Field Forester Nov 2015 - January 2016

FIELD FORESTER
FIELD FORESTER | November 2015
V o i c e s
volume 1 issue 1
f r o m
t h e
f i e l d
NOVEMBER 2015
FIELD FORESTER
Voices from the field
MESSAGE
Since independence, India as a nation has progressed very significantly in
all realms of governance such as education, healthcare, industry or public
infrastructure. Despite the increasing population and the consequent pressure
on our limited land resources, it should not be forgotten that forestry sector
too has made giant strides,. The forestry sector has paid commendable
attention towards the challenging task of conserving our natural resources
and also improved our environment by tackling environmental degradation
in a holistic manner in order to ensure both economic and environmental
sustainability.
No doubt, foresters will always need their professional forestry expertise;
however, their changing relationships with the public and the emerging need
to communicate with the common man have created challenging expectations
from the foresters. The forester community therefore needs to perfect the skills
of holistic communication including giving out knowledge in simple digestive
manner.
The present initiative of Directorate of Forest Education, Ministry of
Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Dehradun in the form of a popular
electronic journal Field Forester is a sincere attempt towards addressing this
existing gap in forestry communication. Field Forester would be a medium for
Voices from the Field ensuring that the shared knowledge reaches a wider
community of people with interest in environment and forests.
The Field Forester would offer the right medium to pass on knowledge
to the new generation of foresters. It will also provide an opportunity and a
medium to further communication skills such as reading, writing and sharing
among the new generation of field foresters. It will offer opportunities for
sharing stories on good practices, innovative works, and successes on natural
resource conservation and management and would generate a knowledge
network amongst the fraternity of foresters and other experts in forestry and
forest management.
I congratulate the Directorate of Forest Education for coming up with this
periodical publication, and I am sure would benefit the forester community as
well as the country at large.
Shri Prakash Javadekar

Union Minister of State (Independent Charge)
Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change
Additional
General
FIELD
FORESTERDirector
| November
2015
Dr. Anil Kumar
of Forests (FC),
Ministry of Environment,
Forests and Climate Change
MESSAGE
The contribution of foresters towards nation building has been phenomenal
though most early development strategies generally ignored the forestry sector.
Today, the vast matrix of backward and forward linkages of forestry sector with
the development paradigm in the country demonstrates how the forests and the
foresters had played a vital role in promoting economic growth. The fine balance
attained by foresters towards ensuring development as well as conservation through
reasoned diversion of forested lands as well as scientific management of remaining
forest lands is definitely to be appreciated. Thus as a result of it, the sustainable
development has been ensured.
Foresters have played an inspirational role in this context. The decades of
forest management have created huge knowledge bank in the hands of foresters.
Nevertheless, it is not available in the public domain, nor are they available to
young foresters. The capturing, storing and sharing knowledge is critical to growth
of anyprofessional community.
Knowledge management involves various types of knowledge. Explicit
knowledge is objective and can be measured and documented. There are several
books, journals and online forestry resources which deal with explicit knowledge.
However, the same knowledge though available in public domain has not reached
the wide network of foresters due to several reasons such as regional variations,
content and language. It is very important to make easy prevalent complexity into
simple unit of easily replicable knowledge.
The explicit knowledge does not tell why certain field situations in forestry take
place and how certain situations in the field can be handled. This is where tacit
knowledge comes in. Tacit knowledge is not so easy to measure and is more difficult
to formalize. The experience of senior foresters in this form of knowledge amongst
the forester community is irreplaceable as well as priceless. This represents the tacit
knowledge of the forester community which needs to be formalized.
The present initiative of Directorate of Forest Education, Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Dehradun in the form of a popular electronic
technical journal Field Forester shall have to address these issues of assessment
and distributing the wealth of practical field knowledge. The journal would deal
with simplified explicit knowledge in field forestry and would strive hard to
document the tacit knowledge available with the senior community of foresters.
The shared knowledge should reach a wider community of people especially the
common masses to create an appreciation as well as an enlightened social capital
for forestry sector.
I congratulate the Directorate of Forest Education and wish them all the best in
attaining the full potential available in this new initiative for furthering intellectual
capital in the forestry sector.
Dr. Anil Kumar
Patron:
Dr. S.S. Negi
Director General of Forests
Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change
Government of India
Editorial Advisory Board

Chief Advisor:
Dr.Anil Kumar
Additional Director General of Forests (FC)
Government of India
Advisor:
Dr. Suneesh Buxy
Deputy Inspector General of Forests (RT)
Government of India
Member Secretary:
Shri M.P. Singh
Director Forest Education
Directorate of Forest Education
Government of India
Members:
Principal, Central Academy for State Forest Service, Dehradun
Principal, Central Academy for State Forest Service, Coimbatore
Principal, Central Academy for State Forest Service, Burnihat
Principal, Eastern Forest Rangers College, Kurseong
Director, Telangana State Forest Academy, Dulapally, Hyderabad,
Telangana
Director, Uttarakhand Forestry Training Academy, Haldwani,
Uttarakhand
Director, Forest Training Institute & Rangers College, Sunder Nagar,
Himachal Pradesh
Director, Tamil Nadu State Forest Academy, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu
Director, Forest Training Institute, Gungargatti, Dharwad, Karnataka
Director, Kundal Academy of Development, Administration &
Management, Kundal, Maharashtra
10
Editorial Board
Chief Editor:
1. Shri M.P. Singh, IFS
Director Forest Education
Government of India
Editors:
2. Ms. Meera Iyer, IFS Lecturer
Central Academy for State Forest Service
Dehradun
3. Dr. Surabhi Rai, IFS Lecturer
Central Academy for State Forest Service
Dehradun
4. Dr. K.S. Jayachandran, IFS Lecturer
Central Academy for State Forest Service,
Dehradun
5. Dr. Raja Ram Singh, IFS ADG
(Media & Extension)
ICFRE, Dehradun
Honorary Editor:
6. Ms. Jaskiran Chopra
Sub Editor:
7. Ms Megha Sharma
11
Contents
NOVEMBER 2015
From the Chief Editors Desk......................................................................17
PERIYAR / KERALA
Innovative Eco-development Initiatives to Conserve Forest Biodiversity

and Alleviate Rural Poverty........................................................................19
Abhijeet Arun Mane
COMMUNITY INTEGRATION
Peoples Participation in Forest Conservation and Livelihood Generation........... 24

Aman Thapa
JODHPUR / Rajasthan
Raising a Plantation on Stone-bed...............................................................27

Md Raheman
USE OF TECHNOLOGY
Preventing Forest Fires..............................................................................29

Manoj Ashok Dhanvijay
Maharashtra / Kerala / Gujarat
Comparative study of coastal ecology...........................................................33

G.P. Gangode
WILDLIFE / NAGALAND
Foes turn friends for migratory Amur Falcons...............................................37

Florence T. Sangtam
COMMUNITY INTEGRATION / TAMIL NADU
Venom for anti-venom: A source of livelihood to Irulas...................................40

Anu Thakur
COMMUNITY INTEGRATION / MAHARASHTRA
The Jungle Man .......................................................................................44

Ashish Narayanrao Hivre
12
WILDLIFE / MAHARASHTRA
A Success Story.........................................................................................48
Kalpana Homkar Chinchkhede
Adapting to kill.........................................................................................53
Sonal Dattatraya Valvi
Ladakh / Jammu & Kashmir
A glimpse into the cold desert......................................................................57

Raza Ali Abidi
Tilora (Pushkar) / Setrawa (Jodhpur), Rajasthan
Sand Dunes Stabilization and Plantation......................................................61

Vrushali B. Tambe
Mussoorie / Uttarakhand
Mine Reclamation: A Success Story.............................................................68

Sarika Khot
SundarbanS / west bengal
The Roar of Sundarban Tiger.....................................................................71

Shweta. T. Rathod
Satara Tukum Village / Maharashtra
Joint Forest Management with Difference.....................................................77

Sudhir Vinayak Sonawale
DECEMBER 2015
From the Chief Editors Desk............................................................................... 83
FORESTRY
An innovative approach to grow taller and less branchy teak............................... 85

C. Buvaneswaran, P. Masilamani and S.Senthilkumar
Implementation of scientific gum extraction........................................................ 91

Rajendra R. Sadgir
13
Biodiversity in sacred groves................................................................................105

Pradip Eknath Patil
Forest Food Festival: A successful example of biodiversity conservation..............115

Vinod Kumar
WILDLIFE
Leopard: Menace of over-population.................................................................... 93

Vishal K Borhade
An encounter with leopard rescue operation........................................................ 96

Makrand Gujar & U.G. Vavare
The restoration of pristine ecosystem..................................................................102

D Rameshwaran
Hidden trade in Madurai.....................................................................................129

M.G. Ganesan
JOINT FOREST MANAGEMENT
Managing the Forest as the Homestead the Saga of Baripada........................... 99

Hemant Yashwant Shewale
The success story of Satara Bhosle......................................................................107

Nitesh S Deogade
Success story of Hazra Falls................................................................................110

Nitin C Gondane
Case study on Vachathi incident..........................................................................112

Priyadarshini V
Wildlife protection outside protected areas: A success story.................................121

Rajan Talmale
Thoseghar reaching the heights..........................................................................125

Dr. Rajendra Pundalik Nale
WATERSHED DEVELOPMENT
Hiware Bazar, a success story..............................................................................132

Geeta Pawar
14
JANUARY 2016
From the Chief Editors Desk..............................................................................141
CONSERVATION
Protecting the habitat of the Indian Giant Squirrel.............................................143

VK Borhade
Community-based livestock insurance programme to the aid of snow leopard....146

Pradip E. Patil
Red Panda conservation: A captive breeding initiative by Darjeeling zoo.............150

Trupti Nikhate
Ban on night traffic, a boon for wildlife conservation..........................................177

V Priyadarshini
Mangrove cell succeeds in rehabilitation in Mumbai............................................183

Amol Pandurang Thorat
Kaas flower plateau: Steps taken to battle tourists rush......................................187

Girija Desai
FORESTRY
Successful wildlife management practices...........................................................153

Vidhya P. Vasav
Huli, a boon for wildlife, habitat and conflict management.................................174

Ganesh R Randive
WILDLIFE
Saving the whole genus from extinction..............................................................159

Shinde Kondiba Baburao
Re-introduction of Swamp Deer.........................................................................162

Bharat Solanki
Managing human-tiger conflict in Sundarbans Tiger Reserve.............................167

Shrikant Subhash Pawar
Longleng: New capital for Amur Falcons............................................................171

D. Rameshwaran
15
Successful tiger reintroduction project in Panna..................................................180

Manisha Purwar
Reducing humanelephant conflict.....................................................................194

P Arun Kumar
COMMUNITY
Concerted action in Coimbatore...........................................................................190

R. Rajmohan
From the Chief Editors Desk

The long felt need for a quality popular electronic journal in the area of
field forestry is addressed through this humble initiative of the Directorate
of Forest Education, Ministry of Environment Forests and Climate
Change. The idea of such a publication arose during this year when the
Directorate of Forest Education acutely sensed the absence of a set of good
field forestry practices or well profiled role models in forestry sector or
successful field stories which could be used for training purposes. The
Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change had been highly
supportive of the initiative.
The contributions towards the publication are aimed from two primary
sources; from practicing foresters and officer trainees in various training
institutions. The response to the first issue had been overwhelming
especially from the officer trainees of the constituent institutions of the
Directorate of Forest Education. State Forest Service (SFS) Officer Trainees
and Forest Ranger Officer Trainees have both contributed liberally to this
publication, through case studies conducted during the course of their
induction training.
Articles on themes such as Eco-development, Wildlife conservation,
Joint Forest Management, habitat ecology and a few inspiring success
stories in wildlife and landscape restoration have been selected and
brought to focus during the course of this publication.
There is a need to have stories from the field to satisfy the mandate of
this initiative. The field experiences have to be shared with the younger
community of foresters to enable cross learning and ensure replication
of good practices across the country. Forest officers working in the field
are encouraged to contribute their success stories and good practices and
spotlight our multifaceted activities, highlight the good works and feature
personalities and topics of general interests. We have to be more visible to
the public eye. The Field Forester will enable the forest department and
the public to be more aware and to have a better understanding of our
comprehensive programmes and services.
I congratulate the Editorial Team for their hard work and enterprise in
producing the inaugural issue of our electronic journal.
MP Singh
17
PERIYAR / KERALA
Innovative Eco-development Initiatives

to Conserve Forest Biodiversity
and Alleviate Rural Poverty
Management interventions can be effectively and equitably prioritized towards those
most dependent on forest resources in order to maximize biodiversity conservation
Abhijeet Arun Mane
he term eco-development is
used to describe an integrated,
sustainable approach to environment and development. It has been
defined as:
. . . development at regional and local
levels, consistent with the potentials of
the area involved, with attention given
to the adequate and rational use of
natural resources, technological styles
and organizational forms that respect
the natural ecosystems and local social
and cultural patterns.
In an Indian context, ecodevelopment as a strategy recognizes
traditional dependencies of people
on forests for domestic use as well
as supplementing livelihoods. It
seeks to rationalize the demands of
communities by promoting efficient use
of resources and alternative livelihoods.
In essence, eco-development aims to
strengthen nature conservation through
participatory processes that empower
local people to take responsibility for
their socio-economic well-being in
ways that do not reduce the biodiversity

capital maintained within Protected
Areas (PAs).
Legal and Policy Framework
The National Forest Policy, 1988,

provides the basis for involving local
people in forest conservation and development. The Odisha Government,
through its Joint Forest Management
(JFM) Resolution (2008), has adopted
eco-development as a strategy for securing support from local communities in PA management. Eco-development activities provide a strong
linkage between conservation and
development; they may include ecotourism and off-farm activities, as
well as providing specific alternatives
to local biomass dependence. This
policy provides for the institution of
Eco-Development Committees (EDCs)
in villages located within and adjacent
to PAs along the lines of Van Samrakshyana Samitis (VSSs or Forest Protection Committees) for forest areas. However, there is a fundamental difference
between VSSs and EDCs. VSS members
Trainee RFO, Kundal Academy of Development, Administration and Management (Forest), Kundal, Tal: Palus, Dist: Sangli.
19
may benefit from usufructs (the right

to use and derive profit or benefit from
property that belongs to another party in this case the state as long as
the property is not damaged), including fuel wood, fodder, bamboo and a
share in the timber produced from
forests assigned to the community
in return for forest protection and
management duties. Such opportunities do not exist for EDC members
since usufructs, except regulated grazing, are prohibited under the Wildlife
(Protection) Act, 1972. Eco-development initiatives must be consistent with
this policy.
Eco-Development Initiatives
Bamboo handicrafts
Bamboo handicrafts is an ecodevelopment initiative to empower
the tribal and local communities.
The members can be trained to make
innovative and marketable products
from bamboo that can be sold through
ecoshops. This will help in improving
the status of living of the tribes and
local communities.
Bee wax balm
Bee wax balm can be made from bees
wax collected from the fallen honey
combs from the buffer and fringe areas.
Bee Wax Balm is used for curing head
ache, body pains and for massaging.
Plastic free mineral water bottle
This is an innovative measure to
make the forest free of plastic mineral
water bottles. As the tourists tend to
throw away the mineral water bottles
inside protected area after drinking.
Micro planning Steps

1. Develop a common vision among
PA staff
2. Identify a conceptual model and
strategy for eco-development
3. Build a facilitation team
4. Facilitate village micro-planning
5. Prioritize activities in micro-plan
and allocate resources
6. Coordinate and monitor microplan implementation at village
cluster level
This will help in keeping the forest

a plastic free zone and provide pure
drinking water to eco-tourists and
employment opportunities to the
resident people.
Eco-Tourism
Community based eco-tourism programmes can provide a major share of
employment to the tribals living in the
Reserve. Some of the most sort after ecotourism programmes are tents, tree-top
hut, bamboo rafting, full moon census,
machan world, island nest, etc. These
eco-tourism programmes provide an
excellent opportunity to the visitors to
enjoy the beauty of the forest and at the
same time contribute to the livelihood
of the local tribals. The guides are from
the local villages itself and are trained
by the department, thus adding to their
income opportunities.
The hospitality given to the tourists
should be good as it affects prospects of
eco-tourism. The behaviour of the staff
should be such that tourists should be
satisfied with the service.
20
Eco-shops
Honey, bee wax balm and medicinal
spices prepared in a scientific manner
can be sold through Eco-shops. Other
items like t-shirts, jackets, hats, caps,
pens, key-chains, etc., can also be sold.
The revenue generated from the Ecoshops will help in the empowerment of
local tribes.
Honey collection
A majority of the tribal population of the
reserve traditionally depends on honey
collection. The honey collected by the
tribes is sold to local traders through
barter system. This leaves the poor tribal
people always in a debt trap. So an ecodevelopment initiative can be taken up
to collect honey scientifically and to
do value addition in terms of filtering,
bottling, labeling and sealing. Now
the tribal will get almost 30-40% more
income directly from the Eco-shop.
This will improve the economic status
of the poor tribals in the sanctuary.
Honey
collection
activities
will
be confined to the buffer and fringe
areas of the reserve.
Paper bag unit

This is an initiative to empower tribal
women in the sanctuary. The products
can be made by the trained tribal
women. The paper bags can be sold
at the entrance. This will also help in
making the area a plastic free zone.
Souveniers from Recycled Plastic
As a step to make the reserve plastic
free, a plastic reduction unit can be been
launched. Plastic waste from the waste
bins placed at different locations of the
Sanctuary acts as primary collection
points. Then the plastics are segregated
into bottle plastics, bag plastics, etc.
These are washed, cleaned and dried.
Then it is shredded to small pieces in
shredder machine and are transported
to a factory where they are made into
pugmark keychain souvenirs, which
can be sold through the Eco-shop.
Mechanisms to Sustain
Eco-Development
In return for support received from the

Project, EDC members must reciprocate
by way of various commitments to
Case Study 1
Free of plastic mineral water bottles are already being prepared at Parambikulam
Tiger Reserve. As the tourists arriving in Parambikulam tend to throw away the
mineral water bottles inside the sanctuary after drinking water, the department has
introduced an innovative eco-development initiative - Parambikulam Dhara. The
department started a eco-development unit which is now run by Kuriarkutty EDC
volunteers and gives them some income. The bottles are placed at the entrance of
the sanctuary. The bottles have to be returned while exiting and a fine of Rs 100 is
charged if the visitor does not return the bottle back. Thus, Parambikulam Dhara
helps in keeping the sanctuary a plastic free zone and provides pure drinking
water to tourists and employment opportunities to the resident people.
21
Case Study 2
The exclusivity of Protected Areas (PA), as envisaged in the developed countries
is not possible in the Indian context, due to the human dominated landscape. The
population that draws on the resources of the PA for subsistence is largely rural.
A participatory management strategy of protected areas and eco-development
aims at conserving biodiversity by addressing both the impact of local people
on the protected areas and the impact of the protected areas on local people.
In accordance with the tripartite agreement signed between the external donor
agencies (World Bank and IDA), Government of India (GoI) and Government
of Kerala (GoK), Eco-development Committees (EDCs) were constituted.In
response to the changed paradigm of partnership, EDCs have emerged around
many PAs.Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR) in Kerala is one among the seven PAs in
India selected for the implementation of Innovative Eco-Development Programme
(IEP). This also ensures a reciprocity in forest conservation which will ideally
act as a social fence around the PA. In Periyar, there are currently 72 EDCs. The
target population is about 58,000. Different categories of EDCs include village
EDCs like tribal settlements, hamlets, etc. Some are user groups like grazers,
fuelwood and thatching grass collectors and pilgrimage based EDCs. There is a
third category of professional group EDCs like ex-cinnamon bark collectors, tribal
trackers cum guides, watchers welfare. etc. In the neighbourhood EDCs, the
stress is on socio-economic upliftment; in user group, the stress is on reduction
of negative impact on PA resources; and, in professional group EDC, the aim is
promotion of long-term positive interaction of the group with the PA.
ensure that biodiversity is protected

and conserved. These commitments
extend to buffer zones and core areas of
PAs that may be assigned to the EDC
for protection duties to complement
the enforcement work of Forest
Department staff. They should include
the following, for which the Executive
Committee has responsibility:
No fire, poaching, illegal felling of
timber or encroachment in village
forests or any other forests assigned
to the EDC for use (e.g. grazing) or
protection.
No grazing by goats in plantations
within village forests or any other
assigned forests.
Provision of intelligence, information and other assistance in the prevention and investigation of offences
and offenders.
100 per cent immunisation of village
livestock (implemented in year 1)
with project funds.
Eligible benefits
In return for successfully protecting

forests, EDC members may be granted
the following benefits on a quid pro
quo basis:
Rotational grazing by cattle in
assigned forest areas within
22
Case Study 3
Piloting Eco-development in Satkosia Tiger Reserve
Previous micro-planning exercises carried out in Odishas PAs had no community participation. Micro-plans were prepared and implemented by PA managers
but the community at large was neither aware of nor consulted on the various
activities initiated in and around their villages. Gradually, during the last decade,
managers have become increasingly aware of the need to engage local communities in PA planning and management. However, micro-plans continued to reflect the PA managers mindsets and failed to capture the communitys perspectives. Hence, there was a need to develop a truly participatory eco-development
process and standardise the use of relevant Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA)
tools, thereby capturing the needs of communities and targeting forest dependency at household levels in order to conserve biodiversity.
sanctuaries (grazing in a sanctuary

may be permitted by the Chief
Wildlife Warden in accordance with
provisions under Sections 29 and 33
(d) of the Wildlife (Protection) Act,
1972). The rotation cycle may be
defined by the EDC, in agreement
with the authorities.
Effective monitoring procedures
should ensure that grazing is sustainable and not jeopardising forest
regeneration.
Rotational collection of fuelwood
from village forests.
Regulated collection of NWFPs
from village forests, for personal
consumption purposes only.
Regulated collection of bamboo
raised in plantations in village
forests.
Eco-development towards a more
sustainable future for people and their
environment requires engagement of
all key stakeholders in the development
of a shared vision at the outset of the

process. This provides the foundation
for developing a plan of action to
conserve biodiversity through the
alleviation of poverty by specifically
targeting those most dependent on
forest resources.
Strengthening the capacity of
community members to participate
actively
in
planning
and
implementation of eco-development.
Trusting in the process and the ability of communities to find their own
solutions, such as the simple method
of classifying forest dependency and
wellness developed by villagers.
Training, supervision and longterm mentoring of those facilitating
participatory processes.
Well-facilitated, participatory microplanning generates understanding
and trust that cements good relations
between PA authorities and local
communities.
23
COMMUNITY INTEGRATION
Peoples Participation in Forest

Conservation and Livelihood Generation
One of the most significant impacts of the JFM programme has been the change in the
attitude of local communities and forest officials towards the forest
Aman Thapa
ndia is a developing nation and majority of its population lives in rural

areas. Forests play a vital role in the
rural economy and provide different
kinds of benefits, like jobs, incomes and
environmental benefits. The forestry
sector is the second largest land use after agriculture and about 70 per cent of
Indias rural population depends upon
forests to meet its domestic energy
need, livelihood and cash income from
fuelwood and non-timber forest products (NTFP). More than half of Indias
70 million tribal people, the most disadvantaged section of society, subsist
from forests.
India has 2.5 per cent of the worlds
geographical area with a total of 328.7
million hectares. According to the State
of Forest Report (FSI 2013), India has
69.78 million ha. forest cover, which
accounts for 21.23 per cent of the countrys total geographic area. India supports 16 per cent of the planets human
population and 18 per cent of cattle
population, due to which the forest
cover has been reducing both in quality
and extent in most of the states. There
are serious problems of encroachment,

grazing, forest fire, shifting cultivation
and illegal felling and most of the species of flora and fauna are endangered.
After all, forestry is about people. It
is about trees, that can serve the needs
of the people. Forestry and Forest Policy
should concern itself in every conceivable way in which, forests, woodlots and
trees can contribute to the livelihood of
people in particular and human welfare
in general. In fact, the future of human
society is intrinsically linked to the future of the forest. Traditionally, forest
management practices aimed at developing and understanding the protective
and productive aspects of natural forests. Peoples livelihood issues and peoples role in safeguarding the resources
and their active participation were
relegated to secondary place. Only recently the social role of forests and forestry together with their protection and
production roles have received attention. The depletion of forest resources
has aroused the passion of the forest
department and general public for conservation and protection of forestland
and has become a top priority on the
countrys development agenda.
FRO Trainee (2014-15) Batch, CASFOS, Coimbatore
24
The National Forest Policy 1988 of

India envisaged peoples involvement
in conservation, protection and management of forests. It emphasized
that forest produce must go first to the
people living in and around forests.
Further, in June 1990 a Government
resolution supported the creation of
village level institutions and involvement of non-governmental organizations in forest management. With the
active support of local organizations,
peoples participation in forest management, was initiated and is generally known as Joint Forest Management (JFM). Now, it is recognized that
participatory management of forests
is key to sustainable development.
The village committee known as the
JFM Committee and the Forest Department enter into a JFM agreement for
safeguarding the forest resources from
fire, grazing and illegal harvesting, in
exchange for which they receive nontimber forest products and a share of
the revenue from the sale of timber,
through community funds.
Joint Forest Management originated
in West Bengal accidentally at theArabari
Forest Range in West Midnapore, in
1971. Ajit Kumar Banerjee, working for
the Forest Department as the Divisional
Forest Officer, was conducting trials
which were constantly being disturbed
by grazing and illegal harvesting by
the local population. At the time there
were no initiatives for sharing of forest
resources between the government and
the locals. The forest official, against
the suggestions of his co-workers,
sought out representatives of 11 local
villages and negotiated the terms of
a contract with an ad hoc Forest

Protection Committee. The initial
programme involved 612 families
managing 12.7 sq. km of forests classified
as "degraded". Twenty-five per cent of
profits from the forests were shared
with the villagers. The experiment was
successful and was expanded to other
parts of the state in 1987.
There are evidences that JFM has
rehabilitated the countrys degraded
forests and the overall forest cover of
the country has increased. Incidents of
illicit felling and illegal encroachment
have sharply declined with recovery
of fodder resources, prolific growth
of understorey vegetation and it has
also led to increased biodiversity and
wild herbivore population. One of
the most significant impacts of the
JFM programme has been the change
in the attitude of local communities
and forest officials towards forests.
Sustainable forest management is key
to the sustainable rural livelihood.
There has to be a harmonious balance
between conservation of forests and
development of communities through
livelihood security. Over-exploitation
can lead to destruction of the resources,
like medicinal plants, grazing pastures,
game animals, fish stocks, forests,
and water aquifers. This can result in
extinction at the population level and
even extinction of whole species.
Trends of forestry are changing,
whether it is conservation or administration. During our study tours, we
went through so many exposures like:
Baralikadu JFM model, Periyar foundation, Gondwana herbs (Gadchiroli),
Sukhomajri, Mussorie (mine reclama-
25
tion area), Mudhumalai tiger reserve,

Allapally and so many other forest,
fringe and rural areas. People living
in forests are facilitated with various
livelihood opportunities like manufacturing plant operators, eco-shop managers, NTFP collectors, coracle drivers,
food suppliers to tourists with their
traditional foodstuffs, drivers, guides,
workers, forest watchers, etc. They are
getting exposure to the outer world by
tourism activities. Many young people
are preparing for the civil services exam
and other higher studies after interacting with visiting officers, ministers
and urban people. People are also willingly participating in management and
conservation of forests.
A sustainable alliance has to be
forged among government, non-government and local level organizations.
Village dynamics, sociological insight,
perception and knowledge of people
have to be understood properly, for
formulation, designing and implementation of any effective approach to JFM
which, in turn, can lead to integrated
development of the rural poor. Selfreliance and Gandhijis Gram Swaraj
may indeed become a reality. Even in
the age of liberalization and globalization, it has to be understood that there
can be no financial assets if there are no
ecological assets.
26
JODHPUR / Rajasthan
Raising a Plantation
on Stone-bed
The vision of the Machia Biological Park is to create one of the best examples of ex-situ
conservation and at the same time a beautiful tourist spot
Md Raheman
he vision of the Machia Biological Park is to create an opportunity for the citizens of Jodhpur to
have a biodiversity park very close to
the city. The effort is to create one of the
best examples of ex-situ conservation
and, at the same time, the best tourist
spot in the area. Jodhpur already has a
tradition of very good in-situ conservation. The Machia Biological Park, sited
in Machia forest block of 604 ha. near
Kaylana Lake, will also create awareness on the importance of conservation of flora and fauna for the benefit
of the future generations in addition to
conservation of the gene pool of endangered wild species of the region.
Machia
Biological
Park
was
conceptualized in the year 1982-83.
It is located 8 km away from Jodhpur
railway station on the western side
of Jodhpur. This park is basically the
satellite zoo of the citys old heritage
zoo. Machia Biological Park has an area
of 41 ha. out of 604 ha. area of Machia
forest block. The legal status of Machia
forest block is protected forest, notified
vide notification no. II9(6) forest/90
dated 01-07-1990 under the Rajasthan
Forest Act 1953.
The area is mainly rocky composed

of rhyolite having undulating ground,
numerous manmade water bodies
like Kaylana Lake, Takhatsagar Lake,
Akheraj Lake, and so on. This area has
low soil quantity and if soil is present,
has low soil depth.
The natural vegetation here is dry
scrub forest consisting of scanty tree
cover of species like Acacia senegal, Prosopis Cineraria, Prosopis Juliflora, Capparis
decidua, Zizyphus Nimmularia, Commiphora Wightii, etc. The scarce vegetation
is a result of of the low rainfall received
by this zone.
Previously, the plantation was started by making loose stone containers
of 20 cm width. The depth/height of
this structure was around 100 cm and
diameter was 60 cm. These were filled
with a mixture of sand and manure in
the ratio of 4:1, respectively. Species selected were Gular, Neem, Peepal, and
Bargad of approximately 3-4 feet height
for planting. Now, five years later, the
height of these plants is approximately
10-12 feet.
Since the topography is undulating
and the terrain is rocky, there was low
success of survival as well as slow
growth so a new technique was adopted. Blasting was done by applying the
27
blasting material, which is detonators

and rock blasting accessories, through
a registered blasting authority. In this
method, single and double blasting was
adopted according to the suitability of
the area. Single blasting left behind pits
around 2-3 feet deep. Double blasting
left pits of around 3-4 feet. Material generated by double blasting was left such
as to provide enough space for the soil
and roots of plants to penetrate into the
rock crevices. The open pit was then
filled with soil mixture in proportions
of 1:1:4 (FYM:Clay:Sand). The seedling
of the desired plant was planted in the
pit to grow like it would in regular soil.

Irrigation facility was provided inside
the park for trees, and included methods
like spot irrigation by conveyance pipe
and taps and drip irrigation.
The double blasting technique
was found to give good results in
Rudrakshakunj and Kamalkunj. Trees
like Ficus religeousa, Ficus bengalensis,
Ficus zyziphus, Cardia mixa, Aegele
marmelos, Syzigium cumini were planted
along the roads. Clearly, the efficacy of
the double blasting technique provides
an opportunity to raise plantations on
such rocky terrain elsewhere as well.
28
USE OF TECHNOLOGY
Preventing Forest Fires

Infra-red detection and surveillance system has been found to be highly effective
Manoj Ashok Dhanvijay
onserving
unique
natural
areas should be a priority
for advanced societies in our
time. One of the biggest threats faced
by these natural areas is wildfire
by devastation. The unfortunate
reality is that most of these areas are
unprotected, or at most only monitored
during certain months of the year
and then, only during certain times of
day, leaving them more vulnerable
during the nights without proper
monitoring. The entire system suffers
from teams of workers woefully illequipped in terms of manpower
and technology. With changing
times, various solutions have been
derived from the specialized satellite
infrastructure coupling with infrared technology and Information &
Communication Technology (ICT).
Infra-red fire detection system is a
reliable system for surveillance and
recognition of spontaneous fires inside
the forests, free air dumps of waste or
combustible materials like paper, waste
or charcoal among many others. Since
forest fires usually break out during the
summer as materials are mostly inflammable, the probability of spontaneous
combustion is high with disastrous
effects for man and environment.

Thus the usage of early warning
systems based on infra-red cameras is
recommended. High performance infra-red cameras like PYROVIEW 380L
and 640L combined with powerful software like PYROSOFT FDS, for analyzing thermo-graphic images allow for
early warning and prevention of fires.
The infra-red cameras mounted on a
pan-tilt head automatically monitors
the user defined area to be observed
and continuously quantifies the surface
temperature distribution. The FDS software checks the temperatures inside
the regions of interest (ROI). An alarm
will be raised in case the pre-defined
temperature limits are exceeded and
the current infra-red image is saved.
Alarms and the system status are displayed on the monitor and the control
panel. External equipment for alerting
and firefighting can be controlled via
the flexible I/O system.
Fire Detection System (Fds)

Components
The forest fire detection system

consists of the components listed in
the table below, along with proper
specifications.
The proposed scheme based on
infra-red image processing performs
RFO (Tr.), Kundal Academy of Development, Administration and Management, Kundal, Ta.Palus, Distt. Sangli (MS)
29
early detection of any fire threat. With

the aim of determining the presence
or absence of fire, the proposed algorithms performs the fusion of different detectors which exploit different
expected characteristics of a real fire,
like persistence and increase. Theoretical results and practical simulations are
presented to corroborate the control of
the system related with probability of
false alarm (PFA). Probability of Detection (PD) and dependence on Signal to
Noise Ratio (SNR) is also evaluated.
The infra-red image is displayed in a
pseudo colour image mode gray-scale;
the brighter the colour, the higher the
temperature. In case of fire areas exceeding the temperature limits the
Infra-red camera detects infrared radiation with infra-red
image sensor and transfer RS
image information as digital
data via Ethernet.
image become red coloured. The operator recognizes the source of fire immediately and can start fire-fighting
actions. The infrared image on the left
side shows an initial fire in a paper
stock. Because of the early recognition
and warning, fire fighting is started instantly with a high efficiency, thereby
preventing ecological and material
damages.
Applications of Infra-red
surveillance system
The infra-red surveillance system

is very effective in monitoring various
aspects related to forests:
1. Automatic surveillance and monitoring of forest fire.
temperature range from 20 C to 300 C (optional: 500C)

spectral range 8 m to 14 m 384 288 pixels or 640 480
pixels depending upon camera
maximum frame rate 50 Hz
integrated air purge to prevent/delay disposal of soiling
Weather-proof housing
with heating and hard-coated GE window
Pan-tilt head
move towards to programmable positioning free manual

positioning
359 horizontal, 180 vertical, 0.2 resolution
Reference radiator 2
control of camera function, lens soiling

little deviations are corrected, malfunction information when
heavily soiled
Power supply/USV
I/O system programmable
bus controller
2 isolated feeds (1x buffered, 1x unbuffered) switch for feeds

optional: separated USV for 4 h operation
control of pan-tilt heads, control panel, video system,
reference radiator
control system status
transmission to PC
altering via relay, 24 V
Touch-PC
operation and surveillance station

with 21"/19" touch display
FDS Software
server-/client software
30
Block diagram of infra-red fire surveillance system
Infra-red camera
IR-surveillance in forest area
2. Keeping effective watch over

plantations.
3. Detecting forest crime by keeping
watch over poachers.
4. Illicit felling can be detected.
5. The movement of wild animals can
be studied.
6. Various works undertaken in
forestry.
7. Measure growth of the forest cover if
connected with satellite.
8. Wildlife census if GPS-enabled and
geo-augmented.
Applicability in Forests
of Maharashtra
The state of Maharashtra with

a geographical area of 3,07,713 sq.
km has 61,939 sq. km as forest area.
The states forest cover is estimated to
be approximately 20 per cent. The
state has 6 national parks, 47 wildlife
sanctuaries
and
4
conservation
reserves. There are a total of 57 PAs
with an area 10,057.013 sq.km error
amounting to 3.26 per cent of the
states geographical area. These areas
include the difficult terrains of Western
Ghats, Melghat, and others. Thus it
31
E-eye to keep a tab on tigers in Corbett

With poachers posing a massive threat to tigers in India, the National Tiger
Conservation Authority (NTCA) has launched a pilot project in Uttarakhands
Corbett National Park for round-the-clock surveillance of the park using high
definition cameras. The project E-eye (electronic eye) is a software-based
system where 10 high resolution thermal and infra-red cameras mounted on
a tower are spread across the 350 sq. km area of the park that falls in a highly
sensitive zone bordering Uttar Pradesh. The cameras capture image of objects
weighing more than 20 kg and generate alerts if they are crossing the boundary.
The alerts are sent to the control room in the park and the NTCA office in Delhi.
The cost of the project is around`3.5 crore. The cameras monitor the area 24X7
and send images even during the night. It has helped in checking infiltration,
poaching and illegal mining in the area. The NTCA was helped in this project by
a Pune-based company, Binomial Solutions Private Limited, set up by a group of
young engineers and management graduates. The cameras can capture thermal
and normal images of the body mass irrespective of forest density and inclement
weather conditions. The company is also working with the Wildlife Institute of
India (WII) to develop a parallel system for counting of tigers. Besides this, the
tender for installing a similar kind of detection system and work of installation is
already in the pipeline at Assam's Kaziranga National Park.
is an obvious fact that in order to protect

these forests from dangers of fire, infrared fire detection and surveillance
systems can be a good tool. The
following are strategic and potential
sites/places where such installation can
be useful:
1. Sahyadri Tiger Reserve in Sangli,
Ratnagiri, and Kolhapur districts.
2. Melghat
Tiger
Reserve
and
Gugamaal
National
Park
in
Amaravati district.
3. Pench National Park in Nagpur
district.
4. Tadoba-Andheri Tiger Reserve in
Chandrapur district.
5. Natural forests in Gadchiroli district.
In these areas and in many others
infra-red systems can prove to be very

effective in dealing with forest fires as
well as surveillance needs given their
limited accessibility and other threats.
The installation of infra-red fire
detection and surveillance system is
thus an effective module for forest
conservation and surveillance. Its
unique combination with ICT can
give comprehensive results in terms of
forest project monitoring and keeping
watch over plantation works. Beyond
this, it can turn into an innovative
methodology when paired with GPS,
remote sensing satellites, etc., for realtime updates about the forest on a
single click!
32
Maharashtra / Kerala / Gujarat
Comparative study of coastal ecology

There is urgent need for better conservation and restoration works along
the north coast of Mahashtra
G.P. Gangode
ndias coastal zone is endowed

with abundant coastal and marine
biodiversity that include a wide
range of mangroves, coral reefs, sea
grasses, salt marshes, mud flats,
estuaries, lagoons, and unique marine
and coastal flora and fauna. India also
has major stocks of corals, fish, marine
mammals, reptiles and turtles, sea grass
meadows, and abundant sea weeds.
Mangrove cover in India has been
estimated at approximately 3,15,000
ha. spread over the west (Maharashtra,
Kerala, Gujarat) and along the east
(Orissa and West Bengal) coasts and
Andaman and Nicobar islands. The
Sunderbans in West Bengal has one
of the largest mangrove forests in
the world. The mangrove flora of
India comprises 50 exclusive species
belonging to 20 genera.
According to the latest evaluation,
67 per cent of the mangroves and
associated plant species are endangered,
while 97 per cent of the plant species
are threatened. Indiscriminate cutting,
reclamation for agriculture and
urbanization, fuel and overgrazing by
domestic cattle have severely degraded
mangroves in India. The threat to
mangroves in recent years comes

mainly from aquaculture and urban
settlements.
Coral reefs are found in the Palk Bay,
Gulf of Mannar, Gulf of Kutch, central
west-coast of India, Lakshadweep and
Andaman and Nicobar islands. A few
species of corals have recently been
reported from the Maharashtra coast. A
total of 50 genera and 13 sub-genera of
reef-building corals are known to occur
in Indian reefs representing more than
half of those recorded from all over the
world. Over 630 species of marine algae
have been reported. A sea grass called
Enhalus acroides is now a threatened
species. Dugong dugong, a mammal
dependent on the sea grass for its food
is also threatened.
A comparative study of coastal
ecology of three states Maharashtra,
Kerala and Gujarat was conducted
during 2014-15. Parameters such
as
geomorphology,
biodiversity,
mangrove plantation and its status,
conservation and restoration works
(CRW), and environmental impact on
costal ecology were studied. Various
data collected by observation and
inputs from government agencies
and web based sources were used for
comparative analysis.
FRO Trainee, Batch 2014-15
33

