Wetland authority set to begin functioning next month

K.S. Sudhi, KOCHI,  
The Hindu, August 25, 2015

The State Wetland Authority, Kerala, (SWAK), which will decide on the conservation and management of over 1,300 wetlands of the State, will get its act together next month.

Though the State government had issued an order constituting SWAK in June, the Memorandum of Association (MoA) were not finalised and expert members were not appointed. It is after a long delay that the State has come forward for forming the authority. At present, there is no exclusive system for the conservation, management, and protection of wetlands in the State.

Ponds, lakes, rivers, and other water bodies will come within the ambit of the authority.

Going by the government order, the Minister for Environment will be the chairman of the authority and the Principal Secretary (Environment) will be its convener. The 11-member panel will have four expert members, including an expert in limnology, hydrology, biodiversity, and ecology. The authority has been formed as instructed by the Central legislation concerned. P. Mara Pandyan, Principal Secretary (Environment), said the draft MoA had been prepared. The document would be finalised by September-end. The expert committee members, mostly scientists, will be picked up shortly.

Ashker Khader, a lawyer specialising in environmental issues, said that SWAK would end up as another wasteful expenditure unless it was given statutory powers to initiate action against violation of rules under the Environment Protection Act. The Central Wetland Management Rules prescribe formation of a State nodal agency such as the Central Wetland Authority for regulation and enforcement of rules. However, in the case of the SWAK, it was registered as a government-owned society under the Travancore-Cochin Literary, Scientific, and Charitable Societies Act, he said.

However, Mr. Mara Pandyan said the authority, which has statutory powers, could act effectively on the conservation and management of wetlands. It would have a decisive say in checking unauthorised reclamation and pollution of wetlands. It would chart out programmes for the protection of wetlands, he said.

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Taxonomists reclassify Indian bird species

K. S. Sudhi, Kochi
The Hindu, August 23, 2015

The majestic Asian Paradise Flycatcher found in many parts of the country is becoming more Indian these days.

The bird, which is present in South Asian countries — Afghanistan to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka — will henceforth be known as Indian Paradise Flycatcher, following a new taxonomic assessment.

Though the common name of the species has been modified, it will retain its scientific name Terpsiphone paradisi and remain the parent species.

Bird taxonomists have separated the subspecies found in the Nicobars.

The new subspecies has been rechristened as Blyth’s Paradise Flycatcher and assigned a new scientific name Terpsiphone affinis nicobarica.

Besides the Indian Paradise Flycatcher, a few more bird species found in India and other parts of the world have been renamed this month as part of an annual exercise.

The renaming of birds and associated “changes are inevitable as new techniques and better understanding of taxonomy cause a rearrangement — even in a relatively well-studied group of creatures like birds,” according to eBird India, a online platform of ornithologists and birders.

Each year, the bird taxonomists release the updated list in August and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology has taken up the responsibility of “maintaining the ever-changing list of species, subspecies, English names, and approximate distributions,” it has been pointed out.

Molecular taxonomy is the tool for identifying species. If two individuals of a species show genetic differences or exhibit genetic distances in its DNA analysis, such individuals can be considered as belonging to two different species. This is the case with the Purple Swamphen and other species which have been reclassified. The erstwhile Purple Swamphen has been split into six species in the process, explained an ornithologist.

The Purple Swamphen found in India has been reclassified as Grey-headed Swamphen and it will carry the scientific name Porhyrio poliocephalus. The literal meaning of poliocephalus is grey-headed. Interestingly, the Purple Swamphen was renamed so a few years ago. Originally, it was called Purple Moorhen.

Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo) has now got a new species. The buzzard, found in the Himalayas, will from now be known as Buteo buteo burmanicus.

Taxonomists have split the Scaly Thrush into four species. “Two of the new species are found in India, the Nilgiri Thrush (Zoothera neilgherriensis) of the Western Ghats and the Scaly Thrush (Zoothera dauma) of central, northern and north-eastern India. A close neighbour is the Sri Lanka Thrush (Zoothera imbricata), which is endemic to Sri Lanka,” according to the website.

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State sabotaging Western Ghats protection: greens

The Hindu, August 18, 2015 
PATHANAMTHITTA,

People as well as elected governments are bound to ensure the protection of Western Ghats for the existence of life, Kerala River Protection Council (KRPC) president V.N. Gopinatha Pillai and secretary S. Seetharaman have said.

