Mobile surveillance of lions outside Gir

For the first time, the forest department has decided to shift its focus away from the Gir sanctuary. It plans to launch mobile surveillance outside the protected area apart from setting up inspection huts and watch towers.

These include coastal areas of Junagadh and Amreli and even Bhavnagar districts, where lions have been found straying. The state government in the 2011-12 budget has proposed to not only strengthen surveillance inside Gir, but for the first time has made allocation of funds for areas away from the sanctuary. The areas will also cover Gariyadhar, Liliya and Savarkundla Taluka of Amreli district and Mahuva and Palitana of Bhavnagar district where the big cats have been spotted during the May 2010 census.

As per April 2010 population estimate, the population of lions inside the sanctuary and their ecological zone is 411. In the coastal areas of Junagadh, Amreli and Bhavnagar districts, there was a population of 74 lions.

The increase in population has resulted in spill over of the lion population outside Gir protected area (Gir PA). Therefore, at present, the most pressing threat to the lion population of the Gir PA comes from the possibility of increased hostility towards the resident lion population outside Gir PA. To combat these threats, it is very important to strengthen the patrolling efforts outside Gir PA boundaries as well, say foresters.

The forest department’s Rs 12.5 crore budget will also include watch towers for other wildlife sanctuaries across the state to monitor big cats.

Forest officials said that there are very few watch towers in Gir sanctuary and these are near dams. But the new proposal will have more such towers in the entire sanctuary also with security check posts.

The stress is because with the development, vehicle movement has increased manifold, necessitating strict vigilance and protection in view of the serious offences recorded in the near past which include poaching, illegal stealing of paws, claws, and organs of lion.

The proposal also states that to strengthen protection, the state government has set up a Wildlife Crime Cell. A task force cell has also been established in Junagadh to strengthen and protect the Asiatic lion.

Eco-friendly fabric from waste banana stems!

Ahmedabad: Growing demand for eco-friendly clothing, especially in overseas markets, has led researchers in Gujarat to manufacture fabric from the banana plant’s stem. Surat-based Manmade Textile Research Association (MANTRA), Navsari Agricultural University (NAV) and Central Institute for Research on Cotton Technology (ICAR), Mumbai have initiated a project to produce commercially-viable textile from the banana plant.

Scientists working on the World Bank-funded project have already got partial success in manufacturing thick fabric suited for cold weather. They are also working on commercial viability of technical textile applications such as artificial leather, acrylic fabric for vertical blind and other types of curtains, bedsheets and tapestry. “Scientists have developed a modified spinning and weaving unit from traditional ones used for cotton value chain. Initial success has inspired them to work harder to produce lean fabric suitable for tropical weather,” said Arun Jariwala, president of MANTRA.

M G Parikh, a scientist at MANTRA said the project envisages to utilize waste banana pseudostems, which pose the problem of disposal and are available almost free in central and south Gujarat. The project includes creating facility for banana fibre extraction from the stem of the banana plant, cleaning, grading and converting it into a finished product, he said.

“Banana plant fibre is more eco-friendly than other natural and man-made fibres. We are working on blending it with cotton as well as synthetic fibres. These fibres can also be used for packing cloth for agriculture produce, ships towing ropes, wet drilling cables,” said R G Patil, NAU scientist.

According to experts, the real cost in producing fibres from the banana plant will be incurred while collecting waste stems and fibre extraction, which is negligible in comparison to the other natural fibres like cotton, jute and hemp. This cost competitiveness will fuel growth of this product. Gujarat ranks sixth in the area cultivation of banana in the country with more than 60,000 hectares. The state’s banana yield per hectare adds up to nearly 55 tonne while stem waste totals to nearly 80 tonne.

Wildlife board members question nod to Girnar ropeway project

New Delhi: Environment minister Jairam Ramesh’s decision to give a go-ahead for the ropeway project in Girnar wildlife sanctuary has been questioned by some members in the standing committee meeting of National Board of Wildlife (NBWL), who claim the project would lead to local extinction of long-billed vultures.

The ropeway will pass through a known breeding site of the long billed vulture — Gyps indicus — and if constructed, it would lead to its local extinction, NBWL standing committee member Prerna Bindra said in a recent meeting chaired by Ramesh, which gave a final nod to the project. Along with Bindra, another member Divyabhanusinh Chavda also expressed concern regarding the possible impacts would cause to the resident vulture population, according to a ministry document.

Bindra, who insisted that her note of dissent on the minister’s decision should be officially recorded, said, “The critically endangered long billed vulture has seen a collapse of nearly 99 per cent of its population, and is categorised as critically endangered”.

“Ironically, the vulture is part of MoEF’s species recovery programme,” she said. Citing a ministry report, Bindra said if the ropeway is constructed, it would lead to the local extinction of the long-billed vulture in north Gujarat. The ropeway over Girnar wildlife sanctuary will connect Bhavnath Taleti and Ambaji temples in Junagadh district. Ramesh, while granting the final goahead to the Girnar ropeway, had said height of the towers has to be increased to avoid disturbance to nesting sites of vultures. While granting conditional clearance to the project in February, Ramesh had asked the Gujarat government to submit a report within two months about its study to consider alternate alignment of the ropeway project to ensure that it does not cut across the prime vulture habitat.

