Weed overgrowth poses health hazard

Parthenium hystrophorus, a poisonous and allergic weed, has invaded large tracts of land on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border, posing a threat to humans and livestock.

A plant of the American tropics, it is found to cause several diseases such as eczema, asthma and dermatitis.

The large tracts invaded by the weed are in Cumbammettu, Karunapuram, Koottar, Manthipara, Thookkupalam, Ramakkalmedu, Mundiyeruma, Nedumkandam and Kallar, which are close to the Tamil Nadu border. The local people believe that the plant infested the areas through cow dung and cattle grass brought from Tamil Nadu.

It is estimated that parthenium, which reached the country through seeds imported from the U.S., has already spread over 35 million hectares of land in India. It is also known as ‘congress grass' or ‘carrot grass' in local parlance. It is an aggressive weed whose pollens float in the air, causing health risk.

“This invasive weed has spread over agriculture farms affecting crop production,” said an official of Karunapuram grama panchayat, which has launched a plan to control infestation of the weed, with public participation. The only method to control its spread is by uprooting it as cutting or slashing enhances its regeneration.

Karunapuram panchayat vice-president George Kuttivayalil says there should be a concerted approach to stop the spread of the weed. “It survives in all climatic conditions, thus posing a threat to low range areas also. Effective control should be done before the flowering season and the grama panchayat has launched a week-long programme to uproot the weed from public places. The weed has spread on roadsides. It can be checked only through public participation, said the official.

Though people are aware of the hazardous weed, there is no effective large-scale control possible except manually uprooting it. In the first phase of the project, the

panchayat launched an awareness campaign by issuing leaflets and posters within the panchayat. However, in other areas, no effective campaign against the threat raised by the weed was undertaken and it is feared that the weed might spread to neighbouring areas.

Source The Hindu August 17, 2011

Useful handbook for eco clubs

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Future development of Kerala minus environmental conservation equals zero. It is this formula that has been guiding the various eco clubs in the schools of the State, coming under the National Green Corps initiative.

For the 3,500 such eco clubs in schools, two lakh students who are its members and over 5,000 teachers, the handbook with guidelines on activities prepared by the Centre for Environmental Education, Hyderabad, would be a big boon. The Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment (KSCSTE) has now completed the translation of the same for use in schools throughout the State.

The book, titled ‘Paristhithi Clubukal Vidyalayangalil’, outlines not just the importance of forming eco clubs in schools, but also guides the reader on how to go about it. It details on the optimum number of members, teachers, how to select students to the club, the governance, sharing of responsibilities among the office-bearers, how to involve parents, how to find time for the activities of the club, where to hold meetings and even the topics that need the urgent attention of the students. While not much of an infrastructure is needed for the functioning of the club, the book talks of binoculars, compass, measuring tape, hand lens, books on birds and animals, camera, maps, drawing and painting equipment, television and slide projectors as aids in understanding nature in a better manner.

‘’Needs of each club may vary according to the various projects undertaken. For example, a club deciding to check the water quality would need special kits for that. Same is the case with air pollution and so on,’’ said Kamalakshan Kokkal, executive editor of the book and also the state nodal officer of the National Green Corps.

The section on action plans as well as a guideline for the small projects is a particularly interesting section of the book, which focuses on recycling and reuse of various materials, mapping of water resources, creating and maintaining vegetable gardens, astronomy sessions, biodiversity and conservation of nature.

For the older students, explained in the book are projects of a much larger scale and extending beyond the confines of the walls of the schools. They include finding the moisture content and fertility of soil, calculating loss due to erosion of soil, biodiversity of sacred groves, creating a crop calendar, comparison between fallow and fertile lands, calculating the pH of various materials, making compost and vermicompost and so on. The students are also guided on how to carry out bird watching, butterfly watching, diversity of shells, lifecycle pattern and create water table maps. The book even has an activity planner right at the end with space for an activity each week, every month of the year. For more details on the book, contact telephone number 0471-2540085 or e-mail envkscste@gmail.com.

Source: The New Indian Express, 04-08-2011

Cameras to count tigers in Wayanad sanctuary

KALPETTA: Tigers in the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary will find it impossible to hide their stripes now. The Forest and Wildlife Department has installed camera traps to monitor the population of the big cats in the sanctuary.

The department, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, and WWF have jointly launched the project.

V.K. Sreevalsan, Wildlife Warden of the 344.44 sq.km sanctuary, told The Hindu on Sunday that nearly 15 surveillance cameras had been set up in the Muthanga range of forests and more than 100 would be set up simultaneously in the other ranges of Sulthan Bathery, Tholpetty, and Kurichyad soon.

He said dividing the sanctuary into 5 sq.km grids and field identification of tiger trails had been completed in Muthanga, Sulthan Bathery, and Kurichyad. The work in Tholpetty would be completed soon. A pair of cameras would be set up in each grid, opposite each other on a selected spot or path close to the tiger trails.

Data collection

He said the camera traps would give pictures of tigers and other animals. The cameras equipped with infrared triggers collected critical and accurate data about tigers and their habitats. Similar data of other animals could also be collected.

“We can access the same pictures to study them and their habitats and also make important decisions about their conservation,” he said.

The forest personnel would be able to learn more about various species that inhabit the sanctuary. A detailed study of animals would be possible and the photographs collected could be used later for research, he said.

A camera trap is an automated camera used to capture photographs of wild animals, V.N. Mohanraj, South India Coordinator, WWF, said.

He said the traps were installed on a site where animals were expected. When a motion or infrared sensor detected the presence of an animal, its photo was automatically taken.

Electronic eye

Usually, the camera was placed at a height of 45-60 cm on a tree, and using infrared technology, the camera captured the picture of the animal that came in its range. Day and night, the electronic eye looked for heat in motion. When an animal passed in front of the trap, the camera detected its movement and body heat and quietly snapped a photograph. Taking one-minute videos was also possible.

“Camera trapping is the primary method used where individual tigers are identified from photographs based on their unique stripe patterns. Stripes of one tiger will be different from another,” Mr. Sreevalsan said.

He said the information would be subsequently analysed using a scientific framework.

Capture-recapture method

With developments in capture-recapture method and the use of remotely triggered cameras, it was possible to capture individually marked or identifiable animals and photographically recapture them for estimating population parameters.

Since individual tigers were readily identifiable using the stripes, the capture-recapture method would be used to estimate its population.

Source: The Hindu, 01-08-2011