India joins hands with S Asian neighbours to protect wildlife.

New Delhi: Recognising the danger posed to wildlife from illegal trade, India and its South Asian neighbours have agreed to develop institutional mechanisms to promote harmonised and collaborative approaches to common threats, a government document said.

However, the modalities of this agreement and the ensuing legal structures evolved at the First Meeting on Illegal Wildlife Trade in South Asia held in Kathmandu two years ago are still under discussion.

India is a lucrative market in the USD 20 billion global illegal wildlife trade. At a time when poaching and illegal trade of wildlife articles have assumed alarming proportions, the Environment Ministry document has conceded that the South Asian nations were "not resourced adequately" to deal with the problem.

A number of regional initiatives have emerged, including SACEP (South Asia Cooperative Environment Programme), SAWTI (South Asia Wildlife Trade Initiative) and SAARC Convention on Cooperation on Environment to check the illegal trade of wildlife articles.

"...But (these agencies) have not been resourced adequately to implement activities," concedes the document --Environmental and Social Framework Document for "Strengthening Regional Cooperation in Wildlife Protection in Asia"-- prepared for financial assistance from the World Bank under regional IDA (International Development Association) window.

When contacted, officials in the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) refused to share more details.

Wild animals are killed for the flourishing illegal international trade of their skins, bones, flesh, fur, used for decoration, clothing, medicine and unconventional exotic food.

Victims of the trade include the iconic tiger and elephant, the snow leopard, the common leopard, the one-horn rhino, pangolin, brown bear, several species of deer and reptiles, seahorses, star tortoises, butterflies, peacocks, hornbills, parrots, parakeets and birds of prey and corals.

Yearly trade of wildlife articles probably ranks third after narcotics and the illegal weapons trade, says the document quoting INTERPOL.

The nations across the world are also signatories to CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), which was set up to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.

The report says that poaching techniques are "extremely gruesome".

"The more egregious methods include skinning or dehorning live animals and transportation of live creatures in inhuman conditions," it says.

Poaching has become so intense that tigers have disappeared from many parks throughout Asia.

"Nowhere has the impact been greater than in India and Nepal which remain the bastions of tiger conservation," says the document.

India has a Memorandum of Understanding with Nepal on controlling trans-boundary illegal trade in wildlife and conservation, apart from a protocol on tiger conservation with China.

A Global Tiger Forum of Tiger Range Countries has been created for addressing international issues related to tiger conservation.

India has appealed to China to phase out tiger farming, and eliminate stockpiles of Asian big cats body parts and derivatives. The importance of continuing the ban on trade of body parts of tigers was emphasised.

The economic value of the illegal wildlife trade is determined primarily by cross-border factors. Wildlife are poached in one country, stockpiled in another, and then traded beyond the South Asia region. http://zeenews.india.com/news/eco-news/india-joins-hands-with-s-asian-neighbours-to-protect-wildlife_784798.html

Gujarat's indigenous tribes to get brand registration for tribal medicines.

2 Jul, 2012, 12.41PM IST, Vishal Dutta & Himanshu Darji,ET Bureau
AHMEDABAD: Indigenous tribes from Gujarat would become India's first tribal community to get their age-old medicinal knowledge branded and registered under trademark and geographic indication (GI). The state government has initiated a tribal branding project to create and promote a tribal-made product pool to protect tribal community knowledge.

ET has learnt that the forest department will create a pool of brands for local herbs found in Dangs along with the local tribes to improve the latter's income levels and to efficiently utilise the vast natural resources of the region. This will include value-addition by using modern processing, packaging and marketing system. The proposed brand for the herbs is in addition to the existing brand 'Dhanvantri' that belongs to Gujarat Forest Development Corporation.

"Currently, middle-men collect herbs from the locals who in turn end up getting exploited. We will create a dedicated marketplace for processed hubs that could be bought by ayurvedic pharma companies," S K Chaturvedi, chief conservator of forest of Valsad and Dang districts.

The Dangs has more than 350 species of medicinal plants scattered over 311 villages and has 60 Bhagats (tribal healers).

