Regional Quarterly Bulletin on Wildlife and National … Quarterly Bulletin on Wildlife and National Parks Management REGIONAL OFFICE FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (RAP), BANGKOK FOOD AND

Regional Quarterly Bulletin on Wildlife and National Parks Management

REGIONAL OFFICE FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (RAP), BANGKOKFOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS

Vol. XXXIX: No. 1

Featuring

Vol. XXVI: No. 1

January-March 2012

REGIONAL OFFICEFOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

TIGERPAPER is a quarterly news bulletindedicated to the exchange of information

relating to wildlife and national parksmanagement for theAsia-Pacific Region.ISSN 1014 - 2789

Address.

TIGERPAPERFAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific

Maliwan Mansion, Phra Atit RoadBangkok, 10200, Thailand

Tel: (662) 697-4000E-mail: [email protected]

Website: http://www.fao.org/world/regional/rap/tigerpaper/tigerpaper.htm

Editor: Janice NaewboonnienAdvisor: P. Durst

Contents

TIGERPAPER is dependent upon your free and voluntarycontributions in the form of articles, news items, and announcements inthe field of wildlife and nature conservation in the region. In order tobetter serve the n eeds of our readers please write to us and send in theinformation you have or let us know if there is any information that youneed. We appreciate receiving your letters and make all efforts torespond.

Front and back covers: Sundarban tiger (Panthera tigris tigris )(Photos: Courtesy of P.K. Pandit)

The opinions expressed by thecontributing authors are notnecessarily those of FAO. Thedesignations employed and thepresentation of the material in theTIGERPAPER do not imply theexpression of any opinion on the partof FAO concerning the legal orconstitutional status of any country,territority or sea area, or thedelimitation of frontiers.

Sundarban Tiger - a new prey species of estaurine crocodile at Sundarban Tiger Reserve, India....................................1Some observations on white-bellied sea eagle in Bhitarkanika National Park.............................................. 6Swertia in Nepal Himalaya - Present status and agenda forsustainable management..................................................... 10Migrating urban birds and changing landscapes in India........ 14A rapid survey of small mammals from Northern Tamrau Nature Reserve, Papua................................................... 20Note to readers..................................................................31Diversity of freshwater turtles in Orang National Park..........24Sighting of red-necked keelback in Similipal Tiger Reserve....31

Developing Earth Ambassadors in the Philippines through the Kids-to-Forests Initiative............................................ 1A boost for teak plantations............................................... 3First Announcement - World Teak Conference 2013............ 4Advancing reduced impact logging in emerging carbon mechanisms................................................................... 5Second FAO/World Bank Expert Meeting: Investing in agriculture and natural resources management in the context of climate change in East Asia and the Pacific......7Forest & Farm Facility 2012-2017 - Good governance for multiple benefits of forests...............................................8Phytosanitary standards in forestry...................................... 9Australian government volunteer programs contribute to FAO forestry work in the region...............................................10Protecting forests to preserve livelihoods..............................12RAP Forestry staff movement.............................................13Asia-Pacific Forestry Chips and Clips..................................14New RAP forestry publications...........................................15FAO Asia-Pacific Forestry Calendar……………............... 16

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SUNDARBAN TIGER (Panthera tigris tigris) - A NEW PREYSPECIES OF ESTUARINE CROCODILE (Crocodylus porosus)AT SUNDARBAN TIGER RESERVE, INDIA

by P.K. Pandit

Introduction

The saltwater crocodile is an opportunist apexpredator, the largest among all living reptiles,

capable of taking nearly any animal that enters itsterritory either in water or on dry land, evenattacking humans who enter the crocodile’sterritory. A large adult estuarine crocodile canpotentially eat animals within his territory includingmonkeys, kangaroos, wild boar, dingo, birds,domestic livestock, pets, humans, buffalo, gaurs, batsand even sharks (Daniel, 1989; Das, 2002).Domestic cattle, horses, water buffalo and gaur, allof which may weigh over a ton, are considered thelargest prey taken by the male crocodile. Most preyanimals are killed by the great jaw pressure of thecrocodile, although some animals may beincidentally drowned. Juvenile crocodiles may fallprey to tigers in certain part of their range, althoughencounters between these predators are rare andcats are likely to usually avoid areas with estuarinecrocodiles.

In the Sundarbans, the top predators are the tigeron land and estuarine crocodile in water and bothare found throughout the entire Sundarban TigerReserve (STR), but there are no previous recordsof encounters between these species as prey orothers. Interspecific fights in the forest are verycommon and there are records of tiger killing youngrhinos (Bist, 1994) and elephants. There areinstances of fights between crocodile and tiger inRanathambhore Tiger Reserve of India over prey,but in the end the tiger won the battle. Among theencounters between lions and crocodiles it wasfound that sometimes the lion and sometimes thecrocodile won the battle.

Tigers as well as estuarine crocodiles of theSundarbans prefer snakes, even poisonous ones, astheir prey. A tiger’s carcass was found inNetidhopani-I compartment on July 17th, 2009. Inthe post mortem of said male tiger, one king cobra(Ophiophagus hannah) and one monocellatecobra (Naja naja) was found in the stomach in asemi-digested condition. During the post mortemof a dead crocodile on 21st October, 2011,

(Photo: Courtesy of P.K. Pandit)

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recovered from Pirkhali-2 compartment, the tailof a monocellate cobra (Naja naja) was found inthe stomach.

About the Sundarbans

The Sundarban Tiger Reserve is situated in thesouthernmost part of the state West Bengal inDistrict South 24 Parganas and North 24 Parganas(Arbesi-I compartment only). It lies betweenlatitudes 21°31’ and 22°31’ North and longitudes88°10’ and 89°51’ East. It is bounded by fringevillages on the north, the Bay of Bengal on thesouth, Bangladesh on the east separated by theRaimangal, Kalindi and Harinbhanga Rivers andon the west by the forests of South 24 Paraganasterritorial division.

It is one of the first nine tiger reserves declaredunder the Project Tiger scheme of the Governmentof India in 1973. The total area of the reserve is2,585 km2, out of which a 362.40 km2 area belongsto Sajnekhali Wildlife Sanctuary (SWLS), and a1,330.10 km2 area falls under the SundarbanNational Park. The remaining 892.43 km2 areafalls under the buffer area (Reserve Forest). Thetotal area under critical tiger habitat is 1,699.62km2, which mainly constitutes the areas ofSundarban National Park and Sajnekhali WildlifeSanctuary. Sundarban Tiger Reserve consists of15 forest blocks, 71 compartments, 4 territorialranges, 15 land-based camps and 10 water-based(floating) camps.

The mangrove ecosystem of the Sundarbans isvery dynamic and productive. It contains 40mammalian species, 56 species of reptiles, 156species of fishes, 67 species of crabs, 23 speciesof snails, and about 217 species of birds.Moreover, during winter, 52 species of migratorybirds visit the Sundarbans (Anon, 2011).

A close network of rivers, channels and creeksintersect the Sundarban Tiger Reserve, which hasresulted in the formation of flat islands. In theIndian Sundarbans there are 102 islands; humanhabitations were found on 50 percent of the islands.These islands become almost completelysubmerged during high tides. The main riversystems in and around the area are Matla, Bidya,

Kapura, Jhilla, Raimangal, Harinbhanga, Gona,Gossaba, Gomdi and Kalindi.

Mangroves and mangrove associates constitutethe dominant vegetation type of the area. As perNaskar and Mandal (1998), there are 40 speciesof major mangroves, 32 species of minormangroves, 30 species of back mangroves andassociates and 3 species of mangrove habitatferns found in the Indian Sundarbans. These aregrouped into 39 families, 60 genera and 83 species.Some important mangrove families areRhizophoraceae, Avicenniaceae, Meliaceae,Sonneratiaceae, Sterculiaceae and Myrsiniaceaeamong others. Some characteristics of mangroveflora are the formation of lateral root systems forproper anchorage, breathing roots orpneumatophores, stilt roots or prop roots forsupport, root buttresses, viviparous germination,waxy-coated thick leaves, sunken stomata, etc.According to Champion and Seth’s (1968) revisedclassification, the mangrove forests of STR belongto: i) Mangrove scrub (4B/TS1); ii) Mangroveforest (4B/TS2); iii) Saltwater mixed forest (4B/TS3); iv) Brackish water mixed forest (4B/TS4);and v) Palm Swamp (4B/E1). Some importantmangrove species are: Rhizophora sp., Kandeliacandel, Avicennia alba, Excoecaria agallocha,Ceriops decandra, C. tagal, Bruguiera sp.,Xylocarpus sp., Sonneratia sp., Phoenixpalludosa, Nypa fruticans, etc.

Management problems in STR include: i) killingof prey species; ii) illegal collection of honey; iii)collection of crab and tiger prawn seeds; iv) illegalfishing; v) human-tiger conflicts; vi) difficult terrain;vii) unstable nature of the land; viii) frequent naturalcalamities; ix) high level of resource dependencyby fringe people on mangrove forests; and x)transboundary disputes.

To save the mangrove ecosystem the Tiger Projectauthority has started joint forest management(JFM) with the villagers of 32 nearby villagesinvolving 855 families who are helping to protect25,000 ha of mangrove forests. At present thereare 25 JFM committees (JFMC) and more than200 Self Help groups (SHG) have been formed.Trust building exercises and other activities havebeen undertaken regularly on behalf of the Tiger

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Reserve authority for economic rehabilitation ofJFMC members.

Significance of STR

The national park area of STR was declared anatural world heritage site in 1985. It is a part ofthe globally recognized Sundarban BiosphereReserves, declared in 1989. It constitutes over 60percent of the total mangrove forest area in theentire country and contains 90 percent of the totalIndian mangrove species. It is the only mangrovelandscape (including the Bangladesh part) whichsupports a significant tiger population.

In addition to tigers STR harbours large numbersof endangered and globally-threatened speciessuch as fishing cat (Felis viverrina), estuarinecrocodile (Crocodylus porosus) , Gangeticdolphin (Platanista gangetica), Irrawaddydolphin (Oracella brevirostris), king cobra(Ophiophagus hannah), water monitor lizard(Varanus salvator), etc. It also harbours largepopulations of the river terrapin (Batagur baska),which was once believed to be extinct.

STR is a nesting ground for marine turtles like theolive ridley turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea), greensea turtle (Chelonia mydas) and hawksbill turtle(Eretmochelys imbricata).

The mangrove ecosystem serves as a nursery forshell fish and fin fishes and sustains the coastalfisheries of the entire eastern coast.

Among the avian species it is known as akingfishers’ paradise as 8 of the 12 species foundin India occur here. During winter it is the homeof trans-Himalayan migratory birds including theGoliath heron (Ardea goliath). Moreover, anumber of heronries are found during the monsoonharbouring large bird populations.

The mangrove forest acts as a natural shelterbeltand protects the hinterland from storms, cyclones,tidal surges, seawater seepage and intrusion.

Characteristics of the Sunderban tiger

The tiger found in the Sundarbans is the worldrenowned Royal Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris

tigris). Its claws are adapted to strike and holdprey while the canines are designed for biting andkilling. Its short strong jaws are controlled bypowerful muscles and the animal’s soft padsprovide a stealthy approach. The tiger is capableof sudden bursts of speed and power. It has highlydeveloped hearing and vision. However, its senseof smell is not as powerful as its hearing ability.The tiger’s unique striped colours of deep yellow,orange and black are variable. The Sundarban tigeris different from any other tiger in the countryand world because of its adaptability to the uniquemangrove habitat. Their individual behavior ishighly specific and can’t be generalized orreplicated (Mukherjee, 2004).

Tigers are obligate carnivores. In other parts ofIndia they prefer hunting large ungulates such asspotted deer, sambar, gaur, and to a lesser extentbarasingha, water buffalo, nilgai, serow and takin.Among the medium-size prey species they preferto take wild boar, occasionally hog deer, muntjac,grey langur, etc. Smaller prey species includeporcupines, hares and peafowl. Due to theencroachment of humans in their habitat, they alsoprey on domestic livestock (Bagchi et al., 2003;Andheria et al., 2007; Biswas et al., 2002; Prachiet al., 2006). But tigers in the Sundarbans eat fish,crabs, even raid bee-hives for honey, can swimvery fast in the big channels, climb trees, drinksalty water, take their prey in broad daylight andhave a man-eating propensity. The principal preyspecies are spotted deer, wild boar and rhesusmacaque. An analysis of 113 scats revealed thepresence of prey species with a high prevalenceof medium-sized ungulates viz spotted deer, wildboar, rhesus monkey, water monitor lizard,different species of turtles, fish and crabs. Theyprey on small and medium animals since large-sized mammals are extinct in the Sundarbans(Anon, 2011). The wide range of food diversityhas enabled the tiger to adapt to the diverse anddifficult environment of the Sundarbans.

Occurrence of crocodile attack

On 9 August 2011 a tigress was killed by anestuarine crocodile in STR. The carcass of thetiger was found on the mudflats of Dobanki Khal(Creeks) near Dodanki Camp (21°59’49’’ Northlatitude and 88°45’32.7’ East longitude),


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approximately 250-300 m away on the oppositeside of the camp at Pirkhali-5 compartment underSWLS Range, on the way to Sajnekhali. Dobankikhal is a perennial habitat of estuarine crocodileand a few large-sized crocodiles are often seenduring patrolling by staff and officers. TheDobanki area is also the territory of three tigersand they frequently move from one island to otherby swimming like the other tigers of theSundarbans. A few months earlier there was anincident of a spotted deer killed by a crocodile atalmost the same location as the tiger kill, whichwas recorded on video by a range officer, SWLSRange. It is interesting to note that on thatoccasion a tiger was crossing the river just 60-70m away.

The tiger carcass was lying in a lateral recumbentposition on the small mudflat of Dobanki khal anda very large estuarine crocodile approximately 14feet in length was moving around about 150 maway from the spot, repeatedly trying to reach hisvictim, but forest staff prevented it from doingso. Signs of movement of crocodile on the site ofthe carcass of tiger were also noticed.Decomposition had not started, which clearlyindicated that the incident happened only a fewhours before.

Post mortem

During the post mortem examination of thecarcass conducted at Dobanki Camp it wasrevealed (Anon, 2011a) that the carcass was of afemale tiger approximately 5-6 years old. Fromthe external appearance it was observed that therigor mortis stage of the carcass was over so timeof death was estimated to be 24-28 hours beforepost mortem, i.e., on the afternoon of 8 August2011. It was observed that all 4 canines wereintact, no abnormal discharges from the nasalopening or ear orifice were detected. Length ofthe body from nose tip to lumbar vertebra was108 cm; height was 84 cm. On outside of the bodyseveral wounds were found which appeared tobe conical in shape. Twenty-two scattered,elliptical, deep piercing wounds on the body wereobserved on the abdomen, right dorsal foreleg,dorsal thoracic region and dorsal posterior neckregion. The body beyond the second lumbarvertebra was totally torn off and absent except

for the dislocated femur up to the paw of the lefthind leg which was attached to the body by a flapof skin. Both the kidneys and lungs were found tobe intact and there was a large torn vent in thediaphragm. All visceral organs like heart, trachea,oesophagus were in normal condition; the pleuralcavity was completely destroyed. In the pleuralcavity blood-tinged fluid was observed. Themorphology of the liver was normal with only afew patchy whitish marks observed. Gall bladderand ducts were identified in the carcass.

Conclusion.Considering all observations it was concluded thatthe death of the tigress was due to a crocodileattack. The evidence of the mode of attackindicated that while she was swimming across theriver a crocodile attacked her hind portion andkilled her by repeated jerking and drowning. Therewere signs that the tigress tried to fight back butcould not save itself.

This is the first instance of a Sundarban tiger beingpreyed on and killed by an estuarine crocodile (C.porosus) in Sundarban Tiger Reserve.

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thanks Dr. S.Mukherjee, Field Director, Sundarban TigerReserve, for providing facilities and support.He is also grateful to Dr. A.K. Raha, PrincipalChief Conservator of Forests (Head of ForestForce), West Bengal, Sri S.B.Mandal, PrincipalChief Conservator of Forests and Chief WildLife Warden, West Bengal and Sri P. Vyas,Director, Sundarban Biosphere Reserve, WestBengal for their constant encouragement.

References

Andheria, A.P., Karanth, K.U. and N.S. Kumar.2007. Diet and prey profiles of threesympatric large carnivores in BandipurTiger Reserve, India. Journal of Zoology273: 169-175.

Anon. 2011. Draft Tiger Conservation Plan ofSundarban Tiger Reserve for the period2011-12 to 2015-2016. Directorate ofForests, Government of West Bengal.

