before schedule because of pressure from the tourists.<br /> There is good news as well – a reported increase in the population of the hangul in Kashmir and two encouraging results from surveys in Kerala – one on birds, the other on frogs. The most unexpectedly pleasant report however is one from Sikkim – GIS mapping done by the FD including that for PAs and wildlife conservation played a key role in helping helicopters of Army and other missions to locate, reach and then provide relief to remote communities that had been cut off due to the devastating earthquake of September 18, earlier this year.<br /> All of this is evidence, if any is needed indeed, that there is much much more to conservation in India than the obsession with certain charismatic species or certain issues, be it poaching or relocation of communities from protected areas. These too are important but if we are not aware of and don’t deal with this complexity and diversity, the solutions will never be found. There are also huge opportunities here for researchers, academics, policy makers, the media, and all the others who care about the fate of India’s wild wealth.<br />---<br />Protected Area Update<br />Vol. XVII, No. 6, December 2011 (No. 94)<br />Editor: Pankaj Sekhsaria;<br />Editorial Assistance: Reshma Jathar, Anuradha Arjunwadkar;<br />Illustrations: Madhuvanti Anantharajan, Peeyush Sekhsaria<br />Produced by:<br />The Documentation and Outreach Centre, Kalpavriksh<br />Ideas, comments, news and information may please be sent to the editorial address:<br />KALPAVRIKSH<br />Apartment 5, Shri Dutta Krupa, 908 Deccan Gymkhana, Pune 411004, Maharashtra, India.<br />Tel/Fax: 020 – 25654239.<br />Email: psekhsaria@gmail.com<br />Website: http://kalpavriksh.org/protected-area-update<br />---<br />Publication of the PA Update has been supported by<br /><br />- Foundation for Ecological Security (FES)<br /> http://fes.org.in/<br /><br />- Duleep Matthai Nature Conservation Trust<br /> C/o FES<br /><br />- MISEREOR<br />www.misereor.org<br /><br />- Donations from a number of individual supporters<br />---<br />Information has been sourced from different newspapers and<br /><br />http://indiaenvironmentportal.org.in<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8637557501276190731-6553019927192827253?l=pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>PANKAJ SEKHSARIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798223946431718400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637557501276190731.post-64162579365696510312011-09-28T17:09:00.000+05:302011-09-28T17:10:28.130+05:30Dear Friends,<br />Below is the list of contents and editorial of the new issue of the Protected Area Update (Vol XVII, No. 5, October 2011, (No. 93). If you would like to receive the entire newsletter in its soft copy form, please write to me. Please also do forward to others who might be interested in the Update.<br />Back issues of the PA Update can be accessed from www.kalpavriksh.org<br />I would also like to take this opportunity of requesting readers and well-wishers to support the PA Update through donations and subscriptions. All help, big or small is much appreciated and very welcome.<br /><br />thanks<br />Pankaj Sekhsaria<br />Editor, Protected Area Update<br />C/o Kalpavriksh<br /><br />PROTECTED AREA UPDATE<br />News and Information from protected areas in India and South Asia<br /><br />Vol. XVII No. 5 <br />October 2011 (No. 93)<br /><br />LIST OF CONTENTS<br />EDITORIAL <br />Giving the fruit bat it’s due<br /><br />NEWS FROM INDIAN STATES<br />GUJARAT<br />- Lesser Florican population declines in Gujarat<br />- FD to clear lantana from Gir<br />- Gujarat clears 17 proposals allowing commercial activities near protected areas<br />- Eco-sensitive zone around the Kutch Bustard Sanctuary<br /><br />JHARKHAND<br />- Special protection force for Palamau TR; no arms to be provided<br /><br />KARNATAKA<br />- No more private vehicles in PAs in Karnataka<br />- GO passed for Aghanashini Lion-Tailed Macaque Conservation Reserve<br /><br />KERALA<br />- KFRI studies human-elephant conflict in Kerala<br /><br />MADHYA PRADESH<br />- Adani’s power plant near Pench TR opposed<br /><br />MAHARASHTRA<br />- Rules for Tiger Conservation Foundations approved in Maharashtra<br />- NTCA seeks minor changes in TCP for Tadoba-Andhari TR<br />- Large scale promotion of IFS officers in Maharashtra<br />- SC clears denotification of Great Indian Bustard Sanctuary<br />- Maharashtra to set up task force for bustard conservation<br />- 200 acres from Sanjay Gandhi NP for zoo<br />- Leopard movement to be studied at SGNP to help deal with human-animal conflict<br />- A number of proposed dams in Thane district to impact Tansa WLS<br /><br />MEGHALAYA<br />- Survey on Western Hoolock Gibbon in Garo Hills<br />- Garo Hills Conservation Award 2011<br /><br />ORISSA<br />- Gahirmatha fisherfolk need to be involved in turtle conservation: Study<br /><br />PUNJAB<br />- Punjab to compensate snake-bite victims<br /><br />RAJASTHAN<br />- Officials reluctant to take charge at Sariska TR<br /><br />SIKKIM<br />- Hydro-power projects approved close to the Kanchenjungha National Park; local communities object<br /><br />TAMIL NADU<br />- Construction work threatens Annamalaicheri flamingo habitat in Pulicat<br />- Proposal to declare Pallikaranai marsh a Ramsar site<br /><br />UTTARAKHAND<br />- Uttarakhand opposes eco-sensitive zone along Bhagirathi river<br /><br />UTTAR PRADESH<br />- First elephant reserve in Uttar Pradesh<br />- 95% of UP’s Sarus cranes outside PAs<br /><br />WEST BENGAL<br />- Jaldapara WLS has at least three tigers<br /><br />NATIONAL NEWS FROM INDIA <br />- WCCB bags award for excellence in environmental crime enforcement<br />- New Tiger Reserves<br />- Ganges River Dolphin conservation education programme<br />- Cabinet committee approves reintroduction of cheetahs, more funds for Project Tiger<br />- Plea to remove vermin status for fruit bats<br />- Decline in the vulture population in the Nilgiri BR<br /><br />SOUTH ASIA <br />BANGLADESH<br />- Bangladesh to implement Taka 276 crore plan for tiger conservation<br /><br />BHUTAN<br />- Bhutan gets US $ 2.25 million from the World Bank for wildlife conservation<br /><br />NEPAL<br />- Proposal to allow hunting in the Kanchanjunga Conservation Reserve<br />- Gharial number rises in Nepal<br /><br />SRI LANKA<br />- Government denies reports of elephant translocation from Hambantota to host Commonwealth Games<br /><br />UPCOMING <br />- Small mammals field techniques training<br /><br />OPPURTUNITIES <br />- Call for proposals: Herpetological Conservation Research Fund<br />- Openings in the WWF Andhra Pradesh State Office<br />- Call for applications: Whitley Awards 2012<br /><br />IN THE SUPREME COURT<br /><br />Protected Area Network in India <br />Latest number of PAs in India<br /><br />PERSPECTIVE <br />Environment in the Marathi Press: Notes from a young freelance journalist<br /><br />EDITORIAL<br /><br />Giving the fruit bat it’s due<br /><br />Wildlife conservation in India, our wildlife conservation laws and policies are certainly not short of anachronisms of various kinds. One that stands out most prominently is the status accorded to fruit bats – that of vermin in the schedules of the Wild Life Protection Act (WLPA) since it’s inception in 1972.<br /> It is indicative not only of our anthropocentric attitude (any thing causing economic or other damage to humans is to be exterminated), it also betrays an unacceptable ignorance of the actual role these creatures play in nature. It has been believed for long that fruit bats cause considerable damage to horticultural crops, but research over the years has shown that they actually do more good than harm. 10 of the 13 species of fruit bats live only in forests and do not visit fruit orchards where they might cause any damage. They play a very important role in pollination and seed dispersal and are a vital cog in the forest regeneration mechanism. A couple of them are, in fact, even endangered and have been included in IUCN’s red data list.<br /> That it is not known beyond the small circle of bat enthusiasts that the United Nations has declared this as the ‘Year of the Bat’ is indicative of how much (or little) concern there is for these creatures. It is also only fitting, then, that this group of bat conservationists has launched an effort to set the record straight and get the situation corrected (see National Stories from India in this issue of the PA Update). More than a year ago, prominent bat experts associated with the IUCN had written to the Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) pointing out that India is the only country in the world where the fruit bat is considered a vermin and had requested for this to be changed. The editorial of the latest issue of Small Mammal Mail, a newsletter dedicated to the ‘most useful but most neglected small mammals’ (www.zooreach.org) like bats and rodents has also made an impassioned plea to rid rodents and bats of the vermin tag. It notes that the relevant government agencies have been addressed on numerous occasions in the matter, but nothing has come of it.<br /> This is, indeed, unfortunate and it’s high time that this much maligned but hugely useful and harmless creature is given it’s due. The least we can do is desist from blaming it for damage it is not responsible for!<br />---<br /><br />Protected Area Update<br />Vol. XVII, No. 5, October 2011 (No. 93)<br />Editor: Pankaj Sekhsaria<br />Editorial Assistance: Reshma Jathar, Anuradha Arjunwadkar<br />Illustrations: Madhuvanti Anantharajan<br />Produced by: The Documentation and Outreach Centre, Kalpavriksh<br /><br />Ideas, comments, news and information may please be sent to the editorial address:<br /><br />KALPAVRIKSH<br />Apartment 5, Shri Dutta Krupa, 908 Deccan Gymkhana, Pune 411004, Maharashtra, India.<br />Tel/Fax: 020 – 25654239.<br />Email: psekhsaria@gmail.com<br />Website: http://kalpavriksh.org/protected-area-update<br />---<br /><br />Publication of the PA Update has been supported by<br /><br />Foundation for Ecological Security (FES)<br /> http://fes.org.in/<br /><br />Duleep Matthai Nature Conservation Trust<br /> C/o FES<br /><br />MISEREOR<br />www.misereor.org<br /><br /><br />Donations from a number of individual supporters.<br /><br />Information has been sourced from different newspapers and<br />http://indiaenvironmentportal.org.in<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8637557501276190731-6416257936569651031?l=pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>PANKAJ SEKHSARIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798223946431718400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637557501276190731.post-5359073204983483462011-09-01T23:12:00.005+05:302011-09-01T23:16:29.513+05:30 <br />Dastkar Andhra brings cotton handloom fabrics from DAMA and readymade garments from daram in an exhibition at Apte Hall, Pune from September 22-24, 2011 <br /> <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xOBxYczASrg/Tl_E5mgCfeI/AAAAAAAAC7Q/aAAyNBFXdv8/s1600/pune%2Bexhib%2Bsept%2B2011.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 259px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xOBxYczASrg/Tl_E5mgCfeI/AAAAAAAAC7Q/aAAyNBFXdv8/s400/pune%2Bexhib%2Bsept%2B2011.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5647448951612407266" /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8637557501276190731-535907320498348346?l=pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>PANKAJ SEKHSARIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798223946431718400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637557501276190731.post-2474754291698943132011-07-31T20:23:00.001+05:302011-07-31T20:24:41.533+05:30Dear Friends,<br />Below is the list of contents of the new issue of the Protected Area <br />Update (Vol XVII, No. 4, August 2011). If you would like specific <br />stories of the entire newsletter please write to me at psekhsaria@gmail.com<br />Please also do forward to other relevant egroups and interested <br />individuals.<br />All back issues of the PA Update can be accessed at <br />http://kalpavriksh.org/protected-area-update<br /><br />Thanking you<br />Pankaj Sekhsaria<br />Editor, Protected Area Update<br />C/o Kalpavriksh<br />---<br /><br />PROTECTED AREA UPDATE<br />News and Information from protected areas in India and South Asia<br />Vol. XVII No. 4<br />August 2011 (No. 92)<br /><br />LIST OF CONTENTS<br />EDITORIAL <br />NEWS FROM INDIAN STATES<br /><br />ANDHRA PRADESH<br />- Kawal WLS to get TR tag<br /><br />ASSAM<br />- Brahmaputra threatens Orang NP<br />- Firing range inside Sonai Rupai WLS to stay<br />- School teacher held for rhino poaching in Pobitara<br />- Manas TR taken off World Heritage danger list<br />- Manas to get more Swamp deer<br />- NGOs express concern over illegal activities in Dibru Saikhowa NP<br /><br />CHANDIGARH<br />- First ever census at Sukhna WLS<br /><br />CHATTISGARH<br />- Centre seeks TR tag for Guru Ghasidas NP<br /><br />GUJARAT<br />- 28 housing projects proposed in the vicinity of Gir; hotels banned in <br />two km radius around the PA<br />- ESZs around four sanctuaries in Gujarat<br />- Leopard and Sloth bear count rises in Gujarat<br /><br />JAMMU & KASHMIR<br />- Hangul population on the rise<br />- Rs. 400 crores for restoration of Wullar Lake; two million willow <br />trees to be uprooted<br /><br />KARNATAKA<br />- In-principle approval for Kudremukh TR<br />- Transfer to tiger reserves result in staff shortage in other divisions <br />of the FD<br />- Court seeks standard rule for resorts near PAs<br /><br />KERALA<br />- Periyar and Parambikulam TRs adjudged among best five in the country<br />- Kerala farmers can kill wild boars<br /><br />MADHYA PRADESH<br />- Discord between Ramesh and Congress MPs over Ken-Betwa project<br /><br />MAHARASHTRA<br />- Census figures from Sanjay Gandhi NP and Tungareshwar WLS<br />- FD issues eviction notices to windmills in Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary<br /><br />RAJASTHAN<br />- Cheetal and sambhar to be relocated to PAs in Rajasthan<br />- Rajasthan government opens dialogue over cess with hoteliers around PAs<br />- Proposal to increase area of Tal Chappar WLS<br />- State wildlife board recommends water from Panchana dam for Keoladeo NP<br /><br />SIKKIM<br />- 300 Red pandas in Sikkim<br /><br />TAMIL NADU<br />- WCCB border unit at Ramanathapuram<br />- Coral mining sinks two islands in Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve<br />- Census of Nilgiri tahr in Grizzled Giant Squirrel Wildlife Sanctuary<br /><br />UTTAR PRADESH<br />- Three elephants electrocuted in Dudhwa NP<br /><br />WEST BENGAL<br />- North Bengal FD to set up animal hospital<br />- Protected area status proposed for Apalchand forest<br />- Increase in north Bengal elephant population<br /><br />NATIONAL NEWS FROM INDIA <br />- IAVP urges wildlife veterinary service<br />- NTCA committee on abandoned tiger cubs<br />- Tiger population to be monitored annually<br />- Nearly 450 tiger deaths in India in last 12 years: NTCA<br />- Nationwide online survey to find status of the Golden jackal<br /><br />SOUTH ASIA <br />- Workshop on dugong conservation in South Asia<br />BANGLADESH<br />- Award for Wildlife Trust of Bangladesh<br />NEPAL<br />- Genome-mapping of tigers in Nepal<br /><br />UPCOMING <br />- International Conference on Indian Ornithology - 2011<br />- 11th Conference of the Parties to the CBD to be held in Hyderabad in <br />October 2012<br />- 9th Indian Fisheries Forum<br />- Indian Forestry Congress 2011<br />- Student Conference on Conservation Science<br /><br />WHAT’S AVAILABLE <br />- India’s Environmental History<br />- Pocketful of Forests: Legal debates around compensation and valuation <br />of forest loss in India<br /><br />IN THE SUPREME COURT<br /><br />- List of PA diversions/denotification approved in the meeting of the <br />Standing Committee of the NBWL on April 25, 2011 <br /><br />SPECIAL SECTION<br />The Forest Rights Act, Protected Areas and Wildlife Conservation<br />KARNATAKA<br />- Workshop on community based conservation of BRT Sanctuary<br />ORISSA<br />- Community forest rights in PAs of Orissa<br />- Relocation of villages continues in Simlipal TR in violation of the FRA<br />NATIONAL NEWS<br />- Community Forest Rights under the provisions of the FRA and issues <br />related to protected areas.<br /><br />PERSPECTIVE <br />- Conservation issues are not easy to grasp! <br /><br />---<br />EDITORIAL<br /><br /><br />THE ENDURING TIGER OBSESSION<br /><br />India’s mainstream English print media is, as readers would have <br />noticed, the main source of news carried in the PA Update. About 90% of <br />the stories we carry come from the news reported in these newspapers <br />from around the country. If what the media carries can be considered a <br />barometer of the issues that concern India’s policy makers, wildlifers <br />and conservationists, it is evident that the obsession with the tiger <br />endures un-abated. In that sense the PA Update reflects the same as <br />well. On an average nearly 20% of every issue of the PA Update <br />(including this one) is related to issues of tiger conservation in <br />general and on tiger reserves in particular. It is a significant <br />statistic considering that tiger reserves (TRs) account for less than 8% <br />of the total number of protected areas in the country.<br /> There sure are convincing arguments in favour of the focus on the tiger <br />– it is at the top of the ecosystem and ensures protection for the <br />habitat and other species, that its charisma helps garner at least some <br />interest in and resources for conservation and it’s a great way to get <br />the general public and policy makers interested in wildlife in the first <br />place.<br /> This also does reinforce the often made point, however, that India is <br />obsessed with the tiger and this obsession comes at a cost. Every small <br />detail of tiger poaching, of the endless controversies over tiger <br />numbers, of what happens in a tiger reserve, of new proposals for TRs <br />and the need to relocate people to ensure tiger conservation is <br />religiously reported. This is in addition to the financial resources and <br />mindspace that gets dedicated to the tiger at the cost of almost <br />everything else.<br /> The same kind of sustained interest, for example, is rarely seen when <br />it involves other species such as the Great Indian Bustard, that is <br />certainly far more threatened than the tiger and where issues might <br />indeed be more complex. The less said of the less glamorous and <br />charismatic species such as insects, amphibians or plants, the better. <br />As far as the media is concerned, everything seems lost in the shadows <br />of the great cat.<br /> What is needed is to increase the focus on and coverage of other issues <br />and species, but not by reducing that of the tiger. It need not be the <br />one at the cost of the other, and this is a challenge that the media and <br />the wildlife conservation community, both, need to take up if the full <br />potential of the media is to be realized and conservation of India’s <br />increasingly threatened wilderness areas and wildlife communities is to <br />be best ensured.<br /><br />----<br />Protected Area Update<br />Vol. XVII, No. 4, August 2011 (No. 92)<br />Editor: Pankaj Sekhsaria<br />Editorial Assistance: Reshma Jathar, Anuradha Arjunwadkar<br />Illustrations: Madhuvanti Anantharajan<br />Produced by<br />The Documentation and Outreach Centre, Kalpavriksh<br />Ideas, comments, news and information may please be sent to the <br />editorial address:<br /><br />KALPAVRIKSH<br />Apartment 5, Shri Dutta Krupa, 908 Deccan Gymkhana, Pune 411004, <br />Maharashtra, India.<br />Tel/Fax: 020 – 25654239.<br />Email: psekhsaria@gmail.com<br />Website: http://kalpavriksh.org/protected-area-update<br />---<br />Publication of the PA Update has been supported by<br /><br />- Foundation for Ecological Security (FES)<br /> http://fes.org.in/<br />- Duleep Matthai Nature Conservation Trust<br /> C/o FES<br />- MISEREOR<br />www.misereor.org<br />- Donations from a number of individual supporters<br /><br />Information has been sourced from different newspapers and<br />http://indiaenvironmentportal.org.in<br />www.wildlifewatch.in<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8637557501276190731-247475429169894313?l=pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>PANKAJ SEKHSARIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798223946431718400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637557501276190731.post-53910559956113508802011-06-11T18:39:00.001+05:302011-06-11T18:41:53.456+05:30<span style="font-weight:bold;">Bawarias, Sekhsarias and wildlife crime in India</span><br /> by Pankaj Sekhsaria<br />http://www.openspaceindia.org/express/articles-a-essays/item/722.html<br /><br />Or...The story of how I became a wildlife criminal<br /><br />‘nathistory-india’ is an internet based e-discussion group on issues of natural history of South Asia, particularly India. It is an extremely active e-group with a wide subscription that includes stalwarts in the field of wildlife conservation: lawyers, researchers, activists, journalists, and many others who are passionately concerned and devoted to the idea of wildlife conservation.<br />I have myself been a member of this group for quite a while and believe that I have indeed made some valuable contributions to the discussions and the deliberations over the years. Things had been going on well till recently, and this particular story is of how matters took a sudden and unexpected turn in early April 2011. It started with the posting by a member informing of the conviction of a woman from the ‘Bawaria’ community for illegal trade in tiger parts. This started a chain of responses that went on for about six weeks and in which I ended up playing a key, and needless to say, ‘self-destructive’ role.<br />The first responses to the initial post were tentative suggestions from others that the name of any particular community should be avoided, because, presumably this typecasts a community and brings along many attendant problems. Swift responses by stalwarts from the conservation community argued that there was nothing wrong in naming the community because it was mentioned in the court records and further implying that in any case the community had a well-known record and history of crime and poaching of wildlife.<br />This is roughly the point at which I stepped in with points related to the issues of identity, stereotyping, etc. I noted that this was not anymore a ‘criminal tribe’ as had been alluded too and history had to be kept in mind when we dealt with communities that were vulnerable and disadvantaged. One rejoiner chided me for trying to mix anthropology with legal issues and the other tried, a little patronizingly, to explain that some identity or the other had to be used. I had in the meanwhile taken my first step to doom, I think, by referring to one of the lawyers in the discussion as a ‘bania’ and to another forest officer mentioned as a ‘bania or whatever’. The die had been cast(e).<br />Then came a strong-willed journalist who went back into the history of caste occupations, arguing that communities like Bawarias had always hunted but were now poachers because the law had changed. It was a ‘neutral fact’ that they had not ‘come out of their generations-old ways of earning [a] livelihood’. He stated that the British were much more egalitarian than us and that “only those who felt these communities (the Bawarias) don't do what is attributed to them can say that mention of caste or community is wrong. I gathered he was referring to me as being wrong because I had been the only guy making this point in the discussion so far.<br />My response to the journalist was an even firmer one – I questioned the notion of neutrality and argued somewhat ingeniously that “it is when we are all looking from a single view point that there can be an agreed notion of neutrality.” And then I typed out what I thought were my master lines – “Many of us here see the Bawaria as a poacher/criminal community that needs reform and change. If I were a Bawaria I might look at you as an upper caste English-speaking journalist who has only contempt for me. If this were a forum of Bawarias that might then be a neutral fact.”<br />The point may have been well made but the consequences, as I almost found out very soon could have been absolutely disastrous.<br />It was late that night when a knock on my door aroused me from my deep slumber. I opened the door to get the shock of my life – standing right there were the following – the upper caste journalist, the bania lawyer and a man in khakhi with a gun in his hands and a turban on his head (I couldn’t recognize what community he was from!).<br /><br />“Are you Pankaj Sekhsaria?” the lawyer asked.<br />“Yes!”<br />“We have an arrest warrant for you.” he said waving a sheet of paper in front of my face.<br />“But…”<br />“Do you recognize this?” He was now holding another sheet of paper with the print of an email which began as follows:<br /><br />From: psekhsaria@gmail.com<br />Subject: Re: Fw: Woman convicted for trade in tiger parts: Third conviction for the accused.<br />To: nathistory-india@Princeton.EDU<br />Date: 11 May 2011<br /><br />There was no way I could say I didn’t recognize this. My email id was there right on top.<br />Now the journalist pointed to two lines that were highlighted in that email and read them aloud. These were the very same lines I have mentioned above as my master lines.<br />“Yes,” I responded, “but…”<br />I was not allowed to continue. It was the policeman this time.<br />“The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau’s internet crime wing has intercepted this email. It says you are a Bawaria and this is the warrant for your arrest for being involved in trading of wild animal parts.”<br />This was bizarre. I was not a Bawaria, and I was certainly not involved in wild animal trade. What was there to ‘intercept’ in this email anyway?<br />“I am not a Bawaria,” I tried to explain. “I’m Pankaj Sekhsaria. Sekhsaria,” I stressed, “not Bawaria. Sekhsaria.”<br />“Ah!” exclaimed the journalist, with the ‘eureka moment’ glint shining bright in his eyes. “I had always suspected this. See,” he turned to the policeman and the lawyer, “how beautifully they rhyme - Moghia, Bawaria, Sekhsaria they are all the same. I wonder how the British missed you.” He had turned his attention to me again – “surnames are all neutral facts that you carry from your history. You can’t be very different from these criminal tribes."<br />“They are not criminal and,” I tried to insist, “I am Sekhsaria and I am a bania. A bania.”<br />“Very good,” said the lawyer. “Very good. That explains it even better – poaching and also trade. Isn’t the bania a trader community? Sekhsaria, I see!”<br />“No, no,” I tried to argue, “you’re getting it wrong. That was only an email sent to make a point. I am very interested in saving wildlife and I don’t know any Bawaria, wildlife poacher or wildlife trader.”<br />“That’s enough,” said the policeman sternly. “Who asked you to make a point? You are Sekhsaria, you are a bania and you sent that email. That is all that we need to know.”<br />“Please, please,” I started groveling, “I am not a criminal. I’ve done nothing wrong. I don’t want to go to jail”. My forehead broke out in sweat and my hands started trembling. “This damned emailing,” I cursed loudly.<br />That’s when I realized someone was pulling my hair and bawling loudly. My little infant son had come to my rescue again. It was about the time in the middle of the night when he normally wakes up for his feed. I woke up with a start, prepared his bottle of milk and gratefully thrust the nipple into his mouth.<br />My nightmare went up in a whiff of steaming vapour.<br />I had been saved from becoming a wildlife criminal by the skin of my teeth!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8637557501276190731-5391055995611350880?l=pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>PANKAJ SEKHSARIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798223946431718400noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637557501276190731.post-81785519235531651992011-05-28T17:45:00.002+05:302011-05-28T17:53:46.400+05:30PROTECTED AREA UPDATE<br />News and Information from protected areas in India and South Asia<br />Vol. XVII No. 3; June 2011 (No. 91)<br />The entire issue can be downloaded at <br /><a href="http://www.kalpavriksh.org/protected-area-update/204-protected-area-update-2011">http://www.kalpavriksh.org/protected-area-update/204-protected-area-update-2011</a><br /><br /><br />LIST OF CONTENTS<br />EDITORIAL <br />The business of reports<br />NEWS FROM INDIAN STATES<br />ASSAM<br />Train-elephant collision averted in Deepor Beel<br />Commercial fishing threat to Missamari beel<br />Genetic assessment of tigers at Manas TR<br />Three forest staff killed in animal attacks in Kaziranga NP since January<br /><br />GUJARAT<br />First satellite tagging of Whale shark in Gujarat<br />Mobile van to deal with human-animal conflicts around Gir<br />Maldharis petition government opposing their relocation from Gir<br /><br />HARYANA<br />Master-plan for Sultanpur NP<br /><br />JAMMU & KASHMIR<br />Two day workshop on ‘Practicing Responsible Tourism’<br /><br />JHARKHAND<br />MoEF issues draft notification for Dalma Eco-Sensitive Zone<br /><br />KARNATAKA<br />Petitioner seeks stay on Banerghatta night safari in Supreme Court<br />Public hearing held to declare Konchavaram Wildlife Sanctuary<br />Small temples mushrooming in Bandipur, Nagarhole NPs<br /><br />KERALA<br />Proposal to declare Kattampally a Ramsar wetland<br />Prolonged summer rain reduces wildfires in Idukki Wildlife Sanctuary<br /><br />MADHYA PRADESH<br />Environment minister ‘No’ to rail and river linking projects for fear of impact on Panna TR<br />Fourth tiger shifted to Panna TR<br /><br />MAHARASHTRA<br />Forest union threatens to shut down tiger reserves<br />High Court not against windmills in and around Koyna WLS<br />Reshuffle at the top of the Maharashtra FD<br />Naxals trying to make inroads into Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve<br />Corridor adjoining Tadoba Andhari TR threatened by Gosikhurd Canal project<br />Joint meeting to discuss conservation of Great Indian Bustard Sanctuary<br /><br />ORISSA<br />More than 3.5 lakh turtles nest at Gahirmatha in February – March, 2011<br /><br />RAJASTHAN<br />Clearance to five major projects in and around protected areas<br />CEC orders stoppage of construction work inside Ranthambhore TR<br />Rajasthan Government announces Amrita Devi Vishnoi Smriti Puraskar<br />Forest Training Centre at Jaipur<br /><br />TAMIL NADU<br />Field Learning Centre at KMTR<br />Fear of forest fires results in closure of Mudumalai TR in April; mixed reactions<br /><br />UTTARAKHAND<br />Rs. 65 crore for relocation of Sunderkhal village from Corbett TR<br />Villagers given land for relocation from Chilla – Motichur wildlife corridor<br /><br />NATIONAL NEWS FROM INDIA <br />11th Carl Zeiss Wildlife Conservation Awards<br />Funding Assistance in 2010-11 for village relocation under Project Tiger<br />Army and ITBP help sought for snow leopard conservation<br />Population Estimate of Tigers in 2006 and 2010<br />Funds Released under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme ‘Project Elephant’<br />Recently released reports on wildlife and conservation issues…<br /><br />SOUTH ASIA <br />Workshop on conservation of the Black-necked crane through regional cooperation<br />World Bank approves $36 million for conservation in Bangladesh and $3 million for Nepal <br /><br />NEPAL<br />Red Pandas spotted in Ilam forests of Nepal<br />SRI LANKA<br />Elephant census in Sri Lanka<br /><br />OPPORTUNITIES <br />Positions at the Wildlife Trust of India<br /><br />UPCOMING <br />Course on Geo-informatics and its application for Biodiversity<br /><br />IN THE SUPREME COURT<br /><br />SPECIAL SECTION: The Forest Rights Act, Protected Areas and Wildlife Conservation<br />New draft guidelines for declaration of Critical Wildlife Habitats<br />MAHARASHTRA<br /> FRA blamed for forest destruction in Yaval WLS and adjoining areas<br /> Concern over non-implementation of FRA in Bhimashankar WLS, surrounding areas<br />UTTAR PRADESH<br />Surma, Golbhji tribals get land titles in Dudhwa NP under FRA<br /><br />PERSPECTIVE: Wildlife and the media <br /><br />EDITORIAL<br />THE BUSINESS OF REPORTS<br /><br />One field of activity in wildlife research that is flourishing is the business of producing reports. Researchers, NGOs, the government - are all always busy and working hard towards this end. This issue of the PA Update (see Pg 18) has a brief list of reports on wildlife related issues that have been released in the last few weeks. There is a comprehensive report on human-elephant conflict in the country: a set of guidelines on management of human-leopard conflict; another on the status of the extremely threatened Lesser Florican; and one on the evergreen subject of tiger numbers in India.<br /> That these and most other reports are the outcome of hard work, sincere effort and of commitment to find solutions to vexing problems is undeniable. That they are welcome and valuable is also something most will agree to. But the question, and this is what most researchers always dread, is related to what use these reports are being put to. Are they being used at all? Are they having impact? How does one evaluate the reach and influence of an outcome that so much time, money and energy has gone into? These are questions that have no easy answers and often there is disappointment and frustration that the reports get into the shelves of various institutions, particularly the government, and gather dust.<br /> Comparing the reports of two government constituted task forces, one on the tiger and the recent one on the elephant, does throw light on what can actually happen. Many of the recommendations of the Tiger Task Force were implemented with considerable urgency and the National Tiger Conservation Authority was constituted with a renewed mandate and greater political commitment. Additional resources were made available and even a new method for tiger census was put in place. One may not agree with some of the policies or the way others have been implemented but there is no denial that things have moved on the ground.<br /> The same can certainly not be said of the recommendations of the Elephant Task Force. Eight months have passed since it was agreed that the elephant would be the National Heritage animal and yet nothing is to be heard of the National Elephant Conservation Authority (NECA). The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has in fact decided against the constitution of the NECA. Some commentators have argued that the interests of the mining and industrial sectors might be playing a key role because if the NECA is formed and the recommendations are implemented, large land and forest areas will become unavailable for extraction. If this is indeed true, it points to a rather sorry state of affairs - one that can only invoke hopelessness.<br /> If an animal like the elephant can be let down in this manner what hope might be there for the floricans, the leopards and the many other forms of less glamorous wildlife. What then is the use of all this research and towards what end are the recommendations sought and many reports commissioned? Wildlife surely does not have time on its side and the government certainly needs to show more sincerity and commitment than this.<br /><br />---<br />Protected Area Update<br />Vol. XVII, No. 3, June 2011 (No. 91)<br />Editor: Pankaj Sekhsaria<br />Editorial Assistance: Reshma Jathar, Anuradha Arjunwadkar<br />Illustrations: Madhuvanti Anantharajan<br />Produced by: The Documentation and Outreach Centre, Kalpavriksh<br />Ideas, comments, news and information may please be sent to the editorial address:<br /><br />KALPAVRIKSH<br />Apartment 5, Shri Dutta Krupa, 908 Deccan Gymkhana, Pune 411004, Maharashtra, India. Tel/Fax: 020 – 25654239.<br />Email: psekhsaria@gmail.com<br />Website: http://kalpavriksh.org/protected-area-update<br /><br />----<br />Publication of the PA Update has been supported by<br />- Foundation for Ecological Security (FES)<br /> http://fes.org.in/<br />- Duleep Matthai Nature Conservation Trust<br /> C/o FES<br />- MISEREOR<br />www.misereor.org<br />- Donations from a number of individual supporters<br /><br />---<br />Information has been sourced from different newspapers and<br />http://indiaenvironmentportal.org.in<br />www.wildlifewatch.in<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8637557501276190731-8178551923553165199?l=pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>PANKAJ SEKHSARIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798223946431718400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637557501276190731.post-53551298489807182022011-04-30T15:01:00.002+05:302011-04-30T15:04:04.875+05:30Three members of the Chenchu tribal community who work as forest guards in the Nagarjunsagar – Srisailam Tiger Reserve (NSTR) were recently award the Sanctuary-RBS Wildlife service award for protecting the forests and the wildlife here. The citation with the award given to Arthi Venkatesham, Bhumani Venkatesham and Damsam Mallaiah is effusive in its praise and appreciation of the three: “They are living proof,” it reads, “that change is possible. Among our nation’s most celebrated tribal communities, the Chenchus were once hunter gatherers. Instead of being lured by the all-powerful wildlife trade, these young men, more visionary than most of their urban counterparts, chose to join forces with forest officials as far back as 2001 and are now key to the park’s anti-poaching strategy… Researchers say that these tribal guards are able to provide them with in-depth information on the behaviour, hunting, nesting and breeding of various wild species…They have demonstrated that yesterday’s traditions and skills can effectively be used to solve today’s wildlife problems. This is why we have honoured them.”<br /> There are at least 300 other Chenchu tribals who work with the forest department here and there are others too who say they are doing a wonderful job. The support and recognition that has been given to members of this tribal community on the frontline of protection is without doubt, most welcome. <br /> The issue however is a more complex and to understand it one needs to look at the larger picture, and the many slippery slopes one has to negotiate. <br /> The Chenchus are a ‘Primitive Tribal Group’ for whom the forests of this tiger reserve have been home for centuries. They have lived life as hunter gatherers long before the formation of the tiger reserve or wildlife conservation became a topic of concern. Nearly 1000 Chenchu families spread over 24 hamlets continue to live here but that could be soon a thing of the past. India’s forest and wildlife laws will not allow them to continue living here because our sanctuaries, national parks and tiger reserves have to be made ‘inviolate’ in the interests of wildlife. <br /> It is extremely sardonic that three Chenchus have been honoured by a wildlife community that continues, simultaneously, to clamour for their displacement from the very forest they call home. This has been most visibly evident is the vehement opposition to the recently notified the Scheduled Tribes and Other Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act (FRA for short) that gives the Chenchus and 100s of other such tribal communities in the country, rights that have been historically denied to them. It is more than ironic that Sanctuary Asia, the country’s premier wildlife magazine that awarded the Chenchus has been at forefront of the opposition to the FRA and continues even today to log the notification of the law as a critical marker on its ‘Tiger Doomsday Clock’. They can be given awards for protecting wildlife, but if you give them rights, it’s a step towards doom! <br /> What has been remarkable in the ‘inviolate’ debate is that the burden is repeatedly thrust on the most marginal and vulnerable communities that live in these forests. Mining for uranium, prospecting for diamonds, drilling for irrigation projects and killing of wild animals (including leopards and bears) in road accidents is going on inside the forests of the Nagarjunsagar – Srisailam Tiger Reserve, but for the forest and wildlife establishment it is the Chenchus that have to go. A part of what is now the NSTR was in fact notified as a Chenchu Tribal Reserve in 1942. It was, for reasons not very clear, never renewed after independence. <br /> A situation similar to that of the Chenchu is being experienced by the Soliga tribals that live in the Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple (BRT) Wildlife Sanctuary in Karnataka. The community is opposing the creation of a tiger reserve here and its subsequent declaration as a Critical Tiger Habitat (CTH) for fear that the forests will become inaccessible to them. Over 5000 Soligas live in 22 podus (settlements) in what will be the core area and are dependant on these forests for their survival. <br /> A unique long term research project being carried out by the Ashoka Trust for Research in Environment and Ecology (ATREE) in collaboration with the Soligas has shown that their harvest of non-timber forest produce (honey, lichen, gooseberry and shikakai) from the BRT forests is done sustainably. The Soliga Abhivrudhi Sangha has even argued that tiger numbers in the sanctuary had increased in recent years; that they were not consulted before the taking the tiger reserve decision and there can be no justification for the displacement of the community. Nobody seems to be listening however. <br /> The contradictions are clear and lie at the heart of the challenges that conservation in India is going to face in the coming years. We can prevent the situation going from bad to the absurd if we open our minds, recognise our paradoxes and deal with the situation head on. Alternatively, we can chose to bury our heads, duck the problems and institute more awards. The later option may have more takers but will offer fewer solutions! The choice really is for us to make. <br />---<br />An abridged version of this piece appeared in the New Indian Express on 10th April, 2011<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8637557501276190731-5355129848980718202?l=pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>PANKAJ SEKHSARIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798223946431718400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637557501276190731.post-8610998371657128252011-04-30T14:53:00.000+05:302011-04-30T14:54:28.807+05:30Travel & Error<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Tall Tails</span><br />A roaring time in tiger country<br />Pankaj Sekhsaria<br /> <br />http://travel.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?270828<br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Halkat</span> is a word in Marathi that has no English equivalent that I can think of. Lout might come close, but there is something in the sound and usage of the Marathi original that cannot be matched. And when a wildlife guide uses it to describe tiger-crazy tourists in one of India’s premier tiger reserves, it ought to be an interesting story.<br /><br />It was September 2010 and I was on my first visit to the famous Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in the heart of India. It was our first safari of the trip and there were things we learnt from our guide Bhaskar (not his real name) that will remain with us for a long time to come. <br /><br />Bhaskar was serious about his job as a wildlife guide and this was evident even as our Gypsy just about crossed the one-kilometre mark. He had shot off on the history, geography and politics of the park even before we had settled in. There was also a lesson on eco-logy—a well-scripted account of how the presence of the tiger meant that the deer were there and that the forests and the grasslands were thriving and how the “forest is the mother of the river”. Soon he was cursing Maharashtra’s politicians and senior forest officials for having failed to support Tadoba unlike their counterparts in Kanha and Bandhavgarh in Madhya Pradesh. Bhaskar had taken over.<br /><br />Those who speak too much, particularly in forests, do it often to cover their serious lack of knowledge. Bhaskar was an exception. Birds, trees, reptiles and the tigers of Tadoba, he knew them well. “I’ll try to show you the tiger,” he said, “but it’s not in my hands. We guides take the credit, but you know,” he made a profoundly philosophical turn, “nobody shows anything to anybody. It’s your luck—rajyog.” Then poured the anecdotes and accounts incredible—the ‘circuit’ tigress, the royal wild boar, the drongo that dances on the termite mound, the crocodiles in the lake and the pythons by the forest guesthouse.<br /><br />Bhaskar was enjoying our company and we were now enjoying his. He told us stories with riddles that tested our knowledge of wildlife, recited poems he had written on delicate treasures of the forest, narrated accounts of his interactions with long-lens-wielding wildlife photographers and the young researcher from Pune, who taught him how to handle snakes.<br /><br />Swati, my colleague, pointed to a bare white tree that we drove past. Bhaskar knew it, of course. He told us that the bark of the tree changed colour at least three times a year. My knowledge of botany (incorrect, as it turned out) kicked in unexpectedly. “It’s the Naked Lady of the Forest,” I said and turned to Bhaskar, adding half in jest, “Why is it called the naked lady and not a naked man?” Bhaskar’s reply was prompt: “It’s the king who decides—and what are we to say?” It was only days later that I realised I was wrong. The tree was the Ghost Tree, Sterculia urens. Bhaskar hadn’t known either.<br /><br />The serious wildlife lessons, meanwhile, were also getting interspersed with other juicy gossip—about tour operators from Nagpur and beyond, the resort owners around Tadoba and their rich clientele, wildlife researchers and their research, forest staff and their difficult life in the wilds, and how the new reserve director was a good fellow and how his predecessor was shunted out because of differences with the boss in Nagpur. (Now you know why I’ve called Bhaskar, Bhaskar!)