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Proposal to close road through Bandipur NP, Wayanad WLS withdrawn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
---
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.

Protected Area Update - April 2009

Dear Friends,
Pasted below is the list of contents and editorial from the new issue of the PA Update - Vol XV, No. 2, April 2009 (No. 78).
If you want to receive the details of any of the stories below or want to receive the entire Update as an email attachment do let me know. Also please do forward to other interested individuals and networks


Thanks
Pankaj Sekhsaria
(Editor, PA Update)
For Kalpavriksh
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PROTECTED AREA UPDATE
News and Information from protected areas in India and South Asia

Vol. XV No. 2
April 2009 (No.78)

LIST OF CONTENTS

EDITORIAL
Who will police the enforcement agencies?

NEWS FROM INDIAN STATES
ANDHRA PRADESH
Contour +3 fixed as boundary of Kolleru lake WLS

ARUNACHAL PRADESH
Conditions diluted for project that submerges part of Tale Valley WLS

ASSAM
Earth cutting continues at Deepor Beel WLS
MLAs enter Kaziranga NP illegally; attack forest staff
Kaziranga rhino poachers bribed police official, villagers

Nine tiger deaths in Kaziranga NP in 3 months
Kaziranga receives funds from Project Tiger
Kaziranga NP estimated to have 16 tigers per 100 sq. kms
Erosion threat to parts of Manas NP

GUJARAT
Dolphins, sea turtles killed in dynamite explosion in Gulf of Kutch MNP

Fire over 300 hectares of Gir

HARYANA
Area within five km radius of Sultanpur NP proposed as Eco-Sensitive Zone

HIMACHAL PRADESH
Over one lakh birds counted in Pong Dam WLS this season
Forest official caught poaching in Pong Dam WLS; now absconding
Protests against Dhauladhar WLS

JAMMU & KASHMIR
Radio collar for Asiatic black bear in Dachigam
Eight lakh migratory birds visit Kashmir
State submits annual plan under Project Snow Leopard

KARNATAKA
Study: Tiger population in Karnataka healthy and stable

Elephants, leopard found in areas adjoining Bannerghata NP

KERALA
Proposal for relocation of human settlements from Wayanad WLS

MADHYA PRADESH
Two tigresses, one each from Kanha and Bandavgarh TRs, moved to Panna TR
Six gharial deaths reported from National Chambal WLS

MAHARASHTRA
Deer from Powai park released in Tungareshwar WLS
Two tiger deaths in Tadoba Andhari TR in February
SC will not interfere in encroachment removal from Sanjay Gandhi NP

MANIPUR
Fire destroys over 60% of Keibul Lamjao NP; many Sangai feared dead
ORISSA
1572 crocodiles counted in Bhitarkanika NP
Huge turtle mortality in Gahirmatha
RAJASTHAN
Another tigress shifted to Sariska from Ranthambore
Planning Commission releases Rs. 56 crore for water pipeline for Keoladeo NP
ONGC plans for oil exploration in Desert NP hits a roadblock

UTTARAKHAND
State-of-the art technology to fight fires in Mussoorie Forest Division
Electric fences to prevent Rajaji NP elephants from entering villages
Rapid Action Team to protect tigers in Corbett NP
'Best Maintained Tourist Friendly Park' award for Corbett NP for 2007-08

WEST BENGAL
Invasive species threat to Sunderbans mangroves


NATIONAL NEWS FROM INDIA
Revival of National Coral Reef Research Institute mooted
No PA vehicles or staff for election duty
Major fires in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve
Special Tiger Protection Force in the offing
Pakshi Shree award for Dr. Ramana Athreya
Delhi High Court comes down heavily on MoEF and the NEAA
Workshop held on Social dimensions of Marine Protected Area implementation in India
70 birds in Chilika satellite tagged for study on Avian Influenza
WCCB launches website

SOUTH ASIA
NEPAL
14 gharials radio-tagged

INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Ninth COP meeting to Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species held

OPPORTUNITIES
Summer internship in Forest Canopy Research

UPCOMING
Symposium on Decentralization, Power and Tenure Rights of Forest-Dependent People
International Workshop on Preserving Mangrove Ecosystem Services
CSE announces one-month course on environmental management
World Ocean Conference 2009
International Course on ‘Education as a tool for species conservation with a focus on the tiger in India’
5th International Canopy Conference
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EDITORIAL

WHO WILL POLICE THE ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES?

