Protected Area Update - December 2007

Dear Friends,
Posted below is the list of contents and the editorial for the New issue of the Protected Area Update. In case you want specific stories or the entire newsletter as an attachment, please write to me at psekhsaria@gmail.com
Also please do forward the contents to other relevant egroups as well as individuals who might be interested.
thanks
Pankaj Sekhsaria

PROTECTED AREA UPDATE
News and Information from protected areas in India and South Asia

Vol. XIII No. 6, December 2007 (No. 70)


LIST OF CONTENTS
EDITORIAL
Wetlands in Focus
NEWS FROM INDIAN STATES
ANDHRA PRADESH
-Golden Gecko sighted in Papikonda WLS
ARUNACHAL PRADESH
-WWF, Army for conservation of Arunachal Pradesh wildlife and forests
ASSAM
-Survey for herpetofauna in and around Barail Wildlife Sanctuary
-Rs 1cr sought for Kaziranga NP
-18 rhinos killed in and around Kaziranga in first 10 months of 2007
-Watchtowers constructed to warn of elephant raids near Kaziranga
-Cycle squads to counter poachers in Manas
-FD for sanctuary status for Urpad Beel
-Call to declare Sareswar Beel a sanctuary
-Staff shortage plagues Orang NP
BIHAR
-Retired army personnel for Valmiki TR protection
GUJARAT
-Squads to identify electrified fences in Gir
JAMMU & KASHMIR
-Hangul population between 117 and 190
-Limber and Lachipora WLSs to be included in new Qazinag National Park
-Workshop on Army participation in wildlife conservation in Ladakh
-Program for wetlands in state
-Willow plantation drive around Hokresar stopped
-Six lakh migratory birds flock to Kashmir
KARNATAKA
-Chilli tobacco rope elephant barrier being tried in Bannerghata NP
-Tourism plans for PAs in Western Ghats
-FD opposes erection of electric poles inside Nagarhole NP
-25 tigers counted in Bandipur TR; 14 in Nagarhole
-Elephant population dips in Karnataka
-Six new species found in Kudremukh NP
KERALA
-New peacock sanctuary at Choolannur, conservation reserve at Kadalundi
-New ‘Malabar Wildlife Sanctuary’ to cover forests of Kozhikode and Wayanad districts
MADHYA PRADESH
-MP bans polythene in national parks
-MP Forest Department goes hi-tech
-Low male-female crocodile ratio in the National Chambal Sanctuary causes concern
MAHARASHTRA
-New spider found in Melghat TR
-Dummy traps to train forest staff in Pench TR
ORISSA
-Tourism promotion in Satkosia WLS
-Mechanised boats banned at Gahirmatha for turtle nesting season
-Ban on NTFP collection causes of collapse of haat system in Sunabeda WLS; local tribals adversely affected
-GIS mapping to trace elephant movement in Chandaka Dampara WLS
-Simlipal TR opened to visitors from Nov. 4
-Wildlife Conservation award to the Mahabir Pakshi Surakshya Samiti, Mangaljodi
-New State Board for Wildlife constituted
-SACON to study bird mortality in Chilka
PUNJAB
-Kathlore forest to be declared a wildlife sanctuary
RAJASTHAN
-Keoladeo Ghana National Park to get water from River Yamuna
-Weeding operation conducted in Keoladeo Ghana National Park
-Rajasthan can’t get enough ex-soldiers for wildlife protection
-Bhagani village relocated from Sarika TR
TAMIL NADU
-Gulf of Mannar NP Coral Reefs to be studied
TRIPURA
-National park status to Trishna WLS
UTTARAKHAND
-Poaching alert in Corbett and Rajaji during Diwali
-5066 vultures counted in Uttarakhand
UTTAR PRADESH
-Elephant Reserve for UP
-Rs. 15.77 lakhs for the Kukrail Gharial Centre
WEST BENGAL
-Initiative for Red Panda protection in PAs in North Bengal
-Train knocks down elephant in Buxa TR
NATIONAL NEWS FROM INDIA
-Govt identifies 94 wetlands for regulatory framework
-Trains running along wildlife corridors might stop running at night
-India has 606 PAs covering 15.59 million hectares
SOUTH ASIA
Pakistan
-Permits auctioned for Markhor, Himalayan Ibex trophy hunting
UPCOMING
-Workshop on Compensation and Rewards for Ecosystem Services
IN THE SUPREME COURT


EDITORIAL

WETLANDS IN FOCUS
For the bird enthusiasts in the wildlifing community, winter is certainly an exciting time. Millions of migratory birds, particularly waterfowl, from far away lands fly into the Indian subcontinent colonizing water-bodies of every size and shape in every nook and corner of the landscape. The birds come and with them they bring the spotlight on the wetlands they visit.
That there is an increased awareness of the phenomenon of bird migration is evident in the large number of reports and photographs of the migratory birds that now appear regularly in both English and the vernacular newspapers.
It is well known that wetlands are, in terms of biomass, one of the most productive ecosystems that also provide a number of crucial environmental services – they recharge groundwater, provide water for agricultural activities, help in stabilizing the local micro-climate, act as sinks during the flooding season, support millions of livelihoods through fisheries, agriculture and related activities and are the homes of a diverse range of animal and plant life.
It is also well known, and ironically so, that wetlands are one of the most abused systems – their waters are full of toxic chemicals that are discharged as industrial effluents or which run off from agricultural lands, they are used as dumping grounds for our wastes and are continually drained to create land for industry, human habitation or agricultural fields. As water stress and demands for the resource increase, control over wetlands and use of the water is also bound to also become a source of serious conflict between various stakeholders; wildlife and migratory birds being one important category of such a stakeholder, though one that does not have any voice.
It is imperative that the issue of the protection and conservation of wetlands must become a priority for all sections of society, be it the media, the non-governmental sector, government agencies, the courts or ordinary citizens.
Efforts are certainly being made. National level organizations like the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Nature (SACON) have worked on creating an umbrella Wetlands Policy and an action plan for wetlands, but nothing concrete has emerged from there. The media, however, has taken greater interest in recent times, as is evident from the reports in this and earlier issues of the PA Update. In many parts of the country communities like the Sri Sri Mahavir Pakhi Surakshya Samiti of Mangalajodi under the Chilka Forest Division (see news from Orissa below) have taken up protection programs, both for the birds and for the wetlands (for more such initiatives see ).
A number of wetlands have been declared as protected areas, important birds areas or sites of importance under the provisions of the Ramsar Convention. Many more are regularly proposed for inclusion within such frameworks for better protection and management (see news from Assam). A National Wetland Conservation Program has been initiated and a regulatory framework for wetland protection is being considered under the provisions of the Environment Protection Act – 1986.
All this is welcome, but clearly, much more needs to be done because the threats to our wetlands, like too many of our other natural ecosystems, is increasing faster and is much larger than we care to believe.


PROTECTED AREA UPDATE
0Vol. XIII, No. 6, December 2007 (No. 70)
Editor: Pankaj Sekhsaria
Illustrations: Madhuvanti Anantharajan
Produced by: Kalpavriksh
Ideas, comments, news and information may please be sent to the editorial address:
KALPAVRIKSH, Apartment 5, Shri Dutta Krupa, 908 Deccan Gymkhana, Pune 411004, Maharashtra, India. Tel/Fax: 020 – 25654239.
Email: psekhsaria@gmail.com
Website: www.kalpavriksh.org
Production of PA Update 70 has been supported by Foundation for Ecological Security (FES), Anand.

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