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Proposed dolphin sanctuary in Uttar Pradesh

The 160 km. stretch in the upper part of the Ganga between Bijnor and Narora barrage in Uttar Pradesh will soon be declared a Dolphin sanctuary, according to sources of the World Wildlife Fund for Nature. Though it has been listed under Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, the Gangetic dolphin (Platanista gangetica)is fast vanishing. Conservationists put its present population at around 2,500, down from 4,000-5,000 in 1982. Of the 130-160 dolphins killed annually on an average, as many as 100 are in the Ganges between Buxer and Farakka.

The proposed sanctuary would be the second in the country after Vikramshila in Bihar. A detailed plan to save the dolphin also includes: to ascertain the current status of the dolphin; to set up trans-boundary aquatic biodiversity protected areas between India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan on rivers like Narayani, Ghaghara-Karnali, Ganga, Brahmaputra and Padma; to find an ecologically sustainable substitute for dolphin oil used in the riverine fishery; and to develop an awareness programme on the conservation of dolphins.

The Ganga river dolphin, commonly known as Susu, is one of the four freshwater dolphins of the world. It is killed for its meat and oil. The oil is used by the fishermen to catch fish, and in . folk medicine, for curing joint pains, burns, rickets, pneumonia and cold and cough. It is also used in soap making and tanning. Though hunting of dolphins has been going on for centuries, conservationists say, of late, habitat degradation is mainly responsible for its depletion.

Contact: Chief Wildlife Warden, 17 Rana Pratap Marg, Lucknow 226 001, Uttar Pradesh. Tel: 91-522-283 902; Fax: 91-522-283 871.

Source: Vivek Tiwari (vivek@ee.princeton.edu), on nathistory-india@lists.princeton.edu.

STATE NEWS

ANDHRA PRADESH

Wildlife and environmental problems: Response from the state

In response to a letter to the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, sent by Ashish Kothari of IIPA, expressing concern about the increasing tiger killings in the state, we got the following letter from the Special Chief Secretary, Dr.C.S. Rangachari (paraphrased):

Reports of serious deforestation and the poaching of tigers in the Nallamali forests have been incorrect. However, there have been some stray incidents of poisoning/tiger kills by the local cowherds in an attempt to protect their cattle. The growing militancy in the forest areas of Mehaboobnagar, Warangal, Nizamabad and some other Telangana regions in A.P. has been interfering with the normal protection duties of the Forest Department staff , besides posing a threat to the wildlife. The FD is taking necessary action to counter these problems.

An Environmental Surveillance Cell, comprising the heads of all enforcement directives/departments (Customs, Police, Railways, and Posts) along with NGOs like World Wide Fund for Nature, has been constituted under the Chairmanship of the Chief Secretary to the Governor of A.P. This Cell reviewed the causes for the decline of the tiger population in this state and made recommendations offering maximum protection to wildlife.

Procedures for compensation to be paid to the victims of cattle loss have been simplified, permitting immediate payment. Incentives in the form of rewards have been announced for information on cattle kills, poaching activities and even accidental kills. The Police Personnel have been involved in collecting intelligence on the poaching activities and also to control the trade in fake skins of wild animals. Special Training Programmes are organised to sensitise non-forest officials in conservation activities. The forest personnel are similarly trained in detection and systematic prosecution of offence cases. Grazing within the Sanctuary areas is regulated by levying a heavy grazing fee. Discouragement of migratory grazing in the Sanctuary, in turn helps improve the habitat for the tiger.

Support from the local villagers in this conservation movement has been sought by forming Eco-Developmental Committees and Vana Samrakshan Samitis (Forest Protection Committees). Efforts to improve the economic and social status of the native tribals are being made by addressing their fuel and fodder requirements and by providing income generating programmes, livestock and agricultural improvement programmes.

Readers may wish to respond to these claims by the State Government.

Contact: Dr.C.S. Rangachari, IAS., Special Chief Secretary to Government, E.F.S.&T. Department, A.P. Secretariat, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh.

Source : Letter no. 12939/FOR III.97-3, dated 28 February, 1998, from Dr.C.S.Rangachari to Ashish Kothari.

