Expressions October 2012

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photo stories

Ateeb HussainShovna Upadhyay

featuringBiodiversity Hotspot & Conservation Photography by Dr. Caesar SenguptaBandipur - Wildwoods of South India by K. ChandrashekarOrangutans in Peril by Christina BushPench National Park - Mowgli’s Land by Amit Dutta

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OCTOBER 2012V O L U M E 3 I S S U E 5

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thereaders’expressions

The article future of India in its villages and cit-ies so TRUE. Wish the govt. takes notice of it and accordingly takes corrective measures.

Ritika Sharma, Delhi

Photo-stories by both Pradeep Biswas and Shuvarti Guha are amazing. Kudo’s to both of you.

Graeme Wright, London

Is this the CLEAN INDIA. I guess this is the ques-tion which we must ask ourselves more than the govt.

Ramesh Kumar, Gurgaon

I love the over-all presentation not just visu-ally but also the content and the diversity in the articles. Keep up the good work.

Sarita Rathore, Nagpur

I am in love with the photographs of Shuvarti Guha. When we look at nature through the lens of a photographer it just saddens me that what we have done to such a beautiful world. Greed and money are the main reasons for the same.

Ravinder Shah, Surat

Good to see that your magazine is concentrating on species like Snakes, Turtles. It is imperative that we look at nature as a whole rather than focusing on a few animals which are always in the news. Way to go team Expressions. Wishing you all the very best.

Priti Shukla from Bangalore

The new column “social entrepreneurship” is a must read for MBA students and budding entre-preneurs for it throws light on various aspects of social entrepreneurship.

Ankit Mishra from Patna

The future of India certainly lies in its villages and tier 2 cities/towns. The article beautifully throws light on why it is important for us to take necessary steps toward integrating eco-friendly practices in our lifestyles.

Shobna Mukherjee from Bangalore


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Yudhishter Puran SinghFounder & Editor

Best,

from the editors’ deskDear Readers,

With 3,200 tigers remaining in the wild, with India containing more than half of them, this month brought with it great tidings with the Supreme Court lifting off the ban on tiger tourism. Earlier, they did not allow tourists in, putting the cats at a greater risk of poaching. The authorities would try to ensure that revenues from park fees flow back into conservation and communities, with livelihoods being restored, legitimate businesses allowed to continue, showing India’s very best natural heritage to its citizens and everyone. We certainly need responsible tourism, creating greater economic advantages for the locals, allowing tourists to get a better understanding of the local culture. It aims at conserving cultural heritage and natural resources despite modernization, where the natives could have a better sense of who they are, where they live and act in a way which reflects them as civil and upright citizens. It is what paints the picture in the minds of outsiders or visitors. It’s partially the government’s responsibility to take care of physically making the arrangements or implementing laws yes, but then what about our own? We all must be accountable too. I am not a fan of following each rule but for earth’s sake - let’s follow some that have been laid down by the national parks/reserves and so on. At least respect them. This is the wild heritage we leave behind. Talking about responsible tourism, Masai Mara in Kenya is a place world famous for eco-tourism. The Kenyan government has helped the community, tourists, locals and the animals by retaining their traditional pastoral lifestyles but also involving them in tourism. It is imperative for Indian govt. to take similar steps and help promote responsible tourism back here.

In this issue, we have featured articles on orangutans by Christina Bush as well as Energy Management telling us ways to manage the resource sustainably. We are also glad to announce that Expressions has tied up with - DCP which is one of the fastest growing Wildlife Photography Training academies, with a strong team comprising of highly skilled and established photographers of the country and veterans in the field of digital photography and we would like to give young talented national and international photographers a chance to showcase how blissfully beautiful nature is, as we believe that a pictures speaks better than words do. An image incises on our minds faster than what any preacher tries to say to us. Have a delightful read!


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ExpressionSIN THE ISSUE

BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOTS AND CONSERVATION PHOTOGRAPHY

An insight into the terms that are frequently heard but hardly understood.

by Dr. Caesar Sengupta

ORANGUTANS IN PERILKnow one of our closest relatives in the animal kingdom, sharing 96.4% of our DNA.

by Christina Bush

BANDIPUR: WILDWOODS OF SOUTH INDIA

Explore the wildwoods of South India, know about its flora and faunna through the author’s experiences

by K. cHANDRASHEKAR

MOWGLI’S LAND:PENCH NATIONAL PARK

At the entrance to the Pench Tiger Reserve, straddling the states of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh are signposts with the words “Welcome to Mowgli’s land.”

by Amit Bijon Dutta

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ALL EDITORIAL QUERIESMUST BE DIRECTED TO

The Editor, Expressions,51-A Subhash Road, Dehradun 248140, Uttarakhand, India919411114921, Fax: 011-66173614

PERMISSIONSFor permissions to copy or reuse material from EXPRESSIONS, write to [email protected] or call us at +919634796880

SUBSCRIPTION SERVICESFor subscription queries,write to [email protected] or call us at +919634796880

Founder & EditorYudhishter Puran Singh

Content EditorMonika Singh

THE EXPRESSIONS’YOUTH TEAM


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PHOTO STORYby Ateeb Hussain

PHOTO STORYby Shovna Upadhyay

WORKING WITH THE WILDAuthor shares her experiences of working in with the Centre for Animal Rehabilitation & Education (C.A.R.E)

by Candice Bradford

ENERGY MANAGEMENT AND CONSERVATIONFor the successful energy management & conservation and its implementation, the knowledge of process & machine is vital.

by Surbhi Arora

THE POWER OFTHE HUMANDIMENSION

A retrospective account of lessons and interactions from a short but

meaningful visit to Egypt

by MEDIA IMPACT

IN THENEWS

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Views and opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of Expressions., its publisher and/or editors. We at Expressions do our best to verify the information published but do not take any responsibility for the absolute

accuracy of the information

This emagazine is user interactive.Click on above page numbers to navigate to the respective section.To arrive back on this index page, Click on the bottom left of any even numbered page.

Senior EditorPooja Bhatt

Creative Editor/DesignerAkshay Madan

News EditorHarshit Singh

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BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOTSTHE TERM FREQUENTLY HEARD BUT LESS UNDERSTOOD

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BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOTSTHE TERM FREQUENTLY HEARD BUT LESS UNDERSTOOD

AND CONSERVATION PHOTOGRAPHY

Dr Caesar Sengupta MD

the General Manager and Head Laboratory Operations of Thyrocare Technologies Ltd. He has been passionate about photography since he was a child of 12 years. He still manages to take out time to nurture his passion of wildlife photography amidst his busy schedules of corporate professionalism. He has traveled extensively across the country and his work has been acknowledged and appreciated in various media, publication houses, forums and organisations throughout India.



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A Biodiversity hotspot is an area anywhere n the world, which is biologically extremely

rich, characterized by a lot of plant endemism and is under threat of habitat loss due to human encroachment. Well, to be a bit more precise, these biodiversity hotspots of the world host at least 1500 species (more than 0.5% of total world’s population) of vascular plants as endemics, nearing 60% of world’s plant, bird, animals, reptiles and amphibian species (many of them being endemic ones) and are under tremendous threat having lost more than 70% of their primary habitat. Endemism refers to an ecological state of any life form being unique to a particular geographical location. Endemic life forms are the most vulnerable to become extinct due to their restricted geographical distributions.

