Smugglers may target sandalwood in private land

Giji K. Raman
KATTAPPANA, 
The Hindu, July 21, 2014 

Sandalwood trees grown in private land are now more prone to be stolen after the Forest Department stepped up protection of the trees in the Marayur Forest Division by devising various plans such as annual census, intensified monitoring, and heavy fencing around the sanctuary.

As per the last tree census, there were 60,160 sandalwood trees in the Marayur division; nearly 6,000 in Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary; and 5,000 in Periyar Tiger Reserve, in addition to those grown in private land, especially in Marayur.

Marayur sandal is best suited for extracting oil and it is in high demand from cosmetic and perfume industries. However, there is no official data on the trees grown in private land, making them an easy target for smugglers.

An official of the Marayur Forest Division told The Hindu that sandalwood smuggling had considerably dropped in the protected areas following strong steps adopted by the government, including closing down of private factories and amending of the Kerala Forest Act.

However, the trees in private land are cut down by the farmers themselves at a tender age as there is an impression that it is their responsibility to keep the tree safe. Moreover, at the annual auctions, the Forest Department takes fully grown sandalwood only when it is naturally dead, or fallen.

In some cases, smugglers cut down the trees with the connivance of the owner as growing them were not considered commercially viable. In wildlife sanctuaries, dead trees could not be sold or removed as they were considered part of the ecosystem. Smugglers used this provision to steal such wood from the forests, an official said.

Seized sandalwood timber could easily be recognised whether they were from private land or not by assessing the maturity of the trees.

 

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Portal for forest clearance proposals

NEW DELHI,  

The Hindu, July 16, 2014

After launching online environmental clearances a month ago, Union Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar on Tuesday launched a web portal for online submission and monitoring of forest clearance proposals.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Javadekar said that grant of “a general approval” for setting up strategic and other installations within 100 km from the Line of Actual Control (LAC) on the border areas with China was under consideration and an official decision would be taken soon. The Minister said there was no need to amend the Forest Conservation Act, which expressly prohibits diversion of forests for non-forest use without prior approval of the Central government.

Forest officials said a general approval meant that States could approve forest clearances in these specific areas which in the past had to be sent to the Centre but the conditions for clearance remain.

Mr. Javadekar said that to simplify clearances, his Ministry was granting a general approval for projects in certain critical areas such as roads and power transmission lines of all kinds. The MoEF has also granted general approval under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 for diversion of up to five hectares of forest land for construction of all categories of public roads by government departments in 117 districts affected by Maoist extremism.

In the border areas, clearances for 6000 km of roads were pending and for years the files were stuck in the Ministry. The decision for general approval was taken in the interests of security and on the border areas with China and Pakistan it was important to have quick clearances for infrastructure building.

Accordingly, States can now grant approvals for diversion of forest land to construct and widen two-lane roads by the Border Roads Organisation and other agencies in the area falling within 100 km aerial distance from the LAC. Mr. Javadekar said the creation of a good road network along the LAC would help guard international borders more effectively. A similar general approval for diversion of forest land required for setting up of army stations, ammunition depots, training centres and other support infrastructure, such as schools, hospitals and residential quarters within 100 km aerial distance from the LAC was under the active consideration of the Ministry.

The web portal (www.forestsclearance.nic.in) would facilitate real-time monitoring to ensure that stipulated time-lines are adhered to.

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Giving wings to bird conservation

K. Santhosh
THRISSUR,  
The Hindu, July 16, 2014 

Bird conservation should not be the concern of forest officials, environmentalists and ornithological societies alone. It should draw the attention and participation of the common man.

A workshop on ‘Bird Monitoring in Kerala — a citizen science initiative’, held at the Centre for Wildlife Studies of Kerala Agricultural University’s College of Forestry recently, called for prioritising bird conservation outside the protected area network, which included sanctuaries, national parks and reserved forests.

Experts who spoke at the workshop said people should take an active interest in bird monitoring, public advocacy and protecting birds of concern.

The workshop planned activities such as survey of heronries, the breeding places of water birds and pelagic birds to understand the birds of the oceans and the open sea.

The heronry survey will be carried out during monsoon when heronries are active. The pelagic bird survey will be the first of its kind in the country. It will be carried out every alternate month in the nine coastal regions of Kerala.

