7-Nov-2020: Four more biodiversity heritage sites for Karnataka
The Karnataka Biodiversity Board has decided to declare four more areas in the State as biodiversity heritage sites.
The proposed biodiversity heritage sites include the following:
- Antaragange Betta in Kolar– This area has a unique and perennial water source flowing all through the year.
- Aadi Narayana Swamy Betta in Chikkaballapur– It serves as a habitat to many dry-belt species protected by locals.
- Mahima Ranga Betta in Nelamangala, Bengaluru– It is a prominent lung space surviving in Bengaluru.
- Urumbi area on the Kumaradhara river basin in Dakshina Kannada– This area has a fragile environmental system and there were proposals to set a small scale hydro plant in this region.
Biodiversity Heritage Sites:
- Biodiversity Heritage Sites (BHS) are well defined areas that are unique, ecologically fragile ecosystems – terrestrial, coastal and inland waters or marine having rich biodiversity.
- It is characterized by one or more of the following components: richness of wild as well as domesticated species or intra-specific categories, high endemism, presence of rare and threatened species, keystone species, species of evolutionary significance, wild ancestors of domestic/cultivated species or their varieties, past pre-eminence of biological components represented by fossil beds and having significant cultural, ethical or aesthetic values and are important for the maintenance of cultural diversity, with or without a long history of human association with them.
Legal provisions:
- The State Governments can notify the Biodiversity Heritage Sites (BHS) in consultation with local governing bodies under Section 37 of Biological Diversity Act of 2002.
- Under sub-section (2) of Section 37, the State Government in consultation with the Central Government may frame rules for the management and conservation of BHS.
Significance:
- Notifying an area as a biodiversity heritage site will help protect the rich and unique ecosystem in a particular area from further destruction.
- This would help not only help conserve the biodiversity of the region but also ensure ecological security and sustainable development for human beings as well given that such areas also often represent interfaces between nature, culture and society.
- Given that BHS also emphasize a participatory approach to conservation efforts, the notification would help instill and nurture conservation ethics in all sections of the society.
18-Sep-2020: Death of two sloth bears worries Nandankanan zoo authorities
Authorities at the Nandankanan Zoological Park (NZP) are concerned over the back-to-back deaths of two sloth bears at the park.
Sloth bear (Melursus ursinus) is a nocturnal insectivorous species of bears found in India.
It feeds on fruits, ants and termites. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. The sloth bear is listed in Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. International trade of the sloth bear is prohibited as it is listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
Nandankanan zoo is located in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. It lies in adjacent to Chandaka-Dampara Wildlife Sanctuary. It is the only zoological park in India to become an institutional member of World Association of Zoos and Aquarium (WAZA).
The Nandankanan zoo hosts India’s only pangolin conservation breeding centre. It is the first zoo in the World to breed White tiger and Melanistic tiger.
4-Sep-2020: Kaziranga set to be expanded by 3,053 hectares
The Assam government has approved the addition of 30.53 sq. km to the 884 sq. km-Kaziranga National Park. The additional area would make the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve (KNPTR) grow to 1085.53 sq km. The core area of the KNPTR is 430 sq km.
The three additions are habitat corridors and would help provide connectivity to Orang and Nameri National Parks across river Brahmaputra. It also provides connectivity to the hills of Karbi Anglong to the south of the park, where the rhino, tiger, deer and other animals take refuge during the floods.
The additions include encroachment-evicted areas and suitable wildlife habitat on river islands (sandbars) that are vulnerable to encroachment. It is a move to consolidate the wildlife areas anticipating better wildlife conservation and reduction in human-wildlife negative interactions in the future.