Images of the Monsoons

For the drama and colour of the South West Monsoons ...

Monsoon clouds over the islands of the Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park, Andaman Islands

River Aghanashini under an overcast sky as viewed from the crest of the Western Ghats,
Uttara Kannada District, Karnataka

Paddy field, Uttar Kannada district, Karnataka

Rain drops collect on a spider's web, Mt. Harriet National Park, Andaman Islands

Rain from the window, Wandoor, Andaman Islands

Celebrate the monsoon

Celebrate the monsoon
PANKAJ SEKHSARIA
http://www.hindu.com/mag/2008/06/15/stories/2008061550310700.htm

It’s June. The winds of the South West Monsoon bring with them water, hope and life.

clouds gather: Soon brown, barren landscapes turn into a riot of colours. This is the month of June and the time for one of the most important annual events in the calendar of the Indian subcontinent. The winds of the South West Monsoons have started their journey, sweeping across a parched and thirsting landscape bringing with them water, hope and life. If there is one single thing that has defined the subcontinent since historical, even mythological times, it is this monsoon. It’s there in everything about the people here — in the songs and the music, in their poetry and literature, in the paintings of the masters, in the stories and folk tales of communities across, in expressions of love and longing and even cinema of every language and style. It is the bedrock of its food security, of the very survival of the land and its people.

This monsoon is one and yet it is many at the same time.

When it hits the western coast of India, generally in the first week of June, the summer is just about tightening its grip on large parts of western and northern India. It could be pouring in the thickly forested mountains of the Western Ghats and we might have parallel reports of a heat wave and related deaths from other parts. By the time the pied crested cuckoo’s arrival heralds the coming of rain-bearing clouds to the scorching Gangetic plains, there is a good chance that the Brahmaputra is already in spate, flooding large parts of the North East and bringing death and destruction in its wake.

Annual event

The monsoon has a character with many facets. It remains an event that is waited for when it’s not there, loved and enjoyed when it makes its appearance and even feared when it sets in and then refuses to relent. It’s varied and complex and reveals its processes and trajectories with difficulty, if it does at all. The rainforests depend on it to be rainforests, rivers depend on it to be rivers and its behaviour and idiosyncrasies decide the fate of a billion people and more.

In a season of rising inflation, rising oil and grain prices, and rising food and water scarcity it seems like a humbling moment (at least it should be) when the all powerful ministers and technocrats point to the met office’s prediction of a normal rainfall to promise the nation that things will be better soon. It is to regain a moment of sanity to realise that it is the most basic things that we take for granted the most; that the GDP and all its paraphernalia is after all, a child of something so fundamental that there is no option but to acknowledge it; that without rains, without water and food for its people dreams of being a superpower will remain dreams and no more.

Summer this year appears to have been relatively better than others in the recent past, but even then, large parts of the subcontinent, be it the region of Bundelkhand in Madhya Pradesh, the tribal tracts of eastern India, the coasts of Andhra or the forests of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh — these have all, in the last few weeks, experienced severe stress and acute water shortages. The Gujjars are agitating (and dying) in hot and dusty Rajasthan to meet their political goals; families don’t want to marry their daughters into Bundelkhand because of the severe water shortage; women from many villages in Andhra Pradesh’s Srikakulam district are forced to walk many kilometres daily to get a pot of water; fires are raging across forests in the Shivaliks; and elephants and other wild animals in Orissa moving out of forests in search of water are falling prey to the poachers… the summer of 2008 has had its share of conflicts and depressing stories. There will be many more and one could go on.

Is there a way?

In times such as these there appears to be little that one can do. Except, of course, hope that time passes quickly and the rains oblige. Water is too basic a need and therefore, becomes too powerful an emotional issue. This is an emotion that, we all know, is exploited all the time for all kinds of political, financial and personal agendas.

The agendas are met, the genuine needs of water, often, are not. Proof of this reality is not really needed, but if it was, what would be a better example than the grandiose scheme of river linking that dangles like a sword upon the people and the landscape of this country. Few have an idea of what the impact will be on agriculture, hydrology, the people and the ecology. It is doubtful, though, that these will ever be considered.

For the moment, however, we will let it be. For the moment, we’ll make a departure. As life pours down in large parts of the country, the conflicts, the fear, and the anger can be hid behind misty curtains. The rains are here. The multiple hues of the brown, barren landscapes are turning into multiple rejuvenations. The green is beginning to sprout, there is a freshness in the air and in it all, the promise of life. This is the season that celebrates life, and so be it!

