I have been getting many mails from readers asking questions about filming or how to become my assistant. In the first part of the series (http://www.indiawilds.com/diary/the-three-idiots-effect/), I had documented the irrational wishes of some of those newbies…

In this article I am providing some direct answers to the queries. If you have any questions, you can post your comments here.

Question of PK via Facebook:

Hello brother… I just watched the trailer of your wildlife doc on youtube… That was awesome… I always have an aim to make some wildlife doc like you did…. But due to i don’t have sophisticated equipment i could not… Still i have hope that one day i will fulfill my aim… Regarding this i want to ask you something… Firstly how you gave the background music??? Did you compose it personally??? And 2ndly when we will able to see the full movie you made??? And 3rdly is that possible to make a wildlife channel like discovery, natgeo in India… The 1st Indian wildlife channel… with the collaboration of all the experienced wildlife film maker like you in which i can also take part in some extent… Personally i want to know the nature very closely so that i want to be a part of it… Which is alone can’t be done…. so can we all together do such kind of new start??? And in last, I have a d3100 and 18 55 lens.. Want to go for a telephoto lens… I am selected tamron 70 300, nikor 55 300…due to my budget is low… Will you help me to choose the correct one??? Hope replay from you soon…

My Answer:

Sophisticated equipment:

I agree that I used lot of high end sound equipment, high end tripod and fluid head etc. However, the camera is a DLSR, though it is Canon’s professional 1 series camera. I used the Canon EOS 1D Mark IV and I shot it in Full HD ie. 1080p at 24 fps.

One can use a lower end Canon DSLR as well like a 600D, or 60D or 7D. However, at the moment Nikon is far behind in terms of its video capabilities. The new D800 is fine but with lot of moire etc. Nevertheless, you can use your Nikon if you know its limitations. In life, we will always have some limitation or the other. It is important to circumvent the limitation and achieve your goal.

For example: When I used the Canon EOS 1D Mark IV, it doesn’t have auto focusing. So I had to do the focusing manually. One may say what is wrong in that, as all the professional cinema guys focus manually. The answer is those professionals don’t depend on a small LCD screen at the back of the camera to focus. SLRs and then DSLRs were primarily meant for shooting still photography. So you see through the viewfinder. However, video came later and for shooting video, you need to see through the LCD at the back of the camera. That necessitates camera to be placed or held in front of you depending upon your eyesight. When you try holding a camera at a distance from you to look through the viewfinder, then you will quickly realise that handholding becomes out of question. In sharp contrast, a video camera has been designed for a shoulder mount or to be held by hand with the LCD screen swiveling at any angle you want.

So what did I do? I bought an external viewfinder called LCDVF which can be attached to the back of your camera and then you can focus. The details are here:  http://www.indiawilds.com/diary/lcdvf-viewfinder-for-filming/

Tripod:

I first used my still tripod Gitzo GT3530LS carbon fibre tripod and a Wimberly V2 head. Unfortunately, when you attach your Canon 1D Mark IV and the heavy EF 400mm f2.8 L IS lens weight 5.3kgs on it, you will quickly realise that though this is a great combination for still photography, it is not good enough for filming.

If you are shooting in a windy situation and filming, then there would be jitters in your video. In still photography, you can discard one shot, however, when filming the entire sequence gets ruined. With the Full HD footage that you get from most of the DSLRs, it is important that you have a stable support. Also while panning your shot, you need a good fluid head. Else, your panning will have be horrible to say the least.

Sabyasachi using OConnor 1030 HDS Fluid head, Sachtler CF 100 ENG HD2 CF tripod

For example, the fluid head that I use – Oconnor 1030 HDs which is the beginning of the range used by Hollywood guys – costs 7000 USD (http://www.indiawilds.com/diary/oconnor-1030-hds-fluid-head/ ). The tripod costs around 3000 USD (http://www.indiawilds.com/diary/sachtler-cf-100-eng-hd-2-cf-tripod/). A relatively cheap Miller DS-20 Fluid costing about 1100 USD will also work for people, if you don’t have stringent requirements. Ofcourse, you can use the Manfrotto 519 costing around 800 US dollars.

Add to this the price of a tripod.

If you thought, wildlife photography was costly, then wildlife filming is like breaking the bank.

If you want to compete with the best in the world, then obviously you will need to invest in high end equipment.

Sound:
I have invested in equipment to do sound recording. I should warn you that this is entirely a different field altogether and the investments to get good equipment is huge. I have recorded the sound myself.

External Microphones:
The built-in mic of your DSLR is not good enough.
There is no way out but to buy external microphones. They come in all shapes and sizes depending upon your quality requirements and budget. It can vary from couple of hundred dollars (like the a Rode microphone) to a few thousand US dollars like the Schoeps SuperCMIT at 4750 USD. I have settled on a Sennheiser MKH 416. I have bought the all time favourite Sennheiser MKH 416 microphone (http://www.indiawilds.com/diary/sennheiser-mkh-416-microphone-review/). In case you want to record interviews, then you may need to pick up a Lavaliere microphone.

Sabyasachi with Sennheiser microphone, miser, 400mm f2.8 L IS USM lens on Gitzo tripod

Mixer:
You would need an amplifier/mixer to connect your microphone and then the output can be recorded in a sound recorder or plugged straight into the camera. Plan at least about 400 odd USD for that.

Sound recorder:
The cheapest sound recorder with professional XLR inputs can cost you about 300 USD (Tascam DR100). If you want a much better quality like the ones used by Hollywood fellows, then you have to buy Sound Devices or a similar brand costing several thousand dollars. I use the Sound Devices 702 recorder (http://www.indiawilds.com/diary/sound-devices-702t-sound-recorder-review/). You can use lower end recorders as well like the Tascam DR 100 (which I have as well).

Head phones:
It is important to monitor the sound that is being recorded. So you need closed microphones. A popular Sennheiser one can cost you about 90 USD and upwards. However, it will last for a decade or so. Remember, that it is not advisable to use a noise cancelling microphone, as you certainly want to hear any noise that is creeping into your recordings.

Music:
I didn’t compose music. I got it scored by a music composer and it costs money. However, you can see the output. People just pick up some bits of music from the net or buy a few bits and then use it in their videos. Obviously, the output is not likely to match music that is specifically scored for your video.

Full Movie:
I have released the DVD. One can buy it by paying a token amount of Rs. 300/-. For further details please check here: http://www.indiawilds.com/diary/a-call-in-the-rainforest-dvd/

Wildlife Channel for India:
Yes it is possible. However, it is not easy to procure content and compete with the likes of Discovery, National Geographic and Animal Planet. I hope some of the existing players are looking at this genre.

The only wildlife programming I remember used to be done by NDTV and aired on Sundays. I guess that is also stopped. Doordarshan used to allow some programming. I am not sure what is the scene these days. However, doordarshan used to have some stringent conditions for Indian programs. Whereas they used to allow a foreign program where the presenter is himself seen in the video, they were not allowing Indian presenter to be seen in the video. Not sure if the situation has changed. Anyway, I am not photogenic and don’t like to come infront of the camera, though I have narrated for my film.

Sabyasachi Patra

I am passionate about wildlife conservation. I am striving to make my films and photographs full of life and emotion and write articles to educate and evangelise the need for conserving the last tracts of vanishing wilderness sand wildlife in our country. I pray to the almighty that my wildlife films, photographs and writings force people to pause, look, ponder and ultimately take action. To make my ends meet, I work as Executive Director at MAIT (Manufacturers’ Association for Information Technology)

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You have seen the film “Three Idiots”. Who hasn’t? Such a wonderful film and it talks about a college student with a passion for photography getting selected as an assistant to a successful wildlife photographer.

You then saw a clip of a film titled “A CALL IN THE RAINFOREST”. You saw a black monkey like creature calling and you are told that it is a Lion-tailed Macaque. You are told that the film is completely shot with a Canon 1D Mark IV. You jump out of your bed. You get some visions of you pushing the button of your Canon 60D/Nikon D3100 and making that movie and success in film festivals… [democratisation of dreams….]

You then start chasing that wildlife filmmaker, so much that he wonders what has hit him…..

Here is one example. The prefix NB is used for the newbie who wants to become an assistant.

NB: I am new in this field. I want some guide. I need friends in this area. U have G8 instruments.

Sabyasachi Patra: This is a journey. The equipment is costly. You can’t buy things in one day.

NB: Yes i know

Sabyasachi Patra: To give you an idea, just my tripod costs 2850 US dollars and the fluid head that sits on top of the tripod is 7000 us dollars. This is costly. Take it step by step. Have you registered in IndiaWilds forums?

NB: No.

Sabyasachi Patra: Register at www.indiawilds.com/forums/register.php

Do that using your Full Name as user id. Membership is free. I guide photographers there and it will help you learn.

NB: I have a dslr camera and I shoot still. I want to be your assistant.

Sabyasachi Patra: Becoming my assistant is not the only way to learn. You join IndiaWilds forums and you will learn sufficiently there. People have learnt photography and won awards within a year of joining IndiaWilds. I have also kept it free.

Only when someone needs more advanced tips, I will organise a paid field trip for imparting specialised instructions. For many enthusiasts, I have spent many hours teaching for free. You can join IndiaWilds forums for free and learn.

NB: Ohh…then i cant. If i got chance to assist u it will be helpful for me…

Sabyasachi Patra: I give tips for free of cost in the forum and lot of people benefit from that.

NB: I need some one whoom i can assist. And by whom i can learn…

Sabyasachi Patra: First you join IndiaWilds Forums which is free of cost and learn there. I critique images of people and guide them there. Others also learn reading those comments. So my time is spent productively in imparting instructions to many people. And that too free of cost. In the forum you would be able to learn not only about Photography but also about various Conservation issues in India. Also understanding animal behavior (Natural History) is a big aspect when you are doing wildlife photography or filming. Learning and understanding these things is very important before you embark on a career in Wildlife Photography or Filming.

NB: U know abt satayajit roy….the flim director…who got ascar and knowing for his composition. You know how much great personality he had?

Sabyasachi Patra: He was one in a million.

NB: And he guided 2-3 students and they are now famous. Satyajit roy teach them free…sponcer them, give them his own instruments for use…And thats why his works are beyond generations.

