Trees, wildlife charred in northern Panna forest fire

TNN May 4, 2013
BHOPAL: A fire that broke out in a forest in northern region of Panna district, about 15km from the tiger reserve, on Thursday is threatening the forest cover and wildlife. Plantations in around 35 hectares of forest near Saharia area have reportedly been gutted in the fire that is spreading towards Amanganj area, said forest officials on Friday.

Making matters worse, the fire alert and messaging system (FAMS) developed by the IT wing of the forest department didn't function, sources said. FAMS uses processed remote sensing data of active fire locations and sends instant alerts to concerned field staff through the SMS and e-mail.

More than 80 forest employees and officials have been pressed into service in the area to control the fire, said SK Gupta, DFO North.

A probe has been ordered by the state forest ministry as there are allegations that the it was the handiwork of miscreants to cover up illegal felling of trees over the last few months.

NGOs blame forest officials for the fire terming it as a planned 'incident' to hush up illegal felling and show expenditures of budget allotted for fire protection. "I have moved a PIL seeking investigation on rampant illegal felling of teak woods from the northern range of Panna recently. The fire broke out in the same area. It's intentionally done to destroy the evidences," alleges Shrikant Dixit, who runs an NGO in Panna.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/Trees-wildlife-charred-in-northern-Panna-forest-fire/articleshow/19876054.cms

Madhya Pradesh conducts vulture population estimation in Panna Tiger Reserve

By Suchandana Gupta, TNN | Jan 23, 2013

The dramatic decline in vulture population prompted the
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
to put vultures on its list of 'critically endangered' species.

BHOPAL: The Vulture Population Estimation-2013 has been concluded in the Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh, the state government said on Wednesday. Counting started a week ago and 867 vultures including 160 migratory and 48 of unidentified origins were found. Technical report of Vulture Population Estimation-2013 is expected to be submitted by February-end. About 102 live nests were also found in the tiger reserve, the state claimed.

Another survey will be made in April-May 2013 to assess success rate of vulture breeding in Panna Tiger Reserve. Since the year 2010, Vulture Population Estimation is being undertaken in Panna Tiger Reserve in January every year. The number of vultures found this year is less compared to last year. The reason could be the sudden increase in temperature in the area during the estimation week. Seven out of nine vulture species in the Indian sub-continent were found in Panna, the state government said.

Regional director Panna Tiger Reserve R. Shriniwas Moorthy explained that 659 residential vultures were found in Panna Tiger Reserve during Vulture Population Estimation-2013. These included 476 Long Billed Vultures, 86 White Backed Vultures, 52 Egyptian Vultures and 45 Red-headed Vultures. Similarly, out of 160 migratory vultures found during the estimation, 41 were European Griffon, 115 Himalayan Griffon and four vultures of cinereous species. It is being considered to include Paragrin spies of vulture also in the Vulture Population Estimation next year.

Since 2011, Vulture Estimation in Panna is carried out with public private participation with the co-operation of bird watchers from across the country. For this two-phase estimation, 112 bird watchers from 10 states had applied. Following scrutiny, 94 participants were selected this year. The selected participants came from the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Haryana, Bihar, Maharashtra, New Delhi besides Madhya Pradesh. They were assisted by 16 guides of the park. The team conducted estimation under the guidance of forest department officers.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/Madhya-Pradesh-conducts-vulture-population-estimation-in-Panna-Tiger-Reserve/articleshow/18153168.cms