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Anon.2011a. Records in the office of the FieldDirector, Sundarban Tiger Reserve,Canning. Directorate of Forests, Governmentof West Bengal.

Bagchi, S., Goyal, S.P. and K. Sankar. 2003. Preyabundance and prey selection by tigers(Panthera tigris tigris) in a semi arid, drydeciduous forest in western India.Journal of Zoology, 260: 285-290.

Barlow, A.C.D. 2009. The Sundarban tigeradaptation, population status and conflictmanagement. Ph.D. Thesis. University ofMinnesota.

Biswas, S. and K. Sankar. 2002. Prey abundanceand food habit of tigers (Panthera tigristigris) in Pench National Park, MadhyaPradesh, India. Journal of Zoology 256:411-420.

Bist, S.S. 1994. Population history of greatIndian Rhinoceros in North Bengal andmajor factors influencing the same. Zoos’Print Vol-IX, No.-3,4, Pages 42-51.

Champion, H.G and S.K. Seth. 1968. A revisedsurvey of forest types of India. Managerof Publications, Government of India, NewDelhi.

Daniel, J.C. 1989. The book of Indian reptiles.Bombay Natural History Society.

Das, Indraneil. 2002. A photographic guide tosnakes and other reptiles of India. NewHolland Publishers (UK) Ltd.

Mukherjee, S. 2004. Ecological investigationson mangroves of the Sundarbans TigerReserve in West Bengal (India) withspecial reference to effectiveconservation through managementpractice. Ph.D. Thesis. University ofKalyani.

Naskar, K.R. and R.N. Mandal. 1999. Ecologyand Biodiversity of Indian Mangrove. 2vols. Daya Publishing house, Delhi.

Prachi, M. and J. Kulkarni. 2006. Monitoringof tigers and prey population dynamicsin Melghat Tiger Reserve, Maharashtra,India. Final technical report. Enviroresearch,Pune.

Masak, V. 1996. Der Tiger : Panthera tigris.Westrap wissenschaften, Magderburg,Heidelberg, Berlin. Oxford.

Author’s address: Deputy Field Director,Sundarban Tiger Reserve, PO-Canning town,District- South 24 Parganas, Pin-743329, WestBengal, India. Telefax-03218255280

(Photo: Courtesy of P.K. Pandit)


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SOME OBSERVATIONS ON WHITE-BELLIED SEA EAGLE(Haliaeetus leucogaster) IN BHITARKANIKA NATIONAL PARK,EASTERN INDIA

by Hemanta K. Sahu, Sunit K. Das & N. Palei

Introduction

India’s Bhitarkanika National Park is one of therich biodiversity hotspots located in Kendrapada

district of Orissa State with mangrove vegetation,estuarine crocodiles and sea turtles. It is a uniquehabitat and ecologically significant as it one of thelargest mangroves patches, second only to theSundarbans & Andaman mangroves. Located inthe deltatic region of the Baitarini and Brahminirivers on the northeastern coast of India, theecosystem of Bhitarkanika represents the finestpatch of mangrove forest of the entire Indiancoastal belt. With two and half decades ofcontinued conservation measures this area hasemerged as one of the well known national parksand an important coastal wetland in the countrythat supports a wide variety of plants and animals.It is the second largest existing mangroveecosystem in India, which also includes creeks,rivers, estuaries, accreted land and mud flats. Thevegetation is mostly mangroves with associatesthat serve as ecotones between the forest canopyand subsurface soil ( Rao & Deshmukh, 1994). Away back from the creeks where the soil and wateris much less saline are trees of semi-evergreenspecies. The forest of Bhitarkanika belongs tocategory 413 tidal swamp forest, as per theclassification of Champion and Seth (1968). Thearea is well known for the rich avifaunal diversity,and White-bellied sea eagle (Haliaeetusleucogaster) is one of the major raptor speciesfound there. Among the avian community raptors,or birds of prey, are always a key part and indicatorof a healthy ecosystem (Ali and Ripley, 1987).Pioneering ornithological studies in Bhitarkanikadate back to Pandav (1997), Dani et al. (1999)and Nayak (2003, 2005). The previous studies andavailable literature mainly explain the overall aviancommunity, especially paying attention to the waterbirds. Gopi and Pandav (2007) reported 236species of birds from Bhitarkanika, where the

family Accipitridae is represented by 20 species,including White-bellied sea eagle, but there is notmuch information regarding this wonderful birdspecies. Therefore, in the present study somebaseline observations were made to gaininformation about their occurrence inside the park.

Materials and methods

Methodology

Between August 2008 to January 2009, attemptsto estimate the occurrence of White-bellied seaeagle were beset with problems, including thedifficulty of access to areas where the birds maybe present. During the study period data was

Plate 1: White-bellied sea eagle (juvenile)in Bhitarkanika. (Photo: Sunit Kr. Das)

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Plate 2: Map of study area with sighting blocks of WBSE (Bhitarkanika National Park)

collected from 5 transects laid in five major sightingblocks of the park. The length of each transectwas 5 km. The sightings were recorded using astandard transect counting method (Burnham etal., 1980).To determine the occurrence andencounter rate of this raptor species the directobservation method was used with the nest count.

Olympus 10x50 binoculars were used to locatethe bird species and their nests. Each transect wassurveyed twice a month. Birds were countedduring walks along selected transects in each ofthe five locations (Barunei, Ekakula, Satabhaya,Dangamal and Kalibhanyadiha) during themornings from 5.30 a.m. to 9.30 a.m.

Study blocks

Brunei block is situated in the southeastern part ofthe park, having a good patch of mangroves and asuitable habitat for the study species. Ekakula blockfaces the sea on the one side with the Maipurariver on the other side and mangrove forest. It isone of the most secluded parts of the park in thenorthern part of the national park. Satabhaya isanother block where transects were laid. It islocated between Barunei and Ekakula blocks andrepresents the eastern part of the park. Dangmalblock is located in the heart of Bhitarkanika andthe place is well known for having the highest

animal concentrations including herds of spotteddeer, huge crocodiles along the mudflats and watermonitor lizards. The last block selected for thisstudy was Kalibhanjdiha, an island 8 km long andabout 1 km wide located in the north of the nationalpark on the Dhamara river, which has highestdiversity of mangrove vegetation and is wellknown for King cobra. It is the largest island ofBhitarkanika. In the different blocks the maximumtemperature recorded was as high as 39°C inSeptember and October and the lowesttemperature was 14°C in December during thestudy period.

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Results and discussion

A total of 198 sightings of White-bellied sea eaglewere recorded. During the transect survey thehighest number of sightings took place in Octoberand the lowest numbers in December. The studyresults indicate that the occurrence of the birdspecies is almost the same in each month. Thespecies was sighted in all five blocks and wasfound to be highest in Barunei block with anencounter rate of 0.88/km area (SE+0.07) with apercent occurrence of 26.76%; the lowestencounter rate was from Dangmal block with a0.51/km area (SE+0.07) and an occurrence rateof 15.65%.

We also observed one nest of the studied speciesand during the observation the male bird was seensoaring overhead as we approached closer to thenest. The nest was mainly constructed of driedtwigs and branches of Casuarina longistifolia.The eagles are not particularly secretive or shy,and in fact can be rather conspicuous, especially

when flying or vocalizing during the breedingseason. But they are widely dispersed, uncommon,and usually located in steep terrain and heavyforest where visibility and accessibility are limited(Bueser et al., 2003). In the park it was foundthat White-bellied sea eagle appears quite tolerantof humans. The two sexes are physically similar,but males are slightly smaller than females.

The range of distribution extends from northernIndia to China and south through Asia, New Guineaand Australia. According to the IUCN Red list, itis categorized in the least concern conservationstatus, although at the present time their numbersappear to be declining (Birdlife International,2008).

Previous observations revealed a small residentialpopulation of 10-15 individuals of White-bellied seaeagle in the Bhitarkanika mangroves (Gopi andPandav, 2006). They are threatened by habitat losswhich affects suitable nesting sites and thepotential prey base for this raptor species. there

Plate 3: A view of Bhitarkanika National Park (Dangmal Block) (Photo: Hemanta Kr. Sahu)

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There are also local threats such as shooting,poisoning, tree felling, accidents at fish farms andexcessive disturbance to breeding due to humanresidential development and recreationalactivities. Chadha and Kar (1999) in the book‘Bhitarkanika: Myth or Reality’ detailed thedegradation issues. The Orissa mangroves havea serious problem of encroachments. Therefore,to conserve this magnificent bird species properlyit is necessary to promote a conservation programthrough training and exhibitions for all levels ofpeople including school students and especiallyamong the local community. A well set upinterpretation center is needed to teach wildlifeeducation and create awareness about theimportance of wildlife to the public.

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the Orissa ForestDepartment for financial and other supportto complete this research work. Thanks alsogo to Mr. Ajay Kumar Jena, Divisional ForestOfficer, Mangrove Forest (WL) Division,Rajnagar for giving permission to undertakethis study in Bhitarkanika National Park.

References

Ali, S. and S.D. Ripley. 1987. Compacthandbook of the birds of India andPakistan together with those ofBangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka.Oxford University Press, Delhi.

BirdLife International. 2009. “Haliaeetusleucogaster”. IUCN Red List of ThreatenedSpecies. Version 3.1. International Union forConservation of Nature. http://www.iucnredlist.org/ apps/redlist/details/144335.

Burnham, K. P., Anderson, D. J. and J.L. Laake.1980. Estimation of density from linetransect sampling of biologicalpopulations. Wildlife Monographs 72. TheWildlife Society, Washington D.C.

Buser, G.N.N., Buser, K. G., Afan, D.S., Salvador,D.I., Grier, J.D., Kennedy, R.S. and H.C.Miranda. 2003. Distribution and nestingdensity of the Philippine eaglePithecophaga jefferyi on MindanaoIsland, Philippines: what do we know after100 years? Ibis 145, 130-135.

Chadha, S. and S. Kar. 1999. Bhitarkanika, Mythand Reality. Natraj Publishers, Dehradun,380pp.

Champion, H. G. and S.K. Seth. 1968. A revisedsurvey of the forest types of India. TheManager of Publications, Government of India.

Dani, C.S., Kar, S. and B.K. Behura. 1999.Bhitarkanika- A unique mangrove eco-system. Nature and Wildlife ConservationSociety of Orissa. Bhubaneswar, India, pp. 30-43.

Gopi, G.V. and B. Pandav. 2006. White belliedsea-eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster preyingon salt-water crocodile Crocodylus porosus.Indian Birds 2(6):171.

Gopi, G.V. and B. Pandav. 2007. Avifauna ofBhitarkanika Mangroves, India. Zoos’ PrintJournal 22(10): 2839-2847.

Nayak, A. 2003. Nesting ecology of residentbirds in the Bhitarkanika WildlifeSanctuary. Cheetal 41 (3&4):43-54.

Nayak, A. 2005. Seasonal diversity ofKingfishers in Bhitarkanika National Park,Orissa. Indian Forester 131 (12): 1559-1563.

Pandav, B. 1997. Birds of Bhitarkanikamangroves, eastern India. Forktail 12:7-17.

Rao, A.N. and S. Deshmukh. 1994. In: Deshmukh,S.V. & V. Balaji (Eds.). Conservation ofmangrove forest genetic resources: a trainingmanual. ITTI-CRSARD project, M.S.Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai,India.

Authors’ addresses: Dr. Hemanta Kr. Sahu,Department of Zoology, North Orissa University, Sri Ramchandra Vihar, Takatpur, Baripada-757003,Email:[email protected]; Sunit Kr.Das and Nimai Palei, P.G. Department ofWildlife and Conservation Biology, NorthOrissa University ,Sri Ramchandra Vihar,Takatpur, Baripada-757003; Email:[email protected] (CorrespondingAuthor).

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SWERTIA IN NEPAL HIMALAYA - PRESENT STATUS ANDAGENDA FOR SUSTAINABLE M ANAGEMENT

by Kunjani Joshi

Recently, more attention is being paid toSwertia sp. due to its usefulness in curing

various ailments and use of the plant as rawmaterial for the preparation of traditional andallopathic medicines. However, at present, thepopulations of these plants, their habitats andinformation relating to their indigenous utilizationare being eroded as a result of habitat destruction,unsustainable land use practices and unscientificover-exploitation by collectors and traders beyondtheir regeneration capacity. Therefore, there isan urgent need to conserve the valuable but fastdisappearing Swertia sp. and its habitat.

Systematics of Swertia

Swertia L. is a morphologically diverse buttaxonomically distinct genus of the familyGentianaceae comprising 150 species. In Nepal,Swertia comprises 31 species with one endemicspecies (Swertia acaulis H. Sm.) which show awide range of morphological variation within andamong the populations, resulting in considerableuncertainty about the delimitation of species (Joshiand Joshi, 2008). Recently, Joshi (2008a)investigated the molecular differentiation andphylogeny of Swertia of the Himalayan region andreported that each of the species has uniquesequences and the Internal Transcribed Spacer(ITS) of the nuclear ribosomal DNA can be usedas a barcoding marker for Swertia in the localmedicinal market.

Biogeography

Nepal’s diverse geomorphology over a wide rangeof latitude, longitude and elevation provides anabundance of habitats and ecological niches, whichhelps to explain the spectacular diversity ofSwertia growing in the region. Swertia sp. iswidely distributed in the meadows, open forest andscrub ecosystems of the mountainous regions of

the eastern, central and western regions of thecountry. Out of 75 districts of the country, Swertiasp. has been documented from 54 districts so far(Joshi and Joshi, 2008). Such wide distribution ofSwertia sp. and other plant communities can alsobe explained with the help of recent evidencefrom the geological past of the Asian regionconcerning the migration of species from theneighboring continents. However, as there areno fossil records relating to Swertia and otherspecies of Gentianiaceae in Nepal, it is notpossible to discuss the phylogeny and bio-geographical distribution from the paleontologicalpoint of view. But the formation of the TibetanPlateau and the upliftment of the Himalayas andother mountain ranges (Karakoram, Kunlun Shan,Tian Shan, Hengduan mountains) due to thecollision of the Deccan plate with the southernLaurasia coastline about 45 million years BP inthe Eocene era and the geo-botanicaldevelopment of the Himalayas might havechanged climatic patterns and resulted in someimportant changes to the dispersal and distributionof plants. Priority should be given to an integratedstudy of the taxa and eco-distribution for aconclusive bio-geographic interpretation.

Ethnobotanical uses

The rural people of Nepal rely heavily on plantresources for their primary healthcare andtreatment of diseases. The people have developedunique indigenous knowledge related to the usesof plant resources due to constant association withthe forests. The traditional knowledge related tothe therapeutic uses of plants may be utilized forthe improvement of the economic status of thelocal communities. The works relating to theethno-botanical investigation and sustainablemanagement of the resources including Swertiasp. are very limited. Recently, Joshi (2008b)documented the medicinal uses of some species

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ent |of Swertia (Table 1). Among the species, S.chirayita is important for its medicinal properties.Herbal medicines such as Diabecon, Melicon V-ointment, Ayush-64 and Mensturyl syrup contain

chirata (Swertia) extract in different amounts forits antipyretic, hypoglycemic, antifungal andantibacterial properties (Joshi and Dhawan, 2005).

Table 1. Ethnomedicinal uses of some species of Swertia Botanical name Uses Swertia angustifolia Buch.-Ham ex D. Don Plant is crushed and boiled in water and two

teaspoonfuls of the decoction are given to treat malarial fever 2-3 times a day; root juice is taken to give relief from cold and cough

Swertia chirayita (Roxb. ex Fleming) H. Karstrn

The plants are dipped in water overnight and the bitter juice is taken the next morning to cure malarial fever; decoction of the plant is used as a tonic for the digestive organs and also used as an anathelmatic, especially for children; juice of the root is taken to cure liver diseases; paste of the plant is also used to cure common ailments like cough, cold, asthma, headache and fever; a paste made of crushed roots is rubbed over joints for quick relief; leaves are warmed and a paste prepared with mustard oil is applied over boils and scabies.

Swertia ciliata (D. Don ex G. Don) B.L. Burtt

Decoction of the plant is given three times a day for 5-7 days to control cough, cold and fever. Plant is also used as a substitute for S. chirayita.

Swertia delatata C.B. Clarke

Paste is applied locally for relief of joint pains; extract is used to treat scabies; juice of plant is taken orally twice a day before meals to treat fever and headache.

Swertia multicaulis D. Don

Plant is ground up and the paste applied over wounds for healing; two to three teaspoonfuls of the decoction of plant is given twice a day to cure fever, cough and cold; decoction of plant is also given for 2-3 days as anthelmintic for parasites.

