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Environment & ForestsA new Caecilian (legless amphibian) described from Keri village Sattari GoaDr. G K Bhatt, K.P.Dinesh, P. Prashant, Nirmal Kulkarni. The research team led by Dr. Gopalakrishna Bhat, Professor of Zoology, M.G.M.College, Udupi, Karnataka and consisting of Dinesh K.P. from the Zoological Survey of India, Nirmal Kulkarni, Goan researcher working in the Mahadayi region and Prashanth P. of the Agumbe Rainforest Research Station. Dr. Bhat and his team encountered two individuals of this animal in 2004 and the team was in search for many more individuals to confirm that they are new to science. Their continuous field visits and surveys to the sites from 2004 to 2006 in the Monsoons and thereafter ultimately enabled them to find and study few more individuals in this year. Where goes the Olive Ridley?From the tracks they discovered on the sands of Morjim Bay later that morning, forestry officials in Goa knew the endangered turtle had a traumatic nocturnal homecoming. After riding in on the high tide before dawn on December 15, the shortsighted Olive Ridley crept up the beach where it was born, once deserted but now one of India's most popular, in search of a secluded spot to unload its precious cargo. The SIXTH ExtinctionVirginia Morell The first orange rays of the sun are just beginning to touch the saw grass prairie of Everglades National Park in Florida when our helicopter pilot lifts off from a small airport nearby. He turns low over the park, skimming above the gray-green grasses and morning mist. Here and there small stands of pencil-thin native slash pine show dark green against the pale grasslands. But itâs the open marshy prairie that we seek, home to the endangered Cape Sable seaside sparrow. Heading south, the pilot searches for a particular point on a transect map, then banks and flies due west. Twenty minutes later weâre on the ground. âHereâs your first spot,â he says over the radio to Stuart Pimm, the conservation biologist seated beside me in the back. In front another biologist, Sonny Bass, gives us the thumbs-up sign. Pimm and I, dressed in olive green flight suits and white helmets, jump into the wet marsh and run a short way from the helicopter. Biodiversity HotspotsBIODIVERSITY Extinction is the gravest aspect of the biodiversity crisis: it is irreversible. While extinction is a natural process, human impacts have elevated the rate of extinction by at least a thousand, possibly several thousand, times the natural rate. Mass extinctions of this magnitude have only occurred five times in the history of our planet; the last brought the end of the dinosaur age. Types of Forests found in GoaThe forests of Goa are typical of the Western Ghats (Southern Maharashtra and Karnataka). There is diversity in the forests due to the variation in altitude, aspect, soil characters, slope etc. As per Champion and Seth (1968) Classification of Forest types of India, the forests of Goa fall in the following types:- Mangroves, Forests of the Tide
Mangroves live life on the edge. With one foot on land and one in the sea, these botanical amphibians occupy a zone of desiccating heat, choking mud, and salt levels that would kill an ordinary plant within hours. Yet the forests mangroves form are among the most productive and biologically complex ecosystems on Earth. Birds roost in the canopy, shellfish attach themselves to the roots, and snakes and crocodiles come to hunt. Mangroves provide nursery grounds for fish; a food source for monkeys, deer, tree-climbing crabs, even kangaroos; and a nectar source for bats and honeybees.
Mangroves of Goa(A) DISTRIBUTION OF SPECIES
Coastal Regulation ZoneDEFINITION The Coastal regulation zone is the boundary from the high tide line upto 500m in the land -ward area between the low tide line and high tide line. In the case of rivers, creeks and backwaters, the distance from the high tide level shall apply to both sides and this distance shall not be less than 100 meters or the width of the creek, river or backwater whichever is less.( Ministry of Environment and Forests Notification, Feb 1994).There are four type of category in coastal regulation zone . The Indian Forest Act, 1927The Indian Forest Act, 1927 was enacted in the year 1927 to consolidate and reserve the areas having forest cover, or significant wildlife, to regulate movement and transit of forest produce, and duty leviable on timber and other forest produce. It also defines the procedure to be followed for declaring an area to be a Reserved Forest, a Protected Forest or a Village Forest. It defines what is a forest offence, what are the acts prohibited inside a Reserved Forest, and penalties leviable on violation of the provisions of the Act. The Wild Life (Protection) Act,1972The Act provides for the protection of Wild animals, birds and plants and for matters connected therewith or ancillary or incidental thereto. It extends to the whole of India, except the State of Jammu and Kashmir Download The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 - PDF 369KB |
From the Discussion ForumCALL TO ACTION – Goa’s Identity. Mar 20, 08 | ARWIN Goa's Identity Movement Apr 21, 08 | ARWIN Proposal to Preserve Goan Culture, Land & Identity to Goa Government. Jan 18, 08 | ARWIN I'm British and I think Goa should be saved for Goans!! Apr 15, 08 | richie Goa's Liberation Day Apr 15, 08 | ARWIN
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As per census by COE (1983), 60 exclusive species of 16 families and 23 non-exclusive species were recorded. UNESCO (1986) confirmed 65 species of true mangroves all over the world while Tomlison (1986) agreed to only 48 mangrove species and Saenger et al (1983) reported 60 species, which are recognized as true mangroves in the list of IUCN. 44 species have been documented in Asia, out of which, 32 are found in India, 13 species on the west coast and 23 species on the east coast. Andaman & Nicobar is quite rich in number of species having about 27 number of species.