<br /><br />And, finally, about the halkat. We were on the last leg of that morning safari and Bhaskar had been telling us how the forest had so many different things to offer. “I don’t understand,” he said, “why tourists are interested only in the tiger.” As if on cue, a bright yellow Maruti Gypsy appeared around the bend by the stream. “These,” said Bhaskar, as they went by, “are the halkat tourists of Tadoba. They’re after the tiger as if their life depends on it. And look at that vehicle—do you go into a forest with a vehicle that colour?”<br /><br />Tailpiece 1: Gossip is a wild sword that swings free in the wind. If on your next trip to Tadoba you hear stories of a group of tourists that was less interested in tigers and more in gossip, please let me know at psekhsaria@gmail.com.<br /><br />Tailpiece 2: We didn’t see the tiger during our two-day stay at Tadoba; other halkat tourists did.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8637557501276190731-861099837165712825?l=pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>PANKAJ SEKHSARIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798223946431718400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637557501276190731.post-76379804578878994992011-01-29T12:34:00.007+05:302011-01-29T12:54:52.113+05:30Conserving our varied heritage<br /><br />Pankaj Sekhsaria<br />First Published : 29 Jan 2011 09:57:00 AM IST<br />http://expressbuzz.com/magazine/conserving-our-varied-heritage/242849.html<br /><br />The Western Ghats are, without doubt, one of the richest eco-regional systems in the entire subcontinent. Straddling six states from Gujarat in the north to Kerala and Tamil Nadu in the south, the 1,600-odd km long mountain range extends from the River Tapti in the north to Kanyakumari at the southernmost tip of the Indian landmass. They are home to a wide diversity of life just as they support innumerable human communities and cultures. It is a mountain range with a history of nearly 50 millions years, with only the last 12,000 to 15,000 years having seen the gradual entry here of the human species.<br /><br />The beauty of the landscapes here is unmatched, endemism in the forests is high and nearly 250 million people living in peninsular India are nourished by the many rivers that originate here. The forests here are also home to more than 300 globally threatened species including rare and unique ones like the Malabar torrent toad, the Nilgiri langur, Wroughton’s free-tailed bat, the Nilgiri laughing thrush and many species of caecelians, the limbless amphibians. Conservative estimates put the number of microorganisms, plants and animals here at about 15,000, 40 per cent of which are found nowhere else in the world.<br /><br />Serious challenges<br /><br />It is with good reason that the ghats have been recognised as one of the world’s top 34 biodiversity hotspots and a large number of protected areas dot their length. There are nearly 60 sanctuaries and national parks here, ranging from the tiny 4 square kilometres Karnala Sanctuary in the Raigad district of Maharashtra, to others that extend over hundreds of sq km like the Bandipur NP in Karnataka and the Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary in the Anaimalais of Tamil Nadu. The region has over 60 important bird areas and also a number of areas designated as tiger and elephant reserves for the protection and conservation of two of the subcontinent’s most charismatic mega fauna.<br /><br />This richness and wealth notwithstanding, the Western Ghats face a range of serious and complex challenges: there is unregulated mining in large parts; a number of rivers have been (or continue to be) dammed resulting in the loss of riverine ecosystems and the submergence of pristine forests; a rapidly growing network of roads and rail lines is fragmenting the patchwork of existing forests; continued habitat loss due to urbanisation, agriculture and plantations is leading to an alarming rise in human-wildlife conflicts; and tribal communities like those in Nilgiris continue to face increased marginalisation, loss of access to resources and livelihoods. It is estimated that only a third of the mountain range is still under natural vegetation and this too, is highly fragmented and completely degraded. For the ghats that are spread over an area 1,60,000 sq km and support millions of people and heads of livestock, this is only to be expected.<br /><br />Conservation efforts<br /><br />The Western Ghats is perhaps the most-studied eco-system in the country, and has had the maximum number of initiatives and efforts towards conservation directed at it. The mountain range has also been lucky in that there have always been vibrant local communities, NGOs, researchers and officials who have continued to engage with the complexities and work with the challenges of this unique system.<br /><br />There have been, in recent times, a number of small, localised efforts that are<br /><br />extremely heartening: children in schools in the vicinity of the Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary in Maharashtra demanding that plastic be banned from within sanctuary limits; the creation of 12 new Important Bird Areas in Kerala; efforts to bring down deaths in traffic accidents inside forest areas either by banning traffic like in Bandipur and Nagarhole National Parks or by strictly regulating it in many other forests areas; new public private initiatives to secure corridor forests so that animals can move without hindrance and a number of awareness and environment education activities across the entire region.<br /><br />Significantly, there are a range of programmes that have an appeal and relevance cutting across state and political boundaries. A large conservation research and action initiative is being implemented under the aegis of the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund; the iconic Save Western Ghats Movement that was initiated two decades ago is on the way to being revived; a new Nilgiri Natural History Society has been formed; the creation of the Sahyadri Ecological Authority has been mooted and the ministry of environment and forests’ expert panel on the Western Ghats has been working to ‘assist in the preservation, conservation and rejuvenation of this environmentally sensitive and ecologically significant region.’<br /><br />In another commendable development a few months ago, the minister of environment and forests, Jairam Ramesh, organised a special meeting of 43 Members of Parliament from the 51 districts which have the Western Ghats running through them. <br /><br />It has been argued often that if political constituencies had been carved out on ecological or even eco-regional criteria, politics would have been different. Ecological systems, be they mountain ranges, river systems or the coast often get looked at in a piecemeal manner. The integrity of what is a single unit is completely overtaken by other considerations and the consequences have only been adverse. The minister’s initiative could well be the starting point of a better, more holistic approach.<br /><br />To say however, that things will suddenly be better now in the Western Ghats, would be putting the cart much ahead of the horse. The challenges, needless to say, are daunting. Speaking at the inaugural session of the 13th Biennial Conference of the International Association for the Study of the Commons in Hyderabad in the first week of January, Ramesh argued that the country will have to make trade-offs between attaining 9-10 per cent economic growth and maintaining an ecological balance. The more pertinent question is being asked by those who are being ‘traded off’. In the Western Ghats, this has been most starkly visible in the controversy surrounding the nuclear power park at Jaitapur in Maharashtra. Local people here are strongly opposed to the project that they claim will destroy their livelihoods as also the environment that sustains them. There are many other such examples.<br /><br />It is in this extremely complex and sometimes charged context that the conservation initiatives have to deliver. It is only with this mixture of apprehension and hope that the Western Ghats can look towards the future.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/TUO8Z_avA7I/AAAAAAAACrQ/6JevXPS8wm8/s1600/06.%2Bforests%2Bof%2Bthe%2Bnilgiri%2Bmountains.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/TUO8Z_avA7I/AAAAAAAACrQ/6JevXPS8wm8/s400/06.%2Bforests%2Bof%2Bthe%2Bnilgiri%2Bmountains.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567500719066383282" /></a><br />Forests in the Nilgiri Mountains, Tamil Nadu<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/TUO8ZqpcF4I/AAAAAAAACrI/w80_PFz64RU/s1600/05.%2Bgaur%2Bin%2Bforest.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/TUO8ZqpcF4I/AAAAAAAACrI/w80_PFz64RU/s400/05.%2Bgaur%2Bin%2Bforest.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567500713490913154" /></a><br />Gaur in the small remnant forests of Longwood Shola close to Kotagiri in the Nilgiris<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/TUO8ZaMwiNI/AAAAAAAACrA/L8j8kf7QNjw/s1600/04.%2Belephant%2Bdepredation%2BnilgirisIMG_0436.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/TUO8ZaMwiNI/AAAAAAAACrA/L8j8kf7QNjw/s400/04.%2Belephant%2Bdepredation%2BnilgirisIMG_0436.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567500709075650770" /></a><br />A ready to be harvested banana crop is destroyed by elephants in the Nilgiris<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/TUO8ZOvNVBI/AAAAAAAACq4/FHZzKUmEqjc/s1600/03.%2BDeforestation%2Band%2Bsubmergence%2Bzone%2Bof%2BSharavati%2Bdam%2BPS.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 262px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/TUO8ZOvNVBI/AAAAAAAACq4/FHZzKUmEqjc/s400/03.%2BDeforestation%2Band%2Bsubmergence%2Bzone%2Bof%2BSharavati%2Bdam%2BPS.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567500705998918674" /></a><br />Tree felling in the catchment area of the dam on the Sharavathi river in Uttara Kannada, Karnataka<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/TUO8ZAjd_tI/AAAAAAAACqw/9o2fgHW3SVE/s1600/01.%2Bbhimshanker%2Bforests%252C%2Bmaharashtra.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 273px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/TUO8ZAjd_tI/AAAAAAAACqw/9o2fgHW3SVE/s400/01.%2Bbhimshanker%2Bforests%252C%2Bmaharashtra.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567500702191582930" /></a><br />The Bhimashankar Temple in the Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary in Maharashtra. In the background are the forests of the sacred grove<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/TUPAJvhv9eI/AAAAAAAACrc/XdSLKz1FOI0/s1600/02.%2BRiver%2BAghanashini%2B.%2BUttara%2BKannada.%2BMisty%2Briver%2BPS.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 262px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/TUPAJvhv9eI/AAAAAAAACrc/XdSLKz1FOI0/s400/02.%2BRiver%2BAghanashini%2B.%2BUttara%2BKannada.%2BMisty%2Briver%2BPS.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5567504837969442274" /></a><br />River Aghanashini as seen from the crest of the Western Ghats in Uttara Kannada district, Karnataka<br /><br /><br /><br />— The writer is an environmental researcher, writer and photographer. psekhsaria@gmail.com<br />All photos by Pankaj Sekhsaria<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8637557501276190731-7637980457887899499?l=pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>PANKAJ SEKHSARIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798223946431718400noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637557501276190731.post-84174697998972134792010-12-12T09:41:00.002+05:302010-12-12T09:43:36.006+05:30The decline of the oceans<br />The New Indian Express, Dec 11, 2010<br />http://expressbuzz.com/magazine/the-decline-of-the-oceans/229443.html<br /><br />Pankaj Sekhsaria<br />---<br /><br />If there is one thing that the milestone international Earth Summit in Rio De Janeiro in 1992 is remembered for it, is the forceful statement by the then President of the United States of America, George H W Bush. “The American way of life is non-negotiable,” he had said as nations around the world demanded that the USA contain its runaway consumption in general and that of fossil fuels in particular. Nearly two decades have passed since and promises and commitments notwithstanding, it could well be argued that not much has changed on the ground. In some ways the most powerful nation in the world has managed to bulldoze its way through world opinion even as the global climate crisis has exacerbated and even though climate change has finally came on to the global agenda.<br /><br />It was at the same 1992 summit that the northern neighbour of the USA proposed an idea that was to be formally accepted more than 15 years later. The concept of the World Oceans Day as proposed by the Government of Canada in Rio was finally approved by the United Nations General Assembly only in December ’08 and June 8 became the day that the world would come together to highlight the importance of the oceans and to commit itself to their conservation.<br /><br />The Gulf of Mexico disaster<br /><br />The crisis that the oceans face was highlighted most starkly in April this year (and as World Oceans Day 2010 came and went) when billions of barrels of oil spluttered up from the dark depths of the Gulf of Mexico. The waters of the gulf were covered with endless sheets of oil for weeks choking the rich marshes and causing unprecedented damage to wildlife and commercial fisheries. The problem does not seem to be visible anymore but only time will indicate the long-term damages that may have been caused.<br /><br />And the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is by no means the only one, even though it has garnered maximum attention and concern. Nearly a 100 significant spills have been documented worldwide since the early 1970s and at least 20 spills (big and small) have been observed in just the last five years. These have occurred at sites as far apart as the Timor Sea off Australia (August 2009), the Yellow Sea off the Korean coast (December 2007) and the waters off the coasts of Alaska in the USA (March 2006). The shoreline of the Ibeno local government area in Nigeria was recently devastated by an oil spill from the companies operating offshore in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the issue garnered huge attention in India following the vast oil spill off the Mumbai coast just a few months ago. The world's appetite for oil and gas seems insatiable and many have argued that such disasters are only waiting to happen.<br /><br />A rich and diverse ecosystem<br /><br />The ocean, we often forget is the source of life for millions around the planet. The Global Diversity Outlook 3 (GDO3), report released recently by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has pointed, for instance, that the world’s fisheries provide employment to nearly 200 million people and account for about 16 per cent of the protein consumed worldwide. The report estimates the value of these fisheries to be nearly US$ 82 billion and also notes that about 80 per cent of the stocks for which assessment information is available are over exploited or have been fully exploited.<br /><br />Coral reefs under stress<br /><br />The situation with coral reefs is just as alarming. They cover a miniscule portion of the world’s oceans but are estimated to house a quarter of the marine fish species in the world. Researchers have also estimated that nearly 30 million people living along the coast are dependant on reef-based resources as their primary means of food production, income and livelihood. Reports from the around the world — from the Great Barrier Reef in Australia to the reefs in the waters off Indonesia and Thailand — indicate that they are being severely impacted. A wide set of reasons ranging from overfishing, soil and chemical run-offs from land to increasing global temperatures are putting these reefs under increasing stress. The Wildlife Conservation Society reported in early October that an initial survey carried out by them had revealed that more than 60 per cent of corals off the northern tip of Sumatra were found bleached due to an unprecedented rise in ocean temperatures. Researchers have suggested that the whole of Southeast Asia is experiencing one of its most deadly coral die-offs — something that could be the worst such event known to science. The CBD report notes similarly that prominent species like the dugong, sea turtles and some sharks among others have experienced significant declines in Australia's Great Barrier Reef.<br /><br />To say that the health of the world's oceans is not in good shape is to make a statement of the obvious. For long the human species has been taking the ocean for granted and it would be worth reminding ourselves in this, the International Year of Biodiversity, that the ocean can devastate just as ruthlessly as it can give generously. We can continue to take it for granted but the price that we might have to pay might be larger than we can afford.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8637557501276190731-8417469799897213479?l=pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>PANKAJ SEKHSARIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798223946431718400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637557501276190731.post-91785292587766523502010-12-10T19:54:00.001+05:302010-12-10T19:57:19.997+05:30Is the government’s cheetah programme sound?<br />http://expressbuzz.com/opinion/op-ed/is-the-government%E2%80%99s-cheetah-programme-sound/229834.html<br /><br />Pankaj Sekhsaria<br />First Published : 10 Dec 2010 11:13:00 PM IST<br /><br /><br />Do we want the cheetah back? If the Ministry of Environment and Forest’s (MoEF) ambitious programme for the reintroduction of this animal into the country is anything to go by, the question has already been answered. A recent assessment conducted by the MoEF, the Wildlife Institute of India and the Wildlife Trust of India has identified the Kuno-Palpur and Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuaries in Madhya Pradesh and the Shahgarh Landscape in Jaisalmer for the introduction. An estimated `300 crore will be spent initially on the project and potential sources for the animals are also being explored. It’s quite likely that the cheetahs, if they come, will be either from Namibia or South Africa. The project has the whole-hearted support of the minister in charge, Jairam Ramesh and the ball for the cheetah’s return to India is clearly on the roll now. <br /><br />There is a more fundamental question, however, that has no clear answers yet — why? Why do we want the cheetah back? The rationale provided has been two-fold. The first this is what Ramesh himself articulated sometime back — to regain a part of the lost glory and history of this country. The magnificent cheetah that was once a living, bounding part of this nation’s reality must be brought back. The other, as has been pointed by some wildlife experts, is that the cheetah, like the tiger, is the apex species of the grassland habitat and it’s presence would, both, indicate and ensure the health of this badly abused ecosystem. <br /><br />Writing in the recent issue of the wildlife magazine Sanctuary Asia, M K Ranjitsinh, doyen of Indian wildlife conservation and a prime mover of the cheetah reintroduction project has argued that, “The cheetah restoration will be part of a prototype for restoration of original cheetah habitats and their biodiversity, helping to stem the degradation and rapid loss of biodiversity…” He also notes that re-introducing the cheetah will help to save other threatened grassland-scrub-open woodland species such as the caracal, Indian wolf, the desert cat, the Great Indian Bustard and the Lesser Florican. <br /><br />Prima facie the arguments seem valid, but if looked at carefully, both have serious problems. It is certainly important to realise, for instance, that grassland habitats are extremely productive systems that are both undervalued and abused. They have to be protected and cared for and we have to find ways of doing it. Arguing, however, that we need an introduction from Africa to enable us to set our house in order is akin to putting the cart before the horse. There are far simpler and effective ways to do it if we have the common sense and political will for it. It is also an extremely unfortunate part of our history that this glorious animal was shot into extinction nearly six decades ago. The scarier reality is that many species of plants, birds and animals stand today on the verge of joining the cheetah into that void called extinction. <br /><br />Flagship programmes — Project Tiger and Project Elephant, for instance, face serious challenges and some might even say that they are floundering. The most recent case of the death of the translocated tiger in Sariska Tiger Reserve is an excellent example of the many challenges that have to be faced. How prudent would it then be to get into something new without ensuring the success of what we already have on hand? <br /><br />There is another worrisome aspect of the project that has come to light only recently. The introduction of the cheetah is going to be mounted on the back of displacement of people in the areas where the reintroduction is being planned. <br /><br />Eighty seasonally used human settlements of 5-10 households each will have to be relocated from the Shahgarh landscape and 23 human settlements will have to be moved from the Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary. Three will also be moved from Kuno Palpur in addition to the 23 that were moved a few years ago for the reintroduction of the lion from Gujarat. <br /><br />Now, anyone who follows wildlife conservation in India knows that this landscape is littered with huge issues of conflict. Millions of people living in and around our protected areas face the sword of displacement or experience constant harassment and denial of basic livelihood resources in the name of wildlife conservation. Not surprisingly there is considerable opposition to wildlife conservation by local communities and there are many such fires burning in different parts of the country. Our job should be to work towards extinguishing these fires, not lighting up one more for an animal we didn’t have the wisdom to save when we had it in our midst. Rather than spending huge amounts of time, human resources, energy and money towards an ‘esoteric’ bringing back of the ‘dead’, the effort has to be concentrated on preventing it happening again — with other species. That would be a far more worthwhile and valuable endeavour. We can’t undo the extinctions we have caused already. Let the fate of cheetah be a grim pointer to that reality.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8637557501276190731-9178529258776652350?l=pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>PANKAJ SEKHSARIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798223946431718400noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637557501276190731.post-52549142737115266122010-12-07T08:21:00.002+05:302010-12-07T08:28:00.717+05:30Lost song of the Jarawas<br />BOOK REVIEW<br />http://currentnews.in/Details.aspx?id=1418&boxid=3557328<br /><br />The Jarawa Tribal Reserve Dossier<br /><br />Edited by<br /><br />Pankaj Sekhsaria and Vishvajit Pandya<br />Published by UNESCO and Kalpavriksh<br /><br />Reviewed by<br /><br />Madhusree Mukerjee<br /><br /><br />The Jarawa are among the most threatened people in the world. These hunter- gatherers live in great evergreen rainforests along the western coast of South and Middle Andaman, and number 365 at last count. Genetic studies indicate that they have occupied these islands for tens of millennia, being direct descendants of the first humans to colonize the territory. Throughout history the Jarawa have resisted outsiders— attacking and killing those who would fell trees or hunt and fish within their territory. In the process they have maintained their environment in a pristine condition, so that it overflows with resources such as timber, cane, fish and game that outsiders covet. Therein lies the danger.<br /><br />British occupation of the Andaman Islands in 1858 led to the extinction by epidemics of most aboriginal tribes on the islands. (Having been isolated since prehistoric times, the islanders have no immunity to killer diseases such as syphilis that are common in the “civilized” world, and easily succumb.) The Jarawa were spared such decimation because of their sustained hostility to outsiders, which limited contact. But a decades- long programme of pacification by the Indian government resulted in their laying down their arms in 1998. The Jarawa immediately started falling prey to diseases such as bronchitis, measles, mumps and malaria, the effects of which have been partially contained by medical intervention. A single new germ line, such as HIV, <br />could still wipe them out.<br /><br />The Jarawa Tribal Reserve Dossier, a compilation of documents that describe the history, geography and biology of the Jarawa homeland, is a valuable resource for researchers who seek to familiarize themselves with this obscure but fascinating terrain. Its editors are environmentalist and journalist Pankaj Sekhsaria, who runs a vitally important webgroup on the islands, and anthropologist Vishvajit Pandya. <br />Both have extensive experience of the Andamans. So do the contributors, especially activist Samir Acharya, who as founder of Society for Andaman and Nicobar Ecology (SANE) has led the struggle to protect indigenous rights and environment on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Researchers Manish Chandi and Harry Andrews acquired intimate knowledge of the islands’ flora and fauna during their tenure with the <br />Andaman and Nicobar Environmental Team (ANET), and provide rare insights. Also featured are members of the Anthropological Survey of India (AnSI), who surveyed the food resources of the Jarawa. The appendices are especially useful, containing legal documents and other materials that are hard to find elsewhere. These include a list, <br />compiled by Chandi, of encounters between settlers and Jarawa that goes all the way back to 1789. Another list, of the Jarawa’s forest camps, was compiled in 2002 and indicates the extent to which their privacy has been penetrated.<br /><br />The most worrisome development is that ever since pacification the Jarawa reserve has been overrun with poachers. As an essay by Andrews shows, now that the Jarawa are no longer hostile their species-rich jungles, swamps, hills, streams and beaches have attracted hundreds of trespassers from villages around the reserve. The invaders no longer shoot the Jarawa, as they used to, but seek instead to manipulate them by offering gifts, or by inculcating addictions such as to tobacco and alcohol. They come in search of timber, cane, fish, boar, honey, fruit, and sex. The threat to the Jarawa, through introduced disease and loss of their resource base, is immediate and urgent.<br /><br />To make matters worse, the Andaman politicians make no secret of their determination to throw open the resources of the Jarawa reserve to their constituencies.<br /><br />The current MP even advocates seizing Jarawa children and raising them on the Indian mainland—actions similar to those for which the Australian government was recently forced to apologize to aboriginals. One can see the MP’s point of view: Once the Jarawa are rendered sedentary and dependent on a welfare system, as the Onge of Little Andaman have largely been, their resources can all the more easily be claimed by grateful voters. No matter that such a seizure would mean cultural genocide of the Jarawa, if not actual genocide. One hopes that the MP will come to realize that if the Jarawa forest is further degraded, its ability to retain and supply fresh water to surrounding settlements will be depleted his vote bank will then have to pack up and depart.<br /><br />More than a decade of activism to defend the Jarawa, and to educate the Andaman’s settler population as to the vital role these hunter-gatherers play in maintaining the island ecology has, however, resulted at best in stalemate. The Andaman administration has failed to implement court orders regarding the protection of Jarawa territory: in particular, it has ignored a 2002 Supreme Court order closing the parts of the Andaman <br />Trunk Road (ATR) that run through the Jarawa reserve. As a result, the administration’s laudable new effort to create a buffer zone around the reserve has run up against complaints of inconsistency. <br />Predictably, the MP has threatened a bandh against the measure he has also called for further defying the Supreme Court by constructing a railway line alongside the ATR. The dossier provides an insightful survey of the past, and contains necessary information for pointing the way to the future, if the Jarawa are to have any. It would have been even more useful, however, had it contained a description, either by <br />Sekhsaria or Acharya, of the various efforts to protect the Jarawa, through appeals to the public, the courts, and the National Advisory Commission—and an analysis of why these endeavours have faltered. To be sure, no one had expected that the administration would ignore the Supreme Court, and the fact that it continues to do so is symptomatic of the collapse of governance across India.<br /><br />Those rare battles that adivasis have won against dispossession, such as the triumph of the Dongria Kondh in Orissa, suggest that a groundswell of protest, properly publicized, can on occasion gain indigenous peoples their rights. But the Jarawa are not being given a chance to speak on their future nor, as the MP’s stand indicates, are their territorial or other rights getting much support from the mainstream population of the Andaman Islands.<br /><br />As if that were not enough, a long-standing debate over whether the Jarawa should be “civilized” or not continues to rage— despite the acceptance, throughout the world, of the principle of self-determination. It is for the Jarawa alone to decide whether or not, and at what pace, to integrate.<br /><br />Becoming integrated, or “civilized,” will inevitably lead to sedenterization of these nomadic people—with its attendant social and medical problems, such as depression and alcoholism—and must not be forced on them by robbing them of their resources.<br /><br />In this context, it would have been useful to have the United Nations declarations on indigenous rights, which calls specifically for the protection of Jarawa territory, in the appendix. A review of how similarly fraught situations are being dealt with on other continents (perhaps by anthropologist Sita Venkateswar) would have been instructive. Creative solutions have been developed for informing semi-isolated peoples about the outside world without disrupting their culture, and these can show the way for empowering the Jarawa.<br /><br />Such omissions do not, however, detract from the usefulness of this compendium, which is an essential resource for anyone who seeks to understand the plight of the Jarawa and appreciate the diversity and uniqueness of the environment they have preserved, often at the cost of their lives.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8637557501276190731-5254914273711526612?l=pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>PANKAJ SEKHSARIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798223946431718400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637557501276190731.post-77478827779335522472010-12-01T12:02:00.002+05:302010-12-03T10:58:09.266+05:30Leopards in my backyard<br />by Pankaj Sekhsaria<br /><br />http://www.downtoearth.org.in/node/2344<br />Issue: Dec 15, 2010<br /><br />India is the only country where high densities of people and livestock share space with carnivores<br />---<br />Recent research on leopard behaviour shows capturing the problem animals and releasing them elsewhere only shifts the locale of the people-animal conflict. At first glance Akole taluka in Ahmednagar district seems like any other taluka in western Maharashtra’s sugarcane belt. It has densely populated and chaotic settlements, virtually no forest cover and a landscape that is dominated by a mosaic of agricultural fields.<br /><br />It seems unlikely, even unexpected, yet in Akole people, their dogs and cattle live cheek-by-jowl with large numbers of leopards, one of the biggest wild carnivores. Akole seems like a place for a serious human-wildlife conflict but this is where the taluka throws up another surprise.<br /><br />Most discussions on the humanwildlife conflict are about carnivores straying because of loss of their natural habitat—most often considered to be forests. The discussions emphasise the need to separate humans and wildlife populations to prevent aggravation of the conflict. An ongoing research project led by Vidya Athreya of Project Waghoba (www.projectwaghoba.in) in Akole’s farmlands challenges these widely held beliefs.<br /><br />A two-month camera-trapping exercise last year by Athreya photographed 14 different leopards in about 200 sq km. This included five adult males, five adult females and four cubs, indicating a population that was breeding actively. Further analysis revealed a leopard density of 12 adults in 100 sq km living among human densities of nearly 200 people per sq km—a human dominated area that significantly has no forest cover.<br /><br />Clearly, the leopards of Akole have not strayed into these farmlands. They, in fact, have been living here for generations and significantly there have been no reports of attacks on people in nearly a decade. People are undoubtedly worried about safety, yet there were no strident calls for killing the leopards or for removing them from the area.<br /><br />Many questions arise. Why are there so many leopards in Akole? What led to a massive conflict in nearby Junnar a few years ago while there has been none in Akole? What is the assurance there won’t be a problem in Akole too? While the search for the pieces of the jigsaw is on, some answers are available.<br /><br />The leopard is one of the most versatile and adaptable creatures and has been known, historically, to live on the fringes of human habitations. Akole could be an example. An important dimension, however, is the change in land use across this belt in the past three decades.<br /><br />Improved irrigation facilities have significantly increased the spread of sugarcane and this in turn has benefited the leopard by providing good breeding and hiding ground. With no competition and easy prey available in the form of stray dogs, cattle, pigs and chicken among others, it is not surprising that the leopard established itself across large parts of Akole taluka.<br /><br />The people-animal conflict is more complex and protracted. Its intensity was best highlighted when it peaked in neighbouring Junnar in 2003. Leopards killed nearly 50 people in two years and over a 100 leopards were captured for permanent incarceration in that period.<br /><br />Investigation, by another team led by Athreya cast doubt on the then policy of capturing leopards in a problem area and releasing them elsewhere and said it was at the root of the conflict.<br /><br />This is best illustrated by developments reported in late 2003 from the Yawal Wildlife Sanctuary spread over 170-odd sq km in Jalgaon district of Maharashtra. These forests have a rich diversity of wildlife that includes large carnivores like leopards. Though the forests of Yawal have been dotted with human settlements for a long time, there had been no instances of conflict with leopards.<br /><br />This suddenly changed when six leopard attacks were reported for the first time in the last two months of 2003 in villages that had not seen any attacks till then. The attacks stopped only when trap cages were put there and two leopards caught. These were the same animals that had only a few months earlier terrorised people in the agriculturedominated landscape of Junnar.<br /><br />Labelled straying animals, the leopards were trapped and as per the management policy moved 400 km to the forests of Yawal, where they were released back into the wild. The identity of the leopards, the explanation of their presence and the answer to the question of the attacks lay in a small electronic tag that was inserted at the base of the tail of these animals.<br /><br />They had been electronically tagged before release as part of a pioneering research project by the Maharashtra Forest Department and assisted by Athreya and veterinarian Aniruddh Belsare. The tag, the size of a grain, can be read like a bar-code and it was hoped that tagging would help track the problem animals.<br /><br />Athreya and Belsare could now show that translocation of the problem leopards was no solution; it lay at the root of the problem. The translocation of the animal from the area of conflict had in fact caused the conflict to move to new areas. The animals had carried the conflict with them.<br /><br />One of the problem animals was captured 90 km from its site of release in the direction of Junnar, the town from where it had been brought. Big carnivores have acute homing tendency that draws them back to their original territory. Recent evidence of this has come from Athreya’s latest research work involving satellite tracking of leopards in western Maharashtra. The research team catalogued a 120-km expedition of an adult male leopard from the hinterland to the Sanjay Gandhi National Park.<br /><br />The leopard that was trapped in a well in Alephata along the Pune-Nashik highway was rescued, fitted with a satellite collar and released in the nearby forests of Malshej Ghat. The animal completed its remarkable journey in about 23 days—passing through agricultural land, densely populated areas, across roads, rail tracks, close to Kasara station, and swimming across the Vasai Creek. There is no evidence, but it can be conjectured that the animal was originally from forests in Mumbai and could be one of the many that have often been captured here and released elsewhere.<br /><br />These stories throw up important questions about the biology and behaviour of large carnivores and the very controversial and emotional subject of human-wildlife conflict. “It is important to note,” said Athreya, “that India is the only country in the world where high densities of people (more than 300 per sq km) and the highest livestock density in the world share their spaces with carnivores. Except the cheetah we have still retained all (58 species, 14 of them heavier than 10 kg which can be potentially dangerous to humans).<br /><br />Total elimination was never part of our culture. This is an ethic that can make conservation work easy, but the conservation community has to start working with these people.” Another important dimension, she added, is that conservation in India is viewed entirely through the lens of protected areas. “We have no clue that so much wildlife exists outside these areas and management decisions are generally inappropriate for areas that are often not even forests.”<br /><br />There is now the realisation, for instance, that translocation, which for long was considered a simple and straightforward answer, in fact lay at the root of the problem it sought to solve.<br /><br />The information and insights provided by Akole once again underline the importance of good science and rigorous research because the answers we find are only as good as the questions we ask. We might not know all the causes that could push the Akole situation into a conflict, but we can now say with confidence that we know a critical few.<br /><br />Pankaj Sekhsaria edits the Protected Area Update, a bi-monthly newsletter on wildlife and protected areas<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8637557501276190731-7747882777933552247?l=pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>PANKAJ SEKHSARIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798223946431718400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637557501276190731.post-35374900922149210502010-11-27T17:59:00.005+05:302010-11-27T20:18:27.884+05:30Wildlife, the last priority<br /><br />Pankaj Sekhsaria<br />First Published : 27 Nov 2010 09:35:00 AM IST<br />http://expressbuzz.com/magazine/wildlife,-the-last-priority/225667.html<br /><br />Wildlife sanctuaries and national parks (protected areas) have for many years been at the centre of India’s official efforts at protecting the country’s wilderness, wildlife and biological diversity. While there have been many successes, questions are now being asked if the exclusionary model of conservation that alienates local communities will be sustainable in the long run. There have been many instances of strong opposition by these local communities, to either the creation of protected areas or their expansion, for fear of eviction and a strict restriction on their rights that inevitably follows. The general impression is that governments and forest departments are always keen on expanding the protected area (PA) network and communities or those who speak on their behalf are the ones opposing these moves.<br /><br />The picture on the ground, however, is a more complex one as illustrated by two very interesting recent cases — one from Uttarakhand, and another from Maharashtra. In both these cases it is the state machinery that is against the expansion (or creation) of protected areas for reasons that have nothing to do with interests of wildlife or of the local communities. An interesting parallel was seen more than a decade ago when the Himachal Pradesh Government denotified about 10 sq km of the Great Himalayan National Park on the pretext that local communities were being negatively impacted by the national park. The real reason was that the Parbati Hydel Project had been held up and the only way to get it through was to have the river valley excluded from within the boundaries of the PA.<br /><br />Now, in Uttarakhand, the state government has opposed the recommendation of the Supreme Court appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) for the expansion of the Askot Wildlife Sanctuary for a similar reason. The CEC had recommended that the boundary of the sanctuary be re-drawn to exclude the 111 villages presently located inside. It also suggested that the area of the sanctuary which is 600 sq kms presently be increased to 2,200 sq kms. This, the state government has opposed on the grounds that the move will restrict their capacity to tap the high hydro-electric potential of the area.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/TPEZOF8a64I/AAAAAAAAClY/e4vIfZXDhUU/s1600/01%2BAskot.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/TPEZOF8a64I/AAAAAAAAClY/e4vIfZXDhUU/s400/01%2BAskot.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544240346174253954" /></a><br /> Askot Wildlife Sanctuary, Pic: E Theophilus<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/TPEZsBJV9wI/AAAAAAAAClg/GXDa3OXPC9M/s1600/02%2BBhagirathi.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/TPEZsBJV9wI/AAAAAAAAClg/GXDa3OXPC9M/s400/02%2BBhagirathi.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544240860282353410" /></a> <br /> Bhagirathi Valley, Pic: E Theophilus<br /><br />There are already 14 hydro-electric projects proposed within the existing sanctuary area and many more in the entire region. Local communities here have also been opposing the protected area, but then, they (at least some of them) have also vehemently opposed the spree of dam building that the region is likely to see. The recent cancellation of the Loharinag Pala Hydel Project and the decision to declare the Gomukh-Uttarakashi stretch of the River Bhagirathi as an eco-sensitive zone is just one outcome of this.<br /><br />In Maharashtra, similarly, the long pending notification of the Mansinghdeo Wildlife Sanctuary is being held up because part of the land belongs to the Forest Development Corporation of Maharashtra. The Corporation which has logged these forests for timber has in the past opposed handing over the land for inclusion in the sanctuary and the decade old proposal continues to languish. In 2004, it had even moved an application before the High Court, arguing that it would lose nearly Rs 1,400 crores if the ban on timber logging was implemented in the 10 km radius of PAs, as suggested. The state has now suggested the reduction of the proposed 182 sq km to 143 sq km by leaving out the Mansinghdeo block after which the sanctuary was to be named. Experts have noted that the areas to be left out have some of the best forests and form an important corridor connecting the Nagzira Wildlife Sanctuary and the tiger reserves of Tadoba, Melghat and Pench.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/TPEaIph71nI/AAAAAAAAClo/FPh4CQk-oxQ/s1600/03%2BTadoba.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/TPEaIph71nI/AAAAAAAAClo/FPh4CQk-oxQ/s400/03%2BTadoba.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544241352159254130" /></a><br />Spotted deer in Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve. Pic: Pankaj Sekhsaria<br /><br />The situation has been such that Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh had himself written to then Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, pressing for the notitification of the sanctuary.<br /><br />These are situations we have encountered repeatedly over the years, with only minor variations in the script. A number of projects including those of mining, dam construction, laying of roads and railway lines and industrial activities have repeatedly been allowed by denotifying areas protected for wildlife. It is clear that in the present scheme of wildlife conservation and protected areas, local communities are the most dispensable entities. And in the present dominant paradigm of ‘development’ and primacy to commercial interests it is protected areas, wildlife and local people that are all together in being at the bottom of the list of priorities, if they find a place in that list at all.<br /><br />There are different sets of people opposing wildlife conservation and protected areas for various reasons. It’s important to note that generally it is one set that has its way.