Panda Frama - WWF

South Western Ghats landscape
WWF-India, Ameen Ahmed
Ameen Ahmed
WWF-India Newsletter
www.wwfindia.org
PANDA
www.wwfindia.org
Vol - I / Issue - I
Jan - Mar. 2009
Foreword
On another event, we especially would like to thank each and every
supporter of the environment for the role that they have played in
ensuring the success of Earth Hour–a campaign that received
unprecedented public support. The event did show that citizens of
India can and will respond to contributing to a better environment,
through a symbolic action which joined them to a global link of better
good for the earth. Earth Hour also demonstrated that people,
institutions, businesses and government are aware of their role in
bringing about a change in conserving the resources of our planet. In
the coming days, the mandate is clear: it is for us to convert thought
into action, action that is translated not only at individual levels but at
policy conception and execution stages too.
It is hoped that nationally and globally the issue of saving our planet
receives priority in the agenda of all developed and underdeveloped
nations. It is hoped that the UNFCCC COP 15 at CopenhagenDecember, 2009, will bring nations together to set aside some of their
differences and work towards a change which is beneficial for our
living planet.
Dear Friends,
We continue with our landscapes of hope series with
special focus on South Western Ghats and a special
story on the Earth Hour Campaign.
The South-Western Ghats landscape covers a large
part of South India and is an acknowledged biodiversity
hotspot.
We hope after having read the Panda you would have
had an understanding of the landscape and the
challenges that WWF-India faces to ensure that the
landscape continues to retain its purity .
Some of you have send us very interesting responses
showing your interest in the articles published. We
request you to send us any article which you would like
to be published regarding topics you feel strongly
about.
Looking forward to your feedback
WWF-India
As we write, the tragedy of the Sundarbans is unfolding: destruction,
disease, forced migration and de-homing - occurring simultaneously.
Relief measures can never be timely in such events as the Aila
cyclone, yet the work and reach of the NGOs contributing to
ameliorate human suffering and the provision of relief materials is
laudable. WWF India has also reached out to the communities in the
affected areas but the work of rehabilitation is an immense task - one
that needs close coordination with the government agencies and the
several organisations in the area. A lot of our work relating to
community interventions and climate change adaptation will need to
start again. Our teams are showing their spirit and resilience.
From the Editor’s Desk
Dear Friends,
Shaila Sam
Editor
Editorial Board
Design Input
: Dr. Parikshit Gautam, Mita Nangia
Goswami, Dr. Prakash Rao, Dr. Dipankar
Ghose & Nikita Aggarwal
: Nikita Aggarwal
Published by : WWF-India
172 - B, Lodi Estate,
New Delhi - 110003
Tel : +91 11 41504797
Website : www.wwfindia.org
Designed by : Ashish Rohilla at Kalavaani
Printed by : Press Tech Litho Pvt. Ltd.
A WWF-India publication for members.
Responsibility for views / opinions expressed
lies with the author(s).
WWF-India
Ravi Singh
Secretary General & CEO
WWF-India
South Western Ghats landscape
Contents
Cover Story
Project Updates
Earth Hour 2009
1.
South-Western
Ghats
3.
Mitigating HumanElephant Conflict
in Anayirangal
5.
Reducing Use of
7.
fuel wood in
production of lemon
grass oil
Nilgiri Tahr- A
Special Study.
9.
WWF-India
reintroduces
gharials into river
Ganges
10.
Saving The
Dolphins From
Extinction
11.
The Rare Red
12.
Kids
Climate Adaptation 19.
Centre Inaugurated
in Sundarbans
State Activities
and Events
Poem
23.
World Wetlands
Day Celebrations
24.
Young Climate
Savers Website
Launched
24.
20.
- Orissa
13.
Global Forestry
and Trade Network
(GFTN)- towards
protecting our
forest wealth
Sustainable
Fisheries for a
Healthy Marine
Ecosystem
Events
- Andhra Pradesh
- Himachal Pradesh
15.
Staff Award
22.
Visit to Gorshing
17.
Glacier of Western
Arunachal Pradesh
Second Wintering 18.
Habitat of Black
Necked Crane in
India
www.wwfindia.org
International
Reader's Zone
Asia's Lions
25.
News Across
the Globe
The Coal Dilemma
25.
26.
COVER STORY
News Across The Globe
cover story
New Species hotspot in remote Cambodian Mekong
Cantor's Giant softshell turtle, thought to be extinct in Cambodia since 2003 has been rediscovered in a section of the
Mekong River almost untouched by humans. The findings are the result of a series of surveys jointly conducted by
WWF Cambodia, the Fisheries Administration (FiA) and Forestry Administration (FA) of the Ministry of Agriculture
Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) in 2006/7.
international
1
Arctic nations take important first step towards saving polar bears
ITC Grand Central, Mumbai
Five nations committed by treaty to conserve polar bears have come up with a resolution linking the future of the species to urgent global action on
climate change. The five Arctic nations signed a binding 1973 Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears that includes provisions to protect
polar bears and their habitat. They have agreed to come up with a circumpolar action plan for the management of bears, and to formally designate
the Polar Bear Specialist Group of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) as the scientific advisory body to the Agreement. These both were
measures proposed by WWF. Ultimately, the polar bear nations must join with other countries at the UN climate conference in Copenhagen in
December 2009 to sign an effective global deal on climate change that will save the polar bears' Arctic sea ice habitat, along with the entire ice
ecosystem.
Delegates of 14 countries attending the World Water Forum signed pledges of support to a growing call to bring into force a global water
treaty that has languished in limbo for more than a decade as anxiety grows about the increased potential for conflict in a world increasingly
short of water. Recognised 16 countries signed up to the UN International Convention on Non-Navigational Uses of International
Watercourses (the UN Watercourses Convention) - Finland, Germany, Hungary, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Namibia, Netherlands,
Norway, Portugal, Qatar, South Africa, Sweden, Syria and Uzbekistan. The delegates said they shared WWF's concern that the poor
coordination in river basin regulation between nations “represents a major threat to international peace and to the world's energy and food
security.” The pledge also noted that climate change would worsen the global water crisis.
INTERNATIONAL
Interest grows in neglected global water treaty
© Pankaj Chandan
Ashoka Hotel, New Delhi
EARTH
HOUR
26
Light switched off at Chhatrapati Shivaji
Terminus Mumbai.
The Story of
ASIA'S LIONS
By Divyabhanusinh Chavda
25
Lions once roamed the Asian
continent from Palestine to
Palamau. Over the centuries they were progressively wiped
out throughout their range, ultimately being confined to a relict
population in the Gir forest and its surrounding areas in
Saurashtra. For more than half a century now, this has been
the home of the only lion population outside Africa. Today
about 400 lions survive in this region, but the animal's
precarious existence has virtually disappeared from our
consciousness. How this state of affairs has come to pass,
and what is the status of the surviving lions, is the theme of this
book.
The writer introduces the lion and its present habitat, and goes
on to examine through written and visual records the
interaction between this majestic animal and human beings in
Asia, from the earliest available historical records to the
present day. Through Sanskrit, Persian, and other
contemporaneous sources the profound effect the lion has
The Coal Dilemma
Editor
S.K.Chand
READER'S
ZONE
had on human civilization and culture, and the
story of the destruction of the species in Asia is
traced. Also documented here are the censuses
conducted in the last hundred years to monitor
its population dynamics, and the history of the
attempts to find a second home for the lion, which still
continue.
The book evaluates efforts made for the conservation of the
species in the first half of the 20th century by British
administrators and more remarkably by the last two nawabs of
Junagadh. The status in independent India is recorded, with
indications of what the future holds for the lion in the 21st
century. The work is of a unique nature as very rarely has an
account of any species from historical times been attempted,
one exception being this author's internationally acclaimed
research on the cheetah in India. While there are innumerable
books on the lions of Africa, there have been only three books
about the lions in India ever written in English, none of which is
easily accessible. There is, in fact, no book on the species'
history either for Africa or for Asia and this is a pioneering
attempt.
As the climate policy under National Action Plan
continues to unveil, a new publication by TERI (The
Energy and Resources Institute) and WWF brings
out thought provoking analysis of the state of coal as
an energy resource in India. Titled “The Coal
Dilemma”, released during one of the side-events of
the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit (DSDS)
2009, highlights the urgency to review the supply
and availability of coal in context of exposition of
overall energy security.
Earth Hour began in Sydney in 2007, when
2.2 million homes and businesses switched
off their lights for one hour. In 2008 the
message had grown into a global
sustainability movement, with 50 million
people switching off their lights.It assumes
greater importance now as 2009 is a critical
year for action on climate change with world
leaders due to meet at the UN Conference
on Climate Change in Copenhagen come
December, to sign a new deal superseding
the Kyoto Protocol.
This was Earth Hour-the world's
global election, between Earth and
global warming. By participating in
Earth Hour and voting for Earth, a
billion people across the world got
together to form a worldwide
constituency that is eager to demand
quick and fair action to crack the
problem of climate change.
A host of high profile ambassadors across
the world extended their support to the
campaign, most notably Nobel Peace Prize
winner Archbishop Desmund Tutu, UN
Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and Oscar
winning actor Kate Blanchett. In India,
Bollywood actor Aamir Khan and cricketer
Sachin Tendulkar supported the campaign.
From India-Delhi,Mumbai,
Bangalore and fifty other cities joined
the list of over 4000 cities across the
world to VOTE EARTH. The call to
action was fairly simple: turn off lights
for one hour and stand up to show
action and solidarity on climate
change. But the message was much
larger and the work that remains to be
done even more so. In this way, what
began as a symbolic show of support
got transformed into a national
movement that caught
unprecedented attention and an
overwhelming support. Reports
indicate that at least 5 million people
across India participated in Earth
Hour by switching off their lights from
8:30-9:30pm on 28th March, thereby
making this the largest ever
environmental campaign in the
country, in terms of public outreach
and participation.
From the icons of history like The
Great Pyramids in Egypt and Eiffel
Tower in Paris to the symbols of
modern architecture- Empire State
Building in New York and Petronas
towers in Malaysia, all switched off in
support of Earth Hour. So did
historical monuments like Qutub
Minar, Humanyun's Tomb, Red Fort
and Old Fort in Delhi. Grand old
educational institutions like Jamia
Milia Islamia and Indian Institute of
Technology, hotel chains of the ITC
Welcome Group , PVR Cinemas, and
all offices and facilities of over a 100
top public and private sector
organizations- Reserve Bank of
India, Infosys, Wipro, HSBC to name
a few, added to the long list of
landmarks from India that observed
Earth Hour. Several youth groups,
community organizations, religious
groups and governments took
ownership of the campaign to help
make it a success from Cochin to
For its part, the Environment Department of
the Govt. of Delhi adopted a proactive
approach and appealed to over 2000
resident welfare associations, schools,
market traders' associations and the
Archaeological Survey of India to turn off
non-essential lights in support of the
campaign. During that hour, the drop in
power demand due to Earth Hour was
estimated to be about 600 MW in Delhi.
Similarly, there have been reports from
other cities, citing savings by the power
distribution companies, making the
cumulative energy savings to the tune of
1000 MW nationally. However, the impact
of Earth Hour should not be measured in
power saved alone, but more so in terms of
the awareness that it helped spread about
the cause and the momentum that it
gathered.
Earth Hour is indeed a symbolic act and
history is testimony to symbolic acts that
have triggered great movements. The
challenge that remains is to embed this
voluntary act as a lifestyle choice and make
it a genuine and self-perpetuating
movement which merits support due to the
benefit contained in the choice. In the global
climate order, while much will get decided in
the domain of policies and politics, and
technologies that take the world to the path
of low carbon future will be developed, it is
essential to keep climate change on the top
of the policy and scientific agenda, with the
onus on world leaders, to take the right
decisions for the planet. And that is what
Earth Hour will continue to strive for.
Aarti Khosla
COVER STORY
The Book brings out the fallacy of abundance of coal
related to supply, state of domestic reserve and
external supply security challenges.It discusses the
problems afflicting the mining of coal including social
and environmental concerns and reviews merits and
demerits of coal beneficiation and also brings out a
range of issues (covering alternative technology
choices, clean coal technology, improved
technology for power generation) that will be critical
for us to move towards an efficient and cleaner coaleconomy in the coming decades.
Gangtok and Dehradun to Bangalore.
Climate change team
READER'S ZONE
Reader's Zone
Earth Hour 2009
On 28th March this year, beginning
on Chatham Island in New Zealand,
one of the first places on Earth where
dawn strikes, towns and cities in over
80 countries across the globe turned
off their lights for an hour, to draw
attention to climate change.
2
The Western Ghats perform
important hydrological and
watershed functions.
Approximately 245 million people
live in the peninsular Indian states
nd
Feb 2 , 2009 is
celebrated world
wide
as World
Wetlands day to
commemorate the
signing of Ramsar
Convention in 1971
in Iran. There are
presently 158
Contracting Parties
to the Convention,
with 1831 wetland
sites, equivalent to
1 7 0 m i l l i o n Mr Rabbi Shergill awarding the First Prize to Ryan
h e c t a r e s , International School, Noida
designated for
inclusion in the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International
Importance. At WWF-India this year, World Wetland Day was
celebrated with a difference and with an aim to create awareness
on the need to protect this highly fragile ecosystem.
that receive most of their water
supply from rivers originating in the
Western Ghats. Thus, the soils
and waters of this region sustain
the livelihoods of millions of
people. With the possible
exception of the Indo-Malayan
region, no other hotspot impacts
the lives of such a large
population.
South Western Ghats
An Introduction
The South Western Ghats cover
an area of 12,500 km2 in the states
of Kerala and Tamil Nadu and
harbour a rich floral and faunal
diversity which includes 4,000
flowering plants. The faunal
diversity includes 48 genera of
large and medium sized
mammals, 475 species of birds, 60
reptile genera and 313 species of
butterflies. This region harbours
high levels of endemism including
30 endemic lizard species, 57
endemic snake species, 87
endemic species of amphibians
and 84 endemic species of
freshwater fishes. Some of the
important and unique habitat types
Wetlands are some of the world's most alive and productive
ecosystems on which several species of birds, fish, amphibians,
mammals and human settlements thrive and coexist. They truly
bring out the life-sustaining characteristics of water along with its
rich cultural and economic values (agriculture and fisheries).
Therefore, it is necessary to create awareness on the necessity of
conserving this very important ecosystem.
As a precursor to the event on Feb 2, a musical extravaganza called
'Aqua Symphony' was held on Jan 31st. Several schools across the
city competed with zeal, by presenting their original compositions on
the central theme of water and wetlands. The event was held at the
WWF-India auditorium. Among those judging the competition were
Sam Lal, Editor Blender magazine, Randeep (from the band Men
Who Pause) and Gaurav Gilani (from the band Crimson)
On Feb 2, World
Wetlands Day was
f o r m a l l y
commemorated
with the winning
bands- Ryan
International,
Laxman Public
School and G.D.
Goenka Public
School being
awarded. The
teams performed
G D Goenka World School performing at Aqua Symphony t h e i r w i n n i n g
compositions.
Famous Indian
Pop musician, Rabbi Shergill, was the chief guest at the event.
Vandana Singh, WWF-India
The Western Ghats, a global
Biodiversity Hotspot, extends
along the west coast of India and
cover an area of about 180,000
km2.Though it has less than 6% of
the land area of India, the Western
Ghats contain more than 30% of all
plant, fish, reptile, amphibian, bird,
and mammal species found in
India. Like other Biodiversity
Hotspots, the Western Ghats have
a high proportion of endemic
species. The region also has a
spectacular assemblage of large
mammals and is home to several
nationally significant wildlife
sanctuaries, tiger reserves, and
national parks. The Western
Ghats contain numerous
medicinal plants and important
genetic resources such as the wild
relatives of grains, fruits and
spices.
Mr Ravi Singh, Secretary General & CEO, WWF-India, urged the
student community to join in large numbers to ensure that the
environment is protected and conserved with the role of each
ecosystem in maintaining the ecological balance well understood.
Dr Parikshit Gautam, Director Freshwater and Wetlands-WWFIndia affirmed the need for preserving wetland ecosystems and said
that such events will raise awareness on the importance of this
ecosystem and the need to conserve it .
The chief guest Mr Rabbi Shergill, speaking on the occasion, felt
that these original compositions by the bands showed the extent of
awareness amongst the present generation on the importance of
wetlands.
Additionally, WWF-India's film on Ladakh, 'Living with Change' was
showcased on the day. The film records the testimonials from
communities which are coping to survive in a changing ecosystem
since the region has several High Altitude Wetlands dotting the arid
Trans-Himalayan landscape.
Young Climate Savers Website Launched
A WWF-India & Tetra Pak initiative
After the successful completion of Phase 1 of
the Young Climate Savers (YCS) initiative,
WWF-India and Tetra Pak announced the
launch of the YCS website, in Hyderabad
This website is the first Indian website for
educating school students on climate change
and energy issues.
Honorable Speaker of Andhra Pradesh (AP)
State Assembly, Shri. K.R Suresh Reddy
formally launched the website at a function
held at the Bhaskar Auditorium, Birla Science Centre here. Shri
Jayesh Ranjan (IAS), Managing Director, AP Tourism Development
Board, a well known personality and respected for his support in the
field of climate change education and awareness programme, also
graced the occasion, and along with other dignitaries from WWFIndia, Tetra Pak and teachers, students from various schools.
Southern-Western Ghats
The Young Climate Savers is a programme launched with an aim to
create awareness across the student fraternity in India on climate
change, and through them to reach out to the larger community and
to influence them to become 'climate savers'. WWF-India partnered
with Tetra Pak in implementing the Young Climate Savers
programme. Following up on its commitment to emission reduction,
and realizing the importance of educating children on climate
change, Tetra Pak partnered with WWF-India in November 2007 for
the Young Climate Savers programme. The
YCS ,is an education for sustainable
development initiative aiming to educate
20,000 school children across India, and
through them, to reach out and influence a
larger audience on the impacts of climate
change and the importance of mitigating it.
The YCS initiative is envisioned to be
implemented over the course of several
years. YCS Phase 1 reaches to over 20000
students at over 200 schools in India.
“The rate at which climate change is taking place is extremely
alarming. While we take pride in the fact that our packaging is
environment friendly, we strongly believe that collective effort is what
will finally make a difference. Our partnership with WWF reiterates
our commitment to create awareness and motivate the young to
promote and lead energy efficient and environmentally sensitive
lives. Over the past year, we have achieved our target of 20,000
students and now want to reach out to a larger national and
international audience with the launch of the YCS Website.” added
Mr. Jaideep Gokhale, Programme Head- Food for Development
Office & Environment, Tetra Pak India Pvt. Ltd.
KIDS
WWF-India, Vishaish Uppal
COVER STORY
3
Conserving Wetlands Through
Awareness In School Children
24
KIDS
POEM :
23
NATURE
God has gifted us nature,
And he has only created every creature,
Where there are no fights,
And people have their own rights.
Where the birds live happily,
And sing sweet songs melodiously,
Peace messages Dove brings,
and fly freely spreading out their wings.
