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Changes in Public Commons as a Consequence of Urbanization: The Agara Lake in Bangalore, India
No full textThe city of Bangalore in southern India is rapidly expanding, resulting in major transformations in land use, wetland management, and the distribution of green spaces. This paper examines how transformations in land use and governance consequent to urbanization can change people’s perceptions of and interactions with an urban ecological commons, using the case study of the Agara lake in the south Indian city of Bangalore. In less than four decades, the landscape surrounding the lake has altered from a fundamentally agricultural area, dependent
on the lake for irrigation and drinking water, to a densely urbanized area where the lake is used predominantly for recreation. A change in governance from community management to state management has sidelined the fishers, fodder collectors and agricultural users who traditionally maintained this lake. The governmental agencies that are supposed to maintain the lake are unable to do so due to a complex governance structure, with overlapping jurisdictions, compounded by an ongoing litigation. Over the past decades, the lake has largely transitioned into an urban green space primarily used for recreation and nature watching. This case study provides us with a broader understanding of how changes in governance consequent to urbanization and city expansion can impact interactions between people and ecological commons in a rapidly growing Indian city
Assessment of suspended particulate pollution in the Bhadra River catchment, Southern India: an environmental magnetic approach
No full textOpen-cast mining generates sediment in river systems at globally significant scales. One of the challenges in attributing measured sediment loads to upstream mining
activities is establishing the source of sediments that are a mixture of natural and mining-based materials. The environmental magnetic data (mass-specific magnetic susceptibility, anhysteretic remanent magnetisation, isothermal remanent magnetisation and inter-parametric ratios) on 57 samples of suspended sediment from the Bhadra River in the Sahyadri (the Western Ghat) of India have been used in this study. Samples were collected upstream, adjacent to and downstream of Kudremukh, a mountainous and high rainfall site where the largest mechanised open-cast mine in south Asia was located. Graphical and multivariate analyses and modelling of the data show that on average *29% of the river suspended load downstream of the mine is derived from mining and allied activities at Kudremukh although the mine occupies less than 5% of the catchment. The contribution of primary ore is the maximum (18%), followed by transitional hard weathered ore (7%) and weathered ore (4%). The model has done a fairly good job of unmixing; the sum of errors is \1 for 40 samples, 1–4,254 for five samples and [71,000 for four samples. Modelling of samples with small mass seems to produce large errors. This investigation demonstrates the utility of environmental magnetic data, which can be obtained in a simple and rapid manner, and the unmixing of such data in identifying the contribution of mining activities to the total suspended sediment load
Pollinators, pollination efficiency and fruiting success in a wild nutmeg, Myristica dactyloides
No full textWe investigated the pollinator assemblage in Myristica dactyloides, a dioecious tree species occupying the
intermediate canopy stratum of the mid- and high elevation wet evergreen forests and endemic to Sri Lanka and the Western Ghats of India. We surveyed two populations and, in one of them, marked four male and three female trees for observations on floral display and insect foraging, and two female trees for experimental pollination. Yellow sticky traps were used to sample insects in the canopy during the flowering season of December 2007 in addition to direct observations of insect activity in 2006. Myristicaceae members from other tropical areas have been reported to be specialized to beetle pollination, but our observations provide evidence of a generalist pollination system in M. dactyloides, composed of small, diverse insects: thysanopterans (thrips), coleopterans (beetles), halictid bees and
dipterans (syrphid and phorid flies). Quantifying floral display,wefound that female inflorescences were smaller, offered no reward and attracted significantly fewer pollinators in comparison to male inflorescences. Fruit set was low and could be attributed to a 29% flower abscission and abortion of young fruits, but a reasonably high natural pollination efficiency combined with pollination experiments established that there was no pollination limitation in the study population
Faunal mortality on roads due to religious tourism across time and space in protected areas: A case study from south India
