Technical Reports/Books/Manuals

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    Recovery of dugongs and their habitats in India: an integrated participatory approach : Annual Progress report VI (2021-23)
    (Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2023) Johnson, J.A.; Prabakaran, N.; Sivakumar, K.; Chakraborty, O.; Gole, S.; Pathan, S.; Ghanekar, C.; Rajpurkar, S.; Hatkar, P.; Seal, S.; Patel, S.; Iyer, S.; Prajapati, S.; Bose, S.; Tripura, V,; Christian, G.; Joshi, R.; Aggarwal, A.; Dhiman, G.; Negi, S.
    National CAMPA Authority under the aegis of Endangered Species Recovery Program, Dugong Recovery Program was initiated with major objectives to a) Assess dugong population status through advanced census techniques and determine its abundance and distribution, identify critical habitats, classify threats and develop a site-specific monitoring plan to reduce poaching and incidental entanglements, b) Characterize the critical dugong habitats, reduce direct and indirect threats, c) Raise awareness on the species and encourage the participation of the local communities; and d) Enhance the capacity of the State Forest Department staff and develop/implement smart patrolling tools to improve protection enforcement; train forest staff and local communities in underwater surveys for long-term habitat monitoring. In the last five years of its implementation, an integrated participatory approach was adopted to ensure recovery of dugong populations and conservation of seagrass habitat in India.
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    Recovery of dugongs and their habitats in India: an integrated participatory approach : Annual progress report V (2020-21)
    (Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2021) Sivakumar, K.; Johnson, J.A.; Pande, A.; Gole, S.; Dudhat, S.; Shekar, S.; Pathan, S.; Ghanekar, C.; Magesh, M.K.; Rajpurkar, S.; Seal, S.; Bayyana, S,; Patel, S,; Prajapati, S.; Saini, H.; Hatkar, P.; Tripura, V.; Bose, S.; Christian, G.
    National CAMPA Authority under the aegis of Endangered Species Recovery Program, Dugong Recovery Program was initiated with major objectives to a) Assess dugong population status through advanced census techniques and determine its abundance and distribution, identify critical habitats, classify threats and develop a site-specific monitoring plan to reduce poaching and incidental entanglements, b) Characterize the critical dugong habitats, reduce direct and indirect threats, c) Raise awareness on the species and encourage the participation of the local communities; and d) Enhance the capacity of the State Forest Department staff and develop/implement smart patrolling tools to improve protection enforcement; train forest staff and local communities in underwater surveys for long-term habitat monitoring. In the last five years of its implementation, an integrated participatory approach was adopted to ensure recovery of dugong populations and conservation of seagrass habitat in India
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    Recovery of dugongs and their habitats in India: an integrated participatory approach - Annual Progress Report IV (2019-20)
    (Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2020) Sivakumar, K.; Johnson, J.A.; Pande, A,; Gole, Swapnali; Dudhat, S.; Shekar, S.; Pathan, S.; Ghanekar, C.; Dikshit, D.; Magesh, M.K.; Rajpurkar, S.; Seal, S.; Bayyana, S,; Patel, S.; Saini, H.; Prajapati, S.; Hatkar, P.; Mehta, D.; Bose, S.; Tripura, V.; Christian, G.; Yallapu, S.; Sharma, S,; Semwal, R.; Pacha, A.
    National CAMPA Authority under the aegis of Endangered Species Recovery Program, Dugong Recovery Program was initiated with major objectives to a) Assess dugong population status through advanced census techniques and determine its abundance and distribution, identify critical habitats, classify threats and develop site-specific monitoring plan to reduce poaching and incidental entanglements, b) Characterize the critical dugong habitats, reduce direct and indirect threats, c) Raise awareness on the species and encourage the participation of the local communities; and d) Enhance the capacity of the State Forest Department staff and develop/implement smart patrolling tools to improve protection enforcement; train forest staff and local communities in underwater surveys for long-term habitat monitoring. In the last three years of its implementation, an integrated participatory approach was adopted to ensure recovery of dugong populations and conservation of seagrass their habitat in India.
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    Dugong distribution, habitat and risks due to Fisheries and other anthropogenic activities in India
    (Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2013) Sivakumar, K.; Nair, A.
