Indian Wildlife Club Forum

Considering overall condition of climate change and absence of planning of sectoral integration and tackling of all type of lands simultaneously, the NRAA has developed an innovative project on “simultaneous treatment of fringe forests and adjoining non-forestlands for conservation of water, biodiversity, sustainability of JFM and poverty alleviation” in consultation with the Ministry of Environment & Forests and the State Forest Departments. The proposed scheme endeavours to enhance synergies of all land type of lands in an integrated and sequential manner. The treatment of forests and non-forestland (Ridge to Valley Approach) on 50:50 ratio with site specific variations based on the availability of both land use and involvement of the communities in the management and development of natural resources is the main plank of the strategy. The scheme endeavours for water harvesting and moisture conservation, biomass production through plantation of indigenous grasses and multipurpose tree species, and augmenting income & providing livelihoods to the villagers through Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Eco-tourism, Fishery, Horticulture, promotion & development of natural resource based micro & medium enterprises (e.g. NTFPs, Seri-culture, etc.). The strengthening of JFM and other alternative institutions is an important corner stone of the programme. Underutilized, unutilized natural resources will be productively and efficiently harnessed for need based production systems to enhance the productivity of bio-productive systems. The successful implementation of scheme will result enhanced land productivity, better livelihood opportunities, improved water availability, equity in resource sharing and enhanced income generation which will ultimately lead to all round prosperity in the rainfed areas with minimized social conflicts.

The scheme will cover 132 distress prone districts belonging to 16 states of the country and is expected to treat 1.4 million ha degraded land with a financial input of Rs 2,24,779 crores during 2011 and 2016. The scheme will be implemented by the MoEF through SFDAs/FDAs. The following activities are proposed to be taken up under scheme.

1.      Survey of fringe forest areas for planning of activities.

2.      Community mobilization and formation of community groups.

a)     Joint Forest Management Committees (JFMCs)

b)     Self Help Groups (SHGs)

c)      Watershed Committees/User Groups

d)     Others

3.      Entry point activities and micro-planning support.

4.      Work components (civil structures).

A) Soil and moisture conservation work.

a)     Gully plugs

b)     Contour and graded bunds / contour trenches

c)      Bench terracing

d)     Field bunding

e)     Others

B)  Water harvesting structures

a)     Water bodies

b)     Nallah bandh

c)      Check dam/stop dams/dice dams

d)     Percolation tank/ water retention tanks

e)     Weirs

f) Others

5.      Afforestation and pasture development

a)   Vegitative barriers.

b)   Farm-forestry/ agro-forestry.

c)   Community land development.

d)   Plantation of multipurpose fruits, timber, fodder, fiber and fuelwood species.

e)   Plantation of indigenous grasses.

f)     Non timber forest produce / medicinal plants.

g)   After care particularly against fire/ grazing.

h)  Others

6.      Livelihood through animal husbandry activities

a)      Breed improvement/ induction of animals

b)      Artificial insemination coverage

c)       Fodder bank establishment

d)      Dry forage enrichment / enriched feed blocks

e)      Health coverage/ livestock immunization

f)       Establishing producer societies

g)      Value addition/ market linkages

7.      Indigenous fish culture

a)      Fish hatcheries establishment

b)      Promotion of Integrated fish farming systems

c)       Value addition/ market linkages

8.      Promotion of natural resource based micro & medium enterprises/ skill development/ value addition.

9.      Capacity building.

10. Technology transfer/ demonstration, etc.

The scheme in nut shell will be an excellent tool to mitigate climate change. The NRAA in collaboration with the six State Forest Departments have already launched Pilot Projects of this scheme. The details of treatment activities to be undertaken during next two financial years under the programme are summarized in the following table.

The highlights of the pilot projects programme are as follows; 

1.      Integrated land based activities of Water, Forests, Agriculture, Rural Development, Micro & Medium Enterprises, etc. in the project area.

2.      Area specific Watershed and Watershed Plus based treatment approach.

3.      Regeneration and/ or plantation of indigenous grasses, medicinal herbs/shrubs, fruit and fodder yielding shrubs and multipurpose trees.

