Downloaded on 10.1515/Mamm.2011.105 15 November 2017

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Downloaded on 10.1515/Mamm.2011.105 15 November 2017 UCLA UCLA Previously Published Works Title Assessing the distribution pattern of otters in four rivers of the Indian Himalayan biodiversity hotspot Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4hr294nh Journal AQUATIC CONSERVATION-MARINE AND FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS, 30(3) ISSN 1052-7613 Authors Gupta, Nishikant Tiwari, Varun Everard, Mark et al. Publication Date 2020-03-01 DOI 10.1002/aqc.3284 Peer reviewed eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California Received: 28 February 2019 Revised: 11 October 2019 Accepted: 25 November 2019 DOI: 10.1002/aqc.3284 RESEARCH ARTICLE Assessing the distribution pattern of otters in four rivers of the Indian Himalayan biodiversity hotspot Nishikant Gupta1 | Varun Tiwari1 | Mark Everard2 | Melissa Savage3 | Syed Ainul Hussain4 | Michael A. Chadwick5 | Jeyaraj Antony Johnson4 | Asghar Nawab6,8 | Vinod K. Belwal7 1International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Kathmandu, Nepal Abstract 2University of the West of England (UWE), 1. The Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra), smooth-coated otter (Lutrogale perspicillata), and Bristol, UK Asian small-clawed otter (Aonyx cinereus) have all been reported previously from 3University of California, Los Angeles, California the Indian state of Uttarakhand. However, little information is available about 4Wildlife Institute of India, Chandrabani, their current distribution in a mountainous region that is subject to increasing Uttarakhand, India human-induced stressors (such as hydropower plants, pollution, sand and boulder 5Department of Geography, King's College mining, destructive fishing techniques, poaching). London, UK 6WWF India, New Delhi, India 2. Owing to important roles played by these otters in structuring riverine food webs 7Balyuli, Almora, Uttarakhand, India (particularly taking account of their roles as top carnivores), it is critical that they 8Wildlife Conservation Society – Turtle receive suitable protection in the face of projected temperature rise, change in Survival Alliance India Programme, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India precipitation patterns, and associated river flows in this Himalayan biodiversity hotspot. This study assesses otter distribution in four rivers of Uttarakhand as a Correspondence Nishikant Gupta, International Centre for basis for informing future conservation actions. Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), 3. Field surveys were conducted (October 2018–January 2019) in reaches of the Post Box # 3226, Kathmandu, Nepal. Email: [email protected] Kosi, Ramganga, Khoh, and Song rivers, supported by semi-structured interviews (N = 379) conducted with members of local communities to collect qualitative Funding information Rufford Foundation, Grant/Award Number: data on views and perceptions of otter species. In addition, community-based 24456-1 otter awareness camps were organized for local youths (N = 105), adults (N = 115), and schoolchildren (N = 256 covering 10 schools). 4. Habitat suitability maps were created using remote-sensing data, survey findings, and a geographic information system to provide information about priority reaches of river to be targeted for future conservation efforts. 5. This study provides critical interdisciplinary baseline information to guide decision-makers towards developing a targeted, otter-specific conservation pro- gramme for this important Himalayan biodiversity hotspot. 6. The otter conservation education programmes conducted during this study resulted in a proposal to set up a community-based conservation initiative to monitor and report otter sightings from the area, potentially representing a way forward for achieving simultaneous otter conservation and associated ecosystem benefits for local communities. Aquatic Conserv: Mar Freshw Ecosyst. 2020;1–10. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/aqc © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 1 2 GUPTA ET AL. KEYWORDS climate change, freshwater, human-induced stressors, Lutrinae, Mustelidae, otters, Uttarakhand, wetlands 1 | INTRODUCTION Directive (Council of the European Communities, 1992; Roos et al., 2015). It is also listed as an endangered species in India and is protec- Species conservation in the Indian Himalayan region (IHR) has often ted on Schedule II (Part 2) of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. focused on megafauna. The Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris), snow The smooth-coated otter is classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN leopard (Panthera uncia), Indian elephant (Elephas maximus indicus), Red List, based on an inferred population decline resulting from habi- and the greater one-horned rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) are tat loss and exploitation (de Silva et al., 2015). Since 1977, the afforded the highest legislative protection and are often the prime smooth-coated otter has been listed on