Category Archives: Green Initiatives / Environment

And what about traditional healers?

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Green Initiatives / Environment, Science & Technology

All the medicines he gives are derived from herbs, collected from the forests and not chemically spiked.

The steady stream of patients has been increasing over the years for this ayurvedic practitioner, whose knowledge has been handed down the generations

The sick and anxious queue up every day at the clinic of a popular ayurvedic pandit in a north Kodagu village, hoping to find a solution to their ailments, and many undertake an arduous journey to reach this remote place nestled in coffee plantations.

His medicines — mostly herbs, powdered and packed in plastic covers — are handed out along with a pamphlet providing details about dosage and diet. The steady stream of patients has been increasing over the years for this ayurvedic practitioner, whose knowledge has been handed down the generations, but not through any formal method.

All the medicines he gives are derived from herbs, collected from the forests and not chemically spiked, he claims, telling patients to test them for heavy metals or steroid if they so wish.

“Most come after allopathic drugs fail to provide relief. Many come with faith in traditional knowledge,” he says.

There are thousands like him, claiming to use remedies handed down generations in a State that has rich biodiversity. Sources in the Department of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) estimate that there could be around 40,000 to 50,000 traditional healers, mostly in rural areas, in the State.

However, without a recognised degree, the medicines they prescribe have not gone through the rigours of modern testing methods.

The role of the traditional healer is thus a matter of debate. Lack of government-monitored system to test their medicines and validate their practice has also not helped.

No recognition

Officially, their role in the health system has not been recognised either by the Karnataka Medical Council or by the AYUSH Department. According to a senior official in the Drug Controller’s Office, prescribing allopathic medication without medical qualification is illegal under the Drug Rules and it is also illegal to prescribe ayurvedic drugs without recognition by the Directorate of AYUSH. AYUSH Department sources said that though no time-frame has been set, there is a loud thinking in the government to address issues pertaining to traditional medicine and healers as this knowledge is considered an important element in society that should not be lost.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> News> Cities> Bangalore / by Sharath S. Srivasta / Bangalore, December 04th, 2012

Kodagu villagers teach Wayanad a lesson in tiger conservation

Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature

Kozhikode :
Just two days after the controversial killing of a tiger in Wayanad, the villagers of Nidugumba in Kodagu district, just across the border in Karnataka, have given their counterparts in Wayanad a lesson in handling a man-animal conflict.

The villagers on Tuesday swiftly rescued a tigress which had strayed into a coffee plantation and got its feet entangled in a barbed-wire fence, without baying for its blood as it happened in Wayanad.

According to Karnataka forest officials, the entire community headed by the owner of the coffee plantation, Sullimada Muthanna, ensured that there was no mobbing of the struggling tiger. The villagers stood guard on the tiger till forest officials from the Nagarhole Tiger Reserve arrived and took control of the situation.

“The villagers were very cooperative. There was no violent mob baying for blood and the tigress was tranquilized swiftly,” Bandipur Tiger Reserve director Kumar Pushkar told TOI. With 10-12 tigers per 100 sq km, Nagarahole is known to have ones of the highest tiger densities in the country. It also produces a surplus of animals each year.

The animal was soon untangled from the fence and transported to the Mysore Zoo where it is currently under medical care.

Leading tiger ecologist and director of ScienceAsia, Ullas Karanth, said that the situation in Kodagu stands in stark contrast with the recent tragic outcome in Wayanad when a cornered tiger was first tranquilized and then shot dead amidst chaos created by a local mob.

“The restraint and positive conservation attitude of the Kodagu villagers is exemplary. They responded positively and acted as the guardians of the tiger. Other communities along the Western Ghats, including Wayanad, should realize that the tiger is a very precious heritage of ours. The government also has to develop more professional ways of dealing with such situations,” he said.

Meanwhile, Wayanad Prakrithi Samrakshana Samithi president N Badusha said that historically, the people of Wayanad have coexisted peacefully with wild animals. “But over the last two months, certain vested interests, backed by political parties and religious institutions, have created a mass hysteria which has created animosity among people against animals. This hysteria has taken over even the people who usually speak up for the animals,” he said. Badusha added that even his son was attacked and house stoned for the pro-conservation stand taken by him.

source: http://www.m.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / by K R Rajeev, TNN / December 06th, 2012

Tribals empowered to collect minor forest produces: Rameshwar Oraon

About Kodagu / Coorg, Agriculture, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature


Rameshwar Oraon, Chairperson, National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, addressing tribals at Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Bhavan in Hunsur yesterday, accompanied by other members of the Commission. Pictures centre and right show the tribal dances performed to welcome the Central team.

Mysore, Nov. 9 (RK&RNN)
Tribal people have every right to collect and sell Minor Forest Produces (MFP) and no one could interfere with this, observed Rameshwar Oraon, Chairperson, National Commission for Scheduled Tribes.

