Nature Initiative Kerala

Eating into Ashtamudi, with impunity

Ignatius Pereira, KOLLAM,
The Hindu, December 31, 2015

Even as there is no dearth of warnings from the official side of strong action against encroachers, encroachments of massive scale continue unabated along the Ashtamudi Lake in Kollam district.

The encroachers often feel that it is their right to encroach upon the lake, listed as a Ramsar site.

Of late, it is the estuarine islands of the lake that are expanding in size due to encroachments. Large portions of the lake adjoining the islands are encircled with a foundation and then reclaimed. During the holidays on December 24 and 25, several boat loads of sand and debris were dumped into the encircled encroachments.

Ashtamudi Lake enthusiast V.K. Madhusoodanan said that as a result of the encroachments, the lake, which had an area of more than 61 sq.km., has shrunk to less than 34 sq.km. ‘‘If this is the manner in which a Ramsar site is protected, then in my opinion the time has dawned to strip the Ashtamudi Lake of its Ramsar tag,’’ he said.

This is happening to a wetland which perhaps has the largest number of environment activists in the State fighting to protect it, he said. Way back in 2006, an extensive survey of the lake by the Revenue Department had found that 103 acres of the lake had been encroached upon. But, even after 10 years, only less than 10 acres of the identified encroachments had been cleared. The clearing operation was subsequently dropped.

Mr. Madhusoodanan said that in the last couple of years, more than one sq.km. of the lake had been newly-encroached and most of that along the estuarine islands. After a close study of the lake last week, he said that encroachments into the lake had taken place or taking place along the estuarine islands of Cheekenthuruth, Kerolithuruth, Kavanad Puthenthruth, Kanakkanthurth, Pushpamangalamthuruth, Fatimathuruth, Thomasthuruth and Josephthuruth.

He said this was again in spite of the fact that the Coastal Regulatory Zone notification 2011 specifically declared estuarine islands as no development zones. The estuarine islands were extremely fragile ecosystems and the core marine fish spawning areas because they fell along the inter-tidal zone. Yet there was total apathy on the side of the authorities concerned, Mr. Madhusoodanan said.

Dilution of wetlands Act to hit Palakkad the most

K.A. Shaji, Plakkad
The Hindu, December 31, 2015

Attempts by the State government to incorporate a clause of the Finance Bill 2015 in the Kerala Paddy Land and Wetlands Conservation Act, recommending regularisation of paddy fields reclaimed before 2008 would turn disadvantageous to Palakkad district, which has the largest acreage under paddy cultivation in Kerala.

If implemented, real estate mafia can convert at least 2,000 acres of paddy fields in the district as house plots. They have been keeping a vast extent of land barren for several years, without any agricultural activity, waiting an opportunity to reap profits. Efforts are also on to fabricate documents portraying several hectares of paddy fields as barren lands to initiate real estate business.

According to sources in the district administration, about 40 real estate companies are reclaiming paddy fields across the district, manipulating documents and bribing officials. During the local body elections, local people had foiled attempts to convert a vast tract of paddy field in Elappully by a prominent real estate group.

“Palakkad will suffer the most if the Act is diluted. With encroachments getting legalised, there will be fresh attempts by the real estate mafia, which will put food security at risk,” said P.S. Panicker, environmental activist. It is believed that the dilution of the Act will trigger a flurry of attempts to convert paddy fields and wetlands in the district, impacting the agricultural sector, affecting the water table and upsetting the environmental equilibrium. Though paddy production has remained comparatively steady in the last five years, at 4.5 lakh tonnes a year, in Palakkad, large-scale conversion of paddy fields had raised concern.

Benefits of canals

As per official records, the district had paddy cultivation in 1,82,621 hectares in 1970-71. It expanded to 1,83,634 hectares in 1980-81, largely due to the increased network of irrigation canals. However, the acreage under paddy declined to 1,45,687 hectares in 1990-91. In 2000-01, the acreage shrunk to 1,18,701 hectares.

“We have lost about 47 per cent of our rice fields over the last decade. About 30,000 hectares have been converted between 2000 and 2014 alone,” says Prabhal Mohandas of Daksh Farm at Chittur.

Ponmala: encroachment on government land identified

Radhakrishnan Kuttoor, PATHANAMTHITTA,
The Hindu, December 31, 2015

Disproving the claims of a private granite quarry at Ponmala in Thottappuzhasserry grama panchayat near Kozhencherry, the Revenue department has found encroachment on 1.46 acres of government land by the quarry operator.

In the report submitted to the Thiruvalla tahsildar, the Thottappuzhaserry village officer has stated that the detailed investigation carried by the Revenue team has found that the disputed land that houses the granite quarry is government land with Resurvey No. 161/5. The quarry operators have also constructed an office building, guard room, and a vehicle shed on the government land, the report says.

The report has recommended action against the quarry owners, invoking the relevant provisions in the Kerala Land Utilisation Act.

The village officer also found that illegal granite mining has been carried out on government land with survey nos.169/2, 169/4 and 170/2.

Earlier, the taluk survey team too has identified encroachment on a large extent of government land on the Ponmala hill.

The survey of land held from July 21 to 31 was following a petition field by the Ponmala Nature Protection Council (PNPC) leaders to District Collector S. Harikishore.

The biodiversity-rich Ponmala stands 1,000 metres above the mean sea level.

Indiscriminate quarrying

Almost half portion of this biodiversity-rich and historically important hill has already been indiscriminately quarried away, making a mockery of the prevailing administrative system, PNPC leaders Annie Achenckunju, P.G. Pradeepkumar and G. Santhoshkumar alleged.

They alleged that granite quarrying was taking place in gross violation of the laws, after removing 20 to 50-foot thick top layer of fertile soil.

Water scarcity

Ponmala that once stored a huge quantity of water in its girth is now reeling under acute water scarcity.

Experts attribute this to the loss of water stored inside the rock through cracks developed in the chain blasting of the huge rock.

The PNPC alleged that as many as 200 families residing on this hill and surrounding areas were affected by this.

They say the village officer’s report categorically pointed out blatant violation of Mining Rules at Ponmala, besides the travails of the villagers, majority of them working class.

The Ponmala Haindava Seva Samiti too has called for immediate closure of the granite quarry on the basis of the report.

Rare butterfly sighted at Arippa forests

The Hindu, December 30, 2015

Nature lovers from the Thiruvananthapuram-based Warblers and Waders chanced upon a ‘very rare’ Banded Royal-Rachana jalindra (Horsfield) butterfly at the Arippa Ammayambalampacha forests on the borders of Kollam-Thiruvananthapuram districts during a two-day nature watching camp organised in connection with the silver jubilee of the organisation.

The group described the sighting as incredibly rare because the Banded Royal was last sighted in these forests 10 years ago. C. Susanth, who led the group, said the butterfly was seen settling for a long period basking in the sun and that ‘provided us the opportunity to click some great photos of the winged beauty’. The trail was conducted in with support from the Forest Department.

The colour of the spotted Banded Royal’s wing was pure white below and a brown band on the upper side both on the fore and the hind wings. The hind wings were a bit worn out. Mr. Susanth said that Banded Royals are considered rare to very rare in Kerala. Very few sightings of this butterfly were reported from Aralam Wildlife Sanctuary (Kannur) and Vazhchal-Athirapilly reserve forests (Thrissur) in the past.