In a joint statement issued here on Monday, Mr. Pillai and Dr. Seetharaman accused the State government of making anti-environment decisions in the name of development, eyeing certain vote banks.

They alleged that the government was sabotaging the protection of the Western Ghats, disregarding its environmental importance.

Rich in biodiversity

The Western Ghats was the origin of many river systems and the abode of a rich biodiversity and eco-system.

Corporate companies were plundering the natural resources, biodiversity, and drinking water with the backing of the government, they alleged.

‘Comply with rules’

It was of prime importance to strictly comply with the Western Ghats protection, Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act-2008, coastal land conservation, they said.

The council leaders further called upon the government to withdraw the bill of 2015 that justified paddy land conversions.

‘Take over quarries’

The government should take over all granite quarries and adopt a ‘tree policy’ to protect the trees standing on the wayside from indiscriminate felling.

The council would stage a dharna in front of the Secretariat to press its various demands on Wednesday.

Poet to inaugurate

Social activist and poet Sugathakumari will inaugurate the dharna at 11 a.m.

Environmentalists R.V.G. Menon, V.S. Vijayan, C.R. Neelakantan, John Peruvanthanam, Usha S., R. Sreedhar, Geetha Nazeer, Sobheendran, S. Ramachandran, and Jayakumar will address the dharna.

T.N. Prathapan, MLA, will also be present.

 

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New species of scorpion identified

Jabir Mushthari, Kozhikode
The Hindu, August 18, 2015  

A new species of scorpion has been identified from the surrounding areas of Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary, part of the Western Ghats in Idukki district, by a group of scientists, including from the Western Ghat Regional Centre (Kozhikode) of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI). The new species has been named Buthoscorpio chinnarensis, and the finding has been published in the August issue of Taprobanica, a science journal published by the University of Indonesia.

The species, mostly found in the Chunalippetty forest area neighbouring the Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary, are black in colour and have a length of 3 to 4 cm. They are hard to recognise since they keep their fat tail folded back to their abdomen and appear like a breed of beetle, said a description of the genus by the scientists

Detailed examination of the specimens indicated that they showed close affinity with the Indian species Buthoscorpio politus, but also showed distinct characters that clearly suggested a new species, they said.

Scorpions in the Buthoscorpio genus are found very rarely in India.

They have been spotted earlier in parts of Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

It’s a major discovery after a team of scientists from the ZSI’s Kozhikode and Pune centres identified a rare species of scorpion, Rugosentus, from the Malayattur forests in the State in 2005, said P.M. Sureshan, senior scientist of the ZSI Kozhikode Centre, one of the scientists in the team.

There are around 2,000 known species of scorpions in the world, of which 113 are from India. In Kerala, they are limited to 22 species. “Most of the scorpions seen in India are venomous; however, they are not venomous enough to put the lives of humans in danger,” said Dr. Sureshan. According to him, the scorpions, which feed on different pests and small creatures in the soil, do no harm to human beings. “However, uncontrolled construction activities, deforestation and environment pollution threaten their existence,” he said. K. Aswathi, a research scholar at the Kozhikode centre of the ZSI and Wilson R. Lourenco of the Natural History Society Museum, Paris, are the other members of the team.

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Kerala birds to nest with Malayalam names

K.S. Sudhi, Kochi
The Hindu, August 6, 2015

All bird species of Kerala can now proudly sport Malayalam names, thanks to a group of avid, tech-savvy birders who had sparked off discussions and invited suggestions through the social media and the online discussion group, Kerala Birdie.

They recently completed the process, ensuring that all the 499 species in Kerala could now be identified in Malayalam too.

For instance, the Streaked Shearwater will be called Thiravetti, and the Red-neck Phalarope will strut around with the name Pampara Kaada.

All the names have logical, cultural premises beneath. Pampara Kaada got its name from its behaviour of forming a small whirlpools in the water by swimming in small, rapid circles. This is believed to aid it in raising food from the bottom of shallow water to feed on.

The Great Frigatebird would be known as Chinna Kadal Kallan (sea pirate) indicating its habit of stealing food collected by other birds, while the Masked Booby would be called Neelamukhi Kadal Vaathu , which has reference to the blue patch around its face.

Earlier efforts

The process of locally naming the birds was popularised by Induchoodan (K.K. Neelakantan), the legendary birder from the State. However, the earlier attempts were traced back to the efforts of N.G. Pillai, a curator of the Thiruvananthapuram museum, who accompanied Salim Ali during his Travancore Bird Survey during 1934-35. The names suggested by Pillai had appeared in the book Birds of Travancore and Cochin, authored by Salim Ali and published in 1953.

