Visakhapatnam beaches give Olive Ridleys a raw deal

A full-grown Olive Ridley turtel found dead on
the sands of RK Beach in Visakhapatnam.

VISAKHAPATNAM: They travel thousands of miles from the coast of Mexico to Visakhapatnam, weathering numerous storms and threats along the way just to breed and nest in peace. But at the fag end of their journey, many of these intrepid travellers meet a ghastly end when they get caught in fishing nets and die of asphyxiation or fall prey to dog attacks on the beach.

The endangered Olive Ridley turtles, listed under schedule one of the endangered species list, land up in thousands on Indian shores between the months of November and March. While Odisha's Rushikulya and Gahirmatha beaches are mass breeding grounds, beaches along the Vizag coast like RK Beach, Rushikonda, Bhimili, Pudimadaka and Jodugudulapalem are sporadic nesting grounds that are proving to be hostile as in Odisha the fisherfolk fiercely guards these turtles and their nests.

According to experts, matured turtles, especially females, that move closer to the beaches to nest get caught in fishing nets due to the practice of bottom trawling followed by mechanized boats and trawlers off the coast of Vizag. "Each year from December to March, at least 40 to 50 matured turtles die each month after getting entangled in nets," said Pradip Nath of Visakhapatnam Society for Prevention and Care of Animals (VSPCA).

"Fishermen are supposed to use nets fixed with the TED (turtle exclusion device) but don't do it as it has not been made mandatory," added Professor Bharata Lakshmi from the Zoology Department of Andhra University.

"When we tried to enforce the TED, fishermen argued that their fish catch comes down by 10 to 20% when the real impact is only a 2% reduction. A turtle needs to surface every 45 minutes for oxygen but when they get entangled in the nets they are held underwater for a period of over 2 hours, which kills them," explained Nath of VSPCA.

The turtles lucky enough to dodge the fishing nets either fall prey to packs of hungry dogs or are crushed by callous beachgoers.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/Visakhapatnam-beaches-give-Olive-Ridleys-a-raw-deal/articleshow/18230705.cms

Another rhino killed by poachers in Kaziranga

PTI
JORHAT: A rhino was killed and its horn removed at the Kaziranga National Park in Assam making it the fifth to have fallen prey to poachers this month.

The rhino was killed yesterday near Hatibandi Camp under Bagori range on the southern side of the park along Nagaon and Karbi Anglong districts, divisional forest officer (DFO) D D Gogoi said today.

Two empty cartridges of AK-47 assault rifle were recovered near the carcass, Gogoi said.

The police suspect the involvement of Karbi Peoples Liberation Tiger (KPLT) insurgents in the poaching.

A male rhino was killed on Sunday night near Borholla camp in the Burapahar range of the park.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/Another-rhino-killed-by-poachers-in-Kaziranga/articleshow/18236778.cms

India, US join hands to tackle illegal wildlife trade

PTI 
NEW DELHI: India and the US have decided to join hands to tackle illegal wildlife trade, which involves billions of dollars annually.

US and Indian government officials, representatives of NGOs, wildlife lawyers and enforcement officials today discussed some of their challenges and successes in combating wildlife trafficking in the roundtable organised by the US Embassy and WWF/TRAFFIC India — two global organisations engaged in wildlife related issues — here.

"The United States and India have worked together on wildlife conservation for over 25 years. We will continue to work together to combat poaching, manage our wildlife resources, improve enforcement capacity, and reduce consumer demand for illegal wildlife products," said a joint statement issued after the meeting.

Co-chairing a panel discussion on Illegal Trade in Wildlife with WWF-India CEO and secretary general Ravi Singh, US under secretary of state for economic growth, energy, and environment, Robert D Hormats, emphasised the need for high-level political will, public outreach, and greater international coordination and cooperation to combat wildlife trafficking.

He was also of the opinion that regional enforcement networks such as the South Asia Wildlife Enforcement Network (SAWEN) should be strengthened to deal with the problem.

Singh noted the intimate link between the decline of India's wildlife species, and alarming trends in illegal wildlife trafficking.

"It is imperative that issues of illegal wildlife trade should be taken up in a strategic manner, linking national agencies and senior government executives. Here, the US government can be an important partner on global wildlife intelligence, networking and sharing of best practices in enforcement," he said.