The forest department will train the tribals in scientific method of herbs and its preservation, Chaturvedi says. "Modern processing units will be set up to add value to the raw herbs and special training will also be imparted to tribals to improve the productivity of the plants," he said.

Dangs is home to herbs like harde, baheda , mahuda, charoli, shatavri, citrak, white musli, jivanti, kaucha and galo amongst others. "Unlike Ayurveda, the medical knowledge of the tribals has never been documented by the Bhagats. The knowledge has been passed on to subsequent generation verbally," says Dr Deepak Acharya, director of Abhumka Herbal, that is deciphering tribal knowledge into finished products and sharing profit with the tribal community.

Bio-piracy in the region began in 1990s but reached its peak in 2000. Later, local administration and tribal healers sprung into action to find means to plug it. Registration will empower owners of the said intellectual property to restrict others from using similar intellectual property, says advocate Aayush Modi working with Nanavati Associates that is working on this state government initiative. The firm along with the State Forest Development Agency (SFDA) has begun applying for trademark registrations for various products manufactured or sold by the tribals. "It will enable sales and promote specific brands emerging from the region," adds IPR specialist Mr Pranit Nanavati.

Abhumka has so far introduced over 12 medicinal products from the region -- herbal cattlefeed DudhNahar, vitality capsules Teranta and StonOff, for removal of kidney stones -- for instance.

Lioness’s radio rage terrorizing Gir village.

Himanshu Kaushik, TNN Jul 2, 2012, 02.22AM IST

AHMEDABAD: A lioness in Liliya, in the Gir forest, is terrorizing villagers who live around her territory. She is perpetually angry and lashes out at anyone who crosses her path. The villagers say her temper is fuelled by a radio collar that was fitted on her; and the collar — equipped with a tracking device — does not work anymore.
Residents, who refuse to be identified, say that the lioness has on a couple of occasions attacked the people of Kanrach village. However, fortunately, no major injury has been reported. Curiously, the villagers are sensitive to animals' wellbeing. They had recently thrashed some outsiders who had entered the area for an illegal lion show.
As for the officials, they acknowledge that the lioness is a troublemaker. Once, she made even forest guards run helter-skelter for cover. The foresters slipped into slush but luckily the lioness did not attack them.

Manoj Joshi, who runs a nature club in the area, said: "One day, the lioness was found sitting beside a driver who was sleeping near his vehicle in the open."
Two attempts to relocate the lioness have failed because it is difficult to trace her. "This lioness is very clever. She has been making forest officials chase her futilely," said deputy conservator of forests (Gir east) Anushman Sharma. "In the late 2000, this lioness was caught from Gondal after the rescue team camped in the area for over 15 days. Whenever the team zeroed in on her location and rushed to the spot, she would go missing." Gondal is about 150 km from Sasan.
Sharma admitted that the radio collar which the lioness was wearing had indeed become non-functional. But for removing that, one has to catch her. He said some villagers thought the collar served a purpose. "They feel that the collar makes unscrupulous elements think that the forest department is monitoring the area and hence they keep away."
Source: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-07-02/ahmedabad/32508116_1_lioness-gir-forest-gir-village

MP’s wait continues: For Gir lions and Karnataka jumbos .