The natural habitat of these butterflies is thick forests below 5,000 feet. They usually settled on the undersides of leaves, are not is not very active flyers, and rarely come to flowers or damp patches. The one spotted at Arippa was found settling on a leaf along the trekking path. During the camp, 60 species of butterflies were recorded.

Mr. Susanth said significant butterfly sightings were aberrant oak blue, Malabar rose, Travancore evening brown, Malabar banded swallowtail, Indian ace, Tamil grass dart and black-veined sergeant. The endemic damselflies Malabar torrent dart, Travancore bambootail and jungle grass dart were observed by the team.

Eighty bird species, which included the brown fish owl, grey headed bulbul, black Eagle, sparrow hawk, and great eared nightjar, were also observed. R. Jayaprakash, K.A. Kishore, B.V. Premkrishnan and Dr. Abhiram Chandran.

Two genetically different populations

Ignatius Pereira
KOLLAM,
The Hindu, November 28, 2015

The lion-tailed macaques ( Macaca silenus ) which are found only in forests from the central to the southernmost tip of the Western Ghats are not a single entity. A recent scientific study has shown that the 4,000 monkeys that survive now comprise two genetically different populations.

The most prominent break in the Western Ghats is the Palghat gap, which is about 40 km wide. South of the gap, the macaque habitats are highly fragmented, compared to the habitats in the contiguous forests in the north. The study shows that the lion-tailed macaques living north of the Palghat gap are genetically different from those living in the south.

The study says that although the lion-tailed macaque has a relatively wide range south of the gap, its area of occupancy is small and severely fragmented. Small populations in isolation, especially in fragmented landscapes, are known to lose genetic variability, suffer from inbreeding depression, and become genetically differentiated among themselves.

The finding is that those in the south have low mitochondrial DNA diversity compared to those in the north. “These populations can be considered as separate conservation units and should be treated separately in captive breeding programmes. Any reintroductions to the wild should be done after ascertaining the correct geographic origin of the individual.”

The study recommends that some of these isolated fragments be connected by planting food trees that would establish canopy corridors between them to facilitate gene flow.

The study, ‘Prehistoric and recent vicariance events shape genetic structure and diversity in endangered lion-tailed macaque in the Western Ghats: Implications for conservation,’ published in Plos One , a peer-reviewed open access scientific journal, on November 11, was conducted by Muthuvarmadam S. Ram, Minal Marne, Ajay Gaur, Honnavalli N. Kumara, Mewa Singh, Ajith Kumar, and Govindhaswamy Umapathy.

It was jointly funded by the Department of Biotechnology under the Union Ministry of Science and Technology and the Central Zoo Authority of India.

The study was carried out in the forests of Aghanashini, Karkala, Kundapur, and Kudremukh in Karnataka, Muthanga, Vazhikkadavu, Silent Valley, Nelliampathy, Kodanad, Vazhachal, Kollam, and Amboori in Kerala, and Anamalai, Meghamalai, and Kalakkad in Tamil Nadu.

Animals caught in the headlights

Shekar Dattatri, Praveen Bhargav
The Hindu, October 30, 2015

Thousands of grand old trees flanked most of our highways ten to 15 years ago, but succumbed to the axe when two-lane highways were upgraded to four-lane or six-lane ones. Now, in a bid to bring back lost green cover, the government has announced a ‘Green Highways Policy’, with the stated objective of developing “eco friendly National Highways.”

Shekar Dattatri

Praveen Bhargav

Dismayingly, however, the policy is silent on a critical issue — that of highway stretches passing through forests, particularly, our sanctuaries and national parks. Speeding vehicles plying on these roads cause the deaths of thousands of animals, large and small, every year. Many of the casualties are highly endangered species, which the same government spends much money and effort to conserve.

The fact is, in this era of high-speed vehicles, any road through a natural habitat poses a grave danger to animals trying to get across from one side to the other. Four or six-lane highways, with a median in between, present an almost insurmountable barrier for wildlife, particularly, animals with cubs or calves. A study in 2010 reported that 1,035 roadkills of wildlife were recorded in 430 days on a 9.2 km stretch of the Nagpur-Jabalpur Highway (NH 7) that passes through the Pench Tiger Reserve. So, even just from a compassionate viewpoint, it behoves us as a civilised nation to take all steps necessary to minimise the impact of roads on wildlife.

However, there is also an ecological imperative. Highway stretches passing through forests cause severe fragmentation of habitats. This disruption of ecological connectivity curtails or restricts gene flow that is crucial for sustaining healthy wildlife populations and ecosystems. Additionally, highways create new edges that are highly vulnerable to fire and incursion by pernicious weeds, attract ancillary developmental activities, and provide easy access to the forest for poachers and timber smugglers.

Bypassing forests

In recognition of the extremely deleterious impacts that roads have on forests and wildlife, a sub-committee constituted in June 2013 by the National Board for Wildlife reiterated the recommendation contained in the National Wildlife Action Plan 2002-2016 (NWAP) released by the then Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The NWAP is emphatic that the Ministry of Surface Transport must plan roads, highways and expressways in such a manner that all national parks and sanctuaries are bypassed and wildlife corridors avoided.

“Highway stretches passing through forests cause severe fragmentation of habitats.”

Bypasses are commonly resorted to for circumventing cities and towns. So it is logical to extend the concept to forest areas. If we are willing to think afresh on urban development by way of designing ‘Smart Cities’, why not ‘Smart Highways’ that will traverse the country with the least disturbance to our last remaining natural habitats? In the past, when the concept of land use planning was still nascent, highways metamorphosed from roads that were once footpaths or cart tracks. But the smart highways of tomorrow need not follow such alignments. By making use of all the sophisticated mapping technology at our disposal today, it is possible to ensure that roads steer clear of wildlife areas. The extra cost or effort in creating a few detours is a small price to pay for safeguarding our priceless wildlife heritage, and must be built into the budgets of road projects. Unfortunately, so far, the government has shown an unseemly reluctance to address the issue of highway stretches passing through forests, and has only deigned to even discuss it in instances where there has been enormous public pressure, or when a case has been filed.

As for existing highways through forests, particularly those for which bypasses are absolutely not feasible, we need to retrofit them with state-of-the-art, science-based solutions for minimising roadkills. Carefully conceived underpasses, overpasses, flyovers and canopy bridges, which take animal behaviour and traditional wildlife movement patterns into consideration, can help provide a safe passage for animals. In this context, policymakers ought to have studied successful examples from around the world, including the exemplary work done on the Trans-Canada Highway passing through Banff National Park, where an 80 per cent reduction in large mammal deaths has reportedly been achieved, thanks to an extensive system of wildlife underpasses and overpasses. Given that India intends to add thousands of kilometres of new highways in the coming years, it is disappointing that the Green Highways Policy does not even touch on this issue.

“With many developed countries having already shown the way, we have no excuse to lag behind.”

Supreme Court caution

It is relevant to recall a significant observation made by the Supreme Court in another conservation-related matter. In a judgment delivered on February 13, 2012, the apex court held that our approach to development should be eco-centric, rather than focussing only on what is good for humans. We humans, the judgment observes, have obligations to the non-human inhabitants of the earth. Perhaps it is also sensible to remind ourselves, from time to time, that it these very non-human inhabitants that make the earth habitable, and that nature is the very foundation for our ecological security.