According to the WWF-India, illegal wildlife trade is estimated at USD 10-20 billion annually, and is among the largest sources of illegal trade.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/India-US-join-hands-to-tackle-illegal-wildlife-trade/articleshow/18242281.cms

Singapore seizes biggest ivory haul in a decade

AFP

Singapore authorities said they had intercepted
1.8 tonnes of ivory from Africa worth 2 million USD in
the city-state's largest such haul in over a decade.
(AFP Photo)

SINGAPORE: Singapore authorities said on Wednesday they had intercepted 1.8 tonnes of ivory from Africa worth $2 million in the city-state's largest such haul in over a decade.

The seizure was made following a tip-off, said Gerald Neo, executive manager of the quarantine and inspection department of the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA).

"AVA and Singapore Customs conducted a joint inspection on a shipment that was declared as 'waste paper' on 23 January. We found 1,099 pieces of raw ivory tusks," Neo said.

The tusks -- valued at Sg$2.5 million ($2 million) -- were in transit from Africa, a joint statement by the AVA and Singapore Customs said. The destination of the shipment was not mentioned.

International trade in ivory has been banned under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) since 1989. Singapore is a signatory to the convention.

The statement said the AVA was "working with local and international agencies to investigate this case".

It was the biggest haul since June 2002 when authorities seized around six tonnes of ivory tusks and cut ivory pieces.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/Singapore-seizes-biggest-ivory-haul-in-a-decade/articleshow/18258601.cms

Forest panels to be reconstituted

Forest minister K.B. Ganesh Kumar has said the constituency level forest committees in the district will be reconstituted to solve the issues related to forests and wildlife.

Speaking to mediapersons here on Tuesday, after attending a meeting of the representatives of political parties, three-tier local administrative bodies, and senior officials of Forest and Revenue Departments, Mr. Ganesh Kumar said the committees would discuss all the welfare activities and protection measures related to the two forest divisions and Wayanad Wild life Sanctuary (WWS) in the district.

The Minister’s meeting with the officials was to form a consensus on various issues relating to forests and wildlife such as a ban on parking of vehicles along National Highway 212 inside the WWS during night and demarcation of the ecological sensitive zone around the sanctuary.

The MLAs of each constituency would be the chairmen of the committees and Divisional Forest Officers or Warden the conveners. Presidents of local bodieswould be the members.


Source: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-kerala/forest-panels-to-be-reconstituted/article4359498.ece

Birding Fair devoted to conservation of urban lakes

The 16th Birding Fair, starting at the scenic Man Sagar lake here this Friday, will be devoted to conservation of urban lakes which are getting extinct at an alarming rate because of lack of priority and inadequate administrative control in most of the cities. Ironically lakes are dying out at a time when the crisis for water is increasing.

The two-day fair, organised by the Tourism and Wildlife Society of India, will be led by Rani Vidya Devi of Jaipur's erstwhile royal family. Columnist Sohail Hashmi will address a session to demonstrate how citizens can be involved in the drive to save lakes.

The World Wide Fund for Nature, Bombay Natural History Society, Bishnoi Tiger Force and the U.S.-based Environmental Education and Conservation Global are extending support to the much-awaited annual event.

Noted environmentalist and TWSI honorary secretary Harsh Vardhan said here on Wednesday that the city-centric lakes in the country receive most of the water from the sewerage released by people through open drains, while the municipal authorities often do not try to treat sewage or re-use the treated water.

The Union Environment and Forest Ministry, which seems to be the agency taking charge of lakes, has funded more than Rs.1,000 crore to over 100 lakes during the past decade. “However, it is not known how many of them were conserved at the parameters set out by the Ministry,” said Mr. Vardhan.

The confusion about the responsibility for lakes also persists because of the Urban Development Ministry not including urban lakes within its ambit while funding the city infrastructure. Mr. Vardhan pointed out that the 400-year-old Man Sagar lake was a “classic example”, as its control had changed hands from the Jaipur Municipal Corporation to the Jaipur Development Authority and the latter was in charge as of now.

“The JDA has not officially visited the lake for an overview of its health, better or worse, since 2005. Its water is with the Irrigation Department, fish with Fisheries Department and road cleanliness with Municipal Corporation, while the sewage treatment process is pitch-forked between JDA and municipal authorities,” pointed out Mr. Vardhan.

Against this scenario, the fair as citizens' initiative assumes the role to draw attention of the authorities towards the historic lake, as the future of the Pink City residents is intertwined with this water body in numerous ways, ranging from better health to enhancing the arrival of tourists.