Appendix I of CITES. It is a recipients of conservation attention. By contrast, a lesser degree of protected species in almost all the countries in its range, which pro- explicit attention is devoted to otter conservation, despite these ani- hibits its killing (de Silva et al., 2015). In India, it is protected on Sched- mals being regarded as ‘ambassadors of wetlands’ (Gupta, Johnson, ule II (Part 2) of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Sivakumar, & Mathur, 2016). This is in spite of a variety of legislation The Asian small-clawed otter is also classified as Vulnerable on requiring decision-makers to pay conservation attention to otters, par- the IUCN Red List, based on an inferred past population decline ticularly where they occur within the legislative boundaries of protec- attributed to habitat loss and exploitation (Wright, de Silva, Chan, & ted areas (national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, and community and Reza Lubis, 2015). Potential threats to the survival of Asian small- conservation reserves; Gupta et al., 2016). clawed otters throughout Asia include destruction or degradation of A previous review of available information found that there have essential habitat resulting from changing land-use patterns and other been observations of otters in rivers of the IHR in the past decade development activities (Wright et al., 2015). In India, the primary (Gupta et al., 2016). Three species of otters have been previously threats are loss of habitat from tea and coffee plantations in the hills, reported from Uttarakhand, based on observations in the wild, visual loss of mangroves in the coastal areas driven by aquaculture and signs, discussion with communities, and unconfirmed reports increased human settlements, and siltation of smaller hill streams cau- (Hussain, 1999; Hussain, Gupta, & de Silva, 2011; Khan, Dimri, sed by deforestation (Wright et al., 2015). The threat posed by Nawab, Ilyas, & Gautam, 2014; Nawab & Hussain, 2012a). These poaching is still very significant in many parts of India, and across three species are the Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra), smooth-coated otter Southeast Asia, and requires constant monitoring (Wright et al., (Lutrogale perspicillata), and Asian small-clawed otter (Aonyx cinereus). 2015). Since 1977, the Asian small-clawed otter has also been listed However, there is little available information about their current distri- on CITES Appendix I. In India, the species is protected on Schedule I bution in the face of increasing human-induced stressors (hydropower of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. plants, pollution, sand and boulder mining) and changing climatic vari- Threats faced by these three otter species are similar at the local ables, including a projected rise in temperature and changes in precipi- level. Poaching is suggested as a principal cause of the decline of otter tation patterns and river flows in Uttarakhand (Alfthan et al., 2018; species in South and Southeast Asia, and possibly also in North Asia Indian Network for Climate Change Assessment, 2010; Shrestha et al., (Savage & Shrestha, 2018). Despite conservation legislation, trade in 2015). It is critical, therefore, that the distribution of otter species is these animals continues, principally for their pelt (most seizures of big determined as a key input to otter-specific as well as more general cat products are accompanied by otter skins). In 2005, there were six river conservation strategies, as these top carnivores play important seizures of otter skins in Uttarakhand and another six seizures of otter roles in structuring riverine food webs (Gupta et al., 2016). skins from the neighbouring Indian state of Uttar Pradesh (Savage & Shrestha, 2018). A major wildlife seizure in Delhi in November 2009 comprising 30 kg of tiger bones, two tiger skins, and two leopard skins 1.1 | Otters of Uttarakhand also included seven otter skins (Times of India, 2009). These seized cargos almost certainly underrepresent substantially the scale The conservation status of the three species of otters previously of poaching and animal trade (Gomez, Leupen, Theng, Fernandez, & reported from Uttarakhand are outlined in the following. Savage, 2016; Savage & Shrestha, 2018). Uttarakhand state, on the The Eurasian otter is classified as Near Threatened on the IUCN border with Nepal, has a central position on the northward route of Red List, based on declines in the Asian population attributed to the traded wildlife, and is also a likely source of otter skins. In addition, sensitivity of the species to the recent intensification of human- Uttarakhand has a very high human population density and is also induced threats (Roos, Loy, de Silva, Hajkova, & Zemanová, 2015). sensitive to climate change (Alfthan et al., 2018;
Recommended publications
  • River Ganga at a Glance: Identification of Issues and Priority Actions for Restoration Report Code: 001 GBP IIT GEN DAT 01 Ver 1 Dec 2010
