Tuesday, July 28, 2009

World's deserts getting greener despite global warming
Contrary to the assumption that global warming would cause an expansion of the world's deserts, some scientists are predicting that water and life may slowly reclaim these arid places. According to a report by BBC News, the evidence is limited and definitive conclusions are impossible to reach, but recent satellite pictures of North Africa seem to show areas of the Sahara in retreat.

It could be that an increase in rainfall has caused this effect.The Sahara is experiencing a shift from dryer to wetter conditions, according to Farouk el-Baz, director of the Centre for Remote Sensing at Boston University."It's not greening yet. But the desert expands and shrinks in relation to the amount of energy that is received by the Earth from the Sun, and this over many thousands of years," el-Baz told the BBC World Service.

"The heating of the Earth would result in more evaporation of the oceans, in turn resulting in more rainfall," he said.Droughts over the preceding decades have had the effect of driving nomadic people and rural farmers into the towns and cities. Such movement of people suggests weather patterns are becoming dryer and harsher.The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned recently that rising global temperatures could cut West African agricultural production by up to 50 percent by the year 2020.

But, satellite images from the last 15 years do seem to show a recovery of vegetation in the Southern Sahara, although the Sahel Belt, the semi-arid tropical savannah to the south of the desert, remains fragile.The fragility of the Sahel may have been exacerbated by the cutting of trees, poor land management and subsequent erosion of soil.

The broader picture is reinforced by studies carried out in the Namib Desert in Namibia. or the last few years, there has been higher than average rainfall in the area.This is a region with an average rainfall of just 12 millimetres per year - what scientists call "hyper-arid".

Last year, the local research centre, called Gobabeb, measured 80mm of rain.In the last decade, they have seen the local river, a dry bed for most of the year, experience record-high floods. All this has coincided with record-high temperatures. According to Mary Seely, a scientist from Gobabeb, "Deserts and arid areas always have extremely varied rainfall. You would have to look at a record of several hundred years to maybe say that things are getting greener or dryer. For the last few years, there has been higher than average rainfall."

Monday, July 27, 2009

Akal Takht tells Sikhs to go green

Akal Takht, the highest Sikh temporal body, has embraced the save-the-environment mantra telling Sikhs across the world it was their ‘‘moral and religious duty’’ to care for the nature.


Akal Takht Jathedar Gurbachan Singh gave a religious call to the community on Sunday saying Sikhs should now focus on cleaning the natural water resources rather than spending more money on building up new gurdwaras.

‘‘Whereever in the world you (Sikhs) may be, your focus should now be on cleaning up of natural water resources rather than building gurdwaras,’’ he said at a function on the ninth anniversary of cleaning of Kali Bein, a river in Kapurthala district.

Environmentalists said the Jathedar has set a precedent with his call for saving the environment from depletion. Many said the call would prompt devotees to do their bit for the environment.

Some said the appeal from the Jathedar could make other religious leaders to think about contributing to the environment. It could even help save the most important river in the country, the Ganges river, they added.

The Kali Bein, a much polluted river flowing through Sultanpur Lodhi, was cleaned in an initiative by the Akhat Takht Jathedar through community participation.

Link TOI

Thursday, July 23, 2009

CLIMATE CHANGE AND YOUR ROLE


Nature is already responding to the climate change that has already occurred. At local level we are experiencing uneven rain fall, we never heard of floods in Rajasthan and with increase in temperatures will rise the sea levels where low lying nations like Bangladesh will be facing problem of sea rise.

In the Arctic we are seeing threshold changes in physical nature (ice to water) with major consequences for species with ice related natural histories, e.g. polar bears and Arctic cod. Further, melting ice in the Arctic is already affecting climate in those high latitudes and there are possible consequences for global ocean circulation. Drying trends have already begun in some parts of the world and the changing hydrology has implications for water supplies and agriculture. Glaciers and mountain snows are rapidly melting—for example, Montana's Glacier National Park now has only 27 glaciers, versus 150 in 1910. In the Northern Hemisphere, thaws also come a week earlier in spring and freezes begin a week later. An upsurge in the amount of extreme weather events, such as wildfires, heat waves, and strong tropical storms, is also attributed in part to climate change by some experts.

Many heavily populated areas, including Florida in the U.S., are looking to their coastlines with increasing concern as sea levels rise. But perhaps none have taken it so seriously as Male. With a maximum elevation of only 8 feet (2.4 meters), any rise in sea level is likely to engulf currently inhabited ground. In response to this impending threat, the city has built a seawall around the capital. More disturbingly, it has triggered some first threshold changes in ecosystems: e.g. coral bleaching and massive coniferous tree mortality from native pine bark beetles that have an additional generation because of longer summers.

The Earth is already 0.8 Degrees C warmer than in pre-industrial times and current CO2 concentrations are close to 390 ppm compared to pre-industrial 280 ppm. The lag between an increase in greenhouse gas concentrations and the consequent trapping of additional heat means the Earth is already destined to warm by another 0.5 degrees C even if the increase in greenhouse gas concentrations ceased today. That 2.0 degrees C increase (merely 0.7 degrees beyond where the Earth is pretty much committed) is higher than what would avoid major disruption of ecosystems. If we are already seeing threshold changes in ecosystems and system change like acidification of the oceans, the picture at 2.0 should be grave. At 2.5 degrees C increase the IPCC(Inter Government Panel on Climate Change) predicts dieback of the Amazon forest. At 2.75 degrees C the IPCC projects loss of 20 to 30% of all species.