Where there are tall and green trees,
Here blows a cool and pleasant breeze,
Where we have the rocky mountains,
And the wonderful fountains.
The farmers harvest their crops,
And the rabbit hops, Children play,
Chocolates they want is all they say.
Here we have the sun's bright glow,
And the rivers flow,
Here the forests are dark and deep,
And the reptiles creep.
Why let this beautiful nature destroy,
Saving nature is the most valuable thing we should try,
Why to waste time,
And we should throw away all the crime.
Be brave and ignore your fright,
To make this nature more bright,
Save water and plants,
To give nature a wonderful sight.
Keeping this nature ever green,
And keeping it neat and clean,
Is the work of every human being,
To give nature a great scene.
Written by : Rishika Chatterjee
Age :: 11, Springdales School, Class V
Area of WWF-India Work
k i d s
found here include
wet evergreen
forests and Sholas
in the higher
elevations. This
region is a
veritable treasure
trove
of
biodiversity and
most of it is still to
be studied and
understood.
The area is also
crucial for the
ecological goods
and services they
provide. Forty four
rivers originate Map prepared by: IGCMC, WWF-India
from here,
providing water to several major cities of the states of Kerala and
Tamil Nadu. The important rivers that provide water to cities/districts
are; the Periyar for Ernakulam, the Chalakkudy for Trichur, the
Neyyar and Karamana for Thiruvananthapuram, the Bharatpuzha for
Palghat and Meenachil and Muvattupuzha for Kottayam. Forest
products provide an important source of fuel wood, fodder, food and
shelter to local communities and indigenous groups living in and
around them. The tourism value of the area is also very high;
managed effectively and equitably, this can provide an important
source of livelihood to local and indigenous communities.
WWF-India has identified a landscape of about 7,000 km2 south of
the Palghat gap as a priority conservation landscape. The area is
made up of undulating terrain including the highest mountain peak
(Anaimudi) of South India. It spreads across 14 Protected Areas and
11 forest divisions across the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu and
includes a number of other land uses such as tea and coffee
plantations, subsistence and commercial agriculture, high density
tourism areas as well as important river systems.
The landscape comprises of a variety of ecosystems ranging from
wet evergreen to dry deciduous to scrub forest including the unique
shola ecosystem. This landscape is home to the largest population of
Endangered Nilgiri tahr (Nilgiritragus hylocrius), a species endemic to
the Western Ghats. Other threatened mammals found in this
landscape are the lion-tailed macaque Macaca silenus and the Asian
small-clawed otter Aonyx cinerea. Some of the charismatic mega
fauna found here include elephant, tiger and gaur. The region is also
home to a number of tribal communities and forest-dependent people
who help in ensuring the long-term integrity of this unique ecosystem.
PONDICHERRY
TAMIL NADU
KERALA
W W F - I n d i a
envisaged that a
well defined
l a n d s c a p e
approach would be
more effective way
to address the
conservation
issues in Southern
Western Ghats. It
was envisaged
that the Southern
Western Ghats
Landscape should
encompass the
central region of
Kerala and
a d j o i n i n g
Anaimalai forests
in Tamil Nadu. A
rationale for this selection is provided below:
• It forms one of the largest contiguous blocks of 'good' forest cover
in the Southern-Western Ghats.
• It is large enough (approximately 7,000 km2) to be able to 'pilot' an
approach to large-scale conservation but at the same time of a
scale and scope that was feasible in terms of execution given
resource, capacity and political realities.
• Part of this landscape has already been identified as a priority by
the Kerala Forest Department (KFD).
• The area was already fairly well protected;15% of the whole area is
covered by a Protected Area network.
• Apart from the fact that pressures were manageable, there were a
number of potential partners and relatively strong Forest
Departments, who could all come together to provide a common
effort.
The overall aim of the Southern-Western Ghats landscape
conservation programme is to ensure the long term ecological
security of this landscape based on multi-stakeholder participation
and inter-sectoral coordination. The key threats to this landscape,
identified through a series of stakeholder meetings and workshops
have been identified as: forest conversion, illegal tree felling and
poaching, unsustainable extraction of forest products, human-wildlife
conflict and unplanned infrastructure development.
WWF- India is working on all of these issues with a range of partners
within the landscape. WWF has secured support for specifically
working in the areas of developing sustainable livelihoods to reduce
pressure on forest resources, developing management strategies to
address human-elephant conflict, restoring degraded forest areas,
and understanding the conservation status of the Endangered Nilgiri
tahr.
COVER STORY
Historically, WWF-India had envisaged a well defined landscape
approach with a reasonably strong presence in the region. The
organization has been actively involved in the Western Ghats region
since the early nineties through the Biodiversity 'Hotspots'
Conservation Programme (1993-2005) with support from the
MacArthur Foundation and the Ford Foundation. Over the years it has
interacted with stakeholders like the State Forest Departments, the
research Institutes and the local communities. The WWF Species
Programme is represented in the Western Ghats through its activities
related to conservation of tiger and elephant habitats in the Nilgiri
landscape region. The Southern-Western Ghats also emerged as a
priority terrestrial and freshwater ecoregion for WWF with the entire
Western Ghats complex identified as one of the Global 200: Priority
Ecoregions for global conservation.
ANDHRA PRADESH
KANATAKA
4
Awareness Activities
The human elephant
Land use pattern and
conflict in the Anayirangal
elephant sightings in
valley, located in the
Anayirangal
Munnar forest division,
Only 138 families have
Kerala, has become one of
settled so far but even
the most pressing issues
these have not been able
with the local villagers and
to harvest any cultivated
district administration. This
crops due to the damage
conflict has increased very
caused by elephants. It is
recently. The main
unimaginable to think of
reasons for the increase in
the scale of conflict when
this conflict is the loss of
all 661 families will settle in
habitat and habitat
this area.
fragmentation which block
the normal migration
The following data has
corridors of the animals.
been compiled and
Human-elephant conflict in
mapped to understand the
Anayirangal is a major
zone, scale and level of
threat to human life,
conflict:
property and crops. The
lone tuskers and elephant
• Land use and cropping
herds are raiding crops
patterns
Families rendered homeless due to human - elephant conflict.
and damaging houses.
• Elephant populations
People are unable to walk freely through the roads and paths even
and their movements
during daytime within settlements due to constant movement of
• Socio economic data of settlements
elephants. Two women lost their lives in 2008 due to elephant attacks,
• Data on resource use by the local villagers
making this an urgent problem to be studied.
On the basis of the above, the possible corridors for the movement of
Habitat fragmentation due to human demographic pressure has
elephants and the existing problems for elephants in using these
increased. The elephants in the Anayirangal region has increasingly
corridors have been identified. A breeding population of 27 elephants
isolated during the last decade. The free movement of elephants
having a sex ratio of 1(male):4(female) have been utilizing this valley
towards Mathikettan Shola National Park and Pappathichola is
and are frequently moving towards Mathikettan Shola National Park.
blocked by expansion of old human settlements, creation of new
The main movement path from Anayirangal valley to Mattuppetty,
settlements and the development of uncontrolled tourism. The large
Munnar area through old Devikulam and Silent valley has been
number of resorts in the northern side of Anayirangal especially at
blocked by resorts and school zone at Chinnakkanal and Vilakku area
Chinnakkanal, block the
movement of elephant
As a short term measure, the
Settlement Vs Food Crop Damage from October 2007 to June 2008
towards Mattuppettytribal department has
350
Gunderla region.
erected a solar power fence
in one part of the newly
300
Over the past one year, the
created tribal settlement.
project has collated
Preliminary surveys have
250
detailed information on the
indicated that this has in fact
200
nature of the problem, the
shifted the human elephant
loss to property and crops
conflict to nearby
150
due to the conflict and the
settlements. Out of eighty
behavioral patterns of the
elephant attack incidents in
100
elephants to help develop
the year 2008, there were
a mitigation strategy.
four deaths, six severely
050
Banana
injured and sixty six people
Tapbca
000
Preliminary data collection
suffered minor injuries.
Raggi
in seven selected villages
Cahans
in Anayirangal valley has
Some further studies are
Watermelon
shown that the conflict has
also being conducted with
Beans
Cabbage
increased tremendously
the help of the Kerala Forest
after the land assignment
Department and local
for 661 landless tribal
villagers to comprehensively
Settlement
families in eucalyptus and
evaluate and assess the
pine plantation. The
area and explore possible
plantations done by the
co-existence options for both
Kerala Forest Department was to protect and improve the catchments
human and elephants.
of Anayirangal reservoir and had become a good habitat for elephants.
World Wetlands Day Celebration
Andhra Pradesh and Shimla
Andhra Pradesh - Essay Competition
Painting Competition
Himachal Pradesh - Folk Song
Theater Activity
STAFF AWARD
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Pu tha uka
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WWF-India's Meritorious Service award was conferred to Dr. Harish Kumar
Guleria, Landscape Coordinator, Pilibhit Project Office, WWF-India for the
commendable and dedicated work performed by him.
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An
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Damage (Acre)
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COVER STORY
5
Mitigating Human-Elephant Conflict In Anayirangal
Let us join hands to wish Dr. Guleria the best in his career ahead.
EVENTS
He joined the organization in year 2001. Due to his hard work the
conservation efforts in UP part of Terai Arc landscape have steadily
progressed and it has shown impact on ground, both in the community areas
and with the forest department. Dr. Guleria has led the team in an exemplary
manner to implement the tiger conservation work.
STAFF
AWARDS
M. Rameshan
Dr. Guleria
22
21
The Common Birds and Mammals of Andhra Pradesh:
There exists little information on the biodiversity of Andhra Pradesh.
To bridge this gap in knowledge, WWF has published a book on
common birds and mammals of Andhra Pradesh. This coloured,
hand-illustrated book contains information on 150 birds and 60
mammals. It also throws light on the various wildlife laws that prevail
in the state and describes the various protected areas of Andhra
Pradesh in detail. The book is aimed at young students and amateur
naturalists willing to discover the wilderness areas of Andhra
Pradesh and will perhaps be the first in the series of books to
describe the natural heritage of Andhra Pradesh.
Ongoing Projects
Interpretation of Nallamalai and Arakku Valley:
The Eastern Ghats and the Nallamalis are repositories of a varied
habitat, rich in wildlife and natural resources. There is little
information regarding the biodiversity of these areas, especially for
general reading. Under its attempt to promote ecotourism,
APSO is joining hands with the AP Tourism Development
Corporation to prepare user-friendly field guides to Nallamalai
forest and the Arakku Valley. This shall be initiated after a
thorough study of the biodiversity in the Araku Valley and
Nallamalais. The field guide will contain information on the
commonly found flora and fauna in the region.
t
lan
wP
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Vil akku
Vik
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Th kkula C
NA
al a
Th nely
rya
Su anelly
ry
am
Su
and sm
guk gavila ettu
Sin
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u
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Sha
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uku
Sha akath tate
Es
mb
Sha ppara
hu
Put kanal
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lam
Per
ikku
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Pan ppulkud
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Pach d
tuka
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Mut ra Colo
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Muth ra
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Multa pennaku
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Kozh akanal
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Chin m
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B.L angal
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An a y
AC
80 N
A C
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30 1
Community-based Conservation at Kawal Wildlife
Sanctuary:
Through two successful fund raising events, APSO collected a
corpus to run a two-year project at Kawal Wildlife Sanctuary,
Adilabad. This dry deciduous teak and bamboo forest is the
second most important tiger habitat in the state. The project aims to
spread environmental awareness among the local tribal
groups especially among the Gonds, the Nayakpods, the Kolams
and the Totis. Interested individuals from different hamlets will be
trained in alternative livelihood opportunities. The Integrated Tribal
Development Authority (ITDA) and A.P. Forest
Department are supporting APSO in this venture.
House
Shed
Minor
Severe
Death
human interference, and has tremendous potential as a haven for
urban biodiversity. This upcoming study will focus on faunal
diversity of the campus. Through such inventories, APSO is aiming to
highlight the importance of institutions in conserving the wildlife of
Hyderabad.
Inventory of the Biodiversity at University of Hyderabad:
The Hyderabad Central University has a large campus with little
Himachal Pradesh
The Himachal Pradesh office has undertaken project relating to
various issues specific to the region:“Income generation activities for sustainable development of tribal
people in Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh” under Border Area
Development Project is one such activity. The aim of the project was
“capacity building of local community to enhance their livelihood”.
With this perspective natives were exposed to various livelihood
enhancement activities through self help groups based on local
requirements and local produce. Training programs were held in
carpet weaving, shawl weaving, tourist guide course, and river
rafting course.
An Environmental Awareness Programme for High Altitude
Wetlands Conservation was conducted amongst different
stakeholders including defence personnel in Kinnaur and Pooh
district of Himachal Pradesh. Pamphlets were distributed regarding
wise use of wetlands.
COVER STORY
Upgradation and modernization of watermills (Gharat) for the
sustainable development in the hilly region-Kullu district. The
project aimed towards identifying total number of water mill sites,
their present status, location and uses; set up demonstration units
for upgradation of water mill through demonstration, workshops and
field visits. Surveys were conducted in Manali, Kullu and Banjar
tehsil. 1020 watermills were documented out of which 738
watermills were found in working condition and would be upgraded.
The Himachal office has documented more than 18 high altitude
wetlands (above 3000 m) in Chamba, Kullu and Kinnaur district. To
involve all the stakeholder in this conservation programme, WWF
have organised various environmental awareness training and
workshops for wetlands conservation through out Himachal
Pradesh. Among different stakeholders are students, teachers,
NGOs, tour operators, tourist guide, forest field staff, researchers,
Mahila Mandal and Indian Army. Awareness material was
circulated to impart knowledge to the public in large about the need
to preserve the wetlands.
WWF-India, South Western Ghats Programme
EVENTS
Andhra Pradesh
6
Turtle Conservation at Rushikulaya - 2009
The turtle program for the season commenced in the first week of
December 2008 with the monitoring of congregating turtles off the
Rushikulaya shores. Sorties into the sea were made once every
seven days, to monitor the shifting turtle congregation. The
information on the congregation was shared with the motorized
fishermen of Kontiagarh, Gokhurkuda and Purunabandh along with
request to them not to fish in those areas. The sorties continued till
mass nesting started.
Cold water inlet
Grass feeeding drum
The mass nesting started on the night of 14th February 2009. The
'arribada' (mass nesting) lasted up to the 20th, during which period
our volunteers were patrolling the rookery day & night to keep off
feral dogs, jackals and hyenas. Thereafter we installed the 3
kilometer long mesh net fence from the water body at Gokhurkuda
shore to halfway up to Kantiagarh on the north and again from the
Forest Department watch camp at the southern tip of Gokhurkuda
shore to halfway up to Purunabandh on the south.
Support for the drum
made of clay and
rock
Fuel feeding
chamber
Oil and water outlet
The main impact on forests is the fuel wood
consumption for the distillation units. It has
been estimated that about 500 kg of fuel
wood per year per acre is being utilized for
the distillation process. The main tree
species used for fuel are Atalantia
racemosa, Anogeissus latifolia,
Pterocarpus marsupium, Randia brandisi,
Albizzia amara, Cinnamonum malabaricum,
Vitex leucoxylon and Albizia odoratissima.
Some of these are hardwood species and
are also used by wildlife.
Lemon grass is generally harvested 2 to 4
times a year depending upon the rainfall and
the latitude of the area of cultivation. The
cultivated area ranges from 0.75 to 5 acres
per household depending on the availability
of labour within the family and in the
settlement. Each household or two/three
households together own a distillation unit
which is manufactured locally and is
available from the nearby local towns. Oil
can also be sold to the traders of these
towns. The cost of a litre of oil ranges from
Rs. 350-450 based on the Citral content of
the oil.
A deep water body had developed naturally in between the two
stretches of nets which could not be crossed by land predators.
Four gates had been provided along the fence to allow for local
villagers to go back and forth from sea. Shri Murlidhar C. Bhandare
(State Governor) greatly appreciated the efforts made to protect the
hatchling.
overhead. Occasionally crackers have to be used to drive off the
avian predators. The hatchlings were then released near the waves
to allow them safe passage to the sea. The entire rookery was
cordoned off, leaving a 300 meter stretch for the tourist to indulge in
rescue and release of hatchlings. Awareness signages were
installed at tourist entry points to sensitize them on the dos and
don'ts while at the rookery.
The hatching started from 3rd April , 2009. Hatchlings emerge from
their nests starting from early evening, peak through the night and
thin out with dawn. At night generally hatchlings find their way to the
sea safely. The dusk and morning periods are vital, as the entire
team, donning gloves have to scurry all over the rookery to pick up
hatchlings as they emerge. They (the team) have to reach the
An award was initiated for the best team of volunteers and it was
presented at the end of the project. This award is in memory of Mr.
W. Krishna, a community volunteer and a dedicated team leader for
the past three years of our Turtle Conservation Project at
Rushikulaya Rookery.
Impact of Improvements on the unit and the process
• The grate is designed to burn 8 kgs of fuel/hr, hence the fuel
consumed per batch is estimated to be 24 kgs/batch (the batch
time is assumed to be 3hrs). There would be a saving of almost
40%-50% of fire wood consumption.
Hatchlings heading towards the sea
EVENTS
WWF-India has examined the distillation
units and has decided to first improve the
design of the individual units to decrease the
fuel wood consumption in each distillation
process. TIDE, an NGO based in Bangalore
which specializes in design of fuel efficient
distillation units, is a partner for this activity
and is helping set up the modified units and
monitor implementation.
hatchlings before they are picked up by avian predators hovering
WWF-India, Orissa state office
Detailed surveys have been carried out in
settlements involved in the cultivation of the
grass within the landscape. It has been
found that lemon grass is being cultivated
within the Chinnar and Indira Gandhi Wildlife
Sanctuaries and the forest division of
Marayoor. A very small amount of area in
Malayatoor and Munnar forest divisions is
also under lemon grass cultivation. The total
area of cultivation of lemon grass in the
landscape is approximately 2050 acres.
Orissa
WWF-India Orissa state office
Several tribal communities in the landscape
have shifted to settled agriculture and
started cultivating lemon grass. The crop is
preferred by these communities as it
provides an assurance of income in the
drought seasons but is not preferred by
wildlife. It is cultivable in soil with low fertility;
requires minimal labour inputs; has a local
market and easy access to loans for tribals
for establishing distillation units.
Conservation Activities
@ Vishaish Uppal
COVER STORY
7
State Activities and Event
Reducing Use Of Fuel Wood In Production
Of Lemon Grass Oil
20
Mousuni Island, 24 km2, is a sea-facing island in the Bay of
Bengal with a population of about 20,000. While the population on
the island has been on the increase, the size of the island has
been diminishing due to sea-level rise. Cyclones and tidal surges
have further destroyed the lives and livelihoods of the
communities by breaching embankments, wrecking their homes
and destroying their harvests due to salt-water incursion from the
sea. Lack of climate adaptation strategies and infrastructure will
leave them with no option but to become climate refugees in the
future.
