A compilation of Ecologically Sensible Good Practices
Imprints of Ecological Footprints ‌. A compilation of Ecologically Sensible Good Practices Aug 2016 Authors: MV Rama Chandrudu Beneta Mahanta Waseem Mohammad Anitha Reddy V MB Vali Saab Editors: K Suresh MV Rama Chandrudu Visuals:Cheriyal Nakashi Artists Family - Shri D Vaikuntam and his family members Mrs. D Vanaja (wife); D Vinay and D Rakesh (sons). Design and Layout : Ankush Copy Left : These case studies could be used for non-commercial use, with proper acknowledgement. Supported by : Indian Foundation for Humanistic Development, Bengaluru Produced by : WASSAN (Watershed Support Services and Activities Network) Produced for Leaders For Nature Program. This program is collectively organized by CII; Hivos; IUCN; Wild Life Trust of India. IFHD is anchoring the Leaders for Nature Program. Published by: IFHD, Bengaluru
Acknowledgements I am very happy to present "Imprints of Ecological Footprints ‌. A compilation of Ecologically Sensible Good Practices". I take this opportunity to thank all organizations and individuals who contributed to the process of documenting these good practices. They were kind to frankly share with us their experiences, thoughts, challenges and achievements. They also shared relevant data to substantiate any critical point from their experiences. Some of them even prepared the first drafts of these case studies. They also revised them, based on our feedback. All the organizations/ individuals happily gave consent for publishing these case studies and using them for learning purposes under "Leaders for Nature" program of IFHD, IUCN, CII, Hivos and Wild Life Trust of India. The entire process of producing this compilation was an enriching and fruitful experience. It is also a humbling experience for us to learn several lessons from these interactions and visits to several villages/ sites. We genuinely believe that this compilation truly enriches the learning processes of "Leaders for Nature" program. The Writeshop was one of the important events of this process. We got guidance and feedback on the '0' drafts from the participants of the writeshop. This was useful in refining the initial drafts. The participants of writeshop also made important suggestions on the presentation and utility of these case studies. From their busy schedules, they spared few days for refining these case studies, which is a very kind gesture. I thank everyone who participated in the writeshop. Their inputs are invaluable. I thank Ms. Aruna Rangachar Pohl, IFHD for having faith in WASSAN and entrusting us the responsibility of compiling these case studies. She is an active team member at all critical stages of the project and guided us on choice of case studies, structure/ framework, presentation, etc. The partnership with IFHD is really cherished by all of us, at WASSAN.
I also thank the family of artists of Cheriyal - Shri D Vaikuntam, Mrs D Vanaja, Mr D Vinay and D Rakesh, who visualized these experiences in their own unique style. My team -MB Vali, Anitha Vustela, Waseem Mohammad, Benita Mahanta, Radhashree who spent considerable time on this agenda. I also thank K Suresh for providing editorial inputs and support at various stages of this process. MV Rama Chandrudu WASSAN Aug 2016
Foreword It is almost three decades back, the threats to "Our Common Future" were formally identified and deliberations started gaining more steam and support from governments too‌ (Our Common Future,Gro Harlem Brundtland, 1987). Climate Change and its implications were also slowly getting recognized during this period. The need for "producing more with less" was also part of this thinking process, as a means to address the challenges of the future. Over a period of time, the world witnessed more economic distress, unemployment, political turmoil and ecological disasters across different countries and regions of world. Those early predictions seemed to be less threatening than the current reality. The global gloom got predictable companions - unscrupulous industrial growth, irresponsible urbanization, careless global politics, dishonest governments, self-centric citizenship, which tried to glorify the current trends as achievements and inevitable solutions. In the middle of such despair and misery, there is a hope. "Imprints of Ecological Footprints - A Compilation of Ecologically Sensible Good Practices" is a compendium of good practices that brings the efforts made by relentless civil society organizations, citizens and community based organizations, to change the direction of this trend. These experiences bring cheer and hope in the lives of thousands of rural, tribal and urban citizens in India, who are part of these experiences. They were able to take a different path that is less travelled and troublesome. There were several challenges, at each step and milestone. But they continued their journey and proved that "producing more with less" is possible. They also ensured that the ecological and environmentally sustainable processes are feasible for improving economic standards and quality of life of poor communities. These case studies give a hope and confidence that we can face the cruel world and transform the same into a comfortable place for all - including endangered species, poor and marginalized communities. While Corporate Social Responsibility is gaining more support
