Nature Conservation in India News & Discussion

[joshvajohn]

Dr Kalam kicks off environment campaign in Ahmedabad
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_dr ... ad_1414275

A truly sustainable society
http://socialistworker.org/2010/07/22/t ... le-society

The Seoul of success
RAJEEV DESHPANDE TIMES NEWS NETWORK, TNN, Jul 3, 2010, 12.50pm IST
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/worl ... 123661.cms

[Pranay]

http://outlookindia.com/article.aspx?266356

The Pinjore Vulture breeding center...

[KrishG]

Centre Clears Three Sites as Habitats for Cheetah

Nearly 50 years after the cheetah became extinct in the country, the Centre today approved three suitable sites to be developed as habitats of the world's fastest mammal.

Giving a go-ahead to the ambitious plan, expected to be realised in the next three-four years entailing an initial cost of Rs 300 crore, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said the cheetah's presence would restore the fast disappearing and neglected grassland ecosystem in the country.

Kuno Palpur and Nauradehi wildlife sanctuaries in Madhya Pradesh and Shahgarh landscape in Jaisalmer in Rajasthan have been zeroed in by the experts as most suitable sites for this endeavour.

A detailed roadmap for the three identified sites, proposed by the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), and prepared by Wildlife Institute of India (WII) was submitted today to the Union Minister, who expressed confidence that funds would not be a problem for the venture.

Maintaining that it was a positive step, Ramesh said he would soon hold consultations with Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh to bring them on board over the issue.

WII expert Y V Jhala said at least Rs 100 crore each would be required for the restoration of the three habitats, where at least six cheetahs each could be brought in the first phase from those bred in the Middle East or South Africa.

Rating Kuno Palpur wildlife sanctuary high on the priority list as a lot of restorative investment has already been made there for introducing the Asiatic lions, Jhala said the protected areas have a current capacity to sustain 27 cheetahs.

"The Nauradehi wildlife sanctuary (1,197 sq km) in Madhya Pradesh, where 23 human settlements are present, will have to be relocated. The site has the capacity to accommodate 50 cheetahs as a source population," he added.

The WII has identified Shahgarh landscape on the international border in Jaisalmer in Rajasthan as a third potential site, which is presently being used by about 80 seasonally-used human settlements.

"The return of the cheetah would make India the only country in the world to host six of the world's eight large cats and the only one to have all the large cats of Asia.

"The effort would also ensure conservation action in cheetah habitats in India, which so far, has been severely lacking," M K Ranjitsinh from WTI said.

The cheetah, the smallest of the big cats, can run faster than any other animal on land, at more than 100 km per hour.

Isn't Kuno Palpur a shrubland while the requirement seems to be of open grasslands? And IIRC Kuno-Palpur doesn't host one of the Indian cheetah's preferred prey ie Blackbucks.

[Airavat]

Book on heritage trees of Gujarat

[Klaus]

Galapagos islands removed from UNESCO's danger list.
Despite the fact that it is still very much a fragile ecosystem as it was when it was declared the world's first World Heritage site in 1978 (ironically by the same world body )

Moi and family visited the place 3 years ago. Nature has an amazing way of bouncing back when all human activity is taken away. For this same reason, I believe that nature will reclaim its losses completely after the departure of humankind from this planet in one way or the other. We are going to be the eventual casualities of global warming and/or climate change (talking about the phenomenon and not the economics or politics behind it).

[Pranay]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-10798747

The cheetah, eradicated in India by hunting nearly a century ago, will run again in the country, as three sites are earmarked for its reintroduction.

The government has approved wildlife groups' recommendations of two sanctuaries in Madhya Pradesh and an area in Rajasthan as potential homes.

The government will spend 30m rupees ($0.6m; £0.4m) to restore these sites before the animals are imported.

The plan is to import the cats from Africa, Iran and the Middle East.

Kuno Palpur and Nauradehi wildlife sanctuaries in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and Shahgarh area in Jaisalmer, in the northern state of Rajasthan, have been selected as the sites to house the animals.

With the proposal to introduce the cheetah in Kuno Palpur, what happens to the initiative of the MP government to re-introduce the asiatic lions there??

If the presence of the Tiger in Kuno Palpur are credible, then in the eventuality that all these initiatives achieve success, Kuno would become the only place in the world to have four big cats in one place; Tiger, Asiatic Lion, Leopard and Cheetah.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... India.html

Under the plan, around 3,400sq miles of drylands and grasslands will be turned into a natural habitat for the cheetahs. Residents living in the areas, including nomads, will be moved out to make way for the big cats.