<br /><br />— The writer is an environmental researcher, writer and photographer. psekhsaria@gmail.com<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8637557501276190731-3537490092214921050?l=pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>PANKAJ SEKHSARIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798223946431718400noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637557501276190731.post-12308319765728586422010-11-24T19:46:00.002+05:302010-11-24T19:54:02.365+05:30Dear Friends,<br />Given below is the list of contents and the edit of the new issue of the Protected Area Update (Vol XVI, No. 6, December 2010). If you would like to receive the entire newsletter in its soft copy format, please write to me at psekhsaria@gmail.com<br /><br /><br />Pankaj Sekhsaria<br />Editor, Protected Area Update<br />C/o Kalpavriksh<br />-------------<br /><br />PROTECTED AREA UPDATE<br />News and Information from protected areas in India and South Asia<br />Vol. XVI No. 6<br />December 2010 (No. 88)<br /><br />LIST OF CONTENTS<br />EDITORIAL<br />FRA and wildlife conservation: The ‘critical’ question<br />NEWS FROM INDIAN STATES<br />ASSAM<br />- Locals help to restore Kaziranga NP corridors<br />- Centre releases Rs. 573 lakh for Kaziranga, Manas and Nameri TRs<br />- India, Bhutan to jointly monitor Manas tigers<br />- ONGC to support swamp deer conservation in Kaziranga NP<br />- Tiger conservation education program in schools adjoining PAs<br />- Ecodevelopment committees formed in 11 villages bordering the Orang NP<br />- Arms training for Orang NP staff<br /><br />GUJARAT<br />- Gir attracts 33000 visitors, earns Rs. 42 lakh during Diwali<br /><br />JHARKHAND<br />- Dalma WLS to expand by over 1500 ha<br /><br />KARNATAKA<br />- Plea to allow removal of already mined ore in Kudremukh<br /><br />MADHYA PRADESH<br />- Bandhavgarh TR to get gaur from Kanha<br /><br />MAHARASHTRA<br />- HC asks for relocation of villages from Tadoba Andhari TR within a year<br />- High Court stays construction of tourist resorts and installation of windmills in Koyna WLS<br />- 49 mining leases approved in Sindhudurg; corridor connecting Koyna, Radhanagari WLSs and Anshi-Dandeli TR to be impacted<br /><br />MIZORAM<br />- 227 families to be evicted from Dampa TR<br /><br />ORISSA<br />- Coastal fishing ban for seven months<br />- Concerns over proposed thermal power plant proximity to Chandaka WLS<br />- Maoists blow up forest buildings inside Sunabeda Wildlife Sanctuary<br /><br />PUNJAB<br />- Rs. 58 crore to fence wildlife sanctuaries<br /><br />RAJASTHAN<br />- Rajasthan Tourism proposes train-safari through Todgarh Raoli WLS<br />- Illegal mining threatens Sariska again<br /><br />SIKKIM<br />- Gangtok Himalayan Zoological Park to be upgraded<br /><br />TAMIL NADU<br />- Minister suggests inclusion of Segur plateau in buffer zone of the Mudumalai TR<br /><br />WEST BENGAL<br />- Rs. Four crore for tourism development and promotion in Buxa TR<br />- No river-linking project through Buxa TR<br /><br />NATIONAL NEWS FROM INDIA <br />- India, Norway to collaborate for protecting biodiversity<br />- National Board for Wildlife reconstituted<br />- Save Western Ghats meet in Moodubidri in January 2011<br />- CEE to implement gibbon conservation programme in five North-Eastern states<br />- 2010 TOFT Wildlife Tourism Awards<br />- CEE to initiate a two-year education program for river dolphin conservation<br />- Former SC judge, LS Panta to chair National Green Tribunal<br />- Task force for Dugong conservation<br /><br />SOUTH ASIA <br />Bangladesh<br />- Stricter wildlife law proposed in Bangladesh<br /><br />INTERNATIONAL NEWS <br />- India elected secretary in Interpol’s Wildlife Crime Working Group<br />- UN conference for protection of dugongs<br /><br />OPPORTUNITIES <br />- Openings for research with the Wildlife Research and Conservation Society<br />- The WCS Research Fellowship Program<br />- Openings at the Nature Conservation Foundation<br /><br />UPCOMING <br />- First Indian Biodiversity Congress<br /><br />READERS WRITE<br />---<br />SPECIAL SECTION: Forest Rights Act, Protected Areas and Wildlife Conservation <br /><br />NATIONAL<br />- MoTA, MoEF clarify that protected areas are not outside FRA ambit<br /><br />GOA<br />- Villagers oppose CWH status for Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary<br /><br />KARNATAKA<br />- Soligas oppose tiger reserve status for BRT Wildlife Sanctuary<br /><br />ORISSA<br />- Forest Rights Act being violated in Simlipal Tiger Reserve<br /> ---<br />ELEPHANTS IN THE NEWS: August – November 2010 <br /><br />PERSPECTIVE <br />Wildlife Tourism: A Valuable Tool for Conservation<br /> ***<br /> <br />EDITORIAL<br /><br />FRA and WILDLIFE CONSERVATION: THE 'CRITICAL' QUESTION<br /><br />Ever since the Scheduled Tribes and Other Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act (FRA for short) was notified, large sections of the wildlife conservation community have vehemently opposed it. The vociferous opposition that had started much before the final notification is seen even today. Journalists, editors and a section of wildlifers continue to berate and demonise the FRA in any and all possible fora unmindful of developments on the ground.<br /> A historical battle to protect forests, water security, and a threatened indigenous community in the Niyamgiri hills of Orissa has just been won on the back of the FRA and yet, the argument continues to go out that this law will destroy the last of India’s remaining forests and wildlife. Neither have other organizations who had petitioned the Supreme Court and a number of High Courts against the FRA thought it right to re-negotiate their positions. There have been no shades of grey in these articulations, not even a black and white; there is just one lens through which this issue is being seen.<br /> The Protected Area Update (Vol. XII, No. 4) had argued even before the law was enacted that a balance was needed in the discussions and that it was certainly not the disaster it was made out to be. No law can be perfect. There will always be shortcomings and challenges, but it is baffling why the narratives don’t change even when a lot around the narrative does. Why not give credit where it is due? Why continue to discredit even when there is evidence to the contrary?<br /> Take the case of the ‘critical’ – the critical tiger habitat (CTH) and the critical wildlife habitat (CWH) – the former under the Wildlife Protection Act (WLPA) and the latter under the FRA. There is a huge push to get the ‘critical’ declarations done because then people can be relocated in the presumed interests of wildlife. What is being forgotten in this urgency is that there is due process of law to be followed. Certain conditions have to be met and the local communities have to consent fully. The Ministries of both, Tribal Affairs and Environment and Forests have made it clear that protected areas are not outside the ambit of the FRA and yet, as a number of reports in this issue of the PA Update – from the Dampa Tiger Reserve (TR) in Mizoram and the Simlipal TR in Orissa to the Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple and Cotigao Sanctuaries in the Western Ghats – point out, it is evident that the provisions of the law are not being followed.<br /> There is enough other evidence to show at the same time that the WLPA is in many situations unable to protect the PAs, leave alone wildlife outside. Illustrations abound – denotification for mines, dams, and infrastructure projects, continued illegal mining in a number of PAs and continued poaching in even the best protected of parks.<br /> The future for forests and wildlife is certainly not rosy; certainly not in this present paradigm of development where the stakes and vested interests are disproportionately large and too deeply embedded in the system. The terms of the game are not amenable to easy change, but if one looks at the possibilities that the FRA offers there might just be the faint outline of a game changer on the horizon.<br /> It happened in Niyamgiri; it is happening in the continued opposition to land acquisition for the Pohang Steel Company (POSCO) also in Orissa and it happening in a number of places were communities are using the FRA to protect their forests and livelihood resources and keeping out the dams and the quarrying and the logging (see earlier issues of the PA Update). The critical question is whether we are willing to see this and give it even an outside chance.<br /><br />---<br />Protected Area Update<br />Vol. XVI, No. 6, December 2010 (No. 88)<br />Editor: Pankaj Sekhsaria<br />Editorial Assistance: Reshma Jathar<br />Illustrations: Madhuvanti Anantharajan<br /><br />Produced by:<br />The Documentation and Outreach Centre, Kalpavriksh<br /><br />Ideas, comments, news and information may please be sent to the editorial address:<br /><br />KALPAVRIKSH<br />Apartment 5, Shri Dutta Krupa, 908 Deccan Gymkhana, Pune 411004, Maharashtra, India.<br />Tel/Fax: 020 – 25654239.<br />Email: psekhsaria@gmail.com<br />Website: http://kalpavriksh.org/protected-area-update<br />---<br />Publication of the PA Update has been supported by<br />- Foundation for Ecological Security (FES)<br /> http://fes.org.in/<br />- Duleep Matthai Nature Conservation Trust<br /> C/o FES<br />- MISEREOR<br />www.misereor.org<br />- Greenpeace India<br />www.greenpeace.org/india/<br />- Association for India’s Development<br />www.aidindia.org<br />- Royal Society for the Protection of Birds<br />www.rspb.org.uk/<br />- Indian Bird Conservation Network<br />http://www.ibcn.in/<br />***<br />Information has been sourced from different newspapers and the following websites<br />http://wildlifewatch.in/<br />http://indiaenvironmentportal.org.in<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8637557501276190731-1230831976572858642?l=pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>PANKAJ SEKHSARIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798223946431718400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637557501276190731.post-26821158531451234502010-11-21T11:09:00.009+05:302010-11-21T11:21:44.887+05:30QUESTIONING THE SCIENTIST'S STORY<br /><a href="http://expressbuzz.com/magazine/questioning-the-scientist%E2%80%99s-story/224691.html">http://expressbuzz.com/magazine/questioning-the-scientist%E2%80%99s-story/224691.html</a><br />Interview by Pankaj Sekhsaria<br /><br />THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS, Nov. 21, 2010<br /><br />Prof Wiebe E Bijker is perhaps best known for the formulation of the theory of the Social Construction of Technology (SCOT) and his first book, 'Of Bicycles, Bakelites and Bulbs — Toward a theory of Sociotechnical change'. He has been president of the Society for the Social Studies of Science (4S) and executive committee member of the Society for the History of Technology (SHOT). He received the 2006 John Desmond Bernal Prize for his distinguished contribution to the field of science and technology studies. He is one of the editors for the Inside Technology book series published by the MIT Press, Massachusetts, and is presently Professor of Technology and Society at Maastricht University in the Netherlands. He gave one of the keynote addresses at the seminar ‘Shifting Perimeters: Social and Ethical Implications on Human Genome Research’ organised by the Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS) and the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS) in Bangalore this week.<br /><br />In this interview, he talks about his latest book, The Paradox of Scientific Authority, his views on the social construction of science and technology and his growing interest in and engagement with India.<br /><br />Q) Let’s start from the most recent — The Paradox of Scientific Authority — The Role of Scientific Advice in Democracies — your latest book written jointly with Roland Bal and Ruud Hendriks. What is this paradox of scientific authority?<br />A) We presently live in highly developed societies, technological cultures, that cannot exist without science and technology. At the same time we see in Europe and the United States of America that this authority of scientists and engineers is eroding. It is radically different from the situation 20-30 years ago. We are seeing this around issues related to nuclear power, genetic engineering and, most recently, in the controversy over the report of the Inter Governmental Panel on Climate Change. Now, that is the paradox that we talk about. How is it possible that we live in a world that is so scientific and technological, and yet at the same time we don’t trust the scientists and the engineers anymore?<br /><br />Q) What then explains this paradox? What has changed in the last 30 years that this authority has come under question?<br />A) I think there is an increasing trend of questioning of authority — more positively framed, a broader democratisation.<br /><br />Q) Of society?<br />A) That’s right. Authorities and institutions aren’t trusted anymore just because they have some fancy name or because they are government-supported. In the 1970s and 1980s, a lot of work in the field that I am working in, science technology and society (STS) studies, was aimed at showing the limitations of scientific knowledge — to allow for a more critical and democratic discussion of issues in which science and technology play a role. There was a lot of effort to show the socially constructed nature of scientific knowledge; that scientific knowledge isn’t dictated by nature. Nature isn’t holding the hand of scientists and writing the facts for them. No. It is scientists who design experiments, who interpret data, who discuss the interpretations of these experiments and their results. There is all this human work that goes into creating scientific facts, that then also opens them up for critical debate.<br /><br />Q) How do you think The Paradox… is relevant to other situations, say to a country like India?<br />A) One way of resolving the paradox, we suggest, is to create pockets of scientific advice that function as a kind of bridge between the scientific community and arenas of debate and policy-making — institutions like the Health Council of the Netherlands that we discuss in our book and the Academy of Sciences in the USA. This may be surprisingly relevant in India, even though until recently scientists and engineers in India seemed to have an unquestioned, high status.<br />Take the Bt Brinjal case. It clearly shows a very deep rift in society about this one example of modern science and technology. This is typically the situation where a high quality independent scientific body could have played an important role and I was happy to hear that the Indian Academies of Science were asked for advice. But it is clear that they failed in what was, I think, a golden opportunity to play the kind of important advisory role in democracy that we describe in this book. I think that this failure has not only damaged the Indian debate on Bt Brinjal, but also the general appreciation of scientific authority in India.<br /><br />Q) Can you also tell us a little more of your increased engagement with India? How did it come about and what are your present research interests?<br />A) I first came to India about six years ago on the invitation of Dr Shambu Prasad of the Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar, to visit some research institutes that were working at the crossroads of technology and society. I met Indian scientists and also Indian NGOs that work on science and technology related issues. Dastkar Andhra, for example, working with handloom weaving cooperatives, trying to innovate technology, design, marketing and the social infrastructure to help the weavers build up new stable livelihoods. I also met people from the Centre for World Solidarity (CWS), the Centre for Sustainable Agriculture (CSA), and the Central University in Hyderabad. I was fascinated by the work going on in India — what I would call ‘science technology and society studies (STS)’ work, though they didn’t use that label themselves. I realised that there is a lot that we in Europe can learn from India about the larger democratic questions of science and technology in and for society. That is what got me going.<br /><br />Q) And what have been the specific areas that you’ve been working on in India?<br />A) I have been supervising three European students who have been working on their PhDs in India. One has worked intensely with CSA and studied their efforts to upscale non-pesticide crop management. Another has been studying tuberculosis in India and the most recent is presently studying democratic governance of water resource management in south India.<br /><br />Q) And the manifesto…<br />A) Yes, we are now in the final stages of a larger European Union-funded project that works on the triangle of India, Europe and Africa. We want to find out how countries can take into their own hands the development of their science and technology, rather than just following, say, the US or world trends. In India we worked with a broad set of, both, academics and more NGO-related Indian researchers. In a workshop held two years ago in the Adivasi Academy, Tejgadh in Gujarat, we formulated the first draft of the manifesto. The manifesto takes as its central agenda the principles of justice, sustainability and plurality of knowledge. It very explicitly formulates that there are different kinds of knowledge and that they all have their own merit; that they develop in parallel and that scientific knowledge is just one of them though with its own importance and merit. We are now re-writing it by including experiences from concrete case studies on sustainable agriculture, on water management, on reconstructing the built environment after the tsunami, and on medical care. We’ll be presenting it in 2011 and hopefully it will spur further discussions and debate.<br /><br />Q) And your future plans for India?<br />A) I hope to keep working myself and through my students. Hopefully, we’ll also have a separate India Inside Technology series co-published by the MIT press and a local publisher to bring to India some of the published work in science, technology and society studies.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/TOix1vItKMI/AAAAAAAACio/G_CPLly408o/s1600/IMG_5216-2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/TOix1vItKMI/AAAAAAAACio/G_CPLly408o/s400/IMG_5216-2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5541874878223558850" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/TOix1Z8FYUI/AAAAAAAACig/-cHSINFSVjU/s1600/IMG_5213-2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/TOix1Z8FYUI/AAAAAAAACig/-cHSINFSVjU/s400/IMG_5213-2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5541874872533475650" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/TOix1O8ArEI/AAAAAAAACiY/mFyrI_8HMic/s1600/IMG_5190-2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/TOix1O8ArEI/AAAAAAAACiY/mFyrI_8HMic/s400/IMG_5190-2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5541874869580377154" /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8637557501276190731-2682115853145123450?l=pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>PANKAJ SEKHSARIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798223946431718400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637557501276190731.post-41506217496092410402010-11-14T20:30:00.004+05:302010-11-14T20:45:37.128+05:30Expressbuzz<br />Sunday, November 14, 2010 8:27 PM IST<br /><br />'CONSERVATION AT THE CROSSROADS' by Dr. Ghazala Shahabuddin. <br />Review by Pankaj Sekhsaria <br /><br />Beyond cliches and the obvious<br />http://expressbuzz.com/books/beyond-cliches-and-the-obvious/222532.html<br /><br />Pankaj Sekhsaria<br /><br />Wildlife conservation in India is an extremely complex and intricate matter, related as it is to the fate of thousands of species of plants and animals and also the millions of humans who live in or are dependant on landscapes that are critical for conservation. The matrix is a complex one and to say that conservation in a rapidly changing India is at a crossroads is as much a cliché as a statement of the obvious.<br /><br />'Conservation at the Crossroads' by Dr Ghazala Shahabuddin manages to go beyond both, the clichés and the obvious, in a contemporary account of conservation that is timely and well-informed. Spread over eight chapters, the book explores the different paradigms that either exist, are being attempted or might indeed be possible. The central debate in conversation in India, as it has been all over the world, is over the exclusionary paradigm — keeping out people from areas where wildlife should rule the roost. Various arguments have been put forth in favour and against this over the years and Shahabuddin shows that while this is crucial, it is not the only debate that we need to have.<br /><br />Having said that and in spite of making a claim to the contrary, the book does end up treating strict conservation in protected areas (wildlife sanctuaries and national parks) and initiatives of community conservation asymmetrically. Where protected areas (PAs) are concerned, the problems outlined are located entirely in the broad domain of ‘management’ (lack of resources, personnel, training etc). In dealing with communities that are conserving on their own account, meanwhile, a question mark hangs on the value of the paradigm itself in achieving conservation. Much larger trust and belief is placed in the PA system. Much tougher questions are being asked of the community conservation paradigm.<br /><br />It is well known, for instance, that ‘good’ forest and wildlife areas remain outside PA boundaries for reasons that have nothing to do with either wildlife, forests or science. The contradiction is an obvious one then, when we show faith in the protected areas system to ‘scientifically’ protect biodiversity when the basis for the creation of the system itself can be questioned on the grounds of its scientific validity.<br /><br />The other thing I started to see towards the end the book is the almost complete absence of the larger political, social and economic context of the present within which conservation has to be located. Shahabuddin does talk of developmental threats (dams, mines, infrastructure projects), but these are discussed more as stand-alone projects. The narrative emerges uninformed by the drives, moves and trajectories of the larger context.<br /><br />What value is there to communities conserving or even PA boundaries being ‘sanitised’ when one big project tomorrow can upset it all, riding roughshod over or perhaps aided by the legal, administrative and economic systems we are presently part of?<br /><br />The last chapter ‘Reinventing Conservation: Creating Space for Nature’ too was a little disappointing because the space had been created in the preceding chapters for solutions that could have been much bolder. Disproportionate emphasis, for instance, has been placed on tourism as a means to ensure conservation and livelihood security for the locals and the notion of the buffer zone too is also not examined critically when it remains only a concept on the ground.<br /><br />If the account so far sounds like only a string of complaints, it is because I have concentrated on only certain parts of what is, overall, a delightful read. The first chapter on the Sariska Tiger Reserve, for instance, is very good for the details provided of the author’s own field work and her personal interest and experience. It’s an account that is rooted in strong empirical work and builds a credibility that is sustained through to the very end.<br /><br />The best chapter of the book is the third one — ‘The endangered tribe of the wildlife biologist’ — not surprising considering that Shahabuddin’s training is that of a conservation biologist. This is an account that wildlife biologists and scientists will welcome with open arms. Not only is the title laced with huge irony, the outlining of the problem and the suggested solutions are insightful and succinct. It gave me, for the first time, an understanding of the nature of the problem of wildlife science in India and why it is a problem in the first place.<br /><br />Conservation at the Crossroads is an excellent piece of scholarship — one that I found insightful and useful and one I would strongly recommend. Permanent Black and the New India Foundation need to be congratulated for bringing it out and hopefully there will be many more.<br /><br />— Pankaj Sekhsaria is an environment writer, researcher and photographer. He edits the ‘Protected Area Update’ a bimonthly newsletter on wildlife produced by the environmental action group, Kalpavriksh<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8637557501276190731-4150621749609241040?l=pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>PANKAJ SEKHSARIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798223946431718400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637557501276190731.post-33502991408692094122010-11-06T19:20:00.002+05:302010-11-06T19:27:46.186+05:30OLD GROWTH <br /><br />A walk in the Nilgiris' enchanting—and still surviving—Longwood Shola reserve forest<br />by<br />Pankaj Sekhsaria<br />http://travel.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?267512<br /> <br /><br />Don’t let its size fool you. Longwood Shola, the little forest located in the Kotagiri taluk of Tamil Nadu’s Nilgiris district, is a very big deal. For one, it is an unexpected gem—a sparkling island of a forest in a sea of villages, tea estates and plantations of exotic trees. Longwood is also one of the last remnants of the primeval forests that once clothed the Nilgiris. It has taken zealous guarding and action by conservationists and locals to keep even these 100-odd hectares safe.<br /><br />I had barely entered Longwood Shola, on a visit sometime in April last year, that its treasures tumbled out one after the other. Up in the canopy to my left, a rust-and-cream Malabar giant squirrel scurried restlessly on a branch, the colour of its fur glowing in the morning sun. If you’ve seen this resident of the forest canopy, you’ll know just what I mean when I say ‘my jaw dropped’ and I ‘stood stunned’. Then suddenly, really suddenly, the creature froze. It was looking straight at me, the intruder. The squirrel turned around in a flash and, in three nimble leaps, managed to disappear completely in the foliage above.<br /><br /><br />Even as I was scanning the canopy for another glimpse, something flew past me and across to the bushes on my right. It flitted around for a while and then came right up. Here was another stunner: a little brown bird with striking white eyebrows, just a few feet from me. Its eyebrows seemed to form an inquiring frown, no doubt asking me, “Why are you looking at me like that, mister?” Senthil had noticed my stupefaction. “Quickly, Pankaj,” he said. “This is a great chance, take your picture.” Before I could recover enough to act on that, though, the endemic Nilgiri laughing thrush decided it had made its point and was gone.<br /><br />K. Senthil Prasad, incidentally, is the best walking companion one could have in the Longwood Shola. He is part of the Kotagiri Wildlife and Environment Association (KWEA) and the Keystone Foundation, has lived his entire life here and continues to work to protect Longwood Shola. And herein lies an important story.<br /><br />The Longwood Shola reserve forest is not a big one by any standards; but it could quite easily have ceased to exist, just like the forests that once surrounded it. Over the years, the growing villages and settlements in the region have been pressuring the forest for fuel-wood and other resources. Local initiatives to protect Longwood started in the early 1980s. They took a more permanent form in May 1998, with the Forest Department setting up the Longwood Shola Watchdog Committee (LSWC) in collaboration with a group of concerned and committed local people (Senthil was one of them).<br /><br />The LSWC took up a number of activities, including patrolling to keep away woodcutters, removing exotic plants that were threatening the local flora and clean-ups to remove garbage left behind by picnickers and visitors. Seminars were held for local schools and colleges and, importantly, LSWC began conversations with the villagers living around the forest. It helped that Longwood Shola is the prime and perennial source of water for nearly 15 villages located downstream and, over time, local communities became partners in protecting their forest.<br /><br /> <br />It worked well for the locals—human and wildlife alike—and the conservation work has begun to be noticed. Longwood Shola was recently included in the Directory of Community Conserved Areas published by the NGO Kalpavriksh, and it has been recognised as an ‘Important Bird Area’ by BirdLife International for the conservation of the Nilgiri laughing thrush, the white-bellied shortwing and the Nilgiri wood pigeon. Ten of the 16 birds that are endemic to the Western Ghats have also been recorded in this small forest. It is also home to a large number of other fauna, including gaur, the occasional leopard, barking deer, wild boar, porcupine, black-napped hare and, of course, the Malabar giant squirrel.<br /><br />In more good news, of late, the Nilgiris itself has become the focus of several local and regional conservation attempts. The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund, for one, has set up a large research and action initiative for the Western Ghats, of which the Nilgiris are a part. For another, a new Nilgiri Natural History Society has been formed with the Keystone Foundation in the lead. And the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests has set up an expert panel on the Western Ghats to “assist in the preservation, conservation and rejuvenation of this environmentally sensitive and ecologically significant region”. Longwood Shola is certainly a sweet little success story.<br /><br />So it is the good people of the Nilgiris that I must thank for the fact that, just minutes into my stroll around the forest, I had already seen two endemics. With the thrush having done its disappearing act, we walked on a little before we were distracted by a murder of jungle crows creating a racket. We soon found out why—sitting on the other side of a small stream was a huge brown wood owl and the crows were harassing it. This fellow sat around for a while even after spotting us, and this gave me an opportunity to finally put my camera to some use. But then the crows started to get really aggressive and the owl took off, with the crows still in pursuit.<br /><br />The wonderful thing about Longwood is just how walker-friendly it is. A comfortable path meanders through the forest, making it an enjoyable walk. Senthil led me past a biggish wetland, over a stream and up a gentle slope, stopping along the way to peer into the forest or strain upwards to catch the action in the canopy. At least on the morning I went, the squirrels seemed to be the most active residents. I must have seen at least half a dozen of them; the rudraskha tree (known locally as bikkimaram) was fruiting and that’s where these guys were mainly concentrated. The squirrels seemed to favour the seeds, for the floor under the trees was littered with fruit scrapings left behind after the seed-extraction.<br /><br />That day, it seemed, my luck just wouldn’t run out. “Gaur,” said Senthil, as he pointed into the distance, “Be careful”. There were two there—a young calf and a huge adult that must have been the mother. The little one jumped away as soon as it saw us, but the mother stood regal and magnificent and stared as us for a while. She finally turned nonchalantly and sauntered off behind her young one.<br /><br />Finally, we walked down a slope and across another small stream that had a magnificent tree fern growing on its bank, and we were back near the point we started from. The squirrel I had seen first was back in its place (I’m quite sure it’s the same one), but the owl was nowhere to be seen. The crows were still running amok. I had spent just over two hours in the forest and been privy to the tiniest part of its secrets, but that’s all it took for Longwood Shola to bewitch me.<br /><br />For pictures see <a href="http://pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com/2009/05/longwood-shola-kotagiri-nilgiris.html">http://pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com/2009/05/longwood-shola-kotagiri-nilgiris.html</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8637557501276190731-3350299140869209412?l=pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>PANKAJ SEKHSARIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798223946431718400noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637557501276190731.post-21012547748730093082010-11-06T18:57:00.004+05:302010-11-06T19:04:02.432+05:30Toxic Assets or Toxics as Assets<br />by Pankaj Sekhsaria<br /><br />The New Indian Express, 21st Oct. 2010<br /><br />http://expressbuzz.com/biography/toxic-assets-or-toxics-as-assets/216983.html<br /><br />If there is one term that defines the tailspin the world economy experienced recently, it is ‘toxic assets’. The phenomenon has been hugely analysed and debated but little has been discussed on the coinage of the term itself. Who used it first? What was its purpose? Has it had any particular implications? Would the responses to the crisis have been different if toxic assets were called something else, say ‘legacy assets’?<br /><br />It is believed that the term toxic assets was coined and popularised by the founder of Countrywide Financial, Angelo Mozilo, who used ‘toxic’ to describe certain mortgage products in early 2006: “(The 100% loan-to-value subprime loan is) the most dangerous product in existence and there can be nothing more toxic...” he is recorded as having said in an e-mail he sent in March 2006.<br /><br />What is particularly intriguing here is the crossing over of ‘toxic’, from its primary usage in the environmental context into the realm of finance. This offers, both, an interesting metaphor on the one hand and an important commentary on the other.<br /><br />It doesn’t need much to see the contradiction in putting toxic and assets together; it’s the ultimate oxymoron. If it’s an asset, it is positive and welcome. If it’s toxic it is best avoided, even better disposed. What does their juxtaposition in ‘toxic assets’, then imply? Is it a dichotomy of the real world or can it be dismissed merely as a play of words?<br /><br />Language does not just modulate the experience of the real world, it often becomes the experience itself. It is language that we use again to change the experience, like when a new term ‘legacy assets’ was created for the purpose. Most readers are likely to have missed it earlier in this essay because it does not have the power, the influence or the history of ‘toxic assets’. ‘Legacy assets’ or ‘legacy loans’ as they are also called, were in fact, a re-branding exercise attempted by the US Treasury in March of 2009 to make more palatable and sellable what were now widely known as ‘toxic assets’. The term, however, is so firmly embedded in public memory that it has been impossible to dislodge.<br /><br />‘Toxic assets’ has made the boundary between financial and environmental risks unexpectedly and visibly porous. The same was done a while ago in the climate change debate as well — in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), a financial instrument that offers a solution to the climate crisis by transacting in ‘carbon credits’. CDM is a politically sensitive issue; economically an uncertain one and has been seen, empirically, as rather unsuccessful so far: trade in carbon is increasing but there seems to be no commensurate reduction in carbon emissions.<br /><br />The question then is this: Was the creation of trading in carbon, implicitly, an effort to ‘repackage’ a certain toxicity as an asset. That the packaging has been widely successful is evident in the growing interest in the idea. A number of developing countries including India have bought into it fully and have now created multiple scenarios of economic revenues through different forms of carbon trading.<br /><br />That ‘waste is a misplaced resource’ is a commonly accepted principle. It has been shown that excretions from one system, particularly in nature, are productively used in another. For this to happen, however, the waste needs to be thrown completely out of the system first; inside it becomes toxic and extremely dangerous. This also assumes that there are clear boundaries between systems and that waste moves across these boundaries.<br /><br />While carbon is an integral part of the system of the Earth, its excessive accumulation is the toxicity that threatens. This toxicity is now being promoted as an asset for a transaction that will now happen before its removal from within the system.<br /><br />The irony is that the climate change crisis is built on the notion of the Earth as a single, unified entity: it doesn’t matter where and when the emissions happen or who is responsible because the consequences are to be faced by all. The problem this raises for carbon trading is evident. If the Earth is indeed one, there is no ‘other backyard’ to put the waste (carbon) into; it’s the reverse of the ‘toxics assets’ case. The argument that carbon trading will work is, then, in direct opposition to the notion that there is one Earth because carbon emissions can’t be toxic and an asset at the same time!<br /><br />The options that this leaves us with are two: that the Earth is not one entity or that climate change is not a problem that we should be worrying about. Neither might be acceptable, but then it cannot be dismissed as mere word play either!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8637557501276190731-2101254774873009308?l=pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>PANKAJ SEKHSARIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798223946431718400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637557501276190731.post-32844025925652006342010-10-16T19:19:00.003+05:302010-10-19T00:38:57.163+05:30- finds the lost tigers of Bhutan<br /><br /><br />On September 20, BBC published a report in its Earth News section of its web edition that has had the global wildlife and conservation community abuzz with excitement. In the article, ‘<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8998000/8998042.stm">Lost tiger population discovered in Bhutan mountains’,</a> editor Earth News, Matt Walker, described with unconcealed enthusiasm the expedition where the BBC team “left (camera) traps at an altitude of between 3,000m and 4,100m” in the Bhutan mountains for many months and returned eventually with footage of two adult tigers—one male and one female. “The discovery,” the report says, “has stunned experts, as the tigers are living at a higher altitude than any others known and appear to be successfully breeding.” Veteran cameraman Gordon Buchanan, who was on the expedition, was reportedly moved to tears when he saw the footage.<br /> In a world starved of good news about wildlife, the global media lapped up this discovery. The BBC claim was relayed and published widely with no questions asked at all. It didn’t occur to anyone to ask what a ‘lost tiger population’ meant? When was it lost for it to have been discovered now? The BBC team had got the footage for sure, but how did they know where to put up the cameras in the first place?<br /> The report does acknowledge the Bhutan Ministry of Agriculture and Forests and Forest Guard Phup Tshering, but the heroes of the entire episode are, of course, the BBC crew and conservationist Alan Rabinowitz, President of conservation organization, Panthera, and leader of the expedition. Walker credits Rabinowitz with having “suspected that tigers may also be living at higher altitude, following anecdotal reports by villagers suggesting that some were roaming as high as 4000m (13,000ft).”<br />The matter begs serious questioning: if local people had already known of the presence of the tigers, how can anyone claim their discovery? Why is it that local knowledge and understanding continues to be secondary to television crews and scientists?<br /> BBC’s claim is not questionable only on semantics grounds and on its politics of lost, found and discovery, but also from the fact that there is considerable ‘hard’ evidence of the presence of tigers at high altitudes. For instance, a 2001 report of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) – Bhutan Program says that in “September 1999, a camera trap set up by a wildlife survey team captured a tiger at 3,400 meters, the highest altitude ever recorded for a tiger. In its note on the ThrumshingLa National Park, the Bhutanese Tourism Ministry notes: “the park made news in the year 2000 when a WWF-supported survey team captured a camera-trap image of a tiger at 3,000 meters – the first photographic evidence that the magnificent creatures exist at such high altitudes.” More recent documents like The Tiger Action Plan for the Kingdom of Bhutan 2006-2015 published by the Nature Conservation Division of Bhutan’s Ministry of Agriculture along with the WWF Bhutan Program and the May 2010 National Tiger Recovery Program Summary of Global Tiger Initiative also note that the tiger in Bhutan inhabits ranges from an altitude of 100m to 4100 m about sea level. Another camera trapping study conducted in 2008 in the Jigme Dorji National Park found both pugmarks and pictures of tigers at an altitude between 3,700 and 4,300 meters above sea level. Even the web page of IUCN’s Red List of threatened species observes that tigers have been recorded in Bhutan upto 4,500 meters above sea level.<br /> All of this has been completely ignored in BBC’s claim and the plethora of media reports that appeared in the wake of this ‘find’ and ‘discovery’. There was one voice of contestation that came, not surprisingly, from wildlife researchers in Bhutan. Not surprisingly, further, this voice has been completely drowned out. The online news site www.kuenselonline.com published a report on BBC’s claim with a title that was as subtle as it was instructive. “<a href="http://www.kuenselonline.com/2010/modules.php?name=News&amp;file=article&amp;sid=16794">Cameras catch big cat at 4,000 m plus</a>”, the headline said, followed by the subtitle “Further evidence of the wide range of the tiger in Bhutan”. The reported noted incisively that Bhutanese wildlife conservationists were not calling it a ‘discovery’ but only more ‘evidence’ to prove that tigers do roam the jungles of Bhutan at an altitude as high as 4,100 m. Sonam Wangchuk, head of the Bhutanese Wildlife Conservation Division noted about their findings of about a year ago: “We’ve found pug marks and droppings (of tigers) at the Jigme Dorji Wangchuck national park. The only thing we don’t have is a footage of them.”<br /> The gulf between the reality on the ground and what has been claimed is too evident to have been missed. There are no lost tigers in Bhutan. There is no way anyone could have found or discovered them.<br />----<br />A shorter version of the same story with the title 'BBC does a Columbus' was published in the 'Down to Earth' issue of October 15-31, 2010<br /><a href="http://www.downtoearth.org.in/node/2085">http://www.downtoearth.org.in/node/2085</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8637557501276190731-3284402592565200634?l=pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>PANKAJ SEKHSARIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798223946431718400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637557501276190731.post-40764304588383215902010-10-16T19:02:00.005+05:302010-10-16T19:19:00.199+05:30<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/TLmqiowzKQI/AAAAAAAAChQ/fXncWnBFZ_Q/s1600/ajoba+in+well.JPG"></a>THE NEED FOR MORE PROACTIVE SOLUTIONS<br />The New Indian Express, 16th Oct 2010<br /><br />http://expressbuzz.com/magazine/the-need-for-more-proactive-solutions/214728.html<br /><br /><span id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_lblDetailNews1">A first of its kind satellite tracking project to monitor leopards in India recently released data of a young male leopard’s remarkable journey from the hinterland to the forests of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Mumbai. The leopard that was trapped in a well in the small town of Alephata, in Pune District was fitted with a satellite collar and released in the nearby forests of Malshej Ghat. In the 23 days that followed, the animal walked through agricultural lands, densely populated human habitations, across roads, a railway line and swam across a creek to cover a distance of 120 kms and reach the green oasis in the heart of India’s commercial capital.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/TLmqiowzKQI/AAAAAAAAChQ/fXncWnBFZ_Q/s1600/ajoba+in+well.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/TLmqiowzKQI/AAAAAAAAChQ/fXncWnBFZ_Q/s400/ajoba+in+well.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528637529608366338" border="0" /></a> <p></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/TLmqiPIjVvI/AAAAAAAAChI/3GNnApKgQcs/s1600/ajoba+being+collared.JPG"></a><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_lblDetailNews1"><span style="font-size:85%;">The leopard when it was found trapped in the well. It was collared as part of the research project by the team (below). On the right is lead researcher, Vidya Athreya (Photo Courtesy: Project Waghoba)</span></span><br /><br /><span id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_lblDetailNews1"></span></div><span id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_lblDetailNews1"><span id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_lblDetailNews1"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/TLmqiPIjVvI/AAAAAAAAChI/3GNnApKgQcs/s1600/ajoba+being+collared.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/TLmqiPIjVvI/AAAAAAAAChI/3GNnApKgQcs/s400/ajoba+being+collared.