Ambazari Beat - Volunteers clean and de-silt a waterhole |
Khapa - Check dam built by volunteers |
Khapa - Volunteers building the check dam |
Narhar - Volunteer fills a container with water for birds |
Ghatpendri- Interaction with farmers and imparting awareness about conservation issues related to agriculture |
Shiladevi Beat- Volunteers on patrol in the jungle |
THE FULL REPORT
Team: Abhijit Dutta – Assistant Director (Conservation)
Kaustubh Marpalliwar, Bandu Uikey – Conservation Officers
Dilip Lanjewar, Balkrishna Bagmare – Field assistants
Highlights
• Three community foot patrols
• One check dam constructed at Khapa
• One voluntary work project for waterhole cleaning and de-silting
• One voluntary work project for digging pits for sapling plantation
• Three awareness programs on snakes; questionnaire survey on human-snake interaction
• 19 meetings to survey farmers’ awareness level and knowledge of conservation issues
• Five school education programs conducted - 92 students participated
• Six education van programs conducted - 246 villagers participated
• IT education program at Sawara
• Two livelihood meetings with SHG members
Conservation work (Table 1)
On April 24, a check dam was
constructed near Khapa by Dilip and volunteers from the village so that water
is available for nearby agricultural fields and livestock throughout the year. The check dam will also be a water
source for wildlife in the region at night.
On April 13, a water hole was cleaned and de-silted in compartment No.
622 in Ambazari beat. The program included our team and forest fire watchers. The waterholes are critical to wildlife especially in the summer
months. Regular cleaning is required to ensure that the water is safe for
wildlife.
On April 24, Dilip led a team of
four Village Eco-development Committee (VEDC) members from Khapa village on a
foot patrol in the forest area near their village. The VEDC members looked out
for signs of illegal tree felling or poaching during the patrol.
Balkrishna joined Forest
Department staff on a foot patrol in Ambazari and Shiladevi beats on April 6
and April 7 respectively. These community-based patrols are supplemental
to the regular patrols being done by the Forest Department.
During April, villagers were motivated to
collect seeds of native species which can be used in plantation drives during
the monsoon. We will arrange for supply of saplings of native plant
species from the nearby nurseries. Our volunteers prepared fifty pits for
plantation in Ghoti village.
With the onset of summer, water has become scarce and birds
are struggling to get water to drink. We encourage villagers to provide water
for birds by placing old bottles, pots and cans in suitable locations for
birds.
During April, we conducted a program in Narhar to promote
awareness about the importance of birds in the ecosystem and the need to
ensure their survival by helping them with water.
On April 11, Balkrishna
organised an awareness program on snakes in Ghatpendari village, where there
was a fatality due to snakebite recently.
He explained the importance of cleanliness and keeping rodents
out of the house to keep snakes out. He also explained how to differentiate
between venomous and non-venomous snakes and what must be done in case of a
snakebite.
Later, he carried out a survey on human-snake interaction. Similar
exercises were carried out by Balkrishna in three other buffer zone villages in
April.
We are currently carrying out a study to understand the
awareness level of farmers in the buffer region of Pench on basic issues
including agriculture, knowledge about the impact of fertilisers and pesticides on the environment, as well as crop depredation by wildlife raiding and the significance
of insects and birds in agriculture.
The aim is to study the awareness level among farmers and to
identify areas that could be improved through training. The study was completed
in the East Pench cluster during April and is underway in the West Pench cluster.
Environment Education (Table 2)
In April, 5 school education programs were conducted
by Balkrishna in which students were given lectures on man-animal conflict,
biodiversity conservation, climate change and other issues related to nature
conservation. 92 students attended these programs.
Education Van Program (Table 3)
The education van conducted six wildlife movie screenings in
April. Four village night-show programs were conducted and two village shows
were conducted during the daytime, in which movies like 'The Truth about Tigers' and 'Girl
Gang of Telia' were screened.
246 villagers attended these programs.
IT Education Program
Satpuda Foundation
has donated desktops as well as laptops to the Zilla Parishad School in Sawara
village and has been conducting an IT education program for the students free of
cost since 2013. Basic computer skills are taught to the students to make them
feel comfortable with the technology and improve their IT skills.
Sita Uikey, a resident
of Sawara village works on an honorarium basis for Satpuda Foundation to teach
the students. Four such classes were held in April.
Employment Cell (Table 4)
On April 26, Dilip and Abhijit visited Ghoti village to inspect a paper
making unit run by a women’s Self-Help Group (SHG) which has been non-operational from a couple of
months. The women requested Dilip for help in operating the unit as the unit
expenses were running high.
On April 27, Dilip and Abhijit visited Kolitmara village to inspect a
sewing/tailoring centre which has been non-operational for a couple of months. They interacted with the SHG members.
They requested Dilip to conduct a program to train them in making bags and
also asked us for assistance in market linkages.
Dilip took both the issues to officials from the Forest department who
have promised a visit to the units soon. They may help by linking these units to the VEDC or the Pench Tiger Conservation
Foundation.
Research
A study to understand the awareness level of farmers in the
buffer zone was undertaken by us. A questionnaire was prepared which included
basic information regarighding agriculture, knowledge about impact of
fertilizers and pesticides on environment as well as crop depredation by
wildlife and significance of insects and birds in agriculture.
The project is intended to study the awareness level among
farmers and to identify areas which could be improved through training. The
study was launched in East Pench cluster in April.
A field survey on recording snakes, incidence of sighting
them and incidence of snake bites in buffer zone villages has been completed.
It has helped in noting the snake species that are more
prone to come into contact with humans. A draft report has been made that will
be submitted to concerned officials.
No comments:
Post a Comment