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WCT supports the Arunachal Forest Department for conducting a joint weapons training for the frontline staff of Pakke Tiger Reserve (Arunachal Pradesh) and Nameri Tiger Reserve (Assam)

A joint weapons training program was conducted by the Arunachal Pradesh Forest Department on January 16, 2013. This training program, supported by WCT, Mumbai, was attended by 90 frontline staff of Pakke and Nameri Tiger Reserves. Each staff member was trained in Basic Combat, Gun Handling and Gun Maintenance followed by a first-hand target practice at the bank of the Kameng river.

Subedar Major Thangpaitte conducting a training session on weapon maintenance

The frontline staff undergoing a supervised target-practice session on the banks of the Kameng river

In India, most frontline forest personnel are not provided with a firearm during patrolling. The ones who have access to a gun are seldom given any formal training either in target practice or in weapon maintenance. As a result, several weapons misfire or fail to fire when needed in the field.

With an ever-increasing demand for wildlife body parts in China and other countries (outside India), the poaching threat on Indian wildlife is on the rise. Most poachers have access to highly sophisticated weaponry. Unless the frontline staff are intensively trained to sharpen their combating skills protecting India’s last remaining forests will become increasingly difficult. WCT endeavors to catalyse as many such trainings as possible.

WCT supports an Eco-friendly Anti-Poaching Camp in Bandipur Tiger Reserve, Karnataka

WCT supports an Eco-friendly Anti-Poaching Camp in Bandipur Tiger Reserve, Karnataka 'Aranyaka', a pilot project involving the construction of an eco-friendly anti-poaching camp at Avarepura in the Moleyur range of Bandipur has been handed over to the Forest Department last week. This pilot project, which has been jointly funded by the Wildlife Conservation Trust, Mumbai and the Karnataka Forest Department, has been accomplished by the Centre for Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technologies (CREST) at the National Institute of Engineering at an estimated cost of Rs. 8.8 lakh.

It was felt that the existing anti-poaching camps at Bandipur were not suitable for prolonged stay and hence, a pilot project has been taken up with the use of renewable energy systems. The design and the implementation part has been taken up by NIE-CREST and the structure erected using stabilised mud blocks which obviated the use of burning firewood to dry bricks. The use of stabilised mud blocks also provide good thermal comfort.

Water being a critical requirement in the jungles, the anti-poaching camp has been provided with a rainwater harvesting system with a storage capacity of 9,000 litres. Given the annual average rainfall at Bandipur, the yield through rainwater harvesting technique is nearly 43,000 litres of water per year and hence there will be assured water availability for almost six to seven months.

The solar energy system installed in the camp will be sufficient for lighting the camp in the night and also for recharging wireless sets. The incorporation of renewable technologies fulfill the energy and water needs of the camp to a large extent and helps in conservation of both wood and water. The building will also have fuel-efficient biomass cook stove which will provide for efficient, smokeless cooking.

B.G. Hosmath, Field Director, Project Tiger, said that "the newly constructed anti-poaching camp will be able to harbour nearly 15 forest personnel and that the Averapura Camp will now strengthen the anti-poaching capacity of the Moleyur rnage of Bandipur"

Catalytic Philanthropy in India

Catalytic Philanthropy in India Despite the relative infancy of Indian philanthropy, India has a surprising number of exemplary cases of catalytic philanthropy. The approaches of these philanthropists reflect thoughtfulness and potential for impact that parallels, and in some cases even exceeds, that of their most impressive global counterparts. This report showcases examples of Indian philanthropic funders implementing these practices such as Arghyam Foundation, Azim Premji Foundation, Bharti Foundation, Dr. Reddy’s Foundation, Dorabji and Ratan Tata Trusts, and the Hemendra Kothari Foundation funded Wildlife Conservation Trust.

Hemendra Kothari's Quest To Save India's Tigers

Investment banker and philanthropist Hemendra Kothari has poured millions into protecting India’s endangered national animal, the tiger. And that’s how 20-year-old Monisha Rajan, who was raised in an impoverished area near a tiger reserve in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, found herself working in a call center in Chennai drawing a salary of nearly $150 a month.

Colour camouflage in Kerala’s Parambikulam forests

A leopard with distinctive stripes that was photographed from Parambikulam Tiger Reserve in Palakkad district, recently. Photo: Special Arrangement

Melanism found in some animals at the Parambikulam forests in Palakkad district of Kerala has caught the imagination of wildlife enthusiasts. Recently, managers of the Parambikulam Tiger Reserve obtained photographic evidence of a pseudo-melanistic leopard. Earlier, a melanistic spotted deer was photographed.

Protecting Paradise

The heart of the RRU is a four-wheel drive off-road vehicle, supported by three motorcycles, an immobilisation unit for carnivore rescues, jungle survival gear, life-saving first-aid supplies including a venom pump that gives a victim critical time to reach a hospital, walkie-talkies, searchlights, shields and protective gear as protection against unruly crowds and more.

A feature on Wildlife Conservation Trust in Sanctuary magazine

The Wildlife Conservation Trust (WCT), a Mumbai-based public charitable organisation, has been set up to support the work of government and non-government organisations and individuals who are protecting wildlife and wildernesses across India. WCT believes that natural ecosystems are the backbone of India’s water, food, climate and economic security and it sees its own mandate as supplementing, not replacing, the inputs of wildlife NGOs and the Central and State Governments in in shoring up the defences of our Protected Area (PA) network.

HKF-WCT and Maharashtra Forest Department join hands to provide Health services

Services were provided by a group of doctors from Nagpur under the banner "Doctors for Wildlife", while Srushti Paryavaran Mandal was the implementing partner. The aim was to extend free-of-cost specialised medical support to villagers around the fringes of one of Maharashtra's important tiger habitats.Read more...

21st International Conference on Bear Research and Management

Internation Bear Conference

The International Conference on Bear Research and Management (IBA) is scheduled at New Delhi from 26 to 30 November, 2012. The conference brings together leading bear biologists and conservationists from across the world in this five-day event of invited talks, oral and poster presentations and thematic workshops. The Conference is hosted by the Ministry of Environment & Forests, Government of India and is organized jointly by Wildlife Trust of India and Wildlife Institute of India. Click here to download PDF

From Green To Grey

In the backdrop of environment day, here is a look at how India's natural resources are under stress and the consequences of unbridled consumption.

WCT Save our Tigers (2012-13)

WCT Save our Tigers (2010-11)

Videos

Students’ Conference on Conservation Science

25 – 28 September, 2013, Bangalore

Registration and abstract submission for the Student Conference on Conservation Science (SCCS) – Bangalore, 2013 are now open.

Please visit http://www.sccs-bng.org/ for further details.

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