Asiatic Lion and Gir Forest by Kamlesh Adhiya

Big B: Gujarat Tourism campaign more successful than Incredible India

2012-01-23T12:13:00.001+05:30

Posted by Kanchana Devi on January 23, 2012
Rajkot, Jan 23 (TruthDive): Amitabh Bachchan is the brand ambassador of Gujarat Tourism department. Amitabh has said that growth of tourism in Gujarat is bigger and larger than “Government of India’s `Incredible India’ campaign”.
In his blog, he has written, “Off again to Gujarat tomorrow and into the second phase of the tourism campaign, which I must admit has turned out to be a magnificent success. The growth rate in tourism in Gujarat has been bigger and larger than the Government of India campaign Incredible India and that has made all those of us that were involved in the working of it, very proud.”
The 69-year-old actor arrived in Mundra yesterday for shooting ‘Khushbu Gujarat Ki’, a part of the campaign for the state tourism. The shoot is taking place in Rann of Kutch.
Big B on Twitter said, “Tomorrow Gujarat for second phase of promotion of tourism …. working well …. campaign results better than GOI Incredible India !!”
He further tweeted, “Work honestly and diligently without a care for criticism…it shuts many mouths without opening your own ..!!” In another tweet he said, “State of Gujarat has the largest number of heritage sites in the country … did anyone know that .. ?? Amazing”.
Bachchan started the shoot from yesterday and would stay in Kutch for three days, sources from Kutch district authority said.
Chairman of Gujarat Tourism Corporation, Kamlesh Patel said that after arriving at Kandla airport, Bachchan,the brand ambassador for Gujarat Tourism, will drive to Dhordo. Big B would also visit Dudhai and Dhamadka village.
As part of the ‘Khushbu Gujarat ki campaign’, an ad shoot featuring Bachchan will focus on Kutchhi handicrafts and white Rann of Kutch this time. Bachchan is also to visit Junagadh before flying back to Mumbai on January 25. He is also scheduled to visit Rajkot and Gir forest in Junagadh, sources added.
Source: http://truthdive.com/2012/01/23/big-b-gujarat-tourism-campaign-more-successful-than-incredible-india.html

Asiatic lion found dead.

2012-01-23T11:40:00.001+05:30

Express news service : Rajkot, Sun Jan 22 2012, 06:33 hrs
Carcass of a full-grown Asiatic lion was found on Saturday from Dedan area in Dhari-Tulsishyam range of Gir Wildlife Sanctuary, the only home for Asiatic lions in world.
Ruling out poaching, forest officials said a fight with another lion could have led to the tragedy even as wildlife activists demanded a proper probe.
“We found the carcass near Dedan area. The body was in a mutilated condition,’’ said Bhikha Jethava, president of Gir Nature Club. “There were injury marks near tail and on a leg,” he said, demanding a proper probe.
The carcass was later taken by forest officials to Jasadhar for post mortem.
Range Deputy Forest Officer Munishwar Raja said, “There were injuries, but internal. We suspect it was a fight with some other lion. It was a seven-year-old lion and it died about 48 hours ago.”
Raja said the post mortem report ruled out any foul play and that even all claws were intact. He ruled out any complaint or inquiry, calling it a natural death.
The Gir Nature Club, however, has written to state forest department demanding a probe. “Carcass was lying there for two days. We could see some injury marks. There should be a proper inquiry,” Jethava said.
According to last census done in 2010, there are 411 lions in GWS which is spread across Junagadh and Amreli districts of the Saurashtra peninsula. In 2004, for the first time, and so far the last, poaching of 12 lions were reported in the area.
Source: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Asiatic-lion-found-dead/902591/

Chinese thread kills 20 rare birds in Gujarat.

2012-01-17T11:00:00.003+05:30

TNN | Jan 16, 2012, 03.51AM IST
RAJKOT: On Sunday, Bhavnagar residents witnessed a funeral procession where the deceased were painted stork.
Shocked at the deaths of as many as 20 of these storks, which are on the near-threatened list of Birdlife International, nature lovers wanted to show citizens what their "Chinese manja" (nylon twine) does to the avians.
The 20 painted storks were among 34 birds which had been killed by nylon kite strings during the Uttarayan festivities on January 14 and 15.
The forest department in Bhavnagar said that 121 of them were injured.
Painted storks are not new to residents of Bhavnagar as there is a colony of these birds in the city, in Pil garden. The large wading bird of the stork family found in tropical Asia has been roosting there for a century.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/rajkot/Chinese-thread-kills-20-rare-birds-in-Gujarat/articleshow/11505412.cms

Lion attacks youth near Khambha.

2012-01-11T16:17:00.002+05:30

TNN | Jan 11, 2012, 08.46AM IST
RAJKOT: A 19-year-old was attacked by an Asiatic lion near Ribdipat Nesh in Khambha taluka of Amreli district on Tuesday at around 11 am.
Injured was identified as Rambhai Bhuva, a resident of Ribdipat Nesh, 17 km away from Khambha.
According to officials, Rambhai, a shepherd, was grazing his buffaloes in the nearby the area, close to lions habitat. Sources said that the lion first attacked one of the buffaloes and when Rambhai tried to fend him off, it turned to him and attacked. However, the wild cat fled into the nearby forest quickly.
He was soon taken to government hospital in Khambha. "The injured person is undergoing treatment at the hospital and his condition is better now," range forest officer, Khambha range, C P Ranpariya said.
Locals say that human-wildlife conflicts have increased in and around Khambha area. According to Yusuf Juneja, a local wildlife activist from Khambha said that since last eight months, at least three persons have been attacked by leopards in close vicinity of Khambha.
"Wild animals are a common sight around Khambha as it is located close to the Gir forest. Presence of wild animals in the human habitat is also one of the reasons why the incidents of animal-human conflicts are on rise. However, incidences of lion attacks on human are rare compared to leopards in this year. There must be some conflict and disturbance to the lion behind the attack," Juneja said.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/rajkot/Lion-attacks-youth-near-Khambha/articleshow/11444367.cms

Ailing Asiatic lion ‘paraded’ in Amreli town.

2012-01-11T16:15:00.000+05:30

Express news service Posted: Tue Jan 10 2012, 04:15 hrs Rajkot:

Rajula locals watch the spectacle on Monday mornig

An ailing Asiatic lion, which was carried by forest officials in a cage in an open vehicle through Rajula town in Amreli district on Sunday, drew howls of cheers from the locals but has enraged wildlife activists who say the officials responsible for making it an spectacle should be punished.
Forest officials, however, said they were just carrying the ailing wild cat to medical care centre for advance treatment.
“The lion, which was captured from Chatra village around 4 am on Sunday, was kept in an open cage and paraded through streets of Rajula by forest officials for hours,” said Vinu Mangan, president of Gir Nature Club at Rajula.
“The show continued for a couple of hours as crowds followed the ‘procession’ through the city,” Mangan added.
Rajula Range Forest Officer R Mor said, “The animal was just being carried from Rajula to Jasadhar, where care centre is located. In between, we had to pass through the city. As no closed vehicle was available, we had to carry the cage on a utility vehicle.”
Source: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/ailing-asiatic-lion-paraded-in-amreli-town/897977/

Vice-president coming to Gujarat for three days.

2012-01-03T11:52:00.001+05:30

Source: DNA | Last Updated 04:52(31/12/11)

Gandhinagar: The vice-president of India, Hamid Ansari, will be the guest of Gujarat for three days from January 7. Besides attending some public functions, he will visit the lion sanctuary at Sasan Gir, said sources in the state government.
“The vice-president will arrive in Ahmedabad on January 7. He will inaugurate the new campus of Gujarat National Law University and also attend a public function organised by a research institute at Bhaikaka Hall,” an official said.
The vice-president will spend the night of on January 7 at Raj Bhavan. “In the morning of January 8, he will leave for Sasan Gir where he will visit the forests possibly for a sighting of the lions. He will stay at Sasan on January 8. On January 9, he will again be taken on a visit to the forest and, in the afternoon, he will leave for New Delhi from Rajkot,” the official said.
Source: http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/GUJ-AHD-vice-president-coming-to-gujarat-for-three-days-2696948.html

Gujarat HC notices to government, PCCF over PIL.

2012-01-03T11:50:00.004+05:30

Published: Saturday, Dec 31, 2011, 12:32 IST
By DNA Correspondent | Place: Ahmedabad | Agency: DNA
A bench of Gujarat high court consisting of acting chief justice Bhaskar Bhattacharya and justice JB Pardiwala, on Thursday, issued notices to the state government, principal chief conservator of forest (PCCF) and Mehsana collector in connection with a PIL filed against the proposal to cut trees in the district.
The PIL was filed by Paryavaran Mitra and Rushibhumey Pravrtaya, NGOs working for conservation of the environment, over the decision taken by Mehsana DCF to cut down about 18,663 trees in Mehsana district for road widening work in various parts of the district.
It was submitted in the petition that the local authorities of the forest department had issued a notice in a local newspaper inviting tenders for cutting the trees in Unja, Kheralu, Visnagar, Vijapur, Kadi and Mehsana Range near roadside and within Gram Van. The notice said the trees were to be cut under Social Forestry Scheme.
The petitioners said there was no necessity of cutting down the trees, and therefore, the said notice was required to be quashed and set aside. It was submitted that the notice itself was contrary to the policy and objective of the Social Forestry Scheme and the provisions of Constitution of India. It was submitted that as per the notification issued by the DCF, a total of about 18,663 trees were proposed to be cut.
It was also pointed out that on these trees there were nests ofvultures and other birds, and therefore to save these birds, effective steps should be taken.
Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_gujarat-hc-notices-to-government-pccf-over-pil_1631848

Gir forest officials observe "human behaviour" among lions.

2012-01-03T11:47:00.004+05:30

ANI Jan 1, 2012, 11.25PM IST
GIR: Forest officials in Gir have observed rare behavioural pattern in a pride of Asiatic lions, exhibiting characteristics similar to humans.
Two adult male lions seem to rule 32 felines, keeping a close eye on the sub-adults.
The two adult lions guarded the group, which ideally comprises of one to three adult females, their cubs and sub-adults. They move around the forest and assume the role of protectors to father the other lions.
In an interesting observation, these lions express their feelings just like humans, with a large display of emotions and inter-personal bonding forming the highlight of their day- to-day behavioural pattern.
According to a forest official, as the male lion starts growing up, his family chases him to venture out and form his own pride.
"There is a rule in the case of lions and according to this rule, once the male cub grows, then he has to leave his group and then only does breeding happen. We have also observed that a male cub sits separately, 14 lions sit in a group and two male adult lions who are the rulers sit separately," said Sandeep Kumar, Deputy Conservator, Gir Forest, Gujarat.
Due to joint efforts of the state government as well as forest authorities, there has been a substantial increase in the population of lions in Gir.
The pride of 32 lions in the forest is the largest pride to be ruled by two male adults.
The Gir forest is one of the renowned wildlife sanctuaries in the country as it is home to Asiatic lions, which can only be found here.
Source: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-01-01/flora-fauna/30578876_1_asiatic-lions-gir-forest-adult-lions

The year in review for rainforests.

2011-12-29T09:35:00.000+05:30

The year in review for rainforests
Rhett Butler, mongabay.com
December 28, 2011

2011 was designated as "Year of the Forests" by the United Nations. While there was relatively little progress on intergovernmental forest protection programs during the year, a lot happened elsewhere. Below is a look at some of the biggest tropical forest-related news stories for 2011.

We at mongabay readily acknowledge there were a number of important temperate and boreal forest developments, including Britain's decision not to privatize its forests and the severe drought in Texas, but this article will cover only tropical forest news.

Brazil

Brazil announced forest loss during the 2010-2011 deforestation year fell to the lowest level since annual record keeping began in 1988, a continuation of a three-year trend. But enthusiasm for the news was tempered by other developments that could increase risks to the Amazon. In December the Senate voted to revise the country's long-standing Forest Code, a move environmentalists fear could spark deforestation. The existing Forest Code, which is largely dysfunctional due to lack of consistent enforcement, requires landowners to main 80 percent forest cover on their properties. The new code, which will face a final vote in February or March before going to President Dilma Rousseff for approval, would maintain the headline 80 percent figure in the Amazon, but grant amnesty for illegal deforestation through July 2008 on properties up to 400 hectares (1000 acres) (some greens fear worry the deadline may shift in the future). The new Forest Code would also suspend fines — which fund law enforcement — and relax restrictions on forest clearing along rivers and on mountaintops. Green groups said the proposed code is unpopular, according to a poll they commissioned.

Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, 1988-2011. Photos by Rhett A. Butler.

Another major development in 2011 was the decision to move forward on Belo Monte dam, a project that would block most of the mighty Xingu river, flooding more than 40,000 hectares of rainforest and displacing thousands of indigenous people. Most disturbing about Belo Monte is the precedents it sets for future large-scale infrastructure projects in the Amazon. For example a federal judge ruled in November that affected communities do not have the right to free, prior and informed consultation on the project. Meanwhile Brazilian companies continued to invest in projects that would drive large-scale deforestation in other Amazon countries, including dams, energy exploration, industrial agricultural developments, and new roads, suggesting that even though deforestation has been ebbing in recent years, there may be leakage to surrounding countries.

News of infrastructure investment and development came at the same time as a series of high profile assassination of anti-illegal-logging activists in the Amazon by ranchers and loggers.

Some positive news emerged on Brazil's most threatened forest ecosystem. The National Institute for Space Research (INPE) and Fundação SOS Mata Atlântica announced the deforestation rate for the Mata Atlântica (Atlantic Forest) dropped significantly between 2008 and 2010, relative to the 2005-2008 period.

Finally there were signs some private sector actors continued to be motivated by the stigma of deforestation in their supply chains. JBS-Friboi, the world's largest meat processor, announced it would stop buying beef from ranches associated with slave labor and illegal deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, while several banks were sued for failing to follow lending safeguards designed to prevent public finance from being used to subsidize deforestation.

Indonesia

In Indonesia, environmental groups set their sights on the pulp and paper sector, which over the past twenty years has emerged as one of the biggest drivers of deforestation on the island of Sumatra. Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) and Asia Pacific Resources International Limited (APRIL), the two largest fiber suppliers, were the main targets. Greenpeace used fiber found in toy packaging and toilet as the main hook for their campaign, which relied heavily on social media, including a video suggesting that deforestation was the cause of a breakup between Ken and Barbie, popular Mattel toys. Meanwhile reports from Eyes on the Forest, a coalition of Indonesian environmental groups WWF-Indonesia, and Greenomics cast doubt on some of APP's conservation claims, while an APP subsidiary in Australia was scandalized when caught in an astroturfing campaign intended to suggest broad public support for the company, when in fact there was little. The controversy, amid long-time complaints about APP's environmental record, led Lego, Mattel, Kroger, and others to drop APP as a supplier. APRIL was hit hard by an investigative report by ABC (Australia) News, which raised questions about its forest management practices and a stalled illegal logging investigation.

But the forestry sector fought back. U.S.-based groups that advocate on behalf on APP launched a series of campaigns targeting Greenpeace, WWF, the Rainforest Forest Network, and companies that have dropped APP products. One even launched an anti-Greenpeace web site and hosted comments on its Facebook page calling for violence against members of the green group. In Indonesia, pressure was more direct, with both Greenpeace-Indonesia and Indonesia Corruption Watch suffering unusual levels of harassment.

More broadly, Indonesia finally passed its much heralded moratorium on new logging and plantation concessions on peatlands and in primary forests areas, but the moratorium was much weaker than expected, reflecting the influence of business-as-usual interests in the forestry sector on the Indonesian government. The moratorium had substantial loopholes, including exclusions for industrial agriculture and mining. But the passage of the moratorium at all, reflected Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's seemingly intensified commitment to reducing deforestation. President SBY touted his 7/26 initiative, which targets 7 percent annual economic growth and a 26 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 relative to business-as-usual. Reducing deforestation and peatlands degradation is the centerpiece of his push toward low carbon development. Indonesia signed a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) with Europe to keep illegal Indonesian wood out of European Union markets.

Meanwhile one major palm oil producer broke ranks and took a bold step forward: Golden Agri Resources (GAR), which had been the target of an intense Greenpeace campaign, announced one of the most progressive forest policies in the palm oil sector, committing not to develop lands with carbon stocks greater than 35 tons per hectares and promising to seek "free, prior informed consent" in engaging with communities. Environmentalists hoped other forestry companies would follow GAR's lead (another palm oil company ceded land in Kalimantan contested by local communities as part of sustainability pledge). Moreover, the Indonesian government said it would 'recognize, respect and protect' the rights of traditional forest users, including indigenous people, a move civil society believes is key to reducing deforestation.

Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea, the independent half of the island of New Guinea, saw several significant developments in the forestry sector.

In May, the government suspended its controversial Special Agricultural and Business Leases program (SABLs), which had granted logging and plantation development concessions to mostly foreign corporations across 5.2 million hectares of community forest land. SABLs had been widely opposed by community rights groups and conservationists.

In June, a court fined Concord Pacific, a Malaysian timber company, with a nearly $100 million (K225.5 million) fine for large-scale illegal logging. The firm was ordered to pay damages to four forest tribes. It was the first ruling of its kind in Papua New Guinea.

Sir Michael Somare resigned the office of prime minister, creating further uncertainty around the country's faltering REDD program. Communities in PNG have been plagued by an influx of "carbon cowboys", unscrupulous forest carbon project developers that, at times, have swindled locals out of their land and savings.

Africa

The Republic of Congo announced it would seek international funding for a plan to convert up to one million hectares (2.47 million acres) of "degraded forest" lands into industrial plantations. While the government said the intent of the program was to to sequester carbon and take pressure off native forests, environmentalists immediately expressed concern that the proposal could drive destruction of native forests, to the detriment of biodiversity and carbon stocks.

Liberia signed a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) to facilitate timber exports to Europe by ensuring no wood has been illegally cut.

A group of African nations re-introduced a decades-old plan to establish a "Great Green Wall" to stem expansion of the Sahara Desert. The massive tree-planting exercise would be backed by donor funds.

A controversial oil palm plantation in Cameroon was put on hold after concerns were raised about its social and environmental impact.

Uganda resurrected a plan to hand over about a quarter of the Mabira Forest Reserve to a sugar cane company. The project had been shelved in 2007 due to public uproar.

India

The Indian government announced in February an initiative that will "expand" and "improve the quality" of its forests as a part of the nation's National Action Plan on Climate Change. The reforestation plan, dubbed the National Mission for a Green India (NMGI), will expand forests by five million hectares (over 12 million acres), while improving forests quality on another five million hectares for $10 billion (460 billion rupees). It wasn't specified whether the new "forests" would be native or exotic plantations.

Conservation officials will pursue "permanent" protection of Jeypore-Dehing lowland rainforest in Assam, following the release of photos revealing the presence of seven wild cat species. The forest is currently threatened by logging, poaching, oil and coal development, and hydroelectric projects.

The high profile push to protect tigers will hurt lion conservation in India. The Asiatic lion subspecies (Panthera leo persica) of Gir Forest National Park in the north-western state of Gujarat is losing their federal conservation funding to tiger programs.

A mess in Sarawak, Malaysia

Indigenous forest people in Sarawak continued their struggle against forestry companies backed by the state government. Forest-dwelling Penan set up several roadblocks against logging and plantation companies, but continued to see court rulings in their favor ignored by authorities. In June, Survival International reported a thousand Penan were forcibly moved from their rainforest home to palm oil plantations to make way for the Murum dam.

Meanwhile, evidence of large-scale corruption by Sarawak's Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud continued to grow. A handful of countries, including Malaysia, said they are now investigating Taib's assets, which are believed to be worth billions of dollars, despite the minister drawing a civil servant's salary for the past 30 years. The Bruno Manser Fund, which campaigns heavily against Taib, says much of the wealth is derirved from the minister's close ties to the logging and plantation sector. The U.S. State Department apparently agrees, according to diplomatic cables released by Wikileaks.

Taib maintains his innocence and even claimed #&8212; in March #&8212; that Sarawak's forests are "70 percent intact". He was quickly rebuked however by images on Google Earth, which reveal a stark contrast between Sarawak's damaged forests and those in neighboring Borneo states. Taib claims were also contradicted by an analysis by environmental group Wetlands International and remote sensing institute Sarvision showing that more than one third (353,000 hectares or 872,000 acres) of Sarawak's peatswamp forests and ten percent of the state's rainforests were cleared between 2005 and 2010. About 65 percent of the area was converted for oil palm, which is replacing logging as timber stocks have been exhausted by unsustainable harvesting practices.

Intergovernmental forest activities

REDD+, a program proposed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and degradation, made mixed progress during December climate talks in Durban. Forestry experts said while some key issues were resolved, significant questions remain about financing and safeguards to protect against abuse. REDD+ offers the potential to simultaneously reduce emissions, conserve biodiversity, maintain other ecosystem services, and help alleviate rural poverty, but concerns over potential adverse impacts have plagued the program since its conception.

The U.S. announced a debt-for-nature swap worth $28.5 million to back forest conservation projects in Kalimantan. America also began distributing the first grants under a similar 2009 program in Sumatra. The U.S. State Department said it has pledged more than $450 million toward 'green growth' in Indonesia.

California approved cap-and-trade regulations for AB32, the state's 2006 climate law. The move, which establishes the first compliance carbon trading system in the United States, opens the door for compliance-level carbon offsets generated via forest conservation projects. California has signed working agreements with several states and provinces in Brazil, Indonesia, and Mexico.

The World Bank announced it would resume lending to palm oil sector after 18-month moratorium sparked by complaints over social conflict between local communities and palm oil companies in Indonesia. Lending will be governed by a framework developed after months of consultations with stakeholders, including the private sector, NGOs, farmers, indigenous communities, development experts, and governments. A prominent lobbyist for the palm oil industry decried the safeguard provisions.

Lessons from the past?

Researchers at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) conference presented new evidence that the Maya ultimately did themselves in through deforestation. Climatologist Ben Cook reported the extent of forest clearing toward the end of the Mayan civilization may have been enough to reduce rainfall to the point that it unleashed devastating droughts.

On the drought front, troubling signs emerged out of the Amazon rainforest, according to new studies which examined the 2005 and 2010 droughts in the region. One concluded that nearly one million square miles (2.6 m sq km) of rainforest was affected by last year's drought, making it worse than the 2005 drought, which until then had been the worst on record. Meanwhile a subsequent projection by Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE) and the UK's Met Office Hadley Centre concluded that climate change and deforestation could decimate much of the Amazon by reducing the resistance of the rainforest ecosystem to natural and human-caused stressors, while increasing the frequency of extreme rainfall events and droughts. Amazon die-off could have dire implications for South America's economy — roughly 70 percent of the continent's GDP occurs within the rain shadow of the Amazon rainforest.

The high price of gold and other commodities

The surging price of gold drove expansion of mining in tropical forests around the world. In Peru the impact was particularly pronounced, with several massive surface mines metastasizing across the most biodiverse part of the Amazon rainforest.

Oil palm, industrial pulpwood, and timber plantations continued to expand around the tropics, stoking growing criticism from environmentalists and social justice movements. High prices for palm oil, timber, woodpulp, and other commodities make it more profitable to clear and convert forests.

Plans for new dams and energy exploration were put forth in tropical forests around the world. In Peru, conflicts between oil companies and indigenous tribes simmered, while Ecuador's proposal to leave oil in the ground in Yasuni National Park failed to gain traction as the development community seemed unwilling to cough up funds for the initiative. Also in Ecuador, Chevron was ordered to pay more than $8 billion for damages allegedly caused by Texaco, a company it acquired in 2001. Chevron is appealing the case, which has dragged on for nearly 20 years.

Successful campaigns elsewhere

In Sri Lanka, fruit company Dole abandoned a controversial banana plantation within Somawathiya National Park after protests by local environmental groups.

After a protracted and embarrassing campaign that saw it censor its own members and shut down the ability to comment on its Facebook page, Girl Scouts USA announced it would change its palm oil sourcing policy. The group will now use only RSPO-certified palm oil, which is produced under stricter criteria than conventional palm oil.

In Bolivia, intense indigenous demonstrations forced President Evo Morales to drop plans to build a road through Tipnis, an indigenous reserve.

In Myanmar, protests astonishingly pushed the government to cancel a major Chinese dam.

In Cambodia, local campaigners successfully pressured the government to cancel titanium strip mine project.

In Sabah, Malaysia, local activists cheered the government's decision to cancel a controversial a coal-fired plant on the edge of the Coral Triangle. The project, which the government had earlier said was 'a done deal' would have increased pressure to strip mine rainforests in Malaysia and Indonesian Borneo for coal. The cancellation followed a long campaign by a group of environmental and human right organizations dubbed Green SURF (Sabah Unite to Re-power the Future), which turned the coal plant into a political issue.

A large Brazilian construction company pulled out of a Peruvian dam project in November citing opposition from indigenous communities.

Certification

Commodity roundtables — multistakeholder bodies that aim to create production standards for commodities — continued to meet to discuss certification criteria and ways to create incentives to improve their environmental and social performance. Nevertheless roundtables continued to by criticized by non-members NGOs concerned about standards and oversight, as well as non-member producers worried about competition. Roundtables globally won support when McDonald's launched a new sourcing policy — the Sustainable Land Management Commitment — for palm oil, paper, beef, coffee, soy, and other commodities.

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) met for its General Assembly, which weighed various changes to the organization, including a vote on a controversial motion that would open the door to sustainable-certification of companies that have been involved in recent forest destruction for pulp and paper plantations. The FSC faced questions over violent conflict in a certified concession in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), its pursuit of carbon credits from forestry, and its certification of a plantation where large numbers of primates had been killed. FSC was buoyed by Danish shipping giant Maersk's decision to transition to containers built from FSC-certified timber.

The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) announced record sales of certified palm oil and saw a number of high profile buyers commit to sourcing only certified palm oil by 2015, a continuation of a trend. Further support came from a Dutch industry group, which said it would seek import duty exemption for RSPO-certified palm oil, and new legislation in Australia and the E.U. requiring labeling of palm oil as an ingredient on packaging. The initiative however was tested by non-compliance by some members. RSPO suspended IOI, a Malaysian giant, for its role in a land use dispute with forest people in Borneo. Another prominent RSPO member, Wilmar Corp, was accused of misleading the public over a conflict between local communities and one of its subsidiaries in Sumatra. Finally, the Malaysian government announced its own certification standard based on compliance with Malaysian law. Naturally, the standard is mandatory for Malaysian palm oil producers. Indonesian proposed a similar legal compliance-based standard — the ISPO — in 2010.

A new assessment by the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) concluded that more than 90 percent of tropical forests are managed poorly or not at all.

Community rights

Momentum seemed to build for increased community control over forest lands. A paper published in Science in March found that involving local communities in the governance of forest resources boosts economic returns and biodiversity relative to areas where locals have little participation, while research published in July by the Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI) concluded that giving local communities control over forest resources can help slow and even reverse deforestation. Shortly thereafter the Indonesian government said it would do more to strengthen and protect the rights of traditional forest users, after an initial false-start under the country's moratorium. A subsequent World Bank study published in the open-access journal PLoS ONE concluded that protected areas in tropical forests are better at curtailing deforestation if they allow 'sustainable use' by locals. Looking at every official protected area in the tropics from 2000 to 2008, researchers found that multi-use reserves in Latin America and Asia lowered deforestation rates by around 2 percent more than strict protected areas.

An indigenous community in Malaysian Borneo took land rights into its own hands when it seized an oil palm plantation belonging to the IOI Group after the palm oil giant failed to respect the terms of a court ruling that the plantation was established on native customary land.

In September Peru's newly elected president, Ollanta Humala, signed into law a measure requiring that indigenous groups are consulted prior to any mining, logging, or oil and gas projects on their land. If properly enforced, the new legislation will give indigenous people free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) over such industrial projects, though the new law does not go so far as to allow local communities a veto over projects. Still, the law puts Peru in line with the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention of 1989, which the South American nation ratified nearly two decades ago.