Monday, 02 July 2012 00:04 pioneer
Both the proposals — of shifting the Asiatic lion from the Gir forests in Gujarat and elephants from Karnataka — are stuck in courts. While Gujarat argues that there is no need for a second home to the Gir lions and that translocation to MP would make them vulnerable to poachers, NGOs in Karnataka say that translocated elephants would suffer the pangs of being separated from their family groups and that such a plan would result in degradation of the forests in that State. MP Forest Minister is, however, hopeful that the plan would come through, writes  Zafar Alam Khan
The Madhya Pradesh Government’s proposed ambitious plan to translocate Asiatic Lions and elephants from Gujarat and Karnataka, respectively, is in doldrums. The Bharatiya Janata Party Government of the State has failed to persuade the same party ruled Gujarat and Karnataka Governments for the same. ‘Viva city’ tried to find out that what went wrong and why translocation of these animals still hangs in balance. Madhya Pradesh Government’s efforts to translocate the animals could not be a pipe dream since the State has the largest area under forest cover as compared to other States of the country.
Madhya Pradesh Forest Minister Sartaj Singh while talking to ‘Viva City’ said, “The issues are pending in the court and we are hopeful that the verdict would go in our favour.”
Notably, the decision to make Kuno-Palpur sanctuary near Gwalior a second home for the Asiatic lions was taken in 1990 by the Union Government on the advice of Wildlife Institute of India (WII) while shifting of 29 jumbos from Karnataka was almost imminent but in the last moments a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) played spoilsport and the translocation was stuck.
Gujarat opposes tooth and nail the plan for a second home for Asiatic lions at Kuno-Palpur sanctuary of Madhya Pradesh while the plan of getting elephants from Karnataka also suffered jolt as a plea against it was admitted in the Karnataka High Court.
The Karnataka High Court has asked the Union Government, the Animal Welfare Board of India, Principal Secretary to the Department of Forest, Ecology and Environment to file a counter affidavit against the petition on the translocation of elephants from the state.
The petition filed by the Compassion Unlimited Plus Action (CUPA) and the People For Animals (PFA) has alleged the State Government has decided to transfer 29 elephants to Madhya Pradesh. The NGOs cited a report in a section of the media stating that the Karnataka Government was planning to hand over captive elephants to Madhya Pradesh Government for use in safaris, and that 29 elephants had been identified for such a transfer.
The NGOs wrote letters to the principal conservator of forests objecting to the translocation of the elephants. Since the state government seemed keen on pursuing the transfers, the petitioners decided to approach the court.
The NGOs argued that the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 prohibits the sale of elephants. The elephants, if transferred, would be separated from family groups. The translocation of such a huge number of elephants would result in degeneration of the forest, since each elephant requires 250 kg of fodder every day. They are extremely vulnerable to tuberculosis when they come into contact with human beings.
The activists sought a direction from the court to issue a writ not to sell, transfer or translocate elephants from Karnataka. The State Government counsel has submitted that a decision had been taken not to translocate captive elephants to Madhya Pradesh or to any other part of the country.
While, in case of lions’ transfer from Gujarat, a proposed second home for Asiatic lions has pitted the BJP-led State Governments of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh against each other. Gujarat, whose Gir sanctuary is the only abode for Asiatic lions, is upset with the plan to shift some of the big cats to the Kuno-Palpur sanctuary near Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh, as decided in the late 1990s by the Union Government on the advice of the Wildlife Institute of India.
The issue came up for hearing in Supreme Court on May 1 this year on a petition by Biodiversity Conservation Trust, a wildlife NGO.
The Madhya Pradesh Government bluntly told the court that Gujarat’s allegations that Madhya Pradesh forest officials were incapable of handling the lions and that there was poaching in the area and not enough prey base for the lions were baseless. The debate further escalated when the Madhya Pradesh State Tourism Department posted on its website that “Kuno has been selected as an alternative home for the endangered Asiatic lion, which is now confined only to the Gir National Park and Sanctuary of Gujarat.” Gujarat claims it has done enough to protect the lions and that a second home for them is unnecessary. Not only has the number of Gir lions gone up to 411, the State Government has also added 400 sq km of grasslands and forests to the 1,400-sq-km sanctuary as part of its concept of Greater Gir. Gujarat forest officials also say the poachers who operate in Gir come from Katni in Madhya Pradesh, not very far from Kuno-Palpur, which means the proposed second home is no safer for the lions.
Gujarat’s principal chief conservator of forests Pradeep Khanna said, “There is absolutely no need for shifting the lions out of Gujarat. The endangered species is more secure here than anywhere else.”
Madhya Pradesh Forest Minister Sartaj Singh counters, “It is wrong to say lions won’t be safe in Kuno-Palpur when Madhya Pradesh has done a good job of managing other national parks in the State which have tigers. Gujarat should understand that it is for the future benefit of the species that a second home is necessary.”
Another Gujarat forest official reminds that the Wildlife Institute of India’s recommendation to shift lions to Kuno-Palpur was itself a political decision as it was dominated at that time by officials from Madhya Pradesh. He adds that the second home strategy is flawed as Kuno-Palpur is just 344 sq km in area and the recommendation is for shifting only six lions.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/bhopal/77395-mps-wait-continues-for-gir-lions-and-karnataka-jumbos.html

Man eater leopard caged in Dudhala.

