Vol. XXVI, No. 3
LIST OF CONTENTS
EDITORIAL
Wildlife and conservation in the times of
COVID-19
June 2020 (No. 145)
Rajasthan
8
Four poachers arrested in Jaisalmer; may have
killed hundreds of animals over a decade
3
Tamil Nadu
9
Two tigers die of poisoning in Anaimalai TR
Telangana
9
NBWL clears railway line through forests
connecting Kawal, Tadoba-Andhari and
4
Indravati TRs
Uttarakhand
9
Four
Snow
leopards
camera
trapped
in
the
Nanda
4
Devi NP
NEWS FROM INDIAN STATES
Assam
Opposition to coal mining in Saleki of Dehing
Patkai ER
Andhra Pradesh
Plea in NGT against destruction of mangroves
near Coringa WLS
Chhattisgarh
5
Two wild buffaloes arrive at Barnawapara WLS
from Assam
Gujarat
5
Two lions from Chotila walk 140 km to reach Gir
sanctuary
Karnataka
6
CM clears Hubballi-Ankola railway project
through Kali TR
Maharashtra
6
Maharashtra proposes exclusion of 41 villages,
1,981 sq. km of forest from Western Ghats
ESA
NBWL approves Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi
Mahamarg, projects from 11 other states
Tiger walks 3,000 km between Tipeshwar and
Dnyanganga WLSs
Leucistic Sloth bear sighted in Melghat TR for
first time
NATIONAL NEWS FROM INDIA
10
ZSI releases updated checklist of Indian
amphibians
Nearly 10,000 forest fires reported in April in just
three states
Golden jackals threatened by poaching and trade
in India: study
SOUTH ASIA
11
Nepal
Tiger presence recorded at an altitude of 2,500 m
IMPORTANT BIRD AREAS UPDATE
13
National News
Gujarat emerging as gateway for Amur falcons:
WII
Maharashtra
Return rate of tagged birds highest in Mumbai:
BNHS
THE COVID-19 CONNECTION
14
National News
Conservationists urge minister to withhold forest,
environment clearances during the COVID-19
epidemic
MoTA urged to ensure support forest communities
impacted due to COVID-19
Studies reveal pangolins as host of coronaviruses;
Tamil Nadu and Uttarakhand are illegal trade
hotspots
WII’s wildlife app to collect data during lockdown
MoEFCC coronavirus related advisory to restrict
movement around PAs
Assam
FD issues guidelines to sensitise people towards
freely roaming animals during lockdown
Gujarat
FD taking precautions to avoid transmission of
coronavirus in lions
Kerala
Human-animal conflict reduces during lockdown
Maharashtra
Increase in frequency of leopard sightings, other
animals, in Aarey colony, SGNP, other PAs
Punjab
Gharials, dolphins flourish in Beas CR, Harike
WLS following COVID-19 lockdown
Rajasthan
Spike in poaching in Western Rajasthan during
COVID-19 lockdown: FD, activists
Uttar Pradesh
FD issues instructions in view of the coronavirus
pandemic
Uttarakhand
Corbett TR builds isolation wards for animals,
takes other steps
Human-elephant conflict reduces near Corbett TR
in lockdown period
West Bengal
Increased tiger sightings in the Sunderbans during
lockdown
FROM THE ARCHIVES
22
PERSPECTIVE
24
Communicating conservation in these difficult
times
Protected Area Update
Vol. XXVI, No. 3, June 2020 (No. 145)
Editor: Pankaj Sekhsaria
Associate Editor: Reshma Jathar
Illustrations: Ashvini Menon (Visual Design Studio), Shruti Kulkarni,
Madhuvanti Anantharajan & Peeyush Sekhsaria
Produced by Kalpavriksh and the Centre for Policy Studies, IIT Bombay
Editorial Address: C/o Kalpavriksh, Apartment 5, Shri Dutta Krupa, 908 Deccan Gymkhana,
Pune 411004, Maharashtra, India.
Tel/Fax: 020 – 25654239; Email: psekhsaria@gmail.com
Website: http://kalpavriksh.org/index.php/conservation-livelihoods1/protected-area-update
***
Note: Stories that appear in the PA Update are edited version of the original news reports first
published in the source mentioned at the end of the story
Publication of the PA Update has been supported by
Duleep Matthai Nature Conservation Trust
C/o Foundation for Ecological Security http://fes.org.in/
Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies and
Donations from a number of individual supporters
Protected Area Update Vol. XXVI, No. 2
2
April 2020 (No. 144)
anecdotal and only a detailed and careful study
can confirm if there was indeed a causal
relationship between the lockdown and
increased hunting, if indeed it had increased at
all. A group of conservationists had initiated a
survey to assess patterns of hunting between the
initial lockdown period (25 March-4 May
2020), and the pre-lockdown period (23 Jan-24
March 2020). The result was not out by the time
we went to press, but the results should provide
some interesting insights.
The
3rd
broad
category
of
developments is related to the advisories issued
by authorities at various levels, beginning with
those from many state forest departments
following the report of a tiger in the Bronx Zoo
in New York in the USA being infected by the
virus. Other more overarching advisories
resulted in concerns being raised about the
impacts on livelihoods on adivasi and forest
dwelling communities. Representations sent out
by activists, researchers and organisations noted
that the conditions of the lockdown would have
multiple effects on already marginalised
communities whose access to resources, health
care and livelihood opportunities are precarious
in the best of times.
And finally, one saw, and continues to
see the development juggernaut rolling on with
even less care and concern. The Ministry of
Environment Forest and Climate Change
(MoEFCC) seems to have gone into overdrive
granting clearances to big bang projects that
would impact forests, wildlife and local
communities across the country. 31 projects
were cleared in just one meeting of the National
Board for Wildlife held by video-conferencing
in the midst of this unprecedented crisis. Many
of these were granted in violation of laws and
policies and without attention to due process
and procedure. Even a global pandemic could
not succeed in bringing about just a momentary
pause. The more things change, the more they
remain the same; they are only becoming worse
where the MoEFCC is concerned.
The world has been discussing and
speculating on a new normal post COVID-19;
we need also to be discussing a new abnormal.
Where the MoEFCC is concerned a clue lies in
EDITORIAL
Wildlife and conservation in the times of
COVID-19
The two months between the publishing of the
last issue of the PA Update (April 2020) and
this, the latest issue of June 2020 - has seen the
world turn topsy-turvy in a manner never seen
before. No one anticipated this coming and
importantly no one really knows what to do or
where we are headed.
Not unexpectedly, the world of forests,
wildlife and conservation too has been impacted
and this is reflected in the various developments
and what the media has been reporting (see
special section, pg. 14). Going into the details
and an analysis of everything will, of course, not
be possible, but a broad sweep, bird's eye view
suggests that the developments and their
reportage can be clubbed under four broad
categories.
The initial period of the lock down saw
a number of reports in mainstream and social
media on the increasing visibility of wild
animals. Citing the reduction in human activity
because of the lockdown, forest officials
reported an increased sighting of animals leopards in the Sanjay Gandhi NP in Mumbai,
gharials and dolphins in the Beas river in Punjab
and tigers in the Sunderbans. There were also a
number of reports of individual animals,
elephants for eg., being sighted walking through
settlements and small towns. The drift of the
arguments seemed to suggest a welcoming of
this phenomenon as wildlife and wild animals
were seen regaining what was originally and
rightfully theirs. Decreased human activity was
also attributed in some cases to a reduction in
the instances of human-wildlife conflict like we
see with a report from Corbett TR and from
parts of Kerala.
The flip side of this coin, and there are
a number of reports that are still coming in, is
that the lockdown and reduced patrolling has
resulted in a spurt of poaching and illegal
hunting. The evidence in many cases is
Protected Area Update Vol. XXVI, No. 3
3
June 2020 (No. 145)
the title of researcher Nandini Velho's lead story
in The Hindu Sunday Magazine of 23 May
2020; this ministry may well be called the
'Ministry of forest clearances'. There will be no
more pretence then and no more questions will
be asked. Wildlife, forests, people and
livelihoods may all be damned!
---PS: The PA Update team at Kalpavriksh is very
happy to announce the publication of first nonEnglish edition of the PA Update. Focused on
Maharashtra and published in Marathi, the first
issue of the Maharashtra Sanrakshit Kshetra
Vartapatra (Maharashtra Protected Area
Newsletter) was released in April 2020 (see pg.
23). Supported by the Duleep Matthai Nature
Conservation Trust and edited by Reshma Jathar
it will be published four times a year. Please
write
to
psekhsaria@gmail.com
and/or
marathipaupdate@gmail.com if you would like
to be on the mailing list.
ASSAM
Opposition to coal mining in Saleki of Dehing
Patkai ER
A number of environmentalists and concerned
people have urged the Prime Minister, the
Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate
Change of India, the Chief Minister of Assam
and the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) to
stop any current and future coal mining project
in Saleki and the whole of Dehing Patkai
Elephant Reserve (ER). They noted that legal
and illegal coal extraction is having and will
have catastrophic consequences for the whole
ecosystem of the region. This comes following
the decision made in the 7 April 2020 meeting
of the National Board for Wildlife to allow coal
mining here.