Globally, a lot of conservation efforts have been initiated for the protection of the endangered species in these biodiversity hotspot regions. World Wildlife Fund, Conservation International, Global Wildlife Conservation, National Geographic, IUCN etc are amongst the world’s leading conservation organizations. India has two such major biodiversity hotspots and they belong to the Eastern Himalayas and the Western Ghats. Major threats of this enormous biodiversity is logging of the forests, conversion of forests to agricultural lands and other plantations. This amounts to severe

habitat destruction. Now above all, these vulnerable regions are further threatened by a number of developmental activities such as roads, railways, dams etc.

The Himalayas stretch over an arc over 3000 kilometers across Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Northwestern and Northeastern states of India and covers an enormous 750,000 km2 of area. The hotspot includes all of the world’s highest peaks (more than 8000 meters including the Everest) and also few of the deepest river gorges. Both the Eastern as well as the Western Himalayas are home to diverse ecosystems and thousands of different life forms.

Western Ghats is a 1600 km long mountain range running through the west coast of India. It covers the states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat. These mountains cover approximately 1,40,000 sq km and is home to a number of endemic plants, animals, birds, amphibian and reptilian species. The Western Ghats is considered as one of the top ten global biodiversity hot-spots. The Western Ghats has over 450 species of birds (35% endemic), 140 mammal species (around 20% endemic) and 260 reptile species (over 60% endemic). The range also has a number of fresh water fishes and a number of invertebrates most of which are endemic to the

CONSERVATION PHOTOGRAPHY CAN WORK AS A FANTASTIC TOOL FOR THE NON-SCIENTIST AND NON BIOLOGIST COMMUNITY TO CONTRIBUTE ENORMOUSLY FOR BUILDING UP A RICH DATABASE.

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region. Similarly, a number of amphibians are endemic to the Western Ghats and the area has become a hotspot of discovery of new species of frogs in the last decade. In the northern part of the Western Ghat range, which falls in Maharashtra, about one-third of the plants, almost half the reptiles, and more than three-fourths of the amphibians known in India are found in this narrow strip of rainforest just off the west coast.After decades of research, scientists have not been able to discover even 15% of all possible forms of life on Earth. While we know about 1.7 million species on Earth, the estimated figure of possible life forms is 10 millions. Thousands of species will get extinct even before they could be discovered, identified or catalogued.

QUESTION ARISES, HOW CONSERVATION PHOTOGRAPHY CAN HELP?

Conservation photography is an evolving concept, well-appreciated world over. It is a blend of the art of wildlife photography and the science of natural history documentary

photography. Conservation photography can work as a fantastic tool for the non-scientist and non biologist community to contribute enormously for building up a rich database. Conservation photography creates awareness amongst common man since it unveils the hidden beauties of nature. Today with the help of Internet, social networking sites and various other forums, we come across hundreds of people sharing their images and talking about their conservation. A drastic change is visible over last couple of years, which is really motivating.

LIFESTYLES IN THE URBAN AREAS OF THE WORLD TEND TO BE OVERALL LESS ENERGY-INTENSIVE THAN LIFESTYLES IN NON-URBAN OR PER-URBAN AREAS.

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CONSERVATION PHOTOGRAPHY IS AN EVOLVING CONCEPT, WELL APPRECIATED WORLD OVER. IT IS A BLEND OF THE ART OF WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY AND THE SCIENCE OF NATURAL HISTORY DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHY.

GLOBALLY AMPHIBIAN POPULATIONS ARE ON A SHOCKING DECLINE WITH MORE THAN 30 PER CENT OF ALL SPECIES THREATENED WITH EXTINCTION

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We at DCP, have established a national platform for all Wildlife Photographers of the country to contribute their photographs of the most endangered species of India to this platform. We call it ‘India’s most wanted’. Since it is a conservation photography platform, the forum gives equal importance to both conservation as well as photography. Every precious contribution are acknowledged and evaluated for its possibility of inclusion in ARKIVE database (www.arkive.org), one of the World’s richest databases of images of endangered life on earth. We at DCP, are just facilitators for a worldwide movement.

I have been fortunate enough to have worked in close association with India’s frogman – Sathyabhama Das Biju. Dr Biju is a Professor in the Department of Environmental Biology (Systematics Lab http://www.frogindia.org/), University of Delhi. He has a PhD in Biology (Animal Science: Amphibians) from Vrije Universiteit (Brussels) with the greatest distinction, as well as a PhD in Botany from Calicut University in plant systematics. He is also Scientific Associate at the British Museum of Natural History, London and a visiting researcher/faculty at Vrije Universiteit, Brussels.


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To know more about LAI - please refer http://www.lostspeciesindia.org/LAI2/For complete publication and research visit: http://www.frogindia.org

SD Biju specializes in systematics of Indian amphibians, with over 25 years of field experience. He discovered over 100 new species of amphibians (46 formally described till 2011), including the description of three new families, six new genera and the smallest Indian tetrapod. SD Biju is the recipient of the prestigious IUCN/SSC Amphibian Specialist Group’s Sabin Award for the year 2008 in recognition of his amphibian research and conservation initiatives. In 2011, Biju was the recipient of the Sanctuary Wildlife Service Award for his “extraordinary passion, which led to the discovery of several new species”. Presently, he is the coordinator of Lost! Amphibians of India program, an initiative to rediscover 50 ‘lost’ amphibians, which have been not reported after their original description, for a period ranging from 30 to 170 years.

Teams of scientists and naturalists from India have started the lost amphibian search. This initiative is launched with the hope of rediscovering over 50 species of lost amphibians in India. These animals are feared to be extinct but there is hope that some may be holding on in a few remote places. This search, which is taking place in 15 states of India, is the first ever coordinated effort to find such a large number of lost creatures involving both scientists, biologists as well as no scientific community. Globally amphibian populations are on a shocking decline – with more than 30 per cent of all species threatened with extinction.


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Image Courtseyhttp://dareisay3.deviantart.com/art/Side-lit-Orangutan-280827803


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Christina Bushhas been featured by National Geographic, Animal

Planet, ABC’s Extreme Home Makeovers, The International Anti-Fur Coalition, The Paw Project and many other organizations around the globe.

A lifetime supporter of animal protection and education, she works with groups all over the

world using her imagery to help save and improve the lives of animals everywhere, both in the wild

and in captivity. This is a very rewarding way for her to turn tremendous value into her passion for

wildlife, photography and art. Visit her photo-gallery at www.christinabush.com

ORANGUTANS IN PERIL



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are covered in thick reddish-brown hair, orangutans are said to be the most social of the four primate species belonging to the family Hominidae, or “The Great Apes”, along with gorillas, chimpanzees and bonobos. The Great Apes do not have a tail and are larger and heavier than monkeys and also have a larger brain. Once widespread in Southeast Asia, orangutans now are confined to the Indonesian islands of Borneo and Sumatra. They are the only Great Ape species living outside the continent of Africa. Regarded as an “umbrella species”, orangutans are essential in creating the necessary environment for the thousands of flora and fauna that make up the biodiversity of the Southeast Asian rain forest.

Most scientists recognize only two species of orangutans - the “Pongo Pygmaeus” that live on Indonesia’s Borneo Island and the “Pongo Abelii” that live on the island of Sumatra. Both species are listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, a list of the world’s most endangered species that is kept and monitored by the World Conservation Union. The Bornean orangutan is classified as “Endangered” on the red list with an estimated population of 54,000 remaining while the Sumatran orangutan is listed as “Critically Endangered” with only around 6,600 left in the wild. The Sumatran orangutan is also listed as one of the world’s top 25 most endangered primates.