While no one questions the need for modern highways in order to achieve the economic growth we aspire for as a nation, to build them with scant regard for the enormous collateral damage to wildlife is shortsighted and callous.

With many developed countries having already shown the way, we have no excuse to lag behind. Indeed, as the land of the Buddha, Mahavira and Mahatma Gandhi, the three greatest proponents of ahimsa, we have an even greater moral imperative to do right by our wildlife.

It’s time to walk the talk, not only by heeding the values enshrined in our Constitution and cultural ethos, but also by incorporating the best practices of eco-centric highways. Planting trees by the roadside is very welcome, but to be truly green or eco friendly, the new highways policy has to do much more.

(Shekar Dattatri and Praveen Bhargav are former members of the National Board for Wildlife).

Sasthamkotta lake in peril

T. Nandakumar, Thiruvananthapuram
The Hindu, October 28, 2015

Indiscriminate sand mining, unscientific construction and over-extraction of water have led to the depletion and environmental degradation of the Sasthamkotta freshwater lake, impacting on the biodiversity and groundwater availability in the region.

A study conducted by the National Centre for Earth Science Studies (NCESS) and the Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat) has found that instream and floodplain sand-mining over the last three to four decades had severely damaged the underground aquifers feeding the lake, affecting groundwater replenishment.

Spread over an area of 3.75 sq km, the Sasthamkotta lake is the major drinking water source for about 7,00,000 people in Kollam city and seven adjacent panchayats.

The report says the unscientific construction of an embankment on the southern side had isolated the lake system, cutting off the flood pulse of monsoon waters from the Kallada river which also acted as a biological corridor for aquatic animals to feed and breed.

The study, which analysed borehole cores retrieved from the floodplain areas of the Kallada river, revealed highly varied climate and sea level conditions that existed during the evolution of the lake, the largest freshwater body in Kerala and a Ramsar site since 2002.

According to the report of the study, which appeared in the latest issue of the Geosciences journal, the sand layers embedded within the alluvial sediments of the late Quarternary age (1.8 million years ago) acted as a major aquifer contributing a substantial proportion of freshwater to the lake system.

The authors, S. Vishnu Mohan, Sheikha E. John, Rajimol T.R., Maya K and D. Padmalal from the NCESS and Prof. Sajan K from the Cusat, point out that rampant removal of sand from aquifers using high-power pumps had affected the water balance of the lake.

Over-extraction of water is pointed out as another factor responsible for the depletion of the Sasthamkotta lake during the summer months.

Sand-mining

The report has called for immediate steps to regulate sand mining from the Kallada river as well as the floodplains of the lake. It also recommends an integrated effort to nourish the water potential of the region through scientific interventions both in the river and lake catchments.

Survey spots 51 odonate species in Munnar

Radhakrishnan Kuttoor, PATHANAMTHITTA
The Hindu, October 26, 2015

The four-day odonate survey, organised by the Kerala Forest and Wildlife Department in association with the Kottayam Nature Society and Travancore Natural History Society, has identified 51 species of dragon and damsel flies in the high altitude Munnar landscape.

G. Prasad, Wildlife Warden at Munnar, told The Hindu that Davenport’s False Spreadwing, Red Veined Darter, Laidlaw’s Clawtail and Plain Sinuate Clubtail were the rare sightings during the survey that came to a close on Saturday.

Of the 51 species identified, 44 were spotted in the Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary. Survey teams observed large-scale migration of Global Wanderer (commonly known as ‘Onathumbi’) at the Kurinjimala and Chinnar wildlife sanctuaries, he said. Acccording to Tom Augustine of the Kottayam Nature Society, these dragon flies migrate all across the Indian sub-continent in the monsoon winds and cross the Arabian Sea to Africa. Travancore Torrent Dart, Blue Darner, Coorg Bambootail and Blue-tailed Forest Hawk were also recorded during the survey, he said.

Mr Prasad said the study of the odonates was important as they were good indicators of environment and habitat quality and the survey results too amply indicated the same. The survey teams could spot only 11 species at Kurinjimala wildlife sanctuary, which is a disturbed habitat because of its wattle plantation and agricultural lands, he said.

B. Sreekumar, KNS president, said pollution of water bodies due to agricultural chemicals posed a big threat to dragon flies.

The survey was led by Kalesh Sadasivan, Kiran C.G, David V. Raju, and Toms Augustine. Prabhu P.M, and Siby K. E, Assistant Wildlife Wardens, monitored the survey team under the guidance of Mr. Prasad.

Four new crab species found in Kerala

T. Nandakumar, Thiruvananthapuram
The Hindu, October 25, 2015

Researchers at the Department of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries, University of Kerala, have reported the discovery of four new species of crab from the Kerala coast, highlighting the crustacean diversity in the State.

The discovery of three hermit crabs has been recorded as part of a collaborative research project by A. Biju Kumar, head of the department; R. Reshmi, research scholar, and Tomoyuki Komai of the Natural History Museum and Institute, Chiba, Japan. The findings have been published in Zootaxa, the international journal of taxonomy.

The first of the new hermit crab species named Paguristes luculentus was collected off the coast of Kollam. It represents the ninth of the genus known from Indian waters. The species name luculentus (meaning colourful) refers to the livid living colour of the crustacean.

The second species Diogenes canaliculatus is light brown or tan and named after the longitudinal furrows on the outer surface of the arm of the left chelate leg.

The narrow bodied animal lives inside a shell shaped like an elephant tusk. Both the hermit crabs belong to the family Diogenidae, which are left handed hermits because the left claw is larger.

Collected from Neendakara, Kollam, the third species Pagurus spinossior belongs to another hermit crab family Paguridae known as right handed crabs and is tan in colour. The name spinossior refers to the strong armature on the clawed legs of the species.

A new species of pinnotherid crab, Afropinnotheres ratnakara was found inside the brown mussel (Perna perna) at Kovalam. The species was named ratnakara which means Indian Ocean in Sanskrit, as the genus was reported for the first time from the Indian Ocean.

Ubiquitous animals

Hermit crabs are ubiquitous animals often not considered to be ‘true’ crabs as they lack an external shell on their soft abdomen which leaves them vulnerable to predators. To protect themselves, they live in abandoned gastropod (snail) shells and often select larger shells as they grow up. Their last two pairs of legs are small and modified and, along with their uropods (appendages at the end of the abdomen), are used to clamp onto the internal whorls of the shell.

More than 40 species of hermit crabs were documented from the Kerala coast during the research project.

The University of Kerala is finalising a memorandum of agreement with Prof. Peter Ng Kee Lin, Head of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, Singapore, for a detailed study of the biogeography of crustaceans of Indian coastal waters.

Six persons arrested with anteater

The Hindu, October 21, 2015
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM,

Forest officers on Tuesday arrested six persons from Sreekaryam on charges of possessing an Indian pangolin (scaly anteater), a highly endangered species included in Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act.

In an operation based on a tip-off received by the Intelligence wing, the officers thwarted an attempt to sell the animal which weighed around 10.4 kg. A vehicle that was used to smuggle the pangolin was also seized.

