Latest news with #KarnatakaForestDepartment
New Indian Express
5 days ago
- General
- New Indian Express
Karnataka forest department to address cattle grazing in MM Hills with CSR funds
BENGALURU: To address the issue of cattle grazing inside forests, particularly in Male Mahadeshwara Hills Wildlife Sanctuary, the Karnataka Forest Department is taking the CSR fund route to empower farmers. As a pilot project, 10 families residing around MM Hills have been selected, and given hybrid cattle breeds like Jersey and Holstein Friesian for dairy activities. They have also been made to sign an undertaking that they will not take their cattle for grazing inside forests, and if found doing so, action will be initiated against them under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and the Forest Act. The families selected worked as labourers for Tamil Nadu cattle owners, who would take cattle for grazing inside the forest, said former deputy conservator of forests, MM Hills, G Santosh Kumar, who was posted in MM Hills when the project started. The pilot project has been a success so far. Other farmers are also showing interest, after seeing the chosen families earn around Rs 600 daily by selling milk and fodder. 'We are also working to stop the entire chain of breeding and rearing cattle in and around Karnataka forests and selling them at Erode cattle fair in Tamil Nadu and to Kerala's beef market. We are also working with farmer associations to adopt this proposal, where fodder is also being provided under the CSR initiative. Talks are under way with many other corporate firms to divert CSR funds to MM Hills,' a forest official said. The issue of cattle grazing inside MM Hills became a matter of concern after the recent death of a tigress and her four cubs due to poisoning. While the pilot was being done on the ground for a while, it was formally announced on July 16. It has been initiated at a time when the directives of Forest Minister Eshwar B Khandre to clear all cattle pens from inside the forest are yet to be fully implemented on the ground. Deputy Conservator of Forests, MM Hills, B Bhaskar said talks are on with various milk unions in Karnataka to create a milk route to help these farmers. The recent veterinary department survey showed that there are over 30,000 cattle and close to 1,500 families that work as labourers to Tamil Nadu cattle owners in and around MM Hills in Hannur taluk.
The Hindu
15-07-2025
- Science
- The Hindu
Forest Department and IISc sign MoU to advance science-based conservation
In order to advance science-based conservation of the Asian elephant (elephas maximus), the Karnataka Forest Department and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) on Tuesday signed a MoU to implement a five-year collaborative project titled 'Landscape-Level Management of the Asian Elephant in the Mysore Elephant Reserve'. The collaboration aims to generate a robust scientific foundation for mitigating human-elephant conflict and ensuring long-term conservation of the Asian elephants across Karnataka's ecologically sensitive and conflict-prone regions. Integrated technology The project will integrate technologies such as satellite telemetry, camera traps, acoustic sensors, and agent-based models to inform targeted interventions and improve coexistence outcomes. The project will address six core objectives — strengthening habitat connectivity: mapping elephant corridors and evaluating barriers to movement using satellite telemetry, camera traps, and GIS models; monitoring demographic and physiological health: assessing population dynamics, body condition, and stress indicators through non-invasive sampling (e.g. dung hormone assays); understanding behaviour and conflict propensity: studying crop-raiding patterns, social learning, and identifying high-conflict individuals through social network analysis; elephant communication and acoustic monitoring: cataloguing elephant vocalisations, particularly in conflict contexts, to develop sound-based deterrents and warning systems; predictive modelling of conflict hotspots: integrating ecological and behavioural data to forecast future HEC zones under various land-use scenarios, and developing a 10-year Strategic management plan: creating a conflict mitigation toolbox (CMT) and strategic action plan (SAP) that informs policy and practice. ₹4.74 crore project The project will be executed between 2025–2029 and the total financial outlay is ₹4.74 crore, which will be funded by the Forest Department. Besides there would be biannual review meetings, annual reports, and a real-time data dashboard and the field sites will be spread across over 15 forest divisions and protected areas in southern Karnataka. 'Modern technology will be used to protect elephant corridors and habitats in order to control the increasing elephant-human conflict in the State and protect the crops of farmers on the edge of the forest areas,' said Environment Minister Eshwar Khandre. He further said that elephant-human conflict is common in Hassan and Kodagu, causing loss of life and crop damage, and the department is taking all possible steps to control it.
