Erode (TN), Mar 3 (PTI) Nine persons, including a woman, were arrested in Pollachi in nearby Coimbatore district for possession of tiger and panther skins, Erode District Forest Conservator said. According to Erode District Conservator of Forests, Arun, a team of Forest Department personnel in plainclothes travelled to Dharapuram in nearby Tirupur district yesterday following a tip-off. One of the officers, posing as a civilian, met Jailani, one of the accused, to purchase tiger skin, he said. Jailani demanded Rs five crore for the skin and took the undercover officer to Pollachi yesterday night, where he was shown the skins of a tiger, four panthers and a black panther, he said. He added that when the wildlife skin traders ultimately agreed to sell all the skins for a combined Rs one crore, the officer said he had to consult his friends before paying the sum, following which he informed the other officials waiting nearby. The accused persons, including Parameswari, in whose house the incident took place, were promptly rounded up and the wildlife skin were seized. The accused were booked under section nine of the Wildlife Protection Act, he said.
http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/nine-held-for-possession-of-tiger-panther-skins/596495.html
Friday, March 4, 2011
Migration hits counting of big cats - TNN
DALTONGANJ: The tigers of the Palamu Tiger Reserve (PTR) are not as lucky as the tigers of the Valmiki Tiger Reserve in Bihar s West Champaran! The tiger reserve of India is in close proximity to the Royal Chitwan Tiger Reserve in Nepal. In summer the tigers of the Valmiki Tiger Reserve slip into the Royal Chitwan Tiger Reserve in Nepal which is their summer resort and they go in and come out as they please.
According to D S Srivastava, member of the Effective Evaluation Management East and North East of National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), Delhi, tigers of Valmiki Reserve move towards the Royal Chitwan Tiger Reserve in Nepal to beat the heat.
However, he lamented that such a luxury is not available to the tigers of the Palamu Reserve, where they remain within the precincts of the PTR. India is perhaps the only country where this highly endangered species travels across the border. When asked whether the migration affects counting of the big cat he replied in the affirmative.
The PTR is spread over 1,026 square kilometers. This wildlife activist was aghast to see flock of sheep passing through the core zone of the PTR as he said sheep carries high risk infection and where ever the flock of sheep drinks water at the water hole that water is bound to be contaminated and not fit for the tigers and other wildlife. He said he came across the flock of sheep numbering 50 to 60 10 km away from Betla on Wednesday.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ranchi/Migration-hits-counting-of-big-cats/articleshow/7622553.cms
According to D S Srivastava, member of the Effective Evaluation Management East and North East of National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), Delhi, tigers of Valmiki Reserve move towards the Royal Chitwan Tiger Reserve in Nepal to beat the heat.
However, he lamented that such a luxury is not available to the tigers of the Palamu Reserve, where they remain within the precincts of the PTR. India is perhaps the only country where this highly endangered species travels across the border. When asked whether the migration affects counting of the big cat he replied in the affirmative.
The PTR is spread over 1,026 square kilometers. This wildlife activist was aghast to see flock of sheep passing through the core zone of the PTR as he said sheep carries high risk infection and where ever the flock of sheep drinks water at the water hole that water is bound to be contaminated and not fit for the tigers and other wildlife. He said he came across the flock of sheep numbering 50 to 60 10 km away from Betla on Wednesday.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ranchi/Migration-hits-counting-of-big-cats/articleshow/7622553.cms
Rough weather in four reserves on Forest Rights Act rollout - TNN
In the recent meeting of the apex National Tiger Conservation Authority, members pointed out seven specific instances where Forest Rights Act has been violated in an attempt to hastily declare an area free of people. Environment minister Jairam Ramesh said he would investigate each claim and allegation of violation of FRA. TOI highlights four such reserves. Will he now send a fact finding team to these sites?
BRT Tiger reserve, Karnataka
The establishment of the Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple wildlife sanctuary in 1974 displaced the Soliga tribals from their shifting cultivation sites to settled colonies. The collection of NTFP (non-timber forest products ) was banned in 2005, affecting their livelihood. Under FRA, 787 Soligas families have received land titles and 400 are awaiting them. Soligas are also in the process of receiving formal community rights shortly. But the state government has declared it a tiger reserve without discussing the proposal with the Soligas. Wildlife scientists have suggested that BRT not be turned into a tiger reserve but could be the first experiment of community management. The state government has paid no heed.