The orangutan is one of our closest relatives in the animal kingdom, sharing 96.4% of our DNA. Indigenous peoples of Indonesia and Malaysia call this ape “Orang Hutan” which literally translates as “Person of the Forest”. They are the largest arboreal animals in the world, spending about 95% of their time high up in the trees. Living primarily in lowland rain forests, nearly their entire lives are spent up off the ground where they find shelter, food and a place to safely sleep away from predators. Almost every night they construct a new sleeping nest from branches, sometimes as high as 100 feet up in the tree branches. These lanky apes have highly mobile and limber hip and shoulder joints, which allow them to easily do yoga-like poses, such as putting their legs behind their heads. They have extremely long arms that stretch out longer than their bodies, up to around 8 feet from fingertip to fingertip in the case of large males. When on the ground they walk on all fours using their fists or palms. They are not, however, knuckle-walkers like the African apes. The orangutan’s long, narrow hands and feet are especially useful for grasping branches and swinging from tree to tree. Their thumbs and big toes are opposable, meaning they can grab branches and other items with a hook-like function and hang upside down for

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long periods of time while gathering fruit and leaves from the trees. Ripe fruit and wild figs make up their main diet, but they also enjoy insects, nectar, honey, small vertebrates and bird eggs. About 90% of their food is found high up in the canopy of the forest.

Orangutans are intelligent, friendly, gentle and at the same have high cognitive abilities. Scientists have found evidence of many socially learned behaviors passed down within their families from generation to generation. They have been observed using leafy branches to shelter themselves from sun and rain, and sometimes drape large leaves over themselves like a poncho. They use branches as tools when foraging for food, collecting honey, protecting themselves against stinging insects and extracting seeds from hard shells. In parts of Borneo orangutans use handfuls of

leaves as napkins to wipe their chins and the orangutans of Sumatra uses leaves as gloves, helping them to handle thorny branches and spiny fruits. Leaves are also used as seat cushions in spiny trees and for bedding inside their nests at night.

Wild females usually give birth for the first time at around age 15 and typically only have one child, but twins occur rarely. For the first few years of a young orangutan’s life, it clings tightly to its mother as she moves through the thick canopy of the forest, dependent on her for food and transportation. Youngsters will sometimes be carried by their mother until around age five and be breast-fed up to age eight. The mother will carefully protect them against predators such as pythons, clouded leopards and tigers. Orangutan’s maintain a semi-solitary and peaceful social system


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due to a lack of large arboreal predators. Adolescent females live and travel together, while adult males participate in social groups temporarily only during sexual “courtships” and then go back into isolation. Wild orangutan fathers play no direct role in the upbringing of the babies. When males fight they charge at one another and grapple, biting each other’s cheeks and heads, looking like Sumo wrestlers. The life expectancy of the these apes is 35-40 years in the wild and up to 50 years in captivity.

Fifty years ago more than three-quarters of Indonesia was blanketed in a plush tropical rain forest, but the country has now become the world’s fastest forest destroyer. Economic and political instability in the region has been a contributing factor to habitat loss in recent years and the Asian financial crisis had serious effects on Indonesia’s economy, leading to violent demonstrations causing the resignation of long-term president Suharto. Of all the species that reside in Indonesia, 772 species are threatened or endangered, giving Indonesia the third highest number of threatened species of any country in the world. Over half of the country’s trees have now been cleared in a greedy rush to supply the world with palm oil and other marketable items.

The palm oil industry has made Indonesia the world’s top producer and exporter of the

oil, which is used globally as a key ingredient in items ranging from cooking oil, to peanut butter, lipstick, soap, biodiesel fuel, and animal food. Of the 44 countries that collectively make up around 90% of the world’s forests, the country with the highest annual rate of deforestation is Indonesia, with 4.4 million acres of forest destroyed each year between 2000-2005, according to the World Record Academy. This area has lost more than 70% of its ancient forests at an alarming rate and half of what remains is critically threatened

by commercial logging, forest fires, and clearance by palm oil plantations. The rapid destruction of these tropical forests is causing in calculable losses and is pushing the orangutans even closer to extinction.

Orangutan are one of the most critically endangered of all the apes in the world and now is a crucial time for them. In 2011, the United States forgave more than $30 million in Indonesian debt in return for stepped up conservation of Borneo Island. This agreement is monitored by the World Wildlife Fund, which claims that India ranks fourth in the world in terms of total carbon emissions. A coalition of conservation groups have been establishing rehabilitation centers for injured and orphaned apes with the aim to treat them and eventually return them back to their natural environments, if any still exists.

ORANGUTAN ARE ONE OF THE MOST CRITICALLY ENDANGERED OF ALL THE APES IN THE WORLD AND NOW IS A CRUCIAL TIME FOR THEM.


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The Tripa forest in Aceh province is home to the world’s densest population orangutans. The forest has been divided up as palm oil companies drain all the swamp lands and set fires to drive out the wildlife, forcing these powerful apes to the edges of the remaining forests. The Coalition to Save Tripa says that several hundred critically endangered and rare orangutans that reside in this protected area of western Indonesia may be killed off by the end of the year if land clearing is not ceased immediately. A third of the population of around 200 might already be dead, with the rest in severe danger, say conservationists. In the early 1990s Tripa was home to over 3,000 individuals according to the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme. The program’s director, Ian Singleton, said “it is no longer several years away, but just a few months or even weeks before this iconic creature disappears. We are currently watching a global tragedy.” Environmentalist Graham Usher says that a single prolonged dry spell in Indonesia - a normal occurrence in the region - will quite likely destroy the remaining forests and everything in it, including orangutans, sun bears, tigers and other protected species within only months. Deforestation has previously threatened animals like the Sumatran Tiger and Javan Rhino and also caused the disappearance of the Bali and Java tiger species in the past 70 years.

Despite the fact that it is illegal to capture, kill, keep or trade orangutans in Indonesia, many still find their way into the black market animal trade or into people’s homes as pets. Land clearing fires send the panicked orangutans fleeing, putting them at risk of being captured or killed by local residents and farmers, who see them as irritating pests. Others died directly in the fires or as a result of gradual starvation and malnutrition as their food sources disappear. Many people locally and also overseas are willing to pay high

prices to purchase young orangutans, which causes a depletion of the wild populations. When young orangutans are captured for trade it is not only the infant that suffers, but the entire family. There are many reports of adult orangutans being beaten, doused in petroleum, set on fire and burned to death so the infants can be more easily taken. Sometimes they will die in the process or die later from the stress and trauma of being taken from their family and placed into captivity. A conservative estimate from the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme suggests that only about one in every three infants that gets captured survives the experience.

HABITAT LOSS, DESTRUCTION AND THE PET TRADE ARE AT THE ROOT OF THE ORANGUTAN CONSERVATION CRISIS. There needs to be a worldwide outcry and conservation effort in order to save the mighty Red Apes. Changing the ecological environment and halting habitat destruction would mitigate the effects that make the orangutan populations in Borneo and Sumatra so unstable. There needs to be community engagement to reduce the level of conflicts between orangutans and humans along with assessment and monitoring of the health and welfare of the local species. Education about the illegal black market and poaching is also essential in raising awareness about the plight of the orangutans if there is to be a vision for a brighter future.

Article & All Images: Christina Bush Animal Magnetism Wildlife Awareness column

Visit atwww.youthforwildlife.com


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A 28 year old retail professional working out of Kolkata. Wildlife enthusiast and an avid traveller with a never ending lust to explore the unseen and experience different sight,sound,smell and not to mention food. Have visited more than 25 countries and 40 cities across the world and also extensively travelled across India.It was last fall that finally after much deliberation i picked up a telephoto lens to try my hand at wildlife photography, Its like a drug that i am hooked on to now and simply cannot do without.