But I want that you can copy his thinking. See this field not from the angle of money….but love. U gain the best thing.

Helping some one is the gain. Helping some one in which u r expert is the best thing in the world which can’t buy from money

Think about that.

Sabyasachi Patra: Thank you for your lecture. All these years I have been spending money from my pocket in running the IndiaWilds Forums so that youngsters can learn. Twenty years back when I was trying to learn photography, there was no one to teach me. So I learnt myself and decided that I will create a forum where people can learn from me as well as from their peers and I created IndiaWilds forums.

Why will someone take you as an assistant? Taking a person as assistant means added cost. Unless and until someone sees value in taking you as an assistant, they will not take you. My suggestion is that first you join IndiaWilds forums where I help people learn free of cost. Only after learning there, you will get an idea whether you have the talent and whether you really want to get into this field seriously. That will decide the future course of action.

——— [End of Conversation] ———————

NB2: Sir I am calling from Mumbai.

Sabyasachi Patra: Ok. Tell me how can I help you.

NB2: Sir, I got a link to your wonderful site. You click very nice images. I want to learn wildlife photography.

Sabyasachi Patra: I am happy that you like my images. If you have seen my site, then you would have seen the forums. You can join the indiawilds forums. Membership is free. You can learn wildlife photography there as well as learn Natural history aspects and voice your opinion to protect our forests and wildlife.

NB2: Sir is it really free. Can I really learn?

Sabyasachi Patra: Yes. It is free. Myself and other senior members can guide you there.

NB2: OK sir. I will register.

——— [End of Conversation] ———————

A wild tigress carefully stalking its prey, placing its hind paw at exactly the same spot where the fore paw was placed

NB2: Hello sir, I am calling from Mumbai.

Sabyasachi Patra: Yes. Tell me what can I do for you.

NB2: Sir. I had called you last time for photography. You had told me that you will teach me wildlife photography.

Sabyasachi Patra: Oh Yes. I remember. You had called me last time and I had directed you to join IndiaWilds forums.

NB2: Sir I know you had told me. But Sir, I really want to learn wildlife photography. Mujhe sikhaoge na please?

Sabyasachi Patra: Listen I had told you that first you join the forums and then you will learn and you will know whether you really want to buy expensive equipment.

NB2: Sir please. I want to learn. Mujhe apka assistant banado na please!

Sabyasachi Patra: Hey listen! I understand you want to assist me. I only take assistants when I am doing a project. My shooting times are typically short. At the moment, I go for filming with a max one or two other people and others helping mostly on voluntary basis or at times paid for specific requirements. I am juggling my projects with my job. You can learn by doing many activities like research on subject, location, learn about photography and natural history in the forums and then when there is requirement we will take use your services.

NB2: No Sir. Mujhe assistant banado na please. It is my dream…..

——— [End of Conversation] ———————

A wild tiger (Panthera tigris tigris) drinks water in a summer morning in Bandhavgarh National Park. It was subsequently disturbed by tourists and went away after drinking for only 5 minutes. On later occasions I have seen this tigress drink for fifteen minutes.

Another day, Another place…..

Sabyasachi Patra: Good afternoon!

NB3: Sir I am a student currently learning film in XXXX Film School, Chennai.

Sabyasachi Patra: Good to know that you are a filming student. Tell me what you want.

NB3: Sir. My uncle is a cinematographer in Kollywood.

Sabyasachi Patra: Where?

NB3: Kollywood Sir. Chennai.

Sabyasachi Patra: Great to know that your uncle is a cinematographer. You are fortunate.

NB3: But Sir! I only want to be wildlife photographer Sir!

Sabyasachi Patra: Why? What happened? Why only wildlife photography?

NB3: No Sir! I like wildlife photography Sir! I want to be your assistant Sir! Now I don’t have a camera Sir! But I will buy a 7D Sir! Please take me as your assistant Sir!

Sabyasachi Patra: Listen. You are already studying cinematography in a film school. So why do you want to learn from me. You will be having access to equipment, so you can learn from your film school.

NB3: No Sir! That course will be over sir. I want to be your assistant Sir! I only need 15 thousand rupees Sir! And food and other costs Sir!

Sabyasachi Patra: See. I am not taking any assistants. I feel you should take the help of your teachers in the film school to get an internship somewhere. If you are really passionate about wildlife, then you can join indiawilds forums. Over a period of time you will realize whether you are passionate about wildlife and environment. Only if you are passionate, then you can sustain yourself in wildlife photography and filming. Once I see that you are really interested, and when time is ripe you can certainly be a part.

NB3: OK Sir.

——— [End of Conversation] ———————

From the above conversations, few things were clear. First is that People don’t want to take the long road. They want to achieve it in one day. The person doesn’t want to take the long road in terms of uploading his images for critiquing in the IndiaWilds forums (www.indiawilds.com/forums ) and learn free of cost. Two, the person wants an easy path to glory by assisting me. And the third fact is the person is just thinking and talking about himself and his needs. A salesman will always teach you that, you have to excite the other person to buy your product or service. So my message to all such youngsters is please don’t approach a person by saying that you want to become a wildlife photographer or how much you love watching those Animal Planet or National Geographic channels.

If I don’t know the capability of a person and don’t know whether he can help me during my filming trips, then obviously it is difficult to take someone. And on top of that, if you take an assistant there is an added cost. So why will someone take a newbie?

People also think that Wildlife Photography and Filming is the “in thing”. It is glamorous and hence they want to do it.

Wildlife filmmaking and photography is a passion. It is a reason for existence for many. To the outside world it appears glamorous. However, the people who have been successful have persevered for years. They have put in blood, sweat and tears. They have put in enormous sacrifices. Unfortunately, today’s generation looks to get everything on a platter.

If you are an artist then you should be ready to make a sacrifice. What kind of sacrifice can you do for photography? I know of a person who calls me every 30-40 days when he remembers about wildlife photography and on other times he is preoccupied in watching movies, Facebook and other such preoccupations. Wildlife photography is a fad for many.

To all such people, my suggestion is think about what you love. Follow your passion. You can’t achieve success in a day; you have to work for a lifetime.

Sabyasachi Patra

I am passionate about wildlife conservation. I am striving to make my films and photographs full of life and emotion and write articles to educate and evangelise the need for conserving the last tracts of vanishing wilderness sand wildlife in our country. I pray to the almighty that my wildlife films, photographs and writings force people to pause, look, ponder and ultimately take action. To make my ends meet, I work as Executive Director at MAIT (Manufacturers’ Association for Information Technology)

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Highway that goes through forest bisects the habitat and pose severe problem for wildlife that crosses the road. Very often wild animals get killed by speeding vehicles. So a study was undertaken to look at the problem posed by state highways that go thorough Anamalai Tiger Reserve to suggest mitigation measures to reduce the number of road kills along these roads. The roads selected for the study were road stretch between 9 / 6 – Chinnar road and Aliyar – Attakatti check posts. The main objectives of this study were:

1. to look at the road kills along 9 / 6 and Chinnar check post road and along Aliyar and Attakatti Check post road
2. to look at the vehicle traffic during week days and week ends
3. to look at the vehicle speed in day and night time as well in steep roads and in road stretch that goes through flat terrain
4. and to suggest mitigation measures to reduce road kills

Methods

Two major highways that goes through Anamalai Tiger Reserve namely 9 / 6 Check post -   Chinnar and Aliyar – Attakatti check post were selected to look at road kills of wild animals. The selected roads were walked during morning and all the animals that were found dead were noted with Global Positioning System (GPS) locations. Vehicles using theses roads during week days and week ends and during day and night time were recorded. Vehicles using these roads would be classified into heavy vehicle such as truck and bus and medium sizzled vehicle like Mazda’s and mini trucks, light motor vehicles such as car and jeeps and autos and two wheelers. Vehicle speed were recorded with the help of speed guns. Vehicle speed were recorded during day and night time and also in different terrains such as steep slopes and flat terrains.

Results

This work was started from December 2010 and it continued until April 2011. Both roads were walked twice during the month of December 2010 and the length of the roads walked were 20.2 in Aliyar – Attakatti road and 24 kilometers 9 / 6 Check post and Chinnar Check post road. 20 (twenty) kills were found along 9 / 6 check post and Chinnar road and 75 (seventy five) kills were found along the Aliyar – Attakatti Check post road. The kills includes amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. Invertebrates such as insects and crabs were also found along both roads. Several shield tail snakes were found dead during the first trip just after rains and it less number of shield tails were found dead during the second trip. Sheild tail snakes were found dead only in Aliyar – Attakatti check post road. The study roads were digitized using MapInfo Professional Version 10. The roads were digitized from 1: 50, 000 scale Survey of India Toposheets. Fifty meter contours were generated using Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission data (SRTM). Road kill locations were superimposed on the roads to look at whether there is any particular stretch has got more hills and also look at the number of kill along steep roads and roads running through flat terrain. More kills were found gentle undulating terrain and in road stretches in flat terrain. Twelve kill were noticed between Punganodai and 9 / 6 check post and fourteen kill were found between Aliyar and Attakatti check post road between contour canal junction and Aliyar check post. More number of kills were noticed between contour canal during first visit between contour canal junction and Attakatti check post this because of large number shield tails movement after rain in this stretch after rain.

Animal kills found in 9 / 6 and Chinnar Check post

Animal kills found in Aliyar and Attakatti check post

Proportion of different kills found along Aliyar – Attakatti Check posts

 Proportion of different kills found along 9 / 6 and Chinnar Check posts

Vehicle speed in flat terrain Aliyar – Attakatti Road and 9/6 Check post and Chinnar Road during the month of January 2011

Number of Vehicles using the study roads during week days in Aliyar Attakatti Rd

Number of Vehicles using the study roads during week days in Aliyar Attakatti Rd

R Arumugam

Biologist and Wildlife Consultant Anamalai Tiger Reserve Guest Lecturer TamilNadu Forest Academy, Coimbatore 149/13 Sumangalinagar Suleeshwaranpatti Po Pollachi 642 006 Comibatore District TamilNadu

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DVD Cover

This film is completely shot with a Canon EOS 1D Mark IV and documents the plight of the endangered Lion-tail Macaque in the Western Ghats, India.  The duration of the film is 18 and half minutes.