In December, the Rainforest Foundation UK announced an initiative to help forest communities gain recognition of traditional land use. Similar community mapping efforts at large scale are underway in Indonesia.

Strange bedfellows

Gibson Guitars found an ally in the Tea Party when its CEO criticized the federal government for raiding its facilities during an investigation into alleged illegal wood-sourcing. Gibson was first raided in 2009 when it allegedly imported illegally logged ebony from Madagascar's rainforests. Email correspondence from the time show that Gibson knew the timber was grey-market. But it was a subsequent raid earlier this year which sparked charges of government over-reach. The Department of Justice has been slow in pursuing the case, but Gibson now seems to have capitalized on the allegations as a promotional platform. Gibson has now become the cause célèbre for an effort to weaken the Lacey Act, which prohibits imports of illegally-sourced plant products. The push is backed by pulp and paper companies, which fear prosecution if protected timber species end up in their products.

BINGOs under pressure

Two big conservation groups landed in hot water when they were linked to controversial partners. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) was the subject of a report from Global Witness which said the forest giant's Global Forest and Trade Network (GFTN) has failed to improve the operations of several controversial logging companies, including one that is imperiling orangutans in Borneo and another which has been accused of human rights abuses in the Congo rainforest. WWF said it would commission an independent review of the program. Meanwhile Conservation International was criticized after an undercover video appeared to show a fundraiser for the group offering to greenwash for Lockheed Martin, an arms manufacturer. CI said the video was heavily edited with comments taken out of context.

The Rainforest Alliance was criticized for contributions it received from Gibson while serving as the instrument-maker's auditor. The group declined comment on the matter.

Monitoring deforestation and forest degradation from logging

Advancements continued in efforts to monitor forests, including understanding the impact of drought and selective logging, measuring water flow through forest ecosystems, tracking deforestation and forest degradation, and even assessing biodiversity. The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) announced findings from its long-awaited satellite-based assessment of forest cover. Until now the FAO had based its bi-annual assessments largely on self-reporting by member nations. The preliminary work indicates that global forest cover, as well as forest loss, is lower than previously estimated. But the research indicates that tropical deforestation increased substantially between the 1990s and the first half of the 2000s. The FAO had previously stated the deforestation had declined between the two periods.

A comprehensive assessment of the world's carbon stocks concluded tropical forests across Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia stored 247 gigatons of carbon — more than 30 years' worth of current emissions from fossil fuels use — in the early 2000s. The research, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by an international team of scientists, used data from 4,079 plot sites around the world and satellite-based measurements to estimate that forests store 193 billion tons of carbon in their vegetation and 54 billion tons in their roots structure. The study produced a carbon map for 2.5 billion ha (6.2 billion acres) of forests.

A separate study led by Mark Broich of South Dakota State University found Kalimantan and Sumatra lost 5.4 million hectares, or 9.2 percent, of their forest cover between 2000/2001 and 2007/2008. The research found that more than 20 percent of forest clearing occurred in areas where conversion was either restricted or prohibited, indicating that during the period, the Indonesian government failed to enforce its forestry laws.

The Carnegie Institution's Department of Global Ecology unveiled a breakthrough remote-sensing technology that enables scientists to catalog individual tree species as they create three-dimensional maps of tropical forests. The newest version of the Carnegie Airborne Observatory (CAO), as the airplane-based system is known, will offer powerful insights into the composition and biology of tropical forests.

Biodiversity

A comprehensive assessment published in the journal Nature concluded that old-growth rainforests should be a top conservation priority when it comes to protecting wildlife. The research examined 138 scientific studies across 28 tropical countries. It found consistently that biodiversity level were substantially lower in disturbed forests and called primary forests "irreplaceable" for sustaining biodiversity. In a similar vein, a Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment paper found that ancient trees are essential for over 1,000 species birds and mammals.

A worldwide search for 'lost frogs' organized by Conservation International drew to a close. The effort, which employed 126 researchers to scour 21 countries for 100 amphibian species, provided further evidence of the dire outlook for many amphibian species, more than a third of which are threatened with extinction.

Researchers sounded the alarm that REDD could introduce a new extinction risk for wildlife: financial markets. The editorial, published in the journal Conservation Letters, argued that REDD could effectively link the fate of some species to the short-term whims of the carbon market. Conservation projects funded primarily by REDD are most at risk of being undermined by declining in carbon prices or changing investor preference.

In March, scientists partnered with one of the world's largest palm oil producers to measure the impact of converting tropical forest into an oil palm plantation.

A plethora of species were described for the first time by scientists in 2011 and studies suggested many more lie in wait of discovery. One noted that despite hundreds of years of research, humanity still knows less than 15 percent of the world's species. Another said that 3,000 amphibians and 160 land mammals remain undiscovered.

While new discoveries may raise hopes, over 900 species were added to IUCN Red List. Two prominent species — both rhinos — made their official exit. Both were driven to extinction primarily by habitat loss, but ultimately finished off by the rhino horn trade. An indeterminate number of other species also roamed the Earth for the last time in 2011, but we'll never know how many left us without a final farewell. Scientists however agree that we are in the midst of an extinction crisis — a survey of 583 conservation scientists found that 99.5 percent believe a serious loss in biodiversity was either 'likely', 'very likely', or 'virtually certain'. But at least one group was hopeful that the planet's sixth mass extinction could be prevented.

Still the news elsewhere wasn't inspiring. A paper in Conservation Letters recorded 89 instances in 27 countries of protected areas being downsized (shrunk), downgraded (decrease in legal protections), and degazetted (abolished) since 1900. Another warned that the global decline in top predators and megafauna is 'humankind’s most pervasive influence on nature'. Still another reported that the world's protected areas won't be enough to stem the loss of biodiversity. It instead argued that society must deal with the underlying problems of human population and overconsumption if we are to have any chance of preserving life on Earth.

Two 'kings of forest' rule biggest pride in Gir.

2011-12-27T17:52:00.002+05:30

Last Updated: Tuesday, December 27, 2011,

Vadodara: Experts have noticed a unique behavioral pattern at Gujarat's Gir National Park, where twolions rule the biggest pride in the forest comprising 32felines.
"For the first time in the sanctuary, two male adultlions are ruling a pride of 32 felines. The duo controls 150sq km of territory and displays dispersal behavior. They donot allow the other adults to feed, mingle with each other oreven let them come in vicinity of the pride," Dr SandeepKumar, Deputy Conservator of Forest (DCF) said.
The Gir forest is the sole home to the Asiatic Lions(Panthera Leo Persica).
"This (Gir) forest range is ruled by two male lionsknown as 'Kamleshwar males'. They established their territoryin this area in 2005 and till date are maintaining, protectingand breeding in it",Kumar said.

Observing that dispersal is a unique behavior of animals which allows the species to occupy large and differentgeographical ranges as it helps them in long term survival,Kumar said the behavioral pattern also ensures lessintra-specific competition and even avoid inbreedingdepression.
According to the 2010 census, the lion population in theforest has increased to 411.
Officials attribute the rise in population to factorslike better protection and other facilities, includingavailability of abundant prey and water for the big cats.

PTI

Lion cub shows human behaviour.

2011-12-27T17:51:00.001+05:30

Himanshu Kaushik, TNN Dec 26, 2011, 03.32AM IST
AHMEDABAD: A four-year-old lioness sits alone staring at her brother who is being chased out of the group by her father. The foresters cannot but marvel at the human reaction of this young lioness to the domestic squabble. She stops eating till her brother returns back to the pride.
Not just the sister, but the other sub-adults too move away from the group and refuse food unless he returns. But soon they will realize the hard fact that the young lion has to move out of the pride and establish his own kingdom, say the officials.
This unique behavioral pattern has been spotted in a huge pride of 32 lions, the biggest in Gir sanctuary. The foresters who keep a watch and document the behaviour of these big cats are surprised by the nuances of inter-personal relationships and bonding displayed by these Gir lions.
Deputy conservator of forest, Sandeep Kumar who is documenting the behaviour of this group said, "It is time for the young ones to move out of the group and have own territory in the next couple of months. The sub-adult male now has to prove his supremacy before the next breeding season, which begins in February."
However the sub-adult male, who is very attached to the parent group, does not venture out much. But the father and uncle are adamant that he establishes his own territory.
Kumar said, "When the father and uncle chase away this sub-adult, his sister of the same age too runs away from the group in protest, as she gets emotional. She sits away from the group for hours together staring in the direction where her brother has gone."
This is one of the biggest prides in the Gir sanctuary or even in the state. The pride comprises of seven sub groups covering an area of 135 sq km. This pride is often spotted in the tourism zone and is commonly known as Dedakadi group. Dedakadi is an area in Gir Sanctuary.
The pride of 32 consists of two male lions, about 13-14 years of age and who dominate the group, nine adult female and ten sub-adult female and 11 cubs of less then three years of age. The two lions have not allowed any intruder in their territory for the past seven years. This 135 sq km area comprises of Malanka, Kasia and Keramba.
Source: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-12-26/ahmedabad/30558726_1_gir-sanctuary-gir-lions-tourism-zone

Leopard kills 5-year-old girl in Gujarat town.

2011-12-26T10:53:00.004+05:30

24 Dec, 2011, 10.47PM IST, PTI

RAJKOT: A five-year-old girl was killed by a leopard in Umba town near Veraval of Junagadh district, police said.
The incident took place last night, when the victim-- Manisha Jora was working in the courtyard of her house, located on the outskirts of the town, they said.
According to police, the leopard made a sudden attack and started dragging her to a nearby farm. Hearing her cries, Manisha's family members and people in the neighbourhood came out and ran after the wild animal. When people reached the farm, the leopard released the seriously injured girl and ran away.
The girl was rushed to a nearby hospital, where she was declared brought dead, police added.
Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/environment/flora-fauna/leopard-kills-5-year-old-girl-in-gujarat-town/articleshow/11235233.cms

Gir lions in zoo wait for mayor's appointment.

2011-12-24T10:24:00.002+05:30

Melvyn Thomas, TNN | Dec 23, 2011, 10.33PM IST
SURAT: 'Kya Chhe Gir No Sinh' (Where is the lion of Gir), ask visitors at the Sarthana zoo, run by the Surat Municipal Corporation ( SMC). Despite their arrival at the zoo two-and-a-half-months ago, the lions have not been put on display. Now, it seems the wild life lovers will have to wait till next year for a glimpse of the Asiatic lion brought under the animal exchange programme from Rajkot's Sakkarbaug zoo.
The zoo authorities are delaying the display of Asiatic lion as they are still awaiting certain other species, such as the Manipur deer, from the Sakkarbaug zoo, so that they can organize an official function by inviting the city mayor and other dignitaries. For the first time, the Sarthana zoo has got a pair of Asiatic lions. Until now, the zoo had a single 25-year-old hybrid lion and that too was not keeping well as he is ageing. Last year, the only lioness at the zoo died at the age of 21.
A pair of Asiatic lion was brought to the Sarthana zoo from the Sakkarbaug zoo in the third week of October 2011. Since then the big cats have been kept in captivity, away from the eyes of the visitors who are eagerly waiting to see the king of the jungle.
"After newspapers reported the arrival of the Asiatic lion, I visited the zoo with my kids, only to return disappointed. In the last one month, I have been there for over half a dozen time inquiring about the Asiatic lion, but I am not getting proper reply," said Siddharth Rana, a jari manufacturer from Chowk Bazaar.
Zoo authorities said the pair of Asiatic lions have undergone successful quarantine for over one-and-a-half-month and now they are ready to be introduced to visitors in the Sarthana zoo. Every day before the visiting hour starts, the Asiatic lions are taken out of the cages to be in the open display area.
"Since the quarantine period for the Asiatic lion is already over, we had planned the official display last week. But, due to the Sadbhavana fast in the city, we were sure that the Mayor would not have the time to inaugurate the official display. Now, we plan to hold a function in the first week of January after getting other species such as the Manipur deer from the Sakkarbaug zoo by the end of December," said Praful Mehta, in-charge superintendent of Sarthana zoo.
Asked why can't the zoo authorities get the official programme done for the public display of the Asiatic lions, Mehta said, "It is not possible to get dignitaries such as the mayor to come and inaugurate the official display of each and every species of animal arriving from Sakkarbaug zoo. We are waiting for all the species under the animal exchange programme to arrive at the zoo, so that we can keep a small function."
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/surat/Gir-lions-in-zoo-wait-for-mayors-appointment/articleshow/11223456.cms

114 animals sick in state zoos.

2011-12-24T10:22:00.004+05:30

Andhra Pradesh | Posted on Dec 23, 2011 at 10:20am IST

HYDERABAD: As many as 114 animals, including 79 Asiatic lions, 19 tigers and other species are undergoing treatment for various ailments at the three state zoos. Of these, 50 percent have been suffering from multiorgan problems due to old age and the rest have minor wounds and skin diseases.

Of 114 animals, 77 lions and 17 tigers were rescued from circuses between 2000 and 2006 and some captured after they strayed into human habitations. The indisposed animals are being given treatment at the two animal rescue centres in Visakhapatnam and Tirupati zoos, according to the AP Zoos Authority.

“Generally big cats live for 15 to 20 years but 40 sick animals which are more than 20 years old, are being treated at animal rescue centres. As we take care of sick animals carefully, many are able to survive more than their average age,” said P Mallikurjana Rao, director of AP zoos.

“Apart from big cats, every week around 20 animals on an average fall ill in the state zoos,” said P Srinivas, veterinary assistant surgeon, Nehru Zoological Park in Hyderabad.

The three zoos house about 130 species, including 886 mammals, 1,751 birds and 471 reptiles. At the Hyderabad zoo, one old sloth bear, an Asiatic lion, two tigers, one crocodile, one spotted deer and nine other animals have minor wounds. Of this, the injuries to the leg of a rhino brought from Pune to Hyderabad in August are a concern. Its yet to recover and has been kept off display since its arrival.

At the Tirupati zoo, two tigers and three deer are suffering skin diseases. At Visakhapatnam, one white tiger and two sambhar deer and emus have bruises.

In the last nine months, 35 animals died while being handled by staff at the three zoos. In the last three years, the number of deaths were 68 in 2010, 85 in 2009 and 105 in 2008.

"We have been able to decrease the animal mortality rates due to better treatment by specilised veterinary doctors and latest facilities,” said Vizag zoo curator G Ramalingam.

But some animal rights activists are worried because 35 animals have died in zoos. Mahesh Agarwal, a member of People for Animals says, “Animals are very sensitive and once they are brought out of their forest habitats into an enclosed space, they are deprived of their natural lifestyle and food.”

He, however, offered help for animals.

Source: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/114-animals-sick-in-state-zoos/214380-60-114.html

NGOs to help winged friends during kite festival in Gujarat.

2011-12-23T10:46:00.001+05:30

Published: Thursday, Dec 22, 2011, 15:01 IST
By Kinjal Desai | Place: Ahmedabad | Agency: DNA
For animal lovers, the annual kite flying festival of Gujarat is one of the most unfortunate created disasters for the avian community.
Over 2,000 birds get injured or die annually in Ahmedabad. And like every year, this year too NGOs will join hands to providesafety and care to the birds.
Jivdaya Charitable Trust, in collaboration with 20 other NGOs of the city, is setting up a hospital at Panjrapol and rescue teams across the city to save the birds under the campaign 'Help The Birds' (HTB) starting from January 12-17.
Trustee Kartik Shastri says, "HTB is an annual campaign, where all the members join hands with the forest department and Wildlife Rescue Centre, to save birds from injuries by maanja or kite strings during Uttarayan. Efforts are also made to save these birds from succumbing to their injuries."
The centre stays open till birds are healed and often works beyond January 17. There will be 35 rescue teams and satellite centres.
Shastri said, "This time around we will have 45 doctors two each from UK, Nepal and Goa; three from Mumbai; two from BNHS Tinjore Vulture Care Centre; three from SACON centre at Coimbatore; seven from Jivdaya Trust and 15 each from Anand and Datiwada Universities."
Last year, the trust had rescued 1,865 birds of which 200 birds could not survive. The survival rate was 74%, said Shastri. 36 species were found last year, falcon, white rumped vultures, steppe eagle, barn owl, pelican, flamingo, shikra (birds of prey) and more.
Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_ngos-to-help-winged-friends-during-kite-festival-in-gujarat_1628885

Wildlife Trust of India changes people’s cooking style to save the forest

2011-12-23T10:44:00.000+05:30

By Sanjeeb Baruah
Valmiki Nagar (Bihar) 23 Dec 2011

More than a hundred households living within Bihar's Valmiki Tiger Reserve have switched from the traditional mud stoves to the more efficient eco-friendly 'chulhas' to reduce their dependency on forest for fuel wood - a move that would boost conservation of the big cat.
It is hoped the green stoves or 'chulhas' would help cut fuel wood use by 40 percent, which would also allow the forest to rejuvenate and increase security for the tigers.

The improvised chulha (Photos: IANS)

The green stoves use maximum energy produced from burning of fuel wood. An iron grate positioned just above the stove's base provides room for air circulation that helps the fuel to burn efficiently.
The households are part of the 25 revenue villages in Done Valley, that is spread over a 45 sq km area in the heart of the sprawling Valmiki reserve, the only tiger sanctuary in the state.
"Seven villages are currently part of the initiative, the remaining ones will be taken up in phases," said Samir Sinha, who is implementing the project and manager of NGO Wildlife Trust of India (WTI).
Some 18,000 villagers in the valley depend on agriculture for livelihood. However, during the off-season many migrate to places as far as Delhi, Punjab and Gujarat to work as labourers, said Sinha.
The Valmiki reserve, an 880 sq km sal forest on the Terai foothills, is home to 11 tigers, according to the reserve's Field Director Santosh Tiwari.

The reserve extends up to Chitwan National Park in Nepal in the north, providing hundreds of miles of contiguous forest cover to many other threatened animals like sambar, nilgai, gaur, rhino and various species of primates.
"Of the seven villages, Matiarwa has achieved 100 percent participation. The rest are progressing in varying degrees," says Sinha. Other villages are Majuraha, Gardi, Naurangia, Piprahwa, Khairahni and Senrahni.
Stakeholders' participation, acceptable design, monitoring and problem solving were crucial for the success of the present initiative, said Sinha. The US Fish and Wildlife Service and Germany's Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union are the other supporters of the project.
Pune-based research organisation Appropriate Rural Technology Institute was contacted to train the local women, since they were the main users, said Sinha. Of the three designs, they picked the one that resembled the traditional chulha, he said.
Initially, only the trained women were asked to install the stove in their homes, which served as demonstration sites. They were paid by WTI, thus generating employment for them.
The mud chimneys for the stoves also brought brisk business for the village potter. Those who wanted to install the chulha contacted these women who charged them an installation fee.
The stoves were monitored for their efficiency by the WTI team.

Data over the past few months shows an average reduction of about 40 percent in fuel wood consumption compared to the traditional stoves.
Apart from the human disturbances, poaching continues to be the biggest threat to the animals in the park.
A male rhino that had crossed into Valmiki Tiger Reserve from Nepal in March this year was found dead with its horn chopped off in the Valmiki Nagar forest range in May. Last year, a tigress was also found dead in Madanpur range.
A small number of rhinos still live in the reserve's Valmiki forest range, where the grasslands provide them a perfect home.
India made saving the tiger one of its top priorities. The government's latest tiger census report released in March this year put the tiger population at about 1,700, a slight improvement from the previous report in 2008, which estimated it to be around 1,400. - IANS
Source: http://www.theweekendleader.com/Culture/885/Burning-issue.html

Gujarat HC issues notice to Centre, state govt.

2011-12-23T10:39:00.002+05:30

Published: Friday, Dec 16, 2011, 18:29 IST
Place: Ahmedabad | Agency: DNA
Gujarat HC issued notices to the state and central govts and the ministry of environment and forest in a petition filed against the deforestation and mining activities in the protected forest of Banni, Kutch.
Paryavaran Mitra (Janvikas) in its petition filed through its programme director, has challenged the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process.
The NGO also challenges the de-reservation of grasslands and forests due to illegal mining around sanctuaries, national parks, wildlife reserves. The petition alleges deforestation has led to irreparable loss of wildlife, animals, ecology and livelihood of the people.
The petition further raises the issue of deforestation in the area of Banni grassland located in Kutch.
It states that Banni grassland area situated in the Greater Rann of Kutch was declared as a protected forest by the chief commissioner of Kutch in May, 1955 and demarcation of boundaries took place in 2005.
Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_gujarat-hc-issues-notice-to-centre-state-govt_1626718

In spite of hate campaign people of Guj support my Govt: Modi.

2011-12-23T10:37:00.002+05:30

PTI | 10:12 PM,Dec 22,2011 Ahmedabad, Dec 22 (PTI) Gujarat Chief Minister NarendraModi today said that his government had been able to rule thestate for ten years due to support of the people, in spite ofa hate campaign against the state. "Six crore people of Gujarat have supported thisgovernment for ten years because it is steadilyprogressing...," Modi said, concluding day-long Sadbhavna fastin Junagadh district. "Detractors of the state have used all the bad words inthe dictionary to describe this government but still thepeople have supported this government. "Congress has tried to divide the state on religious andcaste lines...It has shown negative mentality," he said. "The Congress party is out of power for many years inGujarat and can not dream to come to power in the next 25years in the state due to its negative mentality," he added. "With this Sadbhavna fast I am trying to bring in peace,unity and harmony." Modi announced Rs 600-crore package for the Sorathregion, famous for saints and pilgrimage around the Girnar, inaddition to Rs 1,055 crore for Junagadh city and the district. About 8,000 people joined his fast today. PTI PDKRK
Source: http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/in-spite-of-hate-campaign-people-of-guj-support-my-govt-modi/941415.html

Revenue land allotted for bustard habitat.

2011-12-21T10:06:00.001+05:30

TNN Dec 20, 2011, 04.35AM IST
AHMEDABAD: In a reversal of sorts from recent trends, the Gujarat government alloted 1500 hectares of revenue land in Kutch to the forest department for the development of a habitat for the critically endangered Great Indian Bustard. This land near the Kutch Great Indian Bustard Sanctuary is spread across two square kilometres in Nalia taluka, which is a prime breeding ground for the species.
The Great Indian Bustard (GIB) was up-listed to 'Critically Endangered,' the highest level of threat, by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in June this year.
According to a report by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), population of the GIB has been falling very fast and the bustards have disappeared from about 90 per cent of its range, while about there has been a 75 per cent decline within three generations. "We alloted 1500 hectare revenue land to the forest department recently for conservation of GIB," said Kutch district collector M Thennarasan. This has been done on the request of the forest department, he said. "Since the Bustards like grassland we plan to develop natural grass land in the area," Chief Conservator of Forest (CCF) D K Sharma said.
"The area alloted is presently not ideal due to agriculture activity and human interference. We will first stop all agriculture and develop grassland, as well as providing any other protection that may be required," he said.
Source: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-12-20/ahmedabad/30537797_1_great-indian-bustard-revenue-land-bustard-habitat

Gujarat slips on wetlands recognition, Pak gets honoured.

2011-12-21T10:04:00.005+05:30

Himanshu Kaushik, TNN Dec 18, 2011, 07.12AM IST
AHMEDABAD: Pakistan has scored over Gujarat on the environment front. Even though Pakistan has just 10% compared to Kutch's about 12,000 sq kilometers area that attracts migratory birds, the neighbouring country already has an international recognition for the same.
Pakistan part of the desert had got the tag of Ramsar site, way back in 2002. Gujarat , on the other hand, is yet to send a recommendation for the 90% of the Rann. An official in the forest department said the Kutch area easily qualifies for Ramsar recognition . He said that the Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar, Iran, 1971) is an intergovernmental treaty that embodies the commitments of its member countries to maintain the ecological character of their wetlands of international importance and to plan sustainable use.
However,the state forest department has not even recommended Kutch to be notified as Ramsar site. The official said that Ramsar tag would ensure international recognition to the area. Also the site gets a commitment from the government to preserve the ecological balance.
In addition, government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and groups of citizens at all levels of the communities, including at international stage, also undertake actions aimed at raising public awareness of wetland values and benefits in general, and the Ramsar Convention in particular. While attaching Ramsar recognition to Runn of Kutch in Pakistan in the year 2002, it was announced that this area was integral with the large Rann of Kutch across the frontier with India. The Runn of Kutch in Pakistan has locally and globally threatened species, including the great Indian bustard , houbara bustard, sarus crane, and hyena and also population of greater and lesser flamingos. The site does not have more then one lakh birds visiting the area.
On the contrary, over 10 lakh migratory birds flock the Indian parts of the Rann like Khadir and flamingo city. This sanctuary, which is the largest in the state, encompasses a true saline desert where thousands of Flamingoes nest and breed in the world-famous 'Flamingo City' . Pelicans, blacknecked storks, cormorant, Indian cormorant , brahmini duck, pintail, spotbill, shoveller , pochard, sandpiper, gulls, terns, stints and plovers also throng the area.
A ornithologist Bharat Jethwa says, "This is an extremely important area as it also a breeding site. The site if it gets a Ramsar recognition, it would be protected by international laws and global attention would be drawn on every measure taken for the conservation ." He said that the officials should immediately take it up and recommend this site for a Ramsar label.
Additional principal chief conservator of forest H S Singh says, "Gujarat always has maintained that there should be less penetration to outsiders. If a site gets Ramsar recognition there would much foreign interference in terms of researchers and hence Gujarat, and for the matter Centre too, was not keen on Ramsar recognition." He adds that countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh eye such tags because they get international funds for conservation, which is not the case with the Indian sites.
Source: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-12-18/ahmedabad/30530716_1_ramsar-site-wetlands-of-international-importance-ramsar-convention

Killer wires to go underground.

2011-12-21T10:03:00.001+05:30

TNN Dec 20, 2011, 04.25AM ISTAHMEDABAD: The deadly high-voltage power lines that killed more than 400 flamingos are finally going to be taken underground. The Gujarat Energy Transmission Corporation Limited (GETCO) has ordered a survey to mark areas in Khadir in Kutch where the lines will go underground. This is the same area where over 400 winged visitors had died after coming into contact with high-tension cables.
After The Times of India reported how the greater flamingos were electrocuted in the last week of November, principal secretary, forest and environment, S K Nanda asked GETCO to immediately take up a proposal for moving the cables underground or replacing the open high-tension wires with insulated wires. The company will have to complete the work before September 2012.
Surinderkumar Negi, the managing director of GETCO, said "After the incident, the department decided to take the power cables underground for nearly eight kilometer area."
Officials of the forest department said that during a meeting held on Saturday last with non-government organizations (NGOs) and GETCO officials, the proposal to move all power lines underground in Khadir was mooted. The officials said that an assurance was also given in the meeting that the efforts should be made to complete the work before the birds begin to arrive in Khadir region in September 2012.
Negi added that the department has begun the survey for the purpose. The survey will decide the actual area from where the lines will have to go underground. Negi said that the cost of laying the underground cables is likely to be approximately Rs 1 crore. The area which plays host to the winged visitors is 7.8 km. He said the underground lines cannot go below the temporary lake in Khadir that draws flamingos. "We will run the cables along the road," said Negi.
Officials said that no such incidents have been reported ever since cellophane papers and reflectors were stuck on the overhead cables. The birds have now moved away from the high-tension wires. "Number of birds in Khadir has gone down drastically since the birds are shifting from the high-tension wire with the water receding in the lake. The flamingos are now headed for the nearby Flamingo City in Kutch which is their last destination," said a forest official.
Source: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-12-20/ahmedabad/30537424_1_high-tension-wires-killer-wires-khadir-region

Lunging to save leopards.

2011-12-20T11:03:00.005+05:30

Himanshu Kaushik, TNN Dec 19, 2011, 03.21AM IST

AHMEDABAD: Twenty-one leopards were rescued in 2000-01. The number has now jumped to 161 in 2010-11. Majority of the rescue operations for leopards have been outside forest areas. A senior officer said that with sugar cultivation growing in several parts of the state, leopards are also moving into these fields.
An officer said that in Saurashtra or south Gujarat, sugarcane fields are the favourite dwelling place for leopards. During the leopard census held earlier this year, the fact that sugarcane fields were the most favoured destination was corroborated by the big cat's presence there and many pug marks found in these fields.

