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Hangul Conservation Project
Synopsis
Wildlife Conservation Fund, founded in 2010, with the clear objective to save wildlife and wilderness across J&K. The state has a strategic position in the sub-continent given its landscape, geographical location, natural resources and rich biodiversity. Over the past few decades very less attention has been focused on the declining trend of wildlife. There is a great need of management interventions today than conservation of wildlife. However an effective conservation policy can have a far reaching impact on the wildlife of the state. Wildlife Conservation Fund proposes to undertake the conservation of wildlife in Jammu and Kashmir starting with its flagship program of Hangul Conservation. We aim to do so through community support, awareness and management of the wildlife. Together these activities change attitudes towards nature and help people imagine wildlife and humans living in harmony. WCF is committed to this mission because it is essential to the integrity of life support systems on Earth.
Wildlife Conservation Fund (WCF), intends to safeguard the environment for present & future generations by putting its best and ultimate resources in use.
Our organization even if working on various issues related to stability of ecology and environment of this state, however puts a focus on a vital and unavoidable part of it i.e. Wildlife conservation. Globally the identity of Wildlife of Jammu and Kashmir lies completely on a royal & magnificent wild animal which is called as Kashmir Stag (HANGUL), an endangered and endemic species. The present population of the animal is less than 200. The number is too small for a state animal.
We are worried about the fact that why the Hangul count of 200 in the beginning of this century remained incapable to raise its population. Even if it would have been propagated with a rate 05 new fawns (survived) per year, the population must have marked an addition of 50 new individuals in a decade (e.g. year 2000-2009). As per the population analysis of Hangul done by the concerned department which shows a fluctuating increase and decrease during the period, however, maintaining a certain level i.e. around 200 heads. These statistics altogether point toward the fact that either the rate of survival of these species is somehow equal to its mortality (natural/man induced) rate or we haven’t still adopted scientific and viable census/counting techniques.
Therefore, this organization is about to launch Hangul Conservation Project (HCP), which will try to resolve the issues related to threatened HANGUL species in Kashmir valley particularly in and around Dachigam National Park.
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Wetland Conservation Project
Synopsis
The project for the conservation of upland wetlands of Pampore was granted by the Wildlife Trust of India, New Delhi vide letter no. Ref/2011-2012/07 dated 07.09.2011 and endorsed by the Department of Wildlife Protection, J&K Govt. vide letter number WLP/Tech/2617-22/2011 dated 08.08.2011 in favour of Mr. Nadeem Qadri, Environmental Lawyer & Executive Director, WCF.
In this connection the team tried their level best to educate people through awareness camps and inculcated a sense of responsibility towards Wetland Conservation. Information about the wetland conservation was shared amongst locals. Volunteers who on their own, pledged to work for the conservation of the notified Wetlands of Pampore were selected. Responsibilities were shared among them and they were engaged to work together as a responsible team. The awareness programmes in schools have been postponed due to winter vacations.
In addition to this awareness camps were held in all the surrounding villages and people, mostly villagers were apprised of the ill effects of the domestic wastes on the flora and fauna. In these camps people alleged that improper drainage system and inappropriate sanitation systems were the primary reasons that they throw wastes into these water bodies.
During field visits it came to my notice that people had encroached into the wetland. Through our personal interventions and proper legal support from the revenue department, locals were asked not to violate any provisions of the wildlife and other laws. The sign boards have been placed in and around these wetlands for the information of the general public.
A Patrol cum Anti-Poaching Team has been formulated headed by myself and supported by Jalal-ud-Din Shah, Chief Coordinator of Wetland Conservation Project [WCP].
In order to receive daily updates a 24x7 Helpline & Control Room has been established at our Head Office at Pampore and daily monitoring is done from there. Information about poaching, if any, provided by any member from team of volunteers is quickly acted upon.
for more information kindly visit: www.wti.org.in
for more information kindly visit: www.wti.org.in
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Western Tragopan Conservation Project
Synopsis
The Western Tragopan (Tragopan melanocephalus) has now been categorized as Vulnerable (BirdLife International, 2011) and Jammu & Kashmir harbors its viable populations in some pockets both protected or otherwise that are widely distributed across the North West Himalaya in the biomes of Kashmir and Northern Jammu. In view of its significant population, the state has an important role to play in its conservation both at global and national level.
In late last century, a beginning was made to confirm its presence in a potential site and evaluate the population status. In continuation of the previous efforts the proposed project aims to establish the current status and distribution of Western tragopan in Jammu & Kashmir using the call count technique, coupled with assessment of various threats through a questionnaire survey.
Data will be collected on established survey plots which could be used as a purpose of long term monitoring of this important species. Based on the findings of the research, conservation recommendation will be made for the concerned authorities for the long term protection and management of this threatened species.