To Order the DVD please mail to the following id with your complete address and contact number-

administrator@indiawilds.com

Price – 300 Rs. only

To check the trailer of the movie check -

http://www.indiawilds.com/diary/inspiration-for-the-film-a-call-in-the-rainforest/

The documentary has been screened in the following film festivals -

Haida Gawii Film Festival, Canada on Feb 26th 2012 -

The complete schedule is here: http://www.haidagwaiifilmfestival.ca/2012%20schedule.pdf

Kirloskar Vasundhara Film Festival, Pune on Feb 25th 2012 -

The complete schedule is here: Kirloskar Vasundhara International Film Festival (KVIFF)

You can find it on Page 41 and page 44.

It was also screened at Wild India Film Festival, Pune on 13th Jan 2012.

To know more about the film check -

http://www.indiawilds.com/diary/inspiration-for-the-film-a-call-in-the-rainforest/

Check the Review of the film in ‘The Hindu’ -

http://www.thehindu.com/arts/cinema/article2531988.ece

Sabyasachi Patra

I am passionate about wildlife conservation. I am striving to make my films and photographs full of life and emotion and write articles to educate and evangelise the need for conserving the last tracts of vanishing wilderness sand wildlife in our country. I pray to the almighty that my wildlife films, photographs and writings force people to pause, look, ponder and ultimately take action. To make my ends meet, I work as Executive Director at MAIT (Manufacturers’ Association for Information Technology)

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Childhood influence:
Wildlife Photography & filmmaking is a lifelong journey. When I look back, I realise that the seeds were sown early. As a kid, when one is at an impressionable age, it is often natural to get influenced by his/her parents and immediate surroundings. More so, when your father is a Professor of Zoology and often conducting post graduate Life Science and Ecology classes at our home. I used to listen to those descriptions of the complex relationships between various organisms – large and small – forgetting much of what was spoken but retaining the essence of it.

When I was eight years old, he had bought me books of Jim Corbett and Kenneth Anderson. The lucid writing style and the rich and vivid descriptions remained etched in my mind. After reading these books, and then listening to the classes, the quest to learn more about ecology and animal behaviour had firmly taken roots. My father had very good knowledge of photography and he used to bring photography books home. I remember trying to draw images of cameras looking at those colourful pages. I had never realised that those two will combine to lay a solid foundation for wildlife photography, filming and conservation which has become an all-consuming passion.

Bio-diversity and Need for Photo documentation:
Today, India is at a stage where there is huge clamour to create infrastructure. Our development model is flawed, and hence there is unequal development with cities growing bigger and bigger with migration from smaller towns and rural areas. With economic growth, more industries, dams, airports, canals etc are being planned. Unfortunately, the planners view our jungles as just source of timber or count the number of trees that would be hacked. Ecology is much more complex. There is a complex web of relationships binding various species with each other. Most of our fresh water resources originate from our forests. Many a civilisation has perished due to want of water. So protecting those bio-diversity rich areas would help in preserving our future economic security as well.

There is an acute lack of documentation of our many bio-diversity rich places and hence most of the times when a large infrastructure project is planned, these areas are easily sacrificed. These ecologically fragile areas are devastated even before we know that they exist, as documentation is non-existent. Photography can play a major role in documentation and increasing our understanding of the flora and fauna in these places. It would be impossible for one person to travel the entire length and breadth of this huge country and do a good job in documenting the rich bio-diversity. So India needs wildlife photographers who can document the various forests, sanctuaries, wetlands and other protected areas of this country. The challenge is to train the wildlife photographers so that they can see and document this amazing bio-diversity. Else, their focus will remain on the few mega fauna like tiger, lion, leopard, elephant, gaur, rhino etc.

Future of our Protected Areas:
India now has a billion plus population and increasing its population every other second. This huge population is increasing the pressures on the available land. Need and greed is fuelling the increased concretization and reduction of green areas. The wilderness areas are increasingly being fragmented and bound by human settlements. This has led to isolation of our wilderness areas. Migration of our fauna from one forest to the other is becoming impossible. This is impacting the genetic diversity and as a result, their resistance to diseases goes down. The survival of many species is at stake and in many areas one will only find the remaining few of the species being radio-collared for scientific studies or just for tracking. One has to be satisfied at the sight of lions, tigers and elephants wearing radio collars. And with the small size of our protected areas, the feeling of being in a zoo is complete.

Digital Photography and Ethics:

The rapid increase in digital technology is increasingly resulting in cameras becoming better and better. Today, one can just shoot a video and select one still frame out of the video footage from high end cameras. One can also place cameras in camera traps and later use those photographs. With increased technology, there is also the question of ethics of wildlife photographers. The younger generation of photographers are finding it difficult not to take short cuts. One can select the animal from one image and paste it with a pleasing background photographed separately and fake it as originally photographed in the field. There have been instances of even reputed photographers taking the shortcuts. So the old adage that a “Photograph never lies” is challenged severely. To verify such claims one needs to check the RAW image from the camera. Since the viewers of photographs in a magazine or newspaper won’t have the luxury to verify the authenticity of the images, the wildlife photographers will be looked at with suspicion.

This will have a major impact on use of photographs as documentary evidence of the bio-diversity of an area. So people who want to setup large projects in ecologically fragile areas will argue that the photographs are not real. So that will increase the challenge for the few of us who are engaged in documenting the wilderness areas. We will then have to take added pains of showing the RAW files, geo tagging etc.

Conservation Movement in India:

In India, there have been a few brilliant individuals who have raised their voice for conservation. However, it has never attained a mass movement, except for a few instances like the Chipko movement when villagers hugged the trees to prevent logging of those trees. The few champions of Conservation efforts in India are branded as elitist by opponents. In India, we don’t have a conservation movement. Unless we are able to raise awareness about the conservation issues and educate people about the perils of the present flawed model of economic growth, and the resulting challenges of climate change, it would be difficult to enlist the support of the masses. It is very important to enlighten the individuals and harness the power of “WE” by creating a cohesive network of like-minded citizens for conserving the fast vanishing wilderness and wildlife in this country. It is with this express purpose, I had founded the IndiaWilds so that concerned individuals can join at www.indiawilds.com/forums raise their voice and become change agents themselves.

Why Save Wild Tigers?

As a kid, I remember starring at a photo of a tiger in a bookstore. Many of us have been mesmerised by the tiger. From my childhood days, I have read a lot of books and research papers written about tigers in India and abroad and have spent many hours watching tigers in the wild in safaris or have also spent many hours alone waiting for a tiger to make its appearance near waterholes and other places. The more I learn about the tiger, the more I feel I am in awe about its intelligence, its beauty and the need to conserve God’s most magnificent creation. The Tiger is the Apex predator, perched on top of a complex chain of ecological relationships including animals, birds and plants. To save the tiger we also need to save its habitat. So saving the tiger will help in preserving the entire ecosystem.

Message to Students:
I feel it is important to find out what you are passionate about and then continue working on it. If you are passionate about your subject, then you will know more about it and it will show up in your work. It will help in persevering even when there are challenges. Not everybody can become a professional wildlife photographer or filmmaker or a conservationist and devote all the time. However, one can take up one cause as a Life Project and then continue working on it. I am sure one day you will achieve success.

If you are a budding wildlife photographer, then it is better that you first learn more about your subject. Unless one knows animal behaviour, it becomes difficult to predict the movement of the subject and get great images. So try reading books, journals, articles in the internet etc.

You all should try writing either in English or in your mother tongue. There is a severe shortage of good writing in various Indian languages. Keep on sharing your thoughts as you continue learning. There would be many people who will find your writings interesting and will learn from you.

Wildlife photography is also all about perseverance. One can’t just take one safari in the jungle and expect to see a tiger and create a world famous image. You need to keep on taking one step at a time and build up your work. It takes years of effort, along with your personal vision to show your subject in its own unique way.

And last but not least, please don’t forget to raise your voice to protect the remaining wilderness areas and wildlife in this country. After all millions of Indians are now starring at the specter of climate change, and our economic security and protection of our bio-diversity are interlinked.

Sabyasachi Patra

I am passionate about wildlife conservation. I am striving to make my films and photographs full of life and emotion and write articles to educate and evangelise the need for conserving the last tracts of vanishing wilderness sand wildlife in our country. I pray to the almighty that my wildlife films, photographs and writings force people to pause, look, ponder and ultimately take action. To make my ends meet, I work as Executive Director at MAIT (Manufacturers’ Association for Information Technology)

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IndiaWilds Newsletter Vol. 3 Issue XII

This issue of IndiaWilds Newsletter tries to take a deep dive into our culture to find solutions for today’s environmental problems.

Conservation: Learnings from Mahabharata

Fear:

Several incidents and examples that I have faced or read have remained in my memory as I have not been able to get an answer.

During my childhood days, while wandering alone in the nearby hillock, I have always been fearful whether I will stumble upon some unknown animal or snake. I have no idea if it was a result of reading Jim Corbett’s experiences in his much acclaimed book “Jungle Lore” where as a child he had accidentally stepped upon a sleeping python and had immediately discharged his muzzle loading gun into it and ran away as fast as he could.  In later years, I had successfully overpowered this fear and used to sit alone in waterholes in the night waiting for animals come to drink water.

However, I often wonder why we get tensed when faced with an unknown situation and tend to kill/subjugate the other. This thought had again come to my mind when I was reading Dr. George Schaller’s experiences in the high Himalayas, especially in his book “Stones of Silence”. He had said that hardly anyone had visited Changthang and other pristine wilderness areas and had encountered animals that didn’t have any fear of humans.

Two weeks back, on 9^th December, Dr. George Schaller showed us his slides and he said that these animals had no fear of man. They were never persecuted by man, so didn’t run away when he approached close. However, these days people rundown animals using their motor cycles, if they don’t have guns. As a result, the animals develop fear and now runaway when they see an approaching human being.

In a stark contrast to the lack of fear seen in animals by Dr. Schaller, a few weeks back, fifteen bullets from an automatic AK 47 were pumped into a lactating tigress near the Kohra range in Kaziranga: http://indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8119

This senseless and arrogant display of firepower in pumping fifteen bullets from the AK 47 left many people stunned.