Six cats will be placed in each site and the authorities hope their numbers could swell to around 50 within a decade.
The cheetahs will be brought in from Africa and Iran, where African cheetahs are bred in captivity, the Times of India reports.
The plan may take between 10 and 15 years to implement," a government spokesman said.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2 ... ia-cheetah

The Guardian link above has an embedded PDF of the 14 point WII Executive Summary on the Reintroduction of the Cheetah in India.

"Nature has given us something that we did not know how to keep. Why do we think we can recreate it? Why do we think we will be able to keep it better now?," Dr Ali Sher, cheetah expert at the Indian Institute of Immunology told the Guardian.

Many experts believe that with the herds of deer and antelopes that once provided the cheetahs' diet also long gone, the project is bound to fail.

The objections were rejected by Ramesh, the minister.

"Reintroduction is matter of national importance, as cheetah is the only mammal to [become] extinct from India. " he said.

Some more on the subject at the following sites...

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/07 ... eetahs.php

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/cheetah- ... erway.html

[Aditya_V]

Anybody here familiar with Bandipur - Mudumalai area, stayed twice at JLR - Bandipur and once at Dhole's den. Is there any good resort near Masinagudi which provides safari around Sigur- Moyar etc?

[Murugan]

Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (better known as Amul) plants 10 million trees in Gujarat on 15th August.

Anand (Gujarat), Aug.16 : A new type of Green Revolution has begun in Gujarat. Three years ago, the 13 milk unions of Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (better known as Amul) decided to launch a mass tree plantation programme involving each and every member milk producer.

Accordingly, in 2007 the first year of the project Amul milk producers planted 18.9 lacs trees across 14,000 villages in Gujarat, on "One member, One tree" basis.

Learning from the thumping success, the programme was up scaled in the year 2008. All the Member Unions of GCMMF unanimously decided to plant minimum three trees per member milk producer.

Accordingly, saplings were provided in each district where dairy cooperatives are located, village by village and farmer by farmer, oath was taken to ensure that the sapling grew into a tree. Mass tree plantation was carried out in 14,000 villages all across Gujarat on 15th of August, 2009. Approximately 52.74 lacs trees were planted by milk producer members of Amul.

In the third year of this mass movement, the programme has been further scaled up and enhanced the growth of tree cover faster. With active participation from Milk Unions, 127 nurseries have been set up all over Gujarat with necessary tools and equipment.

Distribution of saplings were arranged as per choice of farmers. They were encouraged to select the place and prepare the land for the plantation in advance. Milk producer members actively participated in the event. As a result, approximately 84.04 lac trees were planted on 15th August 2009 on "One member, Five tree" basis.

This year, 29 lakh milk producer members of Amul took up mass tree plantation campaign again and planted 100 lacs trees on 15th August 2010 on "One member, Five tree" basis. They have also planted various fruit and fodder trees to enhance nutrition and fodder availability in villages .

The type of trees that were planted were Neem, Mango, Chickoo, Babul, Subabul, Sargavo, Banyan, Peepal, Imli, Ber, Gulmohar, etc. {now they plant more and more endemic trees, more and more fruit bearing trees, good!}

All board members of Village Dairy Cooperatives and District Milk Unions actively participated in making this unique movement a grand success. The Board of the Federation is determined to further upscale this experiment next year and turn Gujarat into the greenest state of India.

As a mark of recognition for these efforts, Amul was conferred the following international and national awards this year :

(a) On 28th April, 2010 Amul had received International Dairy Federation Award for the best environmental initiative in the "sustainability category" during the 4th Global Dairy Conference held at Salzburg Congress Centre, Salsburg, Austria.

(b) On 22nd April 2010, Amul has also bagged the prestigious Srishti G-Cube Award for Good Green Governance in the service category at New Delhi. H.E. Shri Muralidhar Chandrakant Bhandare, Hon'ble Governor of Orissa presented the award.

It may be recalled that Amul had a humble beginning of two Village Dairy Cooperative Societies collecting 247 litres of milk in 1946 which has now grown to over 14000 Village Dairy Cooperative Societies collecting more than one crore litres of milk per day. Similarly, the tree plantation drive which had started with 18.9 lakh saplings in 2007 has now grown into a mass tree plantation drive with plantation of one crores saplings in 2010 thereby leading the way for greening Gujarat for posterity.

http://www.newkerala.com/news2/fullnews-22153.html

[Murugan]

Himachal Pradesh launches massive afforestation schemes
Friday, August 14, 2009 8:33:48 PM by ANI

Shimla, Aug. 14 (ANI): Himachal Pradesh has launched massive afforestation schemes with people’s participation.