WWF- India has adopted a two-pronged approach to adaptation
on Mousuni. While focusing on the immediate needs of disaster
management and relief, they are also providing long-term
adaptation measures to the next generation of residents. This
has been attempted through the Climate Adaptation Centre
which houses an electronic Early Warning System to warn
villagers of oncoming disasters. The centre also runs a book bank
which loans students educational material to help enhance their
future prospects.
The existing distillation units were
studied to look at their efficacy
and outputs. Various measures
were taken and trials of distillation
at different conditions were
carried out. Process field testing
of the conventional citronella oil
distillation unit was carried out in
October 2008. The required data
was collected after running the
unit for two days continuously
and holding discussions with the
people who use it regularly.
Discussions enabled the team to
record the process/steps used by
people (like drying of grass,
cutting etc) which is also
important along with the actual
distillation process.
events
The Early Warning System has been linked to
Jadavpur University in Kolkata and will receive
messages in the likelihood of extreme weather events like
cyclones or storms. The Centre also houses relief material like
stretchers, torches and medical aid. An organized Disaster
Management Team, comprising of village youth has been put
together to mobilize the village community towards safety in the
event of a disaster.
Chimney
Speaking at the inauguration of the Adaptation Centre, Anurag
Danda, Head of WWF -India's Sundarbans Programme said that,
“Mousuni Island is in peril. Its neighbouring island, Sagar, is
recording a relative sea level rise of 3.14 mm per year which is
alarming. We have to work towards increasing the adaptive
capacities of the communities before it is too late.”
water outlet
Insulation bricks
Perforated plate
Other adaptation strategies introduced include re-introduction of
indigenous salt-tolerant paddy to farmers on the island. As the
market value of this variety (tal mugur) is not far behind other
high-yielding varieties, farmers on the island have been
successful in maintaining their livelihood without having to worry
about losing it to salt water incursion. The Climate Adaptation
Centre provides paddy seeds to the farmers and also holds
information about the various varieties of paddy, their market
values and government schemes available to benefit them.
Fuel feeding Door
Ash door
Oil and water outlet
Cold water inlet
According to Arjan Berkhuysen, Delta Expert, WWFNetherlands, “These problems are similar in deltas all over the
world. WWF is looking for natural solutions that respect the
dynamics of the system while helping people towards sustainable
development in the face of climate change”.
On the basis of the above trials
and tests, the individual
distillation unit design has been
modified. Some components of
the unit have been redesigned
and fabricated. These have been
transferred to Thayanakudi
village in the Chinnar Wildlife
Sanctuary. The unit has been
installed and further modified on
site by end February 2009. The
modified unit has been run and
relevant measures taken to test
its efficacy.
Though the unit is being installed
in one village, all eco
development committees in the
sanctuary have been a part of this
process. Meetings and
discussions have been held with
them to enable them to monitor
and observe the trials in the field.
Some members from each
committee will be present to see
the modifications and
installations to enable future
scaling up of the technology.
• As the steam does not lose any energy by absorption all through
its journey it will speed up the process and the oil will start
coming faster than the previous tras shows additional process.
The quantity of oil extracted will also be more.
• The working environment will be cleaner.
P. Mullai
COVER STORY
Vishaish Uppal
The islands of the Sundarbans, in the Bay of Bengal are
witnessing and struggling against the negative impacts of a
changing environment in the form of tidal surges, cyclones,
increased soil and water salinity and sea-level rise. While 40
percent of the 102 islands (on the Indian side) are under forest
cover, the remaining area is inhabited by local communities who
are losing their homes, land and fields. WWF-India, in partnership
with WWF-Netherlands, Hewlett Packard and GTZ, is working
with communities on Mousuni Island, which is the second most
vulnerable island, to help them cope with and adapt to climate
change while increasing their resilience against high intensity
events. To do so WWF has initiated several adaptation strategies
including the recent inauguration of a Climate Adaptation Centre
on March 29, 2009.
Regional Climate Change Programme, WWF- India
EVENTS
19
Climate Adaptation Centre
Inaugurated At Sundarbans
8
Though, the northern geographic
limit of the Nilgiri tahr is Nilgiris (the southern limit being
Tiruvannamalai), the species was known to occur in Agumbe Ghats in
Karnataka (about 200 km north of its present range) even a few
decades ago (Davidar 1978). Nilgiri tahr inhabits montane grasslands
at elevations of 1200 to 2600 m above mean sea level but have been
observed to exist in elevation starting from 500m. The preferred
habitat is grasslands with rocky cliffs. The present range is restricted
along a narrow stretch of 400 km between Nilgiri Hills in the north and
Ashambu Hills in the South (11°30' N - 8°20'N). Reportedly, the
estimated number of Nilgiri tahr is about 2200 - 2500 individuals (Forest
deportment census reports 2008) in the wild.
Nilgiri tahr is a social animal found in mixed herds composed of adult
females and their young. Old males associate in larger mixed herds
during the breeding season, but are often solitary or in small all male
groups. Female herds inhabit particular home ranges, adult males will
move between these groups. There is significant dimorphism between
adult male and female (Rice, 1990; Prater, 1971). The main breeding
season (rut) is during the monsoon period and young may be present
throughout the year. The gestation period is about 6 months. It is mostly
preyed by leopard and wild dog.
The species is listed in Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act
1972 which gives it a special protection status. It is also categorized as
an Endangered species (IUCN 2006).
The reasons for the decline of tahr populations have not been fully
understood. Despite several studies over the years, what we have is
only rough estimations of Nilgiri tahr populations. The species have
always been under severe stress on account of the construction of
numerous hydroelectric projects, timber felling and planting
monocultures of Eucalyptus and wattles. All these development
activities, especially the plantation activities affect the heart of the tahr
habitat, which are the grasslands-sholas. In this background, it
becomes an urgent necessity that a comprehensive study is initiated in
the hills of Tamil Nadu and Kerala to understand the present population
and ecological requirements of Nilgiri tahr.
Initial activities towards this
included the following:
• Working out possible locations
of Nilgiri tahr using a digital
elevation model. This revealed
that greater attention needed to be
paid to cliff areas;
• Using these new criteria
surveys were initiated in the
Mukurthi National Park which is
the northern most habitat of the
Nilgiri tahr. Searching individual
cliffs yielded very good sighting
compared to earlier work. Now a
rapid estimation of locations on the
ground is being carried out;
• Information has been collected on the population structure,behaviour,
habitat use, food habits and distribution of this population. Along with
this, impacts of human activities including t o u r i s m , i s a l s o b e i n g
assessed. Further surveys on other populations are to be carried out in
the coming months;
• Since the ultimate aim of the programme is to develop and
implement a coordinated conservation strategy for the long-term
survival of the Nilgiri tahr, WWF is facilitating the formation of an
alliance for the conservation of the species. The first meeting t o w a r d s
this was held in Coimbatore and a number of groups present, signed a
common charter towards this. This will be followed by further work
towards the formalization and ratification of this charter.
The Black Necked Crane (BNC), (Grus nigricollis), is one of the high
altitude crane among the 15 species found in the world, which during
breeding is confined to high altitude wetlands and marshes, of the
Quinghai-Tibetan Plateau and eastern Ladakh to Sichuan province.
The wintering populations of the crane are found at lower altitudes in
Quinghai, on the Yunnan Guizhou Plateau, north eastern Bhutan. In
India, so far, Sangti Valley in the north west Arunachal Pradesh, is
known to be the only wintering habitat of black-necked crane .
However, this year at Pangchen Valley of Zemithang, in the north
western corner of the state, bordering China in the north and Bhutan in
the west, three cranes were recorded in mid-November. Though there
were sporadic reports by local villagers, these cranes, locally known
as Thungdungkarma , visit this valley almost every year and stay for
30-45 days. For the first time a photographic evidence of the bird in
this valley was collected by the villagers. In India, although the
wintering of the crane has been reported in the past from the Apatani
Valley in Arunachal Pradesh and Moinabari Forest and Buxa Tiger
Reserve in northern West Bengal, Sangti Valley and now Pangchen
Valley are perhaps the only wintering sites where the BNC still visits
every year.
Nyamjang Chu*, which originated in China flows through the
Pangchen Valley in southern direction and enters Bhutan as Manas
River after joining Tawang Chu . The valley suitable for BNC has been
found to be from Brokenthang (27º43′ 51.04″ and 91º42′ 51.08″ E) to
Zemithang (27º42′ 38.47″ N and 91º43′ 39.69″ E) which is nearly 3km in
length with an average altitude of 6920ft. The average width of the
valley has been found to be 0.30kms and the flow of water in this part
of the river is gentle with many small seasonal islands and grasslands
on both the banks. According to the local villagers, earlier the BNCs
used to use one Alnus forest patch, very near to Zemithang settlement
area for roasting. However, this year, most of the time, all the three
BNCs were found on the other side of the river which is diagonally
nearly 1.5km away, towards north-west, from the Alnus forest patch.
The Black Necked Crane is classified as Vulnerable (VU C1) in the
IUCN Red List 2008, listed in Appendix I of CITES, Appendices I and II
of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS or Bonn Convention)
and listed as 'threatened' by Birdlife International. It is also one of the
28 bird species selected as a priority for CEPF investment. It has been
categorised as a Schedule I species under the Wildlife (Protection)
Act of India, (1972). As there is a religious ban on hunting among the
local Monpa communities of the area, the major threat on the
wintering habitat of the BNC is mainly due to road construction
activities which is in progress on both the sides of the river. However,
as the roads under construction are very crucial from the Indian
defense point of view, there is an urgent need to find out suitable ways
to ensure both safety of the BNC and its habitat .
Conclusion
In the past ,most of the research work has been done concentrating the
Nilgiri tahr so the actual estimation, distribution in wild cannot be
estimated, as most of these studies are done at very short intervals
confined to spaces which are to be potential habitats for the tahr
distribution. Other than these, no newer areas are been surveyed to
see their distribution and population. This leads to chances of missing
potential habitats, and eventually results in poor population estimates.
There may be chances that the tahr uses these habitats for local
migration, that cannot be backed up due to lack of data. In order to fill
these gaps the current study is being done to get population estimates
of the species and their distribution. This would help us in planning the
management strategies required for conservation of the habitat and the
species.
P. P Predict
* chu- means river
PROJECTS UPDATES
The present study is focusing on finding out the number of pocketed
populations, connectivity among sub-population etc. because it is an
endemic species with narrow range of distribution. Their distributional
range is highly fragmented, and the population dynamics are not
reported anywhere. Species with specific habitat preference and high
degree of endemism are less adaptable to environmental changes.
Studies on similar species (like the big horn species) have reported that
the population with less than 50 individuals has been wiped out within
50 years and these sensitive species need at least 100 individuals for
its long-term survival. Thus it is important to identify the pocketed
population, present status of population in their distributional range, to
Second Wintering Habitat
Of Black Necked Crane In India
ensure the long term survival of the
species.
Pankaj Chandan
Nilgiri tahr (Nilgiritragus hylocrius),
a mountain goat endemic to
southern Western Ghats, is
confined to the higher altitudes of
Tamil Nadu and Kerala. A shy and
wary relative of the Himalayan tahr
(Hemitragus jemlahicus) , the
Nilgiri tahr limits its movements
within an altitude range of 1200 m
to 2600 m. At present, two
established and viable populations
are known from the Nilgiris and
high ranges of Kerala, while
smaller fragmented populations
are known from Anamalais, Palni
hills and Meghamalai and
Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger
Reserve.
Ameen Ahmed
COVER STORY
9
Nilgiri Tahr- A Special Study
18
GORSHING GANGK
Snout of GORSHING GANGK
An awareness drive amongst
the local communities was also
conducted along the river bank
to ensure community
participation prior to
reintroduction of these species
into the Ganga.This drive
covered the area below the
Sandeep Behera
2.
3.
Sandeep Behera
The target reintroduction area
was very well suited for the
release. The site was selected
after a survey was conducted
by the state forest department
officials and WWF-India. The
area has been inhabited by wild
Gharials in fairly recent times. A
female Gharial (3.63 m)
inhabited this area as late as
1994. Another Gharial was
rescued here in 2006-07 and
released into the Ganga at a
spot further up stream near
Bijnor. Also, easily
recognizable features of
Gharial habitat like perennial
stream with deep pools,
undisturbed mid-river sand
bars, high and steep sand
banks for nesting, and multistream braided channels with
stagnant eddy counter-currents
occur in this stretch of the river.
1.
1. Shri A.K. Divadi (Chief Conservator of Forest-Meerut) and Dr. Parikshit
Gautam (Director Freshwater & Wetlands, WWF-India)
2 & 3. Gharial being released
A total of 131 Gharials were
released in a phased manner.
These Gharials were bred at the
Kukrail Gharial Rehabilitation
Centre at Lucknow and belonged
to the 2005-2006 batches. They
were in the age group of 2-3.8
years.In the first phase 60
Gharials were released in which
there were 18 males and 42
females.They measured
approximately 1.20-1.68 m in
length and weighed
approximately 7-12 kg.
In the second phase 71 Gharials
were released of which there were
19 males and 52 females. These
weighed 7-16 kg and measured
approximately 1.20-1.80 m in
length. Intensive post-release
monitoring is underway and it has
been observed that these
individuals had already negotiated
upto 10 kilometer within the first
few days downstream and 2.5 km
upstream of the release site.
These release programmes will
be sustained for a number of years
until a resident breeding
population of Gharial is
established at a favourable
location in the river.
The objectives of the
reintroduction will be achieved
through people's participation and
regular monitoring of sections of
the Ganga River and studying the
response of the released Gharial
in terms of ability to permanently
adapt to the environment. Rescue
operations for Gharial individuals
will also be done, which could drift
downstream of protected areas.
The local communities have
expressed support and solidarity
for ensuring the return of the
Gharial in this area. With the
success of this project it is hoped
that these species sees a revival
PROJECTS UPDATES
- Pema Wange, Lohit Gogoi, Pijush Kumar Dutta and Rakesh
Soud
The status of the crocodilian
species Gharial,Gavialis
gangeticus, has recently been
revised by the IUCN to Critically
Endangered. The surviving
population is spread in less
than half a dozen riverine
habitats e.g.-Ken, Son,
Mahanadi, Chambal, Girwa
and Ramganga. Estimates
indicate that about 1400
survive in the wild. In order to
address the conservation
needs of this species, it is
necessary to locate viable
alternative habitats which
supplement the extremely few
habitats where the species
currently occur.
projects
Sandeep Behera
The glaciers of this area act as a water source for most of the
high altitude wetlands found in the area. The glaciers and all the
lakes of this area are also the main source of water for two most
important rivers of Tawang and West Kameng districts the
Kameng river and the Tawangchu river. The Tawangchu River
flows through Bhutan and enters India as Manas and the
Kameng River flows through Assam as the Bhorali River and
both these rivers are among the major tributaries of the
Brahmaputra River. Thus any disturbance in these glaciers is
likely to have an impact on lives of millions of people from
Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and also Bhutan who are settled
here and are dependent on the catchments areas of these
rivers.
Pijush Kumar Dutta
So far no scientific information regarding the impact of Climate
Change on this glacier is available. However, according to Mr.
Pasang from Thembang village, one of the Yak and Sheep
herders, who has been visiting this area since last 20 years for
summer grazing and was present with the team, informed that
since last five years this glacier has moved up from one of the
lakes, Khampa Tso , which is located nearly 1.5 km south of the
glacier snout. According to him this glacier is the source of water
for the lake and as the lake water appears like white milk, they
call it Khampa Tso. However, during this visit many water bodies
in the form of lakes were found in between the snout of the
Glacier and Khampa Tso which according to him are new and
don't have any name for them and this means that this glacier
has receded nearly 1.5 km in last five years. This needs proper
scientific investigation through satellite based studies to
document the impact of climate change on this and other
glaciers of the area. According to the local information, there are
many such Gangk (glacier) in this area some of which areGangri Gangk and Sangya Phu Gangk, located in the north
eastern direction and north of this Gorshing Gangk.
Pijush Kumar Dutta, WAL Office - WWF-India
WWF-India WAL team with villagers from Thembang during the
second baseline survey of Thembang Bapu Community
Conserved Area, were able to reach the snout of one of the
Glaciers which locally the villagers call GORSHING GANGK (in
Monpa dialect Gangk means Glacier). The team led by Mr.
Pema Wange and Lohit Gogoi along with village elders were
able to reach the snout of the glacier after trekking for 5 days
from Thembang village.
Hastinapur
Wildlife
Sanctuary,
the Ganga
river and its environs downstream
to the Ganga Irrigation Barrage at
Narora which has been declared
as a Ramsar site with its own
conservation implications.The
area is currently the focus of
dolphin conservation programme
of WWF-India which will definitely
benefit Gharial conservation,
monitoring and protection.
January 29th and 12th
February 2009 can be marked
on WWF-India's calendar as
historical. In a task that was
no less than being termed as
herculean, WWF-India along
with the UP State Forest
Department reintroduced the
endangered Gharial into river
Ganga at the Hastinapur
Wildlife Sanctuary (HWLS),
U.P.
Glaciers in the Indian Himalayas are a major source of water for
three large river systems of India-Indus,Ganga and
Brahmaputra. The Brahmaputra basin has 662 glaciers, which
is only 12% of total number of glaciers recorded from the three
river basins. However, most of the glaciers of the Brahmaputra
River basin present in Arunachal Pradesh are still unexplored
with very little information on the impact of Climate Change on
these glaciers .
Pijush Kumar Dutta
PROJECTS UPDATES
17
WWF-India Reintroduces
Gharials Into River Ganges
Visit To Gorshing Glacier
of Western Arunachal Pradesh
10
Explaining the innovative technique, Professor Ura from the
University of Tokyo said, "Precise underwater movements and
sonar-range of dolphins can be observed even in shallow water with
a six - hydrophone system. An acoustic data logger system has also
been demonstrated that can count the number of dolphins."
The umbrella array deployed in Ganges at Karnabas since
November 2008 has yielded useful data. The findings have opened a
window to the Gangetic Dolphin behavior which until now was an
underwater mystery. The dolphin data from the array deployed in
November 2008 at Karnabas
has given clues to parental
behavior of these blind dolphins.
Dolphins maintain a nursery
where they leave their calves in
secure pools of water and come
there regularly to feed and take
care of them. A paper titled
“Long-term Real-time
monitoring of the Ganges River
Dolphins using Integrated
Observation System using
Multiple acoustic arrays” has
been recently presented at Sixth
International symposium on
Underwater Technology '09 held
at Wuxi, China.
objective fishery assessments
against the MSC standard. Many
small fisheries, such as those taking
part in the trial, are not in a position to
provide comprehensive data sets.
The aim of the new approach is to
provide small-scale and datadeficient fisheries with an alternative
route to certification against the
MSC's standard, while maintaining
the scientific rigour that characterises
the MSC programme.
