Positive tidings for waterbirds

The Hindu, January 30, 2016

There has been a 30 per cent increase in the number of waterbirds in Thiruvananthapuram district, the Asian Waterfowl Census, a comprehensive water bird count, says.

The census, carried out on Tuesday, also records spotting of 49 species of birds from Punchakkari, Vellayani, Aruvikkara Reservoir, Akkulam-Veli Lake Complex, Poovar and selected wetlands, including the paddy fields under Krishi Bhavan near Kesavadasapuram.

Of these waterbirds, 15 species are migratory including Black headed gulls, Kentish plovers, Green sandpipers, Wood sandpipers, Sanderlings and Whiskered terns.

The exercise was carried out in six major locations in the capital district by WWF-India with the support of the Social Forestry Wing of Forests and Wildlife Department. Though the number of waterbirds is higher than the last immediate years, a decadal comparison does not show a positive trend. Habitat loss and climate change are the major culprits for this fall.

The heavy rains in the past few months that has considerably elevated the water level is another reason for the fewer number of waterbirds in Punchakkari and Vellayani wetlands, the two major birding hotspots in the outskirts of city .

According to the report, the increased presence of aquatic weeds in Aruvikkara reservoir is one of the major reasons for habitat degradation.

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Wetlands attract more winged visitors

Thiruvananthapuram, 
The Hindu, January 26, 2016

The five major wetlands in Kerala, including the Vellayani, Sasthamkotta, Vembanad, Ashtamudi and Pookode lakes, and their surrounding areas are attracting more migratory birds this year, a survey conducted by the Kerala State Biodiversity Board (KSBB) has revealed.

Check list

The board is preparing a check list of birds, as part of the biodiversity assessment of the wetlands. Birdwatching teams are keeping a close tab on the lakes to take stock of the winged visitors. The teams comprising the project groups tasked with the preparation of Panchayat Biodiversity Registers (PBR) visit the allocated area at least two times every week for the survey.

The survey team for the Sasthamkotta wetlands recently recorded the first sighting of the white-necked stork.

Also known as the woolly necked stork or Karuvarakkuru in Malayalam, the species had earlier been sighted at Vembanad, Kole wetlands and along the banks of the Bharathapuzha.

The white neck of the bird contrasts with the black head and body and the large bill is grey with a reddish tip. The legs and feet are red and the eyes deep red.

Measuring up to 95 cm in length, it prefers waterlogged areas and cultivated areas and mostly feeds on fish, frogs, snakes, crabs and molluscs. They rarely wade.

According to the IUCN status, the bird is classified as a vulnerable species.

“We have noticed that the number of migratory birds visiting the wetlands of Kerala is higher this year,” says KSBB member secretary K.P. Laladhas. “It requires a detailed study to understand if this is linked to climate change”.

Favourite spots

The birdwatching team deployed at the Sasthamkotta lake has identified 65 species while that for Vellayani has recorded 131 species.

“The high altitude lake at Pookode in Wayanad seems to have a strong biodiversity, perhaps because of its proximity to the forest,” Dr. Laladhas said.

The biodiversity assessment of wetlands assumes significance in the light of the threats faced by the fragile ecosystems, including the three Ramsar sites — the Sasthamcotta and Ashtamudi lakes and the Vembanad- Kole lands.

In the absence of a conservation and sustainable management plan, the lakes in Kerala are increasingly prone to encroachment, pollution, and debilitation caused by invasive alien species.

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Sand-mining monitoring to go hi-tech

T. Nandakumar, 
The Hindu, January 26, 2016

Monitoring of river sand-mining and transport is set to go hi-tech. The guidelines on sustainable sand mining notified by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFs) earlier this month prescribe a modern, technology-assisted system to keep an eagle eye on mining and transport of river sand.

The guidelines mandate the preparation of a District Survey Report to identify the mining areas.

The procedure for monitoring of river sand-mining prescribes a transport permit with security features like MICR (Magnetic Ink Character Recognition) paper, unique barcode and Quick Response (QR) code, fugitive ink background, invisible ink mark, void pantograph and watermark to avoid counterfeiting.

It also includes an Android-based application to scan the permit using a smartphone. Mining lease areas larger than five hectares will be required to have closed circuit TV (CCTV) cameras and computers with internet connection.

