Study confirms presence of near extinct Hangul population outside Dachigam NP in Kashmir Valley

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Image Credit: Lovenaimals.com

All may not be lost for the near extinct Kashmir red deer, Hangul, with just around 200 individuals surviving within the 141 square kilometers of Dachigam National Park in Jammu and Kashmir. A new study confirms the presence of Hangul population outside the National Park and also shows evidence of other suitable habitats for Hangul in Kashmir Valley. 

Citron barb, a new barb species, spotted from Western Ghats Rivers of Maharashtra

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Citron Barb (Pethia lutea), a new barb species discovered from Western Ghat Rivers of Maharashtra
(Image Courtesy: Ralf Britz/JOTT)

Researchers studying the fish diversity in Western Ghats Rivers have discovered a yet unknown species of fresh water barb from the Western Ghats River systems in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The new species belongs to the Pethia genus of fishes which constitutes barbs found only in South Asia and Myanmar region.

High Time to Formulate Policies to Tackle Alien Species in India, says experts

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It’s time for an all-out war with the aliens, at least in the protected forest areas, but we lack policies, says a group of conservation scientists in the country. Invasive Alien Species (IAS) of plants are the second largest threat to the diversity of the forests, behind habitat fragmentation, but the conservation policy makers are yet to swing into action to tackle the issue, alleges a group of scientists while reviewing the status of IAS in the country and related conservation laws in India.

Lanatana Camara flowers
Image courtesy: Obsidian Soul/Wikimedia Commons

According to an article written by them in the Current Science journal, plants like Chromolaena odorata, Lantana camara, Mikania micrantha, Mimosa diplotricha and Parthenium hysterophorus are some of the major invasive alien plant species in India which are spreading rapidly in protected areas (PAs), suppressing the growth of the native flora. The alien menace has affected birds, animals and has not even spared the tribal populations depending on forests, it says.  “Large numbers of forest dependent communities still depend on forest resources and their livelihood is at stake due to pervasive landscape alteration by major IAS in different parts of India,”, says the article.

Lack of policies and distorted interpretations

Though the threat and impact are high, most of the protected areas in India do not have a clear and active eradication programme to tackle IAS, mainly because of lack of awareness among wildlife officials and their twisted interpretation of the conservation laws in the country. Wildlife (Conservation) Act, 1972, which is the major legislation regarding protected areas in the country, prohibit harvesting or removing any plant or animal materials from the PAs. This is raised as a major reason by protected area managers for not taking active eradication programmes against invasive plant species.

Chromolaena odorata
Image Courtesy: Ashasathees/Wikimedia Commons

Moreover, the Protected Area managers and policy makers are yet to understand the importance to eradicate IAS. Most often, the notions of the officials often end up encouraging exotic species. “Their (PA managers’) species selection for plantations is based on three criteria: (a) fast growth, (b) good timber value and (c) unpalatability to game species. These criteria encourage the planting of exotic species …….in effect replacing one IAS with another alien species”, points out the write-up. According to it, some of them even think that IAS likeLantana are good for the animals since it give them cover to hide. But they forget that “such a role was played by indigenous understorey species prior to being replaced by vast swathes ofLantana, now dominant in many PAs”, it says.

How to eradicate Invasive Alien Species?

Removal of invasive plants from an area of infestation is not an easy job, since most of them show extra-ordinary abilities to reestablish themselves in the areas. “The seed bank of the major IAS remains and hence reinvasion occurs rapidly. Some IAS, such as Lantana, which are buried deeply can be stimulated to germinate when exposed to light and fire”, says the experts.

Presently, whatever nominal eradication programmes run in some protected areas are very narrower in their nature since they focus only on removing the IAS for the purpose of making fire lines. However, there is a need to develop early detection mechanisms to spot the menace when it begins so that the eradication is easier, constant monitoring to prevent spread of the IAS and resulting forest fragmentation.

Lantana Camara growing rapidly suppressing native plants in a farmland in Kangra District, Himachal Pradesh 

Manual removal is the best practice so far observed to tackle the menace, according to the article. Though it is very effective in small areas, it may not be so for large areas since the estimated cost of manual eradication is anything between 4000 to 5000 Rupees per hectare. But implementing any such measures on a wide scale may not be possible in the absence of legal provisions to facilitate it.