No full textThe presence of roads in any landscape is known to negatively influence terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Many tourist destinations and religious enclaves in developing countries are inside protected areas (PA). They are well connected by roads and attract thousands of visitors. The effect of such large human congregations inside PA on biodiversity is not well understood. Here, we address the impacts of increased vehicular traffic due to religious tourism on local fauna inside the Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve in south India. We sampled sections of surfaced roads for mortalities before and during an annual festival across three habitats in 2008 and 2009. Millipedes, anurans, insects and reptiles dominated the mortalities and mammals avoided the roads. A total of 1413 individuals belonging to 56 species were killed on roads. Nocturnal species constituted 50% of these mortalities and 64% of the species composition. There was a 299% increase in road mortalities and 648% increase in nocturnal species mortality during the festival compared to those before the festival. Mean mortalities varied across habitats and were highest in moist deciduous forests. Mortalities were influenced significantly by vehicular traffic rather than rainfall. Indications of a temporary local extinction were evident beyond certain threshold of vehicular movement. The number of vehicles plying on the roads was three times higher than the threshold level as determined in this study. The festival also had a spillover effect by causing increased mortalities on roads not connected to the temple. We discuss several strategies to minimize impacts due to large scale vehicular movement inside protected areas
Livelihood and potential conservation roles of wild edible herbs
Get PDFTraditional communal area resources are mostly described as open access resources and are frequently associated with over-utilization and poor management of the natural resources therein. Yet it is those’ unproductive and impoverished lands’ that support and supply diverse sources of important biological resources from which local people benefit. Over 80% of poor rural households are known to depend on Wild Edible Herbs (WEHs) in Indian forest fringe areas. As a result, the daily usage of WEHs is a significant, yet underestimated component of livelihoods, biodiversity, land use and land cover. This
underestimation results from the lack of monetization of the consumption of these resources at the household level, and the lack of formal markets, and hence they are not captured in national level accounting. However, they may account for a considerable proportion of the total biodiversity in natural and subsistence ecosystems
Is the Deccan Mahseer, Tor khudree (Sykes, 1839) (Pisces: Cyprinidae) fishery in the Western Ghats Hotspot sustainable? A participatory approach to stock assessment
No full textIn this paper, we use a participatory approach, to assess the suitability of data provided by local fishers for determining the demography and harvest rates of endangered species, exploited in remotely located small-scale fisheries. We specifically focus on the Deccan Mahseer (Tor khudree) in the Western Ghats Hotspot of Peninsular India. Using catch data provided by local fishers, we assessed the dynamics of exploited populations of T. khudree from six major fishing sites having varying patterns of harvest (commercial vs. subsistence) and protection status (protected vs. non protected area). Based on annual length frequency data, growth parameters of T. khudree were worked out as L∞ = 383.25–1202.25 mm total length and K = 0.12–0.23 year−1. The length frequency data of T. khudree individuals exploited from two fishing sites indicated that a high share of the catches throughout the year, are contributed by immature size classes. The total mortality coefficient (Z) was calculated to be between 0.35 year−1 and 0.95 year−1 and the fishing mortality coefficient (F) between 0.13 year and 0.8 year. The fishing mortality rate of T. khudree in Poringal Reservoir (0.8 year) may probably be one of the highest for any species of Mahseer in India, and points to the targeted indiscriminate exploitation by local fishers. Exploitation rate (E) (0.34–0.84 year−1) was higher than the expected optimal level (0.5) at all, but one fishing sites revealing that T. khudree populations are overfished in the study region. Further, a comparison of the exploitation rate at various fishing sites revealed no significant differences between commercial and subsistence harvest, as well as inside and outside protected areas. In spite of its ‘endangered’ status, T. khudree receives no protection even in Biodiversity Hotspots like the Western Ghats, and its fishery is under threat of an imminent collapse. Management guidelines for sustainable Mahseer fishery in the region are suggested
Systematfic status of Systomus rubrotfinctus Jerdon (Teleostefi: Cyprfinfidae) wfith notes on the Puntfius arulfius group of fishes