Addressing members of the tribal community at Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Bhavan in Hunsur after visiting several Haadis in H.D. Kote taluk of Mysore district yesterday, he said the Union Government was taking steps to fix a minimum price for the MFP to avoid exploitation from middle men.

He also added that The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 made all tribal people living in the forest eligible for title deeds of their lands and urged Adivasis to take benefits due to them.

He also elicited the opinion of tribal people and others who participated in the meeting on whether they were getting the benefits given by the Centre.

Stating that the tribals would be given compensation four times higher than the existing value of the land if the same was acquired for any government purpose, Oraon added that the Centre was planning to bring legislation in this regard.

Many of those present complained that they were denied benefits like schools, angan-wadi centres, drinking water and ration under the Public Distribution System (PDS) to which Oraon replied that he would take up the issue with the State Chief Secretary at a meeting scheduled to be held today and added that he would also discuss it with Deputy Commissioner and CEO of Mysore Zilla Panchayat.

Food security to tribals

It is reported that Rameshwar Oraon has directed the District Administration to provide food security to tribals and adivasis living in the periphery of forests through Fair Price shops and also urged the District Administration to provide them alternative land for agriculture.

Stressing for education to tri-bal children at Ashraya Schools from first to seventh standards, Oraon instructed ADGP Chikkanur to withdraw false cases filed against tribals and also called for making arrangements for selling of products manufactured by tribals through Lamp Societies at good prices.

He directed early completion of probe into the missing cases of Jiyamballi Raju and Hunsekoppa Bheemasena besides ensuring avoidance of harassment of tribals by forest officials.

A traditional welcome was accorded to the visiting team by tribals who performed folk dan-ces following which Prasanna, Convenor of South India Cell for Human Rights Education and Monitoring (SICHREM) and Vaddaragudi Chikkanna gave a presentation of problems being faced by tribals.

The team consisting of Rameshwar Oraon, Commission members Kamala Kumari, B.L. Meena, Jt. Secretary Aditya Mishra, Dy. Director K.D.Bansar, SC/ST Regional Office (Bhopal) Asst. Director R.K.Dubey and others who arrived from Bangalore in the morning drove straight to Morarji Desai School Hostel in Hunsur for an inspection.

Dy. Commissioner P.S. Vastrad, ZP CEO Dr. Ajai Nagabhushan, SP R.Dileep, MLAs Chikkanna and Manjunath, Asst. Commissioners, Tahasil dars and other officials provided necessary information to the team.

source: http://www.StarofMysore.com / Home> General News / November 09th, 2012

Birds of the same feather

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Green Initiatives / Environment

Kodagu, straddled on the Western Ghats, boasts of more than 300 varieties of birds. This pristine area abounds in an assortment of rare flora and fauna as well.

One of the unique selling propositions for coffee grown in these environs is that the berries develop under dappled sunlight filtered through friendly shade trees, to a medley of melodious sounds of numerous feathered bipeds.

It is claimed that these ‘happy’ berries are imbued with the finest qualities of the salubrious sylvan surroundings. Just as in a popular commercial for a Scotch that says, “as you sip their whiskey you hear hundred pipers playing,” the coffee planters in this area market their produce with the hype that the consumers could listen to chirping of birds as they savour the brew which is famously known as: the cup that cheers but not inebriates!

When it comes to these bright coloured feathered bipeds, there are two medical doctors in Kodagu who have evocatively captured the images of local birds in all their splendour, through different art forms.

Besides their medical profession, they are well-known ornithologists as well. The first, Dr S V Narasimhan, has brought out a bilingual (English and Kannada) book titled ‘Feathered Jewels of Coorg’ in which he has painstakingly colour-sketched 310 birds of this region.
He has meticulously described each species giving their popular English names along with their scientific Latin names. Also included are the names of each species in Kannada as well as in Kodava languages.

However, Narasimhan’s efforts go far beyond just documenting bird-life in Kodagu. He is actively involved in bringing about environmental awareness and wildlife conservation in a unique way. Every year, Narasimhan hand-paints thousands of postcards of birds and animals of Kodagu with specific messages composed by him pertaining to our milieu.
He then mails them free of cost to a host of recipients.

His modest request, however, is for postage stamps so that he could distribute his hand-painted postcards to even more beneficiaries to spread his message on conservation and protection of wildlife, so very crucial to our environment. Narasimhan has, as on date, hand-painted 56,590 cards in a span of 28 years! I am sure it’s a world record. I am one of the lucky beneficiaries this year.

Aim and shoot

The other doctor, Dr Bishan Monnappa, an orthopaedician, is a keen photographer. He brilliantly captures wildlife in their natural habitat through powerful cameras. His high-definition photographs of birds of various plumages are simply spectacular.