The Hindu
13-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Slow processing, high pendency plague wildlife conflict compensation claims in Mysuru Circle
The government's avowed policy of taking local community into confidence in wildlife conservation issues is undermined by ground realities of slow processing and high backlog of compensation claims arising out of human-animal conlfict, in Mysuru circle. This is evident in the dashboard of the Karnataka Forest Department as the data for 2024-25 presents a troubling picture of delays and rejections that tests the patience of the local community living on the forest fringes. And what is true for Mysuru circle is also true for rest of the State. During 2024-25, as many as 5,705 cases were reported from the Mysuru circle, of which 3,219 cases are still pending, while only 2,326 cases were approved. This means almost 56% of the cases are yet to be cleared, while 160 cases have been rejected and hence denied compensation. Also, ex-gratia sanctioned during the same period is ₹1.9 crore, while the quantum of amount pending by way of ex-gratia is ₹2.49 crore. This delay is baffling as a significant damage caused by wild animals, especially elephants and leopards, puts the local community under financial and economic distress, according to wildlife conservationists. Besides, timely payment of compensation is imperative to prevent 'revenge killings' and take the local community living along the forest fringes into confidence, the activists added. The data on time taken to process the cases clearly highlights the delay in compensation payments and supports farmers' claims that the assistance is often 'too little, too late'. Only 46 cases were processed within 30 days, and 227 cases were processed between 30 and 60 days. There were 2,053 cases that took more than 60 days for processing and reinforces the allegations of the local farmers that they are forced to make repeated visits to the Forest Department offices for getting the compensation approved. The statistics is a stark reminder that only a handful of cases are timely settled while a majority are stuck in the maze of bureaucratic procedures adding to delays. This could be due to procedural inefficiency, lack of adequate staff leading to delay field verification, according to activists. The delay, according to conservationist, also deepens the mistrust between the Forest Department and the local community whose support is imperative in conservation of wildlife and forests. Among the species involved, elephants and leopards accounted for maximum number of conflict incidents. Out of 5,705 incidents in Mysuru circle, 3,986 incidents involved elephants. Leopards came second in the list and accounted for 1,343 conflict cases, while there were 220 cases involving the tigers. Wild boars, which are cited as an excuse for laying snares and illegal tapping of power, accounted for 112 cases. Other wild animals like spotted deer, sloth bears, and Indian foxes were also involved in scattered incidents, but the number of conflict cases were in single digits in the Mysuru circle. The forest range that reported maximum number of conflicts included Omkara, Hediyala, N. Begur, Nugu, Moliyuru, H.D. Kote, Kundukere, Maddur, to name a few. There are also concerns that the high number of incidents involving elephants and leopards was also a reflection of habitat disturbance and degrading forests forcing the animals closer to human habitation.
The Hindu
05-07-2025
- Science
- The Hindu
What India must get right
How do you know that a Russell's viper is knocked out from the anaesthetic it has been given, since snakes don't have eyelids that would helpfully close? You monitor the tail, always the last to stop moving, explains Lisa Gonsalves, curator at Karnataka-based The Liana Trust, a non-profit working on human-snake co-existence. She calmly strokes the sedated, highly venomous snake stretched out on a white table, its top half in a transparent tube. Once the tail stops twitching, Gonsalves and Gerard 'Gerry' Martin, herpetologist and founder of the Trust, move swiftly to de-worm, measure and weigh the snake. The next step is heart-stopping. Martin starts blowing gently into the mouth of the Russell's viper — the species responsible for the highest number of snakebite fatalities in India — through a straw-like instrument. This, he explains, is to flush out the anaesthetic. Soon enough, the snake starts to revive. The rescued viper is now part of a first-of-its-kind, research-based serpentarium near Hunsur, about 200 kilometres from Bengaluru, which aims to research and improve the way antivenom is made in India and study the behaviour of snakes, which Martin says can be 'a nightmare' in the wild. 'Snakes are difficult to work with. We can't study them using camera traps like with other species, for instance.' The serpentarium houses seven venomous species and is set to have up to 400 snakes, with each individual in a separate enclosure designed to replicate its natural habitat to the extent possible, with lush flora and small pools of water in some, and enclosures with basking lights for species like the Russell's viper, which likes the warmth of the sun in cooler weather. Set up by The Liana Trust with the Karnataka Forest Department, the serpentarium is one of several recent initiatives to mitigate the impact of human-snakebite conflict — responsible for the most number of human fatalities in human-wildlife conflict, yet long neglected. These include India's first National Action Plan on snakebites (launched a year ago), developing better alternatives to antivenom, multiple serpentariums, including one that will incubate startups working on antivenom, and apps for snake rescue. All these and more are aimed at mitigating a public health issue which, till