We always talk of sensitising the armed forces and police etc that they should not over react. Whenever, the armed forces have been given clear-cut instructions they have followed it religiously and have even given up their lives in trying to uphold those instructions. For eg. the IPKF (Indian Peace Keeping Force) in Srilanka was instructed not to fire at civilians and the LTTE militants had even taken benefit of this by hiding within civilians and firing at the IPKF soldiers. So it becomes a bit difficult to understand why the armed forces and police officers become trigger happy when they see a wild animal. Why cannot they be instructed to maintain peace in front of stone-throwing mob without firing at a tiger or leopard?

The question that comes to my mind is with no one persecuting us – except for our own brethren – why are we so insecure? Why our first reaction is to kill or maim any animal that appears on our way?

Nabagunjara:

Nabagunjara Rupa by Traditional Oriya Artists

In my childhood days we used to read the Mahabharata and I was especially fond of the carvings in the stones in various temples in Orissa. There is the mention of Krishna taking the “Nabagunjara rupa” or the form of a monster Nabagunjara to test Arjuna. The monstrous Nabagunjara had head of a rooster, neck of a peacock, left fore feet of an elephant, one hind leg of tiger and the other hind leg of horse, waist of lion, hump of bull, tail in form of a snake, and the right fore leg in the form of a human hand carrying a lotus.  However, Arjuna could immediately know that Krishna is playing a trick on him as he could see the Padma ie lotus in the human hand. While reading Devdutt Pattanaik’s retelling of the Mahabharata titled “Jaya”, I was again reminded of this. He has reminded us that this Nabagunjara story highlights an important facet of Hindu philosophy “what cannot be understood by the human intellect need not be feared because it ultimately comes from God.”

In a country where the majority of people are Hindus and since in the past we have had massive mobilisation of people for building a temple, one ought to expect that the Hindu philosophy of not fearing the unknown is followed and we don’t resort to killing any animal, bird, insect, reptile that we find near our human habitations.

Is it a product of our complicated modern life where each of us is looking to “lord over” a lesser mortal to compensate for being subjugated by someone else in the social/official hierarchy?

Or is it because we have forgotten our culture?

Dr. George Schaller had said that Conservation is all about “Culture, Economics and Politics”. With our politicians displaying the propensity to self-destruct and the economic modeling failing to take into account our nature heritage, the Culture plank may be the only hope for Conservation.

Discharging Hot Water: Learnings from Mahabharata:

At a time, when our nuclear scientists and planners are least bothered about the impact of the hot water they want to discharge in the creeks of Jaitapur where the nuclear power plant is planned, it would be pertinent to quote an incident from Mahabharata. (For details about Jaitapur Nuclear Power Plant please check here: http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6313

After the Mahabharata war, where one billion and two hundred and twenty million people were killed, Gandhari had asked Krishna as to why her 100 sons had to die. Krishna had replied that it was written in Gandhari’s fate that she was destined to watch her 100 sons die.  Krishna told Gandhari that during her younger days, while cooking rice she had poured hot water on the ground thereby destroying hundred eggs of an insect. This had made the insect curse Gandhari to witness the death of her sons the way the insect had to see the death of her own.

Stunned by this discourse, Gandhari had said that it was the act of an innocent child. Krishna had explained that the laws of Karma are like that. Every action howsoever unintentional has an equal reaction, and one has to experience it in this life or the next. So in Andhra Pradesh women are advised never to pour hot water on the ground. The hot water must be cooled or mixed with cold water before pouring on the ground.

In a country with such a rich culture and with specific examples, do we need to look elsewhere to learn how we treat our mother earth?

In the Vishnu Purana, Dharitri or the Earth Goddess took the form of a cow to complain to Vishnu that she has been milked so greedily by the kings on earth that her udders have become sore. So Vishnu promised her that Parashurama, Ram and Krishna will spill blood to teach the greedy kings will a lesson so that she can drink their blood taking the form of a lioness. In another retelling of this story by Devadutt Patnaik in his book “Jaya”, Bhisma on his death bed had told Yudhishtira, the eldest Pandava, that King Vena was killed by the sages when Dharitri or Earth Goddess tired of the exploitation ran away inform of a cow and cried before the sages. Prithu, the son of the slain King Vena, begged before the Earth goddess that without her, his subjects will die. The earth goddess had replied that her udders have been squeezed till it is sore and her back broken by the ambition of the people. This led to Prithu creating a Code of conduct for all humans based on empathy rather than exploitation for the survival of all humanity. This code of conduct was given the name “Dharma” by Prithu. By this code, the earth became a cow while kings became the earth’s cowherds ensuring there was always enough milk for humans as well as the cow’s calves. Today the kings have made way for democratically elected Governments, military rulers, greedy corporations that are often bigger than some countries and other despots.

One should take cues from this example and learn that there is one earth where we live. It is enough for our needs but not our greeds. We need to stop this exploitation of mother earth. We need to rise above this petty fight as to who is responsible for this climate change and who ought to pay/sacrifice their material comforts and ensure that we lessen mother earth’s burden and cool down her anger.

Other Conservation Issues:

Hydropower rejected by FAC – approved by Ministry:

A project developed by GMR in Uttarakhand on Alakananda river was earlier rejected by the forest advisory committee. However, the ministry has decided to give the go ahead for this project which will now come up in the ecologically sensitive area.

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8098

Climate Change: Waiting on climate is escapism: Dr Pachauri

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8251

Climate Change: India in climate change agreement with neighbours:

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7996

More than 100 leopards killed in Uttarakhand in 2011

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8200

Alarm due to Crow deaths

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8213

India Does not need Nuclear energy

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7896

Wildlife Photography:

Images shared by our members between Nov. 10th 2011 and Dec 9th 2011 that depict interesting behavior, habitat, rare species or just plain beautiful.

Blue Sheep by Hem Chander

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8003

Wild Ass by Supreet Sahoo

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7995

White Bellied Sea-eagle Pair by Abhishek Jamalabad

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8161

Ruddy Turnstone by Roopak Gangadharan

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8026

Purple Sunbird by Kalpamoi Kakati

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8019

Jumping Spider by Joshi Bhavya

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7952

Announcement:

IndiaWilds has completed three years..

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8151

I look forward to your support and inputs in preserving the last tracts of wilderness and wildlife left in this beautiful country. For other interesting articles and photographs please check : http://www.indiawilds.com/forums

All the newsletters can be found online at http://www.indiawilds.com/diary/category/newsletter/

In case, anyone of you has forgotten his/her user id and password can email the admin at the following email id administrator@indiawilds.com Others may register at www.indiawilds.com/forums/register.php using your Full Name as user id.

Regards,
Sabyasachi Patra
www.indiawilds.com
Profile: http://www.indiawilds.com/profile.htm
Contact: http://www.indiawilds.com/contact%20us.htm
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/IndiaWilds/132629240481www.indiawilds.com
Diary: http://www.indiawilds.com/diary/
Equipment reviews: http://www.indiawilds.com/diary/category/equipment/
Forums: http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/index.php

Sabyasachi Patra

I am passionate about wildlife conservation. I am striving to make my films and photographs full of life and emotion and write articles to educate and evangelise the need for conserving the last tracts of vanishing wilderness sand wildlife in our country. I pray to the almighty that my wildlife films, photographs and writings force people to pause, look, ponder and ultimately take action. To make my ends meet, I work as Executive Director at MAIT (Manufacturers’ Association for Information Technology)

More Posts - Website

Follow Me:

This issue of IndiaWilds Newsletter examines the present sad state of wildlife tourism, its negative impact and way forward. You comments are appreciated at the end of the article.

Toilets on top of the world:

I was startled and astonished when I came across a news article about a demand for setting up of toilets in the Everest. Their reasoning was that though the mountaineers use portable toilets, the hordes of sherpas who are employed to carry luggage relieve themselves wherever they want and hence the need for toilets.

My initial reaction changed to sadness when the realization dawned by the extent of devastation we are wrecking on our pristine wilderness areas. The highest mountain peak in the world has seen many mountaineers attempting to scale it or “conquer” it as they say. Ever since this mountain was surveyed and given the tag of the highest mountain in the world, it has caught the imagination of mountaineers from around the world. There have been hundreds of deaths while attempting to scale this peak or while returning after a “successful” summit, often these are also due to people consciously attempting a difficult route. While it is difficult and beyond the scope of this article to talk about why this fascination to flirt with danger or glory – depending upon ones point of view – has continued for several decades, the point is that with the march of technology, there are better materials available for all your needs. Infact, it has become a thriving industry to help people climb the Everest. About 9 years back someone had asked me whether I am willing to spend 8000 dollars (eight thousand US dollars) to climb the Everest. I had politely declined the offer. I knew that I was physically not fit enough to undertake a successful climb of Everest and it is beneath my dignity to take that offer and be literally pulled up by sherpas. Nevertheless, that is what happens and wealthy tourists flock to the Everest so that they can brag about their latest “conquest”.

Wildlife tourism the “In Thing”:

And this is precisely what is happening these days. People with sufficient disposable wealth want to do something to get some bragging rights. And unfortunately, visiting wildlife destinations and wildlife photography is considered to be a “happening thing”, as I was told by a few youngsters whom I met in a National Park. The effect of this fad can be seen clearly in our well known national parks.

Tourists hound this radio collared tigress in Ranthambhore

Hordes of tourists screaming at their top of voice when they see a tiger; tourist jeeps jostling with each other for space hitting each other and hurling abuses; tourist vehicles and forest department elephants blocking the path of the tiger forcing to wait for hours away from water in a hot summer day so that tourists can get to see the tiger; tourist resorts coming up in ecologically fragile places; township developing to cater to the constant influx of tourists along with the attendant problems…. The list is endless.

Ranthambhore tiger stopped from hunting by photographers

Too much of tourism:

The fact is there are too many people visiting our few national parks, and it is beyond the carrying capacity of the place. Unfortunately, instead of restricting the number of tourists entering the forests, the draft eco-tourism guidelines by the MoEF talks about a formula which means tourist vehicles move around in a procession with a particular distance between them. Is this what our forests are meant to be? Degenerated into safari parks?