The NBWL's standing committee had
discussed the proposal for use of 98.59 ha of
land of Saleki, proposed for a coal mining
project by North Eastern Coal Field (NECF) —
a unit of Coal India Limited— and gave nod to
it. The meeting was held by video conferencing
under the chairmanship of environment
minister, Mr Prakash Javdekar.
The Dehing Patkai ER is spread over
575 sq. km in the Tinsukia, Dibrugarh and
Sivasagar districts in Upper Assam and is home
to a range of threatened and rare species
including among others the hoolock gibbon,
slow loris, pig-tailed macaque, stump-tailed
macaque, capped langur, Indian leopard, Asian
elephant, tiger, gaur, Chinese pangolin,
Himalayan black bear, Himalayan squirrel,
leopard cat, clouded leopard, porcupine, crabeating mongoose, sambar, sun bear, binturong,
barking deer, golden cat, and marbled cat. The
reserve is also home to nearly 300 species of
birds, 30 species of butterflies and over 100
species of orchids. It has also been noted that
the Dehing Patkai region is already threatened
by highly polluting industries, such as coal
mines, oil refineries and drilling for gas.
Earlier, the NBWL in its 54th meeting,
also constituted a panel to visit the proposed
Lekhapani Open Cast Project under the
Lekhapani Range of Digboi Forest Division in
NEWS FROM INDIAN STATES
ANDHRA PRADESH
Plea in NGT against destruction of
mangroves near Coringa WLS
Supreme Court advocate Sanjay Upadhyay
appearing for environmental activist Bolisetty
Satyanarayana urged the National Green
Tribunal (NGT) to stop the Andhra Pradesh
Government from destroying about 100 acres of
mangrove forests in Kakinada for a proposed
housing scheme. The forests are in close
proximity to the Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary.
The Union government, the Andhra
Pradesh Forest Department, the East Godavari
district administration and the Andhra Pradesh
Coastal Zone Management Authority have now
been made parties to the petition.
Source: G Venkataramana Rao. ‘NGT urged to
stop govt. from destroying mangrove
forests’, www.thehindu.com, 17/04/2020.
Protected Area Update Vol. XXVI, No. 3
4
June 2020 (No. 145)
from Assam as part of an initiative to increase
their population in Chhattisgarh where they
have been almost wiped out. Since the Indian
Railways has suspended a majority of its trains
on account of the lockdown to deal with the
coronavirus epidemic, the animals were
transported by truck. The health of the animals
along the way was monitored by an 18-member
forest department (FD) team led by Dr. Rakesh
Verma.
The pair was kept initially in a large
paddock in the sanctuary. They will be kept at
Barnawapara till they attain the age of
reproduction. The buffaloes will be allowed to
breed here and will only be released into the
wild after reaching a certain number.
The FD had initially planned to bring in
five animals from Assam, but only two could be
caught in the first phase.
Tinsukia district. As per the report submitted by
the panel, the Standing Committee of NBWL
recommended the proposal for broken up area
(57.20 ha) for approval subject to submission of
a rectified site-specific mine reclamation plan in
consultation with the Assam Forest Department.
On the other hand, for the unbroken area (41.39
ha), the NBWL will consider the matter after the
user agency submits a feasibility report for
underground mining and compliance report
regarding fulfillment of all other conditions
recommended by the NBWL.
Source: 'Environmentalists opposed coal mining in
Saleki of Dehing Patkai Elephant
Reserve', www.sentinelassam.com,
18/05/2020.
Plea to set up modern police station and
hospital in Kaziranga NP
Source: ‘Pair of wild buffalo brought to
Barnawapara’, www.thehitavada.com,
19/04/2020.
The NGO Aaranyak has requested Assam chief
minister (CM) Sarbananda Sonowal to set up a
modern police station and a state-of-the art
hospital in Kaziranga National Park (KNP). In a
memorandum submitted to the CM, Aaranyak
has stated that Kohora is regarded as the
gateway to KNP, which is globally known for
its successful conservation efforts of greater
one-horned rhino. Thousands of tourists, both
domestic and international, stay in lodges in and
around Kohora. In view of heavy footfall of
tourists as well as concern to keep constant vigil
against poachers here, the Kohora police outpost
should be upgraded to a full-fledged police
station.
The CM was also requested to set up a
helpline counter for the benefit of tourists in the
proposed KNP police station.
GUJARAT
Two lions from Chotila walk 140 km to reach
Gir sanctuary
Two male lions from Chotila walked 140 km in
seven days to reach the Gir Sanctuary in the
month of April. The animals had been resident
in the Chobari grassland near Chotila in
Surendranagar district after they reached here in
November 2019 via Hingolagadh Nature
Education Sanctuary in Vinchhiya taluka of
Rajkot.
The lions had preyed on 24 nilgai and
also attacked 35 livestock heads for which the
forest department (FD) has paid Rs. 5.15 lakh
compensation. The FD had also surveyed open
wells in agricultural lands in the area and got
parapets constructed around 100 wells by
paying farmers Rs. 16 lakh in assistance. The
only incidence of direct conflict with humans
was reported from Keshvala village of Gondal
on 9 April 2020 when they attacked a cattleherder who sustained minor injuries.
Source: ‘Cop station, hospital plea in Kaziranga’,
www.telegraphindia.com, 14/03/2020.
CHHATTISGARH
Two wild buffaloes arrive at Barnawapara
WLS from Assam
A pair of wild buffalo sub-adult calves - one
male and the other female - arrived recently at
the Barnawapara Wildlife Sanctuary (WLS)
Protected Area Update Vol. XXVI, No. 3
5
June 2020 (No. 145)
senior forest officials have dismissed the
mitigation measures suggested in the report as
highly impractical and unrealistic. The issue and
the state's decision will now go before the
National Board for Wildlife.
The alignment of the tracks is between
Kali TR and Bedthi Conservation Reserve, and
more than 80% of the line cuts through the
Western Ghats. The project entails felling and
destruction of nearly two lakh fully grown trees
to lay a 164.44 km railway line.
According to an NTCA report on the
project, the forests through which the railway
line cuts, supports 29 species of mammals, 256
species of birds, eight species of reptiles, and 50
species of butterflies. Majority of the mammals
are in the IUCN red list and also protected under
the Wildlife Protection Act 1972.
The lions moved eventually to Babra in
Amreli district and from there to Gondal via
Bagasara Road. They were then spotted in
Bhesan taluka of Junagadh district and then in
the Gir sanctuary area.
Though the FD refused to disclose their
exact location, they confirmed that the place
they had reached was home to at least 25 other
lions. Officials said while the lions could
establish themselves in Gir, there was a good
chance they would return to Chotila as they
were well settled in the grassland there, which
also has a good prey base.
Source: ‘Gujarat: Chotila lions reach Gir
sanctuary, fight for territory feared’,
www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com,
13/04/2020.
Gopal Kateshiya. ‘Lions walk back
140km to reach home in Gir from
Surendranagar’, www.indianexpress.com,
13/04/2020.
Source: ‘Hubballi-Ankola railway line gets
clearance despite opposition’,
www.thehindu.com, 20/03/2020.
KARNATAKA
MAHARASHTRA
CM clears Hubballi-Ankola railway project
through Kali TR
Maharashtra proposes exclusion of 41
villages, 1,981 sq km of forest from Western
Ghats ESA
Steamrolling opposition to the Hubballi-Ankola
railway line, Chief Minister (CM) of Karnataka
BS Yediurappa cleared the controversial project
through Kali Tiger Reserve (TR) at the state
wildlife board meeting held in Bengaluru on
March 20. The board was convened for the
second time in less than two weeks after the
project faced vehement opposition from some of
its members in the earlier meeting held on
March 9. Leaders from across the political
spectrum attended this meeting and argued in
favour of the project while forest minister BS
Anand Singh was absent.
The CM overruled various objections
filed by environmental experts, including a
comprehensive report by the National Tiger
Conservation Authority (NTCA) that the project
was inimical to the environment. While the CM
and the officials supportive of the project
depended heavily on a report submitted by a
scientist from the Indian Institute of Science,
Protected Area Update Vol. XXVI, No. 3
The Maharashtra State Government has
proposed the inclusion of 2,092 of 2,133
villages or 15,359 sq. km of the originally
proposed 17,340 sq. km, thereby excluding
11.4% area from the draft Western Ghats EcoSensitive Area (ESA). This will leave out
crucial wildlife corridors, buffer areas of tiger
reserves and sanctuaries from the ESA. The
state has proposed exclusion of 17 villages for
industrial activities and 13 for mining based on
suggestions from the industries department and
mining bodies.
The Savarde village, which lies in the
core zone of the Radhanagri Wildlife Sanctuary
in Kolhapur, the Maloshi and Bamnoli villages
in Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary in Satara, and the
Yelan Gai village which was earlier marked as a
mining village in the buffer area of the
Sahayadri Tiger Reserve, are some of the
villages that have been excluded.
