Indian Wildlife Club Forum

Yamuna Bio diversity Park

 I visited the Yamuna Biodiversity Park in September 2006 and was quite impressed by the work being done to save the Yamuna Wetlands. Read a brief report on this in our yahoo group

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/indianwildlifeclub2/

To view the photographs posted in the group, you will have to join the yahoo group.

A striking multi-colored bird has been discovered in Arunachal Pradesh making it the first ornithological find in the country in more than half a century.

Discovery of this new species in Arunachal Pradesh was made by Dr. Ramana Athreya who is a professional astronomer with the National Centre for Radio Physics in Pune. Bombay Natural History Society honed his birdwatching skills.

The Bugun Liocichla, scientifically known as Liocichla bugunorum, a kind of babbler, was discovered in May at the Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary. The bird -- with olive and golden-yellow plumage, a black cap and flame-tipped wings -- is 20 cm (8 inches) in length and named after the Bugun tribespeople who live on the sanctuary's periphery.

The story is certainly inspiring for all bird watchers!

Read more about the discovery at

http://www.hindu.com/2006/09/12/stories/2006091202072200.htm

A striking multi-colored bird has been discovered in Arunachal Pradesh making it the first ornithological find in the country in more than half a century.

Discovery of this new species in Arunachal Pradesh was made by Dr. Ramana Athreya who is a professional astronomer with the National Centre for Radio Physics in Pune. Bombay Natural History Society honed his birdwatching skills.

The Bugun Liocichla, scientifically known as Liocichla bugunorum, a kind of babbler, was discovered in May at the Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary. The bird -- with olive and golden-yellow plumage, a black cap and flame-tipped wings -- is 20 cm (8 inches) in length and named after the Bugun tribespeople who live on the sanctuary's periphery.

The story is certainly inspiring for all bird watchers!

Read more about the discovery at

http://www.hindu.com/2006/09/12/stories/2006091202072200.htm

BNHS ( Bombay Natural History Society) is an NGO working silently and persistently for conservation. For the last five years they have been working to save the grasslands around Naliya in Kutch (Gujarat), where 25-30 Great Indian Bustards and 40-45 Lesser Floricans are found. Finally they have managed convincing the Gujarat Government to transfer the land to the Forest Department for maintaining it as a bustrad/florican habitat.

Read the full story in the Newsletter Sep-Oct 2006 available online at

 http://www.bnhs.org/

Community based conservation-Uttaranchal

A Van Panvhayat ( Village Forest Council) near the trijunction of India, Nepal and Tibet, called 'Sarmoli-Jainti' has shown what the initiative of a dedicated leader can achieve in a remote village.

'A self-initiated effort by the Van Panchyat to conserve the great diversity of Galliformes within the village forest and the adjoining reserve forest began in 2004. The village forest has about 34 hectares for a population of over 300 households. An underlying objective is to attract wilderness bound tourists, which should bring enhanced income to the community through non-extractive uses, like employment as trekking and nature guides and through a home-stay programme run by the Van Panchayat. Conservation of the habitat would also result in more stable water supply to the villagers through the springs charged within the village forest and the adjoining forest area.'

With the support of World Pheasant Association-WPA (India), the Panchayat has

1. Set up a Nature Interpretation Centre at Sarmoli Village

2. Undertaken and completed a rigorous field survey of pheasants and partridges of the area

3. Identified and quantified human disturbance factors in the area.

This extract is courtesy "Mor" quarterly of WPA (India)

Malika Virdi, the Sarpanch of Sarmoli can be contacted on email malika_virdiz@rediffmail.com

The Economist writes in a survey:

"This survey will argue that although the science remains uncertain, the chances of serious consequences are high enough to make it worth spending the (not exorbitant) sums needed to try to mitigate climate change. It will suggest that, even though America, the world's biggest CO2 emitter, turned its back on the Kyoto protocol on global warming, the chances are that it will eventually take steps to control its emissions. And if America does, there is a reasonable prospect that the other big producers of CO2 will do the same." ..........

........ Arctic sea ice, for instance, is melting unexpectedly fast, at 9% a decade. Glaciers are melting surprisingly swiftly. And a range of phenomena, such as hurricane activity, that were previously thought to be unconnected to climate change are now increasingly linked to it.

Read the full article at

 http://www.economist.com/surveys/displaystory.cfm?story_id=7852924

For an idea to be spread, it needs to be sent and received.

 Ideas never spread because they are important to the originator.

A key element in the spreading of the idea is the capsule that contains it.

If it’s easy to swallow, tempting, and complete, it’s far more likely to get a good start.

No one “gets” an idea unless:

 1. The first impression demands further investigation.

 2. They already understand the foundation ideas necessary to get the new idea.

 3. They trust or respect the sender enough to invest the time.

 We look forward to feedback on the articles in our monthly ezine. Write in to iwc@indianwildlifeclub.com with the subject "Feedback on IWC Ezine"

Source of ideas: Guy Kawasaki quotes Seth Godin (from his new book "Small is the New Big"):

Who Killed the Electric Car?

The year is 1990. California is in a pollution crisis. Smog threatens public health. Desperate for a solution, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) targets the source of its problem: auto exhaust. Inspired by a recent announcement from General Motors about an electric vehicle prototype, the Zero Emissions Mandate (ZEV) is born.

It was among the fastest, most efficient production cars ever built. It ran on electricity, produced no emissions and catapulted American technology to the forefront of the automotive industry.

Fast forward to 6 years later... The fleet is gone. EV charging stations dot the California landscape like tombstones, collecting dust and spider webs. How could this happen? Did anyone bother to examine the evidence? Yes, in fact, someone did. And it was murder. The electric car threatened the status quo.

WHO KILLED THE ELECTRIC CAR? is not just about the EV1. It's about how this allegory for failure - reflected in today's oil prices and air quality - can also be a shining symbol of society's potential to better itself and the world around it. While there's plenty of outrage for lost time, there's also time for renewal as technology is reborn in WHO KILLED THE ELECTRIC CAR?

http://www.sonyclassics.com/whokilledtheelectriccar/electric.html

( The above review is from http://www.wildfilmnews.org)

The Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act, 2006 (No. 39 of 2006) has come into force on 4th September 2006. The Act provides for creating the National Tiger Conservation Authority and the Tiger and Other Endangered Species Crime Control Bureau (Wildlife Crime Control Bureau).

The penalty for an offence relating to the core area of a tiger reserve or hunting in the reserve has been increased. The first conviction in such offence shall be punishable with imprisonment not less than three years but may extend to seven years, and also with fine not less than fifty thousand rupees but may extend to two lakh rupees. The second or subsequent conviction would lead to imprisonment not less than seven years, and also with fine not less than five lakh rupees, which may extend to fifty lakh rupees.

Ramaswamy Iyer, former chief secretary in the water resources ministry said that there is an inherent conflict of the flood control objective with the other objective of trying to maximize hydro-power and irrigation in dams.

Iyer said while flood control demands that dams allow adequate space to receive flood flows, the objective of maximizing hydro-power potential means that water level in dams is kept as high as possible.

''As there is greater pressure to increase power generation, the objective of flood control gets lesser attention. This can lead to a situation when water has to be released suddenly on a large scale leading to disastrous flash floods,'' he said. Iyer added that the changing pattern of monsoon has put the last nail in the coffin of that fraudulent Interlinking of Rivers proposal, as those basins identified as "deficit" by National water development Authority have witnessed floods while those that have been marked as "surplus" have shown shortfall."

( Quoted in a meeting on flash floods and dams organized by Intercultural resources in collaboration with South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People )