4.      In situ moisture conservation through development of water harvesting and water conservation structures.

5.      Livelihood generation through promotion of natural raw material based Micro & Medium Enterprises specifically animal husbandry, fishery, eco-tourism, etc.

6.      Increased employment opportunities through value addition and developing market linkages for natural resource based products specifically NTFPs.

7.      Farmer’s typology centric with emphasis on marginal & small farmers, landless & assetless, and women.

8.      Convergence of resources, activities and programs.

9.      Participatory planning, implementation, monitoring and follow up.

10. Enhancement of overall land productivity, employment potential and livelihoods on sustained basis.

11. Capacity building at project/cluster level.

12. Coverage of different types of rainfed agro-ecology/typology through proper selection of clusters in the domain of interest.

Situated amidst three district of Madhya Pradesh, Nauradehi is a lesser known destination that deserves more attention. Nauradehi lies between Sagar, Damoh, Narsinghpur districts and is easily accessible from Jabalpur.

The wildlife sanctuary is unique in this region the floral elements differ much from Kanha and Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserves. The forests are Southern tropical dry deciduous mix type. The forests are totally mixed and I have not seen any pure belts of teak, saaj or bamboo except those in plantation.  The river systems are Bamner and  Vyarma besides a number of lakes and water bodies exists in the sanctuary.

The species of animals seen here are not easily seen in the tiger reserves. Otter, Indian Wolf, Blue Bull, Chinkara and Marsh crocodiles are seen often some with ease. The deer species are also represented by Sambar, Spotted Deer, Four Horned Deer and Barking Deer.

The tiger once inhabited the forest in abundance but of late there is no evidence of tigers and leopards. Sporadic sighting are reported but no census records are available. The WLS promises to throw new discoveries but extensive survey is required. The tourism zone is at Cheola Lake. This place is excellent for wildlife watching and birding. Birding is exciting at Nauradehi with both wetland birds as well forest birds inhabiting the same ecosystem. See my check list of birds of Nauradehi for more information on birding.   

Jabalpur is the best route to Noradehi. It is about 80 km from WLS connected by well maintained road network. Jabalpur is a large town more popular as approach to Kanha, Bandhavgarh and Pench National Park in Madhya Pradesh. In terms of accommodation in Jabalpur there are many hotels in all price range.  For transportation and wildlife safari a gypsy is ideal vehicle as the jungle tracts in Noradehi are rugged. 

Best time to visit is winters as weather is cool and comfortable. There is no hotel accommodation nearby except rest house at Mohali which has to be booked from Sagar DFO. The rest house at Cheola Lake is more of a day center as accommodation is not provided here for tourists.   

For more details on wildlife of the preserve visits wildlife resort blog on Noradehi WLS.

A visit to the Mookambika Wildlife Sanctuary.

I was bit taken aback by the reach of urbanity as we neared Bharatpur bird sanctuary. The feel was missing but not for long. The wetlands as I discovered are a paradise for bird lovers. I was leading a group of Germans and this was my first trip to Keoladeo Ghana. 

The Sibes have gone but the sanctuary retains much of its glamor. At Bharatpur a two day trip yields a checklist of more than 150 species of wetland birds. Some of the bird we check listed here and at Bund Baretha include:

Little Heron, Black-crowned Night-heron, Glossy Ibis, Siberian ruby throat, Bar Headed Geese, Black-headed Ibis, Eurasian Spoonbill, Asian Open-billed Stork, Red-breasted Flycatcher,  Barn Swallow, Wire-tailed Swallow, House Martin, Hume’s Warbler, Black Bittern, Cotton Teal, Northern Pintail and Eurasian Coot. Grey Francolin, Tickle’s Thrush, Brown Crake, Booted warbler,  Great white pelicans,   Spot-billed duck, Sykes Warbler,  Common Crane, Sarus Crane, Black necked stork, Dusky Fish Owl, Purple Swamphen, Wood sand piper, Spotted redshank, Green Sandpiper,  Bronze-winged Jacana, Greater Spotted Eagle, Eurasian Marsh Harrier, Booted Eagle, Lesser spotted eagle,  Black-shouldered Kite, Black Kite, King Vulture, Temminck’s stint, Oriental Darter, Grey Heron, Indian Cormorant, Great Cormorant, Purple Heron, Painted Stork.