6
June 2020 (No. 145)
visits in February and March 2020 and a report
was subsequently submitted to chief wildlife
warden. One of the SBWL members noted that
work in the ESZs of the sanctuaries could not start
if the mitigation structures were not final. MSRDC
has, however, already carried out works in
Package I (tiger corridor) and II (Katepurna &
Karanja Sohol), especially on stretches passing
through ESZs of two sanctuaries.
Though the amended project got final
clearance only on April 7, 2020, it had been
cleared on September 7, 2018 on the precondition
that the project proponent will plan appropriate
mitigation structures to ensure safe movement of
wild animals. RL Mopalwar, managing director of
MSRDC, noted, however, that they got NBWL
nod for road construction in ESZ of Karanja Sohol
and Katepurna sanctuaries in January on the basis
of which work orders were issued in February.
Thus, he argues, there are no violations.
Besides, he noted, MSRDC has already
submitted the requisite amount for wildlife habitat
management to the Melghat Foundation before
starting the work. As regards the ESZ of the Tansa
WLS, Mopalwar claimed that NBWL had already
cleared the road project passing through on
September 7, 2018. The fresh clearance is for the
corrected cost of mitigation measures, which is Rs.
54.57 crore.
Maharashtra chief wildlife warden
Nitin Kakodkar also clarified that it was
erroneously mentioned in the SBWL minutes of
the meeting and proposal from February 2018
that two per cent of the total project cost had to
be paid by MSRDC for mitigation measures
under stretch 5 passing through Tansa’s ESZ.
The two percent of the project cost for only this
particular stretch had to be paid and not for the
total project cost. MSRDC brought this to the
notice of the state and an amended proposal was
sent to NBWL, which received clearance.
The NBWL meeting that cleared the
project was chaired by the Union environment
minister, Prakash Javdekar, and also cleared a
number of other projects from states across the
country.
Rajya Sabha member Sambhaji Raje
has written to the Chief Minister of
Maharashtra, Mr Uddhav Thackeray and union
environment minister Mr. Prakash Javdekar
expressing concerns over the move.
Source: Badri Chatterjee. 'Excluding villages from
new Western Ghats ESA proposal,
opening them up for mining, industries to
be disastrous for environment: RS MP',
www.hindustantimes.com, 24/05/2020.
NBWL approves Mumbai-Nagpur
Samruddhi Mahamarg, projects from 11
other states
The National Board of Wildlife (NBWL) issued
its final clearance for the Rs. 55,335 crore
Mumbai-Nagpur highway during a meeting held
via video-conferencing amid the coronavirus
lockdown. The Maharashtra State Road
Development Corporation (MSRDC) had
divided the entire highway into major stretches
for which environment clearances had been
sought separately.
The 701 km Samruddhi Mahamarg
connecting Mumbai and Nagpur will pass
through 10 districts, 26 talukas and 392 villages,
and is expected to reduce the existing travel
time of 15 hours to eight hours. The highway
will pass through the 10 km eco-sensitive zone
(ESZ) of Katepurna and Karanja Sohal
Blackbuck Wildlife Sanctuaries towards one
end of the state while cutting through the ESZ
of Tansa WLS closer to the Mumbai
Metropolitan Region. The total project requires
475 ha of forestland and an estimated one lakh
trees will have to be cut. The NBWL’s decision
has revealed that mitigation measures have not yet
finalised, yet MSRDC has continued road work in
ESZs and tiger corridors.
The Maharashtra State Board for Wildlife
(SBWL) had approved the project in January 2018
following which the Wildlife Institute of India
(WII) was asked to conduct a wildlife study and
prepare a detailed mitigation plan. The plan was
tabled before an expert committee on January 17,
2020 and several concerns were raised by the
forest officers on the proposed mitigation
structures. SBWL members then conducted site
Protected Area Update Vol. XXVI, No. 3
Source: Badri Chatterjee. ‘National Wildlife Board
issues final nod for Mumbai-Nagpur
highway amid lockdown’,
www.hindustantimes.com, 08/04/2020.
7
June 2020 (No. 145)
‘National Wildlife Board issues final nod
for Mumbai-Nagpur highway amid
lockdown’, www.hindustantimes.com,
08/04/20.
Leucistic Sloth bear sighted in Melghat TR
for first time
The first record of a rare leucistic Sloth bear has
been documented from Melghat Tiger Reserve
(TR). Leucisim is a rare genetic condition but
different from albinism.
The adult female bear with a beige coat,
black head and pale snout was photographed by
a camera trap with another of a black coat
(possibly male) bear in the Sipna Wildlife
Division of the reserve recently. Camera traps
had been set up as part of the tiger monitoring
study that is being carried out across Vidarbha
by the Wildlife Institute of India and
Maharashtra Forest Department (FD).
While the FD said that such animals
had low chances of survival as their colour
makes them more susceptible to predation,
Nishith Dharaiya, co-chair, IUCN sloth bear
expert team said that there was no threat to their
health due to this condition. Nonetheless, he
noted, a genetic examination and behavioural
study is necessary to find out more about the
mutation.
Tiger walks 3,000 km between Tipeshwar
and Dnyanganga WLSs
A male tiger from Tipeshwar Wildlife Sanctuary
(WLS) in Yavatmal district has set a record by
covering over 3,000 km before settling down in
the Dnyanganga WLS in Buldana district. The
tiger, T1C1, one of the three cubs born to a
Tipeshwar tigress T1, was radio-collared on
February 27, 2019 as part of the 'Studying
dispersal of Tigers across Eastern Vidarbha
landscape” project undertaken by the Wildlife
Institute of India (WII) in tandem with the
Maharashtra Forest Department (FD).
T1C1’s marathon walk has included
several back and forth journeys between
Tipeshwar WLS and the forests of Adilabad
district in neighbouring Telangana and also to
Painganga WLS and from Dnyanganga WLS to
the Ajanta hills in Aurangabad. A break-up of
the walk showed that it has covered 360 km
around Tipeshwar, 1,475 km from Tipeshwar to
Dnyanganga,
and
1,185
km
around
Dnyanganga.
A WII team headed by wildlife scientist
Bilal Habib has tracked the tiger's movement at
over 6,000 different GPS locations along its
journey. Aged about two years, the tiger has
baffled wildlife experts as to why he hasn’t
settled anywhere along his journey route. He has
walked many landscapes, including highways,
rivers, agricultural lands and forests and yet
avoided confrontation with humans. One
possible explanation for his ceaseless walk is
that he might be searching for a mate. The FD
has now constituted a committee of experts that
will decide if a female should be translocated
for him to Dnyanganga WLS.
Source: Badri Chatterjee. ‘In a first, leucistic sloth
bear spotted in Maharashtra: Forest
department’, www.hindustantimes.com,
16/04/2020.
RAJASTHAN
Four poachers arrested in Jaisalmer; may
have killed hundreds of animals over a
decade
The Rajasthan Forest Department (FD) arrested
four people in Jaisalmer district recently for
being involved in poaching of chinkaras. Initial
investigations suggest that they may have killed
hundreds of chinkaras and other protected
species over almost a decade.
The latest incident that led to their
arrest was the poaching of three chinkaras that
came to light in the Pokhran region after FD
officials received a tip-off on April 2 from the
local Bishnoi community. A team sent to the
spot discovered remains like head, skin and
Source: Vivek Deshpande. ‘Walker’ covers over
3,000 km to zero in on his new home’,
www.indianexpress.com, 31/03/2020.
Protected Area Update Vol. XXVI, No. 3
8
June 2020 (No. 145)
other body parts of three chinkaras – two male
and one female. One of the accused was
subsequently arrested from his house in the
nearby area along with some remains of the
animals, including meat. Three more accused
were nabbed over the next few days. The gun
with which the animals had been shot was also
recovered from them.
The four accused belong to a local
tribal community and live near the Desert
National Park. They used to hunt the animals for
meat and bury away their remains. No
connection, however, has been established thus
far between them and supply of wild meat to the
local hotels. The FD was also trying to establish
the exact numbers of animals killed by the
accused over the years. It was suspected this
would be in the 100s as they have been hunting
almost every alternate day.
chosen to poison the boar that was eventually
consumed by the tigers.
Source: ‘Two tigers die after consuming poisoned
boar in Tamil Nadu’,
www.thenewsminute.com, 10/04/2020.
TELANGANA
NBWL clears railway line through forests
connecting Kawal, Tadoba-Andhari and
Indravati TRs
The National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) has
given clearance for a third broad gauge railway
line by the South-Central Railway (SCR)
through Telangana's Kaghaznagar Forest
Division, the forests of which connect three
tiger reserves (TRs) —Kawal in Telangana,
Tadoba-Andhari in Maharashtra and Indravati in
Chhattisgarh.
