Hornbills thriving in Malayattur forests

K.S. Sudhi
KOCHI,  
The Hindu, March 19, 2011

Hornbills are thriving in the Malayattur forests.

A recent bird survey held in the Malayattur forest division has revealed the presence of an “excellent population of Great Pied Hornbills.”

While the Malabar Grey Hornbill was spotted in good numbers, the Malabar Pied Hornbill was spotted from two base camps set up for the survey, said P.O. Nameer, State coordinator, Indian Bird Conservation Network and Important Bird Area Programme.

The Red List of threatened species compiled by the International Union for Conservation of Nature has included the Great Pied and Malabar Pied Hornbills in the Near-Threatened category.

Though the Great Pied Hornbill, says the BirdLife International, “has a large range, it occurs at low densities and is patchily distributed.

It is likely to be declining moderately rapidly throughout its range, and is therefore considered Near Threatened”.

Regarding the Malabar Pied Hornbill, the international agency for conservation of birds says that the species “has a moderately small population size, and is likely to have declined as a result of continuing habitat loss.

It is therefore considered Near Threatened, and should be carefully monitored for any future increases in the rate of decline”.

The hornbill species are mostly found at an elevation between 200 metres and 1400 metres in evergreen forests of the State. These birds are frugivorous (feeding on fruits).

The forest stretch in Kerala that begins from Parambikulam and runs through Nelliampathy, Vazhachal, Sholayar, Malayattur and Pooyamkutty houses excellent population of hornbills. This stretch also forms part of the Anamalai region of the southern Western Ghats.

Survey

The survey was conducted by the Cochin Natural History Society and the KeralaBirder in association with the Kerala Forest Department from February 11 to 14.

Vishnupriyan Kartha and J. Praveen led the survey in which 56 birdwatchers participated.

The survey succeeded in identifying 193 species from the division. This included nine of the 16 endemic bird varieties of the Western Ghats and six Near-Threatened ones.

Nilgiri flycatchers were located from Variyam whereas Lesser Fish-Eagles were spotted from Kappayam and Pooyamkutty. While Grey-headed Bulbuls were located at several camps, Black Baza, Spangled Drongo, Drongo Cuckoo, Philippine Shrike, Black Bittern, Speckled Piculet and Great Black Woodpecker were identified from two camps each.

Oriental Broad-billed Roller and Great-eared Nightjars were spotted from almost all the camps and Red-winged Crested Cuckoo and Blackcapped Kingfishers from Anakkulam. Sri Lankan Frogmouths were located at Idamalayar and Mountain Hawk-Eagle from Malakkappara, he said.

Dr. Nameer said harvesting of reeds from the forest range for commercial purposes was posing serious threat to the habitat.

The habitat destruction would have its impact on elephant and birds populations, he said.

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A grove survives, thanks to a myth

Ignatius Pereira
Th Hindu, Mar 17, 2011

KOLLAM: A clump of weird looking hardwood trees deep inside the Kanayar forest of Kollam district and adjoining forest areas of Tirunelveli district in Tamil Nadu owe its survival to an Adivasi myth. In an area where poaching was rampant, these trees were spared in spite of being valuable timber if axed down.
‘Demon slayer'
The trees are known locally as ‘poothamkolli' which in Tamil means “demon slayer.” In the Kanayar forest belt they are found at elevation close to 1700 metres, right on top of the mountains.
With their twisted branches, the ‘poothamkollis' look strange, even eerie.
The forest dwellers looked upon them with awe and relied on these trees for protection from evil spirits and demons. The story goes that whenever evil befell them, the forest dwellers used to go to the ‘poothamkolli' clump praying for protection.
Their prayers were answered too, apparently. Eventually they considered the clump a sacred grove and took it upon them to protect the trees.
‘Poothamkolli' ( Poeciloneuron indicum) is a sturdy tree growing up to 35 metres and endemic to the Western Ghats, says noted botanist and environment activist N. Ravi.
Different names
Though the tree is distributed in other areas of the Western Ghats, found even in the Silent Valley, it is known by different names. In those areas these trees do not have a weird shape and are felled.
The timber is used for many purposes including boat building.
With permission from the Achencoil Divisional Forest Officer, the Kanayar ‘poothamkolli' clump can be reached through Mekkarai in Tamil Nadu after a two-hour trek from the point where the jeep track through the forest ends. One gets a creepy feeling while standing by these trees.
Unique feel
Forest Department personnel say that the elevation and the climate may have given the ‘poothamkolli' grove its unique feel.
There are about 500 trees in the grove.
Protected
“The grove is precious to the Kanayar range and the trees are now protected by the Forest Department,” Achencoil DFO Doney Varghese says.
 