And grandmas’ advice to carry the umbrella the day the met office says the skies will be clear is best heeded and respected. Science and technology has not yet taken us there.

Tuna: business plans for vanishing fish?

Tuna: business plans for vanishing fish?

HINDU SURVEY OF THE ENVIRONMENT 2008


The Andaman and Nicobar islands are proposed to be made the hub of a thriving tuna fisheries industry. Without a sustainable approach, though, it will seriously deplete fish stocks and harm marine biodiversity, says Manak Matiyani (Email: manakmatiyani@gmail.com)

"The Zonal Director, Fishery Survey of India (FSI), based on their field experience clarified that there will not be any environmental impact by promoting tuna fishing in the islands."

--Minutes of stakeholders meeting to discuss tuna fishing in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands held on March 10, 2008.

On January 6, 2008, the Minister of State for Commerce, Mr. Jairam Ramesh released the first draft of the plans for expansion of tuna fishing in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands. The Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) is spearheading the plans to develop packaging and processing plants and landing centres in Port Blair so that the fish caught by trawlers can be landed, marketed and exported directly from the islands. The proposal met with opposition from various fisheries associations and the Human Rights Law Network in Port Blair when it was publicly announced, on grounds of loss of livelihood of local fishing communities and harm to the environment, marine mammals and birds.

There is a sense of urgency behind the plans, which is attributed to the migratory nature of tuna and its export value. The current project is being promoted on the assumption that if we do not catch the tuna here, it will be caught by other nations elsewhere. Fishing grounds the world over are facing stock depletion and these waters are perhaps some of the few remaining sites where, reportedly, stocks still abound. Rather than mutual cooperation to promote long term sustainable fishing in South East Asia, the driving force here is competition between coastal nations that will lead to precipitous decline of fish stock.

The Andaman and Nicobar islands have a rich biodiversity and ecological wealth protected by the isolation of these fragile ecosystems. Any development project must take into account possible impact on the environment. The government's attitude here is purely profit-oriented and seems to show little concern for the environment. By declaring that "there will not be any impact" the government has done away with the need for any studies or assessments to support this claim. The soft steps taken to appease the fishermen will prove to be further damaging to the environment without giving any real opportunity for growth.

The geography of the islands is such that fishermen need not go too far into deep water seas to find tuna and tuna-like species. By asking the government to not grant permission to outside vessels within 24 miles, the local fishermen wish to harvest the potential of those waters themselves through a "fishing corporation" that would operate long liners close to shore. This was considered by the administration along with loan schemes for procurement of more boats. It was decided that outside vessels would be permitted to fish only beyond 24 nautical miles from the islands. The FSI has stated that in the islands, tuna fishing operations can be conducted economically only during three to four months of the year. There is no guarantee therefore, that a new fishing corporation will not meet the same fate as the previous Rubber Board and Forest Corporation that created ecological disasters in the islands and also became financial liabilities due to heavy losses. What is needed instead is to promote diverse small scale fishing operations which allow replenishment of stocks without causing irreparable harm to the environment.

The administrative position is that they cannot control vessels operating beyond 24 nautical miles. The permissions being given then are only for landing, processing and exporting from the islands. In stating so, they are conveniently avoiding the task of regulating and monitoring the operations.

Increased traffic in these waters will have a damaging effect in the long run. Pollution and dumping in the sea, activities that are currently unregulated, will increase dramatically. The mortality of animals such as the dugong, dolphins, birds and various species of turtles that come to nest on these islands due to entanglement in monofilament lines is also likely to rise. It is interesting that certain areas of the United States have effective systems for proper collection and disposal of discarded monofilament lines so that they do not become environment hazards. All over the world there are companies that catch and package certified "Dolphin Safe Tuna" but no such conditions have been included in the proposed plan. The FSI, in fact, has said that they only have "negligible shark by-catch" and the threat to other species such as dolphins, dugongs and turtles, all protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife Act, has not been considered.

The capacity of the Coast Guard to monitor the waters around the islands is obviously inadequate. The Director of Fisheries has admitted that it is impossible for the department to monitor the waters effectively. Local fishermen report regular poaching of sea cucumbers, turtles and even dolphins by Indian and foreign vessels around the islands. With increased activity and no strong monitoring agency in place, poachers will find it easy to operate. The months during which the operators would be in these waters are not specified in the plan. If tuna fishing can be conducted economically in only three or four months, the case for maintaining a year round presence around the islands becomes weak, and the motives questionable.