Dr S V Narasimhan and Dr Bishan Monnappa are popularly known as ‘Bird-men of Kodagu’. They are extending their healing touch beyond humans to the wellbeing of Mother Nature as well.

Now, who can resist drinking coffee that has bird songs recorded in its brew!

source: http://www.DeccanHerald.com / Home> Supplements> Spectrum / by C.P. Belliappa / November 06th, 2012

DOC CREATES AWARENESS ON WILDLIFE CARDS

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature


Mysore, Oct.7
People who love environment, find a way to preserve it and also create awareness among the laymen on conserving it. Many take out rallies, conduct environment-related programmes, plant saplings and adopt animals. However, a family physician of Virajpet, Kodagu district, has found a unique way of bringing nature closer to mankind — he sends free hand-painted postcards containing wildlife messages to public as part of Wildlife Week.

An avid birder and nature lover, Dr. S.V. Narasimhan has been sending such postcards since 28 years. Author of ‘Feathered Jewels of Coorg,’ a fieldguide to 310 species of birds found in Kodagu, he has been spreading wildlife conservation messages through his unique hand-painted wildlife message cards.

This year, his message is ‘Life on Earth – a Large Extended Family.’ Till now, he has made 56,590 cards with 1,270 this year. About 8,340 people have received his cards all these years.

His Special Wildlife Messenger of this year is the Indian Pitta (Pitta brachyura), a medium-sized, stubby-tailed bird that is mostly seen on the floor of forests or under dense undergrowth, foraging on insects in leaf litter and often more easily detected by their calls. Indian Pittas breed mainly in the Himalayan foothills from northern Pakistan in the west and possibly up to Sikkim in the east. They also breed in the hills of central India and in the northern Western Ghats. They migrate to all parts of peninsular India and Sri Lanka in winter. Their seasonal movements are associated with the monsoon rains. For more such wildlife cards, visit http://drsvnarasimhan.blogspot.com

source: http://www.StarofMysore.com / General News / October 07th, 2012

Karnataka explores cloud seeding to increase water in Cauvery

Agriculture, Green Initiatives / Environment, Science & Technology

Bangalore, OCT. 2:

The State Government is exploring cloud seeding method to increase water inflow in the Cauvery basin.

“Cloud seeding has been planned in Cauvery catchment areas – Kodagu and Hassan,” Water Resources Minister Basavaraj Bommai told reporters.

“The government has already set aside Rs 5 crore for this and will shortly call for both technical and financial bids,” he added.

The State is taking the assistance of Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune. The institute is to offer technical assistance. Water Resources Development Organisation (WRDO) has been roped in to be the nodal agency to coordinate the cloud seeding project. Earlier in July, the State government had decided in favour of cloud seeding in the Cauvery basin, but abandoned it as the catchment area experienced good rains.

“Since the State is in a precarious position now due to the Supreme Court and the Cauvery River Authority (CRA) orders, we have revived the cloud seeding project,” Bommai said.

Water inflow into Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS) is 10,000 cusecs and outflow is around 9,000 cusecs.

Current storage level at KRS is estimated at 68 TMCft. Bommai said, “For drinking water and irrigation needs in the Cauvery basin we need around 150 TMCft.”

anil.u@thehindu.co.in

source: http://www.TheHinduBusinessLine.com / Home> Industry & Economy> Government & Policy / The Hindu’s Bureau / Bangalore, October 02nd, 2012

Government creates new buffer zones

Agriculture, Business & Economy, Coffee, Kodagu (Coorg), Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature

Madikeri:

The Karnataka government has declared 562.41 sq km area in Kodagu and Mysore districts as buffer zones. This was officially announced by the forest, ecology and environment department undersecretary Umadevi through a notification dated August 14, 2012.

Kodagu wildlife deputy conservator of forests K T Hanumanthappa said that there will be no restriction on villagers who live near buffer zones. This notification is mainly to protect tigers in the tiger zone. If it is an eco-sensitive zone, some restrictions will be imposed. The buffer zone allows wild animals to move in the limits of the buffer zone, he explained.

Planters fear that the creation of buffer zones will affect coffee and pepper cultivation. Nagarahole range forest officer Mandanna said that the safari has already been stopped following the Supreme Court order.

Hunsur wildlife A C F K D Belliappa has directed residents living around buffer zone areas not to graze their cattle in the restricted area and not to collect firewood as the wildlife act applies in these areas.

The declared buffer zone areas include 24.74 sqkm in Periayapatna taluk,109.09 sqkm of Hunsur thaluk, 228.01 sqkm of H D kote taluk in Mysore district covering a total area of 361.84 sqkm in Mysore district. The buffer zone coverage in Kodagu district is 200.57 sqkm.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> City> Mangalore> Mysore / TNN, September 27th, 2012

Impact of agro-forest management on animal diversity in Kodagu district

Agriculture, Business & Economy, Coffee, Kodagu (Coorg), Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature

Bangalore:

Traditionally coffee in the Western Ghats, as in other tropical regions, is grown under the shade of non-native trees.Such plantations ensure ecological continuity, providing habitat for many species outside protected reserves.