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STOLICKZA’S BUSHCHAT


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SAMBHAR DEER



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Background Courtseyhttp://fernl.deviantart.com/


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Amit B. Dutta is an Engineer by profession and a photographer by heart and can be contacted at www.amitbdutta.in

Amit Bijon Dutta



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feat

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straddling the states of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh are signposts with the words “Welcome to Mowgli’s land.” Mowgli, in Rudyard Kipling’s nineteenth century children’s book entitled “Jungle Book,” is a young boy who grows up with the inhabitants of the jungle including a snake and an elephant. Mowgli and his people are not living symbiotically with animals in the dense forest and yet today, Mowgli’s land is siphoned off as a National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary and the human inhabitants are either asked to leave the forest voluntarily or are forcibly evicted.

Pench National Park, nestling in the lower southern reaches of the Satpuda hills is named after river Pench, meandering through the park from north to south. It is located on the southern boundary of Madhya Pradesh, bordering Maharashtra, in the districts of Seoni and Chhindwara. Pench National Park, comprising 758 km2, out of which a core area of 299 km2 of Indira Priyadarshini Pench National Park and the Mowgli Pench Sanctuary and remaining 464 km2 of Pench National Park is the buffer area.


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Pench National Park [ Hindi : Pench national park ]. This is the 19th project tiger reserve in India and was declared so in 1992. It has tropical dry deciduous forest. The area was declared as Pench national Park (Maharashtra) by the Government of Maharashtra vide notification number R&F.D./1395/212768/F-1 dated 22-11-75 with an area of 257.26 square kilo meter. Government of India declared the area as Pench tiger reserve vide their notification number III (I)-25/98-PT dated 11-2-99. This was reinforced with Government of Maharashtra declaration of Pench National Park as Pench Tiger Reserve Vide Resolution number WLp-1095/CR-110/F-1 dated 23-2-99.

The forest area of Pench National Park is redolent with tropical dry deciduous teak and interspersed with bamboo trees and other species of shrubs. The ‘Kullu tree’ (a species of gum tree) in Pench is a highlight, and visitors are often mesmerized by its almost white bark and spread out branches that are a startling contrast to the lush greenery around. In addition there are many rare varieties of herbs and grasses in this region used in medicines. Fauna-wise, a number of endangered species have made it their habitat including the Indian wild dog, the wild pig, nilgai, chital, muntjac, gaur, the four-horned antelope and of course tigers. The tiger population in Pench is one of the highest in number.



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The park is also rich in bird life with over 200 species like barbets, bulbuls, minivets, orioles, wagtails, munias, mynas, waterfowls, and blue kingfishers. The river water streams that weave through the area along with ‘nallahs’ and ravines provide the perfect habitat for the water birds of this region.

Pench offers two rounds of jungle safari every day. This varies across the months and for February the first round begins at 6:30 am and ends at 11:00 am and the second round is from 2:30 pm to 6:00 pm.

It was a few days back that while going through the hard copies of my previous escapades to jungle, the fact dawned to my senses that I was in dire need of another safari. I was missing jungle and wanted to relax and rejuvenate in the lap of Mother Nature. I called up a few friends and was lucky enough to get company of 3 of my friends and then it was decided at 11pm that we were to leave for Pench at 4:00 am. Trust me, I gave up on it, thought one or other won’t make up. But we all kept our words and the trip was worth our sleeps. When we reached Pench (Turia Gate) at 5:40 am it was still dark, but the wildlife enthusiasts were already there. For the next half an hour we tried to complete the formalities for entry into the reserve forest.


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The entry fee is moderately priced at Rs.1050 per vehicle to maximum of six people. The guide fee was Rs.200 and the gypsy charges were Rs.1500 per safari. So, we ended up paying Rs.2750 in total.

We were elated to find our favourite Gypsy and the driver, “Pawan Jaiswal”, one of the best drivers of Pench, with our guide “Anil”. Before entering the Jungle, I asked, “Pawan, which route?” and he replied, “Sir, 3.” and the second question was if the elephant show was onto which he said “sir, we will see the ‘bigi’ it in the wild. As soon as we entered the jungle, within 15 minutes we started tracking the calls from the langoors and sambar. It was not too late that we spotted a tigress which had five cubs. We were following one of the cubs from a safe distance, for good 20 minutes till the tigress went back into the jungle and our


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gypsy friend who himself is a wildlife enthusiast encouraged us to wait saying that she would come out and go to her cubs in some time and we waited there for another 30 minutes and she did come out to drink water and soon we heard her cub roaring, and she wasted no time rushing towards him at a distance of about 500 meters from where we were standing, I can still not forget the meeting of the mother and the cub, and then I realised who are we to decide if animals are driven by emotions or not.

We moved on to the other parts of the jungle and

within a drive of a kilometre, we saw a jackal with a deer leg and running away, he might have stolen it from a tiger’s meal in his absence, then


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we also witnessed a large group of wild boar crossing the road, a deer and her cub, few birds to end our morning safari, it was 10:30 already

and Pawan wanted us to move towards the gate and it brought an end of our safari, an undecided, hassled yet wonderful visit to Pench, and with


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amazing memories painted on our brain’s canvas and many captured in my camera, we bid

our adieu to the forest and moved back to the concrete world to go on with our daily routine.


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BY

K. CHANDRASHEKARBorn and brought up in Chennai, is now settled in Bangalore. Mr. Chandrashekhar works with Systema Shyam Teleservices Ltd as an Associate Director Sales. He has a great passion for wildlife & conservation. Being an avid naturalist he has extensively traveled to almost all the wildlife parks of Karnataka, Tamilnadu. Wildlife photography is his hobby he also believes in developing human relationship with the forests. His aim is not only confine to maintain a cleaner atmosphere but to make people understand the benefits of helping nature to get the best out of it & save the threatened species of fauna & flora.


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Way back in 1931, the Maharaja of Mysore created a wild life sanctuary for him

and his fellow men to go and take rest and off course to hunt a little. He called this place ‘Venugopala Wildlife Park’. The sanctuary is located where the Deccan plateau meets the Western ghats. It is flanked by the river Kabini in the north and Moyar in the south. River Nugu flows through the forest. The climate in Bandipur is typically tropical. The biomes are dry deciduous and moist deciduous.

The drive from Mysore to Bandipur takes a hour and a half. The distance sight of the Nilgiris mountains standing above the clouds marks the beginning of the Bandipur forests. A delightful resort known as the Jungle Lodges Resorts borders the forests. The naturalist are very friendly and are very fond of nature and wildlife.

After a good meal we are taken inside the forest by a jeep. The guard at the entrance does his duty of stopping every vehicle to tell you the Dos and Dont’s. Spotted deers and Bonnet Macaque are found alongside the road. Once we enter the jungle the world changes, every season has its colours, Summer being the best time to spot the animals. Monsoons give a entirely different feel.

The flora and Fauna in Bandipur are of a wide range. Trees found here are Teak, Rosewood, Sandalwood, Bamboos, Indian Laurel. There are also several fruit bearing and flowering trees such as Kadam, Indian gooseberry, Crape myrtle, Flame of the forests, Satinwood etc.

Bandipur supports a good population of endangered and vulnerable species like Indian Elephants, Gaurs, Tigers, Sloth bears, Muggers, Indian rock pythons, four horned antelopes and dholes (wild dogs).

