ATREE, Kalpavriksh, Nature Conservation Foundation, Council for Social Development and Samrakshan appeal to PM to save the tigers.

The two news stories below present the call for action from the concerned NGOs

Keep firms off tiger land

DH News Service, New Delhi

Worried about the dwindling tiger count, environmentalists have asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to declare areas around tiger reserves as “critical wildlife habitats”, which will be off-limit to the industry and businesses including hotels and tour operators.

Requesting the Prime Minister to secure tiger habitats against “destructive development”, they said in their letter that such notification would not allow projects like mining, big dams, expressways, industries, logging and urban infrastructure to come up near the forests.

There are provisions in the national environment policy which describe these spots as “sites with incomparable values” and in the Scheduled Tribes and Other Forest Dwellers (recognition of forest rights) Act, 2006 that portrays such spots as “critical wildlife habitats”.

Another suggestion is to set up a sanctuary advisory committee, as mandated by the Wild Life Amendment Act 2003. No state has set up this panel so far, says the green outfits that include Kalpavriksha, Bangalore’s Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment and Mysore’s Nature Conservation Foundation.

According to the ongoing tiger census being conducted by the Wildlife Institute of India, the tiger count has gone down significantly in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattishgarh and Rajasthan compared to the last census. While these states accounted for 1,006 tigers in 2001-02, the count has gone down to 417 at the moment.

However, WII scientists claim that earlier census was based only on pug-marks, whereas the ongoing one is more scientific as it combines a number of technologies including camera trapping and scat DNA analysis. The tiger census for the entire country is likely to be completed by the end of 2007.

Filling up the vacancies in the forest department should also be a priority for the government to tide over the tiger crisis, they say, adding that recruitment of younger ground level staff in forest departments especially from local communities is required because of the hazardous and energetic nature of the job.

From the Deccan Herald, 21st June 2007 http://www.deccanherald.com/Content/Jun212007/national200706208550.asp


Plea to Manmohan to save tigers

Special Correspondent NEW DELHI: Concerned over the depleting tiger population in the country, wildlife lovers and environmentalists have asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to issue a special statement that would facilitate a resolution at the next meeting of the National Development Council, and direct the State Governments to take measures concerning the issue.

Despite measures recommended by various committees, policy statements and the report of the Tiger Task Force, The action taken was inadequate, a joint letter to Dr. Singh pointed out. Figures of tiger population in central India, based on the ongoing study by the Wildlife Institute of India and National Tiger Conservation Authority, show the gravity of the crisis. The study shows that in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan, the tiger population estimates are down by 50 per cent.

Action needed
“We are dismayed over the initial reaction of the Ministry of Environment and Forests that these are not official figures when the WII is a Government institute. It is also disappointing to hear some State Governments continuing to claim that all is well in their tiger habitats. It is high time the Government accepted that there is a crisis. This is crucial to mobilise and motivate all rungs of the Central and State Governments, as also ordinary citizens, to take action,” the letter said.

The signatories to the letter are: Kalpavriksh, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment, Nature Conservation Foundation, Council for Social Development and Samrakshan.

From The Hindu, 21st June 2007
http://www.hindu.com/2007/06/21/stories/2007062150551300.htm

Contributed by Mr Samuel Thomas, ATREE's Communications Officer

Six Vacancies at ICIMOD

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) is an international, independent mountain learning and knowledge centre committed to improving the sustainable livelihoods of mountain peoples in the extended Himalayan region.

ICIMOD serves eight regional member countries of the Hindu Kush-Himalayan (HKH) area: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan as well as the global mountain community.

Founded in 1983, ICIMOD is based in Kathmandu, Nepal, and brings together a partnership of its regional member countries, over 300 partner institutions, and committed donors.

ICIMOD is currently seeking to recruit qualified persons for the following vacant professional level positions for which applications are now invited.

· Senior Economist
A proven background in natural resource economics, development economics, and/or applied economics with a Ph.D. in the relevant field; 6 years experiences in micro credit and micro enterprise, value chains are desired, specific works on remittances, micro-credits, and migration is an additional asset; experience in poverty reduction initiatives through livelihood development in the rural communities preferable in rural mountainous areas.

· Information and Knowledge Management Coordinator
An advanced degree in a relevant discipline with specialization in knowledge management; 10 years of experience in the field of knowledge management and development communication, of which part preferably has been gained in the region

· Capacity Development Officer
Post graduate academic background in social sciences, psychology, pedagogy, adult education, training management or institutional development; 10 years’ professional experience in managing training programs, unit or facility, part of which should be in mountain related-field: natural resources management, livelihood development, poverty alleviation, etc, preferably in the HKH region.

· Environmental Change Specialist
Preferably a PhD. academic background or equivalent experience, in environmental change or climate change with an up-to-date research knowledge and expertise in networking, multi-disciplinary research and institutional coordination.