We could sight Indian skimmers at Bund Baretha but could sight whiskered tern, Ferruginous pochard, Spanish sparrow, oriental skylark, Russets sparrow and more....

Our next destination was Chambal River Sanctuary more than an hours drive from Agra. It is a pristine river parts of which are designated as river sanctuary. Chambal is a unique destination as apart from birding this is a good place to see Gangetic dolphin, Marsh crocodile and the endangered Gharial. On a boat trip we could come across Indian skimmers, sand lark, Isabelline Wheatear, Brown Crake,  Long Legged Buzzard, Variable Wheatear, Desert Wheatear, Bonelli's eagle on nest, brown fish eagle, booted hawk eagle and brownhawk owl.

A day is enough at Chambal River Sanctuary for birding trip during winters. Most of the bird watching is done on the boat ride but substantial number of birds can be seen on the banks. The boat ride is about three hours and covers a long distance.              

For avid birders Chambal is a must see destination. Most of the tour operators include this destination in their itineraries for birding in Northern India. 

India had large tract of forests, extensive grasslands, deserts and wetlands all prime ecosystems that supported vast array of wild animals, birds, butterflies and reptiles. The rapid increase in population and subsequent urgency for agricultural land and fuel wood resulted in destruction of our ecosystems.  The demand for commercial wood and trophies all have contributed alongside to destroy nature and wildlife in India. 

Though much is still left, the wilderness now thrives in small pockets designated as protected areas -National Parks and sanctuaries. The protected areas were created to conserve keystone species like tigers and lion in India. The conservation efforts in the seventies and eighties resulted in comeback of most of the endangered species like the tiger, swamp deer, Indian rhino and Asiatic lion to mention a few.  

Project tiger is one such example which after initial success was unable to control poaching and forest destruction. The creation of tiger reserves was to accord additional protection.  Unfortunately the increase in poaching incidence especially for tiger parts in China, skin in Tibet and elsewhere took its toll and still does. The demand created a nexus of smugglers, middlemen and poachers. The lucrative demand  gave rise to poaching incidence even in the best protected tiger reserves like Sariska and Panna National Parks. In many incidences local communities are involved lured by a paltry sum.

The most threatened species is the Bengal tiger. This charismatic big cat in spite of a major conservation efforts continues to be exterminated by the poachers in India. TakingSariska and Panna into consideration the administration and the law and order machinery appears to be helpless in nabbing and booking those involved in illegal wildlife trade.          

Tiger apart from being an important part of our environment is a National Heritage. Indian wildlife is diverse and unique. India is home to many endemic species as well. The country benefits from conserving its natural wealth and hence protecting the environment. If keystone species become extinct the damage to our environment will be irrevocable.

The wildlife also attracts tourists from all over the World. The increase in eco-tourism brings in crucial funds.  These funds are employed in conservation, economic upliftment of local communities as well as the tourism industry. The need of the hours is responsible wildlife tourism and tiger safari that promotes conservation. Tourism also brings into focus the understanding of the ecosystem and wildlife there in.  

Stringent laws that prevent poaching and destruction of our ecosystems are required urgently. The protected areas are created with conservation. But tourism should not be discouraged. The activity should be restricted and monitored. Neglected areas are more susceptible to poaching since the public eye is absent. Tourists along with local communities play an important role in conservation of our National Heritage.             

Sunlight penetrates in tiny patches just enough to give the seeds a chance  to sprout but not to grow, creepers as thick as my waist having spiraled  round its victim tree, blooms on touching the sunlight, on the canopy above and  gripping its victim more securely into a death embrace. Birds whose whistling and cacophony  keeps your neck stretched backwards drives you mad with the impossibility of  sighting them within the lush green layer or rather floors of leaves. Welcome  to the Evergreen forests of Sharavathi Wildlife Sanctuary!

