wildlife trust of india - environmental and …_biodiversity... · frontline field staff in...

WILDLIFE TRUST OF INDIA

A MULTI-DISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO WILDLIFE CONSERVATION IN INDIA

Mission

To conserve wildlife and its habitat and to work for the welfare of

individual wild animals, in partnership with communities and

governments

CONSERVATION DIVISIONS

WILD AID

RESCUE and CONFLICT MITIGATION

SPECIES RECOVERY

ENFORCEMENT & LAW

COMMUNITIES FOR CONSERVATION

SECURING HABITATS

AWARENESS FOR CONSERVATION

SCOPE OF WORK

• Rescue and rehabilitation

• Conflict mitigation

• Habitat securement

• Conservation surveys and species recovery

• Enforcement & Law

• Community-based Conservation

• Campaigns

• Outreach

• Policy Advocacy

RESCUE AND CONFLICT MITIGATION

• Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) and

Satellite Centres, Assam

• Centre for Bear Rehabilitation and Conservation (CBRC), Arunachal

Pradesh

• Captive Elephant Welfare Project; Assam, Bihar, Delhi

• Hoolock Gibbon Rescue & Rehabilitation Project, Arunachal Pradesh

• Emergency Relief Network, India

• National Train Hit Mitigation Project, India

• UP Tiger Conservation Project, Uttar Pradesh

• Karbi Anglong Conservation Project, Assam

SPECIES RECOVERY

• Valmiki Tiger Conservation Project, Bihar

• Markhor Recovery Project, Jammu & Kashmir

• Central India Wild Buffalo Conservation Project, Chhattisgarh

• Eastern Swamp Deer Conservation Project, Assam

Conservation Survey

• Takin Conservation Survey, Arunachal Pradesh

• Nilgiri – Eastern Ghat Wildlife Conservation Project, Tamil Nadu

• Hangul Conservation Project, Jammu & Kashmir


• Sloth Bear Conservation and Welfare Project; Orissa, Bihar, UP, Chattisgarh,

MP

• Valmiki Tiger Conservation Project , Bihar

• Tibetan Antelope Conservation Project, Jammu & Kashmir

• Kaziranaga – Karbi Anglong Conservation Project, North East

ENFORCEMENT & LAW

• Wildlife Litigation Project, India

• Wildlife Trade Control Project, India

• Capacity building of frontline staff - Van Rakshak Project, India

SECURING HABITATS

• National Elephant Corridor Project, India

• Central India Tiger Conservation Project, Central India

• Wayanad Corridor Securement, Kerala

• Uttaranchal Elephant Corridor Securement, Uttarakhand

• Nilgiri – Eastern Ghat Wildlife Conservation Project, Tamil Nadu

• Garo Hills Conservation Project, Meghalaya

• Karbi Anglong Conservation Project, Assam

WILD AID

• Rapid Action Project, India

• Executive Director’s Discretionary Grant

AWARENESS FOR CONSERVATION - CAMPAIGNS

• Animal Action Education

• Whale Shark Campaign

• Sloth Bear Campaign

RESCUE AND CONFLICT MITIGATION

• Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation & Conservation (CWRC), Kaziranga,

Assam • Centre for Bear Rehabilitation & Conservation (CBRC), Pakke, Arunachal Pradesh • Mobile Veterinary Service (MVS) • Emergency Relief Network (ERN)

• Conflict Mitigation

Rhino rescue, Kaziranga

Mobile Veterinary Services

Tiger rescued

from a well in

Tezpur, Assam &

released in

Nameri TR

Rehabilitation of clouded leopard cubs

Human-wildlife conflict management

Human – elephant conflict

Human carnivore conflict

Tiger Capture Mission in Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh

Tig

er C

aptu

re M

ission in

Kish

anpur, U

P

HABITAT SECUREMENT

Two elephant corridors secured though private purchase – Kollegal and Wayanad

88 corridors identified

Some important corridors underway

Chilla Motichur, Uttarakhand

Siju- Rewak, Meghalaya

Kaziranga- Karbi Anglong at Panbari, Assam

• Village Reserve Forests

• Tiger Corridor Project

• Elephant Corridor Project

POLICY ADVOCACY

Lobbied for Whale Shark protection:

Whale shark declared a Schedule I

species in India and included in CITES

Appendix II

POLICY

Declaration of Greater Manas

940 sq km area added to existing

Manas National Park, Assam - 2008

Assistance to Government of India UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE:

• In 2011, WTI assisted the Government of India delist Manas from the list of

World Heritage Site in Danger

• In 2012, WTI assisted the Government of India enlist the Nilgiris Biosphere

Reserve as a World Heritage Site

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES ON WILDLIFE:

• Elephant – 8 Ministerial Meet and launch of Haathi Mere Saathi campaign

• International Bear Conference

• Elephant 50:50 Meet

International Policy

WTI and its international partner, International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) have

played a consistent supportive role to the Indian government in its fight against re-

opening the ivory trade at CITES.

