Dear all, This will be of interest to many, Kindly pass it on to those who you think might be interested too.
with regards seshadri.k.s attachment pasted as inline text >*> * *TREASURES ON TIGER TRACKS* Climatic and altitudinal variations have moulded the landscape of Kalakad - Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR) into various habitats ranging from scrub jungles and grasslands to wet evergreen forests. These habitats are home to diverse flora and fauna some of which are endemic to the region. In spite of a high level of religious and casual tourists visiting this reserve; important rivers originating here and about 145 villages abutting the reserve, knowledge and awareness of the local flora and fauna among local people is poor. Building awareness in the local context will need materials in local languages conveying information about the local flora and conservation issues. The available field guides are mostly in English and filled with jargon that is often intimidating for a lay person. Without a basic understanding of the structure, composition and interactions of the ecosystem, it becomes difficult to convey conservation messages to the stakeholders and future ambassadors of conservation who are essentially those living immediately outside the reserve. To bridge this gap, ATREE, with funding from the World Bank has come out with a first-of-its-kind bi-lingual; multi-taxa nature guide to KMTR. The guide authored by T.Ganesh, R.Ganesan, Soubadra Devy and Jahnavi Pai aims at disseminating basic information about the common and unique plants and animals of the region among school children and other individuals interested in knowing more about the reserve. It has been designed in a way so as to appeal to children and lay people who have little or no knowledge of biology. This 330 page guide consists of basic information of about 300 species belonging to six taxa – plants, butterflies, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. Information on common names, habits, key identifying characters and occurrence are in English and Tamil. In order to make it appealing and less wordy, some information such as size, social unit, diet and strata are depicted using illustrated symbols. Pictures were carefully selected not only based on photographic merit but also those which those portraying key features mentioned in the accompanying text. The book has been divided into six taxa sections, each with a different colour scheme. Further, keys in each section will help in narrowing down the search to 3 or 4 species. Each section has a general introduction on the taxa and tips on identifying the species and using the keys. The illustrations, symbols, keys and descriptions were tested among school children of various age groups and have gone through several rounds of changes and editing after obtaining their response and feedback. The book is scheduled for release on the 5th of March, 2010 in Tirunelveli by the Honourable Collector of Tirunelveli District in the presence of KMTR's Field Director, Mr A.Ramkumar,IFS. 500 copies of guide will be distributed among school children and the rest will be sold for a nominal price among visitors and others interested. An education programme based on this nature guide to encourage children to explore and appreciate the forests around them is also in the pipeline. Contact: [email protected] >> end of attachment -- With warm regards seshadri.k.s Post graduate student in ecology, Dept of Ecology and Environmental science, Pondicherry university. ________________________________ www.tinyurl.com/seshadri www.seshadriks.blogspot.com ________________________________ -"Man is Evolution's greatest mistake!-George B Schaller." -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "efloraofindia" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/indiantreepix?hl=en.