The analysis of the data obtained since November 2008 till February
2009 was also done and the presence of dolphins at a particular time,
distance and direction was believed to come up with some diurnal
trends. The same equipment is also used to assess and confirm
dolphin number at Karnabas and also for smaller stretches of river
The thrust now is to elucidate further knowledge about the parental
behavior and maintenance of nursery by these dolphins. At the same
time we hope to get more information on behavior patterns.
International MSC team in conversation with local fishermen
In May 2007, the MSC Technical
Advisory Board approved the draft
methodological guidance for use in a
number of trial fisheries assessments
which will be conducted by third party
certifiers. The aim of the trials is to
allow for practical testing, reviewing
and evaluation of the guidance
methodology to ensure its
effectiveness.
The findings will help sharpen and increase the scope of WWFIndia's River Dolphin
programme. WWF-India's work,
in partnership with local
community members in Narora
has shown encouraging results
as the pressure on the river
system and the dolphin
population has reduced. Our
work has also resulted in
improved living conditions of
villagers thus strengthening the
link between conservation and
livelihoods.
Fisheries from Africa, Latin America,
Asia and Europe are involved in
these trial assessments.
Pre-analysis of community- based fisheries in India
WWF-India began the “Pre-analysis of community based and other
fisheries in India for certification (Ecolabelling)” project to set up a
concept of sustainable fisheries in every corner of the country. On
the matrix of labeling eco-friendly fishery and fishery practice, a
survey was conducted during November 2003 to April 2004 to
identify ecologically sustainable fishing practice in the coastal zones
of West Bengal, Kerala, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. The objective of the
project was to identify community-based fisheries from the different
states of India that are ecologically sustainable with respect to their
catch, culture, crafts and gears, community participation, and
environment. Through the pre-analysis process, the CommunityBased Certification (CBC) methodology was effectively and
efficiently tested over a large area for identifying the most promising
candidates for certification in the region. The pre-analysis project
report recommended moving forward with pre-assessments with the
oil sardine (Sardinella longiceps) fishery and a squid (Doryteuthis
sibogae) fishery, both located in Kerala.
Gangetic River Dolphin.
WWF-India and Fishermen
Welfare Society (FWS)
A one day workshop was held in
Kochi in to create an awareness of
MSC certification among the coastal
fishers, NGO's, Government
organisatons, exporters and all other
organisations involved in the
development of fisheries in Kerala. In
taking the MSC certification forward,
Fishermen Welfare Society (FWS)
Kollam evinced great interest and
hence WWF-India identified them as
co-clients in taking forward the
process of MSC certification. The
objective of such societies is to
develop institutional mechanisms
required to enhance income of small
scale fishermen from fishing
activities.. About 1000 fishermen are
members of this body, and is
organised through 5 primary
societies in five villages of Kollam
coast.
The FWS organised NGO
interventions in fish marketing and
the first fish marketing centre was established in the village of
Pallithottam in the early eighties. The “Pallithottam Model” spread to
the adjoining villages. Pallithottam Thankassery belt in Kollam
district was identified as the unit for certification.
The oil sardine fishery of Kerala by the gill netters along the
Thankassery Pallithottam region of Kollam coast will be assessed
against the MSC guidelines.This pilot assessment will be taking
place in parallel with a 'conventional' assessment and separate
notifications will be provided in relation to the 'conventional' MSC
assessment.
MSC Certification field visit
MSC Certification team comprising of Dr. Jim Andrews, Lead
assessor, Moody Marines, UK, Ms. Anna Battesse, MSC, UK, Dr.
Appukuttan, Expert Assessor, India, Ms. Alison Cross, WWF-US
and Vinod Malayilethu, WWF-India ,visited the area of certification
as part of the assessment field visit and held a series of interactions
with the fishery managers from state fisheries department, Fishery
scientists from various fisheries institutes like Central Marine
Fisheries Research Institute, Kochi, Central Institute of Fisheries
Technology, Kochi for getting an insight into the status of oil sardine
as well as squid fishery in Kerala.
The assessment team held a stakeholders workshop at Kollam for
understanding the community perceptions on the oil sardine fishery
in the certification area. Details discussions were held with the
fishermen community leaders and the fishers of the Fishermen
Welfare Society, Kollam, the co-clients in the certification
programme.
It is hoped that this role model in MSC program would
encourage more participation from other fishing communities
hence promoting sustainable fisheries.
Vinod Malayilethu
PROJECTS UPDATES
Monitoring of Dolphins through hydrophone systems.
Pre-assessment of community based fisheries in Kerala
WWF-India moved to the second phase of this work with a preassessment of community based fisheries in Kerala. As a first step
of the pre-assessment work, a survey was carried out in July August
2007 along nine coastal districts of Kerala namely
Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Allapuzha, Ernakulam, Thrissur,
Kozhikode, Malappuram, Kannur and Kasargode to reaffirm the
status of the candidate fishery and the interest of the fishers in the
certification programme, as certification would not be successful
without community support. It was observed during the preassessment survey in the coastal districts of Kerala that oil sardine
played a vital role in the daily diet of the fishing community and
contributes to about 15% of the total marine fish production in India.
Marine Programme, WWF-India.
WWF-India has been actively working for conservation of this highly
endangered dolphin since 1996 which is threatened due to
anthropogenic pressures and human intervention. In 2006, WWFIndia initiated a partnership between IIT Delhi and University of
Tokyo to further develop insight into behaviour and mating patterns
of the mammal.
Various important points regarding the inter-click interval and the
acoustic processing time in the dolphin brain have been discovered
using the array system. As an extension of data analysis, we have
confirmed that dolphins sense an average 20 m distance using its
sonar system by sending clicks and gathering information by
reflected clicks. In the forthcoming months, the umbrella array will be
deployed at the same location for another four months to understand
more behavior patterns and Inter click interval details. During
February '2009 trials, this array was shifted near the calf pool for a
week to decrease the distance from the supposed pool and get more
streamlined information.
Sandeep Behera, WWF-India
WWF-India's ongoing partnership with University of Tokyo, Institute
of Industrial Science and Indian Institute of Technology(IIT), Delhi
have proven to be effective in understanding the behaviour of the
blind Ganges River Dolphin (Platanista gangetica).
WWF-Canon / François Xavier PELLETIER
PROJECTS UPDATES
11
WWF-India, Saving River Dolphins From Extinction
16
India with a coast line of 8055 kms, supports millions of people in the
fishery sector and contributes significantly to the national and state
GDP. However marine fisheries production has reached a plateau
and only marginal increase can be predicted in future.
Nearly 85% of fisheries in India are contributed by the small scale
sector. Historically small scale sector fisheries has been stable vis-avis mechanised sector. Recent trends however show that due to
unsuitable fishing methods, the catches have declined and resulted
in extensive damage to the ecosystem. As small scale fisheries are
community based, adoption of management of fisheries in India
represents a significant milestone towards management and
improving stocks of fishes.
WWF's Community- based Certification programme can help small
scale fisheries through the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)
certification process. This programme has grown and includes over
15 projects world wide and with WWF's global network of
organisations and its partnership with local NGO's, the Community
Fisheries Programme is well equipped to facilitate MSC certification
of small scale fisheries in both developed and developing countries.
This has shown great success in a few short years.
What is MSC Certification
Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is a non-profit organisation
established to promote sustainable fisheries and responsible fishing
practices worldwide. MSC has developed a logo that informs
consumers that when they buy seafood products with a MSC logo,
they are supporting healthier oceans and a healthier environment.
Only fisheries certified to be sustainable would be using the MSC
logo. It indicates that MSC gives thrust towards sustainable marine
fisheries by promoting responsible environmentally sound, socially
The Rare Red
India, Nepal, Bhutan,
Myanmar and Laos PDR.
beneficial and economically viable fisheries practices while
maintaining the biodiversity, productivity and ecological process of
the marine environment. Both the end customer and the fishing
industry gain through this certification. The benefits of MSC
certification to all concerned is listed below
• Fishing industry: Recognition of good and heightened
management of fisheries, preferred supplier status, newer
markets
• Retailers and wholesalers: Commitment to sustainability,
confidence in sustainability of product, meeting consumer
demand
• Consumers: Not contributing towards overfishing and ecosystem
degradation and supporting the management efforts
MSC Certification process
The Marine Stewardship Council promotes equal access to its
certification programme regardless of the scale of fishery operation.
All types of fisheries are eligible to participate and be assessed
against the MSC Standard - the Principles and Criteria for
Sustainable Fishing.
There are situations in which a fishery may have insufficient data to
show that it meets the MSC Standard. To ensure that these fisheries
can participate in the MSC programme, MSC has been developing
methodological guidance to assist certifiers involved in assessing
such fisheries.
The new guidelines introduce a risk assessment that can be initiated
if fisheries lack full and complete scientific data for key environmental
indicators needed to assess performance.MSC's conventional
methodology draws on scientific data to produce sound and
WWF-India, Species Division
PROJECTS UPDATES
15
Sustainable Fisheries For A
Healthy Marine Ecosystem
A reddish brown, bushytailed mammal, the size of a
cat, red panda has long
white whiskers and patches
of white over its eyes and
cheeks. A red panda has a
beautiful long ringed tail,
which it uses as a warparound blanket in winters.
Sluggish on the ground, red
panda is an expert climber
of trees and spends most of
its life on them. They love to
eat bamboo and use their
strong tongues to strip
tender green leaves off the
bamboo stem.Their
digestive system cannot
take in bamboo well and
they have to eat large
amounts of it every day to
survive. They also eat
grass, roots, nuts, berries
and lichen. They even eat
insects, bird's eggs and
chicks.
Known to be solitary, the
only time two pandas are
spotted together is during
the mating season. Each
WWF team finally gets lucky and spots the extremely elusive red panda in snow clad mountains off Sikkim.
year in June or July, female
red pandas give birth to one to four babies, called cubs. Red panda
babies are born with their eyes closed and are tiny and weigh only
In the forests of the North-Eastern Indian state of Sikkim, a team of
about 200g. Cubs are usually born in a hole of an old tree, which the
researchers had been battling hostile terrain, storms and incessant
mother lines with leaves and sticks. Old growth forests are thus very
rains for four years just to find the vulnerable red panda (Ailurus
important for the survival of red pandas, as they provide dens and
fulgens). An animal which had successfully evaded our team for
hiding places for both cubs and their parents. For the first four months,
years.
cubs depend on their mother for milk. And later mother and her cubs
move from tree to tree and look for food together.
On the morning of 3rd January, Mr. Basant Sharma from WWF
spotted a red panda in Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary. While the team
Protected in India under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, red pandas are
was still coming to terms with this sighting, two more red pandas were
today fighting a lonely battle for survival. Severely threatened, they
spotted on 4th and 14th January raising the teams happiness
are losing their home as forests are readily being destroyed to collect
quotient.
timber, fuel or converted in to agricultural land. Today tourists and
Discovered in 1825, 50 years before the giant panda, the red panda is
unfairly known as the lesser panda. It has many other names- fire fox,
fire cat and cat bear. Earlier thought to be of the bear family and a
distant cousin of the giant panda, recent research has finally traced its
roots to raccoons. The red panda lives in temperate forests of China,
domestic cattle have raided their homes. Their only source of food
(bamboo) is also cut down. They are also poached for their fur and are
victims of the cruel pet trade.
(Since January this year, five red pandas have been sighted, all in
Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary, Sikkim.)
PROJECTS UPDATES
WWF recognised red panda as a priority species and initiated a
project in 2005 to conserve them in the Khangchendzonga Landscape
India and subsequently initiated work in the Western Arunachal
Landscape in 2008. Along with the state forest departments, other
government agencies, NGOs and CBOS, scientific institutions and
communities, WWF is working in the Eastern Himalaya for long-term
conservation of red panda. The idea is to create a potential distribution
map of red panda using the GIS domain and then carrying out ground
truthing to check existing situation in these areas. Threats, if any, will
be identified and a participatory mitigation strategy will be put in place.
12
MSC workshop in progress
Protection of our forests is an
"The launch of GFTN-India represents
essential step towards
a clear move in this direction and, with
ensuring that our biodiversity
the support of industry both nationally
and ecosystems continue to
and across the globe, we can make a
retain their grandeur and
real difference in protecting the world's
beauty. Forests play a vital
forests and the people and species that
role in harbouring more than
depend upon them.”
45,000 floral and 81,000
faunal species of which 5,150
Mr Ravi Singh, Secretary General and
floral and 1,837 faunal
CEO, WWF-India.
species are endemic. The
recorded forest area in the
country is 76.5 million ha.
The “State of Forest Report 2005” published by the Forest Survey of
India in 2008 shows that the extent of forest cover in the country is
estimated to be 67.71 million ha (20.60% of total geographical area).
India's annual rate of
deforestation was 1.3 million
hectares during 1970s but this
has changed considerably
since 1990 as a result of
changes in national policies
and programmes, including
the afforestation and social
forestry programmes in the
country. Presently, India is
one of the few countries with a
net addition in the forest cover.
About 90% of the forests in
India, are under government
ownership. India is a key
player in global forest trade. It
is estimated that the demand
for timber is likely to grow
faster vis-a-vis the supply. In
other words, the nation will
have to meet the gap through
imports. The contribution of
natural forests in timber
production process will
continue to decline (Ganguly,
2000; ITTO, 2004). Plantation
forestry and farm forestry/agro
forestry will become main
sources of domestic supply of
timber.
increased from INR 61 million in 1975-76 to more than INR 6000
million in 2007-08. The major export markets are USA, UK,
Germany, Netherlands, Japan, Italy, France, Canada, Australia,
Saudi Arabia and Switzerland. As these countries favour products
from certified forests and due to absence of certified forest areas in
India, exporters have no option but to import wood from certified
forests elsewhere. However, the desired species of wood (example,
Sessam or Acacia nilotica) may not be available for importing to
India. The Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of
India has constituted a committee on forest certification and develop
a national forest certification system.
The Global Forest and Trade Network (GFTN) can help address
these challenges with the help of innovative tools and methods,
including a “step wise approach” to credible forest certification.
WWF's Global Forest & Trade Network (GFTN) was founded in
1991 when a small but visionary group of companies in the United
Kingdom first committed
themselves to purchasing their
wood products from wellGFTN's launch in India
managed forests. These
companies came together as
The Launch of WWF's Global Forest & Trade Network (GFTN) in
the first WWF Buyer Group and
India on 3rd of December 2008- was welcomed by the industry as
by the end of the decade there
this was a long awaited initiative.
were similar groups across
Europe and in the U.S, Japan,
Amongst the Indian companies that have already registered include
and Brazil. Membership grew
- Asha Handicrafts Association (Mumbai), Manglam Arts (Jaipur),
rapidly and included some of
TEDDY Exports (Madurai) and ITC Ltd (Andhra Pradesh) - who
the biggest names in the global
supply timber, wood products, and paper to Europe, US and other
forest products industry.
major nations have applied to become the first Indian participants in
this internationally renowned trade network. WWF-India will work
Core elements of GFTN
closely with Government of India to promote sustainable
process:
management of forests in line with GFTN goals and aims to promote
•
Reduce and remove illegal
the practices to achieve this goal of responsible forestry and
sources of wood from the
promotion of credible forest certification in India.
value chain
Speaking at the launch, Mr Richard McLellan, Head of GFTN,
WWF International, said: “The new GFTN-India is an opportunity
to protect India's economy and its forests. We welcome the
chance to encourage forest certification and responsible forestry,
and we are looking forward to working with the Indian government
and with industry to develop credible certification for India's
forests.”
Dr. Kirit S Parikh, Member of the Planning Commission in his key
note address said, “GFTN is important in the context of Indian
Forestry. GFTN can serve as a programme in which we can do
forestry in a commercial and sustainable way.
•
•
The United Nations reported in 2001 that more than half of the
demand for certified forest products in the 1990s was generated by
GFTN member companies. Today, certification is widely recognized
as a useful tool in the achievement of responsible forest
management and is expanding rapidly.
• Support for changes in legislation and law enforcement to aid
responsible forest management and improve competitiveness
• Access to affordable, long-term financing
(subject to local availability)
Timber Manufacturers & Processors
•
•
•
•
GFTN in India
GFTN-India reflects India's commitment towards sustainable forest
management and minimizing the nation's forest footprint. People
who can participate in GFTN include all who are associated with
timber trade and manufacturing and distribution of wood products
At a macro level the Global Forest & Trade Network (GFTN) offers a
wealth of benefits to forest-related businesses representing all parts
of the supply chain.
Forest and Plantation Managers
For this segment participation in GFTN can
• Strengthen their competitive advantage by providing on-site
technical support throughout the process :
• Add new and strengthened links to markets
• Improve relations with NGOs, local forest users, and others ;
• Have higher rates of efficiency in forest management and
environmental performance
• Provide tools and frameworks for better risk management
• Information and assurance to investors, employees,
regulators, and others
• Improved levels of legal compliance
•
•
Access to dependable sources of responsibly grown and
harvested timber that is credibly certified
Assistance with procurement and purchasing policies
On-site technical assistance throughout the process
leading to independent and credible certification
Improved ability to communicate with environmentally
conscious consumers
Better understanding of retail markets
How GFTN Benefits Retailers, Distributors and End Users
The reputation and profitability of retailers, distributors, and other
end users gets enhanced if
they are being viewed as
environmentally sustainable. For them, joining the Global Forest &
Trade Network gives the confidence to customers who increasingly
demand to know the source of wood products and their
sustainability; provide linkages to new, dependable, and credibly
certified producers and suppliers.
E.C. (European Commission Switch Asia Programme) and WWFIndia together are implementing a project "Sustainable and
responsible trade promoted to wood processing SME's in China,
Vietnam and India. In India the project focuses on three states
namely Rajasthan, Kerala and Uttar Pradesh.
Improve efficiency and
sustainability of production
Support credible
certification systems that
create value for
producers
Encourage market demand
and support for “better”
wood supplies ( via credible
chain of custody schemes)
Forest owner, timber
processor, distributor and
retailer participants of the
GFTN come from over 30
different countries and vary
between small, community
based operations to Fortune 500
global multinational companies, giving
the GFTN unparalleled reach and
scope in helping to build responsible
forest management.
Presently, GFTN's 360 participants
generate annual forest products sales
exceeding $61 billion per year,
accounting for 16 per cent of the world
trade in forest products. Besides
PROJECTS UPDATES
Forest certification in India is
in its early stages. Presently
no forests in India are certified.
Only (New Ambadi
Plantations) in South India
have recently secured FSC Forest
Management Unit certificate. A few
small and medium companies have
secured a chain of custody certificates
in order to meet the export demand.
Wooden handicrafts industry in India is
facing market access problems due to
the lack of forest certification. This
industry is one of the largest producers
of carved wood products in the world.
The export of wooden handicrafts has
•
providing global employment to over 1.3 million people, participants
also buy or sell in excess of 248 million cubic metres of forest
products per year. Within the certified market, GFTN participants
trade 25 percent of certified products and 80 per cent of FSC
certified products. Additionally, GFTN participants manage more
than 23 million ha of FSC certified forests.
