The Corbett Foundation Newsletter

DISEASE CONTROL AT THE LIVESTOCK-WILDLIFE INTERFACE

TCF was urgently contacted by residents of Sukanigaon, a village fringing Kaziranga Tiger Reserve, reporting two dozen cattle deaths in the village. On the arrival and investigation of the matter by TCF’s veterinary team, the cause was found to be Black Quarter (BQ), a bacterial disease affecting cattle. The case was immediately assessed by a rapid response veterinary team comprising veterinary doctors from TCF, the Assam Forest Department and State Animal Husbandry Department. Without delay, TCF has procured vaccines against BQ and Haemorrhagic Septicaemia (HS) and jointly begun an immunization programme for all the livestock in the area. It is vital to contain such disease outbreaks to safeguard both domestic cattle as well as wildlife.

SPECIAL MEDICAL CAMP AT RATHUADHAB, CORBETT TIGER RESERVE

TCF medical team in action at a special medical camp in progress at Rathuadhab, Corbett Tiger Reserve.The team now also carries out diagnostic and pathological testing using one of three mobile pathology labs, sponsored by Bajaj Auto Ltd.

PUKAAR SEES ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL BATCH OF TRAINEES

15 women from villages in the buffer zone of Bandhavgarh Tiger reserve have successfully completed training in sewing and tailoring. TCF is in the process of facilitating these women in setting up their own tailoring establishments in their respective villages. TCF's sustainable livelihoods programme PUKAAR is supported by Axis Bank Foundation, and addresses the issue of unemployment in local communities living around critical tiger habitat.

TEN USHA SILAI SCHOOLS AT TCF KANHA ARE NOW IN OPERATION

The ten women beneficiaries who completed the 7-day residential sewing and tailoring training at TCF Kanha, supported by USHA International Ltd. have now each begun an Usha ‘Silai School’ at their respective villages. These Silai School teachers now train other women residents in the village in sewing and tailoring at their schools, equipped with 2- 3 sewing machines and other required material, charging them a nominal monthly fee. The women have gained a new and respected identity as teachers in their villages, earning a decent income to support their families while empowering and creating livelihoods training for their peers and neighbours.

WORKSHOP BY TCF ON THE ROLE OF MEDIA IN CONSERVATION

TCF organized a workshop at Kaziranga on the role of media in the conservation of wildlife and forests, attended by representatives of both print and electronic media in Kaziranga. This workshop comes at a time when media has a considerable impact on the general public’s perception of wildlife and conservation issues. Sensitivity, discretion and unprejudiced and accurate reporting using facts born from thorough research are the need of the hour. TCF hopes that various media may inspire constructive opinions, actions and motivation in its wide audience towards conservation.

TCF AT THE CENTRAL INDIAN LANDSCAPE SYMPOSIUM

TCF participated in the Central Indian Landscape Symposium (CILS) at Pench Tiger Reserve from December 14th to 17th 2016. The theme for this, the second of the bi-annual symposia, was “Reconciling Development, Livelihoods and Conservation Goals.” Organized by the group ‘Conserving the Landscapes of the Central Indian Highlands', participants with research expertise in varied environment-related disciplines come together to explore and contribute their work for the scientific management and conservation of the Central Indian Highlands. TCF presented a poster titled “Determinants of immunization uptake and the importance infectious diseases in cattle and buffaloes surrounding the Kanha and Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserves, Madhya Pradesh, India”.

TCF AT YETI 2017 CONFERENCE AT ASSAM

TCF Kaziranga was invited to the Who’s Who session at YETI (Young Environmentalists Talk and Interact) 2017 held at Tezpur University, Assam in January 2017. YETI is a student volunteer-organized conference of students and researchers in the fields of environment and conservation, and a platform for interaction, discussion and exchange of ideas between contemporaries. TCF presented a poster here, detailing how local communities can be involved as stakeholders in wildlife conservation, citing examples from TCF’s community-oriented initiatives. During the two-hour session, many researchers and conservationists interacted with TCF’s representatives and expressed their desire to volunteer with TCF in its interdisciplinary approach to conservation.