Get PDFSystomus rubrotfinctus Jerdon has long been consfidered a synonym of Puntfius arulfius. Examfinatfion of ‘P.arulfius’ collected from varfious parts of the Western Ghats revealed the presence of two dfistfinct specfies: and the fish consfidered by Day as ‘P. arulfius’ from Wayanad fis fin fact P. rubrotfinctus. Based on the colour pattern, morphometrfics and merfistfics, P. rubrotfinctus fis retrfieved from the synonymy of P. arulfius and redescrfibed. Puntfius rubrotfinctus can be dfistfingufished from P. arulfius by the unfique colour pattern consfistfing of three well-defined black blotches on the body, two scales hfigh and three scales wfide, as dfistfinct from the dfiffused blotches fin P. arulfius. It further dfiffers from P. arulfius fin havfing a shorter dorsal-to-hypural dfistance (49.8–54.6 % SL, vs. 57.3–57.6 % SL), a smaller finterorbfital wfidth (28.4–35.6 % HL, vs. 39.1–39.7 % HL) and a hfigher number of gfill rakers (10–11 fin the first gfill arch, vs. 8). Puntfius rubrotfinctus
fis wfide dfistrfibuted fin the Cauvery Rfiver and fits trfibutarfies fin the Western Ghats regfion across the states of Kerala, Karnataka and Tamfil Nadu. The results revalfidate the fidentfity of the ‘Puntfius filamentosus group’ of prevfious authors drawfing attentfion to the presence of fintermedfiate forms among thfis group, fin whfich natural hybrfids appear to occur, of whfich P. exclamatfio may be one
An eye on the forests
Get PDFForests cover a third of the world’s land area, harbour two-thirds of the earth’s biodiversity, and contain a major fraction of the world’s carbon, apart from providing major services such as the regulation of climate, soil and water cycles. In India, they hold a place of importance in terms of their social, cultural, and sacred values. Most forest areas in India are neither remote or pristine — over 70 per cent of our population lives in rural areas, many of these adjacent to forests. The pressure on our natural ecosystems is tremendous, while the need for maintaining forests for our future survivability is no less critical. How do we balance these dual pressures
Trends in land use and crop acreages in Karnataka and their repercussions
No full textAgriculture in India is going through a systemic crisis as
evidenced by the sector's sluggish growth rate and the
seemingly long phase of farmers' distress. Fingers have been
pointed in every direction while concrete reasoning for
agricultural distress seems to be lacking. Hence, other than
indebtedness and socio-economic stress which are cited as
proximate reasons behind farmers' suicides, we are not exactly
sure about what drives these reasons. In this context, one poorly
understood area in Indian agriculture is the impact of the
structural change in agricultural land use on the long term socioeconomic-
ecological viability of agriculture. We believe that the
trend analysis of land use and crop acreage changes provides
one of the missing linkages between agricultural policies and
their field level impacts on agriculture. This premise is based on
the facts that a. any policy related to agriculture if effective,
brings changes in productive use of agricultural and related
land use categories and b. Ecological, economic and social
problems in agriculture at the field level are strongly linked to
the current crop acreage or the changes associated with it. In
this background, the objective of this article is to analyse district
level trends in land use and crop acreages over a period of four
decades in order to help strengthen the linkage between various
land use changes and sustainability in production landscapes.
The result of this analysis indicates a diverse set of changes in
land use and crop acreages across the districts of Karnataka.
These changes have become much more volatile in the last
decade. These observations call for a micro level understanding
of the drivers of such developments in order to initiate policy
changes to address issues affecting agricultural growth
Advancing the science of taxonomy in India
Get PDFAs our scientific surmises on evolution, ecology, biodiversity and molecular biology are less robust than we assume, today we are losing species faster than they
are evolving or discovered. The implications are vast and serious for all human enterprises ranging from forestry to food production to medicine. High quality taxonomic research is vital for poverty reduction through sustainable agriculture, forestry, fisheries, combating insect pests and human diseases and for sustainable
national and international trade in biological products without endangering indigenous plant and animal species.
Though India is extremely biodiverse, with about a million species of living organisms, fewer than 100,000 of these have been formally described. Guided by the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals, India agreed to quantify and protect the existing biodiversity.
This has been critical in meeting targets and obligations of international treaties and conventions such as the Convention on Biological Diversity and national legislations such as the Biological Diversity Act. In observance of the International Year of Biodiversity 2010, under the aegis of the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) organized a National Consultation