Comparative coastal ecology of Maharashtra, Kerala and Gujarat
S.No.
Particular
1
Coastal length(km)
Maharashtra
720
Kerala
560
Gujarat
1600
Coastal Geomorphology
Undulated
Wetland
plane
Coastal climate
4
5
Salinity of Coastal sea water (ppt)

Sediment quality (mg/lit.)
Floral Biodiversity
Mangrove Species (no.)
Mangrove area (sq.km)
Faunal Biodiversity ( No. spp.)
Marine Fish species
Coral species
Conservation & Restoration work
Mangrove plantation growth
from 1987 to 2007 (sq.km.)
Environmental impact
Tropical
monsoon
2 to 8
27 to 70
Tropical
monsoon
2 to 8
15 to 34
Tropical
monsoon
2 to 8
19 to 45
20
186
350
160
9
__
4
17
--52
00
__
16
1046
539
487
37
Very good work
46
Severe adverse
effect on north
coast
5
Less adverse
effect
619
Moderate
adverse effect
4
5
6
7
8
Coastal length(km)
1800
1600
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
Costal length(km)
Maharashtra
Kerala
Gujarat
Observations and data collection

during the study tour at Herne beach of
Dapoli (Maharashtra), Kovalam beach
of
Thiruvananthapuram
(Kerala),
Marine National Park, Jamnagar, Gulf
of Kutch (Gujarat) and personal visits
to the Maharashtra coast are the basis
for comparison of the coastal ecology of
Maharashtra, Kerala and Gujarat.
The Maharashtra coast that stretches
between Bordi in the north and Terek-
hol in the South is about 720 km long

and 30-50 km wide. The shoreline is indented by numerous west flowing river
mouths, creeks, bays, headlands, promontories and cliffs. There are about 18
prominent creeks/estuaries along the
coast, many of which harbour mangrove habitats. Like elsewhere in the
world, the coastal region of the state
is thus a place of hectic human activity, intense urbanization in pockets and
34
Visit to Marine National Park, Gujarat
enhanced industrialization, resulting

in degradation, directly or indirectly,
of marine environment through indiscriminate release of domestic and industrial effluents, reclamation, offshore
constructions, movement of ships and a
variety of cargo at ports, etc.
Kerala has a 590-km long coastline
endowed with beautiful beaches, estuaries and lagoons. The coastal belt,
a narrow strip of lowland, is the most
beautiful region of Kerala, flanked by
the presence of paddy fields and coconut trees dominating the landscape.In
Kerala, mangroves are distributed in
Keeryad Island, northern part of Kochi
Port and Research Farm at Puthuvypin,
Mahe to Dharmadam coastal belt, Mallikkad, Ashram, Pathiramanal, Mangalavanam and in several other small bits
areas. It is reported that 17 true mangrove species and 23 semi-mangrove
species occur in the state. There are also
some dominant mangrove species recorded in the state. The mangrove area
in Kerala is estimated to be about 17 sq.

km, of these 36 per cent are degraded or
in degrading condition.
Gujarat is the north-western state of
India and the total length of the coast
line, facing the Arabian Sea is about
1,600 km, based on the geographical
situation geomorphological position
and variable natural land, the Gujarat
coastal zones may be divided into five
regions: the Rann of Kachchh, Gulf of
Kachchh, Gulf of Khambhat, Saurashtra
coast and the South Gujarat coast. Out
of these five regions, the Gulfs constitute the major mangrove zones of the
Gujarat coast. We visited the Marine
National Park and mangrove plantation
area at Jamnagar, and found 100 per
cent survival and good management.
Coastal and marine environments
are threatened by the lack of integrated
development planning, especially
given the large concentration of
towns, petrochemical complexes and
industries along the coasts. Only 9 per
35
Visit to Mangrove plantation, Jamnagar
cent of wastewater from coastal towns

is treated before entering the waters,
adding to their already heavy chemical
burden from the huge volumes of
agricultural run-off that routinely flow
into them. In addition, large numbers
of coastal people remain dependent on
natural resources for their livelihoods,
in the absence of alternative livelihood
opportunities. However, the returns
from traditional fishing are diminishing
due to environmental degradation and
over-exploitation. Risks from climate
change will only accentuate these
challenges.
In the comparison of coastal ecology
among three states, Gujarat was found
to have maximum coastal biodiversity,
better CRW and mangrove plantation.
Maharashtra has a huge potential for
coastal ecological development but the
northern coast of Maharashtra faces an
overburdening of human population,

industries, seashore activities and there
is urgent need of better CRW.
However, in spite of the coastal ecological richness and contribution to the national economy,
coastal and marine areas have not
received adequate protection and are
under stress. About 34 per cent of Indias mangroves were destroyed during 1950-2000 (although substantial
restoration and conservation has taken
place over the past 10 years); almost all
coral areas are threatened; marine fish
stocks are declining; and several species
of ornamental fish and sea cucumbers
are fast disappearing. Such rapid depletion and degradation, unless arrested,
will impact the livelihood, health and
well being of the coastal population,
affecting in turn prospects for Indias
sustained economic growth.
36
WILDLIFE / NAGALAND
Foes turn friends for

migratory Amur Falcons
The Nagaland Forest Department has played a key role in the conservation of Amur
Falcons and creating awareness among the local community
Florence T. Sangtam
n their incredible journey, the Amur

falcons (Falco amurensis) travel up
to 22,000 km a year known to be
one of the longest distance migration of
birds from Mongolia, roost in Nagaland for some months before carrying
onwards to the African sub-continent.
A protected species under the Convention of Migratory Species (CMS), tens of
thousands of these raptors congregate
near the Doyang reservoir in Nagaland
every year and this is believed to be the
single largest congregation of Amur
falcons recorded anywhere in India
Till 2012, the local communities in
Wokha used to hunt the falcons for their
meat and capture them for commercial
sale when they stopped by to roost
in Nagaland. Doyang reservoir, the
falcons pit-stop, before their lengthy
onward journey across the Arabian Sea
to Africa had turned into a death trap
for the birds. The birds were trapped
by the hunters in the mist nets lined up
near the reservoir and collected early
in the morning. Besides killing them
for meat, the raptors were also kept
alive and later sold in the local district
markets prompting a Rapid Action

Project (RAP) to protect the birds by
Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and the
Nagaland Forest Department. Down
the years, the situation at Doyang has
seen a remarkable change of events for
the better. The reservoir is now one of
RFO Trainee, 2014-15 Batch, ASFOS Burnihat, Assam
37
the safest places in the North-East for

the visiting raptors. And the hunters
of migratory Amur Falcons have now
turned into protectors. Nagaland has
become the Falcon Capital of the
world. The birds which used to be
earmarked for the cooking pot are now
the pride of Nagaland.
Alternative livelihood support in the
form of poultry farms was provided
to the villages, who were part of the
hunter groups and landowners where
the Amur Falcons roost. An MoU was
signed and a subsequent resolution
passed by the village councils of Pangti,
Ashaa and Sungro, making hunting the
Amur Falcon illegal and punishable,
which helped in reaching a zero mortality rate in Doyang, by the end of the
birds roosting period. An awareness
campaign was initiated to gain the local communitys support and also sensitize them on the need to conserve the
visiting guests, emphasising the ecological and ethical importance of the
Amur Falcon and urging the villagers
to ensure safe passage of these migratory birds. Churches also played a key
role in spreading the message of compassion for the Amur Falcon, and thus
motivating the people to come forward
to protect the falcons during their roosting period in Nagaland. Amur Falcon
Roosting Areas Union (AFRAU) is also
supporting the conservation efforts of
the Wildlife Trust of India at Pangti.
AFRAU members are jointly working
with the Amur Falcon Protection Squad
formed by WTI for the conservation of
the migratory birds with the support of
Nagaland Forest Department.
Signages were installed in strategically important areas and posters
and leaflets were handed out among
the community. Wildlife films were
screened and workshops were held during wildlife week in October. The Amur
Falcon campaign was also conducted
in local schools across Wokha targeting
school children to sensitize them on the
need to conserve the falcons. Nagaland
Wildlife and Biodiversity Conservation
Amur Falcons in the Wokha sky
38
Trust (NWBCT) started conducting

nature camps under its Friends of the
Amur Falcon programme for building
awareness on conservation of biodiversity among the children and villagers
in areas where the Amur Falcons were
visiting for the third consecutive year.
On November 6, 2013, three Amur
Falcons Naga, Pangti and Wokha,
named after Nagaland, Pangti village
and Wokha district, respectively, were
satellite tagged with an antenna and
solar panel, weighing 5 grams, fitted on
their backs. This was done in collaboration with scientists from the Wildlife
Institute of India, Ministry of Environment and Forest, the UNEP, The Environment Agency- Abu Dhabi and the
Nagaland Forest Department and the
falcons released in Doyang forest. It was
now possible to track their movements.
From November 7, Naga, a male, had
taken the route from Wokha in Nagaland through Assam, Bangladesh, the
Bay of Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and
Karnataka before entering the air space
over the Arabian sea. During the same
period, Pangti, a female, took the route

from Wokha through Assam, Bangladesh, West Bengal, the Bay of Bengal,
Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra before beginning the journey over the
Arabian Sea. Wokha, also a female, followed Pangtis path and was tracked
flying over the Bay of Bengal way behind the other two. The movements of
all three birds are being monitored by
scientists in Hungary, filtering satellite
data through a dedicated website. This
is the first time the Amur Falcons in
Nagaland were satellite tagged and
their movements to South Africa are
being monitored.
Gaining support from the community in Nagaland to protest against
harming these endangered raptors was
essential for the future of the species.
Continued efforts are needed to keep
the locals motivated and provide a safer migratory passage for the Amur Falcons in the years to come. This model
of community conservation by people
can be replicated in other parts of the
world as well.
39
COMMUNITY INTEGRATION / TAMIL NADU
Venom for anti-venom: A source

of livelihood to Irulas
A co-operative society has been able to harness the traditional skills of Irula tribals and
provide them with ways and means of social and economic upliftment
Anu Thakur
ndia is a land of rich ethnic

diversity. There are still some social
groups which would defy the very
principles of human material progress
and adhere to the traditional ways of
living and earning their livelihood.
India counts significantly amongst the
nations which house a large population
of tribals inhabiting widely varying
ecological and geo-climatic terrains.
As per the 2011 Census Report, tribal
population in India is 104.5 million.
From ages they have survived the
ordeals inflicted upon them by the
nature and by other social groups.
The Irulas are Dravidian inhabitants
and one among the 36 sub-tribal
communities in Tamil Nadu with a
population of about 1.17 lakh. Irulas
are the second largest population of
tribals in Tamil Nadu. The origin of the
word 'Irula' is not clear. It could have
been derived from the Tamil word,
Irul which either refers to the dark
complexion of the Irulas or their being
capable of finding one's path in the
dark forests.
These small groups of indigenous
forest-dwelling people have remarkable
expertise in catching snakes. They were

one of the leading suppliers of snake
and lizard skins to the global skin
industry. The reckless exploitation that
ensued threatened the local extinction
of several species and subsequently
hunting was banned in 1972 with the
implementation of Wildlife Protection
Act. This deprived the Irulas of their
main source of livelihood.
They do not have a fixed means of
livelihood. They are unskilled in doing
any alternative kinds of job. They earn
their living by doing coolie work in
rice mills and agricultural fields of the
landlords. Fishing is also an occupation
in some of the Irulas villages. Many of
them do not possess even a Scheduled
Tribe or land certificate for the place
they stay in.
Irula Snake-Catchers
Industrial Cooperative Society
(ISCICS)
We had an opportunity to visit

the Irula Snake-Catchers Industrial
Cooperative Society (ISCICS). It is
located in the premises of the Madras
Crocodile Bank at Vadanemmeli,
Kanchipuram district of Tamil Nadu.
In the early 1980s, Romulus Whitaker
Forest Range Officer Trainee of 2014-15 batch, CASFOS, Coimbatore
40
Unique code being clipped into ventral scales
Venom extraction
and Revathy Mukherji started a selfemployment scheme to help the Irulas

come out of their abject poverty. Their
continuous efforts resulted in the official
registration of ISCICS on December
19, 1978.
The main objectives of this cooperative were to harness the
traditional skills of the Irulas, to accord
dignity and respect to their indigenous
knowledge and to provide them with
ways and means of social and economic
upliftment. In due course, a specialist
snake handling facility was established
at the Crocodile Bank.

We need to pay an entry fee of
`10 for the Snake Pit centre where
the Irulas introduce us to a variety
of poisonous snakes which are kept
inside systematically arranged mud
pots covered with white cloth. The
snake is very poisonous, says Muthu
while pulling out a slithering Russells
Viper from the mud pot. He narrates
non-stop details of the life history and
characteristics of snake. He makes all
of us pretty excited while extracting
the venom. He firmly holds the snakes
41
Irula handling Indian Cobra
Snakes kept inside systematically arranged mud pots
neck over a glass receptacle and the

venom percolates down into it.
The ISCICS focuses on four
poisonous species: Indian Cobra,
Common Krait, Russells Viper and
Saw-scaled Viper that account for the
majority of snake bite-related deaths
in India. Irulas always move in groups
of four or five to ensure that there
are people around to aid each other
in the event of a snake bite. They
consume a herb before setting out to
catch snakes, details of which they are
reluctant to share.
The licensed members then go out

and catch the snakes which are sold
to the society at a fixed rate. Once
purchased, the snakes are kept in
individual earthen pots. The length,
weight, sex and site of capture are
recorded at the time of purchase. Each
snake is marked with a unique code
clipped into its ventral scales. Venom
is extracted from each snake once a
week for four weeks. The snakes are
then released at predetermined sites
in Reserve Forests in the presence of a
Forest Range Officer.
42
Venom, once collected, is frozen,

dried and stored at 10 C in the freeze
chamber. This turns it into minute
crystals. The crystallized venom is
gathered in airtight bottles and stored
in a refrigerator. The society sells the
venom to a number of laboratories
for conducting medical research and
preparation of anti-venom.
At present, the annual turnover of
the 350-member strong cooperative is
`1.5 crore. An Irula is paid `2,000 for
catching one Cobra or Russells Viper,
`700 for Common Krait and `250
for Saw-scaled Viper. The society is
involved in extracting venom, which
is in great demand for making antivenom serum. For every one gram of
venom from Indian Cobra, Russells
Viper, Common Krait and Saw-scaled
Viper, 10, 10, 40 and 100 numbers of
individuals are required, respectively.
A gram of Cobra venom costs ` 25,000,
that of Krait `40,000, Russells Viper
`30,000 and Saw-scaled Viper `45,000.
The cooperative also earns `6-7 lakh
annually from the entry fee to its Snake
Pit Centre.
Apart from this the members are
paid for catching rats and snake feed
besides other bonus and incentives
like medical allowance, an interest-free
housing loan, an educational loan for
children and an insurance cover of `10
lakh if a member dies of snakebite. If a
member is bitten by a snake, treatment
costs are also covered.
The formation of the society and

subsequent permission to collect snakes
was an uphill task for Irulas, says S
Dravida Mani, Secretary and founder
member of the ISCICS. We established
ourselves without any financial support
from government. Now, the society
has the ambition to become a global
pharmaceutical company. It wants to
expand nationally and manufacture
serum which meets WHO standards.
We are going to train tribals in other
part of the country and invest `10
crore to become a competent global
exporter, says Mani.
Given the high standard of goals,
as regards the economic and social
upliftment of Irulas by employing
agencies such as ISCICS, much more is
yet to be done. Though this exposure
has somewhat exposed the tribe to the
success parameters of human social
and economic growth but the numbers
achieved are none to boast of as of now.
It is heartening to see that this
community has also ventured into
manufacturing of numerous medicinal
products, herbal teas, shampoos and
other organic products derived from
various trees and shrubs. The words of
Robert Frost, miles to go before I sleep,
manifests the essence of goals and
standards to be achieved by this ethnic
group. The Irulas need comprehensive
engagement and a lot more attention
from the government and the society
at large.
43
COMMUNITY INTEGRATION / MAHARASHTRA
The Jungle Man

Co-opting local forest residents can be an asset to the forest department
in terms of understanding wildlife and traditional knowledge
Ashish Narayanrao Hivre
rom May 3-10, 2015, I got an

opportunity to go for wildlife
estimation in Koyna wildlife
sanctuary along with all the RFO
trainees of our academy. It was
our
maiden
experience-gathering
opportunity of a wildlife census. Koyna
wildlife sanctuary is located in Satara
District of Maharashtra and has a total
notified area of 423.55 sq. km.
Koyna wildlife sanctuary includes
the eastern and western catchments of
Koyna dam, which is a major hydroelectric project centre in western
Maharashtra. The sanctuary is well

protected by the large extent of the
Shivasagar reservoir and the steep
slopes of the Western Ghats on both the
sides. This protected area is connected
by a vegetal cover corridor of Chandoli
and Radhanagari wildlife sanctuaries
in the south. The average altitude is
897 metres above sea level. The mean
annual rainfall is 5,500 mm.
The forest types here are southern
tropical evergreen forests and southern
moist
mixed
deciduous
forest.
Dominant species are Anjani, Jambul,
Hirda, Aonla, Pisa, Ain, Kinjal, Amba,
Kumbha, Bhoma, Chandala, Katak, Nana,
Shamrao Kokres hut in the forest
Range Forest Officer (Tr.), Kundal Academy of Development, Aadministrationand Management, Kundal, Ta.Palus, Distt. Sangli, (MS)
44
Umbar, Jambha, Gela, Bibba etc. Karvi is

found almost all over the area. Climbers
such as Shikekai, Garambi are quite
frequent. Shrubs species and medicinal
plants such as Karvand, Vagati, Ranmiri,
Tamalpati, Toran, Dhayati, Kadipatta,
Narkya, Murudsheng, etc. with small
quantity of Bamboo are also seen. Quite
a large number of ephemerals, bulbs of
seasonal plants are found.
The sanctuary shelters tigers (2),
panthers (14), gaurs (220-250), sloth
bears (70-80), sambars (160-175),
barking deer (180-200), mouse deer,
dholes, giant squirrels, otters, common
langoors, pythons and cobras. A unique
species of toad, Bufo koyanansis, is
endemic to this protected area.
ACF Puranik had told us about the
method of census and the steps to be
followed for the census. He gave us the
necessary equipment like GPS, range
finder, camera, booklet, sleeping bag,
ration required for eight days. I had
been allotted the Maldev beat. I was
accompanied by beat guard Ram Shelke
and forest watcher Vaibhav Jadhav.
Shelke told me that Maldev is the last
beat of the Koyna wildlife sanctuary.
On May 3, we began our journey at
9.00 am from Koynanagar to Maldev
beat. we reached at 6.00 pm by launch.
That was my first longest journey by
launch in wildlife area. I enjoyed it
thoroughly and was once in lifetime
experience for me. My whole journey
was through core area of Koyna. At
dinner, Shelke told me about Shamrao
Kokre who lived in Maldev beat. The
rehabilitation of the whole Maldev
village was done way back in 1960.
The Kokre household was the only one
Shamrao Kokre and his family with the author
which is yet to be rehabilitated. Kokre

was living with his wife and son. After
dinner, we went for water hole census
at night.
In the morning, we visited Kokres
home. At that time, only his wife was
present. I asked some questions about
their livelihood. She told me that their
entire dependence is on the forest.
They use fruits, tubers and bulbs as
vegetable. She also told us that some
years ago, they used some forest land
for agriculture purposes but now the
forest department had prohibited
the same. The forest department had
already offered to shift them from the
forest area but they were not ready to
do so.
Korkres house is an open hut.
There were no doors and windows.
45
His house was built up with timber

and straw extracted from the forest.
Around his house we saw signs of
wildlife like leopard, sloth bear, wild
pig, and so on but he loved to sleep in
the open. His wife told me that initially
they had 250 cattle. Their main earning
was from the dairy produce but due
to attacks by tiger and leopards, they
were left with only nine animals. The
nearest village was almost 10 km
away at Tiwre. She showed me several
paper cuttings which spoke about
Shamrao Kokre.
In the afternoon, Shamrao came to
our tent to visit us. Shelke introduced
me to him. I was amazed to see that
Shamrao, despite being 82 years old,
was very fit and in good health. We had
very little conversation at that time. He
thought that I had come to convince
them to leave the forest area. He left us
after half an hour. Shelke told me that
the forest department and Kokre were
at loggerheads about the rehabilitation.
Kokre is not ready to leave the place,
though all his sons and daughter have
shifted to the city area. Shamraos
refrain is: I am born in the forest and I
shall die in the forest.
After frequent visits, he opened up.
He told me about the flora and fauna
of the Koyna wildlife sanctuary. This
82- year-old man has lot of knowledge
about the forest and we can describe
him as walking flora. He also told
me about changes in habitat over the
years and the condition of the sanctuary before the Koyna dam and status
up to the date. He also told me about
changes in animal behaviour. He also
informed that very few tigers are left in
the sanctuary. One day I requested him

to come with us for trekking. We started
trekking at 6.00 am. After the completion of transect-line survey, we moved
on to reach the Kusumlata Plateau at
12.00 noon.
During the trek, he told me many
details about the flora of the region. He
told me about the multivitamin and
anti-oxidant properties of the leaves of
the Pisa plant (Actinodaphne hookeri). He
is also familiar with the medicinal value
of the entire flora present in that area.
He told me that, he knew all the natural
trails right from Belgaon to Thane that
is whole of western Maharashtra. He
has walked throughout Maharashtra.
Standing atop the Kusumlata Plateau he
showed me the boundaries of the Satara,
Ratnagiri, and Kolhapur districts. He
also showed me old Vasota and New
Vasota fort and their distinguishing
characters. He again showed me the
W point located there.
One of his best abilities is that he
can locate the animal by odour. He
can smell different animals and locate
their position. To share just one of my
experiences with him: One evening,
we were sitting outside our tent when
he suddenly got up and said, I will
show you sloth bear. So we followed
him towards the water hole and sure
enough we had a sighting of sloth
bear at the water hole. He informed us
that the most dangerous animal in the
sanctuary is the sloth bear. There had
been many incidents of man and sloth
bear conflict. He gave us tips on how
to save ourselves from the sloth bear
and also showed us the den of a sloth
bear. He also said that the leopards of
46
Koynanagar were not maneaters and

they had never attacked a human being.
Clearly, Shamrao Kokre is a knowledgeable resource person having a
good understanding of wildlife behaviour. The forest department can take
benefit of his knowledge for the management of the forest. Though he is 82
years old,, but taking into consideration
his extraordinary knowledge about the
forest,we can treat him as a special case
and offer him a job of forest labour so
that we can utilise his knowledge.
The forester gets transferred after
every three years so we cannot have
the same familiarity with the area. His

son also has good knowledge about the
forest. Interestingly, Shamrao has never
been attacked by animals. His affinity
with all things wild can be utilized in
the course of man-animal interface.
As discussed, he possesses good
knowledge about the flora and their
uses. This can help us for the conservation and the preservation of some rare
and endangered flora. We can also appoint Shamrao as a trainer for the forest
guard and foresters, or as a guide for
the beat boundaries.
47
A Success Story
An initative to help conserve the vulture population brings forth results with
the help of community participation
Kalpana Homkar Chinchkhede
o you know the decline of

which species has cost India
Rs 3400 crore? The decline
of this species has been recorded as
the most rapid decline in history of a
large population. In the 1980s, one of
the sub-species was considered as the
most numerous species of raptor in the
world, with around 80 million individuals, but today, however, its popu-
lation numbers only several thousand.

These birds of prey are one of the most
efficient scavengers, constituting Indias optimal natural animal disposal
system. They live in communities and
mostly near human habitation. For the
deceased Parsi to reach heaven, these
species serve as intermediaries between
earth and sky. The dead body is placed
on a Tower of Silence where these
birds by consuming the body, liberate
the soul. The dwindling population of
Vulture group in Damrancha village
RFO Trainee (2014-15), Burnihat, Assam
48
A carcass being put on one of the machans or vulture restaurants
Parsi Indians, deprived of their celestial

emissaries, has been obliged to drop
these ancient customs for reasons of
hygiene, since now bodies take six
months to disappear. I am talking about
Vultures.
One can imagine the quantum of acceleration in decline given that the population of White-rumped Vulture (Gyps
bengalensis) fell 99.7 per cent between
1993 and 2002. The population of the
Indian Vulture or Long-billed Vulture
(Gyps indicus) and the Slender-billed
Vulture (Gyps tenuirostris) fell 97.4 per
cent. Out of nine species found in India,
these three species are in danger of extinction. Research shows that in India,
feral dog populations have increased
by 30 per cent due to the disappearance
of vultures, which consequently has
increased the risk of human rabies and
anthrax. After much work on possible
viral causes of the decline, the culprit

was discovered by Dr. Lindsay Oaks
and his team in 2003diclofenac. It is
a common anti-inflammatory drug administered to livestock and was widely
used in India in the 1990s. The drug is
fatal to vultures. A vulture is exposed
to a mortal dose of diclofenac if it eats
from the carcass of a recently treated
animal. A simulation model demonstrates that if only 1 per cent of carcasses
were contaminated by diclofenac, Indian vultures would be decimated and a
study of carcasses showed that 10 per
cent were contaminated.
Following research on veterinarian
diclofenac, the drug was taken off the
market in India on March 11, 2006 and
a replacement drug, meloxicam, was
quickly developed and proposed after
tests on vultures in captivity. Meloxicam affects the cattle the same way as
49
diclofenac, but is harmless for vultures.

The disappearance of vultures has allowed other species, such as rats and
stray dogs, to take their place. These
newly abundant scavengers, however,
are not as efficient as vultures. A vultures metabolism is a true dead-end
for pathogens, but dogs and rats become carriers of pathogens. Stray dogs
also attract leopards to the human inhabited areas which can result into
man-animal conflict. Dogs carry diseases like rabies, anthrax, plague, etc.
from rotting carcasses. Statistics show
that in India, 30,000 people die from
rabies each year more than half the
worlds total. A person is bitten every
two seconds and one dies from rabies
every 30 minutes. Seventy per cent of
the victims are children under the age
of 15. The Indian government treats half
a million victims each year at a cost of
`1,500 per person. Poor citizens do not
have access to this care. Moreover, huge
Nesting site of Long billed Vulture In Lakkameda
sum of money is needed to control the

population of stray dogs. I was talking
about all these expenditures when I
mentioned Rs 3400 crore at the beginning of the story.
Every cloud has a silver lining. I am
going to tell you a story of one such silver lining. This story started on October 8, 2013, as a joint effort of the people
and the forest department. The place
was Kamlapur range, Sironcha Forest
Division in Aheri Taluka of Gadchiroli
district of Maharashtra, where a group
of 12 to 15 individuals was sighted. The
first sighting was done by Atul Rambhau Deokar, who got his first posting
as a Range Forest Officer in this range.
This was the beginning of a long and
exciting story. He along with his team
of three Forest Guards, Kadari, Pophali
and Lade, started monitoring the birds.
One nest of White-Backed Vulture on a
teak tree in the same village gave a ray
of hope. It was kept under regular monitoring with the help of local villagers.
They conducted surveys in the villages
in the vicinity and discussed the sightings with the locals. The next monitoring targets were the Dhorphodi sites, a
common place where dead cattle were
put outside the village.
The results of this monitoring by
the dedicated Kamlapur staff revealed
that the vultures were being badly
disturbed by stray dogs while feeding
on the carcasses. Little was left by the
dogs for the vultures to feed on and
the vultures had to wait for their turn
to feed. So, the team decided to set up
Vulture Restaurants. This restaurant is
a 30mx33m structure which is fenced by
a chain link on wooden poles. A wooden
50
Vulture restaurant in Kamlapur
platform called machan of 10ftx10ftx3

feet is erected inside this fence. Around
`90,000 was spent to raise one such
structure. These restaurants were set up
in other ranges as well. Now, they have
raised 11 vulture restaurants. Posters
were distributed by the department
with an appeal to bring the dead animal
to these restaurants with an assurance
or `250 per dead body. A format was
developed for data collection from each
restaurant that would be helpful in any
future endeavor to conserve vultures.
The staff kept a meticulous record of
the account of the villagers bringing the
dead animals. They also maintained a
proper data along with Latitude and
Longitude of the vulture sightings at
these restaurants. These records were
regularly maintained by the respective
Forest Guard and checked by Round
Officers. This gave them a fair idea
about the population of vultures in the
area. Vultures are territorial and they
migrate locally. The whole area was
divided into grids for counting of nests.
This made the survey more robust.

Participation of the local people was
the most important part of the story as
they were the ones who provided the
food for vultures. In return, the vultures provided them with hygienic environment. The villagers were getting
financial benefits too. Moreover, the
limelight was on this area as the place
of this success story, making the locals
proud and happy!
The department started the concept
of International Vulture Awareness
Day to make people aware about the
significance of vultures. This day is
celebrated annually on first Saturday
of September. Meetings of the staff and
the villagers were organized where they
were sensitized through discussion,
documentaries and the suggestions
for the cause were invited. In one such
meeting, the idea of Gidhad Mitra
(Friend of Vulture) was put forth. These
individuals support the department
in survey, monitoring and creating
awareness. The first Gidhad Mitra,
51
Shrihari Gurjalwal was selected from

the Kamlapur range.
Now, as the awareness is spreading,
people bring injured vultures to the
Range Office where they are treated
by the Livestock Development Officer
(LDO). Here, the people do not use
diclofenac and the LDO does not
prescribe it. But, still the medical stores
are kept under regular observation.
Besides, awareness regarding the
negative impact of diclofenac on
vulture existence is being spread.
Diclofenac is not a problem in this area.
Here, the drug is not used as the tribals
do not go in for such costly treatments
for their unproductive cattle. But, the
major problem was the unavailability
of sufficient food because of stray dogs.
This obstacle was overcome with the
introduction of vulture restaurants.
At the beginning the vulture
population was just a group of 12-15
birds. Aforementioned conservation
efforts resulted in the sighting of a
group of 80-90 individuals on August
18, 2014, at Kamlapur. At the beginning
the team found only one nest. Later,
a new nest was sighted on a teak tree
near a vulture restaurant. The positive
development is that the villagers from
other areas themselves have asked for
vulture restaurants near their villages
where they have reported the sighting
of this valuable species. This shows that
they are aware about vultures and the
important role they play in maintaining
the health of the ecosystem. In Deokars
own words, peoples participation
is vital for the long term survival of
the vulture.
Training programmes were con-
ducted for the frontline staff regarding vulture diversity, physiology and
ecology by Deokar. The department is
planning more awareness programmes.
The research regarding the necessity of
vulture restaurants is going on. The
department wants to see whether the
vultures would still come without the
fencing and the machan. The department is thinking of conducting studies
regarding the population, group dynamics and sex ratio of the vultures. A
rescue centre for vultures is in the pipeline. Dhorphodi sites are conserved and
villagers coming forward for vulture
conservation are encouraged through
financial incentives and by honoring
them. Also, the Gidhad Mitras are paid
an honorarium of `2,000 monthly for
monitoring the vultures and providing information to the department. At
present, three Gidhad Mitras work for
the department. They provide regular
updates of sightings of the birds.
This unique success story shows the
importance of peoples participation in
conservation of endangered species and
how much the support and contribution
of the staff matters. Deokar and his team
have proved that Actions speak louder
than words. Here the dedication of
a handful of greens in uniform has
actually made it possible. The vulture
was very near local extinction in
this area. The increase in the number
of individuals of this species is a matter
of pride not only for the Kamlapur staff,
but for the entire local community. And
now it will be possible for the coming
generations to get a chance to see this
amazing raptor in flesh and blood and
not only read about it in books.
52
Adapting to kill
An account of the newly observed predatory behaviour of the Greater Coucal
(Centroupus sinensis), a member of the cuckoo family
Sonal Dattatraya Valvi
he Greater Coucal is one among

the family of non-parasitic
cuckoos and is largely terrestrial.
It is known to live in open forest, scrub,
grassland, shrubbery and groves about
human habitations. This birds stalks
along the ground or clambers and
hops with agility amongst branches in
search of food. Greater Coucal have
been known for feeding on caterpillars,
large insects, snails, lizard, young mice
and bird eggs. In addition, there is a
report by B. Laxmi Naraya et. al. from
Hyderabad of Greater Coucal feeding
on the Common Myna.
Therefore the addition of data describing the unusual predatory behaviour of the Greater Coucal by killing individually and feeding on a Indian Hare
(Lepus nigricollis) is reported here. The
Indian Hare killed by the Greater Coucal was approximately 30 cm length and
15-20 cm height. By observation, the hare
can be considered as a sub-adult and
its weight must be approximately
around 1 kg.
Behavioural observation was found
coincidently on the campus of the
Kundal Academy of Development
Administration and Management
(Forests), (KADAM) Kundal, Taluka
Palus, Sangli district of Maharashtra.
Plate 1: Greater Coucal capturing the upper neck portion of Indian Hare
Range Forest Officer (Trainee), Kundal Academy of Development Administration and Management, Kundal, Taluka Palus, District
Sangli, Maharashtra
53
Plate 2: Greater Coucal jerking the Hare and lifting above the ground to give larger jerks
The site is at latitude N 1707'37.5'' and

longitude E 7425'20.0''.
The Greater Coucal was tracked for
around 15 minutes before it attacked
and killed the Indian Hare.
The KADAM campus has come into
existence a year or so ago and construction and developmental work is still
under progress. The site was earlier
an undulating region with degraded
grassland, which is one km outside the
Kundal village. Thus the site where
the incident was observed still has the
characteristics of a degraded grassland
with small shrubs, with an approximate area of 4 hectares. The common
avifauna found here are Sunbird, Indian Robin, Magpie Robin, Pond heron,
Egrets, Wagtail, Ashy prinia, Brahminy
Starling, Black Drongo, Common Kingfisher, Babbler, Laughing Dove and
Greater Coucal, etc.
The attacking, killing and feeding
on the Indian Hare (Lepus nigricollis)
has been captured on video and
photographs are also taken for
documentary evidence.
Observations
1. On 28/01/2015 at 7:15 a.m., I saw a

Greater Coucal in the campus of
academy. Till 7:25 a.m., I patiently
watched it for some photographs.
It was just wandering / stalking
on the ground and it was inspecting
the area. In a short span of 10 minutes
it went twice to a small Acacia
tree and was watching the whole
area from above. At around 7:25
a.m., it came down from the tree and
landed near the grass. After walking
for 10-12 metres in the grass, it
caught hold of a small Indian Hare in
its beak.
2. For the first instance, it caught hold
of the upper neck region of the
hare. A struggle ensued for around
10 minutes. During this period, the
hare managed to escape once and
started to run. But the Greater Coucal caught hold of it again by its ears
and the upper neck by its beak. The
hare was struggling continuously by
moving its legs but was unable to
escape. The Greater Coucal almost
54
Plate 3: Greater Coucal feeding on the Indian Hare killed by it.
Plate 4: A Jungle Crow working as scavenger by taking the remaining beheaded part of Indian Hare.
lifted the Hare above the ground and

was continuously jerking the neck.
In order to lift the hare by its beak,
the Greater Coucal was jumping on
its both legs for changing the position and giving a larger wrench.
3. By the end of the tenth minute, the
Greater Coucal managed to lay the
Hare on its back and swiftly got hold
of the neck region from underneath.
In this position, it managed to
penetrate its beak into the hares

neck and finally succeeded in killing
the hare.
4. The Greater Coucal immediately
started feeding on the kill and
continued for the next five minutes.
It started eating from the neck.
5. Suddenly a Shikra (Accipiter
trivirgatus) landed at the sight. The
Greater Coucal ran into a nearby
open bush (1-2 metres distance from
55
kill) leaving the kill there itself.

