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(December 18, 2020) In this last part of the two-part interview, Mr. Shashidhar Sastry, a retired officer of the Indian Forest Service talks about community forest management and jhum cultivation practices in Nagaland.3. Could you talk about the community forest management in Nagaland?Given the background of land ownership in the state, with 88% of the forest area under community or individual ownership, coupled with the traditional practice of jhum cultivation, there was pressure on the resources. However, some is...

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(December 08, 2020) Nagaland, a Northeastern state with over 8000 square kilometres of forest cover, a state which has been undergoing insurgencies and inter-faith conflicts since independence, a state where agriculture – as the most important economic activity – covers over 70% of the state's economy, and most importantly, a state which celebrates its wildlife.  Mr. Shashidhar Sastry, a retired officer of the Indian Forest Service talks about his experiences as the Principal Chief Conservator...

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(December 01, 2020) In the early 1900s, the Lebanese-American poet Khalil Gibran wrote in a poem:It is said that before entering the seaa river trembles with fear.She looks back at the path she has traveled,from the peaks of the mountains,the long winding road crossing forests and villages.And in front of her,she sees an ocean so vast,that to enterthere seems nothing more than to disappear forever.But today, in Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram, it is the beach which is fighting the fear of disappearing forever, as...

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(November 24, 2020) By Anil Kumar Nair The critically endangered great Indian bustard (GIB) in Jaisalmer is distributed along the Pokhran Field Firing Range (PFFR) and the Desert National Park (DNP). While DNP is a protected area, the PFFR, though being a restricted area, does not have the protection for wildlife like DNP. In the entire country today, these are the only two breeding populations of the GIB remaining in the wild, a species believed to be fewer than 100 individuals now.The GIB population in the P...

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(November 18, 2020) It was late in the night, and I was busy comparing pictures of leopards on my laptop. Leopards have rosette patterns which are unique to each individual and can help identify them. It was tough to concentrate, though, as I kept hearing the eerie call of a barn owl.  Just as I leaned out of my window to photograph the owl with my smart phone, it rang. Off went the owl into the night!The caller was my friend, Jadhav. “Nikit, hurry! There is a leopard sitting in front of me!” he sa...

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(October 27, 2020) “But of all the Pack of two hundred fighting dholes, whose boast was that all jungles were their jungle,…..,not one returned to the Dekkan to carry that word.”And thus the bloody story of the Red Dog in Kipling’s Jungle Book ended, with every last one of them slaughtered. Unfortunately, the story is not unlike the grim reality that this vanishing species currently faces. Due to both, their historical reputation, and the seemingly ‘ruthless’ behavior...

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(October 21, 2020) ವಿಸ್ಮಯಲೋಕದ ನಾವಿಕರು...(ಭಯ, ಕುತೂಹಲ, ಹಾಸ್ಯ)ದಂಡಕಾರಣ್ಯದ ಸುತ್ತ ಚಲಿಸುವ ಹೆಜ್ಜೆಗಳು...ಲೇಖಕರು – ಸತೀಶ ಗ. ನಾಗಠಾಣಮುಂದುವರೆದ ಭಾಗ… ಅಂತು ಇಂತು ಕೆಸರು ತುಂಬಿದ ಮಣ್ಣಿನ ದಾರಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾಲುಗಳು ತಡವರಿಸದೇ ಜಾರುತ್ತಿದ್ದರೂ ಸಹ ಬೀಳುತ್ತಾ, ಏಳುತ್ತಾ, ಒಬ್ಬರಿಗೊಬ್ಬರು ಸಹಾಯ ಹಸ್ತ ಚಾಚುತ್ತಾ ನಿಧಾನಗತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ನಡೆದು ಬಂದು ಶಿಬಿರಕ್ಕೆ ತಲುಪಿದೆವು. ಶಿಬಿರದಲ್ಲಿ ಗುಸುಗುಸು ಚರ್ಚೆ ‘’ಹುಯ್ಯೋ ಹುಯ್ಯೋ ಮಳೆರಾಯ’ ಅನ್ನೋತರಹ ಒಬ್ಬರಿಗೊಬ್ಬರು ಚಟಪಟ ಅಂತ ಮಾತನಾಡಿಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಿದ್ದರು. ಅಲ್ಲಿ ನೆರೆದ ಗುಂಪುಗಳು ನಮ್ಮತ್ತ ನೋಡಿ ಗುಮ್ಮನ ಗುಸುಕು ತರಹ ಒಳಗೊಳಗೇ ನಗುತ್ತ, ಮುಗು...

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(October 20, 2020) We are delighted to bring you the interview of K. S. Shashidhar, former Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden, Nagaland. Retired and based in Bengaluru, he now educates people about the significance of orchids in their ecosystems, and calls for their conservation and propagation. He is a founder-member of the Orchid Society of Karnataka, which was established in 2005-06 to create awareness about orchid cultivation and conservation. In this conversation, Mr. ...

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(October 15, 2020) The Lesser Known Khaki: IFS Officer Piyusha Jagtap illustrates answers to the most frequently asked question to her – "What exactly is the work done by foresters?"During the COVID-19 lockdown, IFS Officer, Piyusha Pramod Jagtap, has been consistently trying to bring us positivity in these challenging times in the form of her series, Corona Times, sharing inspiring messages on wildlife conservation, tributes to frontline health-workers as well as a myriad of social issues. “Cheer...

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(October 08, 2020) By Aristo Mendis Illegal wildlife trade (IWT) has been around for a while. Considered as one of the top five illegal transnational trades, alongside drugs and arms, IWT is a threat to biodiversity and the environment. But dialogue concerning IWT became a global talking point only after it emerged as a human health hazard with the outbreak of COVID-19, that is speculated to have linkages of spreading from a wet market in Wuhan city, China. The same market has also reportedly been documented ...

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