NEW DELHI EST HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE WEEK OF MAY 18 TO MAY 22,

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 001054

SIPDIS

STATE FOR OES/PCI, OES/STC, OES/SAT, OES/EGC, AND SCA/INS
STATE FOR STAS
DOE FOR INTERNATIONAL
INTERIOR FOR FWS RILEY
STATE PASS TO NSF FOR INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SENV TSPL TBIO ECON IN
SUBJECT: NEW DELHI EST HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE WEEK OF MAY 18 TO MAY 22,
2009

Ref: New Delhi 775


1. (U) Below is a compilation of environment, science, and
technology highlights from Embassy New Delhi for the week of May 18
- 22, 2009, including the following:

-- It's Official - Panna Tiger Reserve Has Lost All Its Native
Tigers
-- Oil Spill Threatens Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary
-- Indian Receives Green Oscar
-- IIT Kanpur Developing First Indigenous Nano Satellite
-- Chandrayaan I Orbit Raised

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ENVIRONMENT
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It's Official - Panna Tiger Reserve Has Lost All Its Native Tigers


2. A special investigation team appointed by the Ministry of
Environment and Forest's National Tiger Conservation Authority
(NTCA) has confirmed that the Panna Tiger Reserve (PTR) in Madhya
Pradesh has now joined Rajasthan's Sariska Tiger Reserve as the
second reserve in India to lose all of its native wild tigers. The
investigating team was headed by former NTCA Director Mr. P.K. Sen
and included NTCA Joint Director Mr. S.P. Yadav and wildlife
scientist Qamar Qureshi from the Wildlife Institute of India. There
is no official explanation yet for the disappearance of the 35 - 40
tigers which had been resident in Panna since 2003, but
conservationists largely attribute the complete wipe-out to poaching
and habitat loss. The NTCA appointed team is expected to revisit
PTR in the next few months to investigate the causes and to
determine whether mis-management by local forest officials
contributed to the loss. Forest officials have confirmed that the
two tigresses transferred to Panna from Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve in
March 2009 (reftel) are still alive.

Oil Spill Threatens Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary


3. Regional media and several national dailies reported an oil
spill caused by leakage from Indian Oil Corporation's (IOC) single
point mooring (SPM) off the Paradip port in Orissa threatened the
Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary (GMS) located 15 kms from the spill
site. GMS is one of the world's foremost nesting sites for Olive
Ridley Turtles and an oil spill in the area could have serious
implications for marine biodiversity. Media reports claim that
approximately 3000 tons of crude oil leaked from the SPM on April
22, 2009. IOC officials state the spill was the result of a minor
leak in the SPM and was not sufficient to cause serious
environmental damage. However, Orissa forest officials, closely
monitoring the wind direction, have expressed concern and the
Wildlife Society of Orissa, an NGO, has demanded that IOC pay for an
oil spill impact study and as well as remedial measures to mitigate
the environmental impact. Mr. B.C. Choudhury, a renowned
herpetologist and faculty member of the Wildlife Institute of India,
informed ESTOffs that his team in Orissa is in touch with Mr. V.K.
Verghese, the Coast Guard Commandant of Paradip Coast Guard Base and
according to Verghese, the spill was extremely minor and the Paradip
Port Trust will be able to control it without damage to the marine
environment. In Verghese's opinion, the oil spill was blown out of
proportion by the media. Choudhury also informed ESTOffs that IOC
has plans to install three more SPMs in the same ecologically
sensitive region.

Indian Receives Green Oscar


4. Dr. M.D. Madhusudhan of the NGO Nature Conservation Foundation,
has been awarded the Whitley Award in recognition of his work to
reduce human-wildlife conflict in the Western Ghats region of
Karnataka. Popularly referred to as the Green Oscars and considered
one of the most important international nature conservation awards,
the Whitley includes a grant of USD 46,000 (30,000 British pounds)
and a trophy. Two other Indian conservationists, Dr. Sudipto
Chatterjee and Ms. Supraja Dharini, received the Whitley associate
award which includes a grant of USD 15,000 (10,000 pounds).
Chatterjee, who heads the Biodiversity Group at Winrock
International-India, received his award for the conservation of
Rhododendrons in the Eastern Himalayas. Dharini, Chairperson of the
Trust for Environment Education (TREE) Foundation, received her

NEW DELHI 00001054 002 OF 002


award for her community based initiative to protect sea turtles and
dolphins.

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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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IIT Kanpur Developing First Indigenous Nano Satellite


5. The Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur is developing a
nano satellite called "Jugnu" measuring 34 cm long x 10 cm wide.
The satellite is expected to be equipped with micro imaging systems
and weigh 3.5 kg. A team of 12 professors and 40 research students
led by Professor Nalinaksh S Vyas of the Mechanical Engineering
department are involved in the project. The nano satellite is
designed to transmit images to a base station being set up at the
IIT Kanpur campus. The satellite is expected to have a life span of
six to twelve months and be used in applications including drought
monitoring, wasteland management, urban planning and flood-risk
management. Professor Dhande, Director of IIT Kanpur, informed EST
FSN the cost of the project was approximately USD 500,000. The
Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) plans to launch the
satellite by December 2009.

Chandrayaan I Orbit Raised


6. Media report ISRO raised the Chandrayaan-I lunar orbiter from
its previous 100 km orbit to a new 200 km orbit on May 19, 2009.
ISRO stated all eleven payloads were working well and the quality of
the data received to date was excellent. Dr. Gowrishankar, ISRO's
Director of International Relations, informed ESTFSN that the orbit
was changed because ISRO has received sufficient data at 100 km and
wanted to conserve fuel in order to extend the orbiter's useful
life. Gowrishankar also stated the new orbit better enabled ISRO to
study orbit perturbations and gravitation field variations in
addition to obtaining wider field images of the lunar surface. He
did note however that if at any point ISRO felt the need to lower
the orbit, there was sufficient fuel aboard to do so.

BURLEIGH