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BI-MONTHLY PROGRAMME JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2011 Index Director’s Letter ................................................................................................................................ 2 Secretary’s letter ............................................................................................................................... 4 10th Jan “Exploring the World of the Snow Leopard” – a slide show presentation by Dr Kaustubh Sharma: ................................................................................................... 5 16th Jan Birding in forested hill - Kanakeshwar .......................................................................... 5 23rd Jan Akshi shore birding ....................................................................................................... 5 29th Jan Mingle with migratory birds - Nerul Mudflats ................................................................ 5 30th Jan Matheran Nature Trek .................................................................................................. 5 6th Feb Know the rare trees of Jeejamata Udyan ..................................................................... 5 4 - 6 Feb Bhigwan Bird watching camp - IBA and potential Ramsar Site .................................... 6 12th Feb Karnala Bird Sanctuary Nature Trail ............................................................................. 6 13th Feb Sarasgad Nature Trek .................................................................................................. 6 19th Feb Flamingo Watch at Sewri .............................................................................................. 6 20th Feb. Ramdharneshwar Raptor watch ................................................................................... 6 26th Feb Nature walk at Tulsi Lake, Sanjay Gandhi National Park. ............................................ 7 NATURE CAMPS February 2011 Manas National Park and Ultapani ................................................................................................... 7 March Bandhavgad National Park ............................................................................................................... 7 Garo Hills- Meghalaya ...................................................................................................................... 8 April Wildlife Camp to North Sikkim .......................................................................................................... 8 May 2011 Dudhwa National Park ...................................................................................................................... 9 June 2011 Tadoba National Park ........................................................................................................................ 9 July 2011 Lahaul-Spiti and Pin Valley National Park .......................................................................................10 INTERNATIONAL CAMP February 2011 Sri Lanka – Exploring the Emerald Island ....................................................................................... 10 April 2011 A sixteen days’ rendezvous with the wild wonders of Bhutan .......................................................... 11 Programmes @ CEC-Mumbai ........................................................................................................ 12 6 Ref: 31/2011 Dear Member 1 January 2011 First of all, my best wishes for the New Year to all members of the Society. During the last two months, I visited Upper Assam twice in connection with our project “Civil Society Networks for Site Conservation in the North Bank Landscape, India”, funded by Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF). As the name of the project indicates, we have to interact with members of the civil society, including grass-root local NGOs. As the north bank landscape of north Assam is too large, we selected five Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) and Important Bird Areas (IBAs). This project gave us a good opportunity to work with grass-root NGOs and also to meet decision makers. We worked with Nature’s Care and Friends based in a remote village Lingari-Moran in Dibrugarh district. Its president is Mr Tarun Chang Mai, an active young man who is very keen to see that lethal pesticides which kill birds and other non-target species are not used in the surrounding tea estates. Mukunda Hazarika is another very passionate office bearer of this organization He told me various cases of finding dead birds in and around tea estates. The worst incident was in March 2010 when in Teloijan Tea Estate, between Moran and Bamyunbari, pesticides spread for insect pests killed more than 300 birds, mainly bulbuls, Common Myna, Spotted Dove and Long-tailed Shrike. Nature’s Care and Friends took up the matter with the Manager of the Estate. Since then there is no case of poisoning of birds. Another organization which was supported by us during this project was Nature’s Banyapran, based in Bedeti village in Sonitpur district. This grass-root organization has taken up the cudgel to save 140 sq km. of forests at the border of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. It is called Behali Reserve Forest. Like all reserve forests in Assam, Behali is also under tremendous human pressure and nearly 30 sq km. is already illegally occupied by settlers. However, the remaining forest is still in fairly good condition and the disturbed part can be restored if sufficient protection is given. I have visited Behali RF in September 2010 and found that it is very good (whatever part I could see in one visit). Nature’s Banyapran regularly takes up the issue of its protection and has developed a team of volunteers. Like most of such grass-root organizations, they lack the capacity to conduct biodiversity surveys. We have tried to increase their capacity by organizing workshops on bird census, biodiversity monitoring, fund raising etc, but that is not enough. During my latest trip in December 2010, I interacted with the office bearers and members of Nature’s Banyapran and discussed how Behali RF can be given better protection under the United Nations Reducing Emission from Deforestation and (Forest) Degradation (UN-REDD). If properly implemented and with policies and implementation mechanism in place, I think, REDD has tremendous opportunities to help in protection of natural forests and improving the condition of degraded forests. Now, we even have REDD+. It goes beyond deforestation and forest degradation, and includes the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests, benefit sharing with rural communities, and enhancement of forest carbon stocks. It will be many years before REDD and REDD+ are implemented in our country, meanwhile, dedicated organizations like Nature’s Banyapran will keep on working for nature conservation in their own limited ways. The third organization with whom we worked in this project is Ketekee, Jhanjhimukh village in Jorhat district. I know some office bearers of this organization since the last ten years when we were working on the Important Bird Areas Programme. They helped us in identification of Jhanjimukh-Kokila wetlands as an IBA. This wetland complex attracts thousands of birds. Ketekee is working with local communities to protect the birds and also see that this wetland complex is not encroached further. Thanks to their nature awareness programmes, shooting and poisoning of birds have been reduced greatly. I was amazed to see pictures of Bar-headed Goose grazing very close to villagers and farmers. Fishing is still a problem, like in all other areas of Assam. Ketekee is working with local fishermen to see that at least for some winter months when a large number of migratory ...2... ...2... birds are around, fishing is controlled. Interesting, fishing lease for three years is only Rs 40,000/. I wish we have that sort of money to give to such grass-root organizations so they can purchase the fishing rights and leave the birds undisturbed. Under our CEPF project, we also took up conservation issues of Mehao Wildlife Sanctuary in Lower Dibang Valley of Arunachal Pradesh, and Sonai Rupai Wildlife Sanctuary on the border of Assam and Arunachal. Both were difficult areas to work due to logistic, political disturbance and remoteness. Both did not have any local NGOs so we established what we call Site Support Group (SSG). These SSGs need constant mentoring and capacity building for many years before they are able to stand on their feet. Although many people understand Hindustani and English, the best communication is done in their own language. For this we brought out Mistnet, publication of the Indian Birds Conservation Network, in Assamese. In the Assamese version, we also published article written by local people which made the magazine popular. However, as our CEPF project has ended, we do not have funds to continue this Assamese version anymore. Working in this project has again reconfirmed my view that your Society has to work with grass-root conservationists to make a difference. So much can be achieved with little money and support. Sometime as little as Rs 40,000/- can support a local campaign against misuse of pesticides, or purchase fishing lease for a couple of years. Even to go a meet the District Collector or District Forest Officer needs travel money which a small local NGO may not have. All the five sites where we worked are surrounded by tea estates. We are exploring the possibility of getting some funds/support from these estates. If any member of BNHS knows a tea estate manager