Jetender Rawat
PROJECTS UPDATES
13
Global Forestry and Trade Network (GFTN)Towards Protecting Our Forest Wealth
14
GFTN inauguration -L-R- Ravi Singh (SG& CEO- WWF-India)
Richard McLellan-Head of GFTN/ WWF-International
Richard Donkers (Minister Counsellor Delegation of the European Commission)
& Dr. Kirit S. Parikh - Member Planning Commission
Rajaji National Park
Protection of our forests is an
"The launch of GFTN-India represents
essential step towards
a clear move in this direction and, with
ensuring that our biodiversity
the support of industry both nationally
and ecosystems continue to
and across the globe, we can make a
retain their grandeur and
real difference in protecting the world's
beauty. Forests play a vital
forests and the people and species that
role in harbouring more than
depend upon them.”
45,000 floral and 81,000
faunal species of which 5,150
Mr Ravi Singh, Secretary General and
floral and 1,837 faunal
CEO, WWF-India.
species are endemic. The
recorded forest area in the
country is 76.5 million ha.
The “State of Forest Report 2005” published by the Forest Survey of
India in 2008 shows that the extent of forest cover in the country is
estimated to be 67.71 million ha (20.60% of total geographical area).
India's annual rate of
deforestation was 1.3 million
hectares during 1970s but this
has changed considerably
since 1990 as a result of
changes in national policies
and programmes, including
the afforestation and social
forestry programmes in the
country. Presently, India is
one of the few countries with a
net addition in the forest cover.
About 90% of the forests in
India, are under government
ownership. India is a key
player in global forest trade. It
is estimated that the demand
for timber is likely to grow
faster vis-a-vis the supply. In
other words, the nation will
have to meet the gap through
imports. The contribution of
natural forests in timber
production process will
continue to decline (Ganguly,
2000; ITTO, 2004). Plantation
forestry and farm forestry/agro
forestry will become main
sources of domestic supply of
timber.
increased from INR 61 million in 1975-76 to more than INR 6000
million in 2007-08. The major export markets are USA, UK,
Germany, Netherlands, Japan, Italy, France, Canada, Australia,
Saudi Arabia and Switzerland. As these countries favour products
from certified forests and due to absence of certified forest areas in
India, exporters have no option but to import wood from certified
forests elsewhere. However, the desired species of wood (example,
Sessam or Acacia nilotica) may not be available for importing to
India. The Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of
India has constituted a committee on forest certification and develop
a national forest certification system.
The Global Forest and Trade Network (GFTN) can help address
these challenges with the help of innovative tools and methods,
including a “step wise approach” to credible forest certification.
WWF's Global Forest & Trade Network (GFTN) was founded in
1991 when a small but visionary group of companies in the United
Kingdom first committed
themselves to purchasing their
wood products from wellGFTN's launch in India
managed forests. These
companies came together as
The Launch of WWF's Global Forest & Trade Network (GFTN) in
the first WWF Buyer Group and
India on 3rd of December 2008- was welcomed by the industry as
by the end of the decade there
this was a long awaited initiative.
were similar groups across
Europe and in the U.S, Japan,
Amongst the Indian companies that have already registered include
and Brazil. Membership grew
- Asha Handicrafts Association (Mumbai), Manglam Arts (Jaipur),
rapidly and included some of
TEDDY Exports (Madurai) and ITC Ltd (Andhra Pradesh) - who
the biggest names in the global
supply timber, wood products, and paper to Europe, US and other
forest products industry.
major nations have applied to become the first Indian participants in
this internationally renowned trade network. WWF-India will work
Core elements of GFTN
closely with Government of India to promote sustainable
process:
management of forests in line with GFTN goals and aims to promote
•
Reduce and remove illegal
the practices to achieve this goal of responsible forestry and
sources of wood from the
promotion of credible forest certification in India.
value chain
Speaking at the launch, Mr Richard McLellan, Head of GFTN,
WWF International, said: “The new GFTN-India is an opportunity
to protect India's economy and its forests. We welcome the
chance to encourage forest certification and responsible forestry,
and we are looking forward to working with the Indian government
and with industry to develop credible certification for India's
forests.”
Dr. Kirit S Parikh, Member of the Planning Commission in his key
note address said, “GFTN is important in the context of Indian
Forestry. GFTN can serve as a programme in which we can do
forestry in a commercial and sustainable way.
•
•
The United Nations reported in 2001 that more than half of the
demand for certified forest products in the 1990s was generated by
GFTN member companies. Today, certification is widely recognized
as a useful tool in the achievement of responsible forest
management and is expanding rapidly.
• Support for changes in legislation and law enforcement to aid
responsible forest management and improve competitiveness
• Access to affordable, long-term financing
(subject to local availability)
Timber Manufacturers & Processors
•
•
•
•
GFTN in India
GFTN-India reflects India's commitment towards sustainable forest
management and minimizing the nation's forest footprint. People
who can participate in GFTN include all who are associated with
timber trade and manufacturing and distribution of wood products
At a macro level the Global Forest & Trade Network (GFTN) offers a
wealth of benefits to forest-related businesses representing all parts
of the supply chain.
Forest and Plantation Managers
For this segment participation in GFTN can
• Strengthen their competitive advantage by providing on-site
technical support throughout the process :
• Add new and strengthened links to markets
• Improve relations with NGOs, local forest users, and others ;
• Have higher rates of efficiency in forest management and
environmental performance
• Provide tools and frameworks for better risk management
• Information and assurance to investors, employees,
regulators, and others
• Improved levels of legal compliance
•
•
Access to dependable sources of responsibly grown and
harvested timber that is credibly certified
Assistance with procurement and purchasing policies
On-site technical assistance throughout the process
leading to independent and credible certification
Improved ability to communicate with environmentally
conscious consumers
Better understanding of retail markets
How GFTN Benefits Retailers, Distributors and End Users
The reputation and profitability of retailers, distributors, and other
end users gets enhanced if
they are being viewed as
environmentally sustainable. For them, joining the Global Forest &
Trade Network gives the confidence to customers who increasingly
demand to know the source of wood products and their
sustainability; provide linkages to new, dependable, and credibly
certified producers and suppliers.
E.C. (European Commission Switch Asia Programme) and WWFIndia together are implementing a project "Sustainable and
responsible trade promoted to wood processing SME's in China,
Vietnam and India. In India the project focuses on three states
namely Rajasthan, Kerala and Uttar Pradesh.
Improve efficiency and
sustainability of production
Support credible
certification systems that
create value for
producers
Encourage market demand
and support for “better”
wood supplies ( via credible
chain of custody schemes)
Forest owner, timber
processor, distributor and
retailer participants of the
GFTN come from over 30
different countries and vary
between small, community
based operations to Fortune 500
global multinational companies, giving
the GFTN unparalleled reach and
scope in helping to build responsible
forest management.
Presently, GFTN's 360 participants
generate annual forest products sales
exceeding $61 billion per year,
accounting for 16 per cent of the world
trade in forest products. Besides
PROJECTS UPDATES
Forest certification in India is
in its early stages. Presently
no forests in India are certified.
Only (New Ambadi
Plantations) in South India
have recently secured FSC Forest
Management Unit certificate. A few
small and medium companies have
secured a chain of custody certificates
in order to meet the export demand.
Wooden handicrafts industry in India is
facing market access problems due to
the lack of forest certification. This
industry is one of the largest producers
of carved wood products in the world.
The export of wooden handicrafts has
•
providing global employment to over 1.3 million people, participants
also buy or sell in excess of 248 million cubic metres of forest
products per year. Within the certified market, GFTN participants
trade 25 percent of certified products and 80 per cent of FSC
certified products. Additionally, GFTN participants manage more
than 23 million ha of FSC certified forests.
Jetender Rawat
PROJECTS UPDATES
13
Global Forestry and Trade Network (GFTN)Towards Protecting Our Forest Wealth
14
GFTN inauguration -L-R- Ravi Singh (SG& CEO- WWF-India)
Richard McLellan-Head of GFTN/ WWF-International
Richard Donkers (Minister Counsellor Delegation of the European Commission)
& Dr. Kirit S. Parikh - Member Planning Commission
Rajaji National Park
India with a coast line of 8055 kms, supports millions of people in the
fishery sector and contributes significantly to the national and state
GDP. However marine fisheries production has reached a plateau
and only marginal increase can be predicted in future.
Nearly 85% of fisheries in India are contributed by the small scale
sector. Historically small scale sector fisheries has been stable vis-avis mechanised sector. Recent trends however show that due to
unsuitable fishing methods, the catches have declined and resulted
in extensive damage to the ecosystem. As small scale fisheries are
community based, adoption of management of fisheries in India
represents a significant milestone towards management and
improving stocks of fishes.
WWF's Community- based Certification programme can help small
scale fisheries through the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)
certification process. This programme has grown and includes over
15 projects world wide and with WWF's global network of
organisations and its partnership with local NGO's, the Community
Fisheries Programme is well equipped to facilitate MSC certification
of small scale fisheries in both developed and developing countries.
This has shown great success in a few short years.
What is MSC Certification
Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is a non-profit organisation
established to promote sustainable fisheries and responsible fishing
practices worldwide. MSC has developed a logo that informs
consumers that when they buy seafood products with a MSC logo,
they are supporting healthier oceans and a healthier environment.
Only fisheries certified to be sustainable would be using the MSC
logo. It indicates that MSC gives thrust towards sustainable marine
fisheries by promoting responsible environmentally sound, socially
The Rare Red
India, Nepal, Bhutan,
Myanmar and Laos PDR.
beneficial and economically viable fisheries practices while
maintaining the biodiversity, productivity and ecological process of
the marine environment. Both the end customer and the fishing
industry gain through this certification. The benefits of MSC
certification to all concerned is listed below
• Fishing industry: Recognition of good and heightened
management of fisheries, preferred supplier status, newer
markets
• Retailers and wholesalers: Commitment to sustainability,
confidence in sustainability of product, meeting consumer
demand
• Consumers: Not contributing towards overfishing and ecosystem
degradation and supporting the management efforts
MSC Certification process
The Marine Stewardship Council promotes equal access to its
certification programme regardless of the scale of fishery operation.
All types of fisheries are eligible to participate and be assessed
against the MSC Standard - the Principles and Criteria for
Sustainable Fishing.
There are situations in which a fishery may have insufficient data to
show that it meets the MSC Standard. To ensure that these fisheries
can participate in the MSC programme, MSC has been developing
methodological guidance to assist certifiers involved in assessing
such fisheries.
The new guidelines introduce a risk assessment that can be initiated
if fisheries lack full and complete scientific data for key environmental
indicators needed to assess performance.MSC's conventional
methodology draws on scientific data to produce sound and
WWF-India, Species Division
PROJECTS UPDATES
15
Sustainable Fisheries For A
Healthy Marine Ecosystem
A reddish brown, bushytailed mammal, the size of a
cat, red panda has long
white whiskers and patches
of white over its eyes and
cheeks. A red panda has a
beautiful long ringed tail,
which it uses as a warparound blanket in winters.
Sluggish on the ground, red
panda is an expert climber
of trees and spends most of
its life on them. They love to
eat bamboo and use their
strong tongues to strip
tender green leaves off the
bamboo stem.Their
digestive system cannot
take in bamboo well and
they have to eat large
amounts of it every day to
survive. They also eat
grass, roots, nuts, berries
and lichen. They even eat
insects, bird's eggs and
chicks.
Known to be solitary, the
only time two pandas are
spotted together is during
the mating season. Each
WWF team finally gets lucky and spots the extremely elusive red panda in snow clad mountains off Sikkim.
year in June or July, female
red pandas give birth to one to four babies, called cubs. Red panda
babies are born with their eyes closed and are tiny and weigh only
In the forests of the North-Eastern Indian state of Sikkim, a team of
about 200g. Cubs are usually born in a hole of an old tree, which the
researchers had been battling hostile terrain, storms and incessant
mother lines with leaves and sticks. Old growth forests are thus very
rains for four years just to find the vulnerable red panda (Ailurus
important for the survival of red pandas, as they provide dens and
fulgens). An animal which had successfully evaded our team for
hiding places for both cubs and their parents. For the first four months,
years.
cubs depend on their mother for milk. And later mother and her cubs
move from tree to tree and look for food together.
On the morning of 3rd January, Mr. Basant Sharma from WWF
spotted a red panda in Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary. While the team
Protected in India under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, red pandas are
was still coming to terms with this sighting, two more red pandas were
today fighting a lonely battle for survival. Severely threatened, they
spotted on 4th and 14th January raising the teams happiness
are losing their home as forests are readily being destroyed to collect
quotient.
timber, fuel or converted in to agricultural land. Today tourists and
Discovered in 1825, 50 years before the giant panda, the red panda is
unfairly known as the lesser panda. It has many other names- fire fox,
fire cat and cat bear. Earlier thought to be of the bear family and a
distant cousin of the giant panda, recent research has finally traced its
roots to raccoons. The red panda lives in temperate forests of China,
domestic cattle have raided their homes. Their only source of food
(bamboo) is also cut down. They are also poached for their fur and are
victims of the cruel pet trade.
(Since January this year, five red pandas have been sighted, all in
Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary, Sikkim.)
PROJECTS UPDATES
WWF recognised red panda as a priority species and initiated a
project in 2005 to conserve them in the Khangchendzonga Landscape
India and subsequently initiated work in the Western Arunachal
Landscape in 2008. Along with the state forest departments, other
government agencies, NGOs and CBOS, scientific institutions and
communities, WWF is working in the Eastern Himalaya for long-term
conservation of red panda. The idea is to create a potential distribution
map of red panda using the GIS domain and then carrying out ground
truthing to check existing situation in these areas. Threats, if any, will
be identified and a participatory mitigation strategy will be put in place.
12
MSC workshop in progress
Explaining the innovative technique, Professor Ura from the
University of Tokyo said, "Precise underwater movements and
sonar-range of dolphins can be observed even in shallow water with
a six - hydrophone system. An acoustic data logger system has also
been demonstrated that can count the number of dolphins."
The umbrella array deployed in Ganges at Karnabas since
November 2008 has yielded useful data. The findings have opened a
window to the Gangetic Dolphin behavior which until now was an
underwater mystery. The dolphin data from the array deployed in
November 2008 at Karnabas
has given clues to parental
behavior of these blind dolphins.
Dolphins maintain a nursery
where they leave their calves in
secure pools of water and come
there regularly to feed and take
care of them. A paper titled
“Long-term Real-time
monitoring of the Ganges River
Dolphins using Integrated
Observation System using
Multiple acoustic arrays” has
been recently presented at Sixth
International symposium on
Underwater Technology '09 held
at Wuxi, China.
objective fishery assessments
against the MSC standard. Many
small fisheries, such as those taking
part in the trial, are not in a position to
provide comprehensive data sets.
The aim of the new approach is to
provide small-scale and datadeficient fisheries with an alternative
route to certification against the
MSC's standard, while maintaining
the scientific rigour that characterises
the MSC programme.
The analysis of the data obtained since November 2008 till February
2009 was also done and the presence of dolphins at a particular time,
distance and direction was believed to come up with some diurnal
trends. The same equipment is also used to assess and confirm
dolphin number at Karnabas and also for smaller stretches of river
The thrust now is to elucidate further knowledge about the parental
behavior and maintenance of nursery by these dolphins. At the same
time we hope to get more information on behavior patterns.
International MSC team in conversation with local fishermen
In May 2007, the MSC Technical
Advisory Board approved the draft
methodological guidance for use in a
number of trial fisheries assessments
which will be conducted by third party
certifiers. The aim of the trials is to
allow for practical testing, reviewing
and evaluation of the guidance
methodology to ensure its
effectiveness.
The findings will help sharpen and increase the scope of WWFIndia's River Dolphin
programme. WWF-India's work,
in partnership with local
community members in Narora
has shown encouraging results
as the pressure on the river
system and the dolphin
population has reduced. Our
work has also resulted in
improved living conditions of
villagers thus strengthening the
link between conservation and
livelihoods.
Fisheries from Africa, Latin America,
Asia and Europe are involved in
these trial assessments.
Pre-analysis of community- based fisheries in India
WWF-India began the “Pre-analysis of community based and other
fisheries in India for certification (Ecolabelling)” project to set up a
concept of sustainable fisheries in every corner of the country. On
the matrix of labeling eco-friendly fishery and fishery practice, a
survey was conducted during November 2003 to April 2004 to
identify ecologically sustainable fishing practice in the coastal zones
of West Bengal, Kerala, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. The objective of the
project was to identify community-based fisheries from the different
states of India that are ecologically sustainable with respect to their
catch, culture, crafts and gears, community participation, and
environment. Through the pre-analysis process, the CommunityBased Certification (CBC) methodology was effectively and
efficiently tested over a large area for identifying the most promising
candidates for certification in the region. The pre-analysis project
report recommended moving forward with pre-assessments with the
oil sardine (Sardinella longiceps) fishery and a squid (Doryteuthis
sibogae) fishery, both located in Kerala.
Gangetic River Dolphin.
WWF-India and Fishermen
Welfare Society (FWS)
A one day workshop was held in
Kochi in to create an awareness of
MSC certification among the coastal
fishers, NGO's, Government
organisatons, exporters and all other
organisations involved in the
development of fisheries in Kerala. In
taking the MSC certification forward,
Fishermen Welfare Society (FWS)
Kollam evinced great interest and
hence WWF-India identified them as
co-clients in taking forward the
process of MSC certification. The
objective of such societies is to
develop institutional mechanisms
required to enhance income of small
scale fishermen from fishing
activities.. About 1000 fishermen are
members of this body, and is
organised through 5 primary
societies in five villages of Kollam
coast.
The FWS organised NGO
interventions in fish marketing and
the first fish marketing centre was established in the village of
Pallithottam in the early eighties. The “Pallithottam Model” spread to
the adjoining villages. Pallithottam Thankassery belt in Kollam
district was identified as the unit for certification.
The oil sardine fishery of Kerala by the gill netters along the
Thankassery Pallithottam region of Kollam coast will be assessed
against the MSC guidelines.This pilot assessment will be taking
place in parallel with a 'conventional' assessment and separate
notifications will be provided in relation to the 'conventional' MSC
assessment.
MSC Certification field visit
MSC Certification team comprising of Dr. Jim Andrews, Lead
assessor, Moody Marines, UK, Ms. Anna Battesse, MSC, UK, Dr.
Appukuttan, Expert Assessor, India, Ms. Alison Cross, WWF-US
and Vinod Malayilethu, WWF-India ,visited the area of certification
as part of the assessment field visit and held a series of interactions
with the fishery managers from state fisheries department, Fishery
scientists from various fisheries institutes like Central Marine
Fisheries Research Institute, Kochi, Central Institute of Fisheries
Technology, Kochi for getting an insight into the status of oil sardine
as well as squid fishery in Kerala.
The assessment team held a stakeholders workshop at Kollam for
understanding the community perceptions on the oil sardine fishery
in the certification area. Details discussions were held with the
fishermen community leaders and the fishers of the Fishermen
Welfare Society, Kollam, the co-clients in the certification
programme.
It is hoped that this role model in MSC program would
encourage more participation from other fishing communities
hence promoting sustainable fisheries.