Swertia nervosa (Will. Ex G. Don) C.B. Clarke

Decoction of root is applied in skin diseases; plant is crushed and boiled in water and two teaspoonfuls of the decoction are given twice a day before meals to treat malarial fever; extract of the plant is also given in the morning to cure ‘Gano” (Gasball) and stomach problems.

Swertia paniculata Wall.

Decoction of the plant is used as a tonic; the plant is also used as a substitute for S. chirayita in the treatment of malarial and other fevers.

Swertia pedicellata Banerji

Plant paste is applied externally on the forehead to give relief from headache.

Swertia racemosa (Wall. ex Griseb.) C.B. Clarke

Plant is made into a tonic; two teaspoonfuls of decoction of plant are given twice a day to treat fever and cough; paste of the plant is applied locally to treat eczema and pimples; juice of aerial part is taken orally twice a day before meals to treat jaundice.

Source: Joshi (2008)

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Conservation status

Rural people collect Swertia directly from the wildpopulations of the forest, meadow, scrub or shadyhabitats, which are already dwindling due to over-exploitation and unsustainable land-use, thusaccelerating their genetic erosion. Unsustainablecollection of the species has been practiced dueto their usefulness in curing various ailments, theirincreasing price, and increasing demand as rawmaterials for preparation of Ayurvedic andallopathic medicines. Every year a huge amountof medicinal plants are collected for export. Theincome from Swertia is used by collectors forfoodstuffs, salt, clothes, to pay off loans and tobuy cattle (Daniggelis, 1999).

The plants are collected before the seeds mature.The whole plant is pulled out, sun-dried for a fewdays, wrapped with a bamboo slip and sold to thelocal traders as dried brownish stems with rootand leaves intact. Unsustainable harvesting,without considering the age of the plant and seedmaturity, reduces regeneration significantly.Extensive collection of these plants and unscientificharvesting practices from the natural habitat leadsto an increasing danger of extinction. Even withouttree removal, extensive grazing of domestic animalsin the forests can be damaging to the species. Thepresent rate of exploitation has pushed somespecies to the status of threatened or endangered(Joshi and Joshi, 2005; Joshi, Joshi and Joshi, 2000;Joshi, Shrestha and Joshi, 2003; Joshi and Joshi1991). Therefore, appropriate conservationmeasures for these species are urgently needed.

Swertia sp. makes up a major portion of the tradein medicinal and aromatic plants from Nepal.About nine species (S. chirayita, S. angustifolia,S. ciliata, S. dilatata, S. multicaulis, S.racemosa, S. tetragona, S. alata, S. nervosa)have been reported being traded in different tradingcenters of Nepal (Barakoti, 2002) under thecommon name “chiraito”, except for Swertiamulticaulis (sarmaguru). Among these species,Swertia chirayita plays a dominant role in tradeand is considered to be superior in quality.Adulteration of chiraito with other low qualityspecies of Swertia and other related species isvery common in the trade of chiraito (Joshi andLi, 2008).

During the last few years, some initiatives havebeen taken for the conservation of plant resourcesin Nepal. The National Periodic Plans, NationalConservation Strategy for Nepal, Master Plan forthe Forestry Sector, Nepal Environment Policy andAction Plan (NEPAP), and AgriculturalPerspective Plan have given top priority forecological balance, conservation of habitats andsustainable use of biological resources. TheSustainable Development Agenda and NepalBiodiversity Strategy have also clearly identifiedthe need for conservation of important areas andfor actions and strategies for the conservation ofbio-resources.

The Government of Nepal has also introduced alegal basis for the conservation of biodiversity andhabitats, i.e., Wildlife Protection Act 1958, ForestAct 1961, the Forest Protection (SpecialArrangement) Act 1967, Plant Protection Act 1972,National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1973and Environment Protection Act 1997. Somespecies have also been proposed for legal statusunder Forest Regulation 1995 (amended in 2001).A clear shift in legislative provisions was initiatedin the protected areas and community forests forspecies conservation and special provisions weremade to facilitate public participation in theconservation and sustainable utilization of bio-resources. However, the issues of property rightsand the fair and equitable sharing of benefits haveyet to materialize by defining these terminologies.

Nepal has also ratified international conventionsand agreements relevant to species conservationand habitat management such as the PlantProtection Agreement for South East Asia and thePacific Region 1956; Convention on Wetlands ofInternational Importance especially as WaterfowlHabitat (Ramsar Convention) 1971; Conventionon International Trade in Endangered Species ofWild Fauna and Flora (CITES) 1973; and theConvention on Biological Diversity (CBD) 1992.As an obligation of a contracting party of theBiodiversity Convention, Nepal has formulated aNepal Biodiversity Strategy and Non-wood ForestProducts Policy. Within the constraints ofresources and technical know-how, Nepal has beeninvolved in various projects such as surveys anddocumentation of species, ethno-botany andindigenous knowledge, cultivation and conservation

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of useful species, and researches on chemicalcomponents.

Agenda for sustainable management

Despite the implementation of various activitiesfor the conservation of species and their habitats,there is a growing consensus amongconservationists that the conservation of bio-resources is entering a stage of crisis, since therehas been hardly any attempt to conserve theseresources in an integrated manner (Joshi and Joshi,2005). Therefore, the following agenda has beenrecommended for the sustainable management ofSwertia and its habitats in an environmentallysound manner.

1. Formulation of policy, action plan andprogrammesThough some initiatives have already been madefor the conservation and sustainable utilization ofthe useful species, less priority is given toconserving these resources in an integratedmanner. The existing policy related to conservationand sustainable management of useful plants isalso fragmented in different sectoral policies.Therefore, priority should be given to formulatingintegrated national, regional and local policies,action plans and programs related to theconservation and sustainable use of the economicand useful plants, especially Swertia sp., takinginto consideration the characteristics ofecosystems, productivity of the species, needs ofthe people and sustainable management of species.

2. Inventory and documentation of thespecies with indigenous uses, knowledge andpracticesAlthough investigations of species have beenconducted in different parts of the country, thereis a paucity of quantitative and systematic data onspecies diversity, phylogeny and bio-geographicaldistribution, chemical constituents of the speciesand characteristics of habitats. Many bio-geographical areas of the country still remainunexplored. Therefore, it is strongly recommendedthat the major thrust should be given to an intensiveinventory and documentation of the species withtheir potentials for utilization and existingindigenous knowledge and practices relating to theuses of the species.

3. Domestication, income generation andconservation of useful speciesDespite the increasing demands from the herbalindustry, the plant is still collected from the wild, itis sparsely cultivated and negligible efforts havebeen made for the development of proper agro-techniques of domestication. Therefore, emphasisshould be given to implementing some pilotprogrammes for the domestication and cultivationof Swertia sp. This will help to bring in additionalincome and benefits to local people, therebycontributing to poverty alleviation and sustainabledevelopment of the country’s resources.

For the conservation of the species, top priorityshould be given to in situ conservation. Such stepswill not only contribute to protecting the habitats,but also help to maintain the ecological processes.Emphasis should also be given to conservingspecies ex-situ. The novel technique of in-vitroconservation and micro-propagation can help inthe conservation and production of a large numberof disease-free, true-to-type plants (Wawrosch etal., 1999). However, there exists a need totranslate these in-vitro studies to the field forpractical applications.

4. Involvement of people in integratedmanagement of species and habitatsIt is obvious that the success and sustainability ofconservation activities depend upon theinvolvement of the local people. Emphasis shouldbe given to initiating a special program for raisingpeople’s awareness about domestication,conservation and sustainable management ofspecies. In this program the people should beinvolved from the planning phases of the activities.

References

Barakoti, T. P. 2002. Commercial cultivationand production management of Chiraito:Scheme guide. ARS Pakhribas, NARC,Nepal.

Daniggelis, E.K. 1999. Swertia chirayita cansupplement rural income in Nepal. BankoJankari 6(2) : 68-73.

Joshi, A.R. and D.P. Joshi. 1991. Endemic plantsof Nepal Himalaya: Conservation statusand future direction. MountainEnvironment and Development 1(2) : 1-35.

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Joshi, A.R., Joshi, D.P. and Kunjani Joshi. 2000.Status of some endemic plants in Nepal.Tigerpaper 27(3):15-20.

Joshi, A.R. and Kunjani Joshi. 2005. Ethnobotanyand conservation of plant diversity inNepal. RubRick, Kathmandu, Nepal.

Joshi, A.R., Shrestha, S.L. and Kunjani Joshi.2003. Environmental management andsustainable development at thecrossroad. AnKuS, Kathmandu, Nepal.

Joshi, Kunjani 2008a. Phylogeny andbiogeography of Swertia L.(Gentianaceae) in the mountainousregions of Nepal. Post-Doc. ResearchReport,, Harvard University, USA.

Joshi, Kunjani 2008b. Swertia L.(Gentianaceaea) in Nepal: Ethnobotanyand agenda for sustainable management.Ethnobotanical Leaflets 12:1-6.

Joshi Kunjani and A.R. Joshi 2008. Swertia L.(Gentianaceaea) in Nepal Himalaya –Checklist, phytogeography, ethnobotany

and conservation status. EthnobotanicalLeaflets 12 : 361-376.

Joshi, Kunjani and L. Jianhua. 2008.Phylogenetics of Swertia L. (Gentinaceae– Swertiinae) and moleculardifferentiation of Swertia species inNepalese medicinal herbs. ScientificAbstract, Botany 2006, Vancabour, Canada.

Joshi, P. and V. Dhawan, 2005. Swertia chirayita– an overview. Current Science 8(4): 635-640.

Wawrosch. C, Maskey. N., and Kopp.B. 1999.Micropopagation of the threatenedNepalese medicinal plant Swertia chirataBuch.-Ham. ex Wall. Plant Cell Reports.18:997-1001

Author’s address: Dr. Kunjani Joshi isAssociate Professor, Department of Botany,Patan Campus, Tribhuvan University, P. O. Box2486, Kathmandu, Nepal. E-mail:[email protected]

MIGRATING URBAN BIRDS AND CHANGING LANDSCAPESIN INDIA

by K. Manjula Menon, R. Mohanraj and M. Prashanthi Devi

Introduction

Urbanization is one of the most dramatic andpermanent forms of anthropogenic landscape

change with extreme shifts in vegetation and otherland covers making it a priority for research inconservation (Miller and Hobbs, 2002).Today,humans affect Earth’s ecosystems atextraordinary rates through conversion of land andresource consumption (Turner et al., 1991),alteration of habitats and species composition(McKinney, 2002), disruption of hydrologicalprocesses (Arnold and Gibbons, 1996), andmodification of energy flow and nutrient cycles(Vitousek et al., 1997a; Grimm et al., 2000).Humans have radically revamped Earth’s carbon

cycle (Prentice et al., 2001) and released into theenvironment vast quantities of naturally occurringtrace materials (e.g.,cadmium, zinc, mercury,nickel, arsenic) and exotic new anthropogenicsubstances (e.g., polychlorinated biphenyls,chlorofluorocarbons) (Pacyna and Pacyna, 2001).Relative to non–human-dominated systems, urbanecosystems have low stability, different dynamics(complex and highly variable on all temporal andspatial scales), more non-native species, differentspecies composition (often simplified, alwayschanged), and unique energetics (antientropic inthe extreme). They have rich spatial and temporalheterogeneity – a complex mosaic of biologicaland physical patches in a matrix of infrastructure,

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| Migrating urban birds and changing landscapes in India |human organizations, and social institutions(Machlis et al., 1997).

Beyond understanding the mechanisms that areshaping communities in suburban and urbanecosystems, we can also obtain insight into howurbanization is driving biotic homogenization andthe subsequent consequences of thishomogenization. Biotic homogenization occurswhen habitat heterogeneity decreases and habitatsbecome more connected resulting in the extirpationof local, endemic species and the introduction ofcommon, widespread species (McKinney andLockwood, 2001).

Urbanization may be one the biggest drivers ofhomogenization, and birds have been projected tobe one of the top five groups of organisms to beaffected by homogenization (McKinney, 2006;Olden et al., 2006).

Suburban habitats may play an important role inbiodiversity conservation; however, they alsopresent a conundrum. Typically, suburban habitatsin a rural–urban habitat network of naturallyforested areas contain less than half of the nativewoodland bird species that would exist at thesesites if they were not developed (Blair, 2004). Theyalso contain more total bird species than if thesesites were left in a natural state (Blair, 2004).

Urbanization in India

Over the past half century, a great rural-to-urbanpopulation shift has occurred in India and theprocess of urbanization continues. Althoughpopulation growth rates have slowed down in manycountries, 62 percent of the world’s population willlive in urban areas by 2020. The Asia-Pacificregion will comprise about 49 percent of that urbanpopulation, with a 55 percent level of urbanization.India, being the seventh largest country in theworld, extending over 3,287,263 km, has sharedthe growth pattern and rapid urbanization withsome of the fastest growing regions in Asia. Withover 575 million people, India will have 41 percentof its population living in cities and towns by 2030AD from the present level of 286 million and 28percent urbanization. The landscape offers aunique diversity for birds with the Western Ghatsbeing one of the richest centers of endemism and

thereby providing a unique corridor for themovement of birds seen in the urban limits too.With a fast growing economy, suburban and ruralareas are fast being replaced by urban spaces inIndia. Urbanization is considered to be one of themajor causes of species endangerment in India.Urbanization has lead to changes in the migrationalpatterns, changes in circadian rhythm, and changesin nesting and feeding behaviours of birds

Urbanizing urban birds

The decline of urban birds worldwide hasastonished ecologists and the common man. Indiais already witnessing a huge decline in Housesparrows (Passer domesticus) with fewpopulations residing in and around the city limits.There are also reports of the decline of Red-whiskered bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus),Brahmini kite (Haliastur indus) and the Spotteddove (Streptopelia chinensis) in many parts ofthe country; the reasons are unknown and needto be urgently addressed. The green covers arefast being replaced by tall buildings in India. Mostof these buildings hold cell towers on them whichhave left these birds helpless even to cope up withthe pressures of urbanization. Reports havesuggested that radiation from mobile towers candamage bird eggs by thinning their shells, damageembryos and also affect their navigation. In Indianculture, House sparrows are regarded as the godsof our homes.

India is well known for its cultural heritage andthe co-existing religions found here. The sacredmonuments, especially the temples which arethousands of years old, are unique in theirarchitecture without any kind of transformationaffecting them. Populations of House sparrowswere recorded in temples in many cities in Indiaas they provided favourable nesting sites for thesebirds, but they are definitely missing from themodern temples in and around the cities.

Urban birds, especially the House sparrows, haveundergone a kind of localized migration from inand around human habitations to habitats whichafford them food and nesting sites. The oldtraditional houses, still a symbol of Indianarchitecture, were built with crevices and holeswhich are suitable nesting sites for the House

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sparrows. Even today, the few populations ofHouse sparrows residing in the city limits are inand around these old architecture houses. Withmodernization, the tiled and thatched houses inIndia have been replaced with concrete apartmentswhich lack nesting sites. The effect of theexcessive use of pesticides on birds in theagriculture fields begins with the onset of theirnesting period. The excess of pesticides has

weakened the quality of straw making it impossiblefor the sparrows to build their nests. This alsoaffects the carrying capacity of the nest and theeggs laid show thinning of the egg shells and earlymortality of the nestlings. Modernized granarygodowns and the reduced spillover on the roadsand lack of aphids for the nestlings have affectedtheir population tremendously.

FIG 1 The Thiruvenakoil Temple atTruchiruchirrappalli

FIG 2 House sparrows nesting inThiruvenakoil Temple atTruchiruchirrappalli

FIG 3 Nesting of Spotted dovein the balcony of a house

(continued on p.17)

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Our ongoing research in Tiruchirrappalli in Indiadepicts that urban birds like the House crow(Corvus Splendens) and Common myna(Acridotheres tristis), in absence of green cover,look for structural analogues of trees as theirnesting sites. The iron rods that support theasbestos roof of the platform at railway stationsprovide unique habitats for birds, plus the fact thatthey get a regular supply of grains from the goods

trains that carry the grain sacks. These structuralanalogues also provide excellent sites forcommunal roosting of different species of birds,with the nests of the House crow and Commonmyna being noticed adjacent to each other. Thesebehavioural patterns provide a unique link to theirco-evolution under the pressure of urbanization.Only those species that can withstand the pressureof urbanization survive.

FIG 4 Nesting of House crow in the as-bestos roof in the railway platform atTiruchirrappalli.