On a positive note, Man Sagar is teeming with migratory birds these days, about 2,500 of them swimming or diving, like shovellers, pintails, coots, etc. The resident ducks such as spot-bill duck and common moorhen have bred in hundreds, signifying as the indicator of health of the scenic water body.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/birding-fair-devoted-to-conservation-of-urban-lakes/article4363276.ece

‘Run-of-the-river dams won’t affect inflows into India’

GARGI PARSAI
Amid concern in India over China’s plans to construct dams upstream on the Brahmaputra, a senior government official said here on Wednesday that the run-of-the-river projects would not affect inflows into India.

Reacting to the news that China plans to construct three new hydropower dams in the middle reaches of the Brahmaputra (or Yarlung Zangbo as it is known in China), Union Water Resources Secretary Dhruv Vijay Singh told The Hindu that the Indian government was aware of the dams being constructed/proposed by China. “We are keeping a close watch. These are run-of-the-river dams with no storage and will not affect inflows into India,” he said.

However, the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People, an NGO, said these being run-of-the-river projects, there may not be any change in the annual flows of the river, but the flow patterns may change and concern about flooding and erosioncould not be overlooked.

The Hindu reported on Tuesday that the Chinese State Council had approved the construction of three new dams on the Brahmaputra under a new energy development plan for 2015.

In India, the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation is constructing the Upper Siang Hydroelectric Project on the Siang tributary of the Brahmaputra in Arunachal Pradesh and the 2000 MW Lower Subansiri project on Subansiri, another tributary of the Brahmaputra on the Arunachal Pradesh, Assam border.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/runoftheriver-dams-wont-affect-inflows-into-india/article4363288.ece

Solar fence to keep wild animals at bay in Wayanad

As part of a project to tackle man-animal conflict in the North Wayanad forest division, villages bordering the forests in the Thirunelly grama panchayat limits have been ringed with a 34-km solar fence to stave off raids by wild animals. The Kerala Forest Development Corporation has installed the fence for the Forest and Wildlife Department. The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has financed the work.

Minister for Forests K.B. Ganesh Kumar inaugurated the first phase of the project at Kattikulam, near Mananthavady, on Tuesday.

The fence will be extended to a distance of 300 km through the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary and the North and South Wayanad forest divisions at a cost of Rs. 6 crore, K.J. Varghese, Managing Director of the corporation, told The Hindu .

The corporation has identified 100 locations, each covering 1.5 km to 3.5 km, under the 10 forest ranges of the three forest divisions in the district to erect the fence.

The fence is erected on metal posts at a height of 1.6 metre. A solar panel, a battery and an energiser are the main components of a fence. The energiser is the main apparatus, and 100 of them have been imported from New Zealand. High-voltage electric current (about 10 kW) will pass through the fence, and the wild animals will get an electric shock when they come into contact with it.

A memorandum of understanding with the Forest Department makes the corporation maintain the fence for five years, Mr. Varghese said. A four-member team will be stationed in a base camp on the corporation’s tea estate at Kambamala, near Mananthavady, to carry out the maintenance. The Forest Department will engage local people for day-to-day maintenance in each locality.

The department has submitted proposals to NABARD to execute such projects in Kannur, Kozhikode and Palakkad, he said.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-kerala/solar-fence-to-keep-wild-animals-at-bay-in-wayanad/article4363722.ece

Tiger died from poisoning, revenge killing suspected

R. KRISHNA KUMAR

• Special Tiger Protection Force deployed in the area to keep vigil on movement of tigers
• Forest Department will also interact with local community

A tiger, which was found dead in the Kakanakote forests (D.B. Kuppe range) of the Nagarahole National Park early this month, was poisoned in what is suspected to be an act of revenge.

The post-mortem report and visceral analysis indicate the presence of zinc phosphide, which is rat poison. This has sent shockwaves among conservationists and Forest Department officials.

This is said to be the first case of a tiger being poisoned in the national park, which is a major tiger reserve and home to about 70 of them.

R. Gokul, Director, Conservator of Forests and Director, Nagarahole Tiger Reserve, confirmed that the tiger, which was found dead on January 13 near the Kabini backwaters was poisoned. Its carcass, discovered two weeks ago, was intact, with no sign of external injuries, putting a question mark on cause of death.

Though there was a question of whether poachers had a hand in the death, this has been ruled out as neither the skin nor the claws had been removed. The needle of suspicion points to revenge killing and Mr. Gokul said the animal may have strayed out of its habitat and stalked livestock. Since tigers have a tendency to partially eat their prey and conceal it in bushes to consume over a period of time, the local community may have poisoned the carcass of the cattle, resulting in the tiger’s death, he said.