recently, did not get the attention it deserved. And which climate change is only set to exacerbate. A 2024 paper in The Lancet Planetary Health on how climate change will impact the distribution of venomous snakes predicts that while some areas such as the Amazon would see species loss, others like India with extensive agricultural area would see an increase in areas climatically suitable for snakes. Combined with India's large share of low-income and rural population, this would increase vulnerability to snake bite in a country that is already considered the snakebite capital of the world. KNOW YOUR VIPER India has more than 310 species of snakes. Of these, 66 are labelled venomous or mildly venomous. The 'Big Four' were considered responsible for most venomous bites in the country, but newer studies show other species also contribute to the snakebite burden, particularly in the Northeast. Poor man's problem Tackling snakebite envenoming — the technical term for the condition caused by the toxins in the bite of a venomous snake — poses a complex public health challenge which requires a sustained, multi-disciplinary endeavour. In India, efforts to tackle snakebite are further complicated by the lack of data around it. Many victims die before reaching a hospital so no agency could capture the true burden, says Ravikar Ralph, professor, Clinical Toxicology Unit, at Vellore's Christian Medical College. Even when the deaths occur in hospitals, they would not necessarily be recorded with government authorities since snakebite was not a notifiable disease until recently. Underpinning the invisibilising of the issue is the fact that victims typically live in rural areas and belong to low-income sections. 'We have six deaths every hour. But snakebite is a poor person's problem so it gets little attention,' says Sumanth Bindumadhav, director of wildlife protection at the non-profit, Humane Society International India. Additionally, the WHO estimates that while 81,410 to 1,37,880 people die each year because of snake bites globally, it also causes around three times as many amputations and other disabilities. Survivors also have to struggle with the financial impact, from the cost of treatment of conditions such as kidney damage and amputation caused by snakebite, to loss of income, which can be debilitating for low-income families. 'We need to acknowledge that humans and snakes will always share space. There will be co-existence, so it's very important to figure out how.'Sumanth BindumadhavDirector, Humane Society International India Ramesh M. (name changed on request), a native of Hunsur, is one such survivor. When the 33-year-old stepped out of his house late one evening to move a big drum of water barefoot, a snake nestled underneath darted out and bit him. Poor first-aid, delays in treatment, and an infected wound meant he could not return to his factory job in Bengaluru for three months. When he recovered, the company would not take him back. He now works in a hardware store back home and as a farm labourer. 'From a salary of ₹35,000, his monthly earnings have now dipped to about ₹12,000. He has to support his family of four with it and also repay the loans he took for the snakebite treatment,' says Bindumadhav. Gap in data The scale of India's burden came to light with the Million Death Study, first published in 2011. It estimated that India sees about 58,000 deaths a year, close to half the global toll. In contrast, the Central Bureau of Health Intelligence pegs snakebite deaths at 2,000 a year. This lack of accurate data is now starting to get plugged, with the country's first National Action Plan for Prevention and Control of Snakebite Envenoming in India (NAPSE), launched in March 2024, advising all states to make snakebite a notifiable disease. Karnataka had already done so in February 2024 while a few others like Tamil Nadu and Meghalaya began later in the year. 'It's one of the biggest impacts of the national action plan. This will answer a lot of our questions vis-a-vis deaths, bites, etc,' says Jaideep Menon of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham in Kerala. Lethal strike Snakebite kills about 58,000 people a year in India, close to half the global total. Snakebite deaths are more common (48%) during the southwest monsoon (June-September) Russell's viper contributes to most deaths at 43%, followed by unknown species (21%), krait (18%), and cobra (12%). (Source: WHO; Indian Million Death Study; Trends in snakebite deaths in India, 2020) Dr. Menon began studying snakebite deaths in the early 2000s, and is separately leading an Indian Council of Medical Research survey on the incidence, mortality, morbidity and socio-economic burden of snakebites across 14 states, another first-of-its-kind effort which will improve understanding of the issue. Close to 70% of snakebite deaths occur in nine states, including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, according to a 2020 study on trends in snakebite deaths in India. However, it's yet to be declared a notifiable disease in these high-burden states. In Madhya Pradesh, it is treated as a 'local tragedy', and compensation is disbursed for loss of life. The Uttar Pradesh government, in 2021, declared deaths due to snake bites as a state calamity following a significant number of fatalities recorded between 2016 and 2021. Families of victims are eligible for a compensation of ₹4 lakh, which must be provided within seven days of the death. Confluence of factors While snakebite envenoming is a global challenge, with the World Health Organization declaring it a neglected tropical disease in 2017, the number of deaths and cases of long-term disability are higher in India due to multiple factors. 