Touching and feeding a Nilgai in Tadoba

The late Kailash Sankhala, the first director and creator of the Project Tiger, had raised his voice against tourism several decades back.

Quoting Shri Kailash Sankhala from his book Tiger! The story of the Indian Tiger “I would suggest we concentrate on creating reserves where man’s interference – or what he arrogantly calls “scientific management” – is minimal. I do not like the term “national parks”, for it has been too loosely used. The initial meaning of “the untouched glory of God” has been so diluted that it has lost its significance. The term “park” conveys artificiality and the word “national” limits its universal appeal. The pleasure of a visit to a natural area has been destroyed by the influx of tourists with their transistors and trailers. I would condemn even the camera, except in case of professionals who employ their skill to interpret nature for the benefit of those millions who never get the chance to visit these gardens of Eden. The casual visitor is always in a hurry, and if he takes pictures he fails to see anything around him; his mind is preoccupied with shutter speeds, lens openings and focusing. The uncertainty of the results haunt him for hours after and instead of enjoying a relaxed holiday he is tensed. Many a wildlife photographer does not hesitate to disturb, sometimes even kill an animal, pluck a flower or destroy a tree to suit his picture. The visitor to a reserve should bring with him nothing but a receptive mind, and take away nothing but the understanding that he is only a small part of the whole complex pattern of nature’s ecology.”

An analysis of the impact of tourism infrastructure in Ranthambhore can be found here:
(http://www.indiawilds.com/diary/indiawilds-newsletter-vol-2-issue-v/).

Wildlife tourism is supposed to be non-consumptive and have minimal impact on wildlife and wilderness areas. However, the way wildlife tourism is run in this country, it is having a huge negative impact on the wilderness areas and wildlife. A tiger cub was mowed down by a tourist vehicle in Bandhavgarh on 21^st April 2009 (for details please check here:http://www.indiawilds.com/diary/indiawilds-newsletter-vol-1-issue-v/) and the case meandered towards a natural death. It is a different matter that the tour operator in this case, as well as most of the tour operators call themselves tiger experts, bringing into light the issue of lack of any control or license. A year after this, a tigress was mowed down by a forest department vehicle in the night, while doing an illegal night safari for some influential persons (For details check here: http://www.indiawilds.com/diary/bandhavgarh-tigress-runover-by-jeep/). Predictably this case too made no headway. Despite this the tour operators maintain that they are eco-friendly.

The tour operators associations say that there are a “few black sheep” in the tourism industry who bring disrepute, else more or less the tourist operators are ethical and are the champions of conservation.

Nothing can be farthest from the truth!

PIL to Ban Tourism in Core Areas:

Recently, a PIL being heard in the Supreme Court to ban tourism in the core areas of the tiger reserves has brought the conflict of tourism vis-a-vis conservation into the open. The NTCA (National Tiger Conservation Authority) has favoured the proposal to ban tourism in the core areas. Predictably this has irked the tourism community.

Interestingly, a part of the conservation community – NGOs, media, and a few so called conservationists – have sprung to the defence of the tourist operators. Tourism is a cash cow and many players have a stake in that which includes wildlife activists, forest officials, tribal rights activists, researchers and other NGOs. It is standard ethical practice which warrants people who have a stake in the tourism pie, should refrain from offering their views as conservationists in this issue.

This case in the Supreme Court can have far reaching consequences. The tribal rights activists say that since the conservationists have argued that there is a need for inviolate spaces – and there have been a few successful efforts to shift villages from the core areas – there should not be any human foot fall in these core areas. However, no human footfall is an impracticable idea and can’t be implemented as well.

It is a fact that we need inviolate areas for our wildlife. And it is also a fact that the tourism in its present avatar is highly counter-productive and needs to be streamlined and curtailed in certain areas. I firmly believe and agree with Kailash Sankhala that human interference should be restricted to the minimum and allow “professionals who employ their skill to interpret nature for the benefit of those millions who never get the chance to visit these gardens of Eden” and patrolling units for the protection of these forests. Road building activities inside the core area should be immediately discontinued.

Lack of Tourism Policy:

Unfortunately, the present state of affairs in the tourism arena is such that it is absolutely difficult to derive pleasure during our visits to the forests. It is sad that lack of tourism policy, is pushing our forests into such an abhorrent state. My analysis of the ecotourism practices in Botswana (http://www.indiawilds.com/diary/indiawilds-newsletter-vol-2-issue-iv/)was shared with the MoEF. A year later MoEF came out with its draft Eco-tourism guidelines which appeared to be hurried collated (my analysis of it appeared in the IndiaWilds Newsletter Vol. 3 Issue VI http://www.indiawilds.com/diary/indiawilds-newsletter-vol-3-issue-vi/). It is really unfortunately, that the men and women in power instead of taking a holistic view are playing the game of blind men and the elephant and interpreting this as per their convenience.

The way tourism is run in this country needs to be regulated. At a minimum the following points needs to be tackled immediately:

Ecotourism Operators:

• Due diligence should be carried out before allowing any groups or individuals to set up resorts in sensitive areas.
• Effort should be to minimize concrete or permanent structures. Absolutely no concrete inside the forests. Instead promote camping using tents.
• The individuals, groups, organizations entering into this field should show their commitment to recruit the right kind of resources, adopt best practices etc.
• The Government may help them in enriching their knowledge from time to time by creating a best practices compendium, organizing seminars etc.

Where:

• At present tourism operators are crowded around a few places. In the absence of any legislation, our tourism operators will only move to well established areas to pick up the low hanging fruit first. For example, when CC Africa (a group well known for its ecotourism practices in Africa) set up its operations in India along with Taj (India’s one of the top most ethical organization); they set up their operations in well known areas like Kanha, Bandhavgarh etc instead of venturing into little known places. In sharp contrast, Jungle Lodges, a unit of Govt. of Karnataka’s Tourism Department, popularized BR Hills as a wildlife destination after setting up their resort in a relatively unknown place like K Gudi.
• New areas should be identified, the carrying capacity measured and tourist operators invited to set up their services in a controlled manner. Tour operators in these less visited areas can provide camping experiences by taking people on treks.

How:

• EIA done by reputed professionals and open to public scrutiny. There should be annual Environment Impact Assessment of the resort.
• Local construction materials used. The design should be in sync with the landscape. The construction should be based on the local conditions like weather, fragile environment, water scarcity etc. Brick-and-mortar resorts should be avoided in environmentally sensitive areas.
• A cradle to grave approach should be used to monitor the entire lifecycle of all materials used in construction.
• The resort should have a knowledgeable ecologist/naturalist as part of the team.
• Though it is good to promote Traditional crafts and culture. It should not be made a practice to conduct tribal dance, sale of handicrafts and other items in the forest. Else, this brings in more people from outside to setup shops. A well known case is Tala village in Bandhavgarh which had around 6 original families and now it is a small town offering even massage joints.
• In case the land is already degraded, the tour operator should take action to restore it along with its original vegetation.
• The Government should create a list of plants and trees in each area and make it mandatory for the resorts to adhere to it. The ecotourism site should be landscaped with vegetation native to that area. Landscaping should not be meant as creating lawns.
• Air-conditioners go against the grain of Ecotourism. The use of local materials, natural ventilation and local trees shading the cottages would help in removing the requirement of air conditioners.
• Light pollution should be minimized by designing appropriate lighting.
• Energy conservation should be prioritized. Renewable energy, especially solar energy should be used in the ecotourism facilities. The Government should provide adequate subsidies. A monitoring mechanism should be set up. Solar panels should be used for both, heat water as well as generate electricity for select appliances such as fans, lights, and kitchen equipment, water heating etc. Occupancy sensors should be used to cut down on unnecessary electricity consumption.
• It is estimated that approximately 30% water use in resorts is used for toilet flushing. Low flush toilets should be used to cut down on the water requirements.
• All cleaners, polishes and pesticide must be biodegradable, noncorrosive, non toxic and phosphate-free.
• All buildings should be connected by raised walkways to prevent vegetation from being trampled. Ground cover and other plant and animal life continues to flourish underneath the raised walkways and tent-cabins, and the trees and vegetation whose lives we spared return the favor by protecting us and our guests from the hot tropical sun. A similar structure is present in the White Tiger Lodge in Bandhavgarh.

Our wilderness areas and wildlife cannot be subservient to anyone’s interests and should not suffer due to the negligence of forest department in implementing laws or due to the inability of the law makers to frame adequate laws. I hope the Supreme Court case acts as a trigger to much needed action. Some news articles and discussions can be found here: http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7895

Other Conservation Issues:

Windmill Projects and bird hits:

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7948

Navy’s Andaman & Nicobar missile test plan threatens Nicobar Megapode

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7899

Articles in IndiaWilds:

IndiaWilds invites articles written on various conservation,scientific and natural history issues. For further details you may mail at administrator@indiawilds.com

Wildlife Photography:

Images shared by our members between 10^thOct 2011 – 9^thNov 2011 that depict interesting behavior, habitat or are just plain beautiful.

A rare sighting: Red Fox by Dipankar Mazumdar

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7875

A rare sighting: Musk Deer by Kaling Dai

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7784

Blackbuck female by Jitendra Katre

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7800

Green bee-eaters in action by Atul Sinai

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7902

Coppersmith barbet by Dr. Kalpamoi Kakati

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7726

Common Crow Chrysalis by Abhishek Jamalabad

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7673

Lizard by Mohan Matang

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7737

Snail by Jitendra Katre

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7762

I look forward to your inputs and your support in preserving the last tracts of wilderness and wildlife left in this beautiful country. For other interesting articles and photographs please check: http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/

All the newsletters can be found online at: http://www.indiawilds.com/diary/category/newsletter/

In case, anyone of you has forgotten his/her user id and password can email the admin at the following email id administrator@indiawilds.comOthers may register at www.indiawilds.com/forums/register.php using your Full Name as user id.