Personnel of the Indian Army stationed in the state have also come forth in this social forestry project.

Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal formally inaugurated the programme at Shimla on Friday.

“This is the sixtieth afforestation programme that we are organising in Shimla. I congratulate Shri J. P. Nadda, the Forest Minister and all his officers who mooted this programme. The motive behind the Forest Department has been planting trees since 1950,when this programme was started. If all the trees which were planted remained alive then each and every inch of this country would have been covered with trees,” said Dhumal.

Earlier on August 9, all the 68 lawmakers of the state legislature had informally planted the saplings.

At leas a dozen of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are also contributing their mite to the efforts of the state government.

“The afforestation scheme that has been spearheaded by the Forest Department deserves laurels. But without the teamwork of the government and the public, it will be hard to reach the goals envisioned by the government. Therefore, our non-governmental organization (NGO) named Manvi has chipped in to help the state go green and plant more and more herbal trees like deodar in our city,” noted Bimla Kashyap, President of ‘Manvi’ an NGO, Shimla.

This forestation plan will cover nearly 3000 hectares of land across the state.

Nearly 3000 saplings of deodar tree will be sown in and around the state capital and hill station, Shimla.

“We want to make tourism, herbal destination and environment friendly technology development as the apex strength of Himachal Pradesh. When I was appointed the Forest Minister of the state, I had aimed towards planting more and more trees in less time. But without people’s co-operation the Forest Department can’t protect the forests,” said J P Nadda, Minister of Forests, Himachal Pradesh.

The Chief Minister also distributed saplings to the heads of various departments and asked them to motivate the staff members in planting and tending the saplings. (ANI)

More at : Himachal Pradesh launches massive afforestation schemes

[Murugan]

1.3 million saplings planted in a day in Himachal (dated)

The major plantation drive was carried out on the weekend here that witnessed a record number of saplings being planted by public under the programme named Jan-Jan- Sanjivni Van Abhiyan.

Most of the families planted herbal plants in the kitchen gardens or in the foreyard of their houses.
...
“Every family of the State is being involved. Every family will plant a herbal plant provided by the Government. One plant will not be enough; it is for the inspiration of the people. People should grow maximum herbal plants. It will not only help to keep the environment clean but also on commercial basses it will generate revenue to the people,{finally, wisdom sets in}” said Prem Kumar Dhumal, Chief Minister, Himachal Pradesh.
...

He contended that the people’’s participation was not so encouraging in the Van Mohtosava since it was limited to the Forest Department. As such the Conservator of Forests came forth with an idea to involve the classes and the masses people through this Jan-Jan- Sanjivni campaign.
..
“The Forest Department developed these plants in the nurseries. We developed approximately 24 lakh (2.4 million) plants and then we started this programme known as Jan-Jan- Sanjivni Van Abhiyan 2008, said J. P. Nadda, Minister of Forests in Himachal Pradesh. The objective was that we had some 57 species out of which 19 are of the kind which grown into trees and the rest are herbs and shrubs. We divided the whole State in three levels - the lower altitude, middle altitude and the higher altitude. We distributed the plants accordingly. For the last one-and-a-half months, the distribution part started. I am happy to say that we have crossed the 13-lakh (1.3 million) plant distribution,” Nadda informed.

People have also hailed the plantation campaign. They believe that such programmes can be successful only if a proper feedback is compiled and monitored.

“The Government has to pay some attention. There is a need to take feedback and after studying the success of this campaign, the Government should distribute a plant to every individual of the State from next year, which will keep the environment clean and the dream of becoming a herbal state will also get fulfilled. The launching of such campaign by the Government is going to us benefit us definitely,” observed Lekhraj, a local resident.

The Department of Forests will take feedback in October and according to the inputs and convenience of the people of the State, a policy will be formulated.

The Himachal Pradesh government has also signed an agreement with the Patanjali Yoga of popular Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev, it will buy the fruits, leaves and roots of these plants for medicinal purposes. (ANI)

1.3 million saplings planted in a day in Himachal

[merlin]

Anybody here familiar with Bandipur - Mudumalai area, stayed twice at JLR - Bandipur and once at Dhole's den. Is there any good resort near Masinagudi which provides safari around Sigur- Moyar etc?

