'Only six tigers in Palamau Reserve'

Much to the disappointment of conservationists, the number of big cats in the Maoist-infested Palamau Tiger Reserve in Jharkhand has declined from 17 to six, as confirmed by research carried out through scat analysis."The scat analysis by the Hyderabad-based Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology has confirmed the presence of six tigers only in the tiger reserve," Field Director of Palamau Tiger Reserve P Upadhaya said.

Scat analysis is an examination of the faeces of animals done in order to determine their biological and genetic details.

The census in 2007 had confirmed the presence of 17 tigers in the reserve, spread over an area of 1,026 square kilometres in Jharkhand's Palamau district, which was described by the National Tiger Conservation Authority as a low-density tiger reserve.

Upadhaya, however, admitted that the actual number of the big cats might be more since the analysis had not been done on the basis of exhaustive samples.

He said that they had sent about 15 to 20 scat samples apart from general observation data from areas in different ranges in the reserve to the Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India.

The Field Director said that the presence of Maoists in the area posed problems for free movement of forest personnel due to which proper monitoring could not be carried out in the interiors of the reserve.

"90 per cent of our field staff consists of local people who somehow manage to visit the interior ranges. However, our field staff is scared to visit the areas where there are maximum concentrations of the extremists," Upadhaya said.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Only-six-tigers-in-Palamau-Reserve/Article1-620254.aspx

Tigers may get right of passage in Vidarbha habitat corridors Read more: Tigers may get right of passage in Vidarbha habitat corridors

PUNE: The Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and Maharashtra government will draw up a feasibility plan to secure a tiger habitat corridor between Nagzira wildlife sanctuary and Navegaon national park which is 50 km away in Vidarbha.

"National highway 6 passes through this corridor and the plan will look at how to protect it,'' said Sandeep Kumar Tiwari, head of WTI's Wildlands division. WTI is a non-profit conservation organisation.

Wildlife experts want such corridors to be declared eco-fragile areas or included in the buffer zone if they are along tiger reserves to strengthen the forest habitat link.

A habitat corridor is a strip of land that helps the movement of species between disconnected areas. An animal's habitat includes wetlands, burrowing sites, food, and breeding grounds. Urbanisation can split up such areas, causing animals to lose both their natural habitat and the ability to move between regions to use the resources for survival.

Corridors help animals to move and occupy new areas when food sources go scarce in their core habitat. Species can relocate safely when there is no human interference and animals can find new mates in neighbouring regions so that genetic diversity can increase and impact the population.

At present, there are no funds or legal means to protect the tiger corridor and it has put the wildlife population at risk, ensured almost no exchange of genetic material and increased human-animal conflict.

Since a majority of the wildlife corridors fall in private land areas and are also used by humans, the trust has sought legal protection from the Centre.

Minister of environment and forests Jairam Ramesh wrote to chief minister Ashok Chavan recently about the importance of Nagzira and Navegaon.

The letter spoke about their proximity and source population of the tigers. They are linked with another tiger reserve in Pench-Tadoba and are significant for ensuring the gene flow.

According to Tiwari, wildlife corridors have no legal protection. "We have requested the Centre and state governments to provide corridor protection by either extending the protected areas or declaring them eco-fragile. Educating the locals and placing signages near the state and national highways and reduction of dependence on corridors by acquiring land for highways can secure the corridors,'' he said.

At present, the corridor is cut off from all sides for the tigers in Bor wildlife sanctuary located between Tadoba-Andhari and Pench tiger reserves. Chidanand Reddy, range forest officer of Bor wildlife sanctuary, said corridor management should be made intensive.

"The industrial area in Butigori has cut off the corridor between Tadoba and Bor. Similarly, the upper Wardha dam has cut off the corridor between Melghat and Bor. The four-lane under-construction highway 7 between Bor and Pench will cut off another part. Underpasses would have left animal movement undisturbed,'' he said.

"Urban developments will worsen the situation. Tigers and other species will stop dispersing and will get stranded. Their connectivity ensures gene flow and no exchange of genetic material will make them vulnerable to diseases,'' said Reddy.

Vinay Kumar Sinha, conservator of forest, Tadoba-Andhari tiger reserve said that wildlife corridors are under threat. The last census shows that there are around 42 tigers in the reserve and an sizeable number outside the reserve too. Hence, the corridor needs protection.