The highest point of the sanctuary is a small hillock called the Gopalswamy Betta, here lies the old temple built centuries ago. This attracts many pilgrims even today. The walk up the hillock provides one great views. One is certain to see a family of Indian elephants grazing down below the grass lands. The jungle teems with birds and mammals. The Starlings and the Parrots along with the Shrikes and Thrush welcome us with their musical calls. The common raptors are Cresent Serpent Eagles, Changeable Eagle hawks.

THE LUCKY FEW WOULD GET TO SEE THE ELUSIVE CAT, OTHERS DO COME BACK WITH A HUNG FACE. THE PROMINENT NECKLACE

OF SPOTS AND BARS ACROSS HIS CHEST, SPOTS ON HIS TORSO AND UPPER LIMBS FORM LOVELY PATTERN OF ROSETTES.


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The lucky few would get to see the elusive cat, others do come back with a hung face. The prominent necklace of spots and bars across his chest, spots on his torso and upper limbs form lovely pattern of rosettes. He sports a tail which is two thirds of his body length, the tip is pure white on the underside, the leopard is the most agile and adaptable big cat of the jungles. They are highly opportunistic and would hunt both by day and night if undisturbed. These terrestrial and arboreal cats are occasionally seen sunning themselves in the early mornings or evenings. The camp fire used to be the place where the lucky few would narrate the stories and others would give a patient hearing, with high hopes for the next day, we hit the sack, dreaming to see the most gracious cat.

With the trees and the animals and the sunshine about us in the daytime, and the moon and the stars and the fireflies,

the croaking of the frogs and chirping of the crickets by the night, the calls of the frightened deers and the chorus of a pack of jackals would be a music to which we would sleep. Bandipur, the wildwoods of the South India is a must place to see and is a true paradise on earth.

THE WALK UP THE HILLOCK PROVIDES ONE GREAT VIEWS. ONE IS CERTAIN TO SEE A FAMILY OF INDIAN ELEPHANTS GRAZING DOWN BELOW THE GRASS LANDS.

PHOTO COURTSEY: PRAVEEN SIDDANAVAR, VINAY S. KUMAR

PHOTO: K. CHADRASHEKHAR


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Workingwith thewild

Candice Bradford from South Africa is Qualified in Nature conservation, Wildlife Manage-ment, Game ranging , Environmental Education. She runs an environmental education page with Christina austin Bush. Her aim is to to educate and aspire love and appreciation of our natural world to our youth and she can be contacted at [email protected]

Candice Bradford

As a child growing up I always wanted to work with animals, I had my mind set on

being a game ranger from the age of 6 years old. I was fortunate that my parents took me to game reserves and wildlife sanctuaries. I grew up loving animals and always wanted to pursue this dream of working with wildlife. I grew up watching films like Out of Africa and Jock of the Bushveld and I spent my time watching nature programs

As romantic as the dream is. One has visions of living in Africa being surrounded with wildlife and being able to work with the animals at zoo’s and sanctuaries one must realize that many of these wildlife places are voluntary so one cannot expect to earn salaries or get rich. This type of work is for those who are passionate about wildlife and animals and who don’t have the responsibility of children and family life. I was very young when I started to volunteer at wildlife sanctuaries.

It all started for me with a Game Ranging course in Phalaborwa in the North West Province, It was here that I met Rita Mijio founder of C.A.R.E (Centre for Animal Rehabilitation & Education) as part of our Game ranging we had to spend two days working with Rita and write an essay on Baboons, anyway I did that and there after finished my course I volunteered to remain with Rita and work with her and help her. I spent months in between jobs volunteering my help.

Among the baboons were other animals at the centre, Samango Monkey, Suricat, mongoose, warthog, Black Backed Jackal, the 3 Lions. We also had black shouldered kite that was injured in a fire, several bush babies, one called Mad Max who really was mad he would bite you if you weren’t paying attention when feeding him.

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How did a lot of these animals come to be there? Many of them were brought to us by farmers, the Jackal was found as pups in a dustbin. Most of the baboons were caught in traps by farmers, many of the babies were orphaned, some of which farmers took as pets and found out that primates are not suitable and therefore we ended up with them.

The owls and raptors we had, few of them were caught in traps, some in veld fires and had their wings damaged and could not returned to the wild.

The 3 lion cubs , two were brothers and were removed from a farmer , the other was kept in a garage as a pet and was beaten

she was scared and wary of humans , the two brothers Ngala and Tau were bottle fed and raised at C.A.R.E were later taken to Reserve called Lion Haven In Tzaneen.

This is me spending some down time with the baby group. We had a intake of 25 babies a month , we used to have to bottle feed twice a day and spend time with them. Baboons are very social animals and they spend a lot of time with the mother’s in the wild learning how to gather seeds and fruits. I found working with baboons so rewarding. they are little humans each with their own personality.

I learnt so much working at C.A.R.E , it will always hold special memories for me. It was a bench mark in my life to something greater.After working at C.A.R.E I went on the volunteer at other small rehabiliation centres , I completed my studies in Nature Conservation , Wildlife Management , Game Ranging and Environmental education. I can truly say I have been blessed to have experienced this kind of thing and learnt first hand what the conservation industry is all about. This is not a career for those who are

Ngala … He always ran up to the gate and fence to greet .

Two brothers Ngala and Tau and Karate


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seeking to earn money. Its rewarding career choice , one must have a passion for animals and wildlife. One has to be very particular of the places you choose to volunteer in. There are places that arent suitable and one gets taken advantage of in this industry. I have been fortunate to have met some amazing people in the industry , some who I have learnt so much from and taken away with me special memories and experience. In this line of work employers hire those with the most certificates and degrees behind their name , experience does count , but it’s the paper work that counts. This kind of experience one cannot buy on paper.!

Its wonderful rewarding work if you can find the correct place to volunteer your time.!

Here I am pictured with Bobby , one of 4 baby vervets rescued from farmers trap.

Myself with my vervet monkeys. These vervets were rescued from farmers traps. Later were released onto a farm and have inter-grated with wild troops.

I am fortunate that I have been able to work with a variety of species. Pictured here is myself with a Red Tail Hawk. Working with Raptors and Reptiles.I was fortunate to be accepted into an intern program at Shaver’s creek Environmental Centre in Pennyslvania USA where I taught children & adults the fundatmentals of nature interpretation , conservation. I took out school groups , attended fairs and festivals giving wildlife presentations. I can only hope to share my experience and knowledge with people. I am blessed to have had these experience’s which have really been rewarding. My aim is to educate and help people , especially our younger generations to make them appreciate our natural world. I believe if one learns about something, one will come to appreciate it and therefore love it and want to protect it.!

Together with my friend Christina Austin Bush we have created a webpage to educate our youth.

Join us on facebookwww.youthforwildlife.com where we notes and amazing facts on animals and projects and great animal photos.


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Media Impacthttp://www.mediaimpact.org



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and dimly-lit Egyptian restaurant, where we feasted on local delicacies with our new friends, it’s hard to believe we’ve only been here for four days. It seems like only a few hours ago, we were discussing Moroccan politics while being treated to delicious mint tea, which flowed like water from Rabat to Casablanca. Though the pervasive generosity among the people of North Africa certainly transcends borders, the uniqueness of the Egyptian culture highlights the countless nuances of a beautiful region, which we’ve only begun to explore. Alas, tonight, our time in this fascinating country is coming to a close. Yet, looking around, judging from the palpable level of laughter and excitement, it seems we’ve been here for much longer. One should never underestimate the socially-cohesive power of a well-seasoned roasted pigeon stuffed with wild rice… Perhaps the world would be a better place if we all subscribed to gastro-diplomacy more often! However, it seems that we must wait, as our host, Magda Zaki underlined, “for the soup to settle” before we can validate this theory. Enough with the culinary metaphors! Muslim-Western relations, as we’re becoming more and more acutely aware, require a deeper level of analysis and comprehension. Yet a few days spent interacting with a number of thoughtful, driven, and incredibly affable Egyptians have underscored the irrefutable power of the human dimension.