Vinod Malayilethu
PROJECTS UPDATES
Monitoring of Dolphins through hydrophone systems.
Pre-assessment of community based fisheries in Kerala
WWF-India moved to the second phase of this work with a preassessment of community based fisheries in Kerala. As a first step
of the pre-assessment work, a survey was carried out in July August
2007 along nine coastal districts of Kerala namely
Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Allapuzha, Ernakulam, Thrissur,
Kozhikode, Malappuram, Kannur and Kasargode to reaffirm the
status of the candidate fishery and the interest of the fishers in the
certification programme, as certification would not be successful
without community support. It was observed during the preassessment survey in the coastal districts of Kerala that oil sardine
played a vital role in the daily diet of the fishing community and
contributes to about 15% of the total marine fish production in India.
Marine Programme, WWF-India.
WWF-India has been actively working for conservation of this highly
endangered dolphin since 1996 which is threatened due to
anthropogenic pressures and human intervention. In 2006, WWFIndia initiated a partnership between IIT Delhi and University of
Tokyo to further develop insight into behaviour and mating patterns
of the mammal.
Various important points regarding the inter-click interval and the
acoustic processing time in the dolphin brain have been discovered
using the array system. As an extension of data analysis, we have
confirmed that dolphins sense an average 20 m distance using its
sonar system by sending clicks and gathering information by
reflected clicks. In the forthcoming months, the umbrella array will be
deployed at the same location for another four months to understand
more behavior patterns and Inter click interval details. During
February '2009 trials, this array was shifted near the calf pool for a
week to decrease the distance from the supposed pool and get more
streamlined information.
Sandeep Behera, WWF-India
WWF-India's ongoing partnership with University of Tokyo, Institute
of Industrial Science and Indian Institute of Technology(IIT), Delhi
have proven to be effective in understanding the behaviour of the
blind Ganges River Dolphin (Platanista gangetica).
WWF-Canon / François Xavier PELLETIER
PROJECTS UPDATES
11
WWF-India, Saving River Dolphins From Extinction
16
GORSHING GANGK
Snout of GORSHING GANGK
An awareness drive amongst
the local communities was also
conducted along the river bank
to ensure community
participation prior to
reintroduction of these species
into the Ganga.This drive
covered the area below the
Sandeep Behera
2.
3.
Sandeep Behera
The target reintroduction area
was very well suited for the
release. The site was selected
after a survey was conducted
by the state forest department
officials and WWF-India. The
area has been inhabited by wild
Gharials in fairly recent times. A
female Gharial (3.63 m)
inhabited this area as late as
1994. Another Gharial was
rescued here in 2006-07 and
released into the Ganga at a
spot further up stream near
Bijnor. Also, easily
recognizable features of
Gharial habitat like perennial
stream with deep pools,
undisturbed mid-river sand
bars, high and steep sand
banks for nesting, and multistream braided channels with
stagnant eddy counter-currents
occur in this stretch of the river.
1.
1. Shri A.K. Divadi (Chief Conservator of Forest-Meerut) and Dr. Parikshit
Gautam (Director Freshwater & Wetlands, WWF-India)
2 & 3. Gharial being released
A total of 131 Gharials were
released in a phased manner.
These Gharials were bred at the
Kukrail Gharial Rehabilitation
Centre at Lucknow and belonged
to the 2005-2006 batches. They
were in the age group of 2-3.8
years.In the first phase 60
Gharials were released in which
there were 18 males and 42
females.They measured
approximately 1.20-1.68 m in
length and weighed
approximately 7-12 kg.
In the second phase 71 Gharials
were released of which there were
19 males and 52 females. These
weighed 7-16 kg and measured
approximately 1.20-1.80 m in
length. Intensive post-release
monitoring is underway and it has
been observed that these
individuals had already negotiated
upto 10 kilometer within the first
few days downstream and 2.5 km
upstream of the release site.
These release programmes will
be sustained for a number of years
until a resident breeding
population of Gharial is
established at a favourable
location in the river.
The objectives of the
reintroduction will be achieved
through people's participation and
regular monitoring of sections of
the Ganga River and studying the
response of the released Gharial
in terms of ability to permanently
adapt to the environment. Rescue
operations for Gharial individuals
will also be done, which could drift
downstream of protected areas.
The local communities have
expressed support and solidarity
for ensuring the return of the
Gharial in this area. With the
success of this project it is hoped
that these species sees a revival
PROJECTS UPDATES
- Pema Wange, Lohit Gogoi, Pijush Kumar Dutta and Rakesh
Soud
The status of the crocodilian
species Gharial,Gavialis
gangeticus, has recently been
revised by the IUCN to Critically
Endangered. The surviving
population is spread in less
than half a dozen riverine
habitats e.g.-Ken, Son,
Mahanadi, Chambal, Girwa
and Ramganga. Estimates
indicate that about 1400
survive in the wild. In order to
address the conservation
needs of this species, it is
necessary to locate viable
alternative habitats which
supplement the extremely few
habitats where the species
currently occur.
projects
Sandeep Behera
The glaciers of this area act as a water source for most of the
high altitude wetlands found in the area. The glaciers and all the
lakes of this area are also the main source of water for two most
important rivers of Tawang and West Kameng districts the
Kameng river and the Tawangchu river. The Tawangchu River
flows through Bhutan and enters India as Manas and the
Kameng River flows through Assam as the Bhorali River and
both these rivers are among the major tributaries of the
Brahmaputra River. Thus any disturbance in these glaciers is
likely to have an impact on lives of millions of people from
Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and also Bhutan who are settled
here and are dependent on the catchments areas of these
rivers.
Pijush Kumar Dutta
So far no scientific information regarding the impact of Climate
Change on this glacier is available. However, according to Mr.
Pasang from Thembang village, one of the Yak and Sheep
herders, who has been visiting this area since last 20 years for
summer grazing and was present with the team, informed that
since last five years this glacier has moved up from one of the
lakes, Khampa Tso , which is located nearly 1.5 km south of the
glacier snout. According to him this glacier is the source of water
for the lake and as the lake water appears like white milk, they
call it Khampa Tso. However, during this visit many water bodies
in the form of lakes were found in between the snout of the
Glacier and Khampa Tso which according to him are new and
don't have any name for them and this means that this glacier
has receded nearly 1.5 km in last five years. This needs proper
scientific investigation through satellite based studies to
document the impact of climate change on this and other
glaciers of the area. According to the local information, there are
many such Gangk (glacier) in this area some of which areGangri Gangk and Sangya Phu Gangk, located in the north
eastern direction and north of this Gorshing Gangk.
Pijush Kumar Dutta, WAL Office - WWF-India
WWF-India WAL team with villagers from Thembang during the
second baseline survey of Thembang Bapu Community
Conserved Area, were able to reach the snout of one of the
Glaciers which locally the villagers call GORSHING GANGK (in
Monpa dialect Gangk means Glacier). The team led by Mr.
Pema Wange and Lohit Gogoi along with village elders were
able to reach the snout of the glacier after trekking for 5 days
from Thembang village.
Hastinapur
Wildlife
Sanctuary,
the Ganga
river and its environs downstream
to the Ganga Irrigation Barrage at
Narora which has been declared
as a Ramsar site with its own
conservation implications.The
area is currently the focus of
dolphin conservation programme
of WWF-India which will definitely
benefit Gharial conservation,
monitoring and protection.
January 29th and 12th
February 2009 can be marked
on WWF-India's calendar as
historical. In a task that was
no less than being termed as
herculean, WWF-India along
with the UP State Forest
Department reintroduced the
endangered Gharial into river
Ganga at the Hastinapur
Wildlife Sanctuary (HWLS),
U.P.
Glaciers in the Indian Himalayas are a major source of water for
three large river systems of India-Indus,Ganga and
Brahmaputra. The Brahmaputra basin has 662 glaciers, which
is only 12% of total number of glaciers recorded from the three
river basins. However, most of the glaciers of the Brahmaputra
River basin present in Arunachal Pradesh are still unexplored
with very little information on the impact of Climate Change on
these glaciers .
Pijush Kumar Dutta
PROJECTS UPDATES
17
WWF-India Reintroduces
Gharials Into River Ganges
Visit To Gorshing Glacier
of Western Arunachal Pradesh
10
Though, the northern geographic
limit of the Nilgiri tahr is Nilgiris (the southern limit being
Tiruvannamalai), the species was known to occur in Agumbe Ghats in
Karnataka (about 200 km north of its present range) even a few
decades ago (Davidar 1978). Nilgiri tahr inhabits montane grasslands
at elevations of 1200 to 2600 m above mean sea level but have been
observed to exist in elevation starting from 500m. The preferred
habitat is grasslands with rocky cliffs. The present range is restricted
along a narrow stretch of 400 km between Nilgiri Hills in the north and
Ashambu Hills in the South (11°30' N - 8°20'N). Reportedly, the
estimated number of Nilgiri tahr is about 2200 - 2500 individuals (Forest
deportment census reports 2008) in the wild.
Nilgiri tahr is a social animal found in mixed herds composed of adult
females and their young. Old males associate in larger mixed herds
during the breeding season, but are often solitary or in small all male
groups. Female herds inhabit particular home ranges, adult males will
move between these groups. There is significant dimorphism between
adult male and female (Rice, 1990; Prater, 1971). The main breeding
season (rut) is during the monsoon period and young may be present
throughout the year. The gestation period is about 6 months. It is mostly
preyed by leopard and wild dog.
The species is listed in Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act
1972 which gives it a special protection status. It is also categorized as
an Endangered species (IUCN 2006).
The reasons for the decline of tahr populations have not been fully
understood. Despite several studies over the years, what we have is
only rough estimations of Nilgiri tahr populations. The species have
always been under severe stress on account of the construction of
numerous hydroelectric projects, timber felling and planting
monocultures of Eucalyptus and wattles. All these development
activities, especially the plantation activities affect the heart of the tahr
habitat, which are the grasslands-sholas. In this background, it
becomes an urgent necessity that a comprehensive study is initiated in
the hills of Tamil Nadu and Kerala to understand the present population
and ecological requirements of Nilgiri tahr.
Initial activities towards this
included the following:
• Working out possible locations
of Nilgiri tahr using a digital
elevation model. This revealed
that greater attention needed to be
paid to cliff areas;
• Using these new criteria
surveys were initiated in the
Mukurthi National Park which is
the northern most habitat of the
Nilgiri tahr. Searching individual
cliffs yielded very good sighting
compared to earlier work. Now a
rapid estimation of locations on the
ground is being carried out;
• Information has been collected on the population structure,behaviour,
habitat use, food habits and distribution of this population. Along with
this, impacts of human activities including t o u r i s m , i s a l s o b e i n g
assessed. Further surveys on other populations are to be carried out in
the coming months;
• Since the ultimate aim of the programme is to develop and
implement a coordinated conservation strategy for the long-term
survival of the Nilgiri tahr, WWF is facilitating the formation of an
alliance for the conservation of the species. The first meeting t o w a r d s
this was held in Coimbatore and a number of groups present, signed a
common charter towards this. This will be followed by further work
towards the formalization and ratification of this charter.
The Black Necked Crane (BNC), (Grus nigricollis), is one of the high
altitude crane among the 15 species found in the world, which during
breeding is confined to high altitude wetlands and marshes, of the
Quinghai-Tibetan Plateau and eastern Ladakh to Sichuan province.
The wintering populations of the crane are found at lower altitudes in
Quinghai, on the Yunnan Guizhou Plateau, north eastern Bhutan. In
India, so far, Sangti Valley in the north west Arunachal Pradesh, is
known to be the only wintering habitat of black-necked crane .
However, this year at Pangchen Valley of Zemithang, in the north
western corner of the state, bordering China in the north and Bhutan in
the west, three cranes were recorded in mid-November. Though there
were sporadic reports by local villagers, these cranes, locally known
as Thungdungkarma , visit this valley almost every year and stay for
30-45 days. For the first time a photographic evidence of the bird in
this valley was collected by the villagers. In India, although the
wintering of the crane has been reported in the past from the Apatani
Valley in Arunachal Pradesh and Moinabari Forest and Buxa Tiger
Reserve in northern West Bengal, Sangti Valley and now Pangchen
Valley are perhaps the only wintering sites where the BNC still visits
every year.
Nyamjang Chu*, which originated in China flows through the
Pangchen Valley in southern direction and enters Bhutan as Manas
River after joining Tawang Chu . The valley suitable for BNC has been
found to be from Brokenthang (27º43′ 51.04″ and 91º42′ 51.08″ E) to
Zemithang (27º42′ 38.47″ N and 91º43′ 39.69″ E) which is nearly 3km in
length with an average altitude of 6920ft. The average width of the
valley has been found to be 0.30kms and the flow of water in this part
of the river is gentle with many small seasonal islands and grasslands
on both the banks. According to the local villagers, earlier the BNCs
used to use one Alnus forest patch, very near to Zemithang settlement
area for roasting. However, this year, most of the time, all the three
BNCs were found on the other side of the river which is diagonally
nearly 1.5km away, towards north-west, from the Alnus forest patch.
The Black Necked Crane is classified as Vulnerable (VU C1) in the
IUCN Red List 2008, listed in Appendix I of CITES, Appendices I and II
of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS or Bonn Convention)
and listed as 'threatened' by Birdlife International. It is also one of the
28 bird species selected as a priority for CEPF investment. It has been
categorised as a Schedule I species under the Wildlife (Protection)
Act of India, (1972). As there is a religious ban on hunting among the
local Monpa communities of the area, the major threat on the
wintering habitat of the BNC is mainly due to road construction
activities which is in progress on both the sides of the river. However,
as the roads under construction are very crucial from the Indian
defense point of view, there is an urgent need to find out suitable ways
to ensure both safety of the BNC and its habitat .
Conclusion
In the past ,most of the research work has been done concentrating the
Nilgiri tahr so the actual estimation, distribution in wild cannot be
estimated, as most of these studies are done at very short intervals
confined to spaces which are to be potential habitats for the tahr
distribution. Other than these, no newer areas are been surveyed to
see their distribution and population. This leads to chances of missing
potential habitats, and eventually results in poor population estimates.
There may be chances that the tahr uses these habitats for local
migration, that cannot be backed up due to lack of data. In order to fill
these gaps the current study is being done to get population estimates
of the species and their distribution. This would help us in planning the
management strategies required for conservation of the habitat and the
species.
P. P Predict
* chu- means river
PROJECTS UPDATES
The present study is focusing on finding out the number of pocketed
populations, connectivity among sub-population etc. because it is an
endemic species with narrow range of distribution. Their distributional
range is highly fragmented, and the population dynamics are not
reported anywhere. Species with specific habitat preference and high
degree of endemism are less adaptable to environmental changes.
Studies on similar species (like the big horn species) have reported that
the population with less than 50 individuals has been wiped out within
50 years and these sensitive species need at least 100 individuals for
its long-term survival. Thus it is important to identify the pocketed
population, present status of population in their distributional range, to
Second Wintering Habitat
Of Black Necked Crane In India
ensure the long term survival of the
species.
Pankaj Chandan
Nilgiri tahr (Nilgiritragus hylocrius),
a mountain goat endemic to
southern Western Ghats, is
confined to the higher altitudes of
Tamil Nadu and Kerala. A shy and
wary relative of the Himalayan tahr
(Hemitragus jemlahicus) , the
Nilgiri tahr limits its movements
within an altitude range of 1200 m
to 2600 m. At present, two
established and viable populations
are known from the Nilgiris and
high ranges of Kerala, while
smaller fragmented populations
are known from Anamalais, Palni
hills and Meghamalai and
Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger
Reserve.
Ameen Ahmed
COVER STORY
9
Nilgiri Tahr- A Special Study
18
Mousuni Island, 24 km2, is a sea-facing island in the Bay of
Bengal with a population of about 20,000. While the population on
the island has been on the increase, the size of the island has
been diminishing due to sea-level rise. Cyclones and tidal surges
have further destroyed the lives and livelihoods of the
communities by breaching embankments, wrecking their homes
and destroying their harvests due to salt-water incursion from the
sea. Lack of climate adaptation strategies and infrastructure will
leave them with no option but to become climate refugees in the
future.
WWF- India has adopted a two-pronged approach to adaptation
on Mousuni. While focusing on the immediate needs of disaster
management and relief, they are also providing long-term
adaptation measures to the next generation of residents. This
has been attempted through the Climate Adaptation Centre
which houses an electronic Early Warning System to warn
villagers of oncoming disasters. The centre also runs a book bank
which loans students educational material to help enhance their
future prospects.
The existing distillation units were
studied to look at their efficacy
and outputs. Various measures
were taken and trials of distillation
at different conditions were
carried out. Process field testing
of the conventional citronella oil
distillation unit was carried out in
October 2008. The required data
was collected after running the
unit for two days continuously
and holding discussions with the
people who use it regularly.
Discussions enabled the team to
record the process/steps used by
people (like drying of grass,
cutting etc) which is also
important along with the actual
distillation process.
events
The Early Warning System has been linked to
Jadavpur University in Kolkata and will receive
messages in the likelihood of extreme weather events like
cyclones or storms. The Centre also houses relief material like
stretchers, torches and medical aid. An organized Disaster
Management Team, comprising of village youth has been put
together to mobilize the village community towards safety in the
event of a disaster.
Chimney
Speaking at the inauguration of the Adaptation Centre, Anurag
Danda, Head of WWF -India's Sundarbans Programme said that,
“Mousuni Island is in peril. Its neighbouring island, Sagar, is
recording a relative sea level rise of 3.14 mm per year which is
alarming. We have to work towards increasing the adaptive
capacities of the communities before it is too late.”
water outlet
Insulation bricks
Perforated plate
Other adaptation strategies introduced include re-introduction of
indigenous salt-tolerant paddy to farmers on the island. As the
market value of this variety (tal mugur) is not far behind other
high-yielding varieties, farmers on the island have been
successful in maintaining their livelihood without having to worry
about losing it to salt water incursion. The Climate Adaptation
Centre provides paddy seeds to the farmers and also holds
information about the various varieties of paddy, their market
values and government schemes available to benefit them.
Fuel feeding Door
Ash door
Oil and water outlet
Cold water inlet
According to Arjan Berkhuysen, Delta Expert, WWFNetherlands, “These problems are similar in deltas all over the
world. WWF is looking for natural solutions that respect the
dynamics of the system while helping people towards sustainable
development in the face of climate change”.
On the basis of the above trials
and tests, the individual
distillation unit design has been
modified. Some components of
the unit have been redesigned
and fabricated. These have been
transferred to Thayanakudi
village in the Chinnar Wildlife
Sanctuary. The unit has been
installed and further modified on
site by end February 2009. The
modified unit has been run and
relevant measures taken to test
its efficacy.
Though the unit is being installed
in one village, all eco
development committees in the
sanctuary have been a part of this
process. Meetings and
discussions have been held with
them to enable them to monitor
and observe the trials in the field.
Some members from each
committee will be present to see
the modifications and
installations to enable future
scaling up of the technology.
