The Crux of Gundia

The Crux of Gundia Hydel Project
The Crux of the Gundia Hydel Project is a battle between the Patta Land Owners(Revenue Land) Vs Encroached Forest Land Owners.
Majority of the people around the proposed site have lands which they had Encroached from the reserve forest for their (Paddy, Cardamom, Coffee) Cultivation as this region which used to receive a rainfall of over 300 inches of annual rainfall every year, But not in last couple of year where fragmentation of habitat and excessive timber logging has reduced the average rainfall to around 250to 220 inches annually.
There are very few people who have lands with Proper Supporting documents who have the right to claim their land as their own and also classify them as revenue land.
But as I mentioned earlier the Majority of the people having Legitamate revenue lands are Minuscule. There are people have revenue lands as their base but since the adjoining areas of their land were a part of a reserve forest they have extended their farming inside the reserve forest and now they claim it’s their land .
The photos of this can be seen in Annexure 1 to Annexure 4
Now this brings to our next question why are these people protesting against the Hydel Project Proposed by KPCL.
1. The people who are having legitimate revenue land aren’t the one who are protesting against this hydel power project. Because these people are ready to sell their land to KPCL for a better compensation (5Lakhs/Per acre of land).
2. The Majority of the people are protesting the Hydel Power Project because these people might have only few acre’s of land in their name with proper legitimate supporting documents. But large chunks of the land have been encroached by the adjoining reserve forest for which these people don’t have papers.
3. KPCL obviously would be willing to compensate people who have legitimate revenue lands and in this case these people wouldn’t be getting proper compensation as their encroached land will be a part of the project and they wouldn’t be getting any compensation.
4. These People are actually indirectly protesting the Hydel Power Project as its effect their Livelihood and their encroached land will not be compensated by the KPCL, but as all people who live in the fringes of the forest, they are looking at only short-term gains and neglecting the long term catastrophically impacts which is going effect them in the Future.

Forest Rights Act may come in handy to stop mining in green areas

News Courtsey: TNN( Delhi)
Photo Courtsey:Self

The wildlife lobby and many environmentalists disliked it but now the Forest Rights Act could become a tool for them to prevent mining in
important forest areas.

With the environment and coal ministries deciding to fast-track environment clearance in degraded forest lands, the government has admitted it will have to look into the provisions of Forest Rights Act before it can allow mining.

Forest Rights Act, opposed by the environment ministry and the wildlife lobby alike when it was being put in place, has a clause that disallows removing forest-dwellers till their rights have been recognised under the Act.

Another section of the Act requires project proponents or the government to seek permission of gram sabhas involved if the forest land has been claimed as "community forests".

While the environment ministry has made it clear that mining would be kept out of dense and moderately dense forests, most of the rights, it is predicted, lie in degraded forest lands though claims have made for lands in some tiger reserves as well.

While the government on Thursday expressed its intention to reduce the time taken at the state level for clearances under the Forest Conservation Act, the new legislation is being seen as a separate issue to deal with.

On Thursday, the environment minister admitted as much, saying in a press conference that the provisions of Forest Rights Act would have to be followed though he demurred from answering if clearances would be given in the coming months even as the rights process under the Act continues across the country. The government has committed to finish handing over rights under the Act by 2009-end. He also suggested that if the coal ministry thought so, it could go to Parliament for an amendment to the Act.

In UPA's earlier tenure, a section of Congress had warned that clearances were being given in violation of its own much-touted pro-tribal populist legislation.

In what is being seen as a move to shake off the onus, the environment ministry has already given clearances with the caveat that forest clearance is "subject to" compliance with the Forest Rights Act, for which the tribal affairs ministry is the nodal agency.

With FRA being a fresh piece of legislation, questions about how and when the process of distributing rights in a forest area is concluded and who is empowered to declare so remains untested.

If you are Translocating Tigers, Please follow the Protocol Says NTCA

News Courtsey: PTI
Photo Courtsey: Self
Environment Ministry approves tiger relocation protocol

New Delhi (PTI): The Environment Ministry has approved a blueprint for tiger relocation prepared by National Tiger Conservation Authority, paving the way for the second phase of big cat population revival plan in the Sariska reserve of Rajasthan.

"I have approved the protocol. It is an important plan for better tiger conservation in the country whenever there is translocation of animal," Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh told PTI.