I was watching this scene from
around 15 metres. I believe that
both the birds were able to sense
my presence. The Shikra stayed
there for approximately one minute
and left the site without any
remarkable move.
6. The Greater Coucal came back to the
kill and started feeding again. After
approximately 2-3 minutes, it had
considerably reduced the volume
of the kill. Then, it picked up the
remaining carcass of the hare in its
beak and took a flight to move out of
the campus area (around 15 metres).
7. The story did not end here. The
next morning when I visited the
site again, I saw a Jungle Crow was
picking at the head of the hare killed
by Greater Coucal. This shows the

common scavenging behaviour of
the crow.
From the above observations, it can
be said that the Greater Coucal killing
a sub-adult hare was reflective of opportunistic prey capture. Since the site
comprises degraded grassland, so the
common food availability for Greater
Coucal must be scarce. Thus it was
seen adapting itself to kill and feed on
Indian Hare. The Greater Coucal used
its beak to the fullest to capture and kill
the hare. In this incidence, no use of its
legs or claws was seen for capturing or
killing the hare. It can, thus, be stated
that given the opportunity, the Greater
Coucal feeds on the hare and is able to
capture and kill it individually.
56
Ladakh / Jammu & Kashmir
A glimpse into the cold desert

Ladakh literally means land of passes and is famous for mountain ranges and passes and
comprises of Leh and Kargil districts in Jammu and Kashmir.
The land is so harsh and the passes so

numerous, that only the best of friends
or the worst of enemies would visit you
(Ladakhi folklore)
Raza Ali Abidi
adakh comprises of Leh and

Kargil districts in Jammu and
Kashmir in the northern most
part of the country. Ladakh literally
means land of passes and is famous for
mountain ranges and passes. Ladakh
has four major mountain ranges - the
Great Himalayan Range, Zanskar,
Ladakh and the Karakoram ranges.
Ladakh is one of the least accessible
parts of the Himalayas with most of its
area located above 4,000 metres above
mean sea level. The region remains
cut off from the rest of the world for
approximately six months during
winters due to heavy snow fall.
Ladakh has always been an important
region owing to its location. In the past
it was a crossroad to important trade
routes, like the famous Silk route and
nowadays it is strategically important
as it shares an international border with
both Pakistan and China.The famous
Kargil War was an armed conflict
between India and Pakistan that took
place between May and July 1999 in

the region.
Climate and Topography
The terrain in Ladakh is dominated by

a maze of enormously high snowcapped
peaks where valley heights range from
2500-4500m while passes of up to
6000m and peaks reaching above 7000
m can be seen all around. The worlds
second largest glacier outside the polar
region -Siachen- is located here and is
the worlds highest battlefield. Its no
wonder that such daunting heights
play an important role in determine
the lands temperature. In winter Leh
and Kargil experience temperatures as
low as - 30C and Drass at -50C is the
second most coldest inhabited place in
the world. During summers the weather
is pleasant, the average temperature
goes over 25C, but with low humidity
the sun can still be scorching hot. The
Himalayas create a rain shadow effect
in the region, thus rainfall is a mere
2 inches but there is heavy snowfall
in winters and it is the melting snow
in summer which sustains life in this
region. The major waterway of Ladakh
is the Indus River, as it flows down it is
joined by its other tributaries. The Suru
valley, drained by the Suru River, one
FRO Trainee, Batch (2014-15), Thang Dumbur Sankoo, Kargil, Ladakh
57
Landscape view
of the tributaries of the Indus forms

one of the most significant valleys of
the region.
People
Ladakh can be broadly classified

into four regions Kargil, Zanskar, Leh
and Nubra and is inhabited by people
of different ethnic groups,namely the
Mons, Dards, Tibetans and Baltis.
Mons belong to the Aryan race, while
the Dards are confined mainly to Drass
and the Indus valleys. The Tibetans are
the dominant racial strain in eastern
and central Ladakh, two ethnically and
culturally distinctive groups are the
Tibetans living at Choglamsar and the
nomadic Changpas with their herds of
pashmina (a fine type of kashmere wool
used for making shawls) goats in the
eastern plains. Baltis and Purigpa are
mainly found in western Ladakh in the
Kargil region, and in some parts of the
Nubra valley and Leh region.
Animal husbandry, agriculture and
agroforestry form the basis of livelihood
and food security in the permanent
settlements of Ladakh. Agriculture

depends entirely on melting water
from glaciers and people cultivate only
staple crops like barley and wheat.
Peas, mustard, potatoes, carrots, turnip,
radish, green leafy vegetables and alfalfa
are also regularly cultivated on terraced
fields sometimes in combination with
apple and apricot trees.
Flora
The vegetation of the area is sparse

owing to the harsh climatic conditions.
The physiographic conditions of
the region ensures a short growing
season (2-5 months) with exposure
to harmful infra-red and ultraviolet
radiations. High transpiration rates
due to excessive heat often causeplant
mortality, inadequate hours of sunlight
especially during the winter season
results in frost injury to plants. All
these lead to poor seed germination,
poor plant growth, poor root formation,
deformed canopy, reduced radial
growth and other physical signs/
phenotypic manifestations which affect
58
Local house on the way to Zanskar
the productive biomass production in

totality of the region.
Natural vegetation is overwhelmingly herbaceous - comprising of a few
tree species and a few shrub species.
The forest cover in the region is very low
(0.06% in Leh and 0.05 % in Kargil). The
major trees growing in the area which
are usually manmade plantations are
poplar (Populus spp.) and willows (Salix
spp) and shrubs like Hippophae spp. and
Myricaria spp. can also be seen along
river banks. Horticulture crops include
apple trees and apricots which are
grown up to 3500 m. The main trees
are willow and poplar and they meet
the requirement for fuel and timber.
They provide a good yield of fodder
for the animals and twigs for baskets.
Fragrant juniper (Shukpa) grows naturally and is used for ceremonial and religious purposes. Firewood is scarce for
both domestic and occupational use in
cold deserts.
The herbaceous element is comprised
of Thymus, Medicago, Trifolium, Anemone,
Potentila, Epilobium, Verbena, Allium,
Aconitum, Delphenium,Aquilegia, Primula,

Geranium, Polygonum and Cannabis. This
abundance of the herbaceous element,
has been the mainstay of the traditional
medicinal system (sowarigpa) prevalent
in this region.
Fauna
The fauna of Ladakh has much in

common with that of Central Asia generally, and especially those of the Tibetan Plateau. Ladakh has a rich wildlife, cats found in the region include the
Snow leopard (Uncia uncia), Lynx (Lynx
lynx) Pallass cat (Otocolobus manul).
The dog family is represented by Wolf
(Canis lupus), Red fox (Vulpes vulpes),
Tibetan sand fox (Vulpes ferrilata) and
Dhole (Cuonal pinus). Other animals include Brown bear (Ursus arctos), Stoat
(Mustela erminea), Mountain weasel
(Mustela altaica), Stone marten (Martesfoina), Eurasian otter (Lutra lutra), Himalayan marmot (Marmota bobak), Wooly
hare (Lepus oiostolus) and the Ladakhpika (Ochotona ladacensis),
Ladakhs mammalian herbivores,
59
Himalayan Marmot
belonging to six families, include eight

wild ungulates: Tibetan gazelle (Procapra picticaudata), Tibetan antelope
(Pantholops hodgsoni), Blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur), Ladakhurial (Ovis vignei
vignei), Asiatic ibex (Capra ibex siberica),
Tibetan argali (Ovisammon hodgsoni),
Tibetan wild ass (Equus kiang) and the
wild yak (Bos grunniens).
The avian fauna includes the black
necked crane the state bird of Jammu
and Kashmir, bar-headed geese, ducks
and several other water birds which
breed near the lakes in thousands. The
other birds in the region are Bactrian
magpies, grey tits, chough, raven,
sparrow, kite, kestrel, Turkoman rock
pigeon, and many other species of
birds. Tsomoriri a Ramsar site - and
Pangong Tso are important grounds for
the migratory birds. Hemis National

Park, the largest national park of India
is known as one of the places for highest
density of snow leopards.
The cold deserts have a unique
biodiversity and have been occupied
by human beings since the dawn of
civilization despite the harsh climatic
conditions. The people of the region
rely heavily on the trees for fuelwood,
fodder, timber, agricultural implements
and fire wood to escape the harsh cold
winters. Though the cold desert covers
more than fifty per cent area of Jammu
and Kashmir state, little attention has
been paid to its holistic development
area owing to the challenging
climatic conditions and topographical
limitations, there is immense potential
for development in this area.
60
Tilora (Pushkar) / Setrawa (Jodhpur), Rajasthan
Sand Dunes Stabilization and Plantation

Stabilizing dunes involves multiple actions including the planting of vegetation.
Small shrubs and grasses are better sand binders than trees.
Vrushali B. Tambe
and
dunes
are
common
features of shoreline and desert
environments.
In
physical
geography, a dune is a hill of sand
built by either wind or water flow.
These occur in different shapes and
sizes. Sand dunes occur throughout
the world, from coastal and lakeshore
plains to arid desert regions. There are
numerous types of sand dunes, these
include longitudinal, crescentric, linear,
star, dome and parabolic shaped dunes.
In Rajasthan, parabolic dunes are found
in Shergarh area, linear or longitudinal
dunes in Drishadavati in the north east
Thar), transverse dunes on the IndoPak border and star shaped dunes in
Mahangarh and Suratgarh area. There

are three essential prerequisites for the
formation of sand dunes, these include;
an abundant supply of loose sand in a
region generally devoid of vegetation;
wind energy source sufficient to
move the sand grains and topography
whereby the sand particles lose their
momentum and settle out.
Sand dunes can have a negative
impact on humans when they encroach
on human habitats. Movement of
sand dunes can happen through a few
different means, all of them helped
along by wind. One way that dunes
can move is by saltation, where sand
particles skip along the ground like a
bouncing ball. When these particles
land, they may strike other particles
RFO Trainee, Kundal Academy of Development, Management and Administration (Forests), Kundal (MS)
61
and cause them to move as well, this

process is known as creep. With slightly
stronger winds, particles collide in
mid-air, causing sheet flows. In a major
dust storm, dunes may move tens of
metres through such sheet flows. Sand
avalanches, which is sand falling down
the slipface of the dunesthe face of the
dune opposite to the prevailing wind
directionalso move the dunes forward.
Sand Dunes Stabilization
Stabilizing of sand dunes involves

multiple actions. Planting vegetation
reduces the impact of wind, wooden
sand fences can help retain sand and
other material needed for a healthy
sand dune ecosystem. The stabilization
of dunes is done by the following
methods;
Straw Checker Boards
This method has been used extensively in China since 1950s. In this
method, wheat or rice straw or reeds (50
60 cm in length) are placed vertically
to form the sides of the checkerboard,
which are typically 10 20 cm high.
Optimum grid size ranges from 1 x 1
m to 2 x 2 m, depending on local wind
and sand transport conditions. Smaller
grids are made in areas of stronger
winds.
Sand Fences
Sand fencing is widely used in coastal
areas. The most effective configuration
is a single linear fence perpendicular
to the predominant sand transport
direction. Fences 1.2 m (4) high with
a vertical arrangement of 3.8 cm (1.5)
wide wooden slats with a gap of 2.5 cm
(1), giving a porosity of 50% are the

most effective.
Surface Cover
This method involves spreading
wood chips, agricultural straw and
other materials on the surface. It is
widely used in the control of wind
erosion from agricultural areas. The
use of straw from agriculture can be
however a problem in areas of high
winds and sand flux rates, unless it is
anchored or crimped to the surface.
Wooden material is stable in wind
speeds up to 18 m/sec (40 mph) while
wheat straw is stable only below wind
speeds of 6.5 m/s (14.5 mph).
Vegetation
This method involves direct seeding
or transplantation of indigenous and
exotic species. Plantation of grass slips
or direct sowing of grass seeds is done
on the leeward side of micro-wind
breaks.
Status in Rajasthan
In Rajasthan, cultivation of dune

slopes is a major form of land use. Dunes
are largely owned by private farmers.
Initially the plantation of exotic trees
and shrubs was carried out however
today locally adapted species which
can provide some economic return to
the local population are being planted.
Small shrubs and grasses are better
sand binders than the trees. There are
a total of 72 sites under the sand dune
stabilization projects.
Projects
under
sand
dune
stabilization include the Desert
Development Program, the Biodiversity
62

Sand Dunes Formation
Various materials used for Checkerboards Barriers. (a) Straw; (b) Shrub branches;
(c) Stones and Shrubs; (d) Plastic.
Ditch fence
Loose Stone Fencing
Project, Climate Change Adaptation

in Rural Areas of India (CCA RAI),
Combating Desertification Project
(CDP, and the RFDP Phase-II. The
funding agencies for these projects
are the National Agricultural Band for
Rural Development (NABARD) and the
Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund
(OECF) of Japan.
The activities under these projects
include; surveying the area is first
surveyed to assess the present vegetation
cover and identify gaps where bare

sand patches and sand dunes occur.
Following which site selection is carried
out. After site selection the micro plan
for the site is prepared, this takes into
account the population of the village,
status, requirements etc. In the next
step fencing of the selected area is done,
three types fencing can be done; ditch
type fencing; loose stone wall fencing
and barbed wire angle iron fencing.
Once fencing is completed mulching
63
Mulching
Khip grass
and cross mulching is carried out. Local

vegetation is used and planted in the
direction of the prevailing wind (from
west to east). Mulching along microwindbreaks on the dune slopes is carried
out by burying local shrubs upsidedown in the sand in parallel strips,
these include khip grass (Leptadenia
pyrotechnica) and saniya grass (Crotalaria
burhia). After mulching, the seeds of
creepers, grass, shrubs and smaller trees
are sowed along the windbreaks. Grass

seed pallets with seed: manure: sand: clay
in the ratio of 1:1:2:2 are prepared. The
grass species used include, Calligonum
polygonoides (Phog), C. polygonoides with
Cassia angustifolia, Cenchrus setigerus
(Dhaman), Lasiurus scindicus (Sewan) and
Aerva tomentosa (Bui).
Plantation with trees and shrubs is
carried out in the following fashion. Pits
are dug in April, these are dug in the
64
Original site with Prosopis
Successful Plantation
spacing of 3 m3 m / 4 m 4 m /5 m3
m. Transplanting of nursery seedlings is
carried out at the onset of monsoon and
500 plants are planted on each hectare.
The species used include Acacia tortilis,
A. senegal, Prosopis cineraria, Anogeissus
pendula, Ziziphus jujuba, Acacia nilotica,
Maytenus emarginata. Two kharif crops
Pennisetum glaucum and Vigna aconitifolia
and two rabi crops Cicer arietinum and
Brassica juncea are also used.
Choice of woody and grassy species:
The choice of woody and grass

species depends on climatic and
ecological conditions. Species selected
for planting should meet a number of
criteria. These include capacity to grow
in nutrient poor environment, existence
of tap root system, resistance to strong,
hot, dry winds and their abrasive action,
rapid growth and ability to regenerate
easily and the capacity to improve
dune soil.
After all these activities are
65
Sand Dune plantation in Shairgarh
completed, there is a schedule of

operations to be followed. During the
first year weeding (once), watering
(three times) and hoeing (three times) is
done and the replacement of casualties
(usually 20%). Operations during the
second year include weeding (once),
watering (two times) and hoeing (once).
The operations during the third year are
watering which can be carried out once
or two times.
Role of People
For the management of the
plantations
Forest
Management
Committees are constituted. The forest
guard is the Secretary of this committee.
The committee helps in the protection
of the plantation. This scheme is kept in
place for three years. After 5 years the
plantation is handed over to the Gram
Panchayat and grazing is permitted.
The monitoring of the site is carried out
by NABARD.
Threats
The plantations face a number of
threats these include the following:
natural
threats
(hostile
climate
characterised
by
extremes
of
temperature, drought, high wind
velocity, evaporation, scanty rainfall,
termites, rats, porcupines and Nilgai;
social threats (apathy and indifference
towards the development programme);
financial threats (huge expenditure, and
requirement of financial resources);
operational threats (actual working,
lack of data, lack of detailed survey,
carrying water from a long distance and
non- availability of material on time).
Economic and Environmental

benefits
There are a number of benefits both

economic and environmental which
accrue from the stabilization of sand
dunes. These include among others,
improved nitrogen and organic matter
status in the arid zone dune, effective
control of the drifting of sand, fodder
for livestock. At the age of 50 months,
A. tortilis produced 5.2 tons ha-1 fuel
wood as compared to 7.00 tons ha-1
from P. juliflora and 7.15 tons ha-1 from
Calligonum polygonoides. C. polygonoides
66

Plant species suitable for sand dune stabilization in Thar Desert. (Venkateswarlu,
1993)
Annual
rainfall
zone (mm)
Trees
Shrubs
150-300
Prosopis juliflora, Acacia

tortilis, A. senegal
Calligonum
polygonoides,Ziziphus
nummularia, Citrullus
colosynthis
Lasiurus sindicus
300-400
Tecomella undulata,
Parkinsonia aculeata,
Acacia nubica,
Dichrostachys glomerata,
Colophospermum
mopane, Cordia rothii
Ziziphus mauritiana,
Z. nummularia, C.
polygonoides,
Citrullus colosynthis
Cenchrusciliaris, C.
setigerus,
L. sindicus,
Saccharum munja
400-550
A. tortilis, P. cineraria,
Z. mauritiana, Cassia
P. juliflora, A. senegal,
auriculata
Dalbergia sisoo, Ailanthus
excelsa, Albizzia lebbek, P.
aculeata,T. undulata, D.
glomerata, C. mopane
produced the highest biomass in the

form of fuel wood utilizing minimum
amount of soil water. The environmental benefits include microclimate
amelioration, soil improvement and
sheltering of habitations. The projects
also provided experimental verification
of the concept of planting Cassia
angustifolia and Cenchrus ciliaris under
canopy vegetation, this provided the
best combination for production of
Grasses
C. ciliaris, C.
setigerus, S. munja,
Panicum antidotale
fodder and fuelwood. The sand dune

stabilization projects in Rajasthan
have had a success rate of 90 percent.
It has also revealed that a minimum of
40 percent survival of the plantation
is necessary to get some benefits
both economic and environmental.
The projects have also provided an
opportunity for reexamination and
reformulation of strategies to nurture
dune vegetation.
67
Mussoorie / Uttarakhand
Mine Reclamation: A Success Story

Timely intervention and well-thought strategies saw reclamation activities
conducted by the Forest Department bear fruit
Sarika Khot
ussoorie is a beautiful
hill station just above
Dehradun city, the capital
of Uttarakhand state. The place is an
important tourist site and gets visitors
from all parts of the country. The
present day lush green hill station was
once severely degraded area due to
heavy mining activities. The hills of
Mussoorie are reserves of high quality
limestone and limestone-mining was
in vogue in the area till three decades
back. Mining in the region started in the
British period, initially around the river
beds later moving toward the mountain
slopes, and by the year 1888 about 36
lime kilns were in operation in and
around Doon valley. At that time about
16,000 tonnes of limestone was being
exported annually from the Mussoorie
hills. The opening of the railway in 1900
by the British further aided the supply
of limestone from this region. The

activities continued post Independence
and by the early 1980s, there were 101
mining leases.
The mining activities led to serious
ecological imbalance, not only affecting
the mining sites but also the areas
surrounding Dehradun city. All these
resulted in a severe impact on the local
populace and environment.
The Forest Department and the local
non-government organizations lodged
several protests at different forums
including the judiciary and as a result,
several mines were closed in 1983 and
almost all were closed down in 1985
on the order of the Supreme Court.
The apex court also formed a special
committee to assess the activities in the
region. The Forest Department took up
the initiative and started reclamation
activities of closed mines and they
successfully did reclamation of 64
closed mines. To aid in the plantation
Lime rich area of Lower Himalayas

RFO Trainee, 2014-15
68
Species Used for Treatment

Timber species: Pinus roxburghii, Grevillea robusta, Shorea robusta, Cupressus torulosa, Jacaranda mimosaefolia, Acacia spp. etc.
Fodder species: Bauhinia variegata, Albizia spp., Coriaria nephalensis.
Grass species: Vetiveria zizanoides, Chrysopogon fulvus, Pennisetum
purpureum,Desmonthus viviantus, etc.
Soil binders: Equatorium and Combretum decandrum, Bauhinia vahilli,
Rumex hastatu.
activities, an eco-task force was set up

in 1985. The eco-task force constituted
of 127 Infantry Battalion, (Garhwal
rifles) ex-servicemen. It consisted of
retired army personnel who undertook
everything from reforestation to local
educational programmes on such
things as wildlife diversity, erosion
control and water management.
The ecological task force was
entrusted with rehabilitation work in
25 closed mines, in Gram Samaj land
in Kyarkuli micro watershed of Doon
valley under the technical guidance of
the Forest Department.
In the initial phase, an experimental
plot was taken up by the department.
Mine No. 44 was selected on
experimental basis and an area of about

20 ha was treated in 1989. Satisfied with
the result, another 60 ha area was taken
up in Mine No. 40(1). A full-fledged
project for the treatment of 95 closed
mines started from 1990-91. Of these,
69 were situated in Dehradun, and 24
outside. The total area of the project was
3,760 ha of which 1,624 ha was mined
area and the rest 2,136 ha was outside
the mined area but heavily damaged by
mining activity.
Treatment of the Area
The forest department identified

four major regions for reclamation and
rehabilitation:
1. Mined face: The steep, exposed,
Mine area after reclamation
69
Pre-Reclamatation
Post Reclamation
Loss of vegetative cover and
Screes are stabilized

Well flourishing vegetation
No soil erosion along the slopes
Soil is rich in organic matter with
improved moisture regime
Good diversity of flora and fauna
Healthy ecosystem
disappearance of fauna
Soil erosion
Depletion and drying up of natural
water springs
Choking up of streams, river and
canals by rolling debris and mine spoils
Loss of grazing area
Loss of agricultural land and drastic
reduction in crop production
Increased pollution
Insecurity due to blasting and noise
pollution
rocky area devoid of soil and

vegetation
2. Scree areas: These had been formed
as a result of rolling scree from the
mined areas completely destroying
the vegetation below.
3. Nalas, channels and streams: These
were small or big streams/nalas
in and around the mined area
which either were over burdened
with scree damaged by mining
operations were extremely sensitive
to erosion.
4. Denuded and degraded forest areas:
These areas were near mined areas
and affected by mining operation.
Soil varied in depths and some
vegetation was present.
Treatment Activities
Mine face: Only suitable sites were

selected for planting. Initially, only
grasses and bushes were planted to
bind the soil and for improvement
of the site. At some places, the face
was so steep that they used ladders

for carrying out planting activities.
Scree areas: Soil conservation and
vegetative measures were taken up.
Treatment of stream/ nalas/ drains:
Check dams on debris, basins at
suitable places were constructed.
Treatment of degraded and
denuded area: About 1,250 plants
per hectare were planted.
Impact
The region has been successfully

restored and rehabilitated and is a major
tourist hub in the country. The main
reasons for the success of the project
is timely intervention of the Forest
Department, involvement of other
stakeholders, direct intervention of the
Supreme Court of India, use of native
species and effective planning and
execution by the Forest Department.
For reclamation of mines in other parts
of the country, the techniques can be
replicated from this success story.
70
SundarbanS / west bengal
The Roar of Sundarban Tiger

Sundarban in the Bengali language literally means beautiful forest. This mangrove
forest spread over 10,000 sq. km. is largest of its kind in the world.
Shweta. T. Rathod
undarbans in the Indian state of

West Bengal is the estuarine phase
of the Ganga as well as of the
Brahmaputra river systems. This littoral
forest is a unique ecological habitat of
the tiger and is not found elsewhere
in the world. The mangrove forest of
the Sundarbans is home to a number
of tree species which have adapted
to the peculiar estuarine condition of
high salinity, lack of soil erosion and
daily inundation by high tides. The
Sundarban tiger reserve provides a
habitat suitable for animals inhabiting
the vast tidal swamp area, because

of their intimate association with the
estuarine environment. A sizeable
portion of aquatic and semi aquatic
communities are inter-related with the
animals inhabiting the terrestrial areas.
The uniqueness of the habitat is said to
have contributed to certain behavioural
trends of the Sundarbans tigers and
these are not found elsewhere. Though
spotted deer, wild boar and the Rhesus
macaque are the main prey species of
tiger, aquatic animals like the crabs and
fishes are also eaten by Sundarban tiger.
The Sundarban tiger thus occupies the
apex of both, terrestrial as well as the
Nylon net fencing in STR
71
Nylon net fencing in Sunderban Tiger Reserve
Nylon net fencing in Sunderban Tiger Reserve
aquatic food web. The mangrove forest

is home to a number of endangered and
globally threatened species. During
the monsoon season and then in the
winter season a number of heronries
form here. The reserve is also home
to several species of Trans-Himalayan
migratory birds.
Sundarban Tiger A maneater
Sundarban tigers have always been

ill-famed as man eaters. The earliest
known reference to the man eating
nature of the Sundarban tiger is found
in the letters of Portuguese Jesuit
missionaries, Francis Fernandez and
Melchoir Fronseca, who travelled to
Bengal in 1598 and 1599. They were
72
the first to report on the fondness for

human flesh of the tigers of the Gangetic
delta. This behaviour of tigers does not
have any intra-specific or intra-generic
similarity with any of the Panthera
species from anywhere in the world.
The various groups of human beings
falling victim to tiger include honey
collectors, fishermen including crab
collectors, tiger prawn seed collectors.
Some of the reasons that have been put
forward for this behaviour are salinity,
vegetation, prey density and biotic

interference and straying of tigers into
areas inhabited by humans.
Research on the Sundarban tigers
has indicated that there is an increased
percentage of human kills by tigers in
high salinity zones. Killing of humans
in high salinity zones is significantly
higher than those in medium and
low salinity zones. Other researchers
have put forward the theory that the
physiology of Sundarban tigers is
Members of Tiger Straying Combat Force
Trap cage in Sunderban Tiger Reserve
73
affected by high salinity which causes

irritation resulting in killing of humans
by tigers this however is not backed
by scientific proof. Histological studies
of inner organs like liver, kidney can
perhaps be used to substantiate this
theory and this is carried out in the in
case of any tiger deaths.
Research has also indicated that
habitats comprising of pure Ceriops
and Phoenix vegetation account for
the highest human kills by tiger. It can
perhaps be attributed to the fact, that
dense vegetation of Ceriops and Phoneix
may influence the tiger to explore
a different preying strategy which
may be successful for killing of human
being after following them and assessing
the chance of stalking by getting closest
to them.
The frequency of human beings
being killed by tigers is highest in
areas during periods of heaviest
concentration of people. Researchers
have also concluded that increased
utilization of forest by human beings
resulted in higher casualties. Other
researchers have put forwards the

theory that a fall in the prey density
might also trigger the phenomenon
of tigers preying on humans when
the biotic interference is the most.
However, tiger density, prey density,
kind and frequency of human activities
and human casualties cannot be corelated as long as sufficient data are
not available.
One of the major issues in managing
man animal conflict in the Sundarban
Tiger Reserve (STR) is the straying of
tiger into fringe villages and the rescue
of the same without causing any harm
on either side. It is worth noting that
STRs north - western boundary has
an interface with 25 fringe villages
which are densely populated with
human and cattle. Usually the staff and
local villagers to drive the tiger back
to the forest by using drums, crackers
and lighting fires. Sometimes the tiger
too goes back to the forest on its own.
These straying incidents are termed as
temporary and in case of any repeated
phenomenon, trap cage with live
74
bait is used to trap the tiger and then

relocate the same. However in cases
of permanent straying, when the tiger
takes refuge in a cattle shed or inside a
hut, tranquilization is used to rescue the
animal. Female tigers sometimes litter
in paddy fields as they want to avoid
the danger of cubs being killed by the
male tigers. Old and diseased tigers like
the ones with broken canines also stray
because it is difficult for them to hunt the
prey in forest.
Managing the Tigers
The Sundarban Tiger Reserve has

received protection under Project Tiger
since its creation. Protection against
poaching and theft of forest produce is
ensured through intensive patrolling
by staff in motorboats and launches.
The offices and camps are located at
strategic points to keep a watch over
the area. There also exists an effective
communication network for protection.
Eco-development, education, training
and research are other thrust areas.
Mud flats on the periphery of the
Reserve are artificially regenerated
with mangrove plants to meet local

fuel wood demand and reduce the
pressure on the buffer. Non-mangrove
plantations are also raised along the
roads and embankments of the fringe
area to cater the needs of the people
residing on the fringe. Soil conservation
is taken up to stabilize vulnerable sites.
To facilitate the availability of sweet
water for animals, ponds have been
dug at several places in the forest. The
other main activity is mitigation of man
tiger conflicts. The number of casualties
has been reduced from more than 40
per year to less than 10 per year.
This has been made possible by
maintaining a strict control over
the movement of people inside the
Reserve, providing for alternative
income generation and awareness
building among people. These include
eco-development
and
livelihood
opportunities like pisciculture,crab
and ornamental fish culture, honey
collection, raising mangrove forests
on the periphery, smokeless chullahs,
development of water harvesting
structures and formation of self-help
75
groups and joint forest management

committees. Villagers and school
children are taken on study tours
and a number of events like Aranya
Saptah, Sundarban Divas, wildlife week
celebration are undertaken to create
awareness among rural people. Use
of human-masks and electric human
dummies are believed to have also
contributed in controlling attacks
by tigers.
Other precautions like erection of
branches of Ceriops, nylon net fencing

at forest side and solar illumination at
village side at night have helped reduce
the incidents of tiger straying. For
rescuing a strayed tiger, tranquilization
using a dart gun is carried out when
driving the tiger back to the nearby
forest is not possible. The youth in
the villages have also been imparted
training to enable them to play an
appropriate role in controlling the
straying of the tigers into the habitation.
Human Kind have not woven the web of life

We are but one thread within it.
76
Satara Tukum Village / Maharashtra
Joint Forest Management with Difference

Involving villagers in the management of forests in association with the forest
department can be the solution to protect our forests while ensure livelihoods.
Sudhir Vinayak Sonawale
ometimes I wonder whether we

are part of the same system. We
are protecting forests on one
hand, jointly with the government,
and on the other side the government
itself is felling forests. These agitated
words by Pravin Chichdhare, a village
youth from Satara Tukum village in
Vidarbha, Maharashtra, conveyed the
collective sense of despair of his whole
community. We were on our central
India tour as part of Range Forest
Officer Training to see the forests being
protected by the village under the Joint
Forest Management scheme. To our
left was lush green vegetation that had
regenerated and flourished under this
arrangement; to our right, the Forest
Development Corporation (FDC) was
busy cutting down the existing natural
forest. Villagers accompanying us
were obviously upset about this felling
carried out on a rotational basis for
revenue generation.
You cant protect forests and
wildlife in small patches when areas
around are fast degrading was Pravins
explanation. Destruction of forests in
the surrounding areas adds pressure
on our forests from both human and
wildlife populations dependent on
that forest. Disillusionment with the
double standards of the government

is, however, more than made up for
by the excited enthusiasm with which
the villagers show us their protected
forest. Parts of it are just regenerating,
but others are dense with a diversity
of trees and bushes, some so thick that
walking through is difficult. At any
time, we expect to come across a wild
animal or two,the birdsong of a number
of birds can be heard and it is obvious
that the area has rich biodiversity. As
we walk along a stream, the forests
water harvesting value also becomes
obvious. Residents point us to a
number of fruiting trees, and plants
with medicinal properties. Clearly, the
forest is a lifeline for the local people
and many plant and animal species.
Satara Tukum is a small tribal
hamlet in Pombhurna Tahsil, about
25 kms from Chandrapur District
Headquarters in eastern Maharashtra.
The forests around the village stretch
to the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve.
These forests were rich in wild animals
till the 1970s. Subsequently, extensive
disturbance from various sources
caused habitat degradation and loss
of wildlife. In 1997, Satara Tukum
was brought under the World Bank
sponsored forestry programme. Mr.
Chapekar, the then Divisional Forest
Officer persuaded the villagers to join
77
the Joint Forest Management (JFM)

scheme. A portion of the reserved
forests 285 ha were allotted to the
village community for regeneration,
plantation and protection. The villagers
saw the benefit in the scheme as it would
mean greater availability of resources
as also a share from harvesting of
planted trees. For the Department,
this was an interesting departure from
the usual practice of allotting only
degraded lands to villages for JFM,
to place standing Reserve Forests into
the hands of a community is a rare
phenomenon in most parts of India. As
the Range Forest Officer accompanying
told us we were failing in protecting
the forests from outside forces, and
saw in this arrangement a potential to
strengthen our own hands. At village
meeting, a committee was formed
to carry out protection activities.
The committee currently includes 96
members, one representative each from
the villages households, including
84 men and 12 women. The executive
committee consists of 12 members, 3
of which are women. The committee
has undertaken several steps for forest
protection, including daily patrolling
in rotational groups of seven people
each. The patrolling teams used
persuasion rather than force, to check
those involved in hunting, felling of
trees for sale as timber or firewood, and
other illegal activities. They appointed
a forest guard, and prohibited
indiscriminate grazing, allowing it
only in certain zones. A number of
income generating activities were also
carried out, including plantations of
useful trees, and soil and moisture
conservation
programmes.
The
committee started an account in the
local bank, which is used to give loans
to farmers during the lean period. A
Nagpur based NGO, Vidharbha Nature
Conservation Society, helped form a
Nature Club with the village youth.
Impacts of Community
Initiative
Effective patrolling and protection

resulted in quick natural regeneration
and villagers began to notice return
of wild animals such as herbivores
and subsequently tigers and leopards.
Formation of the nature club, regular
patrolling, and involvement of the
youth in patrolling has reduced the
incidents of hunting to a negligible
number. Encroachment of forest land,
which was one of the major problems,
has completely stopped. Animals
like wild dogs, leopards, sloth bears,
spotted deer, and barking deer are
sighted regularly. About four to five
incidents of wild animal attacks on
human beings are reported every year,
an increase from the past. Regulated
grazing has resulted in availability of
abundant grass since 1998. The grass
extracted from the forests has even
been supplied to the flood hit areas
of Orissa, and other institutions, after
meeting the village requirements.
Prior to JFM, farmers were exploited
by money-lenders from whom they
were compelled to borrow money
during the lean periods. The Forest
Protection Committee now has its own
revolving fund which is used to help
farmers out in the times of need. The
interest thus generated is ploughed
78
back into the fund. Availability of daily

wage labour, even though irregular, is
also seen as a benefit by the villagers.
The forest department is trying a
unique experiment under which funds
available for controlling fires come
to the village fund. The Range Forest
Officer explained that since villagers
are protecting the forests against fire,
this money therefore rightfully belongs
to the village. The greatest impact
of JFM has been that the villagers
have a greater stake in conserving
the forest, and there is a sea change
in the relationship between the forest
department and the villagers. The
fear and antagonism that the villagers
once felt of the department, is not felt
anymore.
The Flip Side
Unfortunately, Satara Tukums success story is now marred by a number

of problems. The village received much
attention from national and international community till the programme
was running under World Bank funds.
Once the funding ended, various employment generating schemes could
not be supported anymore. The forest
departments involvement with the
village and its protection activities has
also gone down substantially. The local
Range Forest Officer confesses this is
the best village in my range, but I dont
have funds to encourage them. For a
village, where landholdings are very
small and the people depend on daily
wages for subsistence, it has become
difficult for villagers to forego a days
wage to go for forest patrolling. Villagers also fear that they may not get
the benefits from harvesting the forests. Till June 2014, there was no written Memorandum of Understanding
signed between the villagers and the
department. Another area of concern
are policy changes in the JFM resolution that the state government makes.
Yet another major issue is that of institution building. In 1997, when the JFM
committee was formed, only one member per household was included in the
committee. This immediately excluded
women from the decision-making process. Over the years the constitution of
the committee has remained the same.
However, since 2004, some young people have become quite active, and want
to be members of the Forest Protection
Committee. But older members are reluctant to admit them, concerned that
this may reduce the per capita share of
benefits from harvested forest produce.
There are also concerns about the lack
of transparency in the functioning of
the Forest Protection Committee. Clearly, not enough attention has been paid
towards building institutional capacity
and systems of conflict resolution. Experiences with community initiatives
elsewhere have shown that transparent
functioning, availability of impartial
information, and regular open discussions within the community, as also
social movements against vices such as
alcoholism, constitute the backbone of
a strong decision-making process.
Solution
Given the current status of the

forest conservation initiative at Satara
Tukum, villagers and forest officials
feel that some major steps will be
79
needed to sustain the effort. Clearly,

since dependence on outside sources
of funding such as the World Bank
is unsustainable, community-based
forest conservation needs to become
an integral part of the governments
own programmes. One possibility is
to bring the village under the Forest
Development Authority, in which
case Central Government funds for
development activities are pooled
together at the District level and can
be allocated directly to the village
institutions for implementation. An
additional boost in putting together
developmental funds could be obtained
from a circular, recently issued by the
Chief Secretary of Maharashtra, asking
all line agencies to give priority to JFM
villages. The village also has its own
fisheries tank, benefits from which
could be enhanced with some help in
marketing. Our talks with the local
RFO brought up another interesting
issue. In Maharashtra, 7 per cent of
sales from forest produce is deposited
by the forest department with the state
government. The state government then
distributes this money to Zilla Prishads.
The Zilla Parishads are expected to use
this money for development of forests
under their jurisdiction. This however,
often doesnt happen. The Maharashtra
Range Forest Officers Association
has made an intervention in the High
Court, arguing for this money to be
returned to the forest department.

Through this tax the state government
earns about Rs. 50 crores every year.
The RFO felt if this money could be
returned to the Department, it would
be possible to sustain programmes
like JFM in villages like Satara Tukum.
Finally, as our own study tour visit
demonstrated, regular dialogues are
critical. During our discussions with
many of the men and women, we
realised that they had no information
about recent laws and policies. The
villagers themselves stated that
information on government schemes
relating to employment often reaches
them very late. A forum of discussion
in which outside government and nongovernment persons could participate,
would help strengthen the village
initiative. The residents of Satara
Tukum provide a critical service for the
benefit of society at large, by conserving
precious forests, water resources, and
wildlife. The forests that they tend to
are even an important corridor for the
wildlife of the nearby Tadoba-Andhari
Tiger Reserve. Yet, this yeoman service
provided by the villagers is largely
ignored by most agencies. With some
imaginative
development
related
interventions, and the continued
commitment of the villagers, this could
be a success story in the long term
that would be worth replicating across
the country.
80
FIELD FORESTER
V o i c e s
volume 1 issue 2
f r o m
t h e
f i e l d
DECEMBER 2015
FIELD FORESTER | December 2015
82

The National Forest Policy 1988 stipulates a massive need-based programme of
afforestation and tree planting, with particular emphasis on fuelwood and fodder
development, on all degraded and denuded lands in the country as a national
imperative. Emphasis on village and community lands is given for the development
of tree crops through technical assistance and other inputs from the government.
The revenues generated through such programmes belong to the panchayats where
the lands are vested in them; and would be shared with the local communities in
order to provide an incentive to afforest barelands.
The focus on weaker sections such as landless labour, small and marginal
farmers, scheduled castes, tribals and women of certain ownership rights over trees
and minor forest produce, could be ensured, subject to appropriate regulations,
as well as the prism of multiple laws that dealt with ownership issues such as
Panchayati Raj Act, PESA and the Forest Rights Act. Some success stories on
plantations and community based models such as JFM initiatives are presented in
this issue of Field Forester.
Needs of wildlife conservation was also stipulated in our policy to be an
integral part of forest management. This issue contains articles on protected areas,
leopard as a prominent species on the Indian landscape and the task of tackling
illegal wildlife trade. Biodiversity conservation through innovations like forest
food festivals are also brought forward in the present issue.
During the climate change negotiations in Paris, countries submitted their
intended nationally determined contributions (INDCs) to UNFCCC, in which
their voluntary actions were prescribed. India, amongst other things submitted to
increase its forestry sink to sequester additional 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO2 by
2030. This is to be achieved through afforestation, reforestation, conservation and
REDD+ activities for which capacity building of local communities, state forest
departments and other stakeholders is needed. This is a target for the forestry
sector which needs to be fulfilled with utmost dedication and indomitable spirit.
It should be mentioned here that for the first time in forest management history,
sustainability of productive functions but also environmental functions and socioeconomic benefits to forest dwellers and other forest dependent communities were
factored in day-to-day management of the forests through the National Working
Plan Code 2014.
Forest management thus is slowly formulating operational strategies moving
beyond conventional objectives by ensuring involvement and commitment
of local institutions and invoking the wholesome ecosystem approach with
multiple functions, which would prove crucial for effective implementation of our
international commitments in the realm of climate change and global warming
through broader forest management strategies.
MP Singh
83
84
FORESTRY / TAMIL NADU
An innovative approach to grow taller

and less branchy teak
Establishing windbreaks of casuarina on either side of teak trees row in boundary
planting helps prevent stunted growth of teak and impacts on the branching pattern of
teak by minimizing the dessicating effect of strong wind on terminal shoot growth.
C. Buvaneswaran1, P. Masilamani2
and S.Senthilkumar1
eak (Tectona grandis L. f.) trees

when planted in boundaries or
in farm bunds as a row planting
often suffer stunted height growth
and develop heavy branchiness on the
apical region of the main stem. This
stunted growth of teak has also been
recorded in block plantations of teak
grown in windy localities and on upper
hill slopes exposed to strong wind
forces. Research literature also indicates
that teak is a light demanding species
and thus tends to modify its crown
characteristics to enable capturing of
greater amount of sunlight. Therefore,
when teak is grown on bunds or in
boundaries of farmland, it produces
profuse branches and in turn growth
in height is limited and stem form is
also bent and not straight. It has also
been reported that strong wind is a
deleterious factor for growth of teak.
This stunted growth of teak is also
recorded in block plantations of teak
grown in upper hill slopes exposed to

strong wind forces. On the other hand,
there are now fast growing branchy
varieties (clones) in Casuarina which
have been developed for windbreak
agroforestry system. Taking into
account these two facts, an innovative
hypothetical model for cultivating teak
in windbreak agroforestry system has
been conceived. In this model, it is
proposed that teak will be grown in the
middle row of windbreak and on either
side of the teak rows, branchy varieties
(clones) in Casuarina will be planted to
provide protection from desiccating
wind and produce competition for
light to teak. This competition will
benefit teak for growing tall without
much production of side branches. As
described earlier, the expected benefits
from this proposed Teak + Casuarina
based windbreak agroforestry system
is that it will produce teak with less
branches.
Under the study, the hybrid clone
of Casuarina equisetifolia X Casuarina
junghuhniana was used to create
Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding, Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education, P.B. No.: 1061, R.S. Puram,
Coimbatore -641002, Tamil Nadu, India.
2
Agricultural Engineering College & Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Kumulur, Trichy - 621 712,
Tamil Nadu, India.
1
85
windbreaks. The potential of this hybrid

clone as a good species to be used for
shelterbelt system in coastal tracts of
Tamil Nadu has been established by
State Forest Department. However,
the potential of this clone for the use in
windbreaks has not been fully explored
for use in farmlands as windbreaks.
Further, its branchy nature and fast
growth were the criteria to select this
hybrid clone for this study. This present
attempt was made to use this hybrid
clone in windbreak agroforestry system
to study its effect on the growth and
branching pattern of teak in the bund
planting system.
In the study, 1.63 acres of
agricultural fallow land was selected
in Puthanampatti village, Musiri Taluk,
Tiruchirappalli district of Tamil Nadu,
India. The altitude here is 88 meters
above mean sea level. Mean annual
rainfall is 566 mm. Average minimum
temperature ranges from 5oC to 16oC
and average maximum temperature
ranges from 8oC to 23oC.
After land preparation by ploughing,
three parallel channels at distance of 1
m were created all along the boundary.
In the outer two channels, Casuarina
equisetifolia X Casuarina junghuhniana
hybrid clone were planted at 1 m
spacing. In the middle channel, teak
seedlings were planted at 2 m intervals.
The planting was done during October
2011. Tree rows were irrigated during
the first year at least once in a week.
In the subsequent years, no separate
irrigation was done for tree rows. The
trees benefited from the management
practices followed for the agricultural
crop inside the windbreak boundaries.
Periodic cultural operations like

weeding and soil working around trees
were carried out twice a year.
Inside the field, two raised farm
bunds were made running across the
field, one bund from east to west and
another bund from north to south. On
either side of these farm bunds, 78
seedlings of Moringa (var. PKM1) were
planted and interval between Moringa
plants was 2 m. Inside the four blocks
of the field, 90 coconut palm seedlings
(var. tall x dwarf hybrid) were planted
at a spacing of 7.62 m x 7.62 m. The
interspaces between young coconut
plants were used for cultivating various
agricultural crops up to three years
period. The intercrops grown were
chilly (var. K2), tapioca (local variety),
green gram (var. CO6), black gram (var.
VBN4), onion (var. CO4), and pumpkin
(var. CO1). The schematic diagram of
the field is given in Figure 1.
Girth at breast height and total
height of teak and Casuarina hybrid
clone were measured row-wise in all the
four directions of the boundary. Figure
2 presents mean height (feet) and girth
(cm) of teak in boundary planting. Teak
registered a mean height of 14.7 0.97
feet (4.5 0.3 m) and a mean girth of
13.8 1.01 cm at the age of two years.
At three years age, height and girth of
teak in the boundary planting was 19.97
0.64 feet (6.07 0.19 m) and 20.7 0.96
cm respectively. Thus, mean annual
increment in height growth of teak was
2.02 m per year during the course of
the study. Earlier studies on assessing
teak performance in bund planting in
a single row without any windbreaks
revealed that teak registered height
86
growth of 8.2, 10.3 and 13.0 m at the age

of 5, 9 and 12 years, respectively, and on
an average the mean annual increment
amounts to 1.29 m per year. Studies
on performance of teak in boundary
plantation on wheat fields in Eastern
Uttar Pradesh, India also showed
mean annual increment in height
growth of teak as 1.21 m per year. While

comparing the mean annual increments
in height growth of teak in the
present study and the earlier studies,
it can be concluded that windbreaks
favour growth in height of teak in bund
planting system.
In the study, mean annual increment
Figure 1: Schematic diagramme of the experimental farm field in Puthanampatti

village, Musiri Taluk, Tiruchirappalli district of Tamil Nadu, India
H = Casuarina equisetifolia X Casuarina junghuhniana hybrid clone;
T = Teak; C = Coconut palm; M = Moringa
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Figure 2: Growth of Casuarina and teak in inner, outer and middle rows in
different directions of farm boundaries in Puthinampatty village in Trichy
district of Tamil Nadu (Age of trees: 3 years)
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in girth was 6.9 cm per year (Figure 2).