However, there is a possible way out, according to the experts. According to them, the issue can be raised with the Supreme Court appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) which can submit recommendations and suggestions to review existing conservation legislation to tackle the issue. So the ball is in the court of conservationists in the country. “We see a compelling case for scientists/managers to approach the CEC for clear guidelines and exemptions regarding programmes for the vigorous control and removal of IAS from the PAs.”, says the article.

Fighting the aliens at Periyar Tiger Reserve

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Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR) is not just a safe haven for the tigers, but for some aliens too, in the ecological sense. African cat fish (Clarias gariepinus), one of the most dangerous invasive alien species, is lurking in the Periyar Lake, raising serious threat to the rare fishes found only in Periyar, say researchers. To bring a twist to the story, PTR is going to have the first of its kind action against exotic fish species in Western Ghats as a group of researchers and activists are aiming to manually remove African cat fish from Periyar with public participation.

African Cat Fish (Clarias gariepinus)
Image Credit : W.A. Djatmiko (Wikimedia Commons)

According to Conservation Research Group- a research and activist platform based in St Albert’s College in Cochin- which organises the exotic fish removal campaign at Periyar Tiger Reserve, the endemic fishes found in the Periyar Lake are severely threatened by the biological invaders like African Cat fish, which inspired them to organise such a crusade against the alien fish species of PTR.  “Eight endemic fishes in Periyar Lake are fighting for survival as their only remaining habitats are threatened by several stressors of which biological invasion is the most significant one.”, says an official statement from the group.

Importance of Fish fauna in Periyar Lake

An on-going Rufford Foundation supported project to study the impact of alien species in Periyar Lake points out that the fish fauna in the Lake are very unique and valuable. “It (The Lake) holds the only remaining population of six globally threatened endemic fish species viz. Crossocheilus periyarensis, Garra periyarensis, Hypselobarbus periyarensis, Lepido pygopsistypus, Nemacheilus menoni and N. Periyarensis”, it says. According to an IUCN report on the Status and distribution of freshwater biodiversity in the western Ghats, Lepido pygopsistypus  is the only member of its subfamily of snow trout fishes to be reported from south of Himalayas.

According to the researchers, there are four exotic fish species found in Periyar Lake which comes under the reserve among which African Cat fish is the most dangerous one when it comes to threat to native species. Cyprinus carpio, Oreochromis mossambicus and Poecilia reticulate are the other exotic fish species found in the Periyar Lake Stream System (PLSS). Recent studies have indicated that the population of these exotic fish species are showing an increase which means that the threat to native species is growing. “C. carpio and O. mossambicus now dominate the fishery of Periyar Lake and are known to compete with endangered species such as L. typus and Crossocheilusperiyarensis”, says a recent study report issued by IUCN.

The invasive species have swept away many native fish species found in the lake earlier. During the last 50 years, at least 16 fish species earlier found in the lake has disappeared, say researchers.

Fighting the Aliens

African Cat fish in Periyar Lake and other freshwater ecosystem in Western Ghats is the usual story of an introduced species turning viral threat to native species. African Cat Fish was once widely used as a farm fish in Kerala and elsewhere for its rapid growth. It soon became very popular with its ability to survive in a range of water qualities and to devour anything from slaughter house waste to standard fish foods. However, the alarm started ringing when some of them have escaped through the natural water channels from fish farms during monsoon and reached the fresh water systems in Western Ghats. 

Exotic Fish removal campign at Periyar Tiger Reserve

The IUCN report has suggested that “the biggest future challenge to fish conservation in PLSS will be the management and control of C. gariepinus, whose opportunistic strategy and ability to establish large and persistent populations makes it an imminent threat.”

To fight the alien menace, a workshop conducted by researchers and forest officials at PTR in December 2012 has decided to take pro-active action against the invasive species. Field work has revealed high population of African cat fish in the canal draining into the Lake. The authorities and researchers are planning to net out the exotic fishes from the canal and manually remove the exotic fishes from the Lake. The organisers of the event were not available for immediate comment. However, according to an official invitation, the programme is scheduled on April 29^th and 30^th of this month. 