Sunabeda sanctuary, Orissa
There are 64 villages within this sanctuary in Nuapara district of Orissa. Of these, 42 are revenue villages and the rest are termed "encroached villages" by the forest department . These are actually villages that haven't been surveyed and for which no revenue settlement has been done to date. The sanctuary consists of 22,000 people and 87% comprises tribes such as the Gonds and Bhunjia . The forest department has claimed that gram sabhas have agreed to declaring it a tiger reserve and to be relocated. Through RTI, it was found that no village had agreed. The villages have now passed resolutions against the move. Meanwhile, Maoists have moved in and NTCA has given "in-principle" approval for declaring it as tiger reserve.
Mudumalai, Tamil Nadu
Mudumalai was declared as a critical tiger habitat in December, 2007 without any scientific study or evidence. Numerous protests by the local communities from 2009 and on December 30 that year, more than one lakh people held a demonstration. Relocation attempts have been made but no family has actually moved. FRA has not been implemented to date. Tamil Nadu says only 271 claims have been received from the entire Niligiri district and none has been decided yet (as of May last year, whereas relocation funds were allocated in 2009). No consent of gram sabha has been taken for relocation.
Melghat, Maharashtra
The declaration of the critical tiger habitat was done without the inclusion or knowledge of the local communities. They got to know of the changed status only when forest officials told them they would have to move out. Five villages are being relocated in the first phase, consent for which has been obtained on an individual basis and not from gram sabhas. The Korku tribe did not want to move out while other tribes and pastoralists took the offer.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/Rough-weather-in-four-reserves-on-Forest-Rights-Act-rollout/articleshow/7624593.cms
BRT Tiger reserve, Karnataka
The establishment of the Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple wildlife sanctuary in 1974 displaced the Soliga tribals from their shifting cultivation sites to settled colonies. The collection of NTFP (non-timber forest products ) was banned in 2005, affecting their livelihood. Under FRA, 787 Soligas families have received land titles and 400 are awaiting them. Soligas are also in the process of receiving formal community rights shortly. But the state government has declared it a tiger reserve without discussing the proposal with the Soligas. Wildlife scientists have suggested that BRT not be turned into a tiger reserve but could be the first experiment of community management. The state government has paid no heed.
Sunabeda sanctuary, Orissa
There are 64 villages within this sanctuary in Nuapara district of Orissa. Of these, 42 are revenue villages and the rest are termed "encroached villages" by the forest department . These are actually villages that haven't been surveyed and for which no revenue settlement has been done to date. The sanctuary consists of 22,000 people and 87% comprises tribes such as the Gonds and Bhunjia . The forest department has claimed that gram sabhas have agreed to declaring it a tiger reserve and to be relocated. Through RTI, it was found that no village had agreed. The villages have now passed resolutions against the move. Meanwhile, Maoists have moved in and NTCA has given "in-principle" approval for declaring it as tiger reserve.
Mudumalai, Tamil Nadu
Mudumalai was declared as a critical tiger habitat in December, 2007 without any scientific study or evidence. Numerous protests by the local communities from 2009 and on December 30 that year, more than one lakh people held a demonstration. Relocation attempts have been made but no family has actually moved. FRA has not been implemented to date. Tamil Nadu says only 271 claims have been received from the entire Niligiri district and none has been decided yet (as of May last year, whereas relocation funds were allocated in 2009). No consent of gram sabha has been taken for relocation.
Melghat, Maharashtra
The declaration of the critical tiger habitat was done without the inclusion or knowledge of the local communities. They got to know of the changed status only when forest officials told them they would have to move out. Five villages are being relocated in the first phase, consent for which has been obtained on an individual basis and not from gram sabhas. The Korku tribe did not want to move out while other tribes and pastoralists took the offer.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/Rough-weather-in-four-reserves-on-Forest-Rights-Act-rollout/articleshow/7624593.cms
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