This increment falls within the range
reported in earlier studies for teak in
bund planting in a single row without
any windbreaks, wherein mean annual
increments in girth was to the tune of
5.22, 5.26 and 7.25 cm per year at the
age of 5, 9 and 12 years respectively.

Slightly higher mean annual increment
in girth (8.67 cm) for teak in boundary
plantation on wheat fields has also
been reported.
While comparing growth of teak
and growth of adjoining Casuarina
88
rows in four directions of the farm

boundary, it was observed that both
girth and height growth of teak corresponded to the girth and height growth
of Casuarina in adjoining rows as depicted in Figure 2. It clearly indicates
that teak height growth is determined
by height of protective barriers, particularly in windy localities, irrespective of
edaphic and other management factors.
This new approach of growing teak
trees along with Casuarina windbreaks
favours better growth of height in teak,

particularly in bund planting system
and in windy localities. Self pruning
of branches in teak tree in the mid of
Casuarina windbreaks helps to produce
clean boles of teak without knots which
will fetch a good price. Further research
on mixed planting of teak and Casuarina
in large scale block plantations will pave
a way for enhancing quantitative and
qualitative production of teak wood in
the country.
Plate 1: Growth of teak in the middle row (Age: 3 years) with windbreaks of
Casuarina in Puthinampatty village, Trichy district of Tamil Nadu
89
Plate 2: Growth of teak in the middle row (Age: 2 years) with windbreaks of
Casuarina in Puthinampatty village, Trichy district of Tamil Nadu
90
FORESTRY/ Maharashtra
Implementation of scientific
gum extraction
Training programmes have been undertaken by the Yawal Forest Division to protect the
forest from such unhealthy and unsustainable practices of gum extraction
Rajendra R. Sadgir
awal Forest Division is located in

Jalgaon district of Maharashtra.
The forest in Jalgaon district is
divided into two divisions - Jalgaon
division and Yawal division. The
Yawal division consists of forest of
Satpuda range spread into Raver,
Yawal and Chopda tehsils of Jalgaon
district. The north border of division
is demarcated from Madhya Pradesh
state by Aner River. The total area
of division is 897km2 and is divided
into seven ranges - Yawal East,
Yawal
West,
Raver,
Chopda,
Karzana, Vaizapur and Devziri from
management point of view.
There are 64 tribal villages spread in
the division. The people in this village
depend on the forest for their livelihood.
In Dhule forest circle, the forest cover
in Yawal division is comparatively well
maintained. As per the guidelines of
government, Joint Forest Management
(JFM) committee had been established
by the forest department. Scheduled
tribes and other traditional forest
dwellers have rights to the forest under
the (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act
2006 in Yawal division. The main tribes

in the region are Pawara, Tadvi and
Koli. These tribes have rights to collect
Minor Forest Produce from the forest
for their livelihoods.
Dhavda
(Anogeissuslatifolia),
Sadada (Terminalia tomentosa), Salai
(Boswelliaserrata), Kadai (Streculiaurens),
are gum producing trees which
are present in good numbers in the
forests of Yawal division. These offer
a good scope for extraction of gum.
Tribals collect gum from this forest by
traditional gum extraction methods.
In this method they make deep and
big cuts to the tree which reduces the
life of trees. Also for more yield people
set fire in the forest at night which
causes tremendous damage. The gum
obtained by this method is also not
regular and there is fluctuation in the
yield and thus collectors do not get a
good price for their gum.
To protect the forest from such
unhealthy and unsustainable practices
of gum extraction, the Yawal division
selected the four members each
from the 15 JFMC villages. Training
programmes were arranged for these
60 members at the Training School at
SFS (OT) 2014-16 batch
91
scientific method of gum extraction,

the quality of the gum improved as
well as quantity. With the use of this
technique the injuries caused to tree
are also prevented, as small injections
are inserted the life of tree has also
improved. The problems of setting of
fire, encroachment and illicit felling
came down. The people also got more
aware of the benefits of the trees.
The quantity of gum collected on an
average is about 50 kg per person and
each kg fetches Rs 250 in the market. It
has thus helped improve the income of
the tribal communities.
Pal in Raver taluka for implementation

of a new scientific method for gum
extraction. These selected members
then functioned as trainers for transfer
of technology to other villagers by
motivation and regular contacts.
With the implementation of this new
technique of sustainable harvesting of
gum by ethofone injection, the gum
yield from villages selected in Karzana
range got a tremendous boost (Table 1).
With activation of JFM in these
villages the migration of people for
employment to other places has
now stopped. With the practice of
Village
Beneficiaries
JFMC
Yield(kg)
Amount Received
Devzari
28
Devzari
448
112000
Ghodachapar
19
Melane
295
73750
Jirayapada
36
Melane
628
157000
Karzane
38
Karzane
698
174500
Melane
50
Melane
1068
267000
Golapada
55
Melane
1626
406500
Barmali
132
Barmali
1302
325500
Devziri
10
Devziri
68
17000
92
WILDLIFE / Maharashtra
Leopard: Menace of over-population

With breeding of leopards and harvest of sugarcane coinciding, the man-animal
conflict is increasing in Ahmednagar district
Vishal K Borhade
hmednagar district is a dry region, located at the foot of the

Sahyadri Ranges of Western
Ghats in Maharashtra. Though the area
is dry, it wears a lush green cover due
to enhanced irrigation facilities. The
people in the region are hard-working
and are employed through the year as
livelihood opportunities are generated
by cooperatives in the area. The farmers here cultivate sugarcane. Indias
first cooperative sugar mill was started
here six decades ago. As the cooperatives expanded the areas of agriculture,
it led to a loss in the forested areas. This
disturbed the habitat of wild animals
and gave rise to the menace of leopard
attacks on villagers and their cattle.
The south-west part of the district
is somewhat flat as compared to the
northern part, which provides the terrain
for leopards to breed and hide. The flat
southern area has grasslands which
provide home to the leopards prey
base. But, to reach there, the leopards
have to pass through sugarcane farms.
As they could get easy food in terms
of cattle, goats and dogs and ample
water to drink, which is never deficient
in harsh days of summer, encouraged
them in due course of time to stay and

settle in sugarcane fields. The leopard
population also increased and this led
to an increase in the number of cattle
kills and attacks on villagers.
Further, the season of giving birth
to cubs and the season of harvesting
of the sugarcane crop June to
October coincides. The leopards
prefer moist and cool places among
tall rows of sugarcane. During the
harvesting of the sugarcane crop, the
birthplace, and thereby leopard cubs,
are often discovered by villagers and
farm workers. During day, when the
mother leopard goes out for the search
of prey, these cubs are handed over
to the local forest office. The absence
of cubs provokes the mother to attack
people in nearby areas. Numerous such
cases of attacks by leopards are filed
particularly during the harvest every
year. This has become an area of major
concern for the forest department. The
forest department staff have to shift
the cubs temporarily during the day,
but, after sunset, they have to relocate
them to the same farm from where they
were rescued. This has now become a
routine practice.
Incidents of attacks on people by
leopards and the rescue of leopards
SFS OT (Maharashtra), 2014-16 Batch, CASFOS.
93
from villages has become very common

her. Leopards that enter a village are
rescued by the forest department
and again released in their natural
habitat. It is mandatory for the forest
department to release the leopards in
their natural habitat within 24 hours of
their capture. The Ahmednagar forest
division generally releases them in the
dense forest area of Western Ghats,
which is approximately 100 km away.
The areas where they are released are at
the periphery of Junnar Tehsil of Pune
District. This has led to a repeat of the
cycle of leopard attacks in this region
too and the man-animal conflict is
very common.
The issue of leopard ecology, when
they live in agricultural landscapes, has
been studied in detail by Vidya Athreya.
Her study reveals that the leopard once
released into a different area, travels
back to its original habitat. This theory
proves that all the efforts taken by the
forest department are temporary in
nature, neither ending nor controlling
the menace. I understood this when I
got the charge of Range Forest Officer
of the Rahuri Range of Ahmednagar
Forest Division, during my on-thejob training. From the first day of my
charge, I encountered many cases of
sighting of leopards, its cubs and cattle
kill by leopards. Half of the energy of the
staff of Rahuri Range was being wasted
in the rescue and release of leopards.
This is now one of the major problems
in Western Maharashtra as the area
is deprived of forested areas and the
adjoining plain lands are sugarcane
fields. Being a forester, I started to think
of a solution to resolve this issue.
The key problem is the uncontrolled

population of leopards. The Western
Ghats in Maharashtra today do not have
tigers due to many reasons, including,
among others, habitat destruction,
decreased prey base and reduction
in forest area. On the contrary, the
leopard, being very adaptive in
nature, has moulded itself very well
to existing conditions. The leopard
here is at the apex of the food chain. Its
adaptive nature has led to an increase
in its population, but not in their prey
base. The decreasing forest cover and
degraded grasslands cannot support
a large herbivore population. This
has resulted in leopards roaming near
villages in search of soft targets like
cattle and dogs. This has also resulted
in frequent attacks on small children
and elderly people in the villages, even
during the day. These incidences have
soured the relations between the people
and the forest department.
The view of the forest department is
that people should accept the presence
of wild animals and should take all
necessary precautions. I too agree with
this. However, these are just temporary
measures. Also, taking necessary
precautions imposes restrictions on the
people and impacts their livelihoods.
People have to go and tend to their
farms; they cant stop their day-to-day
activities.
Some of the permanent solutions
could include prioritising the need
for increasing forest cover and its
quality, upgrading and expanding of
grasslands and the creation of corridors
for the easy movement of leopards from
the northern part of Range towards the
94
southern part, where the prey base is

ample. Another simple, but difficult
to execute, option would be to control
the leopard population based on the
carrying capacity of the area. This
could be achieved by sterilisation of the
male and female leopards. However,
leopard falls in the First Schedule of
wildlife animals and any such decision
will be a difficult one. However, it has
precedence. In Shimla, sterilisations
were carried out to check the menace of
macaques. It might just be the need of

the hour to prevent the escalation in the
conflict between humans and leopards
in this area. This, of course, would
require necessary amendments in the
forest laws, especially in the Wildlife
Protection Act (1972). These two
options increasing forest cover and
controlling over-population of leopards
can certainly provide a permanent
solution to this major problem in
Western Maharashtra.
95
An encounter with leopard

rescue operation
The successful translocation of leopard from human habitat to its natural habitat in
Nashik without any undue incidence is a matter of pride
Makrand Gujar1 & U.G. Vavare2
few decades ago, Nashik

city was just a small area
surrounded by rich forest. But
due to rapid urbanisation and rise in
population, the city has been expanding
by leaps and bounds. Areas hither to
not traditionally considered part of the
city have now became integral parts of
it. Due to the expansion of the city, there
has been a rise in man-animal conflict,
especially with leopards.
This narrative is of an incident I
witnessed during my OJT at West
Nashik Division of Maharashtra.
Upnagar is a suburb originally situated
towards the west of Nashik city. It had
many government establishments like
the Artillery Training Centre andthe
India Security Press along with dense
vegetation on one side. The sighting of
wildlife was uncommon and restricted
only to the people living in the nearby
government colonies. But due to rapid
industrialisation
and
population
growth, Upnagar has now become
the centre of the city and leopard
sightings have increased, especially
early morning, at places like Ashwini
Housing Society, DhobhiMala, Bhuva

Basti, etc.
On August 20, 2015, around 8.30 am
in the morning, a distress call came
from the police control room about
a leopard sighting at a bungalow in
Ashwini Housing Society on the Jai
Bhavani road. After verification of the
information,the wildlife rescue team
was immediately called into operation.
Meanwhile, the local forest staff went
to the spot and did a recce of the
situation. They immediately informed
their superiors about the situation
and were monitoring the movement
of the leopard. The locality is densely
populated, and includes a school and
adjoins the Nashik-Pune highway.
It was essential that the leopard be
captured at the earliest given the
circumstances.
In no time the news had spread
and soon there was a huge crowd of
people, school children and vehicles.
The leopard was showing anxiety
signs and it had roared many times,
which created panic in the public and
it was getting difficult to handle the
crowd. The police officer present on
the spot called for additional force to
ACF (OT), 2ACF, West Nashik Division (M.S), Maharashtra
96
control the mob and the entire area

was cleared. Traffic was also closed
between Upnagar and Jai Bhavani
road, which brought the situation
under control.
The wildlife rescue team arrived at
the spot with all its equipment. The
rescue team discussed the last sighting
of the leopard with the house owner.
Then V.D. Kamble, RFO, Prashant
Khairnar, RFO(T) and S.P. Thorat,
Forest Guard, went for closer inspection
of the area from the terrace of a nearby
house. Based on the inputs and minute
sounds being made by the leopard,
they were able to track it under the gap
between a washing stone and the wall
of the compound wall. The leopard had
hidden itself in very small place. The
distance between the terrace and the
leopard was approximately 30-40 feet.
The hindrance posed by vegetation,the
compound wall and the fence made it
impossible to undertake a tranquilising
operation. However, after discussion,
it seemed there was no other option to
capture the animal.
In the meantime, the other members
of the rescue team erected barricades
around the bungalow to prevent
the leopard from running here and
there if it got aggressive during the
tranquilization procedure. All other
members were ready with protective
gears like helmet,fibre board and
sticks. A cage was also arranged for the
translocation.
During discussion, it was decided to
tranquilise the leopard from the servant
quarter of the adjacent bungalow and
arrangements were made for it. The back
door of the servant quarter was opened
after some effort as it was not in use for

a long time. Some of the members went
to the terrace to monitor the movement
of the leopard and gave information
about its behaviour to the tranquilising
team. The tranquilisation expert, S.P.
Thorat, prepared three doses for the
injection. In the meantime, the iron door
of quarter was opened and through
it, the leopard was clearly visible. The
distance between Thorat and leopard
was approximately 8-10 feet. Hence,
it was decided to use the blow pipe
for darting the animal. Thorat took
permission from the RFO for darting
the animal and after getting a positive
nod, he blew the dart targeting the left
thigh of the animal. The darting was
successful with great accuracy in the
first attempt itself and was confirmed
by the members on the terrace. The
leopard felt the injection, it roared and
tried to take a big leap. As the dart hit
the correct spot, it was unable to jump
and sat instantly due to the impact of
the chemicals. The tranquilisation was
done at 10.15 am and around 10.30
am, members of the rescue team went
near the leopard and pointed the snare
towards it. There was no response from
the leopard, confirming that it was
unconscious.
After getting information about
successful tranquilization, the forest
staff, police and people led a sigh of
relief and directions were given by
U.G. Vavare, ACF, for further actions to
transport the animal safely. Preliminary
inspection revealed that the leopard
was a male of approximately 1.5-2
years old, without any visible injuries.
The animal was lifted immediately on
97
the stretcher and kept in the cage. It was

transported to the Central Nursery for
observation before release. The leopard
came to consciousness at around 1 pm
and was provided with food. Around 3
pm, the veterinary doctor checked the
leopard and gave its approval for the
release. The leopard was released at
night in its natural habitat.
The successful translocation of
leopard from human habitat to its
natural habitat without any undue
incidence is itself a matter of pride.

The efforts taken by all members of the
rescue team and West Nashik forest
division are laudable. Though such
incidence of animal wanderings in the
city area should not happened but it is
becoming a reality due to the alarming
decrease in forest cover. Hence,
we must be ready to tackle such
incidents. This incident opened my eyes
to some of the challenges that lie ahead
in my service.
98
JOINT FOREST MANAGEMENT / MAHARASHTRA
Managing the Forest as the Homestead

the Saga of Baripada
Starting with regeneration of the forest cover, the JFMCs work has expanded to
include health, education, watershed development, farming, renewable energy,
self-employment, and empowerment of women.
Hemant Yashwant Shewale
aripada village was at some point

blessed with a rich forest cover
that extended to 445 hectares
located in Sakri blocks of Dhule district,
Maharashtra. However, in the 1980s,
the local community was facing several
problems. Illegal cutting of teak and
removal of some other plants, mainly
by outsiders, had begun to assume
serious proportions. The hill near the
village that had always been draped in
green was turning into a barren, arid
sand pile. This was worrisome for the
villagers, who depended on the forests
for their daily lives and livelihood.
Besides drinking water, they also faced
scarcity of firewood, fodder and other
non-timber forest products (NTFPs).
Agricultural productivity declined,
poverty and unemployment increased
leading to largescale distress migration
involving as much as 70 per cent of
the population. In the absence of other
livelihood options, women had turned
to liquor production as a source of
secondary income. Liquor consumption
led to social disquiet in the village.
The turnaround happened in 1991

when a group of youths led by Chaitram
Pawar planted 3,000 eucalyptus
saplings in the village commons,
using their own money. Initially other
villagers ridiculed them but when they
saw the plants growing well, ridicule
turned to respect. People were now
receptive to ideas on conservation.
Pawar mobilised the village community
and urged them to act. He pointed
out that if deforestation continued,
their access to dry wood, fruits and
other minor forest produce would get
affected. His efforts were supported
by the forest department and a local
NGO called Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram.
After repeated meetings involving all
the villagers in 1993, it was decided
to protect 445 hectares of the forest
adjacent to Baripada. A Joint Forest
Management Committee (JFMC) was
formed in the same year.
All decisions are taken in the JFMC
meetings and each member needs to be
present for the meeting. In an interesting
form of participatory management,
the committee gives the responsibility
of implementing certain decisions to
SFS Batch 2014-16, ACF OT (MAHARASHTRA)
99
the person/people who are deemed as

potential troublemakers. The decisions
are then recorded in the meeting register
and are declared as JFMC rules, which
are then communicated to surrounding
villages by public announcement in
weekly haats. The JFMC has formulated
several rules for protection of the forest
and sustainable use of forest resources
by the members. There are strict
penalties for breaking the rules like a
fine of Rs 1,001 for timber hauled by
bullock carts and Rs 1,500 for cutting
a green or living tree. Also, each family
is required to contribute voluntary
labour
(shramdan)
for
all
the
conservation works.
Two elderly people from the village
are appointed as watchmen. They are
responsible for reporting any theft
or rule breaking. Every family in the
village contributes Rs 3 per month or
grain equivalent to that amount towards
the wages for the two watchmen. Each
watchman receives Rs 100 per month
and the remaining amount is used by
JFMC for social work.
Biodiversity outcomes: In 2004, a
biodiversity register was created. The
exercise is now repeated twice every
three years. It registered 342 species
of plants, natural forest vegetables,
medicinal plants, fruits and flowers,
birds and animals. Both floral and
faunal biodiversity have improved
since the conservation efforts began.
Creepers and grasses that had all but
been lost to grazing and fire have now
made a comeback. At least 25-35 per
cent of the plants have regenerated
on their own. Certain species not seen
earlier like Caesalpinia crista, Acasia
Notable changes in Baripada (19922014)

Issue
1992
Chlorination
of water
0
Alcoholism 90 %
Smoking
90 %
Vasectomy 4 %
Construction
of latrines
0
Roti, Dal,
Rice &
Change in
occasionally
Food habits green
vegetables
2014
100 % in
monsoon
season
10 %
0 % from
young
generation
50 %
14 Families
In addition
Non-veg
food,
ghee & oil
catechu, keli, godghot and yelangi are

also seen now. Endangered species like
Plumbago zelanica, Polyalthia longifolia,
Curcuma oblonga, Gloriosa suporba have
increased in number. There are around
48 species of birds of which at least
4-5 are new. Peacocks that were not
seen earlier are now abundant. There
are 20 different species of animals in
forest including leopards which are
seen more frequently. The increase
in the numbers of wild pigs has been
remarkable.
Importantly,
ground
water availability has increased up to
10 metres. The availability of grass/
pasture has increased significantly.
The construction of continuous contour
trench (CCT) and farm levelling have
prevented soil erosion.
Improved well-being: Agriculture
productivity has improved on account
of improved water availability and
improved soil moisture. Villagers are
100
growing a larger variety of crops than

just paddy and black gram. Onion
has become an important cash crop.
Productivity of paddy, a staple crop
in Kharif has increased 10 times since
1992 to 60 quintal per hectare while
productivity of wheat, an irrigated rabi
crop has increased by 50 per cent to 17
quintals per hectare.
Villagers have set up small
businesses which were non-existent in
1992. Around 40 families are engaged
in jaggery production. People have
started bee farming and collection of
lac (resin) from trees. The increased
fodder production has brought about a
tremendous change: Rs 200,000 worth
of milk was sold by the villagers in 2014.
Food habits have changed with
higher consumption seen now of green
vegetables, pulses, animal proteins and
ghee. Construction and use of latrines
has increased. Distress migration and
incidence of malnourishment has
reduced significantly.
Starting with regeneration of the

forest cover, the JFMCs work later
expanded to include health, education,
watershed development, farming,
renewable energy, selfemployment,
and empowerment of women. Baripada
village presents an impressive example
of community based conservation.
Initiated by a local youth with the
support of the forest department and
a local NGO, the conservation efforts
helped in maintaining the receding
forest line caused due to indiscriminate
tree cutting or deforestation. The
communitys efforts not only cleared
the way for other development
activities, but also won accolades at
national and international levels. The
village community won the award in
a competition on Local Knowledge
and Innovation of the Rural Poor
in the Asian region, organised by
the International Fund for Agricultural
Development, Rome, and SRISTI
in 2003.
101
WILDLIFE / TAMIL NADU
The restoration of pristine ecosystem

To check the menace of wattle on Mathikettan shola, the forest department has cleared
wattle in 25 ha on an experimental basis in Kodaikanal Wildlife Sanctuary
D Rameshwaran
hola, derived from the Tamil word

sholai, is located in the valleys
and folds of the mountains so as to
get themselves insulated from the frost.
Sholas begin at the ranges from 16001800m in the Palani hills of Western
Ghats in Tamil Nadu. The higher end
of the range would constitute the more
typical shola and this continues as the
forest ascends to some 2500m. At this
altitude, the trees are generally stunted
with canopy formation never above
15m. The crowns, often supported
by trunks of massive girth, are many
branched, forming a very dense canopy
and providing a moist, cool and shady
interior that supports a rich micro
flora of herbs, shrubs, ferns, mosses
and epiphytes. Sholas are associated
with extensive grasslands and together
the two are considered as a single
composite ecosystem.
Sholas are considered living fossils
for their sheer antiquity and virtual
non-regeneration. Several prominent
sholas are found in Kodaikanal Wildlife
Sanctuary. But Mathikettan shola is
one of the best in Kodaikanal Wild life
Sanctuary of Tamil Nadu. It is spread
in an area of 115.20 ha, in Ampthill
Down Reserve Forest of Berijam range.

The name, Mathikettan Shola, itself
is curious as roughly translated from
Tamil it means Shola where one looses
oneself. This shola plays a major role
as primary watershed of Periyakulam
town and Vaigai river basin and also
as a shelter for leopards, wild dogs,
elephants, sambar deer, Indian gaur,
Nilgiri langur, etc. Numerous species
of birds and butterflies are also found
here. Flora of Mathikettan shola is one
of the most valuable treasures of food
chain, Endemism, in addition to being
the terminal refuge for endangered
species of Syzygium and Elaeocarpus
species.
Nowadays,
Mathikettan
shoal,
with its varied climatic and ecological
conditions, has a large variety of species,
some of which are indigenous and
some exotic. These exotic species have
been introduced from time-to-time and
which have now become naturalised,
such as Acacia mearnsii, Acacia
decurrense, Acacia dealbata, Eucalyptus
globulus, Eucalyptus elata, Eucalyptus
citriodora, Pinus patula, Pinus radiata,
Pinus insularis, Alnus nephalensis and a
number of other miscellaneous species
which suppressed the native vegetation.
The current rate of development and
2014-2016 Batch, CASFOS, Dehradun
102
Shola ecosystem in Kodaikanal Wildlife Sanctuary
tourism too are playing an important

role in the loss of plant biodiversity.
The peripheral and open area
of Mathikettan shola is completely
encroached by wattle (Acacia mearnsii)
and this has become a serious problem
for the food chain, biodiversity and
water. Wattle secretes some organic
compounds which alter the soil
pH and damage soil microbes and
nutrients, affecting the growth of native
vegetation and causing biodiversity
imbalance. Also, wattle produce lot of
pods through the year, hence the new
seedlings continuously emerge and
no one can stop the vigorous growth
of wattle. As a result, fauna and flora
of Mathikettan shola is decreasing
periodically.
The forest department, therefore,
has carried out clearing of wattle
on an experimental basis in 25 ha of
Kodaikanal Forest Division, under the
Tamil Nadu Biodiversity Conservation
and Greening Project (TBGP), during
the year 2013-14. Only those areas

where the shola regeneration had been
observed were taken up for clearing and
restoration under the above scheme.
Under this scheme, wattle trees were
felled. But, before felling, all trees in the
identified areas were enumerated and
their dimensions recorded. The side
branches of the trees were removed
and then the main tree was cut in
steps, starting top down, in order to
avoid damage to the regenerating shola
saplings by the falling logs. The cut
material were later stacked at site for
quantity assessment for disposal as well
as to allow the wild animals to move
freely. The side branches, lops and tops
and thin wattle saplings were collected
and burnt to clear congestion and avoid
fire hazard. In the subsequent year,
all new wattle recruits and emergent
secondary weeds were manually
uprooted after rains. It is proposed
to carry out this manual uprooting
operation for at least four more years to
103
ensure that grass and shola species are

established firmly in the area.
During my field visit to Mathikettan
shola, I made a detailed study with
the help of forest staff about the
effectiveness of the above methodology.
We observed that many native grass
species were emerging in the wattle
removed areas. As a result, wild animals
like elephants, sambar deer and around
20 to 30 Indian gaurs were revisiting
the area and there was also evidence
of presence of tigers. Latest wildlife
census is also supporting the presence
of tiger, based on its feeding behaviour

and pugmarks. Following the success
of this methodology, the same was
included in the Draft Management
Plan for Kodaikanal Wildlife Sanctuary
and the proposal was also sent to
the government for approval of
largescale removal of wattle. Once the
government approves the proposal, it
will help to allow shola and grassland
ecosystem to function as the life
supporting system for wildlife and
for the well-being of mankind in the
near future.
104
FORESTRY / Meghalaya
Biodiversity in sacred groves

There is an urgent need to apply forest management strategies to Mawphlang Sacred
Grove as part of the effort to preserve sacred groves in the country
Pradip Eknath Patil
ur East India tour started

on September 11, 2014. The
programme was to visit
different forests of East India and study
the aspects of forestry management.
As per the scheduled programme,
we a batch of 39 officer trainee from
SFS batch 2014-16 CASFOS, Dehradun
visited number of well-known
and better managed forest areas like
Bhitarkanika National Park, Sundarban
Tiger Reserve, Himalayan Zoological
Park, Kaziranga National Park and
Eagle Nest Wildlife Sanctuary. But the
place that impacted me the most was
the Mawphlang Sacred Grove.
One of the most remarkable features
of the Khasi Hills is its sacred forests.
Early in the morning, on September
30, we visited the famous Mawphlang
Sacred Grove there. It was just 25 km
away from Shillong, the capital city of
Meghalaya, and it was an hour-long
journey. Two villagers, who were local
community representatives, welcomed
us and took us to the sacred grove.
The forest, in 75 ha, was community
owned and protected by them since
last 500-600 years. Such a long history
of forest protection surprised us. After
discussions with the local people, we

came to know that in that forest you
cannot cut any trees or branches. If
someone did so, illness and misfortune
will befall on him or her.
About 400 plant species and large
number of wild animals are present
in the Mawphlang Scared Grove,
indicating its richness in biodiversity.
One can easily observe the ground
well covered with a thick cushion of
humus accumulated over a long period.
It has survived for many hundred
years and today acts as a reservoir of
biodiversity, harbouring many plants
and animal species as a patch of
relatively undisturbed forest. The great
efforts taken by local people of this area
are appreciable. Such sacred groves
are preserved by natives in North-East
India since centuries as a part of their
religious beliefs. Sacred grove gives
the message of control over greed of
humans and protection of forest for the
well-being of all.
We, the foresters, need to have such
spiritual attachment with our forest.
The presence of human beings on
our planet has become possible only
because of trees. Each person should
take a lesson from such communities
and their tradition to save nature.
SFS 2014-16, CASFOS Dehradun
105
In India, sacred groves are found

all over the country, especially in
the regions inhabited by indigenous
people. Although there has been no
comprehensive surveys carried out
in the country, approximately 13,720
sacred groves have been documented.
Such groves are commonly found
in the Western Ghats in the states of
Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka and
Tamil Nadu. In North-East India, most
of the sacred groves have been recorded
from Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya
and Manipur.
After our visit to the Mawphlang
Sacred Grove, we had a discussion on
the management of forest in the grove.
Is there any need to intervene in the
management of sacred groves? This
is debatable. Most of us suggested
keeping the forest undisturbed as forest
can take its own care. But, when I read

in the newspaper about the decline in
the health of sacred groves of in the
Western Ghats, in Maharashtra, I was
surprised. Why it is happening? Why,
without touching the forest, its health
declines. Yes, it is true that nature takes
its own care, but our intervention to
protect the forest is the need of time. If
we divide threats to forest in terms of
threats from outside and threats from
inside, the most serious ones are from
outside. To overcome it, we need to
modify our management strategies. This
is the reason for the need to intervene
in the management of sacred groves.
Detailed study and its implementation
can definitely save the decline of sacred
groves of our country. Sacred groves
have a long history and we have to take
steps to keep these treasures.
106
JOINT FOREST MANAGEMENT / Maharashtra
The success story of Satara Bhosle

A small village in Chandrapur district has joined hands with the forest
department to set an example on joint forest management
Nitesh S Deogade
he
village
Satara
Bhosle,
situated in Chandrapur District
of Maharashtra, comes under
Ballarshah range of central Chanda
forest division in Chandrapur Circle.
The village is 36 km from Manora
and under Pombhurna Taluka. It is a
100 per cent tribal village and most
of the people belong to the Scheduled
Tribe. The village has 71 families and
a population of 310. Among them,
92 are male, 101 are female and 117
are children. Further, the number
of literates is 143 and illiterates, 167.
It means, the percentage of literacy is
46 per cent.
The total area of the village is 153.40
ha, out of which 148.48 ha is agricultural
land. Of the remaining 4.92 ha, 2.96 ha
is village land and 1.92 ha is protected
forest. The headquarters of the forest
guards is 2 km away and situated in the
village Satara Komti.
On October 25, 1998, Mr DV
Zade, Forester, conducted a meeting
of villagers of Satara Bhosale and
explained the importance of Joint Forest
Management as well as encouraged
them to establish the JFMC (Joint
Forest Management Committee). After
much persuasion and follow-up by the

forester, the villagers established JFMC
and elected the executive body on
November 6, 1998. In the 11-member
executive body, there is one chairman,
one vice-chairman, four male members
and three female members. Besides
this, a forester is member-secretary and
gram sevak of the gram panchayat is the
member of the executive body.
The area of compartment number
441 is 323.750 ha, out of which 100 ha
is handed over to the JFMC for
protection purposes. The villagers
decided to start the work of plantation
in the rainy season of 1999. As
preparation, in March 1999, the
villagers dug 12,000 pits. The rate of
pit digging was Rs 3.02 per pit, but the
villagers gave this work to JFMC at the
rate of Rs 1 per pit and on April 18, 1999,
JFMC opened the account in bank and
deposited Rs 12,000. From voluntary
work time to time they deposited
money in the bank account. From
1999, the JFMC conducted various
projects like cement nala bund, loose
boulder structure, Gabian structure,
vermi-compost,
childrens
park,
DhanyakoshYojana, etc.
This committee was registered on
June 4, 2000, under to the Maharashtra
Batch 2014-16, CASFOS, Dehradun
107
Society Registration Act 1860. The

registration number of this JFMC is
Maharashtra/167/2000. Since 2005-06,
the concerned village is included in
the Forest Development Committee,
Central Chanda Division, Chandrapur.
Plantation:
Work was done in
1999 on 30 ha, in 2000 on 30 ha and
in 2006, through Forest Development
Committee, on 36 ha. Presently, the
plantation is very successful.
Soil moisture conservation: Four
cement nala bunds, 34 loose boulder
structures as well as 9 loose boulder
bunds were built in the wildlife week of
2010. Because of this work, soil erosion
decreased visibly and according to
the farmers, water level of their farm
wells increased.
Vermi-compost
production:
Villagers used vermi-compost for
organic farming and collected Rs 10,000
by selling surplus vermi-compost.
Investment: In the saving account of
JFMC, balance amount is Rs 81,405. On
November 30, 2004, they deposited Rs
63,375 as fixed deposit. After addition
of interest, the total amount of fixed
deposit on November 30, 2009, is
Rs 78,620. Again, they put the same
amount in fixed deposit.
Self Help Group: In the village,
seven women SHG and one men SHG
is working. They took Rs 40,000 as debt
and invested in various shares.
Water
holes:
The
villagers
constructed one water hole in the nearby
forest which retains water throughout
the year and is very useful for wildlife.
For such a wonderful work, they
were awarded the first prize on district
level of Rs 51,000. From this amount,
they deepened water holes in the

vicinity of the forest area through
voluntary work.
Others: In the village, prohibition
of grazing and illicit cutting, drinking
of alcohol and the work of cleaning
the village is still going on. Through
voluntary work, they completed
road construction. They have also
established in the village a children
park, library, etc.
The JFMC has conducted various
schemes in the village by collaborating
with various government departments.
a) The Project Office distributed solar
lamps and smokeless chulhas to 63
beneficiaries.
b) Established Chilly Grinder Machine
on 100 per cent subsidy.
c) From the Fishery department,
fishing nets worth Rs10,000 were
distributed.
d) Fishing in the village area is not
auctioned to other people. They do
fishing on their own by using JFM
funds. Through this work, they are
getting employment worth Rs 60,000
per year.
e) Distribution of free bicycles to
schoolchildren.
f) Beside this, JFMC is helping in
making roads in village, and on
water holes, grinding machines,
ration facilities, library, etc.
g) Through the National Samvikas
Scheme, villagers have constructed a
storehouse for seed grain.
h) Through the scheme of JAL SWARAJ,
the work of water supply is going on
in the area.
Social Attachment: On December 9,
1999, they sent 400 kg grass to Orissa to
108
help the storm-affected people.