“A Common Bird Monitoring programme (CBMP), conducted as part of this initiative, recorded 61,222 birds of 280 species.

In all, 319 birdwatchers participated in it and submitted 1,122 checklists.

This is the first time that such a comprehensive and State-wide exercise has been carried out,” said P.O. Nameer, coordinator of the workshop.

An additional CBMP, involving students and the general public, is likely to be conducted between September 11 and 14.

A few nature-lovers have been involved in a bird monitoring programme conducted since January 2014 with the support of the Social Forestry wing of the Forest Department. The primary objective of the initiative has been documentation of bird diversity outside reserved forests and protected areas. The activities included Common Bird Monitoring, Wetland Bird Monitoring, and Pelagic or Oceanic Bird Monitoring.

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Boundaries of Thattekad Bird Sanctuary to be redrawn

K. S. Sudhi
KOCHI,  
The Hindu, July 12, 2014 

The contours of Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary, Thattekad, will be redrawn by excluding the human habitation from its limits.

The Kerala Forest Department is actively considering a proposal to add 10.17 sq. km from the Neriyamangalam Forest areas to the sanctuary in lieu of the 9 sq km area that would be excluded. Over 12,000 people reside in the habitation that comes under the administrative jurisdiction of Kuttampuzha panchayat.

The 25.16 sq. km. of the sanctuary includes patta and revenue land. The human habitation was included during the notification of the sanctuary. However, it resulted in serious conflicts with local residents, pointed out a document that was placed before the Kerala Wildlife Advisory Committee.

The inclusion of the human habitation in the sanctuary had curtailed the construction of buildings, change of land use and cutting of trees for the residents. These acts were also treated as illegal acts.

These restrictions had also increased the conflicts in the area and any attempt to enforce law in the stretch invited public wrath, the document said.

According to the Forest officials, the area that is to be appended to the sanctuary too is rich in biodiversity. It’s contiguous to the evergreen forests of Urulanthanny section. The inclusion of the area to the sanctuary would ensure better conservation of the flora and fauna of the region, according to the document.

As the area of human habitation was not significant for conservation of wildlife and not notified as reserve forest, the management plan of the sanctuary too had recommended its exclusion from the sanctuary, it said.

The department had roped in the local residents for various forest protection measures by engaging some as forest guards and watchers. The locals were also involved in the works related to the sanctuary. However, the Wildlife Protection Act comes into conflict with the residents at times, pointed out R. Sugathan, noted ornithologist associated with the sanctuary.

The consent of the National Board for Wildlife is required for changing the contours of the sanctuary. It also needs to be approved by the State board, he said.

The next meeting of the State Wildlife Advisory Board would discuss the proposal as it could not be taken up during the last meeting, said G. Harikumar, Chief Wildlife Warden.

The presence of around 280 species of birds was reported from the bird sanctuary, which was came into existence in 1983.

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Peacocks all set to welcome their generation next

Ignatius Pereira
KOLLAM,  
The Hindu, July 12, 2014 

In the forest areas of the State, hundreds of well-camouflaged peahens are brooding their eggs. With the breeding season under way, a new generation of our national bird will emerge from the forests in the next few weeks.

Forests in Kollam district are a major habitat for peacocks. The birds are frequently spotted in townships and villages in the eastern sectors of the district.

Besides the national bird status, the peacocks have religious symbolism and hence are seldom harmed. Awareness spread by the Forest Department has also helped safeguard the bird.

Rich nesting grounds

Forest officers in Kollam say that the Aryankavu, Shendurney, Achencoil, Thenmala, and Kanayar forest belts are rich nesting grounds for peacocks.

The Adivasis say the peacock breeding season starts with the arrival of the monsoon.

Spotting nests

With the Adivasis’ help, nests can be spotted without going very deep into the forests. The incubation period is approximately 28 to 30 days, and each clutch comprises five to nine eggs.

The nests, which the peahens set up with dry leaves and twigs, are made on shallow holes on the ground.

With their dull plumage, the peahens are hard to spot in the jungles when they brood. Regardless of which day they were laid, all eggs hatch at the same time, and the chicks are fully feathered.

Adivasis say that as soon as the eggs hatch, the mother leads the broodlings away from the nest as the egg shells attract predators.

Forest officers say the chicks learn to fly, though not to great heights, within a few days of hatching.

This is important because peacocks roost above the ground.