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528637522728670962" border="0" /></a></span><br /><br />Wildlife biologist Vidya Athreya, who is lead researcher of Project Waghoba (<a href="http://www.projectwaghoba.in">www.projectwaghoba.in</a>) that seeks to study leopard presence and behaviour in human-dominated landscapes, believes that this proof of the leopard’s journey has important policy implications to deal with cases of human-wildlife conflict across India. The first indications of this had been evident to her in 2003, when she started researching human-leopard conflict in the agriculture-dominated landscapes of Western Maharashtra. It is linked to a spate of incidents in the forests of Yawal WLS located in Jalgaon district of Maharashtra. These forests are inhabited by a range of wild animals including large carnivores such as leopards. They have also been dotted with human settlements for a very long time and yet there had been no instances of conflict with the carnivore that is one of the most intelligent and adaptive of wild cats. <p></p>All this suddenly changed towards the end of 2003. The two-month period from October 31 to December 24 saw six vicious attacks by leopards in the region that had not experienced a single one till then. The attacks stopped only when trap cages were put up and two leopards were caught in them. These were the same animals that had, only a few months ago, terrorised the human population in the agriculture-dominated landscape of Junnar near the city of Pune. Labelled ‘straying’ animals, they were trapped here and as per existing management policy moved 400 km to the forests of Yawal, where they were released back into the ‘wild’.<p></p>The identity of the leopards, the reason for their presence and the explanation of the attacks lay in a small electronic tag that lay inserted at the base of the tail of these animals. They had been electronically tagged before release as part of a pioneering research project by the Maharashtra Forest Department and assisted by Athreya and wildlife veterinarian Dr Aniruddh Belsare. The rice-grain-sized tag can be read like a bar-code in the supermarket and it was hoped that the tagging would help track the problem animals once they were captured and set free elsewhere. In the case of Yawal, Athreya and Belsare had shown that translocation of the problem leopards was no solution at all; it lay at the root of the problem. The translocation of the animal from the area of conflict had in fact caused the conflict to move to new areas. The animals had taken the conflict with then, and significantly, to an area where it had never existed. <p></p>The explanation lies in a simple fact of animal behaviour and biology. Translocated animals are forced to negotiate unfamiliar territory and this increases the chance of conflict. The stress encountered during the move itself can also result in an animal becoming more aggressive and problematic. Territorial animals like bears, leopards and tigers have a very strong homing tendency and instinctively try to return to the area from which they have been moved. “In the case of Yawal,” notes Athreya, “one of the problem animals was captured 90 km from its site of release in the direction of Junnar, the town from where it had been brought. ”<p></p>This was borne out again earlier in June this year, when an elephant from a herd responsible for large-scale damage was captured in the Hassan district of Karnataka. It was moved to the Bandipur National Park but had walked back 70 km towards its home territory within days. In another documented case in 2005, a herd of 20 elephants was relocated from the Hambantota town in south east Sri Lanka to the Yala National Park. One of them was radio-collared by the Centre for Conservation and Research and the Sri Lankan Department of Wildlife Conservation to track the progress of the relocation process. The collared animal, the researchers found out, was back at its original site in Hambantota in a few days time. <p></p>There is increasing evidence that translocation of what are considered ‘problem animals’ is no solution at all. “Translocation,” says Athreya, “is a procedure commonly used to deal with people or animals which are a problem. It is reactive and involves large amounts of resources. What we require are proactive processes, but these can be devised only after a careful analysis of the problem, be it conflict between villagers and wildlife in protected areas or in croplands.” Modern technology like micro-chipping, use of satellite and radio collars and innovative research projects are for the first time, giving important insights into the hitherto unknown outcomes of translocation projects. <p></p>— The writer is an environmental researcher, writer and photographer. psekharia@gmail.com</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><br />(Also see: <a href="http://pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com/2009/02/leopards-of-akole-v.html">http://pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com/2009/02/leopards-of-akole-v.html</a>)</span><br /><span id="ctl00_ContentPlaceHolder1_lblDetailNews1"><p></p></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8637557501276190731-4076430458838321590?l=pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>PANKAJ SEKHSARIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798223946431718400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637557501276190731.post-85428071556704052712010-09-18T19:35:00.002+05:302010-09-18T19:56:48.818+05:30<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/TJTHqMxyIFI/AAAAAAAACdY/_Rre1ndFUSI/s1600/common-voices-1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 283px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/TJTHqMxyIFI/AAAAAAAACdY/_Rre1ndFUSI/s400/common-voices-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518254971234164818" border="0" /></a><a href="http://iasc2011.fes.org.in/">http://iasc2011.fes.org.in/</a><br /><a href="http://iasc2011.fes.org.in/common-voices-1.pdf"><span class="f"><cite>iasc2011.fes.org.in/common-voices-1.pdf</cite></span></a><br /></div><img src="file:///Users/pankajsekhsaria/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/moz-screenshot.png" alt="" /><img src="file:///Users/pankajsekhsaria/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/moz-screenshot-1.png" alt="" /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8637557501276190731-8542807155670405271?l=pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>PANKAJ SEKHSARIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798223946431718400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637557501276190731.post-19470821634600090622010-09-16T21:26:00.002+05:302010-09-16T21:31:25.752+05:30Dear Friends,<br />Below is the list of contents of new issue of the Protected Area Update (Vol. XVI, No. 5), October 2010 (No. 87). Please do forward this to other elists where you think this will be relevant. The entire issue can also be downloaded from the Kalpavriksh website at<br /><a href="http://www.kalpavriksh.org/protected-area-update/174-protected-area-update-2010">http://www.kalpavriksh.org/protected-area-update/174-protected-area-update-2010</a><br />If you want to receive the Update in the Word format write to me at the email below<br />We are, in fact, very happy to announce that all back issues of the PA Update are now available in their pdf forms from<br /><a href="http://www.kalpavriksh.org/protected-area-update">http://www.kalpavriksh.org/protected-area-update</a><br /><br />I would also likely to again point out that the PA Update continues to need funds and support. Any contribution, big or small, is welcome and if you would like more details on how you can help or if you any ideas, please do write to me at psekhsaria@gmail.com<br /><br />Many thanks<br />Pankaj Sekhsaria<br />Editor, Protected Area Update<br />C/o Kalpavriksh<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">PROTECTED AREA UPDATE<br />News and Information from protected areas in India and South Asia<br />Vol. XVI No. 5<br />October 2010 (No. 87)<br /><br /><br />LIST OF CONTENTS<br />EDITORIAL<br /><br />Many reasons to oppose a PA<br />NEWS FROM INDIAN STATES<br /><br />ANDHRA PRADESH<br />Demands for removal of speed breakers inside Nagarjunsagar Srisailam TR<br />Culling of wild boars to be allowed in state<br /><br />ARUNACHAL PRADESH<br />Tiger density goes up in Pakke TR<br /><br />ASSAM<br />River islands of Assam are new corridors for wildlife<br />FD officials to be allowed use of firearms<br />Poachers killed, apprehended in two different incidents in Orang NP<br />Elephant killed in road accident on NH-37 in Kaziranga NP<br />Investigation demanded into forest official involvement in Kaziranga NP rhino poaching<br />Road widening threat to wildlife in Sonitpur Elephant Reserve and buffer of Nameri Tiger Reserve<br />Women take up frontline jobs of protection in PAs, other forest areas<br /><br />GUJARAT<br />Details of wildlife cases filed by Amit Jethva<br />Tourism department requests for more permits in Gir; FD refuses<br />Committee to recommend critical wildlife habitats met only once in three years<br /><br />KARNATAKA<br />An estimated 1000 pangolins hunted in two months in Bellary region<br /><br />KERALA<br />Special measures proposed for newly declared Malabar WLS<br />Five Biodiversity Heritage Sites for state<br /><br />MADHYA PRADESH<br />MoEF asks MP to scrap the proposed Patrolling the Tiger Land plan<br /><br />MAHARASHTRA<br />Students renew demand for plastic ban in Bhimashankar WLS<br />NHAI proposes eight underpasses on NH-6 through forests between Navegaon-Nagzira and the Tadoba-Andhari TR<br />State cautioned against curtailing area of proposed Mansinghdeo WLS<br /><br />MEGHALAYA<br />Wildlife awards instituted for conservation in the Garo Hills<br /><br />ORISSA<br />Call for more protected areas in Orissa<br />Three member MoEF team to look into elephant deaths in Simlipal TR<br /><br />TAMIL NADU<br />Buoys to mark boundary of the Gulf of Mannar National Park<br /><br />UTTARAKHAND<br />Threat to wildlife in Rajaji NP from traffic and industries<br />Gomukh to Uttarkashi stretch of River Bhagirathi to be declared eco-sensitive<br />Uttarakhand government against expansion of Askot WLS<br /><br />WEST BENGAL<br />Deer die during transportation from Bibhuti Bhushan WLS to the Sunderbans<br />Elephant attacks train in Mahananda WLS<br /><br />NATIONAL NEWS FROM INDIA<br />Cheetah re-introduction proposed in Kuno-Palpur WLS, Nauradehi WLS and Shahgarh region in Jaisalmer district<br />2nd bench set up to hear Godavarman (Forest) Case in the SC<br />National Environmental Sciences Fellows Programme<br />No move to split the Indian Forest Service<br />Newsletter of the Nilgiri Natural History Society<br /><br />SOUTH ASIA<br />NEPAL<br />Tiger population increases in Chitwan NP<br />Meeting of Indo-Nepal border forest officials to discuss conservation issues<br /><br />SRI LANKA<br />Horton Plains slender loris, a primate considered extinct, but now photographed<br /><br />INTERNATIONAL NEWS<br />Call for applications for the Whitley Award<br /><br />UPCOMING<br />International Workshop on amphibians in the Western Ghats<br /><br />TIGER RESERVES IN INDIA<br />DESIGNATED BIOSPHERE RESERVES IN INDIA<br /><br />PERSPECTIVE<br />Tourism in and around PAs - A Paradigm shift needed<br /><br /><br />EDITORIAL<br /><br />MANY REASONS TO OPPOSE A PA<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">There have been many reasons and arguments against the creation of new protected areas (PAs) or the expansion of existing ones. The general impression is that governments and forest departments are always keen on expanding the PA network and communities or those who speak on their behalf are the ones opposing these moves.<br /> The picture on the ground is actually more complex and this issue of the PA Update has two interesting examples – one from Uttarakhand and another from Maharashtra. In both these cases it is the state machinery that is against the expansion (or creation) of protected areas for reasons that have nothing to do with interests of wildlife or of the local communities. An interesting parallel was seen more than a decade ago when the Himachal Pradesh Government denotified about 10 sq km of the Great Himalayan National Park on the pretext that local communities were being negatively impacted by the national park. The real reason was that the Parbati Hydel Project had been held up and the only way to get it through was to have the river valley excluded from the PA.<br /> Now, in Uttarakhand the state government is opposing the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) recommendation for expansion of the Askot Wildlife Sanctuary on the grounds that this will restrict their capacity to tap the high hydro-electric potential of the area. Already there are 14 such projects proposed within the existing sanctuary area (PA Update Vol. XVI, No. 2) and many others in the entire region. Local communities here have also been opposing the protected area, but then, they (at least some of them here) have also vehemently opposed the spree of dam building that the region is likely to see. The cancellation of the Loharinag Pala Hydel Project and the decision to declare the Gomukh – Uttarakashi stretch of the River Bhagirathi as an eco-sensitive zone is perhaps one outcome of this.<br /> In Maharashtra, similarly, the long pending notification of the Mansinghdeo Wildlife Sanctuary is being held up because part of the land belongs to the Forest Development Corporation of Maharashtra. The Corporation which has logged these forests for timber has in the past opposed handing over the land for inclusion in the sanctuary and the decade old proposal continues to languish. In 2004 (PA Update 50) it had even moved an application before the High Court, arguing that it would lose nearly Rs. 1400 crores if the ban on timber logging was implemented in the 10 km radius of PAs as had been suggested.<br /> This is a situation we have seen happening repeatedly with only minor variations in the script. In the present scheme of protected areas and wildlife conservation, local communities are clearly the most dispensable entities. And in the present dominant paradigm of ‘development’ and primacy to commercial interests it is protected areas, wildlife and local people that are all together in being at the bottom of the list of priorities, if they find a place in that list at all.<br /> There are different sets of people opposing wildlife conservation and protected areas for different reasons. It is important to realize that it is generally one set that manages to have its way.<br /></div><br />---<br /><br />Protected Area Update<br />Vol. XVI, No. 5, October 2010 (No. 87)<br /><br />Editor: Pankaj Sekhsaria<br />Editorial Assistance: Reshma Jathar<br />Illustrations: Madhuvanti Anantharajan<br /><br />Produced by<br />The Documentation and Outreach Centre, Kalpavriksh<br />http://www.kalpavriksh.org/documentation-a-research-centre<br /><br />Ideas, comments, news and information may please be sent to the editorial address:<br /><br />KALPAVRIKSH<br />Apartment 5, Shri Dutta Krupa, 908 Deccan Gymkhana, Pune 411004, Maharashtra, India.<br />Tel/Fax: 020 - 25654239.<br />Email: psekhsaria@gmail.com<br />Website: http://kalpavriksh.org/protected-area-update<br /><br />---<br />Publication of the PA Update has been supported by<br />- Foundation for Ecological Security (FES)<br />http://fes.org.in/<br />- Duleep Matthai Nature Conservation Trust<br />C/o FES<br />- MISEREOR<br />www.misereor.org<br />- Greenpeace India<br />www.greenpeace.org/india/<br />- Association for India's Development<br />www.aidindia.org<br />- Royal Society for the Protection of Birds<br />www.rspb.org.uk/<br />- Indian Bird Conservation Network<br />http://www.ibcn.in/<br />***<br />Information has been sourced from different newspapers and the following websites<br />http://wildlifewatch.in/<br />http://indiaenvironmentportal.org.in<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8637557501276190731-1947082163460009062?l=pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>PANKAJ SEKHSARIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798223946431718400noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637557501276190731.post-84025788230470025062010-09-05T19:33:00.000+05:302010-09-05T19:34:01.655+05:30<span class="marron_titulo_big">Activists Use Legal Weapons to Stop Thermal Power Plants</span><br /><span class="marron">By Pankaj Sekhsaria</span><br />http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=52636<br /><span class="texto1"><br /><b>HYDERABAD, India, Aug 27, 2010 (IPS) - Green activists have various ways of pushing their causes, from enlisting movie stars to launching protests, but India’s campaigners have also been quietly using legal weapons to try to get the projects they oppose, such as thermal plants, stopped or reversed.</b><br /><br /> This trend bears watching in the light of two cases where decisions affecting such projects, many of which are on the drawing board in different parts of India, have been made in courtrooms.<br /><br /> In July, the death of two protesters led to the cancellation of the environmental clearance of a thermal power plant project in southern Andhra Pradesh state, a decision that green activists took as victory.<br /><br /> But just a day before the Jul. 14 violence at the Nagarjuna Construction Company Power Projects Ltd project site at Sompeta, the Andhra Pradesh High Court dismissed a petition to stop a similar power plant project in the same district – Srikakulam. <br /><br /> This project by East Coast Energy Pvt Ltd is at Bhavanapadu in the wetlands area of Naupada village. <br /><br /> Lawyer Ritwick Dutta, representing the Paryavaran Parirakshana Sangham and other appellants says that Naupada is recognised by the Bombay Natural History Society and BirdLife International as a key habitat of the endangered Spot-billed Pelican, which breeds only in peninsular India, Sri Lanka and Cambodia. <br /><br /> Dutta had argued the case against the 12,000-crore (2.5 billion U.S. dollar) Nagarjuna project before the quasi-judicial National Environment Appellate Authority (NEAA), which eventually cancelled the environmental clearance for the 2,640-megawatt plant. <br /><br /> In fact, the firing by police in Sompeta occurred at about the same time that the case was being argued before the appellate authority in New Delhi.<br /><br /> The results in the Nagarjuna and East Coast cases are different, but highlight how courtrooms are increasingly being asked to decide the fate of these projects – many already with environment clearances – in lawsuits by non-government groups protesting schemes that they say would displace communities and harm sensitive environments.<br /><br /> But Sanjay Upadhyay, a New Delhi-based Supreme Court lawyer, says that the trend of plaintiffs approaching the courts in environmental matters cannot be a long-term solution to deciding policy.<br /><br /> Instead, he says in an interview, internal mechanisms and administrative systems inside the government must be strengthened, so that conflicting issues are resolved before clearances are issued in the first place. "Internal arrangements are very weak and systems can’t be run by courtrooms", Upadhyay pointed out.<br /><br /> According to the 2009 report by the environmental group Kalpavriksh entitled ‘Calling the Bluff: Revealing the state of Monitoring and Compliance of Environmental Clearance Conditions’, the Ministry of Environment and Forests clears 80 to 100 projects every month with a range of environment and social conditions. <br /><br /> Thermal power accounts for more than 70 percent of India’s electricity supply. Its annual per capita electricity consumption has increased from 566.7 kilowatt-hours in 2002-03 to 704 kwh in 2007-08. <br /><br /> Among India’s southern states, Andhra Pradesh has the highest installed capacity in coal-based utilities, which generate nearly 6,700 mw.<br /><br /> State officials explain that thermal power plant projects represent a total investment of up to 85,000 crore rupees (18 billion dollars) in Srikakulam alone, aside from providing 10,000 mw of power altogether. <br /><br /> But former government bureaucrat E A S Sarma, now convenor of the Forum for a Better Visakha, argues that none of these projects should be allowed in the coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh. <br /><br /> "These are coming up under the policy of the state government to promote merchant power plants, where land is being given cheap to the developers at the cost of the coastal environment and livelihoods of the local people," he said.<br /><br /> A report by the environment ministry notes that the area where the Nagarjuna project was to proceed has significant biodiversity, including medicinal plants and at least 120 bird species. T Rama Rao, vice president of the Sompeta-based Paryavaran Parirakshan Sangham (Environment Protection Committee) that is leading the opposition to the project along with Teera Pranta Matsyaka Aikya Vedika (Coastal Fisherfolk Unity Platform), says nearly 250,000 people from 24 fishing and 40 farming villages would have been affected by it.<br /><br /> At least six thermal plants are planned in Andhra Pradesh. Some, like the 2,630-mw project at Bhavanapadu by East Coast Energy – the subject of the July decision upholding the environment clearance thus far – and the 2,640-mw plant of Alpha Infra Prop Pvt Ltd at Komarada in neighbouring Vizianagaram district already have environment clearances. <br /><br /> The fatal shooting of two protesters in July seems to have inspired other communities to stand up for themselves. <br /><br /> Sarma observed, "It is now clear to people that the government itself is violating the law. They have realised their strength and opposition to projects here has gained strength in the last few days."<br /><br /> "The larger issue is that we have created systems that are guzzlers of energy," he added. "We can’t hope to keep adding megawatts like we have been doing so far. The demand for electricity has been artificially created and we have to work on steps like reducing transmission losses, using more efficient end-use devices, and make our systems more efficient." <br /><br /> Meantime, Nagarjuna’s corporate communications head, P L Murari, said the company "would do anything to address the genuine concerns of the local people regarding setting up of the power plant."<br /><br /> But the NEAA’s order cancelling the Sompeta project clearly states: "The Ministry should undertake survey of all wetlands in Srikakulam district for their ecological sensitiveness as soon as possible and pending this, no project should be cleared in such locations." (END)</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8637557501276190731-8402578823047002506?l=pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>PANKAJ SEKHSARIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798223946431718400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637557501276190731.post-48824227460330142292010-09-05T19:30:00.001+05:302010-09-05T19:32:45.015+05:30<slug>http://www.hindu.com/mag/2010/08/29/stories/2010082950110400.htm<br />COMMUNITIES </slug><p> <span class="storyhead" style=";font-size:130%;color:blue;" ><b> Vanquished voices </b></span> </p><p align="justify"> </p> <p align="justify"> </p> <table bgcolor="#ffeedd" border="0"><tbody><tr><td> With the passing away of Boa Senior of the Bo tribe, one more language has gone silent in the Andaman Islands. Will the administration wake up to the indigenous cultures that are dying out there, asks PANKAJ SEKhSARIA </td></tr></tbody></table><p align="justify"> </p><p align="justify"> </p> <hr color="#ddeeff" noshade="noshade"><i> About 150 years ago 10 groups constituted the Great Andamanese community... </i><hr color="#ddeeff" noshade="noshade"> <p align="justify"> </p> <center> <span style=""> </span><br /> <img src="http://www.hindu.com/mag/2010/08/29/images/2010082950110401.jpg" align="center" border="1" height="269" width="350" /><br /><b> Last of the Bos: Boa Sr.<br /></b>(Photo: Anvita Abbi)<b><br /></b> </center><p> </p><p>Boa Senior of the Bo indigenous community in the Andaman Islands died on January 26, 2010 at the ripe old age of 85. The inevitable had to happen and yet every such passing leaves behind sadness and regret. In that sense Boa Sr. was like everyone else and at the same time unique in a hugely tragic sense.</p> <p>With her death one more ancient language of these islands has gone silent forever. Boa Sr. was the last speaker of the Bo language and all that we have now are some recordings that may have been left behind. The fate of language neatly reflects the fate of the people themselves and the story of the Great Andamanese that Boa Sr. belonged to is no exception. About 150 years ago 10 groups (the Bo included) constituted the Great Andamanese community of the Andamans. The population that was nearly 5000 then is down to only about 50 today. It is also a little known fact that only four of the 10 original languages have survived and with Boa Sr. now gone, that number is further down by one.</p> <p><b>Lack of sensitivity</b></p> <p>There is a whole treasure house within these communities, their way of life and their languages that is on the verge of going silent. Boa Sr.'s is the inevitable silence of the dead, but it is another silence that is deafening for its lack of awareness and sensitivity. Her death was widely reported and accounts appeared in the press all over the world. What was striking however is that the official government machinery had no role at all to play in it. The news of Boa Sr.'s death was first reported by Dr Abbi and her team of linguists who have been working with the community for many years now. It was posted by them on the ‘andamanicobar' e-discussion group and then circulated further via a press release issued by Survival International, the London based tribal rights advocacy group.</p> <p>The huge paraphernalia of the A&amp;N Administration that includes the Tribal Welfare Department and the Andaman Adim Janjati Vikas Samiti (AAJVS) did not as much as even issue a note announcing the death, leave alone expressing their condolences. There was no mention on the website of the A&amp;N administration or in ‘The Daily Telegrams' the daily newspaper published by the administration from Port Blair. Neither did any political party or other prominent group in the islands acknowledge the passing away of another community and another language.</p> <p>One might argue that even if this were to happen it could have done nothing for Boa Sr or the Bo language. While that might be true, the larger concern is about what this apathy reflects for others in the future. These agencies are responsible for the welfare of some of the most vulnerable and threatened human communities like the Jarawa, Onge and Sentinelese that inhabit these islands. If they remain unacknowledged even in their death, what hope can there be for those that are just about hanging on to their survival? These are voices that are not just going silent; in more ways than one they are being vanquished.</p> <center> <span style=""> </span><br /> <img src="http://www.hindu.com/mag/2010/08/29/images/2010082950110402.jpg" align="center" border="1" height="245" width="350" /><br /><b> Popular :Port Blair and Ross Island<br /></b>(Photo: Pankaj Sekhsaria)<b><br /></b> </center><p> </p><p>Even a change in history is sought – one of the most prominent demands in this light being the recent call by the All India Forward Block in the islands to rename the Andaman and Nicobar groups as Shaheed and Swaraj respectively, as suggested by Subhas Chandra Bose. It is not a new demand and has been made repeatedly since the 1950s by a range of historians and those with political interests. The enthusiasm to re-configure and reclaim this history, however, is striking in its ignorance of the larger context of these islands.</p> <p>It is a question that renaming enthusiasts need to consider very carefully: How does one reclaim what was never yours in the first place? There are undeniable connections of India's freedom movement with the islands; best symbolized by the mutiny of 1857 and the Cellular Jail. There can be no denying that and neither can one deny the close bonds that a large section of the country feels with these islands, but that history does not go beyond a 150 years.</p> <p>It has to be remembered that the Andaman and Nicobar Islands have been the traditional home of a number of aboriginal communities – the Great Andamanese, Jarawa, Onge and Sentinelese (in the Andamans), the Nicobaris and the Shompen (in the Nicobars) that have been living here for nearly 50,000 years. The 150 years that we want to claim now is like the blink of an eye in comparison. Injustices have been done and continue to be done to these communities in a manner that has few parallels in India. Their lands have been taken, their forests converted to plywood and agricultural plantations, and the fabric of their societies so violently torn apart that extinction looms on the horizon for many of them. The Great Andamanese who were at least 5000 individuals when the 1857 mutiny happened are today are only about 50 people. Two months ago the last member of the Bo community died and the administration did not even acknowledge her passing away. The Onge who were counted at about 600 individuals in 1901 census are only a 100 people today.</p> <p><b>Worthy of study</b></p> <p>These are people, like indigenous peoples everywhere, who have their own histories and their own names for the islands and places First the British gave them a name and now we want to call them something else . If indeed the places have to be renamed, should not an effort first be made to find out what the original people had first named them and which names are still in use by them? Should that not be the work of scholarship and historical studies? It would be a far more challenging and worthwhile exercise and perhaps not a very difficult one either because a lot of information does already exist.</p> <p>If indeed the real and complete history of the islands is ever written, the British would not be more than a page and India could only be a paragraph. How's that for a perspective and a context?</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8637557501276190731-4882422746033014229?l=pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>PANKAJ SEKHSARIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798223946431718400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637557501276190731.post-65977720855681154992010-07-30T15:18:00.004+05:302010-07-30T15:22:43.356+05:30Dear Friends,<br />If you want the entire issue of the newsletter please write to me at psekhsaria@gmail.com<br />---<br /><br />PROTECTED AREA UPDATE<br />News and Information from protected areas in India and South Asia<br />Vol. XVI No. 4, August 2010 (No. 86)<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">LIST OF CONTENTS<br />EDITORIAL <br />A terrible train of accidents<br />NEWS FROM INDIAN STATES<br />ANDHRA PRADESH<br />Plan to relocate Chenchu tribe from Nagarjunsagar-Srisailam TR<br />Drunk drivers pose threat to wildlife in Nagarjunsagar-Srisailam TR<br /><br />ASSAM <br />Railway advisory to restrain elephant deaths in Assam<br />CBI probe into wildlife contraband haul at Guwahati airport<br />Speed restriction on NH-37 through Kaziranga NP<br />Locals protest killing of a youth by Kaziranga NP staff<br />Manas Tiger Reserve Information System<br /><br />BIHAR<br />Dolphin mitras in Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary<br /><br />GUJARAT<br />‘Amitabh Route’ in Gir interests tourists<br /><br />JAMMU &amp; KASHMIR<br />Markhor numbers up in Qazinag NP; peace along Indo-Pak border main reason<br /><br />KARNATAKA<br />Bannerghatta night safari between 6 and 11 pm: FD<br />Motor rally inside Cauvery WLS; spotted deer killed<br />MoEF cancels clearance given to power plant in Karwar; says it is too<br />close to Cotigao WLS<br />Two elephants from Hassan moved to Bandipur NP; one starts return journey<br />Special Tiger Protection Force for Bandipur TR<br />Pollution related deaths of fish and crocodiles in River Kali near<br />Dandeli WLS, Anshi NP<br /><br />KERALA<br />Solar fencing leads to increased human-elephant conflict in Kerala<br />New frog species in Ervikulam NP<br /><br />MADHYA PRADESH<br />Guards burn tiger cub carcass in Pench TR; cut pads for tantrik ritual<br /><br />MAHARASHTRA<br />Big reshuffle in Maharashtra FD<br />Satellite-collared leopard walks 120 kms to Sanjay Gandhi NP<br />Four policemen suspended for getting to close to tigress in Nagzira WLS<br /><br />MEGHALAYA<br />NBWL rejects uranium mining in Balpakram NP<br /><br />ORISSA<br />NTCA to oppose decision allowing for removal of bamboo from Satkosia TR<br />Expert committee to probe mass killing of elephants in Simlipal TR in<br />April<br />MPs ask for action on Dhamra Port forest violation<br />MoEF denies permission for thermal power plant at Dhamra near<br />Bhitarkanika NP<br /><br />RAJASTHAN<br />Rajasthan to construct small dams and ponds in its protected areas<br />Tigers translocated to Sariska from Ranthambore TR were siblings<br /><br />SIKKIM<br />Sikkim says no to SC directive of 10 km eco-sensitive zone around PAs<br /><br />TAMIL NADU<br />Elephant-proof trench work along NMR stopped<br /><br />UTTAR PRADESH<br />CEE biodiversity awareness programme in Dudhwa TR<br /><br />UTTARAKHAND<br />Meeting on conservation and livelihoods in the Askot-Nanda Devi landscape<br />Initiative to revive Gola elephant corridor<br /><br />WEST BENGAL<br />Ban on diesel cars and plastic in Gorumara National Park<br />North Bengal PAs under threat from hydroelectric project in Bhutan<br />Elephant killed in railway accident near Siliguri<br />Advisory emphasizes over/underpasses across railway tracks in North<br />Bengal; nature groups disagree<br />Radio collared tiger crosses border from India into Bangladesh in the<br />Sundarbans<br /><br />NATIONAL NEWS FROM INDIA <br />Solar lamps in buffer villages of tiger reserves<br />List of threatened bird species in India rises to 154<br />Committee for appraisal of mining and industry projects around tiger<br />reserves<br />More than 70 leopards killed in first three months of 2010<br />2nd meeting of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel<br />NeBIO – New Journal on Environment and Biodiversity with a focus on<br />the North East<br />Open source software application for tree identification in Western Ghats<br /><br />SOUTH ASIA <br />Nepal<br />Rhesus macaques released from research centre to Shivapuri NP; court<br />issues show cause notice<br /><br />OPPORTUNITIES <br />Course in Conservation Biology and Wildlife Management<br />ATREE Small Grants Programme 2010<br />Short-term field-based course in conservation science<br />EQUATIONS is looking for programme staff for tourism related research<br /><br />UPCOMING <br />Research Seminar on Manas and Kaziranga National Parks<br />4th Symposium of ‘Biodiversity and Natural Heritage of the Himalaya’<br /> Conference on ‘Interdisciplinary Approaches in Environmental Sciences’<br /><br />PERSPECTIVE <br />Marine conservation – Seeking a model that safeguards livelihoods and<br />ecosystems<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;">EDITORIAL<br /><br /><br />A TERRIBLE TRAIN OF ACCIDENTS<br /></div><br />It is more than six years now that the railway track running through the<br />forests and protected areas in North Bengal was converted from meter<br />gauge to broad gauge. Scores of wild animals including elephants, gaur<br />and leopards have been crushed under trains that have been speeding<br />along this corridor. Accidents were happening even before the gauge<br />conversion but then the speeds were limited and the number of trains<br />were less.<br /> No solution seems in view and to say then that Gorumara, Jaldapara,<br />Chapramari and Buxa are protected areas makes no sense, because the<br />animals here have no protection. Nearly a dozen and a half elephants<br />have been mowed down in these PAs and adjoining forests by trains here<br />and nothing has been done about it. Some of the solutions suggested over<br />the years are outright laughable and non-implementable. These include<br />suggestions by the court a few years ago to light up the tracks using<br />solar lighting so that the train drivers will be able to see the<br />elephants. More recently the West Bengal Forest Department has been<br />advised to construct rail under and over passes to allow safe passage to<br />wildlife in a few places along the 160 kms track.<br /> The other suggestions have been of the temporary band-aid types - clear<br />vegetation along the tracks to increase visibility; employ trackers with<br />walkie-talkies to keep an eye on elephant movement; increase<br />co-ordination between forest and railway staff and slow down the speed<br />of trains at night when most of the accidents seem to happen. It is a<br />telling comment that the concerned authorities have not managed to<br />implement even these simple ideas. Conservation groups have suggested<br />that all nighttime train traffic be stopped on this route or that the<br />line be diverted to avoid the vulnerable areas. This might be a small<br />price to pay to prevent the death of an endangered animal, but even this<br />appears to be non-acceptable. When villages that predate the creation of<br />PAs by 100s of years can be relocated in the interest of wildlife, there<br />is no reason the same can’t be done for these rail tracks that are much<br />more recent and have proven hugely detrimental to wildlife.<br /> Killing an elephant attracts the highest punishment under the law.<br />There is much breast beating, for instance, when animals are killed by<br />poachers or in retaliatory killings by villagers who are victims of<br />elephant depredation. There are demands for stricter punishment, for<br />immediate arrests and calls for the Central Bureau of Investigation to<br />look into the matter.<br /> We know exactly what is happening on the rail tracks in North Bengal. A<br />similarly distressing situation exists in neighbouring Assam, which has<br />the dubious distinction of maximum elephant deaths in train accidents<br />(there are four stories on elephants and train accidents in this issue<br />of the PA Update alone). The scene of ‘crime’ is known, the actors are<br />known and yet no action is taken: killing of wildlife is clearly a<br />lesser crime when committed by a particular set of actors. This is the<br />story in different forms in different parts of the country. Some are<br />more equal than others and wildlife, certainly, is at the bottom of that<br />pile!<br /></div><br />---<br /><br />Protected Area Update<br />Vol. XVI, No. 4, August 2010 (No. 86)<br /><br />Editor: Pankaj Sekhsaria<br />Editorial Assistance: Reshma Jathar<br />Illustrations: Madhuvanti Anantharajan<br />Produced by Kalpavriksh<br /><br />Ideas, comments, news and information may please be sent to the<br />editorial address:<br /><br />KALPAVRIKSH<br />Apartment 5, Shri Dutta Krupa, 908 Deccan Gymkhana, Pune 411004,<br />Maharashtra, India.<br />Tel/Fax: 020 – 25654239.<br />Email: psekhsaria@gmail.com<br />Website: www.kalpavriksh.org<br /><br />---<br />Publication of the PA Update has been supported by<br />- Foundation for Ecological Security (FES)<br /> http://fes.org.in/<br />- Duleep Matthai Nature Conservation Trust<br /> C/o FES<br />- Greenpeace India<br />www.greenpeace.org/india/<br />- Association for India’s Development<br />www.aidindia.org<br />- Royal Society for the Protection of Birds<br />www.rspb.org.uk/<br />- Indian Bird Conservation Network<br />http://www.ibcn.in/<br />***<br />Information has been sourced from different newspapers and the following<br />websites<br />http://wildlifewatch.in/<br />http://indiaenvironmentportal.org<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8637557501276190731-6597772085568115499?l=pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>PANKAJ SEKHSARIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798223946431718400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637557501276190731.post-89116697493031383522010-06-17T20:17:00.002+05:302010-06-17T20:54:52.802+05:30<span class="storyhead" style=";font-size:130%;color:blue;" ><b>Calling attention </b></span> <p align="justify"> </p> <byline> PAPRI SRI RAMAN <p> </p><p align="justify"> </p> <table bgcolor="white" border="0"><tbody><tr><td><b> A UNESCO dossier examines the problems faced by the original tribal inhabitants of the Andaman islands.<br />http://www.frontlineonnet.com/stories/20100702271308900.htm<br /></b></td></tr></tbody></table><p align="justify"> </p><p align="justify"> </p> <blurb1> </blurb1> <p align="justify"> </p> <center> <span style="font-size:78%;"> </span><br /> <img src="http://www.frontlineonnet.com/images/20100702271308901.jpg" align="center" border="1" height="400" width="281" /> </center><p> </p><p>SINCE the 1780s, a variety of players have vied for space in the Andaman archipelago. Today, apart from the three wings of the country's armed forces, others including rice farmers, timber merchants and academics are trying to push out its original inhabitants from their traditional habitats.</p> <p>For the first time in the past 150 years, a comprehensive dossier on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands' history and geography, complete with maps and bibliography, has come out. The 212-page document, released in the World Biodiversity Year by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), gives a detailed report on the archipelago's original inhabitants – such as the Jarawas, the Onges, and the Sentinelese; their resource bases; the tribes' strengths and weaknesses; the conflicts from 1885 onwards; the impact of economic activity; and the State's developmental agendas.</p> <p>The Jarawa Tribal Reserve (JTR) and the Andaman Trunk Road (ATR) form the crux of the dossier. It also mentions an expert panel recommendation to ensure “self-determination by the Jarawas”. The rationale for it is: “This has to be the ultimate aim of any process that will involve the Jarawas – to help them negotiate with a rapidly changing, predatory world that exists around them. Unless this is done, the future can only be considered grim.” A recommendation whose implementation no interested party on the islands is likely to facilitate.</p> <p>The editors of the document, Pankaj Sekhsaria and Vishvajit Pandya, do not claim that their compilation provides complete information on the unique ecosystem of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. This long-due assessment of all the forces at work in the Andamans, however, makes a valiant attempt to crystallise one question: What is it that needs to be done in the Andamans?</p> <p>“The answer/s, of course, are neither evident nor simple, if they exist at all. People dealing with the situation, the administrators, the researchers and the activists, are all grappling with a situation that is highly complex.” The emphasis is on grappling – there is no conclusive decision yet on a consensus policy framework on how best to save the fragile environment.</p> <p>The dossier was prepared under the aegis of the UNESCO Action on Cultural and Biological Diversity and its “Local and Indigenous Knowledge Systems (LINKS) Programme”. In his foreword, Walter Erdelen, Assistant Director-General of UNESCO's Natural Sciences sector, points out that the LINKS Programme contributes to a growing field of research and action on interlinkages between biological and cultural diversities. “Perhaps nowhere are these connections better highlighted than in the Jarawa Tribal Reserve in the Andaman islands of India,” he notes.</p> <p>“The Jarawa Reserve is an area of exceptional biodiversity, boasting a wealth of flora and fauna. This has been maintained largely due to the presence of the Jarawa, the indigenous inhabitants of this tract of land.… The Jarawa have decided to end their voluntary isolation and to mix more freely with outsiders. The previously hostile borders of the Jarawa Reserve have become open to intrusion. This has enormous implications for both the biodiversity of the reserve and the Jarawa themselves,” he warns.</p> <p>“It thus becomes crucially important to understand the complex interactions between the Jarawa, their environment, and the increasingly intrusive cultures surrounding the reserve. Only through an interdisciplinary approach can such linkages be understood, and perhaps to some extent managed,” Erdelen concludes.</p> <p>In her foreword, Kapila Vatsyayan, Chairperson, India International Centre-Asia Project, points out that the territory identifed by outsiders as “the Jarawa Reserve” may actually be “an entity not necessarily recognised by the Jarawa themselves”.</p> <p>She adds: “The threat to indigenous peoples and their cultures is also a threat of extinction of the priceless resource of the diversity of oral languages.… “It remains to be seen whether the voice of communities like the Jarawa can be heard at international fora, or indeed national fora.”</p> <p><b>Four aspects</b></p> <p>The information in the dossier is grouped into four. The first defines within an anthropo-social structure who the Jarawas are.</p><p> </p><p>The second is a peek into a varied set of notifications, including one which levies just a one-rupee fee for a pass for a “settler selected for settlement in A &amp; N under the Accelerated Development Programme of the Ministry of Labour &amp; Rehabilitation”. The document helps the reader formulate a perspective, howsoever fragile, that the web woven in the name of protecting the tribes of the Andamans is as wrongly attributed as the phrase, and as deceitful.</p> <p>One petition in the Calcutta High Court, filed in 1999 by Port Blair lawyer Shyamali Ganguli, said that the Jarawas were subject to gross negligence by the Andaman administration, the Department of Tribal Welfare and the Andaman Adim Janjati Vikas Samiti (AAJVS), a quasi-governmental organisation whose composition is non-tribal, political and bureaucratic.</p> <p>The High Court guidelines said in 2004 that the AAJVS was “the primary agency responsible in matters related to communities like the Jarawa” and that this “welfare” agency had “to bear direct responsibility for the deteriorating situation of these communities today, and a radical overhaul is therefore needed”.</p> <p>The court also said: “The working of the body [AAJVS] should be governed by principles of accountability and transparency. New ideas and national and international expertise should be accessed for [the] making of policy decisions and their implementation.”</p> <p>The medical services for the tribes are woefully inadequate – they do not include treatment for hepatitis infections or facilities for institutional births. [One report, not contained in this dossier, talks of how out of 150 Bo tribe children born at home, not one lived beyond the age of two. Now the tribe is extinct.] There are no papers on current national programmes such as the National Rural Health Mission, or on right to information (RTI) disclosures by the AAJVS or the forest department, or on measures relating to participatory governance. Another minus for the dossier is that its data are somewhat dated.