The site would be provided with access control and arrangements for weighing the mined sand.

Transport permit

According to the guidelines, the State Mining Department would print the transport permit and issue it to the lease holder through the District Collector. The permit would be uploaded on the server.

When the barcode on the permit is scanned and an invoice generated, the validity time is recorded on the server. The system allows the details of transporting mineral to be captured on the server.

Enforcement officials can check the consignments of mined sand by scanning the transport permit using website, Android application or SMS. The vehicle can be tracked from source to destination using check points, RFID tags and GPS facility.

The proposed system will facilitate the generation of periodic reports on daily lifting and vehicle log. The District Collector can also block the scanning facility of a site found to be indulging in any irregularity.

An enforcement official intercepting a vehicle illegally transporting sand will be required to report the action for registration on the server.

MoEFs has directed States to comply with the monitoring system within three months.

Greens’ view

Experts and environmentalists feel that the proposed system would help authorities to crack down on illegal sand mining.

“It signals the transition to a sophisticated monitoring system for sustainable mining,” says D. Padmalal, scientist, National Centre for Earth Science Studies.

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Central norms, State law in a mismatch

T. Nandakumar,  Thiruvananthapuram,  
TheHindu,January 25, 2016

A notification issued by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change prescribing regulations on river sand mining is feared to result in a mismatch with the State legislation on the issue, sparking concern over its implications on the protection of the ravaged rivers in Kerala.

The notification issued on January 15 mandates the creation of a District Environment Impact Assessment Authority empowered to issue environmental clearance for sand mining below five hectares.

It prescribes guidelines for the preparation of a district survey report to identify river sand resources, protection of the riverine ecology and steps to check illegal mining.

In Kerala, district-level expert committees chaired by the respective District Collectors have been constituted under the Kerala Protection of River Banks and Regulation of Removal of Sand Act, 2001 to identify the locations for river sand mining. In June last year, the State government had imposed a total ban on sand mining from six rivers and imposed restrictions on mining from five rivers for a three-year period. The decision was based on the sand audit report of 11 rivers prepared in accordance with the state Act.

Experts’ fear

Experts and environmental activists fear that the uncertainty over which would prevail, the State Act or the Central notification, would create a situation for illegal mining to flourish in the State.

“Unless the issue is clarified, confusion will prevail, setting the stage for unscientific exploitation of river sand resources,” says Latha Anantha, Director, River Research Centre. “It is neither necessary nor desirable to have a district expert committee set up under the State Act and a District EIA Authority mandated by the Central notification, both chaired by the District Collector. It will only lead to confusion and conflict,” says N.K. Sukumaran Nair, general secretary, Pampa Parirakshana Samithi.

Experts fear that the exemptions cited in the notification would be manipulated to bypass the requirement of environment clearance for river sand mining.

Extraction of ordinary sand, removal of sand deposits from farms and silt from dams and reservoirs are among the activities that have been exempted.

 

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District panels to keep tabs on mining

T. Nandakumar
The Hindu, January 23, 2016

The Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change has issued a notification delegating the regulatory powers for mining of minor minerals to district-level authorities, evoking mixed reactions from environmentalists and members of regulatory bodies in Kerala.

The final notification issued on January 15 mandates the setting up of a District Environmental Impact Assessment Authority (DEIAA) and District Expert Appraisal Committee (DEAC). Though the State government has no role in the selection of members to the district agencies, the Ministry has modified the draft notification to provide the State EIA Authority (SEIAA) with supervisory jurisdiction over the DEIAA, with the power to review its decisions.

The district-level agencies will appraise and grant environment clearance for individual mining lease up to five hectares and mining clusters up to 25 hectares. Mining leases up to 25 hectares will not require public hearing for grant of environment clearance. The draft notification had prescribed public hearing for all leases above five hectares.

The Ministry has also made minor modifications to the constitution of the DEIAA and DEAC. The District Collector will chair the four-member DEIAA. The Sub Divisional Magistrate will be the member secretary.

The senior-most Divisional Forest Officer and an expert nominated by the Chief Conservator of Forest will be the other two members. The 11-member DEAC will be chaired by the Executive Engineer, Irrigation Department, with the Assistant Director or Deputy Director, Mining and Geology, as member secretary.

