India’s rarest heron faces a silent end as new dam ignores its home, Pg II

Key Highlights:

• India's rarest bird, the white-bellied heron (Ardea insignis), faces a threat from a proposed 1,200-MW hydroelectric project on the Lohit River in Arunachal Pradesh.
• The Forest Advisory Committee under the Union Environment Ministry granted in-principle clearance for the project, which will fell over 33,000 trees.
• The project's Environmental Impact Assessment by WAPCOS, Ltd. reportedly omitted the heron, despite the Lohit River basin harboring 70% of India's population.
• The white-bellied heron is listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972, affording it the highest legal protection.
• The project is being developed by Tehri Hydro Development Corporation India, Ltd. in partnership with the Arunachal Pradesh government.

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Detailed Insights:

• The white-bellied heron is a large, elusive bird that relies on shallow, fast-flowing rivers for foraging fish.
• The dam's construction is projected to alter water turbidity and flow, potentially leading to the bird's local extinction.
• The project will clear and submerge riparian mature forests, which are critical for the heron's nesting and roosting activities.
• The species is known to avoid even minimal human disturbance and prefers tall trees for nesting in undisturbed areas.
• Local communities, including residents of Nukung Village, have opposed the project since its proposal in 2008, citing land submergence and concerns over flawed assessments.
• The Forest Advisory Committee approved compensatory afforestation in Madhya Pradesh, a region geographically distant from the Eastern Himalayas biodiversity hotspot.
• Experts advocate for a basin-level approach to conservation, assessing the entire Lohit basin as a connected habitat for the species.
• Conservation strategies need to expand beyond charismatic wildlife to include rare species like the white-bellied heron with equal urgency.

Key Concepts Involved:

• White-bellied Heron (Ardea insignis): A critically endangered, elusive bird species primarily found in the Eastern Himalayas.
• Wildlife Protection Act of 1972: Indian legislation providing legal protection to wild animals, birds, and plants, categorizing species into schedules based on their conservation status.
• Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA): A process to evaluate the likely environmental impacts of a proposed project or development, aiming to inform decision-making.
• Forest Advisory Committee (FAC): A statutory body under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change that reviews proposals for diversion of forest land for non-forest purposes.
• Riparian Mature Forest: Forests located along riverbanks, playing a crucial role in maintaining riverine ecosystems, biodiversity, and hydrological processes.