Chief conservator of forest, R L Meena said, "Sugarcane fields are important hideouts for leopards. With cultivation of sugarcane increasing in Kodinar and Una, leopards are moving out of forests and going to these areas. The animals have made the fields their homes. The fields are comparatively cool and also attract dogs and small animals which are easy prey for leopards.
The tall sugarcane plants are preferred by the big cats because they provide adequate cover and protection, and also breed in these sugarcane farms. Fields in Una, Talala, Kodinar in Saurashtra, and fields in south Gujarat and Vadodara have a good population of leopards. Forest officials said these are not their permanent homes, as these animals keep switching between the forest area and the fields.
With leopards moving out, the manleopard conflicts are also on an increase. There have been at least five to six incidents where humans have been attacked by leopards in the past months. In majority of the cases, leopards which were rescued had been too close to human habitat.
A large number of leopards were also rescued from unsecure wells outside the forest area. There are over 10,000 unsecure wells outside the area from Dhari in Amreli to Mahuva in Bhavnagar. Additional principal conservator of forest H S Singh said, "The leopard population in Gujarat has doubled in the last 20 years. There are 500 leopards in Gir and nearby areas."
Source: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-12-19/ahmedabad/30533698_1_leopard-census-leopard-population-manleopard-conflicts

Hunting for lions...in trouble.

2011-12-20T11:00:00.005+05:30

Himanshu Kaushik, TNN Dec 19, 2011, 03.23AM IST

AHMEDABAD: On Thursday, a team of forest officials got a tip-off about a lion trapped in a farm in Bhesan Taluka. The team quickly sounded an alarm and within 10 minutes, the entire team boarded a jeep and rushed to the spot.
This is not a rarity. The state forest department is now rescuing one animal daily on an average. Also on Friday, in Bhesan Taluka, a lion got trapped when a farmer laid a trap to prevent wild animals from entering his farm.

Deputy conservator of forests, Sandeep Kumar said, "In the last decade, the number of rescue operations has registered a seven-fold increase. As against 47 animals rescued in 2000-01, the number has gone up to over 322 a year in 2010-11. This includes even smaller animals like chital, nilgai and snakes among others."
The Gir reserve forest has a carrying capacity of 290 odd lions. However, the May 2010 census showed that there were 411 lions in and around the forest. Of these, 72 lions were outside in the revenue area spread along the Saurashtra coast and in Mahuva and Palitana.
Apart from the increasing population, experts feel that the big cats are able to live outside the forest because of plentiful livestock. Moreover, they prefer cattle though there are wild prey animals like nilgai and boar.
"The population of lions is increasing and they are also moving out of the jungle to establish new territories. Since the department now has more employees, more animals are being rescued," said Ravi Chellam, an expert on lions. "Also the habitat outside the Gir forest is changing. Often animals get into trouble by falling in wells or enter fields or houses."
Source: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-12-19/ahmedabad/30533969_1_gir-forest-odd-lions-ravi-chellam

ITTE 2011 Business Sessions focus on destination marketing, branding and trends in inbound and outbound tourism .

2011-12-20T10:57:00.003+05:30

Monday, December 19, 2011, 18:00 Hrs [IST]

By Maansi Sharma & Rashmi Pradhan | Mumbai

The Travel Agents Association of India’s (TAAI) Diamond Jubilee celebration in conjunction with ITTE and the TAAI Travel Awards 2011, held in Mumbai recently, witnessed industry experts sharing their insights and knowledge in two insightful and informative interactive business sessions. The two business sessions, ‘Destination Management and Brand Positioning' and ‘Trends in Inbound and Outbound Tourism', were put together by TravelBiz Monitor, the Knowledge Partner for the event.

The business session on ‘Destination Management and Brand Positioning' discussed the importance of branding and destination management in the travel and tourism scenario. The session was moderated by Sheldon Santwan, Editor & COO, TravelBiz Monitor and the speakers included Vipul Mittra, Principal Secretary - Tourism, Civil Aviation and Pilgrimage, Government of Gujarat; Hanneli Slabber, Country Head - India, South African Tourism; Carl Vaz, Director – India, Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing; Adel El Masry, Director, Egyptian Tourism Office in India and Emin Cakmak, Chairman, Turkish India Tourism Council.

Presenting audio-visual clippings shot for South Africa’s pre-World Cup and post-World Cup promotional campaigns, Slabber said, “While making these clipings, we made sure we had people in the video; we can show beautiful places, but people are an important aspect and form the crux of the complete campaign.” Speaking about the importance of branding and knowing one’s target audience, Slabber added, “A brand can't make a guest appearance. And you can't have a brand without a partnership. The most important thing is to ‘Know your Customers'. Listen to your customers and offer the product which is relevant to them.” Slabber stressed on the fact that alignment of a brand and brand promise is crucial.

Highlighting the tourism figures for Eqypt, Masry said, “In 2010, international arrivals to Eqypt were 14.7 million and we have been witnessing a 17.5 per cent increase year-on-year. In 2010, Indian arrivals to Eqypt were 1,14,000 and we have been witnessing a 36 per cent increase year-on-year from India. Tourism is important for the GDP of our country since it contributes 11.8 per cent to GDP. India is an important market for Eqypt.”

Gujarat has witnessed a considerable increase in the number of tourist arrivals since Gujarat Tourism roped in Amitabh Bachchan as their brand ambassador: before the campaign, the state received 800 visitors for Rann Ustsav, and after the campaign, visitor figures shot to 32,000 in 2010 and 75,000 this year. Mittra said, “While deciding the destinations for the Bachchan campaign, we first selected destinations with potential to attract the maximum traffic. We wanted to highlight the different facets of our state like wildlife, heritage, pilgrimage and desert; showcasing Gujarat as a destination for everybody.” Further, realising the state’s USP, the Asiatic lion sanctuary at the Gir National Park, Gujarat Tourism has changed their logo and the new logo has lion on it. “Gujarat is the only place in the world home to Asiatic lions and hence we made our USP as our brand logo,” revealed Mittra. Over the past few years, the state has increased its tourism budget aggressively.

Turkey, with its wonderful MICE facilities, museums, beaches, shopping, adventure activities, history, culture, golf courses and sports facilities, has received 27 million tourists in 2009, the seventh highest international tourist arrival figure for the year. Cakmak informed, “2023 will be the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Turkey and for that year, Turkey Tourism has forecast 50 million tourist arrivals, USD 50 billion in tourism revenue and the fifth rank in the world.”

Highlighting the importance of destination marketing, Vaz informed, “It is important to have a dialogue with the target audience. For instance, it is critical to educate the travel trade and the destination should be understood well before packaging the product. It is equally important to educate travelling consumers about the destination, generate awareness and create desire for the destination as an experiential option. The media too plays a very crucial role in projecting the destination. It is also vital to be a part of the travel trade associations for building relationships with the travel trade fraternity. In addition, trade associations play a very crucial role in encouraging bilateral and multilateral trade between nations. It encourages business and investment opportunities and establishes a channel of communication with potential travellers that have a propensity to travel.”

The second business session, ‘Trends in Inbound and Outbound Tourism', saw Ashwini Kakkar, Executive Vice-Chairman, Mercury Travels; Subhash Goyal, Chairman, STIC Travel Group; Abhijeet Patil, CEO, Raja Rani Travels Pvt Ltd and Karan Anand, Head - Relationships & Supplier Management, Cox & Kings forming the panel. KD Row, Executive Director, Sales and Marketing - India region, Air India, moderated the session.

Commencing the discussion, Kakkar stated that customer trends and behaviours are changing, as is the geographical trend. “We need to keep up with the pace of change and the dramatic shift in consumer patterns to closer, faster, cheaper travel. In addition, India and China are the next big inbound markets globally, and we need to adjust ourselves to cater to China as much as we did to cater to the other markets.” Patil suggested that the industry should try and adopt a Utopian model for progress, one that enables the industry to fight for fair prices that will increase inbound tourism.

Agreeing with Kakkar, Goyal stated, “Knowing trends is knowing the future. There are three Ts that depict the trends today – Technology, Telecommunication and Travel and Tourism. As leisure increases, so will travel and tourism. What we need to focus on is inbound tourism, our potential markets and our strengths - medical and holistic tourism. As far as outbound goes, there is a demand for shorter journeys. More non-stop flights will hence increase our business. Visa-on-Arrival facilities and infrastructure should be part of our main focus.”

Anand opined, “Outbound is still a new sector in India. During the 1990s, when airlines recorded a drop in business, agents decided to focus on leisure travellers. Due to calamities, inbound travel was affected, which shifted the focus to outbound. Shortly after, domestic came into notice. Now, corporate travel is back in the limelight. Indians have spread their wings, but still face certain challenges. First and foremost, we need to understand and embrace technology. Travel agents own nothing but their clients. The relationship we have with them during their travels will always hold our business; which means 24x7 quality service is a must, most of which can be made possible with technology. In addition, we need to pressure the Government into opening the doors to upcoming markets by extending the Visa on Arrival facility.”

Summarising the discussion, Row said that Visa on Arrival will be a critical decision, making it a crucial tool for the future. But what can the trade associations do to facilitate the Government's decision on issuing Visa on Arrivals to certain markets? Goyal responded, “With unity, we can make anything move. The security the government talks about is nonsense. During terror attacks, Sri Lanka faced losses due to lack of tourism, and they offered Visa on Arrivals. Their largest threat was the South Indians and that was the largest market they recorded. The associations must get together and fight for VoAs in the national interest.”

When questioned by Iqbal Mulla, President, TAAI, as to how inbound tourism figures can be increased to equal outbound tourism figures, Goyal said that Indians have made inbound tourism difficult for themselves. “It is difficult to get visas to enter our country. We need to shake up our bureaucracy to this reality,” he said.

Source: http://www.travelbizmonitor.com/itte-2011-business-sessions-focus-on-destination-marketing-branding-and-trends-in-inbound-and-outbound-tourism-15185

Illegal night safaris are killing Gir lions.

2011-12-20T10:52:00.004+05:30

Published: Sunday, Dec 18, 2011, 9:37 IST
By Roxy Gagdekar | Place: Ahmedabad | Agency: DNA
If you are invited to a night safari in or around Gir sanctuary with the promise that you will get to see the Lion King in its natural habitat, you would do well to know that night safaris here are illegal. Moreover, your wish to have a glimpse of the Lion King running through the forest in the moonlight can actually drive it to its death.
Sources close to the development said that many of the lions which had died in Gir in the last four years, were found to have died of brain hemorrhage.
Though no convincing medical explanation has been offered for the strange phenomenon, animal conservationists say that when the lions see the bright lights of vehicles taking people on a night safari, they panic and flee into the forest's darkness.
"Many of these fleeing lions collide with trees or rocks, and it is this which caused a brain hemorrhage," a source said.
Sources allege that there have been several instances of cars chasing fleeing lions and thereby inadvertently causing their death. These lion deaths were later registered as deaths due to brain haemorrhage.
Bhaga Barad, MLA from Talala constituency, had even raised a question in the assembly in 2010 about cars pursuing lions in the Gir forest. Talking to DNA over the phone from Talala, Barad said that there was an incident in which a car had pursued a lion. The animal had jumped into a gorge and died, the MLA said.
Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_illegal-night-safaris-are-killing-gir-lions_1627232

Trapped lion rescued from Gir forest

2011-12-20T10:51:00.000+05:30

PTI | 08:12 PM,Dec 15,2011

Ahmedabad, Dec 15 (PTI) A lion was rescued after itgot caught in a trap in Gir forest in Junagadh district,forest officials said today. The incident took place in the North range of Girforest late last night. The lion had got entangled in the trap, which was madeout of barbed wires and had started roaring, they said. "After the lion got trapped, the villagers heard hiscries and informed us," range forest officer J D Gojiya said. "We rushed to the spot and rescued the lion and senthim to Sakkarbaug Zoo in Junagadh city for treatment," hesaid. A search is on for the person, who had laid the trap,in which, the lion was caught, Gojiya said. PTI PB PD NP
Source: http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/trapped-lion-rescued-from-gir-forest/931563.html

Protection of Wild Animals

2011-12-15T12:42:00.003+05:30

15-December 2011
Important steps taken by the Government for public awareness for protection of wild animals including lion, leopard and bear include:
i. Financial assistance is provided to the State Government of Gujarat for the conservation of lions which includes awareness programmes.
ii. The Ministry has issued the guidelines for managing human-leopard conflicts for creating awareness among the public for safety of human beings and conservation of leopards.
iii. Special events like World Environment Day, World Forestry Day and Wildlife Week etc. are organized every year to spread awareness among the people for protection and conservation of environment, forests and wildlife.
iv. Financial and technical assistance is extended to the State Governments under various Centrally Sponsored Schemes, viz, ‘Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats', ‘Project Tiger’ and ‘Project Elephant’ for providing better protection and conservation to wildlife, including awareness programmes.
This information was given by the Minister of State for the Ministry of Finance Shri Namo Narain Meena who is Incharge of Environment and Forests in a written reply to a question by Shri B.N. Prasad Mahato and Shri Kaushalendra Kumar in Lok Sabha today.
KP
(Release ID :78530)
Source: http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=78530

Gir Lion Project: a rare conservation success story.

2011-12-13T10:42:00.001+05:30

A shepherd leads his herd of goats at Malcheel village in Gir forest. Amit Dave/Reuters

Janaki Lenin Dec 11, 2011

It is a rare, little-known conservation success story. Asian lions have shot up in numbers from a low 50 or fewer in the early 1900s to more than 400 today. For the last few decades, the 1,400 sq km Gir forest was known as the last refuge of a species that once ranged across north India, from the Punjab in the north, to Jharkhand in the east, to the Narmada river in the south, and as far west as northern Morocco and Greece. In India, lions were decimated by hunters. Their frequent roars gave away their location, the plains they inhabited provided convenient access, their social habits made bagging several at a time the norm, and firearms made it all easy.
In 1973, the Gir Lion Project relocated almost 600 resident Maldhari families and their livestock and banished hundreds of thousands of cattle that seasonally grazed in Gir. Easing the pressure from domestic animals allowed the vegetation to recover, and as a consequence, wild herbivores bounced back ten-fold. From living off cattle in the early days of the Project, the felines changed their diets to spotted deer, sambhar and nilgai. But several Maldhari families remain and livestock continue to use the forest as pasture.
Whether it is beef or venison, it makes no difference to a lion. However, the cats were chased away from cattle kills, so the owners could recoup some of their losses by selling the hide and meat. When more wild prey became available, the cats could fill their bellies, with no fear of losing their meal. And they proliferated. But they also continue to kill some livestock. That is inevitable when approximately 100,000 cattle, most belonging to people outside the reserve, continue to graze tantalizingly under the lions’ noses in the forests every day. About 4% of the total livestock population is lost to these felines annually.
Lions have been living outside the forest for several decades as well, says lion expert Ravi Chellam. The conservation impetus has helped them reclaim a fraction of their past range by colonizing Girnar Wildlife Sanctuary to the northwest. The intervening 20 km is dotted by 122 villages, including Bilka, a town of 11,000 people, which apparently did not deter the lions. The cats have padded into the sandy coast about 20 to 30 km to the south, although at least 30 villages dot the distance to the beach. They are also settling into a smattering of small riparian forests to the northeast, 9 km away. And these large cats live in the intervening farmlands. In all, more than 100 lions, including young adults, prides, and older males, share the landscape of 6 million humans outside Gir.

An Asiatic lion rests in Gir forest, about 355 km (221 miles) from the western Indian city of Ahmedabad. REUTERS/Amit Dave

The surrounding farmlands were predominantly growing wheat in the 1960s and 70s, until irrigation made sugarcane cultivation possible in the 1980s. These have now given way to extensive orchards of mangoes meant for the export market, says Chellam. Tree cover with minimal human activity provides shelter and plenty of domestic animals offer sustenance. Large cats without any forests to call home will settle for much less. So clearly the challenge to conservation lies here, outside the protected Gir forests. Other predators too share this landscape; leopards dodge both, lions and people.
Lion researcher, Meena Venkataraman reasons that the cats are able to live outside the forest because of the plentiful livestock and the surprising tolerance of people. Although there are wild prey animals, like nilgai and boar, there are also thousands of cattle, a veritable smorgasbord on hoof.
Lions are fecund animals and, as long as Gir is well-protected, they will always be found in the surrounding landscape. Except for Girnar, the other forest areas are small; most are hardly large enough to accommodate one lion. It’s likely that the cats will shelter in the woods during the day and hunt livestock in the surrounding villages at night. The only way to minimize the loss suffered by people is to help them secure their cattle, especially during the evening hours when hungry predators are on the prowl. Lack of prey will discourage the cats from settling down and getting comfortable.
Although people appreciate the Forest Department’s prompt response in rescuing lions that have fallen into wells or removing ones that are particularly bothersome, they aren’t impressed with the compensation scheme, which covers only a part of their cost for providing the lions’ dinner, says Venkataraman.
Human residents within 5 km of the Park have lived with these felines for a long time. They have more complaints against wild herbivores eating their crops than lions taking their animals. One might wonder why the presence of a top predator does not control crop-raiding herbivores. That’s because cattle are numerous and easier to kill than alert wild animals.
These felines were already venturing far afield in the mid-1980s when a severe drought killed thousands of livestock. After an initial period of feasting, the starving lions went on a spree of attacking humans. One lion was recorded 150 km away, near Rajkot. Since then, the relationship between the cats and people has been largely amicable. Clearly we need to understand what makes these villagers so tolerant of large predators in order to ensure that this conservation ethic does not become endangered.
Any change in land use, such as mining, industrialization, and crops, or even the weather, may tilt the balance against the cats, cautions Chellam. As more rural people aspire for urban lifestyles, they may become less tolerant of lions in the landscape.
Luckily, these cats generally seem to avoid attacking people and stay out of trouble. Compared to other large felines, or even their African cousins, the Gir lions are remarkably at home with people. After all, they have lived close to humans for at least 200 to 300 years. Chellam recalls African colleagues being amazed by how closely he could approach his study subjects without a rifle or any other weapon to protect himself.
With 100 lions living amiably among 6 million people, there is much that the rest of India and the world can learn about what makes this situation so remarkable.
Source: http://www.firstpost.com/india/gir-lion-project-a-rare-glimpse-into-a-conservation-success-story-153147.html

HC notice to Gujarat on PIL seeking protection of Nal Sarovar.

2011-12-09T12:08:00.001+05:30

PTI | 09:12 PM,Dec 08,2011 Ahmedabad, Dec 8 (PTI) The Gujarat High Court todayissued notices to the state government while hearing a publicinterest litigation (PIL) seeking protection of the ecologynear the protected Nal Sarovar bird sanctuary. The PIL filed by NGO Jagega Gujarat Sangharsh Samiti(JGSS) has also sought direction for the district collectorand the forest department to stop cutting trees which are overhalf a century old for expansion of road connecting the Sanandtown with Nal Sarovar. A division bench of acting chief justice BhaskarBhattacharya and Justice J B Pardiwala issued notice to thestate government, collector Ahmedabad, Conservator of Forest(DCF), and District Development officer (DDO), Ahmedabad. All the respondents have been asked to reply to theallegation made by petitioner in the PIL by December 15. The petitioner through the PIL has sought direction tothe district administration and forest department to stopcutting of tree for widening of road to Nal Sarovar,contending that by doing so, there would irreparable damage toenvironment and eco-systems there. It has further contended that over 6,000 trees thatstand along the 42 km long stretch, were 50-100 years old andcutting them could cause damage to the Nal Sarovar birdsanctuary.
Source: http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/hc-notice-to-gujarat-on-pil-seeking-protection-of-nal-sarovar/923489.html

Municipal school kids, teachers to be mobilized for tree census.

2011-12-09T12:06:00.001+05:30

TNN | Dec 9, 2011, 03.00AM IST
AHMEDABAD: The tree count which was to be taken up jointly by the Forest Department and Botany Department of Gujarat University this year will now be carried out by students and teachers of Ahmedabad Municipal School Board.
Officials from the forest department said that Forest and Botany department officials have in a meeting concluded that there was shortage of experts to carry out the tree census.
For just a survey of the area of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation one would need around 4,000 odd people for a week. Forest Department and GU's Botany department representatives finally decided to take the support of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation at a recently-held meeting.
Jagdish Prasad, Chief Conservator of Forests, Ahmedabad said, "Since the task was a huge, the three agencies have decided to rope in Class VII and VIII students of Ahmedabad Municipal School Board. Teachers of the municipal board's schools will also be roped in. In areas where there are no municipal schools, students enrolled in the eco clubs of various schools will join the counting exercise. Students of the Botany departments of various city colleges will also participate."
"For easy identification of trees, the Botany department has been asked to produce a booklet detailing the various species of trees found in the city," Prasad said.
Forest officials said that the department had in 2004 carried out a tree count for rural Gujarat. Urban trees, however were left out due to issues regarding jurisdiction. The rural data revealed that Gujarat had 26.86 crore trees. As per the last tree census, Ahmedabad district had less then one tree per person while Gandhinagar had 10 trees per person.
Officials said this is the first time that the social forestry department has taken up this tree count in urban areas. This count will not be carried out using the global positioning system (GPS) but would be a physical count. Rajkot Municipal Corporation whose area is smaller than Ahmedabad has already completed its count and is tabulating the data.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Municipal-school-kids-teachers-to-be-mobilized-for-tree-census/articleshow/11039183.cms

These trusting crepuscular animals are easy preys.

2011-12-08T10:48:00.001+05:30

By Dharmendra Khandal Nov 23 2011

While much is said about tiger poaching incidents, nobody really bats an eyelid when it comes to poaching of other smaller species. For instance, come winter, demand for bush meat increases and so does the poaching of sambar deer. Bush meat costs only a fraction of, say, that of a goat: domesticated animals need to be fattened up, while you just need a bullet to shoot sambar. The deer also makes it easy by feeding on the fields of green crops adjoining the forest areas.

But it must be said of Sambars: they are survivors, they have adapted themselves to a wider variety of forests and environment conditions. Sambar has an exceedingly wide geographic distribution that includes India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Philippines and beyond. They have also been introduced in California, Texas, Florida, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.

There are about a dozen sub species of sambar in the world; the Indian sub species of Sambar is restricted to India. In India, sambar has adapted itself to the moist forest of peninsular India, the pine forests of Himalayan foothills, the evergreen forests of northeast India and the thorny forests of Gujarat and Rajasthan. Sambars have been spotted in 208 protected areas of our country. Sambars are crepuscular, active during dawn and dusk. For the jungle lovers, the alarm call of a sambar is a sure sign of a predator in the vicinity. The major predators are tiger, leopard, pack of wild dogs and wolves. When a sambar senses danger, it would stamp its feet and make a ringing call, known as poking or belling. Sambar’s eyesight is only reasonable, however, to recompense for this, they hold exceptional powers of smell and hearing. A deer’s internal lining of the nose is covered with specialised skin called epithelium, which is covered by mucus membrane. The larger the deer, the greater the epithelium surface area and the more acute its sense of smell. It is believed, therefore, that larger, older deer are able to detect odours better than younger, smaller ones.

In fact, sambar use this sense of smell not just to detect the predator, but also to search and select its food, recognise their bedding spots and track others in the herds. A female sambar identifies her calf by its odour. Sambars also commune with and recognise other group members via glandular odours and secretions such as those exuded from the various body glands, which are situated near the eyes, feet and tail. Conceivably, the most important function of the scent is its role in communication with other deer.

The renowned wildlife scientist Dr Schellar made an observation in his Kanha notes that unlike other species of deer, sambar lives in smaller herds. When a sambar confronts a possible threat, it would not bolt – which would draw attention – instead, it would stand motionless, its dark pelage blending perfectly with the surrounding of the forest. Rajasthan’s Ranthambhore tiger Reserve is considered one of the best places for sighting not sambar deer. It is believed that sambar is the favourite prey of the tiger, mainly because a sambar can feed a tiger for about four to five days. However, it is also the favourite prey of a poacher.

(The writer is a conservation biologist at Tiger Watch, Ranthambhore)

Source: http://www.mydigitalfc.com/leisure-writing/these-trusting-crepuscular-animals-are-easy-preys-781

MUST SEE: Amazing award-winning wildlife photos.

2011-12-08T10:07:00.001+05:30

For more amazing photos please click source link @ below.

Last updated on: December 5, 2011 14:57 IST
SanctuaryAsia.com
Sanctuary Asia magazine recently announced its wildlife photography awards. Here are some of the pictures that got a special mention and the three award-winning pictures. Click on and be amazed!
Here are three winning entries of the Wildlife Photography Awards announced by Sanctuary Asia to encourage budding wildlife enthusiasts to protect and conserve forests and nature.
Also, check out the photographs that were shortlisted but despite being spectacular couldn't make the mark.
Sanctuary Asia was launched in 1981 and has been edited since by Bittu Sahgal, one of the strongest voices for biodiversity protection, climate change action in India.
Beginning with the entries that were categorised as 'special mentions' by Sanctuary Asia, a virtual junction for wildlife conservation news and campaigns across India.
1. Tables Turned by Lalith Ekanayake
This leopard (Panthera pardus) barely made it to the tree when a wild pig (Sus scrofa) in Sri Lanka's Yala National Park charged at it. Though it is the largest predator on the island it knows better than to risk injury from the razor-sharp tusks of a full-grown, angry wild pig.
Forests are filled with such dramatic moments and keeping such biodiversity-rich areas free of human disturbance is vital to any successful conservation effort.
Courtesy: SanctuaryAsia.com

Image: Tables Turned
Photographs: Lalith Ekanayake

Source: http://www.rediff.com/getahead/slide-show/slide-show-1-specials-must-see-amazing-award-winning-wildlife-photos/20111205.htm

Former BJP MP joins drive to save flamingos.

2011-12-07T10:26:00.001+05:30

TNN | Dec 7, 2011, 03.15AM IST
AHMEDABAD: Former BJP member of Parliament from Kutch Pushpadan Gadhvi has come forward to save the winged visitors from Siberia from the jaws of death. Over 400 flamingos had died after colliding with high tension cables in the Khadir region in Kutch.
Gadhvi is a trustee of a trust working to create awareness on saving birds, animals and even Gauchar land. Gadhvi who visited Khadir region said, "We need to take care of our winged visitors from dying in such large numbers."
The birds had died after they collided with the high tension transmission cables of Gujarat Energy Transmission Company (Getco). Getco had begun taking corrective measures after The Times of India reported on the death of scores of these birds along a recently electrified cable line.
Gadhvi said after the completion of the Kutch Rann Utsav, which begins on December 9, he will invite expert bird watchers from the area and even the experts from the Bombay Natural History Society to deliberate on the issue of the death of birds after collision with high tension cables.
"If the experts give an opinion that laying the cables underground was the best option, I would take the BJP party office bearers into confidence and talk to the minister of state for energy Saurabh Patel on laying cables underground." He said the forest department team has taken some measures like having cellophane papers and reflectors installed along the high tension wires, which is proving to be effective.
Also the department has installed light along the poles. He said that an awareness campaign will be organized to ensure that the birds were not poached or killed.
Officials in the forest department said, "With the water receding, the birds are moving away from cables towards the flamingo city situated in the region."
The flamingo city is located in the mudflats of the Rann, at the distance of around 10 kilometer from the Nir out-post on Kala Dungar.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Former-BJP-MP-joins-drive-to-save-flamingos/articleshow/11013601.cms

Environment clearance must for 20K sqm projects.