Protection Work: In groups of 8-9,
villagers regularly patrol the forest
area. So, it is possible to control illicit
cutting and illicit grazing. Every year,
they make fire-line in and around the
forest area and this has decreased the
chances of forest fire.
Condition of forest area handed
over to JFMC: On February 26, 2009,
they made two plots of 20x20 m
and counted the trees and found them
in good condition as compared to

the past.
The concerned area is thus protected
by the JFMC. So, the chances of forest fire
are rare now. Also, because of controlled
grazing, natural regeneration is good.
In 2009-10, the village was awarded
through the Sant Tukaram Van Gram
Scheme. At the district level, the village
was selected for the first prize of Rs
51,000 and at the State level, the second
prize of Rs 5,00,000.
109
JOINT FOREST MANAGEMENT / Chhattisgarh
Success story of Hazra Falls

With the help of JFMC, this naxal-impacted region has turned the corner
and many tourists are visiting the place
Nitin C Gondane
he Hazra Fall is renowned for its

beauty and is a valuable source
for local irrigation, thereby managing the balance between recreational
and commercial uses. The fall is located
in beautiful sylvan setting that straddles the border between Maharashtra
and Chhattisgarh, more specifically
between Salekasa and Dongargarh.
Hazra Fall is source of inspiration
for explorers, travellers, filmmakers,
residents, villagers, birdwatchers,
conservationists, etc.
The forest department, Gondia
division, has started development of the
fall and its surrounding and bringing
the fall to the attention of people.
During the last three years, tourism
became popular due to the efforts of the
Gondia forest division. With increase in
railroad traffic, fall has drawn attention

of many tourists and explorers.
The area is dominated by the
tribal community of Gonds. There
is no other source of employment
here other than farming, which is
totally based on monsoon rains. Till
three years ago, there was hardly any
tourism in the region and due to lack
of attention the fall was suffering from
blockage and was under the threat of
extinction because of inaccessibility
and poor conservation efforts. The local
community was facing many problems
in meeting their daily needs because
of lack of employment opportunities
and poor industrialization. Also,
natures fury had put the farming
community under debt, forcing
them towards naxalism.
After
understanding
these
problems, Gondia forest department
ACF OT (Maharashtra), SFS Batch-2014-16
110
started developing Hazra fall as a

tourist place, keeping a dual view in
mind conservation and solving the
unemployment problem of villagers
thereby reducing the influence of
naxals in the area. To achieve this, there
was a need to gather the people on a
single platform. Hence, the work began
with the formation of a Joint Forest
Management Committee (JFMC) of
villagers and the department started to
run many schemes through JFMC.
The members of the committee were
selected from people from the village
Navatola. The first major task was
construction of a road and it was done
with the efforts of villagers through
shramdan. Following this, cleaning and
beautification work, creation of tourist
facilities, recreation and promotion
was done with the combine efforts
of the JFMC and the Gondia Forest
Division. For better management, the
department trained youngsters of the
committee in different fields like water
sports, mountaineering, hospitality,
crowd handling, etc. The outcome of
the project is that people started visiting
Hazra Fall. Nearly 200-300 tourists
visit the fall on a week day while on
Saturday and Sundays the number rises
to nearly 600-700. They enjoy and praise
the efforts made by the Gondia division
in the development and promotion of
the fall.
The major outcomes of the project
include:
1) People started earning Rs 5,000-6,000

per month.
2) JFMC started getting good revenue
from tourism of Hazra Fall.
3) 50 per cent revenue is spent on the
development of the village.
4) 50 per cent revenue is spent on the
salary of JFMC workers.
5) It started attracting attention of
tourists from all over Maharashtra.
6) Many organisations came forward
and
started
contributing
for
development by providing monetary
and other help.
7) Many people joined hands to
provide and share technologies for
further improvements.
Future Prospects
1) Setting up of a zip-line for the birds

eye-view of the Hazra Fall.
2) Setting up of a cafeteria for tourists.
3) Creation of a souvenir shop.
4) Providing a trekking route and
camping facility for interested
tourists.
5) Promotion of locally available food.
6) Promotion of tribal culture.
7) Providing life cover to all JFMC
members and also providing area
insurance for tourists.
After the necessary development,
the tourism department is planning to
fully handover Hazra Fall to the JFMC
so that they can start earning more
revenue through it.
111
JOINT FOREST MANAGEMENT / TAMIL NADU
Case study on Vachathi incident

It is important to involve local people in the process of forest conservation.
And this is only possible when their basic needs are met
Priyadarshini V
he article is based on a village,

Vachathi, dominated by underdeveloped section of the society.
The main aim of this article is to understand the importance of development
of forest fringe village and importance
of coordination between the forest and
line departments against a forest crime.
The incident focuses on how a forest
crime may turn into a communal clash
and later on into an Atrocities Act
if there is no proper coordination between the judiciary and executive and
also if no rapport exists between the
common people and bureaucrats.
Vachathi is a village located in Harur
Taluk, Dharmapuri district, Tamil
Nadu. The people in the village are
so poor that they depend upon the
forest for their basic needs. There was
hardly any development activities
undertaken and hence most of the
people were involved in any activity
(like poaching and smuggling) that
fetches money to them.
A day before the fateful day
(June 20, 1992), forest officials were
informed that some of the people in
that particular village were actively
involved in smuggling of sandalwood
procured illegally from Chitteri hill

region. During that time, the problem
of sandalwood smuggling had become
a menace to the forest department
and also a cause of concern for the
Government of Tamil Nadu. Based
on the information received, few of
the forest staffs went to the village for
interrogation in the pretext of nabbing
the offenders. The villagers, who were
mostly tribals and Dalits, got aware
of the motives and resisted them from
entering into their hamlet. The staff
looking for the smugglers were assaulted
by the villagers. One of the injured staff
member informed the incident to the
authority concerned (DFO). A high
level meeting was organised among
the administrators of the district and
hence a Special Squad, comprising of
personnel from the forest department
(155), police (108) and revenue (6),
was formed to tackle the anti-social
elements. The special force raided the
entire village and seized sandalwood
logs kept hidden in their houses. The
raid continued for two days. During
the operation, the property of the
villagers was damaged, valuables were
looted and those who resisted the raid
operation were thrashed and assaulted.
After the incident, the villagers
2014-16 Batch
112
gathered at a common place and

discussed their losses. They approached
the local police to lodge a complaint
against the raid. Since the raid was
conducted with due instructions from
the high level committee, the complaint
was not accepted. Annoyed by the
response, the villagers, along with
the help of local supporters, lodged a
complaint against the misuse of power.
Subsequently, writ was filed in High
court as well as in the Supreme Court. At
this point of time, the Forest offence
turned to the case of crime against SC
& ST atrocities Act.
The case was investigated by CBI
and the trial was held at Dharmapuri
Principal District Court. After the
prolonged trail, all the 269 accused
involved in the special operation
(including top administrators of the
concerned departments) were found
guilty and sentenced on September
29, 2011. Of the 269 accused, 54 died
during the trial. Of the remaining 215,
126 belonged to forest department,
84 were policemen and five were
revenue officials.
The incident is an eye opener for
every administrator, irrespective of the
department. The incident clearly shows
that the neglect of any section of the
society will lead the people towards
illegal activities, which ultimately put
any administration in trouble.
The incident would not have
occurred if the people of the village have
had a better socio-economic status, not
deprived of any development measures;
was aware of their natural resources
and their responsibility in preserving
and conserving it; and, essentially had a
good relationship with the government

officials. The failure of all these might
have resulted in forest crime illegal
smuggling of sandalwood which later
led to this incident, which is a black
mark in the history of the management
of that area.
While dealing with the forest offence,
consultation with legal experts may be
more helpful. A proper analysis about
the nature and the extent of the offence
and also about the offenders has to be
done. Before making any decisions,
the possible outcomes of the decision
have to discussed thoroughly. When
there is a strong reason for organising
a joint operation, the plan of action,
right from selection of staff (inclusion
of female staff and representatives of all
community) to execution of operation,
has to be formulated systematically and
cautiously. Clear instructions regarding
the approach and use of power has to
be provided for all the staff engaged in
such operations. The execution of the
plan should be more transparent and
properly recorded.
From the judgement of the Vachathi
case, it was clear that sanction of
prosecution (Section 197 of CrPC) from
the concerned authority is essential
and mandatory for investigating
any government servants. But in this
case, the compliant was lodged as
police excesses and hence prosecution
sanction was not obtained by the
CBI. Since this case is sensitive, CrPC
Section 164 was applied on all the
accused, some who had not even
participated in the incident but were
convicted.
After this incident, the responsibility
113
of these departments has been

increased. The forest department
has to take steps to create awareness
among the people (especially among
those living at forest fringes and also
those in places situated around highly
valuable species, both flora and fauna).
Special camps have to be conducted
periodically to educate them about the
existence and significance of forests and
forest products, Forest Act and Rules,
Forest Rights Act, etc.
Conservation and protection of
forests can be done better only with the
involvement of local people. The support
of local people can be expected only
when they are socially, economically
and ecologically empowered. Once

their basic needs are fulfilled, the
over-exploitation of natural resources
can be controlled. The employment
opportunity in the forest department
viz., in plantation works, as protection
squads, as eco-tourism guides, etc.,
can change the forest offender into
a guardian of forest. Participatory
approach involving local people along
with the forest and line departments
can be effective in protecting
and managing the natural resources.
It also develops a good rapport
between the people and administrators,
which is very essential for good
administration.
114
Forestry / ODISHA
Forest Food Festival: A successful

example of biodiversity conservation
Forest Food Festival in Rourkela went a long way in improving livelihoods of the forestdependent community by bettering forest health
Vinod Kumar
orests are intrinsically linked

to tribal livelihoods and tribal
heritage. The lifestyles in tribal
hamlets of Odisha are synonymous
with nature friendliness. Since time immemorial, the culinary habits of tribal
populations have been heavily inspired
from nature and are largely based on
forest species. In todays context, with
the fast depleting natural resources and
growing population, there is a tremendous awareness on forest conservation.
The focus of forest conservation has
been refreshingly on biological diversity in recent times. Biological Diversity
Act, 2002 had been a huge fillip in this
direction; the preamble of which enunciates An Act to provide for conservation
of biological diversity, sustainable use of its
components and fair and equitablesharing
of the benefits arising out of the use of biological resources, knowledge and for matters
connected therewith or incidental thereto.
Biodiversity links forest conservation
to tribal livelihoods in a big way. Foods
from forests play an important role in
meeting food and nutritional security,
very strongly during off - seasons and
drought years. Forest food cuisines

form a part of the rich tribal heritage,
being ingredients of the traditions,
celebrations and festivals. Thus,
conservation strategies can utilise this
opportunity by focussing on forest
cuisines and highlighting the role
of biodiversity thereby benefitting
communities, traditional knowledge
as well as biodiversity conservation.
Forest Food Festival is an innovative
concept practiced in Maharashtra and
was proposed in Odisha as part of the
initiatives of Odisha Forestry Sector
Development Project (OFSDP) with
intent that it will inter alia provide
an insight into species of relevance
for food security, and that traditional
knowledge is being respected and
getting documented.
Odisha Forestry Sector Development
Project (OFSDP) is a project launched
by Odisha state government with
the support from Japan International
Cooperation Agency (JICA). The major
objective of the project is to restore
degraded forests and improve the
income level of villagers by promoting
sustainable forest management, JFM
and community/tribal development.
IFS, Director, Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy
115
Conserving the biodiversity and

improving livelihood of the people is
one of the major thrusts of the project.
When forest protection is good and
forest has improved, it is also a time
to make assessment of its food value.
Forest Food Festival would aim to
improve livelihoods of forest dependent
community by improving forest health.
Participatory community collectively
stand to gain from the decision to host
the event.
Actions on these lines elsewhere in
Maharashtra and Odisha have influenced community with introduction
of under planting in their forests being
protected. This has been experienced
with JFM bodies in Rourkela Division in implementing Odisha Forestry
Sector Development Project during
revisit to micro plans and species to
be included therein considered by the
VSS community.
Perception of stake holders

before initiative threat to
food security
Most tribal village women regularly

collect roots, shoot, flower, leaf parts
of tree/ herb/ shrub from forest in
different seasons, as a part of their
culture and traditions for sustenance
/subsistence. For many a tribal
community, tubers were the staple diet
but with easy availability of cereals
like wheat, rice, etc such crops are
being over looked / neglected. On the
other hand administration through its
public distribution system, is making
available food grain at subsidized rates.
With so called modernisation, factory
products like biscuits/ fried things
/ noodles, etc., (which is actually a

junk food) are reaching village
markets in attractive packages; some
of the items are marketed aggressively
and as a result, local products are
pushed into background, or maybe
even get pushed out of competitive
market. Even cultivation of local food
items, may become unattractive from
economical angle.
Sometime, the modern or affluent
segment of the society that is, at ,times
considered to be role model by local
youth, look down upon local products
as unhygienic and ridicule it. Even
media at times perceives local food like
tubers or tree seeds as distress food but
in case of unforeseen circumstances, it
is only such easily available hardy crop;
let us not consign them to oblivion. If
such trend continues, even whole some
/ nutritive items, may be lost sight of
and be forgotten. Such a loss will not
be in the interest of preserving relevant
biodiversity as well. Corrective steps
thus need be taken and forest food
festival is one such novel approach.
The Forest Food Festival
Participation of local women who

make fresh collection of items from
the forest and prepare tantalizing
food items would be required. Village seniors / expert in the field of
nutrition/ayurved practitioner can
taste the food and select items based on
number of parameters like plant species used and its seasonality, method of
cooking, spices used, hygiene, etc.
The selected participants would
have a chance to test new idea and
show case newly acquired skills; to
116
produce some exquisite, nutritious

food items that might not appeal to
palate but are also recognised by even
medical practitioners /nutritionists, as
nutritious food. Common perception
about forest that it is an assemblage
of tree species that provide primarily
wood for construction, fire wood for
the hearth and some non timber forest
resources, could be augmented with
strength of food products also. A city
based person hardly realizes the range
of food products along with timber
and services that this forest eco system
provides to all the living creatures.
The purpose of the food festival is
further to preserve and develop the
traditional knowledge on wise-use
of forest resources handed down by
the ancestors. It can also highlight
and popularize such items and bring
recognition to tribal forest based foods
and food practices by members of the
indigenous communities. Festival
can initiate change in mindset, many
surprises that so many items are being
prepared and many new items can be
prepared from the forest species / these
items can support their food security
and well being /this can be a platform
for the village for convergence with
other line department. The species
used as forest food is presented as
three boxes separately for fruits, leaves
and flowers.
The experience from

Maharashtra and Odisha
UNDP and Government of India

in 2014 awarded Baripada village of
Dhule District, in Maharashtra, under
Community stewardship in Biodiversity
conservation category. To encourage

them further, the initiative was facilitated
by Honorable Union Minister of State
(IC), Environment,Forest and Climate
Change Shri Prakash Javadekar in a
state level function organised in Pune.
In October 2013, 34 VSS from tribal
community villages of Banki Forest
Range of Rourkela in Odisha first
time organised Forest Food Festival
to show case their newly awakened
understanding of forests as a food
basket to their own brethren in rest
of Banki. They felt If this concept is
followed to its logical end, it will ease
food scarcity that ever looms large.
Learnings & way forward
a) It accords recognition to role of

women in understanding food
resources and its conservation.
b) It also accords recognition to
forests as source of food this
concept need be extended to ecodevelopment committees / Joint
Forest Management Committees/
Van Panchayat / Biodiversity
Management Committees.
c) Such events will promote local food
items as food security and in turn
will promote retention / planting
of these plant species, in forest
assigned to Committees or protected
by communities.
d) This will, incidentally, promote
biodiversity conservation
e) Thought process need be extended to
other areas so that the forest species
that are sources of food items are
cultivated in nurseries / planted and
utilised by the people.
f) As it will spread message that
117
forest foods are very nutritious and

organic (and are better than junk
food) such events can be linked to
eco-tourism.
g) This programme will encourage the
villagers to conserve, sustainably
harvest and utilise such species.
h) One-time effort will not suffice
and thus be repeated every year in
different places and different seasons
to cover whole range of species
i) Learning be integrated into micro

plans / its revision as a component
of ANR under-planting in a
systematic manner and executed by
SHG/ BMC members.
j) Such efforts are precursors to
adoption of institutional frame work
expected under the Biodiversity Act
2002 and rules made under by the
state government.
Box 1: Forest plant foods: Fruits

Plant Name
Scientific Name
Habit
Season of
availability
Anzeer
Ficus carica Linn.
Tree
Rainy
Amuta
Antidesma ghaesembilla Gaertn.
Tree
Winter
Badru
Olax scandens Roxb.
Shrub
Rainy
Gururu / Ghunti Gardenia gummifera Linn. f.
Tree
Rainy
Baincha Kuri
Flacourtia jangomas Raeusch.
Tree
Spring
Bankundri
Melothria heterophylla (Lour.) Cogn.
Herb
Rainy
Ban karaila
Momordica dioica Roxb. ex Willd
Herb
Rainy
Bhawarkuri
Cordia macleodii Hook. f.Thomas.
Tree
Summer
Benchi
Casearia graveolens Dalz.
Tree
Summer
Bhadoo
Vitex glabrata R. Br.
Tree
Summer
Lawa
Ficus glomerata Roxb.
Tree
Rainy
Joraikuli
Erycibe paniculata Roxb.
Shrub
Summer
Dhamna
Grewia subinaeqnalis DC.
Tree
Summer
Terrel
Diospyros melanoxylon Roxb.
Tree
Summer
Kadiweer
Garuga pinnata Roxb.
Tree
Rainy
Kukrakari
Gelonium multiflorum Juss.
Tree
Spring
Karmata
Dillenia aurea Sm.
Tree
Summer
Korkotta
Dillenia indica Linn.
Tree
Winter
Kashiphal
Bridelia retusa Spreng.
Tree
Summer
Kongat
Dregea sp.
Herb
Winter
Kowa/Sarbara
Garcinia cowa Roxb.
Tree
Rainy
Nanunia
Emblica robusta
Tree
Winter
Oserwa
Capparis zeylanica Linn.
Tree
Rainy
118
Char / tarop
Buchanania lanzan Spreng.
Tree
Pinder
Randia uliginosa DC.
Tree
Winter
Puinjamala
Syzygium cerasoideum (Roxb.) Raizada
Tree
Summer
Summer
Pakare
Ficus lucescens Blume
Tree
Rainy
Rai
Dillenia pentagyna Roxb.
Tree
Summer
Soso
Semecarpus anacardium Linn. f.
Tree
Spring
Thedu
Ficus hispida Linn. f.
Tree
Winter
Box 2: Forest plant foods: Leaves

Plant Name
Scientific Name
Habit
Season of
availability
Ban Kundri
Melothria heterophylla(Lour.) Cogn.
Herb
Rainy
Bathua
Chenopodium album Linn.
Herb
Rainy
Ban-Poi
Basella alba Linn.
Herb
Rainy
Chakor
Casssia tora Linn.
Herb
Rainy
Daliara/ Balbalia
Portulaca oleracea Linn.
Herb
Rainy
Herb
Rainy
Herb
Rainy
Bilikhuji/ Chamani Cleome isosandra Linn.

Marshi sag
Amaranthus viridis Linn.
Kansaree
Commelina benghalensis Linn.
Herb
Rainy
Katai
Menya laxiflora Robyns.
Shrub
Winter
Kankodo
Momordica dioica Roxb.ex Willd.
Herb
Rainy
Kointho/ Pitta
Leucas cephalotes Spreng
Herb
Rainy
Sing aa / Kurul
Bauhinia purpurea Linn.
Tree
Summer
Kachoa
Trianthema portulacastrum Linn.
Herb
Rainy
Kalmi
Ipomoea aquatica Forck.
Herb
Whole year
Koilkhara
Asteracantha longifolia Nees.
Herb
Rainy
Lahenga /Sirgitti
Celosia argentea Linn.
Herb
Rainy
Lapung
Aerva lanata Juss. Ex Schult.
Herb
Rainy
Madranga
Alternanthera amoena (Lemaire) Voss. Herb
Rainy
Marmuri
Antidesma diandrum Heyne ex Roth
Tree
Rainy
Pimpari
Polygonum plebeium R. Br.
Herb
Rainy
Purni
Trianthema decandra Linn.
Herb
Rainy
Sunsunia
Marsieia minuta Linn.
Herb
Rainy
Siramo
Gynandropsis gynandra (Linn.) Briq.
Herb
Rainy
Mansaru
Colocasia sp.
Herb
Rainy
Suni ara
Portulaca quadrifida Linn.
Herb
Rainy
Zanumare
Amaranthus spinosus Linn.
Herb
Rainy
119
Box 3: Forest plant foods: Flowers

Plant Name
Scientific Name
Habit
Season of
availability
Winter
Agasti phool
Sesbania grandiflora Pers.
Tree
Jerhul / Hutar
Indigofera pulchella Roxb. in part
Tree
Spring
Hupu
Cochlospermum religiosum (Linn.) Alstm
Tree
Summer
Kujri
Celastrus paniculatus Willd.
Herb
Summer
Kongat
Dregea sp.
Herb
Rainy
Kurchi
Holarrhena antidysenterica (Linn.) Wall.
Tree
Summer
Mahua
Madhuca indica J.F.Gmel.
Tree
Summer
Pinder
Randia uliginosa DC.
Tree
Rainy
Phutkuli
Phyllochlamys taxoides Koorders
Tree
Summer
Sahar baha
Dillenia pentagyna Roxb.
Tree
Rainy
Sahada Baha
Streblus asper Lour.
Tree
Summer
Tentuli
Tamarindus indica Linn.
Tree
Winter
120
Wildlife protection outside protected

areas: A success story
Two villages of Maharashtra and the forest department have shown that nothing is
impossible if there is a will to work and interests of everybody are kept in mind
Rajan Talmale
s per Wildlife Protection Act,

National Parks and Wildlife
Sanctuaries
are
managed
and controlled to provide an assured
habitat. These Protected Areas are the
exclusive areas for the brooding and
breeding of wild animals. There is a
specific management strategy for the
management of their habitat. But the
boundaries of a Protected Area cannot
restrict the wild animals from roaming.
For example, an individual Tiger
needs a territory of approximately
20 to 25 square km. Increase in their
population will decrease per head
area of tiger. Protection, conservation
and management of wildlife out of
the purview of such protected areas
is successfully attempted in territorial
areas of Nagpur Forest Division.
The story starts on February 7, 2012.
A pregnant tigress of age 4-5 years was
rescued from a dry well in a farmland,
near village Kathlabodi of Kondhali
Range by the Nagpur Forest Division
with the help of a young wildlife
activist Mr Kundan Hate. During the
rescue, she was tranquilised and this
resulted in self-abortion of her three

well developed foetuses. It was a new
experience for the team that the trauma
during the rescue made her body
unfit to carry out pregnancy. After
complete recovery, it was decided
to release the tigress in her habitat.
With the permission of PCCF, she was
released in Compartment no. 11 of
Reserved Forest of Kalmeshwar Range
on February 14, 2012. After release, she
was monitored with camera traps only,
as the department didnt have any other
high-tech gadgets like Radio Caller; nor
was it needed before.
The turning point is that, in 2013
once again, she gave evidences of her
presence with three cubs in camera
traps near village Nimji in Kalmeshwar
Range. That tract was with a narrow
prey base, comprised mainly of blue
bulls and wild boar. Later her cubs were
seen separated from her in the summer
of 2014. Then the thinking started for the
need of their protection from adjoining
villages, need of increasing prey base;
need of water in summer days as the
tract is dry, rocky and degraded due
to human activities. At six km, there is
National Highway 6, as well as logistic
SFS OT, 2014-16 Batch,CASFOS, Dehradun
121
park, godowns, warehouses and some

factories within three-km distance. All
these were putting their habitat under
threat. Those days, newspapers were
describing the news of tiger poaching
and trafficking by Baheliya gangs. All
these made their protection a challenge
for the department.
Forest department accepted this and
made a strategy; the area where she was
sighted was closed for public, patrolling
was increased and monitoring was
intensified with increased number of
camera traps. Each and every precaution
was taken for restricting the coverage
by media with an intention to prevent
havoc in public. Everything was going
on secretly. These were all the shortterm measures. The long-term measures
were intended to increase the prey base,
ensuring water availability for whole
year; and peoples participation was
the only key towards the success and
fund management.
Mr Kundan Hate coordinated
between the higher officials and the
ground staff for the funds diversion
and allocation; and the most important,
winning the good faith of villagers.
The local JFM Committees of Nimji
and Ladhai actively participated by
performing a large number of soil and
moisture conservation activities like
CCT, LBS, Gabbion structures, water
holes for drinking of wild animals,
sowing grass seeds on TCM and other
structures, desilting of natural water
sources, etc. The villagers were largely
dependent on this forest for grazing
of their cattle. The cattle used to drink
water at Vena reservoir which is near
to these villages and do grazing in this
forest area. Grazing and illicit felling

made the area degraded and the eroded
soil started silting the reservoir.
As a substitute for grazing,
compartment no. 6 of 191.42 ha was
allotted to the JFMC of Nimji. This area
was used for fodder production. Only
members of the JFMC were allowed to
enter and collect. The fodder was sold
by the committee at nominal price and,
thus, stall feeding was started by cattle
bearers. The revenue from fodder was
used to pay the wages of collection
and carriage of fodder. Another need
of the villagers was fuelwood which
they used to satisfy from their Nistar
claims. Initially the needy villagers
were allowed to enter the forest only
with forest personnel. Later, as the
funds came, slowly families were
distributed LPG connections. Thus
grazing and felling was completely
phased out. The area of concern was not
allotted for Tendu collection. Plantation
programmes were taken in 2011 and
2012 and 125,000 seedlings were
prepared in nursery under MGNREGA.
In 2012 and 2013, Nimji achieved
award under Sant Tukaram Van Gram
Yojna. Funds from the award were
used for purchase of utensils and other
appliances to start a catering business in
order to strengthen the SHGs of village
women. Some farmers and landless
labourers were provided with hybrid
milching animals.
All these endeavours resulted in
lush green area with ample availability
of water in harsh days of summer;
and goodwill of people towards the
protection of the tigress and her cubs
and conservation of habitat. In 2014-15,
122
JFMC of Nimji achieved First position

in Sant Tukaram Van Gram Yojna on
the state level as it complied with all 17
conditions of works to be completed.
Till date, there is not a single case of
man-animal conflict. Rarely some cases
of cattle kill happen, but villagers are
never seen aggressive as they get the
compensation with fast transaction.
People believe that the carnivore
kills their cattle only when it needs a
change in taste. An ideal relationship
is developed among the wild animals
and the villagers. All this attracted the
villagers of other villages and now they
have started active participation in JFM.
The villagers and the department staff
report some wild animals like leopard,
caracal, mouse-deer, hyena and rattle,
which were nerve recorded there
before. Number of herds of sambhar,
spotted deer, wild boar, bluebull, wild
dogs, fox and wild cat, etc., can be
sighted now. The improved grasslands
have attracted many animals and
improved the biodiversity of this area.
The wildlife from adjoining Melghat
and Pench Tiger Reserve and Bor
Wildlife Sanctuary may have settled
here. Though the area is having some
detonator
manufacturing
plants,
countering their loud sounds of testing,
the top predator is living here and other
wild animals are flourishing; this is
nothing but a miracle.
The supreme result of all these
efforts recently resulted in sighting
the same tigress with her 2-3 month
old three healthy cubs again in camera
traps. Their presence is a solid proof of
success of the teamwork. The higher
officials, when reported with this
scene by a wildlife activist (now he is

Honorary Wildlife Warden of Nagpur
District) and the ground staff, they
are now working with preparation
of Special Wildlife Management
Plan, aiming at their Protection and
Conservation, ensuring sustained prey
base and habitat management; forest
protection, wildlife management and
controlling man-animal conflict etc.
Anticipating the increase in wildlife
population, some activities proposed in
that plan are meadows development
programme, habitat and water source
development works, infrastructure
development for protection including
protection huts, residential amenities
for staff, road repairing, checkpoints,
purchase of patrolling vehicles, research
projects for wild animals like rattle,
caracal, etc., purchase of high-tech
gadgets for monitoring, construction
of parapet walls on irrigation wells in
nearby farmlands, study on habitat
and corridor development with the
help of WII, fire protection works,
rapid response team for rescue, relief
and rehabilitation, soil and moisture
conservation programmes including
de-silting of natural water resources,
funds for
intelligence and public
propaganda, etc.
The key to success here might be
that for the protection of wildlife, the
rights and privileges of the local people
were not abolished unlike Pas, and the
department succeeded to preach that
their interests are more in protection
and conservation of nature. Also, the
protection and conservation of the
tigress and her cubs was given priority.
The story has given rise to some
123
questions whether exclusive protected

areas like NP and Sanctuaries are
needed to expand in terms of numbers
or area? Why NGOs do not identify
and concentrate on potential territorial
forest areas, instead of dumping funds
in PAs only? What is the solution or
preparedness for the management
of spill-over population from PAs as
there is restriction to expand their
areas? Is there any middle solution for
satisfaction of tiny needs of local human
population with nature conservation,
hand-in-hand?
We cannot declare the whole land-
scape as a PA. In future, the need will

arise for the management and control
of spillover population of wild animals
from PAs. Although PAs facilitate them
to live natural life, their increasing
population cannot be nourished there.
PA has not proved to be the solution to
the increased man-animal conflict. This
story highlights the need to improve
relationship between people and forest department; how man and animal
can live together without any conflict;
and, the need to concentrate on Territorial Forest Areas for the protection and
conservation of wildlife.
124
Thoseghar reaching the heights

JFM has changed the way the people look at forests; it has become a major source of
revenue for the panchayat and employment for youth
Dr. Rajendra Pundalik Nale
hoseghar is a small village situated in the Western Ghats in Maharashtra state. Falling in the jurisdiction of the Satara Forest Division,
it is blessed with beautiful landscapes
enriched with semi-evergreen forests,
rich biodiversity, landforms, plateaus
and waterfalls with perennial streams.
The village has a population of 1,216
with 766.49 hectares of forest area. Most
of the population is involved in the

agriculture business and is dependent
on the adjoining forests for their daily
needs like fuelwood. In the valley of the
Kalganga River, water falls from a height
of 350 metres, making it Indias fourth
highest waterfall. This magnificent
waterfall creates tremendous scope
for ecotourism; an added advantage is
provided by the beautiful plateaus in
adjoining areas.
In 2004,the Joint Forest Manage-
Officer Trainee, SFS-2014-16 batch
125
ment Committee (JFMC) was created

in Thoseghar bythe Forest Department
with the intention to reduce pressure
on the forest and manage the forest
in cooperation with the local villagers.
In the early days, there were doubts
about the intention of the forest department considering past systems
of forest management and administration. These doubts cleared with
time given the continuous efforts and
communication of the Forest Department and villagers; and a new era of
joint forest management started.
The JFMC was formed involving
the local panchayat leaders, villagers
and forest staff. First, a mechanism
was set in place to manage ecotourism
facilities. Facilities like ticketing,
parking fees, garden management,
tourist management, forest enrichment,
Nature Information Centre etc.,
were handed over to the JFMC for
management. Nearly 20-25 villagers
were employed,either on continuous or
seasonal basis, to take care of all routine
works through the JFMC.
Revenue generated through this
activity and its systematic use under
the guidance of forest officials earned
recognition, prestige and honour to

the village.
Revenue Generated
Year
2013-14
2014-15
Revenue Generated (in Rs)

14,70,000
15,29,000
This revenue is used for making

payments to staff and for enriching
the forest by plantations, protection
activity, etc.
The JFMC is actively participating
in forest protection. Various initiatives
have been undertaken with the guidance
of Forest Department and include:
1. Rapid Fire Response Team JFMC
has been created with the view to
assist forest department to prevent
and control forest fire with the
help of team of villagers. Now
the committee is thinking to give
modern equipments to manage fire.
2. LPG gas connections and bulk waterheaters - JFMC and Maharashtra
Forest Department has supplied 151
LPG connections and six heaters on
50 per cent subsidy basis to villagers to reduce the dependency of the
villagers for fuel wood.
126
3. Grazing is now managed by the

forest dependent along with JFMC.
It takes care that the grazing will not
become a problem in forest areas.
4. Persons involved in forest offences
are intimated and restrained by
Thoseghar villagers from committing
forest offences like illicit felling,
hunting, etc.
5. Tourists are managed in systematic
way, hence preventing problems
created by tourism like pollution,
damage to forests, etc.
On a visit to Thoseghar, one can
notice the following changes in the way
the ecotourism site is managed.
Clean premises, information boards
about dos and donts to tourists can
be seen in the ecotourism facility and
forest area.
Continuous
audio
broadcast
stressing importance of forests and
guiding tourists.
Continuous monitoring of the entry
gate with the help of CCTVs.

Electronic ticketing machine for
bringing transparency in the
accounts.
Proper parking facility to avoid road
blockade.
Thoseghar
JFMC
President
Shankarrao Chavansays, This joint
forest management with the help of the
forest department has changed the way
we look at forests. It has become a major
source of revenue for the panchayat and
employment for unemployed youth.
Previously, the forest was perceived
as of no use but now this view has
changed and now all villagers are also
actively participating in conserving and
managing forests.
Local villagers are also happy with the
initiative and some of them cautioned
about the need for transparency as huge
amounts of money are involved.
Seriousness and need of JFM can
be seen through the creation of the
127
Contingency Fund. The JFMC has

created a contingency fund of Rs 2 lakh
to be used in case of any emergency or
to fulfill needs of funding in case of less
tourism is a particular season, or due to
reasons of less rain, and so on.
While the success of joint forest
management
is
being
debated
elsewhere, in Thoseghar it is working
successfully. We need to take notice of
one thing, where there is potential of
sustained income from forest resources,
the chances of joint forest management
becoming successful are very high.
128
Hidden trade in Madurai

Several recent instances have prompted the DFO to set up a voluntary organisation
called Friends of Forest Madurai to gather information on wildlife trade.
M.G. Ganesan
adurai may have several

things to be proud about, but
it has the dubious distinction
of being a major transit point for trade
in both wildlife and marine life. The city
has no major forest area close by nor can
it boast of any aquarium of repute. But
it is the routing centre for rare species,
say wildlife and police authorities. In
August 2015, in a joint operation, forest
officials seized five turtle carapace
and 10 pairs of Rose Ringed parakeets
trapped in the wild and brought
to the Sunday market for sale. The
forest officers got wind of the illegal
transaction, swooped in and rounded
up the offenders, who were charged
with violating the Wildlife Protection
Act. Wildlife authorities say they enjoy
a good rapport with the Customs and
Airport authorities. Besides they have
their own informers. Similarly, they
get ground level information on the
sale of live birds trapped in the wild.
They also conduct surprise checks at
private handicrafts shops, pet shops,
ayurvedic medicine shops, industry
and restaurant whenever they get
information about sale of meat, birds
and artifacts made of animal parts.
The DFO set up a voluntary

organization called Friends of Forest
Madurai to gather information on
wildlife trade, rescue of wild animals,
hoarding, meat sales, sales of artifacts
made from wild animal parts. The
officer says that only in a recent case
where the Tiruppur district smuggler
was detained and a tiger nail seized, did
the forest officers work systematically
and executed a plan. Though they
knew they were on to something `big,
they were simply unaware what the
prize catch could be. They had set up
an informant to obtain details about
hare meat, but ended up busting a
racket involving tiger nail.
Also, forest officials in Madurai
seized 400 pangolin scales from 37-yearold Narikorava, at Karuppayurani,
Madurai on August 11, 2015. The scales
were about to be sold off. TRAFFIC, the
wildlife crime control wing of the World
Wide Fund for Nature - India (WWF-I)
field operatives helped the officials
to nab the offender. The operatives
said the scales were sold between Rs
10,000 and Rs 30,000 depending upon
the seller. The scales were believed to
have medicinal properties that could
cure piles and rheumatism. In Tamil
Nadu, people burn the scales and the
2014-16 Batch, Tamil Nadu
129
ashes from the burnt scales are used as

medicines. In China, too, these scales
are used in traditional medicine; people
also make rings out of the scales and
wear them on their fingers.
We learnt that pangolins are killed
in a very cruel manner. Being very
shy animals, the pangolins coil their
body into a ball-like shape when they
feel threatened. As they are docile
animals, they never attack when they
are caught. So the poachers easily trap
them and pack them in gunny bags.
The Explaining about the cruel method
in which the pangolins are killed and
The live animals are then put in
boiling water and once they are dead, the
scales are removed and the flesh is eaten
by tribals living across the state. The
forest officials laid a trap and arrested
a person who came forward to sell 400
scales for a price of Rs 25,000. Pangolins
are categorized under Schedule I of the
Wildlife Protection Act and those who
indulge in poaching of this species
may get three years of imprisonment
with a minimum fine of Rs 25,000.
The culprit has been produced
before the judicial magistrate two in
Madurai and remanded in judicial
custody.TRAFFIC field operatives said
there is a great demand for the scales
in China and other Southeast Asian
nations. They are also investigating
the country medicine practitioners
(Nattuvaidyars), who placed a demand
for these animals. The Nattuvaidyars
cheat the public by claiming the smoke
from pangolin scales help in relieving
piles, thereby creating an illegal trade
for these wildlife items.
In another case, a 40-year-old wom-
an was arrested by forest officials for

trading wildlife products at the Sunday
market area on Tamil Sangam Road on
September 9, 2015. Officials seized five
green turtle carapaces, broken carapaces pieces and 52 pangolin scales.
The women, who hails from Nagamalai Pudukottai situated on the city
outskirts, has been arrested under the
Wildlife Protection Act. Forest officials
suspect that she may be a key player
in the wildlife trade in the city. She
has been remanded to judicial custody.
Throughout the questioning, she maintained that she collected the items from
nearby forest areas. But stumbling on
green turtle carapaces in Madurai forest areas is impossible and spotting a
pangolin is difficult in the region.
In another incident, on the night
of September 29, 2015, a Sivaganga
district smuggler who tried to smuggle
star tortoises at Madurai International
Airport was detained with the help
of custom staffs. They seized 247 star
tortoises which were being smuggled
from Kerala via Madurai to Kuala
Lumpur. The customs officials at
the airport after a check on his cabin
baggage revealed that he was illegally
taking the tortoises to Kuala Lampur
via flight to Sri Lanka from the city.
The consignment was estimated to be
worth over Rs 60 lakh. The species are
extremely popular among overseas
exotic pet traders and many people in
South East Asian countries preferred
to have them as pets. These star
tortoises are primarily found in dry
and deciduous forests and can survive
for up to 3 days without food or water
while being transported. In Madurai,
130
they can be found in forest areas in

Vikramangalam and Sirumalai. The
forest authorities found that this was
probably one of the first instances of
star tortoises being smuggled and
seized at Madurai Airport.
From the investigation, we came to
know that the smugglers are involved
in several crimes such as ketamine
smuggling, pet animal trade, animal
part trade, endangered animal trade
simultaneously, catering to the
demand in India and the South East
Asian countries. Though officials agree
that Madurai is nothing more than a
transit point, they do not rule out the
possibility of Madurai emerging as a
base for illegal trade in wildlife. The
DFO has cracked the whip on wildlife
poachers in the district and earned the
title, the Jungle Man of Madurai. Many
local nature lovers, environmentalists
and wildlife enthusiasts say that he is
probably the first DFO who fined two
private mahouts in the city for making
their elephants beg in crowded places.
There are also habitual offenders
who hunt wild boar and black napped
hares. In the last six months or so, the
forest department has confiscated
wildlife trophies such as peafowl legs
and porcupine quills from poachers.
Madurai area has little forest in
comparison to other districts and

the wildlife here comprises mainly
of smaller mammals. These too need
to be conserved, as small mammals
play a crucial role in the food chain
and ecological balance. The forest
department should get closer to the
public to sensitise the people towards
nature and wildlife.
As part of the outreach activities,
a Facebook page Madurai Forest
Division has been started, which acts
a platform for wildlife lovers in the city
to come together. To improve peoples
connection to forests and environment,
more awareness campaigns are
being conducted. Forest officials cite
the example of one such safe rescue
of snakes.
Through the voluntary organization,
social media and campaigns, a network
of wildlife volunteers has been built
across the district. The plan is to further
strengthen this team so that people
in different places can provide fast
and reliable information on wildlife
offences. In addition, the display of
banned items at major air and seaports,
involving the people living on the
forest fringes and coastal fishermen
for protecting the natural resources
can also help reduce the illegal trade in
marine and wildlife.
131
WATERSHED DEVELOPMENT / MAHARASHTRA
Hiware Bazar, a success story

The Hiware Bazar experience stands out, not only in terms of equity outcome, but also in
terms of improvement in livelihoods and the impact on sustainability
Geeta Pawar
very few years, villages in central