There is large-scale mining in Chandrapur district and other industries are coming up. The Human dam project across Andhari river in the northeast of Tadoba will affect the corridor, said Sinha.

Some step are being taken by the National Tiger Conservation Authority. It has started a programme for corridor conservation programme in Tadoba which includes documentation of wildlife movement in adjoining areas, research on the corridor's use, man-animal conflict and educating the locals about the importance of the species and how to react during conflicts.

Read more: Tigers may get right of passage in Vidarbha habitat corridors - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/-Tigers-may-get-right-of-passage-in-Vidarbha-habitat-corridors/articleshow/6849144.cms#ixzz140WU2EPi

Tiger losing way in jungle of dubious economic development

Sometime this November, the Government is expected to release the new tiger population figure. With the apprehension that it could be lower than the currently adopted official number of 1,411 tigers — in itself arrived at following an estimation way back in 2006-07 by the Wildlife Institute of India — experts believe the official campaign to save the striped cats has been hit in recent years.

This is primarily due to a shift in focus from habitat recovery and strengthening ground protection forces to questionable eco-development activities within the forest areas.

Except in the first few years after the Central Government launched Project Tiger in the early 70s, when the tiger number went up to more than 3,000 from a low of 1,200 or so, the tiger population has consistently plunged despite various efforts taken to address the issue. Either these measures proved inadequate, failed to sustain or were misdirected.

K Ullas Karanth, one of the country’s most respected wildlife conservationists and director of the Bangalore-based Centre for Wildlife Studies, is concerned by the enormous “expenditure-oriented activities within the Forest Department” that has been harming tiger conservation.

He told The Pioneer, “Tiger conservation has floundered because of a mission-drift away from focus on ground protection and habitat recovery, towards eco-development and other expenditure-oriented activities within the Forest Department.”

Also a senior conservation scientist with the Wildlife Conversation Society, New York and pioneer of the camera trap method that more accurately counts tigers, Karanth strongly advocated the need to re-fix priorities. “Abandon expenditure-oriented activities such as eco-development and bring back focused protection,” he said.

One of the biggest hurdles in creating safe havens for these big cats to flourish has been the slow relocation of human settlements away from tiger habitats, a process that has been mired in controversy over allegations of favouritism and low compensations. “In my opinion, the Governments (Central and State) should promote fair and generous voluntary relocation of human settlements away from tiger habitats,” he said.

The role of State Governments was paramount in saving tigers, he pointed out and added that non-compliance with Central directives had been among the causes for a less-than-satisfactory tiger conservation record.

In that context, he said a recent suggestion to bifurcate Forests & Wildlife Department from the Environment Department, while welcome, would not directly address the issue. Karanth said, “I agree it would be helpful to have this but primarily conservation actions are implemented by State Governments. This separation does not address their lack of interest or non-compliance with Central directives.”

Wildlife filmmaker and conservationist Shekar Dattatri too believes the delay in the proposed bifurcation is not the problem since it has nothing to do directly with tiger conservation. He said, “The decision to create two departments within the Ministry of Environment & Forests came about thanks to a plea made to the Prime Minister by conservationist Valmik Thapar during a meeting of the National Board for Wildlife in mid-2010. The delay in implementing it is not the cause for the problems in tiger reserves.”

The real problems lay elsewhere, he stated, pointing to the unchecked ‘developmental’ activities within forest areas, including tiger habitats. Also a former member of the National Board for Wildlife, Dattatri told The Pioneer that national park managers had turned into some sort of civil contractors.

“The main priority and preoccupation of most park managers today is not protection but lucrative civil works, such as making more forest roads, building culverts, watchtowers, renovating resthouses, digging rainwater harvesting ditches, weed eradication and creating more waterholes. Despite all the hype surrounding tigers, it is business as usual on ground, with little being done to benefit tiger conservation,” he noted.

Much of these occupations, he added, were entirely unnecessary and drained public funds. Most importantly, as he pointed out in a short film ‘Truth about Tigers’ — which he made and distributed on a CD — these works disturbed tigers and affected their conservation.

Dattatri was emphatic that “no money should be released for frivolous construction or unscientific habitat manipulation activities. All resources should be focused on strengthening the protection mechanism and relocation of villages where necessary”.