The SCR had initially proposed the
cutting down of trees across 189 ha of forests. A
Telangana Forest Department survey noted that
the area needed is less following which the
Telangana
State
Board
for
Wildlife
recommended clearance for only 21 ha.
The clearance also comes with a slew
of conditions including construction of crossover tunnels for animals, widening and
extension of existing bridges and a payment of
Rs. 15 lakh for the vulture conservation
programme in Kaghaznagar. The National Tiger
Conservation Authority has also laid down the
condition that the SCR should purchase private
lands located amid fragmented forest areas and
give it to the FD as compensation.
Source: Mayank Aggarwal. ‘Rajasthan uncovers
chinkara poaching racket’,
www.india.mongabay.com, 14/04/2020.
TAMIL NADU
Two tigers die of poisoning in Anaimalai TR
Two ten-year-old tigers, believed to be a
breeding pair, were found dead at Pollachi in
Anaimalai Tiger Reserve (TR) in the second
week of April. The post-mortem revealed the
cause of death to be the consumption of a
poisoned boar. The carcass of the half-eaten
boar was found along with that of the tigers and
forest officials ruled out poaching as a cause of
death. An enquiry has been initiated into who
poisoned the boar.
The carcasses were found in the
Pothamadai forest beat in a forest area named
Pungan Odai. There are no human habitations
here except for a tribal hamlet a few km away.
While villagers had complained of livestock
being lifted, the tigers were not considered to be
responsible for that.
Wild boars, however, have been a
serious problem for the farmers here and it has
been suggested that one of them may have
Protected Area Update Vol. XXVI, No. 3
Source: V Nilesh. ‘National wildlife board nod for
rail line in Telangana's Kawal tiger
corridor’, www.newindianexpress.com,
10/04/2020.
UTTARAKHAND
Four Snow leopards camera trapped in the
Nanda Devi NP
Four snow leopards including a pair have been
photographed by a camera trap in the Malari
9
June 2020 (No. 145)
area at an altitude of 3100 m in the Nanda Devi
National Park (NP) (PA Update Vol. XXVI, No.
2). This was confirmed when the researchers
accessed the cameras and set up in the park for
the period January to March.
Source: Neeraj Santoshi. ‘In a rare sight, four
snow leopards captured on camera in
Uttarakhand’s Nanda Devi National
Park’, www.hindustantimes.com,
14/04/2020.
NATIONAL NEWS FROM INDIA
\
ZSI releases updated checklist of Indian
Amphibians
A comprehensive updated checklist of Indian
amphibians was launched recently on the
website of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI).
The list shows a substantial increase in the
number of amphibians listed in India - from 284
in 2009 to 447 species in 2020.
The updated checklist includes
systematic classification with scientifically
updated species names and year of discovery
with their IUCN Red List conservation status,
available till April 2020. Among the species
listed, 20 are critically endangered and 35
endangered. 19% of the species are data
deficient and about 39% are not assessed as per
Red List conservation status of IUCN.
The checklist was compiled by a
team of research scientists including Dr. KP
Dinesh from ZSI, Western Regional Centre,
Pune, Dr. C Radhakrishnan from Calicut,
Dr. BH Channakeshavamurthy, ZSI, Calicut,
Mr. P Deepak from Mount Carmel College,
Bengaluru and Mr. Nirmal Kulkarni from the
Mhadei Research Centre, Goa.
Link:
https://zsi.gov.in/WriteReadData/userfiles/file/C
hecklist/Amphibians_2020.pdf
Source: Press release issued 17/05/2020.
Protected Area Update Vol. XXVI, No. 3
Nearly 10,000 forest fires reported in April in
just three states
According to the Forest Survey of India, fire
alerts issued based on the Suomi National Polarorbiting Partnership (SNPP) – Visible Infrared
Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) sensor,
atleast 3,531 fires were recorded in Odisha, the
highest in the country between April 9 and 16.
Maharashtra with 3,203 fires in that period was
second followed by Madhya Pradesh, which
reported 2,472 fires.
Though the incidents in Odisha are less
this year compared to the same period last year,
the numbers are slowly rising. Between 9 and
16 April 2019, Odisha recorded 4,429 fire spots
while the same for the previous year was 682.
According to forest officials the
situation is not as bad as last year except for
forest divisions like Rayagada, Baliguda and
Boudh. Podu cultivation in these areas has been
the main reason for the rise in the forest fires.
While the forest department has claimed to have
engaged the ground staff to curb forest fires, the
Wildlife Society of Odisha, an NGO, said that
as the top forest officials are in Bhubaneswar
due to the lockdown there is not much action on
the ground.
Source: Debabrata Mohanty. ‘Odisha tops forest
fire incidents in the country for a week’,
www.hindustantimes.com, 17/04/2020.
Golden jackals threatened by poaching and
trade in India: study
Golden jackals in India are threatened by
poaching and trade driven by religious beliefs in
sorcery and superstition, says a new study
published by the Wildlife Conservation Society
- India, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology
& Environment, Wildlife Conservation Trust,
National Centre for Biological Sciences,
University of Florida - USA, James Cook
University - Australia and Conservation
Initiatives.
Titled ‘Do wildlife crimes against less
charismatic species go unnoticed? - a case study
of golden jackal poaching and trade in India’,
10
June 2020 (No. 145)
the report is an outcome of research conducted
as part of the Wild Canids – India Project and
was published in the Journal of Threatened
Taxa.
Researchers collected publicly available
information from government seizure data, news
reports, social media posts, blogs and ecommerce platforms to create a repository of
jackal hunting, poaching and trade incidents
from 2013 to 2019. The findings revealed that
126 skins, eight tails, more than 370 jackal
horns, 16 skulls and two live jackals were seized
by the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau.
The analysis brought to light a
widespread demand for a talisman that appears
to be derived from the jackal skull known as
‘jackal horn’. The ‘jackal horn’ trade is fueled
by extensive online endorsement and
unsubstantiated claims made by religious
practitioners. The sale of jackal horn appears to
be common place in Indian trade markets as
evidenced by advertisements on social media
and popular online retail outlets.
The study also showed that jackal meat
is consumed by several communities in the
northeastern states and parts of western, central
and southern India. Jackal body parts such as
head, skin, tail and teeth find use in traditional
and cultural practices in southern India and
jackal organs are believed to have medicinal
properties in Central India.
Source: Vijay Pinjarkar. ‘Poaching and trade of
jackals rampant: Study’,
www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com,
04/04/2020.
SOUTH ASIA
NEPAL
Tiger presence recorded at an altitude of
2,500 m
Camera traps placed in Dadeldhura’s
Mahabharat region have captured images of a
Protected Area Update Vol. XXVI, No. 3
tiger at an elevation of 2,500 m. The camera
trap exercise was part of a month-long
campaign to prove the presence of tigers at
higher elevations in the Himalaya undertaken
with financial and technical assistance from the
World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
A total of 32 camera traps were placed
by the divisional forestry office in the mountain
forests of the Mahabharat region after locals
reported tiger sightings. The Nepali word ‘bagh’
is often used interchangeably to mean tiger and
leopard, and wildlife biologists wanted to make
sure if the animal was indeed a tiger. They are
now examining other images to determine
whether the tiger simply wandered into the
higher elevation, or lives there.
Higher-altitude sightings of tigers have
been reported in other parts of the Himalayan
range; Bhutan has recorded sightings at altitudes
between 2,765 m and 3,350 m in the Royal
Manas and Thrumshingla National Parks.
Additionally, the Global Tiger Forum
has carried out studies to determine the
feasibility of high-altitude tiger conservation.
The study points to factors such as ‘gentle
elevation, high forest cover, high drainage
density, high temperature variations and
moderate dry conditions’ as potential factors in
the change of tiger habitats in the western
Himalaya. This could also be the reason for
tiger presence in Dadeldhura, though another
factor is the increase of prey species in the
mountains due to the spread of community
forests. Tigers need a stable herbivore
population, and research has suggested that
there has been a fall in prey density in Sukla
Phanta and Bardia NPs in the western Tarai.
Also, captured in the camera trap
images in Dadeldhura were foxes, leopards,
civets, porcupines and various species of deer
and pheasants. The findings assume more
importance because the area is not a protected
area.
Source: Mukesh Pokhrel. ‘Tiger selfie is highestever sighting in Nepal’,
www.nepalitimes.com, 14/04/2020..