Himanshu Kaushik, TNN Jun 26, 2012, 06.40PM IST

AHMEDABAD: The forest department finally caged a man eater leopard who had created terror in the Dudhalal area after he killed a mentally unstable person who was sleeping along the road side.
Forest officials said that before a couple of days Haku Koli (42) was sleeping along the road side when he was attacked by the leopard. The leopard dragged him about 150 meters and took him in the nearby field where the animal killed Haku.
After this incident, the forest department was keeping a watch on the movement of the leopard and finally it decided to trap the leopard and bring it to the rescue centre. Since the leopard was spotted mainly in the field of Kantibhai, two cages with live bait were laid in the field.

On Monday night the leopard came close to the cage but left again in the wee hours, the leopard came close to the cage and entered one of the two cages. As soon as it entered it was trapped.
The man eater animal will now be kept in the rescue centre in Gir east where it would be treated and if every thing goes off smoothly the big cat would again be released in the wild, said a forest officer.

Leopard kills man in Amreli village.

TNN Jun 25, 2012, 04.24AM IST

RAJKOT: A leopard attacked and killed a 40-year-old man, who was sleeping on the outskirts of Dudhala village in Dhari taluka of Amreli district late on Saturday night.
According to forest officials, the deceased was identified as Hakabhai, a mentally challenged person. "Locals said that Hakabhai used to roam around in Dudhala and Jira villages and lived a vagabond life. He used to sleep anywhere in the village. His body was found on the outskirts of the village,'' said a senior forest official.
According to Anshuman Sharma, deputy conservator of forests (Gir East), Dhari division, the incident may have occurred after 10 pm on Saturday as locals told them that they had seen the victim at this time in the village.

"He used to stay anywhere and people gave him food. He was mentally challenged,'' Sharma said.
Forest officials said that sign of Leopard was found from deceased's body. "It is likely that the leopard attacked Haka while he was asleep,'' said forest official.
According to officials, leopards have killed at least 10 people in the last six months in Amreli and Junagadh districts.
Meanwhile, a one month-old baby was killed by a dog in Kesariya village in Una taluka of Junagadh district. The incident came into light on Sunday morning when the baby's family members did not find her in the house. Her body was found from nearby area.
"Earlier, we thought that it might be a leopard that killed the baby. But, our rescue team and trackers did not find any sign of leopard in the area where this incident occurred. Locals have never spotted any leopard in this area. In fact, we found some evidence suggesting that a dog dragged the baby and killed her,'' said Sharma.
Forest officials said that deceased' family members were staying in a makeshift huts and sell bangles in the villages.

Jungle king turns cash-cow.