FIG 5 Nesting of Black Drongo on a electricpole

If it is the lack of tiled and thatched houses thathas resulted in the decline of the House sparrowpopulation in and around the world, then this iscontrary to what was observed at the the NewBangalore International Airport at Devanahalli,Bangalore, India, forty kilometers away from thecity, where hundreds of sparrows were noticedpecking the ground for food and warming theirlittle bodies against the glass building of the airport.The new environment provided them withenormous food supplies and hence the hundredsof birds. Similar structures in the city limits arenot preferred by the sparrows and this can beexplained by the urban heat island effect whichthe birds find difficult to bear.

Our research has shown that, along an urban-ruralgradient, suburban and rural areas provide betterhabitats for House sparrows with few populationsnesting in and around rice mills that are located inagricultural landscapes at Tiruchirrappalli. A fewmore populations of House sparrows were alsorecorded along the gradient in the rural limits inthe holes of small bridges for draining out water in

the rainy seasons. And finally, there are somepopulations of sparrows in the suburban and ruralgradient residing in and around old buildings withbuilt-up cover inclusive of tiled and thatchedhouses. Urbanization affects community livingamong birds, reducing their community size anddecreasing their home range. Our study hasobserved a reduction in the community size ofsparrows from ten to twenty pairs to five or sixand a reduction in their home range within thecity limits to less than a kilometer. Communityliving of House sparrows with other urban birdslike Spotted dove was observed within the citylimits due to similarity of requirements and limitedavailability of food resources in and around thecities.

Urban birds that used to solicit in and aroundhuman habitations are undergoing synchronizationin their biological cycles. Urbanization has forcedsome of the urban birds to undergo a localmigrational pattern that has never been part oftheir life cycle. Thus, urban birds are undergoinga transition from a wide distribution to a restricted

| Migrating urban birds and changing landscapes in India |(continued from p.16)

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one, being distributed in small pockets, moving andrelocating themselves away from cities. Isn’t itthe kind of migration that Charles Darwin observedin the Galapagos Islands? Is a similar kind ofmigration being enacted in the urban settings too?Only few urban species and limited populationsare able to cope and respond to the pressures ofurbanization. Only those species that can respond

will survive. This is nature’s way of protectingthe urban birds from extinction. Lack of food, lossof nesting habitats and most importantly,competition from other urban species like theYellow-billed babbler (Turdoides affinis) and Bluerock pigeon (Columba livia) for the limitedresources could have resulted in the decline ofHouse sparrows.

FIG 6 Holes on small bridges used for nest-ing of House sparrows along an urban ruralgradient at Tiruchirrappalli.

FIG 7 Nesting of House sparrow in the holesof small bridges at Tiruchirrappalli.

FIG 8 Bridge holes occupied byHouse sparrows for nesting.

Role of citizens

Environmentalists and urban planners should putforward an integrated approach to build up a citythat provides suitable urban habitats for birds.Increasing green cover with native species andthe integration of habitat corridors would linkdiversity at different patches, facilitating speciesdiversity in the cities. Protecting or reversing the

decline of urban species would help in restoringdegraded habitats within the urban limits andconserving biodiversity. The concept of “UrbanBird Reserves” should be integrated into urbanplanning to conserve urban birds. Communityprojects rendering to the needs of society andvalue-based education at the grass root level willhelp in reversing the decline and increaseunderstanding of the value of urban life.

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to long-term studies of urban ecologicalsystems. BioScience 50: 571–584.

Prentice, I.C. et al. 2001. The carbon cycle andatmospheric carbon dioxide. In: Houghton,J., Yihui, D., (eds.) Climate Change 2001:The Scientific Basis. New York: CambridgeUniversity Press. Pages 185–237

Pacyna, J.M. and E.G. Pacyna, 2001.Anassessment of global and regionalemissions of trace metals to theatmosphere from anthropogenic sourcesworldwide. Environmental Review 9: 269–298.

Miller, J.R. and R.J. Hobbs. 2002. Conservationwhere people live and work. Conserv Biol16(2):330–337

McKinney, M.L. 2006. Urbanization as a majorcause of biotic homogenization. BiolConserv 127:247–260

McKinney, M.L. and J.L. Lockwood. 2001. Biotichomogenization: a sequential andselective process. In: Lockwood, J.L.,McKinney, M.L. (eds) BioticHomogenization. Kluwer Academic, NewYork, pp 1–17.

Olden, J.D. 2006. Biotic homogenization: anew research agenda for conservationbiogeography. J. Biogeogr 33(12):2027–2039

Blair, R.B. 2004. The effects of urban sprawlon birds at multiple levels of biologicalorganization. Ecol Soc 9(2). Available fromhttp://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol9/iss5/art2

Authors’ addresses: K. Manjula Menon(Corresponding Author), (DST Women ScientistScheme), Department of EnvironmentalManagement, School of EnvironmentalSciences, Bharathidasan University, Trichy,Tamilnadu-620024, India, Email:m a n j u m e n o n c a m a @ y a h o o . c o . i n ;Dr.R.Mohanraj, Assistant Professor,Department of Environmental Management,School of Environmental Sciences,Bharathidasan University, Trichy, Tamilnadu-620024, India; Dr.M.Prashanthi Devi,Assistant Professor, Department ofEnvironmental Management, School ofEnvironmental Sciences, BharathidasanUniversity, Trichy, Tamilnadu-620024, India

Urbanization leads to a kind of speciestransformation that is evolutionarily significant. Aprocess of irreversible change may lead to a faunalcomposition which is highly tolerant and versatile.Urbanization and its impacts on birds should bestudied to protect, conserve and revive theecological framework of urban habitats that hostthe diversity of species.

Summary

As urbanization crawls from urban to suburbanareas, diversity is profoundly affected. Thediversity of landscapes along this gradient providesunique habitats to a large number of life forms.With an increase in urbanization, birds tend tomigrate towards suburban areas in search of foodand nesting places, with suburban regions beingmore diverse and rich and more species abundant.The diversity of urban landscapes should beconserved and protected to safeguard our naturalenvironment.

References

Machlis, G.E., Force, J.E. and W.R. Burch Jr.1997. The human ecosystem, Part I: Thehuman ecosystem as an organizingconcept in ecosystem management.Society and Natural Resources 10: 347–368.

Arnold, C.L., Gibbons, C. 1996. Impervioussurface coverage: The emergence of akey environmental indicator. Journal ofthe American Planning Association 62 (2):243–258.

McKinney ML. 2002. Urbanization,biodiversity, and conservation. Bio-Science 52: 883–890.

Turner II, B.L., Clark, W.C., Kates, R.W.,Richards, J.F., Mathews, J.T. and W.B. Meyer(eds.). 1991. The Earth as Transformed byHuman Action: Global and RegionalChanges in the Biosphere over the Past300 Years. Cambridge (United Kingdom):Cambridge University Press.

Vitousek, P.M., Mooney, H.A., Lubchenko, J.,Melillo, J.M. 1997a. Human domination ofEarth’s ecosystems. Science 277: 494–499.

Grimm, N.B., Grove, J.M., Pickett, S.T.A.,Redman, C.L. 2000. Integrated approaches

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A RAPID SURVEY OF SMALL MAMMALS FROM THENORTHERN TAMRAU NATURE RESERVE, PAPUA

by Freddy Pattiselanno and Agustina Y.S. Arobaya

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Introduction

Papua, with an area of 416.000 km2, isacknowledged to be the natural habitat of 30-

50% of Indonesian biodiversity. According toPetocz (1994), Papua has a wide variety ofecosystems ranging from coastal to highland areas,providing specific habitats that may support someendemic and unique wildlife species.

Along with the government’s plan for territorialdivision, speedy development on the basis ofenvironmentally sound concepts is required tosupport the development of Papua. The ecoregionconcept that was introduced by WWF BioregionSahul was considered as an option to beimplemented for Papua Province development.

Papua has two ecoregion sites currently prioritizedas working areas of WWF Bioregion Sahul. Oneof these sites is rainforest in the VogelkopMountains in the northern part of the Bird Headarea. There is little available information aboutPapua biodiversity; consequently, sometimesthreats to small mammals in their habitat have notbeen properly investigated and reported in orderto design appropriate conservation plans. WWFBioregion Sahul, therefore, in collaboration withthe Forest Research Institute (BPK) and PapuaState University (UNIPA) in Manokwari,conducted rapid assessment program (RAP)surveys on flora and fauna in the northern part ofTamrau Highland Nature Reserve to assess theconservation relevance around the protected siteand provide baseline information for the futureecoregion spatial planning and comparison withother parts in New Guinea Island.

This paper is a part of the whole RAP, but we willonly focus on small mammals from a samplingfrom two study sites around Saukorem District.Ecologically, the study site has potentialsignificance for wildlife, and particularly for small

mammals; however, the only authentic availabledata is mostly based on the survey carried out byPetocz (1994) and some anecdotal informationfrom local communities. It is hoped that the studywill also benefit any other wildlife species foundin this site.

Description of the study site

The survey was carried out around the lowlandrainforest areas closer to Saukorem District(0°33’927"S, 133°09’371"E) from 6-16 June 2001.Generally, this part of the Birdshead region studysite has a wet, tropical climate and is subject tothe seasonal influence of the northwest monsoonfrom November to March and the southeasttradewinds from June to September. Rainfall ishigh (probably up to 3,500 mm per year) (WWF,2003). Rainfall data from 2000 was 2,497.9 mmwith about 158 rainy days. Temperatures areuniformly high in the lowlands, ranging from 23°Cto 30°C, decreasing with the increase of elevation.

The coastal site predominantly comprises coastalvegetations such as Ipomoea peascaprae andScaevola serillae to the seaward, and in thelandward area Barringtonia asiatica, Terminaliacatappa and Pandanus, sp. are commonly found.Moving up to the hilly part, the dominant treespecies are: Pometia pinnata, Disoxylumoctandrum, Canarium decumanum and Intsiapalembanica. The Wanameti River drains fromthe hills, creating some small streams along whichfreshwater vegetations such as Metroxylon sago,Pandanus sp. and Casuarina equisetifolia wereobserved. The study site was described aslowland tropical rain forest surrounded by primaryrain forest.

Methods

Two sites were set up (see Table 1) and 120locally-made wire mesh live traps (Kasmin)

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(30x30x30cm) and 12 traditional snares were usedto sample rodents and marsupials. This trap is likea small cage with one spiral spring door and iscommonly used to catch house rats. Two baits(peanut butter and salt dry fish) were used andshared equally among the number of traps put out.Traps were located in selected localities aroundthe camp and near the stream. The distancebetween two successive traps varied from 5 to15 m, alternating between peanut butter traps, saltdry fish traps and empty traps respectively.

All traps were located at ground level at the bottomof the tree trunks or under fallen logs, and werebaited and put in position just before sunset (16:00-17:00 pm). They were checked and collected thefollowing morning (08:00-09:00 am). Some trapswere camouflaged by covering them with dryleaves. Rodent captures were extremely rare inthe afternoon; nevertheless, trap rounds werenecessary to replenish the bait which was oftenconsumed by ants. When an animal was captured,it was removed and the trap was washed andreplaced. Trapping took place on four consecutivenights.

Traps were opened in the evening (4:00-5:00 p.m.)and were checked and closed the next morning

between 8:00-9:00 a.m. Captured animals wereidentified according to Flannery (1995), Menziesand Dennis (1979). Each specimen wasweighed and measurements were recorded forear length (EL), body length (BL), tail length(TL), hind foot (HF) and forearm (FA). Afteridentification and measurement, several specieswere collected as representatives and the restwere released at the point of capture.

Results and discussions

During the study, we only captured two rodentspecies: Rattus jobiensis, Melomys levipes anda marsupial species Echymipera calubuconsisted of 5 individuals (Table 2). In spite ofhaving a small number of captures, theabundance of rodents, particularly Rattusjobiensis, was more than in site 1.Echymipera calubu was a marsupial capturedusing a traditional snare that was set under aPandanus tree. Phalanger orientalis wascaught, and Thylogale browni was onlyobserved, but both species were not measured.In site 2 we put more focus on bat speciesbecause the landscape was very steep and itwas not suitable to set traps.

Table 1. Number of days and animals capture in study site Plot/Site Location Days* Animals** Site 1 (200m asl) 0°37’064”S 133°07’930”E 4 5 Site 2 (500m asl) 0°37’614”S 07°973’135”E 3 35*** * Total number of days spent in each plot to capture the animals **Number of individual caught in each plot ***Bat species Table 2. Species captured and some morphometric measurements

Species Bait W (g) HB (mm) TL (mm) HF (mm) Sex

Rattus jobiensis PB 290 213 196 43.31 M R. jobiensis PB 340 224 206 43.89 M R. jobiensis SF 98 165 108 35.54 M M. levipes PB 36.3 103.2 89.68 27.13 M Echymipera calubu TS 500 267 36 47.58 F Note: W: weight, HB: body length, TL: tail length, HF: hind foot, M: male, F: female, PB: peanut butter, SF: smoked fish, TS: traditional snare without bait

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The different species captured in this site,compared to the previous study at Yongsu and theMamberamo River (Pattiselanno, 2007) indicatedthe diversity of small species occurring in WestPapua. This agrees with Dwyer (1983) whoconducted his study between 1979 and 1980 inPapua New Guinea. He indicated that altitudinaleffects and long term modification of forest at thelatter locality might have contributed to thedifferences in the mammals’ diversity.

The genus Rattus is highly specious and has acomplex taxonomy that is not fully resolved(Robins et al., 2010). It has been explored thatRattus jobiensis was one of five native murid-rodents occuring in Biak-Supiori, shared only withthe adjacent land-bridge island of Yapen (Flannery,1995; Menzies, 1996). Therefore, the presenceof this species in the study site is a new record forthe Bird Head Peninsula. In the recent taxonomicstudy by Musser and Carleton (2005), the rats ofAustralia and New Guinea are divided into twogroups – the Australian native rats as describedby Taylor and Horner (1973) and the NewGuinean species in the Rattus leucopus speciesgroup. Rattus jobiensis is one of 14 species placedunder the Rattus leucopus species group ofMusser and Carleton (2005).

The presence of M. levipes in this site expandsthe areas where the species is found at ArfakMountains (Flannery, 1994). This species wascaptured using peanut butter and the trap was seton the forest floor, closer to the previous gardensection. Dwyer (1983) found this species in oldgarden plots reverting to bush. A study by Menzies(1996) indicated that M. levipes (Thomas, 1987)should be included in Melomys Thomas (subgen.Paramelomys Rümmler 1936). As a result,Melomys is redefined to include only four species:rufescens, leucogaster, lutillus and frigicola, inNew Guinea.

Echymipera kalubu is a bandicoot species caughtusing the traditional trap constructed from bambooset near the fruited Pandanus sp. Closer to thetrap, some rotten logs were found, and it wasassumed that this site was used as its burrow. AsHide et al. (1984) found, this species was mostfrequently captured in deadfall traps arranged nearto fruiting Zingiber and Ficus plants. This species

occupied a broad type of habitat, though it wasfound less in the primary forests (Flannery, 1994).While Echymipera kalubu was caught using atraditional trap, trap methods using various kindsof facilities should be considered for use in thenext survey (Boeadi and Widodo, 2000).

Phalanger orientalis was the only species caughtusing vocalization of sounds imitating the commoncuscus by our local guide. Mophometricmeasurements were done, so we did not haverelated data of this species. As cited by Flannery(1994), the Northern Common Cuscus is verywidely spread and abundant throughout NewGuinea from sea level to elevations of up to 1,500m, and is common in old gardens and primaryforest. The presence of P. orientalis was alsowidely reported from different sites around theNew Guinea Island, particularly in Papua ofIndonesia (Sinery, 2006; Supriyantono et al., 2006;Fatem and Sawen, 2007; and Pattiselanno &Koibur, 2008).

Thylogale brownii was reported by a local guidejust after it was killed and consumed; therefore,morpohometric measurements were not taken. AsFlannery (1994) indicated, this animal prefersdisturbed habitats, so it is sensitive to humanpredation, particularly with the use of dogs. It isfurther explained that this is the most widespreadand common species of Thylogale in New Guinea.Encountering T. brownii is also important to fillthe information gap about the absence of thisspecies from all of the Indonesian parts of NewGuinea. However, our finding supports thepresence of this species around the CyclopMountains (Flannery, 1994).