Biodiversity Conservation in India

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India is home to forests with rich wildlife. However, being the second most populated country in the world, the enormous pressure of the exploding human population of the country is shrinking the forests, wiping off the rich fauna and flora. To conserve the remaining greenery and the rare life forms, India has made efficient in-situ conservation programmes to conserve ecologically important areas by regulating human intervention. These efforts have established a protected area network in the country within this period.

Protected Area Network in India

Forests and Wildlife are included in the concurrent list by the Indian constitution which holds federal states responsible for implementing the policies formulated by the Centre to conserve forests and wildlife. In India, the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) formulates the policy framework for forest and wildlife conservation. The board, which is chaired by the Prime Minister, has formulated and adopted National Wildlife Action Plan in 2002, which will extend till 2016.

A Sambar deer (Rusa unicolor) at Nagarhole National Park in Karnataka, India

According to Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), India has 668 protected areas in the country, as of 2010. However, they together constitute just 4.90 percent of the total area of the country. Among these, 102 are National Parks, 515 are Wildlife Sanctuaries, 47 are Conservation Reserves and 4 are Community Reserves.

The terms are indeed confusing and often rake up unnecessary issues  when used by scaremongers.

What is a National Park?

According to Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, a National Park should be an area with enough ecological, geo-morphological and natural significance, obviously, with rich fauna and flora. Central Government enjoys the freedom to declare any specific area in the country a National Park, but often based on the recommendations made the state governments. A National Park is declared to protect, to propagate and to to develop wildlife or its environment. Actually the major difference between a National Park and other protected areas is that the rights of the people living inside the limits of a national Park are often tightly regulated. While grazing by livestock inside a national park is strictly prohibited, removal of forest produce needs recommendation from National Board of Wildlife.

What is a Wildlife Sanctuary (WLS)?

One of the peaks of Agasthyamalai ranges as seen from Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary, Kerala

Though a WLS is again an area with zoological, ecological and geomorphological importance and with rich fauna and flora, it has certain differences with National Parks and other protected areas in India. Despite the fact that it is declared by the Central Government to protect wildlife and to develop natural habitats, the rights of the people living inside the limits of the sanctuary differs very much from other PAs. Comparatively, people living inside the limits of a Wildlife Sanctuary have more rights than their counterparts within a National Park. It is also allowed that the District Collector, in consultation with the Chief Wildlife Warden may decide to allow the continuation of any right during the settlement of claims.

Conservation Reserves in India

Unlike NPs and WLS, a conservation Reserve is declared by state governments. Usually the area will be owned by the government and lies near to Wildlife Sanctuaries or National Parks. These often function as a buffer zone for a protected area or a link which connects two protected areas together. However, an area will be declared as Conservation Reserve only after holding adequate consultations with the local people. (In fact, that happens with the other PAs also.) There are no regulations on the rights of the people living inside a Conservation Reserve.

Community Reserves in India

Again, declared by state government, a Community Reserve can even be privately or community owned land declared so when an individual or community volunteers to conserve the area and its natural fauna and flora. Apart from protecting the natural habitat and environment, Community Reserves may also protect cultural values and practices related to the area. There are no regulations on the rights of the people living inside a Community Reserve. Till date, there are only four community reserves in the country - Kokkare Bellur Community Reserve in Karnataka, Kadalundi- Vallikkunnu Community Reserve in Kerala (both are for conserving birds), Lalwan Community Reserve and Keshopur-chhamb Community Reserves in Punjab also.

Biosphere Reserves (BRs)

Biosphere Reserves are another term which often pops up when it comes to biodiversity conservation in India. However, unlike NPs, WLS and Community or Conservation Reserves, BRs are larger in their areas, and are not formed according to the provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

According to MoEF, BRs are “areas of terrestrial and coastal ecosystems which are internationally recognized within the framework of the Man and the Biosphere (MAB) programme of the UNESCO.” Thus, Biosphere Reserves may have one more national parks or Wildlife Sanctuaries in it.

While National Board of Wildlife is the apex body to decide on National Parks, The Indian National Man and Biosphere (MAB) Committee constituted by the MoEF is the apex body in the case of BRs in the country.