from governments, corporate agencies and development agencies, these experiences provide guidance and help them to think about alternatives. These experiences help the willing and discerning development agencies and investors in social change, to transcend the mundane "photo stories" of majority of current CSR interventions. They provide an array of options, strategies and ideas that proved themselves in different parts of the country. I thank all the organizations and agencies who shared their stories - highs and lows of it, with us frankly and completely. I thank them for providing leadership on the chosen theme - promoting biodiversity; conservation and governance of natural resources; promoting ecologically sensitive production processes; enhancing livelihoods by developing environmentally harmonious economic models and several others. These experiences are invaluable and are certainly useful for provoking thoughts in the minds of participants of "Leaders for Nature" programs, which are jointly organized by IFHD, IUCN, CII, Wild Life Trust of India, HIVOS and other like-minded organizations. I thank WASSAN for producing this compilation of case studies and supporting us in this endeavor.
Aruna Rangachar Pohl IFHD, Bengaluru Aug 2016
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3 Do you agree with EGREE?
R
aju is little sleepy, but still attentive. While the sun rise is likely to take place in another hour or so, the moonlight is slowly fading out. He is unable to find out his state of mind - hopeful or hopeless? He is counting the number of creatures that are crawling on the sandy beach of Hope Island. Over a period of time, he developed immense fondness and love for these creatures that seem to be very hesitant to push their head out, but very firm on their mission. He is closely observing the Olive Ridley turtles on the Beach of Hope Island. They all come to lay eggs on the beach. Raju is one of the volunteers trained by EGREE and WWF. He has a special responsibility of monitoring the behaviour of Olive Ridley turtles. His responsibilities include - protecting the nesting grounds of Olive Ridley turtles, safe-guarding the turtle eggs and turtles from attacks of wild animals and ruthless human beings, collect data on number of eggs laid and mortality of these creatures. The data he collects is an important source of knowledge for the activists, experts and policy makers on biodiversity and conservation, across the globe. There are 25 trained workers like him Do you agree with EGREE?
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in three islands - Sacramento Island, Hope Island & Uppada (Ellaiapet) in East Godavari District, Andhra Pradesh. Raju and others are providing an important data base on one of the endangered species of world - Olive Ridly Turtle. These three islands are one of their nesting grounds for thousands of years. Raju just started observing them‌. Can he stop the process of extinction of this beautiful endangered species? Sea turtles are amongst the most ancient reptiles inhabiting the planet earth. It is believed that the first sea turtle evolved 24.5 crore (245 million) years ago during Triassic Period. They are enigmatic and graceful wanderers, migrating immense distances (over 20,000 km) over the oceans in search of food and favourable habitat for nesting. It is estimated that the world population of sea turtles has declined by 80% over the last 50 years. Hence, sea turtles are considered as one of the flagship species for conservation, protection and research. International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN) currently lists all the seven sea turtle species under the threatened category. Of the seven species of marine turtles found globally, five occur in Indian Territory. Marine turtles are given an important place in the cultural traditions of the coastal states of India. The five marine turtle species that are found in India are Olive Ridley Turtle, Green Turtle, Hawksbill Turtle, Loggerhead Turtle and Leatherback Turtle. All five species are included in Schedule-I, Part-II of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 thereby according them the highest degree of protection under the law. Hunting of these turtles or damaging their eggs is strictly prohibited. Among all sea turtles, the Olive Ridley is the commonest along the Indian Coast. Olive Ridley Turtles nest along the coasts of India, with major 28
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mass nesting beaches in Odisha. The coast of Andhra Pradesh, the state immediately south of Odisha, has sporadic nesting of Olive Ridley Turtles and is believed to form part of the migratory route of the turtles that nest in Odisha. In Andhra Pradesh, the East Godavari River Estuarine Ecosystem (EGREE) is one of the important nesting places for the Olive Ridley Turtles. The main nesting sites are Sacramento Island, Hope Island & Uppada (Ellaiapet). A detailed survey carried out by the local Forest Department during 2010 nesting season revealed that most of the turtle nests are destroyed by jackals, domestic dogs, wild boars and human beings. Since then management measures are being undertaken for the conservation of the nesting turtles. There are other endangered species such as Smooth-coated Otter, Whale Shark, which are also found in this ecologically sensitive region. It is important to develop a policy and program for this region to ensure that the endangered species that are located in this region are protected and the biodiversity nurtured. This agenda requires dedicated agency and team with necessary administrative and financial autonomy. Under this situation, EGREE (East Godavari River Estuarine Ecosystem) was established in 2012, as an autonomous agency for protecting endangered wild species that are commonly located in estuarine zone of East Godavari. The GoI-UNDPGEF-GoAP Godavari Project has been funding some of the programs of EGREE, particularly "sea turtle conservation programme" since 2012. As part of this initiative, EGREE followed these strategies â—†
Creating awareness among various stakeholders on the
Do you agree with EGREE?
