The attached image shows such a stark contrast between protected and unprotected areas in Bandipur Tiger Reserve. Land-use near protected areas like agriculture or development typically sparks human-wildlife conflict.… Read More
Leopard Crossing, Mysore — Mananthavadi Highway, Nagarahole
A leopard tentatively crosses the Mysore – Mananthavadi highway in Nagarahole national park and tiger reserve in Karnataka. Based on the fact that this road passes through an extremely crucial habitat for elephants and tigers and number of tragic roadkills, conservationists filed an application to the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) of the Supreme Court to close the road to nighttime traffic.
The CEC on 05-05-2008 concluded that no vehicular traffic be permitted between 6pm and 6am apart from other mitigation … Read More
Leopard stoned to death in Hassan District, Karnataka
An injured leopard, which strayed into Lingarasanahalli village near Hassan, died of injuries after people threw stones at it. It was alleged by the villagers that the forest department took almost 3-hours to reach the spot. … Read More
BR Hills and Kudremukh to Become Tiger Reserves
Union Minister for environment and forests Jairam Ramesh said that the government had approved two more tiger reserves in Karnataka. BR hills in Chamrajnagar district and Kudremukh in Chikmagalur district would become the country’s 40th and 41st tiger reserves. This takes the number of tiger reserves in Karnataka upto six.… Read More
Supreme Court Sets up Team to Resurvey Mining Leases in Bellary-Hospet Forests
There are 99 mining leases in the Bellary-Hospet forest region of Karnataka with allegations of encroachments and illegal mining outside the demarcations. Rapping the Centrally Empowered Committee (CEC) for not carrying the previous survey properly, the Supreme Court formed a new team comprised of representatives from the CEC, the Forest and Mines and Geology departments of the State Government and the Karanataka Lokayukta. The team would conduct fresh surveys of all 99 leased mines and if any encroachment was found, … Read More
Illegal laterite mining threatens Sagar forests
Rampant and illegal laterite mining is reported from the Sagar Taluk in Shimoga, Karnataka. An RTI application with the Department of Mines and Geology reveals that permission has been accorded to mine only one and half acres across three villages. However, there are 200 illegal quarries reported in the Sagar Taluk operating on one hundred acres of land. Almost 50 truckloads of laterite blocks leave the Sagar Taluk on a daily basis. Most quarries are said to operate in forest … Read More
Karnataka Forest Department seeking Tiger Reserve Status for Kudremukh National Park
The Karnataka State Forest Department is seeking a Tiger Reserve Status for the Kudremukh National Park (KNP). Recently, the Biligiri Ranganathaswamy Temple Wildlife (BRT) Sanctuary was given the tiger reserve status by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA). Union Minister Jairam Ramesh has also recently directed the state government to submit a proposal to declare KNP as a tiger reserve and also to shift machinery and infrastructure of the Kudremukh Iron Ore company that is lying inside the park. There … Read More
Lessons from Voluntary Resettlement in the Western Ghats
K.Ullas Karanth and Krithi Karanth on the lessons learned from resettlement projects in three important protected areas in the Western Ghats — Nagarahole, Bhadra and Kudremukh.
Forests in the Western Ghats occur as fragmented strips within a larger landscape matrix of crops and tree plantations. Reserves in the Ghats cover only twelve per cent of total area and the average reserve size is 243 sq km; the fourteen legally protected areas in the Ghats cover a total of only 6400 … Read More
Agriculture land close to BRT Tiger Reserve handed over for Industrial Purposes
The Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) has handed over 410.44 acres of land to Bannari Amman Sugars. The land is said to be within 1 km radius of the BRT Tiger Reserve and also on a part of an Elephant Corridor. According to a Supreme Court order, non-forest activities cannot be taken up within 10 kms of a protected area (eco-sensitive zone). The forest department has made it clear that no work can be undertaken without an approval from … Read More
Resort activity threatens Bandipur’s North Eastern boundaries
Illegal resort activity is threatening Bandipur’s forest boundaries in Gundlupet Taluk. On Tuesday, the forest department booked a case against Tropical Wilderness and Wellness Pvt Ltd, clearing forest land, changing land use patterns without permission and for constructions in a wildlife corridor without obtaining permission. An older project, the Tiger Ranch in Mangala village, is also under the scanner for illegal land acquisition from tribals. The latter is however more difficult to take action against, as it is owned by … Read More
Bhadra River recovering from siltation impact after stoppage of Mining in Kudremukh
The picture of the Bhadra River on the top loaded with silt after a heavy rainstorm was taken on 30th September, 2002 during the inspection by the Central Empowered Committee as ordered by the Supreme Court. The picture below showing the clear waters of the Bhadra River was taken on 18th October 2010 after a heavy rainstorm from the same location, five years after mining was stopped by the Apex Court based on a petition filed by Wildlife First. This … Read More
Protests against mini hydel projects in Bisle forests in Karnataka
A protest was held by various environmental groups against two proposed mini hydel projects across the Addahole and Girihole streams. The Karnataka Renewable Energy Ltd. has cleared the projects each with a capacity of 24 MW. The protesters alleged that the projects would divert the streams which provided water to wild animals. The Bisle forests are home to endangered species such as the Lion-tailed Macaque.… Read More
A Reprieve for the Wolves of Maidenahalli
The Indian wolf (Canis lupus pallipes), a subspecies of the Eurasian wolf (Canis lupus), found in the Himalayan ranges, is a lanky animal with short fur, about the size of a German Shepherd Dog. An estimated 2000-3000 of these animals now survive in India, mainly in the states of Orissa, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. They are wide ranging, pack hunting predators requiring large home ranges. As agriculture expanded … Read More
Insights From A Scientific Study Of The Bhadra Resettlement
Relocation, resettlement and displacement of people have been carried out for several reasons in India and the history of such efforts goes back forty years. In India it is estimated that resettlement for conservation is a small fraction (less than one percent) of the more than sixty million people relocated for other reasons. The nature of these efforts has ranged from forcible eviction to voluntary relocation and they have ranged from abject failure to mixed success.
Relocation and resettlement of … Read More
Voluntary Resettlement from Bhadra Tiger Reserve, Karnataka
Devappa was born when the Jagara Valley was a hunting ground of the British. When he was small, the valley had elephants, gaur, and tigers. Within it were villages such as his, sparsely distributed with few people.
In 1951, this 198 sq km area was declared Jagara Valley Game Sanctuary. The population of the villagers inside the reserve was low and the extraction of forest resources was more for self-subsistence than for the market.
In the sixties, a reservoir was … Read More
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