· Disaster Risk Reduction Specialist
A post-graduate academic degree or equivalent in natural resource management or social sciences with a thrust towards natural resources management; 5 years of work experience in the field of disaster risk reduction, of which part preferably has been gained in the HKH region.

· Programme Manager, Integrated Water & Land Management
Post-graduate academic degree or equivalent in water, land, or natural resource management or related fields; 10 years of work experience in integrated research and development work, of which part preferably has been gained in the HKH region.

Further information on the vacancies, including Terms of Reference for the positions, can be found at http://www.icimod.org/ or can be requested from the address below.

Applications with complete curriculum vitae together with the names and addresses of three referees should be sent to the following address not later than 16 July 2007.

- Applications from qualified women and disadvantaged section of the society are strongly encouraged.
- Only short- listed candidates will be notified.

Address for correspondence
HRD Officer, ICIMOD, GPO Box 3226, Kathmandu, Nepal
Tel: (00977-1) 5003222; Fax: (00977-1) 5003299 / 5003277
E-mail: hrd@icimod.org

source : email from CBS Kansakar, ICIMOD

Event Watch

Fourth International Conference on Environmental Education

Dates : 26-Nov-2007 - 28-Nov-2007

Venue : Centre for Environment Education, Ahmedabad

Event Profile
The Fourth International Conference on Environmental Education is a rendezvous to fill the gaps between environmental education (EE) and education for sustainable development (ESD). The conference aims to bring governmental & non-governmental organizations of different countries, working on the issues of EE and ESD, onto a single platform.

The conference will build strategies for promoting the progress of ESD in the world. The conference proposes to increase the networking and nurturing of partnerships among stakeholders for ESD.

Organizer : Centre for Environment Education, Ahmedabad, India

IISc International Conference on Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Economic Growth

Dates : 25-Oct-2007 - 27-Oct-2007

Venue : Indian Institute of Science

City : Bangalore

Event Profile
In most developed countries, entrepreneurship and innovation are the major accelerators of economic growth. IISc International Conference on Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Economic Growth will focus on the challenges in sustaining entrepreneurship & innovation, work on sources of entrepreneurship, and issues related to entrepreneurship culture.

Entrepreneurs, researchers, academic scholars, doctoral students, and policy makers are invited at the conference.

Organizer : Max Planck Institue of Economics, Jena, Germany


10th Inter-regional Conference on Water and Environment (Envirowat)

Dates : 17-Oct-2007 - 20-Oct-2007

Venue : NASC Conference Hall, IARI Auditorium

City : New Delhi

Event Profile
The Inter-regional Conference on Water and Environment (Envirowat) is organized to have discussions on the state-of-the-art technologies for irrigation and rain harvesting, usage of waste and poor quality waters in agriculture, application of innovative tools like remote sensing, pressurized irrigation systems, GIS for water resource management, irrigation management, integrated watershed management, and role of public and private institutions in water management.

During the conference, special lectures will be delivered by the eminent engineers, scientists, and policy makers. In addition to this, poster presentations and contributory oral presentations on various themes will also be there. There will be an arrangement of Delhi tour for the registered delegates & accompanying individuals on payment basis.

Organizer : Indian Society of Water Management, New Delhi, India

Asian Youth and Childhoods 2007

Dates : 22-Nov-2007 - 24-Nov-2007

Venue : Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh

Event Profile
The conference, Asian Youth and Childhoods 2007 under the theme Asian Youth and Childhoods across the World, is being organised by Research Committee on Sociology of youth. The Conference aims at informing professionals on the future shape and boundaries of Asian youth and childhoods to locate their place not only in Asia but throughout the World.

Some of the topics to be discussed are Asian youth and new trajectories, youth, international migration and globalization, inequalities in child and youth population etc.

Organizer: Research Committee on Sociology of Youth, ISA, Madrid, Spain

12th World Lakes Conference

Dates : 28-10-2007 ~ 02-11-2007

Venue : Jaipur, Rajasthan

Event Profile
The 12th World Lakes Conference is being organized by Ministry of Environment & Forests, Govt of India. The conference is titled as 'Taal 2007' under the theme "Conserving Lakes and Wetlands for Future".

The event aims to find new and better alternatives to manage our precious lake water resources and their management throughout the world.

Organizer : Ministry of Environment & Forests, Govt of India, Delhi, India

National Seminar on Recent Developments in Green Chemistry (RDGC)

Dates : 25-Aug-2007

Venue : Karunya University, Karunya Nagar, Coimbatore

Event Profile
National Seminar on Recent Developments in Green Chemistry (RDGC) is an ideal platform to discuss and share latest developments & innovations in the field of green chemistry. Green chemistry aims at reducing the amount of hazardous materials releasing in the process of producing chemical substances. RDGC conference will bring together scientists, academicians, research scholars, and students from colleges, universities and research institutions to facilitate interaction.