The low catch rate possibility, both by individualand by species, compared to the northern regionof Papua (Pattiselanno, 2007), suggested that thestudy site has possibly been disturbed. There is infact evidence of this in that local people routinelyuse this site as a pathway by to the highland parts,particularly to Kebar. As informed by our localguide, people from Saukorem and Kebar have astrong lineage relationship and the study site wasthe shortcut connecting these two places. Thisagrees with the study of McPhee (1988) thathabitat modification by human activity has radicallyaffected the diversity and relative abundance of

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rodent species. Amori et al. (2008) explained thatNew Guinea Island includes land-bridge islandswhere the generic level of rodents endemism isusually concentrated in highland areas, whichretained discrete upland habitats even whilelowland habitats were contiguous with largerareas across land bridges.

Some limitations in this study

We need to complete a longer study periodcollecting comprehensive information on smallmammal species, in particular rodents. Trapdistribution is not comprehensive enough to coverthe different preferred habitats of the targetspecies. Further assessment is important in orderto study the abundance of small mammalpopulations and their conservation status at theNorthern Tamrau Nature Reserve.

Conclusions

The disturbance of study site – in this case thehabitat modification as the pathway from coastalto highland site – somewhat affects the smallmammals’ distribution around the study site.

References

Amori, G., Gippoliti, S. and K.M. Helgen. 2008.Diversity, distribution, and conservationof endemic rodents. QuaternaryInternational 182: 6-15

Boeadi and W. Widodo, 2000. Mammals of theWapoga River area northwestern IrianJaya. Indonesia. In: Mack, A.L. and L.E.Alonso (eds). A biological assessment of theWapoga River area of northwestern IrianJaya, Indonesia. RAP Bulletin ofBiological Assessment 14. ConservationInternational. Washington, DC, USA p.62

Conservation International. 1999. Laporan HasilPelatihan Dasar-dasar Survei, Jayapura6-25 September 1999. ConservationInternational. Irian Jaya Program.

Dwyer, P.D. 1983. From Garden to Forest:Small Rodents and Plant Succession inPapua New Guinea. Aust. Mammal 7:29-36.

Fatem S. and D. Sawen. 2007. The species ofcuscus in northern coastal area of

Manokwari, Papua. Biodiversitas Vol. 8(2): 233-237

Flannery, T.F. 1994. Mammals of New Guinea.Australia Reed Books

Flannery, T.F. 1995. Mammals of the South-West Pacific and Moluccan Islands.Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York.

Mc Phee, E.C. 1988. Ecology and Diet of SomeRodents from the Lower MontaneRegion of Papua New Guinea.Aust.Widl.Res. 15:91-102

Menzies, J.I. and E. Dennis. 1979. Handbook ofNew Guinea Rodents. Papua New Guinea:WAU Ecology Institute Handbook No. 6.

Menzies, J.I. 1996. A systematic revision ofMelomys (Rodentia: Muridae) of NewGuinea. Australian Journal of Zoology 44:367-426

Musser, G.G. and M.D. Carleton. FamilyMuridae. In: Wilson D.E., Reeder, D.M.(eds.).Mammal Species of the World: ATaxonomic and Geographic Reference.Volume 2, 3rd edition. Baltimore, The JohnHopkins University Press; 2005:894-1531.

Pattiselanno, F. 2007. Small mammals in thenorthern region of Papua, Indonesia.Tigerpaper 34(4):16-19.

Pattiselanno, F. and J.F. Koibur. 2008. Cuscus(Phalangeridae) Hunting by Biak EthnicGroup in Surrounding North Biak StrictNature Reserve, Papua. Hayati 15 (3):130-134

Petocz, R.G. 1994. Mammalia Darat Irian Jaya.Kerjasama WWF-IP dan Gramedia PustakaUtama Jakarta.

Robins, J.H., McLenachan, P.A., Phillips, M.J.,McComish, B.J., Matisoo-Smith, E, and H.A.Ross. 2010. Evolutionary relationshipsand divergence times among the nativerats of Australia. Evolutionary Biology 10:375

Sinery, A.S. 2006. Jenis kuskus di TamanWisata Gunung Meja KabupatenManokwari. Biodiversitas 7 (2): 175-180.

Supriyantono, A., Wajo, M.J., Killian, A.L.,Rumetor, S.D., Abdillah and D. Sawen. 2006.Sifat kualitatif dan kuantitatif kuskus dipulau Moor, Kabupaten Nabire, Papua.Berkala Penelitian Hayati 11: 139-145.

Taylor, J.M., Horner ,E. 1973. Results of theArchbold expeditions. No 98. Systematics

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of native Australian Rattus (Rodentia,Muridae). Bull Am Mus Nat Hist, 150:1-130.

World Wildlife Fund. 2003. Workshop onBiological Visioning of the VogelkopMountain Forest Ecoregion. UniversitasNegeri Papua, Manokwari, 20-22 October2003.

Authors’ addresses: Freddy Pattiselanno,Wildlife Study Laboratory, Faculty of AnimalScience, Papua State University, Manokwari98314; Email:f reddy.pa t t i s e lanno@fppk .un ipa .ac . id ;Agustina Y.S. Arobay, Forest EcologyLaboratory, Faculty of Forestry, Papua StateUniversity, Manokwari 98314

DIVERSITY OF FRESHWATER TURTLES AND THEIRPOSSIBLE CONSERVATION IN AND AROUND THE ORANGNATIONAL PARK, ASSAM, INDIA

by Chittaranjan Baruah, Phallgun Chetia, Susanta Kr. Bhuyajn and

D.K. Sharma

Introduction

The northeast region of India falls under theconjunction of the Indo-Burma and Himalaya

biodiversity hot spots (26°10222.7922-27°39232.7922N Latitude and 91°26239.7422-96°15239.8422E Longitude). It is a major centerof turtle diversity, and was recently recognized bythe IUCN as a global turtle priority conservationarea (Buhlmann et al., 2009). A total of 22 speciesof freshwater turtles and tortoises are recordedin this region out of the 28 species found in India(Baruah and Sharma, 2010a). Although thechelonians of the region are poorly studied, newspecies of turtles are being added to the Indianchelonians which were not known earlier (Pawarand Choudhury, 2000). Systematic efforts havebeen made to investigate the chelonians of theregion (Sengupta et al., 2000; Praschag et al.,2007a, 2011; Fritz et al., 2008; Baruah et al.,2010a, b), but a major part of this still remainsuntouched.

The Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park (ONP)and its surrounding riverine areas, particularly theriverine islands (chars), represent one of the

favoured turtle habitats in the region. An attempthas been made to evaluate both the diversity andconservation status of freshwater turtles andtortoises in and around the Orang National Park.Several conservation initiatives including fieldsurveys to assess the status and threats tofreshwater turtles, initiation of an in situ eggprotection scheme, community awareness andparticipatory programs have been undertakenoutside the protected area of ONP for theconservation of freshwater turtles.

Study area

Orang National Park (ONP), locatedapproximately 130 km from Guwahati city, coversan area of 78.8 km2 (92°162 to 92°272 E; 26°292to 26°402 N) and is situated on the north bank ofthe Brahmaputra River in Darrang and Sonitpurdistricts of Assam, India. The Brahmaputra Rivermarks the southern boundary of ONP, whiletributaries such as Pachnoi, Belsiri and Dhansiriflow along its northern and eastern boundaries.Another tributary of the Dhansiri flows along thewestern and northern parts of the park. The habitatof ONP is composed of dry grassland (32%),

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swampy grassland (31%), woodland (19%), scrubforest (5%), water bodies (7%) and river sand(6%) (Talukdar and Sarma, 2007). It is likely thatONP has had demographic and genetic exchangeswith Kaziranga National Park through theLaokhowa-Burachapori forest complex along theBrahmaputra River (Ahmed et al., 2009b).

The study area (43-47 MSL) includes the notifiedareas of the national park and the fringe areas

including chars comprising the alluvial floodplainsof the Brahmaputra River. Most areas of the parkare inundated by floods during the monsoon seasonevery year. Numerous channels of both theDhansiri and Panchnoi tributaries crisscross thepark and are sources of water for wild animals.Due to this peculiar geographical location, the ONPprovides a highly suitable habitat for many wildanimals, including freshwater turtle. However,there is no literature record regarding the turtlediversity in the National Park.

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The study was carried out from May 2006 untilJanuary 2012 with the aim to record the diversityof freshwater turtles in Orang National Park(Table 1). During the extensive survey period,visual inspections of the forest floor, shrubs,grasses, wetlands, sandy river beds of theBrahmaputra River in nearby park areas andfringe riverine chars were conducted with theforest guards of the park, with prior permission.

Field surveys were carried out randomlythroughout the areas and also at selected points inthe Brahmaputra River, adopting three differentmethods: i) interrogation of people using photosheets of turtles; ii) trapping, using nets with thehelp of fishermen; and iii) visual encounter surveys(VES). On some riverine islands, day and nightsurveys were carried out to record turtle species.Shelters like bushes, leaf litters and gaps in theroots of large trees were searched for hiding orhibernating turtles or tortoises. Fishermen and localcommunities were interviewed and the freshwaterturtle species were identified from the catches offishermen. Sporadic records of seizures of turtlesand market surveys were conducted during thestudy period to assess the threat to some of thespecies due to trading. Basking turtles werespotted from a distance by binoculars (20x50)from boats or by walking along the river bank.Species identification was done following Daniel(1983) and Das (2002). Dead turtle specimensand turtle carapaces were identified followingSmith (1933). Taxonomy and nomenclature weredetermined by measuring straight line carapacelength (CL), carapace width (CW), plastron length(PL) and shell height (SH) with the help of VernierCalipers. Specimens were weighed (M) to thenearest gram using digital spring balance. Scuteand bone terminology of the shell followed Zangerl(1969). Subsequently, the live specimens werereleased in their respective natural habitats.

Awareness campaigns have been carried out inriparian village communities, including in the localschools. Various sections of the BrahmaputraRiver in and around the ONP were surveyed toidentify locations that had evidence of nestingturtles (e.g., tracks in silt or sand, nests, predatedeggs, and the presence of turtles in potential

breeding areas). In such localities, local peopleare being encouraged to protect turtles and theirnesting habitats. An in situ egg protectionprogramme was initiated with the participation oflocal communities. An island (char) in theBrahmaputra River within Morigaon district inAssam was selected for a hatchery due its habitatsuitability. During the period 2009 to 2011, usingold fishing nets and a thorn brush barrier (as adefense against jackals, the primary threat to turtlenests in this area), about 250 square meters wereenclosed by nylon nets with stiff support to createan in situ hatchery for enhancing hatchingsuccess. The nests were dug at a depth of 24 cm,at a distance of 100 cm apart in the enclosed area.A total of 51 nests were protected, including 18for P. sylhetensis (91 eggs), 21 for P. tentoria(178 eggs), 2 for Nilssonia nigricans (24 eggs),4 for N. hurum (32 eggs) and 1 for N. gangetica(10 eggs). The relative humidity was 78-82%throughout the incubation period. Plastic boardsdisplaying clutch number, size and date ofcollection of each nest were fixed for identification.

Observations

During this investigation 10 species from the familyGeoemydidae and 5 species from the familyTrionychidae were recorded: one CriticallyEndangered (CR), two Endangered (EN), sevenVulnerable (VU) and five Lower Risk species.Interestingly, all four species of large softshellturtles viz. Nilssonia gangetica, N. hurum, N.nigricans and Chitra indica were encounteredin and around Orang National Park (Table 1).

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Community-based conservation efforts

Trainings on various aspects of turtle biology andconservation viz. survey techniques, eggcollection, and hatchery management were offeredto 20 student volunteers. Over 3,000 people from21 villages attended the 11 awareness campaigns,and 12 local youths were introduced to fieldtechniques. Three former poachers wereemployed as field assistants in the Indian turtleconservation project. The hatching successeswere recorded at 60% for P. tentoria, 50% for P.

sylhetensis, 21% for N. hurum, 10% for N.gangetica and 6% for N. nigricans. The numberof success was 36 out of the total 46 nests. Mostof the eggs began to hatch at the end of April orbeginning of May. The hatchlings were measuredand selectively photographed, and then releasedinto the Brahmaputra River, near the hatcheryarea. Releases were made early in the morning(between 6 - 7 am) or in the late evenings (between5 - 6 pm), mainly to reduce heat stress and therisk of depredations.



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Family: Geoemydidae

Pangshura tentoria P. smithii P. tecta

P. sylhetensis Melanochelys tricarinata Cuora amboinensis

Geoclemys hamiltonii Hardella thurjii Morenia petersi

Cyclemys gemeli

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Family: Trionychidae

Nilssonia hurum N. gangetica N. nigricans

Lissemys punctata andersoni Chitra indica

Discussion

The presence of 15 freshwater turtle speciesbelonging to 2 families in the ONP is indicative ofan ideal turtle habitat in Northeast India.Pangshura tentoria appears to be the mostfrequently encountered turtle species, havingpatchy distribution in the Park, followed by P.smithii and Melanochelys tricarinata with ratherwidespread distribution in the park. Earlier, P.tentoria was reported from Kaziranga NationalPark (Das, 1990), Dibru-Saikhowa WildlifeSanctuary (Choudhury, 1990); Lakhimpur District(Choudhury, 1995); Kamrup District (Choudharyet al.,1999); and Manas National Park (Sarma,2007).Three subspecies have been described:tentoria from peninsular India, circumdata fromthe western tributaries of the Ganga as well asthe Brahmaputra, and flaviventer from thenorthern tributaries of the Ganga. In the present

study, 39 individuals of P. smithii were observedat Lohori Char of the Brahmaputra River in thepossession of local fishermen, in addition to 19 inONP.

Authors’ addresses: Chittaranjan Baruah,Department of Zoology, Darrang College,Tezpur-784001, Assam, India; Phallgun Chetiaand D.K. Sharma,Turtle Conservation &Research Programme, Bioinformatics Centre,Department of Zoology, Gauhati University,Guwahati – 781 014, Assam, India; SusantaKr. Bhuyan, Department of Zoology, J.NCollege, Boko – 781123, Assam, India*Corresponding author: D.K. Sharma,Coordinator, Bioinformatics Centre,Department of Zoology, Gauhati University,Guwahati – 781 014, Assam, India; Tel: 0091-0361-2700470 (O) /0091-94351-47412 (M);Email: [email protected]



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Species Sex CL CW PL PW SH Wt (kg) Pangshura tecta

M 9.8-12.82 7.6-9.93 8.1-11.83 4.3-6.15 4.5-6.42 0.7 F 10.6-14.6 8.6-10.2 8.0-12.5 5.0-7.0 5.5-7.8 1.0

Pangshura tentoria

M 7.0-17.9 5.5-12.13 15.1-20.7 6.0-7.5 3.8-7.87 0.8 F 8.5-20.4 6.7-14.8 15.1-24.8 7.1-9.29 4.1-8.4 1.4

Pangshura smithii

M 10.5-10.7 7.6-9.0 5.5-7.72 3.7-4.3 3.9-4.5 1.0 F 9.4-18.5 7.0-15.4 10.1-14.8 5.8-7.1 6.0-7.7 1.5

Pangshura sylhetensis

M 7.2-9.7 6.0-9.5 6.9-8.2 3.0-3.7 3.6-5.0 0.7 F 20.5-21.0 9.5-14.4 7.5-9.3 4.1-4.6 5.1-6.5 1.15

Coura amboinenesis

M 13.0-23.3 9.5-15.4 10.0-13.0 6.33-8.9 6.5-7.0 1.5 F 20.09-

25.0 14.3-14.8 11.4-16.1 8.0-10.0 6.7-8.0 2.0

Melanochelys tricarinata

M 12.3-14.7 8.0-9.6 10.2-11.3 8.5-11.2 6.7-9.0 1.0 F 17-18.5 10.4-12.7 15.0-18.0 11.5-16.5 9.0-10.0 1.8

Cylclemys gemelli

M 18.0-19.0 14.1-16.2 15.0-18.0 12.0-14.0 10.2-11.0 1.0 F 21.0-23.2 15.0-18.0 16.0-18.0 12.0-15.0 9.0-11.5 1.8

Geoclemys hamiltoni

M 21.1-19.2 19.0-19.7 28.3-28.8 14.8-19.0 12.0-12.4 5.2 F 20.7-40.5 18.35-

19.0 28.03-28.6

16.0-25.0 12.08 6.0

Hardella thrujii

M 15.0-16.8 13.0-15.0 14.0-16.0 13.0-15.0 12.0-13.0 8.5 F 61.0-65.3 45.0-50.0 50.0-58.0 13.0-18.0 13.0-14.0 10.5

Morenia petersi

M 16.3-19.4 10.2-11.3 9.2-10.7 7.0-8.0 4.0-7.0 1.2 F 20.0-26.0 11.3-15.5 10.0-16.3 7.0-8.2 4.21-7.33 1.15

Nilssonia nigricans

M 40.3-58.0 20.0-22.11

35.22-40-41

20.0-23.2 10.1-12.22

15.11

F 54.0-54.11

34.0-36.5 38.27-42.11

28.2-33.3 10.0-14.0 35.32

Nilssonia gangetica

M 40.32-45.1

20.2-22.4 30.1-34.0 18.0-21.1 11.0-13.3 35

F 75.5-94.0 30.0-33.0 28.4-29.5 15.4-17.11

9.0-10.5 30.3

Nilssonia hurum

M 13.0-17.0 13.6-15.2 6.4-7.2 7.6-8.8 6.6-8.5 10.2 F 49.5-60.0 31.0-33.5 35.0-36.5 18.0-20.2 10.0-11.3 27

Chitra indica M 51.3-55.5 47.2-50.2 25.3-26.8 25.4-27.3 8.1-9.22 15.0 F 56.0-710 50-51.5 26.0-32.0 24.0-28.2 8.0-12.0 18.0

Lissemys punctata andersonii

M 20.2-22.5 15.33-16.4

18.1-20.0 10.1-12.2 7.0-9.2 5.0

F 24.3-37.0 15.1-18.3 19.2-22.4 12.2-13.4 10.2-11.4 7.0

APPENDIX-1|

Div

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ty o

f fr

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ater

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and

the

ir p

ossi

ble

cons

erva

tion

in

and

arou

nd O

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NP

, Ass

am |

3 1


3 13 1

| Sighting of red-necked keelback in Similipal Tiger R

eserve | Note to Readers In Tigerpaper Vol.38:No.4 October-December 2011, we published the paper “Study of the reptilian faunal diversity of a fragmented forest patch in Kukulugala, Ratnapura district in Sri Lanka” by D.M.S. Suranjan Karunarathna, A.A. Thasun Amarasinghe and D.M.G. Niranjan Karunarathna. We regret that D.M.G. Niranjan Karunarathna’s name did not appear in the title credit, although it did appear with the authors’ addresses. We have since learned that this article was also submitted to Taprobanica – The Journal of Asian Biodiversity (ISSN:1800-427X) and published in Volume 2, Number 2, 30 April 2011. We hereby give credit to this publication.

