Birds avoid dry Keoladeo sanctuary

BHARATPUR: The green cover at the Keoladeo National Park after the recent short spell of rain is alluring but it cannot get more deceptive than this - the famed bird sanctuary is devoid of its life line, the winged guests.
All one gets to see in the park are a few birds, most of them only the local species. Among the monsoonal birds, only a handful of openbill storks are seen - small colonies of these birds nestled on a couple of trees, in a small portion of the park.

The beauty of the winged visitors at the Unesco's world heritage site begins and ends there. Even these few birds are likely to fly away soon, the reason being shortage of water in the park.

There is little hope that the monsoonal birds, which normally arrive in the park by July-August , will been seen this time too. Forest officials and bird watchers believe that unless immediate arrangements for water are made, no monsoon birds would be breeding in the park. The minimum requirement of water at the park is 500 MCFT (million cubic feet) annually, but all that it has got this season till now is less than 50 MCFT.

Since, the water bodies in the park are completely dry. the winged visitors avoided the park.
Recent spells of rain have ensured a little more than five feet of water in the nearby Ajam dam.

However, only after the level crosses about eight feet, the water would spill over into the artificial ponds and lakes in the park. Despite it being the monsoon season, the only source of water for the birds in the sanctuary are the 11 bore wells across the forest area. However, the amount of water pumped out is far from enough.
"The situation is almost like in 2009 when the open-bill storks and other birds have had to abandon their nests and eggs, which later became food for snakes and monkeys .

This year, though a few birds have started nesting, breeding has not yet begun. Unless a miracle happens, other breeding birds might not even be visiting the sanctuary ,'' an official said. The release of water from the Panchna Dam in Karauli district in August 2010, had brought in a new lease of life for the bird sanctuary.

A tigress and three tigers missing from Ranthambore

JAIPUR: Three tigers and one tigress are reportedly missing from the Ranthambore national park and are untraceable for the last few months.

"One tiger is untraceable since December last year and the others are missing since February this year. They do not have radio collars and our effort to trace them is on," Principal Chief Conservator of Forest and Chief Wildlife warden U M Sahai said.

No signs of territorial fight have been detected yet and the teams of forest department are making efforts to locate them, he added.

"In monsoon season, tracking big cats becomes difficult. They are missing for months even then it would be too early to anticipate that they are dead because it (missing) happens many times due to various reasons," Deputy Conservator of Forest- Ranthambore Y K Sahu said.

"No dead body has been found yet," he said. "We are hopeful that they would be traced after monsoon gets over. Tigers T21, T29, T40 and tigress T27 are missing," Sahu said, adding, there are more than 40 tigers, tigresses and cubs (in all) in Ranthambore.

The famous Ranthambore national park is located in Sawaimadhopur district, 130 kms from here in Rajasthan.

Role of Eco Task Force in Restoration of Degraded Ridge Ecosystem ‘The Bhatti Mines’ Delhi

Located in southeastern part of southern ridge in Aravalli valley bridging the two states Delhi & Haryana, Bhatti mines was a home to many wild animals and native flora of Aravalli ranges till  1900 AD. But due to  over expansion of Delhi it lost its wilderness in the process of urbanization in NCR. Over use of land specially for mining in the area made it lifeless with respect to its original natural glory which continued for many decades before the Territorial Army or Eco Battalion officially took over it from Delhi govt. in 2001.

Eco task force at Bhatti Mines, New Delhi

  E.T.F. also took nearly 4 years to permanently stop all illegal mining work and restore its original glory as a wildlife sanctuary in its approximately 4000 acres of land.

Today E.T.F has completely transformed   this ecologically degraded ecosystem into a very lively ridge ecosystem through   sustainable developments in the area by the plantation  of species of trees native  to Aravallli like Butea monosperma, Salvadora, P.cineraria, A. nilotica , Anogeissus pendula etc. 