</p> <p>In the third section, on recommendations, a noteworthy inclusion is the one by the former Director of the Anthropological Survey of India R.K. Bhattacharya to close the Andaman Trunk Road, made in the “Report of the Expert Committee on the Jarawas of Andaman Islands” submitted to the Calcutta High Court in 2003.</p> <p>The fourth section is a set of maps and detailed information on the archipelago's forests, butterflies and traffic. Manish Chandi of the Andaman and Nicobar Environment Team (ANET) and Harry Andrews, former director of the Madras Crocodile Bank, point out in a joint paper: “Protected areas such as sanctuaries, national parks or tribal reserves are the only remaining examples of what was once found (of fauna and flora) in these islands in the past.” Six of the 19 Important Bird Areas are in the reserves.</p> <p>“The Sentinelese and Jarawas are the only communities who continue to use their knowledge networks for livelihood security in the modern context…. It is assumed that this knowledge is the basis for nature conservation in the Jarawa Reserve…. This may not necessarily fall in line with our nascent and structured views of why they conserve natural resources, if indeed, they do at all,” the two conservationists say.</p> <p>Vishvajit Pandya's culture study says:</p> <p>“It is (the) concept of ‘placeless place' with which I am concerned. Reading early accounts and listening to people involved in both friendly and hostile contacts is akin to sitting in a barber's chair.…</p> <p>“The administration wants to impose notions of exclusion on a people who have a tendency to be inclusive.”</p> <p>The dossier recommends the creation of an “independent body” charged with the responsibility of research, documentation, reporting, policy formulation and implementation on all matters relating to the indigenous peoples and the tribal reserves on the Andaman islands. It also advocates sensitising settler communities living in the vicinity of the JTR. Whether the expert opinions, most of them results of substantial research, will lead to an enlightened 21st century policy for governing the Andamans is yet to be seen</p></byline><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8637557501276190731-8911669749303138352?l=pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>PANKAJ SEKHSARIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798223946431718400noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637557501276190731.post-33702561096367132572010-06-12T12:34:00.000+05:302010-06-12T12:46:03.022+05:30<span class="blue_dark"><span style="font-size:78%;color:#666666;">INDIA<br /></span></span> <span class="marron_titulo_big">Experts Rue Untold Damage to Marine, Coastal Ecosystems</span><br /><span class="marron">Analysis by Pankaj Sekhsaria</span><br />http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=51801<br /><span class="texto1"><br /><b>NEW DELHI, June 12, 2010 (IPS) - In mid-April this year, MV Malavika, a cargo ship of the Essar Shipping Corporation, a major sea logistics firm in India, leaked an estimated eight tonnes of furnace oil after being struck by a barge near the Gopalpur port on the eastern Indian coast of Orissa.</b><br /><br />Within a few hours, a huge slick had washed up along the Olive Ridley Turtle nesting beach at Rushikulya, a major turtle nesting site in Orissa, where over 150,000 turtles had nested just a few weeks earlier. The fear of the impact this would have on the turtle nests was confirmed about a month later. <br /><br />In spite of claims by authorities that the beach had been cleaned up, local researchers say that more than half the eggs laid could have been damaged by the oil spill. <br /><br />"This is the first time we’ve experienced a slick of this kind, and the damage has been immense," says Rabindranath Sahu, the secretary of Rushikulya Sea Turtle Protection Committee, of the oil spill in Orissa. Only about three kilometres of the beach had been cleaned up whereas the turtle nesting had occurred along a five km stretch, he tells IPS. <br /><br />The livelihoods of nearly 10 fishing villages in the area had been completely destroyed as the fish catch had collapsed while salt production units in the area had to shut operations for about 20 days, he adds.<br /><br />This environmental disaster in Orissa may pale in comparison to the damage that has been inflicted on the Gulf of Mexico in the United States, where thousands of barrels of oil have been leaking out every day from British Petroleum’s oil rig for nearly two months now, following the rig’s explosion.<br /><br />A rich coastline has been laid waste, hundreds of birds have been found dripping with the oily residue, sea turtle mortality has been significant and a fishing and shrimp industry has been crippled, if not completely destroyed, according to media reports. <br /><br /> "This is where the precautionary principle comes in," says Greenpeace India’s Ocean Campaigns manager Sanjiv Gopal. "Offshore installations should be kept out of critical marine ecosystems and from the migratory, breeding and spawning habitats of commercial fish and other species," he says. <br /><br />"From the experience in Orissa, we also feel that no new ports or port expansion projects should be allowed within 25 km of ecologically sensitive areas."<br /><br />The economic value of coastal and marine environments is enough to justify the need for their sustainable use and management.<br /><br />According to the ‘Global Diversity Outlook 3’ (GDO3), a report released in May by the Convention on Biological Diversity, coral reefs, for instance, are estimated to provide services worth 18 million U.S. dollars per square km a year for natural hazard management, up to 100 million dollars for tourism, more than five million dollars for genetic material and bioprospecting, and more than 300,000 dollars for fisheries. <br /><br />"The world’s fisheries," states the report, "employ approximately 200 million people, provide about 16 percent of the protein consumed worldwide and have a value estimated at US$82 billion." Yet, about 80 percent of the world’s fish stocks are overexploited or have been fully exploited.<br /><br />Coral reefs cover a miniscule portion of the world’s continental shelf and yet, as GDO3 notes, up to a billion people depend on them for food and nearly 300 million for basic livelihood support.<br /><br />Research reveals that coral reefs are coming under increasing stress from a range of damaging human activities: overfishing, pollution from land based sources, reef dynamiting for fishing, coral bleaching due to temperature rises and ocean acidification on account of global warming. <br /><br />Scientists at the Phuket Marine Biological Center in Thailand noted in early May that coral bleaching in this South-east Asian country was the worst in Thai waters in the last two decades. A similar situation has been confirmed in the adjoining Andaman and Nicobar islands in India. <br /><br />A Jun. 4 report released by Reuters news agency listed 20 of the most significant oil spills around the globe. "The spill (Gulf of Mexico) stands out," it said, "for its proximity to U.S. shores and the publicity it has generated by comparison with other large, ongoing leaks in more remote parts of the world."<br /><br />Dr Jack Frazier, a noted turtle biologist and member of the International Sea Turtle Society, agrees: "This sort of problem has been occurring regularly in other parts of the world, with hardly a murmur on the daily news." He asks: "How many people, for instance, have even voiced concern about the decade- long disaster in Nigeria?"<br /><br />The Ibeno beach, for example, in the coastal state of Akwa Ibom in Nigeria has seen a series of serious oil spills since December 2009. Its coastline has been devastated by oil leaks from offshore operations, and fishing activities have been seriously impacted. <br /><br />Says Oluseun Onigbide, director of Media and Advocacy at Green Acts, an environmental group based in Nigeria: "The Ibeno oil spill is a clear example of how the pursuit of economic growth destroys the work of nature, impacts livelihoods and compromises people’s health."<br /><br />"The recent developments are indicative of the fact that we have failed to regulate sea and land based activities that can damage the fragile marine ecosystem," says Chandrika Sharma, secretary of the India-based International Collective in Support of Fishworkers, a non-governmental organisation advocating the rights small-scale artisanal fisherfolk.<br /><br /> (END)</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8637557501276190731-3370256109636713257?l=pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>PANKAJ SEKHSARIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798223946431718400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637557501276190731.post-56296146777463886742010-05-22T20:03:00.001+05:302010-05-22T20:06:38.766+05:30<div class="itemhead"> <h5><a href="http://www.ips.org/institutional/putting-life-on-the-front-page-ips-launches-biodiversity-reporting-guidelines/" rel="bookmark"> <span style="color:#006699;"> Putting life on the front page - IPS launches Biodiversity Reporting Guidelines </span></a></h5> </div> <div class="storycontent"><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><p style="text-align: center;"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-1549" style="border: 0pt none; margin-top: 2px; margin-bottom: 2px; width: 300px; height: 82px;" title="settimana_web600px" src="http://www.ips.org/institutional/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/settimana_web600px-300x82.jpg" alt="settimana_web600px" /><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;">IPS and partners are celebrating International Biodiversity Day, May 22nd, with the launch in Rome of biodiversity reporting guidelines for journalists covering this vital but complex topic. The guidelines are part of a wider communication initiative for 2010, the International Year of Biodiversity. IPS worked with partners <a href="http://www.bioversityinternational.org/" target="_blank">Bioversity International</a> and the <a href="http://www.ifej.org/" target="_blank">International Federation of Environment Journalists (IFEJ)</a> on the guidelines, within the <a href="http://www.complusalliance.org/" target="_blank">COM+</a> sustainable development communication alliance.<span id="more-1545"></span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ips.org/institutional/putting-life-on-the-front-page-ips-launches-biodiversity-reporting-guidelines/"><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-1551" title="cdrepcov" src="http://www.ips.org/institutional/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/cdrepcov-300x280.jpg" alt="cdrepcov" height="202" width="216" /></a><br /></p><p>The 30-page publication was authored by Pankaj Sekhsaria and is available in English and Spanish. The main section provides context, definition, linkages and story ideas for journalists, supplemented by a calendar of biodiversity-related events and a list of international conventions and agreements. Mario Lubetkin, the Director General of IPS launched the guidelines during the “Settimana della Biodiversita”, a week-long celebration of agriculture, food and biodiversity organised in Rome by Bioversity International.</p> <p>Throughout 2010 IPS is giving special emphasis to reporting on biodiversity and you can see all the coverage at One Planet - 1.4 million species. Recent popular stories include Ecosystem in Peril after Gulf Oil Spill, a series of stories from Namibia about the efforts of the San people to keep their land and harvest wild produce sustainably, and a story from Tokyo Prized Bluefin Tuna Adrift in a Sea of Conflicting Interests.</p> <p>As part of this coverage, IPS will have a small team of reporters reporting from Nagoya, Japan in October 2010 for the tenth meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the major international agreement to protect biodiversity, that came out of the 1992 Earth Summit.</p> <p>Download available:</p> <p><a href="http://www.ipsnews.net/_adv/Biodiversidad2010.pdf" target="_self">Putting life on the front page - Bioversity Reporting Guidelines</a><a href="http://www.ipsnews.net/_adv/Biodiversidad2010.pdf"> </a>(English)</p> <p><a href="http://www.ipsnoticias.net/_adv/Biodiversidad2010.pdf" target="_blank">La vida en la portada - Guia Para Reportear Sobre Biodiversidad</a> (Spanish)</p><span class="category"><span style="font-size:-2;"> </span></span> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8637557501276190731-5629614677746388674?l=pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>PANKAJ SEKHSARIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798223946431718400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637557501276190731.post-37391006017939573772010-05-22T19:40:00.005+05:302010-05-22T19:56:04.501+05:30<span style="font-size:100%;">Dear Friends,<br />Here is the list of contents and edit of the new issue of the Protected<br />Area Update - Vol XVI, No. 3, June 2010 (No. 85). If you would like<br />specific stories or the entire Update as an attachment, please do let me<br />know at psekhsaria@gmail.com<br /><br />thanks<br />Pankaj Sekhsaria<br />Editor, Protected Area Update<br />C/o Kalpavriksh<br />---<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:100%;">PROTECTED AREA UPDATE<br />News and Information from protected areas in India and South Asia<br />Vol. XVI No. 3<br />June 2010 (No. 85)<br /><br />LIST OF CONTENTS<br />EDITORIAL <br />A summer of discontent<br /><br />NEWS FROM INDIAN STATES<br />ANDHRA PRADESH<br />MoEF panel to study proposal for reduction of Kolleru WLS<br />Tunnel under construction in Nagarjunsagar-Srisailam TR collapses<br />Memorial for YSR Reddy proposed inside the Gundla Brahmeswara WLS<br /><br />ASSAM<br />FD to compensate 300 families affected by elephant depredation in<br />Jorhat district<br />Majuli Island to be declared eco-sensitive zone<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/S_fn8vCXF1I/AAAAAAAACTQ/rM0deNJBlQo/s1600/majuli.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 285px; height: 114px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/S_fn8vCXF1I/AAAAAAAACTQ/rM0deNJBlQo/s400/majuli.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474098902696662866" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-size:100%;">Assam plans Kaziranga-Manas tourism circuit<br />FD elephant injures tourists in Kaziranga; visitors did not heed<br />mahout’s instructions<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/S_foQx2xr6I/AAAAAAAACTY/z2ZajKr94tk/s1600/tourist-elephant+accident.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 113px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/S_foQx2xr6I/AAAAAAAACTY/z2ZajKr94tk/s400/tourist-elephant+accident.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474099247050764194" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;">Kaziranga NP gets record number of tourists<br /><br />GOA<br />Entry fees may change for PAs in Goa<br /><br />GUJARAT<br />Fires in forests of North Gujarat<br />SC permits oil pipeline, electricity line through Dhrangadhra Wild Ass<br />Sanctuary<br />116 lions died in Gir since 2007<br />Rs. 48 crores for lion conservation<br />Siddi tribesmen to become guides at Gir<br />Road through Velavadar NP to be closed<br /><br />JHARKHAND<br />Corpus fund to curb human-elephant conflict in Dalma WLS<br />Awareness campaign helps reduce poaching/ ritual hunting in PAs<br /><br />KARNATAKA<br />Project for upgradation of 10kms road stretch inside Nagarhole NP dropped<br />Illegal tourism inside Bandipur NP<br />Ban on night traffic through Bandipur beneficial: study<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/S_fn70rurGI/AAAAAAAACS4/MhD_iVtZwws/s1600/ban+on+night+travel+benefiacial.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 173px; height: 145px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/S_fn70rurGI/AAAAAAAACS4/MhD_iVtZwws/s400/ban+on+night+travel+benefiacial.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474098887032482914" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-size:100%;">MADHYA PRADESH<br />20 animals killed on NH 75 in Panna TR<br />Airstrip under construction near Pench TR<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/S_fn79EyhQI/AAAAAAAACSw/mgPnl3dCQ2w/s1600/airstrip+near+tiger+reserve.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 237px; height: 162px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/S_fn79EyhQI/AAAAAAAACSw/mgPnl3dCQ2w/s400/airstrip+near+tiger+reserve.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474098889285076226" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-size:100%;">MAHARASHTRA<br />Concern over process of declaration of buffer zones around critical<br />tiger habitats<br />Proposal for six new PAs in state<br />Frequent forest fires in SGNP<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/S_fn8SsA4qI/AAAAAAAACTI/FeW-z_Ojp5c/s1600/frequent+fires+at+SGNP.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 182px; height: 185px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/S_fn8SsA4qI/AAAAAAAACTI/FeW-z_Ojp5c/s400/frequent+fires+at+SGNP.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474098895086740130" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-size:100%;">Lioness in SGNP safari kills guard; report suggests better security<br />measures<br /><br />MEGHALAYA<br />Opposition to uranium mining in Balpakram NP; Govt. puts project on hold<br /><br />ORISSA<br />FSI records 960 incidents of forest fires in Orissa in the month of<br />April; PAs also affected<br />Village relocation from Simlipal TR; differing points of view<br />Oil spill threatens turtles off the Orissa coast<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/S_foR5jIAPI/AAAAAAAACTw/ZSoOQiPvQmk/s1600/oil+spill+near+rushikulya.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 244px; height: 138px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/S_foR5jIAPI/AAAAAAAACTw/ZSoOQiPvQmk/s400/oil+spill+near+rushikulya.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474099266295693554" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;">RAJASTHAN<br />Concern over relocation of people from the Sariska TR<br /><br />UTTAR PRADESH<br />Swamp deer habitat in Dudhwa TR threatened due to changing course of<br />River Sharda<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/S_foRCEYKTI/AAAAAAAACTg/lQaEt67FU_M/s1600/river+sharda+changes+course.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 155px; height: 173px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/S_foRCEYKTI/AAAAAAAACTg/lQaEt67FU_M/s400/river+sharda+changes+course.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474099251402778930" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;">UTTARAKHAND<br />FD increases budget to compensate losses in man-animal conflicts<br />MoEF concerned over growing number of resorts around Corbett TR<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/S_foRikE_5I/AAAAAAAACTo/rJSo3FU4TWY/s1600/resorts+around+corbett.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 169px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/S_foRikE_5I/AAAAAAAACTo/rJSo3FU4TWY/s400/resorts+around+corbett.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474099260125675410" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;">WEST BENGAL<br />FD, SSB and WWF collaborate to check smuggling from the Singalila NP<br />FD halts the construction of metalled road inside Buxa TR<br />Police harassment alleged against FRA activists in forests adjoining<br />Jaldapara WLS<br /><br />NATIONAL NEWS FROM INDIA<br />No ban on tourism in Tiger Reserves<br />Wildlife and forests to split from environment ministry<br />13th Finance Commission’s grants Rs.5000 crores to states for<br />conservation of forests<br />Funds for relocation for villages from PAs for 2008-09 and 2009-10<br />Fund allocation for wildlife protection outside protected areas<br />Survey of India to map the 7,500-km-long Indian coastline<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/S_foSB_m-tI/AAAAAAAACT4/W6bnwS2RRrU/s1600/measuring+indias+coastline.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 153px; height: 143px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/S_foSB_m-tI/AAAAAAAACT4/W6bnwS2RRrU/s400/measuring+indias+coastline.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474099268562647762" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;">MoEF proposes ban on trade in peacock feathers<br /><br />SOUTH ASIA<br />Nepal<br />Human Rights Commission indicts army for killing three unarmed people<br />in Bardia NP<br /><br />OPPORTUNITIES<br />Project assistant and Project trainee for Forest Ecology Program at<br />Mudumalai TR<br />Program Managers for SeasonWatch, a Citizen Science Project<br />WWF-India’s Small Grants Program for Conservation Research &amp; Action<br />Volunteer opportunities at ZOO<br /><br />UPCOMING <br />3rd Asian Lepidoptera Conservation Symposium<br /><br />IN THE SUPREME COURT<br />PERSPECTIVE (A new column) <br />----<br /></span></div><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:100%;">EDITORIAL<br /><br />A SUMMER OF DISCONTENT</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The fulcrum of the acrimonious debates and discussions on wildlife conservation in India has been the issue of relocation of people from within protected areas. For all practical purposes it has been and continues to be offered as the single most effective and promising solution to the crisis faced by wildlife and wilderness in India. The political, economic and social landscape of the country may be changing at an unbelievable pace but this demand for relocation stands on like a steadfast rock. It might well be argued, as it often is, that these rapid irreversible and unstoppable changes in fact demand that the people living in forest areas and in wildlife habitats be moved out quickly – only then can the people, the natural habitats and the wildlife have any future. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""> </span>It is an argument that is persuasive, and as is seen in the stories of this issue of the <i>PA Update</i>, one that has considerable staying power. The push is coming from the very top and the demand for relocation has been clearly primed up over the last few months. When the Prime Minister himself says that relocation of people from PAs should be a priority, the message and trajectory is as clear as it can be. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""> </span>Relocation is a complex and controversial project with implications that are political, economic, social and cultural. If it has to be successful these dimensions have to be considered sensitively and in detail. It is a process that needs time and thoughtful engagement, something that the Rs. 10 lakh per family compensation package is not equipped to provide. It has been conceived as the easy way out of a situation that cannot and will not be easy. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""> </span>Communities might want to move and in that case they should be helped in all possible ways. <span style="color:black;">A comprehensive rehabilitation package based on the Rs. 10 lakh scheme might work well </span>but why has there been no thought given to dealing with other situations? What if people don’t want to move? What if they don’t want the compensation being doled out to them? How can they not have the option? How can there be only one plan for millions of people scattered across drastically different contexts? What is the Plan B or C to ensure conservation without violating the rights and livelihood security of our fellow citizens? <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""> </span>Reports you will read below provide an excellent example of the complexities. One report says that the relocation of a village from the Simlipal Tiger Reserve was a success; another says it’s an absolute disaster! In Sariska it has been pointed out that villages are being moved out and simultaneously huge investments are being made to get ramp up infrastructure to get tourists in. In Maharashtra serious concerns have been expressed over creating buffer zones around tiger reserves as the process laid out in laws and policies is being openly violated. In West Bengal it is being alleged that the administration is harassing activists, locals and tribals who are seeking the implementation of tribal rights in forests as per the law of the land. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""> </span>To claim that anyone has the right answers would be presumptuous but the image that we see of ourselves in the mirror is not necessarily a pleasant one. It augurs well neither for the people who are being relocated, nor for the wildlife in whose name they are being moved! <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=""> </span>And that too is only part of the story. There are huge pressures on forests, on natural resources, on wildlife and on communities from a range of forces that include developmental projects, the processes of globalization and in recent times, also from an internal security threat perception. Together they have created huge discontent in the forest areas across the country this summer and we would be ignoring it at our own peril!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <!--EndFragment--> <span style="font-size:100%;"><br />---<br />Protected Area Update<br />Vol. XVI, No. 3, June 2010 (No. 85)<br /><br />Editor: Pankaj Sekhsaria<br />Editorial Assistance: Reshma Jathar<br />Illustrations: Madhuvanti Anantharajan<br />Produced by Kalpavriksh<br /><br />Ideas, comments, news and information may please be sent to the<br />editorial address:<br /><br />KALPAVRIKSH<br />Apartment 5, Shri Dutta Krupa, 908 Deccan Gymkhana, Pune 411004,<br />Maharashtra, India.<br />Tel/Fax: 020 – 25654239.<br />Email: psekhsaria@gmail.com<br />Website: www.kalpavriksh.org<br /><br />---<br />Publication of the PA Update has been supported by<br />Foundation for Ecological Security (FES)<br />http://fes.org.in/<br />Duleep Matthai Nature Conservation Trust<br />C/o FES<br />Greenpeace India<br />www.greenpeace.org/india/<br />Association for India’s Development<br />www.aidindia.org<br />Royal Society for the Protection of Birds<br />www.rspb.org.uk/<br />Indian Bird Conservation Network<br />http://www.ibcn.in/<br />***<br />Information has been sourced from different newspapers and the following<br />websites<br />http://wildlifewatch.in/<br />http://indiaenvironmentportal.org.in<br /><br /><br /><br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8637557501276190731-3739100601793957377?l=pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>PANKAJ SEKHSARIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798223946431718400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637557501276190731.post-47112921916352618282010-05-01T11:56:00.008+05:302010-05-01T12:17:21.470+05:30Dear Friends,<br />We are very happy to announce the release of a new publication on the<br />Jarawa Tribal Reserve of the Andaman Islands:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">THE JARAWA TRIBAL RESERVE DOSSIER:<br />Cultural and Biological Diversities in the Andaman Islands<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/S9vKrcSFHDI/AAAAAAAACNE/k2FMwT0gTjw/s1600/page+1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 374px; height: 529px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/S9vKrcSFHDI/AAAAAAAACNE/k2FMwT0gTjw/s400/page+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5466185420419439666" border="0" /></a>Edited by<br />PANKAJ SEKHSARIA &amp; VISHVAJIT PANDYA<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />Prepared by<br />KALPAVRIKSH<br />under the<br />LOCAL AND INDEGENOUS KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMS (LINKS) PROGRAM<br />of<br />UNESCO.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">No. of Pages: 212; 12 colour plates; 11 colour maps<br /></div>---<br />SYNOPSIS:<br /><div style="text-align: justify;">One of the most distinctive, but relatively little known features of the Andaman Islands is an entity of land and sea called the Jarawa Tribal Reserve (JTR) – a space legally notified in the name and, arguably, the interests of the Jarawa tribal community. Until recently, the Jarawa were hostile to outsiders. As a result, those who might otherwise have exploited the resources of the reserve – poachers, settlers and developers – were denied access.<br /><br />However, the Jarawa have now chosen to cease hostilities, and the borders of the Jarawa Tribal Reserve have become permeable to intrusion, even though legally off limits to outsiders.<br /><br />The multiple changes that have ensued have enormous ramifications for both the Jarawa people and their lands. As much of the information relating to the Jarawa and the Reserve remains scattered and difficult to access, this Dossier has undertaken to bring together within the covers<br />of one publication, information and views about the JTR emanating from a number of distinct disciplines.<br /><br />Indeed, one cannot comprehend the complex interactions between the biological and cultural diversity of this unique people and place without adopting an interdisciplinary perspective.<br /></div><br />---<br />The dossier is made up of 10 original or previously published papers:<br /><br />1) Colonisation and conflict resolution<br />Manish Chandi<br /><br />2) Hostile borders on historical landscapes<br />Vishvajit Pandya<br /><br />3) Territory and landscape around the Jarawa Reserve<br />Manish Chandi<br /><br />4) The Jarawa Reserve: the Last Andaman forest<br />Manish Chandi &amp; Harry Andrews<br /><br />5)The Jarawa Tribal Reserve: an important bird area<br />Bombay Natural History Society<br /><br />6) The Jarawas and their lands<br />Anthropological Survey of India<br /><br />7) Impact assessment around the Jarawa Reserve<br />Harry Andrews<br /><br />8) Andaman Trunk Road and the Jarawa situation<br />Samir Acharya<br /><br />9) The ATR is like a public thoroughfare through one's private courtyard<br />Dr RK Bhattacharya<br /><br />10) Only management of traffic needed on the ATR<br />Dr SA Awaradi<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The dossier also Also contains a comprehensive set of annexures that includes the entire Andaman and Nicobar Islands Protection of Aboriginal Tribes Regulation (ANPATR) - 1956; the policy on the Jarawa tribe as approved by the Kolkata High Court, rules of the Andaman Adim Janjati Vikas Samiti (AAJVS), medical regime for the treatment of Jarawas and a compilation of a conflict incidents involving the Jarawas.<br /><br />The document also has 11 colour maps that for the first time provides detailed and comprehensive insight into the changes in the Jarawa REserve boundary, vegetation, vegetation density and land cover classification, and location of Jarawa camps within the forests of the<br />Jarawa Tribal Reserve.<br /></div><br />If you are interested in receiving copies of the publication please write to me at psekhsaria@gmail.com<br /><br />Jpeg versions of the dossier cover a few pages, maps, and photographs can be seen below.<br /><br />The link to the dossier on UNESCO's document system is the following:<br /><a href="http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001876/187690E.pdf">http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001876/187690E.pdf</a><br /><br />thanks<br />Pankaj Sekhsaria<br />psekhsaria@gmail.com<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">---<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/S9vNjGLdx0I/AAAAAAAACNM/bzqvsIr9W3w/s1600/contnts.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 338px; height: 476px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/S9vNjGLdx0I/AAAAAAAACNM/bzqvsIr9W3w/s400/contnts.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5466188575582046018" border="0" /></a>Contents<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/S9vJ_JRGYSI/AAAAAAAACM0/m69GSO14PIo/s1600/pic+1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 355px; height: 502px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/S9vJ_JRGYSI/AAAAAAAACM0/m69GSO14PIo/s400/pic+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5466184659400810786" border="0" /></a>Animal and Plant Diversities<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/S9vJ-jZV_WI/AAAAAAAACMs/Ngjk33DqoTQ/s1600/conflict+incidn.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 340px; height: 480px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/S9vJ-jZV_WI/AAAAAAAACMs/Ngjk33DqoTQ/s400/conflict+incidn.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5466184649234840930" border="0" /></a>Annexure VII: List of conflict incidents involving the Jarawas<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/S9vJ-BnPVXI/AAAAAAAACMk/uakoew2FJgM/s1600/map+1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 364px; height: 515px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/S9vJ-BnPVXI/AAAAAAAACMk/uakoew2FJgM/s400/map+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5466184640166319474" border="0" /></a>Map III: Changes in the Jarawa Tribal Reserve Boundary<br /><br /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/S9vJ945xjPI/AAAAAAAACMc/cvtxq6K50UE/s1600/map2.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 338px; height: 478px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/S9vJ945xjPI/AAAAAAAACMc/cvtxq6K50UE/s400/map2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5466184637828140274" border="0" /></a>MapVIb: Land Cover Classification<br /><br /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/S9vJ9sNrMiI/AAAAAAAACMU/BPSgRW51fJw/s1600/back.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 327px; height: 455px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/S9vJ9sNrMiI/AAAAAAAACMU/BPSgRW51fJw/s400/back.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5466184634421948962" border="0" /></a>Back Cover<br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8637557501276190731-4711292191635261828?l=pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>PANKAJ SEKHSARIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798223946431718400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637557501276190731.post-26415891635291052010-04-22T11:53:00.002+05:302010-04-22T11:55:02.218+05:30<span class="storyhead" style="font-size:130%;color:blue;"><b>FORT FULL OF LIFE<br />http://www.frontlineonnet.com/stories/20100507270906400.htm<br /></b></span> <p align="justify"> </p> <byline> TEXT &amp; PHOTOGRAPHS: PANKAJ SEKHSARIA <p> </p><p align="justify"> </p> <table bgcolor="white" border="0"><tbody><tr><td><b> Jaisalmer Fort’s uniqueness – it supports a huge resident population – may also be the greatest threat to its existence. </b></td></tr></tbody></table><p align="justify"> </p><p align="justify"> </p> <blurb1> </blurb1> <p align="justify"> </p> <center> <span style="font-size:78%;"> </span><br /> <img src="http://www.frontlineonnet.com/images/20100507270906401.jpg" align="center" border="1" height="230" width="350" /><br /><b> A view of the fort, which has inside it residential quarters, temples, hotels and markets. </b> </center><p> </p><p>MENTION the word fort and the images that come to mind are all too common – elaborate histories; kings, queens and palace intrigues; battle-worn warriors; huge stone ramparts with intricate carvings; crumbling walls of empty palaces; and large desolate spaces, peopled these days by a large number of tourists. All forts are about history, of accounts of the past and of stories of the dead. All forts, except one!</p> <p>In the far western corner of India is an exceptional fort that rises like a golden miracle from the flat, unforgiving sands of the Thar desert. Constructed atop the Trikuta Hill in Jaisalmer, it is the second oldest fort in Rajasthan and one of the largest in the world. </p> <center> <span style="font-size:78%;"> </span><br /> <img src="http://www.frontlineonnet.com/images/20100507270906402.jpg" align="center" border="1" height="238" width="350" /><br /><b> The thoroughfare leading to the fort. The spherical stone balls on the wall were used against intruders. </b> </center><p> </p><p>Three layers of walls constitute this magnificent structure. The outer, or lower, layer is made of solid stone blocks that also help reinforce the rubble of the hill. The middle wall, or second layer, snakes around the fort. The third and innermost wall was the vantage from where Rajput warriors hurled boiling oil and water and massive round rocks at intruders. The fort also has 99 bastions, 92 of which were built between 1633 and 1647.</p> <center> <span style="font-size:78%;"> </span><br /> <img src="http://www.frontlineonnet.com/images/20100507270906403.jpg" align="center" border="1" height="176" width="350" /><br /><b> The palace complex inside the fort. It is a museum now. </b> </center><p> </p><p>What is perhaps most fascinating, however, is that for the better part of its 800-year history, the fort was the city of Jaisalmer and the city the fort. Like all forts, Jaisalmer has its own history – a fascinating blend of fact, myth and legend. </p> <p>In 1156 A.D., Rawal Jaisal, a descendant of the Yadav clan and a Bhatti Rajput, is said to have abandoned his fort at Lodurva, about 18 kilometres away, and, on the advice of a local hermit, founded the new fort and capital of Jaisalmer. </p> <center> <span style="font-size:78%;"> </span><br /> <img src="http://www.frontlineonnet.com/images/20100507270906404.jpg" align="center" border="1" height="210" width="350" /><br /><b> A fresco on a wall of the palace. </b> </center><p> </p><p>The fort stood at the crossroads of important trade routes that camel caravans used to carry silk, spices and dry fruits to Central Asia. In the 13th century, Alauddin Khilji famously attacked and conquered the fort and held on to it for nearly nine years. His attack, it is believed, was provoked by a Bhatti raid on a caravan. The next important war occurred nearly three centuries later when the Mughal emperor Humayun attacked the fort in 1541. Many more raids followed as the fortunes of the owners fluctuated, as happens in the course of history. </p> <p>The first settlements outside the fort walls, to accommodate the growing population of Jaisalmer, are said to have come up in the 17th century. Today these settlements have spread out in all directions around the fort. </p> <center> <span style="font-size:78%;"> </span><br /> <img src="http://www.frontlineonnet.com/images/20100507270906405.jpg" align="center" border="1" height="137" width="227" /><br /><b> Colourful turbans for sale inside the fort complex. </b> </center><p> </p><p>However fascinating the history of Jaisalmer may be, there is one dimension of the fort that makes it unique: it is believed to be one of the very few (perhaps the only) “living forts”. An entire community lives within its walls – residential quarters, temples, hotels, restaurants and markets exist cheek by jowl in an unlikely mosaic. An estimated 5,000 people reside inside the fort. Thousands of others visit the fort annually as tourists. <em style="">Chaiwallas </em>ply their trade under ancient arches, modern restaurants operate under open skies, traders run curio shops in the narrow winding streets. Not surprisingly, the fort is popular in the world of cinema. The most well known perhaps is Satyajit Ray’s 1974 production, <em style="">Sonar Kella </em>(Golden Fort). It is said to have provided the first big boost to tourism in the region. A more recent production that featured the fort is the Bollywood film <em style="">Nanhe Jaisalmer</em> featuring Bobby Deol.</p> <center> <span style="font-size:78%;"> </span><br /> <img src="http://www.frontlineonnet.com/images/20100507270906406.jpg" align="center" border="1" height="210" width="350" /><br /><b> A folk musician at the entrance to the fort. </b> </center><p> </p><p>A striking aspect of the fort is the group of Jain temples constructed between the 12th and 15th centuries. They were built, it is believed, to protect some 11th century palm manuscripts. They are popular pilgrimage sites and are also of considerable archaeological importance. Dedicated to the various Jain tirthankaras, these are built in the famous Dilwara style, which takes its name from the temple complex located on the hill station of Mount Abu, also in Rajasthan.</p> <p> The fort museum is very popular with tourists for its collection of royal items and a depiction of the life of the Bhatti rajas and other people who lived here. In addition, Jaisalmer is famous for its intricately carved <em style="">havelis</em>, many of which are inhabited by descendants of the original owners. Some are located within the fort, while others, like the Patwon ki Haveli, are outside it. </p> <center> <span style="font-size:78%;"> </span><br /> <img src="http://www.frontlineonnet.com/images/20100507270906407.jpg" align="center" border="1" height="236" width="400" /><br /><b> Foreign tourists getting a feel of fort life. Tourism is a great revenue earner for Jaisalmer. </b> </center><p> </p><p>The Jaisalmer Fort is by no means the only attraction of this desert region. The sandy, barren and seemingly lifeless landscape is home to a dazzling array of wildlife that is rare and threatened. Not far from the fort, straddling the districts of Jaisalmer and Barmer, is the Desert National Park that sprawls over nearly 3,100 sq. km. It is as unique an ecosystem as it is fragile. It is a little-known system that plays host to a wide variety of life – mammals such as the cinkara, the Indian wolf and the desert fox; reptiles such as the monitor lizard, the spiny tailed lizard and the saw-scaled viper; and birds such as the imperial sand grouse, the common sand grouse, the crane (common and demoiselle), the partridge, the vulture, the pea fowl and the great Indian bustard. </p> <center> <span style="font-size:78%;"> </span><br /> <img src="http://www.frontlineonnet.com/images/20100507270906408.jpg" align="center" border="1" height="215" width="308" /><br /><b> A pair of great Indian bustards. Only about 500 of these birds remain on the planet, and the Desert National Park offers the best chance to see them. </b> </center><p> </p><p>The Desert National Park offers the best chance to see the great Indian bustard. Only about 500 of these birds, known as the Gondavan in local language, remain on the planet. Some reports say it has been wiped out over 90 per cent of its former range and survives only in a few places in the country – parts of Rajasthan; Kutch in Gujarat; the Solapur, Vidarbha and Marathwada regions of Maharashtra; and some parts of Andhra Pradesh.</p> <p>The 2,000-acre Sudasri enclosure in the national park is located 50 km from Jaisalmer and is popular among those wanting a glimpse of desert wildlife. And the surprises continue; wildlife ‘safaris’ can be done on camel carts organised by the Forest Department. </p> <span class="subsectionhead" style="font-size:100%;color:red;"> Challenges </span> <p align="justify"> </p> <p>Not all those who visit Jaisalmer are interested in or make the effort to step out to look at the wild wealth of the region. The fort remains the star attraction, and no visitor to Jaisalmer comes away without being impressed by it. Not everyone, however, is aware of the serious challenges faced by this priceless heritage. The Jaisalmer Fort finds mention in two negative lists, if one can call them that. The Smithsonian Institution (Washington, DC) has, for instance, listed it among the 15 most significant but endangered cultural sites of the world. “The world’s most precious historic and artistic sites can be visited today – but might be gone tomorrow,” it says. The fort is also on the list of eight “threatened wonders” put out by <em style="">Wanderlust, </em>the United Kingdom-based travel magazine.</p> <p>Surprising though it may sound, it is water that is at the heart of the fort’s miseries. When it was built, the fort had no provision for flowing water or sewage disposal. Until recently, residents sourced water from wells located within the fort. Piped water supply is available now and a sewage system has also been put in place. These changes, experts argue, are proving disastrous. Water that flows in and leaks from the system is seeping into and impacting the foundations of the fort. </p> <center> <span style="font-size:78%;"> </span><br /> <img src="http://www.frontlineonnet.com/images/20100507270906409.jpg" align="center" border="1" height="168" width="197" /><br /><b> A desert fox at the park. </b> </center><p> </p><p>The heavy monsoon of 1993 is said to have permanently or partially damaged nearly 250 historical buildings. Recent earthquakes have made things worse. In 2001, an earthquake that measured 7 on the Richter scale caused unprecedented damage. More recently, additional faultlines have been discovered in the region, raising concern about the impact another earthquake will have on the fort. </p> <p>Efforts are being made to deal with the situation, and a number of international and national agencies, such as the Jaisalmer in Jeopardy Trust, the Jaisalmer Heritage Trust, the World Monuments Fund (U.S.), and the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), are at work in Jaisalmer. The biggest challenge would be to resolve the issues around water usage. </p> <p>There is some apprehension in the people living in the fort that steps taken to save it will impact the tourism industry that they depend on for their livelihood. </p> <p>That this is a “living fort” makes the challenge of restoration and conservation much more difficult. The challenge has to be met successfully if this 800-year-old fort is to continue living far into the future. </p> <p align="justify"> </p> <web> </web> <p align="justify"> </p> <byline> <p> </p><p align="justify"> </p> <i> </i> <!