Though it has often been said that the journey is more rewarding than the destination, we can all attest that there are exceptions to this adage! After an epic 24 hour journey punctuated with a series of flight delays and missed connections from Rabat to Cairo (via Paris and Frankfurt), we finally reached our destination around 4 am. Though each of us could have slept on a rock by the time we finally got there, we were all very grateful for the level of comfort that awaited us at the El Gezirah Sofitel. Judging from the ubiquitous level of weariness, Karima had kindly arranged to reschedule the early part of

the morning’s agenda in order to give us all an opportunity to catch up on some much-needed sleep.

Rested, fed and eager, the reality set in: we had finally arrived in Cairo – a bustling vibrant metropolis, home to over 20 million people. What a treat! As the icing on the cake (there he goes again with the recurring culinary digressions!), the first item on the agenda was a visit to pyramids of Giza, about 30 minutes outside of Cairo. While some of us had already experienced this natural wonder, an aggregate level of excitement was present on the bus, as we motored through the impressive Cairo traffic and etched our way closer to these majestic structures. Nourhan and Hayam, our wonderful coordinators had arranged the perfect tour, with the just right amount of historical information and cultural relevance. Naturally, we took all the obligatory tourist photos in front of the pyramids and the Sphinx. This was the perfect way to start this Egyptian adventure, paving the way for what was sure to be a couple of intensive days.

And intensive there were! The following day, we were punctually greeted by the smiling Nourhan who organized a short drive over to the League of Arab States, our home base for the next couple of days. The League of Arab States, which was founded in 1945, groups together the twenty two Arab states and promotes economic, cultural and political relations among these member states. It was there that Mrs. Magda Zaki, our main host while in Egypt, welcomed us and gave us an insightful overview of the Organization as well as the country and the current situation. We learned about the Egypt’s fascinating history, which has been experienced a number of transitions. Much of our conversation focused, of course, on the tumultuous 18 day political revolution in and around Tahrir Square, which resulted in the ousting of former President Mubarak – a pivotal time which Joseph Nye describes as a “social movement which overcame an entrenched autocratic government.” The


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NATURALLY, WE TOOK ALL THE OBLIGATORY TOURIST PHOTOS IN

FRONT OF THE PYRAMIDS AND THE SPHINX. THIS WAS THE PERFECT

WAY TO START THIS EGYPTIAN ADVENTURE, PAVING THE

WAY FOR WHAT WAS SURE TO BE A COUPLE OF

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discussion was substantive, lively and provided a very-much needed framework to start to understand the latest cultural and political developments in the country. Each presentation was unique and the subsequent discussions helped to shed light on a number of important aspects of Egyptian society. Whether it was with Parliament Members, Field Reporters, Diplomats, Professors, NGO workers, Private Sector Leaders, Social Media Specialists or Students (belonging to different political parties), each conversation played an integral role in deepening our understanding of this complex country.

Waged in the name of freedom, equality, liberty and justice, the revolution, as one of the fellows noted, has not brought equal rights to all. “As borders between authority and the state, power and freedom, and civil military relations are being teased out, there have not been clear gains for all. Women revolutionaries marched shoulder to shoulder with their male counterparts to secure freedom yet they have been marginalized across all political parties and all branches of government. As one prominent member of one political highlighted, ‘Mubarak appointed women in his Cabinet; President Morsi has appointed only 2 [women].’ “Women’s leadership is linked to greater economic performance and less corruption,” she goes on. “There is evidence which suggests a correlation between women’s empowerment and the type of growth and development that the revolution was fought for. It is a shame that more has not been done to support women’s issues. It could be said that advancing women’s issues might be reminiscent of the Mubarak regime - but dismissing the rights of more than half of your population is hardly the right way to begin as a state committed to democracy, pluralism and equality.”Our last meeting provided us with a fresh and inspiring perspective, as we met with Tarek Shoeib, the Founder of Midan Masr, a bilingual (Arabic/English) “Opinionated


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Paper” covering contemporary Egyptian politics and culture with a refreshing point/counterpoint format. Unrestrained by convention, Tarek left his comfortable, high paying finance job in New York and London to return to Egypt, as he felt that he had a responsibility to take action to help his country transition to a brighter future, especially since that fateful January 25, 2011 (“the day of revolt.” Tarek is a prime example of the many young Egyptian activists who represent an educated, vibrant society, eager to be heard and eager to see change take place. “The idea that the Arab political culture is inherently violent,” as was written in his thoughtfully-articulated newspaper, “has been most eloquently debunked by the extraordinary self-disciplined nonviolence of the protesters in Egypt – in spite of extreme provocation and abuses by the police and government-paid hooligans.”

In keeping up with the rigorous cadence of the program, we had little time to digest everything that we heard and learned. And yet after each day of thought-provoking meetings, most of us somehow managed to muster up the energy to explore a bit of Cairo with our trusted tour guides, Nourhan and Hayam. Even after having worked all day to ensure that each meeting was organized and executed seamlessly, these two lovely women would take the time to take us out to experience genuine Egyptian culture. We toured Tahrir square and marveled at the artistic graffiti which, despite having been erased several times, still stands. We will never forget seeing this iconic area, which

will forever be etched in our memory as a paradigm of change during our generation. In fact, as Dr. John Inge, a contributor to Midan Masr, remarks: “the crucial thing about democracy, as Egyptians know from bitter experience, is not how governments are elected or how decision are made, but the fact that you can get rid of a government.” It was truly a unique honor to be able to listen directly to the voices of those who contributed to this change, and to do so right in the heart of where these catalytic events took place.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote that “the civilized man has built a coach; but has forgotten the use of his feet.” It is perhaps a stretch to apply 19th century existentialist philosophy to the current situation in the Egypt; but the central message holds true. It matters not, how many facts we read or how much geopolitical analysis we apply; the human dimension is indeed the driving forces behind constructive opinions based on solid, lived experiences, rather than preconceived and outdated notions. These experiences provide us with a foundation to focus not on what separates our cultures, but rather on what viscerally and innocuously unifies us. From the simple pleasures derived from a meal to the collective desire for mature institutions and strong civil societies, these experiences are far more meaningful than anything we can read or watch.

Social networks may have played an integral role in the Egyptian revolution, but when we

DR. JOHN INGE, A CONTRIBUTOR TO MIDAN MASR, REMARKS: “THE CRUCIAL THING ABOUT DEMOCRACY, AS EGYPTIANS KNOW FROM BITTER EXPERIENCE, IS NOT HOW GOVERNMENTS ARE ELECTED OR HOW DECISION ARE MADE, BUT THE FACT THAT YOU CAN GET RID OF A GOVERNMENT.”


