July-August 2016 NEWS LETTER

KERALA 2016

Newsletter of WWF - India, Kerala State Office

FROM THE STATE DIRECTOR’S DESK History Society has come forward to partner with us in this venture. An initial meeting of expert birders were called We have initiated a project recently titled ‘Marine Turtle for in our office and detailed discussions carried out on the Conservation in Kerala’. In the earlier WWF project that methodology to be followed, areas to be covered etc. Based on covered the whole coastline of the country, we had made a preference of geographical location, a set of specific cells have comprehensive coverage of the locations along Kerala Coast been allotted to each expert birder. When going to the field, from where Marine Turtles, namely Olive Ridley Turtles, have preferably in the early mornings from 6am – 10am, the expert been reported. Through the data collection field exercise birder can take along 1 or 2 amateur birders or youngsters and and interaction with the coastal community, we had got introduce them to the world of bird watching. So ultimately in touch with people along the Coast who are directly or the field exercise is envisaged as a documentation exercise as indirectly involved in Marine Turtle Conservation. From our well as a bird watching popularization exercise. The field staff interactions, we understand that these people are from various of the Forests and Wildlife Department is also expected to give walks of life – some auto rickshaw drivers, others painters, us any support required at the local level. Our Environment daily wage laborers, fishermen etc. They are attracted to Education programmes are also going ahead full steam the protection and conservation of the Marine Turtles only touching upon various themes and reaching to different because of their genuine interest. In many areas, they are segments of the society. We organized the International Tiger doing it willingly and voluntarily. Through our present Day 2016 at TKM Arts & Science College, Kollam and this year project, we envisage to build the capacity of the Local Marine the most surprising thing was that the College came to us and Turtle Conservation Groups (LMTCGs), especially youth took the initiative to conduct the event. The Friday Forums coming newly into this field, and also improve the available and Sunday Bird Walks are also being organized regularly. As infrastructure for better interpretation and education of the in previous years, the Nature Club Members of MGM School, wider society. In this regard, we have identified six groups Varkala took up the Beach Cleanup Campaign in Varkala Beach along Kerala Coast i.e. Naithal from Neeleswaram (Kasargod), especially in the background of the Karkidaka Vavu Bali being Theeram in Kolavipalam (Kozhikode), Soorya Arts, Sports conducted in this beach and the whole area being visited by and Cultural Club in Thaikadapuram Beach, Chavakkad thousands of the people on that day and fully being littered (Thrissur), Fighter’s Club in Blangad Beach, Chavakkad, with pooja materials. The initiative of the MGM School and Green Habitat in Chavakkad Beach and Green Roots Nature their students are really to be appreciated. WWF and CPREEC, Conservation Forum in Thottapally (Alappuzha). From the Chennai has been able to come together to launch the WIPRO initiation of the project itself, we are in discussion with these earthian programme in Kerala. Under this programme, groups and it has taken a while to gain them into confidence. interested schools and their students are expected to take up In detailed discussion with the group members, we have their own mini projects at their school level on the topics of understood their operations along the Coast mainly during ‘Water and Biodiversity Conservation’. An initial Teachers the turtle nesting season from October – March. We have Training Workshop followed by a Students Orientation been able to understand their various needs, identify the gaps Workshop was organized in Thiruvananthapuram and the and also suggest possible interventions to make their work details and resource materials shared with the participants. more effective and efficient. In the coming days, we will The Senior Education Officer is also doing necessary follow- be doing many activities along the Coast which will really up with the participant schools. The City-level competition of take Marine Turtle Conservation along the Kerala Coast to a Wild Wisdom Quiz 2016 was conducted at St. Mary’s School, heightened level. Another major task that we have set forth Thiruvananthapuram where the School-level Winners of on during this period is the Field Survey and Observations the Junior Category and Middle Category came together and towards the Bird Atlas at district level. We have been assigned competed for the City-level Winner title. With much planning the responsibility of covering the three southern districts and preparation, the event was conducted in the most of Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and Pathanamthitta. In efficient manner. Thiruvananthapuram, we are expected to cover around 156 non-forest cells during this season. Travancore Natural Renjan Mathew Varghese, State Director

using ropes more than 20 storeys into the dizzying canopy IMPORTANT NEWS ON of a tree that survived thousands of years, enduring drought, ENVIRONMENT AND NATURE wildfire and disease. There, the Arborists clipped off tips of young branches to be hand-delivered across the country, cloned in a lab and eventually planted in a forest in some GLOBAL other part of the world. The two are part of a cadre of modern day Johnny Appleseeds who believe California’s Giant California’s giant trees cloned to combat climate change Sequoias and coastal Redwoods are blessed with some of the heartiest genetics of any trees on Earth and that propagating At the foot of a giant Sequoia in California’s Sierra Nevada, them will help reverse climate change, at least in a small two Arborists stepped into harnesses and then inched up way. (Source: The Hindu, 21 July 2016)