Maharashtra, like those in other
drought-prone regions across the
country, face crippling water scarcity
that threatens lives and livelihoods
and fuels migration. Despite decades
of drought-relief programmes, there
has been little change over the years.
Hiware Bazar lies in the droughtprone Ahmednagar district. It is in the
nagar taluka of Ahmadnagar district
in western Maharashtra and is 28 kms
from Ahmadnagar city. Hiware Bazar
lies across 977 hectares (ha) at the
foothills of the Sahyadris. Of the total
geographical area of the village of 976.84
ha, 795.23 ha is cultivable. The village
receives only 300-400 millimetres (mm)
of rainfall a year.
Over time, with steady degradation
of their forest land, there was severe
water paucity for drinking and
irrigation purposes. This led to very
low productivity owing to dependence
on rainwater. Only on half-an-acre of
land could water-intensive crops grow.
Hard rock makes up 80 per cent of
the land. Indiscriminate grazing had
eroded the green cover. People migrated
in hordes due to constant crop failures
and drought. By the early 1980s, almost

50 per cent of the village population
had drifted out of the village. During
1989-90, less than 12 per cent of the
cultivable land was under cultivation.
The villages wells used to have water
only during the rainy season.
In 1990, Popatrao Pawar, after
completing his M.Com in Pune, was
persuaded to return to his village. He
was elected sarpanch and gave up a
potential career in the city. Under his
leadership the village drew up a plan
based on priorities set by villagers
themselves with top priorities on
safe drinking water, irrigation water,
employment, education and health. The
village used funds from government
schemes and launched a programme
to regenerate its natural resources. In
1972, percolation tank was constructed
under drought relief work. In 1982,
under similar circumstances, it was
repaired. In 1995, the Adarsh Gaon
Yojana was launched. In keeping with
the requirements of AGY, resolutions
were collectively adopted in the gram
sabha to start working on the panchasutri, or five principles restrictions
on free grazing, ban on tree felling,
ban on alcohol, adoption of family
planning and voluntary labour. An
SFS 2014-16 batch
132
NGO called Yashwant Agricultural,

Rural and Watershed Development
Agency was set up by Popatrao Pawar
in 1993 and the scheme began to be
implemented from1994. An important
feature of the Hiware Bazar case is
that the implementing agency was not
an external NGO, but a village-level
organisation that worked closely with
the gram panchayat.
A
Watershed
Development
Programme is essentially designed to
increase the moisture content in the
soil, thereby leading to an increase in
productivity. The village was divided
into three micro-watersheds, the first
with an area of 612.14 ha, the second with
an area of 123.4 ha and the third with
an area of 241.3 ha. Total geographical
area of the village is 976 ha and it is
divided into three micro watersheds.
Of this, 70 ha is forestland, developed
while working in close cooperation
with the forest department. Presently,
its entire management is villages
responsibility. The department even
does not have their guard to protect
the reserves. This relationship between
the department and the villages was
painfully developed. In 1992, the forest
department rejected the request of
the villagers, as the villagers, due to
free grazing, ruined the departments
earlier works. However, the villagers
persistence made the department
reconsider in 1994, bringing joint forest
management (JFM) programme to the
village and the results are evidently
visible to everyone. Under JFM and
Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS),
water and soil conservation works were
taken up in the upper reaches.
Under this programme, about 52

earthen bunds, two percolation tanks,
33 loose stone bunds were constructed.
About nine check dams have also
been constructed in a series on the
downstream nallah. The principal
watershed works constructed include
continuous contour trenching and
tree plantation (on forest, private and
panchayat land), contour bunding, nala
bunding, percolation tanks and five
storage bandharas. In a span of four
years, most of the work under AGY
was completed.
In Hiware Bazar, when the watershed
work began and trees were planted as
a first step, the question of cutting of
trees was brought up. A resolution was
passed in the gram sabha to ban cutting
of trees or even branches of trees from
the commons. People could, however,
cut branches of trees from their own
fields. Two positive aspects of the ban
on tree cutting in Hiware Bazar are
worth noting. These restrictions were
imposed uniformly for all uses (fuel
and non-fuel), and indigenous varieties
of trees (such as babul, tamarind and
bamboo) were chosen because they
were more suitable to local climatic
conditions and likely to survive longer.
The revenue from these trees (as well as
other product of the commons) goes to
the gram panchayat.
The main focus was on the creation of
EGS, constituting Continuous Contour
Trenches (CCT) and Earthen Bunds.
The construction of CCTs and Bunds
has been completed by the villagers
themselves, through the process
shramdaan. Three watersheds were
built at a cost of Rs 42 lakh spent by
133
the government; 17 lakh was provided

as shramdaan. With shramdaan, the
panchayat built 40,000 contour trenches
around the hills to conserve rainwater
and recharge groundwater.
Alongwith the contour building, they
planted 45,000 trees on a 30-hectare area
of government land. Preference was
given to species like bitter neem, kashid,
babul and shisham. The villagers made
special efforts to protect and nurse
more than 70 per cent of the planted
trees. In appreciation of their efforts,
the department provided 36,000 new
saplings in 1993-94. The villagers saved
the remuneration earned and used it
for improvement of the watershed.
In 1994, the residents, alongwith
the Gram Sabha (village council),
approached 12 different agencies to
implement watershed works under
the states EGS. The village prepared
its own five-year plan for 1995-2000
that emphasised local ecological
regeneration. Implementation of the
five-year plan then became the objective
of the EGS, which was otherwise a
wage employment programme. This
was to ensure that all departments
implementing projects in the village
would have a common and integrated
work plan.
In the years 1997 and 1998, additional
206 ha were brought under afforestation.
By 1999, the village had grown 600,000
trees by adopting the technique of
Continuous Contour Trenching (CCT)
by using contour markers and digging
contour pits 2 square feet Square and 1
foot deep. This was supported by the
already dug pits which conserved soil
and water. One running metre of the
pits stored 1,000-litres of water. There

were about 1,500 running metre pits
within one-hectare land and, therefore,
one hectare stored 1,500,000 litres of
water. The total geographical area of the
village is 976.44 ha, out of which 150 ha
land is under social forestry. Therefore,
the entire forest area under CCT could
conserve about 225,000 cubic metres of
water (150 ha x 15 lakh litres of water).
The villagers implemented a drip
irrigation system to conserve water
and soil, and to increase the food
production. They avoided crops like
sugarcane and bananas, which require
a high use of water.
Due to watershed development
measures, the groundwater table rose
and irrigated area increased. Farmers,
previously able to cultivate only in the
kharif season and grow bajra in rabi,
could now grow in more seasons and
switch from the traditional jowar and
bajra to cash crops such as onion, potato,
tomato and horticulture. As area under
cultivation and cropping intensity
increased and the cropping pattern
changed, incomes rose sharply. With
more assured irrigation and therefore
lower risk, farmers began to invest
more in their land, such as by building
additional water storage structures.
Some families that had migrated
returned to the village. Many farmers
used their increased agricultural
earnings or took loans to buy cattle. The
re-vegetation programme, as part of
watershed development, has increased
availability of good quality grass, which
has, in turn, contributed to increased
milk yield. The grass harvest increased
from 100 tonnes in 2000 to 6,000 tonnes
134
in 2004, and the milk production rose

from 150 litres a day in the mid-1990s
to 4,000 in 2010. Today dairying is an
important mainstay of their economy.
The village is now among the top
income villages in India.
The fruition of the watershed
development programme has aided
immensely in agriculture and in
providing drinking water. It has also
been instrumental in the conservation
of both water and soil. Both the quality
of the technical watershed works and
the resulting positive socio-economic
changes have now been widely
acknowledged in government and NGO
circles as well as in popular media. What
is most striking about Hiware Bazars
growth is that most families gained
from it, either directly or indirectly.
Today the village has only three BPL
families. Moreover, a commitment
to sustainability helps ensure that
benefits secured are not lost. Prudent
water management, coupled with
crop planning, guarantees drinking
water year round, and agriculture
and dairying are maintained as far as
possible, even in low rainfall years.
Equity will be on one particular
dimension of these changes. More
specifically, I consider the distribution
of the benefits and costs of the watershed
development project across different
land-holding classes. The reason for
focusing on this particular dimension
of equity is the linkage between
access to land and access to water,
which means that the benefits of any
water intervention, such as watershed
development, end up being distributed
in proportion to landholding, or
sometimes even disproportionately

in favour of larger farmers. I consider
below what the experience in Hiware
Bazar has been in the context of
various rules adopted in the course
of the project, the two major effects of
watershed development increased
availability of irrigation water and
increased employment opportunities
as well as the watershed-plus measures.
The aim of the exercise is not so much
to label the project as successful or
unsuccessful from the point of view
of a specific version of equity, but rather
to learn from both its positive and
negative aspects.
Apart from the pancha-sutri, the other
set of rules adopted in Hiware Bazar
were related to water. Rules related to
water could either deal with distribution
of water or with use of water. The rules
about distribution of water can be
further classified into two kinds: (a)
rules that determine the particularset
of people who will get access to water;
and (b) rules that determine how water
will be distributed within this set of
beneficiaries, i.e., allocation rules. If
100 litres of groundwater is available,
80 litres are used and 20 litres are kept
as buffer stock. The water is recharged
during July. Additional water led to
higher productivity and also enabled
cultivation of cash crops, such as onions
and potatoes.
How equitable the above practice
should be considered, is open to debate.
Given that the link between access to
land and access to water (as well as
the underlying distribution of land) is
considered inevitable by most people
(not just in Hiware Bazar but elsewhere
135
too), the fact that water distribution

follows land distribution could be
considered equitable, especially if the
larger land-holders do not get a share
of water that is greater in proportion
to their landholding. However, one
could also raise the broader question of
whether public resources (such as state
funds for watershed development)
should be used for the development of a
private resource (such as groundwater)
without making any attempt to
change the structure of rights over
groundwater, especially when access to
water is important not just for improved
livelihoods but also for greater social
and political power. In the Hiware Bazar
case, there was at least some attempt to
compensate those whose benefits from
watershed development were limited.
But, in cases where there are no such
attempts, the above water distribution
rules could end up re-enforcing existing
land-based inequities.
Equity concerns in any single project
are influenced by a number of factors
such as the differing conceptualisations
of equity by various agents involved,
limits to the number of radical concerns
that can be taken up any one time,
macro-level factors such as government
policies and laws on relevant subjects,
and the nature of the development
process that people are interested in
setting in motion. Similarly, the equity
potential of government schemes for
wells is limited by the requirement that
beneficiaries should have a minimum
landholding of three acres; while the
logic behind this is that without a
certain level of landholding, the water
in the well would not be optimally
used, the result is that marginal farmers

find it difficult to avail of the schemes.
But given the constraints within which
any project functions, the Hiware Bazar
experience stands out, not only in terms
of its equity outcome, but also in terms
of improvement in livelihoods and the
impact on sustainability. The measures
to attenuate the negative impact of the
ban on grazing, the rules about use
of water and the careful targeting of
watershed-plus measures have been
particularly critical. An important
lesson that one can, therefore, been
drawn from Hiware Bazar is that some
of the inequities considered inherent
to watershed development projects can
be partially remedied by local-level
initiative, and it is important to think
about ways in which this experience can
be used to improve the equity outcome
in other watershed development
projects.
Hiware Bazars success
has
hinged on the involvement of the
entire community who collectively
decide their development priorities,
contribute labour, and manage their
natural resources by regulating and
enforcing norms. Most community
decisions are taken at GS meetings.
Involvement did not come overnight.
Education has been an important
medium to raise awareness of key
issues. Participation by all members
has created a strong sense of
ownership. Schoolchildren read rain
gauges and measure groundwater
levels. Women collect and manage
a monthly water tax on individual
connections. Decisions on water
budgeting, crop planning and
136
maintenance of water structures are

taken in the GS. In addition, there are
village committees to monitor forest
conservation, wildlife protection and
cleanliness.
To institutionalise sharing of water,
the village introduced a practice of
water budgeting. Using a waterbank
principle, the budget ensures that
the village does not draw more water
than it stores in a year, and a small
amount is kept in reserve. Depending
on rainfall in that year, available water
is allocated amongst various uses,
with first priority for drinking water
for humans at 50 litres per capita per
day (lpcd) and cattle (30 lpcd). Here,
water for drinking purposes (of humans
and animals) and for other daily uses
gets top priority. After budgeting for
drinking water, 70 per cent is set aside
for irrigation. The remaining 30 per cent
is kept for future use by allowing it to
percolate and recharge groundwater.
Taking this broad framework for water
use, a yearly audit is carried out to
assess water availability and adjust
use accordingly.
Since 2002, Hiware Bazar has been
doing an annual budgeting of water
assisted by the Ahmednagar districts
groundwater department. Every year
the village measures the total amount of
water available in the village, estimates
the uses and then prescribes the
agricultural cropping to be taken up.
All this is done through the instrument
of Gram Sabha, whose decisions are
binding for the residents of the village.
The cropping pattern is undergoing

a change in favour of cash crops but
with high productivity and availability
of water, food crops produced in the
village also suffice. Many families now
buy foodgrains from the market. Food
security will not be an issue for the
village for a long time to come.
Through the five years of water
budgeting, the village has been able to
identify its average water availability.
It is estimated that with 400 mm of
rainfall, a small amount, the village
of Hiware Bazar will have sufficient
water throughout the year. Because
the village has an average shortfall of
50 to 80 million litres, the Gram Sabha
has banned drilling of borewells for
irrigation. The audit process begins with
the monitoring of the groundwater level
of the six observation wells identified
in the village, along with the amount of
total rainfall received measured by the
villages 3 rain gauges. The cumulative
sum of rainfall and groundwater is
the total water available to the village
after monsoons.
The village has also won numerous
awards, such as the National Productivity Award in Dryland Farming in 199798. The initiatives greatly improved
the socio-economic conditions in the
village and the village was declared
as an Ideal Village by the Government of Maharashtra. At the National
Groundwater Congress in New Delhi
on September 11, 2007, the village
received the National Water Award
by the Government of India.
137
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Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
P.O. New Forest, Dehradun
Tel: +91 135-2750127, Fax: +91 135-2750125
Website: www.dfe.gov.in
CONTENTS
138
FIELD FORESTER
V o i c e s
volume 1 issue 3
f r o m
t h e
f i e l d
JANUARY 2016
FIELD FORESTER | January 2016
140

Why should biodiversity matter to anyone? Biodiversity, ecosystems and the lives
of people are inextricably linked. Millions of species are part of this biodiversity
and each species (recorded or undiscovered) is important. Each species has a
specific role and the extinction of any species gradually weakens the structure and
integrity of our ecosystem and the environment. The dynamics of biodiversity and
the ecosystem can be best illustrated with Edward Lorenzs metaphorical theory of
the Butterfly Effect. The effect of species extinction is indeed like the butterfly effect
at work; the connection between rapid deforestation in West Africa and Ebola is
already a much discussed subject which needs more study.
Biodiversity loss and species extinction has raised much concern as well as
action in conservation circles and governments, however despite all efforts
biodiversity loss is still occurring at a disturbing rate. Vital ecosystems continue
to be disturbed, degraded and destroyed. This can have cascading consequences
including accelerated climate change, threats to human health and serious
economic costs.
India, a mega-biodiversity country and one of the richest nations with regard
to biodiversity wealth should show greater concern about the management and
conservation of its biodiversity. The current issue of the Field Forester covers
success stories related to biodiversity management and conservation from all over
the country. The proper assessment of biodiversity is imperative for the proper
management and conservation of biodiversity. However the same cannot be
said about the forest biodiversity in our country. Many a times we manage our
forests without knowing properly about its wealth- especially with regard to its
biodiversity. It is very important to have proper biodiversity assessment protocols
and inventories of the biodiversity. The National Working Plan code, 2014 has
made that step towards meticulous recording of observations in the forests which
can later go on to supplement more detailed assessments and studies. Only
when proper assessment has been done and inventories are in place can a more
scientific monitoring of biodiversity take into effect. While efforts are being made
to conserve and protect our countrys biodiversity it is high time to take a more
concerted and scientific approach to biodiversity.
MP Singh
141
142
CONSERVATION / MAHARASHTRA
Protecting the habitat of the

Indian Giant Squirrel
The forest department has taken a number of steps in Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary,
one of the few refuges of the threatened Indian Giant squirrel
VK Borhade
himashankar wildlife sanctuary

is located in the Sahayadri
Range of the Western Ghats in
Maharashtra. The wildlife sanctuary
spread over 130 km2 falls in Ambegaon
and Khed tehsil of Pune district. The
sanctuary was established in 1984 under
the provision of Wildlife Protection Act
1972. The main objective behind the
creation of this sanctuary was to protect
the habitat of the Indian Giant Squirrel
(Ratufaindica). The Indian Giant Squirrel
is endemic to the Western Ghats and
found only found in a few forest patches
of Western Ghats. As its name indicates
it is much larger in size compared to
other squirrels of India.
The Bhimashankar Wildlife has
number of sacred groves, maintained
by the local tribal people. These sacred
groves act as source material of seeds
for vegetation in the nearby area and
squirrel is the main agent of dispersal.
The sanctuary has a large biodiversity
of endemic and specialised flora and
fauna. Leopard, sambar, stripped
hyena, jackal, barking deer, wild boar,
common langur etc. A large number

of reptiles, amphibians, butterflies and
insects are also found here. Recently,
Blue Mormon a butterfly which is
rarely observed in the sanctuary has
been declared as the state butterfly of
Maharashtra.
Such vast and rich biodiversity hub
plays an important role in conserving
the critical habitat of the Indian Giant
Squirrel. This population of squirrels is
distributed in land patches which are not
connected to each other; this separation
has led to speciation i.e. evolved a new
sub species. This speciation has led to
a variation in the colour of the species.
Recently a new colour combination has
been observed in Kolhapur Forest Circle
of Maharashtra, during the census of
Indian Giant Squirrel.
The Indian Giant Squirrel measure
about 35 cm in length and the length of
tail is about 61 cm; the body weight is
about 2 kg. It has an attractive body with
a combination of two colours, white
and brown. Sometimes cream colour
is observed on the legs. Generally, this
species never comes on the ground.
The squirrels move from one place to
SFS Batch 2014-16, CASFOS, Dehradun
143
another by using upper canopy of the

tree. It jumps from one tree to another;
in one jump it can covers about 6
metres. Their movement is restricted if
the patch of forest has discontinuities;
this generally happens in degraded
forests. This animal is solitary in nature
and has its territory which it marks
by urine. They never allow another
squirrel to enter into their area except
mates and young ones. When the
young ones grow up, they start to
search new areas for establishing their
own territories. They are omnivorous in
nature; eat fruits, flowers, bark, insects,
and eggs of birds. The squirrels play a
great role in maintaining the balance
of the ecosystem by dispersal of seeds.
The main predator of this species are
birds of prey and the leopard. When
faced with a life threatening condition
the squirrel freezes or flattens itself
against tree trunk instead of jumping.
The species is more active during day
time and are most active early in the
morning and during evening hours. It
uses 6 to 8 nests,located on different
trees in its territory. These nests are
used as sleeping places and one of them
is used as nursery.
Today the existence of the Indian
Giant Squirrel is threatened. Dams,
highways, industrialization, railway
lines etc. are causing a loss of habitat.
Illegal tree felling and chopping has
reduced the tree canopy in many
areas. This has led to shrinking in the
boundaries of their habitat. As a result
of which their movements are getting
restricted, causing separation of one
population from another. This results in
inbreeding and narrowing of gene pool.
All this has affected the population of

this beautiful animal. The problem has
become so severe that one sub-species
out of five, which was endemic to
the region of Dang in Gujarat, is now
extinct. The occurrence ratio has also
decreased to 2.9/km2 in some patches
of Western Ghats Tamhini, Mulashi
and Mahabaleshwar. This is certainly
a cause for alarm for the existence of
Indian Giant Squirrel.
However,
according
to
the
Pune-based Wildlife Research and
Conservation Society, the occurrence
ratio is a healthy 15.9/km2 in the
Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary.
This ratio shows that there is certainly
something special and unique to
this area in terms of management,
protection and conservation. My
discussions with RFO and local people
revealed a number of reasons for this.
The area still largely inaccessible, thus
there is less human interference. Also,
there are some sacred grooves which
are protected by local tribal people,this
has maintained the canopy cover. The
forest department too is effectively
controlling the illegal felling and
lopping in the area. Awareness has also
been created among the local people
not to cut fruit trees in the areas where
viable populations of the squirrels
reside. The forest department has also
carried out plantation activity in the
area between two source populations.
In these plantations, fruit species
preferred by the squirrels have been
planted. This effort has increased
the movement of Giant Squirrel and
increased its population;ultimately
increasing the gene pool. The forest
144
department
also
promotes
the
activities of JFMC by involving them
in conservation programme and by
providing them alternative livelihoods
as guides,caterers,tollkeepers on check
posts and as forest watchers. A NGO
in the area also helps create awareness
among the local people about the animal
and its importance. These are some of
the measures which have resulted in
unique favourable environment for the
species and have led to a sizable increase
in the number of Indian Giant Squirrels
in Bhimashankar Wild Life Sanctuary.
YEAR
NUMBER
OF NESTS
ANIMAL
POPULATION
2009
7787
719
2013
10179
1700-1800
2014
11340
1800-1900
2015
11915
1489-1985
(*Times of India and Indian Express News sources)
Since before 2015, census was carried

out only in Bhimashankar WLS, the
number of Indian Giant Squirrels only
related to this WLS is known. In 2015,
for the first time, a state-wide census
was carried out. Generally counting
of Indian Giant Squirrel is done on the
basis the number of nests. Since one
squirrel uses 6 to 8 nests, dividing the
total number of nests by 6 or 8, gives an
approximate total number of squirrels.
In Bhimashankar WLS, this method
of census is supported by modern
techniques such as digital mapping with
use of Global Positioning System (GPS)
and Geographic Information System
(GIS). These modern techniques help
to know whether the canopy area has
increased or shrunk. Also, it gives an
idea of land patches where the breeding

populations exist. Armed with this
information the forest department is
now taking initiatives to connect these
patches by plantation programmes to
increase the connectivity between two
source populations.
Like
other
protected
areas,
Bhimashankar WLS is facing problems
which can in future have an impact
on this fragile ecosystem of the Indian
Giant Squirrel. Bhimashankar is both,
a holy place and a tourist destination.
Each year lakhs of pilgrims and tourists
visit this place. This creates noise
pollution and litter which disturbs this
shy animal and its habitat. Lots of litter
creates the unhygienic condition. The
windmill project which was banned in
2011, has caused removal of large trees,
resulting in restriction on movement
of the animal. The WLS is also facing
the problem of encroachment by
people of surrounding areas. Local
people clear the forest for agriculture
and settlement, this has shrunk the
habitat of the Giant Squirrel. Illegal
lopping and felling has also increased
the severity of the problem. Proposals
of widening of the approach-road to
the temple; construction of the newly
proposed highway passing through the
sanctuary have the potential to spoil
the Indian Giant Squirrels habitat.
The Indian Giant Squirrel is the pride
of Western Ghats and also the state
animal of Maharashtra. This beautiful
animal needs protection in its habitat
like Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary.
Though the forest department is making
efforts to conserve it, its now the duty
of each and every citizen to protect it.
145
Conservation / Himachal Pradesh
Community-based livestock insurance

programme to the aid of snow leopard
As a result of the programme in the Spiti Valley, the attitude of people towards wildlife
has changed and has resulted in a decrease in man-animal conflict
Pradip E. Patil
he least known cat in the

renowned cat family is Snow
Leopard because of its secretive
and challenging habitat. It has been
listed as Endangered on the IUCN
Red List. Less than 4,000 wild Snow
Leopards are present in world and
India ranks third in their population.
A rough estimate of the Snow Leopard
population in the Indian landscape
is 400-700 (Snow Leopard Survival
Strategy 2014.1), and it is mainly
restricted to the Himalayan and TransHimalayan areas of five states, namely
Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh,
Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal
Pradesh. The total range is estimated to
cover 126,842 square kilometres. Snow
Leopards are found in the hilly, snowblanketed, inaccessible, sub-alpine and
alpine zones, above 3,200 metres in the
west and 4,200 metres in the eastern
part of India.
As the snow leopard has a large home
range, to sustain a viable population in
the undisturbed landscape is a prime
need. Therefore, the Snow Leopard is
considered as an ideal flagship as well
as umbrella species for the conservation

of mountain ecosystems of India.
The adjoining areas of Ladakh and
Spiti Valley in the Trans-Himalayan
region are a home for healthy prey
and good Snow Leopard population
in India. Suryawanshi (2013) reported
that the density of the Snow Leopard
population ranges from 0.5 per 100
square km to 3.4 per 100 square
kilometre for five different areas in the
Spiti Valley of Himachal Pradesh. This
represents Upper Spiti Valleys alpine
habitat, one of the most critical habitat
to the Snow Leopard.
Background of the problem
The upper Spiti Valley, situated in

the north eastern part of Himachal
Pradesh, is one of the least populated
regions
of
India.
The
valley
encompasses roughly 3,000 square
km of relatively undeveloped alpine
habitat, with an average altitude of
4000m above mean sea level, having
only 25 villages. It is known for its
green pastures, high-altitude lakes, and
rare and endangered wildlife. Snow
Leopards are found all over this valley.
The unique and beautiful landscape of
1SFS 2014-16 Batch
146
the Spiti Valley is point of attraction for

many nature lovers and currently about
10,000 tourists visit this place annually
to experience the uniqueness of natural
beauty and with hopes to see the
Snow Leopard.
With passage of time, this remote
area has become more accessible and
connected to the rest of the world. This
has caused excessive livestock grazing
and unmanaged tourism and economic
activities. This has increased pressure
on natural resources and threats to
the survival of Spiti Valleys wildlife
and ecosystem.
As high quality grazing land
reduces, wild and domestic animals
overlap more and more. The number
of mountain ungulates, like the
Blue Sheep and Ibex, has decreased
significantly due to competition with
domestic livestock. This has resulted
in an increase in attacks on livestock.
This conflict has resulted into many
instances of retaliatory killing of Snow
Leopards by poisoning, snaring or by
other means.
Studies by Mishra et al. in 2003
report about 3-12 per cent annual loss of
livestock holdings in high conflict areas
because of snow leopards and wolves.
Damage to domestic animals causes
great economic loss to poor families
as they are totally dependent on their
livestock for livelihood. In addition,
the difficult landscape allows limited
alternate livelihood opportunities to
local communities.
Compensation schemes in the
Spiti Valley were facing problems
of low compensation rates (620
per cent of market value), time
and costs involved for claiming

compensations and corruption which
discouraged people from applying for
compensation schemes. One cannot
claim compensation for livestock loss in
protected area and it was the technical
problem. Instead of mitigating, the
conflict had led to greater aggression
towards wildlife. This has made Spiti
Valley a high-conflict area between
pastorals and wild predators.
Other challenges
Though Kibber Wildlife Sanctuary

and Pin Valley National Park are
notified protected areas in and
around the Spiti Valley, conservation
in these high altitudes is relatively
neglected. In addition, the protected
area management in these high
altitudes has lack of resources and
trained manpower and absence of
clear boundary demarcation. Thus, it
is nearly impossible to maintain a large
National Park and Sanctuary without
community participation.
Interventions
The Snow Leopard Trust started its

work in India in the beginning of 1998
with Nature Conservation Foundation
(NCF) to conserve the Snow Leopard.
An objective of the programme was
to protect the unique ecosystem of the
Upper Spiti Valley with the help of
local people, without changing their
traditional way of life.
During the early phase of the
programme in 1998, the NCF signed a
contractual agreement with the Kibber
village council for not harming or killing
snow leopards or its prey species and
147
also keeping 1500 ha of nearby areas

free of livestock grazing for a period of
five years for benefit of wild animals.
Compensation was given to villagers
for not using the area. Council itself
assured that animals will not enter into
grazing-free area.
In 2002, a community based,
locally managed livestock insurance
programme was started by NCF in
Kibber village. The main aim of the
programme was to reduce economic
losses due to livestock predation by wild
carnivores by sharing the risk. Villager
needed to deposit premium amount to
secure their livestock. Provision was
also made to give financial rewards
to the better performing herder. By
seeing good response to the livestock
insurance programme, it was expanded
to four more villages in 2006. The
programme then spread to four village
clusters covering 10 settlements and
250 households in Spiti and Ladakh,
insuring over 500 animals. Villagers
have learned to maintain all records
needed for running of the insurance
scheme.
Now, after every kill by carnivores,
herder needs to inform the village
community members, who then
confirm a thumbnail-sized numbered
metal tag on ear as proof of insurance
on the preyed animal. The insurance
body then granted them between Rs
2,500 and Rs 10,000 as compensation
amount, as per norms.
The
administration
and
responsibility of programme is now
totally with the villagers. And, because
of this, there are no fake claims. The SLTNCF contribution for premium in early
stage of programme and judicious use

of funds by villagers has made livestock
insurance programme of Kibber village
self-sustaining within five years.
In addition, the trust also managed
to set aside a 20 square km reserve
near the villages for the endangered
Snow Leopard and its prey. In 2012,
awareness programmes like eco camps
were held in school for 132 children
and 13 teachers, where they learned
about food chains in their local habitats.
Similarly, in 2014, about 20 schools in
the Spiti Valley participated in multiple
educational events.
This project has focused on
participatory processes for planning
and implementation of innovative
conservation programmes, which is
not only confined to wildlife protected
areas but to the entire landscape.
Results of interventions
The Snow Leopard Trust report
(2010) states that Kibber livestock
insurance programme has become selfsustaining because insurance fund had
built surplus year-by-year. Initially,
SLT and NCF were paying 60 per cent
of the premium, but now it is wholly
paid and run by villagers. Five villages
from Spiti Valley have collected a fund
of Rs 24 lakh.
In
2014,
livestock
insurance
programmes areas running successfully
in 7 villages with 115 households and
three villages have established grazingfree reserves for Snow Leopards and its
wild prey.
In 1500 ha area kept free from
grazing, within five years 1998
to 2003 Bharal (Himalayan Blue
Sheep) population increased four-fold
148
and stabilised to approximately 300

individuals. In 2009, roughly 100 ibex
were observed actively using another
reserve area round the year. NGOs,
using 40 research cameras to estimate
Snow Leopard abundance and its prey
populations, found that the Spiti Valley
area was being actively used by Snow
Leopards.
As a result of livestock insurance
and awareness programme in the Spiti
Valley, the attitude of people towards
wildlife has changed. It has resulted in
end of retaliatory killings of carnivores.
Villagers are thus actively participating
in conservation.
The Indian government and NGOs
active for conservation launched
Project Snow Leopard in 2009 to help
this high altitudes flagship species with
its highly endangered populations.
The community-managed livestock
insurance programme has become
a unique role model for planning
and implementation of conservation
strategies in other Snow Leopard areas
of country.
The Snow Leopard Trusts longtime India Director, Dr. Yash Veer
Bhatnagar, has been honoured with the
Wildlife Service Award by Sanctuary
Asia, Indias largest wildlife magazine,

for his exceptional conservation
work in the Spiti Valley and other
Himalayan regions.
The first landscape-level Management Plan for the Upper Spiti
Landscape, including Kibber Wildlife
Sanctuary, has been made by the NCF
team for the Himachal Pradesh Forest
Department. The management plan
was prepared and officially accepted
in October 2011, and it is based on
NCFs long-term research in the Spiti
Valley landscape.
Conclusion
A key factor that brings success

to community-based conservation
efforts like livestock insurance scheme
is dependent on active community
involvement. We can assure active
participation of local people in a
conservation programme by creating
affinity toward wildlife unique to their
land. Sympathy of people towards
wildlife can be maintained by taking
care of their economic loss in the case of
man-animal conflict. This experiment is
worth replicating in other parts of India
where similar kinds of man-animal
conflict is present.
149
CONSERVATION / WEST BENGAL
Red Panda conservation: A captive

breeding initiative by Darjeeling zoo
The Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park has shown that red panda can survive in
a zoo with appropriate maintenance and conservation steps
Trupti A. Nikhate
admaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park also known as Darjeeling zoo, is occurred in the area
of 67.56 acre (23.3 Ha) of land in the
beautiful landscape of Darjeeling city of
west Bengal state. This zoo established
in the year 14th August 1958,earlier it
is known as Himalayan zoo later smt.
Indira Gandhiji gave the name it as Padmaja Naidu Himalayan zoological park
by the governor of West Bengal state in
the year 1975. Appreciable work done
in the field of captive breeding of the
snow leopard, Red panda, and Tibetan

wolves (Himalayan species). This is
only zoo in the country to release captive breed red panda in the wild in the
south East Asia. It is the main centre for
the central zoo Authority of Indias red
panda programme and also member of
the world association of zoos and aquariums. Ex-situ conservation in zoo and
release of red panda in wild is renoved
work done by the Darjeeling zoo.
Red panda scientific name: Ailurus
fulgens, also known as lesser panda,
red bear cat and red cat bear. It is a
small arboreal mammal. native from
150
Himalayas to south western china,

generally feeds on bamboo species but
can also eat insects, eggs (omnivorous).
It is under endangered category of
the IUCN red list. In wild near about
mature 10,000 individual survive in
world. Main threat to the red panda are
Fallowing data shows about the
details of the founder population in
Darjeeling zoo
House
Name
Anita
Basant
Chanda
Divya
Gora
Hari
Indira
Omin
Prity
Stud Book
Number
8221
8649
8222
8648
9305
9302
9330
9404
9430
Sex Date of
Acquisitions
F
Wild
M
Wild
F
Wild
F
Wild
M
10.11.94
M
10.11.94
F
10.11.94
M
25.12.96
F
25.12.96
Red panda births in PNHZP, Darjeeling

Year
No. of
Born
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2
5
6
5
6
7
2
5
1
3
3
0
1
1
2
No. of Litters
(a no. of young
animals born to
an animal)
1
3
3
3
2
3
1
2
1
2
2
0
1
1
1
No. of
Deaths
1
3
2
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
habitat loss, fragmentation, poaching,

& inbreeding depression. Two species
of red panda found in the world one is
Ailurus fulgens, And another is Ailurus
stylani. Ailurus fulgens lives in the
western part of Nepal, Assam, Sikkim,
and Bhutan. Ailurus stylani lives in the
north eastern part of southern china
and northen burma
Discussion
Any breeding programme should

depend upon various things like their
nature, feeding, breeding season &
behaviour also. Ex-situ Conservation of
red panda in Darjeeling zoo is a planned
conservation Breeding project as a part
of global captive breeding master plan
which was initiated in 1990s in that
zoo. Initially the zoo has four red panda
from the wild then they added another
five more red pandas in the breeding
programme from the European zoo to
augument the four wild red panda.
For this conservation breeding
programme the Padmaja Naidu Zoo
done the unique record keeping activity
which includes
1) Stud
book
Maintenance:
It
includes the information like Taxon
name, number, current status, in
vital statistics sex, age and origin
information are incorporated ,birth
type, birth location, birth date all this
detailed information are included in
it for future management it became
very fruitful.
2) Animal history card: In animal
history card they include information
of the red panda like name, sex,
scientific name, distinguishing mark,
habitat, parentage, vernacular name,
151
in acquisition category they include

information like how and from
where acquired, when acquired and
birth date, age on arrival, size and
weight on arrival,
3) Veterinary treatment card
4) Individual treatment file
5) Animal deworming card
6) Animal vaccination card
7) Animal tranquilization card
8) Animal operation card
9) Animal feeding card
10) Beat(daily) report
Conclusion
The greatest achievement is in the

year 20/6/1994 when the two red panda
mainly named Ekta and friend born
two the Basant and Amita those two are
from the wild origin (in zoo) and when
the another red panda female which
was released in the wild she mate with
wild male and gave birth to an cub in

2003-2004 in Singalila National park.
From this achievements we can say
that this type of conservation activity in
modern era helpful for the conservation
and reintroduction of the endangered
species in its natural habitat and zoo
like PNHZP play crucial role in that
programme.
Another zoo also adopt this technique
for their local species conservation
E.g. from this success gangtok zoo
also initiate the conservation breeding
programme for the red pandas with the
help of central government
National exchange of the red panda
from zoo to zoo and zoo to national park
or in their natural habitat increases.
Will the red panda survive in zoo?
and the answer shows by the PNHZP
yes they survive with appropriate
maintenance and conservation.
152
FORESTRY / MAHARASHTRA
Successful wildlife management

practices
Given the improved availability of food and water, the floral and faunal biodiversity
is totally changed in Gugamal National Park
Vidhya P. Vasav
ildlife management is a
science that relates to the
art of making decisions and
taking actions to balance the needs of
wildlife with the structure, dynamics
and relations of population, habitats,
and people. There are essentially two
kinds of management approaches
active and passive. Active management
implies taking positive measures,
increasing herbivore populations by
creating grassland, ensuring distribu-
tion of herbivores in summers by

creating waterholes, and so on. Passive
management entails prevention of
certain actions or letting the natural
process take its own course, promoting
natural succession of vegetation and not
interfering with the natural occurrence
of fire. The present case study discusses
the successful practices taken by the
forest department to achieve goals
of wildlife management in Gugamal
National Park.
Gugamal National Park with an area
of 361.28 sq.km is a core area of Melghat
Map of Gugamal National park
SFS batch 2014-16
153
Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra. The park

area is comes under Gugamal Wildlife
Forest Division Paratwada. This park
comprises four ranges, i.e. Chikhaldara,
Dhakana, Tarubanda and Harisal.
In active wildlife management, the
first step taken by the forest department was the rehabilitation of villages.
The villages situated in the core areas
of Gugamal National Park are Kund,
Koha, Virat and Churni. The main populations in these villages are Koraku and
Gavali communities and they mainly
depend on forest for their bonafide and
domestic needs. In order to reduce the
dependency of these inhabitants on the
forest, the villages in the core areas of
the park were rehabilitated phase wise.
After there habilitation work,
meadow development was done for
the replacement of invasive species by
palatable grasses in rehabilitated areas.
The five sites were selected for meadow
development such as Vairat (50 ha.),
Kund (30 ha), Koha (45 ha), Belkund (20
ha) and Churni (50 ha). The seed plot
was established at Vairat to serve as a

seed bank for meadow development.
In this seed plot, 18-20 types of grasses
were planted such as Themedatriandra,
Apludamutica, Hetropogoncontortus, etc.
The seeds of grasses collected from
this seed plot were spread in natural
meadow areas. The various operations
carried out by department for the
grassland development in the above
mentioned sites are detailed in Table 1.
Another important activity undertaken was soil and moisture conservation work, including creation of artificial waterholes and salt licks. The soil
and moisture conservation work was
done from March to May and included
construction of Gabion structures, artificial waterholes, earthen dam and so on.
(Table 2). The department carried out
soil and moisture conservation work at
each meadow development site. This
helped to increase availability of food,
water and space for wild animal.
One of the other most important
activities undertaken by the forest
Table 1: Month-wise operations to be carried out for grassland development

S.No.
Month
Work detail
May
Earth work and barbed wire fencing to seed plot was done
June
After first shower, seeds of palatable grasses collected from seed

plot were spread in the natural meadow areas
July & August
First weeding was carried out. The shoots were collected from
seed plot and planted in natural meadow areas.
September &
October
Second weeding was done and seeds collection from seed plot
was carried out.
November
&December
Third weeding and seeds collection from seed plot was done
October, November
& December
Lantana eradication by manual uprooting method was done.
June to July
Seeds collected from seed plot were stored in gunny bags.
154