    Report Code: 001_GBP_IIT_GEN_DAT_01_Ver 1_Dec 2010 River Ganga at a Glance: Identification of Issues and Priority Actions for Restoration Report Code: 001_GBP_IIT_GEN_DAT_01_Ver 1_Dec 2010 Preface In exercise of the powers conferred by sub‐sections (1) and (3) of Section 3 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 (29 of 1986), the Central Government has constituted National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) as a planning, financing, monitoring and coordinating authority for strengthening the collective efforts of the Central and State Government for effective abatement of pollution and conservation of the river Ganga. One of the important functions of the NGRBA is to prepare and implement a Ganga River Basin: Environment Management Plan (GRB EMP). A Consortium of 7 Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) has been given the responsibility of preparing Ganga River Basin: Environment Management Plan (GRB EMP) by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), GOI, New Delhi. Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) has been signed between 7 IITs (Bombay, Delhi, Guwahati, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Madras and Roorkee) and MoEF for this purpose on July 6, 2010. This report is one of the many reports prepared by IITs to describe the strategy, information, methodology, analysis and suggestions and recommendations in developing Ganga River Basin: Environment Management Plan (GRB EMP). The overall Frame Work for documentation of GRB EMP and Indexing of Reports is presented on the inside cover page. There are two aspects to the development of GRB EMP. Dedicated people spent hours discussing concerns, issues and potential solutions to problems. This dedication leads to the preparation of reports that hope to articulate the outcome of the dialog in a way that is useful.
    [Show full text]
  • How Do They Add to the Disaster Potential in Uttarakhand?
    South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People Uttarakhand: Existing, under construction and proposed Hydropower Projects: How do they add to the disaster potential in Uttarakhand? As Uttarakhand faced unprecedented flood disaster and as the issue of contribution of hydropower projects in this disaster was debated, one question for which there was no clear answer is, how many hydropower projects are there in various river basins of Uttarakhand? How many of them are operating hydropower projects, how many are under construction and how many more are planned? How projects are large (over 25 MW installed capacity), small (1-25 MW) and mini-mirco (less than 1 MW installed capacity) in various basins at various stages. This document tries to give a picture of the status of various hydropower projects in various sub basins in Uttarakhand, giving a break up of projects at various stages. River Basins in Uttarakhand Entire Uttarakhand is Uttarakhand has 98 operating hydropower part of larger Ganga basin. The Ganga River is a projects (all sizes) with combined capacity trans-boundary river of India and Bangladesh. The close to 3600 MW. However, out of this 2,525 km long river rises in the western Himalayas capacity, about 1800 MW is in central sector in the Indian state of Uttarakhand, and flows south and 503 MW in private sector, making it and east through the Gangetic Plain of North India into Bangladesh, where it empties into the Bay of uncertain how much power from these Bengal. The Ganga begins at the confluence of the projects the state will get.
    [Show full text]
  • Interlinking of Rivers in India: Proposed Sharda-Yamuna Link
    IOSR Journal of Environmental Science, Toxicology and Food Technology (IOSR-JESTFT) e-ISSN: 2319-2402,p- ISSN: 2319-2399.Volume 9, Issue 2 Ver. II (Feb 2015), PP 28-35 www.iosrjournals.org Interlinking of rivers in India: Proposed Sharda-Yamuna Link Anjali Verma and Narendra Kumar Department of Environmental Science, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University (A Central University), Lucknow-226025, (U.P.), India. Abstract: Currently, about a billion people around the world are facing major water problems drought and flood. The rainfall in the country is irregularly distributed in space and time causes drought and flood. An approach for effective management of droughts and floods at the national level; the Central Water Commission formulated National Perspective Plan (NPP) in the year, 1980 and developed a plan called “Interlinking of Rivers in India”. The special feature of the National Perspective Plan is to provide proper distribution of water by transferring water from surplus basin to deficit basin. About 30 interlinking of rivers are proposed on 37 Indian rivers under NPP plan. Sharda to Yamuna Link is one of the proposed river inter links. The main concern of the paper is to study the proposed inter-basin water transfer Sharda – Yamuna Link including its size, area and location of the project. The enrouted and command areas of the link canal covers in the States of Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh in India. The purpose of S-Y link canal is to transfer the water from surplus Sharda River to deficit Yamuna River for use of water in drought prone western areas like Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat of the country.