Mruthika/ July-August 2016 / 1 Clean water for all, 24x7 as the Managing Director of A.P. Urban Greening and Beautification Corporation Ltd., was on a “green walk” The United Nations discussed and passed a non-binding with his friends, when he chanced upon the ‘Marbled resolution to set an agenda primarily to eradicate poverty and develop an action plan for people, planet and Map’, a rare butterfly species usually found in the north- prosperity, as it calls it. For this, 17 sustainable goals east. According to the Book of Indian Butterflies by Issac and 169 targets have been identified, set as a target for Kehimkar and published by Oxford University Press, the year 2030. The comprehensive website for the SDG Marbled Map or Cyrestis cocles is listed as a “rare” butterfly (Sustainable Development Goals) is at http://www.un.org/ species confined to forested hills in the region between sustainabledevelopment/. Of these goals, the one for water Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bhutan and and sanitation is SDG 6. Clean, accessible water for all is Myanmar. (Source: The Hindu, 15 July 2016) an essential part of the world we want to live in. There is sufficient fresh water on the planet to achieve this. But due to Two Leopards die due to suspected poisoning bad economics or poor infrastructure, every year millions of Two Leopards died due to suspected poisoning near people, most of them children, die from diseases associated Hanchipura Village close to the Omkara Range of Bandipur with inadequate water supply, sanitation and hygiene. National Park on Tuesday. Bandipur National Park Director Water scarcity, poor water quality and inadequate sanitation Hiralal told The Hindu that the Leopards were about one- negatively impact food security, livelihood choices and year-old and one of them was a melanistic variant and educational opportunities for poor families across the world. black in colour. The incident came to light in the morning SDG 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of when one of the Leopards was found dead but another was water and sanitation for all. still gasping for breath and the Forest Department Staff 6.1 By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe immediately tried to shift it to the hospital for treatment but and affordable drinking water for all. it died en route. (Source: The Hindu, 12 July 2016) 6.2 By 2030, achieve access to adequate and equitable Eco-friendly transport in Kolkata’s Fort William sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation, Battery operated rickshaws, locally called ‘Totos’ are allowed paying special attention to the needs of women and girls to ply in Fort William, the headquarters of Eastern Command, and those in vulnerable situations. (Source: The Hindu, 16 for the civilians to commute in the 177 acres campus. The July 2016) initiative has indeed benefited those who work in the Eastern Command — the former and current employees — who NATIONAL routinely visit Fort William, located on the eastern banks of the river Hooghly. The rickshaws ply from 8 am to 8 pm Iconic Tigress Machhli walks into history inside Fort William, which completes 235th year in 2016. (Source: The Hindu, 13 July 2016) Legendary Tigress Machhli, who was the world's oldest Tigress in the wild, died in Ranthambhore National Park in Sawai Madhopur district of Rajathan after a prolonged STATE illness. She had stopped eating for the last five days. She was 19 years old, while the average age of a Tiger is 14 to Freshwater biodiversity under threat 15 years. Also referred to as T-16, the Tigress was named Machhli because of marks on her face which resembled More than half of the endemic freshwater biodiversity in the a fish. The celebrity Tigress was also the world's most- Kerala region of the Western Ghats could be inching towards photographed big cat and had a postage stamp and several extinction in habitats outside protected areas, a recent study documentary films on her name. Wildlife lovers used to by an expert group has revealed. The study published in the track her movements through several Facebook pages latest issue of Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater dedicated to her. Machhli played a significant role in Ecosystems, an international journal, found that, around populating the Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve, as she was 130 species of freshwater-dependent species including fish, blessed with 11 cubs, including seven females and four amphibians, crabs, shrimps and odonates were endemic to males.(Source: The Hindu, 19 Aug 2016) the region, with 33 species listed as Critically Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable. More than half of the 130 species Rare ‘Marbled Map’ butterfly sighted in Eastern Ghats were not represented in the Protected Area (PA) network of When a group of green enthusiasts were exploring the the State. The paper notes that native freshwater biodiversity thick forest of Eastern Ghats near P.M. Kota Village of inside Protected Areas was exposed to multiple threats like Maredumilli Mandal in East Godavari district of Andhra invasive alien species, damming of rivers and infectious Pradesh, they were hoping to sight some interesting flora diseases. Although 62 endemic freshwater species occur and fauna. Little did they realise they would stumble inside the PA network, they are rarely subject to species- upon a butterfly species never before sighted in south specific management or monitoring plans, it observes. India. N. Chandramohan Reddy IFS, currently working (Source: The Hindu, 6 July 2016)