SIGHTING OF RED-NECKED KEELBACK (Rhabdophissubminiatus) IN SIMILIPAL TIGER RESERVE, ORISSA, INDIA

by Debiprasad Sahoo, H.K. Sahu, S.K. Dutta and H.S. Upadhyay

Red-necked keelback (Rhabdophis subminiatus)is commonly known from north-eastern India, aswell as Nepal, southern China and mainlandSoutheast Asia (Das, 2002). The species isdistributed in the eastern Himalayas from Sikkimand Assam to Arunachal Pradesh. It is also knownfrom Nepal, Myanmar, China, Thailand,Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia andIndonesia. This species is found up to 1,780 mabove sea level (Whitaker, 2004).

In this note, the authors present a sighting recordof Rhabdophis subminiatus in Similipal TigerReserve. Similipal Tiger Reserve is located in theMayurbhanj District of Orissa and spreads over2,750 km2 of the Chotanagpur plateau and is oneof the UNESCO-recognized Biosphere Reservesof India. On 13April 2011, the authors and twoforest staff went to lay a transect line in Saruabeat area under Jenabil Range of Similipal TigerReserve. This work was involved with the

estimation of ungulate density in Similipal TigerReserve. On the Sarua transect line (N21°41’16.7"E86°25’16.3" elevation-770.8 m) after crossing800 m a juvenile Red-necked keelback was sightedjust 1 m distance from us. The area was a hillyterrain covered with dry leaves. Photographs weretaken of the specimen. The followingcharacteristics were observed: head is distinctfrom neck; eyes are large with rounded pupil; headis olive-brown in color, followed by a broad blackpatch on the neck bordered with yellow behind.The neck and forebody was red in color and therest of body and tail were a grayish-olive colorwith faint black and yellow markings. Thesemorphological features confirmed the identity ofthe species as a juvenile Red-necked keelback.There was no previous record of occurrence ofthis species in Orissa. The species was sighted inUBK Range of Similipal Tiger Reserve for thefirst time as per the forest staff. This was thesecond sighting of this species in Jenabil Range

3 23 2


| S

ight

ing

of r

ed-n

ecke

d ke

elba

ck i

n Si

mil

ipal

Tig

er R

eser

ve | of Similipal Tiger Reserve. These two sightings

indicate that the occurrence of Red-neckedkeelback in Orissa is confined to Similipal TigerReserve.

References

Das, I. 2002. A photographic guide to snakesand other reptiles of India. ISBN 0-88359-056-5. NHBS Environment Book Store. 44 pp.

Whitaker, R. and A. Captain. 2004. Snakes ofIndia - The field guide. Draco Books,Chennai, India. 232-233 pp.

Authors’ addresses: Debiprasad Sahoo –Research Fellow, North Orissa University,[email protected]; Dr. H.K. Sahu –Reader, P.G. Department of Zoology, NorthOrissa University; Prof. S.K. Dutta – P.G.Department of Zoology, North OrissaUniversity; H.S. Upadhyay – Former FieldDirector, Similipal Tiger Reserve

(Photo: Courtesy of Debiprasad Sahoo)

1

Vol. XXVI: No.1 January-March 2012

1

FOREST NEWSFOREST NEWS

Vol. XXVI: No. 1 Jan-Mar 2012

by Janet B. MartiresYakap Kalikasan Tungo sa Kaunlaran ng Pilipinas, Inc.

DEVELOPING EARTH AMBASSADORS IN THEPHILIPPINES THROUGH THE KIDS-TO-FORESTSINITIATIVE

“I wanted to be a doctor someday, but with myexperience in the Kids-to-Forests Initiative, nowI think I want to be a forester.” These are thewords of a 10-year-old, Grade V student afterjoining the Kids-to-Forest exposure.

The Kids-to-Forests Initiative (K2F) was launchedby the FAO Regional Office for Asia and thePacific in Thailand and subsequently piloted in sixAsia-Pacific countries with support from theNational Forest Programme Facility, in connectionwith the celebration of the International Year ofForests. The K2F initiative is piloting newapproaches in forest management by involving theyoung generation and future stewards of MotherEarth.

The Philippines-K2F program is implemented byYakap Kalikasan (Embrace the Environment), anenvironmental NGO, and the Department ofEnvironment and Natural Resources-ForestManagement Bureau (DENR-FMB). Focusingon increasing awareness and appreciation amongschool children and youth of the value and multi-benefits of forests through hands-on learningexperiences that can lead to a better understandingof sustainable forest management, three batches(including 143 school children and out-of-schoolyouth, teachers and parents, from nine schools andtwo communities) experienced three days ofhands-on forest exposure. The experience wasuniquely educational and exciting as participants

were brought to a mangrove forest, a wildliferescue center, the local forestry office, abotanical garden and the Forest ProductsResearch and Development Institute. Onegroup watched an environment concert hostedby a group of Kiddie Earth Ambassadors.

High in the natural forest of Mt. Makiling andthe forest laboratory of the DENR-EcosystemsResearch and Development Bureau, the kidswere always “up-and-go” with a variety ofinteractive learning exercises. Through guidedforest walks led by foresters and local farmers,and using simplified technical ideas, the kidslearned about the different layers of forests,parts of a tree and their importance, andestimating the ages and heights of trees. Inter-school friendships were built amid the fungames, storytelling, cheering, cookfest of uniqueforest dishes, and presentations that mixed artsand culture with forestry. There weredemonstrations on forest litter fertilizerproduction, seedling collection and potting, andtree planting. A camp-out allowed the kids tolisten to nocturnal forest sounds and taste themorning dew on plants at the crack of dawn.The kids most liked their immersion with forest-foster parents. Upland families adopted the kids,shared their life stories and let the kids harvestcrops from their farms and bathe in localsprings. To complement the field exposure, the

Vol. XXVI: No. 1 January-March 2012

22


program also developed practical comics in locallanguages.

K2F helped to build an exploring and caring heartamong the kids. Now called “Earth Ambassadors,”the kids have gone beyond the forest exposure topublic exposure. They surprised a large audienceduring a Kiddie Forestry Forum with poems, songs,dances, posters, drawings, forest products andbeautiful paper presentations introducing andexplaining how K2F has influenced them and whatthey want to commit to Mother Earth. One studentwon a writing contest based on her K2Fexperience in a provincial competition of youngjournalists.

Parallel with the Asia-Pacific Forestry Week 2011,some kids and parents were interviewed in a radioprogram where they called for the activeinvolvement of youths in preserving forests. Asan 11-year-old elementary school K2F participant

shared during the Kiddie Forestry Forum, “Withthe Kids-to-Forests, we learned how familiesand kids live in the forests, what kids shouldknow about forests and what kids cancontribute to forests. Now that we are EarthAmbassadors, we are ready to do somethingfor our forests.” K2F teachers and parents arealso now working on the inclusion of additionalnature exposure as alternatives to the traditionalschool trips to industrial parks and recreationcenters.

The K2F program has also served as a bridge forpartnership building and collaboration amongvarious stakeholders including the government,NGOs, educational and research institutions,communities and the private sector.

K2F is not just a Kids-to-Forests project, but alsoa key to future sustainable forest management.

3


3


A BOOST FOR TEAK PLANTATIONS

Prepared by Simmithiri Appanah, NFP Advisor (Asia-Pacific)

Considering the long history and the vastexperience gained with raising teak plantations,the idea of another workshop on innovations inthe management of teak plantations can arrive asa surprise. Is there any room left for improvingthem? As the discussions in the workshop on“Innovations in the Management of Planted TeakForests” (Thrissur, India; 31 August – 2 September2011), organized by Teaknet, with support fromFAO, conveyed, quite a lot of rethinking isemerging to boost the development of teakplantations.

Summary of workshop discussions

The workshop was attended by 42 participants.From outside of Asia, there were participants fromAustralia, Europe and Ghana. For teak growers,this surge of interest beyond Asia, particularly fromcountries like Ghana, should be a signal for changesto come – both markets and sources of teak arelikely to shift in the foreseeable future.Nevertheless, participation from the private sectorremained wanting, a perennial problem thatTeaknet should address urgently.

The technical presentations covered a wide rangeof topics: Supportive policies and laws for teak

plantations – S. Appanah Forest level management planning – J. Lappi Choice of quality planting material for teak –

J.K. Hansen Mass production of planting stock of teak –

S. Kendurkar Soil management in teak plantations – B.

Mohankumar Forest-level management planning – J. Lappi Health and sustainable management of teak

stands – V. Sudheendrakumar Innovative approaches in utilization of teak

wood – R. Rao Teak plantations for climate change mitigation

and ecological services – M. Kanninen

Teak farms – a strategy for growth and jobcreation in rural Asia – D. Rohadi

While a lot of terrain was covered, highlights canbe summarized. It was clear that most countriesare still constrained by archaic policies andregulations, limiting the opportunities for farmersand private growers to raise teak in private lands.Unless regulations are eased in Asia, the growthof private plantations in Central America andAfrica may overtake Asia as the major source ofteak wood in the future. Interesting researchfindings were presented on flowering physiology,influence of management on wood production,micro-propagation techniques, and diseasemanagement. These discussions laid bare anotherserious deficiency – many of these valuableinnovations are not harnessed by the teak growers.From the discussions on wood utilization, it becameapparent that an international grading rule orstandards can greatly assist with the marketing ofthe timber. The variety, quality and source of woodpose problems when it comes to pricing, and thegrowers often get the short end of the stick.

These days, discussions in forestry are usuallycharged with issues of climate change. Teakplantations offer great opportunities in this respect,and unsurprisingly received their due attention asa means to provide climate change mitigation andecological services. They were linked to theconcept of REDD+. These discussions wereimbued with more value when concepts of teakfarms as a means to enhance the livelihoods ofrural communities emerged.

In addition to the lectures, time was also allocatedfor group interactions and experience sharing. Thiswas found to be quite useful, as the participantswere able to discuss some of their unique fieldproblems with experts. The final session soughtadditional directions on how Teaknet can meet theneeds of its members.


44


FIRST ANNOUNCEMENTWORLD TEAK CONFERENCE 2013 - SHARING OURPLANET: TEAK MODEL DEVELOPMENT TOWARDS THEIMPROVEMENT OF MANKIND

Organizers:Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn – Plant Genetic Conservation FoundationFood and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)TEAKNET (International Teak R & D Network)

Background

The World Teak Conference is an offshoot of thecommendable efforts initiated by Thailand onmassive planting of teak throughout the countryto commemorate the 84th birthday celebrationsof H.R.H. the King of Thailand. Thailand has beenexecuting a nationwide project to plant 8.4 millionsaplings of teak distributed in villages throughoutthe country with people’s participation. This effortis laudable and serves as a model for othercountries across the globe due to its social andenvironmental implications.

TEAKNET, initiated by FAO of the United Nationsto promote teak globally, took on this spirit anddecided to support the international conference inThailand in appreciation of the highly relevantefforts the country has made.

In this conference, TEAKNET, in association withthe other organizing partners, attempts to examinethe multiple aspects of teak cultivation andmanagement in the context of sustainabledevelopment with social, ecological and economicimplications.

Teak (Tectona grandis) is indigenous to India,Laos, Myanmar and Thailand. Along with Indiaand Indonesia, Thailand is one of the majorproducers of teak wood in the Asia Pacific region.Of late, there has also been much interest inplanting teak in Africa and Central Americancountries.

Globally, planted forests are also emerging as arenewable forest resource with great potential formitigating climate change, creating investmentopportunities and eliminating poverty. The presentconference thus tries to do justice to these issuesby assembling the topmost experts in the field todiscuss at length the details regarding the potentialof utilizing teak in the aforesaid context.

Objective

The major objective of the programme is toexamine the multiple aspects of teak cultivationand management in the context of sustainabledevelopment with social, ecological and economicimplications.

The World Teak Conference 2013 will beconvened in Bangkok and Phitsanulok, Thailand.

Contact addresses:Dr. Paiboolya Gavinlertvatana,Project Advisor-Coordinator, Plant GeneticConservation ProjectThailand Email: [email protected]; URL:www.rspg.or.thandDr. K. JayaramanTEAKNET Coordinator,Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi,Thrissur, Kerala, IndiaE-mail: [email protected]; URLwww.teaknet.org

5


5


ADVANCING REDUCED IMPACT LOGGING WITHINEMERGING CARBON MECHANISMS

Background

Reduced impact logging (RIL) has been widelypromoted for tropical forests as a means ofreducing the environmental degradation caused bydestructive and wasteful forms of logging. RIL isimplemented through codes of practice andguidelines that cover activities such as forestmanagement plans, road construction, tree felling,log extraction and reforestation. The benefits ofRIL include reduced impacts on forest soils,hydrology, forest growth, biodiversity andimproved worker safety.

Good progress has been achieved in developingcodes of practice and RIL guidelines in manycountries. However, the wider application of RILhas been limited by a number of factors, includingweak institutional capacity, poor politicalcommitment, concerns over the financial cost ofRIL and a lack of financial incentives to accountfor the environmental and social benefits.

The global debate about climate change hashighlighted the critical role of forests in thesequestration of carbon. The United NationsFramework Convention for Climate Change(UNFCCC) has identified REDD+ (ReducingEmissions from Deforestation and ForestDegradation) as an effective way of reducing CO

2

emissions. The main focus to date has been onreducing deforestation. Less attention has beengiven to the substantial gains that could be achievedby reducing forest degradation through improvedforest management practices.

REDD+ and voluntary market arrangements havethe potential to become major drivers for the wideruptake of RIL. For this to occur, policy-makers,forest managers and other relevant stakeholdersneed to have access to accurate information aboutthe relative impact of various management optionson forest carbon stocks and flows.

Workshop summary

The Asia-Pacific Workshop on Reduced ImpactLogging: Challenges, Opportunities and Strategiesin the Emerging Forest Carbon Economy wasorganized 3-4 May, in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah,Malaysia, attended by 28 international experts inthe fields of reduced impact logging (RIL), forestcarbon and REDD+. The workshop was jointlyorganized by the FAO Regional Office for Asiaand the Pacific and the Lowering Emissions inAsia’s Forests (LEAF) Program supported byUSAID. Additional support was provided by theUN-REDD Programme, the Secretariat of thePacific Community (SPC), GIZ, and the SabahForest Department.