The long term impacts of the proposal are not being considered in the face of likely short term gains and no party is interested in conducting an impact assessment. The government has already given the go ahead to the tuna fisheries plans by allowing two private companies to commence operations. The latest development in the sector, however, is most curious. According to two reports published in The Hindu in March 2008, while the Fisheries Department has made an allocation of Rs.1.5 crores specifically for the development of tuna fisheries, a lot of operators have ceased operations in the Bay of Bengal due to losses as there is no tuna available.

Clearly, we need to evaluate afresh the plans that appear to be failing even before they have taken off. Without proper surveys, environmental studies, or assessments, we seem to be heading towards not just an ecological disaster, but a financial one as well.

Protected Area Update - New Issue, June 2008

Dear FriendsPosted below are the list of contents and the edit of the new issue of the Protected Area Update. If you want to receive any of these stories or the entire newsletter in a soft copy version, please do write to me.
Pankaj
psekhsaria@gmail.com

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

Vol. XIV No. 3
June 2008 (No. 73)

LIST OF CONTENTS
EDITORIAL
An enduring vibrancy

NEWS FROM INDIAN STATES

ANDHRA PRADESH
Meeting on wildlife training in Tirupati

ASSAM
Radio link between forest and railway officials to protect elephants
Wildlife sanctuary proposed near Jatinga
Seven hectares of Amchang WLS for NH 37 under East West Corridor Project
Pygmy hogs to be released in Sonai Rupai WLS

Tourism festival at Chakrashila WLS
CBI to probe rhino poaching cases in Assam

GUJARAT
Gir Wildlife Sanctuary to be expanded
Wildlife Crime Cell begins work
Rs. 830 crore proposal for ‘development’ of forests

JAMMU & KASHMIR
CRPF personnel given wildlife related training in Dachigam NP

JHARKHAND
Local women, ex-servicemen for protection of Betla NP

KERALA
Suspected viral infection kills wild elephants in Waynad forests
State wetlands to be mapped
Air Deccan and Kerala FD to promote Periyar TR

LAKSHADWEEP
Marine Conservation Reserve in Agatti

MADHYA PRADESH
Gaur to be translocated from Kanha NP to the Bandavgarh NP

Tourism development plans in Madhya Pradesh
Kanha guides threaten to strike work
MAHARASHTRA
Protected Area status proposed for Sewree-Mahul Wetlands
Illicit liquor dens in Sanjay Gandhi NP may be responsible for leopard deaths
SC allows eviction from Sanjay Gandhi NP
Bhorkada (Bhorgad) Conservation Reserve in Nashik District
Proposal for Muniya Conservation Reserve 15 kms from Nagpur
Villagers inside Tadoba Andhari threaten mass suicide if forced to relocate

MEGHALAYA
Nokrek BR nominated for UNESCO Biosphere Reserve program

ORISSA
Demand for new tiger reserve, six new wildlife sanctuaries

Two elephants electrocuted near Badrama WLS
Steps to increase forest protection
Water shortage threatens elephants, other wildlife
Increased salinity threatens Bhitarkanika mangroves
Villagers around Bhitarkanika NP allegedly harassed
Crocodile attacks in and around Bhitarkanika NP
Ferry ghats in Bhitarkanika sealed to prevent poaching, intrusion

RAJASTHAN
Water, fodder scarcity in Tal Chappar WLS

TAMIL NADU
Artificial salt licks for de-worming wildlife in Coimbatore Division
Coral diseases to be investigated in the Gulf of Mannar BR

UTTARAKHAND
Bamboo cover being increased to reduce human-elephant conflict in Shivaliks
Now, weekly off for domestic elephants in Corbett
Fires affect Corbett TR, Rajaji NP
Van Gujjars allowed passage to Govind Pashu Vihar National Park
Delhi Dehradun highway through Rajaji NP to have six lanes
Peacock deaths in close vicinity of Rajaji NP

WEST BENGAL
Restrictions on tourism establishments around forests, PAs

NATIONAL NEWS FROM INDIA
Privilege motion against forest secretary
2007-08 funds allocations for conservation in North Eastern States
Total number of wildlife sanctuaries and national parks in India