2 / Mruthika/ July-August 2016 through a lesser electricity bill and we had the luxury of SPECIES OF THE ISSUE a more clean and green environment, not hampered by global warming and climate change. Now, with the so-called development, when we have I‑m-«‑p-]-«‑n given up all these mechanical implements and replaced Wild Dog (Cuon alpinus) them with electrical and electronic equipments, our body does not get the required exercise, and we are entitled to blood sugar, hyper tension, cholesterol etc. at the age of 40 itself. We sacrifice our sleep and get up at 5am and go and walk or run in public parks and play grounds. We are so much bogged down by our huge monthly electricity bills and every day we face the imminent threat of global warming and climate change with our increased energy consumption and subsequent energy production. Is this really development? Weren’t our earlier generations much wiser with their choices... The latest trend to have malls and major shopping complexes to run 24*7 is another foolish step in the same -c-f-¯‑n-s‑e I‑m-S‑p-I-f‑n-s‑e-Ã‑m‑w X-s‑¶ I-ï‑p-h-c‑p-¶ H-c‑p direction. Few major reasons why we should not allow this C-c-]‑n-S‑n-b³ a‑r-K-a‑m-W‑v I‑m-«‑p-]-«‑n (Wild Dog‑). \-½‑p-s‑S is because: ItI‑m-S‑p-I-f‑n "s‑N-¶‑m-b‑' C-Ã, ]-I-c‑w "I‑m-«‑p-]-«‑n‑'b‑m-W‑v A-h-c‑p-s‑S A developing society should have healthy people. For a t‑d‑mÄ \‑nÀ-Æ-l‑n-¡‑p-¶-X‑v. I‑m-g‑v-N-b‑n \-½‑p-s‑S H-c‑p s‑N-¼³ \‑n- d-a‑p-Å \‑m-«‑p-]-«‑n-s‑b-t‑¸‑m-s‑e t‑X‑m-¶‑n-¡‑p-s‑a-¦‑n-e‑p‑w k‑z-`‑m-h-¯‑n person to stay healthy, he or she should get average 6-8 C--h³ X-\‑n I‑m-S-\‑m-W‑v. H-ä-bv¡v I‑m-Wp-s‑a-¦‑n-e‑p‑w C-h I‑q-«‑w hours of sleep. Especially for our younger generation, t‑NÀ-¶‑m-W‑v P‑o-h‑n-¡‑p-¶-X‑v. G-X‑m-ï‑v H-c‑p a‑o-ä-t‑d‑m-f‑w \‑o-f-h‑p‑w who are already awake most of the time with TV, internet, 12þ18 kg h-s‑c `‑m-c-hpa‑p-ï‑m-I‑p‑w. ]-t‑£ ]-e-t‑¸‑m-g‑p‑w C-h-b‑p-s‑S mobile, video games etc., let us not push them too much C-c-IÄ C-h-t‑c-¡‑mÄ ]-X‑n³-a-S-§‑v `‑m-c-h‑p‑w h-e‑n-¸-h‑p-a‑p-Å-h- further by giving the choice of spending whole night in c‑m-W‑v. k‑w-L‑w t‑NÀ-¶‑v h-f-ª‑n-«‑m-W‑v C-h h-e‑n-b-a‑r-K-§-s‑f malls. B-{‑I-a‑n-¨‑p I‑o-g‑v-s‑¸-S‑p-¯‑p-¶-X‑v. s‑I‑m-¶‑p-X‑n-¶‑m³ I-g‑n-b‑m-¯-X‑p- s‑I‑m-ï‑p X-s‑¶ ]-e-t‑¸‑m-g‑p‑w P‑o-h-t‑\‑m-s‑S a‑m-{‑X-t‑a `-£‑n-¡‑m³ I-g‑n-b‑q..... C-X‑n-\‑n-S-bv¡‑v C-c N-t‑¯‑m-f‑p‑w. C-§-s‑\ ]‑n-S‑n-¡‑p-¶- X‑p s‑I‑m-ï‑p X-s‑¶ C-h-b‑p-s‑S C-c-b‑p-s‑S a‑m‑w-k‑w _‑m-¡‑n h-b‑v- ¡‑m-d‑n-Ã. F-Ã‑m-h-c‑p‑w I‑q-S‑n X‑n-¶‑p X‑oÀ-¡p‑w. t‑h-«-b‑m-S‑p-t‑¼‑mÄ X-½‑n B-i-b-h‑n-\‑n-a-b‑w s‑N-¿‑p-¶-X‑v N‑q-f‑w h‑n-f‑n-b‑n-e‑q-s‑S-b‑m-W‑v. A-X‑n-\‑m C-h-s‑b "Whistling Hunters‑' F-¶‑p h‑n-f‑n-¡‑m-d‑p-ï‑v. ]‑p-Å‑n-a‑m³‑, ¾‑m-h‑v‑, I‑m-«‑p-]-¶‑n‑, a-ä‑p s‑N-d‑n-b a‑r-K-§Ä‑, I‑m-«‑p-t‑I‑m-g‑n X‑p-S-§‑n-b-h‑m-W‑v {‑]-[‑m-\ C-c-IÄ. a-s‑ä-Ã‑m h-\‑y-P‑o-h‑n-I-s‑f-b‑p‑w t‑]‑m-s‑e X-s‑¶ B-h‑m-k-t‑i-‑m-j-W-a‑m-W‑v C-h-b‑p‑w t‑\-c‑n-S‑p-¶ {‑]-[‑m-\ `‑o-j-W‑n.