But Gujarat rejected the minister’s suggestion saying an alternate route was not feasible in the instant case, and requested the standing committee of NBWL to consider their proposal “in its original form without change in the alignment proposed”.

By : Times of india

"Nirama Cement factory site a wetland’

Cement factory site a wetland’




 The Gujarat government, even before the expert appraisal committee (EAC), had vehemently stuck to its stand that the status of the land allotted to Nirma cement plant ‘was and is wasteland’. The committee report stated that the government neglected the ground reality and stood by the revenue records which were the basis for the allocation of the land.

In its 88-page report, the panel has noted that the Gujarat officials maintained that the area cannot be classified as a wetland or a water body just because a dyke had been constructed 10 years ago to keep out salinity. The officer argued that the government was taking several measures to resolve salinity-related issues and improve ecology. A copy of the report is with TOI.

The committee headed by Professor CR Babu has as its members, Dr Asad R Rahamani, director, Bombay Natural History Society; Dr Parikshit Gautam, director, freshwater and wetlands, WWF-India; Dr Ligia Noronha director resources, regulations and global securities, TERI; Brij Gopal, coordinator, Centre for Inland Water in South Asia; Dr E J James, director, water institute, Karunya University in Coimbatore and Dr P B Rastogi, director, environment ministery.

The panel noted that it is of the view that the site is and ought to have been appropriately re-classified as wetland or water body at least after the construction of the dyke. The report also noted that site in question supports aquatic flora and fauna and species that thrive in fresh water tracts. The report observed that it was a wetland and a water body. The approval accorded may be revoked, the committee said.
 
Questions apex court wanted panel to answer


The Expert Appraisal Committee which was formed under the direction of the Supreme Court was asked to address five questions.

Whether the land in question was wetland or water body?

EAC states that the land in question is a wetland. The plant lies within the wetland/water body created in 2000, by the constriction of Samadhiala Bandhara as a salinity ingress control structure. The report stated that the salinity control department of Gujarat constructed a 200 meter-long concrete structure across the Motapak creek.

The freshwater runoff from the river Shen Shuri locally known as Han Hori and its catchment area created a freshwater reservoir of 62.3 million cubic feet and total water spread area of 244 hectares.

The dyke was foreseen by the state water resources department to benefit the farmers by lift irrigation of 300 hectares of cultivable land in villages Samadhiala, Patwa and Doliya.

The EAC said they walked the 2.5 km stretch and found various wetland plants apart from couple of thousand birds of about 25 species. The report noted that the government had plans to link the Malan, Samadhiala, Nikol and Kalsar dykes.

Whether the project could come up on such wetland/water bodies if so, what would be its impact on environment? Would it lead to environmental degradation?

The EAC report said that no such project whether industrial or otherwise, should be allowed within a wetland/water body. The National Water Policy 2002 gives priority to drinking and irrigation. The EAC said that this wetland supports fairly rich and important biodiversity and livelihood of the local communities.

“Therefore it is not desirable to have a cement plant in this wetland and as well as immediate vicinity,” said the report. The report stated that the impact of the project and the environment degradation caused by it will extend to the agricultural productivity in different ways. Mahuva is known for taking two crops a year. The EAC stated that there are no plans for the disposal and treatment of sewerage.

If at all project could come up, what steps the user agency should take in the interest of “environment protection”? The EAC did not answer this question as it was of the opinion that the plant cannot be permitted to operate from the present site and noted “the project cannot and should not come up in the present area”.
The precise current status of the project may also be indicated by the expert body.

EAC stated that the project cost of the project was estimated to be around Rs 995 crore and of these Rs 493 crore has already been committed on the plant. The EAC noted, “It can be seen that work has proceeded on the cement plant. The report stated that the unused material supplied at site and the equipment delivered there can be shifted and can be used.

The EAC stated “it will be very detailed exercise to assess the loss to the company, but as a rough guess, we consider that such amount may not excess Rs 100 crore,” said the report

LIONS KEEPING NIRMA PLANT AWAY

Panel Cites Presence Of Lions In The Area As One Of The Reasons For Suggesting Plant Relocation

 The roar of Asiatic lions in Samadhiala Bandhara in Mahuva may have influenced ministry of environment and forest’s recommendation to the Supreme Court for relocation of the Nirma cement plant.

The expert appraisal committee, headed by former provice-chancellor of Delhi University C R Babu, has observed that apart from other eco-sensitive hazards, the presence of lions in the area was also one of the reasons for the relocation of the plant.

