2006-7 annual report - Nature Conservation Foundation

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through the year. As predicted there is a lower fibre content found in faeces of the three ungulate ruminants, in contrast to the higher fibre content found in elephant faeces. These results will also be corroborated by histological analyses of faeces of the four to determine browse:graze in diets through the year. A rapid survey of 400 km2 in Bandipur and Mudumalai to determine overlap of different herbivore species was completed in the late dry season (April ’07), the results of which will be compared to a similar wet-season survey in the midwet season (July-August ’07). These results will enable an inter-species, as well as intra-species seasonal, comparison between the four herbivores of interest. Physical and vegetative parameters in 90 (317 m2) plots have so far been quantified which will enable a multivariate analyses of gaur habitat. Conservation in the kitchen In an attempt to staunch the rapid erosion of forests while satisfying the genuine livelihood requirements of local communities, a range of innovative solutions have been implemented across the country. While these are promising in their intent, most have not been backed with solid evidence of their relative efficacy in the short and long term. Visiting student Tanya Rogers carried out a project to measure the effectiveness of a scheme that attempts to provide affordable LPG to communities previously dependent on forest wood for fuel. Despite being densely populated, India remains one of the best conservation prospects globally for many endangered large wildlife such as the tiger, gaur, Asian rhino and Asian elephant. These endangered species live cheek-by-jowl with people. Over 15% of India’s population – more than 150 million people – depend on forests, many of which are habitats of these endangered species, to meet their basic daily needs of food, fuel and fodder. The current approach to conservation is mainly preservationist and is predicated on outlawing human resource-use in wildlife reserves. The premise has been that if people were effectively excluded from these resources, they would inevitably discover and adopt alternatives. Yet, on the ground, little has changed because laws disallowing use of wildlife habitats for food, fuel and fodder have been virtually impossible to effectively implement. In recent times, there has also been an alternative approach to conservation, built around the provision of alternatives to resources or incomes derived from extractive use of forests. Given the numbers of forest-dependent consumers in India, the provision of these alternatives has been a huge uphill task. In any case, both approaches to conservation have suffered singularly from a lack of monitoring of their effectiveness. In the absence of this data, debates on conservation approaches in India continue to generate more heat than light. Today, there are examples of innovative and unorthodox approaches to conservation problems that have dogged us for decades. Extraction of fuelwood from forests is perhaps the most nagging among these examples. In the villages around Bandipur Tiger Reserve in south India, an organization called Namma Sangha has attempted a creative solution to this problem, which, in the years prior to 2004, has been responsible for the daily harvest of approximately 125 tons of fuelwood from the Reserve. Time series analysis of satellite imagery has shown chronic forest loss in this region over the last 30 years, and its attendant impacts on forest-dependant wildlife have also been severe. In this context, Namma Sangha’s effort made it possible for a large proportion (nearly 50% of the 25,000 households living within 5 km of the Reserve boundary) of households dependent on forests for fuelwood to switch to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). In this context, we carried out carefully designed surveys in over 290 families spread across 17 villages to: (a) evaluate the role of various socioeconomic factors in enabling (or preventing) a family that derives fuelwood from Bandipur to adopt LPG as an alternative fuel; (b) identify the most important correlates of fuelwood consumption levels in this landscape; and (c) measure the effectiveness of LPG in reducing the household-level consumption of fuelwood sourced from forests. Analyses of these data are currently under way. 36 annual report