The objectives of the workshop were to: Review the challenges and opportunities for

the application of RIL in the emerging forestcarbon economy, including REDD+;

Review current knowledge on forest carbonmeasurement, reporting and verification andmonitoring related to forest degradation anddifferent management practices;

Review the potential magnitude of financialcosts and benefits of applying RIL in a forestcarbon economy; and

Develop strategies to encourage increasedapplication of RIL as a key mechanism forimproving forest management and reducingcarbon emissions under REDD+.

Workshop program

The workshop was designed as a meeting ofexperts in the fields of RIL, forest carbon andREDD+. Lead speakers briefly reviewed thestate of knowledge and presented case studies onkey topics. Most of the program was devoted togroup discussions and the development ofstrategies to promote the wider uptake of RIL.The key topics for discussion included: The measurement of forest carbon – a brief

overview of current methods for measuring


66


forest carbon, including the relative costs andpracticality of measuring the components offorest carbon in space and time.

The impact of RIL on forest carbon emissions,compared with conventional logging andunlogged forests.

Current opportunities and challenges for RIL– this topic reviewed the factors that aredriving the uptake of RIL and those that areholding it back, including financialconsiderations, research and development,education/training, policy and regulation andinfrastructure and resources.

An action plan to promote greater uptake ofRIL – the main part of the workshop wasdevoted to the development of actions andcommunication strategies for promoting RILto policy/decision-makers, forest owners/managers, public/media and otherstakeholders.

Workshop outcomes

Key messages, conclusions and recommendationsfrom the workshop were as follows: RIL is an important component of sustainable

forest management (SFM), but we should notforget the importance of other key criteria suchas forest regeneration, sustained yield and themaintenance of biodiversity.

RIL significantly reduces the environmentalimpact of harvesting and it substantiallyreduces the emission of CO

2 by as much as

40 percent compared with conventionallogging. Much of the carbon gain is associatedwith the retention of forest in buffers (streams,steep areas, etc.) under RIL, as well as fromreduced waste and damage to residualgrowing stock.

Several studies show that RIL results in betterfinancial returns than conventional logging asa result of factors such as more efficientlocation of skid trails and better recovery oftimber. However, studies are not wellreplicated and on some sites it is evident thatRIL will result in lower financial returns fromlogging due to the loss of yield within thebuffers and the higher costs of planning.However, these studies do not take accountof the longer term economic benefits that arelikely to accrue through better regeneration

and productivity of RIL stands compared withconventionally logged stands.

The wider uptake of RIL continues to behampered by concerns over its higher costand loss of resource compared withconventional logging. However, there areencouraging signs of progress: In Indonesia, many concessionaires are

voluntarily adopting RIL and conductingtraining programs.

RIL is widely seen as a first step towardsforest certification.

Sabah intends to make RIL andcertification compulsory for allconcessions by 2014.

RIL has a key role to play in reducing forestdegradation under REDD+.

Mechanisms for carbon accounting underREDD+ are most likely to apply at the nationalor regional scale, with monitoring systemsbeing based on spatial imagery and growthdata from field inventory and allometricequations.

Practical methodologies have been developedfor measuring forest carbon and for monitoringthe losses and gains from harvesting andreforestation. The methodologies are basedon normal forest mensuration and should notrequire substantial additional costs.

Carbon alone is unlikely to be a major driverfor RIL, but it is another important componentof the multiple environmental benefitsassociated with RIL.

Recommended future actions to promote thewider uptake of RIL within the Asia-Pacificregion include: developing additional demonstration areas

across the region; promoting the benefits of RIL to local

communities and to logging companiesthrough industry associations;

promoting the environmental and carbonbenefits of RIL to policy makers andlobbyists;

establishing additional RIL trainingprograms and incorporating RIL intotraining curricula at all operational,technical and professional levels;

promoting the ongoing development andadoption of regulatory frameworks forsetting national standards for RIL and for

7


7


SECOND FAO/WORLD BANK EXPERT MEETING:INVESTING IN AGRICULTURE AND NATURALRESOURCES MANAGEMENT IN THE CONTEXT OFCLIMATE CHANGE IN EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

monitoring and reporting on theoperational standards that are beingachieved; and

promoting the development and monitoringof national standards for SFM toincorporate RIL and other key elementssuch as a permanent native forest estateand sustained yield from wood productionzones.

The findings of the workshop will be used todevelop an action plan that will detail the strategiesby which RIL can be promoted to internationaland national bodies, negotiators and the media asa key component of measures for reducing forestdegradation and CO

2 emissions under REDD+.

From 14-16 May, a panel of experts from FAOand the World Bank gathered in Bangkok for theSecond FAO/World Bank Expert Meeting onInvesting in Agriculture and Natural ResourcesManagement in the context of Climate Change inEast Asia and the Pacific.

The meeting was opened by Mr. HiroyukiKonuma, Assistant Director-General and RegionalRepresentative of FAO in Asia and the Pacific,and Ms. Magda Lovei, Sector Manager, East AsiaSustainable Development Department, WorldBank. Both stressed that the challenges posed byclimate change will compound existingdevelopment problems in East Asia and the Pacific.As a result, problems such as population growth,rapid urbanization, increasing competition fornatural resources, and most importantly foodinsecurity, will need to be addressed concurrentlywith those presented by a changing climate.

Experts from FAO, USAID, IRRI and theRegional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early WarningSystem (RIMES) highlighted new practices andtechnologies to strengthen the capacity ofcountries in the region to fight climate change.Examples included new, more tolerant crops,livestock and fish; farmer field schools; mobile cropand weather information systems and community-based adaptation.

But while the pace of innovation was found tobe speeding up, participants agreed that thecapacity of some countries is still lacking;particularly in their ability to implementregulatory frameworks and institutional capacitythat will allow them to anticipate, plan for andmanage climate variability and climate change.Discussions regarding the forestry sectorhighlighted the following strategies to addressthe sector specific challenges of climate change: Clarifying and strengthening forestland

ownership and use rights; Reducing and simplifying resource access

procedures; Maintaining a stable policy and regulatory

environment; Strengthening sustainable production and

access to markets for forest-basedproducts; and

Applying best practices in forest lawenforcement and reducing opportunities forcorruption.

More generally, climate-smart agriculture wasidentified as a useful umbrella to try and tacklegovernance gaps, mainstream climate changein the agriculture and natural resource sectorsand target future investment. It was also thoughtto present a good opportunity for both agenciesto initiate future collaborative action to tacklesector and agro-ecosystem specific issues.

Prepared by Beau Damen, FAO Consultant, Bio-Energy


88


FOREST & FARM FACILITY 2012-2017:GOOD GOVERNANCE FOR MULTIPLE BENEFITS OFFORESTS

The National Forest Programme Facility (NFPFacility) is evolving into the Forest & Farm Facility(FFF), a new phase that builds upon the NFPFacility’s experiences of the past 10 years andelements of the Growing Forest Partnerships(GFP) initiative. The FFF will combine thestrengths of these programmes in meeting theremaining challenges in NFP implementation andemerging needsbeing identified.

Mission: To promote sustainable forest and farmmanagement by supporting local, regional, nationaland international organizations and platforms foreffective engagement in policies and investmentsthat meet the needs of local people.

Beneficiaries: Smallholders, women, communityand indigenous peoples groups, including theirnetworks at sub- national, national and internationallevels, who will receive direct support, improvedaccess to information, capacity development indecision-making, and financing and investmentsfor managing forests and farms in an integratedand sustainable way.

National and sub-national governments will benefitfrom direct support to establish or strengthen multi-sectoral channels for dialogue on forest and farmrelated issues and from having established anoperational collaboration base with smallholders,communities and indigenous peoples.

Why a Forest & Farm Facility?

Today about 30 percent of the world’s forests aremanaged by local people, either formally orinformally, and it is these local groups –smallholders, women, community and indigenouspeoples – that make many forest investments workon the ground. However, the threat remains thatrecent gains in local management of forests may

stall or even be reversed without a strong initiativeto mainstream and cement the gains. While globalfunding opportunities and investments areincreasingly turning to forests as a means ofalleviating poverty, enhancing ecosystem servicesand mitigating and adapting to climate change,there remains a need to address governancecoordination mechanisms for stronger local voicesand national ownership.

The need to include local people, their perspectivesand voices and to mediate and find viablecompromises between the views and perspectivesof governments and civil society could not be moreimperative; the stakes for forest- and farm-dependent people, and the global communityoverall, could not be higher. The NFP Facility hasmade significant contributions to increasestakeholder participation in the NFP and otherprocesses. However, to further improve therepresentation of local people a more focusedsupport to strengthen their capacity to networkand organize is needed.

The FFF, framed in a context where naturalresources are facing global challenges, will addressthe aforementioned needs by increasing its focusin promoting cross-sectoral governmentcoordination at all levels and further enhancingthe organization and capacity of local groups sothey can engage in local, regional and national levelpolicy dialogues and decision-making processes.In addition, the FFF aims to help equip these localgroups with skills and opportunities to accessfinancing mechanisms and investments forsustainable forestry and farm management.

The FFF is closely linked with the implementationof FAO’s new strategic objectives at the countrylevel relating to food security, forest and farmmanagement, enterprise development and

Prepared by Xiaojie Fan, FFF Regional Coordinator

9


9


PHYTOSANITARY STANDARDS IN FORESTRY

Guide to implementation of phytosanitarystandards in forestry, published by FAO, aimsto help countries prevent forest-damaging pestsfrom spreading to new areas.

“Due to climate change, previously inhospitablesites can become suitable for ‘alien’ pests thatare accidentally transported through internationaltrade in wood products, seeds or nursery plants –as well as trade in other commodities packagedwith wood materials,” said Eduardo Rojas-Briales,FAO’s Assistant Director-General for Forestry.“The guide provides suggestions on how to reducethe risk of pest spread and to implement effectivepest management strategies at every step of theforest commodities chain,” he added.

In addition to globalization, global warming alsofactors into the spread of forest pests.Increases in summer temperatures generallyaccelerate the reproductive capacity of insects,while warmer winter temperatures improve theirchances of surviving winters.

financing, climate change mitigation andadaptation, biodiversity and bio-energy.

Programme activities and mechanisms

Based on demand, the FFF will develop and fundpartnerships at local, national, regional andinternational levels. Small grants will be offereddirectly in support of the following activities: Organization and capacity of smallholder,

women, community and indigenous peoplesgroups depending on forests and farms, forpolicy dialogue engagement and access tofinancing and investment;

Multi-sectoral stakeholder policy platforms atlocal and national levels for improvedgovernment coordination; and

Communication and dissemination of keyinformation and learning between local,national, regional and international levels.

Organization and management

The FFF will be coordinated by a small and flexiblemanagement team and FAO has offered tocontinue hosting this new phase. A SteeringCommittee will evaluate and refresh the vision,principles, policies, strategies and basic activitiesof the Facility and a Donors Support Group willdevelop eligibility guidelines for selecting partnersand criteria for grant applications respectively.

Additional information on the Forest & FarmFacility Programme Document is available at:http://www.nfp-facility.org/en/Contacts:Mr Jerker Thunberg, FFF Manager, FAO HQs.(E-mail: [email protected])Ms Xiaojie Fan, Regional Coordinator, FAORegional Office for Asia and the Pacific (E-mail: [email protected])

Drought conditions associated with warmertemperatures have also weakened the trees andincreased their susceptibility to the beetles.Warmer temperatures have thus opened uppreviously climatically unsuitable mature pinestands to the pest.

Coping with such threats requires action on severalfronts. Careful surveillance, the management offorest stands throughout the growing cycle andimproved nursery, harvest and transport operationsare important.

The FAO guide was authored by an internationalgroup of 100 scientists and phytosanitary expertsfrom 46 countries and is intended for policy-makers, planners, managers and educators, as wellas forest workers who implement policies at theground level. It is currently available in fourlanguages: Chinese, English, French, and Russian.Spanish and Arabic versions are expected to bepublished next year.from FAO NEWS RELEASE [11/116 en]


1 01 0


AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT VOLUNTEER PROGRAMSCONTRIBUTE TO FAO FORESTRY WORK IN THEREGION

This year marks the fifth consecutive year thatFAO’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific(FAO-RAP) and the Australian YouthAmbassadors for Development (AYAD) Programhave worked together to provide skilled youngAustralians the opportunity to gain experience inworking on forestry projects throughout the region.

The AYAD international volunteer program is anAustralian Government/AusAID initiativedesigned to provide young professionals theopportunity to volunteer overseas in Asia, thePacific and Africa. A key to this program ismatching volunteer’s skills and professionalexperiences with organizations that identify a needfor a volunteer. Partner organizations such as FAOthen work with AusAID to develop an AYADassignment.

Over the years AYAD volunteers in the FAOforestry team have worked on a wide range ofprojects including sustainable timber harvesting,forest restoration, bioenergy and climate changepolicy. AYAD volunteers have also played keyroles in organizing events such as the Asia-PacificForestry Week and the workshop on Forests andClimate Change after Copenhagen.

Michelle Hutchins, a forestry professional fromCanberra, Australia, is currently volunteering inBangkok at FAO-RAP in the Natural ResourcesGroup, where she is assisting the “Applyingassisted natural regeneration (ANR) for restoringforest ecosystem services in South East Asia”project, which is being implemented in Thailand,Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Indonesia.

This regional project is based on the experienceswith ANR which have been used to rehabilitatedegraded forests and weed-infested Imperatagrasslands in the Philippines for over 30 years.

The project is assisting communities andgovernments in developing model sites to test theeffectiveness of this forest restoration techniqueacross the region. A key component of the projectis training local communities in the techniques andcollecting environmental information to measureimprovements in carbon sequestration, waterquality and biodiversity.

This project aligns with the broader organizationalgoals of FAO and AusAid in the region. The projectaims to increase and diversify the income offorest-dependent communities through improvingthe environmental stability and productivity ofdegraded secondary forests. At a higher policylevel it contributes to the Millennium DevelopmentGoals One and Seven targeting poverty, hungerand environmental sustainability.

Having the opportunity to work as part of the FAO-RAP forestry team provides the AYAD volunteerswith invaluable international forestry experienceand opens their eyes to the variety of work whichis taking place across the Asia-Pacific region.Michelle remarked that “The forestry sector inthis region is extremely diverse and active, and Iam excited to be a part of it. It has been particularlygreat to work with a number of NGOs on thisproject, including the Bagong Pagasa Foundationin the Philippines and Forest Restoration Unit(FORRU) at Chiang Mai University, Thailand. Thevaluable work these organizations are doing onthe ground is highlighting that simple forestrestoration techniques can play an important rolein tropical forest restoration technology.”

A personal highlight of Michelle’s assignment hasbeen working with the Akha hill tribe communitiesto establish Thailand’s first ANR model site. “Ihave learnt a lot about the community and theimportance of developing good relationships if you

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want a project to be successful. Our projectpartners FORRU and IUCN have been workingin this hill tribe area for a number of years andwithout these good relationships I don’t think theinitial project negotiations would have been assuccessful.”

Michelle thinks that the more she visits the modelsite, the more she is able to learn and appreciatethe realities of the region she is working in. “ANRpresents a significant opportunity to improve

environmental services of the forest and bring realbenefits to the Akha community. But achievingsustainable outcomes for the long-term will takepatience and sustained effort. I hope thatpartnerships like this with FAO and the AYADprogram can continue so that future volunteerscan have the opportunity to build on the positivework taking place in this area.”

For more information on the AYAD Program visit:http://www.ayad.com/

Michelle at the ANR site with the FORRU crew


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An FAO programme that helps local communitiesin Mongolia protect their forests is being seen asa model for regional action.

The participatory forest management project(Capacity building and institutional developmentfor participatory natural resources managementand conservation in forest areas of Mongolia -GCP/MON/002/NET) has effectively stoppedillegal logging and forest fires in 15 pilot districtssince it began in 2007 and is set to go nationwidewhen the pilot programme ends in January 2012.

With funding from the government of theNetherlands, the project is helping Mongolianslearn techniques to preserve the forest resourcesthat are crucial to their well-being.

Challenges and opportunities

Mongolia holds roughly 188,000 square kilometersof forestland, occupying 12 percent of the nation’svast landscape. Yet, these forests have beenshrinking due to greater demand for timber, human-induced fires, mining and overstocking of cattle.In the 1990s, as many as 400 square kilometersof forest were disappearing every year.

“Local people for many years were sufferingbecause there was a lot of illegal logging in theirareas, a lot of fires, strangers coming and doingwhatever they wanted to,” said DashzevegTserendeleg, the national coordinator of theparticipatory forest management project.

Communities are now discovering that they can,in fact, do something. Through the project, forestuser groups receive training in forest assessment,mapping, management planning, fire preventionand marketing of forest products. They thendevelop their own plans to put into action.

