NatureNews

NatureNews for the week ending August 15, 2007. To subscribe to NatureNews, please write to Library.

Environment - General

WWF India, Wipro to use IT for development
One of the largest conservation organisations in the country WWF India along with Wipro Limited has unveiled an initiative to explore the use of information technology to drive sustainable development. As part of the project, issues of climate change, water and waste management and biodiversity conservation will be looked into. “It is an attempt to develop ideas and actions for sustainable growth based on relevant dimensions of environmental sustainability. The two organisations will collaborate in areas of innovative information technology and research and development applications for environmental sustainability,” said a release. For more: http://www.hindu.com/2008/08/11/stories/2008081163540400.htm

Keoladeo gets Rs 65 crores to end water crisis
The water-starved Keoladeo National Park in Bharatpur, Rajasthan, whose Unesco status of world heritage site is under threat due to persistent water crisis, can finally soak some hope. The Supreme Court-constituted Central Empowered Committee (CEC) has sanctioned Rs 65 crores to this sanctuary for water harvesting projects and maintaining its aquatic ecology. Funds were sanctioned after request from the state government, which was losing both its visitors and birds, to this world-famous bird sanctuary. The amount will be funded through CAMPA (compensatory afforestation fund management and planning authority) constituted by the Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF). For more: http://howrah.org/india_news/23727.html

Kailadevi sanctuary to get new status
The forest department has decided to rope in the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) for preparing a detailed report on the Kailadevi sanctuary, adjoining the Ranthambore National Park. The report would be a precursor for declaring it as a tiger reserve. A decision to this effect has already been taken by the department. Additional chief secretary, forests, Parmeshwar Chand said: "We have already declared Kailadevi a critical tiger reserve, a step short of a reserve. The forest is a good breeding ground for tigers and the vegetation of the place is ideal to make it a reserve." For more: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Earth/Kailadevi_
sanctuary_to_get_new_status/articleshow/3299831.cms

Climate Change & Energy

Climate change: industry’s lukewarm response
From the G-8 summit to the regional gatherings of the industry associations, climate change and its impact as well as regulations on trade and industry are now dominating the discussions. There appears to be a genuine concern on the issues raised, but very little when it comes to follow up action relating to the environment. In other words, industries are trying to comply with the regulations already in place, but not enthusiastic about taking the process forward and planning for the future. After the abolition of the ‘license raj,’ identified sectors of industry have in recent years only gone in for an environmental clearance for projects involving either a certain investment, or handling certain kinds of materials. Hardly a fourth of the businesses measured their current carbon footprint. For more: http://www.hindu.com/2008/08/11/stories/2008081166041300.htm

Wetlands and climate change
Climate change poses a threat to all ecosystems. In the case of the wetland ecosystem, not only will the water bodies and their economic benefits be lost; they could directly contribute to climate change by releasing a large amount of trapped greenhouse gases. That assessment from scientists taking part in the Eighth Wetlands Conference held in Brazil by INTECOL, the International Association for Ecology, will hopefully stir governments into action. It is vital that they recognise the gravity of the problem and act to stop the degradation, draining, and land-filling of wetlands. The volume of greenhouse gases sequestered by wetlands is immense. Although they occupy only six per cent of the land area worldwide, and have suffered sharp declines over the past hundred years, scientific estimates say marshes, river floodplains, lagoons, swamps, and other water bodies store almost the equivalent of the current atmospheric carbon levels within water and slow-decaying vegetation. Moreover, freshwater wetlands are a repository of biodiversity, upon which many external species depend. The developing world, unlike the west, has managed to retain many vast historic wetlands. But most countries, including India, have failed to preserve their integrity. The effort to curb industrial pollution, fertilizer and pesticide run-off from intensive agriculture, encroachment, and the dumping of municipal waste has been too feeble to make any visible change. For more: http://www.hindu.com/2008/07/31/stories/2008073155770800.htm

Tibetan plateau melts in the face of climate change
Climate change is affecting the Tibetan plateau, threatening regional water supplies and altering atmospheric circulation for half the planet. The plateau is the world's third largest store of ice. But its temperature has risen by up to 0.3 degrees Celsius every ten years over the last fifty years — approximately three times the global warming rate. As a result, 82 per cent of the plateau's glaciers have retreated while ten per cent of its permafrost has degraded. For more: http://www.enn.com/climate/article/37850