EXPERT TALK Everyday when we open the newspaper in the morning, we read many stories of eve teasing, molestation, rapes, Malls and major shopping complexes to be open 24 * 7 murders etc. And many of these happen in the darkness of Some practices in the past were really good…….. the night. Do we really want to try our luck by extending more active hours into the night? Just stop for a moment, think and reflect….just go back 20 years back……..to a household in Kerala…… we used Malls are becoming hang-out places for boys and girls, to have Ural and Ulakka to powder things like rice…….. including senior school children, during the day time. The Aattukallu to make dosa dough……. Ammikallu to grind only consolation the parents have is that the kid are home things together like coconut, garlic, pepper, chilly etc……. by evening or late evening and is in the security of the We have now given away all these things and replaced them home. Let us not sacrifice the security of our kids. with electrical grinders, mixies etc. On one side, when all I had read in an article sometime back that “Malls are these traditional home implements used to give us some becoming the temples of modern Indian”. Kids and good physical exercise, on the other hand, it used to keep youngsters do not want to go to temples, churches etc. our energy consumption much lesser, help us save money Rather they want to spend time with family and friends

Mruthika/ July-August 2016 / 3 in malls and shopping complexes which are the so-called happening places in our culture now. Are we moving in the ACTIVITIES OF WWF-INDIA right direction? KERALA STATE OFFICE Malls and shopping complexes use a large amount of electricity for their extravagant lighting, both exterior and interior, and for operation of elevators, escalators etc. Marine Turtle Conservation along Kerala Coast Kerala is already reeling under deficit of power. We are As part of the ongoing project supported by Johnson Lifts trying to come up with more power projects, to meet the and Escalators, Chennai, the State Director, Mr. Vinod increasing demand for power in our society, with major Malayilethu, Senior Co-ordinator, Marine Programme negative impacts on nature and environment and we are and Mr. Murukan Pareparambil, Volunteer visited also looking at possibilities of buying power from other Neeleswaram on 7th July and Kolavipalam on 8th July states through the Central grid at a much higher cost. Do we and had detailed interaction with the Local Marine Turtle really want to worsen this situation by further increasing Conservation Groups (LMTCGs) to understand the present our power consumption? situation, drawbacks, field level requirement with regard As malls and shopping complexes remain open, commuting to local marine turtle conservation efforts and look at ways will be more and that too in private vehicles. We are still by which these can be addressed through the project. now totally dependent on fossil fuels and the number of The requirements at the local level from Nileswaram, vehicles on the roads are increasing exponentially which Kolavipalam, Chavakkad and Thottapally have been directly translates into more carbon emissions. Let us compiled and submitted to Mr. Vinod for final approval keep our vehicle use less atleast in the night and give our to move ahead with the field-level implementation. trees the space and freedom to convert carbon dioxide into The information collected from the Local Marine Turtle oxygen. Conservation Groups was compiled into an excel sheet, discussed internally with regard to the possible Should there be more reasons why we should keep our interventions