The persons arrested were identified as Abdul Ghaffar (47) of Kilimanoor, Anikuttan (49) of Sreekaryam, Babu (40) of Kadakkal, Rijo (24), Ramachandran Kutty (38) and Ramanan (38) of Aryankavu. An officer said the animal was obtained by Ramanan, a temporary forest watcher attached to the Aryankavu forest range. The animal was expected to fetch as much as Rs.4 crore in the illegal wildlife market.

For use as an aphrodisiac

“Misconceptions continued to be rife regarding such endangered animals. It is believed by many that the keratinous scales of pangolins have iridium content and could also be used to make traditional medicines, including aphrodisiacs. They are also considered by certain sections to be good luck charms,” the officer said.

The team which conducted the operation included Intelligence wing Assistant Conservator of Forests B. Santhosh Kumar, flying squad Divisional Forest Officer J.R. Ani, Palode Range Officer S.V. Vinod, Paruthipally Range Officer Divya S.S. Rose, Control Room Range Officer P.V. Jayakumar and Chullimanoor Range Officer Balakrishnan Nair.

The case came under the jurisdiction of the Aryankavu forest range. The accused will be produced before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court – II (Forest Offences) at Punalur on Wednesday.

HC comes to the rescue of Pampa

K.C. Gopakumar KOCHI,
The Hindu, October 17, 2015

Concerned at the aggravation of the pollution of the Pampa, a Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Friday ordered that throwing of clothes and other belongings into the river by the Sabarimala pilgrims be considered an offence under the provisions of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act.

It directed that those acting to the contrary should be proceeded against under the provisions of the Act.

The Bench comprising Justice Thottathil B. Radhakrishnan and Justice Anu Sivaraman, while dealing with a case relating to the affairs of the Sabarimala temple, observed that abundant materials before the court and various reports of the State Pollution Control Board and other agencies categorically showed beyond the shadow of doubt that the river was being constantly polluted.

Discarding of huge quantities of clothes and other belongings had aggravated pollution of the river.

The court pointed out that there was absolutely no practice or religious tenets which advised a person, after having darshan at the temple, to discard the clothes and other belongings which he worn into the river. Therefore, no such practice could be permitted under “the camouflage” of freedom of practice of religion under Article 25 of the Constitution.

The court said Section 24 of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act prohibited dumping of materials into a stream or a river which impeded the flow of its waters.

The discarding of clothes or any material or other personal belongings — biodegradable or not — into the waters of the Pampa by any person amounted to violation of Section 24 and the person doing it could be proceeded against. The section prescribed a prison term of a year-and-a-half.

Those who advised pilgrims to discard clothes into the river could be proceeded against for the offence of abetment under Section 109 of the IPC.

Rare bird comes calling

The Hindu, October 10, 2015
Kochi:

A rare winter visitor to the northern stretches of south Asia, Spotted Crake ( Porzana porzana ), has been spotted at Thottappally in Alappuzha district. Birdwatchers believe that this is the first sighting of the bird in Kerala.

Avid birdwatcher and member of Kottayam Nature Society V. Prashob Kumar said he spotted the bird being attacked by crows at the compound of his house on October 3. The bird soon moved into the house seeking shelter and was there for about 10 minutes before it flying away, said Prashob, a teacher at Government Higher Secondary School, Thottappally.

He took photographs of the bird on his mobile camera and passed it to birdwatching communities who confirmed that it is Spotted Crake. “Its presence has not been reported in Kerala before,” said S. Prasanth Narayanan and A. Al Badush, birdwatchers.

A green concern over Nelliampathy

K.A. Shaji,
Palakkad, October 8, 2015

An environmental catastrophe is lurking in the Nelliampathy hill ranges, home to the Parambikulam Tiger Reserve and numerous streams irrigating farmlands in Palakkad and Thrissur districts of Kerala and Coimbatore and Tirupur districts of Tamil Nadu.

Located in a geographically unstable area, the hills, once known for supplying the finest oranges to Buckingham Palace in Great Britain, is now paying the price for large-scale deforestation in the past two decades and the threat from extensive granite carrying in the foothills.

Ban sought

“Only a blanket ban on quarrying in areas such as Muthalamada, Seetharkund, and Chulliar can save the hills and the rivers it feeds from an imminent destruction. Located on the southern tip of the Palakkad Ghats, the hills are now witnessing frequent tremors,” says ecologist S. Satish Chandran.

“Chittoor taluk is the only area in Kerala with black cotton soil formed from old lava flows. Such soil, although very fertile, do not permit adequate water percolation. So, groundwater replenishment is very slow in the foothills. This is further worsened by the destruction of small hillocks and deforestation in Nelliampathy by powerful estate lobbies,” he said.

“Heavy blasting in the foothills would have deleterious consequences on groundwater reserves. There are four medium irrigation dams along the base of Nelliampathy and two storage reservoirs. High up, there are the three dams forming part of the Parambikulam-Aliyar project. Just across the border is the Aliyar storage reservoir. Probably, this tract has the most number of large dams in this part of the country,” he said.

“In 2003, Nelliampathy was declared an approved hill station of the Union government. As per law, each hill station requires a master plan for development. Despite intense pressure from conservationists, the State government has not so far drafted the master plan and allowed the private estates to engage in unscientific constructions to tap tourism potential. Loss-making estates are now finding tourism as a means to bail out of the crisis,” said social worker P.S. Panicker.

Openbill’s nesting spot brings joy to birders

Jabir Mushthari

Kozhikode, October 8, 2015

The spotting of large nesting places of Asian Openbill Stork, a large wading migratory bird, at Thirunavaya in Malappuram district has brought cheers to wildlife enthusiasts and bird watchers here as it was an indication of their peaceful breeding and growing population in the region.

The Openbill Storks were considered very rare in the State until late 1970s. Their population began to spread to more wetlands throughout the State since 1990s.

However, it was only very rarely that their nesting places were spotted from anywhere in the State.

According to Jafer Palot, a zoologist with the Kozhikode regional centre of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), The Hindu had in 2004 reported about a group of Thiruvananthapuram-based bird-watchers recording a nesting and breeding place of Openbill in a sacred grove near Shoranur in Palakkad district. The report he says, had also claimed that to be the first ever citing of the bird’s nesting place from the State.

25 nests

The new breeding spot at Thirunavaya was discovered by C.P. Babu from Manassery, a known bird-watcher from the district. According to Mr. Babu, there were around 25 nests on top of a bunch of screw pines bordering a large stretch of lotus filled water body near the railway-track at Thirunavaya.

The place is very hard to reach for human beings, says P.T. Muhammed, wildlife photographer, who accompanied Mr. Babu to record the citing. “We had to wade through nearly a km in the waist-deep water to get them photographed,” says Mr. Muhammed, who used a 500 mm telelens to zoom on them from about a km distance.

The Asian Openbill stork is predominantly greyish white with glossy black wings and tail that has a green or purple sheen. Their beak is reddish black with arching mandibles, which do not meet except at the tip, and gives the species its name in Malayalam Cheraa Kokkan (meaning, beaks which do not meet).

Mentioned by Salim Ali

The bird, which has been mentioned by the renowned ornithologist Salim Ali in his book Birds of Kerala as a local migrant, had also been described in detail in the book ‘Birds of Kerala: status and distribution’ co-authored by a group of people including Dr. Palot.