The sanctuary covers the Sharavathi Valley Region, near the western border of  Karnataka. It is spread over an area of 431 Kms and is nourished by the  Sharavathi River.

Me, Guru and Ananth visited this amazing secret world one weekend. A rather  bumpy ride that almost broke our backs, being unfortunate to get the last 3 seats on the KSRTC bus, headed towards Linganamakki, left a red eyed tousled  trio embark at Kargal that is around 5kms from Jog. Gangadhar, our guide who had  arranged our stay, collected us and dropped us at Kanooru, a tiny village with  hardly 8-10 families. Being enthusiast Birders and wary of wild crowds from  Bangalore we kept away from the main group to explore the Kanooru forests.

Filling up with the idlis we filed out into  the jungle. Having been cautioned with many a thrilling tale of leeches, I  fell into a state of anxiety, this being my very first experience of leeches.  I almost had exaggerated them into centipede sizes swarming all over, biting  into you and slowly leaking out your blood, while you howl with pain. (I know  I was reading too much into horror movies!).

I was laughed at my attempts to wear the shoes and socks and a tucked in cargo's into my ankle length army shoes, nothing could possibly prevent the  crawlies! Well I had my last laugh! Take my advise, Ankle length shoes with  the ends of your pants tucked into them does protect you from leech bites! So  I can safely say not even a single one could feast on my blood!

Dharma, our guide took us along a path that steadily went down until it opened  up into the stream that eventually joins Sharavathi. Having had enough of  leeches we (read Guru and Ananth :)) decided its safer to trek along the  stream. The most arduous length was when we has to climb up a vertical cliff  to get to the other side, our nimble guide swung himself up and helped us all. Ananth had a hard time climbing up ;).

The guys while  engaged in a luxurious river bath and our guide prepared fire to cook our  lunch  I went to explore upstream and catch some nap.

One of the many irritating thing about being a gal and that too a gal  engaged in wildlife conservation is that not only your team thinks twice  before taking you along and take manifold precautions and planning before  they embark on the trip, that can generally dampen the whole wild experience,  but it also means you cannot participate in things like jumping into the  river and swim wild like monkey. :( .

Anyway the time I spent upstream, was one of the highlights of my trip, it  gave me some time on my own to soak in the beauty of that place. A constantly  tumbling water in the stream. An eerie silence of no-activity that sometimes  is interrupted by a flutter of wings and sometimes a distant call of some  unknown bird. The dance of the light on the water splashing sliver of silvery  ribbons. Some wonderfully coloured butterflies and beetles hovering over the  stream lazily. A scene of content and perfect solitude.

On a glance it might seem that the Sharavathi Valley is devoid of wildlife,  that's just an illusion. The denizens of these forests above all prefer to come out during the times the sun is down. And being there at dawn or dusk still does not increase your chances of catching a glimpse of these shy creatures,  they possess another weapon - camouflage not to mention the dense foliage  that completely renders them invisible to an untrained eye. The sanctuary is  a refuge of the endangered Lion-tailed macaque. Other mammals include tiger,  leopard (black panther), wild dog, jackal, sloth bear, spotted deer, sambar,  barking deer, mouse deer, wild pig, common langur, bonnet macaque, Malabar  giant squirrel, giant flying squirrel, porcupine, otter and pangolin.

Reptiles include king cobra, python, rat snake, crocodile and monitor lizard. Some of the avian species found in the sanctuary include three species of  hornbill, paradise flycatcher,fairy blue bird, malabar whistling thrush,  blue-throated barbet and Indian lories and lorikeets. There are many  butterflies in the sanctuary.