-- Bottom Template Starts --> <p> <table width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="100%"> <center> </center><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></p></byline></byline><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8637557501276190731-2641589163529105?l=pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>PANKAJ SEKHSARIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798223946431718400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637557501276190731.post-83641119122633880562010-04-22T11:48:00.000+05:302010-04-22T11:51:38.452+05:30THE SINKING OF THE NICOBARS<br />http://infochangeindia.org/Agenda/Coastal-communities/The-sinking-of-the-Nicobars.html<br /> <p class="inttext" align="justify"> The earthquake that caused the tsunami of December 2004 has altered the topography and ecology of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands forever, writes <strong>Pankaj Sekhsaria</strong>. So far the impact of such marked changes in topography do not seem to have been taken into account by policymakers and government </p> <div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://infochangeindia.org/images/stories/ag18/ag18_6_1.jpg" alt=" " height="266" width="415" /><div id="caption1"> Sippighat, outside Port Blair, submerged after the tsunami</div></div><p align="justify">If there is one thing that immediately springs to mind when the Andaman and Nicobar Islands are mentioned today, it is the devastating tsunami of December 26, 2004. Official figures give a sense of the massive damage that was caused to life and property: over 3,500 people dead or missing; nearly 8,000 hectares of paddy and plantation rendered useless; 938 boats completely damaged; more than 150,000 head of cattle lost. </p> <p align="justify">These aggregated figures for the entire island chain hide an important detail that has not received the attention and analysis it deserves.</p> <p align="justify">Of the 3,513 people reported dead or missing only 64 were from the Andaman group of islands; the remaining 3,449 were from the islands in the Nicobar group. Seventy-six per cent of the agricultural and paddy land destroyed, and 80% of livestock loss were also reported from the Nicobars. Likewise, nearly 70% of the construction of new housing for the tsunami-affected is in the Nicobar Islands.</p> <p align="justify">It is evident that the impact of the tsunami was much greater in the Nicobar Islands than in the Andamans. So, while the Nicobars account for only 22% and 12% of the area and population, respectively, of the entire chain of islands, 98% of the deaths and 76% of loss of agricultural land occurred here. The damage caused was inversely proportional to the area and population of the two groups of islands, and strikingly so (see Table 1 and Table 2).<br /> <br /> <strong>Tectonic movements</strong></p> <p align="justify">Although the tsunami was seen as the main cause of the damage, it was actually the earthquake that caused the tsunami in the first place that was responsible for most of the damage here. While the tectonic movements triggered by the earthquake catalysed the tsunami, they also caused a huge and permanent shift in the lay of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. </p> <p align="justify">Assessments by a number of scientists from various institutes, including the University of Colorado in the USA and the Geological Survey of India, indicate that the Andaman group of islands were thrust upwards by four to six feet while parts of the Nicobar Islands went significantly under -- four feet of submergence in Car Nicobar; nearly 15 feet at the southernmost tip -- Indira Point -- on Great Nicobar Island. This important change in the lay of the islands was reported to have occurred almost immediately after the earthquake, a few minutes before the huge waves struck the coastline. Pre- and post-earthquake satellite maps released by the National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA) show striking visual evidence of this. It also explains the huge submergence and damage experienced in the Nicobars, though this group covers a relatively small area and is more thinly populated. </p><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://infochangeindia.org/images/stories/ag18/ag18_6_2.jpg" alt=" " height="266" width="415" /><div id="caption1"> Jogindernagar, Great Nicobar</div></div> <p align="justify"><strong>Ecological changes</strong></p> <p align="justify">Tectonic activity and the submergence and emergence it caused also resulted in significant ecological changes in the islands. A survey by the Andaman and Nicobar Environment Team revealed, for instance, that huge areas (nearly 60 sq km) of coral reefs along the western and northern coasts of Middle and North Andaman Islands were lifted up, permanently exposed, and destroyed. Studies in the Nicobar group of islands by the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Nature (SACON) showed that immense damage was caused to coastal ecosystems by the joint impact of the tsunami waves and the permanent subsidence and resultant permanent ingress of seawater. Coastal features like beaches, mangroves and littoral forests were the most badly impacted. Coastal wildlife like the endemic Nicobari megapode, the giant robber crab and the Malayan box turtle were among the species worst affected. </p> <p align="justify">Coral reefs off the coasts of the Nicobars were also hit by a combination of submergence, a resultant increase in turbidity, and physical damage caused by tonnes of debris thrown back and forth by the furious water. A survey conducted by the Zoological Survey of India reported large-scale sedimentation on coral reefs around Great Nicobar Island, following the tsunami. A drop in the number of associated coral reef fauna, including nudibranchs, flat worms, alpheid and mantis shrimps, and hermit and brachyuran crabs was also reported.</p> <div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://infochangeindia.org/images/stories/ag18/ag18_6_3.jpg" alt=" " height="266" width="415" /><div id="caption1"> Mangroves, Mayabundar, North Andaman</div></div> <p align="justify"><strong>Increased vulnerabilities</strong></p> <p align="justify">Significantly, the region is reported to have become much more seismically active now. Data gathered by the United States Geological Service (USGS) show that over 20 earthquakes of a magnitude above M6, in addition to several hundred of lesser intensity, have struck the region in the last five years. The most powerful was the September 2007 quake that had a magnitude greater than M8. It was followed by a tsunami warning; there have been at least half-a-dozen such warnings since 2004. </p> <p align="justify">It would appear that the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which have always been seismically active and therefore unstable, are even more vulnerable now. It is crucial that this increased threat becomes an important aspect of policy and development planning on the islands. Likewise, changes in the islands’ topography on account of tectonic movements must be factored into future planning. An important dimension, for instance, is the alteration along the coasts of all the islands of the high tide line (HTL). Unless this is recalibrated, any management or implementation of laws and regulations related to the coastal zone cannot be carried out effectively. They would in fact be meaningless. </p> <table class="normal" align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="98%"> <tbody><tr> <td colspan="13"><strong>Table 1: Island-wise losses</strong></td> </tr> <tr> <td><strong>Island</strong></td> <td colspan="2"><strong>People (dead or missing)</strong></td> <td colspan="2"><strong>Livestock loss</strong></td> <td colspan="2"><strong>Agricultural land lost</strong></td> <td colspan="2"><strong>Permanent housing </strong></td> <td colspan="2"><strong> Area </strong></td> <td colspan="2"><strong> Population (2001) </strong></td> </tr> <tr> <td> </td> <td>Total number</td> <td>Per cent</td> <td>Total number</td> <td>Per cent</td> <td>Area in hectares</td> <td>Per cent</td> <td>Number</td> <td>Per cent</td> <td>Sq km</td> <td>Per cent</td> <td>Number</td> <td>Per cent</td> </tr> <tr> <td><strong>Andamans</strong></td> <td><strong>64</strong></td> <td><strong>2</strong></td> <td><strong>31,521</strong></td> <td><strong>20</strong></td> <td><strong>1,877</strong></td> <td><strong>23.5</strong></td> <td><strong>2,796</strong></td> <td><strong>28.6</strong></td> <td><strong>6,408</strong></td> <td><strong>77.68</strong></td> <td><strong>314,048</strong></td> <td><strong>88.1</strong></td> </tr> <tr> <td>South Andaman</td> <td>7</td> <td> </td> <td>19,634</td> <td> </td> <td>1,667</td> <td> </td> <td>823</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Little Andaman</td> <td>54</td> <td> </td> <td>11,165</td> <td> </td> <td>117</td> <td> </td> <td>1,973</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Middle Andaman</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>722</td> <td> </td> <td>93</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><strong>Nicobar</strong></td> <td><strong>3,449</strong></td> <td><strong>98</strong></td> <td><strong>126,056</strong></td> <td><strong>80</strong></td> <td><strong>6,115</strong></td> <td><strong>76.5</strong></td> <td><strong>7,001</strong></td> <td><strong>71.4</strong></td> <td><strong>1,841</strong></td> <td><strong>22.32</strong></td> <td><strong>42,068</strong></td> <td><strong>11.9</strong></td> </tr> <tr> <td>Car Nicobar</td> <td>854</td> <td> </td> <td>50,350</td> <td> </td> <td>969.35</td> <td> </td> <td>3,941</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Chowra</td> <td rowspan="2" align="right">117</td> <td> </td> <td>11,896</td> <td> </td> <td>230.4</td> <td> </td> <td>346</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Teressa</td> <td> </td> <td>17,307</td> <td> </td> <td>743.96</td> <td> </td> <td>506</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Katchal</td> <td>1,551</td> <td> </td> <td>18,678</td> <td> </td> <td>1,628.50</td> <td> </td> <td>315</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Nancowry</td> <td rowspan="3" align="right">378</td> <td> </td> <td>1,440</td> <td> </td> <td>256.57</td> <td> </td> <td>269</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Kamorta</td> <td> </td> <td>7,501</td> <td> </td> <td>637.4</td> <td> </td> <td>518</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Trinket</td> <td> </td> <td>2,590</td> <td> </td> <td>328.5</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Little Nicobar</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>2,267</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>111</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Great Nicobar</td> <td>549</td> <td> </td> <td>12,298</td> <td> </td> <td>1,291.28</td> <td> </td> <td>995</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Kondul</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>336</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Pilomilow</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>823</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td>Bambooka</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td>570</td> <td> </td> <td>29.55</td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td><strong>Total</strong></td> <td><strong>3,513</strong></td> <td> </td> <td><strong>157,577</strong></td> <td><strong>100</strong></td> <td><strong>7,992</strong></td> <td><strong>100</strong></td> <td><strong>9,797</strong></td> <td><strong>100</strong></td> <td><strong>8,249</strong></td> <td><strong>100</strong></td> <td><strong>356,252</strong></td> <td><strong>100</strong></td> </tr> </tbody></table><br /><table class="normal" align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="98%"> <tbody><tr> <td colspan="4"><strong>Table 2: Losses in percentage (island-wise) </strong></td> </tr> <tr> <td> </td> <td><strong>Andamans (%)</strong></td> <td><strong>Nicobars (%) </strong></td> <td><strong>Total </strong></td> </tr> <tr> <td>Area (sq km)</td> <td>6,408 (77.68)</td> <td>1,841(22.32)</td> <td>8,249</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Population (2001)</td> <td>314,048 (88)</td> <td>42,068 (12)</td> <td>356,252</td> </tr> <tr> <td>People (dead or missing) </td> <td>64 (2) </td> <td>3,449 (98)</td> <td>3,513</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Livestock loss</td> <td>31,521 (20)</td> <td>126,056 (80)</td> <td>157,577</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Agricultural land lost (hectares)</td> <td>1,877 (23.5)</td> <td>6,115 (76.5) </td> <td>7,992</td> </tr> <tr> <td>Permanent housing</td> <td>2,796(28.6)</td> <td>7,001 (71.4)</td> <td>9,797</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p align="justify">The changed scenario also has direct implications on issues like land that can and cannot be allotted for reconstruction or for agriculture and plantation, as also on the materials and design of new buildings being built on the islands.</p><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://infochangeindia.org/images/stories/ag18/ag18_6_4.jpg" alt=" " height="266" width="415" /><div id="caption1"> Fishers in Great Nicobar</div></div> <p align="justify">All these aspects need careful consideration because they are the foundations on which any scenario for the future of the islands must be built. Many worry that they are not being given the importance and consideration they deserve. This was starkly evident in September 2009, when former President Dr A P J Abdul Kalam was in Port Blair to unveil Andaman Vision 2020 “for the strategic development of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands by the year 2020”. Speaking at a national seminar on ‘Security and Development of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands’, Kalam advocated, amongst other things, the construction of a 250 MW dedicated nuclear power station on the islands, and use of the islands as bases for static aircraft carrier and a nuclear submarine-based fleet. </p> <p align="justify">It’s as though the earthquake and tsunami of December 2004, and the hundreds of subsequent earthquakes, did not happen at all! Whatever visions of power we might have for ourselves, ‘security and development’ cannot be ensured by industrial and military might alone. If we ignore the foundational contours of the region’s topography, its seismic instability, and its environment, we only increase the risks and our subsequent vulnerability. And we do so at our own peril.</p> <p align="justify"> <em>(Pankaj Sekhsaria is the author of </em>Troubled Islands -- Writings on the Indigenous Peoples and Environment of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands)</p> <p align="justify"><strong>Infochange News &amp; Features, April 2010 </strong><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8637557501276190731-8364111912263388056?l=pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>PANKAJ SEKHSARIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798223946431718400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637557501276190731.post-78175578626955575842010-04-11T19:15:00.000+05:302010-04-11T19:25:05.302+05:30<span style="font-size:85%;"><p> <span class="storyhead" style="font-size:130%;color:blue;"><b> Day of the dolphin<br /></b></span></p><p align="justify"> </p> PANKAJ SEKHSARIA<br />http://www.hindu.com/mag/2010/04/11/stories/2010041150230500.htm<br /><p> </p><p align="justify"> </p> <table bgcolor="#ffeedd" border="0"><tbody><tr><td> The Gangetic River Dolphin has been notified as the national aquatic animal. Will this save the animal from the many threats it faces today? PANKAJ SEKHSARIA </td></tr></tbody></table><p align="justify"> </p><p align="justify"> </p> <hr color="#ddeeff" noshade="noshade"><i> <p>If the dolphin must have its day, good intentions alone will not suffice.</p> </i><hr color="#ddeeff" noshade="noshade"> <p align="justify"> </p> <center> <span style="font-size:-2;"> Photo: Dr. Sandeep Behera </span><br /> <img src="http://www.hindu.com/mag/2010/04/11/images/2010041150230501.jpg" align="center" border="1" height="176" width="350" /><br /><b> New lease of life:A Gangetic dolphin being released in Budhabalanga river in 2006. This was the first sighting of Gangetic dolphin in Orissa. </b> </center><p> </p><p>It can only be considered an extremely positive step that the Gangetic River Dolphin Platanista gangetica gangeticahas now been notified as the national aquatic animal. The decision was taken in the first meeting of the recently formed National Ganga River Basin Authority that was chaired by the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh. The move has received an enthusiastic welcome by the conservation community. Writing in the November issue of the journal ZOO's Print, Dr. Randall Reeves, Chairman of IUCN/SSC Cetacean Specialist Group, expressed his pleasant surprise, “..to see the small and somewhat cryptic freshwater dolphin occupying the ‘throne' of national aquatic animal…All things considered,” he continues, “it is an admirable decision by the Central Government to give this honour to the susu(as the Ganga dolphin is often called in India).”</p> <p>The population of the endangered Gangetic Dolphin in India today is only about 2,000 individuals spread over the rivers of the Gangetic basin and the Brahmaputra river system. The dolphin and the rivers they live in are inextricably linked — something that can be seen in the way the creature has evolved to survive in these rather specialised environmental conditions. For one, these dolphins are almost blind — the turbid waters of the river systems having made the use of eyes almost redundant. The eyes are merely pin holes, have no lenses and are believed to be used only to differentiate between light and dark. They mainly use echo-location to find food along the floor of the river. They also exhibit another peculiar characteristic of swimming on the side, dragging one flipper against the muddy river bed. This, it is believed, enables them to navigate in water streams with low water depth, a well known characteristic of the seasonal rivers in the sub-continent.</p> <b><p>Tied to the river</p></b> <p> </p><p>The water levels and flow patterns in rivers also greatly determine the spread and the migration of the dolphins. They are known to collect in deeper parts of the rivers with a preference for areas with eddies in the dry periods from October to April, and migrate to other stretches in the monsoons when the water levels rise.</p> <p>The health of the river, then, is crucial to the long-term well-being of the dolphin.</p> <p>While poaching for oil, fishing and accidental entanglement in nets are important concerns, there is evidence that dam and barrage construction is one of the biggest threats to the dolphin across its entire range. A 2006 WWF Nepal report points out, for instance, that “Barrages on the Mahakali River (Sarda in India) at Banbasa on the India-Nepal border in 1928, and at Sardanagar in 1974 about 160 km into Indian Territory, have resulted in the extinction of dolphins from the Mahakali River.”</p> <center> <span style="font-size:-2;"> Photo: Dr. Abdul Wakid. </span><br /> <img src="http://www.hindu.com/mag/2010/04/11/images/2010041150230502.jpg" align="center" border="1" height="176" width="350" /><br /><b> Well Adapted :In Kukurmara area of Kulsi River near Guwahati, Assam. </b> </center><p> </p><p>Dams and barrages not only fragment dolphin populations, they also degrade downstream habitat, create reservoirs with high sedimentation and change the fish and invertebrate species found in the waters. Luxuriant growth of macrophytes and excessive siltation have, for example, eliminated suitable habitat immediately above the Farakka Barrage and reduction in water availability downstream of the barrage has eliminated dry-season habitat for more than 300 km.</p> <p>The other big concern is the increased pollution of rivers caused by chemical pesticide and fertilizers runoff from agriculture and the indiscriminate release of untreated industrial effluents into rivers.</p> <p>Research by a team led by Dr. Leo Yeung of the City University of Hongkong recently revealed that a huge pollutant load enters the Ganga at its confluence with the Yamuna in Allahabad. Their paper, published in the March 2009 issue of the journal Chemosphere, points out that “…(the Yamuna) is also one of the most polluted rivers in the world, especially around New Delhi, where approximately 57 per cent of the city's wastes are discharged into the river. There are approximately 45 major industries, including coal-based thermal power plants, fertilizer, food processing, textiles, insecticide manufacturing, and electroplating located along the river.”</p> <p>The waters of the Yamuna and most of our other rivers that have been the source of life and nourishment for centuries are, now, almost dead themselves. The impact this has on the dolphins and other plant and animal life in the water and the millions of people who live along these rivers can only be imagined.</p> <p>The fate of our rivers are symptomatic of deep and underlying problems with our development process where damming of rivers, chemicalisation of our agriculture, rapid industrialisation and urbanisation have been given priority over everything else. More than 168 large dams, for instance, have been planned in the Brahmaputra river basin alone, with little realisation that this will change the entire up and down stream ecological systems and adversely impact the dolphin. It is precisely these kinds of developments that are working as a noose around our rivers and the diverse life found in them. Recognition of the dolphin as the national aquatic animal has been followed by commitments for their protection in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. A further interest in the dolphin has also been spurred in Assam, where the creature was declared the state aquatic animal over a year ago. If the dolphin must have its day, good intentions alone will not suffice. The Gangetic dolphin is one of only three surviving species of freshwater dolphins on this planet. The fourth one, the Yangtze River Dolphin in China, went extinct as recently as 2006. A lot will need to be done if the Gangetic Dolphin is to avoid a similar fate. A declaration that accorded it national status will have, otherwise, amounted to nothing more than symbolic lip service.</p></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8637557501276190731-7817557862695557584?l=pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>PANKAJ SEKHSARIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798223946431718400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637557501276190731.post-37876376695304721292010-03-28T20:11:00.003+05:302010-03-28T20:20:38.754+05:30Dear Friends,<br />Here is the list of contents and the editorial for the new issue of the Protected Area Update - Vol XVI, No. 2, April 2010.<br /><br />Please write to me at psekhsaria@gmail.com if you want more details or the entire issue over email.<br /><br />----<br />PROTECTED AREA UPDATE<br />News and Information from protected areas in India and South Asia<br /><br />Vol. XVI No. 2<br />April 2010 (No. 84)<br />----<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">LIST OF CONTENTS<br /><br />EDITORIAL<br />The Western Ghats in focus<br /><br />NEWS FROM INDIAN STATES<br /><br />ANDHRA PRADESH<br />Nuapada swamps to be declared a conservation reserve<br /><br />ASSAM<br />Four suspected poachers arrested from Orang NP<br />Call to declare Poba Reserve Forest a wildlife sanctuary<br />BSF to help protect Kaziranga NP<br />SSB proposal to set up border outpost in Manas NP<br />Health camps for patrol elephants and staff of Manas NP and Pobitora WLS<br />Timber cut illegally from Manas NP seized<br /><br />GUJARAT<br />Cell proposed for management plans for PAs<br />CAG points out deficiencies in wildlife and forest management in Gujarat<br />10 per cent rise in black buck population in and around Velavadar NP<br />Gir staff poorly equipped with knowledge of wildlife and wildlife law: study<br /><br />HIMACHAL PRADESH<br />Red Jungle Fowl breeding program in Renuka and Simbalbara WLSs in HP<br /><br />KARNATAKA<br />Large fire in BRT WLS<br />Ban on night traffic through Bandipur National Park lifted again<br />25 acre Kollegal-BRT WLS corridor handed over to Forest Department<br />Bhimgad declared as a WLS<br />HC notice on night safari in Bannerghatta NP<br /><br />KERALA<br />12 new IBAs in Kerala<br /><br />MANIPUR<br />Save Loktak Lake Campaign<br /><br />MADHYA PRADESH<br />State Forest Minister calls for CBI inquiry into tiger disappearance from Panna TR<br /><br />MAHARASHTRA<br />Village inside Tadoba Andhari TR to sue FD for mining on their community land<br />Students ask for plastic ban within Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary<br />Proposal to remove temple area from Bhimashankar WLS rejected<br />CCTV cameras at Sanjay Gandhi NP gates to track visitor movements<br />GIB Sanctuary area down by 7000 sq km<br />NBWL rejects widening of NH-17 because of impact on Karnala WLS<br /><br />ORISSA<br />Public-private initiative for Simlipal TR<br />MoEF asks for specific wildlife management plan for electricity transmission line through Chandaka-Dampara WLS<br />Management plans for 14 elephant corridors in Orissa<br /><br />TAMIL NADU<br />Bi-lingual nature guide to Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve<br />Nilgiri Natural History Society launched<br /><br />WEST BENGAL<br />Villagers invoke Forest Rights Act; take over forest tract adjoining Jaldapara WLS<br />Drive to demolish illegal structures in the East Kolkata Wetlands<br /><br />NATIONAL NEWS FROM INDIA <br />Internet group for tracking insect migration<br />NTCA regional office to be set up in Nagpur<br />Expert Panel on Western Ghats constituted<br />Funds released for village relocation from core/critical tiger habitats<br />Figures for tigers and leopards killed in India since 1994<br />Save Western Ghats Meet 2010<br />Comprehensive database launched for tiger mortality and crime in India<br />Workshop on Marine Mammal Stranding held in Kochi<br />Two day seminar on Gangetic Dolphin held in Patna<br />Task Force on Project Elephant<br />Expert committee for protected areas assessment in the North East<br /><br />SOUTH ASIA<br />Bangladesh<br />Bangladesh launches Tiger Action Plan<br /><br />OPPORTUNITIES<br />MPhil in Conservation Leadership, University of Cambridge<br />Ramsar Small Grants Fund<br />Ravi Sankaran Inlaks Fellowship Program for Field Biology, Ecology and Conservation<br /><br />IN THE SUPREME COURT<br />HYDROELECTRIC PROJECTS PROPOSED INSIDE ASKOT WILDLIFE SANCTUARY <br />MoEF INTRODUCES FIVE SPECIFIC SCIENTIFIC INITIATIVES<br /></div> <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">EDITORIAL<br /><br />THE WESTERN GHATS IN FOCUS<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Western Ghats are, without doubt, one of the richest eco-regional systems in the entire subcontinent. Straddling six states from Gujarat in the North to Kerala and Tamil Nadu in the south, the 1600 odd kms long mountain range is home to a wide diversity of life just as it supports innumerable human communities and cultures. The beauty of the landscapes here is unmatched, endemism in the forests is high and many rivers that nourish large parts of peninsular India originate here. Not surprisingly a large number of protected areas dot the entire length of the ghats.<br /> It is only to expected then that the Western Ghats have appeared regularly in the pages of the Protected Area Update over the years; something of interest and importance is always happening here. Nothing however matches the presence they have in this particular issue – it is almost like it’s become a Western Ghats special.<br /> There has been a lot of very localized activity along the length of the mountain range that you will see reports of: children in schools in the vicinity of the Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary in Maharashtra demanding that plastic be banned from within sanctuary limits, the creation of 12 new Important Bird Areas in Kerala or the ongoing controversy over the ban on night traffic on national highways inside the Bandipur National Park.<br /> A lot is also happening that has an appeal and relevance cutting across state and political boundaries. A large conservation research and action initiative has been going on under the aegis of the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF), the well known Save Western Ghats movement is on the way to being revived, a new Nilgiri Natural History Society has been formed and the Ministry of Environment and Forests has also set up an ‘Expert panel on the Western Ghats’ to ‘assist in the preservation, conservation and rejuvenation of this environmentally sensitive and ecologically significant region.’<br />In another commendable development the Minister of Environment and Forests, Mr Jairam Ramesh, recently organized a special meeting of 43 Members of Parliament from the 51 districts which have the Western Ghats running through them. It is one of those rare political initiatives where politics is not bound by political boundaries.<br /> It has been argued often that if political constituencies had been carved out on ecological or eco-regional criteria, politics would have been different. Ecological systems, be they mountain ranges, river systems or the coast often get looked at in a piecemeal manner. The integrity of what is a single unit is completely overtaken by other considerations and the consequences have only been adverse. The Minister’s initiative could well be the starting point of some kind of a more holistic approach and other eco-regional systems too might try and pick up from what is being attempted here.<br /> The Western Ghats have also been lucky in that there have always been vibrant local communities, NGOs, researchers and officials who have continued to engage with the complexities and work with the challenges of this unique mountain range. To say, however, that things will now be different in the Western Ghats would be putting the cart much ahead of the horse. We have to wait and watch to see how the present initiatives unfold. There is no denying that they look very promising and one hopes that some of the promise will indeed be realized in the future.<br /><br /></div><br />---<br />Protected Area Update<br />Vol. XVI, No. 1, February 2010 (No. 83)<br /><br />Editor: Pankaj Sekhsaria<br />Editorial Assistance: Reshma Jathar<br />Illustrations: Madhuvanti Anantharajan<br />Produced by: Kalpavriksh<br /><br />Ideas, comments, news and information may please be sent to the editorial address:<br /><br />KALPAVRIKSH<br />Apartment 5, Shri Dutta Krupa, 908 Deccan Gymkhana, Pune 411004, Maharashtra, India.<br />Tel/Fax: 020 – 25654239.<br />Email: psekhsaria@gmail.com<br />Website: www.kalpavriksh.org<br /><br />PUBLICATION OF THE PA UPDATE HAS BEEN SUPPORTED BY<br />- Foundation for Ecological Security (FES)<br />http://fes.org.in/<br />- Duleep Matthai Nature Conservation Trust<br />C/o FES<br />- Greenpeace India<br />www.greenpeace.org/india/<br />- Royal Society for the Protection of Birds<br />www.rspb.org.uk/<br />- Indian Bird Conservation Network<br />http://www.ibcn.in/<br />***<br />Information has been sourced from different newspapers and the following websites<br /><br />http://wildlifewatch.in/<br />http://indiaenvironmentportal.org.in<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8637557501276190731-3787637669530472129?l=pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>PANKAJ SEKHSARIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798223946431718400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637557501276190731.post-64945559838964542082010-01-24T20:18:00.000+05:302010-01-24T20:26:06.204+05:30PROTECTED AREA UPDATE<br />News and Information from protected areas in India and South Asia<br /><br />Vol. XVI No. 1<br />February 2010 (No. 83)<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">LIST OF CONTENTS<br />EDITORIAL<br />Don’t forget those on the frontlines<br /><br />NEWS FROM INDIAN STATES<br /><br />ANDHRA PRADESH<br />Jerdon's courser sighted in Sri Lankamalleswara Wildlife Sanctuary<br /><br />ASSAM<br />Database of all rhinos in Assam<br />Increased human - elephant conflict in Assam<br />Over one lakh people visited Kaziranga National Park in 2008-09<br />PWD study for diverting traffic from NH 37 section through Kaziranga NP<br />14 rhinos poached in Kaziranga NP in 2009<br />Ramsar tag proposed for Dhir Beel, Son Beel, Kaziranga Beel and Dordoibam Beel<br />Two senior Nagaland officials suspect in rhino poaching<br /><br />BIHAR<br />Railway track creates new rhino habitat adjoining Valmiki TR<br />Tourism promotion plans for Valmiki TR<br />Tiger Protection Force proposed for Valmiki TR<br />Mining ban shows positive results in Valmiki Tiger Reserve<br /><br />GUJARAT<br />Bio-tech efforts to conserve Gir lion<br /><br />JAMMU &amp; KASHMIR<br />Satellite collars for black bears in Dachigam NP<br /><br />KARNATAKA<br />Work to proceed on Mysore –Mananthavadi road through the Nagarhole NP<br /><br />KERALA<br />Joint initiatives with Tamil Nadu for Periyar TR<br /><br />MADHYA PRADESH<br />State signs tri-partite agreement with NTCA for tiger conservation<br />Wildlife law enforcement and training in Bhopal<br /><br />MAHARASHTRA<br />Dismantled film sets degrading forests adjoining the Sanjay Gandhi NP<br />Van majoors protest non-payment of wages; stops tourists from entering Nagzira WLS<br />Deer and neelgai translocated from Nagpur to Bor Wildlife Sanctuary<br />Shifting of villages from Tadoba Andhari TR to be expedited<br />MoEF rejects mining project near Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve<br /><br />ORISSA<br />Seven month ban on marine fishing in Orissa from November 2009<br />Oriental small-clawed otter reported from Karlapat Wildlife Sanctuary<br /><br />PUNJAB<br />Illegal fishing rampant in Harike WLS<br /><br />RAJASTHAN<br />Illegal fishing in Sariska TR; four arrested<br />NTCA approves Darrah Tiger Reserve<br />New road threat to Ranthambore TR<br /><br />TAMIL NADU<br />New facilities, tourism initiatives at Mudumalai Tiger Reserve<br />Convention held on livelihood rights of peasants, repatriates and adivasis of Nilgiri District<br /><br />UTTAR PRADESH<br />Additional compensation from FD to those killed in feline attacks<br />Advanced detectors to locate metal traps in Dudhwa TR<br />Daily wages in Dudhwa TR not paid for seven months<br />17 tiger cubs sighted in Dudhwa TR<br />Rhinos near Indo-Nepal border to get unique identities<br /><br />UTTARAKHAND<br />70% resorts around Corbett TR used for non-wildlife tourism<br /><br />WEST BENGAL<br />Pollution, road widening project threaten East Kolkata wetlands<br />State signs tri-partite agreement for tiger conservation; allotted Rs. 300 crores for Buxa and Sunderbans TRs<br />Gaur run over by train near Chapramari WLS<br />Growth in elephant, rhino &amp; gaur population in Dooars region<br />Dalma WLS elephant herd caught in Maoist-police war in West Bengal<br />Deer in Sunderbans being poached for Kolkata hotels<br />Move to supplement tiger prey base in Sunderbans<br /><br />NATIONAL NEWS FROM INDIA<br />Forest Area Under Encroachment<br />SeasonWatch – A project to monitor plant phenology across India<br />IGNOU, WWF offer PG Diploma in environmental law<br />New threat to vultures from Ketoprofen<br />Ministry of Tourism to carry out audit of seven protected areas<br />Central Empowered Committee of the SC under purview of RTI<br />Sanctuary Wildlife Awards 2009<br /><br />SOUTH ASIA<br />NEPAL<br />Bardia NP expanded by 900 sq. kms<br /><br />PAKISTAN<br />Virus kills more than 70 ibex in Khirthar NP<br /><br />OPPORTUNITIES<br />WWF Prince Bernhard Scholarships for nature conservation<br />CEPF-ATREE Western Ghats Small Grants<br />Call for nominations: Wildlife Tourism Awards<br />JRFs needed for research in the Southern Western Ghats<br /><br />UPCOMING<br />13th Biennial Conference of the International Association for the Study of Commons<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;">EDITORIAL<br /><br />DON'T FORGET THOSE ON THE FRONTLINES<br /></div><br />If technology, money and good intentions were enough, there would be no reason for any concern about the fate of Indian wildlife. There is plenty of that in evidence even in this issue of the PA Update – calls for more PAs, declaration of more tiger reserves, larger demands and commitments for money, sophisticated equipment for surveillance and use of newer technologies for various aspects of research, management, and protection. Much of this is necessary and welcome. But, is it enough? Are we, in the clamour for all this and more, losing sight of something more essential and absolutely fundamental?<br /> There are at least two reports in the pages that follow that force these important questions – about the treatment and the neglect of the foot soldiers of conservation; those in the forest staff that are out there, working where it matters the most. What can be the justification for non payment of many months of wages to daily wage workers in the Nagzira Wildlife Sanctuary in Maharashtra and in Uttar Pradesh’s Dudhwa Tiger Reserve? It is indeed a sad state of affairs when these workers have to strike work and block tourist traffic (like in Nagzira) to bring attention to their plight.<br /> Needless to say, these are not new happenings and delayed salaries are only one of an array of problems that they are forced to face – working conditions are poor and outright dangerous sometimes; there are no family care facilities; training and equipment are often inadequate and there are few avenues for promotions and other incentives.<br /> If this is the treatment that will be meted out to the most vulnerable can we really hope that management, conservation or protection will happen effectively? Lofty hopes and pronunciations will remain merely those if issues of brass-tacks continue to be neglected in this manner.<br /> When many crores of rupees are being allocated for wildlife conservation in general and to individual PAs and tiger reserves in particular, why treat those at the bottom of the hierarchy with such callousness? And that too for only their legitimate dues.<br /> The lesson should be a simple one – if conservation is to be successful, things need to be in order, first, inside the home. Everything else can come later.<br /></div><br /><br />---<br />Protected Area Update<br />Vol. XVI, No. 1, February 2010 (No. 83)<br /><br />Editor: Pankaj Sekhsaria<br />Editorial Assistance: Reshma Jathar<br />Illustrations: Madhuvanti Anantharajan<br />Produced by: Kalpavriksh<br /><br />Ideas, comments, news and information may please be sent to the editorial address:<br /><br />KALPAVRIKSH<br />Apartment 5, Shri Dutta Krupa, 908 Deccan Gymkhana, Pune 411004, Maharashtra, India.<br />Tel/Fax: 020 – 25654239.<br />Email: psekhsaria@gmail.com<br />Website: www.kalpavriksh.org<br /><br />--<br />Publication of the PA Update has been supported by<br />- Foundation for Ecological Security (FES)<br /> http://fes.org.in/<br />- Duleep Matthai Nature Conservation Trust<br /> C/o FES<br />- Greenpeace India<br />www.greenpeace.org/india/<br />- Royal Society for the Protection of Birds<br />www.rspb.org.uk/<br />- Indian Bird Conservation Network<br />http://www.ibcn.in/<br />***<br />Information has been sourced from different newspapers and the following websites<br /><br />http://wildlifewatch.in/<br />http://indiaenvironmentportal.org.in<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8637557501276190731-6494555983896454208?l=pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>PANKAJ SEKHSARIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798223946431718400noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637557501276190731.post-46564614183670313702010-01-13T11:22:00.001+05:302010-01-13T11:23:44.882+05:30Dear Friends<br />Many of you will recollect, and also perhaps have read 'Troubled Islands', which was a compilation of my journalistic writings on the A&amp;N from the period 1998 to 2003. (see the side bar for details of Troubled Islands)<br /><br />I have in the subsequent years, continued to write on the various issues of the islands including those related to the indigenous communities and the impacts of the earthquake and tsunami of December 2004.<br /><br />Over time there have been many requests from members on the group and otherwise for copies of these and older articles. Prompted by the requests and the interest I have just put together a set of another 14 articles in a basic photocopied compilation of 50 pages.<br /><br />The issues covered include the earthquake and tsunami of 2004, the situation of the indigenous communities of the islands and some matters related to tourism.<br /><br />The compilation is available for Rs. 70 (for photocopy, handling and postage). If any of you would like a copy of this compilation do please write to me. In case you are also interested in a copy of the older 'Troubled Islands' (Rs. 120) we will be able to optimise postage and other costs and send you the two together for Rs. 150.<br /><br />best wishes<br />pankaj<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8637557501276190731-4656461418367031370?l=pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>PANKAJ SEKHSARIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798223946431718400noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637557501276190731.post-47130643116856329462009-12-12T21:01:00.004+05:302009-12-12T21:10:16.419+05:30by Pankaj Sekhsaria<br /><br />THE LIGHT OF ANDAMANS, Vol 34, Issue 20, December 11, 2009<br />http://www.lightofandaman.com/news5.asp<br /><br />The recent call by the All India Forward Block (The Light of Andamans, Nov. 25, 2009) to rename the Andaman &amp; Nicobar Islands as Shaheed and Swaraj is neither new nor unexpected. It has been around in the islands since the 1950s and more recently even others like historian Swati Dasgupta, for instance, have made the same call (‘Remembering Kaalapani’, The Times of India, May 7, 2005)<br /><br />If these calls are heeded, these islands could well see a monumental shift in their present namescape. The island named after Sir Hugh Rose, the man who finally cornered Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi after the mutiny of 1857, could soon be named Laxmibai Dweep or maybe Rani Jhansi Dweep. Havelock Island named after the British General who re-took Lucknow from Nana Sahib could well be named Nana Sahib Dweep and the direct reference to the call by Subhas Chandra Bose is the most evoked one in any case.<br />The Rani of Jhansi or Nana Sahib may have known little of the islands (or even that they existed) but that surely is of little consequence.<br /><br />This group of 500 odd islands scattered in an arc in the Bay of Bengal, are certainly fertile territory for a massive, even lip smacking renaming exercise – Tantya Tope, Mangal Pandey, Subhas Chandra Bose, Veer Savarkar…how about Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Nehru, Rajiv Gandhi….the list is endless; one’s imagination the only limitation and why not – reclamation of one’s history, after all, is believed to be one of the most important and effective tools of nation building.<br /><br />There is one hitch however, a question that renaming enthusiasts might want to first consider – How does one reclaim what was never yours in the first place? The islands, located far away from mainland India can only be considered a gift that British left India with when the empire disintegrated. There are undeniable connections of India’s freedom movement with the islands; best symbolized by the mutiny of 1857 and the Cellular Jail. There can be no denying that and neither can one deny the close bonds that a large section of the country feels with these islands, but, and this is the crux of the argument here, all put together this history does not go beyond a 150 years. We might want to rename Havelock Island in the memory of Nana Sahib, but is it not worth asking whether the island that is today called Havelock had some earlier name too?<br /><br />Let it not be forgotten, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands have been the traditional home of a number of aboriginal communities - the Great Andamanese, Jarawa, Onge and Sentinelese (in the Andamans), the Nicobaris and the Shompen (in the Nicobars) that have been living here for nearly 50,000 years. The 150 years that we want to claim now is like the blink of an eye in comparison. Injustices have been done and continue to be done to these communities in a manner that has few parallels in India. Their lands have been taken, their forests converted to plywood and agricultural plantations, and the fabric of their societies so violently torn apart that extinction looms on the horizon for many of them. The Great Andamanese who were at least 5000 individuals when the 1857 mutiny happened are today less than 40 people. The Onge who were counted at about 600 individuals in 1901 census are only a 100 people today. There are critical issues of survival that these communities are faced with – problems that are complex and will be difficult to resolve. If indeed there is energy and interest in doing something in the islands and for the islanders these are lines that we need to be thinking on.<br /><br />These are people, like indigenous peoples everywhere, who have their own histories, their own societies, and yes, their own names for the islands and places. First the British called something else and now we want to call something else again. If indeed the places have to be renamed, should not an effort first be made to find out what the original people had first named them, why they were so named, what the significances were and which names are still in use by them. Should that not be the work of scholarship and historical studies? Why is that this is not a history that political parties want to correct? It would be a far more challenging and worthwhile exercise and perhaps not a very difficult one either because a lot of information does already exist.<br /><br />If indeed the real and complete history of the islands is ever written, the British would not be more than a page and India could only be a paragraph. How’s that for a perspective and a context?<br /><br />*Pankaj Sekhsaria is the author of Troubled Islands – Writings on the indigenous peoples and environment of the Andaman &amp; Nicobar Islands<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8637557501276190731-4713064311685632946?l=pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>PANKAJ SEKHSARIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798223946431718400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637557501276190731.post-74150773258307367952009-11-27T20:19:00.005+05:302009-11-27T20:35:08.243+05:30Pasted below is the list of contents and Editorial from the New Issue of the 'Protected Area Update', Vol XV, No. 6 (December 2009) (No. 82).