There has been a clutch of stories in recent issues of the PA Update (including this one) that raise uncomfortable questions about the role of government agencies like the Forest Department (FD) and the Police. In Himachal Pradesh, for instance, a beat officer was alleged to have hunted birds in the Pong Dam Wildlife Sanctuary while in the Kaziranga National Park, arrested rhino poachers said that they had bribed a police official so that they could continue with their activities.
It might be argued that these are isolated events or then, just the behaviour of deviant individuals who cannot be stopped from abusing the power that the state vests in them and that the problem, therefore, does not necessarily lie in the system itself.
The reality, as we know, is much more complex than that. There are many in the field who will argue that the involvement of enforcement agencies, be it the Police or the FD, in malafide and corrupt practices like those mentioned above are much more common than we are willing to accept. Importantly, developments like this need to be seen in the context of loud and regular demands of more and better policing, more enforcement, more arms and more powers to enforcement agencies for protecting our wildlife. For those amongst us who believe that a move towards a police state or even a more policed state has the solutions to our problems this should come as a sobering softener. And one is not even getting into the innumerable cases of police excesses and human right violations that litter our landscape today.
The February 2009 issue of the PA Update, for instance, reported the acquittal of 14 fishermen who were arrested in 2006 for trespassing the boundaries of the Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary. The Orissa Forest Department (FD) had claimed in January 2006 that the fishermen were Bangladesh nationals, that they were fishing illegally in the waters of the sanctuary and that they had attacked patrolling staff. In the exchange of fire one of the intruders was killed and subsequently 14 others were also arrested. Enquiries and legal proceedings that followed revealed that the fishermen, firstly, were not Bangladeshi but residents of Kakdweep from West Bengal and that indeed they were not guilty at all. Three years later the local court pronounced them innocent and all those arrested were acquitted.
There are many questions that inevitably arise. Was it the failure of the Police and the FD to convince the court, or is the acquittal symptomatic of the problems with our judicial system? More fundamentally, were the accused really guilty of trespassing in the first place? How does one explaining the killing of one of the fishermen? Was the entire operation a frame-up by the enforcement agencies?
We also reported last time of a rather bizarre development in Madhya Pradesh where the Forest Department and the Police are accusing each other of neglecting their duties of tiger protection in the Kanha Tiger Reserve. In a letter to the National Tiger Conservation Authority in December 2008, the Kanha Director listed a number of concerns related to the working of the police: interference in the booking of forest rest houses inside the tiger reserve; not providing information about investigations into tiger poaching incidents; and even that the police seemed more interested in getting rewards for skins seized from poachers. He also expressed apprehension that informers used by the police to fight naxalism in the region might actually be directly involved in cases of poaching.
There are many other cases where NGOs or vigilance agencies within the government have exposed cases of serious negligence and corruption in the FD. The culpability of the FD in hiding the truth about tiger numbers in Sariska and Panna TRs till it was no longer possible to hide it is also well known.
Larger and very important issues arise from all this. Can conservation succeed if the agencies responsible for it fail in such a manner? How realistic is it in a situation like this to expect local communities to trust enforcement agencies, leave alone co-operate with them? Is the larger wildlife conservation community's overarching faith and trust in the apparatus of the state fully justified?
This is not a call for doing away with enforcement or the agencies themselves, but to remind ourselves that policing and force can only be one component of a bouquet of steps that are taken to deal with a problem. Lack of transparency or accountability has become the hallmark of the operations of our agencies and this is a systemic flaw that needs immediate attention. Agencies with power have to operate with additional responsibility, both, to avoid misuse and also to ensure that the citizens maintain their faith. The edifice of conservation can only be built on a foundation of mutual trust and respect and we don't seem anywhere close to reaching it.