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Vultures get on endangered list

K. S. Sudhi
KOCHI,  
The Hindu, March 11, 2011  
Vultures soar high in the sky. But their population chart shows a steep fall over the last one decade. It is estimated that the vulture population has declined by 90 per cent over the last 10 years. The plight of vultures was highlighted by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest in its list on critically endangered species.
The most regularly found vultures in Kerala are the Indian White-backed and Indian Long-billed ones, which have also been included in the category.
Of the nine species of vultures found in India, Kerala has five including Egyptian vulture, Indian white-backed vulture, Indian long-billed vulture, Cinereous Vulture and Red-headed Vulture. The presence of White-backed and Long-billed vultures was primarily reported from the forest tracts of Wayanad.
However, the presence of other vulture species in the State is irregular, said P.O. Nameer, State coordinator, Indian Bird Conservation Network & Important Bird Area Programme. Vultures were never common in Kerala as there was no ideal habitat for them. They are basically species of open and dry areas and with Kerala being densely vegetated, the State is not generally ideal for them.
They soar high in the sky looking for feed and the thick vegetation found in most parts of the State obstructs their view.
In Kerala, they are mainly found in habitats adjoining Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, he said.
Earlier, there were reports of the species being spotted from Chinnar. However, there are no recent reports of the sightings.
The population of vultures in Wayanad is stable and breeding. Surveys in the region had found around 10 nests of the bird variety, he said.
Unlike the vulture species found in other parts of the country, the ones found in Kerala survive on carcass of wild animals alone.
The birds are not left with cattle carcass to feed on in Kerala as beef is widely consumed here, he said.
 

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Eco-sensitive areas of Western Ghats to be prioritised

K. S. Sudhi
KOCHI,  
The Hindu, March 7, 2011 

The ecologically sensitive areas of Western Ghats, the hill range of which starts near the Maharashtra-Gujarat border running to nearly 1600 km along the States of Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala and ending at Kanyakumari, will be prioritised into five categories based on richness of biodiversity and other ecological factors.

The Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP), which met last week, is understood to have drawn up some guidelines for the classification during its meeting. The panel has also framed a general outline for the formation of Western Ghats Ecology Authority (WEA), as suggested by the Ministry of Environment and Forests

The WEA will be headed by a senior hand well-versed in ecological matters. The authority will have representatives of all the Ghats States and technical experts as its members. The WEA will be empowered by invoking the provisions of the Environment Protection Act and have statutory powers. It will also have a decisive say in all matters related to the Ghats, according to sources.

The panel has proposed formation of State-level Standing Committees on Western Ghats in all the Ghats States. The clearance for any development project in the Ghats region will have to be obtained from the WEA. The proposals and applications should be routed to the WEA through the civic bodies in the respective area and State-level Standing Committees, sources said.

Conservation

The WGEEP, headed by eminent ecologist Madhav Gadgil, was appointed by the Ministry to recommend steps to preserve, conserve and rejuvenate the ecologically-sensitive Ghats region. It was also asked to demarcate ecologically-sensitive zones in the region.

The panel is of the view that no environmentally hazardous industries and activities should be permitted in the ecologically sensitive zones. Development activities will be permitted in the moderately sensitive and lower categories.

Sustainable development

The permission in these categories would come with a rider that only green and sustainable development programmes and technologies should be employed in the area. Industrial units were not expected in the Ghats region and the focus would be on sustainable development patterns, panel sources said.

Mining and such environmentally hazardous activities will not be permitted in the first two categories. One cannot completely ban mining. Hence, such activities will be allowed only in the ecologically insignificant areas, the sources have said.

Report in June

The panel interacted with representatives of various NGOs working in the Ghats region last week. It will also hold discussions with the Union Minister of Environment and Forest later in the month.

The WGEEP will submit its report to the Ministry in June. Originally, it was to submit the report this month. However, it was given extension of time.

 

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