Full-fledged tsunami warning system to become operational by next month

The much talked about Rs.125-crore full-fledged Indian tsunami warning system, with a mechanism to forecast within an hour of a major undersea earthquake in the Indian Ocean, is all set to become operational by next month.An interim warning system is functioning at the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) here for more than a year and the final stage of integrating the software is underway to make the full-fledged Early Warning System for Tsunami and Storm Surges operational by next month. INCOIS director Shailesh Nayak told The Hindu here on Monday that once it started functioning, the centre would receive all data in real time from in-situ observational platforms (bottom pressure recorders) in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea.

 

Five such recorders had already been installed in the Bay of Bengal and two more would be deployed in the Arabian Sea later this month.The bottom pressure recorders would measure even a 3 cm change in the sea level. In the event of an impending tsunami, the changes in the sea level would be more than 3 cms, he said. The height of the waves at different places would indicate what kind of inundation can be expected

In the event of an earthquake, the first bulletin would be issued within half an hour stating whether "it is tsunamigenic or not." In the case of the former, the next warning would be given in another 30 minutes predicting the coastal region likely to be hit by a tsunami. Dr. Nayak said that apart from INCOIS, many agencies including the Indian Meteorological Department, which gets data from a network of seismic stations, National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Survey of India, Indian Space Research Organization and the Integrated Coastal and Marine Area Management, were involved in the project.

 

(The Hindu, 4^th September 2007)

New leap in amphibian research

The Centre for Environmental Management of Degraded Ecosystems (CEMDE) at the University of Delhi is taking up an ambitious project that can pitchfork research into the amphibian diversity of the Western Ghats onto a higher plane. The region is considered one of the hottest biodiversity hotspots in the world. The project, supported by the Department of Biotechnology, Union Ministry of Science and Technology, envisages developing DNA barcodes for the amphibian fauna of the Western Ghats, according to eminent frog scientist S.D. Biju, a reader at the CEMDE. With the development of the DNA barcode system, identification of new species of amphibians from this region will become easier, thereby opening doors to unknown information about the amphibian diversity of this region. Dr. Biju, who is the chief investigator for the project, had shot into international fame in 2003 with the discovery of Nasikabatrachus sahydrensis, a new species of frog belonging to a new family, which he and a Brussels-based evolutionary geneticist Franky Bossuyt had reported in the science journal Nature. Biologists worldwide had described that event as a "special, one-in-a-century find" because the previous discovery of a new family of frogs was way back in 1926.

One reason for the tardy progress of research in the subject in India has been the lack of initiative to develop quick and testable hypothesis-driven methods to screen species diversity and identify putative new species requiring description. The project for developing DNA barcodes for the Western Ghats amphibians, to be completed in three years with the involvement of more researchers and institutions working in the field, will help identify centres of endemism and establish the conservation status of amphibian species in the Western Ghats, Dr. Biju told The Hindu.

(The Hindu, 3^rd  September 2007)

Government to go ahead with Chamalapura power project

Despite protests by farmers and local pepople, the State Government has decided to go ahead with the thermal power project at Chamalapura in Mysore district.Minister for Energy and Public Works H.D. Revanna told presspersons on Saturday that Karnataka Power Corporation Ltd. (KPCL) has been asked to conduct the feasibility study on the proposed project. The Government would take the people and farmers of Chamalapura into confidence before the commencement of the work on the project conceived in 1995.

 

Unfazed by the public protests and criticism against the negative fallout of the coal-fired thermal plant, he said the State was facing severe shortage of power and there was demand for power from industrialists and farmers. The Government had decided to implement three thermal power projects of 1,000 MW each in Gulbarga, Belgaum and Chamalapura. The detailed project report of the Chamalapura project would be ready in the next two weeks, he said. However, farmers and local community of Chamalapura had launched the protest against the project to get it disbanded. About 3,000 acres of land would be required to set up the plant.

 

(The Hindu, 9^th  September 2007)

Glacial river faces pollution threat

The Sindh, Kashmir's only glacial river and a major source of freshwater in the State, is facing an environmental threat on account of some 30 toilets built on its banks by the Army and a kennel farm set up by the kin of a Minister, allegedly without administrative approval.M. Saleem Beg, convener of the Jammu and Kashmir Chapter of the Indian National Trust for Art and Culture (INTACH), said these could have a severe impact on the river, which originates from the glaciers in the Himalayan ranges in the Sonamarg belt.

 

In a letter to General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Srinagar-based 15 Corps Lt. Gen. A.S. Sekhon, he said the Army had built the toilets at Neel Grath, the nearest village where the glacial waters form the stream. There were other structures of the Army on the banks in the Sonamarg area "whose function and use could not be known as these could not be accessed." In a letter to the State Chief Secretary, Mr. Beg complained about the kennel breeding farm downstream of Sonamarg. He said waste from the farm directly flowed into the river. He demanded relocation of the farm at a distance of at least 100 m from the banks, with sewage treatment facilities. The State Pollution Control Board had served notice on the owner but there was no response, he said.

(The Hindu, 31^st  August 2007)

Eco-tourism in national parks worries wildlife conservationists

The pristine backwaters of the Kabini, home to a variety of wildlife near Mysore, have been attracting nature lovers in hordes. But this increasing interest in eco-tourism among travellers has become a cause of concern for those involved in wildlife conservation, what with Bandipur and Nagarahole National Parks reaching their saturation point as far as tourism is concerned.