2011-12-07T10:23:00.001+05:30

TNN | Dec 7, 2011, 03.44AM IST
AHMEDABAD: Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) on Monday made it mandatory for all realtors to get an environment clearance certificate before launching building projects spread over 20,000 sq-metre plus.
According to the GPCB, any building project over 20,000 sq-metre has to get a clearance. But there are several projects in the city which have begun construction without the clearance. These projects have to be immediately stopped and an application for environment clearance has to be filed.
The central government had in 2009 made it mandatory to get environment clearance from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MOEF) or its state-level body. As per the directive, all constructions spread over 20,000 sq-metre built-up area had to go through mandatory environmental clearance from the state-level Environment Impact Assessment Authority. Projects larger than that had to be cleared by the MOEF. As per the directive, the developers, after acquiring the environment clearance, had to move their files to urban department of the state for building plan approval.
If any project which is constructed in the area of over 20,000 sq-metre, the GPCB will not give the clearance once the project is completed, stated the GPCB in a release issued on Monday. The GPCB said that such builders who complete the project without the environment clearance will be liable for the action and heavy penalty.
"The question of affluent water is tackled by civic bodies when town planning is announced in a particular area. Thus, construction business is not a polluting industry. However, extra care should be taken in the case of eco sensitive area," said Jaxay Shah, president of Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (Gujarat Chapter).
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Environment-clearance-must-for-20K-sqm-projects/articleshow/11013830.cms

Flamingo deaths: Power firm's firewall fails.

2011-12-07T10:21:00.001+05:30

Himanshu Kaushik, TNN Dec 4, 2011, 04.03AM IST

AHMEDABAD: State forest officials have found that reflectors, installed by Gujarat Energy Transmission Company (Getco) on its high tension wires, do not help flamingos avoid being electrocuted. The forest department kept a close watch on the movement of the birds on Friday night and concluded that burying the power cables underground was the only way to save the winged visitors.
Getco had on Friday put reflectors on supply wires so that the exotic birds could see the power lines and avoid collision. The Gujarat Energy Transmission Company (Getco) began taking corrective measures after The Times of India reported about the death of scores of these birds in the Khadir region of the Greater Rann of Kutch.
On Saturday, the forest department team led by chief conservator of forest D K Sharma, along with Getco staff, got reflectors installed on ropes running parallel to the high tension wires.
The forest department also had long strips of cellophane papers put up along the high tension wires.
"This measure proved to be more effective than using reflectors alone. The rattling noise and the movement of the cellophane papers kept the birds away. We will again keep a watch on Saturday night," said Sharma.
"We saw that wooden sticks which we were carrying were more effective then the reflectors. The birds were coming very close to the high tension wires with reflectors," said the forest department officer who was on night patrolling.
Sharma said, "After getting the night report, we have come to the conclusion that laying the cables underground is the only solution. I will write to the chief wildlife warden stating the same."
According to the report, the reflectors at many places had come close to each other and were not at regular intervals and the birds nearly hit the wires.
The forest department had on Thursday asked Getco to insulate the cables or bury them. The orders were issued after TOI reported that 400 flamingos had been electrocuted in the past 10 days along the lines which were electrified in March this year. The Siberian birds had started coming into the region in September.
Source: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-12-04/ahmedabad/30474294_1_reflectors-high-tension-wires-exotic-birds

Major win for Gujarat farmers; construction of cement plant cancelled.

2011-12-07T10:17:00.001+05:30

Published: Tuesday, Dec 6, 2011, 15:55 IST
By DNA Correspondent | Place: Ahmedabad | Agency: DNA
The farmers of Gujarathave won a major battle against the might of industry. The Union ministry of environment and forest is learnt to have permanently cancelled the environment permission granted to Nirma Ltd to construct a cement plant on a waterbody in Mahuva taluka of Bhavnagar.
This means the detergent giant would have to conclusively cancel its plans to construct a cement factory in fertile Mahuva belt. The farmers had approached the court and after several high-profile protests, the MoEF had appointed a committee to revise its decision. Two committee reports supported the farmers' claim, based on which the MoEF has now finally withdrawn the permission. The final hearing of the matter in Supreme Court is expected later this week where the MoEF is expected to announce this.
Though supported by the state government, the farmers of the region had protested the cement plant on the grounds that the environment clearance had been procured by faulty representation to the MoEF that that said land was a wasteland, while it was a waterbody, which accumulated water and supplied for farming in the surrounding villages.
Sources in the environment ministry in Delhi confirmed to DNA that the clearance has been withdrawn and the news is likely to be made public soon. DNA was the first paper to report on the struggle by Mahuva farmers against Nirma's cement plant and supported the movement over the past two years.
Ruling BJP MLA Kanubhai Kalsariya, who had championed the cause of Mahuva farmers in this connection, much to the chagrin of party leaders in the state, said, "After the expert committee report pointed out that the plant was not viable for the ecological balance of the area, we were hopeful of the ministry withdrawing the environment clearance given to the company."
The MoEF decision has come in the wake of opinion expressed by the Balu Committee, a seven member expert committee consisting of top scientists of the country.Kalsariya had earlier filed an appeal before the Supreme Court challenging the Gujarat high court order that gave a green signal to the plant subject to certain conditions.
The Balu committee, which was formed after the intervention of the Supreme Court, had reportedly concluded that the land allocated to Nirma for the cement plant was actually a water body and not a waste land.
Earlier, the Vaishnai committee formed by the MoEF for the same had also arrived at the same conclusion. Sourced close to the development said that the MoEF is likely to file an affidavit before the Supreme Court informing it about its decision. At present an appeal regarding the same is pending before the apex court.
The Gujarat government had allotted 268 hectare of land to Nirma for its cement plant in Mahuva. The farmers of the region under the banner Shree Mahuva Bandhara Khetiwadi Pariyavaran Bachav Samittee filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) before the Gujarat high court in 2009 through advocate Anand Yagnik. After a long legal battle, a two judge bench of the high court had given the green signal to the plant on the condition that the consumer giant surrenders some 100 hectare of land which formed the water body.
Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_major-win-for-gujarat-farmers-construction-of-cement-plant-cancelled_1622129

Lioness found dead in Gir Wildlife Sanctuary.

2011-12-07T10:14:00.001+05:30

PTI | 05:12 PM,Dec 03,2011

Vadodara, Dec 3 (PTI) A lioness has been found dead inPaniya forest range of Gir Wildlife Sanctuary in Gujarat'sJunagadh district, Forest Department officials said today. The carcass of the eight-year-old wild cat was spottedyesterday in the sanctuary, the last abode of Asiatic lions,said Manishwar Raja, Deputy Conservator of Forest. "Post-mortem revealed that she died after beingattacked by a lion," he told PTI by phone. According to the last Census conducted in 2010, thereare 411 lions in the Gir region. PTI COR RSYHK
Source: http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/lioness-found-dead-in-gir-wildlife-sanctuary/921744.html

223 lions, 193 leopards died in Gir in last four years.

2011-12-05T11:58:00.001+05:30

Published: Monday, Dec 5, 2011, 8:09 IST
By Roxy Gagdekar | Place: Ahmedabad | Agency: DNA

Even as Gujarat prides itself as the only home to the Asiatic lions in India at Gir National park, as many as 223 lions and 193 leopards have died in the sanctuary since 2006-07. The last census of lions in 2010 revealed that there were 411 lions in the Gir Sanctuary.
In reply to an application filed under the Right to Information Act (RTI), the office of the chief forest conservator informed out of 223 deaths, seven were the result of poaching while others died of natural causes or accidental deaths. The number of death due to natural causes stood at 182, while 33 have died due to accidents.
The last lion killed by poachers was in 2009-10. SK Nanda, principal secretary of forest and environment department, Gujarat said he was not aware of any poaching cases in the last couple of years.
When DNA pointed out that this data was revealed under the RTI, he said they could be ‘alleged poaching cases’. He insisted, “There has been no poaching death in Gir. Local people are aware, and poachers can’t function in the region without their support.”
According to the information made available under the RTI, most of the natural deaths were caused by brain hemorrhage. A source close to the development said usually a lion suffers from brain hemorrhage when it collides with a tree or a rock after running tirelessly, especially when it hears a sound or sees a light in the midnight.
The RTI activist, who didn’t want to be named, said it was puzzling to find that most of the lions have died due to brain hemorrhage. “It could only happen if the lion runs because of fear and collides with a tree or rock,” he said.
The activist also claimed the state government’s figures related to the lions population are misleading.
The activist claimed the number of deaths mentioned in the RTI reply only takes into account the lions whose post-mortem have been conducted. “There are many lions whose autopsy is usually not conducted and they are directly immersed,” he claimed.
Pointing out the reason behind the unnatural or accidental death of 33 lions, in last five years, the activist said, “Lions have either fallen into the open pits or in the open well”.
Principal chief conservator of forest, Pradip Khanna could not be reached for comment.
Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_223-lions-193-leopards-died-in-gir-in-last-four-years_1621407

Is Gujarat's pride taking a beating?

2011-12-05T11:55:00.001+05:30

Source: Roxy Gagdekar, DNA | Last Updated 02:52(05/12/11)

Ahmedabad: Gujarat prides itself as the only place in the world where Asiatic lions are found but since the year 2006-07 as many as 223 lions and 193 leopards have died in the Gir National park and sanctuary. According to 2010 census, there were 411 lions in Gir.
In reply to an application filed under the Right to Information (RTI), the office of the chief forest conservator revealed that of the 223 lion deaths in the region, 182 had died due to natural causes while 33 had died in accidents. Seven lions had died because of poaching.
The last time a lion was killed by poachers was in 2009-10. However, SK Nanda, principal secretary, forest and environment department, Gujarat said that he was not aware of any poaching cases in the last couple of years.
When DNA pointed out that the data on lion deaths in Gir had been acquired under RTI, he said the data could be about 'suspected poaching cases'.
"There has been no poaching death in Gir. Local people are alert and poachers can't operate in the region without their support," Nanda said.
According to the information made available under RTI, most of the lions which died because of natural cases had suffered brain hemorrhage.
An RTI activist close to the development said that a lion usually suffers from brain hemorrhage when it collides with a tree or rock after running tirelessly on hearing a sound or seeing light late in the night.
Source: http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/GUJ-AHD-is-gujarats-pride-taking-a-beating-2615802.html

Gujarat government orders insulation of high tension cables to save flamingos.

2011-12-02T17:25:00.001+05:30

Himanshu Kaushik, TNN | Dec 2, 2011, 05.05AM IST

AHMEDABAD: Insulate high tension cables or put them underground when they run close to the breeding grounds of the migratory greater flamingos in the Khadir region of Kutch. The state forest & environment department issued this order to the Gujarat Energy Transmission Company (Getco) on Thursday after TOI reported that 400 flamingos were electrocuted in the past 10 days.

Principal secretary, forests & environment, SK Nanda told TOI, "Getco will have to complete the work before September 2012, before a new batch of flamingos arrives." He also asked senior forest officers to identify other such sites where the birds may be in danger. "We will ensure the cables are laid underground at all sites used by the flamingos." The officials have already identified an eight km stretch in Khadir where maximum birds have been killed.

TOI had reported on Thursday that the largest number of birds may have been killed at night. They may have been startled by a passing vehicle or an attack by a predatory bird and flown straight into the high tension cables difficult to see in the dark. On Thursday, Gujarat principal chief conservator of forests S K Goyal held a series of meetings with Getco officials to find out ways to reduce flamingo deaths. Surinder Kumar Negi, Getco's managing director, said, "We are sending a team of experts to the area to find a solution."

Until the cables are put underground, Getco will cover them with reflector tape which will shine at night and hopefully keep the birds at bay.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Gujarat-government-orders-insulation-of-high-tension-cables-to-save-flamingos/articleshow/10951688.cms

400 flamingos die in Gujarat .

2011-12-01T09:44:00.001+05:30

1 Dec, 2011, 12.20AM IST, Himanshu Kaushik,TNN

AHMEDABAD: Greater Flamingos, which fly thousands of miles from Siberia to breed in the warm marshes of the Khadir region in Kutch, are landing into a death trap. In the past 10 days, at least 400 of these graceful birds have been electrocuted by high tension cables near their breeding grounds.

D K Sharma, chief conservator of forests, admitted to at least 130 deaths, but locals and ornithologists have been recording much higher numbers. The flamingoes have landed in record numbers this year, with one estimate putting their strength at five lakh, the highest ever.

Experts said the deaths were taking place at night, when the birds disturbed by passing vehicles would fly straight into the wires. The 220-400 kilowatt cables can kill a human being instantly.

Bharat Jethawa, census coordinator for Asian Water Birds, said, "It is difficult to estimate the number of deaths, but I saw dead flamingos at three or four places during a recent visit."

This is the second instance of mass electrocution of the birds in Gujarat this year. In June, a large number of flamingoes were similarly killed in Bhavnagar. The dead birds became an easy meal for stray dogs in the area.

Experts said the problem had grown in recent years. In their recently published study titled 'Flamingo mortality due to collision with high tension electric wires in Gujarat', ornithologists Anika Tere and B M Parasharya mapped seven sites in Kutch, Bhavnagar and Jamnagar where high tension cables run close to flamingo sites.

Jugal Tiwari of the Centre for Desert and Ocean said birds of prey like harriers also contribute to the deaths by creating a flutter in flamingo colonies, leading to the birds flying into the cables.

"I have suggested that the cables should be insulated with rubber coating to protect the birds," Tiwari said.

The forest department has written to the state government's energy department, asking for the cables to be either insulated or put underground at places where they run close to flamingo breeding grounds.
Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/environment/flora-fauna/400-flamingos-die-in-gujarat/articleshow/10936754.cms

Night flying costs flamingos their lives.

2011-12-01T09:43:00.001+05:30

Himanshu Kaushik, TNN | Dec 1, 2011, 02.57AM IST
AHMEDABAD: For some winged visitors a journey of over 2,000 km from Siberia comes to a deadly end just when they swoop in to land in the shallow waters of Kutch. Electric wires char their feathers and even result in death.
This phenomenon has been documented in a study 'Flamingo mortality due to collision with high tension electric wires in Gujarat' by Anika Tere, now with MS University and B M Parasarya of Agriculture University Anand.
The study published in the last week of November 2011, revealed that the flamingoes who are known to fly at night and in low light collide with the near invisible overhead wires because of the negligible reaction time to make evasive manoeuvres.
The study, also concluded that freshly dead flamingos were found in the morning hours suggesting that these overhead wires are not visible at night and in the dark hours of late evenings or early morning.
The study also points out that along the international border, the presence of the electrified barbed wire fence and the electricity lines powering the fence as well as villages on the frontiers make formidable obstructions to the birds. The study takes note of a soldier's narration of how flamingos get trapped in the electric fence on the international border.
The study further reveals that compared to the large population of flamingos and other factors causing mortality, the mortality caused by collision with high tension wires is low.
The duo noted that bird deaths due to collision with power lines at temporary and permanent sites should not be neglected and management plans are required to be drawn up to reduce these threats.
The study reveals that the incidences of collision with utility structures in these parts of Gujarat have remained unnoticed. Flamingos visiting the Rann of Kutch during their breeding season are exposed to such wires only for a short period of the year, however, at other feeding sites such as salt pans and the sewage ponds of urban areas like Bhavnagar and Jamnagar they continuously face the risk of collision as they spend more time there.
Recommendations:
* Technical modifications of such high tension wires will help in regulating collision.
* Wrap wires with colored radium tags, at least in collision sensitive areas. This would make the wires visible during day time and shine during the night hours also. Hence, a marking device could limit the collision threat by improving visibility.
* Power lines should be removed from the sites of frequent collisions and the routes can be altered or underground cables can be laid.
* Maintain critical distance between the wires and the areas inhabited by birds.
* Research and monitoring should be implemented by state governments and electricity companies, in consultation with relevant experts.
* A cooperative effort is required among biologists, authorities within the state forest department and electricity board engineers.
* A further detailed case study can be done to evaluate examples of conflict resolution, case law, or trends.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Night-flying-costs-flamingos-their-lives/articleshow/10937831.cms

Coming soon: Six new zoos .

2011-12-01T09:38:00.001+05:30

Wednesday, 30 November 2011 23:36

Moushumi Basu | New Delhi

Much to the delight of children and animal lovers, at least six new zoological gardens are being proposed in the country. Among the major attractions in them will be the first ever Night Safari in the country at Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh and Panther Safari at Raigad in Maharashtra. The new zoos will be in addition to the already existing 22 in the country.
According to sources in the Central Zoo Authority, out of the six proposed zoological gardens that have been granted approval three are in Uttar Pradesh alone. Out of the other three, two are in Maharashtra and one in Madhya Pradesh.
The most awaited is, however, the Greater Noida Night Safari which will be the fourth of its kind in the world after Singapore, China and Thailand. CZA has granted approval under Section 38H(2) of the Wildlife Protection Act. It has also got the mandatory approval by the Supreme Court.
The Lion Safari proposed in Etawah, though having received clearances from both the CZA and the SC, has remained a non-started due to a power tussle between SP and BSP.
Yet another zoo proposed at Ramgarh Tal Development Area in Gorakhpur is expected to house animals from derecognised zoos of the State.
Two other similar proposals for Agra and Muradabad have, however, been shot down on the ground that the proposed sites were within the flood plains of Yamuna and Ram Ganges rivers and thus not suitable for creation of zoos.
Maharashtra being one of the worst-hit States in man-leopard conflicts, CZA has also granted approval for setting up a leopard rescue centre at Ahmednagar. Further, Madhya Pradesh is also expected to have a zoo and animal rescue centre at Satna.
Among the existing top five zoos, the Alipur Zoological Gardens (West-Bengal) is home to rare captive breeding projects involving the Manipur Brow-antlered Deer.
The Allen Forest Zoo (Uttar Pradesh) is created out of natural forest and its main attractions include white tigers and Asiatic lions. Aringar Anna Zoological Park (Tamil Nadu) is an Avian paradise and roosting ground for migratory birds. It is also home to a wide variety of species of monkeys. While the Mahendra Chaudhary Zoological Park/ Chatbir Zoo (Chandigarh) has Lion Safari and Royal Bengal Tiger as its main draws, the Guwahati Zoo (Assam) has one-horned rhino, Himalayan Black Bear, stump-tailed Macaque and the Hoolock gibbons as its major attractions.
Source: http://dailypioneer.com/nation/24434-coming-soon-six-new-zoos.html

2-km buffer zone to check new constructions at Gir.

2011-12-01T09:34:00.001+05:30

Express news service

Posted: Dec 01, 2011 at 0437 hrs IST

Ahmedabad The parallel successes of lion conservation in the Gir sanctuary and a strong tourism promotion drive there has forced the state forest department to establish a no-construction zone within a two-km radius of the protected area.
Top forest officials said they have been “silently” working towards looking at Gir as “Greater Gir”, which not only includes this two-km buffer zone but a thorough mapping of grasslands and scrub-grassland combinations in Amreli and Bhavnagar.
At a biodiversity conference organised jointly by the state’s Environment and Forests (E&F) department, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Centre for Environment Education (CEE) here on Wednesday, a top official said that a notification for the two-km buffer zone has already been passed.
“There are pressures from excessive tourism (in Gir), and tourism of course needs a standard infrastructure to sustain it. But the carrying capacity of the region cannot be stretched beyond a certain extent,” said Bharat Pathak, director of the Gujarat Ecological Education and Research (Geer) Foundation, an autonomous body set-up by the E&F Department in 1982.
“That’s why we have prohibited the construction of any new tourist resorts in this two-km buffer bordering the protected area. It has been notified already. But the existing structures will remain,” he added.
Pradeep Khanna, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) and head of the state’s wildlife, said all commercial structures are prohibited under this new rule.
Replying to a question by CEE’s Kiran Desai on how the department is bracing for possible man-lion conflicts because of the department having “succeeded too much” in its conservation efforts, Khanna said, “Silently, we have added Greater to Gir. Hardly anyone has noticed this.”
“This Greater Gir consists of areas in Amreli and Bhavnagar districts. We have mapped the whole area. Silently, the grasslands have been dedicated to lions. So when you hear about lion sightings there, it’s because we have in a sense paved the way for them to be there,” said Khanna.
Pathak added that the entire Saurashtra region has non-contiguous patches of adequate grasslands and scrub-grasslands where lions can thrive, and it is a possibility, even if unlikely, to have lions “all over Saurashtra”.
Tourist inflow on the rise
Forest department figures show the number of visitors to the Gir has increased tremendously after the tourism department roped in actor Amitabh Bachan to help promote tourism in the state.
Christmas and Diwali festivals, considered the main tourist seasons, have especially shown impressive gains — 58,078 visitors were registered during these two seasons in 2009-2010, which increased to 86,590 in 2010-2011.
The latest count of the Asiatic lion population, released in May 2010, showed an increase of 52 lions from the last count five years ago, taking the total to 411.

The count had also established the presence of lions outside the Gir National Park and Sanctuary area, in the four districts of Amreli, Bhavnagar, Porbandar and Junagadh. Altogether, 76 lions — 21 females and 26 males — were recorded in the greater Gir region.
Source: http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/2km-buffer-zone-to-check-new-constructions-at-gir/882703/

Rubble fences to replace barbed wire.

2011-11-30T09:28:00.001+05:30

TNN | Nov 30, 2011, 05.33AM IST
AHMEDABAD: The forest department, taking the death of a lioness in Una range seriously, has plans to propose a ban on the use of barbed wire fencing in and around the Gir National Park. The department is planning to propose rubble fences in the periphery of Gir Sanctuary and also in the corridor which has lion movement.
A senior forest department official further said the department will also propose that the government give farmers a subsidy to replace barbed-wire fence.
Since October 2007, over eight lions have been killed in incidents of electrocution. The incident at Una was the second such occurrence in Ghttp://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Rubble-fences-to-replace-barbed-wire/articleshow/10925909.cmsir this year.
Chief conservator of forests R Meena said, "The government gives a subsidy for construction of barbed wire fencing in the state. Hence, at least in Gir region, we will propose a shift to construction of rubble fencing."
He said that the matter will be proposed to the government keeping in view the incidents of electrocution.
The department along with the police and the electricity department officials have been carrying out regular search and raids. "Recently, a farmer was fined of Rs 50,000 by the forest department after officials found a live electric wire connected to his fence," said Meena.
The electricity department has also ensured that if a farmer is caught indulging in this dangerous practice, he will not be given an electricity connection any further.
A senior official of the forest department said that the modus operandi was simple. Unscrupulous farmers connect the barbed-wire fencing around their farms with high tension wires passing over his field or with the power connection given to draw water from his bore well. The naked wire would then be left on the barbed-wire fence to create the impression that the wire was left there by accident.
The department said that this was done to keep away Neelgai. But lions fall victims to such live wires. Forest officials said rubble fences would be the way to ensure this practice doesn't continue.
Source:

Two held for electrocuting lioness near Gir sanctuar.y

2011-11-30T09:27:00.001+05:30

PTI | 01:11 PM,Nov 29,2011 Vadodara (Guj), Nov 29 (PTI) Two farmers were todayarrested from Dhokdawa village in Junagadh district after alioness was found electrocuted in their farm located on theperiphery of the Gir Wildlife Sanctuary, a senior forestofficial said. "Jashabhai Bhagwan Badhaniya and his brother JanaBhagwan Bandhaniya were arrested on the charges ofelectrocuting a lioness in their farm located at Dhokadwavillage in Una taluka of Junagadh district under the Wild LifeAct 1972," said Manishwar Raja, Deputy Conservator of Forest,Gir (east) division. The seven-year-old lioness was electrocuted atDhokadwa village in Una taluka located on the periphery of theGir sanctuary in Junagadh district on Monday night, he said. "The wild cat was found hanging inside a well locatedin the farm," Raja said. The arrested accused had erected an electric fence attheir farm, apparently to prevent wild animals from enteringand damaging the crops. Preliminary investigations have revealed the lionesshad stepped on a live wire inside the farm when it strayed outof the forest area in search of food, Raja said. According to B T Ahir, Range Forest Officer, theForensic team rushed to the spot after learning about theincident and conducted postmortem of the feline there. Thecharges could invite imprisonment ranging from 3 to 15 years
Source: http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/two-held-for-electrocuting-lioness-near-gir-sanctuary/918346.html

Lioness' carcass found, farmer held.

2011-11-30T09:25:00.001+05:30

TNN Nov 28, 2011, 11.17PM IST

AHMEDABAD: Carcass of a seven-year-old lioness was found from Jasadhar forest range area of east division of Gir wildlife sanctuary in Una taluka on Sunday, following which a farmer, suspected of electrocuting the big cat, was detained on Monday.
Forest officials detained farmer Jasabhai Baldana of Sanosari village from whose farm a live wire was found around the fencing. The farm is just five km from the range forest area. Sources in the forest department said that the lioness bore electrocution mark on her feet, and after the live wire was found from the field the farmer was detained on the ground of suspicion.
"We have detained the farmer for questioning as the death is suspected to have been caused by electrocution. However, post-mortem report is being awaited to ascertain the exact cause of death. We are also taking the help of forensic science experts in the investigation," said deputy conservator of forest (Gir east) Manishwer Raja.
Source: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-11-28/surat/30449907_1_lioness-carcass-forest-officials

Gir's plastic heap worries foresters.

2011-11-29T11:12:00.001+05:30

Himanshu Kaushik, TNN | Nov 29, 2011, 05.55AM IST
AHMEDABAD: The day is not far when an Asiatic lion chokes on a plastic bag in the only place it calls home - the Gir forest. Environment activists have removed six tonnes of plastic from around Mount Girnar, which is home to 24 lions on the edge of Gir sanctuary.

Every year, lakhs of devotees come for the four-day 'Lili Parikrama' that begins and ends at the Bhavnath temple on Mount Girnar. This year the parikrama began on November 6. In the process, devotees leave behind pouches of country liquor, gutkha packets, water bottles and wrappings of wafers and biscuits.

The fair, organized by local people, sadhus, police and forest department officials, has now been curtailed to 9.6 km from the original 19.3 km that it was spread across. But the mountain of plastic only seems to be growing in size every year, especially since it has become a huge tourist attraction due to the 'Khushboo Gujarat Ki' ad campaigns. M A Kant, the Junagadh range forest officer , said they loaded more than 15 tractors with garbage after cleaning the forest.

