Press on Environment and Wildlife

JAPAN GOES WHALING, IWC COMMISSIONERS SIGN PROTEST DECLARATION (November Week 2 (2005)) BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, November 8, 2005 (ENS) - Thirteen Latin and Southern Hemisphere countries plus Spain signed a declaration today condemning so-called scientific whaling in response to Japan and and other countries that ignore the worldwide moratorium on the killing of whales established by the International Whaling Commission. The declaration, signed by six IWC commissioners and other government representatives, comes as six ships of the Japanese whaling fleet sailed for the Southern Ocean.

WETLANDS AWARDS HONOR PIONEERS IN AUSTRALIA, CHINA, IRAN, JAPAN (November Week 2 (2005)) KAMPALA, Uganda, November 8, 2005 (ENS) - The world's wetlands are conserved under an international treaty signed 34 years ago in Ramsar, Iran and known as the Ramsar Convention. Representatives of the 147 countries that have signed on to the treaty opened their ninth triennial meeting today in Kampala by presenting awards to individuals and organizations that have made outstanding contributions to wetland and water resources conservation.

Wildlife Crime Bureau (November Week 2 (2005)) A Wildlife Crime Bureau, a Central investigative agency on the lines of the Narcotics Control Bureau, would be set up within the next three months to check poaching of endangered animals in sanctuaries and forests, said the Union Minister for Environment and Forests, A. Raja.
The bureau is being set up based on the recommendations of the Tiger Task Force Report, constituted by the Centre to examine reports of drastic fall in the number of tigers in sanctuaries.

An Indian Forest Service officer of the rank of Director General would head the bureau, which would have regional offices across the country.
The agency would be vested with adequate powers to prosecute offenders, Mr. Raja said addressing a press conference in Tiruchi. Mr. Raja also stated that the Ministry has proposed to promote 18 Project Tiger Reserves in the country, including one at Anamalais in Tamil Nadu.

The Minister said the Centre had planned to increase the country's forest cover to 25 per cent from the current 23.5 per cent by 2012. The Centre has earmarked Rs.1,200 crores for the National Afforestation Programmes during the X Plan period.

Bird flu alert in Kaziranga (November Week 2 (2005)) Wildlife wardens at the Kaziranga National Park in Assam, alerted its rangers and veterinarians to monitor signs of avian flu in migratory birds flocking to the sanctuary, reports The Pioneer.
The 430 sq km sanctuary, 220 kilometers east of Guwahati, the home to the one-horned rhinoceros is also known for sheltering some 300 endangered bird species, including a hundred different types of migratory birds.
There has been no reported case of bird flu in India, but the spread of the virus by migratory birds to Europe from Asia has led to concern among wildlife officials here with Kaziranga beginning to receive flocks of birds from China's Tibet region and Siberia.
"There is no need to panic but we do not want to take any chances and hence, alerted our personnel to keep a strict vigil and monitor any abnormality in migratory birds or their carcasses found inside the sanctuary," Kaziranga Park warden NK Vasu said.
Wildlife wardens at the Kaziranga National Park in Assam, alerted its rangers and veterinarians to monitor signs of avian flu in migratory birds flocking to the sanctuary, reports The Pioneer.
The 430 sq km sanctuary, 220 kilometers east of Guwahati, the home to the one-horned rhinoceros is also known for sheltering some 300 endangered bird species, including a hundred different types of migratory birds.
There has been no reported case of bird flu in India, but the spread of the virus by migratory birds to Europe from Asia has led to concern among wildlife officials here with Kaziranga beginning to receive flocks of birds from China's Tibet region and Siberia.
"There is no need to panic but we do not want to take any chances and hence, alerted our personnel to keep a strict vigil and monitor any abnormality in migratory birds or their carcasses found inside the sanctuary," Kaziranga Park warden NK Vasu said.
Thousands of bar-headed-geese, the world's highest-altitude migrants, fly from their winter-feeding grounds of Tibet and Siberia to Kaziranga during this time of the year. Other migratory birds to Kaziranga include the graylag geese, ruddy shelduck, gadwall, falcated duck, and the red-crested pochard.

A veterinarian and a research officer of the Kaziranga National Park had returned after completing a weeklong training on dealing with avian flu from experts in Kolkata.
"The field veterinarian and the research officer are now sharing their expertise among the forest rangers and guards, so that we could take necessary precautionary measures in the event of the bird flu hitting the park," the warden said.
"If required, we will take blood samples of migratory birds to rule out avian flu." Fear of spread of bird flu deepened after China, earlier this week, reported another outbreak in the poultry.
"We need to be careful, as some of the migratory birds that are arriving here, are from China's Tibet region. Also, scientists believe that birds escaping the harsh northern winter are helping spread the virus," another park official said.
There has been a spate of fresh cases in Asia and on the western edge of Europe ahead of the winter, when experts say the deadly H5N1 strain thrives best.
"We need to be watchful because the virus can mutate and is also of particular concern for human health as well," Vasu said.

