Abraham Lincoln in his Gettysburg address had eloquently outlined the principles on which the edifice of a democracy is built “all men are created equal….and that Government of the people, by the people, for the people…”. It is generally accepted that these principles are not just limited to the United States of America, but also equally applicable to any democracy in the world. So the public is indeed the Government and the elected representatives are their nominees in running the administration on behalf of the people.

Unfortunately, the Governance has become increasingly alienated from the people. The corrupt and the powerful have in many cases usurped the power and have been dictating terms and the people are at the receiving ends. There is a day light robbery of our natural heritage and most of the people choose to turn a blind eye due to the fear of inviting wrath of these unscrupulous criminals.

Of course there are a few people like Amit Jethwa, who had used the Right to Information Act (RTI) to find information about the illegal mining around Gir and had singlehandedly fought against the perpetrators of this crime. Unfortunately, he was felled by their bullets right in front of the Gujarat High Court.

It’s been a month since he was murdered however; the culprits have not been brought to book. Of course some say that there have been more audacious murders – right inside a court premises – I feel debating about the audacity of the crime or the fearlessness of activist or the seeming inability of the police in tracking down the real culprits has sidetracked us from driving important lessons from this tragic incident.

In a country where it takes ages for a case to get heard in various courts, justice is not only delayed, but also throttled if the aggrieved party is unable to pursue it with doggedness. In such a scenario, there are not many people to take on the corrupt and wrongdoers. The unscrupulous criminal elements exploit this reluctance of people and continue with their nefarious deeds. Hence the murder of a fearless activist results in demotivating the already dwindling number of activists.

So what do we do?

Do people stop raising their voice out of fear for their lives? Do we get cowed down and keep quiet when there is loot of our wild heritage?
Obviously not.

Any man, however powerful and courageous he may be, will find it difficult to face a large number of enemies. A lion heavily outnumbered by hyenas is forced to leave the kill. Strength lies in numbers!
It is important for activists to get organized into groups to take on the challenge of the mighty and the corrupt. In the past, I have been threatened of physical assault in the field. In such situations, it is important to not lose your mind, but to immediately look after your physical safety and then plan an alternate approach. One may feel that he/she retreating from the field when challenged is akin to losing a battle. Your ego may be deflated. However, please be reminded that you may lose a battle but the goal is to win the overall war.

There are many persons playing important roles in saving our wilderness areas by working behind the scenes. For them, the satisfaction of seeing the goal come to fruition is more important than public adulation. I have seen lot of youngsters tempted to hog the limelight in print and electronic news channels by using information gleaned through the RTI Act. It may give you two seconds of glory, however anything that is not planned well can hurt you as well as the cause.

Please remember that aggressiveness is a state of mind. It need not be displayed in your physical interactions with the “enemies of biodiversity”. You are all committed individuals. Your life is important. However, I am not asking you to give up your commitment towards preserving the last tracts of vanishing wilderness and wildlife. I am just asking you to change your ways of doing it.

These days it is easy for us to network. Please harness the power of the “we”. Instead of rushing headlong all alone please act as a group. Of course if you want to look like a hero in the eyes of the common man, then it is a different story. I don’t think trying to create a flash in the pan is the right approach. It is important to follow a cause that you believe in and follow it to its logical conclusion.

This was the logic behind establishing the IndiaWilds forums – to nurture and use the power of the “we”. Shri Wajahat Habibullah, Chief Information Commissioner concurred with this view. He told me that it is likely that individual activists will continue to be targeted. The remedy is through social audit of an area or project. Instead of an individual, a group of people can come together and seek a social audit under Section 2-J of the RTI Act. This Social audit can be conducted under media glare and take the corrupt people headlong.
I would like to request all of you to keep the overall goal of preserving the wilderness and wildlife in mind and work towards saving the last tracts of vanishing wilderness areas and wildlife and at the same time look after your safety. After all, getting committed and passionate people is not easy these days.

Wildlife Conservation News from States: The Good, Bad and Ugly
In the recent past, there have been several actions by various forest departments, some good and some not so good and some utterly despicable. Let us examine a few.

Assam:
The Assam forest department has taken a lead in implementing a few noteworthy actions. It has become the first state to arm its force. In a recent notification, the Assam Government has provided immunity to all ranks of forest staff from prosecution for using firearms in discharging their duties. This is a good move as the importance of forests has now been understood and the role of our frontline forest staff is recognized. I hope the next step would be the provision of food and rations for these frontline forest staff. For further details you may check here: http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4539

In another move, the Assam forest department has inducted women into the workforce. Although, I never see this as a move towards gender equality, I think this is good because women who want to get involved in the forest department can now join. When women can undertake the arduous climb to the top of the mighty Himalayas, I am sure they can join as forest guards. In some cases, for people living on the edges of the forests, being a forest guard may be the only job they can get. And depriving someone a job just due to a gender may not be right. I believe with proper training, they can really fit in. With proper safeguards in terms of harassment policies etc, this seems to be a very workable idea. I am happy that Assam is taking a lead in innovative policies. For further details please check here: http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4536

Madhya Pradesh:
On the other hand, Madhya Pradesh which is popular for the visibility of its tigers in some of its National Parks, has introduced a policy to allow forest guards to take tourists during their patrolling duties in the tiger reserves. This appears to be a case of bowing to the tourism lobby.

As such our forest departments have insufficient staff and most of them are over aged and not physically fit. And on top of it, the level of motivation is often low due to the insufficient salaries, untimely payment of salaries etc. Too often the forest guards are found running errands for their seniors. It is needless to say that our patrolling gets very less preference. In such a situation, if the guard is asked to take tourists, then the patrolling is more or less converted into a trek. It is naturally expected that the guard has to look after the well being of the tourists during such jaunts. It would be good if the tourist oriented trekking schemes and patrolling is kept separated as it is likely to dilute the seriousness of the patrolling duties. No concrete structures should ever be constructed to help in the trekking schemes. If any trekking scheme is conceived, then it has to be based on the carrying capacity of the forest and after careful consideration of its impact. It should not be surreptitiously introduced under the garb of patrolling. Further details on this can be found here: http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4537

Andhra Pradesh:
The Chief Wildlife Warden of Andhra Pradesh has ordered Wild boars to be culled on the pretext of crop destruction. Further details can be found here: http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4626

Whether it is the permission to set up captive power plants (http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=249 ) in ecologically fragile wetlands or proposal to set up memorials in pristine forests of NSRT (http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1996 ) or the culling of wild boars, Andhra Pradesh seems to have taken a leadership role in desecrating our sacred biodiversity.

Jumbo in Revenge Attack on Trains:
In an incident that indicates the trauma the elephants would have undergone in seeing trains runover their kith and kin, a lone bull elephant has head butted trains in Gulma forests near Jalpaiguri. Elephants are intelligent creatures and can communicate over long distances. The violent death of elephants under the wheels of a train must have affected not only the elephants in the immediate vicinity, but also elephants who were several kilometers away. Parallels can be drawn from Africa, where adolescent bulls went on the rampage and started killing rhinos. This behaviour was observed after some of the elder members of the herd were culled. It is sad that despite repeated deaths, the railways are not willing to wake up to the reality. In the days of fast train services, creating alternate alignments won’t increase the time duration of the journey.
For further details please check here: http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4634

Natures’ Price Tag: An article by Ranbir Mahapatra. For further details please check here: http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4638

Government Rejects Proposal to split Indian Forest Service:

The Government has rejected the proposal to create a split the Indian forest service and create a separate department for Wildlife. I feel it would be pertinent to share the views of Late Kailash Sankhala on this topic:

“In new India, several new departments have been raised with success to meet the specialized demands of law and order, like the Home Guards, Coast Guards and Border Security Force, and of scientific management in the areas of space, environment, telecommunication, radio and television and many more. It is a pity that Wildlife Reserve Management, which is a specialized job involving the scientific conservation of nature, still continues to be in the hands of woodcutters and exploiters and the proposed department is still being endlessly debated. This is despite the successful demonstration of its functional viability, as an independent organization, by Project Tiger. They seem to enjoy the passion of possession without responsibility and that too by dictat. An Indian Forest Service for Wildlife and Reserves is imperative with its own training programme.”
For further details you may please check here: http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4637

Wildlife Photography:

Dhole killing Cheetal fawn by drowning: Praveen Siddannavar
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4563

Tiger Cub at Bandhavgarh: Rajiv Gautam
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4399

What do I do with this now: Jitendra Katre
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4344

Tiger entering water: Atul Dhamankar
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4484

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

Small blue Kingfisher: Praveen Siddannavar
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4453

Oriental white eye: AB Apana
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4433

Indian Skipper: Vikram Gupchup
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4363

Lime Butterfly Mudpuddling – Viswanath M K
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4369

Scratchy Croc: Bibhav Behera
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4554

Natural History:
(Members need to login to view it. In case you are a not a member of IndiaWilds then you can register with your full name with a space between first name and last name. Follow this for registration http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/register.php )

Gaur Snorting
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4663

Elephant behaviour before charge
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4664

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.com

Regards,
Sabyasachi Patra
www.indiawilds.com
Profile: http://www.indiawilds.com/profile.htm
Contact: http://www.indiawilds.com/contact%20us.htm
Twitter: indiawilds
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It is my pleasure to bring you the IndiaWilds Newsletter Vol.2 Issue VII. This issue examines the impact of various infrastructure projects on environment and a way forward. The newsletter is available online at http://www.indiawilds.com/diary/indiawilds-newsletter-vol-2-issue-vii and you can also post your views directly in the article.