But the nearest human habitation is nearly 3 km from the spot where the tiger was found, casting doubt on that theory.

However, Mr. Gokul pointed out that tigers generally do not stray from their habitat in Nagarahole as the Kabini backwaters acts as a border between the national park and the adjoining human landscape. But due to severe drought, the backwaters has receded and turned into a grassland, with no demarcation separating the forestland from the outside landscape. “As a result, there is free movement of animals in the absence of a water barrier. We suspect the local community on the fringes may have driven their livestock inside the forests in search of fodder. The tiger may have killed one of the domestic animals and the village people may have subsequently poisoned the carcass as an act of revenge,” said Mr. Gokul.

There have been six incidents of tigers straying out of their habitat this season, which is unusually high. This is attributed to increase in tiger density inside the national park.

The authorities have deployed the Special Tiger Protection Force in the area to keep vigil on the movement of animals in the region. Apart from launching a full-fledged investigation into tiger poisoning, the Forest Department will also interact with the local community adjoining the forests and seek their help in wildlife conservation.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-karnataka/tiger-died-from-poisoning-revenge-killing-suspected/article4359419.ece

Killing of rhino by tiger worries Dudhwa wildlife officials

ATIQ KHAN
A day after the half-eaten carcass of a 34-year-old female rhinoceros named Pavitri was recovered from the Rhino Rehabilitation Area in Dudhwa Tiger Reserve (DTR) at Dudhwa National Park (DNP) in Lakhimpur Kheri district of Uttar Pradesh following her killing by a big cat, wildlife officials are perplexed at the tigers developing a liking for the one-horned animal despite the presence of ample prey base in the forest.

The late Monday night killing is the third instance of a rhino being killed by the roaming big cats in the last 14 months since the killing of a 35-year old male rhino in November 2011 followed by that of a young adult in December 2011. A female rhino named Himrani was attacked and injured by a tiger on December 1, 2011 but managed to survive due to the efforts of the park authorities.

In December last year another female rhino was mauled by a tiger in the rehabilitation area, but survived the deadly attack.

While the exact causes of the frequent attacks by the feline are yet to be ascertained, Deputy Director of Dudhwa Tiger Reserve Ganesh Bhatt said that it is not an unnatural phenomena as similar attacks have taken place in Kaziranga national park in Assam. “Calves and sub-adults and those rhinos who are weak are generally attacked by tigers, as had been the case with the adult female rhinoceros, Himrani, who too was weak,” Mr. Bhatt told The Hindu from DTR. However, the Dudhwa official clarified that the latest casualty, Pavitri was not weak bodied.

Since the tiger attacks have taken place in the months of November and December when the entire Terai region of Uttar Pradesh where Dudhwa is located is enveloped by dense fog it has been suggested that the big cats might have mistook the rhinos for some other animal.

Following the death of the female of the species, there are 33 rhinos in the rehabilitation area, which owes it origin to the Rhino Rehabilitation Project when seven rhinos were relocated in Dudhwa in 1984-85.

The movement of the rhinos in the rehabilitation area is being closely monitored and tracked by the authorities with the help of a unique identification system--the rhinos have been provided with identity numbers.

The rhino rehabilitation area in Salukapur in Sonaripur range of Dudhwa Tiger Reserve is spread over an area of about 28 square kilometre. The entire area is fenced but as the Deputy Director of the Tiger Reserve said that barring the elephants the other animals including the tiger can cross the fence and enter the rehabilitation area. Even the rhinos cannot venture out of their home.

The grasslands of the Terai region once served as the natural habitat for the Great Indian Rhinoceros ( “Rhinoceros Unicornis” ) before the last rhino was hunted down by “ shikaris ” and poachers in the 19th century. Some years after the Dudhwa National Park came into existence in 1977, conservationists played an enabling role in relocating rhinos in the area. In 1984, five rhinos including three females were relocated from Kaziranga national park under the Rhino Rehabilitation Project. Two of the animals later died.

In 1985 four females from Shukla Phanta in bordering Nepal were shifted to Dudhwa in exchange of 16 elephants. Today there are 33 rhinos in the rehabilitation area.

Since the majority of the rhinos in the area have been sired by a single male of the species - Bankey, now in his 36th year ( the rhinos can live up to 60 years ), who was relocated from Assam in 1984 as a calf ---wild life enthusiasts have felt that in-breeding would effect the immune system of the animals.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/killing-of-rhino-by-tiger-worries-dudhwa-wildlife-officials/article4363274.ece