Wild boar the most hunted animal

State has now allowed its killing in five districts on specific grounds

Perilous path: A government order permits anyone to shoot, with official permit, wild boars that pose danger to human life or property .

KOCHI: The wild boar, whose culling the State government has permitted recently, has been one of the most hunted animals in the State, official figures say.

Statistics available with the Wildlife Forensic Unit of Kerala Agricultural University show that of the 250 meat samples analysed by it to help detect wildlife offences during the past five years, nearly 45 per cent were of wild boars. The samples are brought to the unit as part of the prosecution procedures, P.O. Nameer, head of the unit, says.

After wild boar come the Sambar deer (15 per cent), the gaur (10 per cent), and the tiger (seven per cent) on the poaching list. DNA fingerprinting is done on the meat samples in cooked and raw forms and animal tissues to ascertain the species, he says.

The State government had ordered the shooting of wild boars in Wayanad, Malappuram, Palakkad, Idukki, and Pathanamthitta districts for a year, invoking provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

The Act prescribes that the Chief Wildlife Warden or the authorised officer may, if he is satisfied that any wild animal specified in Schedule 2, Schedule 3, or Schedule 4, has become dangerous to human life or to property (including standing crops on any land) or is so disabled or diseased as to be beyond recovery, by order in writing and stating the reasons therefore, permit any person to hunt such animal or group of animals in a specified area or cause such animal or group of animals in that specified area to be hunted.

An analysis has found that the most number of wildlife offences has been reported from the Pariyaram forest range near Thrissur.

This was followed by Sultan Bathery in Wayanad district, Kalady near Kochi, Kollengode near Palakkad, and Munnar in Idukki. Wayanad is among the districts identified by the government for the experimental killing of boars.

Statistics reveal that the number of wild boars has not jumped in the State. The wildlife census of 2002 found 60,940 of them as against 40,425 in 1997 and 40,963 in 1992. The 2011 census figures are yet to be released.

Confusion

Confusion is reigning supreme in the Forest Department regarding the implementation of the Government Order. Senior officials say the order lacks clarity on the delegation of powers for shooting the animals frequently raiding crops. Identifying the exact animal that is repeatedly causing crop loss will be an uphill task. Selecting the shooter will be another hassle, a senior functionary of the department says.

The department is planning to convene soon a meeting of the divisional forest officers and the range officers of five districts to discuss the modalities of implementing the order.

K.S. Sudhi

The report published in The Hindu dated 27-6-2011

Prasanth’s Birdwatching Report 26-6-2011

Today U visited Kadamakudy for bird watching from 9.15 am to 12.30 pm. I have seen the following birds,

1. Little Cormorant
2. Great Cormorant
3. Little Egret
4. Purple Heron
5. Large Egret
6. Median Egret
7. Indian Pond Heron
8. Black Bittern
9. Oriental White Ibis
10. Lesser Whistling Duck
11. Brahminy Kite
12. Western Marsh Harrier
13. Purple Moorhen
14. Bronze winged Jacana
15. Red wattled Lapwing
16. Black winged Stilt
17. Gull billed Tern
18. River Tern
19. Common Tern
20. Small Blue Kingfisher
21. Stork billed Kingfisher
22. White breasted Kingfisher
23. Oriental Magpie Robin
24. Streaked Fantail Warbler
25. Ashy Prinia
26. Purple rumped Sunbird
27. Baya Weaver
28. Grey headed Starling
29. Common Myna
30. Jungle Myna
31. Black Drongo
32. Ashy Woodswallow
33. Indian Treepie
34. House Crow
35. Jungle Crow

For some pictures visit,

http://www.drsprasanth.blogspot.com/

Dr. S. Prasanth

Western Ghats to be inscribed in world heritage list next year

No new IUCN missions to be sent to inspect the serial sites

Committee seeks additional information on management of sites

KOCHI: The serial sites of Western Ghats will be inscribed in the World Heritage List next year.

The 36th session of the World Heritage Committee of Unesco in Bangkok will make the announcement, V.B. Mathur, Dean of the Wildlife Institute of India, told The Hindu from Paris.

Though the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) wanted the inscription to be postponed for three years at the current session being held in Paris, the Committee decided to inscribe the 39 serial sites of the Ghats next year, said Dr. Mathur, who is part of the Indian delegation canvassing for the heritage status.

Describing the development as a major step, Dr. Mathur said 18 nations of the 21-member committee supported India. The Indian delegation was also informed that there was no need for new proposals for the Ghats. The Committee has also decided not to send any new IUCN mission to India to inspect the serial sites.