By Mahesh Trivedi Gujarat goings-on
Saturday, June 23rd 2012, 12:00 AM
June 23--Hundreds of tourists flocking to Gujarat earlier this week gnashed their teeth in anger when they realised that the famed Gir wildlife sanctuary near Junagadh, the only home of the rare Asiatic lions, had just closed its gates for holidayers for four months for the long breeding season of the wild animals.
But forest department officials are all smiles even after the dense forest stopped coining ticket money from June 16. Well, the 411 lovable but ferocious felines that draw day-trippers from all over the world to Gujarat have this year helped the cash-strapped Narendra Modi government to rake in the moolah. As many as 420,000 people with an adventurous streak, including 11,000 foreigners, visited the leafy park between April 2011 and May 2012, not to mention countless other bravehearts who thronged the sprawling woodland in the last fortnight before the vacation for a close encounter with the jungle king in natural surroundings.
With each visitor willingly shelling out a fee of Rs110, the forest department for the first time in years collected a whopping Rs40 million -- four times its earnings during 2010-11.
No wonder, governments of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh have been making desperate attempts to acquire a few of Gir's endangered lions to boost tourism but, of course, in the name of conservation.
Spread over 1412km, the sole remaining habitat boasting seven rivulets has 258km for the fully protected area (the National Park) and 1,154km for the sanctuary.
About 250 watering points are presently available for lions, leopards, spotted deer, sambar, nilgai, chinkara, antelope, and wild boar. Gir also harbours around 1,100 species of birds and 26 species of reptiles. In a bid to swell the forest department kitty, plans are now afoot to increase the number of tourist permits from 90 to 250 when the sanctuary re-opens on October 16.
On their part, animal lovers from Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Amreli and other places have joined hands to stop illegal lion shows being organised regularly for the rich and famous in the revenue areas outside the Gir sanctuary.
Apart from distributing pamphlets to create awareness about such 'unethical and cruel' programmes held regularly in Lathi area, the do-gooders will hold meetings with gram panchayats (village councils) and get an assurance from the sarpanches (chieftains) that they would not allow any outsider to enter their village for lion shows. They will also create their own network to get information about those organising such shows, and meet once in a month to review the situation. But shockingly, Gujarat's forest department has not stirred a finger to book people who harass the wild cats.
The reason? The officials feel that if they take legal action, they could lose the sympathy of locals who are instrumental in the state government's successful conservation efforts. The result is that instances of lions attacking their tormentors are not uncommon.
Source: http://india.nydailynews.com/politicsarticle/ae1c5bbda2c174136e086c3cf1587bf2/jungle-king-turns-cash-cow

Vulture population declining rapidly in Ahemdabad.

 

Source: Smitha R, DNA   |   Last Updated 06:10(20/06/12)

Ahmedabad: Often called as the ‘safai kamdars’ of nature — vultures seem to be declining as far as Ahmedabad district is concerned.
A 2012 vulture census carried out by the forest department and the Gujarat Ecological Education and Research (GEER) foundation has found a 54% drop in the vulture population in the district. The 2012 census recorded 121 vultures in the district against the 224 recorded in the last census in 2010.
Those in the know of the trend said the drop could also be because of migration.
Sources in the department said the species that were found included white-rumped vulture, Egyptian vulture and Cinereous vulture. White-rumped vultures, 67, were most commonly found in Ahmedabad city and Daskroi.
Viramgam recorded 50 vultures, some of the Egyptian variety while 4 were found in Detroj. The four found in Detroj were Cinereous vultures.
Department sources said Cinereous vultures are rare although not uncommon and are also referred to as Jatayu. Apart from these areas, the vultures were not sighted in any other parts of the district.
“Most of the sightings in the city happened in and around IIM campus, cantonment area, and Panjrapol,” said the source.
On the decreasing numbers, those associated with the survey said the main culprit remains kite flying, as far as Ahmedabad city is concerned, and the banned drug Diclofenac, as far as rest of the district is concerned. Diclofenac is a drug used to treat pain in both animals and humans.
“Some of the drop in population in Ahmedabad district is also because of migration. We had found congregations not found hitherto in areas in Mehsana and Kheda as well, which points out to migration,” said Kartik Shastri, assistant co-ordinator, vulture cell, Bird Conservation Society Gujarat (BCSG).
Wildlife biologist Aditya Roy said though the use of Diclofenac is banned as a veterinary drug, it continues to be used for humans. “This leads to its availability and continued use despite a ban. Efforts are now on to get the drug banned even for human use,” he said.
Shastri added that since the last census in 2010, around 40 vultures were found injured, due to manja injury and Diclofenac as well, by various NGOs in the city.
Vulture population in A’bad in recent years
2005 - 254
2007 - 279
2010 - 224
2012 - 121
Source: http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/GUJ-AHD-54-drop-in-vulture-population-in-abad-dist-3435384.html?HF-8=