    [Show full text]
  • A Study on Seasonal Fluctuations in Physico-Chemical Variables in Spring Fed Kosi River at Almora Province from Central Himalaya, India
    Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2015) 4(4): 418-425 ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 4 Number 4 (2015) pp. 418-425 http://www.ijcmas.com Original Research Article A study on seasonal fluctuations in physico-chemical variables in spring fed Kosi River at Almora province from central Himalaya, India Babita Selakoti* and S.N. Rao Radhe Hari Government Post Graduate College Kashipur, Uttarakhand, India *Corresponding author A B S T R A C T K e y w o r d s Present study was conducted with the qualitative estimation on seasonal fluctuation Kosi River, in physico-chemical parameters on Kosi River at Kosi, Almora, Uttarakhand, India. Physico- Various physico-chemical parameters such as temperature, transparency, chemical conductivity, TDS, pH, total alkalinity, chloride, free CO2 and DO were analyzed parameter, for various seasons from the period of January 2013 to December 2013. Some Central parameters were tested on the spot whereas some parameters were tested in the Himalaya, laboratory according to standard method. The present study indicates that Seasonal assessments of physico-chemical parameters of river are necessary for its various fluctuation beneficial purposes. Introduction India is an agricultural country and after The water quality index is very effective monsoon all Indian states get dependent on tool to find out how much an aquatic media water of rivers for irrigation, Thitame et al. contain pollutant. Most of the holy rivers of (2010), Venkatesharaju et al. (2010). The India take their origin from the Himalaya increasing industrialization, urbanization and passes through various places in etc., has made our water bodies full of Uttarakhand region (Verma, 2014 a).
    [Show full text]
  • XIV International Otter Congress Presentations 8-13 April 2019
    XIV International Otter Congress Presentations 8-13 April 2019 Presentation Abstracts 1.1 Preliminary results of the first otter survey in Sichuan Tangjiahe National Nature Reserve, China Author(s): Limin Chen1 Ziyu Ma2 Fei Li2 Affiliation(s): 1 Sichuan Tangjiahe National Nature Reserve, China 2 Kadoorie Farm & Botanic Garden, Lam Kam Road, Tai Po, Hong Kong SAR, China Eurasian Otter (Lutra lutra) were once widely distributed in China. But extensive hunting up to the late-20th century decimated their population. Since its establishment in 1978, Tangjiahe National Nature Reserve in northern Sichuan province, Central China put much emphasis on protection and restoration of its natural resources. Otter has not been confirmed in the Reserve for many years, but with a determined anti-poaching effort, the otter population appears to have bounced back, and Tangjiaheis one of the best places in China where Eurasian otters are reliably seen. In April 2018, the reserve set up an otter monitoring team to study the distribution and status of the local otter population. The team interviewed the local communities to collect local ecological knowledge about otters, and conducted 31 transect survey along streams and rivers covering a total of 96 km. The preliminary results of our one-year study found that otters are distributed in the reserve’s two major rivers: Beilu River and Tangjia River. Otter spraints were mostly found at elevation range between 1000m to 2000m. Simple spraint analysis demonstrated that fishes, especially the snow trout Schizothorax
    [Show full text]
  • Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation
    24 MINISTRY OF WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT AND GANGA REJUVENATION GANGA REJUVENATION [Action taken by the Government on the recommendations contained in Fifteenth Report (Sixteenth Lok Sabha) of the Committee on Estimates] COMMITTEE ON ESTIMATES (2017-18) TWENTY FOURTH REPORT _____________________________________________________________________ (SIXTEENTH LOK SABHA) LOK SABHA SECRETARIAT NEW DELHI 1 TWENTY FOURTH REPORT COMMITTEE ON ESTIMATES (2017-18) (SIXTEENTH LOK SABHA) MINISTRY OF WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT AND GANGA REJUVENATION [Action taken by the Government on the recommendations contained in Fifteenth Report (Sixteenth Lok Sabha) of the Committee on Estimates] (Presented to Lok Sabha on 21 December, 2017) LOK SABHA SECRETARIAT NEW DELHI December, 2017/Agrahayana 1939 (Saka) 2 E.C. No. ________ Price : ₹ _____ © 2016 BY LOK SABHA SECRETARIAT Published under Rule 382 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha (Sixteenth Edition) and printed by the General Manager, Government of India Press, Minto Road, New Delhi – 110002. 