Organizer: Karunya University, Coimbatore, India

source : www.indobase.com
http://www.indobase.com

Power companies becoming climate sensitive

That’s the verdict that the latest PricewaterhouseCoopers report ‘Energy and Efficiency: Utilities Global Survey 2007’ reveals. The survey that included 114 power companies in 44 countries found that 48% and 45% of the companies are giving wind and nuclear fuel options top priority.

The survey also revealed that 81% of American companies, 43% of European companies and 41% to 62% of the companies world-wide expect technology to help improve energy efficiency

You can download the full report here at www.ukmediacentre.pwc.com/Content/Detail.asp?ReleaseID=2356&NewsAreaID=2

World Bank plans 250 million dollar fund to grow back rainforests

The World Bank hopes to grow back the forests fast by seeding funds in countries with high rain forest cover. The funds will be disbursed to each country based on how effectively it manages to cut carbon emissions. The bank will raise funds from private investors and donors.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/The_United_States/World_Bank_plans_fund_to_fight_deforestation/rssarticleshow/2116504.cms


Rains are failing in Australia and rainfall is down by 70%

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=mg19426084.400&feedId=opinion_rss20


Tibet plans to ban mining of gold, arsenic, mercury and peat to save environment


source : http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=12950

24 New species found in Suriname Rainforest

Conservation International along with BHP-Billiton Maatschappij Suriname (BMS) and Suriname Aluminium Company LLC (Suralco), carried out a RAP (Rapid Assessment Program) expedition in the rainforests of Suriname.

The study led by Leeanne Alonso, CI vice president and head of the RAP program was carried out from 2005 to mid 2006.

Some of the interesting species discovered include a purple toad with fluorescent markings and a rare armored catfish - Harttiella crassicauda, thought to be extinct

You can check out the full story here at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070604123843.htm

WHO says 13 million lives can be saved by cleaner environment

A recently released WHO report shows that 13 million people or 10% of deaths in 23 of the 192 countries studied happen because of unsafe drinking water and indoor air pollution caused by the burning of wood, cow dung and coal.

http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,date:2007-06-14~menuPK:34461~pagePK:34392~
piPK:64256810~theSitePK:4607,00.html

“ Arctic Tale” to be released on July 25th

Arctic Tale, a new film produced by National Geographic Films makes a dramatic attempt to sensitize the public to global warming. The film does this by portraying the life as experienced by a young male polar bear named Nanu and a female walrus cub named Seela. The suffering that Nanu and Seela undergo will hopefully make the general public more sensitive to the dangerous consequences of climate change.

The film is distributed by Paramount Vantage and premiered at the Silverdocs documentary film festival on June 18th. Directed by Adam Ravetch and his wife, Sarah Robertson, the film's team of script writers include Linda Woolverton and Al Gore’s daughter Kristin.

source : http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=12972

America’s common birds are vanishing…

The Audobon Society has reported a significant drop in the population of 20 of America’s common bird species. Analysis of bird population data shows that the numbers of Northern bobwhite and Evening Grosbeak have fallen by 82% and 78% respectively.

The figures are equally depressing for many of the other common bird species too!
You can read the full report here at http://www.audubon.org/bird/stateofthebirds/CBID/

Wildlife paradise discovered in Southern Sudan

It’s tough to believe that war wrecked, poverty stricken Sudan has an abundance of wildlife but an exciting discovery made by Dr Michael Fay and his team show that southern Sudan is home to a treasure house of wildlife.

An aerial survey of Southern Sudan shows:
8,000 elephants
800,000 kob
250,000 Mongalla gazelle
160,000 tiang
13,000 reedbuck
8,900 buffalo
2,800 ostriches
4,000 Nile lechwe (the only place in the world where you can see them are in the Sudd swamps)

Plus lions, leopards, elands, Grant’s gazelles, roan antelopes, lesser kudu, hartebeest, giraffes, crocodiles, hippos, and beisa oryx were all seen.

The survey was carried out by
Dr Michael Fay, scientist with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and a National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence.
Dr. Paul Elkan, director of the WCS Southern Sudan Country Program, and
Malik Marjan, a Southern Sudanese Ph.D. candidate from the University of Massachusetts Amherst

Says Dr Michael Fay, "We estimated more than 800,000 kob in Southern Sudan. If you were a gold miner and hit a vein of gold, like we found in kob, you would have found El Dorado. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that this kind of abundance in nature existed in a region after 25 years of civil war, virtually unknown to the world at large."

The team started flying on Jan 17, 2007 and in just 150 hours of survey time were able to cover 58,000 square miles (150,000 square km).

Areas surveyed were: Boma National Park, Jonglei region and Southern National Park.

The project was undertaken by The Ministry of Environment, Wildlife Conservation, and Tourism, Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS).