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PROTECTED AREA UPDATE
Vol. XV, No. 2, April 2009 (No. 78)
EDITOR: Pankaj Sekhsaria
EDITORIAL ASSISTANCE: Wrutuja Pardeshi
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 78 has been supported by Foundation for Ecological Security (FES), Anand.

Protected Area Update - Vol XV, No. 1, February 2009, (No. 77)

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

Vol. XV No. 1
February 2009 (No.77)

LIST OF CONTENTS
EDITORIAL
A departure too soon (Remembering Dr. Ravi Sankaran)

NEWS FROM INDIAN STATES

ANDHRA PRADESH
Tribals engaged to protect Kawal WLS
Study finds Pulicat under severe threat

ASSAM
Seismic survey in Brahmaputra riverbed opposed; impact on Gangetic dolphin feared
Winter apparel donated to Kaziranga NP staff
Militants lay siege on anti-poaching camp in Kaziranga NP
Kaziranga elephants on rampage in Kaliabor area
Over 100 rhino deaths in Kaziranga in 2008

HIMACHAL PRADESH
Diesel engine steamer boats causing noise pollution in Pong Dam Bird

FD to set up 9 van thanas; forest officials to get powers to arrest
FD to lease out guesthouses, sites for tourism
Breeding projects for endangered species

JHARKHAND
Team reviews tusker safety at Dalma WLS

KARNATAKA
The Greater Talacauvery Wildlife Sanctuary proposal opposed

KERALA
Forum for wetland protection by 2009

MADHYA PRADESH
Two tigresses to be translocated from Bandavgarh to Panna TR
Cops allegedly involved in tiger poaching at Kanha TR
Tourists taken into Kanha NP at night to see gaur killed by tiger
NTCA opposes highway widening project at Pench TR

Gaur translocation plans stalled following NTCA opposition

MAHARASHTRA
RFO posts lie vacant in Tadoba-Andhari TR
Coal mining leases in vicinity of Tadoba Andhari
Govt. admits that wrong tiger was killed as man-eater in Tadoba in 2007
Sanjay Gandhi NP seeks more lions for safari

Three leopard safaris for state

MEGHALAYA
Mining stopped near Balpakhram NP

ORISSA
Tourists flock to Satkosia
14 fishermen held for entering Gahirmatha marine sanctuary acquitted
Poachers employ minors to hunt migratory birds at Chilika

Over one lakh birds counted at Bhitarkanika this season
Poachers injure Bhitarkanika forest guard
Meeting held to discuss conservation and livelihood issues of Simlipal BR

RAJASTHAN
No tigress for Sariska from Ranthambhore NP

TAMIL NADU
Directory of environmentalists released
Rs Two crore for Project Tiger in TN
Huge protest against Mudumalai CTH

TRIPURA
Confusion over wildlife reserve proposal; locals fear massive displacement

UTTARAKHAND
FD again sends back Army’s proposal for land to replace Raiwala depot
Elephant population in state down by 250

UTTAR PRADESH
Efforts to protect Gangetic River dolphins
263 ghariyals to be released into the wild from Kukrail

WEST BENGAL
Mobile veterinary service for North Bengal wildlife
Proposal for new rail line to avoid elephant deaths in Dooars

FD, villagers trade charges over tiger attacks in Sunderbans

NATIONAL NEWS FROM INDIA
Central Assistance for relocation for villages from Tiger Reserves
Sanctuary Wildlife Awards 2008
Dr. Aparajita Datta selected for the 2009 Women of Discovery Award
Dog squad to sniff out illegal wildlife trade