No private jeeps are permitted inside Mudumalai, most resorts around Masinagudi can organize "night safaris" on the local roads around Sigur, Moyar, etc. You don't see much.

For a decent resort try Jungle Retreat - atleast it was decent five years ago.

[Aditya_V]

'Tourists' hunt animals in parks

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city ... 458736.cms

WTF this is really sad, why can't we hunt people who do these kind of things, if this happened in nagarhole and Bandipur then I can only guess the status of our santuries , Why this obsession with HUnting for some of our Population?

[KrishG]

'Tourists' hunt animals in parks

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city ... 458736.cms

WTF this is really sad, why can't we hunt people who do these kind of things, if this happened in nagarhole and Bandipur then I can only guess the status of our santuries , Why this obsession with HUnting for some of our Population?

I've heard from my friend that some hotels in Gundalpet, bordering Nagarhole Nation Park, serve fresh spotted deer and peacock meat to select customers.

[Aditya_V]

Gundlupet is near Bandipur- I guess people consuming this meat are equally guilty. Well there goes the prey base for carnivores Tigers, leopards etc.

[Pranay]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 470188.cms

And now some much needed focus on Elephant conservation...

Recommendations of the Elephant Task Force

* National Elephant Conservation Authority to be set up

* Consortium of Elephant Research and Estimation to do studies on the pachyderm

* Declare elephant reserves as `ecologically sensitive areas' and lock land use

* Bring corrirors under community reserves or conservation reserves

* Rs 600 crore budget in the 12th five-year plan

* Rs 200 crore of this to be spent on securing corridors

* Rs 100 crore to be spent on reducing and compensating for human-elephant conflicts

* Full time conflict management task forces in regions

http://wildlifenews.co.uk/2010/manageme ... -proposed/

[Aditya_V]

Some good news, I hope the entire the Niligiris North Sathyanangalam Santuary, Erode Forest Division, MM Hills, BR hills and Cauvery Wildlife santuary are declared tiger reserve, I hope ven the Habitat in Melagiri Hills can be improved, this will to connecting forest accross the TN- karnataka border going to Kerala right upto brahmagiri reserve.

TN has 20% more tigers

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city ... 471052.cms

[Murugan]

WASTE-TO-WEALTH

Chauhan plots new rags-to-riches story

Kala Vijayraghavan MUMBAI

EARLY this year, a bunch of unlikely ‘business associates’ trooped into the Andheri, Mumbai office of Bisleri International chairman, Ramesh Chauhan. As they cast nervous, furtive glances, it was evident they were uncomfortable in the classy confines of the headquarters. After all, they were more familiar with Mumbai’s streets that they scour for many hours daily. They were rag pickers. They had come to meet Mr Chauhan to review the progress of a ‘business alliance’ that the chairman-and-rag-picker combine had co-created a couple of years ago.

Mr Chauhan, the diminutive, yet feisty entrepreneur, had initiated this partnership to tackle an environmental hazard — over 3 lakh tonnes of PET containers are used and discarded every year. Polyethylene Terephthalate, popularly known as PET, is a nonbiodegradable plastic used to package drinking water, carbonated drinks and juices.

Till recently, PET scrap was considered worthless even by rag pickers. Hardly anyone in India’s vibrant raddi market would buy it, leaving the unsightly garbage littered all over. So, Mr Chauhan stepped in and built a partnership with rag pickers, announced attractive prices for PET garbage, commissioned collection centres, purchased about 5000 kg every month, processed it and sold it to companies like Reliance Industries. His intervention birthed an entire PET recycling ecosystem that now collects about 1,200 tonnes of PET waste from Mumbai’s streets every day, according to industry estimates. Another 700 tonnes are collected from the rest of Maharashtra.

Mr Chauhan’s review meeting with the rag pickers that day was to take stock of how profitable the whole initiative was for them.

Rag pickers able to take up other jobs

LOOK,” says Mr Chauhan, “rag pickers are no invention by Bisleri. We only tapped the community to recycle PET scrap. And this is a business transaction — the focus is to make it a viable venture for the rag pickers.” After the success of this pilot project, Mr Chauhan is now replicating it nationally. He has charged his army of 1,500 distributors and 2,300 odd sales staff across the country with the responsibility of seeding and setting up similar PET waste recycling ecosystems in their geographies.

They will do what Mr Chauhan did in Mumbai — establish such ecosystems, buy scrap from rag pickers through an elaborate distribution chain, identify users for the scrap, and gradually pull out once a self-sustaining cycle has kicked-in. Like Mr Chauhan does now, they too will continue to oversee this ecosystem ensuring it works smoothly.

