Editor’s note
Dear Reader,
Whichever part of India you are joining us from, we hope you have put the worst of the heatwave behind you and are ready to welcome the monsoons.
Its halfway through 2023 and we bring you yet another round of updates from Care Earth. We published our Annual Report 2022-23 recently and compiling it was an exercise in discovering just how much we have been able to accomplish in one year. Our work has ranged from ecological research in the Western Ghats to wetlands in concrete jungles to learning resources inside classrooms.
With the Annual Report in mind, we decided to keep our other updates brief - some events, some publications and a climate change survey is all for this edition of Ainthinai.
Until next time,
The Ainthinai team
Annual Report 2022-23
From the urban spaces of Chennai to the forests of the Western Ghats , the past year saw us work across landscapes and themes. We now bring all that information to you in a single document - our annual report for 2022-23.
You can access the complete document at https://tinyurl.com/2n58rtpa
Training on wildlife crime control for frontline forest staff in Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve
In Tamil Nadu, Erode district has the maximum forest area. A total of three Forest divisions are present in the district - Erode, Sathyamangalam and Hassanur. In 2022 Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve won TX2 award for doubling tiger population to 80 individuals since 2010. Support from local communities and frontline forest staff is critical for such recognition. Frontline duties rest with forest staff such as the Forest Guards, Forest Watchers and Anti-poaching Watchers (APWs). The APWs play an important role in monitoring forest health and security as they are mainly involved in routine patrolling. Given the requirements on the ground, a training programme on how to prevent forest crimes and record evidence was organised. Experts from the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, Delhi led the training programme conducted on 4th and 5th January 2023 at the District Forest Office, Sathyamangalam. A total of 49 persons (2 Foresters and 47 APWs) attended this training. This project was funded by the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI)
Topics covered included an introduction to wildlife trafficking, progression and trends of trafficking in India, networks and social media used in wildlife crime, and collection of evidence.
A Wetland and a Biodiversity Library at Unamancheri
The senior leadership of Natwest India visited Unamancheri in April as part of the Natwest supported Unamancheri Eco Restoration Project.
After a walk to the wetland along with the Panchayat members, the committee headed to the Unamancheri Middle School where they were welcomed by the school’s Eco Club. Kiran Guduru, Head of LGRA India, and Natesh Iyer, Head of Commercial Banking, became storytellers for the morning, narrating stories of plants and engaging the children.
The day concluded with the inauguration of the Biodiversity Library, a curated set of children's books on nature, environment and climate, by Punit Sood (Head of International Hubs, Natwest Group) and Mahendran (President, Unamancheri Panchayat).
PUBLICATIONS
Plant species diversity in the riparian forests of the Moyar River in southern India
Authors: Muthu Karthick and Avantika Bhaskar
Riparian forests are forests that grow near water bodies such as rivers, streams and lakes. They are disappearing fast around the world due to human activities. The Moyar river flows through steep valleys and connects the Western Ghats with the Eastern Ghats in southern India. The riparian forests along the Moyar river are relatively intact and understudied. We surveyed the plant diversity of these forests using belt transects along and across the river to cover the whole elevation range of the riparian zone. We recorded 172 plant species from 47 families and 126 genera, including 100 single-species genera and 17 single-species families, from both types of transects.
You can access the full paper at the link here
Cultural Significance of Indian Wetlands
Together with the Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change, Government of India and GIZ India, Care Earth Trust authored and launched ‘Cultural Significance of Indian Wetlands’. The publication takes a closer look at the natural and cultural linkages of Indian Wetlands and documents some of the approaches communities have used to sustainably interact with wetlands. Divided Into thematic sections on livelihoods, conservation, traditional knowledge, faith and wise use, the compendium is a repository of case studies from across India.
A short film based on the book illustrates the key findings. It was first screened at the ‘75 at75’ side event of the CoP14 Ramsar Convention. The complete publication is open-access available for download at https://bit.ly/41lObHe
Climate change and water risk in Chennai
Do you have 10 minutes to spare? If you do, participate in our research survey on Climate Change and Water Risk in Chennai city. Please help us reach more people by sharing with your social networks.
Survey Link: [https://tinyurl.com/ytbysryp]