PROTECTED AREA UPDATE News and Information from protected areas in India and South Asia Vol. XIV No. 6 December 2008 (No.76) LIST OF CONTENTS Meghalaya 11 EDITORIAL 2 Garo Students Union Opposes Coal Mining in A Gulf in trouble? Balpakram NP, South Garo Hills NEWS FROM INDIAN STATES Orissa 12 Andhra Pradesh 3 Simlipal opens for tourists from November SEZs threaten wildlife Tourism facilities for Chandaka WLS Arunachal Pradesh 3 Anti-poaching measures at Chilika Community Biosphere Reserve in Upper Siang Villagers of Karlapat WLS start exercising rights Assam 3 under Forest Rights Act Disease kills rhino calf in Pobitara, 2nd one ailing Tamil Nadu 13 Chakrashila staff receive training at Corbett Large scale mortality of aquatic life in the Gulf of Workshop on wildlife management Mannar Marine NP Workshop on hoolock gibbon translocation Campaign to declare Gulf of Mannar a World Call to include Kaziranga portion in NH-37 Heritage Site Male rhino gores female to death at Manas Uttarakhand 14 Manas poachers join green NGO Metal trap-detectors for Corbett and Rajaji Gujarat 6 Uttar Pradesh 15 Feral dogs hunt blackbucks at Velavadar Trains through Dudhwa may stop 66% tourists to Gujarat visit Gir West Bengal 15 Hotels functioning illegally around Gir Top officials transferred after tiger death in New management zone for PAs in North Gujarat Sunderbans TR FD proposes incentive scheme for informers Czech national arrested for collecting beetles from Jammu & Kashmir 7 Singalila NP flees country Wildlife crime prevention workshop held in Leh Jharkhand 8 NATIONAL NEWS FROM INDIA 16 FD ‘adopts’ two villages near Dalma WLS Parliamentary committee for scrapping of the Spotted deer released into Hazaribagh NP Compensatory Afforestation Fund Bill Karnataka 8 Responses to the draft regulatory framework for Initiative to control traffic in Bandipur NP wetland conservation Tribal people block entry to Nagarhole NP 13 tigers poached in last two years Night traffic banned on road inside Nagarhole NP Conference of Southern Forest Ministers Wildlife research institute coming up in Kodagu 49 Indian mammal species face extinction threat; Kerala 10 rhino out of IUCN red list Tiger population rising in PTR; count to be NTCA signs pact with TRAFFIC India undertaken across state Edberg award for environmental work to Shekar Conflict between panchayats over management of Dattatri Kadalundi Community Reserve Workshop on wildlife conservation laws for Puducherry 11 Northeast judiciary Oussudu Lake declared first sanctuary in Puducherry Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com) SOUTH ASIA 19 animals here. While there certainly is a set of Bangladesh inter-related factors that must have caused the World’s largest population of endangered bloom, it is important that scientists have dolphins found in Bangladesh pointed out to the large scale and indiscriminate Bangladesh acts to protect deer in Sundarbans dumping of municipal and domestic sewage as INTERNATIONAL NEWS 19 one of key triggers. New President for the IUCN Just a few months ago there were other MoU for protection of migratory birds of prey reports of the corals here getting diseased on found in Europe, Africa and Asia account of deteriorating water quality INTERPOL and CITES launch new manual for associated with increased pollution and sea wildlife crimes investigators surface temperatures (PA Update Vol. XIV, UPCOMING 20 Maharashtra Rajya Pakshimitra Sammelan 2008 No. 3). Illegal blasting and collection of coral OPPORTUNITIES 20 for use as limestone continue to pose a serious Small Cat Action Fund threat to coral reef resources in the region and it Doctoral research fellowships in tiger was not very long ago that the exotic algae conservation Kappaphycus alvarezzi that is being cultivated Graduate Research Assistantship at Michigan here as part of a commercial enterprise was State University seen to have invaded significant parts of the protected area (PA Update Vol. XIV, No. 4). List of Community and Conservation Reserves This species is reported to have in India 21 become invasive (displacing local varieties of algae) and was also smothering corals leading Latest status of Critical Tiger Habitats 23 to major adverse impacts on the reefs in the Caribbean, where it was introduced with similar Protected Area Update intentions of income generation. There are fears Vol. XIV, No. 6, December 2008 (No. 76) that a similar situation will be seen soon in the Editor: Pankaj Sekhsaria Gulf of Mannar too. Editorial Assistance: Wrutuja Pardeshi It would seem that Gulf of Mannar Illustrations: Madhuvanti Anantharajan Biosphere Reserve which is the biggest and one Produced by: Kalpavriksh of the oldest in the country has no respite from Ideas, comments, news and information may please human created disasters and one is not even be sent to the editorial address: talking about the construction of the Sethu KALPAVRIKSH, Apartment 5, Shri Dutta Krupa, 908 Samudran Shipping Canal that will Deccan Gymkhana, Pune 411004, Maharashtra, India. Tel/Fax: 020 – 