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learn that there are only 256,000 registered Twitter users out of a country of more than 83 million people, we must dig deeper. We must not forget “the use of our feet.” In an increasingly more complex world, often limited to 140 character sound bites, we must not forget the power and impact of this human dimension as a vector of virtue and not greed. In retrospect, as we attempt to immortalize this ephemeral evening, we are reminded of the importance of these fleeting moments of cross-cultural dialogues. We are so lucky to have shared this experience with such incredible people – all of whom are unique in their own personal and professional ways, but all embody a collective sense of passion

and enthusiasm. We are even luckier to have been able to share this passion and contribute to this enthusiasm. Though the recent events in the region would suggest a grimmer reality which goes beyond this quixotic appreciation, the human dimension prevails. It allows us to look beyond the misperceptions and demystify the stereotypes. It is perhaps a trite realization, but a genuine one nonetheless. Call it the Egyptian version of what one might find inside of a Chinese Fortune cookie… or in this case, a stuffed pigeon! Whatever it is, it’s real.


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AT MASAI MARA, KENYA

Shovna Upadhyay recalls that before February 2011, she used to take photographs as any normal tourist, concentrating only on monuments and landscape with family and friends as foreground. But after her visit to Kaziranga National Park, she fell in love with wildlife photography and since then it has become a passion. We present before you all an exclusive photo-story. Shovna can be reached at [email protected]



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RAJBERAH FEMALE AT BANDHAVGARH



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T6 AKA ROMEO AT RANTHAMBHORE

T39 AT RANTHAMBHORE



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INDIAN POND HERON IN BREEDING PLUMAGE


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INDIAN ROLLER AT YALASRI LANKA



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BHARATPUR


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BHARATPUR



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EURASIAN THICK KNEE AT RANTHAMBHORE


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GREY-HEADED CANARY FLYCATCHER AT SATTAL,

UTTARAKHAND



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JUNGLE BABLER

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T17 AKA SUNDARI AT RANTHAMBHORE



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The per capita energy consumption is very low in India as compared to developed countries. Energy is needed for economic growth and development. It is estimated that industrial energy use in developing countries constitutes about 45-50 % of the total commercial energy consumption. Much of this energy is converted from imported oil, the price of which has increased tremendously so much so that most of developing countries spent more than 50 % of their foreign exchange earnings. Not with standing these fiscal constraints, developing countries need to expand their industrial base to generate the resources to improve the quality of life of its people.

The expansion of industrial base requires additional energy inputs which have become difficult in the current world. Power generation needs resources and the resources available on earth are diminishing. They are being depleted with passing time as their use is increasing. Some resources are renewable like solar power, wind power, geothermal power etc. Technology is also being developed to harness these renewable resources to generate power. The capital investment requirement is very high as compared to normally available resources. A need arises to restrict the use or to increase the life of diminishing type of resources.

Mrs. Surbhi Arora a UGC NET qualified faculty member, with around fourteen years of experience in industry and academics. She is a graduate in Commerce and Law. Presently she is pursuing PhD from UPES in the area of Oil & Gas Management. She believes that our thoughts lead to actions and actions to results. According to her, hard work and consistency have to be the two pillars supporting one’s achievement.

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ureENERGY MANAGEMENT IS A MISSION WITH A GOAL. IT REQUIRES

THE COORDINATED EFFORTS BY A TEAM OF ENERGY CONSCIOUS PEOPLE RATHER THAN BY INDIVIDUALS IN THEIR OWN CAPACITY. STRATEGIES NEED TO BE MADE BASED ON THE GOALS OF ENERGY CONSERVATION.

In a competitive world, cost competitiveness is essential for the survival of every person. Everyone cannot understand the benefits accruing to the whole world, but can realize some benefits for their own actions. The need to conserve energy, particularly in industry is being strongly felt as the energy cost takes up substantial share in the overall cost structure of the operation. This calls for the ‘management of energy’ or the ‘management of resources’ or ‘energy conservation’. And energy needs to be managed by both the developed and the developing countries.

Energy management is a mission with a goal. It requires the coordinated efforts by a team of energy conscious people rather than by individuals in their own capacity. Strategies need to be made based on the goals of energy conservation. These strategies are then required to be backed with concerted efforts in a planned manner to establish an effective energy management system. Some steps towards achieving the goal of energy management and conservation could be:

1. Identifying inefficient areas2. Identifying inefficient equipments3. Identifying the requirements of technology

& equipment4. Identifying the resource requirement5. Evaluation of actions taken6. In case of inefficient actions, implementing

new process or new technology 7. Re-evaluation of actions

For the successful energy management & conservation and its implementation, the knowledge of process & machine is vital. Initially, there is always a resistance from the user. These may be psychological mind blocks in the user’s mind which need to be made identified & clarified. Also it is important to make the owner of the process understand the cost-benefits of the energy conservation. An awareness to the process owner can give most economic and low cost solutions to save energy. It is said that around 5% of energy gets saved due to the awareness of the masses.

Energy management & conservation is a continuous process to find new opportunities to set goals, to achieve these goals and to evaluate the energy savings done. With passage of time, unwatched buildings can become less efficient, equipments may break down or lose efficiency and above all – people tend to forget the habits which were encouraged in the past. Generally, the easiest and most cost-effective energy-saving opportunities typically require little or no capital investment like the simplest ways to save a significant amount of energy is to encourage staff to switch off equipment when not in use during each working day.

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Assam for ‘green roads’ by using cold mix technologyPTI | Oct 11, 2012, 03.20PM IST

Assam is a pioneering state in the country to have used cold mix technology in rural road construction and has so far constructed about 1500 kms, state PWD Minister Ajanta Neog has said.

GUWAHATI: From Green Buildings to Green Roads, Assam has begun its journey towards becoming one of the greenest and cleanest states in the country by using cold mix technology in which natural rubber latex is blended with bitumen emulsion.

Assam is a pioneering state in the country to have used cold mix technology in rural road construction and has so far constructed about 1500 kms, state PWD Minister Ajanta Neog has said.

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technology was that on an average in cold mix precious fossil fuels -- approximately 1500 litres of diesel per kilometre -- are saved and if over 1000 km of roads are constructed in a year in each state, the benefits would be enormous.

Assam Public Works Roads Department has launched a unique Green Roads Mission in association with the New Delhi-based Central Road Research Institute and Bitchem Asphalt Technologies Limited.

The Mission, among others, aims at achieving its objective of sustainable development and harnessing the socio-economic and

environmental benefits of cold mix technology for rural roads and state roads to help the country benefit from prospective earning of carbon credits.

The cold mix technology is an impressive option to solve the problems of road connectivity in the state as various factors like heavy rainfall often delay the construction and maintenance of roads, Neog said yesterday.

Using the cold mix technology, the PWRD has developed over 1500 km of green roads in Assam.

Kerala to host India’s first biodiversity congressIANS | Oct 10, 2012, 12.37PM IST

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The first everNational Biodiversity Congress will be hosted by the state capital in December, KP Laladhas, member secretary of the Kerala State Biodiversity Board ( KSBB), the main organiser of the event, said Wednesday.

This is an event that will henceforth be conducted annually, and it is expected to be the most important meeting of academics and field activists working on issues of biodiversity, Laladhas said.

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challenges and frame strategies for protecting the unique biodiversity of our country. An exhibition showcasing the bio-world of the country would be held, and the National Biodiversity Students’ Congress would also be held to train young people to handle the nation’s natural wealth with care,” Laladhas said.

The first NBC, to be held from December 27 to 30, will be organised by the National Biodiversity Authority in collaboration with state biodiversity boards. All other organisations involved in conservation efforts in the country would also be included, Laladhas said.

The focal theme of NBC 2012 would be “Biodiversity for food security”. The meet will see sessions on organic farming, the

role of science and technology in access and benefit-sharing of bio resources, and people’s participation in biodiversity conservation.