Infrastructure creation and Conservation:
Recently I was talking with a representative of a foreign investor who is concerned about their investments in power projects that has attracted opposition due to environmental issues. As conservationists fighting against such projects coming up in wetlands or other such ecologically fragile areas, at times one can have a modicum of satisfaction of having stopped an ecologically disastrous project. However, when one hears that several state Governments have agreed to create huge petrochemical complexes and to other so called infrastructure creation in some of the ecologically sensitive places, one realises that it is mostly a losing battle because conservation is seen as anti-development.

The infrastructure bug has bitten us, albeit at the wrong places.
The realization has dawned that India’s economy can accelerate its growth if there is enabling infrastructure in terms of road, power etc. So the Government is sprinting ahead in a missionary zeal in setting up mega infrastructure creation; creating roads by cutting across pristine forests instead of finding alternate alignments, setting up polluting thermal power plants in wetlands, hydel power plants in pristine forests etc. We need to realise that “BIG” is not always the better solution. A simple alternate solution could have sufficed for a major part of our problems. However, big is eye catching and hence those big solutions, inspite of their adverse ecological impact are pushed through in the name of development.

Power:
As an emerging economy, we are power hungry and are guzzling energy like a monster. There is an increased demand for energy with each passing day. Obviously, the planners will thing of augmenting the total power generation capacity. You may consider it to be a right decision, unless you notice that this is akin to a leaking ship. The planners obviously are trying to remove water that is entering into the leaking ship without thinking of plugging the ship. For example, the electricity transmission and distribution suffers from 30 percent losses. At an installed base of 180,000 Megawatts power generation capacity, the losses amount to 60,000 MW. This means, 15 Ultra Mega power project of 4000 MW size. When you look at the details of one of those being set up near Telineelapuram at the ecologically fragile Naupada swamps, (for further details you can check here http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=249 ) you can realise how many thousands of acres of land and biodiversity we can save. My further thoughts of Energy efficiency and Green Power can be found here: http://www.indiawilds.com/diary/energy-efficiency-green-power

Apart from plugging the leaking ship ie. increasing the efficiencies and reducing power losses, we should actively look at harnessing Solar power. Though I have been talking about this often, I was surprised to see the work being done in Botswana. As readers of this newsletter may recall, I have been studying the conservation best practices in African national parks and countries. In IndiaWilds Newsletter Vol 2 Issue IV ( http://www.indiawilds.com/diary/indiawilds-newsletter-vol-2-issue-iv ) , I had talked about ecotourism best practice in Botswana. Little did I realise, that we can also learn from Botswana regarding deployment of alternative energy.

Solar Power initiative of Botswana Power Corporation:
The Botswana Power Corporation (BPC), which is a national electricity utility, has been providing solar energy services to Botswana’s rural citizens. Solar lanterns, wood-saving stoves, hot bags that keep the food warm etc are some notable efforts that are being undertaken. I have often been saying that wiring up remote villages leads to huge transmission losses and is costly. This cost of wheeling power over long distances is not reflected in the cost of the power. When one considers this, solar energy becomes competitive in terms of cost. It would be good if the Government through suitable legislation helps in adoption of solar power and other renewable energy sources so that the dependence on the inefficient thermal power as well as huge hydroelectricity projects is reduced.

Green SEZs:
In a small effort towards green power, the Ministry of Commerce in its Draft Guidelines for Green SEZs (Special Economic Zones) issued in July 2009, has mentioned that 2% of total estimated energy consumption for each zone or 5KW/hectare, whichever is lower, must be generated through solar or other renewable energy. Over a period of 10 years, the solar/other forms of renewable energy must be extended from 2% to a minimum of 20% of total estimated energy consumption or 50KW/hectare whichever is lower. Though these are still in the draft guidelines stage even after a year, I am hopeful that the usage of Solar and alternate energy can be increased in industries as well as at homes there by reducing the need for huge infrastructure creation with its associated problems both interms of ecological footprint as well as cultural impact.

Continuous Green patch in SEZs and Industrial Areas:
Given that the industrialization is only going to increase in future, a few change in rules can help in creating micro habitats for our wildlife. At the moment, the Special Economic zones need to maintain 25% area as green area. Unfortunately, due to the lack of a suitable definition, playgrounds, pathways, lawns with artificial Korean grass etc are referred to as green areas. Also, the area earmarked as green areas are not contiguous and hence doesn’t help in serving as habitat for wildlife. Ofcourse, I am not visualizing megafauna to reside in these industrial complexes, especially after a venerable institute like the Wildlife Institute of India setting fire on the vegetation to drive away a leopard (for details read here http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4104 ), I am sure that this place can serve as a habitat for avifauna, butterflies and bees as well as a few less glamorous species if there is sufficient space for them. So a regulation to ensure that the 25% of area to be maintained as a continuous patch of green area would serve the purpose. A back of the envelope calculation tells me that the total area of SEZs in this country stands at 43430 hectares and 25% of this amounts to 10857 hectares of green area.

Indigenous Species:
Another issue that is not given due importance is the need to promote native species instead of planting exotic species. During my formative years, when I was too young to understand what an exotic species means, I had read that the noted naturalist Shri M. Krishnan was against Gulmohur trees as it is not an indigenous species. A few years back, I was shocked when one of the large global NGOs working in this country suggested planting of Lantana (Lantana camara) in SEZs to create suitable habitat for birds. I am sure it is time to generate awareness about promoting indigenous species and maintaining a habitat suitable to the geography. I wish some of our knowledgeable researchers and conservationists can come forward in creating a checklist of species native to each State and district. We can then try to sensitise industry as well as the Government in amending the green guidelines.

Together with the rule for creating continuous patch of green area and ensuring no exotic species, we can thus win small battles, though we are losing the greater war. That will continue unless the current economic modeling incorporates green economics.

Damning a River!
The environmental impact of big dams on rivers is well known.
India is blessed with a large number of perennial rivers. So the dams appear as an attractive proposition to solve our power and water needs. However, the environmental impact of big dams is well known. Huge chunks of pristine forests are submerged due to our dams. And after a few years, our dams lose their carrying capacity due to heavy siltation. Naturally, the generation of hydel power reduces. This problem is accentuated, when there is more of destruction of forests in the upstream. Unfortunately, our planners fail to take these into their calculations.

There is ofcourse a compensation amount given to people who are directly impacted. However, due to lack of understanding and studies, we don’t know the impact on others.

When a river is dammed (read damned), in many cases it changes the lives of people irreversibly. Perennial rivers dry up and become seasonal, impacting not only the lives of fishermen but also agriculture as the flood plains are starved of nutrients and the ground water is not recharged. It is also a fact that, the drying up of rivers leads to salt water intrusion and increased salinity. And in a country where the rivers are worshiped as Goddesses, the drying up of a river has a cultural impact on people. The planners fail to notice the impact on the people living downstream.

Similarly, we don’t realise the impact on flora and fauna. Dams come across as a major barrier in stopping migration of aquatic species. Some even move towards extirpation/extinction. However, there are no champions for them. And the salinity level increases near the delta region, has its impact on the wildlife too. There have been recent reports of the tigers in Sunderbans moving north due to the increase in salinity. You can now realise, it is not just an issue of getting several megawatts of power or irrigating several hundred acres of land near a dam. The impact is much more profound.

Please check here for a detailed impact assessment of one of the projects (Pancheswar Dam http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4334 ) and also to raise your voice against it. The document prepared by Dr. Mark Everard a leading expert in wetlands is certainly going to help in increasing knowledge.

In another case, the committee of ministers headed by Shri Pranab Mukherjee has given a go ahead to the Loharinag Pala hydroelectric project, on the specious reason that money has already been sunk in the project and contracts awarded. For further details please check here ( http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4360 )
Unless, we quickly move in to tap alternate energy resources, we will continue to build such huge hydel power projects, thermal power projects etc with their associated ill effects on the environment. The relentless march of so called development or infrastructure creation will continue, unless we push for a better, simpler and non polluting solution.

Golden Dream:
In response to my previous newsletter, (http://www.indiawilds.com/diary/indiawilds-newsletter-vol-2-issue-vi ) several conservationists had urged me not to lose hope and I had promised to try to glean learnings from our failures. So the question arises, what do we do now?

The answer in short is, Dream Big.