It was the book, Keralathile Pakshikal , authored by Induchoodan and originally published in 1958 that gave the process a thrust as it carried the local names of 150 birds, said P.O. Nameer, the Kerala State Coordinator of the Asian Water Bird Census.

Later in 2007, when Richard Grimmett's Birds of South India was translated into Malayalam, more than 200 birds didn’t have Malayalam names. While translating the book, some tentative names were coined with the help of several bird enthusiasts.

While naming the birds, Praveen and fellow birders largely followed the methodology of Neelakantan, to blend the local folklore and culture into the names.

The names should relate to its homeland, the culture and the life there and reflect the specialty of the species. It should also be easily comprehensible.

Thus, the Streaked Shearwater which cuts through the waves for feeding was named Thiravetti, White-tailed lapwing Vellavalan Thithiri and Roseate Tern, Vellavaalan Aala, with a distinguishable white tail.

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Karnataka to get Western Ghats Development Institute

Nagesh Prabhu, BENGALURU
The Hindu, August 5, 2015 

The Centre has agreed to sanction the Western Ghats Development Institute to Karnataka for conservation of the ecologically sensitive areas of Western Ghats in six States.

The institute would be set up on 117 acres at Chakra in Shivamogga district for undertaking research and management of the Western Ghats, one of the eight biodiversity hotspots in the world.

Forest Minister B. Ramanath Rai, who submitted a proposal to the Centre seeking sanctioning of the institute, told presspersons that the Centre would grant funds for monitoring and managing the eco system and expand green areas’ growth in the region.

The institute would take up environment management with the active participation of locals, Mr. Rai said and termed as ‘rubbish’ the allegation made by BJP MP Shobha Karandlaje that the State Government has not given its comments on the K. Kasturirangan report on conservation of Western Ghats to the Centre. The State had given its comment on the report on April 24, 2015, he said. All States, including Kerala and Maharashtra, have copied the State’s comments in their reports, he claimed.

The State Government has agreed to a complete ban on mining in the area. However, it has demanded regulation of sand mining and quarrying to meet local development needs. The State has also opposed establishment of new thermal and hydro power projects, and favoured regulation of construction of hospitals and other public utilities. As large number of temples existed in the region, the government wanted reasonable restrictions on the movement of people and vehicles.

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Invasive species a serious threat for Kerala

The Hindu, August 5, 2015
Thiruvananthapuram,  

Invasive species are considered the most serious threat to biodiversity after habitat destruction. It is estimated that three trillion dollars are spent every year across the world to manage the menace. While most of the alien invasive species found in Kerala were once imported for horticulture and agriculture, some reached the State through timber consignments.

Studies carried out by KFRI had revealed the presence of 82 invasive species in the State, including trees, shrubs and climbers. High-risk species like the Nila grass ( Mimosa diplotricha ) bracken fern ( Pteridium aquilinum ), Mucuna ( Mucuna bracteata ), Congress grass ( Parthenium hysterophorus ) and Chinese creeper ( Mikania micrantha ) can disrupt the growth of native species in forests, smother plants and trees and lead to crop loss and soil degradation.

 

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Native trees to get a fresh lease of life

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

Scientists at the Kerala Forest Research Institute at Peechi are gearing up for a programme aimed at protecting native trees from the threat posed by the proliferation of invasive plant species. Designed to perpetuate the memory of former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the programme will focus on preserving big trees in public places by removing the invasive plants threatening their existence.

“Many such giant trees along the roadsides or in temple grounds can be found completely smothered by creepers or plants,” says KFRI Registrar T.K. Dhamodaran. “Though research on invasive species has picked up momentum, there has been little or no effort to conserve the trees threatened by these plants,” he said.

Mooted at a remembrance meeting held at KFRI last week, the programme is envisaged as a tribute to the late President who had proposed a national level mission to plant a billion trees. It involves manual removal of the invasive species and application of weedicide to prevent subsequent infestation.

The pilot phase will cover Thrissur and neighbouring districts. KFRI is planning to seek technical advice from the Fire and Rescue Services and the Kelappaji College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology under the Kerala Agricultural University to procure equipment like the skylift and safety harness needed for the project.

“It requires some amount of skill to remove the weeds from the tall trees and apply weedicide. Considering the paucity of skilled workers, we are thinking of setting up a labour bank. That way, the programme will also provide job opportunities at the local level,” said Dr.Dhamodaran, who is attached to the Wood Science and Technology division at KFRI.