The Committee banks on the technical evaluation report of the IUCN in deciding the status of the sites nominated by the countries. A two-member committee visited the serial sites last year as part of the assessment process.

It has sought additional information regarding the management of the serial sites and given directions to make the management system more effective. The Committee said it was waiting for the recommendations of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel constituted by the Ministry of Environment and Forests for the conservation and protection of the Ghats. All the information sought by the Committee would be mailed to them shortly, Dr. Mathur said.

On the biodiversity impact of some dams in the Ghats region, the Indian delegation said they were built long ago and had no major environmental impacts. The IUCN also appreciated the high biodiversity value of the Ghats sites and its universal importance, he said.

Incidentally, the committee removed Assam's Manas Wildlife Sanctuary from the ‘world heritage in danger' list after taking into account the significant improvements made for its preservation. The sanctuary was inscribed on the danger list in 1992, seven years after Unesco declared it a world heritage site.

K.S. Sudhi

The report published in The Hindu dated 25-6-2011

Colour codes for Ghat regions

Vazhachal forest falls in red zone
Colours assigned on the basis of
biodiversity value

Each area assessed for eight ecological parameters

KOCHI: The Vazhachal forest of Kerala, along with other high-value biodiversity areas in the Western Ghats, will be categorised as red-zone areas by the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel.

The panel has finalised red, yellow, blue, and green colour codes for various regions of the Ghats based on the biodiversity value.

Each area was assessed for eight ecological parameters and those which scored above five were included in the red zone. All Shola forests will come under this zone.

The national parks and other protected areas will be in the green zone. In the yellow category, industrial activities will be permitted in a regulated manner.

While fixing the colour code, the views of the stakeholders were considered and available literature perused, besides the panel carrying out its own evaluation, panel sources said.

The panel assessed all the areas using a common yardstick and no special consideration was given to any area. It attempted to broadly categorise the zones leaving the finalisation job to the proposed Western Ghats Ecology Authority, a member said.

The expert team has reached a consensus not to permit any wood-based and polluting industries in the red zone. Projects that may cause serious ecological imbalances will not be allowed in the area. The projects that support the livelihood of tribal people and other local communities will be promoted in all the zones. The panel was guided by the philosophy that there should not be any relocation or eviction of people following the categorisation of the Ghats region.

Controversial projects

The panel will submit its views on the Athirappilly hydroelectric project in Kerala, mining activities in the eco-sensitive Sindhudurg and Ratnagiri areas of Maharashtra and Goa and the Gundiya hydel project of Karnataka, sources said.

The Union Ministry of Environment and Forest had earlier sought the views of the panel on these controversial projects following the ecological concerns raised by stakeholders and environmentalists.

Panel report

The panel's recommendations on these projects will be submitted to the Ministry before June 30.

A detailed report on these issues will be included in the final report to be submitted in August. Under the earlier schedule, the panel was to submit its report by June-end.

The views of the panel on the Athirappilly project have become more or less insignificant since Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh had reiterated that the project could not be permitted considering its ecological impacts, a panel member said.

K.S. Sudhi

The report published in The Hindu dated 24-6-2011

Karnataka opposes World Heritage tag for Western Ghats

NEW DELHI: From rock carvings in Mongolia to the Sangha forests of Congo, from ancient German beech woods to the oases of the United Arab Emirates, the nations of the world are vying this week to have their historical and natural wonders honoured with the prestigious Unesco World Heritage site tag.

Karnataka, on the other hand, has been mounting a public, sudden, last-minute campaign opposing that tag for 10 sites in the Western Ghats, an acknowledged hotspot of biodiversity.

Warning that India risks “international embarrassment” due to Karnataka's stance, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has urged the State government to withdraw its objections.

On Sunday, June 19, members of the World Heritage Committee began their 10-day meeting in Paris to decide which of the 42 nominations will make it to the list of 900 cultural and natural treasures. While India started the process of getting the Western Ghats nominated in August 2005, the Karnataka government has chosen to voice its opposition only in this final week before the Unesco committee meets.

Karnataka says it is fully capable of protecting the Ghats on its own, and claims that forest-dwellers will suffer if the World Heritage tag prevents development work from being undertaken there. Environmentalists have been sceptical of the State's position, accusing the government of bowing to vested interests who want to exploit the natural resources of the region in the guise of “development work.”