When our former Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee had announced the Golden Quadrilateral – the four-laning of roads connecting the four metro cities – and the East-West and North-South corridors, it was branded as too grandiose a dream by his friends and foes alike. Today, everyone realises the power of that dream. In that backdrop, what stops us from dreaming big?

The way Shri Vajpayeeji had dreamt of creating roads for the human species, why can’t we dream of creating roads (read corridors) for the animal species? Why can’t we dream of creating corridors to establish linkages between all our National Parks and wilderness areas. Today, our tiger reserves and national parks are like jewels. Any lay man can vouch for the fact that the value of those jewels are enhanced when the jewels are strung together to create a necklace.

Can we dream of creating such a beautiful necklace with our tiger reserves and national parks connected by corridors? The costs may be to the order of a couple of hundred thousand crores, and there would be sceptics. Remember, when the road building activity started, nobody realised the impact. Only later, the positive impact on the industries like cement, steel etc was realised, and the impact on job creation, lowering transportation costs, linking village economies with the urban economies etc were realised. Similarly, linking our tiger reserves and national parks, will help in securing first and foremost our fresh water resources, help in carbon sequestration, enhancing genetic diversity of our wildlife etc. It will also help us in reining in the climate change, which is going to hit us hard if adequate measures are not taken. The farmers and the poor are the most vulnerable, and if we as a nation are concerned about our farmers and the poor, then we should take such steps.

Now we have to find out who is going to be the so called Mungeri Lal to dream such haseen sapne (golden dreams). I hope we can find a way to sell this dream to a person who wields considerable influence like Mrs. Sonia Gandhi. The tiger earlier had a strong champion in Mrs. Indira Gandhi, our former Prime Minister. Will her daughter-in-law who has proved herself as a successful leader, can lead us towards such a golden dream?

I have a prayer in my lips hoping this linking of the wilderness areas – the true India – comes to fruition in my lifetime.

Conservation:
You may check the following discussions in the conservation section of IndiaWilds forums:
Critically endangered Fish:
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4336

Man in the Life of a Snake:
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4328

Leopard illegally caged in Aravalis:
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4380

Rally in wildlife sanctuary kills deer:
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4322

Wildlife Photography:
Every month we highlight a few images for their aesthetic abilities, natural history importance or for increasing our knowledge of a little known species from a particular habitat. Please check the following links to access the images.

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

Gir Lion by Atul Dhamankar
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4284

Tusker from Kabini by Vishwanath M K
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4267

Slender Loris rescued by Akshay Kumar Manjunath
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4313

Black buck from Maidenahalli by Subramanya CK
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4309

Blackbuck from Betanai, Orissa by Satyabrata Mishra
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4310

Tiger Cub, Siddhababa, Bandhavgarh by Anup Ranadive
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4225

Pied Kingfisher from Ranganathittu by Mrudul
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4329

Grey Heron from Mangalajodi, Orissa by Satyabrata Mishra
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4307

Indian Courser by Jitendra Katre
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4218

Seashore in Ratnagiri in November by Vishal Bhave
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4193

Sunset at Redi, Konkan by Amit Paralikar
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4140

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, anyone of you has forgotten his/her user id and password 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
Blog: http://www.indiawilds.com/diary
Contact: http://www.indiawilds.com/contact%20us.htm
Twitter: indiawilds
Facebook: indiawilds

Why conservation has failed in this country?

I have often heard people bemoaning that India is still known for elephants or snake charmers rather than its prowess in IT, telecom etc. People feel ashamed being asked about tigers or elephants and try to justify that they stay in modern cities far removed from forests. They fail to fathom the rich treasures nature has bestowed on us. They fail to appreciate that the tigers and elephants of this land are deeply ingrained in our culture. I won’t blame people, because they have not been taught to appreciate these. Whose fault is it?

Conservationsists! Pat came the answer from my friend.

If it is the responsibility of the conservationists, then where are they?
Well, however hard I tried to think, I could not find conservationists. Various names of people, NGOs etc started flooding my mind and I started eliminating one by one.

I thought of tour operators as they call themselves conservationists. What brand of conservation do they engage in? I could not remember a tourism operator, hotelier, agent etc nurturing and bringing to life a wilderness area. They follow successful conservation efforts like the way a wildeebeast follows rains during its migration. They will flock to a park after sightings of the megafauna increases. They talk of conservation solely to maximise their profits through tourism. So each tiger is valued according to the revenue potential. They place the interests of their clients over wildlife or wilderness areas. In one case, a big and reputed tourism operator used to take their clients to a spot in the night where a tigress used to cross the road with her cubs. The jostling for prime position had extended from the day to night time as well. After a few days, the tigress had enough and she changed her timings forcing all the tour operators – big and small – to stop.

Wildlife Photographers: Moving from one National Park to another, these wildlife photographers click or “shoot” as they call it wildlife. Ofcourse they bring joy to themselves and to others who watch the photos of magnificent wildlife; they never utter a word to save or conserve wilderness areas or wildlife. A recent case in the point is the death of a tigress in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve; who jostled with each other to photograph her, irritate her by blocking her road and hence forcing her to snarl. When she was run over by a vehicle inside the reserve, the silence among the photographers was deafening.

A part of me is a wildlife photographer. I have clicked many photos of this tigress without stressing her. However, I have been repeatedly asking myself if I have done my duty in raising my voice and helping nab the culprits. My personal views on this incident can be found here (http://www.indiawilds.com/diary/bandhavgarh-tigress-runover-by-jeep).

There are too many gory tales of wildlife photographers trying to get a photo at the cost of seriously distressing wildlife, from pulling out a snake from the hole in the ground for photographing it, to destroying the nest of an endangered raptor so that others can’t photograph it…the list is pretty long and shocking. For wildlife photographers, Conservation is definitely not the claim to fame.

NGOs: On the surface they appear to be the ones championing the cause of wildlife. A closer look, and you will realise that 99% of the NGOs are created for making money. This doesn’t mean that no one is working for wildlife. The rest 1% may be divided between the small and the big players.

The well meaning smaller NGOs are mostly fighting a loser’s battle due to lack of resources or ideas or both. Some of the large NGOs are focused primarily on creating infrastructure like schools, hospitals etc inside the wilderness areas rather than thinking about the wilderness area. There are a few who are focused on tracking and prosecuting wildlife trafficking. Successful prosecution can act as a big deterrent. However, there are instances when agents in the guise of traders are helping in creating a pseudo demand and that leads to killing of endangered species. And there are some others who feel that only awareness creation is conservation. And to make matters worse, each thinks that only their work is good.

Researchers: Our wildlife researchers are supposed to be at the forefront of research and the common man is often in awe hearing some of the esoteric techniques used in conservation. The information obtained from their research is at times very important and influences our approach towards conservation. Does that make them true conservationists?

A recent incident in the Wildlife Institute of India, where the authorities set fire to trees to ward away a leopard coming into the campus to drink water shows that there is a huge gap between what they preach and practice. (For further details you may check here http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4104 ). This may have been the most muddle headed and unfortunate incident; however, this is not just an isolated incident. There are too many reports of reputed researchers championing the cause of research or infrastructure projects ruining our wilderness places. Similarly, there are no dearth of researchers who have bought land or taken land as grant from the Government and unwilling to part with it even though wildlife migratory corridors are getting affected.

Among the young breed of research scholars, often use of a new technique or tool is the primary focus. Every animal is viewed as a potential opportunity to employ an invasive technique, which often defies logic. Often the primary goal is just a research paper, PhD degree etc but not conservation. I wish there is a holistic perspective, transparency and collaboration so that researchers don’t end up investigating the same hypothesis in different parts of the country.

George Schaller, perhaps one of the greatest naturalists of the 20th century, in an interview to Data Quest magazine had said: “Field biologists, such as Karanth and Chundawat, can use technology in the form of satellite radio-collars, camera-traps, DNA analysis of scats and other techniques to determine population size, movement patterns, and other aspects. That provides extremely valuable information. Such knowledge is essential for conservation but it is not conservation. Conservation, in the final analysis, is culture, economics and politics,”

Culture, economics and politics! I guess we are now back to square one. It’s better to leave this exercise of finding a conservationist to another day.

Of course, there is always an exception in life. A number of you are among those exceptions, and I am sure you all will agree that there is a need to bring a change in our approach to conservation.

Another Tiger Death and the State of affairs of Wildlife in the Madhya Pradesh:

The Nation was rocked by the news that the Jhurjhura tigresses has been runover by a vehicle in the Bandhavgarh tiger reserve. Initially a tourist vehicle was blamed. Later on it emerged that the forest department was trying its best to shift the blame on the tourists. Unconfirmed reports from locals as well as media suggest the involvement of a Madhya Pradesh minister’s relative. Only three junior officials have been suspended. The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) report has suggested a CBI enquiry to uncover the truth. To learn more details about the incident and to raise your voice you may check here: http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3942

It would be good of you, if you too can raise your voice asking for a CBI enquiry to be conducted to unravel the truth.