within the framework of this project and malls and shopping complexes closed after 11pm? I am not budgetary allocations carried out. the one to decide. We need to think and take a collective decision. But make sure that we do not regret in future. Bird Atlas in Thiruvananthapuram Renjan Mathew Varghese Thiruvananthapuram Bird Atlas had a royal start with Thiruvananthapuram 42 bird watchers, including expert birders and budding bird watchers. The district-level inauguration was held in front of the Kawdiar Palace, which in itself is one of the CHILDREN’S CORNER sampling sites, at 7.30 am. Sri. C.S. Yalakki IFS, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Social Forestry) inaugurated Activity 2: Make your own water filter! You need: • A large clear bottle, preferably a discarded one. • Two clear jars or beakers, • Cotton Wool, • Clean, Washed sand • Clean, Washed gravel, • Paper napkin/ towels, • Garden Soil, • An old Spoon, • Scissors Method: Carefully cut the bottom off the bottle, turn it upside down and plug the neck with cotton wool. Put a thick layer of clean, washed gravel on top of the cotton wool followed by a thick layer of clean, washed sand. Cut out the circle of paper towel and lay it on top of the the survey in presence of Prince Adithya Varma and his sand and let your filter stand on top of a clean jar or beaker. wife Smt. Resmi Varma, also a bird enthusiast. Two sessions Mix two or three spoonfuls of garden soil with some water of birding was done within the palace premises resulting in in the separate jar and stir it thoroughly. Slowly pour this the sighting of 14 species of birds. The ‘Pocket Guide to Birds muddy water onto the disc of paper towel in your filter. of Kerala’ was released by Prince Adithya Varma. Renjan Observe the water that comes out of your filter.... isn't it Mathew Varghese, State Director of WWF-India, Sri.J.R. Ani, sparking clean!!! Yes  Asst. Conservator of Forests, Sri. Ramesh M.B. of TNHS and

4 / Mruthika/ July-August 2016 Sunday Bird Walk

Sunday Bird Walk of July was held on 17th July at Kallar Forests. Sixteen bird enthusiasts attended the programme Sri. A.K.Sivakumar, Coordinator of the Survey spoke on and observed 42 species of birds including Indian Cuckoo, the occasion. The wider bird documentation programme Pompadour Pigeon, Fairy Blue bird, Crested Tree Swift etc. is going on at a faster mode across the district under the leadership of 12 expert birders. The combined effort resulted in 75% of the area beign covered in this month itself. All the leading volunteers are in the field on most of the holidays accompanied with one or two volunteers. They went into each preselected sample cells and collected 2 sets of observations for 15 minutes each. The observations were very interesting and actually it was a learning process for everyone involved in this programme

Friday Forum Friday Forum, the regular monthly open forum for students to discuss environment related issues was held on 8th July Observation of International Tiger Day 2016 at TKM 2016 at Museum Auditorium, Thiruvananthapuram and College, Kollam was the first of this academic year. Dr.S.Sudevan from Indian Meteorological Department, Thiruvananthapuram Kerala State Office observed the International Tiger led the session on Monsoons of Kerala & Water Day 2016 at TKM College, Kollam on 29th July 2016 in Conservation. Around 89 students from 3 schools attended association with Social Forestry Extension Unit, Kollam the progrgamme. and the College. The programme was inaugurated by Sri. Shahal Hassan Musaliyar, Chairman of the College Trust. He released a set of Tiger Conservation Posters with

