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.