Reward for wiping out tigers in Panna:
Public memory is short. However, it is not too short to forget the wiping out of tigers in Panna Tiger Reserve. Despite Dr. Raghu Chudawat – who was engaged in research in Panna – raising his voice about the dangers afflicting Panna, the Tiger Reserve authorities led by Field director Dr H S Pabla kept on insisting that all was well in Panna. Finally, when truth came out that the tiger population in Panna has been wiped out; the concerned officers were shifted out. Now Dr. H S Pabla – who can be termed as an accomplice in the crime, as he resisted all attempts to save Panna’s tigers – has been rewarded with the role of Principal Chief Conservator (Forests). For further details please check here: http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4119

Looking at these two incidents, one wonders whether the Madhya Pradesh Government is indeed serious about protecting tigers and wildlife. It may be pertinent to mention that Madhya Pradesh was the last State to sign the tripartite MoU with centre and NTCA (for details check here http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2323 ) and only did so after a lot of effort and campaigns. The Bharatiya Janata Party, which is ruling the state of Madhya Pradesh, calls itself the party with a difference. Is this how it is making a difference?

I am sure many of you would like to ask this question to the Hon’ble CM of Madhya Pradesh Shri Shivraj Singh Chauhan and the BJP party Chief Shri Nitin Gadkari.

Conservation:
Some of the other key discussions in IndiaWilds:
A report about threats to Melagiri forests:
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3985

Sunderbans: Losing battle?
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4084

Ecotourism a Forestry Activity or Non-forestry activity?
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4102

Some good news from Kudremukh:
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3717

Human safaris endanger Jarawas
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4195

Wildlife Photography:
Every month we highlight a few images for their aesthetic abilities, natural history importance or for increasing our knowledge of a little known species. Please check the following links to access the images.

White throated Fantail by AB Apana
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3923

Cormorant by Praveen Siddannavar
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3971

Injustice by Neil Mehta (Image of one of the orphaned cubs of Jhurjhura tigress)
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4091

Yawning by Praveen Siddannavar
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3893

Dudhwa Rhino’s by Bibhav Behera
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3907

The moving starts, in a starry night by Jatinder Sawhney
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4063

Reflections in Hunder by Nikhilesh Mahakur
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4021

Olive Ridley Turtle egg laying by Nikhilesh Mahakur
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4067

Antlion of Anamalai by Mohan Raj
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3998

Greenish Chamelion by V S Sankar
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3951

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.com

Regards,
Sabyasachi Patra
www.indiawilds.com
Profile: http://www.indiawilds.com/profile.htm
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I can still remember that warm summer morning. It was the month of May, and as usual I was the first one to reach the forest gates much before it opened. It was an uninteresting start as for a long time we didn’t see anything. Then we came across a Eurasian thick knee. I clicked a few images and then we moved ahead. A solitary wild boar (Sus scrofa) was approaching towards us and as usual I was in no mood to click a wild boar. Suddenly it stopped in its tracks about twenty feet away from us. I could see that a cobra had raised its hood. The wild boar looked at it and then stepped aside and continued in its movement. We took a cue from the wild boar and moved ahead.

At 6.11 am in the morning I reached rajbehera grasslands. Two cheetal deer (axis axis) stags were sparring. The light was lovely. I immediately started clicking. The 1.4x converter was attached to my lens, and I removed it and started clicking. Hardly had I clicked a few images, we could hear growling of tigers. My driver started urging and partially blaming me that we missed tigers fighting just because I was busy shooting deers. Later after checking the time recorded in the images, I saw that I had spent a single minute in clicking deers. So I didn’t curse myself much.

We raced ahead to see two tigers growling and hitting at each other with their claws barred. However, the moment we reached the spot they separated and moved in different directions. It was not a full bloodied conflict. I could make out that both were tigresses. The smaller of the two was our Jhurjhura tigress. She moved ahead in the rajbehera dam direction and the other tigress moved in the opposite direction.

Soon the cheetal herd (Axis axis) saw the tiger and started marching ahead like an army towards the tiger. It was an interesting sight. Normally, one expects the deer to be scared of the tiger and run away. However, in this case it shows that the deers do have intelligence level as opposed to what we think of them to possess. The deers were keeping a close watch on the movements of the tigress and turned back when they were sure that the tigress moved away from that patch of forest. They then resumed feeding on grass.

I followed the tigress and could create images of her scent marking and defecating. She kept on checking the scent markes left on the trees and bushes and then finally crossed the dirt track infront of me and disappeared into the tall grass.

On any day, this would have been the highpoint for a wildlife photographer or tourist. However, there was much in store for us that day.

We turned back and proceeded towards climbers point to reach the waterhole, as the Jhurjhura tigress had gone in that direction. There we met one of the cubs of the Jhurjhura tigress. A couple of other tourist vehicles had reached there and the cub got disturbed as the vehicles started chasing her.

I don’t understand what fun people get by following behind a tiger walking in the road. Soon the cub moved into the grassland. It was an unfortunate incident, as this cub was separated from its mother and we didn’t even see this cub in the evening. Tourists should be careful of their impact on the tigers and other wildlife. We saw that the jhurjhura tigress and her other cub were on the other side of climbers point. I had agreed to carry a forest department officer in my vehicle and he informed the forest ranger about the tigers by wireless.

Within an hour the forest department ranger and the elephants arrived at the spot to conduct Tiger Show. At that time the Tiger Show had not earned its notoriety. I climbed on one elephant to go over the hill and have a look. I then realised that the jhurjhura tigress had killed a Sambar and hence she was fighting with the other tigress to protect her kill. The mahout wanted to go closer to the tigress; however, I always prefer photographing from a distance when I am on top of an elephant, giving the tiger sufficient space. The light was not good, so I just clicked a few images and then watched the tigress.

After sometime, the tigress and her cub went to the other side to climbers point and started feeding on the Sambar carcass. It was a delight watching the tigers use their rasping tongue to feed. Tiger is a fastidious in its habits. It starts feeding on a kill by first puncturing below the tail portion and pulling out the intestine. You will often find the intestine lying a few feet away from the kill. A leopard however, eats the intestine as well.

In the Sambar kill, the neck was neatly dislocated, the way an adult tiger kills. Its technique is completely unique. Other big cats kill by suffocating. At times, large leopards are reported to have killed in this manner, however I haven’t experienced it.

The climbers point was much more dense at that time, than it is today. There was a cave like ledge there and the tigress took rest after some time. The cub was busy gorging on the sambar kill with short rest inbetween.

After an hour or so, the tigress urged the cub to leave the carcass, but the cub was not willing. Soon a tug of war started. The cub had inserted its leg inside the carcass to get a better grip and was resisting the mother. Finally, the Jhurjhura tigress gave a mighty pull and the cub had to listen. They moved to the other side and into water.

By the time, around ten or eleven tourist jeeps had reached the spot. A group of excited school kids were also there and one can imagine the din created. The Jhurjhura tigress gave vent to a snarl and then entered into the water. I have seen this snarl getting stronger over the years. It was an irony that she used to resent the presence of noisy tourists and ultimately, she laid down her life under the wheels of a vehicle.

The tigress and her cubs were cooling off and the cub was swimming in the waters. Every ten minutes or so, the cub used to come near the mother and rub cheeks showing affection. It was nice watching unalloyed love and affection among species, whom we consider inferior to us. We call them beasts, animals etc, however anyone who has watched these supposedly ferocious animals, would concur that that they are more humane than us.

There were hardly anyone willing to get onto the elephants for the tiger show, as the tigers were infront of us in the open. The ranger got irritated and started driving away the tourists from the spot. A few moved away from the spot fearing the wrath of the ranger, and the ensuing din caused the tigress and her cub to get out of water and leave the spot too.

I too left the spot feeling happy having seen several facets of the Jhurjhura tigresses personality. She had defended her Sambar kill from a larger tigress, ensured that her cub is well fed and drinks water and cools off at the right time. She has resented the intrusion into her privacy by snarling and had moved her cub away from noisy crowd. The afternoon Safari brought another memorable experience with her family which I have already described here http://www.indiawilds.com/diary/when-a-tiger-cub-seeks-your-protection .

Anyone who is born is destined to die. However, one feels sad when a young soul passes away. You feel annoyed when you realise that the premature death is due to rash driving. And I am sure, you would be devastated when you realise that this rash driving has orphaned three small kids who can’t fend for themselves.

Precisely that has happened in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve.

The Jhurjhura tigress who had three small cubs have been felled by an errant jeep. The cubs hardly five months old, are too young to fend for themselves. And no other tigress can play the role of a surrogate mother and teach them hunting skills.

And now look at the tragedy of the absurd being played out in Bandhavgarh.

Initially, the forest department denied that the jhurjhura tigress was killed. The Field director was quoted as saying that a male tiger has been killed. Then he said that the death is due to fighting with another tiger.

It was an egregious blunder from the Field Director, as fighting with another tiger would have left behind deep wounds, unlike the present case where external wounds were not found on the body of the tigress. Then it was said that the tigress died due to possible drowning or poisoning. Then they said that the tigress is not the jhurjhura tigress but its daughter from its previous litter aged 30 months.

