A unique bird, a unique island, and unique customs that bind them all.
On Oct 04, 2012, Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF) rejected a proposal to create a missile-firing testing system on Tillanchong island, a narrow strip of island in Nicobar.
Tillanchong is an unfamiliar name for many. Uninhabited except for a police post, the Navy chose this Nicobar island for erecting a missile range for shooting dummy missiles. Tillanchong is a long, narrow ridge of land, prone to … Read More
Shekar Dattatri co-authored this article, which originally appeared in the Oct 2011 issue of GovernanceNow.
Poor governance, replete with farcical meetings, subjective and improper application of the law, and unilateral decision-making, mars the functioning of the National Board for Wildlife, the apex body on conservation. The new Union Environment Minister must take urgent corrective action to restore the Board’s credibility, and protect India’s precious natural heritage from the relentless pressures of development.
Forests and wildlife in India are governed … Read More
In a precedent-setting “conservation swap” initiated by the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), and the Karnataka Forest Department, a 25 km long wildlife corridor disrupted by a 220 KVA power transmission line in Kudremukh National Park has been restored. The line was originally supporting the now defunct Kudremukh Iron Ore Company (KIOCL)’s mining operations, shut down by the Supreme Court in response to litigation by local wildlife conservation groups.
The Karnataka government had … Read More
Here’s an interesting document from the Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF) which provides details on the Protected Area (PA) network of the country. While the figure of 668 PAs appears to be a large number, in reality these are small areas (just 4.9% of total geographic area) scattered across India’s landscape under severe pressure. Obviously, there needs to be a sufficiently large administrative infrastructure to protect and manage PAs. While the document has no details on this, here’s a … Read More
Out on a cold gloomy morning with the intent of photographing birds, Mr. Raghavendra Bhat sat in his car in the outskirts of Bangalore, waiting for the sun to warm up the day. As the day brightened-up in about 20 minutes, he observed a medium sized bird cross the kuchha road in front and walk into the grass. At first, he thought it to be a juvenile junglefowl, but on seeing the structure of the head, he thought it could … Read More
In a welcome development, the Karnataka state government has extended the boundaries of Bannerghatta national park and four wildlife sanctuaries (Dandeli, Mookambika, Cauvery and Someshwara) adding an incremental 1,255.64 sq km to the state’s protected area (PA) network. This constitutes a 20% increase in the overall size of PAs in the state. This has been achieved by merging the existing sanctuaries with adjoining reserve forests.
Specifically, Bannerghatta grew from 102.74 sq km to 260.51 sq km (254%), Dandeli from 638.34 … Read More
The entire districts of Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg in southern Maharashtra have been “seriously impacted, both environmentally and socially, by a number of mining, power projects and polluting industries”, says a report submitted by the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP). The impacts mentioned include pollution (noise, air and ground water), depletion of fisheries, deforestation, siltation of water bodies and “loss of unique biodiversity elements”, among many others. The report claims that there are also numerous illegal activities in these areas … Read More
The environment ministry has given an in-principle approval for setting up a breeding centre in Rewa in Madhya Pradesh. Rewa was the home of the last wild white tiger, nicknamed Mohan. The bred tigers will be released into semi-wild habitats. Mohan’s genetic material is said to be the basis for white tigers in captivity. The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) said that the Central Zoo Authority will setup the conservation breeding centre.
Background info on White Tigers courtesy Wikipedia
The … Read More
Union environment minister, Jayanthi Natarajan revealed to the members of the standing committee of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) that the planning commission’s proposal to merge three centrally sponsored schemes — Project Tiger, Project Elephant and Integrated Development under Wildlife Habitat (IDWH) into one has been dropped. When the move was proposed, all nine members of the NBWL had opposed the move. NBWL members thanked the Union Minister and the Planning Commission chairman, for showing concern towards the implications … Read More
On the same day Assam declared a serious shortage of funds, Kerala’s national parks and sanctuaries also stated they are cutting back on conservation activities due to lack of funds. There has been a drastic reduction in the central allocation and the state has not filled the void. The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) had reduced this years allocation to Rs. 2.88 crores as against last year’s Rs. 4.4 crores. This has led to downsizing of the protection staff … Read More
Union minister for corporate affairs, Dr. M. Veerappa Moily has written a letter to the Union environment minister, Jayanthi Natarajan, asking that a decision to include 455.96 sq kms of land with the Pushpagiri wildlife sanctuary, be reconsidered. Wildlife experts and enthusiasts are enraged that this maybe the work of timber and mini-hydel mafias. Moily’s letter states that the inhabitants are in fear of losing their agricultural land. The Joint director of Wildlife has forwarded the letter to the Principal … Read More
The non-official members of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) have written to the Environment Minister, Smt. Jayanthi Natarajan, about the faulty clearance process by the NBWL. They have said that the panel has turned into a clearing house for dodgy wildlife and forest projects. They have said that in the last meeting during Jairam Ramesh’s tenure, 59 proposals to start projects in forest areas were cleared in 2 hours. Also, 39 clearance proposals were received only two days prior … Read More
Project Tiger, India’s first wildlife protection program, may be merged along with other conservation schemes. The Planning Commission has asked the environment ministry to merge Project Tiger along with Project Elephant and Integrated Development under Wildlife Habitat (IDWH). The move has been opposed by all nine members of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) who have termed it “retrograde”. They have written a strongly worded letter to the Planning Commission chairman, Montek Singh Ahluwalia and a copy has been sent … Read More
The Palpur-Kuno sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh will see Cheetahs reintroduced by December of this year or early January of the next. The Cheetahs are to be introduced from Namibia. Conservationists from Namibia and India have visited the 344.86 sq km sanctuary and have worked out a strategy for the reintroduction. Shahgarh in Rajasthan is another site shortlisted for the reintroduction. However, locals there have opposed the relocation. Palpur-Kuno was also shortlisted for translocation of lions from Gir sanctuary. However, Gujarat … Read More
The Union Environment Ministry has asked Chattisgarh to submit a proposal to the National Tiger Conservation Authority asking for Guru Ghasidas National Park to be declared a Tiger Reserve. The national park lies in between Madhya Pradesh’s Bandhavgarh and Jharkhand’s Palamau tiger reserves. It is also contiguous with Madhya Pradesh’s Sanjay Dubri Tiger Reserve. Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has said that this would make for the largest landscape for tiger conservation in this part of Central India. Wildlife Institute of … Read More
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