    The dugong (Dugong dugon), also called the sea cow, is one of the four surviving species in the order Sirenia, and it is the only existing species of herbivorous mammal that lives exclusively in the sea, including Indian waters. Conservation of the dugong, which is a flagship species, represents coastal conservation. This protected species occurs in the Gulf of Mannar, Palk Bay, Gulf of Kutch and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The population of the dugong, which was once abundant, is assumed to have reduced to about 200 individuals in India. This number and the range of the dugong are believed to be continuously declining. Several reasons have been attributed to the decline in the dugong population, including sea grass habitat loss and degradation, gill netting, disease, water pollutants, indigenous use and poaching. This study was initiated to understand the dugong’s current distribution range and the magnitude of the anthropogenic threats faced by it and its habitat in India. The objectives include (1) determining the status and distribution of the dugong population in India, (2) understanding the risks faced by the dugong populations and their habitats, (3) assessing the status of artisanal fisheries in identified dugong habitats, (4) identifying the key areas where dugongs are present to conserve them and (5) understanding the attitude of fishermen towards conservation of dugongs. Three zones, namely the Gulf of Kutch, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Gulf of Mannar–Palk Bay were identified as the study area on the basis of information published on dugong sightings, stranding records and seagrass presence. A standardised dugong catch/bycatch questionnaire developed by the CMS-UNEP Dugong MOU Panel was used for interview surveys after it was translated into regional languages. Region-specific threats to the dugong and its habitat were identified. Occupancy models were built in the program PRESENCE to identify critical dugong habitats using dugong sighting data from the past 5 years (2008 to 2012). The range of variables that influenced occupancy and detection were also assessed. Dugong occupancy was greatest in the Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay, followed by the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and lowest in the Gulf of Kutch. At present, the overall occupancy of the dugong in Indian waters is estimated to be 11% of the total surveyed area. Only 21% of the area sampled in Tamil Nadu was found to be occupied by dugongs. The corresponding proportion was 12% in the iii Andaman and Nicobar Islands and 1% in the Gulf of Kutch. Overall, the dugong distribution range has significantly decreased by about 85% in the distribution range of the dugong in India. Dugongs are also exist in regions outside the existing protected area (PA) network. Thus, conservation planning should also focus on dugong habitats outside PAs. Preventive measures, such as affording greater protection to dugongs and making fisheries sustainable with dugong friendly gear and craft, especially in the critical dugong habitats identified, are recommended. It is of the utmost importance to secure and strengthen community participation in the management of dugongs and their habitats in India. Model
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    Recovery of Dugongs and their habitats in India : an integrated participatory approach - Annual Progress Report III
    (Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2019) WII
    Dugong (Dugong dugon), also called 'Sea Cow', occurs in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Gulf of Mannar, Palk Bay, and Gulf of Kutch in India. These marine mammals are herbivores which spend their full life in the sea. They are the only extant species of the family Dugongidae. All existing members of the order Sirenia (including the Dugong) are listed as vulnerable to extinction. All populations of Dugong are also listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and Appendix II of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS). Several reasons have been attributed to their population decline, some of which include seagrass habitat loss and degradation, gill netting, disease, chemical pollutants, consumptive use, and hunting. 2. Major objectives of this program is to a) Assess dugong population status through advanced census techniques and determine its abundance and distribution, identify critical habitats, classify threats and develop site-specific monitoring plan to reduce poaching and incidental entanglements, b) Characterize the critical dugong habitats, reduce direct and indirect threats, c) Raise awareness on the species and encourage the participation of the local communities; and d) Enhance the capacity of the State Forest Department staff and develop/implement smart patrolling tools to improve protection enforcement; train forest staff and local communities in underwater surveys for long-term habitat monitoring. 3. A participatory approach to recover dugongs and their habitat in India: Year 2018-19 was excellent because of active involvements of major stakeholders in this project. All state Forest Departments, Indian Navy, Coast Guard, Marine Police, State Fisheries Departments, State Education Departments, local universities and NGOs could actively participate in implementing this project in the field that not only helped to minimise the dugong mortalities and helped to conserve overall marine biodiversity of the region. We involved the Indian Navy, the Coast Guard, Fisheries and Marine Police personals in our volunteering network by conducting several short orientation workshops with them on dugongs and seagrasses. For example, 15 Indian Navy officers from INS-Utkrosh participated in the program where the CAMPA-Dugong team (ANI) briefed them about basic data documentation on sighting a dugong and other marine mammals in the logbooks distributed. Similarly, integrated trainings towards marine biodiversity monitoring and management was given to group of frontline staff from Forest, Fisheries, Marine Police and local youths in all three regions. An orientation program was conducted with the glass bottom boat operators, to sensitize them about the importance of this stretch for dugongs in terms of controlled boat speeds when a dugong is spotted. Further, these operators were included as a part of the dugong monitoring network. All these efforts helped us in reporting of dugongs by these trainees including fishermen from these regions otherwise those sightings were never reported earlier. Further, volunteer release of incidentally captured dugong by fishermen, identification of leaking site of dugong in Palk Bay, sightings of dugongs by Navy and Coast Guard are all few examples for the outcomes of this participatory approach.