In the meanwhile, the Forest department had identified 11 vehicles that had gone in those routes and brought the guides and drivers of those vehicles for questioning. It should be noted, that in each vehicle one guide is mandatorily given by the forest department. It was said that the forest department would seize the vehicles.

The markings in the face and the body clearly established that the tigress is indeed the Jhurjhura tigress. I have been photographing her for many years and have seen her raise successive litters to adulthood. I can easily recognize her image from front as well as sides. I used to joke that I have an annual date with her in the waters of Bandhavgarh. I can remember her careful foot steps during stalking when the hind leg exactly falls on the place vacated by the fore leg. I have been privy to watch her shower motherly love on her cubs. She is ready to admonish her cubs when required. She often used to show annoyance whenever tourists intrude into her privacy. My life has been filled with some pleasant memories of her.

Today, I feel a sense of tremendous loss. I feel a sense of shame, shame of having been born in the same race as the insensitive criminals who hit the tigress and the criminals who are helping cover up the crime.

I feel disturbed, when I see that a majority of wildlife photographers and tour agents, who routinely enjoy clicking the images of this beautiful tigress and sharing the images in photo sharing sites, are today silent. Perhaps, they have moved on in life? Ready to enjoy the moment till it lasts? Is this the trait of the human species?

Or is it because the culprits are supposed to be powerful individuals that people have chickened out? Are we so fearful of the powerful and the influential?

I feel annoyed watching this theater of the absurd. And I feel disturbed watching the studied silence of the papparazi – the wildlife photographers – who were hounding her and her cubs when she was alive.

Remembering the moments of bliss that I had experienced with her, I am sharing a few images here.

May God Bless Her!

Sabyasachi

I have been studying the African National Parks to glean best practices that can be implemented here in India. I have shared my learnings so far in the IndiaWilds Newsletters Vol. 1 Issue IX and Vol.2 Issue IV. In this issue, we examine the impact of tourism on tigers and the issues of crime and punishment.

Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve: Tourism Infrastructure

In the previous issue – IndiaWilds Newsletter Vol. 2 Issue IV ( http://www.indiawilds.com/diary/indiawilds-newsletter-vol-2-issue-iv ), I had done a comparative analysis of ecotourism practices in Botswana and India. Soon after writing that piece, I visited Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve. I could find time to do a brief analysis of the tourism infrastructure in Ranthambhore and its impact.

As we have said earlier, tourism infrastructure should not come at the cost of the wilderness areas. However, in Ranthambhore, the tourism facilities along with its supporting infrastructure is increasing day by day.

My analysis of Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve reveals that there are 454 seats available (Gypsy and canter) for tourist entry into the Tiger Reserve. So technically a maximum of 454 tourists can enter into the Tiger Reserve.

I found 33 hotels with 821 double rooms ie 1642 beds per night. This means at least three and half times more people can stay in hotels than the number of people who can enter the forest as tourists.

It should be kept in mind that most of these hotels allow triple occupancy. So the number of tourists potentially staying in Ranthambhore is higher. There are 2-3 hotels in the city with about 100 odd beds which I have not taken into consideration. There are also number of guest houses and basic stay options starting from Rs. 50 per night which have not been accounted for in my calculation. Now it is upto you to judge whether we need so many hotels and rooms in Ranthambhore.

Due to paucity of time, I could not find whether there are any applications pending for setting up new hotels in Ranthambhore. I am sure there would be many more real estate developers waiting to set up hotels in Ranthambhore.

Do these hotels practice responsible waste management measures?

Do they have basic waste disposal facility? Unfortunately, the answer is a big NO for most of the hotels. If you calculate that each tourist needs at least three mineral water bottles a day, then atleast five thousand mineral water bottles are consumed. Most of these are dumped in empty plots. Is this how we should treat our wilderness areas?

What is the need for conference facilities? I am sure, our wilderness areas can do without the added pressures of the ubiquitous sales meets and other such conferences.

Physical impact of tourism on Tigers:

There has been a flurry of news reports from the tourism lobby claiming positive impact of tourism on tigers. Let us examine the case of Ranthambhore again.

In a much celebrated case, a tourism group awarded life time achievement award to a tigress nicknamed Machhli. This tigress was earlier christened The Lady of the Lake by our Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Manmohan Singh. This tigress had made the lake area her abode. Now her daughter has reclaimed the area and Machhli has moved away to a different zone. This tigress is called T17. She has been watching tourists from a young age and has got acquainted to tourists. Unfortunately, the tourist vehicles hardly allow her to move.

I have seen her trying to stalk deer but the tourist vehicles didn’t allow her to cross the road. In one instance, a tourist vehicle even screeched to a halt and hit the tail of the tigress. Fortunately, she didn’t lose her composure, but jumped aside and gave the driver a long hard look.

Wildlife Tourism was supposed to be non-consumptive. That means, you don’t take away anything from the forest and don’t have any negative impact. Unfortunately, the way wildlife tourism aka ecotourism is run in India, the impact on wildlife and wilderness areas is enormous. I hope, the Government wakes up to this grim reality and stops unrestrained tourism as it has a negative impact on our wilderness areas.

Crime and Punishment:

Today, I came across a news item from Bangladesh and immediately sat up and took notice.

Bangladesh which had promulgated its wildlife laws in 1974 is revamping it. Under the present laws, the maximum penalty for a wildlife poacher or smuggler is 2000 taka which is equivalent to Rs1316/- and a two year prison sentence. Under the soon to be enacted new laws, the sentence has been enhanced to life imprisonment and 3,00,000 taka (equivalent to Rs. 1,97,529/-).

Now it is in sharp contrast to laws in India. According to the current laws the maximum punishment for murdering an endangered species like a tiger is three to seven years in jail and a fine of ten thousand rupees for first offence and twenty five thousand for second offence.

It is said that the Government is interested in amending the laws to increase the punishment. The proposed punishments for killing a tiger is five to seven years for a first time offender and seven to ten years for a repeat offender. Needless to say that the present as well as the proposed quantum of punishment is not big enough to act as a deterrent.

A number of conservationists believe that it is more important to reform the prosecution process rather than enhancing the quantum of punishment citing the slow and tardy nature of the prosecution process. It is often difficult to prove the guilt. So often the poachers are not even convicted.

However, I would beg to disagree with people who feel the present level of punishment stipulated in the laws are sufficient or who feel that we need not focus our energy in enhancing it. Take the example of Indians who travel abroad. The so called elites, or the middle classes as well as the working class people like plumber etc are all very careful in obeying the rules in a foreign country like Singapore. The supposedly simple acts of indiscretion like spitting or defecating in public, which people here are so used to, is not at all practiced by our people in a country like Singapore. The level of punishments in the small country like Singapore acts as a big deterrent. If we are able to slap exemplary punishment for killing a tiger, then definitely the people on the ground who actually kill the tiger or act as conduits will refrain from doing so. We will then have a small amount of crime to contend with.

So what should be the punishment? If we look at some of the gruesome murders committed in India, like killing a person and skinning him or killing a person and burning her body in a tandoor (clay oven), the crime was adjudged to be rarest of the rare and the persons given death penalty.

Now let’s consider the crime in the jungle. The poachers lay snares to trap a tiger, the tiger is caught and remains hungry for a couple of days apart from bleeding due to its wounds. The tiger is then shot at point blank range and then skinned. The flesh and bones are dried and sent to be consumed in a country abroad. Do you think we should condone such cruelty? Is this not a rarest of the rare case and fit for capital punishment?

It is time, we toss away our rule books and rewrite those to keep in sync with the times.

Conservation:

How green are our corporates? An interesting article by Ranbir Mahapatra

The Green Monsters – Abt Big Corporates Hoodwinking us on their green ambitions

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3820

IUCN warns mangroves can get extinct:

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3762

Will replant mangroves 200kms away: to get permission for Navi Mumbai airport this is what the State Govt. says

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3882

Wilderness Updates:

Climate change hits Andamans:

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3777

A piece of good news amid the gloom:

Population of Dolphins rising in Mahanadi river mouth and Gahiramatha

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3749

Natural History:

Vulture Mating:

Perhaps the first documentation of vulture (Gyps indicus) mating in the wild.

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3815

(Members need to login to view it. In case you are a not a member of IndiaWilds then you can register with your full name with a space between first name and last name. Follow this for registration http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/register.php )

Wildlife Photography:

Some of the fine natural history moments recorded by our members:

Machhli with Kill by Jatinder Sawhney

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3736

Leopard Bandipur by Nikhilesh Mahakur

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3678

Elephant Digger by Dipankar Mazumdar

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3626

Serpent Eagle with Serpent Kill by Subramanya CK

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3804

Little Grebe by Amit Kalele

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3674

And clouds cover the jungle by Sagar Patil

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3876

Nature’s Pattern Matching: Young fronds of a Cycas by Rubens Alexander

http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3715

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.com

Regards,

Sabyasachi Patra

www.indiawilds.com

Profile: http://www.indiawilds.com/profile.htm

Contact: http://www.indiawilds.com/contact%20us.htm

Twitter: indiawilds

Facebook: indiawilds

Today I am going to relate an incredible experience that I had in 2006 in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve. While looking back at my old images I came across this black and white image of a tigress and cub in water and the memories came flooding back.