3 CONTENTS PAGE COMPOSITION OF THE COMMITTEE ON ESTIMATES (2017-18) INTRODUCTION CHAPTER I Report 1 CHAPTER II Recommendations/Observations which have been 31 accepted by Government CHAPTER III Recommendations/Observations which the Committee do 78 not desire to pursue in view of Government’s replies CHAPTER IV Recommendations/Observations in respect of which 79 replies of Government’s replies have not been accepted by the Committee CHAPTER V Recommendations/Observations in
    [Show full text]
  • River and Its Environs: Mahakali / Sharda – an Introduction
    1 River and its Environs: Mahakali / Sharda – An Introduction The river Mahakali is called by various Nepal. Mahakali is a trans- names viz. Kali, Mahakali, Sarda along its boundary/international river. In whole of course falling in India and Nepal. River South Asia, rivers have played a symbiotic Mahakali is a Himalayan catchment of role in the dependence of communities on Ghagra sub basin of the large Ganga them, their socio-cultural-economic Basin, originating from the Trans relations, and mutual economic Himalayan region (>3600 m) ultimately cooperation and with changing times draining the region through the Tarai- these inter-linkages needs to be plains of Uttar Pradesh. Almost 1/3rd strengthen further. catchment area of Ganga basin lies in Numerous rivers and streams join the Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. The Mahakali from the higher, middle, lower catchment area of Mahakali is around and outer Himalayas and almost each of 15,260 sq km, large part of which (9,943 such confluence (at least of major rivers) sq km) lies in Uttarakhand and rest lies in 2 acts as a place of socio-cultural, trade- joins Kali at Pancheshwar, Panar and festival importance. Before the river eastern Ramganga meet near encounters Tanakpur barrage (Sarda Rameshwar. On the right bank, Lohawati Ghat) and later Banbasa Barrage, the from Lohaghat and Ladhiya from the main river is a free riverine stream. The Nainital hills flow to meet Sharda / Kali. catchment boundaries of Mahakali/Sarda Key Components and Purpose basin cut across administrative boundaries of
    [Show full text]
  • Environmental Assessment Document
    Draft Initial Environmental Examination November 2011 IND: Infrastructure Development Investment Program for Tourism — Project 2: Uttarakhand Prepared by the Government of Uttarakhand for the Asian Development Bank. CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS (as of 15 September 2011) Currency unit – Rupee (INR) INR1.00 = $0.02098 $1.00 = INR 47.65 ABBREVIATIONS ADB - Asian Development Bank ASI - Archaeological Survey of India CPCB - Central Pollution Control Board CRZ - Coastal Regulation Zone DoT - Department of Tourism DSC - Design and Supervision Consultants EIA - Environmental Impact Assessment EMP - Environmental Management Plan GMVN - Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nagam IEE - Initial Environmental Examination KMVN - Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nagam NGO - Non-government Organization PIU - Project Implementation Unit PMU - Project Management Unit RCC - Reinforced cement concrete ROW - Right-of-way SPS - Safeguard Policy Statement TA - Technical Assistance TRH - Tourist Rest House UEPPB - Uttarakhand Environment Protection and Pollution Board UTDB - Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board WEIGHTS AND MEASURES ha – Hectare km – kilometer m – Meter NOTES (i) In this report, "$" refers to US dollars. (ii) ―INR‖ and ―Rs‖ refer to Indian rupees This initial environmental examination is a document of the borrower. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of ADB's Board of Directors, Management, or staff, and may be preliminary in nature. In preparing any country program or strategy, financing any project, or by making any designation of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area in this document, the Asian Development Bank does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page EXECUTIVE SUMMARY I. INTRODUCTION 1 A.