11
June 2020 (No. 145)
NOW AVAILABLE
The State of Wildlife and Protected Areas in Maharashtra
News and Information from the Protected Area Update 1996-2015
Edited by Pankaj Sekhsaria
Published by
Duleep Matthai Nature Conservation Trust, Kalpavriksh and Rainfed Books,
Contents:
- Editor’s Note
- Protected Areas in Maharashtra – a brief
introduction
- Section 1: News and Information from
protected areas: Bhimashankar WLS, Bhorgad
CR, Bor WLS, Gautala Autramghat WLS,
Kolamarka CR, Great Indian Bustard
Sanctuary, Gyanganga WLS Jaikwadi Bird
Sanctuary, Kalsubai-Harishchandragad WLS,
Karnala WLS, Lonar WLS, Mahabaleshwar
ESZ, Mahendri Reserve Forest, Mansingdeo
WLS, Matheran ESZ, Muniya CR, Nandur
Madhmeshwar Bird Sanctuary, Radhanagari
WLS, Rehekuri Blackbuck Sanctuary,
Sanjay Gandhi NP, Sewri Wetlands, Tansa
WLS, Thane Creek WLS, Tipeshwar WLS,
Tungareshwar WLS, Umred-Karhandla
WLS, Yawal WLS, Melghat TR,
Nawegaon-Nagzira TR,
Pench TR, Sahyadri TR, Tadoba-Andhari
TR, Tigers, General News from
Maharashtra
- Section 2: Analysis and Perspective:
1) Media reporting on the protected areas in
Maharashtra - A thematic analysis (Trupthi Narayan and Pankaj
Sekhsaria); 2) Wildlife coverage in the Marathi Print Media – a practitioner’s perspective
(Reshma Jathar); 3) Dividing lines- tribal rights and tiger reserves (Shiba Desor); 4) Rocky
plateaus: Little understood treasures of the Western Ghats (Aparna Watve) and 5) Community
Conserved Areas in Maharashtra (Neema Pathak Broome with Sneha Gutgutia, Shruti Mokashi,
Kavya Chowdhry, Sarosh Ali and Rupesh Patil)
ISBN: 9788192326931, Price Rs. 400; xi+235pp, 100 line drawings by Ashvini Menon
For copies at 20% discount write to psekhsaria@gmail.com
Protected Area Update Vol. XXVI, No. 3
12
June 2020 (No. 145)
IMPORTANT BIRD AREAS UPDATE
NATIONAL NEWS
Gujarat emerging as gateway for Amur
falcons: WII
Tracking of satellite tagged Amur falcons by the
Wildlife Institute of India (WII) suggests that
Gujarat is an important gateway for these
migratory birds. Having flown 3,200km nonstop over the Arabian Sea, ‘Irang’, a sub-adult
satellite-tagged Amur falcon, was reported,
entering Gujarat to the south of Porbandar in the
Gir forest region at 1am on May 3.
WII scientist R Suresh Kumar has
noted that falcons use Kutch and Saurashtra as
way points after their long flight over the
Arabian Sea. The WII has tagged about 15
Amur falcons thus far to study migration
pathways and environmental patterns.
In related news, another individual bird,
Chiulon, named after a village in Manipur’s
Tamenglong district reached its breeding area in
northern China on May 7. The bird which made
a brief stop in Mizoram following its return
from Africa in the third week of April left for
China on April 28. The bird clocked 9,600 km
in 15 days since leaving the Somali coast on
April 23.
Source: Maulik Pathak. 'Gujarat emerging as
gateway for Amur falcons: Wildlife
Institute of India',
www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com,
09/05/2020.
Sobhapati Samom. 'Radio-tagged Amur
Falcon reaches breeding ground in China
from NE India',
www.hindustantimes.com, 12/05/2020.
has revealed. Of 10,803 individuals of migratory
shore-birds across 46 species ringed in the
Mumbai region between 2014 and 2020
(majorly from 2018 onwards) 4.6% (497 birds)
were recorded again at the site.
The high recapture data is attributed to
very high site fidelity for these migratory birds
and intensive efforts of bird ringing over a long
period by the BNHS. More recent data from
November 2019 to January 2020 showed 3,453
birds ringed by BNHS across wetlands near
Bhandup pumping station in Mumbai, the Thane
creek and TS Chanakya wetlands in Navi
Mumbai. Of these, 3,415 were small waders and
38 flamingos with 160 recaptures during the
exercise.
Apart from the Lesser and Greater
flamingos, birds ringed by BNHS include
common waders such as Little stint, Curlew
sandpiper, Lesser sand plover, Common
redshank, and Black-tailed godwit. The rarer
birds ringed included Red-necked phalarope,
Spotted redshank, and Bar-tailed godwit. Most
of these birds visit Mumbai after spending the
summer in Arctic Russia.
80% of the recaptures recorded were
from the sites where the birds were tagged. For
example, a bird ringed in 2014 at Panje wetland
in Uran was recaptured in Panje again in 2018.
Source: Badri Chatterjee. 'World Migratory Bird
Day: Return rate of tagged birds highest
in Mumbai: BNHS',
www.hindustantimes.com, 08/05/2020.
MAHARASHTRA
Return rate of tagged birds highest in
Mumbai: BNHS
More tagged or ringed migratory birds return to
roosting and feeding sites in Mumbai and Navi
Mumbai than any other region in India, a study
by the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS)
Protected Area Update Vol. XXVI, No. 3
13
June 2020 (No. 145)
THE COVID-19 CONNECTION
NATIONAL NEWS
Conservationists urge minister to withhold
forest, environment clearances during the
COVID-19 epidemic
A group of 291 conservation scientists and
allied professionals, including 12 former
members of the Standing Committee (SC) of
the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) and
former affiliates of the Forest Advisory
Committees has asked Union environment
minister, Mr Prakash Javdekar, to withhold
forest and environment clearances during the
COVID-19 pandemic.
The communication to the minister
came in response to the decisions and
clearances given by the 57th meeting (held by
video conferencing) of the SC on April 7 for 31
proposals affecting 15 tiger reserves,
sanctuaries, notified eco-sensitive zones,
deemed eco-sensitive zones and designated
wildlife corridors from 11 different states.
These included 16 linear infrastructure projects
and others such as the private sector Etalin
hydro-power project in Arunachal Pradesh and
a coal mining project in the Dehing Patkai
Elephant Reserve in Assam. Expert Appraisal
Committees (EACs), bodies under the ministry,
also approved a slew of infrastructure project
proposals as part of considering 145 projects on
April 22-24. Ten EACs have conducted 15
meetings in this regard so far, according to the
Union environment ministry’s Parivesh portal.
The signatories presented several
concerns with regard to project evaluations not
being done rigorously and non-following of
procedure by statutory bodies. They said video
calls were not an efficient mode of
communication to assess the environmental,
livelihood and biodiversity impacts of projects.
They pointed out that under normal
circumstances, EAC meetings lasted an entire
day. In comparison, meetings during the recent
lockdown lasted only 2 hours, with only 10
Protected Area Update Vol. XXVI, No. 3
14
minutes to appraise each project. They also
noted that reliance on digital documents
uploaded by project developers on the Parivesh
single-window clearance portal led to “fait
accompli situations” and gravely compromised
the appraisals by the committees during the
lockdown. The signatories said that appraisals
and assessments for clearances were being
reduced to an “empty formality” lacking the
credibility and rigour of its purpose.
Given the current circumstances and
uncertain future, they called for fresh
appraisals, holding in abeyance forest and
environmental
clearance
decisions
and
postponing further meetings till all pandemicrelated travel and meeting restrictions are
completely lifted across India. They urged the
Ministry of Environment Forest & Climate
Change (MoEFCC) to carry out its intended
mandate of protection of forests, wildlife and
natural heritage and not fast-track the clearance
of projects.
The signatories included among others
former Bombay Natural History Society
director, Asad Rahmani, conservationists MK
Ranjitsinh, AJT Johnsingh, Belinda Wright,
Bittu Sahgal, Biswajit Mohanty, Kishor Rithe,
Prerna Singh Bindra, Divyabhanusinh Chavda,
Praveen Bhargav, Shekar Dattatri, Goa-based
lawyer Norma Alvares and film-maker Mike
Pandey. Indian academics from the universities
of Columbia, Yale, Michigan and Cambridge
also signed the letter.
In a separate letter, conservationist
Rohit Choudhury appealed to Mr Javdekar to
save the independence of National Tiger
Conservation Authority. This comes in
response to the MoEFCC’s bid to restructure its
regional offices by subsuming the NTCA and
all the other specialised wings such as the
Forest Survey of India (FSI), the Central Zoo
Authority (CZA) and the Wildlife Crime
Control Bureau (WCCB).
June 2020 (No. 145)
Source: 'Conservationists urge Javadekar after
The Hindu’s story on NTCA
restructuring', www.thehindu.com,
13/05/2020.
Badri Chatterjee. 'Withdraw green nods
given during lockdown: Conservationists
to minister', www.hindustantimes.com,
13/05/2020.
Vijay Pinjarkar. 'Withhold forest and eco
clearances amid pandemic: Experts urge
minister',
www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com,
14/05/2020.
MoTA urged to ensure support forest
communities impacted due to COVID-19
In a letter issued in the first week of May, a
number of researchers, experts and forest rights
groups urged the Ministry of Tribal Affairs
(MoTA) to take urgent steps to ensure support
for tribal and forest communities affected due
to COVID-19 outbreak and the lockdown.