It was an eventful day. In the morning I had a good sighting of a tigress and her cubs on kill and in water in the climbers point and suaribah area. In the afternoon we reached the spot again but the tigers were sleeping on the hill and were not visible.

I moved ahead and then later around 6 pm we could sight a tiger in the stream opposite climbers point. It was the Sukhipatiha male, neck deep in water. There were a few trees in front of us and the tiger was hardly visible. The guide deserves praise for spotting the tiger. The light was very poor. I used my flash to get his eyes shining so that people can locate the tiger. We then left the tiger at peace with itself and moved to the other side of climbers point, to the suaribah area. The tigress and her cub had come back to water and there were a few other tourist vehicles there.

My vehicle was not in the right position, and I didn’t click beyond a record images as I was not getting the right images. We waited for some time and the tourist jeeps started leaving the place around 6.10 or so as the forest department gate closes at 6.45 pm and the vehicles have to be out of the forest by that time. It was 6.19 pm when the tigress and the cub got up and went up the hill. All the vehicles immediately left the spot. My driver commented that the tiger is irritated with the vehicles and hence left. I told him that definitely, the tigress and cub will come back to water after we left the place. So we moved ahead slowly and no sooner had we reached the corner, the tigress and cub started coming back to water. They had a heavy meal as they had finished a Sambar within a day and definitely wanted to be in water to cool off as well as to drink.

We immediately reversed and came back to the waterfront. The tigress and cub watched us and didn’t react. So we realized that they were comfortable. I started creating a few images. My driver, resourceful that he is, suggested that I can click till 6.30 pm and then leave by the other gate. However that meant a drive of about 15 kilometers more. The light was very low and the shutter speed in my Canon EOS 10D digital SLR camera was pretty low. I hardly used to shoot beyond ISO 100 in that camera. So I slowly opened my tripod and placed it on the ground and started creating images.

There were a few deers (Axis axis) grazing in the meadows. Suddenly there was an alarm call from them. I was surprised as the alarm call was in the rajbehera grasslands direction. I was told that it might be Sukhipatiha male. It was likely, as we had sighted the Sukhipatiha male on the other side of the hill in the stream. This male tiger is yet to establish its territory. So it was staying in caves on the hills opposite the climber point area and used to surreptitiously hunt and fend for itself taking enough care to hide from other male tigers.

I could see different reactions in the tigress and the cub. We could not see the Sukhipatiha tiger, but the tigress got up and started moving in that direction as if to confront him. Fear was writ large over the face of the cub. It would be pertinent to mention that a wild tiger can cause harm to a tiger cub from another litter in cases where the intraspecific competition is immense. In such cases, it can even kill a cub.

The tiger cub immediately got up and started coming straight towards me. I was worried, because I had placed the tripod on the ground and had placed my camera and lens on it. Even at the tender age of 8-10 months an adolescent tiger has enough power to twist the tripod like a plastic wire. However, my driver remarked that the cub wants to hide near us. I then realized that the cub is seeking protection from the male tiger. I still couldn’t believe it. A wild tiger cub trusts a human being to hide from a male tiger! I felt as if a kid is coming close towards me for shelter. In a world where other fellow human beings don’t trust you, a tiger reposing faith was an emotional moment for me.

It was a long time since I had visited Parambikulam and had been planning to visit it for some time. Finally I decided to go to Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary in the month of October to take advantage of the long weekend in the first week. I knew it would not be an easy journey due to the roadbuilding works in progress. However, I had not expected such a start.

I had a meeting in office on the first of October and had planned to leave after lunch time. The afternoon was hot with the sun beating down mercilessly. The full blast of the airconditioning had come to the rescue. Suddenly I heard something falling from the vehicle, but was not sure what it was. I was wondering what fell down and looked through the mirror. I realized that the spare wheel cover has fallen down from my Tata Safari. I had to drive a further kilometer and half before I could take a U turn. Unfortunately, by the time I reached the spot, someone had already taken away the wheel (Stepney) cover. This is the problem you face, when you drive alone. If I could have stopped immediately, then I would not have faced this problem. Cursing myself, I drove ahead.

I stopped at Krishnagiri and then next day proceeded to Parambikulam. The road building work was in progress and vehicles were moving in both the directions. It is not a pleasing experience to jostle for space with 40 feet long containers. I missed the directions and entered Tirupur. Lack of knowledge of Tamil, became a big hindrance in finding my way out of the town. Tired and enervated, I reached Polachi in the evening.

Next day morning ie on 3rd of October, I found my way to Parambikulam to discover that my booking has been allotted to someone. I introduced myself and the forest department officials allotted the DFO’s bunglow to me. I was surprised to see a number of tents and concrete buildings. This place used to be the corridor for Gaur and elephants. In the late eighties there used to several hundred guars congregating in the place. Unfortunately, one overenthusiastic forest officer lacking in foresight, created a clearing for the forest bungalow. Though the forest officer was later transferred, more and more constructions came up in the area.

In the afternoon, to my horror, I realized that photographers had to go in a canter for the Safari. What is the point in driving a 4WD vehicle to the forest, if you can’t use it inside the forest? Finally, I got permission to drive it inside the sanctuary. I took a forest department guide for directions.

First, I found a tribal settlement near a dam. I was told that the chances of finding dholes and leopards is high in the area, especially in the mornings. Since, I didn’t find even a deer, I realized that the human disturbance is taking a toll. The guide signaled that there is a guar at a distance on my left. The calf was suckling. I pulled out my 40D with Canon 400mm f2.8 L IS USM and 2x II TC and clicked a few shots handheld. I was waiting for a better angle, as the gaur was facing away from us. In a few minutes time, the forest department bus reached the spot and started honking. So I had to move to the side of the narrow road and made space for the bus to overtake. The gaur mother got disturbed and didn’t allow the calf to feed anymore. I felt terrible. Unfortunately, the forest department officials don’t realise that they are disturbing animals.

I reached the Kanimara Teak. It is a 450 year old living teak tree. I clicked a few photographs and came back. We found a few gaurs, however, they ran and crossed the road. They were clearly nervous by the signs of people.

While driving back, the sun was going down the horizon. I parked my SUV and created a few images of the backwaters.

I had planned to get up early in the morning and drive down to Kannimara Teak. I was told that at times you can even find dholes and sloth bears on the road.

Next day morning I got up as soon at 5.30 am but was feeling uneasy due to the spicy food. I somehow motivated myself for the morning safari. Saw a gaur adolescent near the road. The light was pretty low. However, using the bean bag, I got a few sharp images. There were no other sightings.

Back in the guest house, it was time to pack, as I wanted to stay in the tree house. After lunch, the guide came and we drove down to the tree house at Thunakadu. It was near a village. I was astonished to see a large village and song and dance going on. I was told they were celebrating the Wildlife Week with blaring music and dance and drama by the villagers. The tree house had basic amenities, however, I was delighted to see a Ratufa indica (Indian giant squirrel) on a tree about 30 feet behind the tree house.

Around 4 pm, I drove down to the tunnel area. The Nilgiri langurs were restless at our presence and were hiding behind dense foliage. I couldn’t get a decent shot, however got a nice image of a ratufa indica and its kid.

The mom was calling the kid near itself and was teaching it to nibble at the leaves. It was certainly a nice sight. This tranquil setting was interrupted, when a car came behind us and honked. I was surprised, as no vehicles are supposed to be allowed inside the forest. Later, I realized that forest department officials, get tourists to drive inside on some arrangements.

We parked the vehicle and started trekking. It was tough on me to carry my 400mm f2.8 L IS USM lens weighing 4 kgs apart from the camera and tripod etc. To compound the problem, I had earlier twisted my heel and it was not in good shape. Nevertheless, I carried on for some distance before, the guide asked us to turn back.

The lunch was a simple South Indian chapatti and a little amount of fried beans. I normally, don’t complain about food in the forest, so it was ok for me. It was better to sleep, as the loud music continued till about 10 pm in the night.

The next day morning started at around 5.30 am. It was still dark. I wanted to reach the dam to catch the sunrise. I saw a herd of gaur (Bos gaurus) at a distance and stopped my vehicle. The herd, numbering about 15-16 ran and crossed the road. I was surprised at their behaviour as they do so when there is poaching pressure. Later on I came to know that the guars are killed and eaten by the locals. People in Kerala eat beef and the gaurs are poached for their meat. A male gaur can weigh up to 1100kgs. Still man can instill fear in them. Man has certainly cemented its places as terrorists among all the species residing in Earth. We terrify all species, big and small, including our own brethren.