'We have an extraordinary number of people coexisting closely with snakes, especially in rural and semi-rural areas,' says Gnaneswar Ch., project lead-snakebite mitigation at The Madras Crocodile Bank Trust & Centre For Herpetology in Tamil Nadu. 'Several parts of Africa have more venomous snakes than India. But the numbers [of envenoming] are not as high because of lower population density.' Secondly, medical treatment is often delayed, either due to lack of access to healthcare facilities in rural areas, poor availability of anti-venom or, as it often happens, because patients first approach traditional healers. Gnaneswar recalls a recent incident where a farmer from Kanchipuram who was bitten by a Russell's viper first went to a faith healer. 'The healer gave him something to put in his mouth, something to put in his eyes, then took him to the spot where he was bitten and conducted a ritual, all of which took an hour-and-a-half. When the victim lost consciousness, the healer said it was not his responsibility,' he says. The farmer was finally rushed to the hospital but by the time he reached, he was brain dead. Even when the patient manages to reach a healthcare facility in time, other complications can arise. Administering antivenom quickly is the universal life-saving treatment for snakebite envenoming. But because antivenom is made of antibodies generated in an animal, it can trigger adverse allergic reactions in humans, which can sometimes be severe, even life-threatening. 'The fear of developing an allergic reaction is heightened in a small hospital in the periphery,' says Dr. Ralph. Doctors then end up referring patients to larger facilities, which means precious time is lost. Many primary health centres (PHCs) also don't have qualified doctors, says Priyanka Kadam, founder of Mumbai-based not-for-profit Snakebite Healing and Education Society (SHE-India). When Dr. Sadanand and Dr. Pallavi Raut opened their clinic in Narayangaon in Maharashtra in the mid-90s after the former witnessed an eight-year-old girl lose her life to snakebite, these issues were rampant. 'Doctors at PHCs and medical centres in our area were initially reluctant to give antivenom because of the risk of anaphylaxis and death,' says Dr. Sadanand. But years of working with communities, building awareness and giving training has made a difference in the area, he says, underlining the importance of scaling these measures. 'Critical patients now come to us within 20 minutes and the survival rate is 100%.' Kadam says her organisation is training ASHAs (accredited social health activists) in places like Bastar in Chhattisgarh to spread the message that victims must immediately go to the hospital. One size doesn't fit all Antivenom everywhere is made using the same century-old method: by injecting tiny doses of venom into a large animal like a horse and then using the antibodies that are generated. Antivenom can be monovalent, targeting a single species, or polyvalent, for multiple species. In India, antivenom is made using the venom of four species considered responsible for most cases of envenoming. Termed the 'Big Four', these are the common krait, the Indian cobra, the Russell's viper and the saw-scaled viper. But this approach is now being questioned, particularly since there are regions where other venomous species dominate and where the current antivenom is less effective, as multiple studies have now shown. Venom also varies within species, depending on age and climatic conditions, recent research has shown. A study conducted among snakebite victims in Rajasthan published in January this year found poor antivenom response, because the venom of the saw-scaled viper in the region was more potent than its counterpart in Tamil Nadu, from where much of the country's venom is sourced. One solution is to have antivenoms for different regions instead of a single one for the whole country, an approach the national action plan now recommends. Different research groups are working on this, including the Evolutionary Venomics Lab at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru, which has been testing regional antivenoms for western India with an antivenom manufacturer. Results are set to be published soon. Another group in Tezpur University is working on an antivenom for the Northeast. Quality issues But Indian antivenom also suffers from quality issues. At present, the bulk of venom is collected by the Irulas, a marginalised tribal community in Tamil Nadu historically skilled at catching snakes. With the help of conservationist Romulus Whitaker, they formed the Irula Snake Catchers' Industrial Cooperative Society and are today licensed to catch snakes for venom. The Irulas keep the captive reptiles in pots in sand pits, milk them for venom to sell to manufacturers, and then release the snakes back into the wild. However, this process does not adhere to WHO protocols and good manufacturing practices, which impacts the venom quality, says Gnaneswar. Humane Society's Bindumadhav says there is a big policy gap in the fact that the antivenom used in India has never undergone clinical trials and there are no minimum quality standards. This is one of the issues The Liana Trust's new serpentarium aims to tackle, by taking venom from snakes housed in the facility in controlled, hygienic conditions to be supplied to antivenom manufacturers for free. 'This will set a precedent for region-specific antivenom centres. It will also help us understand the local venom landscape,' says Martin. Tamil Nadu, too, is considering setting up a modern serpentarium, though Gnaneswar says progress has been slow. The most ambitious of the new facilities will be the Venom Institute for Snakebite Health and Advanced Medicine (VISHAM) coming up in Bengaluru, funded by the Karnataka government and developed in collaboration with the Evolutionary Venomics Lab (EVL) at an initial cost of ₹7 crore. Kartik Sunagar, associate professor at IISc and head of EVL, says the serpentarium aims to be one of the best globally, housing species from across India, and producing high-quality venom. 