Friday, July 24, 2009

Protected Area Update - August 2009 (Vol XV, No 4)

Dear Friends,
Here is the list of contents and editorial of the new issue of the
Protected Area Update - Vol XV, No. 4, August 2009 (No. 80). If you would like to receive
the entire PA Update over the email please write to me.

thanks
Pankaj Sekhsaria
Editor, Protected Area Update
C/o Kalpavriksh
Email: psekhsaria@gmail.com
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PROTECTED AREA UPDATE
News and Information from protected areas in India and South Asia
Vol. XV No. 4
August 2009 (No.80)


LIST OF CONTENTS
EDITORIAL
A new minister at the helm

NEWS FROM INDIAN STATES

ANDAMAN & NICOBAR ISLANDS
CEE to develop nature interpretation centre at Mahatma Gandhi Marine
National Park

ANDHRA PRADESH
Checklist of the birds of Pulicat
Two biosphere reserves proposed for Andhra Pradesh

ASSAM
Gibbons in Gibbon WLS not crossing over the railway line
Hand reared Asiatic black bears released in Manas NP
Hydroelectric projects in the North East may pose threat to KNP:
Researchers
Rhino count in Kaziranga now 2048

Kaziranga Tiger Foundation not formed yet; reserve deprived of central
funds

CHATTISGARH
Wildlife enforcement workshop held in Raipur

GUJARAT
State Wildlife Board allows for diversion of land in four PAs
More wells around Gir covered after government hikes subsidy
Gujarat cites Panna TR case to keep lions to itself
93 lion deaths in Gujarat in last three years

HIMACHAL PRADESH
Panel says no to scrapping of sanctuaries

KARNATAKA
Only elephants to ferry tourists in PAs
Project Elephant Directorate in Madikeri

Proposal to close road through Bandipur NP, Wayanad WLS withdrawn

KERALA
Tiger population in Wayanad WLS estimated at 20-25

MADHYA PRADESH
Road widening through Pench TR opposed
Change in Field Directors at Kanha, Panna and Bandavgarh TRs
No more tigers in Panna TR - It's official now; four cats to be
translocated

MAHARASHTRA
CAT asks state to appoint Head of Forest Force within eight weeks
CEE to develop nature interpretation centre at Nandur Madhmeshwar WLS
Villagers relocated from Botezari arrested for 'violating' and entering
Tadoba Andhari TR
11.44 acres reclaimed by Sanjay Gandhi NP
NGO alleges that Sanjay Gandhi NP authorities claiming land illegally
in Malad area
Soil testing in Tulsi Lake area in Sanjay Gandhi NP without FD permission
Dogs form 50% of leopard diet in Sanjay Gandhi NP

ORISSA
Nandankanan now a member of world zoo body
Rs. Three crore project to deal with human elephant conflict at
Chandaka WLS
Rs. 5 crore Elephant Management Plan for state
E-bulletin on the Forest Rights Act in Orissa
Greenpeace report on turtle-fisheries issues in Orissa

RAJASTHAN
70 black bucks die in Tal Chappar WLS due to 'weather shock'

SIKKIM
Forest fires across the state in March

PANDA Newsletter from ENVIS Sikkim

TAMIL NADU
Field Guide to the plants of the Northern Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve
Nature Interpretation Centre in the Sathyamangalam WLS

UTTARAKHAND
Rs. 8.5 crore security plan for Corbett TR

WEST BENGAL
Nepal police fire at elephant herd

Community based tourism project in North Bengal

NATIONAL NEWS FROM INDIA
SC to CAMPA: Provide Rs. 1000 crore per year to states in next five years
Interactive database on threatened lakes
Proposal for a National Green Tribunal
Tripartite MoUs to be signed between Centre, State and Project Tiger
Reserves
Simlipal TR, Pachmari and Nokrek NP added to UNESCO's Global Biosphere
Reserve Network
Forest Administration to be 'modernised' to deal with naxal threat
NTCA directives on tourism in tiger reserves
Whitley Award for Dr. MD Madhusudan
Prem Bhatia Award for Environmental Journalism to Gargi Parsai
Tiger relocation protocol approved
Environment in the Indian Parliament: An Analysis 2007

SOUTH ASIA
Consultation on Landscape Approach to Biodiversity Conservation and
Management in the Eastern Himalayas

UPCOMING
International Conference on Wildlife Conservation, Health and Disease
Management


EDITORIAL

A NEW MINISTER AT THE HELM

Ever since the new government was sworn in, there has been a flurry of activity on the environment front. The new Union Minister for Environment and Forests, Mr. Jairam Ramesh has certainly been very active, as he has gone around the country meeting officials, people’s representatives and NGOs alike.
The developments and his pronouncements too have been wide ranging – covering a diversity of issues that include the proposed Coastal Zone Management regime (allowing for its lapse), ensuring that provisions of the Forest Rights Act are met prior to seeking diversion of forest lands under the Forest Conservation Act; a change in the structure and operation of the CAMPA fund; engagement with a range of actors on provisions of the Biological Diversity Act (BDA) and more resources and steps for wildlife conservation in general and the tiger in particular.
There are still initial days, but clearly, those working on matters of livelihood security, issues of the environment and wildlife protection see a glimmer of hope in all that has been happening. It has been clear that over the years there has been a relentless assault at the hands of a development paradigm that only understands the language of industrialization, urbanization and growth in the GDP. This, therefore, will also then be the location of the biggest challenge for the new minister and the new government.
The undeniable reality is that the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) and the concerns it is supposed to advance have been at the bottom of the priorities of successive governments for a long time. If anything, the MoEF has been considered an unnecessary irritant in the path of development and economic growth - a line of thinking that is not going away very soon. Dealing with particular legislations or policy frameworks, while necessary, is not what is going to stem the rot. There has to be an attempt at dealing with, or at least questioning the fundamental issues related to ‘development’. In the current political and economic climate it will not be the easiest thing to do, but then if there is one space and Ministry that can even start the process it is without doubt, the MoEF.
The developments are, certainly, going to be watched with deep interest as they unfold.
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Protected Area Update
Vol. XV, No. 4, August 2009 (No. 80)
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
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Publication of the PA Update Vol. XV, No. 4 has been supported by the
Duleep Mathai Nature Conservation Trust, the Foundation for Ecological
Security and Greenpeace India.

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