The total organised bottled water market is estimated to be about Rs 3,000 crore and is growing at 30% annually. Bisleri has a 60% market share. It’s a Rs 10,000-crore market, including the unorganised sector.

“Of course, there are other competitors (who also generate PET waste). But as the largest corporate player, the responsibility rested with us,” says Mr Chauhan. Bisleri encourages rag pickers to pick up any PET bottles, including that of competitors.
PET waste can be recycled into carpets, car parts, fabrics, fiberfil (for products like pillows and jackets), and also for roads where the recycled plastic is mixed with asphalt. The PET powder enhances the bonding ability of asphalt which strengthens the roads.

STITCHING together a partnership with rag pickers wasn’t easy. They are a close-knit community that’s driven by trust and fear. Each rag picker has his turf marked out and no one ventures outside it without the leader’s permission. And if one of the members violates the unwritten code, the whole fraternity disowns him or her. To begin with, a couple of Bisleri employees gingerly made contact with a few rag pickers in Dharavi. “We requested them to help us clean up the environment by working out a profitable model for them. We spent hours explaining everything,” says Ms Joyce Fernandes, a senior Bisleri executive closely associated with the entire project.

Mr Chauhan, who once built iconic brands like Goldspot, Thums Up, Limca and Maaza (he sold these to Coca-Cola in 1993) then roped in the Indian Education Society’s management and research centre’s student body called RHYTHM. It studied 56 rag pickers and 38 scrap dealers (bhangarwallas ) and found that the ragpicking community chose PVC waste over PET. The former was easier to recycle and re-mould. PET scrap, on the other hand, had no buyers.

Mr Chauhan decided to move in and create a market for PET waste. He explored options to recycle PET by shredding it rather than melting it. The search took him to the Horai in Japan. There he found a plant that crushed the bottles and chopped it to flakes. (He imported it at a cost of Rs 1 crore.) Once washed and cleaned, the flakes could be bagged and shipped to consumers like Reliance, which use it to make fibre cables, pillows, etc.

Rag pickers Shanti and Thangamma, like most of the estimated 1 million rag pickers in the country, work from 5 am to 11 am. “This (PET waste) helps us earn good money, leaving us free to take up other jobs like selling flowers or to take care of our families during the rest of the day,” they say.

When Bisleri first set the price benchmark for PET scrap, it incentivised rag pickers and hundreds of scrap dealers. The rag pickers were offered Rs 8-10 per kg; this was later increased to Rs 17. Each rag picker could sell Rs 5-10 kg per day earning Rs 60 to Rs 150.

Scrap dealers, who would buy the PET scrap from the rag pickers, would initially sell it to Bisleri for Rs 15-18 per kg. Bisleri would process it and sell it to companies like Reliance for Rs 30 per kg.

Since then, many firms like Shakthi Plastic Industries, Divine Polymers and Vimnar have also started buying directly from the scrap dealers, enabling Bisleri to pull back. It no longer buys scrap, but continues to oversee the ecosystem. PET scrap prices continued to rise and rag pickers now get over Rs 30 per kg.

Mr Chauhan found an ally in Vijay Merchant, a senior member of The Indian Centre for Plastics in Environment, ICPE, a body created and funded by the plastics industry. Mr Merchant is a close friend of Mr Chauhan and his tennis partner. He helped Bisleri set up collection centres in holiday spots and pilgrimage centres and also gave hand crushers to the rag pickers and balers for the collection centres. (The crushers help the rag pickers flatten empty PET bottles enabling them to store them easily. The balers do a similar function, but with a larger number of bottles.)

Bisleri also harvests 20 litres of rain water for every litre it sells. The Jayanti Lal Chauhan Trust, set up by up by Mr Chauhan has completed 35 check dam projects, mostly in Gujarat, conserving 10 million litres.

Now, two years after he first started engaging with rag pickers, Mr Chauhan is exploring the possibility of using this community to improve Bisleri’s distribution reach. Mr Chauhan is wondering if he could use them to deliver Bisleri products to kiosks and smaller shops that are hard to access with trucks. Rag pickers usually start work at the crack of dawn. “This could solve our problem of beating the traffic,” says Mr Chauhan. If this plan works out, it could turn out to be a rags-to-riches story, quite literally.

ET, 3rd Sept 2010

[Pranay]

http://www.economist.com/node/16941705? ... gameafrica

Africa's varied record in Nature Conversation and some conservation models that may be pertinent to address some localized conservation issues in India.