A study by Ayyapan Narayanan of the Department of Ecology, French Institute of Pondicherry, conducted in three different habitats, evaluated the impact of agro-forest management on animal diversity in the Kodagu district of Karnataka. The study was conducted in the preserved forests, coffee plantation with native trees and coffee plantations with non-native trees. Researchers said the objective of the study was to evaluate the impact of the agrosystems in comparison to the forest on local singing animal diversity by employing a passive acoustic method. For each habitat type, four locations were sampled using automatic acoustic recorders.

The acoustic data was then analysed using two indices without using species identification. Differences among habitat types were assessed by comparing the acoustic activity level with non-parametric tests and by including acoustic dissimilarities into multivariate analyses.

source: http://www.m.timesofindia.com / City> Bangalore / by Saswati Mukherjee / September 26th, 2012

Natural cave unearthed

About Kodagu / Coorg, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature

The forest officials have recently unearthed a natural cave inisde the thick forest, in Kodagu district.

The cave is situated near Anderson stream inside thick forest at Vatekoli, which is 15 kms from Virajpet- Makutta road. The cave is 60 metre long and two metres in height. According to forest department officials, they have heard the sound of water inside the cave. “If there is water inside the cave, then it would be giving shelter to water creatures like fish, crab and so on. Realising the decrease in oxygen inside the cave, the officials did not make an attempt to move further inside the cave.”

The bats will welcome anyone who enters the cave. Normally, snakes live in and around those areas where bats live, say officials. Kodagu Circle Chief Conservator of Forest Deekshith said that the cave must have been formed by the flow of water through limestone and similar rocks. Water seeps into the pores and cracks of rocks and soil and bubbles beneath the earth above. Such caves are called as Solution caves.

The soil in the cave is a mixture of white and grey colour and is soft. The roof of the cave is strong. “We could not see the cave fully. The cave will provide an opportunity for the geologists to make a study. I will inform the State government on the discovery of a cave. If the government sends an expert, we will get more details on the cave,” said an official. It is said that the forest guards had discovered it a year ago. However, they had not informed it to the higher authorities. After taking charge, Deekshith visited the spot. In fact, he has marked the route to the cave through GPS.

source: http://www.DeccanHerald.com / Home> District / DHNS, Madikeri, August 08th, 2012

Tata group’s drive at rainwater harvesting

Coffee, Kodagu (Coorg), Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature

Mumbai, JULY 14:
The Tata group, which has recycled 1.69 million kilo litres of water across all its entities in 2010-11, is moving to play a major role in rainwater harvesting and groundwater recharge.

While over 30 Taj hotels have zero water discharge, 14 hotels have installed rainwater harvesting techniques. The latter helps to recharge groundwater.

The group has also installed desalination plants in hotels that are close to coastal areas. These initiatives have helped the $100-billion conglomerate reduce the demand from fresh water sources.

Similarly, at Tata Coffee, rainwater harvesting and management of water bodies along the Western Ghats in Karnataka have been undertaken on a war footing.

With the majority of the coffee grown in South India, more so in Karnataka, the company noticed the rainfall pattern had been changing over the years. The planting district has seen an annual rainfall drop by one-third — from 106 inches per year to 70 inches. Kodagu region (in Karnataka) faces a drought-like problem, especially from October to April, when water requirement for coffee and paddy is critical.

Coffee growers, who had not given a thought to irrigation, have had to build water sources by digging tanks in catchment areas.

Tata Coffee, which holds 497 million gallons in its rainwater harvesting tanks, is now looking to bridge the gap between demand and storage of rainwater.

“The most important concern in the Karnataka project is the efficient use of water. Data related to the area, geography, rainfall, water runoff, soil capability, water level, water quality, and water use pattern are available with us. Based on this data, the plan is to initiate a total package of water,” said a company spokesperson.

The package will address the issue of economy of water harvesting, water management and optimum agricultural production correlated with water use.

Similarly, though many of the Taj group hotels harvest and utilise rainwater, 35 per cent of Gateway, Luxury and Vivanta Taj hotels reused treated effluent for horticulture in 2010-11. They have also recycled process water to achieve zero water discharge. This is significant, since luxury and business hotels have large water requirements for landscaping and the swimming pool. Several of the Taj hotels’ 100-odd properties have been investing in water saving methods.

amritanair.ghaswalla@thehindu.co.in

source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Home> Companies / by Amrita Nair-Ghaswalla / Mumbai, July 14th, 2012