“The new citing of the bird’s breeding spot is a really significant,” he says.

Forest Dept. stretching beyond its limit

Sarath Babu George,

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM,
The Hindu, October 6, 2015

The Forest and Wildlife Department has been stretching the resources under its disposal for finding vital leads in the elephant poaching case.

However, the limitations have now threatened to hinder the progress of investigation.

Boost to probe

The arrests of Umesh Agarwal from Delhi and Rajan alias Eagle Rajan on Sunday from Thiruvananthapuram will boost the ongoing probe carried out by the department.

However, the probe has reached a point where the assistance of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has become crucial.

“We have done our best to bring those responsible for the ivory trade to book. However, despite having done much of the ground work, further progress will be possible only with the help of an agency such as the CBI as the purview of the investigation will have to be extended beyond the boundaries of the State,” a senior official, who is part of the investigating team, told The Hindu .

Recounting the efforts put in to nab Umesh Agarwal, a key accused in the case, the official said the assistance of the Delhi police had to be sought for his arrest.

“Though we were given a flight to the Cochin International Airport from New Delhi, the accused feigned discomfort to slow us down. This compelled us to seek medical assistance to ensure his good health. We were left with no option but to board a flight to Bengaluru and later, another one to Coimbatore. A team of officials from the Malayatoor forest division were entrusted with the task of bringing the accused from Coimbatore. When working outside our jurisdiction, we are often forced to overcome such eventualities and also incur unforeseen expenses,” he said.

According to him, while the department has ensured much progress in the case, the CBI would have to undertake a peripheral role, especially while apprehending those from outside the State. The mystery surrounding the death of Aickara Vasu, one of the prime accused, has also necessitated a CBI probe. Official sources said that over 20 guns, large quantities of gunpowder, and iron spikes that were used to torture and hunt down elephants have been recovered so far.

While official statistics said that 18 elephants had been poached within two years, unconfirmed reports pointed towards a larger figure.

Over 50 persons had been arrested in connection with the case, sources said.

‘Eagle’ Rajan’s arrest exposes huge money trail

G. Anand, Thiruvananthapuram,
The Hindu, October 6, 2015

“Eagle” Rajan earned his nickname from his long past of procuring wild-bird figurines, among other ivory artefacts, for rich collectors in the country and abroad.

Wildlife enforcers, who arrested the suspected 50-year-old ivory dealer here on Sunday, said the moniker was also a tribute to his predatory business acumen that helped him secretly dominate the illegal ivory trade centred on the capital for years.

Investigators said that J. Rajan was barely in his teens when he entered the ivory business in 1978. He went underground in 1992 when the trade was internationally banned.

The ban forced him to alter his method of operation. Enforcers said the suspect, from then on, rarely ever procured tusks directly from elephant poachers or their middlemen.

He only bought finished products from artisans who moonlighted for ivory traders. Enforcers said this helped Rajan to slip under the Forest Department’s radar for long.

However, his successful run ended with wildlife enforcers dismantling the elephant poaching network that operated under the leadership of Aiyakkara Vasu alias Varattupara Veerappan this year.

The trail of elephant killings in Malayatoor forest division led enforcers to Rajan’s doorstep in July.

Hunt for Rajan

The hunt for Rajan started with the seizure of his personal journal, which contained clues to the identities of his rich clients. Enforcers also trawled his e-mail history and stumbled upon incriminating evidence that pointed to ivory deals involving “big corporate names”.

Enforcers said Rajan operated at least six bank accounts which showed transactions amounting to crores of rupees. Some of the accounts were operated by his wife, who has been arrested.

Investigators said he fled to Sharjah through Chennai airport on September 6, 2015. This has prompted investigators to open a separate inquiry, with the help of Central agencies, to find out whether there has been any wire transfer of money to Rajan’s accounts from abroad.

Investigators said Umesh Agarwal, Rajan’s business North Indian business partner, who has also been arrested, owned a four-storey building in Vikas Nagar in New Delhi. They said its cellar was often used to fashion artefacts from tusks of elephants poached for their ivory in the country.

Nilgiri Tit among butterflies spotted in Chinnar

Radhakrishnan Kuttoor,
PATHANAMTHITTA

The Hindu, October 6, 2015

Three rare species of butterflies have been spotted during a bi-monthly follow-up survey of butterflies held in the Chinnar wildlife sanctuary in Munnar on Sunday. The three new sightings are Sullied Sailor, Indian Ace, and Painted Courtesan. With this, the total number of butterfly species spotted in Chinnar had touched 225, said G. Prasad, Wild Life Warden at Munnar.

The checklist of Chinnar wild life sanctuary had touched 222 butterfly species as on September 27, he said.

The survey was conducted by the Kerala Forest Department in association with the Travancore Natural History Society (TNHS) and the Kottayam Nature Society (KNS).

Mr. Prasad said the Nilgiri Tit, a very rare butterfly species found in the biodiversity hotspots of Western Ghats and Sri Lanka, was a major sighting in Chinnar.

As per the available records, it was the British scientist, Frederick Moore, who had spotted the Nilgiri Tit in Kerala way back in 1883. Moreover, the sighting of Nilgiri Tit in Kerala was recorded only in Chinnar, said E. Kunhikrishnan, academic and butterfly enthusiast.

Earlier, the big butterfly survey held at the Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary as well as the four national parks of Mathikettan Shola, Pampadum Shola, Anamudy Shola, and Kurinjimala wildlife sanctuary in Munnar had spotted 206 new species.

New fish species discovered

Thiruvananthapuram,
The Hindu, October 5, 2015

A new fish species belonging to a rare genus has been discovered from the Manimala river at Paduthode near Mallappally in Pathanamthitta district. Named Batasio flavus , the species belonging to the Bagridae family was discovered, named and described by Mathews Plamoottil, Assistant Professor in Zoology, Baby John Memorial Government College, Chavara, Kollam.

The finding has been published in the latest issue of the Journal of Research in Biology , an international scientific research publication.

The fish is characterised by a slender body, yellow colour, longitudinal groove on the head and a thin brownish black line through the mid lateral line. It inhabits headwater streams and the upper reaches of smaller rivers characterised by shallow stretches and fast flowing water.

‘Flavu’ is a Latin word meaning light yellow. According to Mr. Mathews, Batasio flavus is the second Batasio species discovered from Kerala after a gap of 74 years.

It was in 1941 that two scientists, Hora and Law, discovered Batasio travancoria from Edakadathy near Erumely.

KSBB forms the Pampa conservation panel

PATHANAMTHITTA,
The Hindu, October 5, 2015

The Kerala State Biodiversity Board (KSBB) has constituted a Joint Pampa River Biodiversity Conservation Committee aimed at effective implementation of various river conservation schemes.

The committee comprises the biodiversity management committees in 26 grama panchayats situated on the banks of the Pampa and the Chengannur municipality.

The Pathanamthitta district panchayat president will be the committee chairman and the panchayat secretary its convener.

The Parliament Members of Pathanamthitta and Mavelikara, MLAs representing the Assembly constituencies on the banks of the river and the presidents of all the seven block panchayats in the Pampa river basin will be the committee members.