WTI and IFAW have revived the Global Tiger Forum, the first inter-governmental

forum on tigers, by sponsoring Cambodia to join the forum, seconding a technical

officer into the secretariat and by bringing out the national action plans for tigers in a

single volume. The forum has now become widely participatory and international

interest in it has been revived.

WTI has been part of several state and national wildlife advisory boards and

committees and has strengthened the government’s pro-wildlife measures by

contributing actively in all of them.

WTI also participated in the CBD 2012. Two side events on rescue and

rehabilitation and corridor securement for wildlife were also organised.

ENFORCEMENT AND LAW

Accident insurance cover for 17,000 frontline field staff in Protected Areas across 14 states

Trained & equipped over 8,500 forest guards in 100 protected areas and 25 other wildlife areas across India

TRAINING & EQUIPPING

Legal action

Fastest wildlife crime convictions in Indian courts

Czech insect collectors - 2 months

Ratiram Sharma, rhino horn trader - 4 months

TRADE CONTROL AND LEGAL ACTION

SPECIES RECOVERY

• Tibetan antelope survey

• Markhor survey

• Takin survey

• Malabar civet survey

• Tiger survey

• Wild buffalo

rehabilitation

• Whale shark recovery

AWARENESS FOR CONSERVATION • Say No to Shahtoosh campaign

• Whale Shark campaign

• Mongoose hair paintbrushes

• Tibetan Conservation Awareness Campaign

(TCAC)

• IFAW – Animal Action Week

• Sloth bear Campaign

School Outreach


• Green livelihoods – eg. Kalandar rehabilitation, Shatoosh

Workers’ Rehabilitation

• Reducing dependence on forest resources - Improved

cook stoves,

WILD AID

Ganga, the soft coated otter

Artificial hornbill beaks

Rehabilitation of open billed stork chicks

Olive Ridleys

19

98

20

12

One of the fastest growing wildlife NGOs in India Established only in 1998 More than 140 staff working in 25 field locations in 12 states

Group Accident

Insurance scheme for

18,000 front line staff in 22 states of India

19

98

20

01

20

00

Through public

litigation, stopped

draining of Sarus crane

breeding grounds in Etawah and Mainpuri

19

98 20

02

20

01

20

00

Zero elephant mortality

due to train accidents

in Rajaji National Park, Uttarakhand

19

98 2

00

3

20

02

20

01

20

00

Fibreglass hornbill

beaks distributed to

Nishi tribes of Arunachal Pradesh

19

98 2

00

3

20

02

20

01

20

00

Whale shark becomes the first fish to be protected under WPA in India.

Campaign stops fishing the species in Gujarat

19

98 2

00

3

20

02

20

01

20

00 20

05

With His Holiness’

support, successfully

convinced Tibetans to

shun use & trade in wild animal parts

19

98

20

06

20

03

20

02

20

01

20

00 20

05

Created a viable

alternative Shahtoosh: Succeeded in getting

Kashmir Pashmina registered

with the Geographical Indication (GI) of origin

19

98 2

00

3

20

02

20

01

20

00

20

08

20

06

20

05

Bringing back Manas:

940 sq.km. more area

added to Manas through a

political declaration

Brought key species back to

Manas

(UNESCO ‘in-danger’ tag

removed in 2011)

19

98 2

00

3

20

02

20

01

20

00

20

08

20

06

20

05

First comprehensive survey

of Markhor (Capra falconeri)

triggers declaration of

Kazinag NP & expansion of Hirpura WLS in J&K

19

98 2

00

3

20

02

20

01

20

00

20

08

20

06

20

05

• Creation of six village

reserves in Meghalaya

for hoolock gibbon and

Asian elephant

• Jointly managed by WTI

19

98 2

00

3

20

02

20

01

20

00

20

09

20

08

20

06

20

05

Quickest wildlife trial in

India and the first case of conviction

19

98 2

00

3

20

02

20

01

20

00

20

09

20

08

20

06

20

05

Czech nationals sentenced for illegal collection of insects in West Bengal. Duration between arrest and sentencing: < 3 months

First elephant corridor

secured:

Kollegal corridor in

Karnataka (Handed over in 2009-10)

19

98 2

00

3

20

02

20

01

20

00

20

09

20

08

20

06

20

05

Wild buffalo genetics:

Long time pending mystery

on their genetic integrity

solved

First captive breeding of a bovid in India initiated

19

98 2

00

3

20

02

20

01

20

00

20

10

20

09

20

08

20

06

20

05

Notification of Mansigh Deo

WLS in Maharashtra (Nov, 2010)

19

98 2

00

3

20

02

20

01

20

00

20

10

20

09

20

08

20

06

20

05

Secured two other elephant

corridors:

Thirunelli-Kudrakote, Kerala Siju-Rewak, Meghalaya

19

98

20

11

20

03

20

02

20

01

20

00

20

10

20

09

20

08

20

06

20

05

CWRC:

In 10 years 1500 cases

handled and 47% released –

underlining the importance of welfare

19

98

20

11

20

03

20

02

20

01

20

00

20

10

20

09

20

08

20

06

20

05

Over 12 years, WTI has been

training and equipping 10,000

and more frontline staff in

more than 100 PAs & over 25

other wildlife areas

(25% of FL staff covered)

19

98

20

11

20

10

20

09

20

08

20

06

20

05

20

03

20

02

20

01

20

00

SPECIES AND SPACES Coastal And Marine

Conservation Initiatives

The Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) – www.wti.org.in

Mission – “To conserve wildlife and its habitat and

to work for the welfare of individual wild animals, in partnership with communities and governments”

Vision – “A secure natural heritage of India”


P R O J E C T S 1. West Coast Marine Conservation Project

2. Development Of A Secured Mangrove Ecosystem – Nodal Centre For Conservation Education And Restoration


WEST COAST MARINE CONSERVATION PROJEC T


oWhale Shark Conservation Project: (Species) Donors – International Union For Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Tata Chemicals

Limited (TCL) & Gujarat Forest Department (GFD)

oMithapur Coral Reef Recovery Project: (Spaces) Donors – Tata Chemicals Limited (TCL): Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

oPartner Organisations & Stakeholders: International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural resources (IUCN), TATA

Chemicals, State forest department of Gujarat, Lakshadweep Administration, Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), University of Illinois, Chicago USA, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), Australia; Ecocene

Australia, Indian Coast Guard and Local communities

Whale Shark Conservation Project: Securing Species - Project initiated in 2008, Gujarat with the constitution of a

Scientific Advisory Council (SAC) and a Governing Council (GC) - Whale shark awareness campaign - Whale shark survey - Whale shark science - Whale shark rescue - Whale shark tourism


Whale Shark Awareness Campaign : Highlights the plight of the species and its status in Gujarat. Reach: - Local fishing villages and fisher folk - School and college children - Fish landing sites


Awareness Campaign

Whale shark survey: IUCN Funded - West Coast Survey (Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Lakshadweep island) - Literature review and Questionnaire survey - Identification of aggregation sites - Documenting whale shark sightings, beaching details and threats - Recovery Plans: Whale Shark ranging states - Future: East Coast & Andaman & Nicobar Islands Survey The Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) – www.wti.org.in


Whale Shark Aggregation Sites – West Coast

1 . S a u r a s h t r a C o a s t

2 . M a l v a n C o a s t

3 . N e t r a n i I s l a n d

4 . M i n i c o y I s l a n d

Whale Shark Science: - Population Estimation: Photo-identification & Marker Tags - Genetics: Genetic diversity & Relationship between global populations - Satellite Tagging: Migration & Seasonal Movement patterns - Habitat Study: Characteristics & Habitat preferences


Photo Identification Satellite Tagging

Whale Shark Rescue: - Self Documentation Scheme - Community Benefits: Damaged net claim - Future: Incentive/Reward scheme (equipping with GPS) Recognition (embossed brass plate “Friends of the Whale Shark”)

Whale Shark Tourism: - Feasibility Report: West Coast & Lakshadweep Islands - Future: East Coast and Andaman & Nicobar Islands


Whale Shark Rescue

Mithapur Coral Reef Recovery Project: Securing Spaces - Rich in biodiversity and in provision of goods and services - Mithapur Coral Reef Biodiversity assessment - Threats to reef ecosystems - Coral translocation - Coral Reef restoration - Coral nursery (Lakshadweep Island) - Coral Reef awareness - Coral Interpretation Centre – Centre for Learning The Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) – www.wti.org.in


S t u d y A r e a : G u l f o f K a c h c h h

Favia favus Porites litchen Symphyllia radians

M i t h a p u r C o r a l R e e f S p e c i e s :

DEVELOPMENT OF A SECURED MANGROVE ECOSYSTEM – NODAL CENTRE FOR CONSERVATION EDUCATION AND RESEARCH - Proposal submitted to IUCN – MFF (Small Grants Programme), awaiting funding - Location: Kannur, Kerala - WTI owned land - Proposed in-situ mangrove interpretation and learning centre (open air laboratory, school children, researchers, nature clubs and general public) - Establishment of a mangrove nursery to encourage restoration of mangroves - Awareness programmes - Importance: Ecosystem goods and services


- Second initiative next to Soonabai Pirojsha Godrej Marine Ecology Centre, Mumbai. - Need to expand similar initiatives along India’s Coastline – increases the scope of securing species and spaces.


Proposed Study Area

Thank You


Prof. B. C. Choudhury Sr. Technical Advisor Wildlife Trust of India F-13, Sector 8 Noida, UP. [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

wildlife trust of india - environmental and …_biodiversity... · frontline field staff in...

Documents