Butea monosperma in Bhatti Mines 

The depressions formed due to mining were used as water bodies there are 36  such water bodies.today. Many small to big check dams were  constructed in the area where ever there was a natural water fall   and man made or natural depressions were present as a result water table came up. In the year 2011 there was indeed good rainfall so all the water bodies filled up uplifting and restoring the water table in the area. Today because of this effort of E.T.F. the faunal diversity has started blooming and over 100 species of birds can be sighted here including many migratory species ( Winter & Summer) like Green Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Crested Pied Cuckoos, Eurasian Golden Oriole etc other than many rare and resident species like Sirkeer Malkoha, Jungle Bush Quail, Barred Button Quail, Eurasian Eagle Owl, Eurasian Thick Knees and  recently photographed Painted Sandgrouses etc. Many species of butterflies like Blue, Plain and Striped Tigers, Pansies, Blues etc.Many reptiles like Monitor lizards, Sand and Garden Lizards ,Cobras, Kraits and recent addition of Saw scaled Viper are such  examples of the sustainable development and its restoration. 

 Painted sandgrouses-Pair seen in Bhatti mines

Among mammals are the 3 species of Mongoose, Indian Crested Porcupines, Golden Jackal,Bluebulls,Black Napped Hare and a pack of Striped Hyena are the latest additions in the list as the topmost occupants of the food chain  are breeding in Bhatti Mines.

MAMATA BANERJEE VISITS SANCTUARY IN WEST BENGAL

SUKNA (WB): West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee visited Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary, a day before signing of the tripartite agreement on the contentious Darjeeling issue. 


The locals entertained her with tea and told her about problems they face in the forest during her one-hour stay. 

Banerjee was presented 'khada', a silk scarf for ceremonial occasions, by the locals. 

The chief minister was accompanied by Trinamool leader and Union minister Mukul Ray and some journalists.


Coincidentally this place is also the site of numerous elephant accidents on train tracks.This 168-km stretch between Alipurduar and Asansol, on an average, takes the toll of five elephants every year and injures scores of other animals. In September last year, seven elephants were mowed down in an incident at this site. In another incident in November, a 10-ft tall n adult tusker was fatally wounded by a goods train in the Mahananda wildlife sanctuary between Gulma and Sevoke. 


Naturist organizations and environmentalist have requested the Railways and departments concerned to stop running trains on this track during night hours and double the line (that passes through Jalpaiguri and Falakata) to minimize traffic on the Dooars track. "We suggested that if the trains run on a track parallel to this line, the conflict would minimize. But the Railways refused citing the reason that that the parallel line will not be able to take the load of trains that runs to and from Guwahati," said Animesh Basu, coordinator of Himalayan Nature and Adventure Foundation.

"The most tragic part of this is that the political parties are very much indifferent to the issue as the victims are not voters," he added.

Meanwhile, the forest department has started an extensive search operation in the adjacent areas to trace if any other elephant of the herd was injured on Saturday night. They have lodged a complaint with the Banerhat police station.

The rail line through the Dooars might have proved a boon for the area residents, but it has turned to be a curse for the wild lives. When this track was being converted into broad gauge in 2002, nature lovers had protested. The WWF had also filed a case in the Calcutta high court. But the court had given the permission and asked the railways to follow certain directives so that the line did not prove fatal for the animals. But the norms are hardly followed. 

NTCA TO STUDY ADANI IMPACT ON NAGJIRA WILDLIFE SANCTUARY

NAGPUR: The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), a statutory body under the ministry of environment and forest monitoring tiger reserves in the country, will study adverse impact onNagzira wildlife sanctuary with the diversion of 163.84 hectares forest land for Adani power project in Tiroda in Gondia district. 

A proposal for diversion of 163.84 hectares of forest land in Garadi village for establishment of 1980 MW coal-fired power plant at MIDC Tiroda is under consideration of the MoEF. The Adani Power Maharashtra Limited (APML) plant falls within 10 km of the forest land proposed for diversion and hence the study. 

NTCA sources told TOI that the Authority had on July 1 written to three leading institutes in India to quote rates to take up the study. They are National Environment Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Nagpur; Pollution Control Research Institute (PCRI), Haridwar; and Environment Protection and Training Research Institute (EPTRI), Hyderabad. 

"NTCA proposes to study adverse impact of gaseous and particulate emissions and additional thermal load from the proposed power plant on the flora and fauna in 152 sq km Nagzira sanctuary. We will recommend appropriate mitigation measures to eliminate and minimise the impact," said sources. 

If NTCA is to be believed, MoEF has almost made up its mind to divert the said land to APML. TOI on January 1 was first to report about MoEF readying to divert the land close to the sanctuary. Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh is already under pressure from his cabinet colleagues to clear coal blocks for power projects. Government is keen on putting Adani plant on fast-track. 