Pathanamthitta District Collector S. Harikishore; Pampa River Basin Authority director George Chackacherry; Pampa Parirakshana Samiti general secretary N.K. Sukumaran Nair; and the KSBB member-secretary will be the special invitees of the committee.

The Biodiversity Act of 2002 categorically states that each grama panchayat should set up a Biodiversity Management Committee to ensure conservation of its biodiversity with the panchayat president as its chairman and the panchayat secretary its convener.

Water scarcity

The Pampa and various other natural water sources turn almost dry in summer, plunging the river basin into acute water scarcity.

Many farmlands in the river basin become water-scarce and almost all rivulets emptying out into the Pampa too turn dry in the scorching sun. A good number of wells situated on the river banks too turn dry due to drastic depletion of the riverbed.

A study conducted by experts attached to the Pampa Parirakshana Samiti has found that the once-prolific river has lost its continuum, especially during the summer months when it turns to a chain of pools and grassy islands.

The unscientific scooping of sand from the riverbed has ultimately led to the present sorry state of affairs with this once-perennial fresh water source, say experts.

Nesting on Kochi’s green spaces

K.A. Martin, Kochi
The Hindu, October 4, 2015

Kochi’s bird population has managed to cling to some islands of greenery amid increasing urban activities, say birders, who also pointed to deteriorating quality of what have been traditional bird spots.

Bird watchers and photographers were able to spot 31 species in an hour in the property belonging to the Kochi unit of Hindustan Machine Tools at Kalamassery in January last year, said Vishnupriyan Kartha of Cochin Natural History Society. He said that was quite a good piece of news given that a lot of construction activities were taking place in the vicinity for the Kochi Metro Rail project.

But the vegetation quality of the area has gone down; lot of trees had been cut to facilitate the construction activities, he pointed out. At one time there were about a hundred species of birds in the area.

A large number of wading birds can be spotted at Kadamakkudy and Devaswomppadam, near Varappuzha; Kuthirakkoorkari, Kalathara and Kandakkadavu, near Palluruthy and on the beaches.

Mudkundan Kizhakkemadham, a birder in Edappally, said he had been able to spot 45 species of birds over a period of one year on the short corridor of greenery between Changampuzha Samadhi and the Manimala road. Among the birds he captured on camera were the Indian pitta and shikra ( prappidiyan ).

He said that the 300 metre between the two roads had a lot of greenery to support the birds but the situation was fast deteriorating for the birds.

The number of bird species, especially migratory ones, in Kochi’s green lungs Mangalavanam too has come down.

Reclamation of wetlands and waterbodies is a threat for both migratory and local species, he added. Construction activities and increasing pollution are the other major issues that continue to drive birds away from the city area.

Greens air their worries over Vizhinjam

The Hindu, October 1, 2015
Thiruvananthapuram,

Representatives of various environmental groups participating in a Green Assembly organised by the Kerala Sasthra Sahitya Parishad (KSSP) here on Wednesday resolved to close ranks to highlight the economic and environmental impact of the Vizhinjam seaport project and protect on the livelihoods of fishermen.

Narmada Bachao Andolan leader and social activist Medha Patkar called for collective action against the project to be implemented by the Adani group.

In a recorded message at the inaugural function of the event, she said the Kerala government had rolled out the red carpet for the Adani group which had been thrown out of Australia following environmental concerns over a coal mine project.

Delivering the keynote address, poet and environmental activist Sugathakumari accused the Opposition parties in Kerala of turning their backs on the government’s attempts to dilute the paddy field and wetland conservation Act. Observing that the Kerala government had promised to supply the entire requirement of rock for the construction of the Vizhinjam seaport, she said the spurt in quarrying would cause environmental degradation on land while the reclamation work would pose a serious threat to the marine ecology and the livelihood of fishermen.

A resolution adopted by the Green Assembly accused the government of ignoring the economic and environmental impact of the proposed Vizhinjam seaport project while giving the go-ahead for the Adani group. Kerala, the resolution says, was facing a serious environmental crisis. The unbridled growth of quarries, conversion of paddy fields, sand-mining and encroachments posed threats to forests, wetlands, hills and marine resources.

The government, instead of regulating these activities, was formulating policies to facilitate the plunder of natural resources. Urging the government to reverse the provision in the Finance Bill to regularise the conversion of paddy fields before 2008, the meeting stressed the need to notify the data bank on paddy fields.

Accusing the Oommen V. Oommen committee of surrendering to pressure from encroachers to exclude human settlements, farmlands and plantations from the Ecologically Sensitive Areas, it called for a fresh demarcation drive.

M.K. Prasad, environmental activist, presided. CPI leader Binoy Viswam and KSSP general secretary P. Muraleedharan spoke.

New lizard species discovered

K R Rajeev |, KOZHIKODE Times of India, Oct 1, 2015Researchers have discovered a new species of rock-dwelling lizard at Kanker district of Chhattisgarh.

The finding by a team of scientists led by B H Channakeshava Murthy of the Western Ghats Regional Centre, Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), Kozhikode, was published in international scientific journal Zootaxa last week.

The new gecko species has been named Hemidactylus yajurvedi (Kanker Rock Gecko). The large-sized lizard having a snout-vent length (SVL) of up to 98mm is the 27th Hemidactylus species known in India.

The team which made the discovery included Aaaron Bauer, department of biology, Villanova University, USA; Aparna Lajmi, Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore; Ishan Agarwal, National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bangalore; and Varad B Giri, Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai.

With over 121 species distributed across the tropics and subtropics worldwide, Hemidactylus is one of the most species-rich gekkonid genera.

Murthy said that the team, while investigating the collections at the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), Kolkata, came across lizard specimens labelled as Hemidactylus giganteus, collected from Kanker district of then Madhya Pradesh (now Chhattisgarh) state way back in 1979. However, a detailed examination raised doubts that the ZSI specimens could be of an undescribed lizard species and that they were wrongly assigned to this species due to their large size and superficial similarity in colouration.

The team visited areas around Kanker to establish the distinctiveness of the new species and collected additional specimens and tissue samples. Morphological and molecular examination revealed a distinct new species.

Murthy said the new lizard species has been spotted at five localities in Chhattisgarh in habitats mainly consisting of a mixture of dry deciduous forest and scrub vegetation.

The new species has been named in honour of Hanumanth Narasimhachar Yajurvedi, professor, department of studies and research in Zoology at Manasagangotri, University of Mysore, for his contribution to the field of reproductive biology of reptiles and mammals.

Butterfly survey spots 206 species in Munnar

Radhakrishnan Kuttoor, PATHANAMTHITTA
The Hindu, September 30, 2015

The first ever comprehensive butterfly survey held in the Munnar wildlife division has spotted as many as 206 new species. The three-day survey, conducted by the Kerala Forest Department in association with the Travancore Natural History Society (TNHS) and the Kottayam Nature Society (KNS), came to a close on Sunday.

According to G. Prasad, wildlife warden at Munnar, the survey team has systematically reviewed the Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary as well as the four national parks of Mathikettan Shola, Pampadum Shola, Anamudy Shola and the Kurinjimala wildlife sanctuary. He said 15 strategically located base camps, covering all the habitats, had been set up as part of the survey. Mr. Prasad said the highest number was recorded at Mathikettan Shola with 148 species, closely followed by the Chinnar wildlife sanctuary with 141 species. The Anamudi Shola recorded 94 species and Pampadum Shola had 88 species.