JAMMU AND KASHMIR

Birds in Trouble

The Wildlife Department of Jammu and Kashmir is being pressured to certify that there are too many birds in the wetlands such as Hokarsar, according to a report from Srinagar. The idea is to alter the Wildlife Act to allow culling.

The only way to prevent this tragedy (of legalizing bird hunts), would be to provide hard data on the decline of migratory species, and make a case for the protection of wetlands not only from shooting, but also from reclamation, toxic dumping, and pesticide contamination.

Any details and opinions, quoting numbers or surveys of the annual waterfowl census, are invited along with official letters from conservation organizations, stating a decline in waterfowl numbers migrating between the Trans Himalaya and India.

These should be sent to Vikram Singh, Journalist, Indian Express, Srinagar, J&K, India, Tel: 91-194-451672; Fax: 452661.

Source: Bittu Sahgal (bittu@giasbm01.vsnl.net.in) on nathistory-india@lists.princeton.edu.

MADHYA PRADESH

NGOs protest against World Bank aided forestry project

Several community-based organisations have continued protesting against the World Bank aided Forestry Project in the state, arguing that it will further alienate tribal and other forest-dependent people from their resource base, and benefit mostly industrial interests. These organisations, through forums like the Campaign on People's Rights over National Parks and Sanctuaries, have also questioned the effect of this Project on the state's protected areas, and the people who live in them.

In a new twist to the controversy, a Delhi-based NGO, the Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA), has taken up a study commissioned by the World Bank, to assess the state wildlife authorities' claims that local communities are being involved in the management of forests. The Raipur Wildlife Division has been chosen for this study, and in particular the Udanti and Sitanadi Sanctuaries.

However, several mass-based NGOs (Kisan Adivasi Sangathan, Kesla; Narmada Bachao Andolan; Ekta Parishad; Bargi Bangh Visthapit Evam Prabhavit Sangh, Jabalpur; Shramik Adivasi Sangathan, Betul; and Bhimgadh Bandh Visthapit Prabhavit Sangh) have protested the involvement of PRIA in this study, and have appealed to NGOs to reject the World Bank's attempts to rope them into rubber-stamping its Forestry Project. PRIA's response to this is not known.

ssContact: Gautam Bandyopadhyaya, Ekta Parishad, House No. 1192, Sector 1, P.O. Shankar Nagar, Raipur, Madhya Pradesh 492 007. Tel: 91-771-421 926; Fax: 91-771-510 465. Rajesh Tandon, Society for Participatory Research in Asia, 42 Tughlakabad Institutional Area, New Mehrauli Road, New Delhi 110 062. Tel: 91-11-698 9559, 698 8508.

Sal borer attack: an excuse for clear-felling?

Madhya Pradesh has India's second largest area under Sal (Shorea robusta) tree cover. The sal heart-wood borer infestation has been endemic to the districts of Mandla and Balaghat. Several studies in the past have suggested measures to control and prevent the epidemic caused by the beetles. Unfortunately, the dominant opinion amongst forest officials has been to clear-fell sal forests in a vast area; reportedly several hundred thousand trees have already been cut, despite environmentalists and some experts suggesting that this is not necessary.

The then Union Minister for Environment and Forests, Saifuddin Soz halted all felling operations and constituted a task force in January 1998 to go into the matter. According to some of the non-governmental members, the task force worked in a rather hasty and non-participatory manner, and was not amenable to the views of these members, who had to send a dissenting note to the Minister. In a report specific to two protected areas in the area, Kanha National Park and Phen Sanctuary, a subgroup of the task force reported that a very small percentage of trees here were affected, that they were mostly the ones already defective and weak, and that a number of trees already felled did not show any signs of borer attack. They also suggested that beetle catching by trap-tree operations has been neglected in the past, perhaps causing the present epidemic in some areas.

There was, instead of large-scale felling, a need for restoration of damage in earlier clearfelled areas, a multi-disciplinary study to assess the problem, strengthening corridors between protected areas (in particular Kanha National Park and Phen Sanctuary), and allowing natural controls to take effect as they have in the past when such epidemics have hit sal forests.