Ruing that relocation of villages from tiger reserves was moving at a glacial pace, “even in instances where villagers themselves are vigorously demanding to be resettled”, he said the stakeholders, including State Governments, should move swiftly to promote relocation of human settlements away from tiger habitats.

The involvement of State Governments is crucial, for instance, in creating buffer zones to protect wildlife from human conflicts and activities that endanger the reserves. According to a report, more than 25 of the 39 reserves do not have the buffer areas, simply because State Governments have not notified them for fear of losing out on various dubious ‘developmental’ activities that could fetch them revenue from those regions.

Upset that “plenty has gone wrong” in tiger conservation over recent years, Dattatri said several of the big cat reserves suffered from poor leadership and shortage of frontline field staff.

“Anti-poaching watchers are usually employed as daily wagers but their wages are often not paid for months. Field staff lack even basic training and equipment. Senior officers in many parks do not go to the field regularly and are out of touch with ground realities,” he added.

Dattatri said protection-oriented officials should be posted at reserves with freedom to perform “without fear or favour” and people from local tribal communities should be appointed for anti-poaching work and compensated adequately and promptly.

http://www.dailypioneer.com/293689/Tiger-losing-way-in-jungle-of-dubious-economic-development.html

Jharkhand tribals protest against relocation away from tiger reserve area

Villagers in Jharkhand Palamu district protested on Friday against the government's proposal to resettle them away from the core area of tiger reserve.

Paritosh Upadhyay, Vice-President, Tiger Project, Palamu said that the forest department has already started the talks with eight villages in the area to relocate them at other places.

"There should be no human population in the core area, so that the wild animals get an interference-free area. Therefore, there should be minimum human interference; for this the small human habitation, which is present in the core area, is being relocated. There are provisions and orders to relocate them. There is also a provision of a package for relocation," said Upadhyay.

According to the officials of National Tiger Conservation Authority provisions, the resettlement package will include an amount of one million rupees for every household in village.

The reserve was entirely dedicated to the tigers but gradually it has now been reduced to a cluster of villagers, a hideout for Maoists and grazing grounds for cattle.

However, the proposal of relocation has provoked the villagers against Reserve authorities.

According media reports out of the human population has grown manifold with around 94 households including 700 people in the core region. (ANI)

http://sify.com/news/jharkhand-tribals-protest-against-relocation-away-from-tiger-reserve-area-news-national-kk4oahfajaf.html

NTCA calls for four new tiger reserves

SARISKA: The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has advised three states to create four new tiger reserves. With this the number of reserves in the country will go up to 47.

According to SP Yadav, DIG, NTCA, "We have recently advised three states to create four new tiger reserves. These are Suhelva in Uttar Pradesh, Satyamangalam in Tamil Nadu, Navegaon and Bor in Maharashtra."

Yadav's disclosure came during the presentation of the revised national tiger conservation plan of the country during the Global Tiger Forum meet in Sariska on Tuesday.

"Already we have given an in-principal nod on the creation of four other tiger ranges. They are Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh, Sunabeda in Orissa, Ratapani in Madhya Pradesh and Biligiri Ranganatha temple sanctuary in Karnataka," he added. Yadav accepted that tiger is one of the most endangered species in the country. "There is as lot of habitat destruction, poaching, man-animal conflict and revenge killing in the country," he said.

The action plan stressed there is a need for a more focussed approach in tiger conservation. "There is a need for better infrastructural facilities and better ways of involving local communities," he said and stressed on the deployment of anti-poaching squads and the setting up of patrolling parties and chowkis in various reserves.

The plan also highlighted the increase in allowance for Project Tiger officers that the ministry has cleared but also pointed out the need felt by officers to further increase it.

The national conservation plan of Thailand was much appreciated by the gathering.The plan, instead of talking on a long term development, chalks out short-term targets. The plan marks two-year and five-year targets set up by the country instead of very long period like 10 or more years as planned by others.

Read more: NTCA calls for four new tiger reserves - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/6832527.cms#ixzz140VwROj9

Tiger lover sues Katy for wedding roar

A Green activist and founder of an organisation to protect tigers has filed a case against celebrity couple Katy Perry and Russell Brand for flouting wildlife rules during their stay in a luxury resort near Rajasthan’s Ranthambhore National Park, famous for its big cats.

The American singer and the British comedian got married at the resort on Saturday in a traditional Hindu ceremony that included walking around the fire before leaving in a helicopter yesterday.