In India, the programme was started in 1986, with which so far, 18 sites have been declared as Biosphere Reserves (BRs). However, out of the 18 BRs, only eight has been accepted as part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves of UNESCO.  They are

1.            Nilgiri (Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka) 
2.            Gulf of Mannar (Tamil Nadu)
3.            Sunderban (West Bengal)
4.            Nanda Devi, (Uttarakhand) 
5.            Pachmarhi (Madhya Pradesh) 
6.            Similipal (Odisha) 
7.            Nokrek (Meghalaya) 
8.            Achanakmar-Amarkantak (Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh) 

India has submitted a revised nomination for Great Nicobar (Andaman & Nicobar Islands) also. 

You can have a look at the MoEF document about the protected area network below.

Quick Facts about Western Ghats Biodiversity

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Known as ‘Sahyadri’ in local language, Western Ghats is a 1600 km long, 45-65 million years old mountain range which extends from south of the Tapti River in the border of Gujarat and Maharshtra to Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu, covering six states ( Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala) in India.

The rich biodiversity of the region has made it an important region which should be conserved.

•   It is part of the Sri Lanka Hotspot which is among the 34 Global biodiversity hotspots in the world.
•   It is one among world’s 8 hottest biodiversity hotspots.
•   South Western Ghats Moist Forests and Western Ghats Rivers are categorized as Critically Endangered by WWF under the 200 priority Eco regions in the world.
•   World conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC) considers it as one of the important area of freshwater biodiversity. 
•   UNESCO has listed it as a World Heritage Site for its rich biodiversity.

Tamil Lacewing (Cethosia nietneri )(Agasthyarkoodam, Kerala),
one of the beautiful butterflies in WG.

Western Ghats biodiversity in numbers*
 

137 species of Mammals, 16 are endemic, including Lion-Tailed Macaque and Nilgir Tahr. 14 are globally threatened.

•   More than 66 percent of Mammals in Western Ghats belong to Chiroptera ( bats), Insectivora(insect eating organisms) and Rodentia ( order of gnawing organisms like rats and squirrels)
•   Among the endemic mammals, 62 percent are either bats or insect eating organisms or gnawing animals.
•  Malabar Civet, Wroughton's free-tailed bat (Otomops wroughtoni) and Salim Ali’s Fruit bat are critically endangered.

508 Bird species, 16 of them are endemic to Western Ghats.

332 species Butterflies, 36 are endemic species.

290 species of fishes, 189 species and 12 genera are endemic. 12 endemic fish species are Critically Endangered

•  Most diverse are Cyprinidae which includes carps and true minnows.
•   East Flowing Rivers of Western Ghats show more diversity than the north flowing ones.

 203 species of reptiles among which snakes are a majority, 124 (62 percent) are endemic.

Malabar Green Pit Viper(Trimeresurus malabaricus) is a venomous reptile, endemic to Western Ghats.

181 Amphibians species with 159 are endemic, 16 are Critically Endangered.

 77 species of fresh water Molluscs , 27(36 percent) are endemic.

270 species of land snails, 207 (77 percent) are endemic 

200 globally threatened species, but only 10 percent of Western Ghats area comes under protected category.

	Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable	Endemic	Total
Mammals	3	7	21	16	137
Birds	2	1	12	16	508
Reptiles	0	1	3	124	203
amphibians	16	28	15	159	181
Fishes	12	54	31	189	290

Source: Fauna of Ecosystems of India - Western Ghats, ZSI

*As of September 2012

Citation

Radhakrishnan, c. and Rajmohana, K. 2012, Fauna of Ecosystems of India - Western Ghats: 1-14. ( Published by the Director, ZSI, Kolkata)

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Download Free Ebook – Fauna of Protected Areas of WesternGhats

Unknown species still live in biodiversity hotspots; find them now or never, warn scientists

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Calling for urgent species discovery programmes in world’s biodiversity hotspots, a recent research review by major ecologists points out that the hotspots still harbor more number of unknown organisms than any other part of the earth. But they are under threat from severe habitat destruction which may push them to extinction even before anybody trace and record their existence, warn the scientists. 

The twenty-five biodiversity hotspots (green) as indicated in Myers, N., et al. (2000)
Image Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

According to the research review which was published in the latest issue of Trends in Ecology and Evolution Journal, the missing species are highly likely to have a restricted geographical range as well as small bodies or difficult traits which make it harder to find them. 