Migration of Common Emigrant, Common Albatross, Common Crow, Double Branded Crow, and Great Eggfly was noted in Chinnar and Kurunjimala sanctuaries. The highlights of the survey in the Shola national parks included Eversheds Ace, Indian Awlking, Nilgiri Four Ring, Broad-tailed Royal, Pale Green Awlet, Sullied Sailor, Dirty Sailor and Anomalous Nawab, he said.

The noteworthy finding from Kurunjimala Sanctuary include the Palani or Davidson’s Bushbrown, which is an endemic butterfly seen only in and around the Palani hills. This grassland species was recorded at Kadavari region.

Mr. Prasad said the largest butterfly in India, Southern Birdwing, was sighted at Kurunjimala and Pampadum Shola and the smallest butterfly, Grass Jewel, was sighted in the Chinnar sanctuary.

The other important sightings at the Kurinjimala were Palni Fritillary, Palni Four-ring, Yellow Striped Hedge Hopper and Nilgiri Clouded Yellow, all endemic butterflies of Western Ghats,

The sightings in Chinnar wildlife sanctuary included the Coorg Forest Hopper which is an endemic butterfly of Western Ghats and Nilgiri Tit, a very rare and exclusive butterfly of low elevation dry habitat, said Mr. Prasad.

With this survey, the checklist of Chinnar wildlife sanctuary has touched 222 butterfly species.

Counting Munnar’s winged beauties

Radhakrishnan Kuttoor
Pathanamthitta,
The Hindu, September 23, 2015

The Kerala Forest and Wildlife Department is to launch the first-ever comprehensive and scientific survey of butterflies in the Munnar landscape soon. The three-day survey will commence on Thursday, according to G. Prasad, wildlife warden at Munnar.

Mr. Prasad says the area is characterised by a wide variety of habitat, starting from the low-lying dry scrub jungles of the Chinnar wildlife sanctuary to the ascending peaks with shola forests in the four adjoining shola national parks and the Eravikulam National Park with vast spreads of grasslands.

There is also a wide gradient of altitude, temperature, and vegetation, which all put a lepidopteran enthusiast in great excitement.

The survey

As many as 60 butterfly enthusiasts, including Kalesh Sadasivan of the Travancore Natural History Society and B. Sreekumar and Toms Augastine of the Kottayam Nature Society, will be participating in the butterfly survey, says Mr. Prasad.

E. Kunhikrishnan, senior wildlife biologist, will be the programme coordinator and Mr. Prasad will lead the survey to be held at the Chinnar wildlife sanctuary as well as the four national parks of Mathikettan shola, Pampadum shola, Anamudy shola, and the Kurinjimala wildlife sanctuary. All the four shola national parks and the Chinnar wildlife sanctuary will be systematically surveyed by establishing 14 strategic base-camps covering all the elevations and habitats. The data will be gathered using structured checklists and data sheets and critically analysed with GPS readings, says Mr. Prasad.

Butterfly calendar

For the first time in the world, the Wildlife division at Munnar has made attempts to prepare a butterfly calendar for the Chinnar wildlife sanctuary this year, he says. So far, as many as 208 butterfly species, including 58 new species, have been identified in the Chinnar wildlife sanctuary alone, he says.

Nilgiri Clouded Yellow, Nilgiri Fritillary, Palni Four-ring — all rare and endemic to the Western Ghats, Davisons Bush Brown and Red Disk Bush Brown, which are endemic to the Southern Ghats, are a few of the rare butterfly species identified in Chinnar.

The survey results are expected to be published during the Wildlife Week celebrations to be held from October 2 to 8.

Greens see red as State relaxes norms for quarries

The Hindu, September 17, 2015

In a decision that is bound to have far-reaching consequences, the State Cabinet has exempted quarries up to one hectare from the need to secure environmental clearance.

Talking to the media after a meeting of the Cabinet on Wednesday, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said the decision was taken in the light of the strike by quarries and crusher units to protest the revised rules for issue of mining licence.

The resultant short supply of rubble had affected development projects across the State, he said.

Citing the huge financial burden for securing environmental clearance, small quarry owners had been exerting pressure on the government to relax the new licencing rules.

But experts and a section of government officials maintain that the Cabinet decision is not legally sustainable. Lawyer and environmental activist Harish Vasudevan said the move to exempt quarries up to one hectare from environmental clearance amounted to a violation of the Supreme Court judgment in the Deepak Kumar vs the State of Haryana and others case.

On February 27, 2012, the apex court had ruled that leases of minor mineral, including their renewal for an area of less than five hectares, be granted by the States/ Union Territories only after getting environmental clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests.

Mr. Vasudevan said the Supreme Court order had been upheld by a Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on March 23 this year while dealing with a writ petition filed by the All Kerala River Protection Council against the functioning of illegal quarries.

The Cabinet decision is a clear violation of the Supreme Court judgement and the Environment Protection Act, 1986 which makes it mandatory to obtain environmental clearance for all mining operations, points out a government official seeking anonymity. The government will find it difficult to surmount a legal challenge by environment organisations, he added.

“Besides, environment is a Central subject and the State Cabinet is out of its bounds in taking a decision to relax the norms for quarries,” he observed.

Rare gull sighted at Puthuvype

KOTTAYAM,
The Hindu, September 10, 2015

A rare breed of gulls has been sighted at Puthuvype in Ernakulam district by a birdwatcher from Kottayam.

According P.J. George, birdwatcher and English teacher at St. Dominic’s College, Kanjirappally, a pair of the rare Arctic-breeding Taimyr gulls were sighted on January 22. “This is first sighting of these gulls in Kerala, and the second in India. The first sighting was in Okha on January 12 this year,” he said.

Speaking to The Hindu here on Wednesday, Mr. George said he along with wildlife videographer Shah Jahan was in Kochi with the plan to visit Kadamakkudi when they heard that a large flock of Pallas gulls were nesting in Puthuvype. They were photographing and videographing the gulls, which included a large crowd of Pallas, Heuglin and Brownheaded and Blackheaded gulls when he spotted these two very different gulls.

The photographs and report were sent to Praveen Jayadevan and Prasad Ganpule, noted ornithologists who identified the presence of similar birds during the same period in Gujarat. The details were then sent to Klaus Olsen, the international authority on gulls.

“After detailed examination of the samples Olsen has confirmed that they are Taimyr gulls, one of the three large white-headed gulls. Olsen compared the pictures with his files from Japan and Korea and confirmed that these match them perfectly,” said Mr. George.

Taimyr gulls with lightly-spotted winter-head, much paler mantle, yellowish legs, and showing late moulting, are different from Heuglin and Steppe gulls, said Mr. George. According to him, they breed in the Arctic and a few have been found wintering in Iran and Bahrain. “Now, a couple of them seem to have come this far to bask in the sunshine on God’s Own Country!”

Ghats plant found to have anti-diabetic traits

T. Nandakumar, Thiruvananthapuram
The Hindu, September 8, 2015

Scientists from the Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute (JNTBGRI) have completed pre-clinical studies establishing the anti-diabetic properties of a plant found in the Western Ghats.