[Lalmohan]

i think in a densely populated country like India, there is no alternative other than to incorporate economics (of the local villagers) into conservation. land encroachment kills more animals than poachers

[KrishG]

African Cheetah to be translocated in MP''s sanctuary next year

Bhopal, Sep 12 (PTI) With the Madhya Pradesh government giving its nod, the African Cheetah will make its way to Palpur Kuno wildlife Sanctuary in the state late next year. "The first pack of Cheetahs from South Africa will arrive by ship in India in next year's winter and will be translocated at Palpur Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary in Sheopur," Madhya Pradesh Forest Minister Sartaj Singh told PTI. He said that the first lot will include two male and six female Cheetahs, adding that Palpur Kuno has 300 sq km area which can house 20 Cheetahs. There are plans to shift three villages from Palpur which will expand the area of the sanctuary by 150 sq km and can house more Cheetahs. The Minister said that Palpur Kuno is suitable for the Cheetah as it does not have dense forest. Singh also informed that the state has asked the Centre for funds to shift the villages from the area. He said that black bucks are found in Madhya Pradesh in large number and there are plans to bring about 1000 such animals to Palpur Kuno given that the Cheetahs are very fond of preying on them. "We are going to fence entire Palpur Kuno to ensure that Cheetahs do not venture out," Singh said. About plans to translocate some Cheetah at Naurodehi Wildlife Sanctuary in Sagar district, Singh said that around 23 villages will need to be shifted for that purpose and the state has asked for funds from the Centre. .

[Pranay]

"We are going to fence entire Palpur Kuno to ensure that Cheetahs do not venture out," Singh said.

I cannot understand this bizarre need with fencing whole wildlife sanctuaries; Kuno Palpur, as the article mentions is 300 sq. km. This is not a zoo - for god's sake!

If the initiative to introduce the Asian Lions here bears fruit, then this will be the only place in the world to have the four big cats - Lion, Tiger, Leopard and the Cheetah. If professionally managed, Kuno Palpur has the potential to become a world class National Park.

The money would be much better spent on training a professional forest staff and on education efforts in the nearby areas in sensitizing the population on the upcoming introduction of the cheetah.

I can understand a temporary fenced area to acclamatize the new cats to the area prior to release in the wild.

I hope that the Cheetah introduction is video recorded in much the same way that the wolf re-introduction to the Yellowstone N. P. was done. That way a much larger audience can partake in the joy of the moment...

[Aditya_V]

Boss, I think first of all if they had to translocate Cheetahs, they should have done it from IRAN, I think the African and asian Cheetahs are different Subspecies.

2) Cheetahs require grasslands, and 70sq km each, the reason Cheetahs died out in India was all suitable habitat was taken over by Agriculture, I doubt we can recreate such land with our population
3) I think priority should be given to saving existing habitats, like Indravati Tiger reserve, Reserves in Orissa from maoists etc and other santuries from mining poaching, lets save the Tiger first along with other species which inhabit its territory.

[Lalmohan]

instead of moving the villages, why not have them provide services to the parks - management, conservation, tourism - etc.? that way money reaches people and they have an incentive to preserve the wildlife

in South Africa, this model is becoming more popular, especially since a lot of rich farmers are turning their lands back to the bush/veldt and the villagers on their land are becoming part of the solution

there is a debate about making tourism very expensive, which pays for the upkeep without having too many tourists visiting and putting pressure on the land

[KrishG]

Boss, I think first of all if they had to translocate Cheetahs, they should have done it from IRAN, I think the African and asian Cheetahs are different Subspecies.

2) Cheetahs require grasslands, and 70sq km each, the reason Cheetahs died out in India was all suitable habitat was taken over by Agriculture, I doubt we can recreate such land with our population

1. Iran has only around 50 wild cheetahs and they weren't even ready to provide DNA sample of two individuals for cloning. Even for that they were asking for Asiatic lions in return. So, I don't think the Iraninans would oblige.
2. There is very almost zero genetic difference between Asiatic cheetah and African cheetah. The species classification is more based on geographic distribution than actual genetic difference. So it would make sense to reintroduce African cheetah as they are large in number.
3. The territory of cheetah in areas like Banni grasslands or semi-arid, desert regions is around 40 - 100 sqkm. But in shrublands like Kuno-Palpur the territory is around 25 sqkm for each individual due to abundance of resources.