The topics covered in the letter include
health, livelihood, the specific situation of the
particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTGs)
who are in severe distress, the issue of pastoral
and nomadic communities whose migration and
seasonal access to livelihood resources has been
severely restricted, the continued tenurial
insecurity of forest dwelling communities,
restriction on movement in protected areas,
continued diversion of forest land, concerns
about compensatory afforestation being carried
out on forest land used by tribals and other
traditional forest dwellers, environmental
impact assessment (EIA) amendments being
brought in, and the issue of evictions and
mining in states like Gujarat and Odisha.
The letter also asked for the following
steps to be taken up on an urgent basis:
- MoTA to set up a COVID response cell and
issue specific guidelines to address the issues
and problems of tribals and forest dwellers.
- The central government should coordinate
with the state governments to provide
immediate relief to the tribal communities by
ensuring information and awareness, providing
health care and testing facilities in the tribal
Protected Area Update Vol. XXVI, No. 3
15
areas, support for minor forest produce (MFP)
collection and sale.
- The central government should look into the
cases of forest rights violation and eviction due
to mining and forest diversions, plantations by
forest department, restrictions on access to
forest for livelihoods activities etc.
- MoTA should also ensure that district and
sub-district level officers are well informed
about all relevant guidelines and orders related
to COVID-19 and lockdown issued by the
Centre and the states from time to time and that
these are complied with.
- MoTA and TRIFED should work with state
tribal departments to urgently devise effective
institutional mechanisms for the collection,
storage, procurement and sale of non-timber
forest produce during the ongoing collection
season. Necessary financial and logistical
support should be provided to the gram sabhas
and forest management committees constituted
under the Forest Rights Act (FRA) together
with other PPAs for direct procurement from
the gatherers.
- MoTA should request MoEFCC to release the
huge compensatory afforestation fund to the
gram sabhas constituted under FRA to support
community forest management for generating
livelihoods and wage employment for tribals
and forest dwellers to deal with the economic
crisis.
- Ensuring support to vulnerable communities
such as the PVTGs and pastoral communities
and
- Effective implementation of FRA so that
communities are more secure in the long run.
Source: Press release dated 06/05/2020.
Contact: Sushmita Verma, Email:
sushmita.verma@hotmail.com
Tushar Dash: tushardash01@gmail.com
Studies reveal pangolins as host of
coronaviruses; Tamil Nadu and
Uttarakhand are illegal trade hotspots
A recent study, published in the journal Cell,
has placed pangolins as a natural reservoir of
coronaviruses similar to SARS-CoV2, which
has caused the COVID-19 pandemic. Another
June 2020 (No. 145)
recent study had identified the presence of
SARS-CoV2 like viruses in Malayan pangolins
smuggled into China to be sold in wet markets.
The discovery of multiple lineages of
pangolin coronavirus and their similarity to
SARS-CoV2 suggests that pangolins should be
considered as possible hosts in the emergence
of novel coronaviruses and should be removed
from wet markets to prevent zoonotic
transmission, said Ved Kumar, a former
wildlife conservationist with the Wildlife
Institute of India (WII), and founder of Maaty
Biodiversity Conservation & Societal Research
Organization.
In their study, published in the journal
Forensic Science International: Reports, Kumar
and his team described the hotspots for
pangolin trafficking in India. Based on their
research, between 2003 and 2014, states in
Northeast India like Assam, Manipur, and
Meghalaya were the hotspots for pangolin
poaching in the country. Between 2014 and
2018 most of the cases were reported from
central, northern, and eastern Indian states
where Maharashtra and Uttarakhand reported
the second highest position with 12 per cent of
overall seizures. (Also see PA Updates Vol.
XXVI, No. 1 and Vol. XXV, No. 1).
Based on earlier studies from 2011 to
2013, analysing 51 pangolin seizures reported
all over India, the scientists said that 42 of them
were made from the Northeastern states of
India. Assessing another report of more than 91
pangolin seizures made between 2009–2017,
they said that the states of Manipur and Tamil
Nadu have had the highest number of
documented confiscations.
Over the last decade 119 pangolin
seizures were recorded and it is estimated that
7,500 individuals perished in a decade. While
the northeast has been a trade hotspot, current
trends seem to suggest the poaching is moving
towards southern and northern India. In the
current scenario, Tamil Nadu and Uttarakhand
are the hotspots of pangolin poaching.
According to the scientists, the
poached animals are transported by traffickers
into China and Myanmar using road and postal
services. In southern India traders purchase the
pangolin body parts from the local poachers,
16
Protected Area Update Vol. XXVI, No. 3
transport them via road in trucks and other
heavy vehicles to West Bengal, Assam,
Nagaland and eventually into China via
Myanmar.
It is believed in China that the
pangolin's various body parts, especially their
scales, and also its fetuses, blood, bones and
claws have healing properties in traditional
medicines. The meat is also considered a
delicacy and a high source of protein. Its
consumption is also a symbol of status.
Source: ‘Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand emerging as
hotspots for pangolin trafficking in
India, researchers warn’,
www.economictimes.indiatimes.com,
09/04/2020.
WII’s wildlife app to collect data during
lockdown
The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) has
launched an app called ‘Lockdown Wildlife
Tracker’ to collect data of wildlife movement
through human habitation during the
coronavirus lockdown period and help in
wildlife conservation and management in the
long run.
The important features of the
application include recording wildlife sightings
anytime and from anywhere, uploading
sightings with photographs, quick entry tools
making the recording experience short and
simple and GPS enabled entries of all sightings.
Once the lockdown is lifted, WII will
share the data with the respective states and
shall also come out with detailed state specific
reports in addition to a national one.
Source: Suparna Roy. ‘Now, an app to track
wildlife straying outside habitats during
lockdown’, www.hindustantimes.com,
18/04/2020.
MoEFCC coronavirus related advisory to
restrict movement around PAs
The Union Ministry of Environment Forest &
Climate Change (MoEFCC) issued an advisory
to restrict the movement of people around
June 2020 (No. 145)
protected areas across the country after a tiger
tested positive for coronavirus at Bronx Zoo in
New York in the United States of America.
The four-year-old tiger named Nadia
and six other tigers and lions at the zoo that also
took ill are believed to have been infected by a
zoo employee who wasn’t yet showing
symptoms. The zoo was closed to the public
from March 16 onwards amidst the pandemic.
The MoEFCC advisory has urged
many precautions including highlighting
immediate preventive steps to be taken to stop
the spread of the virus among wildlife, reducing
human-wildlife interface, setting up of a task
force of veterinary doctors, biologists, and field
managers,
creating
a
24x7
reporting
mechanism, enhancing disease surveillance and
reporting action taken to the ministry.
Forest rights activists, however, wrote
to Union ministers Prakash Javadekar and
Arjun Munda, flagging the concern that the
advisory can be misused to restrict the access of
tribal and nomadic communities to natural
resources. Forest and tribal rights groups,
including the Van Panchayat Sangharsh
Morcha, the All India Union of Forest Working
People and the Adivasi Jan Van Adhikar
Manch, urged that the advisory be re-issued
with clarifications that it should not be
implemented to restrict customary and legal
rights of use and access of the local
communities living in and around protected
areas.
Source: Jayashree Nandi. ‘COVID-19: Govt
restricts movement of people around
national parks’,
www.hindustantimes.com, 06/04/2020.
‘Centre’s advisory to prevent animalhuman transmission can be misused to
evict tribals: Activists’,
www.outlookindia.com, 17/04/2020.
Source: Tora Agarwala. ‘No selfies with animals:
Why lockdown is forcing Assam Forest
Dept to issue new advisories’,
www.indianexpress.com, 04/04/2020.
GUJARAT
ASSAM
FD taking precautions to avoid transmission
of coronavirus in lions
FD issues guidelines to sensitise people
towards freely roaming animals during
lockdown
The Assam Forest Department (FD) issued
guidelines in the first week of April to sensitise
Protected Area Update Vol. XXVI, No. 3
the public about wild animals that they might
come across during the lockdown. The advisory
appeared in all local papers in the state with an
appeal to the public to cooperate with the
authorities and also listing out a set of dos and
don’ts. 'Don’t take a selfie with the wild
animal'; 'don’t go too close to the wild animal'
and 'don’t make noise near the wild animal',
were some of the instructions in the said list.
While wild animals venturing into
human habitation is not a new phenomenon in
Assam, forest officials noted that the lockdown
had resulted in an increase in the frequency of
sightings and the distances that the animals
were covering. On March 24, for example, a
rhino from the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary was
found in Khetri in Sonapur 25 km away.
Usually they come out to Maloibari Pothaar,
right next to Pobitora, but this time, probably
because of lack of villagers/sounds of cars, it
walked much further. The animal was located
almost three days later and brought back to the
sanctuary.
In another incident in the last week of
March, a leopard was killed by the authorities
after it attacked a member of the tranquilising
team and a BSF jawan in a village in Jorhat
district. In Dibrugarh’s Tingkhong, two juvenile
leopards died on March 30. Though it is
common for leopards to venture into villages,
young ten-month old leopards are generally not
seen. A flock of Whistling teals were similarly
seen in Dighalipukhuri Lake in an area of
Guwahati that is otherwise buzzing with human
activity.