Regards,
Sabyasachi Patra
www.indiawilds.com
Profile: http://www.indiawilds.com/profile.htm
Contact: http://www.indiawilds.com/contact%20us.htm
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/IndiaWilds/132629240481www.indiawilds.com

Diary: http://www.indiawilds.com/diary/

Equipment reviews: http://www.indiawilds.com/diary/category/equipment/

Forums: http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/index.php

Sabyasachi Patra

I am passionate about wildlife conservation. I am striving to make my films and photographs full of life and emotion and write articles to educate and evangelise the need for conserving the last tracts of vanishing wilderness sand wildlife in our country. I pray to the almighty that my wildlife films, photographs and writings force people to pause, look, ponder and ultimately take action. To make my ends meet, I work as Executive Director at MAIT (Manufacturers’ Association for Information Technology)

More Posts - Website

Follow Me:

This issue of IndiaWilds Newsletter Vol. 3 Issue I examines issues surrounding some of our often ignored but highly fragile Shola forests. You can post your comments below.

Save our Sholas:

When one views the rows of tea bushes immaculately manicured – yes the tea leaves are cut instead of being plucked in the tea gardens of South India – with a few tall trees planted in rows, one loves the symmetry and gets bowled over by the greenery. Tourists start flocking to have a vacation in these tea estates of Munnar, Valparai etc, which incidentally have a much cooler climate and perhaps soothes the frayed nerves of the tourists. They come back with picture postcards of their vacation in abundant greenery.

If you really think it is green in the true sense, wait a minute.

The tea estates came up when the British started clear felling the shola forests and establishing the tea estates. In those days, the estates were few. However, after the departure of the colonial masters, more and more people started colonizing these wilderness areas, replacing those with tea estates and exotic plantations.

Shola forests:

The Shola forests – which are broadly categorized as tropical montane forests – can be found in the western ghats at an altitude upwards of 1500 meters. The shola forests are generally found in patches in the depressions of mountains with grasslands bordering it.

Sholas and Mega fauna:

The shola forests and grasslands are home to an endemic species Nilgiri Tahr who are adept in escaping from predators by climbing the steep hill slopes. I found numerous scats and dungs of tiger, dhole, elephant and gaur apart from Nilgiri Tahr. In one place there was scat of tiger and dung of elephant and gaur forming a triangle of about 8-10 feet.

Sholas and Water:

This high altitude ecosystem of Sholas and grasslands helps in absorbing water and stopping the water runoff and the consequent erosion.

It is interesting to know that the term Shola was derived from the word “Cholai” in Tamil (small water body within a vegetation cover/ shaded and wet area). According to Swarupanandan the origin of the word Chola or Cholai can be traced to the word ‘Jal’ in Sanskrit, which means water. (Ref.Swarupanandan, et al., 1998)

Retention of Organic Carbon:

A study (Ref. V. Nandakumar et al) found that the shola forests show more organic carbon content in the soil than evergreen forests, grasslands and eucalyptus plantations.. The dense canopy created by the shola forests leads to less exposure to sunlight vis-à-vis grasslands or eucalyptus plantations. The unique microclimate within the Sholas with a low and steady temperature and high humidity reduces the evaporation and transpiration demands on the shola vegetation. This unique microclimate together with less soil erosion, leads to more addition of litter than its removal and hence results in net increase in organic carbon content. This role of Sholas in conserving more carbon compounds in the soil compared to dry grasslands and eucalyptus plantations has not been given much of importance till date.

The study also found that Shola forests has higher Cation Exchange Capacity and has higher organic matter, clay content, lower bulk density and volume expansion and has better protection for nutrient cations compared to grasslands and eucalyptus plantations due to the higher cation binding power.

Threats to Shola forests:

Cultivation:
The tea estates brought people to work as labourers. They in turn started cultivating vegetables which they were habituated to. Over a period of time, the tribals realised that beans, carrot, cabbage etc which were cultivated by the labourers gave much higher economic returns than the crops traditionally cultivated by the tribals. To make matters worse the tribals also learnt the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers. So it is not only the tea estates who use synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, but also the tribals, polluting the fresh water streams that originate from the area.

Lemon Grass Cultivation:

The crops like beans, cabbage etc require attention, so the tribals can’t cultivate it very large areas. However, they discovered that lemon grass cultivation doesn’t require much attention. The lemon grass oil which is extracted from the lemon grass is easier to transport after distillation. So most of the high hills in the Tamil Nadu and Kerala areas in the Annamalai and Chinar Wildlife Sanctuary looks green from a distance, however, on closer look one finds that it is cultivated with lemon grass, which none of the herbivores like nilgiri tahr, gaur, elephants etc eat. So the lemon grass has no positive contribution. Ofcourse, one can say that lemon grass cultivation leads to binding of the soil and water runoff is arrested. However, the shola forests and grasslands that were there before these lemon grass cultivation started have a much higher capacity of water absorption.

The lemon grass needs to be distilled to extract the lemon grass oil. This requires huge amounts of firewood. One of the muduvan village (tribals) that I visited told us that they have collected firewood for the next five years, as they know that all the hills are denuded and there are no trees to be cut. Certainly a sad state of affairs!

The recent explosion of tourist traffic to areas like Munnar have further increased the demand of the lemon grass oil. In the last one year alone, the price of lemon grass oil has increased form With such a lucrative income available, it is unlikely that the tribals like muduvans will ever think of relocating from the forest areas. In a few places, there are efforts to provide efficient distillation units to lower the firewood consumption, however, there are no long-term solutions to control the structural changes brought out by the lemon grass cultivation. Rather, there are efforts being made to create pucca roads inside the sanctuary using the NREGA program.

Firewood Collection:
It was interesting to note that among the tribal populace, the firewood collection is mostly done by the women and children. Most of it is done from the Sholas and a small percentage from the wattle and other exotic plantations and from the estates. Firewood collection from the sholas has got a deleterious impact on the sholas. It may be pertinent to mention that the shola forests are unique in their composition with fire resistant trees on the periphery. Cutting those down will leave them vulnerable to future fire threats.

Grazing:

Grazing places a huge threat on the sholas. In an article in Ecological Economics, Perrings and Walker mentions that cattle grazing lowers the resilience of the ecosystem. It also gives rise to the chances of invasive weeds entering into the shola ecosystem.

Eucalyptus Plantation:

In the past wattle and eucalyptus plantations have been set up by the tea estates to serve their fire wood needs. However, with the increase in awareness about the deleterious impact of eucalyptus plantations, various State Governments have taken steps against it. However, In a recent visit to Devikulam range near Munnar in search of Nilgiri Tahr populations, I came across the ghastly sight of eucalyptus plantations near the shola forests at an approximate altitude of 2200 meters. Grasslands and shola forests have given way to these exotic eucalyptus plantations spread over several hills. When one comes to know that this is done by a State Govt. arm, it is indeed worrying. You can see the discussions on the two images here: http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5774
And here: http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5688

Reducing the organic matter content of these shola forests by burning, cutting down of the sholas, converting to eucalyptus plantations etc, will affect the water retention capacity of the soil. This in turn will reduce the water discharged to the streams that originate in these places. So the eucalyptus plantations have to be immediately cut down and the area left alone for natural regeneration of the native vegetation to take place.

The shola forests has been described as a Climatic climax by Champion in 1938. Shola forests have taken several thousand years to evolve into their present stage of climax. Is it not criminal to clear fell these to make way for eucalyptus plantations?

The shola forests have an impact on our water security as well as climate change. In a country where conservation perhaps starts and ends with the tiger, I hope we understand the value of the shola forests. It is a part of our irreplaceable Natural Heritage. We don’t have much of time to save our sholas.

Other conservation issues:

The Rule of the Mob: Leopards beaten to death

Another leopard beaten to death on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar! (http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5878 ) This just adds to the killing of leopards in various parts of the country. Virtually every other day we hear a story of leopard being beaten to death or trapped in a cage or burnt alive in a field or simply found dead and carcass burn (http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5851) or a venerable wildlife Institute setting on fire the trees in its campus to drive away leopard (http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4104). The other day the story was a bit different with a photo of one police officer published in the newspapers showing him shooting a leopard (http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5842 ). It is tough times for the Panther pardus.

Leopards are remarkably adaptable. Their needs are frugal and can survive in degraded forests preying on lesser wild prey as well as a goat or a village mongrel. However, this adaptability seems to be acting like a millstone around its neck, as people feel that nothing needs to be done as the leopard can survive in its own in degraded habitat or sugarcane fields.

The explosion of human population and the consequent demands has led to clearing up of forests and its herbivore population. As a result, the leopard is now completely devoid of its natural prey and has to depend on livestock for its survival. A hungry leopard moving out of the small patch of forest land in search of another habitat with adequate prey base leads it to pass through human habitations and cultivated fields. This creates unfortunate scenarios, as the people are not used to seeing a spotted feline. Also this brings into fore our hidden nature which feels happy at someone else’s pain, a regressive mentality of decimating all other species infront of us.

To make matters worse, as in the case of the mob lynching to death the leopard near Bhubaneswar, a TV camera man wanted to search for exclusive footage (a la Al Jazeera TV) and reportedly instigated the people to take law into their hands. The result was inevitable. The forest department, as is the case everywhere in India, remained a mute spectator.

This unfortunate incident should not be passed over with just a feeling of sadness.

• The TV Cameraman needs to be arrested and the footage, computers etc should be sent for forensic examination.
• In such cases, in all parts of the country, Section 144 should be immediately issued and people arrested.
• All the persons, involved in the lynching should be arrested under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972. Being in a Mob should not be seen as a sure shot way of escaping being convicted.
• To save the leopard, a Project Leopard should be announced. A massive exercise to be undertaken in all the states to map the remaining suitable habitats. Suitable action plans to save the leopard to be drawn.
• We are on verge of losing the leopard. Instead of frittering our energy in creating grandiose plans for bringing in exotic species like African Cheetah and introducing them into cages, we have to act fast in saving our leopard. I would appreciate our members to raise their voice in support of this cause.

Culling orders on monkey, wild boar and Nilgai in Himachal Pradesh:

Who says that culling is only done in Africa and USA.

The Himachal Pradesh Forest department is issuing permits to shoot monkeys, wildboars and Nilgais. For further details please check here:
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5596

Wildlife Photography:

Images shared by our members between 10th Dec 2010 – 9th January, 2011 that depict interesting animal behaviour or are just plain beautiful.