110 tigers dead in last six years
India Biodiversity portal launched

SOUTH ASIA
Bhutan
-Steps proposed to deal with farmer-wildlife conflict

Wangchuk Centenary Park inaugurated

INTERNATIONAL NEWS
International Police Group to Tackle Wildlife Trafficking Crime Syndicates

OPPORTUNITIES
Call for proposals for conservation projects in the Western Ghats
Openings at the BNHS

UPCOMING
National Symposium on Prosopis
International seminar on Protected Area Management

EDITORIAL

A DEPARTURE TOO SOON

It was just as we were finalizing this issue of the PA Update, we got the shattering news that Dr. Ravi Sankaran had passed away after suffering a massive heart attack on January 17. It was difficult to believe at first, but as the news sank in, there was only a sense of huge sadness and deep loss. In his sudden demise the world of conservation has lost one of its most passionate, dedicated and innovative advocates.

His work on floricans, his studies of the Nicobari Megapode and Edible Nest Swiftlet in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands and analysis of the impact of the earthquake and tsunami of December 2004 on the ecology of the islands were path breaking. He tirelessly argued to allow ranching of the nest of the Edible Nest Swiftlet in the islands as a new paradigm for conservation that ensured people’s participation and also got them economic benefits. He was working on an ambitious project in Nagaland to build up the capacities of local communities and set up institutions to protect the forests and wildlife there, and more recently he had also taken over as Director of the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Nature (SACON), the institution he was associated with for a long time and deeply committed to as well.
We all have to make our departure, but when someone leaves at the very prime of his life and career, leaves so suddenly and particularly when that man is Ravi Sankaran, there can only be a vacuum. With Ravi around there was never a dull moment. He was gregarious and full of curiosity, fun and laughter. He pushed many boundaries and his great skill and capacity lay in the fact that he encouraged and showed many others how they should and could push their own limits. His was an unique personality, one that seamlessly harmonized innumerable polarities: unbearable, yet endearing at the same time; sharply critical and yet fully understanding of the same issue; quick to notice an error and quicker to admit to one of his own; challenging and inspiring; wickedly witty and deeply deeply compassionate.
Many of us in Kalpavriksh had the chance of knowing him, working with him, of being influenced by him and hopefully, of influencing him a bit as well. Many knew him personally and others knew him in more professional contexts like when he joined a workshop on community conservation in Nagaland that we had organized three years ago. We are all rich for those experiences, and poorer now that there will be no more such occasions.
Like many others I too feel immensely privileged and fortunate that I could consider Ravi a friend. I first met him nearly a decade ago, and in the years that have followed had many priceless opportunities of spending time with him in the field, particularly in the Andaman Islands. As I write this, there is an endless string of memories and images that flash by – the aristocratic élan which he smoked his pipe with; that warm hug at Chennai airport when we were meeting after a long time; sharing a meal with him and his field staff in the islands; his long pony tail, those many discussions and the many disagreements…and yes, that comment about the PA Update too. It was, if I remember right, a couple of years ago when I asked him if he thought the PA Update was useful and relevant. “Hey, stop sending it to me,” he said dismissively and without batting an eyelid, “I don’t read it anyway.” He then mumbled something to the effect that it might actually be an useful thing and I must continue working on it. Provocative, challenging, irreverent, and incisively brilliant– Ravi was all this and much more. He was a master in delivering the unexpected; in leaving people dumbfounded and groping for answers. On January 17th, he did it again; the only difference this time being that we’ll be groping much longer and he won’t even be there to help us out.
Many who read this will have their own memories and thoughts of Ravi. Please share these with us and we’d like to share it with all the others in the forthcoming issues of the PA Update. It might help us all deal with an immeasurable loss. The loss that his family feels cannot, perhaps, even be fathomed and we offer them our deepest condolences.

- Pankaj Sekhsaria

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PROTECTED AREA UPDATE
Vol. XV, No. 1, February 2009 (No. 77)

Editor: Pankaj Sekhsaria
Editorial Assistance: Wrutuja Pardeshi
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 77 has been supported by Foundation for Ecological Security (FES), Anand.