Living on the edge: Patterns of tree mortality in Bandipur’s dry deciduous forests The structure of the dry deciduous forests of the Western Ghats are being altered by the invasive exotic, Lantana camara, with far reach consequences for the functioning of the ecosystem. In a series of studies, NCF’s researchers Ayesha Prasad, Sumanta Bagchi and MD Madhusudan are unraveling the nature of these effects on forest dynamics. These studies are revealing that there is a complex interaction between L. camara growth, the mosaic of forest roads and elephant debarking, that results in significantly increased mortality of trees closer to roads. We are additionally conducting a series of manipulative experiments to test the flow-on consequences of this weed on native plant survival and forest herbivores. Trees largely determine forest architecture and microclimate, and hence abrupt rise in tree mortality can alter forest structure, composition, and diversity, and have significant impacts on wildlife as well. Forest edges have been shown to increase tree mortality near them, due to a range of factors and processes. When isolated from the protection of neighbouring vegetation, forest trees at edges are exposed to a variety of physical processes and environmental conditions that lead to greater mechanical and pathological damage, and have higher probabilities of dying than those in the forest interior. So when we noticed that roadsides, view-lines and clearings in Bandipur’s tourism area had alarming numbers of dead trees, we decided to try identifying factors driving this increased mortality. In the months September to November 2006 we conducted a brief survey of tree mortality patterns in the tourism area of Bandipur National Park. The area has an extensive network of roads (c. 72 km in an area of 32 km2), several of which are used for safaris. Along these safari roads, view lines of varying width are regularly maintained mainly to increase visibility for tourists but also as firebreaks. There are no view lines along the other roads. The regular clearing and maintenance of these roads and view lines create hard edges with the forest. In several parts of the study area, native understorey has been almost completely replaced by exotic invasive species, such as Lantana camara, whereas in other parts native species remain. The area is also, seasonally, home to high densities of elephants, whose feeding habits often result in extensive damage, and sometimes death of trees. First we counted numbers of dead trees near roads and viewlines, as well as away from them to determine whether the difference was large enough to have potential ecological effects. Second, we counted numbers of dead trees in wide and narrow viewlines to determine whether size of the clearing had any effect on tree mortality. Third, we counted numbers of dead trees in areas that were infested with invasive plant species, and areas that had retained native understorey species to assess whether invasive species were elevating tree mortality levels. Finally, in order to understand how elephant-inflicted damage was influencing these patterns, we counted number of live trees that showed signs of debarking and compared them between roadedge and interior, wide and narrow viewline and native and exotic understorey. The study showed that roads do have a marked effect of tree mortality in these forests. Furthermore wide clearings with invasive species, have higher tree death than narrow clearings or native species. Finally, elephant-related damage was significantly greater near roads and clearings than in forest interiors. These findings suggest that intensively managed landscapes such as this tourism area, with regularly maintained roads, clearings, firebreaks and view-lines, may be vulnerable to ‘unnaturally’ high levels of tree damage and consequently, death. Therefore, even though many of these forests enjoy high levels of protection, management regimes themselves may be adversely affecting the structure and function of these forest communities. annual report 37
Page 1: 2006-7 annual report nature conserv
Page 5: i CONTENTS j Foreword 1 Doctoral Pr
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Page 10 and 11: P from top: A herd of bharal; child
Page 12 and 13: Conservation education in the India
Page 14 and 15: Livestock insurance programme Under
Page 16 and 17: • Resource Ecology Group, Wagenin
Page 18 and 19: P from left: Wreathed Hornbills in
Page 20 and 21: Table 1. Long-term monitoring (1998
Page 22 and 23: and January 2007 in 40 of the initi
Page 24 and 25: ter survey in Namdapha. In contrast
Page 26 and 27: ments and suggested improvements. A
Page 28 and 29: in determining levels of hunting, w
Page 30 and 31: P from left: An Elaeocarpus munroni
Page 32 and 33: now in the process of being protect
Page 34 and 35: Survival of mammal populations in r
Page 36 and 37: nant plantation crop on the Valpara
Page 38 and 39: Team • Principal personnel: Divya
Page 40 and 41: P from top: Gaur in Bandipur Nation
Page 44 and 45: A forest in weed: Impact of Lantana
Page 46 and 47: P from top: Green turtle in Agatti
Page 48 and 49: ecological processes and the impact
Page 50 and 51: • Principal scientists: Rohan Art
Page 52 and 53: Ecology and conservation of the lio
Page 54 and 55: 48 annual report
Page 56 and 57: i FEMDIG j Friday morning discussio
Page 58 and 59: 13. Namgail, T., Bhatnagar, Y. V. &
Page 60 and 61: Peer-reviewed publications 1. Arthu
Page 62: i FINANCIAL STATEMENT j Sources of
Page 65 and 66: i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS j Individual Sup

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