    [Show full text]
  • Projects Under Operation in Uttarakhand State
    Hydro Projects Under Operation in Uttarakhand State Estimated S.No. Name of Project Potential District River/Tributory Agency (MW) 1 Maneri Bhali Stage - II 304 Uttarkashi Bhagirathi UJVNL 2 Chibro 240 Dehradun Tons UJVNL 3 Ramganga 198 Pauri Ramganga UJVNL 4 Chilla 144 Pauri Ganga UJVNL 5 Khodri 120 Dehradun Tons UJVNL 6 Tiloth 90 Uttarkashi Bhagirathi UJVNL 7 Dhalipur 51 Dehradun Yamuna UJVNL 8 Khatima 41.4 U.S. Nagar Sarda UJVNL 9 Dhakrani 33.75 Dehradun Yamuna UJVNL 10 Kulhal 30 Dehradun Yamuna UJVNL Upper ganga 11 Pathari 20.4 Hardwar Canal UJVNL Upper ganga 12 Mohmadpur 9.3 Hardwar Canal UJVNL 13 Galogi 3 Dehradun Bhattafall UJVNL 14 Urgam 3 Chamoli Kalpganga UJVNL 15 Dunao 1.5 Pauri Eastern Nayar UJVNL 16 Tanakpur 120.00 Champawat Sharda NHPC 17 Dhauli Ganga 280.00 Pithoragarh Dhauli Ganga NHPC 18 Tehri Dam 1000.00 Tehri Bhagirathi THDC 19 Koteshwar Dam 400.00 Tehri Bhagirathi THDC 20 Rajwakti 3.6 Chamoli Nandakini Him Urja Pvt Ltd 21 Hanuman Ganga 4.95 Uttarkashi Hanuman ganga Regency Aqua 22 Vishnuprayag 400 Chamoli Alaknanda JPVL 23 Deval 5 Chamoli Pinder Chamoli Hydro Pvt Ltd. 24 Loharkhet 4.8 Bageshwar Lohar Khet Parvatiya Power Pvt Ltd. 25 Agunda Thati 3 Tehri Balganga Gunsola Hydro 26 Vanala 15 Chamoli Banala Hima Urja Pvt Ltd. 27 Bhilangana 22.5 Tehri Bhilangana Swasti Power 28 Motighat 5 Pithoraharh Sheraghat Himalaya Hydro (P) Ltd. 29 Birahiganga 7.2 Chamoli Birahiganga Birahignaga Hydro 30 Rishiganga 13.2 Chamoli Rishiganga Rishiganga Power 31 Bhilangna III 24 Uttarkashi Bhilangana Bhilangana Hydro Power Ltd 32 Gangani 8 Uttarkashi Gangani Regency Gangani Energy 33 Sarju Stage-III 10.5 Bageshwar Sarju Uttar Bharat Power Pvt.
    [Show full text]
  • 2019/2117 of 29 November 2019 Amending Council
    02019R2117 — EN — 11.12.2019 — 000.001 — 1 This text is meant purely as a documentation tool and has no legal effect. The Union's institutions do not assume any liability for its contents. The authentic versions of the relevant acts, including their preambles, are those published in the Official Journal of the European Union and available in EUR-Lex. Those official texts are directly accessible through the links embedded in this document ►B COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) 2019/2117 of 29 November 2019 amending Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 on the protection of species of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade therein (OJ L 320, 11.12.2019, p. 13) Corrected by: ►C1 Corrigendum, OJ L 330, 20.12.2019, p. 104 (2019/2117) 02019R2117 — EN — 11.12.2019 — 000.001 — 2 ▼B COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) 2019/2117 of 29 November 2019 amending Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 on the protection of species of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade therein Article 1 The Annex to Regulation (EC) No 338/97 is replaced by the text set out in the Annex to this Regulation. Article 2 This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. 02019R2117 — EN — 11.12.2019 — 000.001 — 3 ▼B ANNEX Notes on interpretation of Annexes A, B, C and D 1. Species included in Annexes A, B, C and D are referred to: (a) by the name of the species; or (b) as being all of the species included in a higher taxon or designated part thereof.
