Govt tardiness may lead to Goa missing UNESCO bus again

Time is ticking away for Goa to achieve another global distinction of its stretch of the Sahyadri hills being included in the UNESCO list of world heritage sites. The state has just over a week left to present its case to UNESCO.

UNESCO had approved the listing of the Western Ghats as a natural heritage site for protection under certain conditions on July 2, 2012. Environmentalists in Goa were disappointed that the state government did not make a case for inscription of the biodiversity-rich state with its 750 sq km of integrated protected area network as a heritage site.

UNESCO had extended the deadline for the Union ministry of environment and forest (MoEF) to make a case for an inscription of Goa stretch of the Western Ghats till January 19, 2013.

"The NGOs have done their work and the proposal is ready and the government should release the file," Goa Foundation's Claude Alvares said.

After environmentalists raised an alarm over the non-inclusion of the stretch of Sahyadris in Goa, the forest department worked on a proposal to make good the omission.

"The forest department has already submitted the file to the government," a source said.

Forest minister Alina Saldanha said the matter will be discussed by the government shortly. "There is a meeting of the high-level working group to review Madhav Gadgil's Western Ghats ecology expert panel on January 14," Saldanha said.

Chief minister Manohar Parrikar, the forest minister and government officials will attend the meeting of the nine-member panel headed by Planning Commission member (science) K Kasturirangan.

Goa's inclusion is considered crucial for the protection of one of the hottest biodiversity hotspots in the world, spanning five other states-Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Gujarat. Goa and Gujarat overlooked the opportunity while the four other states cited 39 serial sites in the Western Ghats in the nomination dossier.

Though the hills narrow towards Goa, the Sahyadris in the state offer a solid and ideal north-south corridor for the 2,000-km range stretching through almost half of India. Goa's five wildlife sanctuaries and a national park provide contiguity to the protected areas of Bhimgad wildlife sanctuary and the project tiger reserves of Dandeli WLS and Anshi national park in Karnataka.

"This is an important transitional portion between northern and southern ghats and if this link is broken, the conservation of natural heritage will suffer," Alvares said.

The government showed little interest after the inscription process was initiated. Former chief wildlife warden and additional principal chief conservator of forests Shashi Kumar did not attend two meetings of the Western Ghats natural heritage management committee to take up matters pertaining to the nomination dossier.

The built heritage of Old Goa comprising church complexes and ruins of other monuments has been already included as a world heritage site by UNESCO.

An edited version of this article can be read from the link below:

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-01-12/goa/36295312_1_serial-sites-heritage-site-unesco-list

Forest dept seeks funds from State for Project Tiger

Rehabilitation programmes stalled owing to severe financial crunch

Left high and dry by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), the State Forest department has been forced to approach the State government in the hopes of getting funds for rehabilitation projects under Project Tiger in Karnataka.

The department, the nodal agency responsible for Project Tiger, claims it is in the throes of a financial crisis as it has suffered a poor flow of funds for rehabilitation projects aimed at reducing human presence in tiger habitats.

Now, the department is placing a proposal for the release of Rs 300 crore in the 2013-14 State budget. Officials from the department, however, are sceptical about the proposal’s acceptance, as the scheme is Centrally sponsored. Furthermore, the Karnataka government has already declined to respond to a similar request made in the last financial year. 

Funds needed

The department has sought Rs 92.40 crore for Nagarhole from the State government. It also hopes to get Rs 3.60 crore for Anshi-Dandeli, Rs 4.01 crore for Bhadra, and Rs 200 crore for the Kudremukh National Park. “During the last few years, despite our continued efforts, we have been able to secure funds only for Nagarhole. As a result, we are approaching the Karnataka government. The lack of funds, coupled with continued efforts by NGOs who are persuading forest dwellers not to relocate, has impeded effective rehabilitation,” explained Dipak Sharma, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests.

Karnataka has five tiger reserves: at Bandipur, Bhadra, Nagarhole, Anshi-Dandeli and the Biligiri Ranganatha Temple area — together containing over 285 tigers. An additional 40 to 50 tigers have been identified as residing in other forests, including at the Kudremukh National Park (KNP).

Incidentally, Karnataka has rejected proposals calling for KNP to be declared a tiger reserve despite the Centre’s approval to do so.

Project Tiger aims at ending human interaction in tiger-populated areas and offers a rehabilitation package to help relocate families found in “core” and “buffer” areas. Families in “core” areas are offered Rs 10 lakh as compensation. 

A total of 8,374 families have been identified in tiger reserves and national parks, of which 856 families have been relocated till date. The Forest department is yet to begin a survey at the Biligiri Ranganatha Temple, which was declared a tiger reserve in 2011.

Successful beginning

The most successful rehabilitation project has been at Bandipur, which in 1973, became the first forest area to be declared a tiger reserve. A total of 154 families resided in the area — all of whom were rehabilitated and relocated to Sollepur in HD Kote over a period of time.

In Nagarhole, the department has spent around Rs 19 crore — of the total Rs 29 crore released by the NTCA — and has relocated 496 families to Shettihalli Lakkapatna in Hunsur. As many as 133 families have agreed to move, and the department is in the process of completing new homes at the rehabilitation site.

In Bhadra, the department has shifted 418 families to MC Halli and Kelagur near Chikmagalur by spending Rs 17.65 crore till date. At Anshi-Dandeli, of the 4,114 families, only 36 have come forward to accept the package. At Kudremukh National Park, of the 1,382 families which lived there, the department spent Rs 5.59 crore to shift 61 families. Recently, an additional 531 families have volunteered to be relocated.

An edited version of this article can be read from the link below:
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/303432/forest-dept-seeks-funds-state.html

15 tigers died in State during 2012 NTCA report

‘Criminal tribes’ target big cats in protected reserves

The year bygone has proved to be unsafe for wildlife in Karnataka. As many as 15 tigers died in the State’s protected forests in 2012, according to a report of the National Tiger Conservation Authority.

The tiger census conducted in 2010 disclosed that Karnataka had 300 tigers. Of the 41 tiger reserves in India, five are in Karnataka - Bandipur, Nagarahole, Bhadra, Anashi-Dandeli and Biligiri Ranganathaswamy protected tiger forest.

According to the report uploaded on its website, NTCA has said that out of the 15 tigers which died in 2012 in Karnataka, six were poached, while the rest died a natural death. 

The State has the distinction of having highest number of tigers in the country. 

Apparently, ‘criminal tribes’ from North India are targetting tigers in the protected reserves. Poachers from Bawaria tribe were arrested in Biligiri Ranganathaswamy forests July last year. They had set up jaw-traps in forests for poaching tigers.

Across the country

The report says that 88 tigers died across the country in 2012 and a majority of them have fallen prey to poachers in Karnataka and Maharashtra. 

The casuality was comparatively less in 2011 - when 56 tigers died, six of them in Karnataka, three of which were poached.

Wildlife Biologist Sanjay Gubbi said reserved forests adjacent to protected tiger reserves should be made part of the tiger reserves. 

He said declaring Male Mahadeshwara Hills, Hanur, Yedeyarahalli and Ramapura reserved forests too should be declared wildlife reserve to check poaching.

An edited version of this article can be read from the link below:
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/302598/15-tigers-died-state-during.html