Junagadh MLA Mahendra Mashru , who helped in the clean-up , said, "We will need at least three to four more rounds to ensure all the plastic is removed from the forest." Forest officials are worried after post-mortem revealed there were plastic bags in the stomach of many of the herbivores that died in the forest. Herbivores like Chital, Sambhar and Nilgai are the main prey base of the big cats. The plastic waste when consumed by herbivores clogs their intestine, which results in death. An officer said lions usually don't eat plastic waste but there was a fear they may consume it while feasting on a herbivore. Dr Meena Venkataraman , a member of Wildlife Institute of India said, "The central government has already banned plastic bags and should definitely be kept out of a delicate ecosystem like Gir."
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/pollution/Girs-plastic-heap-worries-foresters/articleshow/10913182.cms

Different strokes Joy of nature

2011-11-28T11:16:00.001+05:30

Monday 28 November 2011 Different strokes
Joy of nature
M Y Ghorpade believed that a good photograph of wildlife conveyed directly the joy and beauty of nature. The ace lensman will forever be remembered for his photographs of birds and animals in the wild, writes Giridhar Khasnis

For many wildlife enthusiasts as well as lay readers, Murarirao Yeshwanthrao Ghorpade’s Sunlight and Shadows: An Indian Wildlife Photographer’s Diary is a venerable tome. First published in 1983 in London by Victor Gollancz, a revised and enlarged version of the book was released by Penguin Books India in 2004. The book, which carries a Foreword by Indira Gandhi, is packed with a host of nature photographs shot by the ace lensman in different locales and natural reserves like Bandipur, Nagarahole, Kanha, Gir, Kaziranga, Sawai Madhopur, Bandhavgarh and Bharatpur. Ghorpade tells the reader how he covered forest trails on foot as well as in ‘a decrepit, old, rattling van’. Many of his pictures were also taken riding on the back of elephants. Those were the days of analog photography and not digital. That necessitated his filling his specially tailored pockets with four loaded Hasselblad magazines to enable 48 exposures without having to load. The range of subjects is vast: from leaping monkeys, dancing peacocks, fuming wild buffaloes, tongue-lashing monitor lizards, to sambar stags with big antlers, wild boars with twisted tushes, big bulls with impressive horns, herds of elephants wallowing in mire and rolling in slush, and wild boars feeding on the carcass of their kill. His attraction to birds is quite evident, especially those approaching their nests and feeding their young ones. For him, a bird song at dawn was its way of gearing itself up to meet the world with joy and light; for most birds, according to him, daylight was very important to feed, play and to make love. In Sunlight and Shadows, Ghorpade supports his pictures with interesting commentaries. For instance, while capturing prides of lions on ground, on rocks and on trees, sitting with majestic grace and dignity, he writes, “The tail is an important indicator of how alert a lion is and what is passing through his mind.” And speaking of regal and ferocious tigers, he observes that, among other habits, they are “meticulously clean animals in spite of the messy business (of killing) they have to indulge in twice or thrice a week to satisfy their hunger.” As curiously, we are told that one of his celebrated photographs — ‘Tusker in Rain’ — was taken with no plan or preparation. In fact, the situation was far from ideal. His jeep was firmly stuck in monsoon slush of a forest road in Bandipur when the grand animal walked into the scene. Sitting in a jeep which looked like a wet canvas hide from behind, the photographer had nothing else to do but take as many shots as possible with his Hasselblad while the tusker scrubbed itself with the trunk, plastered itself with wet mud and rubbed his sides vigorously against a strong tree. Only after the animal left the scene and receded into the forest were Ghorpade and his men able to pull the jeep out of the mire and proceed towards their camp. In his enthusiasm for shooting wild animals, Ghorpade does not turn a blind eye to seemingly less exciting situations. He describes with warmth and wonderment about the evening forest (in Nagarahole) when glow-worms in perfect consonance and breathtaking patterns perched themselves on every branch, twinkling with amazing unison at regular intervals. “I sat there watching this marvelous play of light until the mosquitoes, who are no respecters of beauty, drove me in.” In another instance, he explains how nobody could take undue liberties with the tiger; and how even the mahouts, who are used to seeing these tigers quite regularly, would fold their hands in salutation when they sighted a tiger for the first time during the day. Sandur connection Ghorpade’s name is intrinsically linked with his home town Sandur (Bellary district), which he describes in the book as “a peaceful little place in the heart of an ancient valley which Mahatma Gandhi described as an oasis when he visited it in the early 1930s.” He compares Sandur valley to a giant fortress, encompassed by a striking range of hills with two natural gateways or narrow gorges on either side, connected by a temperamental forest stream. He recalls how as a schoolboy, he would happily roam the jungles of Sandur; how one had only to step out of the classrooms to be in the company of birds and animals; and how snakes, lizards and various invertebrates, including scorpions, often found it quite convenient to climb on to the veranda of the school and sometimes even into the classrooms. He also cheerfully reminisces that nature study was a popular subject in school, and students benefited from teachers who took them on regular birdwatching trips to identify birds, record their habits and behaviour, and collect botanical specimens. According to him, in the 1930s and ‘40s, Sandur was full of wildlife, but the following decades turned dangerous for it. He also recounts that it was in Sandur that he took his first nest-site photograph of a bird — that of a female purplerumped sunbird. Before proceeding to capture it for posterity on his camera, he watched the indefatigable little bird, smaller than a sparrow, bringing strand after strand of dry grass to construct her nest, single-handedly. Many roles Ghorpade, whose father too was a nature lover and wildlife enthusiast, was born in 1931 as a direct descendant of a royal family. He was initially educated in Sandur and later in Bangalore, before obtaining his MA at Cambridge University in 1952. He had an active political career and was finance minister, Government of Karnataka, from 1972 to 1977. He was elected as a member of Parliament in 1986, and was minister for rural development and panchayat raj for about seven years in Karnataka. Recipient of a honorary doctorate from Mysore University in 2006, he was the chairman and managing director of Sandur Manganese and Iron Ores Limited. Although he took on many roles, it is quite obvious that his heart was with nature photography and conservation. “Wildlife photography and wandering in unspoilt natural environments are activities which I will not voluntarily give up,” he wrote in the author’s note of Sunlight and Shadows. “They are an inseparable part of my life.” Ghorpade’s achievements and accomplishments in the field of photography were well recognised. His photographs were featured in national and international salons and won prizes. He was awarded the fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain (FRPS) and the Excellence De la Federation Internationale De L’Art Photographique (EFIAP) in 1976. In 1983, he became the first wildlife photographer to receive the prestigious international award of Master Photographer (MFIAP – Master Federation Internationale De L’Art Photographique). He also became the driving force behind the setting up of the Daroji Bear Sanctuary near Sandur. Many challenges Ghorpade believed that a good photograph of wildlife conveyed directly the joy and beauty of nature. He considered wildlife photography to be a continuous process of learning and adapting to field conditions, the nature and temperament of different species, and the mood of particular animals in a given condition. “There is always a certain amount of risk in wildlife photography, specially when one has to get close enough to take a picture; but a combination of ignorance and arrogance can be fatal.” Ghorpade consciously chose the medium of black-and-white photography because of its relative permanence compared to colour, and the scope it gave for artistic expression. For him, the outstanding quality in a photograph was not just a matter of technical perfection; it was not only what the human eye saw while taking a picture but what the eye of the camera saw and recorded on the negative, and the total effect of the photograph after it was printed and enlarged. In his book, Ghorpade reveals several challenges faced by a wildlife photographer. One of them was patience and the ability to remain perfectly silent for a sufficiently long time. Another was to remain ever alert to every developing situation. He recalls, for instance, the ruthlessness and ravenous swiftness with which a kill was made by a wild animal and its victim eaten; and the blood-curdling cry of a chital done to death by a pack of wild dogs is remembered with a tinge of anguish. One also comes to know how many worthy photographers, in their honest moments, have committed common errors, including the classic one of forgetting to remove the lens cap while using a range-finder camera and discovering the omission only after the film was developed blank. Ghorpade asserts that after photographing a panther at Sandur in 1968, he never used a flash again to photograph a wild animal. ‘Belaku Neralu’ The Kannada translation of Sunlight and Shadows is almost ready and publisher N Ravikumar of Abhinava Prakashana is heartbroken that it could not be released when the author was still alive. (Ghorpade died at a private hospital in Bangalore on October 29 of complications arising out of acute pneumonia.) “We have been associated with Shri Ghorpade for quite some time,” recalls Ravi. “Abhinava has brought out Kannada translation of several of his books including Abhivruddi, Aalike mattu Maanaveeya Moulyagalu (Growth, Governance and Human Values) / 2009, Rekkeya Mitraru (Winged Friends) / 2010, Muktiya Rahasya (The Secret of Salvation) /2010, Sahasada Ondu Seemarekhe (A Profile in Courage) / 2011 and Kanchiya Paramacharyaru (Paramacharya of Kanchi) / 2011. We were keen to release the Kannada version of Sunlight and Shadows at the earliest. Ghorpade was also very enthusiastic and co-operative. I only wish things had worked out sooner than later. Even a week before his death, I had spoken to him about the book, and he was as excited as ever. There was no indication that he would go away so suddenly.” The Kannada book is now slated for release on December 7, which happens to be the 80th birth anniversary of Murarirao Yeshwanthrao Ghorpade.Source: http://www.deccanherald.com/content/207520/joy-nature.html

The Scandal of India's Human Rights.

2011-11-26T09:59:00.001+05:30

Too much of this in India

Written by Neeta Lal
Friday, 25 November 2011

Activists are too often killed, ‘disappeared’ or intimidated
India scarcely has a human rights record it can be proud of. Killings of human rights activists, intimidation and `disappearance’ of those who question the state’s ways, widespread use of torture by law enforcement agencies and the Parliament’s continued inability to enact enabling legislation to prevent human rights violations, underscore a disregard for basic humanitarian laws.

The recently-released Asian Center for Human Rights Report, 'Torture in India 2011' further reinforces this reality. The report states that between 2001 and 2010, 14,231 persons – or more than four persons per day -- died in police and judicial custody in India. This includes 1,504 deaths in police custody and 12,727 deaths in judicial custody. The northern state of Uttar Pradesh leads the tally in judicial custody with 2,171 deaths, followed by Bihar (1,512), Maharashtra (1,176), Andhra Pradesh (1,037) and Tamil Nadu (744).

According to the ACHR’s director, Suhas Chakma, 99.99 percent of deaths in police custody can be ascribed to torture and occur within 48 hours of the victim being taken into custody. Denial of medical facilities and sub-human conditions in jails are the other reasons for these alarming figures according to the official.

However, these deaths, Chakma told the media, reflect only a fraction of the problem as not all deaths in police custody and prisons are reported to the National Human Rights Commission, the country’s premier body for the protection of human rights.

As far back as 1997, the UN human rights committee expressed its anxiety about the widespread use of torture by law enforcement agencies in India. But despite the grim scenario, the Ministry of Home Affairs has failed to introduce the Prevention of Torture Bill, 2010 that is designed to address the problem. Neither have existing laws been modified to hold perpetrators accountable.

The landmark torture bill, say legal experts, is the preliminary step towards ratification of the UN Convention against torture adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in December 1975. But India has not yet ratified the convention although has been a signatory since October 1997. The ratification requires enabling legislation that would be necessary to give effect to the Articles of the Convention which is currently not in place.

The parliament has ignored calls from Amnesty International to ensure fair trials at international standards while organizations like the United Nations and the European Union have consistently voiced their unease at India's disregard for humanitarian laws.

To make matters worse, India has recently witnessed a surge in human rights violations. India’s transparency law — Right To Information — came into force in 2005. But while the legislation has given India a new crop of citizen activists who have lobbied successfully for transparency and change, police raids on human rights activists, their intimidation and killings underscore another murky reality.

The violations also spotlight the state’s impotence in protecting activists. According to the National RTI Forum, at least 12 information seekers have been killed across the country since 2008. The gunning down of Shehla Masood, 36 in broad daylight in Bhopal in front of her house on Aug. 16 raises fundamental questions about the safety of activists in a multiparty democracy. Masood had questioned the Madhya Pradesh government’s policy of favoring certain individuals with her information queries. Her killers are yet to be arrested.

Police sources say the possible cause of Masood’s assassination was her right to information crusades. The activist had been protesting illegal diamond mining in her state in connivance with top government officers. She was also instrumental in highlighting tiger and leopard killings which are transpiring right under the noses of forest officers.

Another activist, Amit Jetwa, 36, who had used the information act to expose illegal mining and encroachment near Gir forest in Gujarat, met with a gory end in July 2010. Satish Shetty, 38, a whistleblower, credited with exposing major land scams in the southern Talegaon and Lonavala regions, was assassinated in January 2010. He had exposed corrupt land deals in and around the country’s first expressway, the Mumbai-Pune expressway.

“These acts of violence underscore a larger governance crisis and the failure of the government to protect its citizens,” says Abbas Mehkri, a New Delhi-based civil lawyer. “It is also a chilling statement on the State’s growing intolerance towards dissent.”

Activists have pointed to the need for legal protection for information seekers by strengthening the current public interest and disclosure bill currently tabled in Parliament.

But legal protection alone isn’t the panacea to protect activists. “After each killing there’s media pressure and the government promises us `better security’. But instead of gun-toting policemen, shouldn’t we have a secure environment where ordinary citizens can take up social issues sans fear? There is simply no strong forum for addressing popular grievances in the country," says Sumati Mehta, an NGO worker.

Besides physical attacks, Mehta says, activists are routinely harassed and slapped with fraudulent cases. Frequent cases of illegal detention, torture, extrajudicial execution and forced disappearances are also quite common, she says.

Unfortunately, India doesn’t acknowledge the occurrence of such torture. Officials routinely attribute these custodial deaths to "illness/natural death, escaping from custody, suicides, attacks by other criminals, riots, due to accidents and during treatment or hospitalization”.

It is well-known that the country’s burgeoning armed opposition groups, the Naxals or Maoists have an appalling human rights record of killing, torturing and mutilating ordinary citizens. Cadres of the Kanglei Yaol Kanna Lup of Manipur also have been accused of widespread torture including deliberately mutilating the victims by bullet wounds to the legs. In a democratic framework, any extralegal activity by police undermines not only the established procedural set-up, but also the fundamentals of governance.

Human Rights Watch had sent a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh some time back making specific recommendations “to improve accountability of the security forces for human rights violations, to strengthen civil society and support for free expression, and to protect the rights of women and other vulnerable groups”.

The body noted that "security forces in India have been responsible for abuses such as extra-judicial killings, disappearances and torture, especially in Punjab and Nagaland in the 1980s, and currently in Jammu and Kashmir, Assam and Manipur, and in states where there is a Maoist insurgency". It further noted that "impunity is a major problem in India; serious crimes perpetuated by security forces are rarely investigated or prosecuted".

The UN has also recommended that the draconian Armed Forces Special Forces Act, (which effectively guarantees impunity by stipulating that central government permission is needed before security personnel can be prosecuted for abuses) also be repealed. The provisions of the Act were sanctioned by India's Supreme Court.

Says Pratham Prakash, an RTI activist, “In India, torture is seen as a part of the police package to extract confessions. This practice has its provenance in British colonial rule when laws governing police functions were framed as an oppressive force to keep the population terrorized.”

However, some senior police officers justify the use of torture as a means to “extract confessions”. A retired police official once told this correspondent that the police forces in India are under tremendous pressure to produce quick results despite limited infrastructure. “The proliferation of 24/7 news channels,” said the official, “has put us under immense scrutiny. So to expedite proceedings, we often have to pick up and interrogate a lot of people and sometimes things do get out of control.”

Top legal experts have for long underscored a glaring paucity of an impartial mechanism in India for addressing complaints against torture. The complaints, as per current law, have to be made to the police authorities themselves which allows the latter to pressurize and harass the victims and skew things in their favor.

Ideally, rights bodies and commissions should be empowered to take steps to protect activists by creating formal procedures to report threats and intimidation and monitoring follow-up action by authorities to protect activists.

Several countries have already put in place laws to protect whistleblowers or are in the process of doing so. The US was one of the earliest to have the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989, while the UK has the Public Interest Disclosure Act of 1998 and Norway has a similar law in place since January 2007.

Just like anti-corruption laws, whistleblower protection laws in India have been long and conveniently ignored by the government. This leaves men and women who question the state’s ways at the killers’ mercy.

(Neeta Lal is a New Delhi-based senior journalist.)
Source: http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3983&Itemid=404

Gujarat govt approves $2 billion theme park in Surat.

2011-11-22T09:24:00.001+05:30

21 Nov, 2011, 04.43PM IST, ET Bureau

AHMEDABAD: Mumbai-based Atlanta Infrastructure Development and Real Estate has received in principle approval from Gujarat government to set up a $ 2 billion theme park in Gujarat.
The Gujarat Industrial Development Board and Gujarat Tourism Board has already cleared the project and state cabinet is expected to give a final nod in a few weeks, official sources associated with the project told ET.
Development of various components has been envisaged in the four phases. The first phase of the project will start in April 2012. The project will be spread across 13 square kilo-meters, the proposed leisure and one stop entertainment city near Surat.
The site identified at Suvali Beach, which has a 3.3 km stretch along the Arabian Sea coast, is located around 20 km from Surat will have five theme parks like nature park, amusement park, water park, beach park, ice skating and skiing dome, restaurants, hotels, studios, forest villas, beach villas, studio lagoon and apartments and villas among others.
The initial investment in the theme park will be about $2-billion, which comprises of land development cost, building facilities, transport, technologies, design and planning. The project cost also includes interest during construction. Market research and financial model is being done by Ernst & Young. The conceptual plan is done by Morphogenesis.
The project will be financed by a mix of equity and debt. The fund would be constituted by infusion from promoters and debt from financial institutions, advances and deposits received from franchises of hotels, commercials, residential, food plazas and revenues from villas and apartments.

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/infrastructure/gujarat-govt-approves-2-billion-theme-park-in-surat/articleshow/10816906.cms.

Tourist Pressure Forces Gujarat To Start New Lion Safari

2011-11-22T09:21:00.001+05:30

By: Priya Aggarwal|Published in Travel News|
Gujarat has decided to start a new lion safari thanks to increasing tourists to Sasan Sanctuary. The Amitabh Bachchan ad campaign has boosted tourists to Sasan Sanctuary that head forced Gujarat govt to set up a new lion safari.

Today Gujarat is the only home of Asian lions in the world. Smart marketing strategy by Gujarat tourism department has lead to sharp increase in tourists to lion safari like Sasan Sactuary. Forest officials fear the sharp increase in tourists could have negative impact on the wildlife.
Alone in the Diwali week, more than 30,000 tourists visited Sasan to see Lion. On average around 3000 tourists visited Sasan every day comparing to the daily limit of 1,200 for the Sasan.
The second safari would be near Tulsishyam. The 30km area between Tulsishyam check post to Rawaldam is perfect place to spot lions said the Forest Department. The department has also decided to cordoned area at Ambardi. These two proposed sites will ease pressure from Sasan.
Apart from that new safari would bring major cities in Gujarat close to the lion safari. This way tourists won't have to go as far as Gir. It would help in attracting more tourists from the cities. Being close th cities like Ahmedabad would mean that more foreign tourists can visit the safari as well.
Source: http://www.easydestination.net/blog/index.php?itemid=2462

Save the forest for rare wild cats, says top charity.

2011-11-22T09:18:00.001+05:30

Posted Thu, 17 Nov 2011 22:40:00 GMT by Adrian Bishop

Sumatran Tiger; © WWF-Indonesia/PHKA

A plea is going out from a top wildlife charity to protect an Indonesian forest where five rare wild cats have been seen. Sumatran tigers, marble cats, golden cats, clouded leopards and leopard cats have been pictured on the island of Sumatra, says WWF-Indonesia.
The wild cats that are threatened with extinction were caught on camera in the Bukit Tigapuluh or Thirty Hills forest area at risk from large-scale clearance.
Karmila Parakkasi, the WWF-Indonesia Tiger Research Team Coordinator, says, "Four of these species are protected by Indonesian Government regulations and are listed as threatened by extinction on the IUCN Red List. This underscores the rich biodiversity of the Bukit Tigapuluh landscape and the forest corridors that connect to it.
Golden cat; © WWF-Indonesia-PHKA"These amazing cat photos also remind us of how much we could lose as more of these fragile forests are lost to logging, plantations and illegal encroachment."
WWF-Indonesia is calling on industry and key authorities to help save the forest, which is rich in biodiversity.
In just three months, more than 400 photos of wild cats were taken featuring 226 Sumatran tigers, 77 clouded leopards, 70 golden cats, 27 leopard cats and four marbled cats. In addition, in May, video was taken of three tiger babies playing.
Aditya Bayunanda WWF-Indonesia's Coordinator for the Global Forest Trade Network Programme, says, "Unfortunately much of the natural forest area in the landscape is threatened by large scale clearance for industrial logging, pulp and paper, as well as illegal encroachment for palm oil plantation development.
Clouded leopard; © WWF-Indonesia-PHKA"The abundant evidence of these five wild cat species suggests that the concession licenses of companies operating in these areas, such as Barito Pacific, should be reviewed and adjusted according to Indonesian Ministry regulations, which state that concession areas with the presence of endangered species should be protected by the concessionaire."
He also called for areas around the Bukit Tigapuluh National Park to be expanded or protected with special management.
Zulkifli Hasan, the Indonesian Minister of Forestry, backed the idea of a forest ecosystem restoration scheme at a WWF event in Jakarta in early November.
The area is already a "global priority Tiger Conservation Landscape" and the Indonesian government promised to protect it at the 2010 International Tiger Forum, attended by world leaders in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Most big cats are found in the forest corridor between Rimbang Baling and Bukit Tigapuluh, surveys have found.
Source: http://www.earthtimes.org/conservation/save-forest-rare-wild-cats-top-charity/1640/

CEC visits proposed Girnar Ropeway project site in Guj.

2011-11-22T08:50:00.001+05:30

PTI | 04:11 PM,Nov 20,2011 Vadodara, 20 Nov (PTI) The Supreme Court-appointedCentral Empowered Committee (CEC) has been on a two-day visitto the proposed Girnar Ropeway Project site in Junagadh sinceyesterday and is likely to submit a report on it soon. In February this year, the Ministry of Environment andForests had given its "in principle" approval to this proposedproject. However, CEC's clearance is necessary to start theconstruction work for the project. "The committee members have visited the site and areexpected to submit a report on it within three weeks," SudeepKumar Nanda, Principal Secretary to the Environment andForests Ministry to Gujarat government told PTI over phone. Nanda, along with the Chief Wildlife Conservator ofForests (Gujarat) Pradeep Kumar Khanna and other seniorofficials of the Forest Department provided details regardingthe project to CEC members. After meeting the committee members, they said theyare hopeful about CEC clearance for Usha Breco company'sproposal to build Girnar ropeway. "This clearance is a mustfor starting the construction activity in the sanctuary area,"a company official D Kalps said. The project was being opposed by the environmentalistson the grounds that it would threaten the near-extinct speciesof the long-billed vultures, as the Girnar region aloneaccounts for about 10 per cent of the total vulture populationin the state. The Centre's approval became mandatory only after theGirnar reserve forest was, in May, 2008, declared the GirnarWildlife Sanctuary, a new habitat for the Gir lions. About 20Asiatic Lions were estimated to have opted out of the adjacentGir forest and were living in the Girnar sanctuary. Former Union Environment and Forests Minister JairamRamesh had said that giving "in principle" approval to theproject would reduce the chances of man-animal conflict in theGirnar Wildlife Sanctuary, which also provided abode to theAsiatic Lions."
Source: http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/cec-visits-proposed-girnar-ropeway-project-site-in-guj/907830.html

These shutterbugs find their models in the wild.

2011-11-18T10:34:00.001+05:30

November 9, 2011
HALLEY NONGMAITHEM
The Shutter Season exhibition in Bangalore had on display 130 photographs of rare and beautiful birds and animals. Photo: Special Arrangement
The Shutter Season exhibition in Bangalore had on display 130 photographs of rare and beautiful birds and animals. Photo: Special Arrangement

Four men who share a passion for wildlife photography came together to showcase 130 images of rare and beautiful birds and animals at ‘Shutter Season', a wildlife photography exhibition-cum-sale held in the city recently.

Clement Francis (47) has travelled to places such as Kenya and Sri Lanka in search of that perfect shot, besides leaving his footprint in almost every jungle in India. He has photographed more than 600 bird species over 25 years.

Varun H.B. (30), from Ooty, has captured on camera the endemic species of the Western Ghats, including the Nilgiri laughingthrush. For a photograph of a male crested treeswift, Varun says he climbed a precarious tree and waited for 10 hours at his perch about 30 feet from the ground for a good shot.

Ramesh Anantharaman (32), winner of the Photography World Cup 2010, has photographed over 400 species of birds and mammals. Among his works is one of the blue-fronted robin, found in the Purvachal Hills in Sikkim and said to be very difficult to spot.

The youngest of the lot, 27-year-old Sanket Reddy's work was featured in the award-winning series The Pack by wildlife filmmakers Krupakar and Senani. His collection includes images of a leopard in the grasslands of Masai Mara in Kenya and a tiger in all its glory at Bandhavgarh National Park in Madhya Pradesh.

In the coming months, the Shutter Season team plans to conduct wildlife photography workshops: ‘tiger season' will be at the Bandhavgarh National Park during November; ‘winter migrant experience' in Ooty and Kotagiri (Tamil Nadu) in December; ‘lion madness' at the Gir Forest National Park, Gujarat, in January; and ‘birding in never never land' for an experience of the Rann of Kutch and Banni Grasslands Reserve Belt.
Source: http://www.thehindu.com/arts/art/article2611839.ece

Lion safari loses its king.

2011-11-17T10:39:00.001+05:30

Abhijit Prashar, TNN Nov 16, 2011, 06.23AM IST

MOHALI: The ambitious plan of reviving the lion safari at Chhatbir Zoological Park has taken a hit with the death of two-and-a-half-year-old Gagan, a male Asiatic lion, at the zoo here on Tuesday, due to congenital defect in the kidneys. The pair of Asiatic lions, brought to the zoo in March this year, had been procured after great difficulty from Gujarat, which has time and again refused to send these lions to other states.

It has taken a one on one talk between the chief ministers of Punjab and Gujarat to swing the deal. The then forests and wildlife minister Tikshan Sud had landed up at Rajkot in Gujarat to fetch the lions in March this year.
A team of three veterinary doctors, Dr M P Singh, senior veterinary officer and veterinary officers Dr P K Bansal and Dr Rajkumar conducted the post-mortem and their report stated that the likely cause of death was generalized septicaemia, which occurred as a result of rupture of urinary bladder.
The report states that the rupture of urinary bladder is attributed to congenital defect in the kidneys. The left kidney was of normal size, but the right one was very small, atrophied and almost non-functional.
Speaking to TOI, Chhatbir zoo director Basanta Rajkumar said, "Gagan had been having problems off and on after his arrival and this was in sharp contrast to the female brought along with him from Gujarat. In fact during July, the lion had shunned food for about four days, but recovered after treatment by zoo doctors in consultation with doctors and experts from around the country."
However, wildlife experts do not believe this theory and stated that if there was a congenital disease affecting the lion, then those charged with bringing the lions to the state should have conducted a thorough health check of the lions before bringing them here.
Rajkot zoo in charge Dr R K Hirpara told TOI over phone that at the time of exchanging animals the veterinary doctors of the respective zoo examine the beast and then only the transfer is allowed.
Source: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-11-16/chandigarh/30405298_1_pair-of-asiatic-lions-lion-safari-rajkot-zoo

Sayajibag Zoo gets pair of Asiatic lions.

2011-11-17T10:38:00.001+05:30

PTI | 03:11 PM,Nov 15,2011 Vadodara, Nov 14 (PTI) After a period of more than twodecades, the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) ownedSayajibag Zoo has got a pair of young lions from itscounterpart in Junagadh district. The lions were brought from the Sakkarbaug zoo after duepermission from Central Zoo authorities, C B Patel, Sayajibagzoo incharge told PTI. Despite Gujarat's Gir being the only abode to Asiaticlions, Sayajibag did not have lions. So the VMC approached theSakkarbag zoo in Junagadh for getting a young pair, he said.Patel. The Sakkarbag authorities parted with the lions inexchange of one pair each of Indian Piad Hornbills, imperialPhena sant, a golden phena sant, and a female blue crownpigeon, Patel said. The name of the female lion aged two years is Jale andmale lion aged over three years is Kunvar. Both of them havebeen kept in separate enclosures at present. The Sayajibag zoo has three male hybrid lions but havingAsiatic lions, is a matter of pride, he said adding this willincrease tourist inflow.

Gagan was brought to revive lion safari.

2011-11-17T10:22:00.001+05:30

TNN | Nov 16, 2011, 06.10AM IST
MOHALI: Gagan was one of the four Asiatic lions brought to the Chhatbir zoo to revive the lion safari, the main attraction of the zoo which had virtually started losing steam due to the death of hybrid lions put up for the show.

It was after much persuasion by wildlife department that the Central Zoo Authority of India (CZAI) had approved the shifting of lions to this zoo for the revival of the safari.

According to CZAI rules the details of animals' health and bloodline are provided to the zoo where animals are transferred under exchange programme or breeding programme.
The cub survival rate of the Asiatic lions of Gujarat is higher than their African counter parts. A study has revealed the cub survival rate of Gir forest was about 56%. A recent study, conducted by V Meena of Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, named Reproductive Strategy and Behaviour of Male Asiatic Lions, revealed that the survival rate of the cub was the lowest in the first year of birth. The study says cub survival depends on factors like infanticide (which results in death of 60%), abandonment (13%) and other natural causes (26%). Early mortality of cubs due to infanticide was the chief factor limiting their survival. The study said until the cub turns three years old (sub adult age), the survival rate is only 56%.

The website of Africa-based Kalahari Predator Conservation Trust, quoting International Union for Conservation of Nature, has stated that as a result of the food shortage, negligence and takeover of power by other males, only 20% of lion cubs live to experience more than two years of life. About 27% of all cubs die from the hierarchy invasion.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/Gagan-was-brought-to-revive-lion-safari/articleshow/10749557.cms

Kartik Purnima celebrated with fervour across Gujarat.

