Provides one last opportunity for States to give site-specific proposals

A decade after the National Board for Wildlife envisaged declaring areas within 10 km of the boundary of national parks and sanctuaries as eco-sensitive zones, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has given one last opportunity to all the States to submit site-specific proposals by February 15. In a letter to the Chief Wildlife Wardens of all the States, Vivek Saxena, Deputy Inspector General, Wildlife, Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has said the progress in declaring eco-sensitive zones was far from satisfactory despite the Ministry issuing guidelines in February 2011 itself.

Forest fires are being controlled in Tamil Nadu with the help of satellite data, forest officials say. Thanks to the availability of data on forest fires, it can be downloaded and overlaid with the administrative map of the forests to point the exact location in which it occurs.

Talking about the facility, a senior forest official said active fire spots were detected using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectro-Radiometer Sensors (MODIS) and the data is available on a daily basis for the entire world on the ‘Fire Information for Resource Management Systems’ website.

Members say it will help ganja cultivators, encourage poaching

The Central Empowered Committee (CEC) of the Supreme Court on August 7 rejected a proposal cleared by the Tamil Nadu Government for laying a road connecting Karumbarai in Theni Forest Division with the grizzled giant squirrel sanctuary near Watrap in Virudhunagar district. According to Ministry of Environment and Forests sources, the CEC, after inspecting the areas in Theni and the sanctuary on June 13, held public hearing on four occasions. The last one was on August 7, at which it announced the rejection of the proposal.

Positive change in 74 sq km

The Forest Survey of India (FSI) has recorded a substantial increase in forest cover in Tamil Nadu. According to a recent FSI report, during 2011, a positive change was seen in 74 sq km of forest area. There has been a net increase of 287 sq km in forest cover. The analysis reveals an increase of 22 sq km in very dense forest cover; 74 sq km in moderate dense forest cover; and decrease of 22 sq km in open forest type.

Invasive species, pollution levels in Moyar need to be monitored

Even as biodiversity decline is reported in the national parks worldwide, Mudumalai and Anamalai tiger reserves in Tamil Nadu have shown positive trends in sustaining its rich variety of flora and fauna. The positive trend was the outcome of a study taken up in 60 reserves from various parts of the world by a team of biodiversity researchers numbering more than 200.

Following the Supreme Court order, State wildlife authorities on Wednesday, banned tourism in the three tiger reserves of Mudumalai in Udhagamandalam, Anamalai near Pollachi, and Kalakkad – Mundanthurai in Tirunelveli district.

Officials in the forest headquarters said the field directors of the three tiger reserves have been asked to instruct the district forest officers concerned to stop allowing tourists till the apex court passes further judgement. Incidentally, the core tiger habitat in Mudumalai, which includes Theppakadu elephant camp, and Anamalai, where Top Slip is, are the core tourist spots thronged by several thousands of tourists every year.

Wildlife officials have submitted a proposal to the State Government to create a new tiger reserve in the existing Grizzled Giant Squirrel sanctuary in Srivilliputhur in Virudhunagar district.

Shekhar Kumar Niraj, Conservator of Forests, Virudhunagar Circle, says that in the recent population monitoring exercises, tigers were sighted frequently in the sanctuary's middle and upper ridges. In the recently concluded census, participants sighted an adult tigress with two of her cubs in the foothills of Rajapalayam Range of the sanctuary.

Study in the wild to create awareness of conservation

The last significant vulture population in the Western and Eastern Ghats are threatened by the indiscriminate use of pesticides, say researchers watching vulture habitats. A team of researchers from CareEarth Arulagam has taken up a detailed study in the wild and creating awareness of conservation of these forest scavengers. The organisation has its field station located within the vulture habitat at Bhavanisagar in Erode district.

‘Secrets of Wild India', a three-part series highlighting the diversity of Indian wildlife, recently won the ‘Best Television Series' award at the International Wildlife Film Festival held at Montana in the U.S.A.

The series had to compete with films from across the globe at the prestigious festival. ‘Secrets of Wild India' was commissioned by National Geographic and is currently being shown in India.

Solar fences, early warning systems and trip wire systems are some of the new initiatives that will be in place to reduce man-animal conflict in Valparai plateau.

In this highly conflict-prone zone, where herds of elephant and leopards often stray into human habitations, the Forest Department will provide 20 km of solar power fencing to residential colonies in Valparai and Manambolly ranges to the save lives and crop.