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Change in land assignment rules stirs up a hornet’s nest

Girish Menon, Thiruvananthapuram
The Hindu, August 4, 2015
The State government notification amending the Kerala Land Assignment rules to regularise occupation of government leased land in hilly tracts of the State, including those that were encroached on prior to June 1 2005, has stirred a hornet’s nest.
While Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Revenue Minister Adoor Prakash justified the amendment by asserting that it would benefit the common man and cultivators in the hill tracts, environmentalists feared that it would end up in benefitting big land sharks.
The notification, published in the Kerala Gazette on Monday, seeks to introduce a new rule (Rule 7 B) to the Kerala Land Assignment Rules, 1964, related to assignment of land in hilly tracts. It seeks to assign land to any person who occupies government land under lease in hilly tracts, (including expired lease) or by way of encroachments no considered objectionable if such occupation completes 10 years as on June 1, 2015. The total land such a person will be able to hold will be four acres as per sub rule (1) of Rule 5 or if the annual family income from sources other than the government land held by him is below Rs.3 lakh.
The official explanation for this amendment is that the government had received numerous applications for assignment of lands in hilly tracts from people who have developed and cultivated them, besides living there.
The operative part of the notification is that it would regularise all encroachment prior to June 1, 2005. Idukki will be the major beneficiary of the new amendment, according to Revenue Department sources.
Mr. Prakash said that the new rule would be helpful for the ordinary citizen and the government would take the appropriate steps to ensure that this provision was not misused by land sharks. The Chief Minister said that the decision was not taken overnight and was only a continuation of the UDF policy. However, opposition came from within the Congress party.
Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president V.M. Sudheeran sought an explanation from Mr. Prakash, while another Congress MLA T.N. Prathapan in way highlighted Mr. Sudheeran’s concern by expressing apprehensions about the negative impact of the new rule.
Apart from the concerns about land sharks cornering large chunk of land in the name of regularising encroachment, officials were doubtful whether the new rule could be implemented in Idukki, which accounts for a major portion of land earmarked for title-deed assignment.
This is because the contentious new rule relates to assignment of registry under the Land Assignment Rules. But there are several tracts of land which are earmarked for distributing title-deeds under the Kerala Land Assignment (Regularisation of Occupation of Forest Lands prior to 1-1-1977) Special Rules 1993. There is also another contention that the new rule will help the State to over come hurdles imposed by the classification of land as Ecologically Sensitive Areas under the Kasturirangan report, sources said.

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Vellayani lifts veil on Painted stork

T.Nandakumar
Thiruvananthapuram,  
The Hindu, August 1, 2015

A bird survey conducted by the Kerala State Biodiversity Board at Vellayani Lake near here has revealed the presence of rare species, justifying the efforts to claim biodiversity heritage status for the region.

The KSBB has submitted a proposal to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) seeking heritage tag for the freshwater lake and its environs.

The Rs.75-crore proposal seeks to enlist the support of local communities to protect bird nests and prevent poaching. The bird survey had revealed the presence of over 100 species in the Punchakari area bordering the lake.

KSBB Member Secretary K.P. Laladhas said a team of birdwatchers had been tracking the native and migratory species at Vellayani for some time.

On July 31, the team spotted a single Painted stork in the wetlands. A large wading bird, the Painted stork ( Mycteria leucocephala ) is a near threatened species rarely found in Kerala.

Dr. Laladhas said the late sighting of the stork at Vellayani, coinciding with the delayed start of a full-fledged monsoon, could make it an indicator of climate change.

The Jacobin cuckoo or pied crested cuckoo ( Clamator jacobinus ), a bird associated with rain since ancient times, was also first spotted at Vellayani during the survey.

Biodiversity register

The KSBB is preparing to bring out a biodiversity register exclusively for the Vellayani region.

Three other locations in Kerala, Kalassamala in Thrissur district, Ashramam in Kollam, and Pathiramanal island in Alappuzha, have also been proposed as biodiversity heritage sites.

Official sources said the government was expected to notify the sites after issuing the guidelines for biodiversity heritage status.

Of the four proposed sites, Kalassamala is home to about 200 trees of the Syzygium travancorium species. Listed as critically endangered in the Red Data book published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the species is known to have a population of only about 400, all of them in Kerala.

While Asramam is known for the mangrove forests on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake, Pathiramanal was proposed for the biodiversity heritage tag for its rich diversity of migratory birds.

 

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