The five-year-long study was based on the knowledge shared by T.M. Shahul Hamid, a traditional healer hailing from Karunagapally. “The trials have yielded promising results,” said P.G. Latha, Director, JNTBGRI. “We have proved that the plant by itself, and in combination with two other herbs, possesses anti-diabetic properties. It was also found to have anti-fatigue, hepato-protective (liver) and anti-oxidant properties, enhancing its potential as a drug addressing the many problems faced by diabetic patients.”

The team has filed for a patent on a novel polyherbal formulation with multiple therapeutic effects. Mr. Hamid has been named as inventor in the application. The name of the plant has not been disclosed but scientists said it was easy to propagate.

Agreement

The studies were preceded by an ABS (Access and Benefit Sharing) agreement between Mr. Hamid and the research team.

“As the person who imparted knowledge about the plant, Mr. Hamid was included in the research team,” said S. Rajasekharan former Head, Division of Ethnomedicine and Ethnopharmacology, JNTBGRI. “He has also been named as inventor in the patent application.”

Mr. Hamid had told the scientists that the therapeutic properties of the plant were revealed to him by a mystic. He claimed success in treating diabetics with the herbal formulation for over the last 10 years.

JNTBGRI has tied up with the CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology for detailed phytochemical investigations on the plant.

Funded by the Department of Biotechnology, the research project will focus on isolating the molecules that can be used to develop a modern drug for diabetes. “We will also try to identify the active principles and come up with a scientifically validated herbal drug formulation,” Dr. Latha said.

She added that JNTBGRI had come up with promising leads on the therapeutic properties of 15 other herbs. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy is scheduled to release a monograph of the pre-clinical studies here on Wednesday.

Alien plants strangle local ones

E.M. Manoj, KALPETTA,
The Hindu, September 7, 2015

The rampant growth of invasive alien plants is a concern for the wildlife managers in the district. “The spread of invasive plants, especially Senna spectabilis , is posing a major threat to the forest areas of the district, due to its quick growth and coppicing character,” says S. Mohanan Pillai, wildlife warden, WSS.

Eradicating the plant is a herculean task, says S. Heera Lal, assistant wildlife warden. The forest personnel had tried to eradicate the plant adjacent to the forest office at Muthanga as per the guidelines of the Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi, last year, but many a tree sprouted from its roots this year.

An adult tree grows up to 15 to 20 metres in a short period of time and every year distributes lakhs of seeds after the gregarious flowering. The thick foliage arrests the growth of other indigenous species of trees and grass, and causes food shortage for the wildlife population, especially herbivores, during summer. “This may worsen the man-animal conflict in the district,” said North Wayanad Forest Divisional officer Narendranath Veluri.

A survey conducted by the Wildlife Trust of India and the Forest Department last year revealed that the plant was a major presence in the Muthanga, Sulthan Bathery and Tholpetty range of forests under the sanctuary. “On a 3,000 sq km-stretch of the region, including the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary, North and South Wayanad forest divisions and the adjacent Muthumalai, Bandipur and Nagarhole tiger reserves, wild growth of invasive plants has been reported,” Mr. Narendranath said. Plants such as Mikenia micarantha , Lantana, Eupatorium and Parthenium were also spreading in the region. The wild growth of Mikenia vine on dried bamboo pods would adversely affect the regeneration of bamboo seedlings in the region, he added.

Evict encroachers from forestland: HC

The Hindu, September 5, 2015
KOCHI,
A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Friday directed the State government to initiate proceedings under the Kerala Land Conservancy Act and Kerala Forest Act to evict those who had encroached upon forestland after June 1, 1977 and complete the eviction in six months after the completion of the proceedings.

The Bench comprising Chief Justice Ashok Bhushan and Justice A.M. Shaffique issued the directive while disposing of a public interest writ petition filed by Nature Lovers Movement, Kochi. The court directed the State government to take steps to initiate the proceedings in six months.

The court observed that it was an admitted fact that there had been encroachments on forestland in the State and the extent of land encroached was more than 7,000 hectares. Therefore, it was the obligation of the State government to ensure that these illegal encroachers were evicted in a time-bound manner. The court pointed out that that regularisation of the encroachment could be done only after getting permission from the Union government under the law. Thus, in the absence of such permission from the Centre to get the forestland assigned in favour of those who were illegally occupying the land, the government was bound to take necessary steps to evict such encroachers.

The court further observed that there was no mention of any proceedings that had been initiated under the Land Conservancy and Kerala Forest Act against these encroachers. The petitioner had sought a CBI probe into the illegal issue of title deeds and other documents to those who had encroached on forestland in the State. The petitioner alleged that these documents were obtained in connivance with the Forest and Revenue officials.

The government in its affidavits said earnest efforts had been made to evict post-June 1977 encroachers. But it had not yielded any result. Forceful eviction was not resorted to as it would lead to law and order situation and social unrest. In fact, there had been only marginal encroachments after June 1, 1977. The decision of the State government to regularise encroachments made before June 1, 1977 was followed up by a joint verification conducted by the Forest and Revenue officials. The eviction of those who had encroached upon forestland after June 1, 1977 could be ordered only in accordance with the law, without creating any law and order problem.

ESA in Kerala may be 9,839 sq km

T. Nandakumar, Thiruvananthapuram,
The Hindu, September 5, 2015

A four-member delegation led by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy met Union Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar in New Delhi on Friday to clarify the demarcation of ESAs (Ecologically Sensitive Areas) in Kerala.

The delegation, which included Environment Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, Principal Secretary, Environment, Mara Pandian, and Chairman of the Kerala State Biodiversity Board Oommen V. Oommen, handed over the explanatory note and maps sought by the Ministry.

Mr.Radhakrishnan told The Hindu over the phone from New Delhi that the clarifications provided by the State had been approved by the Ministry. The delegation handed over Kerala’s shapefile (a GIS data format), geographic coordinates of the ESAs, and a note explaining the fragmentation of ESAs in the State.

Mr. Radhakrishnan said Kerala succeeded in convincing the Union Ministry that the high population density in the State justified the exclusion of human settlements, farmlands, and plantations from the ESAs. “The Ministry has indicated that our stand is acceptable. Accordingly, the ESA area in Kerala will be revised to 9,839 sq km.”

The Kasturirangan committee on the protection of the Western Ghats had earmarked 123 villages spread over 13,108 sq km in Kerala as ESA. Following widespread protests by villagers in the high ranges in Kerala, the State government carried out a ground level verification to exclude settlements and plantations from the ESAs. In March 2014, the MoEF issued a draft notification revising the extent of ESAs to 9,993 sq km in 123 villages.

With the government later adopting the stance that only protected forests would be considered as ESA, four villages in Kottayam district were dropped from the ESA list. “Now that the Ministry has accepted our clarifications, the final notification to be issued shortly is expected to revise the extent of ESAs in Kerala to 9,839 sq km,” Mr.Radhakrishnan said.

The delegation also highlighted Kerala’s concerns over the CRZ notification, 2011, and its impact on housing and infrastructure development in the coastal areas.

An expert committee appointed by the Centre to look into Kerala’s plea for revising the CRZ norms had submitted its report last year. “We expect a positive response to our demand to relax the norms,” Mr. Radhakrishnan said.

He added that Mr. Javadekar had promised to provide financial assistance to reduce the man-animal conflict in the buffer zones around forests in Kerala.