SOUTH ASIA

BHUTAN
Tiger presence in Jigme Dorji NP overlaps with snow leopard habitat
NEPAL
Vulture breeding centre set up in Chitwan
OPPORTUNITIES
ATREE Small Grants Programme
For implementing watershed and livelihood projects in Samrakshan’s MP office

UPCOMING
World Conservation Congress

IN THE SUPREME COURT

FUNDS RELEASED UNDER PROJECT TIGER

Forest occupancy and population estimates of tiger as per the refined methodology

EDITORIAL
AN ENDURING VIBRANCY

That wildlife conservation and protection is low down in the list of priorities for the country in general and the political class in particular is a well known and well accepted fact. Though the community of those interested in conservation is small, funds and resources are always a problem, support is minimum and even those who support the idea of conservation often disagree with each other vehemently, those who follow the fate of conservation will willingly point to the enthusiasm of the conservation movement here. In spite of the bleak prospects and endless trouble there can be no denying that there is an enduring vibrancy to conservation efforts being made across the length and breadth of the landscape.
A cross section of the news reports in this issue of the PA Update is perhaps a good indicator of this interest and the eagerness. In Assam the critically endangered pygmy hog is being given a new lease of life in an important and path breaking captive breeding and re-introduction initiative. In Jammu & Kashmir the Forest Department has taken up a program with the Central Reserve Police Force to sensitise troops stationed inside the Dachigam National Park, while authorities in the Betla National Park are, for the first time, involving local women in the protection of the forests in the area. In Lakshadweep and in Maharashtra researchers and NGOs have worked with the local communities to create conservation reserves in line with newer thinking on protected area creation and management and in other parts of the country, be it Orissa, Assam or Maharashtra, there are more proposals for setting aside areas for the benefit of wildlife.
This is not to say that the problems are not there. Poaching, habitat destruction, encroachment, ingress of roads and other infrastructure projects, diversion for commercial and industrial activities…the list is long and one can go on. Also the fact that in India we still cling to the ways of the past; still invoke the legacy of a long gone Prime Minister to argue for conservation in a politically, socially and economically new India; that we continue to show huge reluctance to learn from other experiences from around the world, of new methods and practices of co-managing along with communities; devolving power and ensuring stake and participation of a larger numbers of those negatively affected by the present exclusionary paradigm of conservation.
Even the initiatives mentioned above might have their own problems but in concentrating only on what’s not right, we often tend to neglect and undervalue all the good intentions and the many efforts that are continually being made. Not to acknowledge these would be unfair because the picture that gets created then is only an incomplete one. These are as real as the problems and the threats faced by our wildlife and their habitats and it is as important to oppose and fight the threats as it is to recognize and support the initiatives and the successes.
There is a vibrancy to the conservation efforts here and it’s only right that they be given their due.

PROTECTED AREA UPDATE
Vol. XIV, No. 3, June 2008 (No. 73)
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 72 has been supported by Foundation for Ecological Security (FES), Anand.

Whom are the roads for?

Dear friends,

Attached are a couple of vivid pictures of how available roadspace gets used -- by pedestrians, public and private vehicles.

Those who use public transport such as buses, suburban railways and occasionally, rickshaws and taxis are also pedestrians, because everyday, they walk to the bus-stop, the railway station etc. But those of us who own our own car walk the least... and we take up maximum space.

LET US ASK: Whose space do we take up? Do we own this space?

LET US THINK: Our cars continue to take up space on roads and in building compounds even when they are parked, empty and unoccupied... which is for about 21 hours out of 24.

LET US INTROSPECT: Do we really need to own cars? Do we need this kind of outward show of prosperity, which impoverishes society and robs the common man of his public spaces?

We say hawkers, squatters and encroachers steal public spaces... and they do. But don't we? For most of these people, encroaching on public spaces is a matter of livelihood and survival.

But for people like us who own cars, taking up scarce public land is a matter of privilege. We consider the luxury of constantly taking up a 8x10 ft. space a birthright.

LET US BE HONEST: A majority of us don't own a garage or our own exclusive compound. For parking, we take up scarce space in our building compound, which is actually the commonwealth of all our neighbours, young and old. Compound space is for children to play in, and for folks of all ages to walk about, meet up and enjoy recreation. Open space is beautiful in itself.