25654239. undoubtedly cause huge irreparable damage to Email: [email protected] this unique and rich ecosystem. While there are Website: www.kalpavriksh.org some studies on the negative impacts of human activities such as sewage disposal, exotic Production of PA Update 76 has been supported species introduction and coral mining, it would by Foundation for Ecological Security (FES), Anand. also be very important to initiate a long term process to monitor the economic and ecological impacts of these developments. What is important is that the EDITORIAL developments in the Gulf here are only indicative of what is happening all along India’s rich and diverse coastal systems. We A gulf in trouble? have a huge coastline that is ecologically very rich and one that supports thousands of human The last few months have seen some drastic communities. In more ways than one this ecological changes in the waters of the Gulf of system has always received a step-motherly Mannar along the country’s eastern coast. An treatment. Large scale pollution, construction of unprecedented algal bloom is reported to have major projects like ports, industrial hubs and caused the mortality of thousands of marine power plants and damming of rivers that Protected Area Update Vol XIV, No. 6 2 December 2008 (No. 76) Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com) eventually force a change in the fine coastal ARUNACHAL PRADESH balance continue even today, unmindful of the damage that is being caused. Community Biosphere Reserve in Upper The present developments here are Siang District perhaps a good indicator of just that. The faster we take notice of this the better it will be The Adi tribe of Simong Village in the Upper because in abusing or even just neglecting the Siang District has proposed the creation of a coastal systems today we forget that a much Community Biosphere Reserve, the first of its higher price will have to be paid tomorrow. kind in the country. The community is being assisted in their endeavour by Future Generation, an international NGO. NEWS FROM INDIAN STATES The aim of the tribe is to conserve their environment and traditions through voluntary community action and to simultaneously tackle the problem of unemployment by promoting ANDHRA PRADESH tourism in the region. (Ed: The legal status or management SEZs threaten wildlife framework for the reserve is not clear.) Source: ‘Nation’s first community reserve biosphere comes up in Arunachal Pradesh’, http://www.newkerala.com/topstory- fullnews- 19900.html ASSAM Disease kills rhino calf in Pobitara, 2nd one ailing A mysterious disease claimed a 1 ½ year old Many sites of wildlife importance in Andhra rhino calf at Pobitora WLS in early October. Pradesh are reported to be under threat because Another calf had also started showing similar of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and symptoms of paralysis of the posterior, fever, development projects in their vicinity. loss of appetite and weakness. Experts from the These include the Naupada swamp, College of Veterinary Science, state zoo and Telineelapuram in Srikakulam, Veerapuram in Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation & Anantapur, which are home to pelicans, Conservation at Kaziranga were called in to Kondakarla Ava in Visakhapatnam and the Pobitora to take stock of the situation. Important Bird Area of Uppalapadu in Guntur. Forest officials said that providing A thermal power plant is set to come treatment to the calf was difficult because of the up at the Naupada Swamp while the catchment continued presence of its worried mother. area of Kondakarla Ava will be affected by a Officials were using three elephants to chase proposed SEZ. An SEZ proposed in the away the mother so that saline and vitamin Mangalagiri mandal of Guntur district is likely could be administered to the calf. to impact Uppalapadu. Source: ‘Disease kills rhino,’ The Telegraph, Source: ‘SEZs threaten wildlife’, Deccan 23/10/08 Chronicle, 22/09/08. Contact: Divisional Forest Officer, Pobitora Contact: CWLW, Govt. of Andhra Pradesh, WLS, Nagaon Wildlife Division, P.O. Aranya Bhavan, Saifabad, Hyderabad - & Dist. Nagaon – 782001, Assam. Tel: 500004, Andhra Pradesh. Tel: 040- 03672-223104(O), 222310(R) 23230561 / 23232668. Fax: 337889 Protected Area Update Vol XIV, No. 6 3 December 2008 (No. 76) Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com) Chakrashila staff receive training at Corbett observations and taking relevant notes for bird and butterfly surveys; report writing; census A team of frontline staff from the Chakrashila techniques involving wild animals like langur, Wildlife Sanctuary received training in buffalo, tiger and elephant; wildlife tracking, protected area management at the Corbett monitoring and priority setting; plant National Park in an all-expenses-paid trip identification; community ecotourism; field sponsored by WWF, the Conservation Initiative patrolling; legal orientation on smuggling; for Asian Elephant, USA and the Guwahati- wildlife rescue and captive care.