The hatchlings can be seen riding piggyback on their mothers during the first few days of their life to perch up on the safety of trees.

As the arrival of the chicks signals the end of the breeding season, the peacocks start shedding their stunning tail feathers as part of an annual molting process, only to sport them again when the next breeding season approaches.

 

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KSBB opposes cage culture of Nile Tilapia

T. Nandakumar
Thiruvananthapuram,  
The Hindu, July 10, 2014 

The Kerala State Biodiversity Board (KSBB) has expressed strong reservations about a proposal mooted by the Fisheries Department to promote cage culture of Genetically Improved Farmed Tilapia (GIFT) in waterbodies in the State.

At a meeting held here last week, experts from the KSBB, the Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies, and the College of Fisheries, Panangad, voiced their concern about the impact of the alien species on native biodiversity. A genetically improved strain of the Nile Tilapia, GIFT is preferred by aquaculture farmers in many countries because of its quick growth and adaptability to various environmental conditions.

S. Ajayan, Joint Director of Fisheries, said the proposal was to promote cage culture of GIFT in reservoirs, check-dams, rivers and lakes. It involved selective breeding of Nile Tilapia, followed by exposure to methyl testosterone, an artificial male hormone, to produce male fry through sex reversal. Typically, the male fish grew much larger and faster than females. Mr. Ajayan said a trial project done by Matsyafed in Kottayam had proved to be a success.

KSBB chairman Oommen V. Oommen said the board was opposed to cage culture of GIFT in connected waterbodies because of the inherent risks. Experts fear that the accidental release of stocks could result in hybridisation with existing species and competitive exclusion of native fishes from their habitat.

The KSBB has insisted on regulated aquaculture in isolated cement tanks. It has proposed an expert committee to monitor the project and assess its impact. K.P. Laladhas, Member Secretary, KSBB, said the mass production and culture of the endemic pearl spot (Karimeen) would be more desirable.

“In the absence of a proper assessment of the invasive potential of Nile Tilapia, the proposal is fraught with risks,” said K.G. Padmakumar, former Associate Director of Research, Kerala Agricultural University.

 

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Tree turmeric on the last leg

K. S. Sudhi
KOCHI,  
The Hindu July 10, 2014 

Tree turmeric, a rare medicinal plant, is clinging for dear life through a few mature plants in the Western Ghats.

A recent survey along the habitats of the species, known as Mara Manjal in local parlance, could record only 33 mature plants.

The survey by the Kerala Forest Research Institute, Thrissur, revealed that the plant was surviving in less than 10 habitats across the Kerala region of the ghats. Though distributed across the Indo-Malesian tropical rainforests, its habitat has shrunken to a few patches, said P. Sujanapal, a scientist at the institute.

In Kerala, they are found at Meenchalali in Sholayar, Pezha in Parambikulam, Madambra-Kozhikuthu area in Vazhachal range, Kannadivechakunnu, Paripputhode in Aralam Wildlife Sanctuary, and the Ambayathode- Palchuram area in the Kottiyur reserve forests. The survey was conducted for the National Medicinal Plant Board for restoring plants in its natural habitats.

Though the researchers could count 615 individuals, 514 were seedlings with bleak survival chances. The 33 ‘adult individuals’ had grown to achieve more than 10 cm in diameter. Among them, only two had fruits, Dr. Sujanapal said.

The climber (Coscinium fenestratum) is a valuable ingredient in a number of traditional medical systems of India, including Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha, and the medicial systems of Cambodia and Vietnam.

Berberine, a chemical extracted from the plant, is used in modern medicine and dye industry. Its wood with broad spectrum antiseptic properties is used to treat liver ailments, ulcers, and wounds.

It grows in moist shady and semi-rocky habitats under canopy, near streams. Habitat destruction and uprooting of plants had resulted in the depletion of number and size of the population. Destructive harvesting and the dioecious nature (a species with distinct male and female individuals) had also hit seed production, he said.

“Vegetative reproduction is being tried considering the issue of obtaining seeds. Ground layering and air layering are being tried in individuals of the species at the Meenchalali forest area in the Sholayar range and the Kulamavu area of the Idukki Wildlife Sanctuary.”

The national project plants to restore at least 10,000 seedlings of the species in its natural habitats with the support of the Forest Department, Dr. Sujanapal said.

 

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