Adani is coming up with 3,300 MW power plant in Tiroda. Work on first phase of two 660 MW units is in full swing and the company needs 163.84 hectare forest land for expansion. It has applied to the MoEF for diversion of the proposed land under the Forest Conservation Act (FCA) 1980. 

Wildlife experts recalled that MoEF's move would be a u-turn by Ramesh, who, during his Nagpur visit on September 13 last year, had said that if the land was close to Nagzira, then permission to divert it would not be granted. Ramesh has already agreed to make Nagzira-Navegaon a tiger reserve. 

"The grant of diversion of forest land will be in contravention to MoEF rules that state that any proposal falling within 10 km of sanctuary or national park should be referred to National Board of Wild Life (NBWL) which is not being done in the case of APML," they said. 

Earlier, two offences have been registered against the APML for violating the FCA twice - once on May 16 and another on June 4. Even after a year, the forest department has taken no action against the power company for those violations. In June 2010, a six-member committee headed by then PCCF (wildlife) and now head of forest force (HoFF) A K Joshi had visited the proposed site and studied the impact of diverting the said land on wildlife and tigers. 

The panel has already stated that diversion of said land to APML would impact Nagzira, which is just 8.5 km from the plant's boundary. 

MAN ANIMAL CONFLICT CONTINUES IN MANAS NATIONAL PARK

GUWAHATI: No longer called the World Heritage Site in danger, the picturesque Manas National Park, home to many endangered species like the Royal Bengal Tigers, is still witnessing man-animal conflicts. 

Environmentalists, who rejoiced over the Unesco's recent decision to remove the famed park from the list of World Heritage Sites in danger, now express concern over the increasing conflict between man and animal. 

"Growing incidents of human-animal conflict have posed a serious threat to the animals in the Manas biosphere," Dr Pranjit Basumatary, member of the Wild Trust of India, said. 

The park had suffered ravages in the 90s during the height of insurgency by the then Bodo Security Force, later rechristened as the National Democratic Front of Bodoland, and the ULFA, which had resulted in the loss of infrastructure and animals. 

The state-of-affairs had prompted the Unesco to declare the park as a World Heritage Site in danger. 

But the subsequent restoration of peace and formation of the Bodoland Territorial Council led to the revival of the park and the World Heritage Committee noted that the universal value for which the property was inscribed on the heritage list was recovering from the damage suffered during the unrest. 

Dr Basumatary said ever since the creation of a transit centre for rescue and rehabilitation of wildlife, as many as 450 schedule one wildlife species have been rescued and nearly 80 per cent of them successfully rehabilitated.

DOMINO EFFECT - FLOODING OF MANGROVES TRIGGER DISAPPEARANCE OF TIGERS

While tigers are a highly adaptable species, thriving in the snows of Russia to the tropical forests of Indonesia, the Sundarbans ecosystem has become an isolated refuge, boxed in by humans and the sea. Although there is considerable uncertainty regarding the degree of future habitat loss due to [sea level rise], it is still imperative to act now to mitigate the potential habitat loss. If we fail to act globally, regionally, and locally to conserve the Sundarbans, our collective inaction may result in the tiger joining the polar bear as early victims of climate-change induced habitat loss.

according to a new paper in the journal Climatic Change, there is another, unexpected example of charismatic megafauna whose future may be in question as a result of global warming: The Bengal tiger - or at least, one isolated population thereof.

However, sea level in the Sundarbans rose by between 4 and 7.8 mm a year from 1977 to 1998 - the level increasing from east to west - as a result of a combination of global sea level rise, sedimentation,  withdrawal of water, oil, and gas, and subsidence. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates a similar, global rate of increase in sea level, of around 4 cm a decade, suggesting that somewhere around the year 2070, sea level in the Sundarbans could be 28 cm higher than it was in 2000.

It's no secret that Bengal tiger numbers have declined; the species now occupies only about seven percent of its historic range and is believed to total fewer than 4,000 in the wild. In Bangladesh, tigers are restricted to the Sundarbans, one of the largest mangrove forests in the world; a 2009 study estimated the population numbered about 500 animals.

The paper's authors used a detailed analysis of the topography of the Sundarbans to calculate the likely impact of increasing levels of inundation. By the time it reached 28 cm, they calculated, available habitat suitable for tigers would have declined by 96 percent, and the population would likely be substantially reduced, to perhaps as few as 20 breeding adults. At that size, the population would almost certainly no longer be viable.