Friday Forum in August was held on Friday 5th August captions in Malayalam. The session on ‘Vanishing Stripes 2016 at Museum Auditorium, Thiruvananthapuram and – issues and concerns of Tiger Conservation’ was led by was the second of this academic year. Sri.Baiju, Programme Sri. Renjan Mathew Varghese, State Director, WWF-India. Officer, Centre for Environment and Development, Following this, the documentary ‘India - Land of the Tiger’ Thiruvananthapuram led the session on ‘Solid Waste was screened. A.K.Sivakumar, Senior Education Officer Management’. Around 120 students and their Teachers mastered an interactive quiz competition exclusively on from 4 schools attended the programme. Tigers. Around 120 students from various classes attended

Mruthika/ July-August 2016 / 5 the programme and discussed and deliberated on the hard fact that “our remaining few Tigers and their shrinking habitats needs to be protected at any cost”. The posters prepared by WWF-India in Hindi on addressing Human- Tiger Conflict was translated into Malayalam to be used for the observation of the International Tiger Day by the Western Ghats Landscape Team. All India Radio took an audio bite of the State Director on the Present Status and Issues of Tigers to be aired on the morning of International Tiger Day 2016. attended. The workshop had two technical sessions on ‘Water and Sustainability’ and ‘Biodiversity’ which were led by Renjan Mathew Varghese, State Director and A.K.Sivakumar, Senior Education Officer of WWF- India. The Teachers and students were briefed about the objectives, themes, methodology and expected outcome of the programme by Sri.U.T.Arasu of CPREEC. WIPRO earthian was represented in the workshop by Ms. Arathy Hanumanthappa who presented a national picture of the programme and its achievements over the years.

Beach Cleanup at Varkala Beach

Follow up orientation for WIPRO earthian 2016 As requested by the Teachers who had participated in the WIPRO earthian 2016 TTW, another follow up programme was conducted for students of the participant schools on 16th August at the Museum Auditorium in Following the previous year, the Nature Club Members Thiruvananthapuram. Around 40 students participated of MGM School, Varkala did a great job showing their in the orientation programme in which the project outline commitment towards Mother Earth and society by cleaning and frameworks were explained to them on the themes of up the entire length of Papanasam Beach at Varkala littered Water Conservation and Biodiversity. Now, the students with banana leaves, flowers, plastic and other pooja are expected to submit their projects by 15th October materials left over by thousands of people who had visited 2016. The projects will be evaluated by a national panel the area the previous day as part of Karkkidaka Vavu. The of experts for its innovativeness, methodology, outcome Municipality was also part of the programme this year. and creativity with regard to the final representation in the It was advised by WWF-India to collect the waste in a form of the project report which can incorporate poems/ segregated manner to analyze the major components and songs, photos and videos, charts and diagrams etc. make a strategy to reduce and properly dispose it in the coming years.

Teachers Training Workshop (TTW) on Sustainability Education The WIPRO earthian 2016 programme was launched in the Capital City of Kerala under the initiative of WWF- India with the support of C.P.R. Environmental Education Centre (CPREEC), Chennai through a Teachers Training Workshop on 9th August held at Museum Auditorium in which 45 Teachers from 35 schools in the district

6 / Mruthika/ July-August 2016 Wild Wisom Quiz 2016

The City-level competition of the 9th edition of Wild Wisdom Quiz culminated in St. Mary’s Higher Secondary School, Pattom at Thiruvananthapuram with Master. Siddhant Gokhale & Sharun Akash of Atomic Energy ഞാൻ നിങ്ങളുടെ ദേശീയ മൃഗമാണ്‌, പദേ എണ്ണത്തിൽ വളടെ കുറവുമാണ്‌. Central School, Kudamkulam emerging as the City-level ഞങ്ങളുടെ വീൊയ കാ絍 കാത്തു ഞങ്ങടള സംെേിക്കു. കെുവകളുടെ ആവാസമായ അതിെപ്പള്ളി കാെുകൾ സംെേിക്കുക. Winners. In the quiz competition held right from morning Poster 1 of 5 of International Tiger Day 2016 8am and extending up to 4pm, organized into two categories of Junior and Middle, totally 33 teams competed in the Junior category and 47 teams in the Middle category. Mas. Joshua John Darvy and Muhammad Shahansha of Vimala Public School, Thodupuzha and Hrudaya R. Krishnan and Hrudayesh R. Krishnan of St. Thomas HSS won the second and third place. The quiz was mastered by Prof. E. Kunhikrishnan, noted environmentalist and quizzer of Kerala. Mr. S.Radhakrishnan, Deputy Director (Wildlife Education), Kerala Forests and Wildlife Department, Mr. Renjan Mathew Varghese, State Director, WWF-India and Mr. A.K. Sivakumar, Senior Education Officer, WWF-India were present all through the event and addressed the participants.