After shifting three tigers -- a male and two females -- last year, the Rajasthan government had put on hold its plan to relocate two more animals after NTCA decided to frame guidelines detailing steps needed for the translocation process to be adopted by the states.

"The protocol has minute details such as which type of animal of what age can be translocated on what conditions.Though there were already translocation guidelines but the protocol will be like a Bible for the wildlife officials planning to shift the tiger from one reserve to another. They will have to strictly adhere to the norms," a senior NTCA official said.

Prepared by the NTCA in association with the wildlife experts and Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India (WII), the protocol is based on international guidelines.

The official said that the protocol which is exhaustive in nature dwells in detail about the pre and post-release strategy and seek long-term plan for the survival of the tiger before any attempt is made to relocate it from one habitat to another.

Binding on every state, as per the protocol, the tiger relocation will take place under the monitoring of the officials from WII, forest departments and experts. Also to ensure smooth translocation, the protocol gives absolute power to the NTCA oversight committee to monitor the shifting process whenever it feels like.

The need for detailed guidelines in the form of a protocol was felt after wildlife experts like Belinda Wright approached the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh alleging that Madhya Pradesh Government had overlooked basic norms while shifting two tigresses from Kanha reserve and Bandhavgarh park to Panna sanctuary a few months ago.

They had alleged that without ensuring conducive environment for the feline in Panna, the Madhya Pradesh government shifted the animals.

The World of Asiatic Dhole

June 5th 2009, I was at Bandipur National Park, India's best known sanctuaries, and is an important Project Tiger reserve. It is located in the Chamarajanagar district of southern Karnataka in south India, and is contiguous with the Mudumalai National Park in the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu, the Wynad Wildlife Sanctuary in Kerala, and the Nagarhole National Park to the northwest. It is home to around seventy tigers and over three thousand Asian elephants (as per the 1997 census [1]), along with leopards, dholes, gaur and sloth bears. Bandipur is part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve.

The Western Ghats, Nilgiri Sub-Cluster (6,000+ km²), including all of Bandipur National Park, is under consideration by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee for selection as a World Heritage Site.

I was their for a weekend and had already spent 2 days, It was last day at Bandipur which means my last safari trip to see some animals at Bandipur, due to monsoon showers the wild animal sightings were drastically reduced at Bandipur and the only hope for anyone was to see as much as herbivore as possible. well i was about to finish my 2hours 30 mins safari drive,without seeing a any key species like the Indian Guar or the elephas maxims ( The Indian Elephants). suddenly my drive said wilddogs i could see a pack of 4 coming out from a bush walking towards us, then there were more dogs which followed, soddenly there was this huge pack of 14 wild dogs coming towards us. Its was really a rare and special moment. Thanks to the dhole they made me and my trip both special.

Some the details and facts of Asiatic Dhole


Dhole, red dog, Asiatic wild dog, Indian wild dog
Cuon alpinus
Although dholes are not fast runners, they have good stamina, and will pursue prey for hours until they finally succumb to exhaustion.



Life span
Dholes can live for 15 to 16 years in captivity.



Statistics
Head and body length: 88-113cm, Tail Length: 40-50cm, Shoulder Height: 42-55cm, Weight: 10-17kg.



Physical description
The upper body-parts of dholes are rusty red, the under-parts are pale, and the tail is tipped with black. In the Northern range, the winter coat is long, soft, dense and bright red, and the summer coat is shorter.



Distribution
Dholes live in Central Asia, India, Malay Peninsula and the Islands of Sumatra.



Habitat
Dholes inhabit dense forest and thick scrub jungle.



Diet
They feed on deer, wild pigs, mountain sheep, guar and antelope.



Behaviour
There are typically 5-12 dholes in a pack, but up to 40 have been reported. A pack consists of a mated pair and their offspring. When hunting, the pack surrounds the prey, blocking its escape.



Reproduction
Dholes have a gestation period of 60-62 days, after which the female gives birth to 4-6 pups.



Conservation status
Dholes are classified as Vulnerable by the 2000 IUCN Red List after many years of persecution by man, elimination of their prey and forest destruction.

Tigers seek new battlegrounds for the survival

Tiger burning bright in west TN
18 Jun 2009, 0215 hrs IST, Radha Venkatesan, TNN

SATHYAMANGALAM: Want to track a tiger in the wild? Trek into the deep forests of Sathyamangalam, in Erode district of western Tamil Nadu, and you
stand a wild chance of spotting the majestic, striped cat.