As per the review, there are high chances that the missing species are situated in the biodiversity hotspots which are geographically difficult to access and are in politically unstable regions. So places like Central America, northern Andes, South Africa, and New Guinea will have a bevy of unknown species in the earth, hints the review. 

According to the scientists, restricted geographical range as well as severe habitat loss will make them listed as endangered or critically endangered, if not extinct, right when they are described.

The issue of misguiding biodiversity estimations

The study also highlights that the existing figures on biodiversity are often miscalculations due to issues like synonymy and hyper estimation in biodiversity assessment. According to the review, synonymy, or describing similar species under different names, by taxonomists from different continents and generations is a major issue in understanding the real picture of biodiversity. 

Great Nicobar Crake, a new bird species recently discovered
from Andaman and Nicobar Islands in India

Often, the possible number of species in a specific family is estimated based on the number of known species. While synonymy always makes such estimation incorrect and inflated, incorrect extrapolation of data which is specific to a locality or habitat to chalk out a worldwide estimation will also give inflated figures on biodiversity, says the study. 

The study also points out that the method of assessing the number of missing species based on a sample of known and common organisms often leads to miscalculation of missing species. “Even well-known vertebrate taxa are now yielding surprising numbers of new species, overlooked because of their small ranges or because of cryptic species complexes”, says the study. Cryptic species are a complex of morphologically similar organisms belonging to closely related species. Such species are often overlooked in missing species estimations, due to their small geographical range.

Underestimating the biodiversity crisis

According to the paper, the inability to trace and record the identity of all existing organisms on the earth is greatly making academicians and policy makers to under estimate the biodiversity crisis we are actually passing through. According to studies, human intervention has been driving many organisms to extinction at 100 to 1000 times faster than their natural rate. Increasing extinction rate calls for immediate species discovery efforts, says the study.

Brett R. Scheffers, National University of Singapore, Lucas N. Joppa, Microsoft Research, UK, Stuart L. Pimm, Duke University, USA, William F. Laurance, James Cook University, Australia co-authored the review.

Biodiversity offsets cannot restore lost species and ecological bonds, say conservation scientists

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Refuting the common misconception that destructing natural environment in one place can be replaced by restoring or protecting a similar habitat elsewhere(which is called Biodiversity offsets or compensatory mitigation), a group of top academicians in the field of biological conservation has said that biodiversity offsets often fail to restore lost species and the relationship between them.

In a paper published in the journal of Biological Conservation, titled “Faustian bargains? Restoration realities in the context of biodiversity offset policies”, they argue that a majority of such offsetting programmes have found to be less successful.

According to the experts, there are 64 offset programmes ongoing as part of development projects happening across the globe. In all these projects, destruction of natural environment at one place is justified by rehabilitation attempts done at a similar habitat elsewhere.

Measuring the success of biodiversity offsetting

Different factors that limit the success of biodiversity offsetting
illustration courtesy Science Direct

Expressing their concern over the spread of offsetting in the environmental policies across the countries as a remedy for destructing natural environment for development and other purpose, the scientists have pointed out that the success of such rehabilitation programmes are difficult o measure.

 Pointing out the difficulty to measure the success of such programmes, the paper says 

“Confidence in the ability of restoration to deliver genuine biodiversity offsets is undermined by the problems of defining and measuring the biodiversity values that are lost and gained, considerable uncertainty surrounding the effectiveness of restoration techniques, and long time-lags.”

Hollow claims of restoration

The new study will expose the corporate entities and development agencies who boast about their afforestation initiatives. The report writes off such claims since it is difficult to rebuild a destructed habitat along with the wiped out species and the relationship between them, especially if endemic species and centuries-old trees are involved.

Martine Marona and Clive A. McAlpinea of the University of Queensland, Richard J. Hobbs and Kimberly Christie of the University of Western Australia, Atte Moilanen of University of Helsinki, Jeffrey W. Matthews of University of Illinois, Toby A. Gardner of University of Cambridge, David A. Keith of New South Wales Department of Environment and Climate Change and David B. Lindenmayer of the Australian National University has co-authored the paper.