The Rain and the Sun by Dr. Hari Venkatesh K R
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5741

Lady Paradise by Tushar Dixit
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5617

Pied Kingfisher by Praveen Siddannavar
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5623

Great Pied Hornbill Mrudul
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5764

My first Frogmouth by Tushar Dixit
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5825

Tiger Cub by Mrudul Godbole
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5587

The Yawn by Bibhav Behera
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5649

Traffic sense on crazy weekends – a message – Roopak Gangadharan
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5580

Moyar Valley by Mohan Raj
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5689

Funnel Web spider by Akshay Kumar Manjunath
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5786

I look forward to your inputs and your support in preserving the last tracts of wilderness and wildlife left in this beautiful country. For other interesting articles and photographs please check: http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/

The link to this Newsletter is available at:

All the newsletters can be found online at: http://www.indiawilds.com/diary/category/newsletter
In case, any member of IndiaWilds forums has forgotten his/her user id and password can email the admin at the following email id administrator@indiawilds.com Others may register at www.indiawilds.com/forums/register.php with their full name.
Regards,
Sabyasachi Patra
www.indiawilds.com
Profile: http://www.indiawilds.com/profile.htm
Contact: http://www.indiawilds.com/contact%20us.htm
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/IndiaWilds/132629240481

Sabyasachi Patra

I am passionate about wildlife conservation. I am striving to make my films and photographs full of life and emotion and write articles to educate and evangelise the need for conserving the last tracts of vanishing wilderness sand wildlife in our country. I pray to the almighty that my wildlife films, photographs and writings force people to pause, look, ponder and ultimately take action. To make my ends meet, I work as Executive Director at MAIT (Manufacturers’ Association for Information Technology)

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This issue of IndiaWilds Newsletter Vol. 2 Issue XII marks the completion of two years of existence of IndiaWilds as a Conservation and Wildlife Photography forum. In this issue we examine some of the often ignored areas that impact climate change. This newsletter is available online. To view and post your comments check at: http://www.indiawilds.com/diary/indiawilds-newsletter-vol-2-issue-xii

Climate Change:

A year has passed since the farce conducted in Copenhagen summit. Have we become more conscious about climate change? Has it brought any change in our behaviour? Let’s examine whether we are on the right track.

Let’s start with our popular minister for MoEF Shri Jairam Ramesh ridiculing SUV’s as Socially Useless Vehicles. A smart politician that he is, he understands that this attack on the SUVs – that were earlier considered to be symbols of the rich – is not going to harm his political career and even may help him earn a few brownie points. However, is he focusing on the root cause?

Public Transport:

If he would, then he would have expressed dismay – I don’t think if he can do any better – at the shockingly inefficient public transport system which forces individuals to buy a two wheeler or a car or hitch a ride in a fuel guzzling three-wheeler. The sale of these automobiles is helped by a nexus of lending agencies and agents who would be hit if we move towards an efficient public transport system. Furthermore, the housing tax breaks induced home buying spree of individuals, deftly manipulated by the real estate lobby and aided by the poor urban planning by our Government departments ensures that individuals buy residences that are often at a considerable distance from their place of work. These complicated relationships can often rival the intricate web of relationships between various organisms in nature. I am sure it would now be evident to all, that streamlining the public transport system would need a huge focus and commitment and hence didn’t feature in the Hon’ble Minister’s wise cracks. We need a messiah who can streamline our public transport system. However the vacancy for that job is likely to remain for a long time.

Sports and Public Events:

If SUV is a sign of conspicuous consumption, then it is time that we look at some of the wasteful consumptions that we engage in a mass scale. The sports events conducted in the night or events in airconditioned complexes immediately comes to mind. Take the case of conducting night race in Formula 1 Grand Prix, the pinnacle of motor sports.

Night Race in Formula 1:

Formula 1 Grand Prix – the pinnacle of motor sports – has a huge carbon footprint due to its fuel guzzling engines, crisscrossing the world with Boeing loads of equipment etc. As if that was not enough, in 2008 it was decided to conduct the first night race in formula 1 in Singapore, so that the race can be viewed by European viewers at a convenient time. Let us examine its environmental impact.

The F1 race track in Singapore is 5.067 kilometers long. To light this 5.067 kilometer circuit, 108,423 metres of power cables, 240 steel pylons and around 1,600 light projectors are used. Each bulb is of 2000 watts. The total power requirement to light the circuit is supposed to be 3,180,000 watts ie. 3180kwh or 3.18 Mwh. The lighting level with around 3000 lux, is supposed to be four times brighter than the lighting in sports stadiums.

Considering that there would be practice in Friday, qualifying in Saturday and race is Sunday; the race track will be lighted for atleast for a minimum of 18 hours in three days. So the power requirement for lighting the tracks on the three days would be 15*31800000 watts i.e. 18*3.18 Megawatts ie. 57.24 Mega watts. Apart from this there would be additional lights brought by the teams to light up their pit areas and lighting required for grandstands. I am sure they would have kept the track lit for an equal number of hours for testing. So the total consumption can be atleast 100 Mwh.

It is estimated that the average household energy consumption in US is about 936kwh per month. So 100Mwh can light up more than 100 houses for a month or 3000 households for a day in the USA.

Is it not a criminal waste of energy, especially at a time when the dark clouds of climate change are engulfing us?

2022 Football Worldcup in Qatar:

Formula one, though it has a massive fan following, can be branded as elitist and infact was branded as such by our sports minister the previous year. A few days back, FIFA the body that governs football worldwide announced that Qatar is going to host the worldcup in 2022. Qatar, a country where the temperature during June and July goes well beyond 40 deg. C, has decided to use air conditioned stadiums where the temperature can be brought down to around 20 degrees. Well the amazingly rich football players need not worry playing in the heat and dust of the desert, as FIFA has said that there would be air-conditioned stadiums to play in. Is it not crash consumerism that can be avoided? Unfortunately, I didn’t see a single word of condemnation for such a thoughtless action.

Cricket:

There is a saying, if you point a finger, then three fingers point back at you. Formula 1 may be doing this recently. However, Cricket – the sport that has a hysteric fan following in India – is not far behind. Lets consider the floodlighting of the stadiums. Data from MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) shows that the four floodlights lighting the stadium consume 360,000kWh, this is based upon a running time of 400 hours over a twelve month term. So every hour consumption is 900kw. If we use this average for the calculations for our T-20 matches, then each T-20 match spanning over three hours will consume 900*3=2700 kw or 2.7 Megawatt. Since the T-20 tournament fixture is yet to be drawn, the number of matches can be anything between 60 and 94. So the power consumed can be atleast 162 Mw considering 60 matches. Per capita consumption of power in India is 612Kwh. So the power consumed in lighting IPL matches can light up the homes of 264 people for a year or 96617 people can get power for a day.

There are far more number of One Day Internationals and T-20 events conducted in the night these days than a child can count. The reason is solely to increase the spectacle. Do we care to raise our voice against these spectacles? These sports events have become energy guzzling orgies. If we don’t raise our voice against those, solely because we love sports, or because these events are popular, then we certainly don’t have a right to engage people in trivial things. Scientists and leaders are all engaged in the blame game on small trivialities, such as impact of gas emitted by cattle on climate change; where as they are silent about these frequently occurring major energy guzzling events.

The talk of cattle reminds me of another issue that was raised by Shri Jairam Ramesh last year and laughed upon by critics – the issue of consumption of beef and its impact on climate change.

Beef & Climate Change:

Vast tracts of virgin rain forests in the Amazon are being ruthlessly razed down to the ground by machines. When one watches the video of these chainsaws cutting down hard growth trees in seconds, that took several hundred years to grow, one becomes speechless. In those areas come up industrial scale soybean farms and cattle ranches primarily for satisfying the beef demand from Europe. Today, a school kid can lecture us – provided we pause to listen – that the trees release moisture to the atmosphere and a large patch of forest often helps its cause by releasing large amount of moisture to the atmosphere which helps in rainfall.

The 2006 report of UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) titled “Livestock’s Long Shadow -Environmental Issues and Options” mentions that Livestock sector generates more greenhouse gas emissions than the transport sector, 18% from the livestock sector vs 13% from the transport sector. As we know, increased prosperity leads to increase in consumption of not only food grains but also of animal proteins. The FAO report has confirmed that with mindboggling statistics. The global meat production is going to double from 229 million tonnes in 1999/2001 to 465 tonnes in 2050. Livestock uses 30% of the earth’s entire land surface and 33% of the global arable land is used for producing feed for livestock.

I am not sure if the developed world is going to give up on their luxuries of beef eating, as it requires a tremendous amount of awareness generation. However, a partial reduction is also going to have a huge impact.

Climate change is going to harm developing countries like India the most, as a major part of our population lying below the poverty line is going to be impacted the most. Climate changed induced diseases, submergence of coastal areas and islands, water scarcity due to perennial rivers turning seasonal are some of the few issues that is going to impact our people. With nearly half of the population yet to be connected to the electricity grid, which is at present primarily powered by power from polluting thermal power plants, and hydel projects inducing submergence of vast tracts of forests, there is no sign of green house gas emissions reducing. The aspirations of the people to ape the western lifestyle, symbolized by the SUVs may hog the limelight; however, there is no solution or will power in the political class to contain climate change is in sight.

Other Conservation Issues:

Call for banning synthetic pesticides in and around our wilderness areas:

Our wilderness areas givers birth to our numerous streams and rivers and serve as the lifeline of our country and our economy. Spraying of poisonous chemicals as pesticides leads to accumulation of those in the soil and pollute our fresh water sources. A Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers project has clearly shown that synthetic pesticides can be replaced by neem based pesticides. Hence, with a clear alternative in sight, It is time to ban synthetic pesticides around National parks, Sanctuaries, Reserve Forests, protected areas, wetlands and areas of ecological importance. For further details, please check here:
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5539

Supreme Court bans Plastic in pan masala sachets:

In a far reaching move, the Hon’ble Supreme Court has banned use of plastic in pan masala sachets. This is expected to reduce the amount of littering in our wilderness areas. For more details on this issue you can check here: http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5563
Wish the Hon’ble Supreme Court can ban use of plastics in all our wilderness areas. For the deleterious impact of plastics you can check here: http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=108

Centre Issues Wetland Conservation Guidelines:

Our wetlands, are being indiscriminately filled up and concretized after being branded as wastelands. Hopefully, the issue of wetland conservation guidelines by the centre will help bring in more focus in saving our wetlands. For further details you can check here: http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5499

Train driver jailed for running over elephants:

In a far reaching move, a train driver who had run over elephants has been handed a jail sentence by the court. I think this incident will wake up the callous railway authorities and will force them to think of long term solution to the problem and order for alternate alignment of railway tracks. For further details please check here:
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5429

Seizure of Pangolin Scales:
We have to be careful about our lesser known species, else they are going to be extirpated much before the tiger.
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5484

Notable Images of the Year 2010:
Images shared by our members in 2010 that depict interesting animal behaviour or are just plain beautiful….

