II Conference of the Western Ghats Forum

One day Planning Meeting for the December 2005 conference at SACON

September 5, 2005

SC Members who participated:

Dr Lalitha Vijayan (SACON)
Dr R J Ranjit Daniels (Care Earth & Coordinator, WGF)
Dr Gladwin Joseph (ATREE)
Dr Uma Shaanker (UAS)

Symposia organizers invited/participated:

Dr Nitin Rai (ATREE)
Dr Priya Darshan (ATREE)
Dr P Pramod (SACON)

Special invitees:

Dr V Ramakantha, IFS (State Forest Service College)
Dr Venugopal (Botanical Survey of India)

Other participants:

Dr Azeez (SACON)
Ravi Ramalingam (Student, ATREE)

Minutes of the meeting

The meeting started at around 12.00 hrs at SACON, Coimbatore. Dr Lalitha Vijayan (Director in Charge, SACON) welcomed the participants. The participants introduced themselves. This was followed by a brief outline by RJR Daniels about the forthcoming conference and the scope of the day's meeting. The following are the outcome of the meeting:

VENUE:

SACON will host this year's conference at the State Forest Service College (Forest campus).

The conference will be for two days (December 1 & 2, 2005) and organized around 7 interlinked symposia.

The following persons have agreed to organize the 7 symposia

Dr Jagdish Krishnaswamy (ATREE and WCS-India)
Dr P Pramod (SACON)
Dr Nitin Rai (ATREE)
Dr R Vasudeva (College of Forestry, UAS, Dharwad)
Dr Rene M Borges (CES, IISC) and/or Dr Soubadra Devy (ATREE)
Dr Priyadarsanan (ATREE)
Dr R J Ranjit Daniels (Care Earth)

Each symposium will have 4 lectures of 15 mins each and a general panel discussion for 30 mins. Panelists could be the invited speakers. Each symposium will be chaired by the respective organizers.

Keynote speakers to be decided by Dr. Uma Shaanker and Dr. Lalita Vijayan

PROGRAM:

Dec 1

9:30 -10:00 Registration
10:00-11:00 Inauguration
11.00-11.15 Tea
11:15-11:45 Keynote speech 1 - The role and need of science in management - TBC
11:45-13:15 Symposium 1 - Pollination Services - (Dr. Renee Borges, CES to be confirmed (TBC) or Dr. Soubadra Devy, ATREE (TBC))
13:15-14:00 Lunch
14:00-15:30 Symposium 2 - Invertebrates and conservation management (Dr. Priyadarsanan, ATREE)
15:30 - 15:45 Tea
15:45 - 17:15 Symposium 3 - Water and forests - (Dr.Jagdish Krishnaswamy, ATREE and WCS India)
17:15 - 18:00 Keynote speech 2 - Policy imperatives for the Western Ghats - TBC
19:00 - 20:30 Cultural program - Arranged by Dr P Pramod (SACON)

Dec 2

9:30-11:00 Symposium 4 - Species Recovery and Restoration - (Dr. R Vasudeva, College of Forestry, Univ. of Dharwad).
11.00-11.15 Tea
11:15-12:45 Symposium 5 - Conservation and Livelihoods - (Dr. Nitin Rai and Jeganathan, FRLHT)
12:45-13:30 Lunch
13:30-15:00 Symposium 6 - Conservation Education - (Dr. Pramod, SACON)
15:00-15:15 Tea
15:15-17:00 Symposium 7 - Special session on Forest Management - How do we integrate research and education with management of the Western Ghats? (Dr. Ranjit Daniels - Care Earth).

REGISTRATION:

Papers are hereby invited for the Conference. One-page abstracts may be sent to the Director SACON (salimali@vsnl.com) electronically, clearly indicating the relevant symposium not later than October 21, 2005. The registration fee for participation/paper presentation in the Conference is Rs 500/- and Rs 200/- per person for non-students and students respectively.