Ranthambhore Bagh Bachao Andolan founder Akshay Sharma today told The Telegraph he had complained to the chief judicial magistrate’s court in Sawai Madhopur that Perry, Brand and their guests violated Green laws, the Wildlife Protection Act and rules laid down by the Supreme Court. But nobody from the Rajasthan government or the forest department tried to stop them. So he had no option but to move court.

The court will hear the complaint on October 30.

Sharma said Brand and four of his friends went on a tiger safari a day after the wedding and smoked, drank and even carried arms.

They also changed their allotted route and visited areas frequented by tigers but where tourists are not allowed. The human presence, he said, scared the tigers and other animals.

The guests, Sharma alleged, also played loud music.

Earlier, journalists, too, had drawn attention to the noisy wedding celebrations just outside the tiger sanctuary that went past midnight.

Sharma said he had filed complaints against the celebrity visitors and forest and state officials as well for not taking any action.

The complaint came a day after Perry and Brand, intoxicated with everything Indian, got a taste of Indian mismanagement too.

Their helicopter was recalled mid-flight because the star couple’s Indian tour operators had not taken permission from authorities to fly.

They had to sit in the chopper for over half an hour before finally getting clearance for take-off.

Now the court complaint has taken a bit more sheen off their Indian tryst. Seems the tigers are having the last laugh — er, growl.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1101027/jsp/nation/story_13105951.jsp

'Holy' man, son held for selling ivory and tiger skin Read more: 'Holy' man, son held for selling ivory and tiger skin

NEW DELHI: A self-proclaimed religious guru and his son were arrested by Sahibabad police on Wednesday night after People for Animals (PFA) alleged that the accused were in possession of a tiger skin, five tiger teeth, two tiger claws and one elephant tusk.

PFA sources said the guru, known as Acharya Rajendra Shukla, was identified by one Harminder Singh who was also arrested in a PFA undercover operation on Tuesday for trying to sell an ivory necklace to Maneka Gandhi. "We had been on his trail for a while and had identified ourselves as commission agents operating out of Chandni Chowk. He initially said that he was a holy man and had nothing to do with ivory trade, but when he grew to trust us he not only offered us tiger skins and ivory but also promised to supply us with Russian call girls. We settled our deal on a 5% commission,'' said a PFA official.

PFA reportedly recorded all their conversations which they have submitted to police as proof. Meanwhile, they called Shukla and his son, Kunal, to a mall in Sahibabad, SM World, for sealing the deal. There, police arrested the father-son duo and compounded their Scorpio car that contained the confiscated items. Cases were registered against the two under relevant sections of the Wildlife Protection Act.

Rashid Ali, station officer of Sahibabad police station said: "Shukla is claiming that he was framed and since the confiscated items were handed over to us by PFA members, we are trying to establish that Shukla was indeed dealing in the prohibited items. He was operating in western UP and selling illegal goods. His modus operandi was to claim that he was very close to Sonia Gandhi and Sheila Dikshit and then convince people to buy off him.''

Read more: 'Holy' man, son held for selling ivory and tiger skin - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Holy-man-son-held-for-selling-ivory-and-tiger-skin/articleshow/6831660.cms#ixzz140VNpKNN

Allowance doubled for staff of tiger reserves

NEW DELHI: In what will be a major morale booster to thousands of staff deployed in the country's tiger reserves, government has approved their long-pending demand to double their existing monetary allowance.

According to a senior official of National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), the revised rates of project allowance would be applicable from September 2008.

The allowance is an incentive for officials who work in very harsh and deficient conditions and the recent move to double it is in keeping with Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh's promise made last year in this regard.

With the new order, the increase in the allowances will be in the range of Rs 2000 to Rs 700 for field directors, assistant directors, research officers/ veterinary officers, forest rangers, foresters and forest guards posted in remote areas.

There are around 39 tiger reserves in 17 states across the country providing home to around 1,411 big cats.

The move is also expected to attract the best talent and dedicated staff to work in the remote and rough terrain in the tiger reserves, the NTCA official said.

The government has also been taking steps to ensure staff welfare inputs like residential accommodation for the children of frontline staff in nearby towns and villages and other basic needs.

Read more: Allowance doubled for staff of tiger reserves - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/Allowance-doubled-for-staff-of-tiger-reserves/articleshow/6836132.cms#ixzz140V9ChCV