In a letter to Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa on Monday, Mr. Ramesh said the State government was “needlessly alarmist” and warned that its “hasty action” was likely to lead to an “international embarrassment” for India. He pointed out that Karnataka — along with Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Maharashtra, over which the Ghats are spread — had been actively involved through the entire process.

“When the 39 sites were initially identified, the State governments were fully in the picture. When the sites were submitted to Unesco, the State governments were again kept fully informed.

“Hence, I am completely at a loss to understand why all of a sudden only the Karnataka government is expressing objections and that too in a language that is unbecoming of a responsible government,” he added.

None of the other States has expressed any concern. Mr. Ramesh rubbished the fear that tribal populations and other forest communities would be displaced by the tag.

The report published in The Hindu dated 22-6-2011

Mechanism of proposed Western Ghats serial sites to be enhanced

The proposed Western Ghats Natural Heritage Conservation Authority
(WGNHCA) will likely strengthen the management of the serial sites
nominated for the Unesco's World Heritage List.

The country has been campaigning for the status for 39 sites of the
Ghats and the Paris session of the World Heritage Committee that began
on Sunday will decide on the list.

Earlier, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN),
which assessed the sites, had observed that “there was no overarching
management plan for the nominated property.”

Responding to the criticism, the Ministry of Environment and Forests
said the sites had comprehensive management plans and were being
scientifically managed under a policy and legal framework.

“The serial properties are spread across Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil
Nadu, and Maharashtra and cannot be effectively managed under a single
or overarching management plan. Instead, the required synergy and
coordination for effective management would be provided by the already
existing Western Ghats Natural Heritage Management Authority.

The management activities will be further strengthened by the proposed
WGNHCA,” according to a document to be submitted to the Unesco.

Synergy, coordination

It was also communicated that the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel,
headed by eminent ecologist Madhav Gadgil, and the Western Ghats
Natural Heritage Committee, were established by an executive order and
an appropriate synergy and coordination existed between the two.

The Ministry said: “The nominated property duly meets the integrity,
protection, and management requirements as set out in the operational
guidelines of the [World Heritage Commission].” The boundaries of the
sites, it said, were well-demarcated both on the ground as well as on
the spatial database in the Geographic Information System domain.

A decision on the nomination was expected on June 24, said V.B.
Mathur, dean of the Wildlife Institute of India, who had been
coordinating the nomination process for the Ghats region.

Highlighting the eligibility of the Ghats for nomination, the document
prepared by the Ministry said the IUCN had highly commended India for
its ongoing commitment to ensure a comprehensive approach to
conserving the globally recognised high biodiversity value of the
Ghats, noting the scale and complexity of the area.”

The technical evaluation team of the IUCN had reported on the species
richness and diversity of the Ghats. The whole region included some
5,000 vascular plant species, 228 freshwater fish, 179 amphibians, 157
reptiles, 508 birds, and 139 mammals. A large number of them were
endemic too.

“The property is key to the conservation of a number of threatened
habitats, such as wildflower meadows, shola forests, and Myristica
swamps,” according to the document.

“The sites fall under a number of protection regimes, ranging from
tiger reserves, national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, and reserved
forests. All these components are owned by the State and subject to
stringent protection under laws, including the Wildlife Protection
Act, the National Wildlife Action Plan, and the Forest Conservation
Act.

The sites belong to the same bio-geographic province and remain as
isolated remnants of previously continuous forest. The Ghats also
represents two Global 200 priority eco-regions not represented in the
World Heritage List.

K.S. Sudhi

The report published in The Hindu dated 20-6-2011

Farmers to be permitted to shoot wild boars

The Cabinet on Wednesday decided to grant special permission for killing of wild boars destroying crops.

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy told the media after the Cabinet meeting that farmers would be allowed to shoot wild boars attacking their crops subject to stringent conditions. Permissions for this would have to be obtained from the forest officials and the permits would carry clear stipulations. The carcasses of the boars should be burned and not used as meat.

The Chief Minister said that attack by wild animals caused losses of crops running into crores of rupees in the State. There were also threats to life of farmers living by the side of forests. A committee constituted by the previous government had recommended granting to permission to kill wild animals for the sole purpose of protecting crops.

Mr. Chandy announced that the Cabinet had sanctioned Rs. 70 lakh to provide compensation to fishermen whose nets had been damaged by puffer fish. The government would provide 75 per cent of the cost to buy new nets while the fishermen would have to bear 25 per cent of the cost. Attacks by puffer fish (with strong teeth capable of crushing its prey such as mussels) had been reported mostly from Alappuzha and Kollam.

The report published in The Hindu dated 16-6-2011