Planting of new shoots of grasses in natural meadow area
Grassland development area
department for wildlife management

was silage-making. The silage operation
was done in the month of November
when the grasses have 20-30 percent
moisture content. First, a pit of 5m
depth, 5m wide was dug. It was then
covered with the help of polythene
sheet. The grasses were bunched and
placed in the pit to make a layer of
about 1 feet. A jaggery solution was
spread above the layer of grass. Another
layer of grasses is added followed by
the jaggery solution. This procedure is
repeated till the pit is full.
The pit is covered in an air tight
manner with another polythene
sheet. The jaggery solution act as a

preservative and increases the nutrient
value of grass. In the summer season,
when herbivores face a scarcity of grass,
these grass bunches can be taken out of
the pit and spread along the waterholes.
In terms of passive wildlife management, the department undertook
the creation of firelines in February
and March. A 40 m fire line for division boundary, 30 m fire line for range
boundary, 12m fire line for round
boundary and 6m fire line for beat
boundary were created.
The forest division has prepared a
patrolling schedule for the forest staff
155

Table 2: Detail of soil and moisture conservation work.
Sr. No
Soil and Moisture conservation

Structures
Location of
structure
Number of Structures
constructed
Gabion structures
Belkund
10
Vairat
24
Artificial waterholes & creation of salt

licks
Belkund
Vairat
Kund
Koha
Kund
Vairat
Earthen dam
Pit of size 5mX 5m
Spreading of polythene sheets
156

Spreading of jaggary solution
Prepared silage
and establishment of 10 permanent

patrolling protection camps in the
park. Each protection camp has one
forest guard and 3 forest labours on
daily duty who halt at the camp for
the night. These 10 patrolling camps
are Chatiburda, Bandarkau, Banam,
SipanaKhandi, Gugaamal, Rajdevbaba,

Vairat, Chikhaldara, Gobara and
Sadhukundi. The forest staff in
these camps undertook daily camp
patrolling as per scheduled routes,
pug impressions and pad creation for
wildlife count, waterholes desiltation
157

The results of this successful wildlife management practice is reflected in the
increase in wildlife population (see table).
sambar
Barking
deer
Wild boar
langur
Bison
Peacock
Jungle fowl
Wild dog
Total
2012-13 23
94
44
79
208
90
50
29
621
2013-14 18
166
81
108
217
143
63
40
845
year
Sloth bear
Tiger
Name of animal
2014-15 28
39
168
79
67
218
194
78
41
18
930
2015-16 34
45
190
89
82
269
350
91
57
22
1229
and increasing capacity of waterholes,

and collection and recording of data on
direct and indirect signs of wildlife.
For preventing wildlife poaching,
they carry out litmus test of waterholes
every day and use magnetic detector
during patrolling to detect poaching
traps by magnetic detector. On a
monthly basis, local peoples interaction
and information about poachers is
sought through EDCs.
The success of this work has been
the significant increase in the number
of herbivores. Now the movement

of carnivores is easily ascertained in
the park and remain inside the park
because of greater prey availability and
reduced man-animal conflict. Invasive
weed species have reduced as has soil
erosion. The percolation of drain water
has improved following the soil and
moisture conservation work. Given
the improved availability of food and
water, the floral and faunal biodiversity
is totally changed thanks to the effective
wildlife management practices.
158
WILDLIFE / Assam
Saving the whole genus from extinction

The successful re-introduction of Pygmy Hog into the wild can become a model that
can be replicated in various parts of the country
Shinde Kondiba Baburao
ecently, while awarding the

Harry Messel award to Dr
Goutam
Narayan,
IUCNs
Species
Survival
Commission
acknowledged his dedicated research
of two decades on Pygmy Hog and for
saving the whole genus from extinction
through conservation breeding.
Till 1995, when Dr Narayan became
interested in Pygmy Hog, all efforts of
conservation of this rare species were
futile. The accidental re-discovery in
1971 of Pygmy Hog by a tea planter, J
Tessier-Yadell, in the tea garden market
near Barnandi Reserve Forest of North
Assam, led to the first attempt of captive
breeding of this species in a tea estate and
Guwahati Zoo. Subsequently, in 1985,
IUCNs Pigs and Peccaries Specialist
Group (PPSG), at the invitation of
Ministry of Environment and Forests
(MoEF) formulated a conservation
action plan for Pygmy Hog. But, it
remained unapproved due to political
unrest in the region and motivational
problems till 1995.
The Pygmy Hog Conservation
Programme (PHCP) was started in
1995 under a formal International
Conservation
Management
and
Research Agreement first of its kind

in India between the Assam State
Forest Department, the Durrell Wildlife
Conservation Trust (DWCT), PPSG and
the MoEF. The main objective of this
consortium was to conserve Pygmy
Hog through captive breeding and
grassland ecosystem management.
Pygmy Hog is rarest and one of
the two critically endangered suids in
the world. It is an evolutionary relic
and the only representative of the
Porcula genus. The body size, ears,
short medial false hooves, absence of
characteristic tail, tusk and construction
of nest and its year-round use by both
sexes, distinguish it from the related
genus Sus.
The historical distribution of Pygmy
Hog was a narrow strip of tall alluvial
grasslands from North Uttar Pradesh
to Assam, through terai region of
Himalayan foothills both in India and
Nepal and the Bengal duars. Presently,
it has lost most of its range to human
migration and its only viable wild
population is surviving in the Manas
National Park and two re-introduced
populations in Sonai Rupai Wildlife
Sanctuary and Orang National Park.
Though omnivorous, it mainly
feed on grasses and its very survival
159
is depend on grasslands which

provide it place to hide, build a nest,
water and protection from flood. The
decline in population of Pygmy Hog
is attributed to loss and degradation of
grasslands due to human habitations,
agriculture expansion, indiscriminate
fire, contagious disease spread from
livestock and faulty wildlife habitat
management practices such as tree
plantations in grasslands and dry grass
burning in summer coinciding with
the farrowing season. Therefore, the
Pygmy Hog is a sensitive indicator
species which highlights the threatened
habitat of the region on which other
species such as Rhino, Swamp Deer,
Wild Buffaloes, Hispid Hare and Bengal
Florican also depend for their survival.
Captive Breeding
The first custom-built research and

captive breeding centre for the Pygmy
Hog was constructed at Basistha, near
Guwahati, the Capital of Assam, in
1995. The following year, six wild hogs
(2 males, 4 females) were captured from
the Manas National Park and kept in this
centre for captive breeding. The care was
taken to capture pregnant sows, so that
the heterogeneous population could be
built for future breeding programme
without going for capture from the
wild, which was time-consuming and
a daunting task. Simultaneously, five
more wild hogs were captured for radio
telemetry study and released back at
capture site.
The three sows, out of four, produced
13 piglets (7 males, 6 females) in the same
year, out of which 12 survived. In 1997,
seven more litters were born, raising the
total number to 35, an increase of 580

per cent from the founder population.
However, seven sub-adults and adults
succumbed to death, out of which six
to multiple bacterial infections. Another
22 piglets were added from five litters
in 1998. The year 1999 witnessed
another disease outbreak at the centre,
claiming several young ones due to
piglet diarrhea, and added 11 piglets
from five litters. With the addition of
14 piglets in 2000, the total population
of the centre rose to 65. This was the
unprecedented success of the Pygmy
Hog captive breeding programme
so far. But, owing to short gestation
period and large litter size, population
had increased rapidly and created an
accommodation problem in the centre.
Later, more extension enclosures were
added to accommodate the growing
population and quarantine facility had
been constructed to take care of possible
disease outbreaks.
Till 2001, the captive population
had risen to 77, a 13-fold increase in
six years of the programme. From 2001
to 2007, the rigorous measures were
taken to stabilise the population and to
maintain the genetic heterozygosity in
the population through DNA studies
at CCMB, Hyderabad. Around 70 adult
hogs were maintained in the captivity
till 2007 and, in 2008, decision was taken
to re-introduce about 12 hogs every
year into the wild.
Re-introduction
With successful captive breeding, the

next step to achieve the ultimate goal
of the programme was to re-introduce
captive bred hogs into the wild. For re-
160
introduction, extensive studies were

carried out to locate probable sites in
Assam and three sites, namely Sonai
Rupai Wildlife Sanctuary, Nameri
National Park and Orang National
Park, were finalised. Efforts were
taken to restore the grasslands at these
sites before the release by site-specific
management
interventions,
such
as controlling indiscriminate grass
burning and livestock grazing. Besides,
the pre-release centre with a holding pen
and three pre-release enclosures with
simulated grassland were established
at Potasali, in Nameri Tiger Reserve,
as part of the soft-release process. The
hogs to be released were encouraged to
feed naturally and their supplementary
diet reduced to one-fourth of their daily
requirement gradually.
The first batch of three social groups
16 captive bred hogs (7 males, 9 females)
were released in Galgeli grassland of
Sonai Rupai Wildlife Sanctuary in May
2008. Two more batches, consisting of 9
and 10 captive-bred hogs, were released
in the same grassland in 2009 and
2010, respectively. The reintroduced
hogs were monitored using field signs
(droppings, foraging marks, nests, etc.)
and video camera traps. A total of 35 (18
males, 17 females) hogs were released in
the Sonai Rupai Wildlife Sanctuary. All
of them are surviving there. Another 8
social groups, consisting 39 hogs (18
males, 21 females) were released in

grasslands of Orang National Park in
2011, 2012 and 2013. Thus, the PHCP
has so far released 74 captive bred
hogs into wild at two sites, 12 times
the founder population. The next
site decided for the release is Barnadi
Wildlife Sactuary, where the Pygmy
Hogs were re-discovered in 1971.
Wild capture
Maintaining
heterozygosity
is
crucial for sustenance of any captive
breeding programme and PHCP was no
exception. As the founder population of
PHCP was small (only 6 hogs) there was
chance of in-breeding in the population,
even though the management had
taken due care to avoid it through DNA
studies. So, 3 more wild hogs (1 male, 2
females) were captured from Bansbari
Range of the Manas National Park
and introduced in Potasali Centre for
future breeding.
Conclusion
In India, focus of wildlife

management so far is on conserving
big animals with intent of ecosystem
conservation. Thereby, conservation of
small creatures has not yielded desired
results. The PHCP is, therefore, a shift
in our perception of importance of
few flagship species to every species
in ecosystem.
161
WILDLIFE / MADHYA PRADESH
Re-introduction of Swamp Deer

The resurrection of the Barasingha from near extinction is one of the most successful
stories of wildlife conservation in the world
Bharat Solanki
he Hard-Ground Barasingha,
a handsome swamp deer, was
rescued from the brink of
extinction within Kanha National Park,
and is one of Indias most successful
conservation stories. In 1970, the
population fell into decline and was
reduced to just 66 animals as a result of
habitat loss, infectious disease and over
predation by tigers. As a result, a major
conservation programme was launched
in an effort to curb the rapid losses of
this species.
The Hard-Ground Barasingha found
in Madhya Pradesh are recognised as a
sub-species of the nominate species of
Swamp Deer (Cervusduvaucelibranderi). This species was systematically
described for the first time by R.I. Pocock (the famous British mammologist, who also coined the species name
branderi after A.A. Dunber Brander, a
British forest officer).This majestic species belongs to the family Cervidae. It is
called Barasingha because of its twelve
antlers which are conspicuous in males
only. Also the state animal of Madhya
Pradesh, the Hard-Ground Barasingha
is a vulnerable species as listed in the
IUCN Category list.
The species was earlier distributed

throughout India, Nepal, Pakistan and
Bangladesh (as shown in the map). Currently, the population of this species is
restricted only to the Kanha Tiger Reserve because of alteration, fragmentation and degradation of its habitat.
The Barasingha is a specialised feeder,
consuming just a few grass species like
Themedatriandra, Saccharumspontaneum, Vetiveriazizanioides, Iseilimalaxum, which are found in the meadows
of Kanha. The population also dwindled
due to illegal hunting on account of the
medicinal value of its antlers.
The Hard-Ground Barasingha is
one of three recognised species of
Swamp Deer: The TaraiBarasingha
(Cervusduvauceliduvauceli) is found in
the foothills of the Himalyas (Gangetic
plains), mainly in the DudhwaTiger
Reserve while the Eastern Swamp
Deer (Cervusduvaucelirangitsinghi)
is found in the swampy grasslands of
North-East India.
It is a totally graminivorous species
and because of this grasslands are
crucial for its survival. The species
also prefers open areas of marshes,
grasslands
and
woodland
with
understory. The hot season is a tough
time for the Barasingha and thats why
162

The map shows the enclosures used in the KTR.
they need frequent access to swamps to

dip its muzzle, drink water and wade
several times in a day.
Barasingha were observed for the
first time in January 1863 by Captain
James Forsyth in Halon valley of Kanha
and near Panchmarhi.
Kanha Tiger Reserve is situated in
the Maikal Hills which constitute the
eastern segments of the Satpura Hills
inthe Narmada river basin in Central
India. This park stretches from 220
02 to 220 27Nlatitude and 800 26 to
810 03 E longitude. According to WII,
this area comes under geographic
zone, 6E-Deccan Peninsula of Central
high lands. Kanha consists of a core
zone (940 sq km.) and buffer zone
(1009 sq. km.).
In 1938, the Forest Department
estimated the population of the
Barasingha to be 3038 in Kanha
National Park. By 1970, the population
drastically declined to 66 by 1970.
The major reasons responsible for the
dwindling Barasingha population were
identified as follows:
Inbreeding depression
Degradation and fragmentation of
habitat
Natural calamities and epidemics
Man-made changes like construction
works, fire protection works, unremoval of invasive species, etc.
Experience has been shown that
little food and relatively poor cover will
be available for wild herbivores if the
dense forest is cut down. Therefore, the
Kanha management took the first step
towards conservation of species through
relocation of villages from the national
park so that they could able to improve
and manage grasslands to support for
foraging, dispersal and multiplication
of swamp deer.
Inside Kanha National Park

The Park management fenced an
area of about 28 ha by making and
erecting a chain-link enclosure. The area
included habitats of grasslands, water
bodies, wallows and small groves of sal
163
trees. There, they kept five Barasingha

for multiplication, with the hope of
increasing the population. By 1979,the
population gradually increased up
to 20. Motivated by this success, the
Park management authority erected
another fence in the Supkhar range
and eight Barasingha were translocated
to the range in 1981. Thereafter, insitu enclosure areas of Kanha were
expanded up to 50 ha. In this enclosure,
deer respond very positively and the
Barasingha numbers reached 84. by the
end of October 2010.
In this way, unbelievable work was
done by the management authority
of the Kanha Tiger Reserve and this
showed significant results (see Tables
1 & 2).
Translocation from Kanha

The population in the KTR was
facing inbreeding depression due to the
restriction on the gene flow. There was
Table 1
YEAR
1960-65
1988
1996
2003
2015
TOTAL
INDIVIDUALS
66
535
308
321
600
REMARKS
Banajar valley
concern that due to natural calamities,

epidemics, inbreeding depression this
species may be extinct from the wild.
Therefore,it was felt that the only way
to ensure long-term survival was to
translocate/re-introduce the species
to a suitable habitat. The ensuing
search found two suitable habitat,
i.e. Satpura Tiger Reserve (STR) and
Van Vihar National Park. The Field
Director, KTR, was deputed to prepare
and submit a detailed protocol for
the pre-capture preparation, capture
operation, transportation and release of
the animals to Van Vihar National Park
and STR. They decided three objectives
for this operation:
1) To establish gene pool
2)
To
spread
awareness
about
conservation
3) To establish a protocol for reintroduction of Swamp Deer
Inspired by the South African capture and translocation technique, the
boma method was employed to capture
the Barasingha (see box). Besides, a
large transportation truck was customised to carry 15-20 animals comfortably. The truck was closely linked to a
ramp camouflaged with plastered soil
and grass to make it look natural to the
animals. In this way, the transportation
truck, the ramp and the chute of the
Table 2: Population of three Species

S.N.
YEAR
TOTAL INDIVIDUALS
REMARKS
1978
1999-2000
700
400-500
Eastern swamp deerR. d. ranjitsinhi
1988
1999-2000
500
300-350
Southern swamp deerR. d. branderi
1990
2000-2003
1500-2000
2170(with 350 springs)
Western swamp deerR. d. duvauceli
164
boma became one composite structure

at the capture site. This structure was
installed several days before the actual
capture operation in the field so that the
animals could get habituated to its presence and could freely enter and exit it.
On January 8, 2015, seven animals
were successfully captured, transported
and released in the Van Vihar National
Park, Bhopal.
The habitat in Satpura Tiger
Reserve is similar to that found in
Kanha and therefore suitable for
Barasingha. STR was known to have
had a Barasingha population in the
past as well. The permission to capture
and translocate 20 Barasingha was
given by the technical committee of the
Government of India in January 2015.
The first eight animals were captured
and transported on March 3, and
another eight on March 15. Four other
animals were translocated a little later.
At that time, Kanha had a Barasingha
population of around 600 animals. The
reintroduced animals were kept in a

specially designed enclosure in STR
for future multiplication and gradual
release into the wild.
Successful
re-introduction
of
Barasingha has shown the way for
all other endangered and vulnerable
species. Steps for intensive protection
and conservation should be taken
immediately so that their extinction
can stop.
Boma structure
165
The word boma is a South African

term for capture-enclosures or large
cages. It consisted of a wide funnel
tapering into an animal selectioncum-loading chute. The main structure of the boma was made of steel
sections (2.5 m height and 3 m long)
but the wings of the funnel were
extended with the help of chain-link
fence supported with grass mats to
make it opaque for animals.

Vehicle attached to Boma
Animals in the enclosure
166
WILDLIFE / West Bengal
Managing human-tiger conflict in

Sundarbans Tiger Reserve
Nylon net fencing has helped check instances of tiger straying into fringe villages,
significantly reducing the conflict rate
Shrikant Subhash Pawar
undarbans, the estuarine phase

of Ganga and Brahmaputra river
systems, is known for its mangrove
forest and tigers. This forest is the only
such ecological habitat of the tiger. The
typical littoral forest of the Sundarbans
comprises tree species adapted to the
peculiar estuarine condition of high
salinity, lack of soil erosion and daily
inundation by high tides.
Background
Ferocious and man-eating behaviour

of the Sundarbans tiger has been a great
problem. This happens as a result of
-STR Created in 1973.
-Total geographic area 2585 Km2.
-Forest Sub group 4B tidal swamp
forest.
True Mangrove species = 26.
Mangrove associates = 29.
Back mangrove species= 29.
Fish species = 364,
Mammals species= 47.
Insect species= 114,
Birds species = 234.
either an attack on the villagers entering

the forest or by the tiger straying into
human habitation. Millions of people
living in the vicinity of forest depend
on the Sundarbans ecosystem for their
livelihood because it has rich diversity
of aquatic and terrestrial flora and
fauna and millions get their livelihood
through fishing, collection of honey and
fuelwood/timber.
The man-eating behaviour of
Sundarbans tiger does not have any
intra-specific or intra-generic similarity
with any of the Panthera species from
anywhere in the world. The various
groups of persons falling victim to the
tiger includes fishermen, crab collectors,
Tigers - 400
Famous for their amphibious life.
Both terrestrial as well as aquatic
food web.
Swimming has led to changed food
habits (fish, crabs, water monitor
lizards).
Uniqueness of habitat causes certain
behavioral trends, which are unique.
Their behaviour is highly individual
specific.
167
honey collectors, tiger prawn seed

collectors and even Forest Department
staff.
Reasons behind the man-eating
behaviour of Sundarban Tigers are:
Salinity: Human deaths by tiger in
high salinity zone are higher than the
zone of medium and low salinity
Siddiqi & Chowdhury (1987).
Ceriops & Phoneix vegetation:
Dense vegetation of Ceriops & Phoneix
forces the tiger to explore different
preying strategy, which may be
successful killing of human being after
following them Chakrabarty (1978).
Biotic interference & prey density:
Biotic interference and prey density
causes high human deaths Deodatus
& Ahmed (2002).
Straying of tiger into fringe villages:

The major issue in managing humantiger conflict in STR is the straying of
tiger into fringe villages.
Control measures for humantiger conflict
There is no village inside the Tiger

Reserve. Outside the Reserve, there
are more than 1,000 villages within the
Sundarbans area, out of which around
100 villages are very close to the Reserve
at its northern and north-western
fringe, which are densely populated
with people and cattle. Here, we can
say that not only the excessive human
interferences, but also the straying
of tigers into these fringe villages is
the reason of man-animal conflict in
Villagers wear face masks on the back of their heads to confuse the tigers, who prefer to
attack from behind.
Nylon net fencing in Sundarban tiger
168
Sundarbans Tiger Reserve. The staff

and local villagers use different ways to
drive the tiger back to the forest, such
as drums, crackers, fire, trap cage with
live bait and tranquilisation. Sometimes
no interventions are needed; tiger goes
back to the forest on its own. However,
the process of rescuing a strayed
tiger is very difficult in STR because
of difficulties in transportation and
crowd management. As the capture
and release is difficult to carry out,
preventive measures have to be thought
out so that can avoid the straying of
tigers could be avoided.
Up to some extent, dependency of
people over forest can be minimised
by giving them alternate livelihood
opportunities, but they cant be totally
stopped from entering the forest. On
the other hand, straying of tiger can be
prevented by fencing the boundaries
of vulnerable forest areas by nylon
net. Using Avicennia posts along the
forest fringe have been found to be
very effective for the last ten years
There are some psychological things
which keeps away the tigers from the
human and found to be very effective,
such as electric human dummies and
tiger masks. But the straying of tigers
into nearby villages is successfully
prevented through nylon net fencing.
These fencings last about three
years. Earlier, nylon net fencing with
Avicennia posts was practiced. Now
it is planned to be replaced by RCC
posts and bamboo to reduce Avicennia
cutting and recurring expenditure.
Recent observations reveal that tigers
have started negotiating the 8-feet high
fence by jumping over them. The use of
RCC posts and bamboo pole can also

help to erect the fencing at a height of 1012 feet. The mesh size is 4x4 to avoid
any strangulation of wild animal like
deer. Till 2012, more than 50 km of forest
fringes had been fenced. To restrict entry
inside the forest, patrolling activities
are strengthened. No unauthorised
persons are allowed inside the protected
area. This reduces chances of possible
conflicts and tiger attacks.
Nylon nets are checked for its height
(8 feet minimum) and the height of Khal
guard has be maintained at least 5 feet
above the highest tidal level estimated
for Kotal period. If the net is found
to be brittle or the posts of the fencing
are found to be rotting at the base, they
should be immediately changed after
bringing it to the notice of the concerned
authority.
Results
The data till 2010 clearly shows that

the conflict has reduced considerably
after 1990. Before the year 2000, every
year human deaths used to touch
double figures. After 2000, the efforts
became more integrated and the
situation has significantly improved.
At the same time, it is seen that cases
of tiger straying into the fringe villages
has reduced considerably after 1998-99.
This trend is continuing till now.
Conclusion
Sundarbans Tiger Reserve has been

facing human disturbances, but it has
one of the highly unique ecosystem
with great biodiversity value. If we
want to conserve this mangrove habitat,
then the survival of the tiger is very
169
Abstract of tiger straying & human killing in Sundarbans Tiger Reserve

Year
Frequency of
tiger straying
1998-99
37
1999-00
32
2000-01
27
2001-02
21
2002-03
15
2003-04
13
2004-05
14
2005-06
02
2006-07
11
2007-08
11
2008-09
12
2009-10
14
Person killed / Injured by Tiger

(Report based on STR)
Report based on other
sources-RCHP, Gosaba and
NGOs
Year Died Injured
Year
Died
Injured
1990-91 43
8
1990-91
53
10
1992-93 34
5
1992-93
40
05
1994-95 05
1994-95
16
02
1996-97 02
2
1996-97
06
03
1998-99 02
2
1998-99
21
02
2000-01 15
4
2000-01
40
03
2002-03 14
2002-03
02
2004-05 02
2004-05
2006-07
2006-07
2008-09 09
2008-09
01
2009-10 08
1
2009-10
04
02
(Source: Tiger conservation plan of Sundarbans Ttiger Reserve, 2012).
important. For achieving this objective,

the management of the Sundarbans
Tiger Reserve has to resolve the humantiger conflict.
The high dependency of local people
on forest is responsible for the maneating behaviour among the tigers.
There are limitations in reducing the

dependency on forest. Enforcement
of law and creation of alternative
livelihood options for the fringe forest
dwellers are some ways to reduce forest
dependency and, ultimately, human
and tiger deaths.
170
WILDLIFE / nagaland
Longleng: New capital for Amur Falcons

A village community in Nagaland shows how successful conservation is
possible without sponsors from any source
D. Rameshwaran
mur Falcon (Falco amurensis) is

an annual migratory bird of the
falcon family. During OctoberNovember, winter sets in the northern
hemisphere. To avoid this extreme
climate, Amur Falcons migrate to the
southern hemisphere, particularly to
the southern African countries where
summer sets in that time. Life is more
comfortable there due to availability of
abundant food (insects). For this, Amur
Falcons undertake long flight and cover
a distance of around 22,000 km during
their onward and backward migration.
During migration, they stop at
several places in the north-eastern part
of India, like Mizoram, Assam, Manipur
and Nagaland. The primary roosting
sites are found in Wokha, Longleng,
Peren, Dimapur, Pheu, Zanheboto and
Mokokchung areas in Nagaland.
In Nagaland, the majority of people
(90 per cent) belong to the tribal
community. In the past, they were
dependent on hunting, gathering and
subsistence agriculture for livelihood.
After the 19th century, their main
occupation has been agriculture. But,
due to insurgency and disturbed
conditions in recent times, low-level
traditional hunting turned into a much

more destructive practice. Due to poor
socio-economic condition, they started
harvesting Amur Falcons on a largescale and sold them in the market.
In 2012, Conservation India, a
Bangalore-based NGO, prepared a
report about the mass-scale killing of
Amur Falcons in the Doyang catchment
area. This report invited attention of
conservationist at the national as well
as international level for protecting
these migratory birds. India, being a
signatory party to the Convention on
Migratory Species (CMS), is bound to
prevent this massacre and provide safe
passage to this species. So, the Indian
government took action by joining
hands with the state forest department,
NGOs and other stakeholders to
protect these birds. Their efforts to
create awareness alongwith timely
enforcement of law and introduction of
livelihood improvement programmes
changed the attitude of people and
they converted from hunters to
conservationist. As a result, no killing
of birds was reported in 2013. All these
changes occurred within one year and
improved the eco-tourism potential of
that area.
Following the success of conservation
2014-16 Batch, CASFOS, Dehradun
171
in the Doyang catchment area, an area

in the Longleng district of Nagaland,
which is managed by a village
community called Yaongyimchen
Community
Biological-Diversity
Conservation Area (YCBDCA), was
in the news last year (2015) for three
reasons. First, is the presence of new
species named Snow White Amur
Falcon, which resembles the Gyr
Falcon living on the Arctic Ocean coast
and had never earlier been reported in
the area. Second, some Amur Falcons
remain there throughout the year
without undertaking return migration,
and, third, Amur Falcons, which earlier
roosted in Wokha district, particularly
in the Pangti area, now selected this
conservation area for roosting.
YCBDCA is wholly managed by the
village community. This area covers
hundreds of hectares of forest areas
of Nyangchi, Awakung, Owa and
Akchang. The initiative was taken by
villagers of Yaongyimchen, Alayong
and Sanglu community in 2010. The
village community is working tirelessly
without sponsors from the government
or any other source for the protection of
Amur Falcon. This has been successful
mainly because of the efforts of Y
Naklu Phom, Executive Secretary of the
Phom Baptist Church Association and
Convenor, Lensachenlok (name of the
village committee).
Awareness and restrictions imposed
by the district administration are the
two main reasons for the successful
conservation of Amur Falcons in
the community conservation area.
Awareness was created by the adoption
of a resolution by the village community
during the Citizens General meeting in

2009, where they decided to make the
conservation and preservation concept
more relevant to the community. This
sensitised the entire community and led
to the establishment of YCBDCA. The
village community is now also deploying
five to seven volunteers everyday to
roam around the conservation area
for giving protection to the roosting
site. For further protection, the district
administration has issued an order to
all the village councils to get involved
in the conservation process as per the
Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. The order
also states that if any village failed to
protect this migratory bird, strict action
will be taken by withholding the Village
Development Board (VDB) funds.
As a result of these efforts, the
number of Amur Falcons visiting the
area increased four to five times (not
less than two lakh birds) in 2015, in
comparison to previous years. These
efforts are also attracting different wild
species to this area due to the increased
availability of food and protection.
Above all, it has given a fillip to
ecotourism in this area.
The community of Yaongyimchen
has now taken initiative to construct
a watch-tower near the roosting
sites for the visitors to see the birds.
The community is also providing
accommodation facilities in the
conservation area as well as in the
village alongwith local food to guests
with an aim to promote Eating Fresh
and Living Fresh.
Yaongyimchen community has now
become the role model for the entire
country. It has shown that sponsorship
172
or financial support is not the criteria

for successful conservation. The only
need is to understand the value of
the environment and tireless efforts
from the entire community to bring
positive change.
It is very clear that conservation
through village community is very

effective and has proved that no
alternative can match this. Now the
role of the government is to give
moral support to the community and
take this success story to other parts of
the country.
173
Forestry / Karnataka
Huli, a boon for wildlife, habitat

and conflict management
An indigenous web-based application software in BTR has effectively helped in
monitoring patrolling activities, wildlife, habitat and man-animal conflicts
Ganesh R Randive
orest management deals with

wildlife management, habitat
management
and
conflict
management. Issues of poaching,
illicit felling, encroachment, habitat
fragmentation, fire, mining, grazing,
etc., are big concerns in protection and
conservation today. However, the use
of modern technology, like camera
traps, hand held GPS, DGPS, etc., has
helped monitor this.
Watchers,
or
foot-patrolling
persons, are the basic backbone in
any conservation effort. This antipoaching camp gives the accurate
picture on the ground of threats to the
habitat. Anti-poaching camps, during
their day monitoring, collect detailed
information on sighting, pugmarks,
scats and any other observation of
habitat disturbance. But, they could not
transfer this data to senior officials. For
proper management, we need to get
this information daily and accurately.
The forest department of Karnataka,
understanding this problem, came up
with indigenous web-based application
software, Huli. Before Huli, there were
no means for monitoring the patrolling

carried out by anti-poaching camps.
The project Huli was started on
March 1, 2011, on a pilot basis in BTR
by the Karnataka Forest Department.
Huli effectively monitors foot patrol
staff of anti-poaching camp of the BTR
tiger reserve and is useful in wildlife,
habitat and conflict management. It
gives complete information date,
time and geographical information.
The recording system of the app helps
in recording the sounds and video of
wildlife on the field and also makes
it own remarks. Huli is an innovative
tool and an administrator sitting
anywhere can log on and get complete
day-to-day information. It has helped
in real time monitoring and increased
accountability of the staff. It identifies
the location with geo-coordinate data
where critical measures need to be
taken for habitat management. The
main motive of Huli was to effectively
monitor patrolling of anti-poaching
camps (APC), patrolling forces, wildlife
habitat and illegal activities, and mananimal conflicts. Some other goals
were to identify corridors for wildlife
management and decision-making and
2014-16 Batch, SFS
174
to find direct and indirect evidences on

repository of wildlife.
The field staff of APC of BTR carried
GPS-uploaded PDAs during patrolling.
They log the location of animal sighted,
scratches on the trees, pug mark, scat,
and indirect and direct evidences of
wildlife they have seen. Their complete
route is tracked and, at the end of the
day, the watchers transfer the data from
device to computer. Using cellphone
boosters, they send the data to a
centralised location where data from
different APCs of BTR is collected. This
develops a complete patrol map. The
complete observation of the day can be
seen remotely on the net. The BTR APC
has been provided with the power backup which lasts for 6 days and cellphone
signal booster are provided to see that
they have enough connectivity.
Huli has been very useful in tracking
the movement of tigers, elephants
and other animals. It has helped in
coordinating the movements of APC,
foresters, forest observers and guards
with the help of GPS. The actual
location of the field staff can now
be monitored. The watchers log the
location of each sighting of tiger, herds
of prey, scat, encroachment, cooking
fire, etc., and enter the data. This data
is simultaneously entered in the Huli
software. Simple graphic-user interface
enables the forest watcher, tribal or any
illiterate person to log his details. This
is consolidated to derive monthly data,
which helps in giving the picture of
ecosystem dynamics, habitat, wildlife
sighting, movement of tigers, elephants
or herbivores like deer, gaur and
helps in pinpointing any disturbance
to the habitat by poachers or grazers.

Once the data is generated, it helps to
identify sensitive points where major
patrolling measures need to be taken.
It also helps in understanding the corelation between the prey base and tiger
population in BTR to take important
and major steps to monitor it.
The Huli has also been found to be a
boon in the management of man-animal
conflict. The conflict management app
system caters to online registration of
complaints and their inspection in this
regard. The public can download this
application by using APK file. When
a man-animal conflict occurs, they can
report it directly to the department.
This application facilitates real-time
reporting and submission of complaints
or grievances. The information is
received in the form of videos, photos
and geo-tags. The status of the request
can be tracked and this helps in conflict
management.
This app is user friendly and is
available in English and local languages
with pictorial information. It can be
used as a diary. It tracks and records the
events completely. This app has helped
in using traditional and indigenous
knowledge of tribes, and thus, in
wildlife and habitat management.
The offline mode of data collection is
another advantage which overcomes
the problem faced by foresters in remote
localities. Login Id and password of this
device protects the information from
being stolen by illegal elements. The
National Informatics Centre has tested
its vulnerability.
There were many positive efforts
taken by the department for the
175
extension of the project the user

is guided and addressed 24X7 by
interactive voice response and calls;
SMS-based help; trouble-shooting
queries and frequently asked questions
posted on the department sites;
detailed procedure on using the system
given; and, blog developed to solve
any problems.
The impact of Huli in the forest management of BTR is that earlier details
given by APC where confined to the
circle but are now viewed by all officers
with geo-tags locations and representation on maps; earlier, the data was noted in a diary which was submitted late
and hampered the monitoring, but now
complete information with location,
date and time is given; earlier, decisionmaking was done on the output provided by the field staff, now its based
on real-time information. Now, each
APC and staff is correctly monitored
and guided, monitoring of the habitat

is done on the basis of exact locations,
the online registration of complaints
and online disbursement of amount has
solved many conflicts and the accountability of the staff has improved.
The Forest Department of Karnataka
won the prestigious e-India 2013 award
in G2G category for this application
software and also the Brand is Award
for revolutionary change in forest
management by excellent use of the
information
and
communication
technology. Data collected by 11,800
km of patrolling has been recorded on
this application. Nearly 2,580 sightings
of wildlife have been recorded. This
project has fulfilled the objective of
getting accurate information on wildlife,
habitat and conflict management. After
the success of Huli in BTR, an improved
version of Huli, called Hejje software,
is being developed by the department.
176
Conservation / Karnataka
Ban on night traffic, a boon for

wildlife conservation
A case study on Bandipur National Park results in a pathbreaking decision regarding
operation of roads inside protedted areas.
V Priyadarshini
he case study highlights the

involvement of different stakeholders conservationists, forest
and allied departments, individuals,
organisations and institutions together
towards the protection of biodiversity.
It also gives emphasis on the teamwork which emerged as the only viable
option available so far to implement
any measure that leads to the protection, conservation and management
of wildlife and thus ensures the
peaceful coexistence of all kinds of life
in the earth.
The study focused on the impact
of roads on the existence of different
wildlife small, medium or large
mammals, insects and birds, etc.
Roads led to habitat fragmentation
and destruction and degradation of
habitat quality. Development of roads
in such protected areas led to increased
poaching and illegal trade activities,
pollution, invasive weed infestation,
etc., which further decreased wildlife
population. Road kills wipe out the
breeding population and hence reduce
the population and ultimately results in
loss of biodiversity of the habitat.

The study was conducted in Bandipur National Park and Tiger Reserve,
situated in Chamrajanagar district of
Karnataka. The study was initiated in
2001 by the conservationists of Nature
Conservation Foundation, based at
Mysore, Karnataka, for carrying out
the study on bird diversity of Bandipur. But, during the course of study, the
team of conservationists was shocked to
record the alarming incidence of road
kills, especially along the State and
National Highways laid through the
wildlife habitat. The team started documentation of wildlife deaths (especially
along NH 67 AND NH 212) from 2003
onwards. After years of relentless efforts by the team, a detailed report was
prepared. The report showcased the illeffect of roads and the impact of speeding vehicles which posed serious threat
to the existence of wildlife as well as
habitat destruction.
In 2006, the report was submitted
to the forest department as well as the
district administration, which were
already working day and night in
combating wildlife offences and illegal
transportation of materials meant for
2014-16 Batch, SFS
177
public good. The forest department

of Karnataka looked at the report
as an important tool in formulating
mitigation measures against the threat
posed for wildlife (as envisaged in
National Wildlife Action Plan, 20022016). Due to consistent efforts by the
forest department and conservationists,
the plight of wildlife was documented in
detail and was submitted to the district
administration. Initially, the authorities
implemented
ban
on
vehicular
movements (from 9 pm to 6 am) along
the two National Highways. The ban was
withdrawn due to pressure from other
stakeholders. But the genuine concerns
on wildlife sparked the conservation
responsibility among the likeminded
individuals, institutions, etc. A PIL was
lodged in the High Court of Karnataka,
demanding closure of highways at
night, citing the potentiality of the
road in wiping out valuable resources
of India.
The detailed report, which consisted
of well-documented scientific findings,
supportive photographic evidences and
presentations, RTI reply on trade-related
affairs, etc., attracted the attention of
judges in the High Court of Karnataka.
The report had answered every plea
of the stakeholders who stood for
infrastructure development as well
as personal deeds. Every argument that
stood against the conservation efforts
of the forest department and other
conservationists were defeated through
appropriate and alternative solutions.
The proceedings were highlighted by
the media extensively. They became
instrumental in creating awareness
among the people in every possible way
and hence succeeded in bringing out

the undisputed support from the public
in preserving the habitat of wildlife.
As a result of the tireless efforts
played by each and every stakeholder,
a historic judgment was given by
Karnataka High Court on March 9,
2010, which put the ban on vehicular
traffic during dawn and dusk (9pm- 6
am) along the highways of Bandipur
National Park.
Outcome of the case study
Following the ban on night traffic

along NH 67 and NH 212, Rapid
Action Project was initiated in
Bandipur National Park to create
awareness among the public,
tourists and, especially among truck
drivers. The role and responsibilities
of drivers towards the protection of
wildlife in the park were highlighted.
The people were educated about the
speed limit, which was very crucial
in preventing wildlife deaths along
and across the highway. The speed
of the vehicle was reduced to 40 km/
hr from 80-100 km/ hr.
The ban in Bandipur led to the
similar steps in other states as well.
Following Karnataka, night traffic
was banned in Mudhumalai Tiger
Reserve of Tamil Nadu, Gir National
Park and Velavedar Wildlife
sanctuary of Gujarat, etc.
Funds from various national and
international organisations were
arranged to divert road projects from
eco-sensitive zones.
The case study brought out the plight
of wild animals and their behavior.
Hence, the importance of protected
178
areas, animal corridors, habitat

quality, etc., were increasingly in
limelight recently.
The role of media has grown
tremendously and it has become
a vital tool in creating awareness
among the public in mass scale.
By keeping in view the demands of
other stakeholders as well, new roads
were proposed and laid outside the
protected areas.
The case study resulted in meetings,
conventions and seminars among
the policymakers at every level.
Inspite of pressure from powerful
lobbies as well as greedy needs
of the stakeholders, policymakers
exhibited their solidarity and
determination in conservation of
wildlife by formulating policies and
strategies which prioritise ecology
and environment, protection of
wildlife corridors, biodiversity, etc.