'We will also have labs for collaborative research with manufacturers and an incubation centre that will house startups interested in working on antivenoms,' says Sunagar. Modernising treatment Critically, Sunagar and his team are also working on bringing snakebite treatment into the 21st century. Last year, scientists at EVL along with researchers at Scripps Institute in the U.S .and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine published their discovery of a new recombinant antibody (produced using genetic engineering; it was tested and selected from a 'library' of millions of lab-made antibodies), which can neutralise a whole group of toxins across multiple species, holding out promise of a universal or at least pan-continental antivenom. While progress will take time, Sunagar's team is working on other synthetic antibodies specifically against Indian snakes. Since these antibodies are not generated in animals, it will also minimise adverse reactions. 'Regional antivenoms can at best be a stop-gap solution — we need modern solutions, which will be more effective,' says Sunagar. The other promising avenue is repurposing existing drugs such as varespladib and marimastat, found to be potent inhibitors of specific toxins in snake venom. Success would mean a drug that can be taken orally as opposed to antivenom given intravenously in a healthcare setting. This will at the very least buy victims time to reach a hospital. U.S.-based Ophirex is currently conducting trials in India and the U.S. Sunagar is separately set to publish results of trials of orally-administered drugs in Russell's viper bites, which successfully neutralised venom in mice. A diagnostic test to identify a Russell's viper bite, which would help in targeted treatment, is also in the works. Rescue app Others are using technology to mitigate the conflict between snakes and humans. For instance, the Sarpa (short for Snake Awareness Rescue and Protection App) app, which has enabled the rescue of 50,000 snakes in Kerala, connects the closest snake rescuer with those who need one, much like an Uber or Ola connects passengers to taxi drivers. Says founder Jose Louies, who is also CEO of Wildlife Trust of India, 'We can keep track of what species we've found in which season, in an area. We can also generate predictive data.' Other states have expressed interest in replicating this model, adds Louies, before cautioning that apps should not be seen as a magic bullet. 'It's the system and networks behind it that make it work.' The best mitigation, says conservationist Whitaker, is prevention. But that's difficult in India, where people work in fields barefoot and with bare hands, and step out at night without a flashlight. 'Education and awareness are key. The government would only have to spend a fraction of what it ends up paying as compensation,' he suggests. Being at the frontlines of human-snake conflict, Martin says the challenges often seem formidable. 'But the momentum is growing and the problem is getting acknowledged. Every step forward is heartening,' he says. We need to acknowledge that humans and snakes will always share space, adds Bindumadhav. 'There will be coexistence, so it's very important to figure out how.' The question gathers urgency if India is to meet the WHO target of halving snakebite mortality by 2030 and adapt to the impact of climate change. With inputs from Mehul Malpani (Madhya Pradesh) and Mayank Kumar (Uttar Pradesh). The Bengaluru-based independent journalist writes on gender, labour, ecology and business.
New Indian Express
04-07-2025
- General
- New Indian Express
Encroached land in Bukkapatna sanctuary recovered
BENGALURU: The Karnataka Forest Department on Thursday recovered 300 acres of encroached land in Bukkapatna Chinkara Wildlife Sanctuary in Tumakuru district. The land recovered is in Survey No. 46 in Muthugadahalli Ambarpur and was declared as forest land in 1926 under the Forest Rights Act. According to forest department records, this is the largest recovery of forest land in recent times. On June 23, the forest department recovered 120 acres of forest land in Kadugodi plantation worth Rs 4,000 crore. However, the highest ever forest land recovery was in 2013—600 acres in Kolar, followed by 355 acres in Mallur in 2014. Conservator of Forests V Yedukondalu told The New Indian Express that the land was illegally granted to villagers by revenue department officials over the last 30 years. Though people were not residing there, agricultural activities had been taken up for years. Farmers were growing coconut, cotton, arecanut, cowpea, and other crops. 'Following the recently issued Lokayukta directives and Supreme Court and Karnataka High Court orders, we asked the revenue department officials of the division to cancel the illegal records, and 64(A) proceedings were initiated (under Section 64(A) of the Karnataka Forest Act of 1963, and the eviction notice is issued to people illegally occupying land before recovering the land). Documents that we obtained showed that most of the land was illegally occupied, and on Thursday, the entire land parcel was recovered,' he said. Forest department officials said that the exercise of digging pits to lay trenches and undertake plantations suitable for blackbucks has started. 'The sanctuary (also known as the Black Buck Sanctuary, founded in 2019) is spread across 36,000 acres and includes three reserve forests. There are many more land parcels around the forest division that are also being recovered. The exercise has started,' Yedukondalu said.