 

While a few resorts were permitted to conduct wildlife safaris in the past, the Forest Department recently received several applications seeking permission. At present, over 10 eco-tourism resorts, including Jungle Lodges and Resorts, a State Government undertaking, are operating in the area, attracting a large number of tourists from India and abroad. Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF), Wildlife, I.B. Srivastav confirmed to The Hindu that he had received around five app lications from the eco-tourism resorts operating in the Bandipur and Nagarahole area seeking permission to operate wildlife safaris in the tourism zones. "We have calculated the carrying capacity of the area, and it is almost reaching the maximum point," he said. At present, wildlife tourism is permitted in an area of around 52.70 sq. km in Nagarahole, 71.10 sq. km in Sunkadakatte and a 75-km stretch in Bandipur that has a combined carrying capacity of around 60 vehicles a day.

 

The Forest Department has calculated the carrying capacity in Bandipur to be between 20 and 22 vehicles and 14 and 16 vehicles in Nagarahole, while the carrying capacity in Sunkadakatte is between 20 and 22 a day.Wildlife safaris are conducted for three hours in the morning and two hours in the evening, and the Union Government has drawn up guidelines for the entry of vehicles into the national parks. According to the guidelines, a distance of at least 500 metres should be maintained between two vehicles. But this rule is observed more in the breach, say Forest Department officials. Mr. Srivastav said, "Management plans of the national parks has allowed only three tourism zones, and opening up of any other tourism zone has to be decided by a committee set up for the purpose."

(The Hindu, 30^th  August 2007)

Guide to setting up a butterfly garden

A butterfly garden is a rare attraction, for the simple reason that it is difficult to create and maintain the various types of habitats for the winged wonders.It is generally accepted that establishment of butterfly gardens helps maximise butterfly diversity and abundance in urban and suburban areas. Public participation in creating a butterfly garden also helps to conserve rare and endangered species and p romote environmental education, according to George Mathew and Mary Anto, Division of Forest Protection, Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI), Peechi.In a paper published in the August issue of the international journal Current Science, the two scientists explained how the institute had come up with a model butterfly garden that could be replicated elsewhere.The prototype was set up in 0.5 hectares of degraded forest on the KFRI campus to standardise the methodologies for establishing such gardens. Landscaping and introduction of suitable host plants were the major methods employed to create butterfly habitats. The pilot project was able to generate a tremendous increase in the butterfly population with 10,502 sightings of butterflies belonging to 56 species over a period of 30 months.

 

By regulating humidity and temperature, KFRI could manipulate local populations of butterflies, particularly danaid butterflies. Other species such as Danaidae, Lycaenidae, Papilionidae and Pieridae also developed resident populations in the study area. Habitat preferences of various groups of butterflies were considered while designing the components of the garden.

(The Hindu, 30^th  August 2007)

Blackbuck through artificial insemination

Indian scientists have produced a fawn from a blackbuck through non-surgical artificial insemination, stated to be the first time in the world.Blackbuck is a highly endangered species and the 1990 census reported only 38,000 animals. It is the fastest of Indian antelopes and found all over the country except the north-east. It is also the State animal of Andhra Pradesh and called nalla jinka in Telugu.

A 2.6 kg female named 'Blacky' was delivered on Thursday noon by one of the three blackbuck inseminated six months ago. The project was carried out by a group of scientists from the Laboratory for the Conservation of Endangered Species (LaCONES) of the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB). The technique of artificial insemination is not commonly applied in wild animals although routinely practised in domesticated ones. The government gave permission for carrying it out to produce the endangered blackbuck only after the CCMB successfully demonstrated the technique in spotted deer earlier.

(The Hindu, 25^th   August 2007)

Japan eyes chopsticks for biofuel

Japan will try to turn the millions of wooden chopsticks that go discarded each year into biofuel to ease the country's energy shortage, officials said Wednesday.Biofuels are seen as an alternative clean energy resource that can reduce dependence on Middle East oil and lessen the impact of global warming. Japan has virtually no natural energy resources of its own.Restaurants and convenience stores generally hand out disposable, wooden chopsticks without asking. Each of Japan's 127 million people uses an average of 200 sets a year, meaning 90,000 tons of wood, according to government data.Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries plans to set up boxes to collect used chopsticks, ministry official Toyohisa Aoyama said. Disposable chopsticks have historically been a cash cow for Japan's forestry industry, which says it uses timber from thinning that would have otherwise been dumped.

(The Hindu, 23^rd   August 2007)

Toll-free number to protect wildlife

In a bid to check poaching and protecting forest wealth, the Ministry of Environment will soon provide a toll-free number on which wildlife lovers can call and report such illegal activities.The number will be set up by the Ministry's Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, which was created at the behest of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is the head of the National Board for Wildlife. "The toll-free number will play an important role in encouraging people to report illegal wildlife activities," a senior wildlife official said here, adding that one of the major causes for rampant poaching was poor monitoring and surveillance.The pilot project will be first implemented in Delhi on an experimental basis and then extended to other metros depending on the response from the people. The facility will be available round the clock

(The Hindu, 20^th   August 2007)

Novel project to end man-animal conflict

The people of Irriyani, a remote village in the district adjoining forests, have taken up a novel project to solve the problem of man animal conflict.

Members of the Dhanashree self-help group in the village area planting saplings of fruit bearing trees to provide food to wild animals who had taken to raiding farms. Forest department and the forest protection council in the implimentation of the project named 'Vanaveedu'. Uncontrolled exploitation of forest lan d by human beings has created scarecity of food in the forest. The villagers have now realized teht the only solution to the problem is to provide food to the wild animals in their natural habitat.

(The Hindu, 20^th   August 2007)