A special session on “Western Ghats in World Heritage Status: Challenges and Opportunities” is also scheduled as part of the congress.

Members of the academic and research community, NGOs, policy makers, consulting firms and officials in central and state government departments who work for conservation of nature and biodiversity are expected to attend.

“The meeting would also provide an opportunity for interaction with custodians of traditional knowledge,” said Laladhas.

Centre sanctions Rs one crore package for KazirangaPTI | Oct 10, 2012, 11.03PM IST

BOKAKHAT(ASSAM): Union environment and tourism minister Jayanti Natarajan announced a Rs one crore package for world-famedKaziranga National Park on Wednesday to tackle the situation arising there out of waves of flood and consequent death of animals this year.

The money was sanctioned from the Tiger Reserve Fund for the world famous Park where a total 39 rhinos have been killed in and around it in less than 10 months.

Natarajan, who reviewed the situation in the Park following the devastating floods and recent incidents of rhino poaching, also announced that five country boats and four speed boats would be immediately sanctioned to the Park to help in the rescue and protection of animals.

The union minister, who was accompanied by chief minister Tarun Gogoi, also stressed the need to strengthen the network between different agencies engaged in wildlife protection.

Referring to recent incidents of poaching in the Park, she said the wildlife crime control board was conducting an inquiry into the killings and necessary action would be taken after the submission of the report.

The involvement of militants in poaching has been established and the concerned department was taking steps accordingly.

Measures were also being taken to increase the number of forest guards to ensure increased vigil and patrolling in the Park.

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There were plans to construct flyovers from Bokakhat to Jakhalabandha on NH 37 which runs through the Park to prevent killing of animals when they cross to the highlands in adjacent Karbi Anglong district during the floods, she said.

The Union Minister also held a close-door meeting with the Chief Minister, state forest minister Rakibul Hussain and senior government officials.

Bid to stop poaching of migratory birds in ChilikaIANS | Oct 10, 2012, 10.51PM IST

BHUBANESWAR: Security has been tightened in and around Odisha’s Chilika Lake to stop poaching of migratory birds arriving here from Siberia, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and the Himalayas, an official said Wednesday.

The state’s wildlife department has set up more than six camps in villages near the lake to protect the birds.

A total of 25 camps would be set up this month, assistant forest conservator Chandramani Behera said.

At least two teams of wildlife officials have been told to intensify patrolling on the lake, he said.

Officials have also launched awareness campaigns in villages around the lake on bird conservation, Behera said.

He said the department would take the help of NGOs, bird lovers and activists to hold awareness meetings in all villages in the region.

The 1,000 sq km lake, about 100 km from here, is spread over the districts of Puri, Khordha and

Ganjam along the eastern coast and is home to some of the largest congregations of migratory birds in the country.

Every year, about a million migratory birds come to the lake in October and return in March.

An estimated 165 species of birds are found in the lake during winters. Of these, 93 species are migratory and 72 residential.

Despite security measures, poaching -- the single biggest threat to the migratory birds here -- continues to remain a headache for wildlife officials.

Behera said during last winter, around 100 people were arrested from different areas of the lake for hunting birds.

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While some habitual offenders have left poaching in recent years after awareness campaigns, the hunting of birds has not stopped although the number of poaching cases has come down, he said.

Poachers kill the migratory birds for their meat which are in high demand in eateries in Bhubaneswar, Puri, Khurda, Balugaon and Berhampur.

About 8.83 lakh migratory waterfowl visited the lake last winter.

Wildlife officials are hopeful that a similar number will arrive this winter too.

Hundreds of migratory birds have already arrived at the lake in the past few days.

Japan rolls out environment taxIANS | Oct 1, 2012, 12.08PM IST

TOKYO: The Japanese government on Monday introduced an environment tax to help curb the use of fossil fuel and combat global warming.

According to the official estimate, each household will have to pay about 1,200 yen more in environment tax in fiscal 2016 than current levels, reported Xinhua.

The introduction of the tax, which will be imposed on fossil fuels, including crude oil and

natural gas, is in line with the government’s policy of aiming to cut emissions by 25% from 1990 levels by 2020.

Japan’s biggest business lobby, Keidanren or Japan Business Federation, is opposed to the introduction of the tax, calling on the government to halt its plan to further raise the levy in April 2014.

Wildlife wing to boost meadow development in PAsTNN | Oct 13, 2012, 02.46AM IST

NAGPUR: In a bid to encourage speedy recovery of wildlife population, the state forest department plans to take up meadow development at relocated village sites in national parks, sanctuaries and tiger reserves.A strategy to boost meadow and grassland restoration will be planned at a two-day workshop jointly organized by the Melghat tiger reserve (MTR), forest department, and Satpuda Foundation (SF) with the assistance of Delhi University.

The brainstorming sessions will be held in Melghat on Saturday and Sunday. The workshop will be inaugurated by principal secretary (forests) Praveen Pardeshi and principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife) SWH Naqvi.

The wildlife department is working on a voluntary relocation programme and has relocated 9 villages so far from the core area of Melghat, 1 from Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve

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(TATR), 3 from Navegaon National Park and Totladoh encroachments.

The process to relocate 4 villages in TATR, 1 in Pench and 3 in Tipeshwar is in progress. The plan is to restore grasslands at these relocated sites.

KP Singh, chief conservator of forests (CCF) & field director of Melghat, and Kishor Rithe, president of Satpuda Foundation, has expressed the hope that the strategy and guidance from this workshop will help speedy recovery of the wildlife population.

All senior forest officers with the wildlife wing would attend the workshop mainly to understand best scientific practices of meadow development to encourage the indigenous floral species to bring the optimum herbivore population and thereby the tigers, leopards and wild dogs, main predators in these PAs.

CR Babu, an eminent scientist and expert in grassland development in India, will guide the participants. Babu would come with his team including Rakesh Kumar and Pankaj Kumar

from school of Environmental Studies of University of Delhi.

The Centre for Environmental Management of Degraded Ecosystems (CEMDE) of Delhi University is working with the ministry of environment and forest (MoEF) since long on this subject and has done a remarkable job in the tiger reserves like Corbett.

SR Yadav from Kolhapur University, who is also a member of the Maharashtra State Biodiversity Board (MSBB) and environmentalist Pratibha Pande will also guide the participants.Gajanan Muratkar with Sipna College, Chikhaldara, has been already helping Melghat and Jaikiran Tidke, former head of botany department, Amravati University, who is pro-vice chancellor of Amravati University will present studies.

Rithe informed the delegates will visit Vairat, Churni, Kund and Dhargad meadows as well as Borikheda to design the grassland development model around buffer villages to meet the requirement of domestic livestock so that their dependence on forest is reduced.

Tropical Storm Rafael forms over eastern Caribbean SeaMIAMI | Sat Oct 13, 2012 6:28am ISTOnly (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Rafael formed over the eastern Caribbean Sea on Friday, triggering storm warnings for Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and several other islands, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

Rafael was centered about 125 miles west-southwest of the island of Dominica and was moving north-northwest at 12 miles per hour.It had top sustained winds of 40 mph and was forecast to move on a northern path that posed no threat to the United States or the Gulf of Mexico, where U.S. oil and gas operations are clustered.

Storm warnings were also issued for Antigua, the British Virgin Islands, St. Martin, Guadeloupe and St. Lucia, alerting residents to expect storm conditions in some areas later Friday night.

The storm was expected to move east of Puerto Rico on Saturday and out over the open Atlantic Ocean.

(Reporting by Kevin Gray; Editing by Eric Walsh)

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