This draft implementation protocol by the environment ministry details procedures for determining critical wildlife babitats within National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries as required by the Scheduled Tribes and Other Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006. The purpose of this Implementation Protocol is to detail the procedure for determining …
The purpose of this Implementation Protocol is to detail the procedure for determining Critical Wildlife Habitats within National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries as required by the Scheduled Tribes and Other Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006. This involves determining and notifying such areas that are to be kept …
INDIA’S tiger habitats may be shrinking but its tiger population has increased, claims the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF). On March 28, the ministry announced 295 tigers have been added to the previous estimate—the 2006 count had estimated 1,411 tigers in the wild, spurring corporate-sponsored save-the-tiger campaigns revolving …
On February 26, as night fell on the tranquil Gahirmatha beach in Odisha, thousands of Olive Ridley turtles crawled in. Using their rear flippers, they dug pits in the soft beach sand and started laying eggs, more than 100 at a time. Then they skilfully covered the nests with sand …
For many of us city-born-and-bred folks, thrills at night are restricted to sitting on a couch and watching the idiot box. For those of us who have the gumption to step out of our comfort zones and venture out for occasional night walks, a whole new world beckons. Recently, I …
In the present study, we surveyed the primate species in the Highwavy Mountains of Tamil Nadu, India. Five primate species, including Nilgiri langur, Hanuman langur, bonnet macaque, lion-tailed macaque and slender loris were recorded in the region. Coffee and cardamom plantations in the hill system still hold the population of …
This booklet, the first of its kind from the Ministry of Environment and Forests, is a result of the consultations with, and the suggestions from, a wide range of individuals and organizations involved in the subject, besides drawing upon reports and scientific studies available on human-leopard conflict. Knowing full well …
The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests has withdrawn its latest guidelines for creating inviolate space for wildlife. The decision to withdraw the critical wildlife habitat (CWH) guidelines followed a March 4 meeting between environment minister Jairam Ramesh, non-profits working on tribal rights, wildlife activists and the chief wildlife wardens …
I was searching for herps at a graveyard in scrub forest on the outskirts of Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu. Herps, for the uninitiated, is slang for herpetofauna, which means amphibian and reptile fauna. Searching under rocks and fallen logs, I came across an old, discarded cement bag and turned it …
FRESH guidelines by the Ministry of Environment and Forests to identify inviolate areas for wildlife have bypassed the Forest Rights Act of 2006. They threaten the interests of forest dwellers. Issued on February 7, they empower the Divisional Forest Officer and the Park Manager to arbitrarily identify areas in and …
PEOPLE on the fringes of Kaziranga National Park are anxious. They fear eviction. On January 9, the Assam gover nment issued eviction notices to 10 families in the Kohora range of the park. Others in 16 villages, marked for park extension, fear it could be their turn next. Residents of …
We have been brought to believe that all wildlife is restricted to wildlife sanctuaries and tiger reserves. True, our forests are repositories of wild animals and plants, most of which would not be able to survive outside the protected ecosystems. But they make up 5 per cent of the country’s …
A WIND farm project under way in Khed and Mawal talukas of Pune has partially destroyed protected forests and threatens farmland in the area. On December 16, 2010, the Bombay High Court, responding to a public interest petition by a people’s forum, ordered a halt on tree felling. But blasting …
Electricity wires hang dangerously over a bituminous road. Unending rows of gigantic windmills look down from where, perhaps, a tiger should have kept an eye on its territory. Instead of birds, turbines create a humming noise. Trees are hardly in sight and one has to be lucky to spot wildlife. …
With one arm in a sling and my hands frozen, my numb fingers struggled with the binoculars. I was watching birds at Sela Pass in western Arunachal Pradesh, on the way to Tawang. I had taken the trip despite the fractured wrist. Situated at 4,200 metres above sea level, Tawang …
Beavers are among the lesser known rodents. Their secret lives have been revealed in a new study. Using discreet video cameras, scientists have been able to study natural behaviour of beavers “at home” in their lodges. Tiny, waterproof cameras, inserted into beaver dens, showed that the animal is very cooperative …
The shiny, greenish-grey beans look no worse off for having passed through the Asian palm civet’s digestive system. “I can’t tell the difference between this coffee and my normal parchment coffee, but connoisseurs say it has a subtle nuttiness,” said septuagenarian coffee planter T S Ganesh, the only producer of …
Around 1820 a certain John James Audubon decided to paint every bird in North America. His efforts resulted in a book called The Birds of America, more than 3 feet by 2 feet in size. On December 7, a copy of the book was auctioned at Sotheby’s. It was bought …
UTTARAKHAND government has opposed a recommendation by a Supreme Court committee to increase the area of Askot Musk Deer Wildlife sanctuary in Pithoragarh district. It said the extension would raise discontent among people living around the sanctuary. Activists allege the government is opposing widening of the sanctuary as it will …
