Activity Update May 2019: Pench Maharashtra

Highlights:

Dhawlapur - Birds drink water from makeshift containers
put out by our volunteers

Dhawlapur - Local villagers on patrol 

Ghoti - Waterhole prepared by our volunteers using a discarded tyre

Ghoti- Villagers make a waterhole using an old tyre

Shiladevi - Seeds of local plants being collected
for the forthcoming monsoon plantation drive

Shiladevi - seeds of local plants collected
for planting during the monsoon

THE FULL REPORT

Team: Kaustubh Marpalliwar – Conservation Officer

            Dilip Lanjewar, Balkrishna Bagmare – Community Officers

Highlights (See Table 1)

·      Three community foot patrols

·      One voluntary work project to clean and de-silt waterhole at Dhawlapur Kuti

·      Waterhole prepared for birds at Ambazari

·      Two nature trails at Ghoti and Sawara

·      One fire-fighting activity at Salai, Hiwara road

·      One program to dig pits for plantation at Sawara

·      PRT (Primary Response Team) formation in six villages  at Usripar, Sawara, Khapa, Kadbikheda, Ghoti and Tuyepar

·      One voluntary work project for Seed Collection for monsoon plantation at Shiladevi

·      Biodiversity Day celebration at Pench Community Center

·      15 meetings on farmer awareness and awareness on conservation issues

·      One young villager sent for hospitality training and two sent for Agro Business Start-up Training

·      Third Party Evaluation of CSS – DBT fund at Bor Tiger Reserve

·      Attended Post Mortem & investigation of dead leopard at Ranidoh River, South Fulzari Beat, Pipariya Range

·      Attended one meeting on SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) of Forest Department 

On May 18, a waterhole was cleaned and de-silted at Dhawlapur Forest camp, Saleghat Range with forest fire watchers. The waterholes are a huge relief to wildlife especially in the summer months when water supply from natural sources is scarce. Regular cleaning is required to ensure that the water is safe for wildlife.

Three community patrolling programs were organised in Dhawlapur, Saleghat and Khapa. Such patrolling helps in checking illegal activities around villages through community participation. 

On May 21, Balkrishna held a seed collection activity in Shiladevi village.  Villagers were motivated to collect seeds of native plant species which could be used in plantation drives during the monsoon.

We will arrange for supply of saplings of native plant species from the nearby nurseries. We organised a program to dig 30 pits for plantation in Sawara village.

With the onset of summer, water has become scarce and birds are struggling to get water to drink. We put up water pots in Ambazari village. Dilip made an artificial waterhole for birds with the help of a large tyre in Ghoti. We encourage villagers to provide water for birds by placing old bottles, pots and cans in suitable locations for birds.

The Range Forest Officer, Paoni, asked us to help form Primary Response Teams (PRTs) in villages in our area of operations. On May 15^th, 18th, 20^th & 22^th, PRTs were formed in six villages -- Usripar, Sawara, Kadbikheda, Ghoti, Khapa and Tuyepar. PRT members will be trained by the Forest Department in June. PRTs are first responders to human-wildlife conflict situations. They also assist the Forest Department in intelligence gathering.

 On May 2, a fire was noticed in the forest near Salai– Hiwara road, Pauni range. Dilip informed the Forest Department and rushed to the spot to assist in fighting the fire along with forest guards and forest labourers.

An awareness meeting on forest fires was held on the same day at Sawara to sensitise villagers about the harmful effects of such fires and the need for villagers to assist in fighting the fires.

Environment Education

On May 22, International day of Biological Diversity was celebrated at our field centre at Pench.

During the celebration program, seed collection, identification of seeds and plantation methods were discussed with school kids from Ghoti, Wagholi, Salai and Pipariya. An educational program on bio-diversity was conducted and various educational movies were shown to the kids.

Employment Cell (See Table 2)

During the month of May, one girl was sent to a month-long hospitality training program at Sillari. She will be provided with a campus placement opportunity by the Training Institute on successful completion of this training.

On May 27^th-31^st, two young villagers were sent to Nagpur, for an Agro Business Start-up training program, conducted by Maharashtra Centre of Entrepreneurship Development (MCED).

Other Activities

On May 17, we attended a post-mortem examination on being invited by the Forest Department. A leopard was found dead in Ranidoh River, South Fulzari beat, Pipariya. It was apparently killed in a fight with a tiger.

Research

A study to understand the awareness level of farmers in the buffer region is being undertaken by us. A questionnaire has been prepared which includes basic information regarding agriculture, knowledge about impact of fertilisers and pesticides on the environment as well as crop-raiding and the 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 the West Pench cluster in May.