The MoEF in an affidavit filed on Tuesday told the SC that Nirma’s Bhavnagar cement plant has to relocate since it is in eco-sensitive wetland. The expert panel was formed following directives from the SC to study whether the plant was in a wetland

The 88-page report of the committee states: “It may also be noted that Mahuva taluka also harbours Asiatic lions and four of them are spotted in and around the Bandhara water body which is the site of the Nirma plant.” The April 2010 census has shown presence of 33 lions in Mahuva and nearby areas.

The report noted that in 10 km radius of the plant there is a reserved forest, which is home to critically endangered vulture species. It states that the plant will affect onion production because of pollution by the unit.

By :Times of india

Ramesh seeks archaeological survey of Gujarat forest

Union Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh has urged Gujarat to undertake a thorough archaeological survey of the Girnar reserve forest, which is home to the Asiatic lion, as it could contain historical relics.

In a letter addressed to Chief Minister Narendra Modi dated April 21, the minister has pointed out that he was giving the advice on the suggestion of noted historian from the Delhi University, Nayanjot Lahiri, who recently visited the reserve forest and found the remnants of two stupas, possibly of Mauryan dynasty heritage.

According to Lahiri, many loose bricks were also found around it indicating there could have been other stupas in the vicinity.

‘Therefore, it is urgent, that there is a complete survey of the stupa with accurate line drawings and photographs followed by careful archaeological conservation,’ the minister said.

Green bona fides?

Minister for environment and forests Jairam Ramesh has said he was under ‘pressure’ to overlook violations of environmental norms while clearing certain projects. He has not named the projects which he was reportedly forced to give his nod to. However, one can surmise this could have happened in relation to those projects he turned down initially, only to give his assent eventually.

That the minister was under tremendous pressure from ministries such as mines, surface transport, etc that are keen to green signal projects to boost ‘development’ was never in doubt. What is problematic about Ramesh’s candid confession, however, is that it raises questions over the depth of his commitment to the cause of environment. If he is indeed convinced that environmental regulations are being violated, why did he waver and give in? He should have dug in and convinced his ministerial colleagues with strong arguments.

Had he been really convinced over the violations, he should have stepped down on a matter of principle, rather than give his assent and then grumble. Huffing and puffing on environmental issues is not enough. One needs to run with the issue till the very end. With his revelation Ramesh has indicated, sadly, that he lacks the stamina to run the marathon on environment issues.

Ramesh has infused the environment ministry with a new energy. This was a ministry that had become largely irrelevant over the past decade. Ramesh not only raised its profile, but also has pushed environmental issues to the fore of public discussions. He has rightly argued that we cannot deforest or pollute our way to prosperity.

Yet, with his confession that he buckled to pressure on several projects, it does seem that these arguments were empty bluster aimed at scoring points with activists. Was Ramesh’s passionate espousal of the cause of India’s dwindling forests, its tigers and magnificent marine life only confined to rhetoric?

Ramesh will find that giving the go-ahead to projects that violate norms will not be problematic if he assiduously implements the ‘polluter pays’ principle. That is, if a mining project envisages destruction of forest land, it will be given the green signal only if it engages in reforestation, rehabilitation and so on in a way that it undoes all the damage done. That way, neither Ramesh nor the public will regret his green signalling development projects.

Article By : Sanctuary Asia 

The Politicisation of Forest India

This article  by: Bittu Sahgal Sir, sanctuary asia.


People who claim that people and animals can co-exist should wake up and smell the forest. It's burning.

Yes it is possible for dense wildlife populations to live with very thin human populations. Yes it is possible for dense human populations to live with very thin wildlife populations (not the large carnivore variety). But the recent trend of social activists to suggest that tiger reserves be turned into raw material sources for markets, with forest dwellers harvest, transporting and supplying all manner of goods from tendu patta and mahua flower to bamboo, sand and stones to urban middle men, is just plain suicidal. This is neither going to enrich any forest dwellers nor benefit wild species, which will just vanish, as they have been vanishing from every human dominated landscape in the past 50 years.

Neverthless, this much is true. The rural constituency is vital to the future of wildlife. And forest dwellers living OUTSIDE our protected area network should be the first beneficiaries of all economic inflows and outflows. But this should be for livelihoods that enhance the ecosystem, not deplete it. Sanctuary has been trying for some time to communicate this concern with those who champion the Forest Rights Act, but with little success.

The truth is that villages next to wildlife areas do bear the brunt of conservation costs, yet no policy offers them sustenance for saving wildlife, only for exploiting bamboo, or tubers, or tendu patta etc., which is a lose-lose proposition and has never enriched anyone but the tendu barons, or the timber mafia, or the stone and sand mafia.

Yet social activists, who are otherwise decent and honest, seem unwilling to accept the fact that turning forest dwellers into conduits for unlimited urban demand condemns them to the loss of their resource base and a life of permanent serfdom. This is why the Prime Minister's Office and the National Advisory Council keeps coming up with more and more populist schemes (the latest being permission to harvest bamboo from forest that the tiger needs) at the cost of our ecological security.

Meanwhile as this politicisation of forests continues apace, social activists continue to bask in the belief that it is their 'power and brilliance' that is helping them win the day against the 'wildlife wallahs'.