2011-11-14T12:45:00.001+05:30

PTI | 03:11 PM,Nov 11,2011 Vadodara, Nov 11 (PTI) Thousands of devotees from Gujarat and neighbouring states participated in the famous 'Girnar Parikrama' held in Junagadh district on the ocassion of Kartik Purnima. For the Girnar mountain parikrama, the Junagadh Municipal corporation had yesterday set up posts at various points on the 36 km-stretch which witnessed tight security arrangements for the convenience of the pilgrims. Two persons reportedly lost their lives due to cardiac arrest during this parikrama and one of them died due to drowning in a pond. Fairs were held at Vautha, Shamlaji, Bhadarva, Somnath and other places across Gujarat, which saw tribals and people from various walks of life participating in the festival and the animal trade fairs held on the day. About 20 lakhs people took part in the five-day fair concluding on Kartik Purnima, which was celebrated with large livestock fair in Vautha, where large number of donkeys and camels were auctioned. At Shamlaji, scores of pilgrims from Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Mahrashtra and Rajasthan carried flags and sang devotional songs and took bath in "Nagdhara Kund" as a ritual on the occasion. Many other took a holy dip in Sabarmati. In Somnath, thousands took part in the Mahadeo Fair which ended yesterday. The fair is held to celebrate the birth of Katikeya, the son of Lord Shiva. Stage shows, folk dances and instrumental music recitals were held in the spectacular settings of the temple on the occasion, which attracts a lot of tourists and foreigners. PTI COR
Source: http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/kartik-purnima-celebrated-with-fervour-across-gujarat/895932.html

Two lions among 12 sick animals at zoo.

2011-11-09T10:37:00.005+05:30

Hyderabad | Posted on Nov 09, 2011 at 08:47am IST
HYDERABAD: About 12 animals, including two Asiatic lions, one Royal Bengal tiger and an Indian rhino, are undergoing treatment for various ailments at the Nehru Zoological Park here in the City. Though zoo officials say it’s nothing to be worried about, the number has had animal rights activists worried as 32 animals have died in the State zoos in the past seven months.

“On an average, every week about 10 animals out of the 1,334 at the zoo park fall ill,” said� P Srinivas, veterinary assistant surgeon of the Nehru Zoological Park. According to him, it is very common at the zoo as it houses 143 species, including 702 birds, 215 reptiles and 417 mammals.

Of the sick animals, a two-and-a-half-years old tamed bear has been suffering from multi-organ problems for the past one year. It’s the only major case. The rest are suffering from minor ailments, the zoo officials said. Two sambar deers have had bruises which they sustained during one of their regular clashes. As for the two Asiatic lions, both aged 8, the officials said they too had bruises. The rest, including a two-and-a-half-year old spotted deer, a seven-year-old sloth bear and a male nilgai, too are suffering from minor wounds. The injuries of the rhino, however, seem to be a cause of concern. Its leg was wounded during transit from Pune to Hyderabad in August. It’s yet to recover and has been kept off the enclosure since its arrival in the zoo.

The veterinary doctor said, “All the time the zoo has been taking measures to control diseases among animals. The animal mortality rate at the zoo has been steadily decreasing every year. In 2010, 20 animals died, in 2009, 21 died, in 2008 25 died and in 2007, 28 had died.”

All the animals are being given medical treatment by retired animal pathologist Dr K Ramakrishna (presently a consultant with the Hyderabad Race Course) and senior veterinary doctors Dr GL Khan� and� Dr� L Naveen. The animals have been kept off display for observation, said M Mallikarjuna Rao, AP zoos director.

Officials of the Central Zoo Authority and curators and directors of other zoos in the country visited the Hyderabd zoo last week and praised its hygienic maintenance.

Source: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/two-lions-among-12-sick-animals-at-zoo/200555-60-121.html

Gujarat to tell world its best conservation stories.

2011-11-09T10:34:00.004+05:30

Himanshu Kaushik, TNN | Nov 9, 2011, 03.59AM IST
GANDHINAGAR: Gujarat is all set to tell its successful stories of conservation to the whole world. Be it Asiatic lions of Gir, the wild ass of Little Rann of Kutch or the whale sharks from Saurashtra coast, the conservation stories made successful with people's participation will soon find place in some of the best national and international wildlife journals. The details of the state's six most successful conservation stories have been documented by additional principal chief conservator of forests, social forestry, HS Singh.
The exercise will be kicked off at the National Forest Congress to be held in Dehradun next month.
THE FIVE BEST STORIES:
LION
AREA: Gir and periphery
POPULATION:
In 1968 : 180
In 2010: 411
LIVE STOCK: Sambar, chital, blue bull, four-horned antelope, chinkara and wild boar
Early 1970's: 6,400
2011: 64,850
Conservation: Any talk about relocating Asiatic lions from Gir meets with a vehement protest from the local maldharis. Despite the wild cats preying on nearly 3,500 domestic animals in the forest, satellite areas and in villages, locals consider the lions to be a part of their family. Gir forest was declared as wildlife sanctuary in 1965 with Acore area being declared as a national park. Gradually, more lion habitats in adjoining regions were also declared as sanctuaries and ultimately Girnar Wildlife Sanctuary was created in 2007. Several ecological studies were also conducted to identify the problems and prepare a conservation project. This was followed by implementation of the Gir Lion Sanctuary Project in 1973 to resettle maldharis. The measures to reduce biotic pressure, protection and improvement of habitats implemented in 1970s and 1980s, also resulted in the concentration of prey and big predators being the highest among all the protected areas in the country.

WILD ASS:
AREA: Little Rann of Kutch
POPULATION:
In 1969: 362
In 2008: 4,040
CONSERVATION: Once of the brink of extinction, the wild asses in Little of Rann Kutch have only seen their numbers increase in all these years, thanks to major conservation measures undertaken. The major part of the Little Rann of Kutch was declared as Wild Ass Sanctuary in 1973, which was expanded to an area of 4,954 sq km in 1978. The conservation measures began after it was declared a sanctuary. Wild asses responded well to the habitat protection and improvement works, including creation of water facilities. Their numbers increased consistently from 720 in 1976 to 2,070 in 1990, 3,860 in 2004 and 4,040 in 2008. In other words, the number of the Indian wild ass has increased by over five times since it's first counting after the notification of the sanctuary.

WHALE SHARK:
AREA: Saurashtra coast
Population
Before 2001, about 200 whale sharks were killed every year
2008-09: 102 rescued.
2004-2010: 257 rescued.
Conservation: Treat whale sharks as your daughters, who have come to their father's house for delivery. This was the fervent appeal made to fishermen in Saurashtra when the conservation of whale sharks was taken up. They earned as much as Rs 100,000 for killing one whale shark as its meat and oils extracted from fins and liver is in great demand. The sea-water of Saurashtra is globally known as breeding site of whale sharks. The state banned its hunting in 2001 after it became the first fish to be listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972. Save the Whale Shark campaign became as a role model for conservation. Their efforts got a further impetus with renowned spiritual preacher Morari Bapu being roped in as an ambassador for the project. The state paid Rs 25,000 to fishermen for each rescue and till May 2011, a total of Rs 35 lakh have been paid to them as compensation amount.

MANGROVES:
AREA: Kutch, Jamnagar and South Gujarat.
COVER:
1997: 397 sq km
2009: 1,046 sq km
Conservation:
Mangrove restoration and conservation started in 1983 with plantation of Avicennia marina on a small scale by the forest department. The plantation was scaled up later. Apart from meetings, activities on nature education were taken up to enlist support of the people. At present, Gujarat supports about one fifth of total mangrove cover in India. Apart from the department, other institutions like Gujarat Ecology Commission, and other industries also had an important contribution. People's support in restoration and protection of tidal forests continued over the period. At present, mangroves grow in the eleven coastal districts in Gujarat but a mostly in the Gulf of Kutch in Jamnagar and Kutch districts. At present, the extent of mangrove cover in Gujarat is the second highest in India after Sundarbans in West Bengal.

TREES OUTSIDE FOREST:
Cover:
2003: 25.1 crore
2009: 26.9 crore
Conservation: The state government initiated social forestry as a people's programme in 1969-70. Social forestry divisions, first of their kind in the country, were established in the state. The World Bank expressed its readiness to fund social forestry activities. As a result, the cover of trees outside the forest of 8,390 sq km is 4.3 per cent of geographical area outside forest and the second highest in the country. In terms of density also, Gujarat stands second after Kerala, although major part of the state is in semi-arid and arid-zones. Canal irrigation and social forestry programmes completely changed the face of the landscape in Nadiad, Anand, Mehsana and Gandhinagar where trees were scarce in 1970s. Now they have a tree density of over 50 trees per hectare outside the forest. Anand has a tree density of 68 trees per hectare, against state's average of 16.1 trees per hectare. The programme will be replicated in districts irrigated by the Narmada canal. As a part of agro-forestry programmes under the Greening Gujarat Campaign, the state plans to have 35 core trees by 2022.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Gujarat-to-tell-world-its-best-conservation-stories/articleshow/10661322.cms

Villagers play host to tourists in lion land .

2011-11-07T10:49:00.001+05:30

Tuesday, 01 November 2011 21:56
Rathin Das | Ahmedabad

Keeping the tradition of hospitality alive in modern times, villagers around the famous Asiatic Lion Sanctuary in Gir, recently hosted the tourists who flocked there during the holidays starting Diwali.
The tourist influx into the Gir National Park and Sanctuary was so much that local hotels and guest houses all were fully booked, leaving many visitors stranded.

The villagers of the area came to the rescue of the tourists due to insufficient facilities in the Gir National Park and Sanctuary.

The day after Diwali being the Gujarati New Year and the next day being Bhai Dooj followed by Saturday, Sunday and Sardar Patel’s birthday on Monday has given people nearly a week-long holiday.

Those who could not afford the expensive locations in Kerala or Andamans or foreign sites generally settled for nearby destinations like Gir which can be clubbed with a visit to the ancient Somnath Temple. Thus the tourist inflow into Gir was so much this time that the villagers had to step in to accommodate the extra rush of people, Mango Orchard owner Natwarsinh told The Pioneer from Talala in Gir region.

The villagers around Sasan, the headquarters of the Gir sanctuary area, quickly made arrangements for the tourists and also cooked for them at nominal charges, added Natwarsinh. The room rents charged ranged from `750 to `1,000, at par with the average low cost hotels.

Sensing the high inflow of tourists, the regular hotels made a fast buck by hiking their tariffs, said a local social worker Allahrakha Khan. One prominent hotel had hiked its rate from `3,000 to `30,000 per night and still visitors not getting the rooms, he added.

Such a rise in the popularity of Gir as a tourist destination can be attributed to superstar Amitabh Bachchan endorsing it in the “Khushboo Gujarat Ki” advertisement series, said Allahrakha.

President Pratibha Patil’s visit to Gir few months’ back and the media reports about the rise in the Asiatic lion population to a record 411 have also contributed to increased people’s interest, he surmised. But hotel rooms have not increased proportionate to the rise in tourist inflow resulting in such a situation, lamented the social worker.

Some low budget tourists had spent the night at bus stations in places like Veraval, Somnath, Una and Junagadh, only to return home by the next available service at day-break, said Natwarsinh.
Source: http://dailypioneer.com/nation/17172-villagers-play-host-to-tourists-in-lion-land.html

London Zoo's animals get into the Halloween spirit.

2011-11-07T10:47:00.000+05:30

By Ruth Doherty, Oct 25, 2011
Filed under:

RexLondon Zoo's Margaret the giraffe got into the Halloween spirit this week by sticking her neck out for a pumpkin.

And she wasn't the only animal to get involved in a pumpkin platter breakfast. Lucifer the Asiatic lion and his daughter Rubi also got their canines into the tasty Halloween treats.

Especially for children during half term, the animal sanctuary is celebrating Halloween with Boo at the Zoo, a new exhibition that is home to 16 critically endangered Rodrigues fruit bats, which opened on 22 October.

Rex

Visitors can investigate the dark and eerie habitat of the nine male bats and seven females.

Along with the new bat cave, families who visit during October half term can get involved with Boo at the Zoo Halloween activities, which run from Saturday 22 October, until Sunday 29 October.

You can catch a special Halloween-themed animal demonstration featuring the zoo's vulture, a skunk and a burrowing owl, which will be taken over by the evil Prince Igor.

Kids can get messy by making creepy crafts in the zoo's Animal Adventure exhibit, and frightening tales will be told in the terrifying tepee.

There will also be something fishy happening in the zoo's 158 year-old Aquarium. Known for its spooky goings on, guides will be on hand to tell visitors real-life ghost stories and to take them into the murky depths of the exhibit.

And for the adults? There'll be Halloween Ghost Tours during the evening on Friday 28 October, where you can experience the spookier side of the zoo by visiting three of its most haunted buildings.

Gujarat govt to introduce new lion safari.

2011-11-05T10:34:00.003+05:30

Thursday, November 03, 2011, 13:00 Hrs [IST]

By TBM Staff Mumbai

In order to ease tourist pressure triggered by the Amitabh Bachchan ad campaign on the Sasan sanctuary, Gujarat forest authorities plan to start a second lion safari near Tulsishyam in Amreli district, according to a Times of India report by Himanshu Kaushik.

Forest officials believe too much of tourist pressure can have an adverse impact on wildlife. “During Diwali,about 30,000 people thronged the jungle to get a glimpse of the lion .Between October 25-31, 2011; an average of 3,000 tourists visited Sasan every day and about 5,000 went to Devaliya zone, a cordoned area which has a sizeable number of lions. However,only about 1,200 tourists could take the safari at Sasan every day. This safari starts from two spots at Bhambhabore and Kankai Naka. We have decided to have a second safari on the lines of Sasan. This will be near Tulsishyam,” said SK Nanda, Principal Secretary, Forest, Govt of Gujarat. “The new safari,proposed from Tulsishyam check post to Rawaldam,covers about 30 km. This site is the perfect location for lion-spotting,” he added.

“The Forest Department is also readying another cordoned area at Ambardi on the lines of Devaliya. Together,the two initiatives will ease pressure on Sasan,” Nanda stated.

Tourism Department officials believe a new safari will bring the lion closer to cities like Ahmedabad and Vadodara. Tourists will not have to go all the way to Gir. “Also,people heading towards Diu will get an opportunity to go for lion safari in Amreli,” said an official.

Source: http://www.travelbizmonitor.com/gujarat-govt-to-introduce-new-lion-safari-14855

African by origin, Indian by nationality and Gujarati by speech.

2011-11-05T10:31:00.002+05:30

Priya Sheth

The Siddi beat: Members of the Siddi tribe perform a tradional African dance to entertain tourists in Gir, Gujarat. — Priya Sheth

Small jobs in the day; dancing to African tunes at night

Mumbai, Nov. 2:

Their faces are painted in shades of red, blue and green with designs symbolising traditional African body art, they wear bright orange tiger print skirts, straw caps and breathe fire. We are not talking about a circus troop, but of the Siddi tribe who don different avatars at different times of the day.

African by origin, Indian by nationality with Gujarati as their lingua franca – the Siddi tribe lives in a village called Jambur in the heart of Gujarat. Just like any other village, Jambur has red mud by lanes, houses with thatched rooftops and a few small local shops. Located approximately hundred kilometres from Junagadh, the village is surrounded by the forest of Gir, which is home to the last of the remaining Asiatic lions.

“We have completed 300 years in Gujarat and this is our fourth generation in Jambur,” said 60- year-old Siddique, speaking in heavily accented Afro-English.

Brought by Nawab's wife

This settlement did not happen out of choice but by force. According to the tribals, there is a long history to their presence in India. “The Nawab of Junagadh had once visited Africa where he fell in love with an African woman. They got married and she moved to India with him,” said Siddique. “She came to India with a hundred slaves and since then we have been based in Gujarat only,” he added.

Their claim to fame is their origin and they cash-in very well on this. They have a dual profession – although they do small time jobs in the day, they dance to the African beats at night. “There are many tourists visiting Gir and we entertain them with our performance. This helps us make some extra money,” said a member from the tribe in fluent Gujarati.

The Siddi tribe has seen much stardom. They have been a part of the Gujarat tourism video called “Khushboo Gujarat Ki.”

“The peak tourist season is from October 16 to June 15. We get several invitations from resorts and hotels in this region to come and perform the African dance. We had been invited to Iraq to perform but the event got cancelled,” said Siddique.

On a daily basis, the tribals are engaged in various occupations. They work on the fields, in the forest department, and some as tourist guides and truck drivers. “With the meagre salary it is very difficult to manage. This extra money helps us tremendously,” said Rasheed who is a truck driver. While many members of the tribe work in the forest, there are some who are in government jobs, earning up to Rs 5,000 a month.

And as the night sets in, the Siddis once again dress up in their tiger prints and set out to perform another spectacular tribal tradition.

Source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/features/article2591916.ece

Good news for tribals: SC frees 7,700 ha land from forest Act.

2011-11-05T10:28:00.002+05:30

Published Monday Oct 31, 2011, 14:31 IST
By Paras K Jha Agency DNA Ahmedabad

This will come as good news for hundreds of tribals living in four districts of Gujarat - Narmada, Vadodara, Dahod and Panchmahals. A long pending issue of deleting more than 7,700 hectare of land from the forest land records and transferring it as revenue land has been solved.
The supreme court has given green signal for the transfer. People claim that the land was used for non-forest purposes for long. Sources in the state environment and forest department confirmed the development and said, "The SC has given the order on September 23, but we are yet to get the final copy of the order. The state government had approached the SC in August 2010 by filing an application for speedy clearance of the issue."
According to sources, since the formation of the state, when forest land was notified under section 4 of the Indian Forest Act, some of the land was used for public facilities, grazing and cultivation.
"Now, as per the act, once the land is declared as forest land, it is covered under the forest act and no non-forest activities can take place there. So from 1960s to 1980s there were many claims over the land by local people. There is 7746.5406 hectares of such land distributed in four districts," said the official.
Now, the land can be utilised like any other revenue land. SK Nanda, principal secretary, state environment and forest department said, "The issue has been finally resolved after constant follow up by the department at the level of SC. This will ensure that these areas benefit from infrastructure and other welfare schemes.
The forest department will initiate the process for de-notifying these lands in concerned districts."
Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_good-news-for-tribals-sc-frees-7700-ha-land-from-forest-act_1605501

Adequate arrangements being made for 'parikrama' around Girnar.

2011-11-05T10:17:00.002+05:30

PTI | 05:11 PM,Nov 01,2011
Rajkot, Nov 1(PTI)Junagadh district authorities today said that they have made adequate arrangmets for the famous "Lilee Parikrama" (Green walk) around Mt Girnar, starting from November 6. Nearly 30 lakh people from various parts of the country are expected to take part in the five-day long walk across the 36 km long route. Nearly 800 policemen would be deployed along the route, B K Srimali Junagadh range IG told mediapersons. While nearly 100 personnel from the forest department would also be put on duty as the route is passing through the forest and the forest guards would keep close track of wild animals. Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation would press over 150 buses in service, officials said.

Leopard sighting rise in lion's lair.

2011-11-04T12:38:00.001+05:30

Himanshu Kaushik, TNN Nov 3, 2011, 02.26AM IST
AHMEDABAD: Leopards are giving a tough competition to lions in Gir sanctuary. With population of leopards increased to 380, tourists are getting the twin bonanza of sighting the spotted members of the big cat family along with the king of the jungle!
More than half of the visitors who embarked on the lion safari before Diwali were successful in sighting leopards. However, as the tourists inflow increased during the Diwali vacation, leopards moved out of the tourism zone and only 30% of the visitors could spot them. In the last two years, leopard spotting was barely 5%.
Not just tourists, but even the guides and jeep drivers who frequently visit the sanctuary have reported the increase in the number of leopard sightings. "We had initial reports of large leopard sightings and this was because their number in the sanctuary area was growing. The Gir and periphery have around 500 leopards," said Anshuman Sharma, the in-charge of deputy conservator of forest, Sasan.
Another senior forest official said that the besides increase in their population, the availability of prey in the tourism zone was more than any other part of the sanctuary.
Source: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-11-03/ahmedabad/30354745_1_leopard-sightings-big-cat-family-sanctuary-area

Maldharis threaten agitation against eviction.

2011-11-04T12:24:00.001+05:30

TNN Oct 26, 2011, 06.09AM IST

AHMEDABAD: The Maldhari community in Sasan Gir has threatened to launch an agitation if the state government tried to forcibly evict them from Gangadiya and Alavani ness.
At a meeting held in Gir on Monday, the community members resolved to stage dharnas and fast-unto-death if officials don't reverse their stand. The members, who met under the banner of SETU, expressed anguish over forest officials warning them to move out of Gangadiya and Alavani ness or face action. The community will also submit a memorandum to the officials.
Ashok Shrimali, a social activist working with the Maldhari community in Gir, said forest officials informed 30 families of Gangadiya and Alavani ness that they were staying illegally in the forest. "Since decades, these families are living at the same place. They also have a legal pass given to them as a permanent permit. But now the forest department is terming these passes illegal," he claimed. tnn
The community members alleged that officials were also harassing the Maldharis in other ness and have stopped them from carrying milk out of the forest area.
"Usually, vehicles of contractors come to the forest to collect milk. But, forest officials have issued a directive to the contractors not to collect milk from Gangadiya and Alavani ness to harass the 30 families," Shrimali said.
Junagadh CCF R Meena said, "We have intensified the search for families living illegally. There may be a few who want to resist the move and are, therefore, threatening to make an issue out of this."
Source: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-10-26/ahmedabad/30323777_1_maldharis-forest-officials-ness

Lions’ den draws nature-loving tourists after monsoon break.

2011-11-04T12:15:00.000+05:30

24 October 2011

The Gir wildlife sanctuary near Junagadh in Gujarat, the only home of Asiatic lions, has just opened for nature-loving tourists after a four-month monsoon break and the call of the wild has already been drawing day-trippers in droves.

Ever since the gates to the 1,450-square-kilometre leafy park were unlocked on October 16, holidayers from South Africa, Ireland, Australia, Brazil and various parts of the country, especially West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Punjab, have enjoyed close encounters with the jungle king in natural surroundings.

The quick ride in special vehicles through the dense forest between dawn and dusk for a glimpse of the roaring royals gives them a breathtaking experience in the protected woodlands which house as many as 411 majestic lions, besides countless leopards, jungle cats, rusty spotted cats, spotted deer, four-horned antelopes and the wild boar.

In fact, all the 200-odd hotels and guest houses around Gir have been booked to capacity much before next week’s Diwali celebrations and the rush is so heavy that forest officials, who hitherto allowed entry to only 90 vehicles every day, have this year eased the number of vehicles to 150. According to tourism minister J N Vyas, during 2010-11, Gir received 271,745 tourists, 31 per cent more than previous year when 2,06,563 visited the sanctuary blessed with rich bio-diversity. And before the jungle was closed in June last for the monsoons coinciding with the mating season of the beasts, some 1,08,996 adventure lovers have already been to the picturesque park.

Kamlesh Patel, chairman of the Gujarat Tourism Corporation Limited, admitted that the advertisement campaign featuring superstar Amitabh Bachchan had also created awareness about improved facilities at Gir, leading to influx of tourists from all over the globe.

The Gir visitors, however, complain of poor infrastructure, transport and air connectivity. Some also express concern over death of 30 lions in the none-too-distant past. The fact that tigers walk away with a lions’ share, literally, of the federal government funds also worries the Gujarat’s forest department.

The government of the neighbouring state of Madhya Pradesh has been desperately trying to acquire at least eight of Gir’s 411 lions, saying that their location in just one abode makes the rare big cats, smaller than their African counterparts but equally aggressive, vulnerable to extinction. Wildlife experts have been arguing that a disease outbreak or a disaster like forest fire or cyclone has the potential to erode conservation achievements of the past 100 years. It is also said that a scientific conservation plan for translocating a few lions to establish a second free-ranging population of lions in the country has been languishing due to the lack of political consensus and stewardship.

Indeed, 25 villages have already been relocated and hundreds of families resettled at enormous human and financial cost to prepare the forest of Kuno Palpur in Madhya Pradesh as the second home for lions in India.

Chief Minister Narendra Modi and the people of Gujarat have been opposing the Madhya Pradesh proposal for just eight lions required to start the Kuno conservation initiative. Well, the matter is now in the Supreme Court as a conservationist has filed a public interest petition over the delay.

— mahesh@khaleejtimes.com

Source: http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/international/2011/October/international_October972.xml&section=international&col=

Gir sanctury gets 60 per cent bonus tourists this Diwali vacation.

2011-10-17T13:28:00.005+05:30

ADAM HALLIDAY , hitarthpandya Tags : Gir Wildlife Sanctuary, Sasan Gir, R L Meena, Diwali vacation Posted: Sat Oct 15 2011, 04:43 hrs VADODARA/AHMEDABAD:

The Big-B charm continued to work for the forest department at Gir Wildlife Sanctuary (GWS), the only abode to Asiatic lions in the world. At least 60 per cent more tourists are booked at this sanctuary for Diwali vacations, compared to last year. The sanctuary will open on Sunday after a three-month break for monsoon, which also coincides with the mating season for the beasts.According to officials at GWS, the tourist flow has increased drastically as compared to the last year. The conducive environment and the facilities provided by the department has turned out to be a major aspect attracting the tourist, officials said. Even the Gateway hotel at Sasan Gir is completely booked, weeks after it opened.
“After the poaching incidents, which surfaced in 2007, we have taken several measures to change the entire perspective about Gir. The staff has been changed totally and about 400 of them are new recruits and that makes a lot of difference. The old staff had been working as typical forest department staff whereas it needed something more than that because it was all about attracting more tourists,” Chief Conservator of Forests, Junagadh, R L Meena told The Indian Express.

“Not only that, the local tourist guides have gained a lot of confidence in explaining about wildlife to the tourists,” he added.
Roping in Amitabh Bachchan as tourism ambassador has done wonders for the department. “There is no doubt that his presence has made direct impact on the tourist flow. After all, he is a superstar and people do acknowledge him,” said Meena.
During 2009-10, a total of 2,06,563 persons visited the sanctuary and Devaliya Safari Park. During 2010-11, 2,71,745 persons visited GWS and Devaliya Safari Park, he said. “There is an increase of 65,182 tourists in the financial year 2010-11 in comparison to 2009-10, which shows 31.55% increase in the tourist flow. During the current financial year, 1,08,996 persons have visited the sanctuary and Devaliya Safari Park. The sanctuary remained closed for tourists from June 16 to October 1,” said Meena. The tourism campaign has also benefitted the private hospitality sector, with the first large foray into the area booked full for the Diwali season.
The newly opened Gateway hotel at Sasan Gir — a part of the Taj hospitality chain with 28 rooms and a regular jeep safaris — has already been booked to capacity for the Diwali holiday season. “We are completely sold out. It’s a mix (of foreign and domestic tourists), but a lot of domestic,” said Chaula Mazmudar, hotel’s general manager.

Forest officer challenges transfer order.

2011-09-30T15:55:00.003+05:30

TNN | Sep 30, 2011, 11.40AM IST

AHMEDABAD: A forest officer has approached Gujarat high court challenging his transfer from Sasan Gir, allegedly at the behest of Congress MLA from Talala. Range forest officer (RFO) B R Parmar claimed that he was transferred earlier this month because his action to stop lion shows was not acceptable to local community.
Parmar filed a petition challenging his transfer from Gir to Rajkot and contended that he was transferred five times in the last two years.
He told the court that he was instrumental in putting a brake on lion shows that was going on in and around the sanctuary to attract and entertain tourists. Parmar claimed he took stern action in poaching cases which displeased local people.
They approached Talala MLA Bhagabhai Barad, at whose instance he was shifted to Rajkot earlier this month, Parmar said in his petition.
The forest officer told the court that the politician was not happy with his posting in Gir. During his earlier posting there in 2008, he tried to stop various illegal activities in the sanctuary and his actions infuriated Barad, who along with his supporters attacked him. A criminal proceeding in this regard has been pending, the forester has claimed.
After hearing allegations against the MLA, justice A S Dave decided to join Barad as a party respondent in the proceeding.
The next hearing in the case is on October 3.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Forest-officer-challenges-transfer-order/articleshow/10180887.cms

The Indian Hotels Company Limited : THE GATEWAY HOTEL MAKES A ROARING ENTRY AT GIR.