Educational
institutions
were
directed to create awareness among
the children at a very young age, so
as they look wildlife as a part of the
ecosystem and not as creatures for
entertainment.
The ban on night traffic was further
extended from 9 hours to 12 hours
(6pm - 6am) in other tiger reserves
of Karnataka from December 2015.
The study proves that proper and
well-documented scientific findings,
along with extensive studies on other
related aspects, ends up in a positive
note. Simple and good interpretation
of scientific studies helped in better
understanding of the subject, which
resulted in bringing the stakeholders
together. The integrity shown by every
stakeholder resulted in quick decision
by the judiciary.
179
WILDLIFE / Madhya Pradesh
Successful tiger reintroduction project

in Panna
Proper preparation, planning and execution created a reintroduction model for tigers
to be replicated in the world.
Manisha Purwar
anna National Park was declared

in 1994 as the 22nd tiger reseve
in India and the 5the in Madhya
Pradesh. It is located in Pannaand
Chhatarpur districts of Madhya
Pradesh. The area of the park is 542.67
square km. This forest division is the
only large wildlife habitat remaining
in North Madhya Pradesh. This area is
the northern most tip of the natural teak
forest and the easternmost tip of the
natural kardhai forest. The forest of this
park, alongwith Ken Gharial Wildlife
Sanctuary and adjoining territorial
division, form part of catchment area
of the 406 km long Ken River which
runs north-east for about 72 km through
the park.
This park is home to more than 200
bird species, including the bar-headed
goose and king vulture. Animals found
here are the tiger, sloth bear, chital,
chinkara, nilgai and sambhar.
Tiger Reserve
In Panna National Park, which was

declared as a tiger reserve in 1994,
a decrease in tiger population has
been reported several times. In 2004,

there were reports that no tigers were
found in the reserve; there was no
direct evidence of tiger presence like
pugmarks, scratch marks on tree, etc. In
2009, it was said that entire population
has been eliminated.
Threats
Poaching: Poaching is the number

one threat to the tigers existence.
Every single tiger organ is sold on the
black market. Tiger parts are used for
traditional medicines to cure ailments.
China has a great market for tiger part.
Tiger skin is also used for dcor, it
indicates status and wealth across Asia.
Habitat loss: The tiger is increasingly
under threat from deforestation for
agricultural developments, especially
monocultures.
Panna Tiger Reintroduction

Project
The MP forest Department initiated

the Panna Reintroduction Project in
March 2009. This project had two
phases and involved translocation of
six tigers. The phase I and phase II were
adopted protocol of All India Tiger
180
Population Estimation and Monitoring

for sampling design and data collection.
Phase 1
Earlier it was thought it was
impossible to relocate tiger in a new
area. But, the Panna Tiger Reserve
made history in the world; it has
completed six years of tiger relocation.
The number of tigers in the reserve has
gone up from 0 to 28.
T1 and T3: The Ministry of
Environment and Forests approved a
proposal to translocate two tigers to
the Panna Tiger Reserve. One female
tiger from Bandhavgarh National Park
(T1) and one female tiger from Kanha
National Park (T2) was translocated to
Panna Tiger Reserve.
T3: This tiger was first tranquilised
on November 2009 at Pench and was
brought to the Panna Tiger Reserve,
where it was keep in an enclosure at
Badagarhi inside the Park area. Due to
technical and logistical reasons, the tiger
was brought to Panna without a radio
collar. The tiger was under watch for 7
days and a team of expert veterinarians
had decided to tranquilise the tiger
for the second time on November 13.
The next day, the tiger was released in
the Reserve. T3 started moving in the
south direction towards its original
habitat. T3 was tracked continuously
for over a month and brought back to
the Reserve. This was a huge task of
Panna forest department. This massive
search operation was supported by 70
members and four elephants were also
deployed.
T4 and T5: Two female day-old
cubs, T4 and T5, were brought Kanha
Tiger Reserve. Their mother was killed

by territorial male and the cubs were
hand reared by Panna Tiger Reserve
for 18 months. They were successfully
reintroduced in the Panna Tiger
Reserve, which deployed the urine test
to encourage them to mate.
Phase 2
T6: T6 is part of the second phase in
the relocation of tigers to Panna. T6 was
relocated from Pench Tiger Reserve.
She was let free in the Balaiya Ghat area
of the Panna Tiger Reserve, However,
she had to be re-tranquillised and rereleased as she had wandered into the
peripheral area of the park.
Tigers Monitoring
Panna had lost all its tigers in the span

of four years, from 2006 to 2009-10. This
put the spotlight on obvious dangers to
their lives, making it essential to radio
collar the tigers.
Method: Muscle relaxant is used
for tranquilising the tiger. The effect of
the tranquiliser lasts for about an hour.
The tigers eyes are covered with a
black cloth, so that it cant see anything.
When the tiger is tranquilised, the
radio collar is attached to its neck
and after that the tiger is ready to be
monitored. A team manually tracks the
tiger with an antenna and transmitter,
which indicate the tigers GPS location.
Continuous locations are tracked
and reading of the transmitter is
noted down in a register issued by
the forest department. Tiger trackers
work 24x7 and give hourly updates
about the tiger. A checking party is
assigned to inspect the activities of
181
the tracking party. The information

gathered by the tracking party is
collected by the RFO.
Working of transmitter: The ideal
reading of the transmitter is 60 beats
per minute. It indicates that the tiger is
absolutely healthy. If the beats are more
than 80, the tigers life may be in danger
its either ill or injured and needs
immediate attention. If the reading falls
to 30 or 20 beats per minute, it indicates
some problem in battery.
Tracking by drone: Drones will track
tiger movement across the Panna Tiger
Reserve. This is the first time that a park
will use them. Panna has the permission
to use two drones until June 2014 to see
how they work.The miniature antenna
and receiver attached on each of the
drones will help in monitoring and
managing the security of the tigers.
Result
T1 gave birth to four cubs in April

2010, of which 2 survived. T2 gave birth
to four cubs and all four survived. The
third tigress, T4 (orphaned cub), was
found dead on September 19, 2014, due
to infection caused by its radio. T5 was
released in the wild in November 2011.
Solution
Mitigating the most pressing threats

facing the species by training and
outfitting law enforcement patrols.
Investigative teams to secure

protected areas utilising informant
networks to apprehend poachers.
Identifying and protecting tiger
habitats.
Using advanced technology to
prevent poaching, including handheld Thermal Imagers
Training the government and
NGO staff to use the best scientific
methods to monitor tiger and its
prey populations.
Relocation of 16 villages at the edge
of Panna forest. There are two ways
to relocate villagers; the NTCA gives
Rs 10 lakh per family to go elsewhere
and the second is to take part of
money and get settled on a piece of
land.
Special attention was paid to the
buffer zone on the periphery of the
forest, which is used by both cattle and
wild animals. The forest department
ensured immediate compensation to
a villager if his cattle were killed by
a tiger.
Conclusion
The reintroduction programme

of tigers in Panna has proved to be
successful and can be replicated in the
world. In Panna, proper preparation,
planning and execution created a
reintroduction model for tigers to be
replicated in the world.
182
Conservation / Maharashtra
Mangrove cell succeeds in

rehabilitation in Mumbai
Mangrove Cell was established in 2012 to create awareness about importance of
mangroves and to train staff for effective conservation of mangrove areas
Amol Pandurang Thorat
umbai, the capital city of

Maharashtra
with
an
estimated population of
about 22 million, is the 6th populous
agglomeration in the world. There are
seven islands which make Mumbai
and a home to communities of fishing
colonies. With increase in population,
Mumbai was reshaped by Hornby
Vellard project in the 18th century, which,
by reclamation work, connected these
seven islands. With the construction
of major roads and railways, the
reclamation project changed Mumbai
into a major seaport on the Arabian Sea.
Mumbai has a long history of land
reclamation. Present day Mumbai
is a part of a two major groups of
islands that were connected through
the process of land filling over past
many years. This led to a change in
the floral and faunal diversity of this
region. The process of land filling is
still continuing for solid waste disposal
and expansion of urban and industrial
campuses in Mumbai. The rapid rate of
urbanisation in Mumbai changed land
use pattern drastically e.g. reduction in
forest and agriculture land, reduction

in mangrove forests and at the same
time increase in built-up area. Most
mangroves in and around Mumbai are
being destroyed rapidly and are being
turned into landfill sites.
These sites have heavy accumulation
of non-biodegradable solid waste
materials accumulated in mangroves
areas. Mumbai creeks are major sinks
for discharge of sewage and industrial
waste which is generated in the city.
Considering it is a city of more than
27,000 people per square km, huge
amount of sewage is generated which
is poorly treated and dumped in the
creeks. Also, industrial effluents are also
discharged into creeks which changes
characteristics of water and also biology
of mangrove ecosystem. In 2005, the
Bombay High Court directed the state
government to declare mangroves as
reserved forest. This has resulted in
more protection to the mangroves area
and has also shown increase in its cover.
Mangrove and its importance
Mangroves are salt tolerant trees

and shrubs that grow in the intertidal regions of tropics and subtropics.
SFS 2014-16 batch, CASFOS, Dehradun
183
They come up better in places where

freshwater mixes with seawater and
where sediment contains accumulated
deposits of mud. Mangroves have
the ability to survive in an adverse
environment. They sustain in high salt
content area and developed adaptation
to thrive in this environment.
Mangroves have been proved to have
tremendous biological resources, which
confer various benefits to mankind. It
plays an important role in enriching
coastal biodiversity, in climate change
mitigation, protection from tsunamis,
cyclones and storms surges.
Today, mangroves face constant
threat from urbanisation, agriculture,
aquaculture, sewage and industrial
effluent, oil pollution, cutting of
mangroves, reduction of ecosystem
health, overfishing, sand and iron ore
mining and natural threats like flooding,
grazing, poor natural regeneration,
bio-fouling, cyclones and effect of
climate change. Mangrove habitat has
lost many animal species that were
restricted to mangroves habitat at an
elevated risk of extinction under IUCN
categories and criteria. However, none
of the mangrove plant species are in
IUCN Red list.
Mangrove distribution
The total area of mangroves in India

is about 4,628 sq km, which is about
7 per cent of the worlds total area of
mangroves. According to Mangrove
Cell, 19 species of mangroves are found
on the Maharashtra coast and 12 of
these species are found in Mumbai.
Mangrove cover in Maharashtra is 186
sq km (State of Forests Report 2013)
which includes mangroves standing

on private as well as public land. The
distribution of mangrove cover across
the six coastal districts of Maharashtra
is as follows:
S.NO. NAME OF
MANGROVE
DISTRICT COVER IN SQ. KM.
1
Mumbai
02
2
Mumbai
43
Suburban
3
Thane
53
4
Raigad
62
5
Ratnagiri
23
6 Sindhudurg
03
TOTAL
186
Mangrove Cell
To protect, conserve and manage the

mangroves of the state, a cell was established on January 6, 2012, in Mumbai
and headed by Dr N Vasudevan (IFoS),
a Chief Conservator of Forests. The
objective behind the conservation of
coastal biodiversity is to create awareness about importance of mangroves
and to train staff for effective conservation of mangrove areas. To increase
the mangrove cover in the degraded
areas, the Mangrove Cell has initiated
mangrove afforestation programmes
since 2012-13. Mangrove nurseries were
established at Bhandup, Godbunder
and Manoriin Mumbai, Guhaghar in
Raigad district, Mithbao and Achra in
Sindhudurg districts. Lakhs of mangrove saplings will be available in
nurseries in 2013-14. Largescale afforestation programme were carried out
with the involvement of local people.
The objective behind afforestation is
to improve the species diversity on
the Maharashtra coast. Efforts were
184
Activities of Mangrove Cell in Mumbai

1. Mangroves plantation by Mangrove Cell
Place
Year of
Plantation
Area (Ha)
Spacing (m) Species
Number of
seedlings
Bhandup
2013-14
10
1.5 * 1.5
Avicennia marina 44,440

Ceriopstagal
Kanjur
2013-14
1.5 * 1.5

Ceriopstagal
Mandale
2013-14
10
1.5 * 1.5

Ceriopstagal
Kanjur
2014-15
1.5 * 1.5

Ceriopstagal
Mandale
2014-15
10
1.5 * 1.5

Ceriopstagal
2. Afforestation Works Carried Out In Mumbai 2012-13

Sr.No
1
2
3
4
5
7
8
9
Location
Manori
Charkop
Airoli
Koparkhairane
Bhandup
Total Plantation
Bhandup
Mahul
Gorai
Total ANR
Area (ha)
21.00
19.12
5.62
2.70
7.87
56.31
10.00
8.00
4.00
22.00
Nature of work
Plantation
Plantation
Plantation
Plantation
Plantation
Assisted Natural Regeneration
3. Plantation activity region wise

Region
Central Mumbai
Western Mumbai
New Mumbai
Total Area
Area Planted in hectare

50
40
90
180
taken to revive the mangrove cover by

facilitating better tidal inundation
(Assisted Natural Regeneration).
4. Protection: Demolition of illegal huts
was carried out in mangrove areas and

around 850 huts have been removed
since 2012. Each huts average size
was 4mx5m, which means 17,000 sq m
areas was cleared. Mumbai Mangrove
185
Conservation Society was established

for protection and mangroves were
planted on these areas.
5. Awareness programme: Mangrove
Cell is creating awareness in various
schools, colleges, institutions and
corporate companies. They celebrate
various days, like Wetland Day, World
Environment
Day,
International
Biological Diversity Day, etc., with the
help of various NGOs and civil societies.
Results
The biennial survey conducted by

the Forest Survey of India, Dehradun,
shows that during 2013 to 2015,
mangrove areas have gone up from
186 sq km to 222 sq km. Between 2005
and 2013, it was static at 186 sq km, but
after the establishment of the Mangrove
Cell, it increased by 36 sq km. This is the
highest increase in cover recorded by
any state in the country during 2013 to
2015. Total mangrove cover of country
has gone up by 112 sq km, from 4,628
sq km in 2013 to 4,740 sq km in 2015.
Despite heavy pressure on Mumbai
and suburbs, it has shown an increase
of 5 sq km, which means 43 sq km to
48 sq km. this means nearly 12 per cent

increase in the area. The Cells have
created awareness in many schools,
colleges and institutions.
Conclusion
The Mangrove Cell is working efficiently for the conservation and protection of mangroves in Mumbai and in
the state. It carried out various restoration works in these areas. Today, mangroves have become a global concern
because of their continuous destruction
worldwide. Therefore, we must primarily create awareness to educate the public and must avoid dumping of waste
and releasing hazardous effluents in
mangrove areas. In each state such a
Cell should be established to undertake
rehabilitation initiatives, nursery establishment and afforestation as well as
replanting in degraded areas. Many international agreements and various regional agreements are directly relevant
to conservation of mangroves. Still,
largescale mangrove restoration and
rehabilitation programmes are needed
to be taken up to save the last surviving oceanic rainforest with national and
international integrated efforts.
186
Conservation / Maharashtra
Kaas flower plateau: Steps taken to

battle tourists rush
Formation of Joint Forest Committees and strict monitoring of number of tourists per day
has helped in checking the threats caused by increase in tourism
Girija N. Desai
he Kass Flower Plateau is a

pristine site of endemic flower
species with large carpets of
flowers. It is situated 30 km from Satara
(Maharashtra) in the Kaas Wildlife
Sanctuary in the Sahyadris, in the
Western Ghats. The Kass is a volcanic
plateau, basically formed of basalt
and laterite rock rich in bauxite. It is
a biodiversity hotspot with about
6 per cent of flower species in the red
data book.
In 2012, this plateau was listed as the
World Natural Heritage Site by Unesco.
The Kaas plateau region comprises
of about 1,400 plant species with 15
botanical families and more than 400500 species of wildflowers. As Satara
is a small district of Maharashtra, the
Kaas plateau was totally untouched till
the last decade. Due to its high degree of

endemism, it became famous following
studies by various researchers and
scientists, which ultimately led to visits
by tourists. The flowering season in
Kaas plateau is from July to October
and, on an average, about 1.5 lakh
tourists visit Kaas every year.
The name Kaas has originated from
the presence of Kaas tree (Eleocarpus
glandulosus) in the region. The region
is under protection of the Satara Forest
Division.
Geographical Details
Latitude
17O42 to 17O45N
Longitude
73O47 to 73O56E
Area
approx 1972 ha RF
Avg. Annual
Rainfall
1,800 to 2,300 mm
Forest type 3B/C-2 Southern Moist

mixed deciduous forest
187
The impact of tourism
The basic motto of world heritage

convention is to preserve the natural
world heritage sites in sustainable
manner for future generation and
its conservation. The great influx of
visitors in the recent years has the
potential to affect plants which are
sensitive to trampling as most of the
species found in the plateau are on
the lower surface with a very small
soil layer. Overcrowding of the place
results in trampling of floor plants with
less resistance. Vehicles are a source
of chemical pollution, causing threat
to flower species at the lower surface
of the plateau. Cattle-grazing is also
a major threat to this world heritage
ENDEMIC FLORA OF KAAS
Botanical Name
Alysicarpus
belguamenses
Cassia auriculata
Murdania lanuginose
Exacum pumlum
Impatiens
Hitchenia Caulina
Hypoxis aurea
Utriculateria purpurensis
Drosera indica flower
Senecio graham
Drosera burmanni
Neanotis lancifolia
Impatients lawii
Eriocaulon tuberferum
Vigna vexillata
Pentanema cernumn
Pogostemon Deccanensis
Smithia hirsute
Pinda
Tridax procumbens
Local Name
Gulabi shewra
Tarwad
Abolina
Chirayat
Pandhara terada
Charvar
Sontara
Sitchi Aasure
Gavti davbindu
Sonki
Davbindu
Taragucha
Jambhala terad
Panged
Halunda
Sonsari
Jambhali Manhiri
Kawla
Pand
Dagdi pali
site. Disturbance by tourists include

water pollution at the Kaas lake area
and plastic waste. Various activities,
as trekking, hiking, rock climbing,
are a major cause of soil disturbance.
Moreover, windmills are installed
here in large numbers and are causing
disturbance to the ecosystem.
The Kaas plateau is a pristine
natural site and needs efforts from all
ends of the society for its conservation.
This tourism is expanding day by day
and there is an increase in littering by
tourists. The large number of tourists
is a major concern in decreasing the
aesthetic value of the site and adding to
the pressure on local communities and
nearby lakes by Kaas village population.
Due to fast increasing popularity
of Kaas plateau, the land prices in
the nearby surroundings have gone
up drastically, making it difficult for
farmers and villagers.
Major threats
The loss of biodiversity and aesthetic

value of Kaas is a major concern.
Also, economic benefits from tourism
are not sufficient for conservation
activities. Also a cause of concern is less
concentration on conservation and high
trend towards tourism management.
According to Unesco, only 2,000
visitors per day are allowed, but this
number increases to about 50,000 per
day during peak tourist season.
Conservation measure taken
The forest department of Maharashtra

has framed Joint Forest Management
(JFM) committees with villages in Kaas
plateau. The primary objective of JFM
188
committees is to check pollution and

do waste management. This includes
removal of plastics, bottles, garbage
and food materials on a frequent basis.
Mass public awareness programmes
on protecting biodiversity of Kaas
are organised by various educational
institutes every year and these include,
conservation sensitisation on social
networking sites, poster presentations
and tourists awareness campaigns.
The forest department of Maharashtra has initiated five-year plans for
conservation. The department has built
fences bordering roads to avoid trampling of plants and herbs. Temporary,
mobile latrines have been encouraged
by the forest department; as the Kaas
plateau area is under a reserve forest,
no permanent structure can be formed.
The JFM committees are promoted for
conservation activities, security, ticket
counters and guide facilities.
A project plan of the interpretation
centre is in pipeline for approval in the
forest ministry. The online booking
system for tourists is maintained by the
forest department. As per rules, only
2000 tourists per day are allowed. Rs 10
per tourist is being charged, which goes
into the accounts of JFM committees
for protection and conservation.
Information and signages with slogans
of ecosystem conservation are installed
by the Maharashtra forest department.
Vehicle parking is restricted in the 3
km periphery around the Kaas plateau.
Driving beyond the 20 km/hr speed is
restricted by the forest department. The

number of forest guards in the Kaas
plateau region is increased during June
to September.
The Kaas forest area is divided
into A, B, C1, C2 blocks. Fire lines,
fire-fighting kits, check nakas and
firewatchers are provided by the Satara
Forest Department. Fencing of about
10 kilometres is done by the forest
department with gaps every 1 km.
Various fees and taxes levied by the
Satara Forest Department
Fees per individual
Rs 10
Mini buses
Rs 100
Bus
Rs 150
Commercial photographers Rs 50
Deposit to carry plastic
(refundable)
Rs 50
Fine for plucking flowers
Rs 100
Plucking of plants
Rs 200
No of tourist
2009
2010
2011
50,000
175,000
300,000
Result of conservation effects
Nearly 3,000 plus plastic bottles were

collected per day in the years 2010, 2011
and 2012. Today, the number has reduced to less the 500. Tourist monitoring online booking system has reduced
the rush. Fencing and barriers act as
protection from grazing activities. With
active participation of JFM committees,
conservation efforts are fruitful.
189
COMMUNITY / MAHARASHTRA
Concerted action in Coimbatore

NGOs like Siruthuli have played a key role in conservation of the Western Ghats,
signifying the importance of peoples participation
R. Rajmohan
eoples participation is one of

the biggest weapons to achieve
any goal. After Independence,
the public is increasingly contributing
towards rural development through
participation
in
rural
projects,
campaigns and social services. Another
remarkable level of participation is
seen in environment. The past few
years have witnessed a lot of change in
the attitudes, approaches and policies
of non-government organizations
(NGOs) and their participation in
environmental conservation activities.
NGOs are playing an important
role
in
raising
environmental
concerns, environmental education,
promoting sustainable development
and conservation of environment.
There are many examples one can
take. One such is the contribution of Shri
Jadav Molai Payeng of Assam to forest
development forest in Jorhat. Another
example is that of Abdul Kareem of
Puliyamkulam, who created 32 acres
of forest in Kadarkod while Rajendra
Singh of Alwar district in Rajasthan
is working for water harvesting and
water management.
In the Western Ghats region, the
Keystone Foundation has been working

in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve
(NBR) with indigenous communities
on eco-development and wildlife
conservation. OSAI, an NGO for
student environmental groups, is also
focused on the Western Ghats, their
water resources and their conservation.
It has been organising seminars and
exhibitions. Another success story is that
of an NGO in Tamil Nadu is Siruthuli.
This case study details and analyses
the activities and achievements of
Siruthuli and its collaboration with the
Forest Department.
Siruthuli is a non-profit movement
formed by a few socially conscious corporates in 2003. Siruthuli means a little
drop (in Tamil). The idea was to motivate the people of Coimbatore to come
together to save the city. It envisioned
creating a public movement to address the environmental issues facing
the city, especially the water problem.
Industries and corporates joined
hands with the Residents Awareness
Association of Coimbatore (RAAC).
The ultimate aim of this organisation
is to improve the level of underground
water table through desiltation, creation
of new water bodies, river restoration,
restoration of the green cover through
ACF Trainee, CASFOS, Dehradun
190
massive afforestation, solid waste management and creating awareness about

environment conservation. Over the
past decade, it has grown into a mass
movement and continues to do exceptional work for the citys well being.
Coimbatore is the second largest city
in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is located
in the southern part of the Western
Ghats. The Coimbatore forest range
is surrounded by eight major water
bodies Singanallur Lake, Valankulam
Lake,
Ukkadam
Periyakulam,
Selvampathy Lake, Narasampathi Lake,
Krishnampathi Lake, Selvachinthamani
Lake and Kumaraswami Lake. These
wetlands are a major life-supporting
component of the area with high
concentrations of birds, mammals,
reptiles, amphibians, fish, invertebrate
species and also contributing to the
livelihoods of the human population.
But all that changed in the early
2000s.The lakes were drying up; the
river had run down to a trickle; and
groundwater was depleting fast.
Things went from bad to worse in 2003
when the city faced a severe droughtlike condition. And sadly, all this was
man-made.
The major reasons for the
environmental
degradation
in
Coimbatore were water pollution due
to industrial waste, encroachment of
the elephant corridor, lack of proper
waste management in the urban
areas. Degradation of water bodies by
development activities and largescale
conversion of agricultural land to real
estate are leading to fragmentation and
degradation of natural habitats. The
tanks were shrinking in size, clogged
with all sorts of urban garbage and

construction of concrete roads on the
bunds. In many cases, water hyacinth
covered the entire water surface of
the tanks. The unavailability of water
was increasingly leading to humananimal conflict.
Then in 2003, Coimbatore district
was declared as a drought hit area by
the State Government. The ground
water table levels of Coimbatore went
to as low as 1,000 feet deep. The River
Noyyal and all lakes were completely
dried out. This critical situation led
to the birth of Siruthuli. A series of
activities were undertaken under the
aegis of the NGO.
Save the Lake (Kulam Kaappom):
With the mass participation of residents and volunteers in Coimbatore,
the channels of Singanallur Lake, Valankulam Lake, Ukkadam Periyakulam,
Selvampathy Lake, Narasampathi Lake,
Krishnampathi Lake, Selvachinthamani
Lake and Kumaraswami Lake were
cleaned. Also, construction of rainwater harvesting structures in and around
Coimbatore city were undertaken.
Construction of check dam: A check
dam was constructed in association with
the District Rural Development Agency
(DRDA) and Forest Department on the
Nandangarai perennial stream flowing
near Kalkothi Tribal Hamlet. With a
water holding capacity of 100 million
litres, the check dam helped to recharge
ground water resources in Coimbatore
area and provided drinking water to
wild animals in the surrounding forest.
Rain water harvesting structure:
Siruthuli constructed artificial ground
water recharge harvesting structures
191
Source: Tamil Nadu Water and Drainage Board
on road side and in open spaces in

Coimbatore. This structure consisted of
a deep bore well, percolation pit, filter
chamber filled with filter materials and
concrete slabs.
By 2005, a visible difference was
apparent. The river was returning to
life, a few lakes were brimming with
water and ground water levels were
getting back to normal. Siruthulis
commitment ensured that the pace did
not slacken.
It is not surprising then that
Coimbatore was given the Best City
Award in 2014 for efficient management
of water through restoration of tanks.
Another great achievement is the
renewed sighting of rare birds in the
rejuvenated water bodies. The Salim
Ali Center for Ornithology and Natural
History reported more than 116 species
of birds in the Coimbatore water bodies
and surrounding area in 2014. The Spot
Billed Pelican (Pelecanus philippensis),
a globally threatened species, was
reported from Ukadam Lake. Oriental

White Ibis (Threskiornis melanocephalus),
Gadwall
(Anas
strepera),
Pallid
Harrier (Circus macrourus) were also
reported during the bird survey. The
Environment Conservation Group
(ECG) reported sighting the migratory
bird, Great Flamingo (Phoenicopterus
roseus) in Coimbatore Lake; normally,
this bird is seen in Gujarat.
The ground water table level
drastically increased from more
than 150 metres deep to less than 30
metres during the last 10 years. The
graph shows the comparison between
different zones in Coimbatore from
January 2004 to January 2009. In June
2015, the average ground water level of
Coimbatore increased up to 13 metres!
The Western Ghats is the one of the
major biodiversity hotspots in India.
For development and conservation of
the Western Ghats, the Tamil Nadu
government has initiated the Western
Ghat
Development
Programme
192
(WGDP). This programme includes

fire protection, anti-poaching and soil
moisture conservation. In the Nilgris
district, the state government has
initiated the Hill Area Development
Program (HADP) for conservation of
Shola forest, improving wildlife habitat
and fire prevention works. Outside
the forest area, the Tamil Nadu Forest
Department in collaboration with
the Japan International Cooperation

Agency is implementing a Biodiversity
Conservation and Greening Project
to increase forest cover. As the case
study of Siruthuli has shown, increased
participation of various stakeholders
such as environmentalists, NGOS,
corporate and the public will go a long
way in strengthening the conservation
activities of the State Forest Department.
193
Reducing humanelephant conflict

The early morning system instituted in the Valparai plateau is an innovation
that has had effective results and must be sustained
P Arunkumar
alparai plateau is a 220 sq.km

area, which was once a pristine
rain forest before the British
in the late 19th century clear felled
these pristine forests and raised tea,
coffee and cardamom plantations.
This has resulted in fragmented rain
forest patches in between these estates.
Valparai is also surrounded by various
sanctuaries and national parks both
from the Tamil Nadu and Kerala side
that includes the Anamalai Tiger reserve
and Parambikulam Tiger reserve, both
of which are contiguous with the area.
These areas had historically been the

migratory corridor of elephants. Today,
elephants often cross through these
estates to reach from one forest patch
to another as it is known that elephants
have a very good memory and the
migratory routes almost remains the
same over generations together. Thus,
it is obvious that very often there is
interface between the people and
elephants resulting in property damage
mainly buildings where grains are
stored like ration shops and noon meal
centres. The worse consequence of
this interaction is the death of people.
All this is slowly leading to a situation
Valparai Plateau with details of protected areas surrounding it

194
where people started turning hostile

against elephants when their dear
ones are lost. This is not a good sign
for conservation as in a landscape like
this conservation of these pachyderms
is difficult without the cooperation and
goodwill of the people.
It is under these circumstances
of increasing unrest due to loss of
property and life that the NGO Nature
Conservation
Foundation
(NCF)
intervened. After working on elephant
conservation for over a decade in
the Valparai plateau, Anand Kumar,
working for NCF, came up with the
innovative idea of a elephant early
warning system and together with the
cooperation and support of the Forest
Department and the local people were
able to implement it.
the local cable channels when mobile

phones were not popular among the
people. The cable TV has a reach of
about 5,000 households in the area.
This was one of the earliest methods
of elephant information system used
by the NCF team starting from the year
2006.
SMS alerts: As the reach of mobile
technology increased and the people
also started switching to satellite
television, the SMS based alert system
was introduced. For this a database of
mobile numbers of plantation workers,
students, drivers and pastors in local
churches and other people interested to
receive the message was created. As and
The Early Warning System

The early warning system is based
on the premises that majority of human
deaths occur in conflict zone when
both human and elephants are caught
unaware of each others presence
leading to attack. So the early warning
system is basically making the presence
of elephants aware among the people
living there.
It includes tracking and locating
elephant movement through the Rapid
Response Force comprising local
people, using Forest Department staff
and information from local people and
dissemination of the same through
various channels.
Local Cable TV: Initially the
information
about
presence
of
elephants was disseminated in the
form of messages that were relayed in
SMS alert sent giving the location of the

elephants with emergency contact number.
195
when the information about the location

of elephants is received from the team
tracking them, bulk SMS is sent to all
the mobile numbers within 2 km radius
of the location of the elephants. The 2
km area was fixed based on the longterm study done by NCF that elephants
within a period of 24 hours would move
around a 2 km radius. The message is
bilingual in both English and Tamil, the
local language.
Initially when the project was
launched, people were reluctant to
share their mobile numbers. As the
initiative caught up, the response from
the people was great and they started
to give information even about the
location of elephants. The SMS service
acts as a timely alert to the local people
and they avoid the route where the
elephants are present and also seek
the help of the Forest Department or
Rapid Response Force. The Forest
Department personnel deployed for this
operation in the conflict zone are in a

closed user group for instant sharing of
information and immediately respond
for any emergency call reaching the spot
to save life and property.
Visual alert system: Apart from
the above mentioned alert systems, a
visual alert system consisting of a red
LED flashing light fitted over a 10 m long
pole (Figure 3) at 24 strategic locations
was put in places of high probability of
elephant movement locations. This is
visible for about 1 km.
These lights are fitted to a SIM card
and can be operated from a mobile
number. A maximum of three numbers
can be registered for activation of
this light. For turning on this system,
locals were involved with a minimum
of two mobile number registered and
as soon as the message is received by
them, they turn on the light system.
It was found that in 98 per cent of the
cases, the lights were operated by local
Red flash light visible for a long distance giving the location of elephants, so that people can
avoid going to the area.
196
people themselves from the registered

numbers.
Effect of the Early Warning

System
The effect of these early warning
system and other interventions of
forest department was studied by
the NCF team in terms of incidences
of human attack and loss of life and
property over a three-year period
(2011-12 to 2013-14).
Reduction in the incidences of
loss to property: It was found at the
end of the study period that there has
been a gradual reduction in the loss of
property. The number of incidences of
loss of property during the study period
has showed a marked reducing trend.
When compared to the first year, there
was a 41 per cent reduction of incidences

of elephant attack on property. The
success is greatly attributed to timely
dissemination of information, rapid
response of forest department staff to
protect the property and the cooperation
of the local people.
Reduction in fatal encounters:
The effect of this timely information
provided through bulk SMS has helped
people to avoid the elephants which
have in fact resulted in gradually
reducing the fatal incidences which
became zero during 2013 as can be seen
from the figure below, but unfortunately
in February 2014 there were two fatal
incidences.
On analysis of the incidences, it was
found that one incidence was due to
the ignorance of the warning provided
E
E

W
Trend in incidences
of elephant attack
on property after the
introduction of early
warning system
E/
z
&/

Trend in incidences
of fatal elephant
attack
197
by the alert system and the other was

due to the fatal injury caused while
running away in panic to escape from
the elephant and not the actual attack
by the elephant.
The success of the alert mechanism
can be attributed to
Long-term research done on the
human elephant interface in the
landscape to understand the genesis
of the problem.
Designing suitable multipronged
need based solution to suit the site
specific problems.
Creation of awareness among the
people about the problem and the
need for restraint.
Cooperation of all the stakeholders
involved.
For his effort in the reduction of
elephant and human conflict when
other parts of the country has seen a
rise in such incidences, NCFs Ananda
Kumar was awarded the Whitley Award,
dubbed as the Green Oscar.
In order to sustain the system so
created, there should be a long-term
plan of self sustaining the mechanism
by involving people and also

institutionalising it. These measures
are still short-term mitigation measures
to reduce the interaction of people and
elephants, to have a long-term solutions
one should be thinking of creation
of corridors along the plantations
especially along the Nadu Ar-Sholayar
river system passing through the
middle of the Valparai plateau along
which the elephants migrate. If a
corridor is created by planting along
the width of the river system, local tree
and grass species that exists in the rain
forest patches concentrating on some
fodder species of elephants, then the
elephants will have peaceful movement
from one forest patch to other without
any disturbance to both human and
elephants. Efforts should be taken to
think of ways of storage of food grains
that would not attract elephants and
that could not be damaged by elephants
such as underground storages and use
of suppressant or maskers for masking
the smell of grains so that the animals
cannot detect the foodgrains.
198
Note: Articles may be sent at the following email ID:

fieldforester@gmail.com
Evaluation and Review System
There will be two layers of review of the contributions; Faculty and the Directorate review.
Evaluation and review at the faculty level in the training institutes/academies will be
undertaken under the guidance of Director/Principal/Head of the institutions. Even very
specialized and technical topics shall be presented in simplified format so that frontline staff
and forest community are able to appreciate and understand the topics. Articles shall be
written in a popular style, easily understandable and in simple English.
However depending on the response to this programme, arrangements can be made
for translation of the magazine into the vernacular. A short note about the contributor and
the reviewer shall accompany the article. The note shall contain name, age, postal and
e-mail address, course, academic accomplishments, and important assignments held. The
evaluation would be done on following criteria:
a. Style: The article should be interesting and informative. The introduction should draw
the reader in and convince them that the remainder is worth reading. The remaining
should be written in a lively and concise style, and should leave the reader convinced
of the importance of the topic.
b. Structure: The article should be within 1000 words, and formatted in 1.5 line spacing
in Times New Roman 12 point font.
c. Organization:
Instead of an abstract the article will give information on the location, the period
when the field work was carried out
Integration - the article organized in a coherent form and all ideas are clearly
leading to a single main argument.
The review at the Directorate level will be done through an editorial board constituted by
the DFE, which will be responsible for the content, design and review of the journal articles.
The editorial board shall consist of expert/experts constituted by DFE and reconstituted
every year, which would screen contributions and recommend their publication. Articles
previously published elsewhere, or simultaneously sent for publication elsewhere, may be
accepted with modifications. Article submitted shall carry a declaration that the article is
original. The Editor would reserve the right to reject articles without assigning any reason
and articles not found suitable will be sent back.

Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
P.O. New Forest, Dehradun
Tel: +91 135-2750127, Fax: +91 135-2750125
Website: www.dfe.gov.in
199
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FIELD FORESTER

FIELD FORESTER | November 2015

FIELD FORESTER | November 2015

Shri Prakash Javadekar

FIELD FORESTER | November 2015

Dr. Anil Kumar

FIELD FORESTER | November 2015

Editorial Advisory Board

FIELD FORESTER | November 2015

FIELD FORESTER | November 2015

Innovative Eco-development Initiatives to Conserve Forest Biodiversity

Peoples Participation in Forest Conservation and Livelihood Generation........... 24

Raising a Plantation on Stone-bed...............................................................27

Preventing Forest Fires..............................................................................29

Maharashtra / Kerala / Gujarat

Comparative study of coastal ecology...........................................................33

Foes turn friends for migratory Amur Falcons...............................................37

COMMUNITY INTEGRATION / TAMIL NADU

Venom for anti-venom: A source of livelihood to Irulas...................................40

COMMUNITY INTEGRATION / MAHARASHTRA

The Jungle Man .......................................................................................44

FIELD FORESTER | November 2015

Ladakh / Jammu & Kashmir

A glimpse into the cold desert......................................................................57

Tilora (Pushkar) / Setrawa (Jodhpur), Rajasthan

Sand Dunes Stabilization and Plantation......................................................61

Mine Reclamation: A Success Story.............................................................68

SundarbanS / west bengal

The Roar of Sundarban Tiger.....................................................................71

Satara Tukum Village / Maharashtra

Joint Forest Management with Difference.....................................................77

An innovative approach to grow taller and less branchy teak............................... 85

Implementation of scientific gum extraction........................................................ 91

FIELD FORESTER | November 2015

Biodiversity in sacred groves................................................................................105

Forest Food Festival: A successful example of biodiversity conservation..............115

Leopard: Menace of over-population.................................................................... 93

An encounter with leopard rescue operation........................................................ 96

The restoration of pristine ecosystem..................................................................102

Hidden trade in Madurai.....................................................................................129

JOINT FOREST MANAGEMENT

Managing the Forest as the Homestead the Saga of Baripada........................... 99

The success story of Satara Bhosle......................................................................107

Success story of Hazra Falls................................................................................110

Case study on Vachathi incident..........................................................................112

Wildlife protection outside protected areas: A success story.................................121

Thoseghar reaching the heights..........................................................................125

Hiware Bazar, a success story..............................................................................132

FIELD FORESTER | November 2015

Protecting the habitat of the Indian Giant Squirrel.............................................143

Community-based livestock insurance programme to the aid of snow leopard....146

Red Panda conservation: A captive breeding initiative by Darjeeling zoo.............150

Ban on night traffic, a boon for wildlife conservation..........................................177

Mangrove cell succeeds in rehabilitation in Mumbai............................................183

Kaas flower plateau: Steps taken to battle tourists rush......................................187

Successful wildlife management practices...........................................................153

Huli, a boon for wildlife, habitat and conflict management.................................174

Saving the whole genus from extinction..............................................................159

Re-introduction of Swamp Deer.........................................................................162

Managing human-tiger conflict in Sundarbans Tiger Reserve.............................167

Longleng: New capital for Amur Falcons............................................................171

Successful tiger reintroduction project in Panna..................................................180

Reducing humanelephant conflict.....................................................................194

Concerted action in Coimbatore...........................................................................190