Amidst growing concerns by Dharmanna that we might not be able to leave the  forests before dusk, Guru pointed out to the little and only torch we had amidst us and said we will bank on it. How could we hurry? when at every turn the scene grew more beautiful than the previous and dusk brought home, birds near stream and gave us the opportunity to see them. The last mile brought us to a lovely waterfall. This time again the guys had the time of their lives splashing around the fall and faithfully reminding me what a unique experience I have missed.  During this time I discovered to my dismay that mosquitoes are not the only  insects that syringe you for your blood! There are insects that are much  larger with much bigger stingers!

Night brought ten thousand fire-flies! OK some hundreds then.. All good-naturedly blinking from the trees surrounding the house, And as we fell asleep on the porch chatting about this and that I fell into a deep sleep  wondering why the fire-flies have abandoned us at cities as everything else that was a part of our childhood , like the multitude of butterflies and  sparrows, the little beauties of nature.

The next morning after waiting for Gangadhar who was to be our guide for the day, for quite a while we decided to do with our little buddy Yogaraj.  Trekking on the outskirts of the forest we came across this one particular  tree that seem to have attracted a lot of our avian friends, I saw my first  fairy blue bird. We decided to spend our morning on the roof of the fall to  which my friends seemed to very partial and indeed it was worth all the admiration. A clear view of the valley below sheltered by a fruiting tree on  whose many branches housed several other creepers like a curtain to this  awesome world. Some where down a Malabar whistling thrush was on with its singing routine, I could just imagine him going up and down his favourite tree  whistling away to lure his lady love. You have to hear one at its performance and feel one's heart fill with joy as it goes on. You could  easily mistake him to be some amateur boy whistling away in the forests, not  without reason the Malabar whistling thrush is also called whistling school  boy!

After a long time of resting in that blessed place we returned back for a  round of breakfast. We soon again crashed into the forests, this time journeying through the open fields to visit the hornbill's nest. A hornbill has a very curious behavior about nesting. It nests in the tree holes. During  the time the female hornbill has to lay egg she sheds her feathers (pulls it out on her own!) and makes herself comfortable in the tree hole her mate has  found and which she has approved and then shuts herself in by sealing the hole with mud and grit, leaving just a tiny slit through which the male regularly drops in food.

We spent a major part of our afternoon next to a natural swimming pool, with the guys again splashing and posing and exploring upstream around while I spent  time sleeping and listening to music. Just to keep Yoga from getting bored I  challenged him on who could keep their head-down-first into water for long. Needless to say he won ! The way back was quite a bit of journey, crossing  the deep pool over a fallen tree trunk, I did that one on all hands and legs!  jumping over rocks to keep my shoes dry which I gave up on the last stretch  jumping into the pool thenceforth at every opportunity..

As we trekked back Ananth kept our lungs tickling endlessly by slipping over  the dry and wet rocks alike in spectacular fashion. Yoga kept his eyes  tuned on him just so he woudn miss the next one coming. So much for the  really costly woodland shoes and the really cheap hawaii chappals that he alternated between! My favourite one was the last fall when while wading  across the knee length water he fell on his *** with his camera and binocs  held high above his head with a very surprised look on his face! Wish I had a  snap of that! This much I must say to his credit, he took all the jokes aimed  at him good-naturedly :).

The last of our adventure in the Kanooru forest winded up on a half done bridge over a stream that was hardly a trickle that summer afternoon.

After a hasty lunch we returned back to Kargal on an auto whose driver  insisted us on showing the secret submerged tunnel that opened up into Linganmakki. For me it was the thrill of seeing the swallows mud house  underneath the bridge that made the detour worthwhile.

With a lot of time to kill before the return bus to Bangalore from Sagar at 10pm we had a pit stop at Jog Falls. Despite the disappointment of the front  view wiped clean of all trees by a concrete corridor giving a naked fall, The Jog falls by itself is still is a marvel and a beauty to behold. A vertical drop of nearly 900 ft Jog Falls still remains a spectacular sight with multitude of  swifts hovering around it. As we three sat there looking at it for a real  long time I felt a sense of companionship, like some perfect understanding  passed between us unspoken about what lay ahead of us. A commitment to do everything possible to protect the forests of this land. Although I speak  here for myself  I am sure we all are of the same opinion.