[krisna]

Floods affect a wildlife sanctuary in northeastern India

Incessant downpour over the past fortnight has inundated the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary in Assam.
Consequently, wildlife wardens have moved the animals to safer places.
The Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary is famous for its one-horned rhinoceros.
Reportedly, the gushing waters of the River Brahmaputra have submerged 95 percent of the area.
This in turn has prompted game wardens and rangers to initiate possible remedial measures to save the animals and stop them from wandering away from their regular habitat that encompasses over 38 square kilometres of area.

For the past seven to eight days, we all are on continuous duty for the safety of animals of the sanctuary. Last night, I got the information on my wireless that the rhinos are moving out of the wildlife preserve," said Sukleshwar Rajbongshi, Deputy Game Warden of the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary.
"The public is helping us continuously. That is why whenever the rhinos move outside the sanctuary, we also follow them to ensure their protection and safe return to the sanctuary," he added.

[Aditya_V]

instead of moving the villages, why not have them provide services to the parks - management, conservation, tourism - etc.? that way money reaches people and they have an incentive to preserve the wildlife

in South Africa, this model is becoming more popular, especially since a lot of rich farmers are turning their lands back to the bush/veldt and the villagers on their land are becoming part of the solution

there is a debate about making tourism very expensive, which pays for the upkeep without having too many tourists visiting and putting pressure on the land

Please Valmik Thapar contionous pleas on this subject, yes some people can be employed in management, patrolling tourism, but you cant employ entire villages. The needs of people and wildlife do not mix and there is too much conflict, roads to villagers which provide access to poachers and these villagers are generally lured with money by poachers, Villages inside the forest is a strict non no for conservation

[Murugan]

India named the most dedicated country towards tiger conservation

WASHINGTON: India has been identified as the most important country for tigers with 18 source sites dedicated solely to their conservation, according to a recent study.

In a worrying discovery, the Wildlife Conservation Society and other groups have found that most of the world's last remaining tigers - long decimated by overhunting, logging, and wildlife trade - are now clustered in just six per cent of their available habitat.

In their study, the researchers have identified 42 'source sites' scattered across Asia that are now the last hope and greatest priority for the conservation and recovery of the world's largest cat.

The securing of the tiger's remaining source sites is the most effective and efficient way of not only preventing extinction but seeding a recovery of the wild tiger, say the study's authors.

The researchers also assert that effective conservation efforts focused on these sites are both possible and economically feasible, requiring an additional 35 million dollar a year for increased monitoring and enforcement to enable tiger numbers to double in these last strongholds.

"While the scale of the challenge is enormous, the complexity of effective implementation is. In the past, overly ambitious and complicated conservation efforts have failed to do the basics: prevent the hunting of tigers and their prey. With 70 per cent of the world's wild tigers in just six per cent of their current range, efforts need to focus on securing these sites as the number one priority for the species not," said Joe Walston, Director of the Wildlife Conservation Society's Asia Program and lead author of the study.

According to the paper, fewer than 3,500 tigers remain in the wild, of which only about 1,000 are breeding females.

Walston and his co-authors identified 42 tiger source sites, which were defined as sites that contain breeding populations of tigers and have the potential to seed the recovery of tigers across wider landscapes.

India was identified as the most important country for the species with 18 source sites.

Sumatra contains eight source sites, and the Russian Far East contains six.

The authors calculate the total required annual cost of effectively managing source sites to be 82 million dollars, which includes the cost of law enforcement, wildlife monitoring, community involvement, and other factors.

The authors say that in spite of decades of effort by conservationists, tigers continue to be threatened by overhunting of both tigers and their prey, and by loss and fragmentation of habitat.

Much of the decline is being driven by the demand for tiger body parts used in traditional medicines.

The study has been published online in PLoS Biology.

[Lalmohan]

aditya - new research and models from south africa are challenging that view. you can't get rid of people, so you have to give them a stake in the wildlife's preservation

see this week's economist for example

[Pranay]

Aditya_v - Look at the success of the Lion conservation in the Gir and surrounding areas. There has always been "nesses" within the parameters of the Gir N.P. but the difference is that the people there have a stake in the preservation of the lion.

That's why i take exception to the silly and absurd idea proposed by that minister of fencing the whole of Kuno Palpur. If the people in the immediate area do not have a stake in the preservation of their natural environment and it's denziens, no amount of fencing, policing will help.

There is a cliche that i believe in - Locks are there to keep the honest people out. (The dishonest will get in, no matter...)