എന്നെ സംരക്ഷിക്കു륍പോൾ ഞങ്ങളുന്നെ വീെോയ കോെി륍േയും അതിന്നേ ആ�രയിച്ചു കഴിയുെ മന്നെ쥍ലോ ജീവജോ쥍ങ്ങളും സംരക്ഷിക്കന്നെെുെു.

Poster 4 of 5 of International Tiger Day 2016

Article on Integrated Water Resource Management An article titled ‘Integrated Water Resource Management’ has been prepared and translated into Malayalam and shared with Pampa Parirakshana Samithi based on their special request to be included in the Souvenir that they are planning to release as part of the celebration of completing ഞാൻ വളരെ �രദ്ധ ആകർഷിക്കുന്ന ഒെുമൃഗമാ赍. പക്ഷേ ഞങ്ങളുരെ ക്ഷ ാലിനുԂ, നഖത്തിനുԂ, എലലുകൾക്കുԂ മറ്റു രെീെഭാഗങ്ങൾക്കുԂ ക്ഷവണ്ടി ഞങ്ങൾ ക്ഷവട്ടയാെരെെുന്നു. 10 years. എനിക്കുԂ ജീവിക്കാൻ അവകാരമുണ്ട്. ഞാൻ ഒെു വി쥍പന ചെക്കലല. Poster 5 of 5 of International Tiger Day 2016 Article on Tigers An article titled ‘Increasing Tiger Numbers is a matter of EDITORIAL BOARD great pride for Kerala’ has been prepared and translated into Malayalam and shared with Forestry Information Mr. G. Vijaya Raghavan Bureau (FIB) of Kerala Forests and Wildlife Department to Mr. Renjan Mathew Varghese be included in their official magazine Aranyam. Mr. A.K. Sivakumar

Mruthika/ July-August 2016 / 7 Local Coordination

- n t I-c-f-X o-c-¯ v- Johnson Lifts and Escalators, Chennai Johnson Lifts and Escalators, Supported by WWF-India R-§-s - f a-Õ y-_-Ô-\h-e-b n- I p-S p-¡ n \ n-§Ä s m-à p-¶ p. R-§Ä a - p-«-b n-S m³ h-c p-¶ X o-c-§Ä I-SÂ-` n-¯ n s I-« n-b p w a-WÂ-h - m-c n-b p w a-c-§Ä h-¨ p-] n-S n-¸ n-¨ R-§Ä-¡ v A-\ y- a - m-¡ n R-§Ä C-S - p-¶ a p-«-IÄ t i-J-c n-¨ v `-£ p w R-§-s f s I m-¶ \ - n-§-f p-s S B-l m-c-a m-¡ n-b p w R-§-f h w-i-s ¯ X-s ¶ \-i - n-¸ n-¡ p-¶ p. I-S-e - p w X o-c-{ ]-t Z-i-h k w-c-£ n-t ¡-ï-X v R-§Ä-¡ p-t h-ï n a - m-{ X-a-à , \ n-§-f p-s S-b p w B-h-i y-a m-W v. I-S-e - m-a C-d-¨ n-b p w a p-«-b `-£ n-¡ p-¶-X v i n-£ mÀ-l-a m-W v. A-X \ n-c p-Õ m-l-s ¸-S p-¯ p-I. I-S-e - m-a-I-f p-s S-b p w \ n-§-f k w-c-£-W-¯ n-\ m-b n I-SÂ-¯ o-c-h w-c-£ n-¡ p-I. I-S-e - m-a k w-c-£-W-{ ]-hÀ-¯-\-§-f n ]-¦ m-f n-b m-I q. I‑m ‑ c W‑§Ä \‑n ‑ §Ä ¡‑v s‑N ¿‑m³ k‑m [‑n ¡‑p ¶ X‑v:

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Published by WWF-India, Kerala State Office, Moolavilakom, Vanchiyoor P.O., Thiruvananthapuram-695035 Phone:0471-2302265, E-mail: [email protected], Web: wwfindia.org Computer Graphics: Soft and Soft, Sasthamangalam, Phone: 9447451314, Printed at: New Multi Offset, TVPM.

8 / Mruthika/ July-August 2016