Many of us don't even have parking space in a building compound, and for most of the day, we leave our cars parked on roadsides and pavements, which are the shared wealth of all our fellow-citizens. Our parked cars reduce the effective width of the road, and they often force pedestrians to walk in the middle of the road, rather than on the sides where they are safe.

The right to walk safely and in comfort in our city is a BIRTHRIGHT.

The right to own and drive a car is not a birthright... it is an ACQUIRED RIGHT, a legal right, which is conditional on our not obstructing the birthright of others.

The right to occupy public space with a parked car is not a birthright... it is an undesirable extension of the right to own and drive a car. It is a LEGALIZED, SOCIALLY-ACCEPTED THEFT, a collective aberration that must be stampled out like untouchability and dowry.

LET US SPEAK OUT: I am ashamed of the theft of space that I commit all the time by virtue of being a car-owner. I am ashamed that I deprive citizens -- especially women, children and seniors -- of their rightful spaces on roads and roadsides when I go out, and in my building compound where I park my car for most of the day.

Are you?

Warm Regards,

Krishnaraj Rao

Spokesman

Sahasi Padyatri

98215 88114
Email: sahasipadyatri@gmail.com

Candles lit for Ratan Tata, 70,000 ask him to save Orissa's turtles

20 May 2008
Candles lit for Ratan Tata, 70,000 ask him to save Orissa's turtles

Mumbai, India ­ Over thirty Mumbaikars, Greenpeace volunteers all, tonight lit thousands of candles on the rocks in front of Bakhtawar, Colaba, asking the building’s most famous resident, Mr. Ratan Tata, to shift his company’s upcoming port project from Dhamra in Orissa in order to save the endangered olive ridley sea turtles. The Dhamra port is being built close to the Gahirmatha beach, one of the world’s largest nesting grounds for the species.

The candles symbolized the growing number (70,000 at last count) of Indians who have written to Mr. Tata asking him to relocate the port and not the turtles (1). So far there has been no response from Mr. Tata to this outpouring of public sentiment against the TATA port.

“Mr. Tata has the reputation of a reasonable man who cares for our environment”, said Titus Jebaraj, Greenpeace volunteer, as he lit candles on the sea face. “People have been asking him for several years now to look for an alternative to this destructive port, in the interests of protecting one of the world’s last mass nesting grounds for this enigmatic and peaceful creature, which has been around for millions more years than the TATAs have!”

The Dhamra port is coming up less than 5 km. from the Bhitarkanika Sanctuary (India’s second largest mangrove forest and home to the saltwater crocodile) and less than 15 km. from the nesting beaches of the Gahirmatha Sanctuary. Conservationists and researchers have consistently raised concerns about the port’s impacts on the ecology since it was first proposed in the 1990s.

Mired in controversy, the Dhamra Port area has been denied protection twice now, compromising the local environment and the Olive Ridley Turtles. Existing evidence has proved beyond doubt that turtles inhabit the off-shore waters, while the port site itself has thrown up records of rare species (2).

More recently, international banking giant BNP Paribas has confirmed to Greenpeace that it is no longer refinancing a part of the Dhamra Port. This announcement came after the bank had commissioned an unnamed independent expert to look into environmental and social aspects concerning the project. Greenpeace had advised BNP Paribas that involvement in this project would not be in keeping with the Precautionary Approach, as the environmental and social assessment was not up to international standards (3).

“Scientists are opposed to the port, conservationists are against it, international lending institutions clearly want to protect their reputations, and now thousands of Indians – TATA customers most of them – are asking Mr. Tata to place the survival of this species above increasing TATA profits. What will it take for him to listen?,” asked Ashish Fernandes, Oceans Campaigner with Greenpeace.

Close to 70,000 people have now written to Mr. Tata via a cyber action at www.greenpeace.org/india/turtles The letter campaign comes on the heels of over 100 international scientists and turtle researchers expressing their opposition to the port. A number of Indian organizations, including the Wildlife Protection Society of Orissa and the Wildlife Society of Orissa, are also asking Mr. Tata to respect the turtles’ breeding and nesting habitat and find alternatives to the port’s current location.

http://indianwildlifereckoner.blogspot.com/2008/05/candles-lit-for-ratan-tata-70000-ask.html
http://www.greenpeace.org/india/news/candles-lit-for-ratan-tata-th

The Bangalore Exhibition

This is how the Bangalore exhibition looked