The false dawn was breaking and there were no signs of the nilgiri langurs. I reached the dam and realized my mistake. We were certainly not facing at the east. Due to the language barrier, the guide probably could not tell us the fact, if at all he was aware. Anyway, I photographed a few cloud patterns and then returned back to the hamlet. A few wild boars were sleeping piled up, one on top of the other. I had never seen a sight before. On one pile there were five wild boars sleeping and on another there were three.

After freshing up, I went for breafast. It was a simple affair in a small thatch restaurant in the village. I just wanted to satiate my hunger given my experience with the dinner the previous day night. I slowly started nibbling at the dosa, the way a Indian giant squirrel (ratufa indica) does to leaves. However, I could not believe it. I chewed a bigger chunk of the dosa. Within seconds, realization dawned on me that it was the best dosa I had ever had in my life. I even ate one more and realized that the taste of the previous one was not an aberration. I am sure, my friends in the Taj hotels will berate me, however, I have no hesitation in saying over and over again that the dosa in that small thatch restaurant was much better than what I have tasted in India’s best five star hotels.

The guide got some information that a Nilgiri langur was sighted nearby. We drove down to the spot, but the Nilgiri langur’s hid themselves behind thick vegetation. Later on when I came to know that people poach these Nilgiri langurs and prepare pickles out of their meat, I realized that it was perhaps expected.

Anyway, with a heavy heart due to lack of any significant sightings and images, I started driving back. There was a big function at Anamalai to increase awareness and a lot of people had gathered. Tourist vehicles were blaring their horns and fouling obscenities at each other while negotiating the hair pin bends……Alas, this is what our wilderness places have been reduced to…..Am not sure, whether I am going to come back here in the near future…..

(Written on October 2008)

Laxminarayanan and his brother Hari had wanted to go to Bandipur, and were urging me to plan a trip. Mr. TNA Perumal, the doyen of wildlife photography of the yesteryears, agreed to join and soon four of us were on our way to Bandipur.

We started early in the morning from Bangalore and reached Bandipur Forest Rest House by around 12 noon. After unpacking, we were ready to have our lunch. The macaques were trying to sneak inside the room and had to be careful with our food and photographic equipment.

In the afternoon, we entered into the forest and soon sighted an elephant and calf on the road. The light was a bit harsh and the elephants were close.

I was driving with my EOS 1D Mark II and Canon EF 400mm f2.8 L IS lens on my lap. The elephants were too close for my 400mm. There was an armada speeding towards us in the road, and the elephants immediately got into the bush. We turned left and after sometime came across three Sambars (Cervus unicolor). The Sambar had a pronounced sore patch. The sambar was on the left side and I had to handheld my 400mm f2.8 IS and photograph through the left window.

George B. Schaller in his much acclaimed book – The Deer and the Tiger had this to say about the Sore patch :

“One of the manifestations of the early part of the rut is the “sore neck: (J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., 1921; Morris, 1988) or “sore spot.” On the ventral surface of the neck is a line of hair, somewhat darker and less sleek than the surrounding pelage, which runs down the mid-line from the throat to the lower part of the neck. At the begining of the rut, the hair falls out at the terminus of this line, and the skin seems to slough off, forming a circular area about one to two inches in diameter which is bloody in appearance and exudes a seous fluid, “a kind of whittish looking oily or watery substance” (Thom, 1937). The area around the sore spot is sometimes swollen, and Kemp (1914 [quoted in J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., 1921]) observed that hair is occasionally rubbed off over an area as large as eight inches long and six inches wide. I noted the first sore spot on November 15 and the last one on December 15. Many sore spots began to heal during the first half of December, and by January the only evidence of them was an area of pinkish skin lightly overgrown with hair. Sore spots were not seen at other times of the year at Kanha, but in Kaziranga Sanctuary two stags and a hind all had them on May 3…….”

It should be noted that we saw the sore patch on August. The flies were swarming around the sore patch. After watching the Sambar for a few minutes, we drove ahead.

Soon we came across a lizard near the water. It kept on moving towards us and soon was close enough for me to just get its head filling the entire frame. After a few minutes, I found one Ford Endeavour moving towards us and I discovered Dr. Ajit Huilgol in that vehicle. And a couple of minutes later, the traffic jam was complete with a forest department canter reaching the place. The monitor lizard had moved away and was appearing as a small object. We then moved ahead.

Towards evening the lights started going down and we came across a herd of elephants. And I discovered that there were a few tourist vehicles about 30 yards behind the elephants. A few elephants from the herd were yet to cross over to the left side and were hidden in the dense lantana bushes. The elephants at the left started mud bathing. The matriarch gave the signal for the elephants to move. An approximately 3 year old juvenile elephant came close to my SUV and felt a bit intimidated. The matriarch moved ahead to calm it and they entered into the dense lantana bushes on our left. The sighting was not conducive for great photography. However, I was happy at observing the elephants and listening to their rumbling sounds.
We then moved ahead and arrived at a T junction.

When I turned to the left, we could find a few langurs on the ground eating lantana leaves. Lantana, being an exotic first imported by the British as flowering plants have gone wild and invaded our forests. The leaves have toxic impact on the herbivores. However, it seems that langurs have got accustomed to eating its flowers, buds and leaves. I am not sure whether anyone has done any study on the impact of lantana on the langur. Normally, I don’t stop for shooting langurs. However, the lighting was good. And Mr TNA Perumal, the pictorialist that he is, never missed an opportunity to photograph any subject in good lighting. I accordingly stopped the Safari and photographed the langurs with my 400mm. I opened the door and placed the lens in the wedge between the vehicle and the door and got enough stability to get sharp images.

The sun was setting and light had gone down low enough to prompt us to return to the Forest Rest House. We soon started chatting over a cup of tea. The images were downloaded, and after an early dinner we were about to retire for the night when we heard alarm calls.

Any visitors to Bandipur would be surprised at the congregation of spotted deers (Axis axis) near the forest rest house in the evenings. In the night, you can see the deers resting on the ground in the forest rest house compound. This is an attempt to avoid predators. However, leopards come nearby to hunt. We moved out but couldn’t see the leopard. Later around midnight again we heard alarm calls. However, it seems the leopard was not successful. I was hopeful that we might sight a carnivore the next day and didn’t realise when I fell asleep.

I was woken up by Laxminarayanan at around 4 am. We got ready and then met Mr. Jayakumar and group there and proceeded ahead. We were about to turn left when they moved ahead to turn left. So we drove ahead and took a right turn. Alas, who knew that we are going to miss the tiger?
In the early morning dew, we photographed a jungle fowl and a mongoose. At a distance we could find a few tourist vehicles. I drove ahead and found an elephant digging a salt lick. The sound of digging was audible. Since the elephant was on my right, I waited for Mr. TNA Perumal to click a few shots before I created some images. At f3.2 aperture, I could get the entire body covered by depth of field and was happy with the images.

We then turned back and came to the main road. I decided to enter into an unused road. Mr. Perumal said that chances of sighting in such dense vegetation is remote. However, I decided to move ahead. We then reached an antipoaching camp and turned left and climbed a hill again. Suddenly a Changeable Hawk Eagle flew and sat on a branch on our left. The background was not cluttered as there were branches criss crossing behind its head. It sat patiently for about half an hour. So I could change converters and create various compositions. It was about 9 am and there were no more sightings on the way.

After a quick breakfast, we decided to go to Gopalswamy Betta. Though I was not keen on taking my heavy 400mm f2.8 IS lens, Mr. Perumal said that there are chances of sighting elephants on the slopes and asked me to carry the lens. It was however, packed in my bag.

We were about to reach the Bandipur forest gate and saw a spotted deer (Axis axis) near the road side chewing on a kurkure packet. Herbivores, due to the salt content, like to lick and chew the empty wafers packets dropped by visitors. In the process, the stand on or near the road side and get hit by speeding vehicles. At times, they swallow these packets and die as well. On one earlier occasion, I had seen an elephant dung containing a polythene laced with blood. When I was struggling to remove my camera and lens from the bag kept in the backseat, the deer moved into the lantana vegetation. Several cars came speeding and narrowly missed hitting us. Fortunately, I could document the deer chewing the plastic wafer packet using 800mm focal length.

We then proceeded towards Gopalswamy Betta. Somehow, we missed the entry road and took a detour on a broken road. It was certainly not an issue as I had 4WD in my vehicle. On reaching the entry gate to Gopalswamy Betta, I was pleasantly surprised when the guard checked for plastics and took away polythene bags from the tourist vehicles. I wish this practice can be adopted in other places, including Bandipur.

On reaching the summit of the hill, we got down to macro shooting. I hadn’t brought a macro lens, but Mr. Perumal started shooting. I discovered that it is a good place for macro work. After a quick trip to the temple, we proceeded back to Bandipur. We sighted and counted a herd of seven elephants at a distance feeding on the leaves and branches on the hill slope. After observing them for about fifteen minutes, we moved ahead as the afternoon safari time was fast approaching.