Contact: P.K. Sen, Director, Project Tiger, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Annexe No. 5, Bikaner House, Shahjahan Road, New Delhi 110 003. For a dissenting note to the official task force report, contact: Utkarsh Ghate, Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560 012. Tel: 91-80-334 0985; Fax: 331 5428; Email: utkarsh@ces.iisc.ernet.in.

Source: See What's Available?, below.

MAHARASHTRA

Several state-wide meetings and activities

Activity relating to protected areas in Maharashtra has considerably stepped up:

1. A group of about 25 wildlife conservationists, Government officials and media persons met in November 1997, at Kolkhas, Melghat Tiger Reserve, Dist. Amravati, Maharashtra. This meeting was called by the Mobile Tiger Conservation Action Force of the Nature Conservation Society of Amravati (NCSA), in an attempt to explore new working policies for the protection and conservation of wildlife and forests in Central India. A summary of the discussions:

(i) Pench National Park (Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh): The residents of the Todladoh colony (M.P.) continue fishing in the reservoir, rejecting alternate suggestions being provided to them by the Forest Department. Commercial fishing too is carried on in violation to the directives of the Supreme Court This should be contested in the Supreme Court and evidence in the form of video recordings and photographs should be provided. Media persons have offered to provide support against illegal fishing in Totaladoh reservoir.

(ii) New PAs in Vidarbha : The seven new sanctuaries created in the Vidarbha region require special protection from grazing. Sanctuaries such as the Ambabarawa and Pal are facing a tremendous problem due to the influx of thousands of migratory sheep. There appears to be a nexus among some politicians, forest officials and the sheep owners. An Ordinance to deal with this needs to be developed.

(iii) Proposed PAs: A decision regarding the conversion of five more areas into protected areas is suggested. The areas include Pohara Malkhed, Mahendri (Dist. Amravati), Mansinghdeo (Nagpur), Lonar and Budhaneshwar Girda (Buldhana).

(iv) The Bhingara forest near Dist. Buldhana which links Ambabawara and Yawal (Pal) Sanctuaries is also facing the problem of land encroachment by influx of tribals from M.P. The Maharashtra government should take steps to curb this influx.

(v) Melghat Tiger Project: Participants strongly opposed the Maharashtra government's decision of deleting certain areas from the Melghat Sanctuary. This deletion, they feared, is for the purpose of the Rs. 1,400 crore Upper Tapi Irrigation Project.

(vi) A newly created Aurangabad Wildlife Division was suggested to control the biotic pressure and divert traffic from the road passing through the Gautala Sanctuary and to specify the boundaries of the Jayakwadi Bird Sanctuary.

Additional recommendations that came forth in the meeting include :

(i) NCSA would immediately conduct a village study in Melghat for collecting information and the peoples' opinions.

(ii) Traffic should be banned on the Paratwada Dharani road at/during the night.

(iii) The water contribution data (by rivers and forest in Melghat) should be used by the Tiger Project Office to focus on the Tiger Reserve as a water conservation/recharging unit.

(iv) Joint patrolling of the M.P.- Maharashtra border area is essential.

(v) A monthly inspection should be made in core areas of PAs, by a committee appointed by the Forest Department, comprising journalists, lawyers, NGOs and nature lovers.

(vi) The next meeting of the State Wildlife Advisory Board should be held in the Vidarbha region to give the PAs here more attention.

Contact: Kishore Rithe, Nature Conservation Society - Amravati, Pratishtha, Bharat Nagar, Akoli Road, Nr. Sainagar, Amravati 444 605, Maharashtra. Tel: 91-721-672 359.

2. A meeting on people and protected areas of Maharashtra, earlier scheduled for 16-18 January, has been postponed. The meeting, being organised by the Sahbhagi Vanjivan Sanwardhan Samanvay, Maharashtra, i mNew Meetingstrippeddevi M Meeting Stripped Devi Meeting Stripped Devi Tzh Javascript: DoPostBack('ctl00$Right1$lnkSpacesForHire' '') Meeting Stripped Devi JPAM Newsletter 16 o q Meeting Stripped Devi eNew Meetingstrippeddevi M Meeting Stripped Devi Meeting Stripped Devi Tzh Javascript: DoPostBack('ctl00$Right1$lnkSpacesForHire' '') Meeting Stripped Devi JPAM Newsletter 16 s Sex