Welcoming the delegation of regulatory powers, sources said it would lessen the burden of the SEIAA by about 25 per cent. They, however, maintained that the DEIAA and DEAC would not be competent to appraise or grant environment clearance.

Greens’ view

Environmentalists feel that district-level agencies would be more amenable and sensitive to public demands for regulation of mining activities.

Pointing out that the majority of stone quarries in Kerala fell within the B2 category (of area less than or equal to five hectares) SEIAA, Kerala, had proposed that the extent of mining area to be delegated to the district-level authority be limited to three hectares.

 

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An unusual visitor flies in

The Hindu, January 22, 2016
 During the course of their annual Asian waterfowl census of Kollam and Thiruvananathapurm districts last week, members of the Thiruvananthapuram-based Warblers and Waders, a nature and bird lovers’ forum, chanced upon a flock of slender-billed gulls ( Larus genei ) along the Vellanathuruthu beach in Kollam. These migratory birds are not common winter visitors to Kerala.
C. Susanth, who led the census team, said there were 21 one slender-billed gulls among a mixed flock of about 500 black-headed gulls and brown-headed gulls. The team visited the Vellanathuruthu beach twice for confirming the sighting of this rather uncommon bird in these areas.
Though these birds have an extremely large global range, this is the first recorded sighting of these gulls along south of Kayamkulam. The earlier sighting of these gulls in Kerala were recorded from the Kadalundi estuary and Purathur estuary (Malappuram), Chavakad beach (Thirssur), Ittikulam beach (Kannur), and Purakkad and Thottapally (Alappuzha), he said. In Asia, these birds are usually residents of east Kazakhstan, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Mr. Susanth said the adult bird has a white head throughout the year, deep red bill but looking a bit pale in winter and pale iris. The preferred habitats of this migrant gull comprise coastal waters, lagoons, estuaries, large tidal creeks and salt pans. The other migrant shore birds recorded by the team at Vellanathuruthu were green shank, red shank, sanderling, Kentish plover, lesser sand plover, Pallas’s gull, Heuglin’s gull, greater crested tern, lesser crested tern, little tern, gull-billed tern, common sandpiper and whimbrel.
Other members of the team were G. Santhosh Kumar, S.S. Ratheesh and R. Prasath. It was the 26th annual Asian Waterfowl Census of the two districts carried out by the members of the Warblers and Waders.

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Survey reveals butterfly diversity of Wayanad

T. Nandakumar Thiruvananthapuram,  
The Hindu, January 12, 2016

A three-day butterfly survey organised by the Kerala State Biodiversity Board (KSBB) and the Forest and Wildlife Department in North Wayanad has revealed 178 species, including at least four rare species. The survey which covered portions of the North Wayanad forest division, Wayanad wildlife sanctuary and South Wayanad forest division was conducted to document the butterfly diversity of the region and understand their role as indicators of the state of the environment.

As many as 43 species of skippers, 44 species of blues, 15 species of swallow tails, 19 white and yellows and 57 species of brush-footed butterflies were recorded. The Sahyadri Banded Tail was first recorded from the region. Rare species like the Danaid egg fly, Crimson Rose and Malabar Banded Swallow Tail were sighted from Mattilayam, Periya and Kuruva island. As many as 180 people, including 40 students, from various biodiversity clubs in Wayanad district, 19 experts, six officials from KSBB and nine Forest staff participated in the survey. The expert team included Muhammed Jaffer Palot, senior scientist, Zoological Survey of India; Balakrishnan Valappil; Chandrasekharan Koyilandi; and Pavithran Vadakara.

The participants were split into 15 groups to cover different transect each day. Each group consisted of one or more experts, forest watchers and staff from KSBB. A datasheet and detailed species checklist were prepared for each transect. The photographs of all the butterflies have been filed.

K.P. Laladhas, member secretary, KSBB, said the survey was part of a study to assess the migration pattern of butterflies and use it as a tool to formulate conservation strategies.

Climate change issues

“Apart from understanding the biological behaviour of the species, the study will also help to assess how climate change influences mass migration. The findings of the survey will be linked to other data like climate parameters to draw inferences”, he said.

“In many countries, butterflies are recognised as environmental indicators for their sensitive response to habitat and climate changes,” says Oommen V. Oommen, chairman, KSBB. He said periodic surveys would be conducted to keep the data up to date.

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