In the 1,455-sqkm forests, where no tigers were spotted 10 years ago, evidence of the presence of at least 10 to 12 tigers has been found in the latest wildlife census.

At least three tigers were sighted by the census team, which fanned out in all five ranges of the Sathyamangalam forests. Besides, pug marks and scat of another nine tigers were found. “By direct and indirect census, we can estimate that at least 10-12 tigers are there in the entire Sathyamangalam forest division,” said K Kalidasan, president of OSAI, which conducted the census with the help of 180 volunteers for the state forest department in March and April.

The team also spotted two tigers cooling their heels at water holes and tracked the pug marks of a male tiger in the Bhavanisagar range.

Significantly, the tiger sightings have been outside areas declared as sanctuaries. In fact, the Sathyamangalam forests, parts of which were declared a sanctuary only a few months ago, are not part of the ‘Project Tiger’ initiative, and the latest findings may bolster conservation efforts. These forest ranges are linked to of a contiguous stretch from the Nagarahole, Bandipur and Mudumalai sanctuaries, all tiger reserves.

The Greatest Comeback of all time - Black Leopard Spotted after 67 Years in India

Black leopard spotted after 67 years

Mumbai: Amid reports that habitat destruction is causing the extinction of various species, wildlife enthusiasts have a reason to rejoice. Two trekkers claimed to have seen a black leopard in Sindhudurg district -- for the first time since 1942.

Kolhapur-residents Sachin Kondekar and Abhijit Yadav had gone to Manohar Mansantosh, the twin forts between Amboli and Padgaon on June 3. "At 7.45am, while following a regular trail, we noticed the movement of a strange animal in the hills nearby," said Kondekar, "A closer look with binoculars revealed a black leopard."

Regular trekkers, Yadav and Kondekar have often encountered animals such as bison and antelopes. "This time we were lucky to see a black leopard, which was last seen 67 years backin the forests of Radhanagri Dajipur in 1942," Kondekar said.

Conservator of forests (wildlife), Kolhapur MK Rao confirmed the report. "There were reports of black leopard sightings around Amboli and Padgaon but till date we have had no evidence," said Rao, "The photographs taken have been from far, but the characteristics of the animal in the photo indicate that it is a black leopard."

Environmentalist Sunjoy Monga says there are records of black leopards in the forests of Dandeli on the Karnataka-Maharashtra border. "It is found in high density forests of Western ghats and North India," Monga said. Environmental designer Vibhas Amonkar, too, had seen a black leopard near Mahabaleshwar in 2002. "It was during one of my trips to Mahabaleshwar that I encountered the black leopard," Amonkar said.

MoEF Makes a Right Decision, Hope the same analogy is implied to Gundia Hydro Electric Project also

Hubli-Ankola rail line scrapped

The Centre has refused to give permission to the 167-km Hubli-Ankola railway project, which was to cut through 750 hectares of Uttara Kannada district’s lush green forest.
Sources said the Union Ministry of Forests and Environment has denied clearance to the project citing environmental reasons, sources in the state forest department said.
The Rs 1,000-crore project, for which the foundation stone was laid by the then prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in 1999, was considered to improve the transportation of iron ore from Bellary mines to Mangalore and Karwar ports and also agriculture produce from the north Karnataka districts to other parts of the state.
However, it met with stiff opposition by environmentalists and by the state forest department since it would the project would have required the destruction of around 750 acres of forest land and felling of around 2.65 lakh trees to lay the tracks. The forest department, on the contrary, had suggested a realignment to line parallel to the National Highway.
Meanwhile, acting on a PIL filed by environmentalists from Uttara Kannada, the Supreme Court ordered a stay on the project.
With the recent visit of the Union Minister Jairam Ramesh to Karnataka, the state government once again had appealed to him to look into the issue.
Sources told Express that the Union Minister cancelled the project and in about a day or two would be issuing a final order in this regard, thus dashing hopes of the government which was confident of getting it cleared this time around.
A senior official from the forest department said, ``We are very happy that the project has been stopped since we have been opposing it for a long time.’’ He said the forests where the proposed railway line was supposed to come up, ``was one of the best forests we have’’.
He said the would have have cut across the whole Western Ghats, leaving a trail of disaster for both its ecology and the environment.
He said the proposed project was line was in the heart of the area where there is animal activity. Bisons and elephants roam these areas, he said. ``Hence, we would never allow of the forest to be bifurcated and to lose a big chunk of the natural forests,’’ he said