Forestry & Biodiversity

Orissa village to use forest Act to block Posco project
Posco and Vedanta might have cleared the hurdles at the Supreme Court but villagers on the ground are hoping the card up their sleeve — the Forest Rights Act — is really an ace and can stall the take over of their lands. In a strategic move, Dhinkia in Jagatsinghpura, the village in the eye of stormy protests against the Posco plant, has passed a resolution declaring its forest as ‘protected’ community forests under the Forest Rights Act. Under the FRA, even the government cannot acquire such declared forest land without the consent of the gram sabha. In a precedent-setting move, that sources say, powerful tribal groups are thinking of replicating, Dhinkia villagers have also passed a resolution demanding that any land taken over be stopped till their rights are settled under the Act. The Forest Rights Act, which is being rolled out across the country, disallows any entity, including the government, to displace people from forest lands till their rights have been settled. For more: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Orissa_village_to_use_forest_
Act_to_block_Posco_project/articleshow/3347658.cms

CSE favours ban of mining in Karnataka
Mining in India has, contrary to government's claims, done little for the development of the mineral-bearing regions of the country, particularly in Karnataka. India's richest minerals, forests, wild-life and water sources - home to its poorest people - have been destroyed by mining. The latest publication from New Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) in its 356-page 6th State of India's Environment Report, titled "Rich Lands, Poor People - Is Sustainable Mining Possible?" called for a complete ban on illegal mining in Karnataka. "Take the case of Bellary in Karnataka, the hub of the state's iron mining sector. Uncontrolled mining has devastated the region's agriculture, increased air and water pollution, and destroyed forests. Human health has been a casualty as well, a victim of the pathetic working conditions - the area has high incidence of lung infections, heart ailments and cancer. While on one hand the place lays claim to having the largest collection of private aircrafts in the country, it also suffers from acute poverty on the other," said Sunita Narain, director, CSE, speaking at the release function. For more: http://mangalorean.com/news.php?newstype=broadcast&broadcastid=87527

Reduced flow in the Indus takes away 1.5 feet each day
The decreasing flow in the River Indus in downstream Kotri has taken sea erosion up to an alarming level, with the sea eroding 1.5 feet of land every day, forestry experts disclosed at the National Seminar on Conservation of Forestry Resources. The experts expressed their concerns over the rapid reduction of riverine forests, irrigated plantation, rangelands and mangrove forests in Sindh. According to the experts, the reduced water flow in River Indus, climate change, food insecurity, increasing population and the use of the forestland for agriculture purposes are a few reasons for the decrease in the number of forests in Sindh. These forestry experts urged the government to take initiatives to conserve resource-bearing forests. Najamuddin Vistro, a coastal forestry expert, informed listeners that the decreasing river flows in downstream Kotri lead to lesser silt deposition in the creeks, leading to the shrinking of the Indus delta. The phenomenon has also given rise to sea erosion and everyday 1.5 feet of erode away. “The reduced downstream water flow is not only causing extensive sea erosion but is also responsible for the reduction in mangrove forests. According to the WWF-Pakistan, the mangroves were spread on 0.26 million hectares in 1983 but this area reduced to only 73,000 hectares in 2002,” said Vistro. Dumping of household and industrial waste into the sea and grazing of animals are also a major reason for reduction in these forests. For more: http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008%5C08%5C03%5Cstory_3-8-2008_pg12_2

Marine & Oceans

An aquatic treat on the banks of Chambal
Want to have the pleasure of watching the critically endangered Gangetic river dolphins in Rajasthan, the place you normally won’t associate with water species? Take a holiday and go to Dholpur, a place otherwise known to the outside world for all wrong reasons including the dreaded dacoits. The sightings of Ganges River Dolphin, one of the world’s most threatened mammals, are good from the banks of the Chambal. Braving the badlands and the ravines of Rajasthan’s eastern district could be worth the trouble considering that the Gangetic dolphin (referred to as “Susu” in some parts of the country), primarily found in the Ganga and Brahmaputra rivers and their tributaries, is disappearing fast. The cetacean, one of the world’s oldest creatures -- it has survived for the past hundred million years -- has disappeared from many of its original habitats during the past hundred years. It is feared that only 4,000 to 5,000 of them may be left. For more: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/08/10/stories/2008081060020700.htm

Wildlife & Endangered Species

Corbett battles commercialisation to protect its tigers
Tourism and its ensuing commercialisation are gradually emerging as big threats to the Corbett Tiger Reserve. Around 40 resorts have come up in the tiger corridor leading up to the reserve and just last month, a tiger was hit on this corridor by a tourist vehicle. There are three other resorts on the banks of the Ramganga and similar resorts can also be spotted on the banks of the Kosi that borders the reserve. At Marchula, agricultural land in between the reserve has been converted into private resorts on both sides of the Ramganga. For more: http://www.indianexpress.com/story/346452.html