17
After a tiger at the Bronx Zoo in New York
tested positive for the coronavirus, the Gujarat
Forest Department (FD) sounded a high alert
with regard to the disease spreading in Asiatic
June 2020 (No. 145)
lions. Wildlife experts and officials working on
lion conservation in and around Gir pointed out
that while the exact cause of the recent deaths
of 8-12 lions in Dhari was not known, they
were certain it was because of some disease.
A forest official noted, however, that
the chances of lions in Gujarat being infected
with the coronavirus were very slim as they live
in the wild, unlike the tiger at the Bronx Zoo.
Further, there was little scope for any close
encounter between humans and the lions.
The deaths of as many as 29 lions due
to tick-borne babesiosis and the canine
distemper virus in two months in 2018 had
become a major concern for the authorities and
wildlife experts here (PA Update Vol. XXV,
No. 1).
Source: ‘Gujarat: Lions monitored by forest
department’,
www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com,
07/04/2020.
HARYANA
State wildlife department steps up vigilance
In orders passed in the second week of April,
the Haryana Wildlife Department issued
instructions to all districts, particularly those
with sensitive wildlife habitats, to increase antipoaching surveillance in wake of the
coronavirus related lockdown. Officials were
also asked to keep a close eye on the health and
behaviour of captive animals, particularly apex
carnivores, in view of the reports of the New
York Bronx Zoo tiger testing positive for the
virus.
No case of poaching was reported in
Haryana in the first two weeks of the lockdown,
however.
Source: Prayag Arora-Desai. ‘Wildlife department
to step up anti-poaching surveillance
during lockdown’,
www.hindustantimes.com, 09/04/2020.
Protected Area Update Vol. XXVI, No. 3
18
KERALA
Human-animal conflict reduces during
lockdown
Data compiled by the Kerala Forest Department
(FD) suggests that human-animal conflict has
declined during the coronavirus lockdown in
many forest divisions in Kerala. Though the
data collected before and after the lockdown is
not for the same duration, the declining trend is
perceptible.
While the number of incidents
involving conflict in the high range circle
comprising Munnar, Marayoor and Kottayam
was 60 from March 1 to 23, it dipped to 12
during the first phase of the lockdown from
March 24 to April 2. Also, the number of
incidents in wildlife north circle, Palakkad
comprising Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary and
other divisions declined from 141 in the prelockdown period to 57 after lockdown began. In
the Palakkad circle it dipped from 91 to 35.
Forest officials have pointed out that
the reduction in the number of incidents could
be due to the fact that animals weren't disturbed
by people who are indoors. Earlier, it was
noted, the mere presence of wild animals near
human habitations was reported as conflict.
From the data collected, merely seeing an
animal or encountering it is not being reported
as a conflict during lockdown.
Source: ‘Man-animal conflict rates plummet’,
www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com,
08/04/2020.
MAHARASHTRA
Increase in frequency of leopard sightings,
other animals, in Aarey colony, SGNP, other
PAs
An increase was reported in the frequency of
leopard sightings in the Aarey Milk Colony
adjoining the Sanjay Gandhi National Park
(SGNP) in the first two weeks of the
coronavirus related lockdown starting March
end. A spike was also noted in the number of
June 2020 (No. 145)
sambar, spotted deer and a host of primates
across SGNP.
According to the Maharashtra Forest
Department (FD), sightings of leopards in
Aarey went up from an average of two a week,
to pictures being taken by the camera traps
daily during this period. Images captured
included many of cubs as well from different
locations in Aarey. This type of movement has
not been observed before by any of the four
camera traps in the area. The 16 sq. km Aarey
Colony has a resident population of six to seven
leopards including cubs, as well as a transient
population moving from SGNP. Additional
principal chief conservator of forest (wildlife)
Sunil Limaye said that a similar increase in
observations was recorded in Karnala and
Tansa Wildlife Sanctuaries as well.
In another related development captive
big cats in SGNP’s safari section, which were
being fed chicken during the first week of the
lockdown, will be given frozen buffalo meat as
the Deonar abattoir agreed to supply the meat
for the two months starting April 4 onwards.
The meat was originally meant for export
purposes, which has been put on hold due to the
lockdown.
Source: Badri Chatterjee. ‘Rapid increase in
leopard movement in Aarey Colony:
Forest department’,
www.hindustantimes.com, 10/04/2020.
PUNJAB
Gharials, dolphins flourish in Beas CR,
Harike WLS following COVID-19 lockdown
The Punjab Wildlife Department has said that
the long COVID-19 lockdown has come as a
boon to river dolphins and gharials in areas like
the Harike Wildlife Sanctuary (WLS) and Beas
Conservation Reserve (CR), thanks to improved
water quality due to reduced human activity and
industrial pollution.
With a clean, fast flowing river now
full of fish, the lockdown has turned the Beas
CR - a 185-km stretch of the Beas River- into a
perfect habitat for the gharials, which were reintroduced in the river over two years ago. The
Protected Area Update Vol. XXVI, No. 3
19
water quality of the Beas has considerably
improved in the last few weeks and the Punjab
Pollution Control Board (PPCB) has removed
the river from polluted category after a recent
survey. Dolphins too have been spotted at
distances of 50 km from areas they are
regularly sighted.
Ground reports shared by the teams of
the wildlife department and 'Beas Mitars'- a
network of riparian communities along the
reserve revealed that prey intake of the gharials
has increased due to availability of aquatic life
like fish in abundance. This has emerged as a
heartening sign particularly in light of the
molasses leak incident in 2018, which had led
to mass mortality of numerous species of fish
(PA Update Vol. XXV, Nos. 6 & 1; and Vol.
XXIV, Nos. 3 & 1). The river dolphins too were
being sighted more often in Gharka and
Karmowala villages falling in Tarn Taran district
and occasionally in Harike WLS as well.
Gharials are being regularly spotted
basking on the mid-channel islands of the Beas
CR and about 25 gharials on an average have
been spotted per sighting at different location.
Encouraged by these reports the wildlife
department has decided to release more gharial
hatchlings in winter.
Dr Kuldip Kumar Lomis, principal
chief conservator of forests, wildlife and chief
wildlife warden of Punjab, said that the gharials
are doing well in the reserve and are being
regularly monitored. He added that the Beas
Mitars and teams of the department have helped
in gathering river-related information and quick
field action amidst COVID-19 related
restrictions in the state. The department is
planning to further augment staff strength and
infrastructure for the reserve along with regular
patrolling and enforcement.
Source: Vinod Kumar. 'With Beas pollution
down, rare Indus river dolphins venturing
out', www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com,
06/05/2020.
Vinod Kumar. 'Highly sensitive to
pollution, gharials flourish in Beas in
COVID-19 lockdown',
www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com,
13/05/2020.
RAJASTHAN
June 2020 (No. 145)
Source: ‘Isolation wards created for elephants at
Corbett National Park’,
www.uttarakhandnewsnetwork.com,
09/04/2020.
Spike in poaching in Western Rajasthan
during COVID-19 lockdown: FD, activists
Officials of the Rajasthan Forest Department
and activists highlight that there has been a rise
in poaching of wild animals and birds in
western Rajasthan during the COVID-19
lockdown. They have recorded at least 30 cases
of killing of animals, including chinkara and the
peacock during this period. Demand for meat
and loss of daily wages are among the main
reasons credited for this spike in wildlife
poaching.
Eight to ten cases of poaching were
reported from Nagaur and six from Jodhpur
with similar reports coming in from Jaisalmer,
Bikaner and Pali as well.
One of the reasons for the spike in
poaching of wildlife, according to members of
the local Bishnoi community is the surge in
demand for meat in the general populace during
the lockdown.
Source: Azera Parveen Rahman. 'Rajasthan sees
spike in wildlife poaching during
COVID-19 lockdown',
www.india.mongabay.com, 20/05/2020.
UTTARAKHAND
Corbett TR builds isolation wards for
animals, takes other steps
Alerted by the National Tiger Conservation
Authority after the coronavirus infection was
detected in a tiger in the United States of
America, the Corbett Tiger Reserve (TR)
management has built one isolation ward each
for animals, especially domestic elephants, in
Bijrani and Kalagarh.
Pet elephants and guard dogs are
believed to be more at risk of infection as they
go out in the forest to patrol with their handlers.
Therefore, unnecessary visits to the 17 pet
elephants in the reserve was banned. A ban was
also imposed on mahouts visiting their family
members. The elephant camp was sanitized and
minerals and vitamins were being given to
increase the immunity of elephants and guard
dogs.
Protected Area Update Vol. XXVI, No. 3
20
Human-elephant conflict reduces near
Corbett TR in lockdown period
The reduction of vehicular traffic around the
Corbett Tiger Reserve (TR) on account of the
coronavirus related lockdown is said to have
significantly reduced incidents of humanelephant conflict here. Wildlife experts said this
was on account of the fact that elephants can
now cross roads easily without running into
traffic or human beings. Villagers meanwhile
noted that they didn't even realise when an
elephant passes through a corridor without any
disturbance to human settlements.