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importance of protecting endangered species like Olive Ridley turtles in the estuarine zone â—†
Monitoring the behaviour of various wild life and endangered species - occurrence, frequency of visits; eating habits; reproduction process and potential threats
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Protecting the hatching grounds of Olive Ridley turtles and promoting safe practices of laying eggs/ hatching
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Develop action plans for local bodies, communities, industrial groups in the East Godavari Estuarine Zone such as ONGC, Fertilizer factories, power industries, marine and shipping yards and so on, with a clear focus on biodiversity and conservation within their campus and their operational areas.
The focus of EGREE is on some of the endangered species such as Olive Ridley turtles, Indian Smooth-coated Otter, Whale Shark and others.
Awareness on Endangered Species: EGREE has been organizing exhibitions, seminars, workshops, conferences, festivals, official meetings/ programmes to highlight the importance of sea turtles and their role. These are aimed at common people and staff of various departments/ organisations. Village level awareness programmes are being organized to highlight the importance of the sea turtles and their conservation needs for maintaining the health of the coastal and marine ecosystems. Turtle conservation Nature walk is conducted for people from different sections of the society like industries, enforcement departments, local communities and students. EGREE conducts classes in the field regarding turtle conservation. Do you agree with EGREE?
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Hatching Grounds- Making a Difference‌. Every year during the nesting season between January and June, special camps are established in all the three areas and more than 25 local community persons like Raju are engaged for supporting forest officials to protect the nests through in-situ and ex-situ methods. Under ex-situ conservation method, turtle eggs are collected from the nests that are vulnerable due to the coastal erosion and predators, and protected in the hatcheries. These hatcheries are established about 60-70 m from the high-tide line and at slightly higher elevation so that they are not inundated by high tides and protected from the predators. Under in-situ conservation, unthreatened nests are protected on the nesting site itself by covering them with bamboo sticks and nylon nets around them. As the Sacremanto Island is free from predators, the nests are mostly protected through insitu method. Totally 3,509 nests were protected and a total of 3,78,260 hatchlings were released successfully from 2011 to 2015. DETAILS OF NESTS PROTECTED 2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
Total
in-situ ex-situ in-situ ex-situ in-situ
ex-situ in-situ ex-situ in-situ ex-situ in-situ ex-situ
1094 58
178
644
108
417
361
78
479 92
2995 514
Monitoring Trends‌ EGREE team is able to monitor behaviour and occurrence of wild life in estuarine zone of East Godavari and this information could provide useful basis for necessary action. The monitoring efforts by EGREE indicated that the biodiversity of this zone is high and there are several 32
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other endangered species (apart from Olive Ridley turtle) that either visit or inhabit in this zone. Indian Smooth-coated Otter is one such species. The population size and movements of Indian Smooth coated Otter are monitored through direct sightings, camera traps, pugmarks and questionnaire surveys. Village level awareness programmes are being carried out through this project to highlight the importance of this animal and its conservation for maintaining health of ecosystem. Whale Shark conservation: EGREE is training all the staff members of enforcement department and local fishermen community for effective enforcement and monitoring of Giant fish along the east-coast of India. The mortality rate of Olive Ridley Turtle is also observed and reported systematically, which was very useful for policy makers and conservation activists.