Caterpillars calling
Buyer Beware, says a new post on the US Fish and Wildlife Service website, warning Americans travelling to China for the Olympics about buying wildlife products banned both in China and the United States. Shop smart and check trade restrictions before buying, for many American citizens returning home have brought in banned ivory and jewellery, says the statement. While this may not mean much to the average person, it proves a point, one which has been consistently chasing Indian forests: the fact that wildlife crime and poaching is big, organised and international, most of it culminating in Asia, notably China; and it can be tackled best only by a multi-disciplinary agency. Though even countries like China have restrictions on many products, this hasn’t stopped the illegitimate market from charting new waters and deftly skirting transit at airports. For more: http://www.indianexpress.com/story/347338.html

Poaching in India may increase as China opens ivory market
Elephant poaching in India may increase as China plans to open its domestic market for limited sale of ivory products after a UN committee gave its consent, experts have said. The CITES recently allowed China to import 108 tonnes of elephant ivory from Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. China is considered the world’s largest ivory market. Conservationists said it would enthuse the illegal ivory market in China that could lead to increased poaching in India. Experts say there are just about 26,000 to 30,000 wild elephants in the country. They face multiple threats of poaching, depleting habitat and food scarcity. For more: http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/enviornment/poaching-in-india-may-increase-as-china-opens-ivory-market_10081280.html

Army to help check rhino poaching in Kaziranga
Indian authorities in the northeastern state of Assam have deployed the army at the famed Kaziranga National Park to control a spurt in incidents of rhino slaughtering by organised poaching syndicates, officials said. A wildlife department spokesman said the commander of the 2nd Mountain Artillery Brigade under the Eastern Command headquarters based in Kolkata was appointed the honorary wildlife warden of Kaziranga National Park. “A notification to this effect was issued recently by the Assam governor with the army asked to assist park authorities for enforcing the legislations under the Wildlife Act of 1972, besides creating awareness and helping in building an interface between locals and wildlife officials,” said S.N. Buragohain, chief warden of the Kaziranga National Park. For more: http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/enviornment/army-to-help-check-rhino-poaching-in-kaziranga_10076186.html

Mott MacDonald helps improve elephant and rhino conservation in Asia
Mott MacDonald has completed a review for the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) on how to improve the conservation and protection of endangered species of elephants and rhinos in some of the most biologically diverse habitats of Asia. Mott MacDonald was commissioned by the WWF in 2008 to review the Asian Rhino and Elephant Action Strategy (AREAS), a species and habitat management programme, and present recommendations to improve its implementation and effectiveness. The AREAS programme targets the protection of the Asian elephant and three species of Asian rhino – the Javan, Sumatran and Indian - across Asia. All four species are in danger of extinction and are listed on the World Conservation Union’s (IUCN) latest Red List of Threatened Species. For more: http://www.environment.mottmac.com/news/?id=222638

Wetlands, Rivers & Water

Southern African wetland region to become world’s largest protected freshwater site
An area of the Democratic Republic of Congo containing the largest body of fresh water in Africa has been added to the Ramsar Convention’s list of Wetlands of International Importance, making it the largest region ever to be designated as such. At more than six-and-a-half million hectares, the Ngiri-Tumba-Maingombe area is twice the size of Belgium and has one of the highest concentrations of biodiversity anywhere in the world. It is also a major carbon sink. "WWF is delighted that Ramsar has recognized the importance of this extraordinary wetland and the efforts of the Democratic Republic of Congo to protect it," said James P. Leape, Director General of WWF International. "This is a significant step forward for the welfare of communities who depend on this wetland for their livelihoods and for the wildlife that lives there." For more: http://www.enn.com/ecosystems/article/37781

EVENTS

The Role Of Marine Mammals In The Ecosystem In The 21st Century; 29 September 2008 - 1 October 2008; Dartmouth, Canada; http://www.nafo.int/symposium.html

Tenth Conference Of The Parties To The Ramsar Convention; 28 October 2008 - 4 November 2008; Changwon, Republic of Korea; http://www.ramsar.org

GEF Council Meeting And Ngo Consultation; 10 - 14 November 2008. Washington DC, United States of America; http://www.thegef.org/interior.aspx?id=268

World Business Summit On Climate Change – Copenhagen 2009; 24 - 26 May 2009; Copenhagen, Denmark; http://www.copenhagenclimatecouncil.com/