Additional funds were given by USAID/Sudan and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

For this discovery and for exploring the wilderness of Africa, Dr Michael Fay gets the 2007 Lindbergh Award.

The explorations included:

A 15 month, 2000 mile expedition, called Megatransect where Dr Fay traveled from the rainforests of Congo to the sea shores of Gabon. He documented all the large animals, plants and signs of human impact that he saw on the way.

A 600 000 mile expedition called MegaFlyover where he flew across Africa’s wild habitats. That’s when he discovered the wildlife treasure house.

source: http://www.wcs.org/353624/wcs_megascientist

India sets up weather station at glacier in Himachal Pradesh

The Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF) has set up a weather station at the Chhota Shigri glacier in Himachal Pradesh to monitor climate change. The weather station’s Integrated Sensor Suite (ISS), has a warning and recording system to track changes in weather.

source : http://www.indiaenews.com/sports/20070616/56363.htm


Two Sloth bear cubs rescued

The UP Forest department, Delhi based NGO – Wildlife S.O.S. and One Voice Association – France worked together to resuce two endangered bear cubs from smugglers in Baliya district of Uttar Pradesh.

Members of the raiding team included :

• SDO Rasda Range - Mr. Kewal Prasad
  Range officer- Baliya - Mr. Gokul Prasad
  Dy Ranger - Arun Kumar Rai
  Conservator of Forests - Mr. C P Goyal, IFS
  Deputy Conservator of Forests - Dr. R.K.Singh, IFS.
  Plus forest guards who worked under their guidance
  

source : http://www.iar.org.uk/news/2007/jun07-2.shtml

Word Bank lends US$63 million for livelihood project in Bihar

The World Bank has cleared US$63 million to help improve the livelihoods of 2.9 million people living in 590,000 households. Called Jeevika, the rural livelihoods project will be implemented in the districts of Nalanda, Gaya, Muzzafarpur, Madhubani, Khagaria, and Purnea. The project is specifically targeted at helping the women.

Talking about the project, Parmesh Shah, World BankLead Rural Development Specialist and project team leader says, “These communities will be provided skills and tools to develop social accountability mechanisms to enable transparency and good governance within the institutions of the poor. This will also help in building effective service delivery partnerships with local governments.”

You can read more about this project here at : http://www.worldbank.org.in/external/projects/main?pagePK=64283627&piPK=73230&theSitePK=295584&menuPK=295617&Projectid=P090764

NGOs in Agra honor green journalists

Wildlife SOS, International Animal Rescue and Braj Mandal Heritage Conservation Society got together to honor Agra’s green journalists on World Environment Day.

Chief Guest Dr R S Pareek, famous Homoeopath and President of the Agra Citizens’ Council, said, "Every small effort counts. If each one of us on a daily basis thinks of doing one small deed to save the environment, be it saving a drop of water from being wasted or reusing a polybag or a waste piece of paper, we can all contribute to saving our planet from extinction".

Certificates of appreciation and mementos were given to the following journalists:

• Hindi print media

Rajeev Saxena (Dainik Jagran)
Ram Kumar Sharma, Sanmay Prakash and Anshu Pareek ( all from Hindustan Times)
Dr Surendra Singh (Amar Ujala) and
Raj Kumar Sharma (DLA)

Special focus on Agra city’s cultural and historical heritage

Mahesh Dhakar (Hindustan Times) Adarsh Nandan Gupta (Dainik Jagran) and Kumar Lalit Bansal (DLA)

• Photo journalism
  Brajesh Kumar Singh (DLA)
  Aslam Salimi (Dainik Jagran) and
  Vishal Khandelwal (Agra Plus)

• Television
  Rishi Dixit (Sahara TV)
  Jasvir Singh Jassi (Moon Cable Network) and
  Shashi Kant Upadhyaya (Sea Cable Network).
  
  
  Source: http://www.iar.org.uk/news/2007/jun07.shtml

Three major forest fires blaze through Himachal Pradesh in June, 2007

Places affected:

• 2000 hectares of reserve forests in Shimla and Solan districts of Himachal Pradesh
  
• A Large forest fire that lasted for a week was reported from Bogria forest near Nahan

• Another fire was reported from Cant and Ram Kundi districts of Himachal Pradesh.

Forest fire in at the LOC in Kashmir

• A forest fire that extended for 25-29 km on both side of the Line of Control (LOC) was reported from Kashmir. Critically affected areas were Compartment numbers 130,131,144,145, 205 and 206 at Balnoi, Malikpur, Gollat, Sona Wali Gali in the Mendhar sector.

Sources: http://www.fire.uni-freiburg.de/media/2007/06/news_20070611_ind.htm
http://www.fire.uni-freiburg.de/media/2007/06/news_20070605_in.htm
http://www.fire.uni-freiburg.de/media/2007/06/news_20070612_in.htm