• As the steam does not lose any energy by absorption all through
its journey it will speed up the process and the oil will start
coming faster than the previous tras shows additional process.
The quantity of oil extracted will also be more.
• The working environment will be cleaner.
P. Mullai
COVER STORY
Vishaish Uppal
The islands of the Sundarbans, in the Bay of Bengal are
witnessing and struggling against the negative impacts of a
changing environment in the form of tidal surges, cyclones,
increased soil and water salinity and sea-level rise. While 40
percent of the 102 islands (on the Indian side) are under forest
cover, the remaining area is inhabited by local communities who
are losing their homes, land and fields. WWF-India, in partnership
with WWF-Netherlands, Hewlett Packard and GTZ, is working
with communities on Mousuni Island, which is the second most
vulnerable island, to help them cope with and adapt to climate
change while increasing their resilience against high intensity
events. To do so WWF has initiated several adaptation strategies
including the recent inauguration of a Climate Adaptation Centre
on March 29, 2009.
Regional Climate Change Programme, WWF- India
EVENTS
19
Climate Adaptation Centre
Inaugurated At Sundarbans
8
Turtle Conservation at Rushikulaya - 2009
The turtle program for the season commenced in the first week of
December 2008 with the monitoring of congregating turtles off the
Rushikulaya shores. Sorties into the sea were made once every
seven days, to monitor the shifting turtle congregation. The
information on the congregation was shared with the motorized
fishermen of Kontiagarh, Gokhurkuda and Purunabandh along with
request to them not to fish in those areas. The sorties continued till
mass nesting started.
Cold water inlet
Grass feeeding drum
The mass nesting started on the night of 14th February 2009. The
'arribada' (mass nesting) lasted up to the 20th, during which period
our volunteers were patrolling the rookery day & night to keep off
feral dogs, jackals and hyenas. Thereafter we installed the 3
kilometer long mesh net fence from the water body at Gokhurkuda
shore to halfway up to Kantiagarh on the north and again from the
Forest Department watch camp at the southern tip of Gokhurkuda
shore to halfway up to Purunabandh on the south.
Support for the drum
made of clay and
rock
Fuel feeding
chamber
Oil and water outlet
The main impact on forests is the fuel wood
consumption for the distillation units. It has
been estimated that about 500 kg of fuel
wood per year per acre is being utilized for
the distillation process. The main tree
species used for fuel are Atalantia
racemosa, Anogeissus latifolia,
Pterocarpus marsupium, Randia brandisi,
Albizzia amara, Cinnamonum malabaricum,
Vitex leucoxylon and Albizia odoratissima.
Some of these are hardwood species and
are also used by wildlife.
Lemon grass is generally harvested 2 to 4
times a year depending upon the rainfall and
the latitude of the area of cultivation. The
cultivated area ranges from 0.75 to 5 acres
per household depending on the availability
of labour within the family and in the
settlement. Each household or two/three
households together own a distillation unit
which is manufactured locally and is
available from the nearby local towns. Oil
can also be sold to the traders of these
towns. The cost of a litre of oil ranges from
Rs. 350-450 based on the Citral content of
the oil.
A deep water body had developed naturally in between the two
stretches of nets which could not be crossed by land predators.
Four gates had been provided along the fence to allow for local
villagers to go back and forth from sea. Shri Murlidhar C. Bhandare
(State Governor) greatly appreciated the efforts made to protect the
hatchling.
overhead. Occasionally crackers have to be used to drive off the
avian predators. The hatchlings were then released near the waves
to allow them safe passage to the sea. The entire rookery was
cordoned off, leaving a 300 meter stretch for the tourist to indulge in
rescue and release of hatchlings. Awareness signages were
installed at tourist entry points to sensitize them on the dos and
don'ts while at the rookery.
The hatching started from 3rd April , 2009. Hatchlings emerge from
their nests starting from early evening, peak through the night and
thin out with dawn. At night generally hatchlings find their way to the
sea safely. The dusk and morning periods are vital, as the entire
team, donning gloves have to scurry all over the rookery to pick up
hatchlings as they emerge. They (the team) have to reach the
An award was initiated for the best team of volunteers and it was
presented at the end of the project. This award is in memory of Mr.
W. Krishna, a community volunteer and a dedicated team leader for
the past three years of our Turtle Conservation Project at
Rushikulaya Rookery.
Impact of Improvements on the unit and the process
• The grate is designed to burn 8 kgs of fuel/hr, hence the fuel
consumed per batch is estimated to be 24 kgs/batch (the batch
time is assumed to be 3hrs). There would be a saving of almost
40%-50% of fire wood consumption.
Hatchlings heading towards the sea
EVENTS
WWF-India has examined the distillation
units and has decided to first improve the
design of the individual units to decrease the
fuel wood consumption in each distillation
process. TIDE, an NGO based in Bangalore
which specializes in design of fuel efficient
distillation units, is a partner for this activity
and is helping set up the modified units and
monitor implementation.
hatchlings before they are picked up by avian predators hovering
WWF-India, Orissa state office
Detailed surveys have been carried out in
settlements involved in the cultivation of the
grass within the landscape. It has been
found that lemon grass is being cultivated
within the Chinnar and Indira Gandhi Wildlife
Sanctuaries and the forest division of
Marayoor. A very small amount of area in
Malayatoor and Munnar forest divisions is
also under lemon grass cultivation. The total
area of cultivation of lemon grass in the
landscape is approximately 2050 acres.
Orissa
WWF-India Orissa state office
Several tribal communities in the landscape
have shifted to settled agriculture and
started cultivating lemon grass. The crop is
preferred by these communities as it
provides an assurance of income in the
drought seasons but is not preferred by
wildlife. It is cultivable in soil with low fertility;
requires minimal labour inputs; has a local
market and easy access to loans for tribals
for establishing distillation units.
Conservation Activities
@ Vishaish Uppal
COVER STORY
7
State Activities and Event
Reducing Use Of Fuel Wood In Production
Of Lemon Grass Oil
20
21
The Common Birds and Mammals of Andhra Pradesh:
There exists little information on the biodiversity of Andhra Pradesh.
To bridge this gap in knowledge, WWF has published a book on
common birds and mammals of Andhra Pradesh. This coloured,
hand-illustrated book contains information on 150 birds and 60
mammals. It also throws light on the various wildlife laws that prevail
in the state and describes the various protected areas of Andhra
Pradesh in detail. The book is aimed at young students and amateur
naturalists willing to discover the wilderness areas of Andhra
Pradesh and will perhaps be the first in the series of books to
describe the natural heritage of Andhra Pradesh.
Ongoing Projects
Interpretation of Nallamalai and Arakku Valley:
The Eastern Ghats and the Nallamalis are repositories of a varied
habitat, rich in wildlife and natural resources. There is little
information regarding the biodiversity of these areas, especially for
general reading. Under its attempt to promote ecotourism,
APSO is joining hands with the AP Tourism Development
Corporation to prepare user-friendly field guides to Nallamalai
forest and the Arakku Valley. This shall be initiated after a
thorough study of the biodiversity in the Araku Valley and
Nallamalais. The field guide will contain information on the
commonly found flora and fauna in the region.
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Community-based Conservation at Kawal Wildlife
Sanctuary:
Through two successful fund raising events, APSO collected a
corpus to run a two-year project at Kawal Wildlife Sanctuary,
Adilabad. This dry deciduous teak and bamboo forest is the
second most important tiger habitat in the state. The project aims to
spread environmental awareness among the local tribal
groups especially among the Gonds, the Nayakpods, the Kolams
and the Totis. Interested individuals from different hamlets will be
trained in alternative livelihood opportunities. The Integrated Tribal
Development Authority (ITDA) and A.P. Forest
Department are supporting APSO in this venture.
House
Shed
Minor
Severe
Death
human interference, and has tremendous potential as a haven for
urban biodiversity. This upcoming study will focus on faunal
diversity of the campus. Through such inventories, APSO is aiming to
highlight the importance of institutions in conserving the wildlife of
Hyderabad.
Inventory of the Biodiversity at University of Hyderabad:
The Hyderabad Central University has a large campus with little
Himachal Pradesh
The Himachal Pradesh office has undertaken project relating to
various issues specific to the region:“Income generation activities for sustainable development of tribal
people in Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh” under Border Area
Development Project is one such activity. The aim of the project was
“capacity building of local community to enhance their livelihood”.
With this perspective natives were exposed to various livelihood
enhancement activities through self help groups based on local
requirements and local produce. Training programs were held in
carpet weaving, shawl weaving, tourist guide course, and river
rafting course.
An Environmental Awareness Programme for High Altitude
Wetlands Conservation was conducted amongst different
stakeholders including defence personnel in Kinnaur and Pooh
district of Himachal Pradesh. Pamphlets were distributed regarding
wise use of wetlands.
COVER STORY
Upgradation and modernization of watermills (Gharat) for the
sustainable development in the hilly region-Kullu district. The
project aimed towards identifying total number of water mill sites,
their present status, location and uses; set up demonstration units
for upgradation of water mill through demonstration, workshops and
field visits. Surveys were conducted in Manali, Kullu and Banjar
tehsil. 1020 watermills were documented out of which 738
watermills were found in working condition and would be upgraded.
The Himachal office has documented more than 18 high altitude
wetlands (above 3000 m) in Chamba, Kullu and Kinnaur district. To
involve all the stakeholder in this conservation programme, WWF
have organised various environmental awareness training and
workshops for wetlands conservation through out Himachal
Pradesh. Among different stakeholders are students, teachers,
NGOs, tour operators, tourist guide, forest field staff, researchers,
Mahila Mandal and Indian Army. Awareness material was
circulated to impart knowledge to the public in large about the need
to preserve the wetlands.
WWF-India, South Western Ghats Programme
EVENTS
Andhra Pradesh
6
Awareness Activities
The human elephant
Land use pattern and
conflict in the Anayirangal
elephant sightings in
valley, located in the
Anayirangal
Munnar forest division,
Only 138 families have
Kerala, has become one of
settled so far but even
the most pressing issues
these have not been able
with the local villagers and
to harvest any cultivated
district administration. This
crops due to the damage
conflict has increased very
caused by elephants. It is
recently. The main
unimaginable to think of
reasons for the increase in
the scale of conflict when
this conflict is the loss of
all 661 families will settle in
habitat and habitat
this area.
fragmentation which block
the normal migration
The following data has
corridors of the animals.
been compiled and
Human-elephant conflict in
mapped to understand the
Anayirangal is a major
zone, scale and level of
threat to human life,
conflict:
property and crops. The
lone tuskers and elephant
• Land use and cropping
herds are raiding crops
patterns
Families rendered homeless due to human - elephant conflict.
and damaging houses.
• Elephant populations
People are unable to walk freely through the roads and paths even
and their movements
during daytime within settlements due to constant movement of
• Socio economic data of settlements
elephants. Two women lost their lives in 2008 due to elephant attacks,
• Data on resource use by the local villagers
making this an urgent problem to be studied.
On the basis of the above, the possible corridors for the movement of
Habitat fragmentation due to human demographic pressure has
elephants and the existing problems for elephants in using these
increased. The elephants in the Anayirangal region has increasingly
corridors have been identified. A breeding population of 27 elephants
isolated during the last decade. The free movement of elephants
having a sex ratio of 1(male):4(female) have been utilizing this valley
towards Mathikettan Shola National Park and Pappathichola is
and are frequently moving towards Mathikettan Shola National Park.
blocked by expansion of old human settlements, creation of new
The main movement path from Anayirangal valley to Mattuppetty,
settlements and the development of uncontrolled tourism. The large
Munnar area through old Devikulam and Silent valley has been
number of resorts in the northern side of Anayirangal especially at
blocked by resorts and school zone at Chinnakkanal and Vilakku area
Chinnakkanal, block the
movement of elephant
As a short term measure, the
Settlement Vs Food Crop Damage from October 2007 to June 2008
towards Mattuppettytribal department has
350
Gunderla region.
erected a solar power fence
in one part of the newly
300
Over the past one year, the
created tribal settlement.
project has collated
Preliminary surveys have
250
detailed information on the
indicated that this has in fact
200
nature of the problem, the
shifted the human elephant
loss to property and crops
conflict to nearby
150
due to the conflict and the
settlements. Out of eighty
behavioral patterns of the
elephant attack incidents in
100
elephants to help develop
the year 2008, there were
a mitigation strategy.
four deaths, six severely
050
Banana
injured and sixty six people
Tapbca
000
Preliminary data collection
suffered minor injuries.
Raggi
in seven selected villages
Cahans
in Anayirangal valley has
Some further studies are
Watermelon
shown that the conflict has
also being conducted with
Beans
Cabbage
increased tremendously
the help of the Kerala Forest
after the land assignment
Department and local
for 661 landless tribal
villagers to comprehensively
Settlement
families in eucalyptus and
evaluate and assess the
pine plantation. The
area and explore possible
plantations done by the
co-existence options for both
Kerala Forest Department was to protect and improve the catchments
human and elephants.
of Anayirangal reservoir and had become a good habitat for elephants.
World Wetlands Day Celebration
Andhra Pradesh and Shimla
Andhra Pradesh - Essay Competition
Painting Competition
Himachal Pradesh - Folk Song
Theater Activity
STAFF AWARD
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WWF-India's Meritorious Service award was conferred to Dr. Harish Kumar
Guleria, Landscape Coordinator, Pilibhit Project Office, WWF-India for the
commendable and dedicated work performed by him.
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Damage (Acre)
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COVER STORY
5
Mitigating Human-Elephant Conflict In Anayirangal
Let us join hands to wish Dr. Guleria the best in his career ahead.
EVENTS
He joined the organization in year 2001. Due to his hard work the
conservation efforts in UP part of Terai Arc landscape have steadily
progressed and it has shown impact on ground, both in the community areas
and with the forest department. Dr. Guleria has led the team in an exemplary
manner to implement the tiger conservation work.
STAFF
AWARDS
M. Rameshan
Dr. Guleria
22
KIDS
POEM :
23
NATURE
God has gifted us nature,
And he has only created every creature,
Where there are no fights,
And people have their own rights.
Where the birds live happily,
And sing sweet songs melodiously,
Peace messages Dove brings,
and fly freely spreading out their wings.
Where there are tall and green trees,
Here blows a cool and pleasant breeze,
Where we have the rocky mountains,
And the wonderful fountains.
The farmers harvest their crops,
And the rabbit hops, Children play,
Chocolates they want is all they say.
Here we have the sun's bright glow,
And the rivers flow,
Here the forests are dark and deep,
And the reptiles creep.
Why let this beautiful nature destroy,
Saving nature is the most valuable thing we should try,
Why to waste time,
And we should throw away all the crime.
Be brave and ignore your fright,
To make this nature more bright,
Save water and plants,
To give nature a wonderful sight.
Keeping this nature ever green,
And keeping it neat and clean,
Is the work of every human being,
To give nature a great scene.
Written by : Rishika Chatterjee
Age :: 11, Springdales School, Class V
Area of WWF-India Work
k i d s
found here include
wet evergreen
forests and Sholas
in the higher
elevations. This
region is a
veritable treasure
trove
of
biodiversity and
most of it is still to
be studied and
understood.
The area is also
crucial for the
ecological goods
and services they
provide. Forty four
rivers originate Map prepared by: IGCMC, WWF-India
from here,
providing water to several major cities of the states of Kerala and
Tamil Nadu. The important rivers that provide water to cities/districts
are; the Periyar for Ernakulam, the Chalakkudy for Trichur, the
Neyyar and Karamana for Thiruvananthapuram, the Bharatpuzha for
Palghat and Meenachil and Muvattupuzha for Kottayam. Forest
products provide an important source of fuel wood, fodder, food and
shelter to local communities and indigenous groups living in and
around them. The tourism value of the area is also very high;
managed effectively and equitably, this can provide an important
source of livelihood to local and indigenous communities.
WWF-India has identified a landscape of about 7,000 km2 south of
the Palghat gap as a priority conservation landscape. The area is
made up of undulating terrain including the highest mountain peak
(Anaimudi) of South India. It spreads across 14 Protected Areas and
11 forest divisions across the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu and
includes a number of other land uses such as tea and coffee
plantations, subsistence and commercial agriculture, high density
tourism areas as well as important river systems.
The landscape comprises of a variety of ecosystems ranging from
wet evergreen to dry deciduous to scrub forest including the unique
shola ecosystem. This landscape is home to the largest population of
Endangered Nilgiri tahr (Nilgiritragus hylocrius), a species endemic to
the Western Ghats. Other threatened mammals found in this
landscape are the lion-tailed macaque Macaca silenus and the Asian
small-clawed otter Aonyx cinerea. Some of the charismatic mega
fauna found here include elephant, tiger and gaur. The region is also
home to a number of tribal communities and forest-dependent people
who help in ensuring the long-term integrity of this unique ecosystem.
PONDICHERRY
TAMIL NADU
KERALA
W W F - I n d i a
envisaged that a
well defined
l a n d s c a p e
approach would be
more effective way
to address the
conservation
issues in Southern
Western Ghats. It
was envisaged
that the Southern
Western Ghats
Landscape should
encompass the
central region of
Kerala and
a d j o i n i n g
Anaimalai forests
in Tamil Nadu. A
rationale for this selection is provided below:
• It forms one of the largest contiguous blocks of 'good' forest cover
in the Southern-Western Ghats.
• It is large enough (approximately 7,000 km2) to be able to 'pilot' an
approach to large-scale conservation but at the same time of a
scale and scope that was feasible in terms of execution given
resource, capacity and political realities.
• Part of this landscape has already been identified as a priority by
the Kerala Forest Department (KFD).
• The area was already fairly well protected;15% of the whole area is
covered by a Protected Area network.
• Apart from the fact that pressures were manageable, there were a
number of potential partners and relatively strong Forest
Departments, who could all come together to provide a common
effort.
The overall aim of the Southern-Western Ghats landscape
conservation programme is to ensure the long term ecological
security of this landscape based on multi-stakeholder participation
and inter-sectoral coordination. The key threats to this landscape,
identified through a series of stakeholder meetings and workshops
have been identified as: forest conversion, illegal tree felling and
poaching, unsustainable extraction of forest products, human-wildlife
conflict and unplanned infrastructure development.
WWF- India is working on all of these issues with a range of partners
within the landscape. WWF has secured support for specifically
working in the areas of developing sustainable livelihoods to reduce
pressure on forest resources, developing management strategies to
address human-elephant conflict, restoring degraded forest areas,
and understanding the conservation status of the Endangered Nilgiri
tahr.
COVER STORY
Historically, WWF-India had envisaged a well defined landscape
approach with a reasonably strong presence in the region. The
organization has been actively involved in the Western Ghats region
since the early nineties through the Biodiversity 'Hotspots'
Conservation Programme (1993-2005) with support from the
MacArthur Foundation and the Ford Foundation. Over the years it has
interacted with stakeholders like the State Forest Departments, the
research Institutes and the local communities. The WWF Species
Programme is represented in the Western Ghats through its activities
related to conservation of tiger and elephant habitats in the Nilgiri
landscape region. The Southern-Western Ghats also emerged as a
priority terrestrial and freshwater ecoregion for WWF with the entire
Western Ghats complex identified as one of the Global 200: Priority
Ecoregions for global conservation.