Wildlife Conservation Fund has undertaken the Western Tragopan Conservation Project, in Kashmir to monitor the status in the state.
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Snow Leopard Conservation Project
Synopsis
Known as the world’s most elusive feline, the Snow Leopard (Uncia uncia) lives in the mountains at the elevations of 3,000 to over 5000 m (10,000-17,000 feet). It prefers the steep, rugged terrain with cliffs, ridges, gullies, and slopes interspersed with rocky outcrops (Jackson and Hunter 1996). The total number of this endangered species left in the world is estimated at between 4,500-7,500 in 12 countries of Central Asia — Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekista (Fox 1994; Jackson and Hunter 1996). Snow Leopards are protected in most countries under national and international laws. The species has been listed in Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act (1972) of India and is listed as endangered in the 2008 International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Globally Threatened Species. They are listed in Appendix 1 of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, 1977) to check export and import of their body parts.
The Snow Leopard is the primary predator in high altitude areas of Jammu and Kashmir. Seen along the snow line, the Snow Leopard is not easily noticed because of its effective camouflage. The Snow Leopard's fur is a thick silvery gray which helps it conceal itself along the snowline and the rocks of the mountains, which are its natural habitat. The black rosettes and spots help the Snow Leopard blend into areas of sunlight and shadow and hide more effectively while stalking its prey.
Wildlife Conservation Fund is eagerly waiting for summers to start the preliminary survey of the Ladakh Area to know about the present status of Snow Leopard in the State.
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Markhor Conservation Project
Synopsis
The Markhor (Capra falconeri) is one of the largest and most magnificent members of the Caprinae family. Unfortunately mountain goat is also under threat of extinction across its range, which is largely within Pakistan’s borders. Markhor are critical to the landscape, both as one of few wild prey items in their range for large carnivores such as wolves, snow leopards and leopards and as a cultural icon both locally and as the “National Animal of Pakistan.”
Markhor are threatened by intense hunting pressure (now with modern weapons from local conflicts), warfare, deforestation, and increasing competition and disturbance from domestic livestock.
In response, this Markhor Conservation Project, implemented by the Wildlife Conservation Fund, is developing a community-based conservation initiative in the center of Markhor distribution in the State of Jammu & Kashmir to help protect this species and its habitat. Community-based conservation is the only way to protect Markhor across most of their range in Kashmir as they are primarily found in parts of the state where local people own and control their resources, including the wildlife.
Political boundaries and biological boundaries rarely coincide. In this program’s area, steep-sided mountains delineate valley watersheds that also function as local political boundaries between communities. However, Markhor are skilled mountain climbers, and do not define their home range by watershed – in fact, they almost always use a minimum of two watersheds (which for them simply constitutes both sides of a mountain). Thus even if a Markhor herd is protected by one community, the herd can still be under significant threat from a neighboring community. The creation of Markhor Conservancies will link different village committees together to develop coordinated management plans to monitor and protect the species.
Finally, while communities enthusiastically embrace this conservation approach, their capacity to do so is extremely limited. This program also builds local capacity to understand threats, options for mitigating and managing those threats, and monitoring and evaluating their work. Regular meetings and workshops will be held with each committee to train members in modern resource management skills. Individuals are identified and trained to become community wildlife rangers. Training includes accurate identification of wildlife species and signs of occurrence, proper survey methodology, note taking, and data recording. These data then act as monitoring and evaluation measures to assess success.
The goal of this project is to immediately contribute to the conservation of the Endangered Markhor in north Kashmir by building and supporting resource governance structures at the village level that will protect and sustainably manage the species. This program has now hit a tipping point - we work in few communities and there is unprecedented interest across the region from communities to join this program, start up their own resource committees, deploy rangers, and protect Markhor. This interest creates a real window of opportunity to “nail down” Markhor conservation across the most important part of their range.
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Tor putitora, the Putitor mahseer, Himalayan mahseer or golden mahseer, is an endangered species of cyprinid fish that is found in rapid streams, riverine pools and lakes in the Himalayan region and south Asia, ranging from Iran south to Sri Lanka, and east to Thailand. It is a popular gamefish, the largest species of mahseer, and can reach up to 2.75 m (9.0 ft) in length and 54 kg (119 lb) in weight, though most caught today are far smaller. It is threatened by habitat loss, habitat degradation and overfishing, and it is estimated that it already has declined by more than 50%.
The indigenous Mahaseer Tor putitora used to migrate in shoals upstream of gushing Jhelum waters to walur near its confluence with the river Jhelum for spawing, which has been hampered with the construction of Lower Jhelum Hydro Electric Project.
Wildlife Conservation Fund has already proposed that Mahseer be declared as State Fish.
