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(February 18, 2021) Sumer Singh Bhatti, resident of village Sawanta near Rasla in Pokhran tehsil is an avid bird-lover and wildlife enthusiast. Being a herder by profession, he has been a major voice for the plight of wildlife being affected from the power distribution lines of solar and windmills set up in the middle of an important GIB landscape outside the Desert National Park Sanctuary (DNP) in Jaisalmer. The grasslands between Devikot, Sawanta, Rasla, Madasar, Sankada, Jaimla and many others used to be a ...

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(February 17, 2021) Counter Wildlife Trafficking Newsletter January 2021         News Scan (January 1-31)   Digapahandi forest officials seize 175 kg of tension, deer hide from auto-rickshaw | 1 January 2021   Forest officials of Digapahandi division have arrested the owner of an auto-rickshaw after venison weighing 175 kg and its hide was found inside the vehicle. Read more       Three poachers held in Bhitarkanika ...

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(February 16, 2021) Daasi, a voluntarily relocated woman of the Sollepura Relocation Centre, is an independent farmer who has been involved in sustainable agriculture for nearly a decade-and-a-half now. Apart from the three-acre land she received as a part of the government sponsored voluntary relocation scheme, she has taken two more acres on lease to grow mushrooms, coconut, areca and cardamom among other things. We are grateful for the generous support of Larsen & Toubro Infotech Lim...

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(January 20, 2021) By Anil KumarGolden city, Jaisalmer, is frequented by tourists every year for the magnificence of the Thar Desert landscape, and their needs are catered by the hospitality industry which has well laid out chains from budget to ultra-luxury hotels, resorts and camps. Sam Sand Dunes are a major attraction for lakhs of national and international tourists, and due to such a large influx of tourists, there is plenty of garbage and food-waste generated in the region which are detrimental to the wildli...

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(January 18, 2021) By Anil KumarWe, under our great Indian bustard (GIB) conservation project, are working in Jaisalmer district, Rajasthan, for the conservation of the species by making the local communities partners in our efforts. Both the bird and the livelihood of the rural populations in Jaisalmer are primarily dependent on grasslands for pastoralism, for their survival. While traditionally the grasslands or ‘Gochars’ were protected and considered to be the common property, with changing times an...

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(January 18, 2021) Counter Wildlife Trafficking Newsletter December 2020     News Scan (December 1-31) Five poachers held with live pangolin | 1 December 2020 A combined team of Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) and Shahdol Forest Division nabbed five poachers and rescued a live pangolin from them. The pangolin species is protected under Schedule-I of Wildlife Protection Act 1972.  Read more   UP Police arrests 3 poachers, seizes 100 kg of boar meat | 1 Dec...

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(January 15, 2021) Daasi, a woman from a forest community in Nagarahole National Park voluntarily relocated to the Sollepura resettlement center in HD Kote taluk in 2007, and has been independently farming ever since. Belonging to the Jenukuruba tribe, she is a mother of ten, and after her husband’s passing, had been eking a living by selling minor forests produce. Post voluntary relocation, she has been able to take up agricultural activities and has been harvesting a diverse range of crops – from mai...

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(January 11, 2021) By Anil KumarThere is an old saying: “If you want to change the environment, start planting a sapling. And if you want to change a generation, start educating the children”. Children are the torchbearers of any change in society if they are guided and motivated rightly from the beginning. The great Indian bustard (GIB) in the Thar landscape is facing existential crisis today, and Jaisalmer in Rajasthan is known to be the only breeding population left in the wild. Education is th...

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(January 07, 2021) The great Indian bustard (GIB) is a ‘Critically Endangered’ species under the IUCN Red List, and has the highest resident breeding population in Jaisalmer district of Rajasthan. It is believed that the total world population of the species in the wild is less than 100 individuals.The Thar landscape in western Rajasthan is home not only to the critically endangered GIB, but it also boasts the highest livestock population in Rajasthan and some of the best quality sheep wool is collecte...

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(December 17, 2020) This is to confirm that Ms. Prakriti Srivastava has left WCS-India. During her tenure with WCS-India, Ms. Srivastava had many outstanding conservation achievements. These include the creation of a program that supports the Government of India’s laudable efforts to counter illegal wildlife trafficking, the creation of a technical team to support efforts to conserve the Great Indian Bustard, the strengthening of efforts to support the livelihoods of communities living near critical wildlife ...

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