According to the chief conservator of
forests, western circle, the reduced human
pressures have helped in the reduction of
conflict. Also, the forest department (FD) is
continuously monitoring the whole landscape to
see for changes in the behaviour of animals in
pre- and post-lockdown periods. The data is
being collected with camera traps at different
locations on the national highway that cuts
through the Corbett landscape to study conflict
cases. The traps are also helping the FD to keep
an eye on anti-social elements trying to enter
the forests during the lockdown.
The elephants regularly create a
commotion when they have to cross the
highway to reach the Kosi River. The crossings
often bring them in conflict with human beings
and lead to elephants attacking vehicles. There
have been several instances when tourists have
fled from their vehicles to save their lives. Last
November, a wild elephant killed a 52-year-old
man after pulling him out of a bus near the
reserve in Mandal forest range in Nainital
district. Elephants sometimes also attack
vehicles for food items on the 25 km road
stretch in the Ramnagar area near the reserve.
Source: Suparna Roy. ‘Man-elephant conflict falls
sharply around Corbett as COVID-19
lockdown stops traffic’,
www.hindustantimes.com, 14/04/2020.
June 2020 (No. 145)
UTTAR PRADESH
FD issues instructions in view of the
coronavirus pandemic
Following guidelines issued by the Centre to
ensure the well-being of both forest staff and
wildlife in view of the coronavirus pandemic,
the Uttar Pradesh Forest Department (FD)
issued instructions to its staff in the first week
of April to wear masks and observe proper
sanitisation before entering the protected areas,
to undergo health check-ups to ensure that they
are free of the infection before interacting with
villagers living around the forests and also for
villagers to avoid routes that go through the
forests.
In order to monitor health of the
carnivores, the FD was told to keep an eye on
big cats with the help of camera traps. The
guidelines were to be followed if any animal
was seen to display symptoms of the viral
infection and in the case of a carnivore death in
the forest, the samples were to be collected and
sent for tests.
The Dudhwa Tiger Reserve authorities
had in response restricted the movement of
villagers in the forest area and NGOs like the
World Wide Fund for Nature and Wildlife Trust
of India that provide regular support to
foresters, were also advised to follow the
guidelines.
Lucknow zoo too has created a
quarantine ward for the animals in the zoo.
Source: Kanwardeep Singh. ‘COVID-19 scare:
UP forest dept to monitor wildlife’,
www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com,
08/04/2020.
sighting being reported on five, sometimes to
six days in the week. On some days, reports of
multiple tiger sightings from different areas of
the tiger reserve (TR) were also received.
Patrolling using boats was also intensified in
the delta to look out for tigers that show signs
of COVID-19.
More than two lakh tourists, hundreds
of honey collectors and fishermen enter the
Sunderban TR every year with permits. But
because of the threat of coronavirus, entry of
visitors to Sunderban and other protected areas
in West Bengal was suspended from March 17.
Source: Joydeep Thakur. ‘Tiger sightings increase
in the Sunderban with lockdown but no
tourists to see them’,
www.hindustantimes.com, 13/04/2020.
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WEST BENGAL
Increased tiger sightings in the Sunderbans
during lockdown
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/paupdate
Forest officials have reported an increase in
tiger sightings in the Sunderbans during the
lockdown period. These were said to have
doubled from not more than two in a week to a
Protected Area Update Vol. XXVI, No. 3
21
June 2020 (No. 145)
FROM THE ARCHIVES - 10 years ago
PA Update 85, June 2010
river channel coming closer to the habitat of the
deer.
ASSAM
Kaziranga NP gets record number of tourists
The Kaziranga National Park was visited by a
record 1,12,844 tourists in 2009-10. This
included nearly 6000 foreign visitors. Tourism
revenue collected during the year was almost
Rs. 122 lakhs.
The park had recorded 73,716 tourists
in 2006-07, 59,746 tourists in 2007-08 and
1,06,051 tourists in 2008-09.
Source: ‘Tourist record at KNP this year’, The
Sentinel, 01/05/10
UTTAR PRADESH
Swamp deer habitat in Dudhwa TR
threatened due to changing course of River
Sharda
Jhadi Taal, a critical refuge of the swamp deer,
is under threat of submergence due to the
changing course of River Sharda. The river that
was about 4.8 kms from the habitat of the deer
six decades ago is said to have now moved to
less than a kilometer away.
Spread over about 200 sq km, Jhadi
Taal is a marshy grassland on the banks of the
river and is surrounded by sal forests of the
Dudhwa Tiger Reserve. It is home to an
estimated 1500 deer and a study by the Wildlife
Institute of India has suggested that this shifting
of the river course presents a serious threat to
the animals.
High run-off and siltation rates have
been observed in the river during the last 40
years. This has occurred, primarily, due to
massive conversion of forest to agricultural land
for resettlement of people in Nepal in the upper
reaches during the 1960s and 1970s and river
engineering works. These changes in land use,
have in turn, caused frequent and sudden
changes in the river course and resulted in the
Protected Area Update Vol. XXVI, No. 3
22
Source: ‘River threatens Swamp deers' habitat in
UP’, Deccan Herald, 24/03/10
UTTARAKHAND
MoEF concerned over growing number of
resorts around Corbett TR
The Ministry of Environment and Forests
(MoEF) has reportedly expressed concern over
the growing number of tourist resorts around the
Corbett Tiger Reserve.
Minister, Mr. Jairam Ramesh too has
expressed his concern regarding the influence of
the land mafia near the reserve, something he
believes could be an important reason for tiger
deaths and rise in cases of man-animal conflict.
In 1991 there were only six such resorts around
the reserve, but at present there are 74 (also see
PA Update Vol XVI, No. 1).
The Minister is also reported to have
written a letter to the Uttarakhand Chief
Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal asking him not to
permit any more resorts around Corbett. He has
also asked the state government to notify the
buffer area of the reserve so that people living in
them can be compensated if their cattle are
killed or crops destroyed by wild animals.
Source: ‘No more resorts near Corbett: Jairam
Ramesh’ 23/03/10, www.wildlifewatch.in
June 2020 (No. 145)
Protected Area Update Vol. XXVI, No. 3
23
June 2020 (No. 145)
PERSPECTIVE
Communicating conservation in these difficult times
FERN is a small Thane/Mumbai based
environmental NGO that has for the last five
years been conducting an annual Environment
Lecture Series (ELS) for the citizens of Thane.
Conducted for a week following Diwali every
year, the lectures get an average attendance of
about 80 and the minimum cost we incur for the
same is Rs. 50,000. The funding comes from a
few donors and from the funds that we manage
to save from our paid programs over the year.
We have been very fortunate that many
experts have spoken at our ELS. It has,
however, been a challenge for many of them to
find the time to travel to Thane and deliver a
lecture. We have also been requested by many
to upload videos of the lectures on YouTube and
similar platforms for a wider outreach. While
we have been considering this for the last two
years, the cost of professional recording has
been beyond our budgets and uploading an
amateur recording would mean doing injustice
to the speakers’ content. Both these things had
been holding us back.
The COVID-19 related lockdown
starting March presented us with a new
challenge as well as a new opportunity: a lot of
the experts, whom we were keen to invite in
person but were hesitant due to the distance or
their availability, have been relatively free as
compared to their usual schedules. We suddenly
lost our inhibitions and stopped worrying about
the production quality of the videos that we
were planning to upload to YouTube. We knew
the content and the message was important and
it was reaching a far greater audience than our
annual ELS.
Over the last two months we have
recorded 10 interviews (Paryavaranavar Bolu
Kahi) and an additional 10 stories of successful
conservation efforts (Tales of Conservation) and
uploaded them to FERN's YouTube channel
(https://www.youtube.com/fern_thane).
These have covered recent topics
such as the supreme court's judgement on
Protected Area Update Vol. XXVI, No. 3
24
Panchgani Tableland in Feb 2020, declaration of
Marine Protected Area at Lakshadweep in
March 2020 and the very interesting story of
tiger re-introduction to the Panna Tiger Reserve
a decade ago.
Doing this presented its own
challenges. Internet connectivity and bandwidth
was one, the discomfort with the technology
among speakers and audiences was another. We
also had to learn video editing from scratch. Yet
we have had a good time doing this, have
received positive feedback and encouragement
from hundreds of viewers and these videos will
be available on YouTube for posterity.
While we embraced this medium due to
the limitations enforced by the current situation,
we now believe that even after we return to
normalcy, it will be prudent to have a
combination of the old way of delivering
lectures and the new way of listening to them.
- Seema Hardikar & Subodh Khanolkar are
the founder members of FERN.
Email: seema@fern.in
For private circulation/Printed Matter
To
From: Kalpavriksh, Apt. 5, Sri Dutta Krupa,
908 Deccan Gymkhana, Pune 411004
June 2020 (No. 145)