ANDHRA PRADESH
KANATAKA
4
The Western Ghats perform
important hydrological and
watershed functions.
Approximately 245 million people
live in the peninsular Indian states
nd
Feb 2 , 2009 is
celebrated world
wide
as World
Wetlands day to
commemorate the
signing of Ramsar
Convention in 1971
in Iran. There are
presently 158
Contracting Parties
to the Convention,
with 1831 wetland
sites, equivalent to
1 7 0 m i l l i o n Mr Rabbi Shergill awarding the First Prize to Ryan
h e c t a r e s , International School, Noida
designated for
inclusion in the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International
Importance. At WWF-India this year, World Wetland Day was
celebrated with a difference and with an aim to create awareness
on the need to protect this highly fragile ecosystem.
that receive most of their water
supply from rivers originating in the
Western Ghats. Thus, the soils
and waters of this region sustain
the livelihoods of millions of
people. With the possible
exception of the Indo-Malayan
region, no other hotspot impacts
the lives of such a large
population.
South Western Ghats
An Introduction
The South Western Ghats cover
an area of 12,500 km2 in the states
of Kerala and Tamil Nadu and
harbour a rich floral and faunal
diversity which includes 4,000
flowering plants. The faunal
diversity includes 48 genera of
large and medium sized
mammals, 475 species of birds, 60
reptile genera and 313 species of
butterflies. This region harbours
high levels of endemism including
30 endemic lizard species, 57
endemic snake species, 87
endemic species of amphibians
and 84 endemic species of
freshwater fishes. Some of the
important and unique habitat types
Wetlands are some of the world's most alive and productive
ecosystems on which several species of birds, fish, amphibians,
mammals and human settlements thrive and coexist. They truly
bring out the life-sustaining characteristics of water along with its
rich cultural and economic values (agriculture and fisheries).
Therefore, it is necessary to create awareness on the necessity of
conserving this very important ecosystem.
As a precursor to the event on Feb 2, a musical extravaganza called
'Aqua Symphony' was held on Jan 31st. Several schools across the
city competed with zeal, by presenting their original compositions on
the central theme of water and wetlands. The event was held at the
WWF-India auditorium. Among those judging the competition were
Sam Lal, Editor Blender magazine, Randeep (from the band Men
Who Pause) and Gaurav Gilani (from the band Crimson)
On Feb 2, World
Wetlands Day was
f o r m a l l y
commemorated
with the winning
bands- Ryan
International,
Laxman Public
School and G.D.
Goenka Public
School being
awarded. The
teams performed
G D Goenka World School performing at Aqua Symphony t h e i r w i n n i n g
compositions.
Famous Indian
Pop musician, Rabbi Shergill, was the chief guest at the event.
Vandana Singh, WWF-India
The Western Ghats, a global
Biodiversity Hotspot, extends
along the west coast of India and
cover an area of about 180,000
km2.Though it has less than 6% of
the land area of India, the Western
Ghats contain more than 30% of all
plant, fish, reptile, amphibian, bird,
and mammal species found in
India. Like other Biodiversity
Hotspots, the Western Ghats have
a high proportion of endemic
species. The region also has a
spectacular assemblage of large
mammals and is home to several
nationally significant wildlife
sanctuaries, tiger reserves, and
national parks. The Western
Ghats contain numerous
medicinal plants and important
genetic resources such as the wild
relatives of grains, fruits and
spices.
Mr Ravi Singh, Secretary General & CEO, WWF-India, urged the
student community to join in large numbers to ensure that the
environment is protected and conserved with the role of each
ecosystem in maintaining the ecological balance well understood.
Dr Parikshit Gautam, Director Freshwater and Wetlands-WWFIndia affirmed the need for preserving wetland ecosystems and said
that such events will raise awareness on the importance of this
ecosystem and the need to conserve it .
The chief guest Mr Rabbi Shergill, speaking on the occasion, felt
that these original compositions by the bands showed the extent of
awareness amongst the present generation on the importance of
wetlands.
Additionally, WWF-India's film on Ladakh, 'Living with Change' was
showcased on the day. The film records the testimonials from
communities which are coping to survive in a changing ecosystem
since the region has several High Altitude Wetlands dotting the arid
Trans-Himalayan landscape.
Young Climate Savers Website Launched
A WWF-India & Tetra Pak initiative
After the successful completion of Phase 1 of
the Young Climate Savers (YCS) initiative,
WWF-India and Tetra Pak announced the
launch of the YCS website, in Hyderabad
This website is the first Indian website for
educating school students on climate change
and energy issues.
Honorable Speaker of Andhra Pradesh (AP)
State Assembly, Shri. K.R Suresh Reddy
formally launched the website at a function
held at the Bhaskar Auditorium, Birla Science Centre here. Shri
Jayesh Ranjan (IAS), Managing Director, AP Tourism Development
Board, a well known personality and respected for his support in the
field of climate change education and awareness programme, also
graced the occasion, and along with other dignitaries from WWFIndia, Tetra Pak and teachers, students from various schools.
Southern-Western Ghats
The Young Climate Savers is a programme launched with an aim to
create awareness across the student fraternity in India on climate
change, and through them to reach out to the larger community and
to influence them to become 'climate savers'. WWF-India partnered
with Tetra Pak in implementing the Young Climate Savers
programme. Following up on its commitment to emission reduction,
and realizing the importance of educating children on climate
change, Tetra Pak partnered with WWF-India in November 2007 for
the Young Climate Savers programme. The
YCS ,is an education for sustainable
development initiative aiming to educate
20,000 school children across India, and
through them, to reach out and influence a
larger audience on the impacts of climate
change and the importance of mitigating it.
The YCS initiative is envisioned to be
implemented over the course of several
years. YCS Phase 1 reaches to over 20000
students at over 200 schools in India.
“The rate at which climate change is taking place is extremely
alarming. While we take pride in the fact that our packaging is
environment friendly, we strongly believe that collective effort is what
will finally make a difference. Our partnership with WWF reiterates
our commitment to create awareness and motivate the young to
promote and lead energy efficient and environmentally sensitive
lives. Over the past year, we have achieved our target of 20,000
students and now want to reach out to a larger national and
international audience with the launch of the YCS Website.” added
Mr. Jaideep Gokhale, Programme Head- Food for Development
Office & Environment, Tetra Pak India Pvt. Ltd.
KIDS
WWF-India, Vishaish Uppal
COVER STORY
3
Conserving Wetlands Through
Awareness In School Children
24
The Story of
ASIA'S LIONS
By Divyabhanusinh Chavda
25
Lions once roamed the Asian
continent from Palestine to
Palamau. Over the centuries they were progressively wiped
out throughout their range, ultimately being confined to a relict
population in the Gir forest and its surrounding areas in
Saurashtra. For more than half a century now, this has been
the home of the only lion population outside Africa. Today
about 400 lions survive in this region, but the animal's
precarious existence has virtually disappeared from our
consciousness. How this state of affairs has come to pass,
and what is the status of the surviving lions, is the theme of this
book.
The writer introduces the lion and its present habitat, and goes
on to examine through written and visual records the
interaction between this majestic animal and human beings in
Asia, from the earliest available historical records to the
present day. Through Sanskrit, Persian, and other
contemporaneous sources the profound effect the lion has
The Coal Dilemma
Editor
S.K.Chand
READER'S
ZONE
had on human civilization and culture, and the
story of the destruction of the species in Asia is
traced. Also documented here are the censuses
conducted in the last hundred years to monitor
its population dynamics, and the history of the
attempts to find a second home for the lion, which still
continue.
The book evaluates efforts made for the conservation of the
species in the first half of the 20th century by British
administrators and more remarkably by the last two nawabs of
Junagadh. The status in independent India is recorded, with
indications of what the future holds for the lion in the 21st
century. The work is of a unique nature as very rarely has an
account of any species from historical times been attempted,
one exception being this author's internationally acclaimed
research on the cheetah in India. While there are innumerable
books on the lions of Africa, there have been only three books
about the lions in India ever written in English, none of which is
easily accessible. There is, in fact, no book on the species'
history either for Africa or for Asia and this is a pioneering
attempt.
As the climate policy under National Action Plan
continues to unveil, a new publication by TERI (The
Energy and Resources Institute) and WWF brings
out thought provoking analysis of the state of coal as
an energy resource in India. Titled “The Coal
Dilemma”, released during one of the side-events of
the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit (DSDS)
2009, highlights the urgency to review the supply
and availability of coal in context of exposition of
overall energy security.
Earth Hour began in Sydney in 2007, when
2.2 million homes and businesses switched
off their lights for one hour. In 2008 the
message had grown into a global
sustainability movement, with 50 million
people switching off their lights.It assumes
greater importance now as 2009 is a critical
year for action on climate change with world
leaders due to meet at the UN Conference
on Climate Change in Copenhagen come
December, to sign a new deal superseding
the Kyoto Protocol.
This was Earth Hour-the world's
global election, between Earth and
global warming. By participating in
Earth Hour and voting for Earth, a
billion people across the world got
together to form a worldwide
constituency that is eager to demand
quick and fair action to crack the
problem of climate change.
A host of high profile ambassadors across
the world extended their support to the
campaign, most notably Nobel Peace Prize
winner Archbishop Desmund Tutu, UN
Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and Oscar
winning actor Kate Blanchett. In India,
Bollywood actor Aamir Khan and cricketer
Sachin Tendulkar supported the campaign.
From India-Delhi,Mumbai,
Bangalore and fifty other cities joined
the list of over 4000 cities across the
world to VOTE EARTH. The call to
action was fairly simple: turn off lights
for one hour and stand up to show
action and solidarity on climate
change. But the message was much
larger and the work that remains to be
done even more so. In this way, what
began as a symbolic show of support
got transformed into a national
movement that caught
unprecedented attention and an
overwhelming support. Reports
indicate that at least 5 million people
across India participated in Earth
Hour by switching off their lights from
8:30-9:30pm on 28th March, thereby
making this the largest ever
environmental campaign in the
country, in terms of public outreach
and participation.
From the icons of history like The
Great Pyramids in Egypt and Eiffel
Tower in Paris to the symbols of
modern architecture- Empire State
Building in New York and Petronas
towers in Malaysia, all switched off in
support of Earth Hour. So did
historical monuments like Qutub
Minar, Humanyun's Tomb, Red Fort
and Old Fort in Delhi. Grand old
educational institutions like Jamia
Milia Islamia and Indian Institute of
Technology, hotel chains of the ITC
Welcome Group , PVR Cinemas, and
all offices and facilities of over a 100
top public and private sector
organizations- Reserve Bank of
India, Infosys, Wipro, HSBC to name
a few, added to the long list of
landmarks from India that observed
Earth Hour. Several youth groups,
community organizations, religious
groups and governments took
ownership of the campaign to help
make it a success from Cochin to
For its part, the Environment Department of
the Govt. of Delhi adopted a proactive
approach and appealed to over 2000
resident welfare associations, schools,
market traders' associations and the
Archaeological Survey of India to turn off
non-essential lights in support of the
campaign. During that hour, the drop in
power demand due to Earth Hour was
estimated to be about 600 MW in Delhi.
Similarly, there have been reports from
other cities, citing savings by the power
distribution companies, making the
cumulative energy savings to the tune of
1000 MW nationally. However, the impact
of Earth Hour should not be measured in
power saved alone, but more so in terms of
the awareness that it helped spread about
the cause and the momentum that it
gathered.
Earth Hour is indeed a symbolic act and
history is testimony to symbolic acts that
have triggered great movements. The
challenge that remains is to embed this
voluntary act as a lifestyle choice and make
it a genuine and self-perpetuating
movement which merits support due to the
benefit contained in the choice. In the global
climate order, while much will get decided in
the domain of policies and politics, and
technologies that take the world to the path
of low carbon future will be developed, it is
essential to keep climate change on the top
of the policy and scientific agenda, with the
onus on world leaders, to take the right
decisions for the planet. And that is what
Earth Hour will continue to strive for.
Aarti Khosla
COVER STORY
The Book brings out the fallacy of abundance of coal
related to supply, state of domestic reserve and
external supply security challenges.It discusses the
problems afflicting the mining of coal including social
and environmental concerns and reviews merits and
demerits of coal beneficiation and also brings out a
range of issues (covering alternative technology
choices, clean coal technology, improved
technology for power generation) that will be critical
for us to move towards an efficient and cleaner coaleconomy in the coming decades.
Gangtok and Dehradun to Bangalore.
Climate change team
READER'S ZONE
Reader's Zone
Earth Hour 2009
On 28th March this year, beginning
on Chatham Island in New Zealand,
one of the first places on Earth where
dawn strikes, towns and cities in over
80 countries across the globe turned
off their lights for an hour, to draw
attention to climate change.
2
COVER STORY
News Across The Globe
cover story
New Species hotspot in remote Cambodian Mekong
Cantor's Giant softshell turtle, thought to be extinct in Cambodia since 2003 has been rediscovered in a section of the
Mekong River almost untouched by humans. The findings are the result of a series of surveys jointly conducted by
WWF Cambodia, the Fisheries Administration (FiA) and Forestry Administration (FA) of the Ministry of Agriculture
Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) in 2006/7.
international
1
Arctic nations take important first step towards saving polar bears
ITC Grand Central, Mumbai
Five nations committed by treaty to conserve polar bears have come up with a resolution linking the future of the species to urgent global action on
climate change. The five Arctic nations signed a binding 1973 Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears that includes provisions to protect
polar bears and their habitat. They have agreed to come up with a circumpolar action plan for the management of bears, and to formally designate
the Polar Bear Specialist Group of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) as the scientific advisory body to the Agreement. These both were
measures proposed by WWF. Ultimately, the polar bear nations must join with other countries at the UN climate conference in Copenhagen in
December 2009 to sign an effective global deal on climate change that will save the polar bears' Arctic sea ice habitat, along with the entire ice
ecosystem.
Delegates of 14 countries attending the World Water Forum signed pledges of support to a growing call to bring into force a global water
treaty that has languished in limbo for more than a decade as anxiety grows about the increased potential for conflict in a world increasingly
short of water. Recognised 16 countries signed up to the UN International Convention on Non-Navigational Uses of International
Watercourses (the UN Watercourses Convention) - Finland, Germany, Hungary, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Namibia, Netherlands,
Norway, Portugal, Qatar, South Africa, Sweden, Syria and Uzbekistan. The delegates said they shared WWF's concern that the poor
coordination in river basin regulation between nations “represents a major threat to international peace and to the world's energy and food
security.” The pledge also noted that climate change would worsen the global water crisis.
INTERNATIONAL
Interest grows in neglected global water treaty
© Pankaj Chandan
Ashoka Hotel, New Delhi
EARTH
HOUR
26
Light switched off at Chhatrapati Shivaji
Terminus Mumbai.
Contents
Cover Story
Project Updates
Earth Hour 2009
1.
South-Western
Ghats
3.
Mitigating HumanElephant Conflict
in Anayirangal
5.
Reducing Use of
7.
fuel wood in
production of lemon
grass oil
Nilgiri Tahr- A
Special Study.
9.
WWF-India
reintroduces
gharials into river
Ganges
10.
Saving The
Dolphins From
Extinction
11.
The Rare Red
12.
Kids
Climate Adaptation 19.
Centre Inaugurated
in Sundarbans
State Activities
and Events
Poem
23.
World Wetlands
Day Celebrations
24.
Young Climate
Savers Website
Launched
24.
20.
- Orissa
13.
Global Forestry
and Trade Network
(GFTN)- towards
protecting our
forest wealth
Sustainable
Fisheries for a
Healthy Marine
Ecosystem
Events
- Andhra Pradesh
- Himachal Pradesh
15.
Staff Award
22.
Visit to Gorshing
17.
Glacier of Western
Arunachal Pradesh
Second Wintering 18.
Habitat of Black
Necked Crane in
India
www.wwfindia.org
International
Reader's Zone
Asia's Lions
25.
News Across
the Globe
The Coal Dilemma
25.
26.
Foreword
On another event, we especially would like to thank each and every
supporter of the environment for the role that they have played in
ensuring the success of Earth Hour–a campaign that received
unprecedented public support. The event did show that citizens of
India can and will respond to contributing to a better environment,
through a symbolic action which joined them to a global link of better
good for the earth. Earth Hour also demonstrated that people,
institutions, businesses and government are aware of their role in
bringing about a change in conserving the resources of our planet. In
the coming days, the mandate is clear: it is for us to convert thought
into action, action that is translated not only at individual levels but at
policy conception and execution stages too.
It is hoped that nationally and globally the issue of saving our planet
receives priority in the agenda of all developed and underdeveloped
nations. It is hoped that the UNFCCC COP 15 at CopenhagenDecember, 2009, will bring nations together to set aside some of their
differences and work towards a change which is beneficial for our
living planet.
Dear Friends,
We continue with our landscapes of hope series with
special focus on South Western Ghats and a special
story on the Earth Hour Campaign.
The South-Western Ghats landscape covers a large
part of South India and is an acknowledged biodiversity
hotspot.
We hope after having read the Panda you would have
had an understanding of the landscape and the
challenges that WWF-India faces to ensure that the
landscape continues to retain its purity .
Some of you have send us very interesting responses
showing your interest in the articles published. We
request you to send us any article which you would like
to be published regarding topics you feel strongly
about.
Looking forward to your feedback
WWF-India
As we write, the tragedy of the Sundarbans is unfolding: destruction,
disease, forced migration and de-homing - occurring simultaneously.
Relief measures can never be timely in such events as the Aila
cyclone, yet the work and reach of the NGOs contributing to
ameliorate human suffering and the provision of relief materials is
laudable. WWF India has also reached out to the communities in the
affected areas but the work of rehabilitation is an immense task - one
that needs close coordination with the government agencies and the
several organisations in the area. A lot of our work relating to
community interventions and climate change adaptation will need to
start again. Our teams are showing their spirit and resilience.
From the Editor’s Desk
Dear Friends,
Shaila Sam
Editor
Editorial Board
Design Input
: Dr. Parikshit Gautam, Mita Nangia
Goswami, Dr. Prakash Rao, Dr. Dipankar
Ghose & Nikita Aggarwal
: Nikita Aggarwal
Published by : WWF-India
172 - B, Lodi Estate,
New Delhi - 110003
Tel : +91 11 41504797
Website : www.wwfindia.org
Designed by : Ashish Rohilla at Kalavaani
Printed by : Press Tech Litho Pvt. Ltd.
A WWF-India publication for members.
Responsibility for views / opinions expressed
lies with the author(s).
WWF-India
Ravi Singh
Secretary General & CEO
WWF-India
South Western Ghats landscape
South Western Ghats landscape
WWF-India, Ameen Ahmed
Ameen Ahmed
WWF-India Newsletter
www.wwfindia.org
PANDA
www.wwfindia.org
Vol - I / Issue - I
Jan - Mar. 2009