OUTPUTS:

Proceedings of abstracts and summary of recommendations will be published by the WG Forum organizers. This will be available on the website.

2nd National Conference of the Western Ghats Forum

The Western Ghats Forum was initiated during September 2002 with the intention to promote interaction and collaboration among various organizations and individuals working in and with a stake in the Western Ghats. The main goal of the forum was to "Promote conservation of biodiversity, subsuming water, soil and cultural diversity of the Western Ghats to ensure long-term ecological and livelihood security".

With this goal in mind the 2nd National Conference of the Western Ghats Forum was organized by Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON) during 1st and 2nd December 2005 at State Forest Service College, Coimbatore. The theme of the conference was "Integrating Science and Management of Biodiversity in the Western Ghats" and it had the following seven symposia:

Totally 55 abstracts were received, out of which 53 abstracts were accepted. The book of abstracts was prepared and circulated. In each symposium six papers were presented orally and others as posters. There were about 200 participants including scientists and managers.

In the first day, the presidential address was by Mr. A.C. Lakshmana, I.F.S, (Retd), Former secretary to Govt. of Karnataka and the Key note address by Dr. V.S. Vijayan, Founder Director of SACON on "Research needs for the Western Ghtas" which was followed by the first four symposia. In the evening cultural programme by the school children from Coimbatore was organized by Dr. P. Pramod, Nature Education Officer, SACON.

In the second day keynote address was given by Dr. Sathis Chandran Nair, INTACH on "Policy imperatives for the Western Ghtas" which was followed by the next three symposia and later the Forest officials and Scientists had a panel discussion. In the evening valedictory function was held with the concluding remarks and the valedictory lecture was given by Dr. J R B Alfred, Director, Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata.

Photos by three wildlife photographers and paintings by school children of Coimbatore were exhibited supported by the Dept. of Environment, Govt. of Tamil Nadu. The conference was funded mainly by the MoEF and partly by ATREE with support from the Arghyam Foundation, The Ford Foundation and Sir Dorabji Trust.

Recommendations

1. Documentation of the natural resources of the Western Ghats, using advanced space technology and field techniques, and monitoring of the same at a regular interval
2. Micro level resource maps of the entire range of the Ghats
3. Review of the existing PAs (Protected Areas) in the light of the studies and recommendations of Rodgers and Pawar (1988), BNHS's recommendations for IBAs (Important Bird Areas) and ATREE's study on KBAs (Key Biodiversity Areas)
4. Quantitative study of the flora and fauna and, detailed investigations on the ecological requirements of the endemic and threatened species.
5. Studies and long - term monitoring of the ecosystem structure and processes.
6. Monitoring ecological succession in the abandoned plantations and estates and, also evaluation of the ecological changes in the various plantations
7. Assessment and monitoring of the ecological changes caused by the invasive alien species
8. Impacts of development projects on the flora, fauna and the general ecology of the area
9. Assessment and monitoring of pollution of various origin and its impact on the ecosystem and ultimately on man
10. Evaluation of the Socioeconomics of the people living in and around the PAs, and man-animal conflicts and eco-corridors.
11. Promotion and strengthening of participatory management of PAs.
12. Formulation of a master plan for the land use in the Western Ghats.
13. Formulation of a comprehensive plan for the restoration, maintenance and preservation of the life support system of the area
14. Ensure stringent measures for the execution of existing laws, review and revision, to safeguard a healthy environment.
15. Species recovery programme to focus on critically endangered species
16. Establish a working group for the less known invertebrates and formulate strategies for their conservation
17. Studies on the ecosystem services and case studies to demonstrate the economic loss due to the loss of forests and other ecosystems
18. Documentation and monitoring of the hydrology of the Western Ghats, as it serves as the watershed for the peninsular India,
19. Sensitize students and the public on the values of nature and the imperatives to conserve them
20. Establishment of a Western Ghats Authority with representatives from the States, Research Institutions and NGOs from all the States covering the Western Ghats to coordinate the activities and liaise with various stakeholders.