<br />If you want any specific stories or the entire update as an attachment, please write to me at psekhsaria@gmail.com<br /><br />Pankaj Sekhsaria<br />Editor, 'Protected Area Update'<br />C/o Kalpavriksh<br />---<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">PROTECTED AREA UPDATE<br />News and Information from protected areas in India and South Asia<br />Vol. XV No. 6, December 2009 (No.82)<br />---<br />LIST OF CONTENTS<br />EDITORIAL<br />The day of the dolphin<br /><br />NEWS FROM INDIAN STATES<br />ANDAMAN &amp; NICOBAR ISLANDS<br />ZSI survey in islands of Rani Jhansi Marine NP<br /><br />ASSAM<br />Tourism infrastructure enhanced at Pobitara Wildlife Sanctuary<br />Spate of wildlife deaths in and around Kaziranga National Park<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/Sw_pbqpKgdI/AAAAAAAAB7A/9eygT_ypq78/s1600/rhino+elephant+death.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 195px; height: 182px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/Sw_pbqpKgdI/AAAAAAAAB7A/9eygT_ypq78/s400/rhino+elephant+death.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408798339007939026" border="0" /></a>Human-elephant conflict takes heavy toll along Assam - Bhutan border<br />Awards given to Assam FD personnel<br />Joint committees to monitor transmission lines for elephant safety<br />Two rhino poachers killed in gun battle in Rajiv Gandhi (Orang) NP<br /><br />BIHAR<br />Special efforts to prevent dolphin hunting<br /><br />GUJARAT<br />1550 trees to be cut over seven acres of land adjoining Gir WLS<br />Maldharis insist on living in Gir; memorandum given to President<br /><br />KERALA<br />38 casualties in boat tragedy in Periyar TR<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/Sw_pLUqV_AI/AAAAAAAAB6A/9-mnCjvuCNo/s1600/boat+capsizes.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 258px; height: 138px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/Sw_pLUqV_AI/AAAAAAAAB6A/9-mnCjvuCNo/s400/boat+capsizes.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408798058229398530" border="0" /></a><br />‘Orientation Programme on Wildlife Conservation’ for Kerala High Court judges<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/Sw_pbFUlM-I/AAAAAAAAB6o/y7EqYxay_8w/s1600/wildlife+workshop+for+judges.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 207px; height: 163px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/Sw_pbFUlM-I/AAAAAAAAB6o/y7EqYxay_8w/s400/wildlife+workshop+for+judges.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408798328989496290" border="0" /></a><br />MAHARASHTRA<br />Opposition to religious gathering within Bhimashankar WLS<br />Trees over 50 hectares to be cut in the Great Indian Bustard WLS<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/Sw_pbZnMpsI/AAAAAAAAB64/aqVx_PRVjFU/s1600/tree+felling+in+GIB+habitat.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 188px; height: 163px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/Sw_pbZnMpsI/AAAAAAAAB64/aqVx_PRVjFU/s400/tree+felling+in+GIB+habitat.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408798334436288194" border="0" /></a>Conservation Reserve status proposed for Mahendri Reserve Forest<br /><br />MEGHALAYA<br />Community reserve for pitcher plant conservation in South Garo Hills<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/Sw_pMI7d3sI/AAAAAAAAB6g/keUBx2wFJ1E/s1600/pitcher+plant.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 175px; height: 153px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/Sw_pMI7d3sI/AAAAAAAAB6g/keUBx2wFJ1E/s400/pitcher+plant.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408798072259862210" border="0" /></a><br />NAGALAND<br />Singphan RF declared as Singphan WLS<br /><br />ORISSA<br />Oil spill concerns for Gahirmatha<br />SC notice against Dhamra port<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/Sw_pLgQMGEI/AAAAAAAAB6Q/3s3hk5jq90w/s1600/dhamra+port.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 204px; height: 134px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/Sw_pLgQMGEI/AAAAAAAAB6Q/3s3hk5jq90w/s400/dhamra+port.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408798061340923970" border="0" /></a>Orissa to constitute State Wetland Management Authority; Integrated -Management Plan for Chilika Lake<br />Orissa may take the help of traditional elephant catchers from Assam to mitigate man-elephant conflict<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/Sw_pL-ZeFrI/AAAAAAAAB6Y/mCEVf5-S81Y/s1600/elephant+catchers+enlisted.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 205px; height: 124px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/Sw_pL-ZeFrI/AAAAAAAAB6Y/mCEVf5-S81Y/s400/elephant+catchers+enlisted.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408798069432915634" border="0" /></a><br />RAJASTHAN<br />Rs 104 crores for relocation of villages from Ranthambhore TR<br />Great Indian Bustard sighted in Barmer part of Desert NP after 25 years<br /><br />TAMIL NADU<br />MoEF says no to neutrino project proposed in Nilgiri BR<br /><br />UTTAR PRADESH<br />UP plans to protect Gangetic Dolphin<br />2nd phase of rhino introduction planned in Dudhwa TR<br /><br />WEST BENGAL<br />Concrete embankments proposed to protect Sunderbans<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/Sw_pbDDoyWI/AAAAAAAAB6w/wpXU0fo2Pos/s1600/tree+felling+in+sundrbans.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 225px; height: 210px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/Sw_pbDDoyWI/AAAAAAAAB6w/wpXU0fo2Pos/s400/tree+felling+in+sundrbans.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408798328381557090" border="0" /></a><br />Two rhinos deaths in Jaldapara WLS; elephant safari stopped<br /><br />NATIONAL NEWS FROM INDIA<br />Gangetic Dolphin is National Aquatic Animal<br /><br />Centre approves cheetah reintroduction roadmap preparation<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/Sw_pcJr5vII/AAAAAAAAB7I/E8qo8qxALRQ/s1600/reintroducing+cheetah.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 188px; height: 217px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/Sw_pcJr5vII/AAAAAAAAB7I/E8qo8qxALRQ/s400/reintroducing+cheetah.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408798347340921986" border="0" /></a><br />Ecotone – New newsletter on wildlife and conservation in North East India<br />Endangered species list under the Biological Diversity Act<br />National Tiger Conservation Authority reconstituted<br />NTCA to issue identity cards for tigers; also to use new tool ‘payment of ecosystem services’ for conservation<br />Zoological Survey of India activities related to protected areas<br /><br />SOUTH ASIA<br />NEPAL<br />Nepal Army gears up for anti-poaching drive<br /><br />INTERNATIONAL NEWS<br />Tiger population falls in Myanmar’s Hukuang Tiger Reserve<br /><br />OPPORTUNITIES<br />CEPF Call for Proposals for Western Ghats<br /><br />PROTECTED AREAS IN THE COUNTRY: LATEST NUMBERS<br />AWARDEES - CMS VATAVARAN ENVIRONMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL - 2009<br /><br /><br />UPCOMING<br />National meeting of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC)<br /><br />IN THE SUPREME COURT<br />--------<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">EDITORIAL<br /><br />THE DAY OF THE DOLPHIN<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">It can only be considered an extremely positive and welcome step that the Gangetic River Dolphin has now been notified as the National Aquatic Animal. Not only will this help direct much needed attention to an animal whose fate has been seriously neglected, it will also help focus on the importance of the ecosystems that are home to them – our rivers.<br />It is ironic that a civilisation that is so dependant, indeed nourished by its rivers is so callous to their plight today. There is hardly any river in the country now, whose natural flow has not been altered by dams and barrages or which has not become a carrier of our municipal and industrial waste. The waters that have been the source of life and nourishment for centuries are, now, almost dead themselves. Needless to say, the fate of the dolphins and a multitude of plant and animal life that depends on these systems is fated to meet the same end. That they are not seen often has not helped matters worse. ‘Out of sight’, in this case, has clearly been a case of ‘out of mind’.<br />Little, for instance, is known of the biology or even the number of the Gangetic dolphins that survive today. The most optimistic estimates put their number at about 2000, spread over rivers in the Gangetic basin and in the Brahmaputra river system.<br />The new status of the animal will hopefully change the present situation and if some reports in this issue of the Protected Area Update are some indication, this is already beginning to happen. The states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have almost immediately expressed their intentions (and in some case also taken steps) for dolphin protection and conservation. A further interest in the dolphin has also been spurred in Assam, where the creature has already been the state aquatic animal for over a year now.<br />What will be crucial is how the intentions are operationalised on the ground, or for that matter in the water. It needs to be borne in mind that some ‘band-aid’ kind of suggestions and solutions (arrest fisherfolk, awareness programs in schools etc) alone will simply not work. The status and fate of our rivers are symptomatic of deep and underlying problems with our development process where damming of rivers, chemicalisation of our agriculture, rapid industrialization and urbanization have been given priority over everything else. More than 168 large dams, for instance, have been planned in the Brahmaputra river basin alone, with little realization that this will change the entire ecological system and adversely impact the dolphin. It is precisely these kinds of developments that are working as a noose around our rivers and the diverse life found in them.<br />If the dolphin must have it’s day, it is this process that needs a fundamental and serious re-engagement and re-structuring; otherwise declarations that accord national status will amount to nothing more than symbolic lip service. And that as well all know, is not going to achieve anything at all.<br /></div><br />---<br />Protected Area Update<br />Vol. XV, No. 6, December 2009 (No. 82)<br /><br />Editor: Pankaj Sekhsaria<br />Editorial Assistance: Reshma Jathar<br />Illustrations: Madhuvanti Anantharajan<br />Produced by: Kalpavriksh<br /><br />Ideas, comments, news and information may please be sent to the editorial address:<br /><br />KALPAVRIKSH<br />Apartment 5, Shri Dutta Krupa, 908 Deccan Gymkhana, Pune 411004, Maharashtra, India.<br />Tel/Fax: 020 – 25654239.<br />Email: psekhsaria@gmail.com<br />Website: www.kalpavriksh.org<br />---<br /><br />PUBLICATION OF THE PA Update has been supported by<br /><br />-Foundation for Ecological Security (FES)<br />http://fes.org.in/<br /><br />-Duleep Mathai Nature Conservation Trust<br />C/o FES<br /><br />-Greenpeace India<br />www.greenpeace.org/india/<br /><br />-Royal Society for the Protection of Birds<br />www.rspb.org.uk/<br /><br />-Indian Bird Conservation Network<br />http://www.ibcn.in/<br /><br />---<br />Information has been sourced from different newspapers and the following websites<br />http://wildlifewatch.in/<br />http://www.cmsindia.org/cms/sector/cmsenvis.html<br />http://indiaenvironmentportal.org.in<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/Sw_pLktEA7I/AAAAAAAAB6I/n39dtCBgiXg/s1600/butterfly+conservation.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 165px; height: 225px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/Sw_pLktEA7I/AAAAAAAAB6I/n39dtCBgiXg/s400/butterfly+conservation.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408798062535771058" border="0" /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8637557501276190731-7415077325830736795?l=pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>PANKAJ SEKHSARIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798223946431718400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637557501276190731.post-88601767573159397902009-11-09T21:08:00.011+05:302009-11-13T19:59:10.597+05:30<span class="fspfirstchar">DAY OF THE JACKALS</span><br />Nature meets nurture in a startling and ancient ritual in the black hills of Kutch.<br /><br />OUTLOOK TRAVELLER, November 2009<br />http://travel.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?262645<br /><br />by Pankaj Sekhsaria<br /> <div><div> <input name="ctl00$cphpagemiddle$hffeedbacktypeid" id="ctl00_cphpagemiddle_hffeedbacktypeid" value="1" type="hidden"> </div> <div id="ctl00_cphpagemiddle_reparticle_ctl00_divartpiccaption" class="fsppicturecaption"><img id="ctl00_cphpagemiddle_reparticle_ctl00_imglarge" src="http://cms.outlookindia.com/images/articles/outlooktraveller/2009/11/1/Kutch_Main.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; width: 378px; height: 199px;" /><span style="font-size:85%;"><br />The jackals at their cement dining table feed on jaggery-sweetened rice (Pic: Pankaj Sekhsaria)<br /></span></div></div><br /><span class="fspfirstchar">L</span>ocated at the very edge of the beautiful and diverse land of Kutch, like sentinels rising high and keeping watch over the haunting landscape, are the Black Hills of Kutch, also known as Kala Dungar. At about 1,500ft, this is also perhaps one of the best places to get a bird’s eye view of the extensive and seemingly endless expanse of the Great Rann of Kutch. For while the Great Rann may be one of the most inhospitable and harsh environments on this planet, from atop Kala Dungar it seems anything but that. What meets the eye is a stunning vista of endless white that extends to the horizon and beyond; white that constantly changes shades with the changing light and moving clouds; white that is sometimes tinged the lightest of pink, then grey and then white again. <p>“There is no beginning and no end,” Lakshman, our driver and guide, starts off just on his own. Lakhubhai, as he is better known, talks of the creation of the universe, “<em>Brahmand Rachna</em>,” he says, “This is how the universe must have been created—where land merges with the Rann, the Rann with the ocean and the ocean with the horizon, all different and yet seamlessly one thing.”</p> <p style="text-align: center;"></p><div style="text-align: left;"><img style="width: 350px; height: 184px;" src="http://cms.outlookindia.com/Uploads/Outlook%20Traveller/200911/Kutch_2.jpg" alt="" /><span class="fsppicturecaption"><span style="font-size:85%;"><br />Views of the Great Rann from atop Kala Dungar </span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"> (Pic: Pankaj Sekhsaria)</span></div> <p>But continuing along these profound lines would be getting away from the point. It was not the Rann that we had driven to the top of Kala Dungar for. The Rann was only a side show, the main attraction being a daily event here that sounded both bizarre and fascinating when I first heard about it. At the very top of Kala Dungar is an old and much venerated temple of Guru Dattatreya where the wild jackals of the mountainsides are fed sweetened rice every day.</p> <p>Nobody knows the exact origins of this strange phenomenon, but the most popular legend is related to the compassion of a holy man. According to common folklore the priests here regularly offered food to the jackals. A time came when there was no food to offer and this is when the Pir of Pachchmai, also known as Guru Dattatreya, offered a part of his body to the animals. The tradition of feeding the jackals continues and rice sweetened with jaggery is offered to them twice every day—first around noon and then just a little before dusk. Earlier it was a human call of “<em>le ang, le ang</em> (take my body)” that summoned the jackals; today it is the ringing of the bell that indicates to them that food is on its way—a perfect Pavlovian experiment in the wild. </p> <p style="text-align: center;"></p><div style="text-align: left;"><img style="width: 365px; height: 189px;" src="http://cms.outlookindia.com/Uploads/Outlook%20Traveller/200911/Kutch_3.jpg" alt="" /><span class="fsppicturecaption"><span style="font-size:85%;"><br />An important sign on the way </span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"> (Pic: Pankaj Sekhsaria)</span></div> <p>It is nearing noon and we rush back to the site near the temple where the jackals come to feed. A circular cement platform, about a metre high and three metres across, serves as the dining table for the jackals. The animals are clearly aware and expectant. They emerge tentatively from the scrub forest, running around nervously in ones and twos and then disappearing back into the bushes. But their sense of anticipation is high and evident.</p> <p>Then the bell starts ringing and a man wearing a white shirt with a simple metal container on his head walks the roughly hundred metres to where the jackals will get their feed. A couple of jackals are trailing him now and more emerge as he stands by the platform, lowers the container and throws out handfuls of the rice.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"></p><div style="text-align: left;"><img style="width: 406px; height: 214px;" src="http://cms.outlookindia.com/Uploads/Outlook%20Traveller/200911/Kutch_4.jpg" alt="" /><span class="fsppicturecaption"><span style="font-size:85%;"><br />Harjibhai, the jackal feeder </span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"> (Pic: Pankaj Sekhsaria)</span></div> <p>There is no restraining them now and in just a moment at least 20 are on top of the platform grabbing every morsel that they possibly can. Some stand and eat, others growl and snatch and still others jump up, snatch a bite and quickly slink away. A couple of persistent crows join the 30-odd jackals in a feast that’s over in less than 10 minutes. The jackals are gone as quickly as they came and the crumbs that remain are now being cleared by an opportunistic mongoose and a couple of stray dogs that have been waiting their chance. It is just another day in the life of the temple authorities, the jackals, the dogs, crows and the mongoose; but for a one-time visitor like me, it is unlike any other day or event I have seen before.</p> <p>I’m keen to find out a little more and go in search of a saffron-clad swamiji I’d seen on the way up. He seems to be a little high on dope and is not in the least pleased at being disturbed. “Go and meet Harjibhai,” he tells me, “he’ll tell you.” Harjibhai is indeed the right man—the man in the white shirt whose job it is to cook the rice for the jackals and then carry it to them after the bell is rung. He knows little himself, but fills me in with some interesting nuggets.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"></p><div style="text-align: left;"><img style="width: 380px; height: 200px;" src="http://cms.outlookindia.com/Uploads/Outlook%20Traveller/200911/Kutch_5.jpg" alt="" /><span class="fsppicturecaption"><span style="font-size:85%;"><br />Fossils, on the way </span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"> (Pic: Pankaj Sekhsaria)</span></div> <p>He’s been doing this job for three years now and the grain is provided for by a village at the foothills. Every meal for the jackals is eight kilograms of rice cooked with four kilograms of jaggery. He recounts the legend again and then adds a fascinating detail. There are rare occasions, he tells me, when the jackals refuse to accept the offerings made to them. It is an indication that some wrongdoing has occurred in the villages below and that some corrective action is needed. This, he further confirms, is exactly how the situation turns out to be.</p> Hard to swallow? But then who would have believed that a hilltop exists in a remote corner of Kutch where jackals have been fed sweetened rice since time immemorial.<br /><div style="text-align: center;">---<br /></div>For more pictures visit:<br /><a href="http://3fotosaday.blogspot.com/2009/11/jackals-of-kala-dungar-kutch.html"><span style="font-size:85%;">http://3fotosaday.blogspot.com/2009/11/jackals-of-kala-dungar-kutch.html</span></a><br /><a href="http://3fotosaday.blogspot.com/2009/11/jackals-of-kala-dungar-2.html"><span style="font-size:85%;">http://3fotosaday.blogspot.com/2009/11/jackals-of-kala-dungar-2.html</span></a><br /><a href="http://3fotosaday.blogspot.com/2009/11/kala-dungar-kutch-3.html"><span style="font-size:85%;">http://3fotosaday.blogspot.com/2009/11/kala-dungar-kutch-3.html</span></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8637557501276190731-8860176757315939790?l=pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>PANKAJ SEKHSARIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798223946431718400noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637557501276190731.post-12140717581708578912009-11-02T20:57:00.002+05:302009-11-02T21:02:21.953+05:30<div style="text-align: justify;">Edible-nest Swiftlet Collocalia fuciphaga: extinction by protection<br />by Pankaj Sekhsaria<br /><br />Indian Birds, Vol. 5 No. 4 July–August 2009<br />Date of publication: 15th October 2009<br />www.indianbirds.in<br /><br />PROLOGUE: This piece was first written sometime back, in 2004, and with detailed inputs from discussions with Dr. Ravi Sankaran himself. Tragically, Dr. Sankaran passed away in January 2009, after suffering a massive heart attack.<br />In a very recent development it was reported in August (Selling bird’s nest soup to save this bird: there’s a change in law, Tuesday, Aug 18, 2009 at 0354 hrs New Delhi: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/selling-birds-nest-soup-to-save-this-bird-theres-a-change-in-law/503342/0) that the Edible nest swiftlet had indeed been de-listed raising hopes that the project he had initiated in the Andamans will get a fair chance of being implemented and being successful.<br />---<br /><br />The path to hell, for humans, it is said, is paved with good intentions. For a little bird in the Andaman &amp; Nicobar Islands, the Edible-nest Swiftlet Collacalia fuciphaga, the path to extinction, it would seem, too has being paved with similar good intentions. Being listed in Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (WLPA), is the ultimate recognition of the endangered status of any creature in India<br /><br />A NEST OF SALIVA<br />It also means that the highest degree of protection will be accorded to the species, and this is exactly what has happened in the case of the Edible-nest Swiftlet too. Herein lies the ultimate paradox, and probably the seeds of an unfolding tragedy. At the crux of the matter is the nest of the bird that is made entirely of its own saliva. The final product is a beautiful white ‘half-cup’, roughly six centimeters across with an average weight of 10 gm.<br />This is indeed a fascinating biological quirk, but one for which the bird has had to pay a heavy price. Since the 16th century, when the nest of the bird is reported to have become an important part of Chinese cuisine and pharmacy, its been heavily exploited across its range. While there is little modern scientific evaluation or validation of the efficacy or efficiency of the nest, consumption has been immense. A TRAFFIC International publication of 1994 estimated that about nine million nests, weighing nearly 76 tonnes, were being imported into China annually. Not surprisingly then, the wholly edible white nest was and continues to be one of the world’s most expensive animal products, pegged sometime back at US $ 2,620¬4,060 per kg in retail markets in the South–east Asian countries.<br />It is well known that a part of the international trade was being fed by the extraction of nests that takes place from the Andaman &amp; Nicobar Islands, but authentic information only started coming in 1995, when the first studies were initiated by ornithologist, Dr. Ravi Sankaran, of the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON). He initiated a laborious and painstaking process of locating the nesting sites and enumerating the nests and birds. Detailed surveys were conducted on the islands between March 1995 and early 1997, where he visited a total of 385 caves (325 in the Andamans). The outcome was two pioneering reports. The first published in 1995 dealt with the Nicobars and the second, in 1998, presented a complete picture of the situation in the entire archipelago.<br /><br />A THREATENED POPULATION<br />Sankaran’s studies estimated that the total breeding population on the islands was about 6,700 breeding pairs. He reported that at least 94% of the caves were being exploited for the bird’s nest, and that less than 1% of the breeding population was being allowed to successfully fledge as the nests were being harvested for the market before the nesting could be completed. Sankaran estimated that the Edible-nest Swiftlet had experienced a whopping 80% decline in its population, placing it in the critically threatened category (IUCN criteria A1c). This was primarily due to indiscriminate and unrestricted nest collection from the wild, leading him to the further conclusion that if this was not dealt with urgently the bird would soon be extinct in the Andaman &amp; Nicobar Islands.<br />He initially advocated strict protection, but changed his stand when he realised that protection, in the conventional sense, would not work. He also learnt of the ingenious house ranching methods developed by the Indonesians for managing swiftlets.<br /><br />HOUSE RANCHING<br />It was estimated that nearly 65,000 kg of nests were being produced in Indonesia annually, from colonies of the Edible-nest Swiftlet that reside within human habitation: a total of 5.5 million birds and their nests, in houses and rooms of human habitations, optimally managed by humans. “Thus, while swiftlet populations in caves will continue to decline, or become extinct, due to collection pressures,” Sankaran concluded, “the species will survive because there are hundreds of thousands of birds that reside within human habitation, all optimally managed”.<br />Nest collectors, he started to advocate, would have to be empowered to harvest nests within the rigid framework of strictly scientifically harvesting regimes. This would have to be complimented in the ‘Indonesian way’, with a realistic long-term strategy that would include both in-situ and ex-situ conservation programmes, i.e., house ranching, both based on the economic importance of the species and using this importance to organise local communities to conserve the species.<br />In 1999, his recommendation took the form of an innovative initiative that was launched jointly by the Wildlife Circle of the Department of Environment and Forests, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and SACON. The final aim of the initiative was to ensure protection of the nests in the wild so that eggs would be available for the house ranching ex situ component. The project took off well. Protection accorded to a complex of 28 caves on Challis Ek in North Andaman Island, and one cave on Interview Island Wildlife Sanctuary, saw over 3,000 chicks being fledged, a growth of over 25% in the population of the swiftlets at these sites. A team of local people, who were earlier nest collectors, were now being motivated towards protection, and subsequently, sustainable harvesting.<br /><br />THE LAW BECOMES THE HURDLE<br />Just as phase one was taking off, the law came into the picture, and in October 2003 the Edible-nest Swiftlet was put onto Schedule I of the Wildlife Act. This meant that there could be no activity that involved use of, or trade in the nest of the bird—the primary premise on which Sankaran’s initiative had been based. The entire project was dealt a set back and in spite of continued efforts, over the years, to have the swiftlet removed from Schedule I, it continues to be listed there.<br />Admittedly there are genuine concerns about the de-listing of a species and the implications of an act of this kind. The biggest fear is of setting a precedent that could be misused by vested interests. In this case however, the recommendations are based on solid, detailed, and pioneering scientific studies of nearly a decade, and were in turn backed with a wealth of international information and experience. “Its more like apiculture,” would be Sankaran’s argument, “where bees are reared for their honey. House ranching of swiftlets cannot be likened to the farming of animals for skin or meat”. The implication of not delisting the bird is that the conservation initiative is bound to fail, while harvesting from the wild would continue unabated. The consequences of this would be the local extinction of the bird in the Andaman &amp; Nicobar Islands—a predicament that was summed up with stunning simplicity by J. C. Daniel of the Bombay Natural History Society. Speaking during the concluding session of the International Seminar to commemorate the centenary Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society in Mumbai in November 2003, he spoke of the fate of the Edible-nest Swiflet if corrective action was not taken at the earliest: extinction by protection—the ultimate oxymoron.<br />---<br /><br />You can also visit the following links for pictures of avifauna of the islands including the nest and the habitat of the edible nest swiftlet and Ravi in the field in the islands<br /><br /><a href="http://3fotosaday.blogspot.com/2009/11/birds-of-a-islands-1.html">http://3fotosaday.blogspot.com/2009/11/birds-of-a-islands-1.html</a><br /><a href="http://pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com/2009/03/blog-post.html">http://pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com/2009/03/blog-post.html</a><br /><a href="http://pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com/2009/01/remembering-ravi-sankaran.html">http://pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com/2009/01/remembering-ravi-sankaran.html</a><br /><a href="http://pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com/2007/08/tilt-and-turmoil-in-andamans.html">http://pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com/2007/08/tilt-and-turmoil-in-andamans.html </a><br /><br /><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8637557501276190731-1214071758170857891?l=pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>PANKAJ SEKHSARIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798223946431718400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637557501276190731.post-17085579686333222862009-11-01T19:20:00.003+05:302009-11-01T19:25:30.245+05:30<slug>The Hindu Sunday Magazine, 01 November 2009<br />http://www.hindu.com/mag/2009/11/01/stories/2009110150170500.htm<br />CONSERVATION </slug><p> <span class="storyhead" style="font-size:130%;color:blue;"><b> Wildlife is on the brink… </b></span> </p><p align="justify"> </p> PANKAJ SEKHSARIA <p> </p><p align="justify"> </p> <table bgcolor="#ffeedd" border="0"><tbody><tr><td> … and it is high time we took a critical look at our conservation realities and policies. </td></tr></tbody></table><p align="justify"> </p><p align="justify"> </p> <hr color="#ddeeff" noshade="noshade"><i> <p>Most that share landscapes with wildlife, for instance, live extremely low impact lives yet they pay the biggest cost for conservation.</p> </i><hr color="#ddeeff" noshade="noshade"> <p align="justify"> </p> <center> <span style="font-size:-2;"> PHOTO: PANKAJ SEKHSARIA </span><br /> <img src="http://www.hindu.com/mag/2009/11/01/images/2009110150170501.jpg" align="center" border="1" height="214" width="307" /><br /><b> <span style="font-size:85%;"><em style="">Question of survival: </em>Tribal settlements in Orissa’s Simlipal Biosphere Reserve.</span> </b> </center><p> </p><p> </p> <p> If there is one dominating sense about the fate of wildlife in this country, it is that of ‘the end’. The wiping out of the tiger from the Sariska and Panna Tiger Reserves has been headline news; poaching and trading in wildlife parts con tinues unabated; human wildlife conflict — be it with carnivores like leopards or tigers, large mammals like elephants or smaller animals like wild boar, deer or monkeys — is seriously on the rise; lakes, rivers and other wetlands are either being dammed, poisoned or encroached upon; climate change threatens to change the world in an unprecedented manner and as a combined consequence wildlife numbers are dwindling precariously and many species of birds, animals and plants stand dangerously close to the precipice of extinction. </p> <span class="subsectionhead" style="font-size:100%;color:red;"> The Forest Rights Act </span> <p align="justify"> </p> <p>An important new twist was added to wildlife conservation debates a couple of years ago with the enactment of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, popularly known as the Forest Rights Act (FRA). The debate over this act has been volatile and the opposition, particularly from a section of wildlife conservationists and former forest officers, has been and continues to be strong. A lot has been written about these concerns and strong affirmation came from a rather unlikely source around a year ago. A report in <em style="">Newsweek</em> (“India’s missing tigers”, May 5, 2008) took the argument to an unexpected extreme when it argued that ‘democracy and economic development’ were driving the tiger to extinction in India.</p> <p> Many might actually agree with this articulation, but even a cursory analysis will reveal that the conclusions are as ill-informed as they are short sighted. An entire argument cannot be built on the analysis of and comment on just one piece of recent legislation in the country: the FRA. The law is a recent one and its implementation, if it is happening at all, has just about begun. While fears about forest and wildlife loss may indeed be justified, selectively wiping away history and placing the responsibility for the tiger’s demise at the door of this one legislation and one set of people is not only irresponsible but also can be counter-productive. </p> <p>Particularly so since because one aspect of India’s conservation history — the role of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi — continues to be repeatedly invoked, like in the <em style="">Newsweek</em> piece. A whole generation of wildlife enthusiasts and conservationists believe, and with good reason, that Indira Gandhi ensured that Indian wildlife still has some hope. She was the architect of critical legislations and frameworks that certainly helped protect wildlife and her personal interest and intervention like in the case of Silent Valley in Kerala ensured that many critical habitats were saved.</p> <p> It is a legacy we cannot deny or wish away, but we also need to ask whether we can keep hanging on to the past? Our socio-political-economic-cultural realities have changed drastically since her time. It is the same nation and yet it is different . Wildlife conservation today, like anything else, has to be placed within this rapidly changing context. It is crucial to recognise that the same wildlife conservation policies will not succeed today just because they did in a different era. If she were alive today, Mrs. Gandhi would perhaps have agreed.</p> <p> There is also a whole new ‘post-Indira Gandhi’ generation of wildlife biologists involved in cutting edge research across wild India. Many of their formulations of problems and solutions are extremely nuanced and far more representative of realities on the ground. They need to be asked and they need to be listened to. </p> <span class="subsectionhead" style="font-size:100%;color:red;"> Condemning the most vulnerable </span> <p align="justify"> </p> <p>It is no one’s case that wildlife conservation is easy. The challenges are immense and no one but the most optimistic will argue that the future for our wildlife is bright and hopeful. However, blaming the poor and the tribal; demanding their displacement to protect wildlife; seeking stricter and military-like protection is the wrong place to start. By doing this we are also ignoring many other realities. Most of the communities that share landscapes with wildlife, for instance, live extremely low impact lives and yet they are made to pay the biggest cost for conservation.</p> <p> It is also not a coincidence that innumerable people’s agitations across the country today are fighting policies and projects (big dams, large scale mining, increased industrialisation) that predate on the basic survival of forest and land dependant communities. Neither is it a coincidence that many of these are important habitats that support a great diversity of threatened flora and fauna. It is as important that we recognise this overlap as it is for us to recognise that both communities and wildlife are, together, losing this battle. Nothing — be it the laws and the courts, the politicians and the bureaucrats or the media and the wildlife conservationists — are able to help them. </p> <span class="subsectionhead" style="font-size:100%;color:red;"> Hope and the FRA </span> <p align="justify"> </p> <p>Increased mining across the country, for instance, has been one of the most significant sources of concern for its impact on forests, tribal communities and important wildlife populations. In an ironic twist now, it is being suggested that the FRA might actually be the only hope for preventing mining in forest and wildlife rich areas. Efforts towards this end are already being made in states like Orissa and in particular in the Niyamgiri hills where the Dongaria Kondh Tribal community itself is fighting to save the forests. Additional hope has been kindled following the July 30, 2009 notification of the MoEF stating the forest land diversion for non-forest purposes should ensure compliance with the provisions of the FRA. </p> <p> In this larger context then, it comes across as completely unfair to argue that rights for the poor, the marginalised and the historically dis-privileged necessarily means the demise of our wildlife? Can we turn the question and wonder if, in fact, “it is not too much democracy but too little of it that lies at the root our wildlife crisis?” That a more empowered people might actually fight better and more successfully? We don’t have the answers today; what we do have is the choice of which question we will ask.</p><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/Su2Su0mZVrI/AAAAAAAAByE/M807qWvTys0/s1600-h/IMG_1653.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/Su2Su0mZVrI/AAAAAAAAByE/M807qWvTys0/s400/IMG_1653.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399132861378418354" border="0" /></a></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Bauxite prospecting pits on the Galikonda plateau in the Ananthgiri Hills of Andhra Pradesh. Mining is one of the biggest threats to tribal communities, forests and wildlife across large parts of the country (Photo: Pankaj Sekhsaria)</span><br /></p> <p align="justify"> </p> <web> </web> <p align="justify"> </p> <p> </p><p align="justify"> </p> <i> </i> <!-- Bottom Template Starts --> <p> <!-- story ends --><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8637557501276190731-1708557968633322286?l=pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>PANKAJ SEKHSARIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798223946431718400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637557501276190731.post-81047675188371965682009-10-10T22:30:00.002+05:302009-11-02T21:09:08.358+05:30<h2 class="title">The second class citizen<span></span></h2> <div id="stats"> <span><a href="http://www.teacherplus.org/classroom-updates/the-second-class-citizen/">TEACHERPLUS</a><br /></span><h2 class="title"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span>5 October 2009</span><span></span></span> </h2> <span></span></div> <div class="entry clearfloat"> <p><strong>Pankaj Sekhsaria</strong><br />There is a new hierarchy that has slowly but surely entrenched itself in India’s urban reality. It is not really articulated in that light, but it is an experience that any resident of our cities could not have missed. Get on to the roads of your city as a pedestrian or a cyclist and you know instantly that you are a second class citizen. Zooming cars and two-wheelers, blaring horns, billowing smoke, narrower footpaths, fewer trees – it is increasingly a punishment to get out on to the city roads if you don’t have a personalised mode of motor transport.</p> <p><strong>More vehicles on our roads</strong><br />Vehicles are being added to city roads like there is no tomorrow and the introduction of newer and cheaper cars like TATA’s Nano is only going to add to the unyielding rush. While the average human population in six of our biggest metros increased by a factor 1.8 between 1981 and 2001, vehicle numbers increased by over six times. Last year, Bangalore recorded the highest vehicle growth rate in the country with 14 per cent against a national average of 10, and 1000 cars are being added to the roads of New Delhi every day. A crisis awaits us around the corner, if it is not upon us already.</p> <p>Unfortunately, all solutions suggested to deal with the growing problems of congested roads and traffic bottlenecks are only short sighted band-aids on the symptom. We have lost complete sight of the disease and the drug that we are providing is only adding fuel to the fire. The problem, we need to realise, is not a shortage of road space or width but the astronomically growing number of vehicles. </p> <p>While no effort is being made to reduce these, huge investments continue to be thrust into creating more infrastructure as a mindless clamour for even more, out-shouts all other voices and suggestions of saner solutions. While there is some recognition now of the need for better public transport systems, the focus continues to be on the hugely capital intensive metro rail systems like the one proposed in Bangalore and Hyderabad. This, even as existing metropolitan bus services continue to languish with little or no additional investment and a quality of service that can only be considered poor. The efficiency and the value of supporting and augmenting existing services is best illustrated by Mumbai’s Bombay Electric and Suburban Transport (BEST) service. The BEST, it is said, carries about 50 per cent of Mumbai’s total road users, yet occupies only 4 per cent of the city’s road space.<br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://www.teacherplus.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/classroom-update1.jpg" alt="Classroom Update" title="Classroom Update" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1635" style="border: medium none ;" height="225" width="550" /><br /></div><p> <strong>More roads is not the solution</strong><br />In line with the logic that growth in vehicle population is non-negotiable and questioning it amounts to sacrilege, the single biggest activity in our cities in recent times has been road and flyover construction and road widening. Trees, footpaths, old shops, houses – nothing matters. Conservative estimates suggest, for instance, that in Pune alone, at least 50,000 trees have been chopped down in the last five years alone, many to accommodate the increasing traffic. Pedestrian and cyclists occupy minimum road space and cause no pollution at all, but that is of no consequence. By cutting trees and reducing (even eliminating) footpaths, the situation is only being made more hostile for them. An excellent example of this is the construction of grade separators and the huge expansion of road width on the highway in the suburbs of Pune where I live. While motorists are delighted for obvious reasons, others, particularly those who walk or use cycles have been completely forgotten. There are a number of sections in this stretch where one has to take a detour of at least a couple of kilometers to just cross over to the other side. Twenty minutes of driving time saved for a motorist has directly translated to at least twice the duration of travel time for a pedestrian. School children and old people, in fact, suffer the most.</p> <p>The recently published nation-wide study on ‘Traffic and Transportation Policies and Strategies in Urban Areas in India’ that was commissioned by the Union Ministry for Urban Development provides some shocking statistics and evidence of this. Mumbai sees an unbelieveable 22,000 road accidents every year. Ten people on an average are killed every day in our metros in road accidents. Delhi tops the list with more than 2000 deaths per year followed by Hyderabad (1196 deaths) and Bangalore (833 deaths). Even smaller towns like Hubli-Dharwad report more than one death every alternate day in road accidents. The report points out, that a majority of the road accident victims are indeed pedestrians – something that is not difficult to understand when one sees that the percentage of roads with pedestrian footpaths is less than 30 per cent in most of our cities today.</p> <p><strong>A pedestrian first</strong><br />We should remember that every citizen, even a vehicle owner, is also a pedestrian at some point in his or her use of the roads of a city. Unless priorities in urban planning, in the media and in our thinking are not refocused, this problem is bound to increase. Merely adding and widening roads is not going to help. What is needed is a more fundamental effort at improving public transport, reducing private vehicles and putting the welfare and safety of the pedestrian and cyclist at the very centre of all that we do.</p> <p>Otherwise, average city traffic speed will continue to fall and yet, more pedestrians will continue to die. The most frightening part is that it could be any one of us, at any point of time.</p> <p><span style="color: rgb(152, 52, 54);"> The author is an independent journalist and photographer and is associated with the environmental action group, Kalpavriksh. He can be reached at <a href="http://www.teacherplus.org/classroom-updates/the-second-class-citizen/psekhsaria@gmail.com">psekhsaria@gmail.com</a>.</span></p> <h3>Here are some ideas that would encourage your students to explore this topic further</h3> <ul><li>Let your students get a sense of the changes that have taken place in their localities. Have roads been widened near their homes? Have footpaths been removed or added? Have trees been cut for road widening? The students could talk to their parents, grand parents and other elders in the house to find out.</li><li>It might be interesting to get your children to go to the Road Transport Authorities in their cities and find out the growth in the number of vehicles in their city over a period of time. Let them find out how many vehicles are being added to their city roads every year.