That's why i place greater emphasis on having a professionally trained forest staff and on sustained efforts in educating and sensitizing the local population. When the local population benefits, they will naturally have a stake in preserving what benefits them.

[Lalmohan]

in kenya as well this has been tried for some time, although ground conditions are tougher... its led to the successful return of the rhino in some regions

in india the land encroachment pressures are much higher, you can't just throw people out, they have nowhere to go

[merlin]

in kenya as well this has been tried for some time, although ground conditions are tougher... its led to the successful return of the rhino in some regions

in india the land encroachment pressures are much higher, you can't just throw people out, they have nowhere to go

Absolutely disagree. People and wildlife are incompatible.

Of course if you cannot provide them an alternative site and generous compensation then moving them out is not the right approach. But if you can then its the best approach.

[Lalmohan]

merlin, no one would argue that people and animals naturally belong together - they don't, but the REALITY is that there are more people living in areas where animals should and you cannot move them all at random to other areas

therefore you have to develop a PRACTICAL solution which involves people in the protection of animals to the economic betterment of the people

[Sanjay M]

Re-Animation: Genetics Could Bring Extinct Species Back to Life

[Airavat]

Proposed cheetah habitats

The wildlife experts have found three best suitable sites for relocation of Cheetahs in India from African countries. They include Kuno-Palpur, Nauradehi sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh and Shahgarh of Rajasthan. The wildlife experts find Kuno-Palpur as an ideal habitat for tiger, leopards, Asiatic lion and cheetah. Singh said that the 10-year Cheetah relocation plan will cost Rs. 300 crore, which will be borne jointly by the Center and the State. The efforts for rehabilitation of cheetah in India and Madhya Pradesh will also go a long way in controlling the population of blackbuck and deer, multiply at a rapid pace and destroy the crops in villages near forests.

[Lalmohan]

i'd be worried about cheetah's being introduced into a tiger rich area, they are going to get eaten!

[merlin]

merlin, no one would argue that people and animals naturally belong together - they don't, but the REALITY is that there are more people living in areas where animals should and you cannot move them all at random to other areas

therefore you have to develop a PRACTICAL solution which involves people in the protection of animals to the economic betterment of the people

Obviously not all at random. But one can work on one PA at a time and have a time bound program to move all people residing inside to identified places outside. Provide them enough incentives to move - roads, facilities and money and treat them with dignity. I'm sure the only people who won't want to move are those doing commercial scale operations inside the PA or those who get more money from poaching than from the rehabilitation.

This has already been executed to some extent in places like Bhadra wildlife sanctuary in Karnataka. Similar stuff tuned to local conditions can be done at other places. There is a huge amount of funding available for this, lying unused or virtually unused so far.

[Lalmohan]

merlin-ji, i am sure you are right, but increasingly we are running out of available land and therefore running out of options. the work in kenya and south africa is pioneering these new models, we should pay attention

[Pranay]

i'd be worried about cheetah's being introduced into a tiger rich area, they are going to get eaten!

Some definitely will... but that will be the steep learning curve that the introduced cheetahs will have to go through. The cheetah has the advantage of acceleration over all other predators, but if taken by surprise and in the case of cubs...

They will learn the hierarchy of the Indian jungle as opposed to their their natural environment in Africa. Over time, they will create space for themselves, provided there is sufficient prey/protection from human interference.

The predatory totem pole will be stacked thus: Tiger -> Lion -> Leopard -> Hyena -> Cheetah...

Their exposure in Africa has already exposed them to all but the Tiger.

The Lion is not yet part of the equation at Kuno Palpur, but when the Lion does get introduced to Kuno Palpur, they will undergo the same steep learning curve, because the introduced Asian Lions will meet the Tigers and Cheetahs for the first time.

C'est la vie... fortunately! Learning should never stop in life...

[Pranay]

http://www.moef.nic.in/downloads/public ... 0India.pdf

The WII - WTI recommendation to the Government of India on Cheetah Reintroduction.

[RamaY]

A sad incident in Bengal Forests

Seven Elephants die as they were hit by a goods-train (Telugu Eenadu News)

Apparently two baby elephants got stuck in the tracks and the entire herd stood around them to protect them when they were hit by the train. Seven elephants died and one in critical condition

The goods-trains were directed NOT to exceed 40KM speed in these dense forests and we don't know what was its speed when this incident happened.

In my alternative scenarios, I envisioned that any human infrastructure in a forest areas must be an elevated bridge (in Hyderabad, they built a 15KM long highway).