Mammals:

Pair.. by Praveen P Mohandas
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3417

A Dream called Tiger by Subramanya CK
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3231

Elephant digger by Dipankar Majumdar
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3626

Birds:

Black-winged Stilt by Gautam Biswas
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5434

Purple rumped Sunbird by Amit Kalele
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4535

Kestrel Hunt by Tushar Dixit
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5555

Landscapes:

Rain…at last! By Dr. Jitendra Katre
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4197

And clouds cover the jungle…. By Sagar Patil (with a compact camera)
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3876

Sunset Hue by Dr. Kalpamoit Kakati
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5365

Others:

The Green Predator by Dr. Hari Venkatesh K R
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4206

Master of Disguise by Vikram Gupchup
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5041

Kandil-pushpa at Kaas plateau
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5058

I look forward to your inputs and your support in preserving the last tracts of wilderness and wildlife left in this beautiful country. For other interesting articles and photographs please check:
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/

The link to this Newsletter is available at: http://www.indiawilds.com/diary/indiawilds-newsletter-vol-2-issue-xii

All the newsletters can be found online at: http://www.indiawilds.com/diary/category/newsletter

In case, any member has forgotten his/her user id and password, then he/she can email the admin at the following email id administrator@indiawilds.com

Regards,
Sabyasachi Patra
www.indiawilds.com
Profile: http://www.indiawilds.com/profile.htm
Contact: http://www.indiawilds.com/contact%20us.htm
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/IndiaWilds/132629240481

Sabyasachi Patra

I am passionate about wildlife conservation. I am striving to make my films and photographs full of life and emotion and write articles to educate and evangelise the need for conserving the last tracts of vanishing wilderness sand wildlife in our country. I pray to the almighty that my wildlife films, photographs and writings force people to pause, look, ponder and ultimately take action. To make my ends meet, I work as Executive Director at MAIT (Manufacturers’ Association for Information Technology)

More Posts - Website

Follow Me:

This issue of the IndiaWilds Newsletter brings into focus our approach towards poisoning our wilderness areas, fresh water sources with pesticides, allowing use of pesticides that have been banned in other countries, role of planning or the lack of it in fuelling the so called Development vs Conservation battle. The newsletter is available online at http://www.indiawilds.com/diary/indiawilds-newsletter-vol-2-issue-xi and you can also post your views directly in the article.

Is India a dumping ground?

This question arises time and again when we find inferior products sold in India despite those being banned in most of the developed countries. It has again come to the fore with the recent controversy about pesticides. We look at two chemicals

Endosulfan:

India is the largest user of Endosulfan, a highly toxic organochlorine compound that is used as an insecticide and acaricide. The impact of this deadly pesticide in India came to light in Kasaragod where it was sprayed in the plantations for nearly three decades. Since our plantations have come up in the place of pristine wilderness areas which are often the source of many a rivers and streams, spraying of pesticides leads to pollution of the water sources apart from accumulation in the soil. Studies have indicated that exposure to Endosulfan causes genetic mutation and has played havoc with the health of people and animals. Since its half life is estimated from 9 months to 6 years, it remains in the soil for a long time and continues to impact the lives of all living beings.

It has been banned in most of the developed countries including the US. Unfortunately, despite the repeated demands by the Govt. of Kerala, the Govt. of India doesn’t agree to ban this highly toxic chemical. For further details you can check here http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5224

Furadan:

Several years ago, I came to know about this insecticide when I saw poachers use this in Chilika lake to kill birds. This pesticide is placed on the leaf of the water lilly, lotus etc and the birds die after eating those. Out of the hundreds of birds that die, the poachers are able to retrieve the bodies of a few and then sell those to the nearby eateries (dhabas) dotting the National Highway. Interestingly, this pesticide was sold in Africa by FMC. When it was reported that there were cases of lion poisoning, the organization decided to take back all the stocks that were present in the channel. Some details about it can be found here: http://indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?p=14187 and here: http://www.furadanfacts.com/InTheNews.aspx?itemId=1002

Interestingly, Furadan is marketed in India by Rallis India, a Tata group enterprise. I guess no one in India has pointed out to the Tata group that a product that has been withdrawn from Africa is still being marketed in India by one of its companies and there has been no effort to withdraw it from India.

Looking at these two examples, there are several questions that come to mind. When a product is withdrawn from Africa, why it is available in India? Why the Govt. of India is loathe taking action and keeps on insisting for further studies before banning toxic pesticides? Is life in India cheap?

The other issue that is not visible on the surface – and which nevertheless needs a mention – is why conservationists haven’t raised their collective voice against the indiscriminate use of pesticides, especially in ecologically sensitive places? Are we only concerned only about the visible impact like death of our megafauna like tiger, elephants etc due to poaching or deaths due to rail and road accidents?

Development vs Conservation: The Role of Planning

We have been talking about development getting hampered due to focus on conservation or wilderness areas to be sacrificed to maintain a decent quality of life. Is this true? Today, we would examine the role of planning.

Take the case of the Navi Mumbai airport. It has been continually in the news, as setting up the airport will lead to sacrificing a 90 meter high hill and 98 hectares of mangroves. For further details please check here http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3882

Finally, the environment minister and the civil aviation minister came to an agreement on sacrificing mangroves to set up the airport, as it was felt that looking for an alternative plot for the airport will result in a delay of atleast 2-3 years more. The question that comes to mind is who is to be blamed for this? The editorial of a major English daily says that if this compromise was to be done, then it could have been arrived at earlier.

The key lies in the word compromise. Compromise by its definition means it is not the ideal solution. Why do we need to be saddled with a solution that is not ideal? Can we continue to hide behind the flawed logic that money has already been spent on the project and there would be time over run if we continue with the environmentally disastrous projects? A similar situation had come up when the Commonwealth Games village was constructed in the flood plains of the Yamuna. Despite several representations, it was decided that already money has been sunk in and the time was short, and hence the project was given the go ahead. It was another matter that the games village was flooded. The question is who is accountable? Is there any one answerable for their follies? Why do we suffer, just because a few bureaucrats and politician have messed up?

What is the role of our planners? Our urban planning is a mess. Large infrastructure projects like airports have a long gestation time and hence need to be planned well in advance taking into consideration the growth of the population in the city and the growth in cargo. Also, since a airport requires large area, the Government has to earmark the areas for future use, so that they don’t resort to these last minute decisions. Conservation has been branded as anti-development due to the lack of foresight and planning. I hope, in the near future we can rectify that.

Jumbo Smuggling Racket in Assam
A shocking news came to light, when a racket for elephant smuggling was unearthed in Assam. It is surprising that though elephants cannot be moved without the permission of the Chief Wildlife Warden, his signature was forged and police and forest department officials didn’t get a hint of it. It would be good if members may write to the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Assam demanding a CBI enquiry. For further details, you please check here:
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5232

Brutal Killing of Baby elephant in Assam:

As if the Jumbo smuggling racket in Assam was not enough, an elephant calf estranged from its mother was brutally killed by the people. The forest department officials appear to be mute spectators. The video tells a gory tale. Several important questions come to mind. If the common man living in the buffer areas react in such a brutal manner towards our endangered species, how relevant is the forest rights act? For further details please check here: http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5171

Lafarge Plant in Meghalaya:

The battle for so called development vs conservation continues in the North East. The protest against the Lafarge plant in Meghalaya is escalated to the Hon’ble Minister for MoEF. Similar complaints from other states in the North East are sent to Shri Jairam Ramesh as people appear to have more faith in him rather than the State Governments. For further details check here: http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5322

Valley of Flowers under threat:

The valley of flowers which was revered for its association with sages, loved for its beauty and bio-diversity, is under threat due to a proposed thermal power project in the Bhuidar Valley. For further details please check here: http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5165

Wildlife Photography:

Images shared by our members between 10th Oct – 9th Nov, 2010 that depict interesting animal behaviour or are just plain beautiful..

Master of Disguise by Vikram Gupchup
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5041

Kandil pushpa by Jitendra Katre
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5058

Otters harassing mugger by Bibhav Behera
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5058

Tender Moment by Mrudul Godbole
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5143

An experience to remember by Pralay Lahiri
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5253

Bos Gaurus at Nilgiris by Mohan Raj
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5162

Barasingha male by Atul Dhamankar
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5208

River Lapwing by Atul Dhamankar
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5254

Pied Kingfisher by Ragoo Rao (using a compact camera)
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5135

Large Egret by Sandesh Astgikar:
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5228

Stork billed Kingfisher by Praveen Siddannavar
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5107

Future of the shoals? By Bibhav Behera
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5095

Life in Shapes by Rahul Parekh
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5260

I look forward to your inputs and your support in preserving the last tracts of wilderness and wildlife left in this beautiful country. For other interesting articles and photographs please check: http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/

The link to this Newsletter is available at: http://www.indiawilds.com/diary/indiawilds-newsletter-vol-2-issue-xi

All the newsletters can be found online at: http://www.indiawilds.com/diary/category/newsletter

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Regards,
Sabyasachi Patra
www.indiawilds.com
Profile: http://www.indiawilds.com/profile.htm
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Sabyasachi Patra

I am passionate about wildlife conservation. I am striving to make my films and photographs full of life and emotion and write articles to educate and evangelise the need for conserving the last tracts of vanishing wilderness sand wildlife in our country. I pray to the almighty that my wildlife films, photographs and writings force people to pause, look, ponder and ultimately take action. To make my ends meet, I work as Executive Director at MAIT (Manufacturers’ Association for Information Technology)

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