Citizens’ report on biodiversity released (Issue of the week, November Week 1 (2005)) The final technical report of the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) was released recently by Kalpavriksh, an NGO, on the occasion of Wildlife Week at the A C Dutta Bhavan, Cotton College, in Assam, reports the Sentinel. The programme was organized by two nature-based NGOs — Eco-systems India and Aaranyak. Ashish Kothari of Kalpavariksh highlighted the report on the occasion.
He mentioned that though the report was supposed to be released by the Ministry of Environment and Forest, it was made public as citizens’ report due to the failure of the Government to act on it for almost two years.
After highlighting the importance of biodiversity in sustaining ecological and human security, Kothari focused on the alarming loss of Indian biodiversity and the reasons behind it.
Kothari also expressed his concern over the fact that despite some serious attempts to tackle the threats to biodiversity, huge gaps remained in areas like documentation of full range of diversity.
In the meeting, Kothari also pointed out some of the key strategies and actions recommended in the report. He stressed that people at any level, who are close to biodiversity, needs to be decision-makers on the issue.
He spoke about the harmful effect of the tendency to disregard traditional knowledge which, in turn, he added leads to bio-piracy.
Many States like Karnataka, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, etc., have already started their action as per the NBSAP.
It is worth mentioning here that the report has been released for the first time in North-east and fourth time in the country. Earlier, it was released in Delhi, Pune and Bangalore.

REGIONAL FORUM ON COMBATING ENVIRONMENTAL CRIME FORMED (November Week 1 (2005)) Experts from a range of international agencies, meeting in Bangkok, have agreed to set up a Regional Forum to be facilitated by UNEP ROAP to help curb the trade of environmentally hazardous chemicals as well as natural resources and endangered species in the region. The Forum allows access to information from leading experts in different fields from policy and law formulation to training, investigation and prosecution.
Environmental damage caused by illegal trade is growing, with local and international crime syndicates worldwide earning an estimated US$ 22-31 billion annually from hazardous waste dumping, smuggling proscribed hazardous materials, and exploiting and trafficking protected natural resources.
"International Crime Threat Assessment" (U.S. 2000) states that illegal trade in endangered species is worth US $6-10 billion a year, ODS (ozone depleting substances) US$ 1-2 billion and illegal logging US$ 1 billion.
"The illegal traffic of toxic waste negatively impacts on the environment and health of thousands in the developing world. At the same time criminal groups smuggle environmentally harmful products like ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) whose legal trade is subject to stringent international restrictions." Mr. Klaus Toëpfer, Executive Director of UNEP said. The regionalization of the Green Customs Initiative which offers information and training materials for customs officials to combat illegal trade in commodities of environmental concern was also discussed.
The establishment of this forum is seen as the first step to a stricter monitoring of environmental crime in the region.
In another significant development , the Rules and Regulation on Control of Ozone Depleting Substances has come into force as of 20 August 2005 signifying controls on the import of ODS-based equipment.
Annual limits which ensure that the levels of consumption and use of ODS are reduced by 50% by the end of 2005 have been fixed to achieve compliance with commitments to the Protocol. This will pave the way for a total phase out by 2010. Importantly a well-structured Country Program and a Refrigerant Management Plan were developed to guide compliance.
The Compliance Assistance Program of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) through its expedited assistance approach helped build capacities of key stakeholders including technicians, customs officers and importers of ODS to effectively participate in the phase out regimes. An agreement with India will see Bhutan receive technical assistance and support for capacity building to sustain phase out.
Some important initiatives in other parts of the world include the following. The closure of the Quimobasicos CFC production facilities in Mexico signifies a 12-13% drop in the global output of CFCs. The Air India, the British West Indies Air line and Air Mauritius will help create awareness about ozone layer issues in passengers on-flight considering the fact that they fly close to the stratosphere.
These represent interventions along a continuum of technical, regulatory and other support measures aimed at protecting the ozone layer. It is however important to ensure that action is sustained to comply entirely with the Protocol, guided by the bottom-line expressed by the UNEP Executive Director, Mr. Klaus Toepfer that, "The campaign to protect the ozone layer represents an extraordinary success story--but until emissions of CFCs and other ozone depleting substances are reduced to zero, saving the ozone layer will remain an unfinished business."