Inauguration of Sunderban Wetlands in Kolkata Bookfair 2008 is a prelude to the predicament of the mangrove treasure trove, threatened by the phenomena of global warming. Mr Kiranmoy Nanda, fishery minister of West Bengal, Mr Tushar Kanjilal and other dignitaries attended the inaugural ceremony. The price tag for Sunderban Wetlands is Rs 500 and is available at the Benfish store in the fair. Written by Dr Madhumita Mukherjee, joint secretary of the fisheries department, government of West Bengal, the book highlights the recent changes in the biodiversity of Sunderbans and its impact on the people living there. Dr Mukherjee said that the ecological changes in the region have affected the lives of the animals and human beings. She also said that efforts are being made to ensure that people of Sunderbans can take benefit of alternative livelihood based on the results of scientific research. Mr Tushar Kanjilal, who has spent 40 years in Sunderbans, expressed his concern on the recent changes the region. In his speech, Mr Kanjilal spoke of the "environmental refugees' in Sunderbans, people who were compelled to migrate as the sea has swallowed their home. He said that the complete destruction of forests in 54 out of 102 islands in the Sunderban has taken its toll as two islands has already been wiped off. While speaking of the region, Mr Kiranmoy Nanda said: "The Sunderbans is like our mother.' He said that the government is making efforts to ensure protection and optimum utilisation of natural resources in the area. He said that filled canals are being restructured and measures are taken to protect the mangrove. He also said that for the weed collectors in Sunderbans, the government is looking for alternative source of living that will also connect them with the wetlands. Mr Nanda is hopeful that the upcoming 40000 sweet water bodies in Sunderbans, in addition to the existing 33000 will improve the situation. All the speakers were of opinion that the book is a storehouse of information that will help all those want to delve into the unknown facets of Sunderbans.

Fisherman Nandu Pawar (40) is ecstatic at the prospect of having a nature park in what he calls his "native land' Bhandup. "We are locals of Bhandup village and fishing here has been our age-old occupation. However, of late, a lot of us have been finding jobs elsewhere because fishing is not lucrative anymore. The mangrove park will mean new opportunities in our own land. We can think of a plethora of respectable jobs here as guides, boat riders, guards, etc,' he explains. Nearly 10,000 villagers of Bhandup echo Pawar's feelings. "We'd rather work in the place that we have inhabited for years than find jobs elsewhere,' they say. "Besides, we know how living in the mangrove area saved us during the June 26, 2006, floods. We will be proud to see this land develop as a tourism zone.' The state government's forest department will soon sign a formal agreement with NGO Conservation Action Trust (CAT) to develop the 452-hectare wetland between Bhandup and Kanjurmarg as a Mangrove Wetland Centre (MWC), the first of its kind in India. Still a proposal, CAT plans to submit a master plan of the park

The state government has imposed curbs on "sale, purchase and change of character' of plots within the East Calcutta Wetlands, off EM Bypass, to prevent unauthorised construction and other activities that are harmful for its ecology. The order specifying the curbs was issued on February 29 by M.L.Meena, the principal secretary in the state environment department and member-secretary of East Calcutta Wetlands Authority. It came into force immediately. The wetlands, spread across 12,500 hectares, have been declared a "no-development' zone by Calcutta High Court. But there are often complaints of violation of the ruling. "A large number of unauthorised structures are coming up in the wetlands, violating environment norms and creating ecological imbalance. There are also reports of other unlawful commercial activities in the zone,' said Meena, explaining the rationale for issuing the order. The order bars "transfer (of) land to any person or persons in any manner through deed of sale or providing lease or tenancy right' without "prior clearance of East Calcutta Wetlands Authority'. The authority was set up under the chairmanship of the chief secretary in 2006 to preserve the character of the wetlands. The land and land reforms department has been asked "not to issue any certificate for the change of the character of land', while those dealing with registration have been been directed "not to allow registration of any land, house or pond' without the authority's consent. Similarly, the municipal or panchayat bodies have been debarred from sanctioning plans of buildings to be used for commercial purposes, keeping the authority in the dark. "If anyone wants to transfer plots within the East Calcutta Wetlands, he/she has to approach the member-secretary of the authority, who will decide on the applications within two months,' said Biswajit Mukherjee, a senior law officer in the state environment department. Environmentalists, however, are sceptical about implementation of the order. "The idea is good but will it work?' wondered Dhrubojyoti Ghosh, who was the first to document the ecological role of the wetlands. "There are numerous instances of landfill in the Ramsar zone but the violators have all gone scot-free, despite the high court ruling. Any day, you can find middlemen involved in land transfer in the wetlands,' he pointed out. "A number of big housing estates and a college have come up within the wetlands. And there are quite a few smaller violations. But the government has done nothing to honour the judicial verdict,' said another green activist.

River dolphin, an endangered river animal found in the Brahmaputra and a few of its tributaries, is going to be declared as the State River Animal by the State Government soon. This was disclosed by H Sarma, DFO, Dhubri at a meeting organised here by the Centre for North East Studies and Policy Research (C-NES) recently. The NGO C-NES, which is working on the conservation of this rare and endangered water animal in the rivers of Assam since 2006, is holding this public awareness programme at Dhubri for the second time. In this connection, the NGO brought out an awareness rally, which was participated by fishermen families of Panchpeer char and Bahadurtari, the two riverine villages near Dhubri town where the dolphin project is run by the NGO. The rally was flagged off by Bhuban Saikia, retired lecturer of BN College. The rally was followed by spot drawing and essay writing competitions among the school students. A documentary film by Sanjay Hazarika on river dolphin of the Brahmaputra was shown to the audience. The open meeting was presided over by the DFO H Sarma, who in his presidential remark, said that dolphin is now found in Ganja, Meghna, Brahmaputra and in a river of Nepal in small numbers. This mammal's procreation period being three to four years, its population is gradually decreasing. Moreover water pollution, poaching and fishing by fine gill net have added to rapid depletion of dolphin population, he added. According to him the only remedy is awareness of the people both in poaching of the animal and in keeping the water unpolluted. He also suggested preservation of the breeding ground of the river creatures. Generally dolphins came to the marshy lands (beels) for breeding purposes. The Sareswar bill in Dhubri district is one such breeding ground for the water creatures, Sarma added. The meeting was also addressed by Mehboob Hussain, DPO, SSA, Dhubri and a few others. The meeting started with a couple of Goalparia songs sung by radio artist Charu Bala Roy wihle Manik Barua of C-NES anchored the meeting successfully. The aims and objectives of the NGO was narrated by Bhaskarjyoti Saud. Saud revealed that poaching of dolphin has come down after fishermen were provided with an alternative bait for cat fish fishing. The NGO is also trying to provide the people with some alternative means of earning through formation of self help groups.

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