    [Show full text]
  • Assessment of Environmental Flows for the Upper Ganga Basin
    Supported By: Assessment of Environmental Flows for the Upper Ganga Basin Untitled-1 1 05/06/12 4:01 PM AUTHORS Jay O’Keeffe, Nitin Kaushal, Luna Bharati, Vladimir Smakhtin ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Working on this initiative has been a challenge. We would not have reached this stage without the inputs and support of several individuals and institutions that have helped us in our endeavour. Dr. Tom Le Quesne at WWF-UK provided us the initial conceptual framework, taught us about E-Flows and got us started on the journey. We also express our gratitude to Mr. Ravindra Kumar from SWaRA, Government of Uttar Pradesh, for being a constant source of encouragement and for his valuable contribution to this work. We would like to thank Mr. Paritosh Tyagi, Former Chairman of Central Pollution Control Board, who has been associated with the Living Ganga Programme since its inception and shared his rich knowledge on the subject, and Dr. Savita Patwardhan from Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune for providing us with much needed climate data. Key partners who have been part of this study, and without whom it would not have been possible to complete this work are Dr. Ravi Chopra and Ms. Chicu Lokgariwar, People’s Science Institute, Dehradun; Prof Vinod Tare, Prof. Rajiv Sinha and Dr. Murali Prasad, IIT Kanpur; Dr. Vikrant Jain, Delhi University; Prof. Prakash Nautiyal, Garhwal University; Prof. AK Gosain, IIT Delhi; and Dr. Sandhya Rao, INRM. We would like to thank Ms. Laura Forster for the technical editing of this report. At WWF-India, we are highly obliged to Mr.
    [Show full text]
  • Writ Petition (PIL) No.123 of 2014
    IN THE HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND AT NAINITAL Writ Petition (PIL) No.123 of 2014 Aali-Bedini-Bagzi Bugyal Sanrakshan Samiti ……. Petitioner Versus State of Uttarakhand & others … Respondents Mr. J.S. Bisht, Advocate, for the petitioner. Mr. Pradeep Joshi, Standing Counsel, for the State. Dated: August 21, 2018 Coram: Hon’ble Rajiv Sharma , A.C.J. Hon’ble Lok Pal Singh, J. Per: Hon. Rajiv Sharma, A.C.J. 1) This petition, in the nature of public interest litigation, has been instituted on behalf of the petitioner- society which was registered on 6.10.2006 under the provisions of the Societies Registration Act, 1860. The registered office of the Society is at Lohajung, Post Mundoli, Tehsil Tharali, District Chamoli. The petition has been filed to conserve and preserve Bugyal (Alpine meadows) situated below the area of Roopkund in District Chamoli. Petitioner has also sought a direction to the Forest Department to remove the permanent structure/construction of fibre huts constructed in Bugyals’ area and also to stop the commercial grazing in the area of Bugyals. The population of 60,000/- comes under the Blocks, namely, Tharali, Dewal and Ghat. The area of Bugyal in these three Blocks covers approximately 4,000 square hectares in the forest area of Badrinath Forest Range. Petitioner has also placed on record the copy of the objects of the Society. 2 2) The Bugyals/ meadows are also considered as high-altitude grasslands or meadows situated in the hills, particularly in Garhwal region of District Chamoli below the peak of ‘Jyouragali’. The word ‘Bugyal’ in Garhwali basically means meadow and pasture land which exists above a certain altitude in the mountains also known as ‘Alpine Meadows’.
    [Show full text]