Dead Turtle Recorded in EGREE region (Units) 2013
2014
2015
87
521
581
CHALLENGES In spite of several legal protections given to all sea turtle species in India, in recent years the population migrating to Indian waters are on the decline. Several breeding individuals die every year along the Indian coastline, which has become a major concern of national and international conservation community. While the protection measures on these three islands are producing positive results, the challenge persists. 34
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Encouraging large companies like ONGC, Ship yard, fertilizer companies and others for production processes that are supportive to the ecological security, particularly for endangered species.
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Conservation of local habitat (mangrove forests) with regulated industrial activity and pollution.
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Priventing local community members from killing whale sharks and some birds which are not to be hunted under Wild Life Act.
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Preparing Biodiversity Action Plans for each of the local bodies, industrial groups such as ONGC, fertilizer factories, shipyard and other industries.
As this place is ecologically sensitive, industrial growth requires necessary safe guards, in the interest of wild life and endangered species. There is small but steady progress on pushing this agenda within these powerful industrial groups. The gap needs to be covered by more efforts in bringing public sector, private sector, NGOs and citizens on to the same platform in conserving this large chunk of biodiversity. EGREE wants others to agree with it.
M Waseem and MV Rama Chandrudu, WASSAN Narration by : EGREE Team, Kakinada, EG District, AP, India.
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About Cheriyal Paintings Shri D Vaikuntam and his family members Mrs. D Vanaja (wife); D Vinay and D Rakesh (sons) are keeping the tradition of Cheriyal Paintings of Telangana state, for generations. All members of the family are engaged in protecting and conserving this rare art form, that is not likely to survive for long. This is the only family in the country that is still engaged in this traditional art form. The Cheriyal Art has a unique character - red color background; vivid presentation of figures (men, women, animals, flowers, plants and others) with unique strokes and style. This art form belongs to "nakashi" form of paintings in India. But Cheriyal paintings contextualized this nakashi format to local Telangana and improvised it, with their unique styles. Apart from paintings and scrolls, Cheriyal Masks are also very attractive and unique with their bright colors and large eyes. D Vaikuntam received several awards from Central/ State governments, for his unique contribution to Cheriyal Art. D Vaikuntam and his family members agreed to present the key messages of these case studies. They spent time with us to understand the essence of each case study and presented it in their own style. These pictures further enriched the experiences, which are already exemplary in several ways. WASSAN thanks the family of artists of Cheriyal for their support in visualising these case studies. Pictures of some of the paintings/ scrolls and masks could be seen on this blog: http://vaikuntamnakash.blogspot.in/
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"…..In the middle of such despair and misery, there is a hope. "Imprints of Ecological Footprints - A Compilation of Ecologically Sensible Good Practices" is a compendium of good practices that brings the efforts made by relentless civil society organizations, citizens and community based organizations, to change the direction of the trend. These experiences brought cheer and hope in the lives of thousands of rural, tribal and urban citizens in India, who are part of these experiences. They took a different path that is less travelled and troublesome. There were several challenges, at each step and milestone. But they continued their journey and proved that "producing more with less" is possible. They also ensured that the ecological and environmentally sustainable processes are feasible for improving economic standards and quality of life of poor communities…"Aruna Rangachar Pohl, IFHD, Bangaluru. "……these experiences are invaluable and are certainly useful for provoking thoughts in the minds of participants of "Leaders for Nature" programs, which is organized by IFHD, IUCN, CII, Wild Life Trust of India, HIVOS and other likeminded organizations.The entire process of producing this compilation was an enriching and fruitful experience. It is a humbling experience for us to learn lessons from the interactions and visits to their villages/ sites. We genuinely believe that this compilation truly enriches the learning processes of "Leaders for Nature" program" - MV Rama Chandrudu, WASSAN