</li><li>Ask the students to do a comparative study of the road width, footpath laws, vehicle densities, etc. between India and other countries.</li><li>Get the children to document the roads in the cities that have no footpaths today and observe the situation of cyclists and pedestrians. They could spend some time on the roadside, traffic junction and see how people behave.</li><li>Doing an analysis of relative benefits of different modes of transport. How much space does a bus occupy and how many people does it carry? How does it compare to a car or a cycle?</li></ul> <p style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://www.teacherplus.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/topic-further.jpg" alt="Ideas" title="Ideas" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1624" style="border: medium none ;" height="293" width="280" /></p> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8637557501276190731-8104767518837196568?l=pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>PANKAJ SEKHSARIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798223946431718400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637557501276190731.post-5804598784545318602009-10-06T21:16:00.001+05:302009-10-06T21:33:29.096+05:30<b><span class="leftnavi" style="font-size:85%;color:red;">http://www.frontlineonnet.com/stories/20091023262113000.htm<br /><br />INTERVIEW</span></b><br /><span class="storyhead" style="font-size:130%;color:blue;"><b> Politics of science </b></span> <p align="justify"> </p> <p> </p><p align="justify"> </p> <table bgcolor="white" border="0"><tbody><tr><td><b> Interview with Geert Somsen, a historian of science at Maastricht University. </b></td></tr></tbody></table><p align="justify"> </p><p align="justify"> </p> <blurb1> </blurb1> <p align="justify"> </p> <center> <span style="font-size:78%;"> GEERT SOMSEN </span><br /> <img src="http://www.frontlineonnet.com/images/20091023262113001.jpg" align="center" border="1" height="260" width="400" /><br /><b> Geert Somsen at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. </b> </center><p> </p><p>GEERT SOMSEN is a historian of science with the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Maastricht University in the Netherlands. He currently directs his faculty’s Graduate School and teaches in several bachelor’s and master’s programmes. He graduated in Chemistry but switched to historical research about 20 years ago. Within this field, he has become increasingly interested in the status of science in general. How has science been characterised in the past? What have scientific approaches been meant to supplant? How has science figured in self-portrayals of the West as compared to ‘the rest’? A training in science and technology studies (STS), meanwhile, prevents him from taking the advertised image of science for the actual product. </p> <p>Somsen discusses with <span style="font-weight: bold;">Pankaj Sekhsaria,</span> of the Pune-based Kalpavriksh Environment Action Group, his views on interdisciplinarity, his more recent work on ‘scientific internationalism’, ‘politically active’ scientists and his travel to India and Central Asia to look at old traditions of astronomy and science in these parts of the world. Excerpts from a free-ranging interview:</p> <b>From an undergraduate degree in chemistry to a Ph.D. in the History of Science and finally into inter-disciplinary studies, your academic journey is quite an interesting one. </b> <p align="justify"> </p> <p> </p> <p>I graduated in 1992 in Chemistry but I had always liked subjects such as Science and Society, Philosophy of Science, and in the third year of graduation, we had History of Science which I really liked. I then did my Ph.D. in History of Science at the Institute for the History of Science in Utrecht [in the Netherlands] and there was a huge mental transformation from being a natural scientist to being a historian.</p> <p>My interest in philosophical issues continued and I got more and more fascinated by constructivist approaches. So, during my Ph.D. I did an internship at the University of California, San Diego, in the United States. At that time they had what was called the Science Studies programme – an interdisciplinary graduate programme of history, philosophy and sociology of science. And they had all these stellar names then – Bruno Latour, Steven Shapin, and in philosophy Philip Kicher was there, Chandra Mukerji.... It was really exciting, especially when all these people got together every week in their colloquiums and the poor speakers were completely grilled [laughs]. They would fly in speakers from all over the country, sometimes from all over the world, so it was really great. </p> <p>I then did a postdoc in Philadelphia, was in Cambridge in England for a while too, and then landed here in Maastricht. Our faculty is very interdisciplinary in research, but especially teaching, and I became even more interdisciplinary here. So I was a historian of science and an STS studies person even before I came, and here I also got involved in courses on <em style="">avant-garde</em> movements, political ideologies, on all sorts of things.</p> <b>Do you look at yourself then as a historian or as a scientist? </b> <p align="justify"> </p> <p>Historian, definitely not a scientist. I mean, scientists study nature and STS people study science, right? So the object of study is different. People in STS, I think, are from the humanities and social sciences because the object of the study is what scientists do. What scientists do is study rabbits, stars and DNA [laughs] and that is very different. So, I was trained in that [science], and it helps to have some inside knowledge, but I had to sort of make a mental switch. </p> <p>I also have that experience, then, of what it means to be a scientist. An anthropologist, for instance, needs to acquire some inside knowledge of the culture he is studying. Now, I come from that culture. I only have to step back and look at what scientists are doing. I think it is helpful because it makes me able to deal with more technical issues.Whereas, if I would have been trained in history, I wouldn’t have been able to study what chemists are talking about, because I wouldn’t understand it.</p> <b>Would you agree that historical investigation is perhaps the best starting point for interdisciplinary and STS kind of work. </b> <p align="justify"> </p> <p> </p> <p>When you look at Thomas Kuhn, for example, I think that is certainly the case. He was a sort of a philosopher who was very interested in history and he had much more of a relativist look. It started for him with an appreciation that Aristotelian physics, which we regard as no longer valid, in itself is completely valid. It was a different way of looking at the world and that brought Kuhn to a sort of relativism, which then made him theorise about scientific change. That Kuhnian turn, then, has partly come out of history. </p> <b>As a historian do you find yourself better placed to work in this field? </b> <p align="justify"> </p> <p> </p> <p>No, not really. I see myself on par with sociologists and anthropologists.</p> <b>So there is no particular advantage that you bring because you are a historian? </b> <p align="justify"> </p> <p> </p> <p>Sure. History of science has its own advantage and I really like it. That doesn’t however mean that I am better at STS studies than sociologists or anthropologists are. </p> <b>You do not feel privileged in any way of being a historian…? </b> <p align="justify"> </p> <p>No, but what I think it does is that it brings a sort of a relativism with it, which is a privilege. And that is what the historians have from the outset, but that then is also true of an anthropologist.</p> <b>So what then are the biggest challenges and advantages of doing interdisciplinary work? </b> <p align="justify"> </p> <p> </p> <p>Well of course, it is always combining perspectives that is difficult, especially because they are not always compatible. But that’s when it is interesting. Take, for example, a philosopher’s and a historian’s perspective on how knowledge is produced. A philosopher will always tend to have some sort of a formalised, generalised account that is ideally true even if it is not how it works in practice, whereas, a historian or a sociologist or an anthropologist doesn’t care about how it should be.</p> <b>It will be the specific thing that they are looking at … </b> <p align="justify"> </p> <p>Yes. So a major advantage [of interdisciplinarity] is that as a practitioner, especially if you come from one background, it makes you very aware of the limitations of your own perspective. It makes you aware that there are other perspectives that are also legitimate and interesting. If you are trained within only one discipline then there is a chance that you begin to believe that your perspective is the perspective of the world and this is the way it all is. It can become very parochial in a way and interdisciplinarity makes you lose that. It makes you a little more modest. I think it’s a good thing.</p> <span class="subsectionhead" style="font-size:100%;color:red;"> Science &amp; Ideology </span> <p align="justify"> </p> <b>And what is the relevance of interdisciplinary and STS studies in today’s context? </b> <p align="justify"> </p> <p> </p> <p>I think I have an original answer here [laughs]. I totally agree that the relevance of STS is that it brings about a better understanding of the workings of science and technology. But there is also a cultural part and I think you don’t hear that very often but it is relevant – that science and technology also have an ideological importance.I can see it in my reading for the course I am teaching, the ‘Idea of Europe’, a sort of general history course. </p> <p>Technology, particularly science, comes in often into this idea. Science has been an important component of the self-image of the West or of Europe or of the modern world, right? Why are we modern and why aren’t others? Historians and other people have pointed to democracy and things like freedoms, human rights, but most often it is because we have modern science, right? So, we’ve invented this sort of method or trick, or whatever it is, that made it possible for us to understand and control the natural world and nobody else has ever invented that. Now whether this is true or not is one question… what is more important is that this figures in several representations of the West to sort of legitimate a hierarchy between the West and other people. </p> <p>I just read a quote by Henry Kissinger, the National Security Advisor of the U.S. during the Vietnam war. He says about the underdeveloped world: that they haven’t had the Newtonian revolution, so they never learnt to think in a scientific way; they can’t really understand things, so they need us to do it for them. I think this is very common since the Enlightenment – the idea that we have learnt how to think scientifically and they, whatever they is, haven’t. Therefore, justifying our dominant position in the world. </p> <b>So there is a purpose to this deconstruction. Does one also have an end in mind when one seeks to deconstruct these ways of looking? Or is that not important? </b> <p align="justify"> </p><center> <span style="font-size:78%;"> GEERT SOMSEN </span><br /> <img src="http://www.frontlineonnet.com/images/20091023262113002.jpg" align="center" border="1" height="306" width="177" /><br /><b> Inside Ulugh Bek’s observatory in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, which is now a museum. </b> </center><p> </p> <p>To what end? I think that’s a very good question. One answer would be exposure [laughs], showing that these are not inevitable truths but particular choices. </p> <p>There is a lot of talk, ideological talk, about what science is and what science does, and like I said, about the superiority of the ways of the West. I think the relevance for STS people or for historians of science like me is to unravel this – to take away some Western arrogance and to undermine this argument of superiority – to make the public aware that all sorts of undertakings that claim to be scientific are in fact also political projects whether you like them or not. </p> <p>For example, look at current psychology, which has become very mechanistic again. It is very much about cognitive science and brain research. Now I am not against that at all, but we need to keep in mind that this is not objective science but is very much based on a particular view of man, which is an ideological view. I think people need to be aware of that.</p> <b>Can you tell us about your work on scientific internationalism… </b> <p align="justify"> </p> <p>A widespread idea is that science by its very nature is international, that scientists all over are doing, more or less, the same things and therefore form a global community – a republic of letters. Of course this is a very idealised view, because science and scientists, in fact, are just like anybody else. </p> <p>Brigitte Schroeder Gudehus, for instance, has shown that after the First World War scientists were actually even more nationalist [laughs] than non-scientists. But what I am interested is not whether the idealised view is true or not, but how it is being used, how science as a champion of international cooperation is being mobilised ideologically. And you see that happening in various other ways too, for example in the pacifist movements around the 1900s that led to the establishment of the international court of arbitration in The Hague and later to the League of Nations and the United Nations. Science was held up as the sort of area where this had already happened, where there was already this kind of cooperation. </p> <p>What I have found interesting is to see what this comes from. It’s from a particular group, the progressive liberals, who around 1900 were associated with the progressive movement in the U.S. that advanced this idea. Science was connected to another kind of internationalism during the Cold War. Gavin de Beer wrote this famous book called <em style="">The Sciences Were Never At War</em>. He is basically saying that nations have their battles, but scientists are always cooperating and he tries to show it historically. </p> <p>His point, however, is a Cold War point that we should uphold these ideals of scientific internationalism because they are under attack. And who is attacking them? The Communists of course. So you see that these expressions of internationalism seem very lofty and great but you can unearth the politics behind it. </p> <b>But then in this ideal form, is scientific internationalism achievable, is it desirable? </b> <p align="justify"> </p> <p> </p> <p>Yes, of course, it is desirable, but achievable, I am not so sure. It’s like what Gandhi said about Western civilisation – it would be a good idea [laughs]…. no, I’m less sceptical, – sure it’s desirable.</p> <b>Then also your other work about politically active scientists… </b> <p align="justify"> </p> <p>Yes, this is the other thing that I have been looking at – the ideological uses of science mainly by left-wing scientists….</p> <b>It is largely left-wing scientists? </b> <p align="justify"> </p> <p>Yes, it doesn’t need to be, but it is. The most famous politically active scientists were the so-called red professors in Cambridge in the 1930s – a lot of Communist scientists then, and they really took their Communism to their science. They said that in a capitalist society, science is used for the wrong ends and that we need to change this. We need to have much more planning of science so that it is used for the right ends, and we also need to use science in planning society so that we don’t leave questions of housing, food, etc., to the market mechanism but investigate and plan it scientifically. Well, that might be a nice idea, but there is also something scary about the planning. Critics say you are creating a total tyrannical regime and I think they were not completely wrong about that.</p> <b>You have travelled to India too… </b> <p align="justify"> </p> <p>Yes, I have always been interested in non-Western science and its history. Most history of science is very Western-oriented. There is literature about other things, but it is on the fringe. I thought it would be nice to find out more about this, also to get a more balanced picture of development of science in the world. </p> <p>We decided to look at astronomy because it is a sort of ubiquitous science – any civilisation has astronomy, if only because it needed to make a calendar and predictions and things. In Uzbekistan, we went to an observatory in Samarkand. It was created in the 15th century, used for a few years, and then gone. It was in the early 20th century that a Soviet archaeologist dug it up. It is a gigantic observatory, much bigger than anything in Europe at that time, and they could make very accurate measurements here. It was constructed by Ulugh Bek, the local ruler. His observations were very authoritative and also known in the West. And this was created in a civilisation, the Timurite empire, that I had never heard of before. Then we went to India... several observatories built, of course, by Jaisingh.</p> <b>In Jaipur and Delhi… </b> <p align="justify"> </p> <p>Right. So this was a maharaja in the 18th century who built all these observatories, the best surviving ones are in Jaipur and Delhi. These are very interesting because first of all they are totally different from Western observatories, they look like skateboard tracks [laughs], they are very beautiful and second, they were built at a time that the standard in the West was telescopes – the telescopic observatory with a dome and a slit with a telescope. </p> <p>Jaisingh knew this, he himself had a telescope, but he still built complete different ones, why? There was a question and what did he want? What was he trying to do? He spent loads of money on these things, as much on his palaces, which are enormous. I still can’t answer that question [laughs], but you realise that there are things in science going on there, all kinds of science for other means. </p> <p>We talked actually to the current director of the observatory in Jaipur and he said that every year a Brahmin priest comes and draws a horoscope based on the measurements that they make. And I just bought one. </p> <b>It’s called the ‘panchang’. </b> <p align="justify"> </p> <p>Oh, is that what it is? </p> <b>But this also brings up the question of the interface of astrology with astronomy. There is an ongoing debate in India whether astrology is a science, and that it draws from astronomy. </b> <p align="justify"> </p> <p>But that’s also true for a lot of Western astronomy, that it was intimately connected with astrology, also during the times of modern science. You have to ask not just what was contributed by astronomers but also why were these observatories built? They cost a lot of money and usually they were built not by astronomers, but by some local ruler or state. What did they want? Well, to calculate dates and things like that – later they were for precision measurement for cartography and surveying purposes – for setting exact time and all that sort of stuff. But in the early modern period, astronomy was also very much used for astrology, to tell a king when to go to war, when to have an operation. So the combination of astronomy and astrology has been a common one, also in the West. </p> <p>The point, however, is something I made earlier and I’d like to stress it again. It is not whether this use of science or that use is right. That is not at the crux of what I am looking at or am interested in. What interests me is to see and find out how science which is considered neutral and objective actually isn’t, and how all sorts of people use it to meet their agendas and serve different purposes. It’s extremely important that we be aware of this reality of science and its use, actually various uses. </p> <p>Calling a claim scientific, and therefore apolitical, is a very political move in itself, and one that can lead to the exclusion of other points of view from the discussion. Now I am not saying that all points of view are always equally worthy of consideration, but the scientific ones often need a little unpacking, and their politics should not be obscured. </p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8637557501276190731-580459878454531860?l=pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>PANKAJ SEKHSARIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798223946431718400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637557501276190731.post-7350331317384237762009-09-29T13:58:00.004+05:302009-10-01T19:03:48.438+05:30Dear Friends,<br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Pasted below is the list of contents and editorial for the new issue of the Protected Area Update (Vol XV, No. 5, October 2009 (No. 81). If you would like to receive details of any of the stories below or the full issue as an email attachment, please write to me. Email: psekhsaria@gmail.com<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">----<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">PROTECTED AREA UPDATE<br />News and Information from protected areas in India and South Asia<br /><br />Vol. XV No. 5<br />October 2009 (No.81)<br /><br />LIST OF CONTENTS<br />EDITORIAL <br />Do we want the cheetah back?<br /><br />NEWS FROM INDIAN STATES<br /><br />ASSAM <br />Habitat protection vital to save River Dolphin in the Brahmaputra<br />Study on implications of the Forest Rights Act around Nameri NP and<br />Sonai Rupai WLS<br />Opposition to proposal of gifting rhino horns<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/SsSuz2FNj4I/AAAAAAAABrk/2vKSv_s95BE/s1600-h/rhino+horn+gifts.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 218px; height: 204px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/SsSuz2FNj4I/AAAAAAAABrk/2vKSv_s95BE/s400/rhino+horn+gifts.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5387623259955892098" border="0" /></a><br />More stringent punishment for poaching in Assam<br />Opposition to eviction for expansion of the Kaziranga NP<br /><br />GUJARAT <br />MoEF rejects proposed port at Poshitara adjoining the Gulf of Kutch<br />Marine NP<br /><br />JHARKHAND<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/SsSukSriffI/AAAAAAAABrE/0RkgNVSB63U/s1600-h/mobile+fones+for+eleph+human+conflict.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 272px; height: 170px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/SsSukSriffI/AAAAAAAABrE/0RkgNVSB63U/s400/mobile+fones+for+eleph+human+conflict.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5387622992754933234" border="0" /></a>Mobile phones and flying squads to tackle man-elephant conflict<br /><br />KARNATAKA<br />NEAA rejects thermal power station close to Anshi-Dandeli TR<br />Night traffic banned through Bandipur NP<br /><br />MADHYA PRADESH<br />Displaced fisherfolk ask for full fishing rights in Tawa reservoir in<br />Satpura TR<br /><br />MAHARASHTRA<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/SsSuj9e0xEI/AAAAAAAABq0/OfUdy99SOqQ/s1600-h/giant+squirrel.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 206px; height: 285px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/SsSuj9e0xEI/AAAAAAAABq0/OfUdy99SOqQ/s400/giant+squirrel.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5387622987064460354" border="0" /></a>Rise in Giant squirrel population in Bhimashankar WLS<br />Forest Dept employees warn of strike<br />Large scale transfers; PAs left unprotected<br /><br />MEGHALAYA<br />Land adjoining Balpakram NP reclaimed from illegal miners<br /><br />ORISSA<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/SsSuziGo1NI/AAAAAAAABrc/34dNLcI06HQ/s1600-h/relocation+of+tribals+in+TR.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 333px; height: 212px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/SsSuziGo1NI/AAAAAAAABrc/34dNLcI06HQ/s400/relocation+of+tribals+in+TR.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5387623254593164498" border="0" /></a>223 tribal families to be shifted from Similipal TR<br /><br />PUNJAB<br />Ranjit Sagar Dam reservoir to be declared a wildlife sanctuary<br /><br />RAJASTHAN<br />Great Indian Bustard sighted in Tal Chappar Wildlife Sanctuary<br /><br />TAMIL NADU<br />Animal census in Point Calimere WLS<br /><br />UTTARAKHAND<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/SsSuk6UevvI/AAAAAAAABrM/asJo4FKp9OU/s1600-h/no+elephant+crridor.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 164px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/SsSuk6UevvI/AAAAAAAABrM/asJo4FKp9OU/s400/no+elephant+crridor.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5387623003395636978" border="0" /></a>SC abandons elevated corridor for elephants in Rajaji NP<br /><br />UTTAR PRADESH<br />Steering committee for tiger conservation<br /><br />NATIONAL NEWS FROM INDIA<br />Proposal to re-introduce the cheetah to India<br />Report on Ecologically Sensitive Areas in India<br />Four PAs proposed for inclusion on UNESCO heritage list<br />SCB'S Distinguished Service Award to Dr Kamal Bawa<br />National Green Tribunal approved<br />CEE plans Hoolock gibbon conservation programme in NE<br />1st installment of CAMPA money for eight states; dissatisfaction with<br />amount of money being released<br />Centre sends teams to assess situation in eight tiger reserves<br /><br />SOUTH ASIA <br />BANGLADESH<br />US, Germany pledge US $19 million for reforestation of Chunati WLS<br />NEPAL<br />121 breeding tigers counted in PAs in Nepal<br /><br />UPCOMING <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/SsSukBz1iQI/AAAAAAAABq8/ycvaCHZmdCc/s1600-h/great+himalayan+bird+count.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 321px; height: 190px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/SsSukBz1iQI/AAAAAAAABq8/ycvaCHZmdCc/s400/great+himalayan+bird+count.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5387622988226332930" border="0" /></a>Great Himalayan Bird Count, Winter - 2009<br />International Conference on Wildlife &amp; Biodiversity Conservation<br />World Tiger Summit in Ranthambore TR in 2010<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/SsSu0KEq-tI/AAAAAAAABrs/UDZQamYWLVo/s1600-h/tiger+workshop.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 249px; height: 181px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/SsSu0KEq-tI/AAAAAAAABrs/UDZQamYWLVo/s400/tiger+workshop.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5387623265322334930" border="0" /></a>Global Tiger Workshop in Kathmandu<br />Call for Papers: People and Protected Areas - India case studies<br /><br />OPPORTUNITIES<br />Research position for project on Snow leopard phylogeography and<br />conservation<br />Research position for Population genetics of a montane bird in the<br />Western Ghats<br />Research positions on bio-resource ecology and climate change in the<br />Sikkim Himalayas<br />Diploma in International Wildlife Conservation Practice<br />Part time environment education work in Mumbai<br /><br />IN THE SUPREME COURT<br /><br />PRESS RELEASES<br />National Conference of Ministers of Environment and Forests, 18/08/09<br />Future of Conservation Network, 19/08/09<br /><br />READERS WRITE<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">----<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">EDITORIAL<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Do we want the Cheetah back?<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is not anymore a question only of academic interest. The ball, in some senses, is already rolling. A meeting was held in Rajasthan in September (see national news) where a host of international and national experts including representatives from state and national governments met to discuss and debate a proposal for the re-introduction of the cheetah to India. A decision may not be taken for a while as the issues related to availability of habitat and prey, of management and possible conflict with humans are studied, analysed and decided upon.<br /><br />There are many areas where the feasibility of the re-introduction will have to be carefully studied and this is what the meeting has proposed should be done. But the question really is a more fundamental one. Why do we want the cheetah back? There seem to be two different answers to this. One it would seem, and the Minister for Environment and Forests, Mr. Jairam Ramesh too referred to that - is to regain a part of the lost glory and history of this country. The other, as has been pointed by some wildlife experts, is that the cheetah, like the tiger, is the apex species of the<br />grassland habitat and it?s presence would, both, indicate and ensure the health of this badly abused ecosystem.<br /><br />Prima facie, the arguments seem valid, but if looked at carefully, both have serious problems. It is certainly important to realize that grassland habitats are extremely productive but undervalued and abused. There is no doubt they should be conserved but introducing the cheetah from Africa hardly seems to be the way to do that. There are far simpler and effective ways to do it if we have the common sense and political will for it. It is also an extremely unfortunate part of our history that this glorious animal was shot into extinction nearly six decades ago. What is a scarier reality is that many species of plants, birds and animals stand today on the verge of joining the cheetah into that void called extinction. Flagship programs - Project Tiger and Project Elephant, for instance, face serious challenges and some might even say that they are floundering. How prudent would it then be to get into something new without ensuring the success of what we already have on hand?<br /><br />Rather than spending huge amounts of time, human resources, energy and money towards an 'esoteric' bringing back of the 'dead' the effort has to be concentrated on preventing it happening again - with other species. That would be a far more worthwhile and valuable endeavour. We can't undo the extinctions we have caused already. Let the fate of cheetah be a grim pointer to that reality.<br /></div><br />---<br />PROTECTED AREA UPDATE<br /><br />Vol. XV, No. 5, October 2009 (No. 81)<br />Editor: Pankaj Sekhsaria<br />Editorial Assistance: Reshma<br />Illustrations: Madhuvanti Anantharajan<br />Produced by: Kalpavriksh<br /><br />Ideas, comments, news and information may please be sent to the<br />editorial address:<br />KALPAVRIKSH, Apartment 5, Shri Dutta Krupa, 908 Deccan Gymkhana, Pune<br />411004, Maharashtra, India. Tel/Fax: 020 ? 25654239.<br />Email: psekhsaria@gmail.com<br />Website: www.kalpavriksh.org<br />***<br />Publication of the PA Update Vol. XV, No. 5 has been supported by the<br />DULEEP MATHAI NATURE CONSERVATION TRUST, the FOUNDATION FOR ECOLOGICAL<br />SECURITY, GREENPEACE INDIA, the ROYAL SOCIETY FOR THE PROTECTION OF<br />BIRDS and the INDIAN BIRD CONSERVATION NETWORK<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/SsSulNYoS-I/AAAAAAAABrU/Ru2Q_7Ky2MU/s1600-h/reforestation.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 365px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/SsSulNYoS-I/AAAAAAAABrU/Ru2Q_7Ky2MU/s400/reforestation.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5387623008513313762" border="0" /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8637557501276190731-735033131738423776?l=pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>PANKAJ SEKHSARIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798223946431718400noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637557501276190731.post-25941336022421880212009-08-04T19:17:00.004+05:302009-08-04T19:29:37.203+05:30Citizen Science for Conservation<br />By<br />Pankaj Sekhsaria<br /><br />THE HINDU SURVEY OF THE ENVIRONMENT - 2009<br /><br />One of the biggest concerns about scientific research over the years has been its ‘inaccessibility to common people’ and often, the ivory tower disposition of the scientific community itself. Debates over the lack of accountability in scientific establishments and their general unwillingness to engage with the masses have been common. Admittedly, all scientific endeavours don’t lend themselves to easy explanations, but that does not mean that none do.<br /><br />A WORLDWIDE PHENOMENON<br />The fields of ecology and conservation, in particular, have been those where common citizens have contributed significantly with their keen interest and passion for the subject of their interest, be it birds, butterflies or plants, the marine environment or migration studies. Excellent examples of this abound around the world. Thousands of citizens in the USA, for instance, have joined Project BudBurst, a national field campaign for citizen scientists designed to engage the public in the collection of important climate change data based on the timing of leafing and flowering of trees and flowers. Another one that has global reach is Earthdive. Developed in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme - World Conservation Monitoring Centre UNEP-WCMC and marine biologists from all over the world, it has a unique database (Global Dive Log) into which divers (and snorkellers) log sightings of key indicator species and human induced pressures.<br />They are so widespread and prominent, particularly in the west, that these citizen science initiatives have themselves become subjects of scientific and academic scrutiny. The relevance of citizen science in residential areas, for instance, is the subject of a recent paper published in the journal Ecology and Society by scientists of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. “Citizen science”, the paper says, “is a method of integrating public outreach and scientific data collection locally, regionally, and across large geographic scales. Combining the power of the Internet with a populace of trained citizen scientists,” the paper concludes, “can provide unprecedented opportunity to mobilize a community to address new environmental problems, almost like having the environmental equivalent of a “fire brigade” ready to act as the need arises.”<br /><br />CITIZEN SCIENCE IN INDIA<br />One of the first such attempts of Citizen Science in India is the nearly two decades old Asian Waterfowl Census (AWC). As part of the effort hundreds of volunteers and enthusiasts visit wetlands across the subcontinents on pre-decided dates in the winter season to count and then report the number of individuals of each species of waterfowl that they encounter. It was a simple idea that gave a good sense of bird numbers and trends, particularly, in wetlands that were visited and monitored regularly by the volunteers. For long this appeared to be the only effort of its kind, but now others have also taken off.<br /><br /><br />MIGRANT WATCH<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/Sng9Vq34--I/AAAAAAAABm0/ujmy5DQd3f8/s1600-h/03.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 427px; height: 284px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/Sng9Vq34--I/AAAAAAAABm0/ujmy5DQd3f8/s400/03.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366106398507203554" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Demoiselle Cranes and some Northern Pintails in Rajasthan – The birds are prominent winter migrants to the Indian Subcontinent. (Pic by Pankaj Sekhsaria)</span><br /></div><br />One initiative that has caught on really well is MigrantWatch, a citizen science programme for bird migration housed in the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) in Bangalore and being executed with the help of Indian Birds, a journal published from Hyderabad. Over 700 amateurs, serious researchers and weekend enthusiasts from across the length and breadth of the country are already part of the effort that seeks to document, understand and analyse the phenomenon of bird migration. Over 2500 first sightings of over 170 species have been logged since August 2007 and inputs are pouring in with every passing day. “The data gathered over the years,” says Uttara Mendiratta, a co-ordinator of MigrantWatch, “will help us examine the effects of climate change on the timing of bird migration in the subcontinent.”<br />Bird studies, in fact, easily lend themselves to initiatives of this kind and some of the most significant contributions towards understanding birds in India have indeed come from the enthusiastic amateur. What is significant this time is that the program is well thought out, structured tightly, and like in the west, is using the internet as a critical tool to put everything together.<br /> The team at NCBS is also currently preparing to launch an India version of Project BudBurst to monitor plant (mostly tree) flowering and fruiting with the help of volunteers in another effort to understand impacts of climate change.<br /> “It is not uncommon,” explains Mendiratta, “to hear anecdotal references from various people that plants have now started to flower and fruit at unusual times of the year. Recent information, for instance, reflects some concern about the early flowering of Cassia fistula in Kerala as this could result in the unavailability of the flowers during the festive season in April. The project,” she continues, “will be able to confirm such changes over the years using simple data collected by the volunteers.”<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/Sng9VAGNG4I/AAAAAAAABms/r7eVsYXEzlA/s1600-h/02.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/Sng9VAGNG4I/AAAAAAAABms/r7eVsYXEzlA/s400/02.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366106387024518018" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Rosy starlings and a myna, Kutch, Gujarat. The starlings were in the first list of birds being studied as part of the MigrantWatch program (Pic: Pankaj Sekhsaria)<br /></span></div><br />PTEROCOUNT<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/Sng9U_yAQiI/AAAAAAAABmk/zHXYA3peLa4/s1600-h/01.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/Sng9U_yAQiI/AAAAAAAABmk/zHXYA3peLa4/s400/01.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366106386939789858" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-size:85%;">Fruit bat in a roost in Bhuj Town, Gujarat (Pic: Pankaj Sekhsaria)<br /></span></div><br />One of the other endeavors, that has been up and running for a while is Project PteroCount, a South Asian Bat Monitoring Project that seeks to form a wide network of volunteers to create a comprehensive database of the roosting sites of the Indian Flying Fox, one of the largest fruit bats in the world. Started in 2005, this program has a modest volunteer base of about 75 people who have been gathering population and roost information and trends from 14 states across the country and also in Nepal. Dr. Sanjay Molur of the Coimbatore based Zoo Outreach Organisation was played a key role in starting this initiative. “We have some interesting information,” he says, “that has been coming through. The program has also benefited students from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to create a focus in studying these creatures. One PteroCount volunteer,” he continues, “has now registered for a PhD on bat studies and a veterinarian from Himachal has managed to get a set of her own friends interested in observing the bat roosts. And,” he adds, “we are also in the process of starting a similar initiative to study spiders.”<br /><br />ELEPHANTS IN MEGHALAYA<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/Sng9VyOraFI/AAAAAAAABm8/jFH5hAg14-w/s1600-h/04.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pBilziP0ZE4/Sng9VyOraFI/AAAAAAAABm8/jFH5hAg14-w/s400/04.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366106400481830994" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Staff of the Samrakshan Trust in the field noting down GPS readings and other details of elephants sightings from village folk (Pic: Pankaj Sekhsaria)</span><br /></div><br />Another program that has yielded some noteworthy results is a little initiative tucked away in Meghalaya in the North Eastern corner of the country. This is a project of the Samrakshan Trust to involve local people in monitoring elephant movement in the South Garo Hills, which is part of the Garo Hills Elephant Reserve. It is considered to be one of the most significant elephant bearing areas in the country but little is known of elephant behaviour here. In a situation where the landscape is large, where human and financial resources are seriously limited, and the area extremely difficult to access, it makes perfect sense to involve the local community. The elephant monitoring project here has done just that. For about three years now, a network of local individuals situated in remote and dispersed villages has been trained to collect data on elephant presence and movement in a simple and structured manner. The data has just been put together and it has created for the first time a good overview picture of the elephants here; including aspects like herd size and the general direction and period of their movements. Additionally, the study has provided some important insights into other dimensions like crop raiding by the elephants. It is, perhaps the first crucial step in understanding and perhaps solving the escalating problem of human-elephant conflict, and for ensuring a better future for both, the local communities and the elephant.<br /> These examples provide the proof that science need not be distant, that it can be made meaningful with and for people and it can still be just as exciting. Needless to say, the involvement of the local communities should not be restricted to only those situations where the going is tough or where getting data is difficult. “It is crucial,” the Samrakshan research team points out in the latest issue of the journal Current Trends in Tropical Biodiversity Research and Conservation, “that the monitoring exercise contributes to local understanding and empowerment, and not simply to the satisfaction of the scientists and planners. The monitoring and evaluation process needs to ensure that there is adequate feedback into the local information system and the data involved is of mutual importance to researchers and locals.”<br />Citizen Science for Conservation is only just starting in India, but it does look like it has been a good take off. There will, hopefully, be many more in the years to come!<br /><br /><br />Web links:<br />Project BudBurst: http://www.windows.ucar.edu/citizen_science/budburst/<br />Earthdive: www.earthdive.com<br />MigrantWatch: www.migrantwatch.in<br />Project PteroCount: http://www.pterocount.org/<br />Samrakshan Trust: http://www.samrakshan.org/meghalaya.htm<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8637557501276190731-2594133602242188021?l=pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>PANKAJ SEKHSARIAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12798223946431718400noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8637557501276190731.post-25833009141276602492009-07-26T12:46:00.003+05:302009-07-26T12:52:36.521+05:30<span style="font-size:85%;"><p>http://www.hindu.com/mag/2009/07/26/stories/2009072650120500.htm</p><p>The Hindu, July 26, 2009<br /> <span class="storyhead" style=";font-size:130%;color:blue;" ><b> </b></span></p><p><span class="storyhead" style=";font-size:130%;color:blue;" ><b>Vanishing futures </b></span> </p><p align="justify"> </p> PANKAJ SEKHSARIA <p> </p><p align="justify"> </p> <table bgcolor="#ffeedd" border="0"><tbody><tr><td> It is a small consolation that the Jarawas have not been wiped out like the great Andamanese. </td></tr></tbody></table><p align="justify"> </p><p align="justify"> </p> <p align="justify"> </p> <p> </p> <p> “Those who forget history,” it is said, “are condemned to repeat it.” What happens, however, when you forget history, but condemn someone else for it? Where does responsibility lie then and, importantly, what happens to those who are so condemned? The chilling answer can be found if we look at the history and the present of the indigenous communities of the Andaman Islands. One word: “extinction”. </p> <span class="subsectionhead" style=";font-size:100%;color:red;" > Retracing roots </span> <p align="justify"> </p> <p>The fate of the Great Andamanese is a classic case in point. In the mid-19th century when the British established the penal settlement in the Andamans, it was estimated that there were at least 5,000 members of the Great Andamanese community that was divided into 10 distinct language and territorial groups. In just a century and a half, the population has come down to a little more than 50; all herded onto the small Strait Island a short distance away from Port Blair. </p> <p>The damage was mainly done in British times. In his 1899 classic <em style="">A History of our Relations with the Andamanese, </em>M.V. Portman, the British officer in charge of the Andamanese, describes in a bleak, unnerving record the impact of the 1877 epidemic of measles, the worst to hit the Great Andamanese.</p> <p> <em style="">…All the people on Rutland (Island) and Port Campbel are dead, and very few remain in the South Andaman and the Archipelago. The children do not survive in the very few births which do occur, and the present generation may be considered as the last of the aborigines of the Great Andaman… </em> </p> <p>The story of the Onge of Little Andaman Island is very similar. From nearly 700 in the 1901 census, their number has fallen to about 100 today. While a large part of their 730 sq. km. island home is still called the ‘Onge Tribal Reserve’ the protection is only on paper. The biggest violator, tragically, has been the Indian state that ruthlessly (and illegally) logged the forest home of the Onge for nearly three decades till the Supreme Court put a stop to it in 2002.</p> <p> From late 1960s onwards, thousands of people from mainland India were sent to Little Andaman Island under a Government of India programme to ‘colonise’ it. From being complete masters of their traditional forests of Little Andaman, the Onges have become outsiders in just four decades. Only the Onge lived on this island in 1965. Today, for every Onge on Little Andaman, there are at least 200 people from outside and the equation is changing even as we read this.</p> <p> In one of the most bizarre incidents in the islands, eight members of the community died and 16 more were hospitalised after consuming a mysterious liquid that was washed ashore in a jerry can near their Dugong Creek settlement in December 2008. The administration says that the Onge consumed the liquid believing it to be alcohol, but doubts persist. Six months have pas