Wildlife and Nature Conservation - Centre for Ecological Sciences

seizure and transport of 116 lions and 6 tigers from 13 circuses to four rescue centresestablished by the Central Zoo Authority. A total of 292 animals rescued from circuseshave been rehabilitated at these Centres till August 2003. The CZA also coordinated withCITES authorities to rescue 1,800 star tortoises from Singapore and in their rehabilitationat the Nehru Zoological Park, Hyderabad.In order to upgrade the technical skills of zoo personnel, 70 zookeepers and 30supervisory level staff were provided training in 2002.To further the cause of conservation through ex-situ interventions, a premier conservationeffort of a new kind, planned breeding programmes for rehabilitating Red Panda and LionTailed Macaque in their natural habitats, has been taken up by the CZA. As a part of thisprogramme, release of captive bred Red Panda from the Padmaja Naidu HimalayanZoological Park, Darjeeling to the Singalila National Park in West Bengal, has beencarried out as a first step, on 15 August, 2003.9.2.7 Wildlife Institute of IndiaEstablished in 1982, Wildlife Institute of India (WII) is an autonomous body under theadministrative control of the Government of India and is recognized as India’s premierinstitution that provides both capacity building as well as research inputs forimprovement of wildlife conservation in India. Under the Central Sector Scheme, grantsin-aid to the Wildlife Institute of India amounted to Rs 50 crores for the X Five YearPlan.During the past year the Institute trained 20 officers in wildlife management under their 9month Diploma course, 23 officers under their 3-month Certificate course and 8 studentsare attending the MSc Wildlife Biology course conducted biennially by the Institute.Short term specialized course modules are also being conducted by the Institute insubjects related to wildlife conservation. The subjects covered by the Institute relate totraining in eco-development for biodiversity conservation, wildlife protection law andforensic sciences, environmental impact assessment, wetland conservation and legalissues in wildlife management. Between 2001 and 2003 a total of 91 participants attendedthe courses. The Institute also provides training inputs to Indian Forest Service officersundergoing different training modules at the Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy,Dehradun. Despite the fact that there are wildlife wings in the States and there are almost600 PAs in the country, the majority of the PAs are manned by personnel not trained atthe WII. Its training facilities are being greatly under utilized, as a result of which theunused training slots are being offered to SAARC countries and others. It is also pertinentto note that even the miniscule number of persons trained at the WII are not, aftertraining, posted in the PAs of the State nor, indeed, into the wildlife wing, all of whichdefeats the very purpose for which the WII was created. The WII has recently initiatedforensic studies and proposed parameters and guidelines.9.2.8 Olive Ridley Turtle Conservation ProjectA significant proportion of the world’s Olive Ridley turtle population nests at nestingsites along the eastern coast of India. The endangered species of sea turtles is also a focusof attention of the international community who looks up to India to provide safety to thenesting sites and to the turtle populations that seasonally arrive there for the propagation120