On reaching the forest rest house, I found a big wild boar close by. On a whim, I took out my new Nokia N97 phone and tip toed towards it to create a full frame image. Well, the phones have a long way to go before serious photographers like me can use it.

We reached a waterhole where the previous day a tigress was sighted. Unfortunately, we only found a gaur. I tried a few shots handholding my Canon 1D Mark II and Canon EF 400mm f2.8 L IS USM lens plus 2xII Tc combination. The weight is killing, but I got a few sharp images.

Later in the evening, we found a kid langur playing and then found gaurs in low light. An adult male gaur was getting ready to mount on a receptive female. It needed some more time, and we didn’t have much time in our hands as the forest gates closing time was fast approaching. We had to call it a day.

Next day early in the morning apart from cheetals we didn’t have much sightings. We then waited at a place as Hari and Mr Perumal wanted to photograph the deers and langurs. I was watching a langur at a distance debarking a tree. After some time it moved ahead and started mating with a female langur. Fortunately, I was ready and despite handholding my heavy lens, the images were sharp. Soon it was time for us to move ahead and bid adieu to Bandipur.

(Originally written on August 2009)

I believe it is a good idea to do benchmarking; after all, life is all about change for the better. In the IndiaWilds Newsletter Vol. 1 Issue XI (http://www.indiawilds.com/diary/indiawilds-newsletter-vol-1-issue-xi), I had done a comparison between wildlife sanctuaries in India and Africa focusing on the size. Continuing with the efforts in analyzing best practices from Africa, in this edition we focus on eco-tourism.

Ecotourism:
Ecotourism is a much reviled concept in India. Most often the word is used liberally and twisted to suit the needs of different groups like forest department, NGOs, settlers in a wilderness area etc.

IUCN has defined ecotourism, as “environmentally responsible travel and visitation to relatively undisturbed natural areas, in order to enjoy, study and appreciate nature (and any accompanying cultural features – both past and present), that promotes conservation, has low negative visitor impact, and provides for beneficially active socio-economic involvement of local populations”.

Ecotourism has got different degrees of success around the world. Like any other tool, it has its own limitations and is definitely not the panacea of all ills afflicting our wilderness areas. Let us look at ecotourism as it is practiced or preached in India.

Do we have an ecotourism strategy? What do we expect from ecotourism? Have we done any objective setting for ecotourism in India?

Unfortunately, the answer is no. The sporadic efforts of some genuinely interested individuals and groups may have resulted in a few so called “successful” ecotourism operations. However, as a country we are groping in the dark.

In sharp contrast Botswana, one of the poorest countries in Africa (as far as measurement of economy in the traditional method is concerned) has defined its ecotourism strategy and objectives. It would be pertinent to mention that Botswana has got 37% (thirty seven percent) of its landmass in National Parks, Nature Reserves and Wildlife Management Areas. Ecotourism objectives of Botswana:

• Minimizing negative social, cultural and environmental impacts.
• Maximizing the involvement in, and the equitable distribution of economic benefits to, host communities.
• Maximizing revenues for re-investment in conservation.
• Educating both visitors and local people as to the importance of conserving natural and cultural resources
• Delivering a quality experience for tourists

Where do we stand if we analyse ourselves with a similar set of objectives?

How environment friendly is our ecotourism?
There are too many groups to talk about social and cultural impact. I would limit my observations to the environmental impact.

• Do we use energy and water conservation technologies to save our precious resources?
• Do we use local design and construction methods?
• Do we practice responsible waste management measures?
• How do we eliminate hazardous materials, pesticides, phosphate based cleaners, solvents, Volatile organic compounds etc?
• Do we assess life-cycle environmental impacts of all building materials and purchases associated with ongoing operations and maintenance
• Fresh food purchased locally?

The answer is obviously in the negative for the above points except for a few resorts purchasing some of their vegetables locally. The reasons are many and some of those are structural issues.

Priority areas:
In Okavango for example, they have an Okavango Core Tourism Development Area where low volume, low intensity and high value tourism is planned. In the areas bordering the Core Tourism Development Area, the volume and intensity of tourism allowed is higher. So their ecologically fragile areas don’t have to bear the vagaries of mass tourism. Unfortunately, in our case, there is very little differentiation of our areas with respect to tourism. The core areas are virtually inviolate to tourists, except for people who surreptitiously sneak in with the help of forest department officials. So everybody strives to flock to the Tala zone in Bandhavgarh and not to the other areas. Earlier it was free for all, but now the number of vehicles allowed into the 100 sq. kilometers of Tala zone is capped at 50 ie. about one vehicle every 2 square kilometers. So a naturalist or serious wildlife photographer has to literally jostle for space with an individual – liberally doused with perfume – who cannot distinguish between a gaur and a rhino.

They are conscious about the impact of tourism support infrastructure that comes up in an area. Unfortunately, we are not. So a Tala village in Bandhavgarh National Park, from 6 families has now grown into a small township. Same is the case with Ramanagar near Corbett National Park to name a few examples. A number of such examples abound.

In Botswana, the ecotourism operator needs to be registered and follow all the laws of the land. Same is the case in Malaysia where a tour guide has a license and an identity card. That helps in ensuring quality of service. In India, anyone can proclaim himself to be an expert and offer his services. For example, a tour operator who ran over a tiger cub, was running a hotel without naming it so.

In Botswana, the eco tourism operator must demonstrate that responsible professionals have performed the EIA (Environment Impact analysis). In India, EIA for projects involving industries, dams, canals, roads etc is a joke. So I am not sure how seriously EIA can be done for ecotourism. The Uttarakhand Government has now announced that new hotels will only be allowed to be set up near Corbett after due diligence. We must understand that once a resort, hotel etc comes up in an ecologically fragile place, the loss would be irreversible. Rare species of plants, animals, and insects can be locally exterminated, and landscape altered forever.

Community Participation:

One of the theoretical benefits of ecotourism, is to maximize the involvement of communities in ecotourism and the equitable distribution of economic benefits. Unfortunately, apart from menial jobs, the local communities have very less role to play in the ecotourism as it is practiced today in India.

It is obvious that the traditional communities won’t be always in sync with the expectations of the tourists and the best practices worldwide. Cooperatives should be formed by traditional communities and Tour operators with experience can get into management contracts with them. The traditional communities, knowledgeable in jungle craft can put their knowledge to good use. The others – not versed in the jungle craft -can get gainful employment in the ecotourism sector with some training. This would help in the traditional communities living in the periphery of the wilderness areas (after resettlement from the core areas) to value the wilderness areas better.

The tourism enterprise should purchase groceries, fruits, vegetables etc if locally available. However, this should not induce local communities to clear up forest areas for cultivation. That is the tourism should not lead to mushrooming of tourism support infrastructure and increase in environmental footprint. One third of India’s forest areas have been encroached in the last two decades. For further details you need to check here:
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3539

It is imperative that the Government comes up with an adequate legislation and detailed guidelines to regulate tourism to not only protect our wilderness places from devastation, but also ensure equitable distribution of the gains. The following needs to be ensured:

Ecotourism Operators: Everybody wants to jump into ecotourism. Due diligence should be carried out before allowing any groups or individuals to set up resorts in sensitive areas. The individuals, groups, organizations entering into this field should show their commitment to recruit the right kind of resources, adopt best practices etc. It is difficult for these individuals or groups to learn and adopt the best practices from worldwide. So the Government may help them in enriching their knowledge from time to time by creating a best practices compendium, organizing seminars etc.
Where: our tourism operators are crowded around a few places. In the absence of any legislation, our tourism operators will only move to well established areas. It is perhaps human nature that people will only 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.

How:

• EIA (Environment Impact Assessment) 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.
• Traditional crafts and culture should be promoted.
• In case the land is already degraded, the resort 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.
• 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.

Conservation:
Oil spill threatens Olive Ridley Turtles Orissa
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3653
This is the second oil spill in Orissa coast in the last few months. First it was from the Mongolian ship in Paradip Port and now from the Essar Oil ship in Gopalpur port. It doesn’t require crystal gazing to know that oil spill can happen from the proposed port at Dhamra in the coast of Orissa and wipe out olive ridley turtles in Gahirmatha beach.

93% of Wild medicinal plants in endangered list
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3589

Wilderness Updates:
Forest guard dies in hunter’s attack in Thamarassery:
Please spare a thought to the challenges faced by our forest guards, frontline warriors protecting our wilderness areas.
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3570

Free flow for Bhagirathi as Government shelves two dams:
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3520

Wildlife Photography
Some of the fine natural history moments recorded by our members:
Pair by Praveen P Mohandas
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3417
Tigress Yawning by Praveen Siddannavar
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3504
Happy Family by Praveen P Mohandas
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3416
Orange Headed Thrush by Amit Kalele
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3578
A wall of water by Mrudul Godbole
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3450
Is it effect of global warming by Mahesh Trivedi
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3463
Ghost of the Darkness by Nikhilesh Mahakur
http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3461

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/

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