2011-09-30T15:38:00.000+05:30

September 28, 2011: The Gateway Hotels & Resorts today announced the launch of The Gateway Hotel Gir Forest. This will be the fourth Gateway branded hotel in Gujarat, in addition to the existing hotels in Ahmedabad, Surat and Vadodara. The Gateway Hotels & Resorts, from the Taj Group of Hotels, caters to the upscale segment and has expanded its footprint in Gujarat with this launch. With the opening of this hotel, The Gateway Hotels & Resorts now has 21 hotels in its portfolio.
"With this opening, we endeavour to pioneer new and unique destinations. While Gir Forest needs no introduction, we feel that there is great scope to develop tourism and hospitality here. We are happy to have received support and encouragement from the state government and hope to grow and expand in the state", said Mr. P. K. Mohankumar, Chief Operating Officer, The Gateway Hotel.
Located at the edge of the world-renowned Gir Forest, The Gateway Hotel Gir Forest, is the nature lover's ideal getaway. With its rich surroundings of dry deciduous and tropical thorn forests, the hotel faces the Hiran River to offer a picturesque and serene setting, away from the bustle of the city. Home to the Asiatic lion, the Sasan Gir Forest is one of the only two natural habitats of this subspecies around the world. The latest census recorded the lion count in Gir at 411. The leopard, jungle cat, rusty spotted cat, cheetal, sambhar, four-horned antelope, wild boar and hare are also easy to spot here, along with over 200 species of avifauna.
Also integral to the experience will be the jungle safaris that the hotel will provide in an open Gypsy.
For those who prefer a cultural expedition instead, the hotel is also close to various temples such as the Somnath, Banej and Kankai Temple, and historical destinations such as Junagadh, Gondal and Rajkot.
The 28 aesthetically designed rooms are equipped with convenient modern-day facilities. A multi-cuisine restaurant, GAD is the ideal hang-out option.
As a part of Tatas, India's premier business house, The Gateway Hotel has always believed that society and ecosystems are integral stakeholders in business, therefore are fully committed to the cause of building a sustainable environment.
Being a part of a very sensitive and rare ecosystem the hotel makes consistent efforts to ensure that its operations are responsible and least damaging to the ecosystem and that its presence in this region creates fresh opportunities for local communities around.
Apart from this utmost care has been taken to incorporate local plant species in the hotel to preserve the environment and create a green zone. The Gateway Hotel is also in the process of procuring and developing historic, endangered and rare plants which are in danger of becoming extinct. Ranging from Luffa Ecninata (Kukadvel) useful in treatment of jaundice to Premua Obtusifolia (Gheeteli) - an ancestral holy plant used for lighting 'Yagna' to Convolvulus microphyllus (Shankh Pushpi) used as brain tonic and immunity-builder for infants. More than 12 -15 such species have been identified in partnership with Dr. Rasik Bhatt , Junagadh based nature enthusiast and will soon be planted in the hotel.
The hotel is also keen to see local people access opportunities in hospitality and service sector in and around the region therefore has tied up with Ambuja Cement Foundation in Kodinar to provide skill training to local youth interested in careers in hospitality. A short course in house keeping and restaurant service is scheduled to begin at Kodinar in October-end.
About The Gateway Hotel and Resorts
The Gateway Hotel and Resorts (upscale full service hotels) is a pan-India network of hotels and resorts that offers business and leisure travelers a hotel designed, keeping the modern nomad in mind. At The Gateway Hotel, we believe in keeping things simple. This is why our hotels are divided into 7 simple zones - Stay, Hangout, Meet, Work, Workout, Unwind and Explore. As travel often means more hassle than harmony, more stress than satisfaction, modern travelers are looking for smarter choices. Driven by our passion for perfection, we welcome our customers to a refreshingly enjoyable and hassle-free experience, anytime, everywhere. Offering the highest consistency in quality, service and style we set new standards and take the unwanted surprises out of traveling. Our warm welcome makes our guests feel at home, away from home and our crisp and courteous service empowers them to get more done with greater effectiveness and control. And through our unrivalled network we provide service that is effortless, simple, never overwhelming and always warm.
For further details please visit:
www.tajhotels.com/gateway www.thegatewayhotels.com/http://www.facebook.com/GatewayHotels or http://twitter.com/thegatewayhotel About Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces
Established in 1903, Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces is one of Asia's largest and finest group of hotels, comprising 93 hotels in 53 locations across India with an additional 16 international hotels in the Maldives, Malaysia, Australia, UK, USA, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Africa and the Middle East. From world-renowned landmarks to modern business hotels, idyllic beach resorts to authentic Grand Palaces, each Taj hotel offers an unrivalled fusion of warm Indian hospitality, world-class service and modern luxury. For over a century, Taj Mahal Palace, the iconic flagship has set a benchmark for fine living with exquisite refinement, inventiveness and warmth. Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces is part of the Tata Group, India's premier business house.For further information, please contact: Kulveen Narula at Vaishnavi Corporate Communications on 9898999332
Source: http://www.4-traders.com/THE-INDIAN-HOTELS-COMPANY-9058952/news/THE-INDIAN-HOTELS-COMPANY-LIMITED-THE-GATEWAY-HOTEL-MAKES-A-ROARING-ENTRY-AT-GIR-13815786/

Asiatic Lion is no more ‘endangered’.

2011-09-30T15:37:00.000+05:30

Published: Tuesday, Sep 6, 2011, 15:51 IST
By DNA Correspondent | Place: Ahmedabad | Agency: DNA

Good news about the Asiatic Lions is galore these days. The latest is an announcement by the Union ministry of environment and forest that the Asiatic Lion is among the 16 species that have been identified for recovery from the ‘Endangered species list’ of the Red Book of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
These species have been identified under the Centre’s Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats scheme. This scheme was modified in 2008-09 to include a new component ‘Recovery of Endangered Species’.
The Lok Sabha was informed on Monday by MoEF Jayanthi Natarajan that 16 species have been identified for recovery which is snow leopard, bustard (including floricans), dolphin, hangul, nilgiri tahr, marine turtles, dugong,edible nest swiftlet, Asian wild buffalo, nicobar megapode, manipur brow-antlered deer, vultures, malabar civet, Indian rhinoceros, Asiatic lion, swamp deer and Jerdon’s courser.
A recent study concluded by GEER Foundation about the status of dugong in India has brought to light a population of about 131 in India and about 15 off the Gujarat coast. It is interesting to note that the IUCN has stated in its Red Data Book that dugongs are ‘vulnerable to extinction’. Forest officers in Gujarat while welcoming the news of lion, exclaimed that removing the bustard and dugong from the ‘endangered’ list is difficult to explain.
Senior forest officer of Gujarat, HS Singh said the effective conservation of Asiatic lions in Gujarat and its subsequent increase in population over the years has ensured that the species does not remain ‘endangered’ anymore.
“Lions have been endangered for the last forty years. It is only recently that the population has steadied and now it is rising,” he said. The last census in May 2010 revealed a 14.5% increase in the lion population in Gir Forests and its peripheral areas. This is touted to be perhaps the only place where the big cat’s numbers are thriving. The great Indian bustard are found in Kutch and the last count had put the birds’ population at around 45
Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_asiatic-lion-is-no-more-endangered_1583944

Lions safe, but vulnerable due to Gujarati pride: US

2011-09-30T15:34:00.000+05:30

TNN Sep 21, 2011, 03.45am IST
AHMEDABAD: Right from poaching to Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi's enthusiasm for the big cats' conservation, US diplomats have shown deep interest in the efforts made by the state. During several visits here, the foreign diplomats met state forest officials and sent detailed notes on lions in Gir. Many such documents sent from Mumbai consulate and Delhi US embassy were leaked by the whistleblower website Wikileaks.
A 2008 Wikileaks cable titled 'Wildlife Conservation In India's Gujarat State Yields Impressive Dividends But Pride Leaves Lions Exposed' reads: "Although Gujarat exemplifies what political will, education, and effective enforcement can do to protect wildlife, the justifiable pride Gujaratis feel in their conservation efforts stands in the way of ensuring the continued viability of the Asiatic lion. Despite the scientific evidence, with which they openly agree, Gujarat's wildlife officials maintain that only Gujaratis can protect the lion."
The cable adds that a senior forest official and an IPS officer claimed that the reason for the success was the keen personal interest and intervention of CM Narendra Modi which led to an "unusual level of interdepartmental cooperation between the forest department and the Gujarat police". The forest official informed an US embassy official that Modi personally attends forest department meetings with local communities to sort out complaints and issues.
The cable says: "Strong and palpable positivism of Gujaratis towards wildlife is also thanks in part to religious sentiments and the culture of vegetarianism as 80% of all Gujaratis are vegetarian, including the Maldhari community that resides inside GNP. According to deputy forest officer Raja, when a lion does kill a villager's livestock, the villager considers it an offering. Raja noted the forest department's longstanding and efficiently implemented policy of quickly paying compensation to the villager also helps to reduce villager retribution against lions."
Source: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-09-21/flora-fauna/30183732_1_forest-official-asiatic-lion-gujaratis

Forest Officials Suspect Anthrax Scare at Periyar Tiger Reserve.

2011-09-30T15:32:00.001+05:30

By: Rang7 Team September 26, 2011

The possibility of an Anthrax epidemic outbreak has led to creating a fearful atmosphere at the Periyar Tiger Reserve.
Last week the body a female elephant was found at Vallakkadavu range opposite to Nellikkampetti in the Thekkady range of the reserve. Forest officials who found the body and carried out a detailed examination said that the death has occurred due to unnatural conditions and suspect mainly due to anthrax.
The forest veterinary officials suspected symptoms of anthrax in the animal and samples have been sent for detailed test. Following the suspicions the body was not cut open and burnt as soon as possible without carrying out a post mortem examination, though a final confirmation of the disease will only be made after the results are out.

According to forest officials, the Anthrax virus generally lives for over 30 years. “Even if it is Anthrax, the virus must have been alive in the soil for such a long time. We don’t think there is the possibility of an epidemic outbreak in the wake of this incident,” an official said.
Wildlife experts and officials often fear such epidemic outbreaks which can wipe out an entire species. Fears of such instances occurring are often expressed in case of the Asiatic Lion which is found only in Gir Forest National Park in Gujarat. Experts fear that in case of an epidemic the entire species can be wiped out in one instant and are therefore are actively proposing for the lions to be transferred to other National Parks around the country as well. This will help to save the species in case of a problem in one area.
Source: http://www.rang7.com/news/national-park/forest-officials-suspect-anthrax-scare-periyar-tiger-reserve-915.htm

Forester says shunted for his lion care.

2011-09-30T15:29:00.002+05:30

Express News Service Posted: Sep 30, 2011 at 0409 hrs IST
Ahmedabad Moves HC with petition that Talala Congress MLA got him transferred from Gir sanctuary in Junagadh
A forest officer has moved the Gujarat High Court challenging his transfer from the Gir sanctuary in Junagadh to Rajkot alleging that he was shifted because he had stopped ‘lion shows’ and several other illegal activities inside the sanctuary.
Acting on the petition by Range Forest Officer B K Parmar, which alleged that Talala Congress MLA Bhaga Barad was responsible for the transfer, a single-judge bench has ordered to name Barad as a respondent to the petition.
Parmar was transferred from the Gir lion sanctuary to the Rajkot Social Forest Department last week. Following this, he challenged the transfer through his lawyer, Mukul Sinha, who contended that the transfer was done at the instance of Barad.
To emphasise his point, Parmar has stated that the transfer was part of a series of five transfers that he received in the last two years because of his honest working style, which did not go well within the circles of his posting.
According to Sinha, Parmar has cited various instances where he acted against various persons found indulging in various illegal activities in the sanctuary, like conducting illegal ‘lion shows’ in Junagadh, which is the only abode of Asiatic lions in the world. He has alleged that locals used to tame lions using baits for visitors, who insisted on seeing the big cat at close quarters for a hefty fee. The officer had also effected arrests of some locals for the poaching of a chinkara inside the sanctuary.
Sinha said the local Maldhari community had approached Barad against Parmar, following which the transfer order came. He said the community members were indulging in various illegal activities inside the sanctuary which Parmar had resisted.
Giving another reason to indicate Barad’s alleged role behind his transfer, Parmar cited a 2008 case when the latter was posted in Junagadh and the former along with his accomplices had allegedly attacked him. A criminal case was registered at the relevant time against certain persons, including Barad. “Because Parmar is discharging his duty without fear or favour of anybody, he keeps getting transferred quite frequently. And Barad being close to the local Maldhari community, we believe him to be behind the transfer,” said Sinha.
The court has kept further hearing on October 3.
Source: http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/forester-says-shunted-for-his-lion-care/853826/

Cheetahs can wait...

2011-09-30T15:26:00.002+05:30

Friday, 09 September 2011 00:20
ANURADHA DUTT
Hits: 599

Right now we need to save the remaining big cats
Over the past decade, saving big cats — tigers, in particular — has been the focus of wildlife conservation in the Ministry of Environment and Forests. India is home to over half of the world’s tigers, with the latest census placing the number at 1,706. The number, as per the 2008 census release, was 1,411. Tiger habitats spread over 17 States were surveyed for counting. Though the number is up, poaching is still the biggest threat to the survival of tigers and even leopards. It may be recalled that Project Tiger was upgraded in the last decade with the National Tiger Conservation Authority and Wildlife Crime Control Bureau being set up after Sariska reserve’s tigers, estimated at 16-18, were poached. The fact came to light in January 2005. Subsequently, Panna sanctuary was found to have been divested of its 27 tigers by poachers.
An exercise to revive the big cat population in these reserves was initiated by re-locating tigers from other sanctuaries. The world-wide demand for tiger and leopard pelts and parts drives poaching. All the brain-storming by conservationists and the concerned agencies on how to counter it effectively has not been able to yield a fool-proof strategy. Government responses seem to be exceedingly slow, with a panel to probe the disappearance of four tigers from Ranthambore reserve about eight to 10 months ago being set up now. It should submit its findings by the month end. No one knows whether they are dead or have simply migrated in search of new territory.
In such a scenario, the Centre’s plan to bring six to 12 cheetahs from Africa or Iran or both, to the Palpur Kuno sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh by early 2012 has triggered disbelief among wildlife experts such as Belinda Wright, who question the rationale of this exercise, given the failings in tiger conservation. Rajasthan, too, may be brought within the ambit of the cheetah revival scheme. Cheetahs were decimated by hunters in India early last century. However, experts point out that Palpur Kuno’s proximity to Ranthambore means that tigers, leopards and cheetahs would be forced to co-exist, with big cats prone to wandering outside the reserves. This would create volatile situations, with the threat of poaching dogging them everywhere. In fact, the four tigers that are untraceable since many months may be an intimation of the fate that may befall the cheetahs.
Undeterred by criticism, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has reportedly approved re-introduction of cheetahs in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. It has also hiked the budget for tiger conservation from Rs 650 crore to Rs 1,216.86 crore, owing to the increase in cost of relocation of villages from tiger habitats and other factors. A statement released by the committee tries to justify the plan to bring in cheetahs thus:
“Re-introduction of cheetahs in the States of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan under the scheme at a cost of Rs 50 crore after ensuring the historical co-existence of cheetahs with other carnivores, especially the tiger, would benefit all the 40 tiger reserves falling in 17 tiger States, besides the people living in the fringe areas as well as communities opting for voluntary relocation from the core or critical tiger habitats.”
It is mystifying how the existing tiger reserves will benefit from the cheetah revival plan. Whether African (or Iranian cheetahs) will be able to adjust to the alien environs and co-exist with tigers, carnivores that are very different from lions, which move in packs, is a debatable point. Earlier, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi had vetoed the plan to relocate some of the Gir sanctuary’s lions to Palpur Kuno. Mr HS Panwar, former Director, Project Tiger, credits the success of lion conservation in Gujarat to the fact that “the Government of Gujarat is seized of the matter right from the Chief Minister to field formations of forest and police departments.”
The 2010 census revealed that the Asiatic lions’ number had gone up by 52 to 411. It was 359 in 2005. Trophy hunters had reduced their numbers to a meagre 15 in the early 20th Century. The Nawab of Junagadh had first accorded protection to the Gir habitat and its denizens. Gujarat’s success in this sphere needs to be contrasted with the routine poaching in, say, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and other parts.
Data on apprehension of illicit traders in big cats, collated only for July and August, is edifying —

August 21: Two persons arrested for illicit trade in tiger bones; the animal was poached in the vicinity of the well-guarded Nagarahole Tiger Preserve.

August 7: Two persons were arrested and leopard pelts seized from their possession in Kashipur town in Udhamsingh Nagar district.·

July 31: Two persons were arrested from South Delhi, with two leopard pelts being seized from them.

July 10: Chandrapur police seize leopard skins seized from four men near Kothari, 200km from Nagpur.The list of offences, beginning from January, suggests that big cats’ poachers are operating quite freely. In two recent judgements, meted out by lower courts in Rajasthan, on June 19 and June 25, the accused were sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment and fined. These cases related to poaching of tigers in the Sariska reserve and Akbarpur range. But the option of appeal is always available to them. On August 5, a Bangalore lower court sentenced three tiger poachers to a three-year jail term. This was the first such conviction in Karnataka. But if poachers are let out on bail, the trend so far, it would nullify their crime.
Source: http://www.dailypioneer.com/pioneer-news/oped/4899-cheetahs-can-wait.html

Pictorially speaking...

2011-09-30T15:20:00.004+05:30


T R Shankar Raman
With its ‘mouth’ opening through the Gulf of Kachchh, a neck set in the hills of the Dangs, and a curved ‘jaw’ housing the most populated districts dangling over the Arabian Sea, the shape of Gujarat looks like the head of an animal, and a smiling one at that.

Gujarat’s vibrant wildlife: a pictorial journey Diinesh Kumble Commissionerate of Information, Gujarat 2011, pp 192 Rs. 1,495 Within the limited geographical scope offered by the administrative boundaries is, however, a surprising diversity of landscapes, ecosystems, and wildlife. With a rich array of photographs and a notable paucity of text, Kumble’s book aims to take the reader, or rather the gazer, on a journey through this state in this book published with the support of the Government of Gujarat. It has the blessings of no less than its Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, with whose message the book opens on a page opposite a photograph of, of course, a lion. The book is organised rather loosely as chapters on five major habitats: grassland, wetland, forest, marine, and desert. Within each, there is about a page of text, the rest is all photographs and captions. As an introduction to Gujarat’s wildlife (names of species are also accompanied by Gujarati names, although not in Gujarati script), the book has some limited success, and some extraordinary failures. The book is redeemed in part by many colour photographs, and the printing quality is excellent. The images, mostly of mammals and birds, are mostly those taken by the author, with some by his wife Chris Romila Kumble, and a sprinkling from other photographers: Devesh Gadhvi, Umeed Mistry, and Sumer Verma. Most photographs are crisp portraits — close-ups of the sort that one gets with vibration-reduced large lenses with wide-open apertures — with the background and foreground fuzzy. The images captivate, but lack depth, literally and figuratively, on the living landscapes and plants that sustain animal life. The chapter on forests, for instance, lacks photographs of any forest type. Adding a few such images to accompany each chapter would have helped. Transcending the field-guide type portraits that the book is filled with are a few images that stand out in terms of composition, inspiring a touch of awe, a sense of nature wild and free. Such are Mistry’s underwater shots of turtle and whale shark, Gadhvi’s image of lesser agama, and a few photos by the author and his wife, such as the sepia-toned spread of wild ass, flamingos in flight, and a pan of a jackal running. Where the book really stoops low in quality is in the text. Almost uniformly poorly written, it includes some blandly-stated incomprehensibles such as “Forests are veritably the laboratories of life where co-operation and zero-sum games are seen in the raw” and “When it finally appeared but for a fraction of a second before disappearing behind the rocks, it was definitely worth a thousand words”. The captions of the images again read like field-guide material, often repeating the colours of the animal self-evident in the photograph. Captions for a few full-page images appear to have been overlooked. There is little on ecology, and even less on conservation in the book, to provide an interpretive context. The book would have benefited if the photographic skills of the author were combined with the knowledge of a field biologist who could also write well. Were all the photos taken in Gujarat and of free-ranging animals? The portrait of a lion that the book opens with looks suspiciously like a much-photographed individual from an enclosure in Gir. Seeing images of foxes and hyenas photographed near dens, and of a leopard running in broad daylight, one also hopes that the photographer used due diligence to minimise disturbance to animals. There is also nothing worthwhile about conservation in this book, although the introduction claims that conservation is a ‘living ideology’ in Gujarat, epitomised by its lions. The sorry state of the Asiatic lion, reduced to a spectacle for tourists inured to the sight of habituated and hustled lions lying about their vehicles in a small area of Gujarat, a fraction of its original range, is not discussed. Still, the book, published by the State Government, can hardly mention the blinkered intransigence of Gujarat to allow the establishment of another population in an identified reintroduction site in Madhya Pradesh, can it? In today’s context, lions are no more the pride, they are the shame of Gujarat. Similarly, there is nothing about the Dangs and forest loss and fragmentation, nothing about pollution and bleaching threatening the coral reefs, and certainly nothing about Gujarat’s race to urbanise and industrialise and its consequences on the environment within which its people live. To be fair, conservation is not the main theme of the book, but by ignoring conservation, peoples, and land uses in Gujarat, the book is one among many that succeeds in conveying an impression of wildlife and nature as objects, as colourful curiosities that one goes out to see, and constrained to remain within protected areas ordained for them (the maps in the book only show Wildlife Sanctuaries and National Parks). Metaphorically speaking, the book succeeds in capturing this feeling and message through its images. Stilt and stork, gharial and hedgehog, nightjars and sandgrouse, they are all clipped, snout or beak to tail-tip, as tight portraits. There is little space, no vista. The images suggest a circumscribed view of wildlife in Gujarat, like closeted jewels in a locked jewel box. Source: http://www.deccanherald.com/content/188163/pictorially-speaking.html

Concerned over safety, Guj RTI activists decide to form union.

2011-08-10T12:47:00.000+05:30

PTI | 04:07 PM,Jul 24,2011 "This is an emergency like situation in the state of Gujarat. We activists need to come together and fight thosetrying to suppress the implementation of RTI Act in Gujarat,"she added.Bhikhu Jethva, whose son and RTI activist Amit Jethvawas killed by gunmen one year ago for exposing illegal miningin Gir forest region, said he would fight till the end for thecause in which his son believed in."I have faith in the High Court where the PIL filed byAmit (Jethva) is being heard. They will do justice to it. Butif I feel that they have not done enough I will approach theSupreme Court," Bhikhu said.Another RTI activist, Bhagubhai Devani from Porbandersaid he too was attacked by land mafia after he complainedagainst illegal mining in the Saurashtra region which he saidwas being promoted by a former minister.Bharat Tann from Rajkot narrated the same citingalleged land scam to the tune of Rs 800 crore in the heart ofthe city.The group of activist also demanded that the state andthe Central government should pass bill for providingprotection to RTI applicants.
Source: http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/concerned-over-safety-guj-rti-activists-decide-to-form-union/763155.html

Patna zoo to get 5 big cats.

2011-08-10T12:45:00.004+05:30

Parul Pandey, TNN Jul 21, 2011, 06.32pm IST

PATNA: Five new big cats - one pair each of Asiatic lion and white tiger and one Royal Bengal tiger - are likely to arrive at the Patna zoo by the second week of next month under an exchange programme with Nehru Zoological Park, Hyderabad.
"After several rounds of negotiations, we are now ready to give one pair of horned rhino to Nehru zoo in exchange for their five animals," said Abhay Kumar, director, Patna zoo.
Kumar claimed that Patna zoo is the only zoo in the country that offers favourable conditions for the breeding of rhinos. "At present, we have the highest number of rhinos (13) in the country; thus, we are exchanging it to get a few more animals for our zoo," he said.

"Rhino is a very heavy animal, with each rhino may be weighing over a tonne. So, we are making necessary arrangements and taking precautionary measures to shift the rhinos to Hyderabad. They would be transported to the Nehru zoo via road by the end of this month," Kumar told TOI.
"Once the rhinos reach Nehru zoo, as per the exchange agreement, their authorities would send us a pair each of Asiatic lions and white tiger and one Royal Bengal tiger," Kumar added. "We are expecting those animals to arrive here by the second week of August."
Meanwhile, Patna zoo has already started making arrangements to house these new animals. "After the death of a white tigress, only one old white tigress is left with the zoo; so the tiger enclosure is almost vacant. We just need to add a few cages, which would be done by the month-end," officials said.
Patna zoo is also planning to expand the enclosure of rhinos. Kumar told TOI they were planning to allot some jungle area of the zoo to rhinos and do it in such a way that it gave them the feel of a jungle. "We would divide that area with a wooden overbridge, so that zoo visitors can see rhinos from close quarters without disturbing them," Kumar added.
Source: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-07-21/flora-fauna/29799390_1_patna-zoo-white-tigress-royal-bengal

Two held in South Delhi with leopard pelts,

2011-08-10T12:44:00.002+05:30

Express news service

Chhaya Sharma

Posted: Tue Aug 02 2011, 01:23 hrs New Delhi:

Two persons were arrested from South Delhi on Sunday for allegedly dealing in body parts of endangered animals. Two leopard pelts were seized from them, police said on Monday.
A case under Sections 39, 49, 499 (B), 49 (C), 9 and 51 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, has been registered against the two.
Police arrested Abdul Sattar (55) and Rahisuddin alias Lallan (57) from Sanik Farms in South Delhi when they came to sell the skins to a contact.
“The accused had come to sell lion and leopard skins. They used to smuggle elephant tusks and skin of leopards and Asiatic lions. They would sell them to their contacts, who would put them up for sale in the international market at very high rates,” said DCP (South) Chhaya Sharma.
Investigations revealed that both the pelts belonged to leopards, which is protected under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

“Lallan would procure animal skin, teeth and other parts from a tribal — Plaza — at a very cheap rate. He would them and sell them off for a higher prices. Plaza had told him that he used to find these things while roaming in the woods,” Sharma added.
Source: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/two-held-in-south-delhi-with-leopard-pelts/825781/

Ring road around Gir to be on pvt-public partnership model.

2011-08-10T12:42:00.000+05:30

TNN Jul 31, 2011, 05.17am IST

AHMEDABAD: The state forest department has decided to construct a ring road around the Gir sanctuary on the public-private partnership model. The decision was taken because the state does not want to wait for funds to be sanctioned from the central government.
The Gujarat government has already sent a proposal to the Centre for the ring road around the Gir sanctuary. The road, according to the state government, will divert traffic that now trespasses on the Asiatic lion's kingdom.
The proposed 269 km road will connect villages on the periphery of the Gir National Park and sanctuary covering 1,412 sq km. About six state highways and some minor roads now crisscross the sanctuary. And every day 35 to 40 vehicles travel through the sanctuary.

S K Nanda, principal secretary (forest and environment) said, "We are waiting for the nod from the central government. However, the construction of the ring road will be taken up on the PPP model."
The state has sent a proposal for the long-term conservation of the Asiatic lion. The project cost was Rs 262.36 crore. Of this, 90 per cent of the funding will be provided by the central government while the remaining 10 per cent, Rs 26.19 crore, will be borne by the state.
Officials said a proposal for the Rs 262 crore fund was sent to the planning commission, which has approved the project in principle. An official said that demanding another Rs 600 crore was expecting too much from the Centre. "Hence we decided to fund the ring road on a PPP model. Once the wildlife board of the Union ministry of forest and environment grants approval, the government will issue tenders for the project," he said.
Source: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-07-31/ahmedabad/29835222_1_ring-road-gir-sanctuary-gir-national-park

Lioness dead, Renuka safari population down to two.