A sense of ownership

Batjargal, a herder in Mongolia, makes a livingkeeping a few hundred sheep, goats and horses inthe district of Bugat, about 450 kilometersnorthwest of Ulaan Baatar. Until recently, he andhis family could do little but watch as outsiderspoached the resources of his valley. “We saw thatthings were going wrong when trees were loggedillegally and streams and rivers started to dry up,”said Batjargal. “So the local people wanted toestablish a forest user group,” a move that Batjargalsays has given community members a “feeling ofownership.”

New income

The project allows rural communities to tap intonew sources of income. User groups clear deadtrees from the forests and sell the wood forfirewood or for use in construction. They also sellnon-timber products like pine nuts and berries atlocal markets. Batjargal has just signed a contractto sell the district government 1,500 cubic metersof fuelwood for the winter.

“In our district we have only one state environmentinspector and three rangers in three sub-districts,”said Oyumaa, the Governor of Bugat district.“They give permission for felling trees, but cannotexercise permanent control over their own forests.So, the primary benefit of having forest user groupsis better control over their own forests.”

The next step is to scale up nationwide, a long-term task that involves drafting policy and refiningthe legal framework for woodland resources atthe national level. Informally, the programmecontinues to grow, as group members share newsof their success with other herders, who, in turn,start up user groups of their own.

FAO News Release 11/114

PROTECTING FORESTS TO PRESERVE LIVELIHOODS

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RAP FORESTRY STAFF MOVEMENT

Ben Vickers, a British national, has joined theRAP NRE group as Programme Officer(REDD+) of Project UNJP/GLO/386/UNJ(Support to Reducing Emissions fromDeforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+)Action) effective 31 May 2012, for an initialassignment duration of one year.

Mr. Vickers is a graduate in Forest Managementfrom the University of Aberdeen, and holds anMSc in Forestry from Oxford University.

Mr. Vickers has been working in Asia since 1996in the fields of agroforestry, social and communityforestry, forestry standards and certification and,since 2007, on climate change issues in the forestrysector, particularly REDD+. He spent 8 years inNepal, working on projects funded by GTZ, DfIDand Helvetas, among others. While working forSNV in Vietnam, he initiated their engagement inREDD+, which has now grown into a sizeableglobal program. At RECOFTC, he launched theirPeople, Forests and Climate Change program,developing projects in countries throughout Asiaand the Pacific. Over the past 18 months he hasworked as an independent consultant on behalf ofall three UN-REDD partner agencies (FAO,UNDP and UNEP), as well as CAREInternational, contributing to regional, national andsub-national REDD+ initiatives in Bangladesh,Indonesia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Vietnam, and theSmall Island States of the Pacific. He has alsobeen an active member of the Forest StewardshipCouncil, serving as a member of the working groupfor writing the recently-approved revised Principlesand Criteria for forest management.

Dhanush Dinesh, a national of India, joined theRAP NRE group in May 2012 as a consultant onforest policy and climate change. Mr. Dinesh hasan interdisciplinary background combining anMBA, and an MSc in Carbon Management fromEdinburgh University. Mr. Dinesh’s work focuseson operationalizing the Asia-Pacific Forest PolicyThink Tank, and strengthening activities of theForests and Climate Change initiative in the region.

Prior to this assignment, Mr. Dinesh worked asProgramme Assistant at UNEP’s InternationalEcosystem Management Partnership (IEMP) inBeijing, undertaking programme development andresearch functions. He has also worked in theprivate sector, in domains including carbonmanagement, carbon benchmarking, and windenergy. He is also a prominent advocate of youthaction on climate change, and was selected as anInternational Climate Champion by the BritishCouncil.

Roger Steinhardt, a national of Australia, joinedthe RAP NRE group in June 2012 as a consultanton issues relating to forest policy and harvestingin Asia and the Pacific. His main duties involvethe coordination of the “Promoting sustainableforest management by developing effectivesystems of forest planning, monitoring and controlin Papua New Guinea” project and the“Community-based forest harvesting for povertyreduction in Vietnam” project.

Prior to joining the forestry group, Mr Steinhardtwas the Forestry and Forest Carbon Manager ata private forestry and environment company inThailand, and Forest Manager for a pulp and papercompany in Lao PDR. He has also worked for aninternational development company in Australiaas a community forestry and rural developmentspecialist working on ADB-, AusAID- andNZAID-funded projects.

Jeremy Broadhead. After seven years at the FAORegional Office for Asia-Pacific Office, JeremyBroadhead is leaving to work with Climate Focus onthe USAID-funded LEAF program (LoweringEmissions in Asia’s Forests) as Senior Advisor,Forestry and Land Use Policy as of 2 July 2012.The project covers Cambodia, Lao PDR, Malaysia,Papua New Guinea, Thailand and Vietnam and Mr.Broadhead hopes to see future collaboration betweenFAO and the LEAF program.


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ASIA-PACIFIC FORESTRY CHIPS AND CLIPS

FINNISH PAPER COMPANY STORA ENSO(STERV.HE) PLANS TO INVEST 1.6BILLION EUROS ($2.1 BILLION) TOBUILD A NEW MILL IN CHINA

Stora Enso said on Tuesday that it would build anintegrated board and pulp mill in Guangxi, southernChina, with a paperboard capacity of 900,000 tons.Production is scheduled to start in the fourthquarter of 2014.

Paperboard is used for everything from food tocigarette packages. Stora Enso Chief ExecutiveJouko Karvinen said the food packaging businessis attractive as some 1.5 billion new consumersare forecast to start buying packaged food in thenext 10-15 years.

Stora Enso has been raising plantations aroundGuangxi since 2002. The company’s otheroperations in China include a coated fine papermill in Suzhou and an uncoated magazine papermill in Dawang.

The mill is due to be operated as a joint-venturewith the state-owned Guangxi Forestry Group,which will hold 15 percent of the equity.– Reuters 20 March, 2012, Helsinki –

FORESTS OFF LIMIT FOR ALL MINING?

If India’s environment ministry’s draft proposalfor “inviolate forest areas” is accepted, largeswathes of healthy forests, including nationalparks, wildlife sanctuaries, tiger reserves andwildlife corridors, would be out of bounds for allmining activities, and not just coal excavation.

The ministry’s draft lists criteria for identifyingforest patches where mining should be bannedfollowing the Group of Ministers on coal’s decisionto junk the no-go policy of the environmentministry. The GoM on coal instead asked the

ministry to delineate ‘inviolate forest areas’ basedon a new set of norms.

The norms proposed include forest cover, forestrytype, biological richness and wildlife value of areasunder review, hydrological and socio-economicbenefits.

–The Times of India 13 June 2012 –

PHILIPPINES PROVINCES TO BENEFITFROM FOREST LAND MANAGEMENTPROJECT

Several provinces in the Philippines will start tobenefit from a forest land management project(FMP) after a loan agreement with Japan washanded over on Tuesday to the Department ofEnvironment and Natural Resources (DENR).

Under the contract that was signed in Tokyo inMarch, the JICA (Japan International CooperationAgency) is contributing P4.53 billion to the project,while the government’s counterpart fund is 1.34billion, according to details of the project releasedon Friday.

According to the Environment department, the 10-year program will tap the community-based forestmanagement system to implement the undertakingin three river basins in three regions: the UpperMagat and Cagayan in the CordilleraAdministrative Region, Pampanga in Region 3(Central Luzon) and Jalaur in Region 6 (WesternVisayas). During the program launch JICA ChiefRepresentative Takahiro Salaki said “the FMPseeks to ensure the sustainability of forest coverin these provinces.

The DENR chief said that through the FMP, thedepartment will be able to convert denuded areasto productive lands and help alleviate poverty inthe key implementation areas, in cooperation withlocal governments.–Business World Online 19 June 2012 –

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NEW RAP FORESTRY PUBLICATIONS

FOREST POLICY BRIEFS

The past decade has been a period ofunprecedented change in Asia and the Pacific.The recovery of Asia from economic crisis, theemergence of China as an economic superpower,accelerating demands on the region’s forests andunprecedented levels of international interest inforest conservation and management are just afew of the major developments that are shapingthe prospects for forestry. The second Asia-PacificForestry Sector Outlook Study (APFSOS II),launched in June 2010, takes a major stride inmapping out the future of forests and forestrytowards 2020. In progress for four years, thestudy has involved all Asia-Pacific ForestryCommission member countries in a wide-ranginginitiative to gather information, examine theevolution of key forestry issues, identify importantdrivers of change and review major trends. Thestudy identifies the range of outcomes andimplications for forestry that may arise fromactions taken today, with the main purpose ofsupporting policy review and reform. As well asregional, sub-regional, country and thematicreports, eight policy briefs have been produced tohelp to bring the results of the study directly tothose most able to influence national level forestpolicy and sector activities. For more about theOutlook Study please go to the following link:www.fao.org/asiapacific/forestry-outlook.

FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGEAFTER DURBAN: An Asia-Pacificperspective

On 21 February 2012, 13 experts and experiencedcommentators assembled in Quezon City in thePhilippines to discuss the implications of COP17in Durban for forestry in the Asia-Pacific region.

This was the third in a series of post-COP expertconsultations that have been organized by FAOand RECOFTC – The Center for People andForests to distil the opinions and knowledge fromthe region. In common with the previous twoevents, the outcomes of the meeting have beencompiled in a booklet: “Forests and climate changeafter Durban: An Asia-Pacific perspective.”These booklets have proved to be very popularwith forest sector stakeholders throughout theregion, and beyond, as a concise and accessiblesummary of the implications of the ongoing climatechange negotiations.

The organizers encouraged discussions to rangefrom general perceptions on the directions ofnegotiations, through REDD+ finance andsafeguards, capacity building for MRV, and on toLULUCF, A/R CDM and the role of forests inclimate change adaptation.


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FAO ASIA-PACIFIC FORESTRY CALENDAR

27-28 June 2012. Inception Workshop: “Promoting sustainable forest management by developingeffective systems of forest planning, monitoring and control in Papua New Guinea” (GCP/PNG/003/AUL). Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. Contact: Roger Steinhardt, Consultant, Forest policy/Haresting in Asia and the Pacific,FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, 39 Phra Atit Road, Bangkok 10200, Thailand; E-mail:[email protected]

3-4 July 2012. Low Emmission Land Use Planning Workshop. Bangkok, Thailand. Contact: Ben Vickers,Programme Officer (REDD+), Project UNJP/GLO/386/UNJ, FAO Regional Office for Asia and thePacific, 39 Phra Atit Road, Bangkok 10200, Thailand; E-mail: [email protected] or Nicole Kravec([email protected])

24-25 July 2012. Expert Group Meeting: An inclusive framework for enhancing investments intoAsian forestry. Bangkok, Thailand. Contact: Simmathiri Appanah, nfp Advisor (Asia-Pacific), FAORegional Office for Asia and the Pacific, 39 Phra Atit Road, Bangkok 10200, Thailand; E-mail:[email protected]

7-9 August 2012. Assisted Natural Regeneration (ANR) Study Tour to Philippines. Bohol, Philippines.Contact: Michelle Hutchins, FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, 39 Phra Atit Road, Bangkok10200, Thailand; E-mail: [email protected]

30 August - 5 September 2012. Additional sessions of Ad Hoc Working Groups to the UNFCCC.Bangkok, Thailand. Contact: Ben Vickers, Programme Officer (REDD+), Project UNJP/GLO/386/UNJ,FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, 39 Phra Atit Road, Bangkok 10200, Thailand; E-mail:[email protected]

3-7 September 2012. 2nd Global conference on agriculture, food security and climate change -“Hunger for Action.” Hanoi, Vietnam. Contact: Ms Yuriko Shoji, FAO Representative in Vietnam, 3Nguyen Gia Thieu Str., Hanoi, Vietnam; E-mail: [email protected]

11-13 September 2012. Regional Workshop on FGR - #FOM-BIO-DIVERSITY. Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia. Contact: Simmathiri Appanah, nfp Advisor (Asia-Pacific), FAO Regional Office for Asia andthe Pacific, 39 Phra Atit Road, Bangkok 10200, Thailand; E-mail: [email protected]

24-28 September 2012. 21st Session of the Committee on Forestry (COFO). Rome, Italy. Contact:Peter Csoka, Senior Forestry Officer, FAO Forestry Department, Via della Terme di Caracalla, 00100,Rome, Italy; E-mail: [email protected]

FOREST NEWS is issued by the FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific as part of TIGERPAPER. This issue ofFOREST NEWS was compiled by Patrick B. Durst, Senior Forestry Officer, FAO/RAP.

FORESTRY PUBLICATIONS: FAO REGIONALOFFICE FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (RAP)

For copies please write to: Senior Forestry Officer for Asia and the Pacific,FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, 39 Phra Atit Road, Bangkok 10200, Thailand.

Or visit the FAO website for an electronic version: http://www.fao.or.th/publications/publications.htm

East Asian forests and forestry to 2020 (RAPPublication 2010/15)

Forests beneath the grass: Proceedings of theregional workshop on advancing the application ofassisted natural regeneration for effective low-costforest restoration (RAP Publication 2010/11)

Forest policies, legislation and institutions in Asiaand the Pacific: Trends and emerging needs for2020 (RAP Publication 2010/10)

Report of the Asia-Pacific Forestry CommissionTwenty-third session (RAP Publication 2010/09)

Asia-Pacific forests and forestry to 2020. Asia-Pacific Forestry Sector Outlook Study II (RAPPublication 2010/06)

Forest law enforcement and governance: Progressin Asia and the Pacific (RAP Publication 2010/05)

Forest insects as food: humans bite back.Proceedings of a workshop on Asia-Pacificresosurces and their potential for development(RAP Publication 2010/02)

Strategies and financial mechanisms forsustainable use and conservation of forests:experiences from Latin America and Asia (RAPPublication 2009/21)

Asia-Pacific Forestry Week: Forestry in achanging world (RAP Publication 2009/04)

The future of forests: Proceedings of aninternational conference on the outlook for Asia-Pacific forests to 2020 (RAP Publication 2009/03)

Re-inventing forestry agencies. Experiences ofinstitutional restructuring in Asia and the Pacific(RAP Publication 2008/05)

Forest faces. Hopes and regrets in Philippineforestry (RAP Publication 2008/04

Reaching consensus. Multi-stakeholderprocesses in forestry: experiences from the Asia-Pacific region (RAP Publication 2007/31)

Trees and shrubs of Maldives: An illustrated fieldguide (RAP Publication 2007/12)

A cut for the poor: Proceedings of theInternational Conference on Managing Forests forPoverty Reduction Capturing Opportunities inForest Harvesting and Wood Processing for theBenefit of the Poor (RAP Publication 2007/09)

Trees and shrubs of the Maldives (RAPPublication 2007/12)

Developing an Asia-Pacific strategy for forestinvasive species: The coconut beetle problem –bridging agriculture and forestry (RAP Publication2007/02

The role of coastal forests in the mitigation oftsunami impacts (RAP Publication 2007/01)

Taking stock: Assessing progress in developing andimplementing codes of practice for forestharvesting in ASEAN member countries (RAPPublication 2006/10)

Helping forests take cover (RAP Publication 2005/13)

Elephant care manual for mahouts and campmanagers (RAP Publication 2005/10)

Forest certification in China: latest developmentsand future strategies (RAP Publication 2005/08)

Forests and floods – drowning in fiction or thrivingon facts? (RAP Publication 2005/03)

In search of excellence: exemplary forestmanagement in Asia and the Pacific (RAPPublication 2005/02)

What does it take? The role of incentives in forestplantation development in Asia and the Pacific(RAP Publication 2004/27)

Advancing assisted natural regeneration (ANR) inAsia and the Pacific (RAP Publication 2003/19) -2nd edition

Practical guidelines for the assessment,monitoring and reporting on national level criteriaand indicators for sustainable forest managementin dry forests in Asia (RAP Publication: 2003/05)

Applying reduced impact logging to advancesustainable forest management (RAP Publication:2002/14)

Trash or treasure? Logging and mill residues inAsia-Pacific (RAP Publication: 2001/16)

Regional training strategy: supporting theimplementation of the Code of Practice for forestharvesting in Asia-Pacific (RAP Publication: 2001/15)

Forest out of bounds: impacts and effectivenessof logging bans in natural forests in Asia-Pacific:executive summary (RAP Publication: 2001/10)

Trees commonly cultivated in Southeast Asia: anillustrated field guide - 2nd edition (RAPPublication: 1999/13)

Documents

Regional Quarterly Bulletin on Wildlife and National … Quarterly Bulletin on Wildlife and National Parks Management REGIONAL OFFICE FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (RAP), BANGKOK FOOD AND