2011-08-10T12:40:00.003+05:30

Posted by Ravinder Makhaik Friday, July 29th, 2011
Govt moves for adopting a lion pair from Karnataka
Shimla: Death of a lioness at Renukaji Lion Safari has brought down the number of Asiatic lions in the safari to a critical lonely couple, in an enclosure that once boasted about two dozen of them.
Wildlife warden Sushil Kapta said that Megha, an 11 year old lioness, died of uterus cancer a few days ago. “A lot of effort was made to try and save the majestic animal; the best veterinarian available in the state was requisitioned but the lioness could not be saved,” he said.
To make up for the diminished numbers, Kapta says, the wildlife department has written to Bannerghatta Biological Park in Karnataka for adding at least a pair at the Renuka safari. The Karnataka park which has two spare lion pairs of Asiatic lions available for adoption.
Starting out with a pair of lions brought over from Junagarh in the 1970’s, the population at Renuka at one point had swelled to about 28 which made the government confer the status of a lion safari in 1986.
Problems of inbreeding crept leading to genetic diseases, says the wild life warden. After several lions died between 1996 and 2000, CZA asked for totally stopping all captive breeding programs and since then the population has been on the decline.
Sources claimed that in April, last year, the Renuka wild life officials had shifted two lioness and one lion to Gopalpur and Chhatbir Zoo’s, on recommendation from the Central Zoo Authority (CZA).

While inbreeding remains a bane of all captive lion populations in the country’s zoo’s, the population of Asiatic lion’s at the Gir National Park in Gujarat is a healthy 411, which includes 97 males, 62 females and 52 cubs recorded in the 2010 census.

Old Sign Post

Source: http://himachal.us/2011/07/29/lioness-dead-renuka-safari-population-down-to-two/29587/news/ravinder

Katraj Zoo will soon have some roaring presence.

2011-08-10T12:37:00.000+05:30

Zoo authorities in talks with Junagarh counterparts to introduce at least 10 purebred Asiatic lions in their fold

Tanaji Khot

Posted On Friday, August 05, 2011 at 01:43:08 AM

TAhe Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park, popularly known as Katraj Zoo, will soon have some roaring amidst other animal sounds to greet visitors, if everything goes as planned.

The zoo authorities are planning to bring in as many as 10 pure-bred Asiatic lions from the Sakkarbaug Zoo in Junagarh, Gujarat, as part of an exchange programme. Once that happens, visitors will get to see a lion in the zoo after a gap of two decades.

Rajkumar Jadhav, deputy garden superintendent and zoo director, told Mirror, “The inclusion of the lions is the next important development in the zoo. The Central Zoo Authority (CZA) has approved our plan to include 16 species of animals in the zoo, including the lions.”

Jadhav had, on Monday, made a presentation of the detailed plan for expansion of Katraj zoo before CZA in New Delhi.

The plan was approved after minor changes in the report. The plan provides for at least 10 lions in the zoo. Jadhav said, “We are going to start making enclosures for the lions as early as possible. Once the enclosures are ready, Katraj Zoo will approach zoos where pure breeds of Asiatic lions are available.”

Besides lions, lesser cats like leopards and other animals like hyenas will also be added to the zoo.

The Sakkarbaug Zoo has the largest concentration of pure-bred Asiatic lions — forty members. Katraj Zoo has allotted 4,900 square metre space for lions’ enclosure.

The Sakkarbaug Zoo has a captive breeding programme in place for pure-bred Asiatic lions. This species of lions is highly endangered and these animals are found in Gir forest and surrounding areas in Gujarat.

The last and only lioness in Pune was kept in Peshwe park. She died around 20 years ago. This lioness was treated by a Jalgaon-based doctor V G Purnapatre and was handed over to Peshwe Park.

Asiatic lions: Let the pride increase!

2011-08-10T12:35:00.003+05:30

By Dharmendra Khandal Aug 03 2011

Tags: Leisure Writing

Hundred years ago, the population of Asiatic lion in India were left to about a dozen; today this number has reached to 411 lions. World over there is a trend of flora and fauna declining due to human population increase and consecutive habitat losses, so what is it that the population of Asiatic lion is increasing.

Yogendra Shah a wildlife researcher working in Gir forest gives the credit of this reverse trend to the community living around the lion’s territory and the forest department. The lions are a symbol of pride for the people of Gujarat and for their conservation; they make all efforts and sacrifices.

Shah recollected an incident where, he went to meet a family, which had six members and two buffalos, the lions killed one of the buffalo but the family had no grudge against the big cats.

About a hundred years back when the Junagarh nawab could not find a lion for his shikar, he realised that the lion population had declined. He stopped hunting of lion. With times, trends and problems change like forest department rescue team has been rescuing 20-30 lions each year from open deep wells. There are some eight thousand wells in and around the lion territory and the forest department and locals have managed to fence or wall about four thousand. The Gir forest is a 1400 sq km area but the lions have now expanded their territory and found in 2300 sq km. However, the lions in one era were found in many states of India like the Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, and Madhya Pradesh. The reasons for their extinction were shikar and their habitat being open scrubland. They did not have the knack to survive such as the tiger, at the same time the lions are very vocal and the hunters can easily catch their presence. Hence, the existence of the Asiatic lions in Gujarat is a very big achievement and the credit goes to the community, researches, forest department and the politicians.

However if we want to conserve the lions in the long term we have to move to a new phase in which the lion has to be changed from the ‘pride of Gujarat’ to the ‘pride of India’. Two decades ago the government had worked in this direction they proposed the kuno area of Madhya Pradesh to be the second home for the lions and even relocated 24 villages from the forest but the Gujarat government, forest department and researches did not want to give their pride to any other state. Unfortunately, the entire program was put on hold. Now there is a case filed in the Supreme Court to bring lions in Madhya Pradesh.

The Madhya Pradesh government possibly believes that they have enough tiger forests and need to work on species such as lions or cheetahs to attract tourists. With this ideology if we are bringing the lions, then the decision of the Gujarat people looks more acceptable. However, in spite of all the debate, we do know that the growing lion population needs a second home, may be not in other state but in Gujarat itself we can think of another area.

Source: http://www.mydigitalfc.com/leisure-writing/asiatic-lions-let-pride-increase-636

A record 2.71L tourists visit Gir in a year.

2011-08-10T12:33:00.000+05:30

TNN Jul 31, 2011, 05.19am IST

AHMEDABAD: Gir, the only place in the world where you can see Asiatic lions in the wild, recorded its maximum visitors in the 12 months till March 2011.
The sanctuary registered a footfall of 2.71 lakh tourists in this period, which is 32 per cent higher than 2009-10. Forest department sources say there was a 19 per cent rise even among foreign tourists. The sanctuary has 411 lions as per the May 2010 census.
The data reveals that 55 per cent of these tourists came in November, December and January. Of the 6,152 foreign tourists who visited Gir in the year till March last, 3,328 came in December, January and February. The trend was mainly because of festivals like Christmas, Diwali and Uttarayan.

"This year the rush began a week prior to the Uttarayan as the festival was on a weekend," said a forest official.
"We were expecting a record income this year, as during Diwali, Gir and Devaliya interpretation centre had recorded a income of around Rs 42 lakh in the 10 day between November 4 and November 13," he said. The main reason for the increase in the flow of tourists was the state government's decision to increase the permits issued during festive days from 90 to 150.
Deputy conservator of forest Sandeep Kumar said that the maximum income of Devaliya in a single day was Rs 4,68,000 in 2000, but the figure touched Rs 5,39,250 this year. Kumar said that this year apart from increasing the tourist permit the advertisement campaign Khushboo Gujarat Ki also played a major role in attracting tourists.
Source: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-07-31/ahmedabad/29835167_1_foreign-tourists-devaliya-gir

Show-cause notice to 4 forest staff for disposing animal body.

2011-08-10T12:29:00.002+05:30

PTI | 11:07 PM,Jul 22,2011 Ahmedabad, July 22 (PTI) A range forest officer wastransferred and show-cause notices were served to four staffmembers including a forester and three beat guards forallegedly disposing the body of a wild animal which had diedin the Gir forest. "We have served show-cause notices to one forester andthree beat guards to seek their reply in a case of disposingof a body of a (one to two months old) cub," DFO ManishwarRaja told PTI. Range forest officer J P Vadi, in whose area the incidenttook place, has been transferred from a field job to a deskjob, Raja further said. On July 6, Raja had found ash remains of totally burntanimal cub in the Gir forest area of Dhari range. As per therule, any death of any wild animal has to be reported to DFOfor assessment of its cause of death, whether it was naturalor otherwise. "However, for some reason, instead informing DFO, ladyforester Mona Kachot and three beat guards burnt the body atthe same place where it was found," sources in the forestdepartment said. Forest officials have collected the remains and sent itto Forensic Science Laboratory in Gandhinagar to find out ifthe body was of a lion cub or a leopard cub, Raja said, addingthat they are awaiting report from the FSL. Raja said that foresters and the three beat guards havebeen given 15 days time to explain their action and aftertheir reply, action is likely to be taken against them. Gir is an abode of Asiatic Lions in the world, where asper the 2010 census, their number was more than 500.
Source: http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/showcause-notice-to-4-forest-staff-for-disposing-animal-body/761965.html

Wolves show 'sixth mass extinction' can be fought.

2011-08-10T12:28:00.003+05:30

By Margaret Munro, Postmedia NewsJuly 14, 2011

An Asiatic lion rests inside an enclosure at the Nehru Zoological Park in Hyderabad on May 11, 2011. The only place in the wild where the lion is found, is in the Gir Forest of Gujarat and in 2010, the Gujarat government reported that 411 Asiatic lions were sighted in the Gir forest.

Photograph by: Noah Seelam, Getty Images

Thirty-one gray wolves from Canada were turned loose in Yellowstone in the 1990s.
The iconic canines were soon tearing after elk in the U.S. national park, which had not seen wolves in seven decades.
Aspen, willow and cottonwood trees have begun to sprout now that the elk are in check. Beavers have started to move back in, increasing habitat for birds and insects.
"It's amazing the effect one species, the wolf, can have on the entire ecosystem," says William Ripple, at Oregon State University, co-author of an international report on the profound and cascading impact large animals have on ecosystems.
He and his colleagues say the demise of lions, wolves, bison, sharks, great whales and other large animals is part of the "the sixth mass extinction" now underway, and that their disappearance affects everything from wildfires to the spread of disease.
"The loss of these animals may be humankind's most pervasive influence on nature," the team of 24 scientists from the United States, Europe, Africa and Canada are reporting Friday in the journal Science.
So-called "apex consumers" have roamed the planet for millions of years but have vanished from most of their range, largely because of human hunting and fishing, and habitat loss.
The scientists point to "extensive cascading effects."
"The disappearance of these animals reverberates further than previously anticipated, with far-reaching effects on processes as diverse as the dynamics of disease; fire; carbon sequestration; invasive species; and biogeochemical exchanges among Earth's soil, water and atmosphere," they say.
They also suggest the loss of the top animals can be linked to "many of the ecological surprises that have confronted society over past centuries — pandemics, population collapses of species we value and eruptions of those we do not, major shifts in ecosystem states, and losses of diverse ecosystem services."
The report lists examples from Africa to the Aleutian Islands.
The reduction of lions and leopards in the sub-Sahara caused the baboon population to swell. This unexpectedly increased transmission of intestinal parasites from baboons to humans as the primates foraged closer to human settlements.
Industrial whaling in the 20th century killed off large numbers of plankton-eating great whales, which sequester carbon into the deep sea in their feces. The scientists say about 105 million tonnes of carbon has ended up in the atmosphere, contributing to climate change, instead of resting at the bottom of the ocean.
Coastal kelp forests, important marine nurseries and habitat, were decimated when sea otter populations collapsed from over-hunting in the Pacific Northwest. This was because kelp-grazing sea urchins proliferated when sea otters were no longer around to eat them.
The loss of sharks has lead a boom in the population of cow-nosed rays, which have in turn triggered collapse of shellfish populations along the East Coast of North America.
The researchers, including zoologist Anthony Sinclair at the University of B.C., who could not be reached for comment, say that large animals have long been seen as "riding atop" ecosystems but not really affecting the species and structure below.
That, they say, is a fundamental misunderstanding of ecology.
"By looking at ecosystems primarily from the bottom up, scientists and resource managers have been focusing on only half of a very complex equation," lead author James Estes, at the University of California at Santa Cruz, said in a summary of the findings.
The wolves in Yellowstone show the damage is not necessarily irreversible, Ripple told Postmedia News.
He and associates have been documenting the "restoration" that started in the park's ecosystem after 31 grey wolves from Alberta were introduced in Yellowstone the 1995 and 1996, and the packs began to grow.
The wolf, once widespread across most of North America, has been hunted ruthlessly and was eradicated from Yellowstone by the 1920s. During the wolves' seven-decade absence from the park, Ripple says, elk not only increased in number but their behaviour changed.
The elk were no longer afraid of browsing young aspen trees in places where historically the animals might have been vulnerable to wolf attack. As a result, the growth of young aspen trees and willow almost stopped, and there were fewer beaver. Plant communities, tree growth and stream ecology all were affected, Ripple said.
But in parts of Yellowstone, he said, aspen and willow are now recovering. The trees and shrubs are attracting more beavers, which in turn set the stage for more birds and insects.
"It is shocking and very humbling to see how an individual species can be so important," he said of the wolves' cascading effect on the ecosystem.
Habitat-restoration efforts often start from the ground up, with the planting of trees or other landscape manipulations, said Ripple, "but here all we had to do was release a few dozen wolves and let them do their thing."
mmunro(at)postmedia.com

Three Asian Lions Receive Shots at Night Safari Zoo.

2011-08-10T12:28:00.002+05:30

By Xinle Ng
Singapore - Three adorable lion cubs were born to Night Safari Zoo residents Khapat and Amba this March, and they recently had their booster ‘shots’ by the veterinary team.
The tawny three-month-olds were given a clean bill of health after a mandatory vaccination against respiratory and systemic infections. Their first health check took place two months after they were born on 21 March 2011, and they were given a general examination and microchipped for identification.
Similar to humans, animals can suffer from a variety of infectious diseases. Vaccinations are therefore essential in building immunity and prevention against diseases. This is especially important for the cubs when they are given outdoor access and placed on exhibit. Lion cubs usually get a booster shot when they are 12 weeks old and bi-annually thereafter.
“The practice of animal vaccination is recommended by the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA). Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS) is dedicated to continually improving standards of animal welfare based on the latest and best practices,” said Dr Serena Oh, Assistant Director, Veterinary, WRS.
The Asian lion is a unique subspecies that splits from the African lion. It is smaller in size and sports a less significant mane compared to its African cousin. Most of the wild Asian lion population is found in India’s Gir Forest, a protected santuary where about 300 of these magnificent animals roam. There are an additional 60 of them living in zoos. Under the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN), they are listed as ‘endangered’. One of the problems faced by the Asian lion in the wild is in-breeding which has resulted in weaker individuals. Through Night Safari’s captive breeding programme, WRS hopes to be able to increase the number of Asian lions both in the wild and in captivity. To date, Night Safari has successfully bred seven Asian lion cubs in captivity.
ABOUT NIGHT SAFARI
Night Safari, the world’s first wildlife park for nocturnal animals is a nine-time winner of the Best Visitor Attraction Experience, awarded by Singapore Tourism Board. This internationally acclaimed leisure attraction embodies innovation and creativity in products and services, and service quality, thus attracting more than 1.1 million visitors yearly. Over 1,000 animals from 115 species (of which almost 30% are threatened) inhabit the 40-hectare park.
In line with its mission to promote biodiversity, the park focuses on the captive breeding of threatened species. Over the years, it has bred Malayan tigers, Asian elephants, fishing cats, red dholes, anoas, markhors, bantengs, Malayan tapirs and Asian lions, among other endangered species. A visitor’s experience at Night Safari is not limited to animals but extends to experiential dining segments with the park’s award winning Gourmet Safari Experience, where visitors dine onboard a tram traversing the eight geographical zones. The park can be explored either on foot via three walking trails, or by tram. Night Safari is part of Wildlife Reserves Singapore and is a designated rescued wildlife centre by the governing authority.
Night Safari is located at 80 Mandai Lake Road Singapore 729826. More information can be found at www.nightsafari.com.sg
ABOUT WILDLIFE RESERVES SINGAPORE
Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS) is the parent company of award-winning attractions Jurong Bird Park, Night Safari, Singapore Zoo and the upcoming River Safari. WRS parks strive to be world-class leisure attractions, providing excellent exhibits of animals presented in their natural environment for the purpose of conservation, education and recreation.
In the areas of conservation and research, WRS parks have undertaken multiple projects through collaborations with various organisations and institutions on the oriental pied hornbill, pangolin and orang utan. Highly popular with tourists and locals, Jurong Bird Park welcomed 900,000 visitors, the Night Safari, more than 1.1 million, and Singapore Zoo over 1.6 million visitors in 2010.

More information can be found at www.wrs.com.sg
To view Singapore Zoo's web page on Zoo and Aquarium Visitor News, go to: http://www.zandavisitor.com/forumtopicdetail-2282-Night_Safari

Bachchan says his state tourism ad is working.

2011-07-14T11:01:00.001+05:30

Express News Service

Posted: Jul 08, 2011 at 0227 hrs IST
Ahmedabad In the city to promote his latest release, actor Amitabh Bachchan on Thursday said most Gujaratis did not even know about the archaeological sites in their state.
Bachchan, who is the brand ambassador for Gujarat Tourism, said even Gujarati NRIs frequently wrote on his blog site expressing their ignorance about such sites in Gujarat. The actor said the TV ad campaign, Khusbhoo Gujarat Ki, in which he features, has many Gujaratis responding with messages on his blog that they would visit the featured places.
Promoting his movie Buddah Hoga Tera Baap, Bachchan said, “Khusboo Gujarat Ki is a very nice project. What attracted me was the fact that the state is an important part of the country and among all the archaeological sites in India, Gujarat has most of them. It’s an honour to popularise the Gujarat Tourism.”
“Each and every place I visited, whether it was the Rann of Kutch or the Gir Forest, they have extraordinary features,” the actor said.
Gujarat Tourism Secretary Vipul Mitra said the Khusboo Gujarat Ki project would now cover Saputara in the Dangs, Ambaji temple, Pavagadh and the Sun Temple in Modhera.
Source: http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/bachchan-says-his-state-tourism-ad-is-working/814533/

Lion safari at Chhatbir facing flood hazard.

2011-07-14T10:58:00.003+05:30

Pankaj Dhiman, TNN Jul 11, 2011, 07.04am IST

CHANDIGARH: Lion safari at the Mahendra Chaudhary Zoological park, Chhatbir, is again facing threat due to monsoon.
Zoo authorities and Punjab irrigation department officials are yet to plug the breaches in the wall erected to prevent Ghaggar water from entering the safari display area. Contrary to the claims of zoo officials, who visited the site along with administration officials on Sunday, the wall is in the danger of collapsing.
Besides putting off visitors, due to non-availability of lions in the waterlogged area, it is also posing threat for Gagan and Heni, the Asiatic lion pair brought from Rajkot zoo of Gujrat for increasing the pure breed of lions in Safari here.
Source: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-07-11/flora-fauna/29760629_1_lion-safari-asiatic-lion-pair-rajkot-zoo

MoEF declares four new eco zones in state.

2011-07-14T10:57:00.000+05:30

Express News Service Posted: Jul 10, 2011 at 0248 hrs IST

Ahmedabad Girnar forest, Vansda National Park, Purna and Narayan Sarovar wildlife sanctuaries will have new master plans in a year
The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has declared four wildlife sanctuaries and national parks inside Gujarat as eco-sensitive zones to protect the biodiversity there.
The move restricts industrial development, changes in land use and tourism activities, while banning the use of plastic bags inside these areas.
The four new eco-sensitive zones include certain areas in the Girnar Reserve Forest in western Saurashtra, the entire Vansda National Park and the Purna Wildlife Sanctuary in south Gujarat as well as the Narayan Sarovar Wildlife Sanctuary in Kutch.
The state government has been asked to prepare Zonal Master Plans for each of these zones within a year. In the meantime, polluting industries have been disallowed from being set up henceforth while non-polluting industries may be set up provided each maintains a 50-metre-wide green belt.
Mining has also been banned and all existing leases are to be phased out while sand quarrying may be allowed in some areas only if it is for the local population.
Even land use changes from agriculture to non-agricultural purposes will be allowed only for residential development, that too for the needs of the locals only.
Each zone will also have a monitoring committee comprising respective district collectors, a representative of an environmental NGO working in the area, the regional pollution control officers, a senior town planner and a representative of the MoEF.
All places of worship, villages, forests, agricultural areas, fertile lands, green areas, horticultural areas, orchards, lakes and water bodies would be recorded and any new construction would be allowed only after due approval by the respective monitoring committees before the master plans are ready.
A total of 119 villages fall inside these newly declared eco-sensitive zones and the local governments of larger human settlements (with populations more than 5,000) would have their own Area Development Plans.
Tourism plans would have to promote eco-tourism, eco-education and eco-development, while commercial extraction of groundwater will also be regulated.
All the natural springs and their catchment areas are also to be mapped out and no development is to be allowed so that they can be rejuvenated and preserved.
What each of the draft notifications seek to protect
*“The Narayan Sarovar Wildlife Sanctuary falls under a separate biotic province of the country,” the draft said. “A distinct gene pool” of rare and threatened species like the chinkara, caracal, wold, leopard, spiny-tailed lizard, desert cat, great Indian bustard, lesser florican and the houbara bustard live in an area that has a mix of arid regions, grasslands, coastal areas with dense mangrove forests, partial wetlands and patches of lentic (still water) wetlands. The danger is also that this area is mineral rich. Limestone, lignite, bentonite and bauxite are found here”.
*Besides the Asiatic Lion, the Girnar Reserve Forest is home to a rich plant diversity, mammals, reptiles and avifauna. The catchment areas of the Sonrakh, Gudajali and the Loi rivers that recharge the water-table of Junagadh also lie here. “Ongoing developmental activities, industrialization and mining activities” need to be checked for long-term conservation.
*The Vansda National Park “harboured population of tigers in the past and still harbours species like spotted deer, palm civet, small Indian civet, barking deer, four-horned antelope, wild boar, flying squirrel, rusty spotted cat, leopard cat and many species of rodents, reptiles, and amphibians”, various bird species, shrubs and herbs with medicinal properties, orchids, lichens and ferns.
*The Purna Wildlife Sanctuary is “covered on all sides by quality teak forests along with bamboo patches” and hosts 61 tree species, 31 herb and shrub species, 18 species of climbers, 24 mammal species including some rare species, 18 species of reptiles, more than 3,000 species of insects and more than 142 species of birds.
Source: http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/moef-declares-four-new-eco-zones-in-state/815419/

Gujarat wildlife policy a roaring success

2011-07-14T10:53:00.000+05:30

July 06, 2011 12:26:57 AM
Rathin Das | Gandhinagar
It’s official. Gujarat is animal-friendly. While the number of any particular animal might have grown in some State or other, Gujarat is probably the only State where the population of as many as four big wild animals have gone up.
While the rise in population of the Asiatic lion in Gir, its last natural habitat, is well-known, the numbers of three other big animals, too, have grown in Gujarat during the past few years.
Apart from the Asiatic lions in Gir, the big wild animals whose populations in Gujarat have grown are leopards, wild ass and sloth bear.
The increase of Asiatic lions in Gir to 411 in 2010 from 359 in 2005 was well publicised, but around the same time, the State’s leopard count, too, rose to 1,160 from 1,070 in 2006 and the number of wild ass in the Little Rann of Kutch went up from 3,800 to 4,038 in 2009.
The sloth bear population, found mostly in the eastern tribal belt of the State, grew to 293 in 2011 compared to 270 in 2006.
“While the number of one particular animal might have grown in some State or other, Gujarat is probably the only State where the population of as many as four big wild animals have gone up,” Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) Pradeep Khanna told The Pioneer.
Khanna attributed the phenomenon mainly to the “animal-friendly nature of the people and the local culture in Gujarat”. He also cited the State’s conservation efforts and the “dedication of the Forest department field staff” for the flourishing wildlife population.
“People in Gujarat have a lot of respect for wildlife,” he said, adding that this positive attitude helps in conservation efforts.
Though the growing number of wild animals raises the possibility of man-animal conflicts, Khanna said that there are ways to tackle such problems.
When the growing number of Asiatic lions started to stray out of the designated Gir National Park, the State
Government quickly decided to notify new adjoining areas as sanctuaries. Thus, Mitiyala and Girnar areas were notified as new sanctuaries in 2004 and 2008 respectively to accommodate the growing number of the big cats, Khanna said.
The rise in the number of wild ass in the Little Rann of Kutch led to these animals straying into fields with standing crops. “People had to be convinced not to poison them,” Khanna said.
Similarly, cattle-lifting by lions led to confrontations with villagers. “The compensation paid in such cases has been much less than the actual price of cattle killed. Villagers want more, but are tolerant enough not to harm the lions,” he said.
The number of sloth bears is growing in the sanctuary areas of Surpaneswar (Narmada district), Jambugodha (Vadodara), Ratanmahal (Dahod), Balaram and Jessore (Banaskantha), primarily because these areas have been left unaffected by urbanization. “Good forest areas have not been diverted for industrial use,” Khanna said.
Source: http://www.dailypioneer.com/351022/Gujarat-wildlife-policy-a-roaring-success.html

Jaisalmer: Endangered cheetahs get new home.

2011-07-14T10:51:00.003+05:30

Click here to Enlarge

Sudhanshu Mishra | Jaipur, July 4,
It may have been the fastest animal on earth, but still it couldn't dodge the bullet. As a result, the famed cheetah became extinct from the forests of India.
Now efforts are on to re-introduce the wild cat and the Shahgarh area in Jaisalmer district of Rajasthan has been initially selected to house the cheetahs before they can be relocated to other parts of the country. Shahgarh was preferred over Kuno Palpur in Madhya Pradesh because the desert was found to be a more suitable site, a forest department source said. A cheetah was last sighted in eastern Madhya Pradesh in 1947, but it was hunted down by the then ruler of Surguja. Five years hence, the big cat was declared extinct in the country.
But thanks to the efforts of the Union ministry of forests and environment, a decision was taken last year to re-introduce the cheetah. Initial plans were to bring the cheetah from Iran. However, it wanted a lion in exchange for a cheetah and India expressed its inability to do that. There are around 60 cheetahs of Asiatic origin to be found in Iran. This compelled cheetah experts to look elsewhere and countries such as South Africa, Namibia, Kenya and Tanzania were targeted.

It was for this reason that Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh visited South Africa in April last year. However, some experts still feel India should continue to engage with Iran as the Iranian cheetahs are close relatives to the ones which used to be found in India.Rajasthan's principal wildlife warden R.N. Mehrotra said: "In view of Iran's reluctance to give us its cheetahs, we should go in for in-vitro fertilisation, using the eggs and sperms from the Iranian specie and putting them in the womb of an African female cheetah, which could then act as the surrogate mother."
A section of the elected representatives of Jaisalmer is understood to be against the idea of creating a cheetah sanctuary in Shahgarh in view of the various prohibitions which comes into effect on construction activities.
Once the area is turned into a sanctuary, the villagers falling inside the area would not be able to sell off their land. The environment ministry has now set up a five-member committee of experts to see that certain areas of Jaisalmer are excluded from the sanctuary. This would pave the way for a cheetah sanctuary in Shahgarh which would also include areas around Ghotaru and Asutar.
Wildlife expert Rajpal Singh, who is a member of the committee, said the sanctuary in the desert would help in preserving its flora and fauna, whose existence, he claimed, suffered a setback following the onset of the Indira Gandhi canal project.
Source: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/story/raj-place-identified-for-endangered-cheetahs/1/143580.html