Land degradation is major concern, with development much of the world forest areas are destroyed. As deforestation accounts for 20% of the global emissions. The productivity of green plants that is at the base of so many food chains on earth is measured as Net Primary Productivity (NPP) and is essentially plant growth net of plant respiration (the metabolic activity of existence).It also can be used as a first approximation of the overall state of the planet’s ecosystems and the health (or degradation) of the land. A major fraction of NPP has been appropriated for human use and it is a cause for concern, especially in a world concerned about sufficient food, both now and for growing population, that NPP on land has declined by 12%.

Burning of the Fossil fuels is another reason for climate change. We have exploited the non renewable energy resources indiscriminately. Rapid industralisation has contributed to emissions. China accounts for 16% of the total global emissions annually and 3 tonnes per capita. USA is comparable with China on an absolute level but its per capita emissions are 20 tonnes. India's contribution stands at a mere 1.1 tonnes per capita and a meager 4% in absolute terms on an annual basis. Even though our per capita emissions are less, India is much populated country we are contributing more emissions to planet.

Life style changes contributed for climate change. With increase of consumerism, people are indiscriminately using the modern gadgets and vehicles and contributing to emissions. For examples in olden day people go for walk to keep fit, because of busy scheduled people are using treadmill for exercise which consumes electricity leading to emissions. Even one hour power cuts we are unable to survive.

What is your role as individual???

  • Change your life style, go back to nature, and practice age old practices eco-friendly practices.
  • Plant more trees, trees are sink to lot of pollutants especially Carbon dioxide.
  • Reduce individual carbon foot prints
  • Use Car pool to go to office instead of every one driving individual cars.
  • Use renewable energy like solar heaters, solar power for lighting your home.
  • Think globally, act locally.
  • Educate people

“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed.....................................Mahatma Gandhi

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

No case for pressure to cut emissions

Even with 8-9 per cent GDP annual growth for the next decade or two, our per capita emissions will be well below developed country averages. There is simply no case for the pressure we face to reduce emissions, says JAIRAM RAMESH

India’s position on the ongoing climate change agreement negotiations is clear, credible and consistent. We are very conscious of the local impacts of climate change within our country. Embedded in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Bali Action Plan, we are fully alive to our global responsibilities as well.

We will never allow our per capita emissions to exceed that of the developed countries. We have done detailed modelling, the results of which are being released very soon. The results are unambiguous. Even with 8-9 per cent GDP growth every year for the next decade or two, our per capita emissions will be well below developed country averages.

There is simply no case for the pressure that we, who have among the lowest emissions per capita, face to actually reduce emissions. And as if this pressure was not enough, we also face the threat of carbon tariffs on our exports to countries such as yours. We are ensuring that our economic growth path is ecologically sustainable — GDP is increasingly Green Domestic Product, not just Gross Domestic Product.

Apart from vastly greater financial flows from the developed world, we see a critical role for international technology cooperation in enabling countries like India to adapt to climate change. In collaboration with the UN, the Government of India is hosting an International Conference on Climate Change and Technology on October 22-23, 2009.

The New Delhi Statement on technology and climate change will, we hope, be reflected in the Copenhagen Agreement.

INDIA’S ACTION PLAN

We have a comprehensive national action plan on climate change. This is driven primarily by our adaptation imperatives, but it does not neglect what we should do on our own for mitigation. The plan is being converted into a large number of specific programmes and projects. All this is in the public domain. The energy sector is key. Our focus is on making technology leaps to ensure lower emissions.

Our biggest power utility, National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has the second lowest carbon dioxide intensity in the world — that is, emissions per megawatt of power generated. Our energy consumption per unit of GDP has been falling significantly. We are world leaders in fast breeder reactor technology. We are establishing a 182 MW commercial power plant based on indigenously-developed integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) technology. We have launched a major initiative on extracting carbon dioxide from flue gases for propagating algae in bioreactors. Our renewable energy commitment goes back over two and a half decades. Sustainable forestry management is of profound importance to us.

We are just embarking on a close to $3 billion programme (and $3 billion to begin with) to regenerate our natural forests that already cover some 165 million acres—roughly the size of Texas. This is one of the largest carbon sinks in the world—and a sink that will only grow in size and impact. In this connection, I seek your support for India’s proposals to the UNFCCC on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+), that is to acknowledge and reward countries who are in the business of actually expanding forest cover and not just arresting deforestation and degradation. India seeks to engage the world community proactively in the climate change area. We also seek to engage the United States of America purposively. Let me sketch three areas where our two countries can cooperate.

R&D OPPORTUNITIES

First, I see numerous opportunities for joint research, development, demonstration and dissemination projects. This could be in areas like solar energy, biomass, clean coal, high voltage power transmission, smart grids, wastewater utilisation, etc. I propose that we jointly explore the feasibility of establishing an ‘Indo-US Foundation for Climate Change Technology’ with initial kick-start contributions from our respective governments. This will catalyse private investment into the corpus as well. The focus on this Foundation should be on transformative, discontinuity technologies that will enable leapfrogging.

Second, I propose that our two countries collaborate in the area of environmental planning, regulation and management. We are thinking of establishing our own independent, professional, science-based national environmental protection authority. We are planning to set up a National Green Tribunal as some sort of an environmental court. I am convinced that we have much to learn from your long experience in this area. We can also collaborate in the on-going renewal of our vast forestry and biodiversity science and management establishment.

Third, I see building institutional capacity for continuing research on climate change and its impacts as being of fundamental importance. This has to be done by us primarily. All I want to say in this connection is that the US should not overlook the importance of research in the public domain — after all, this is what made the Green Revolution possible in the first place.

I believe that this is what will make the ‘Evergreen Revolution’, with its underpinning in ecological sustainability and equity, also possible. That is why India has proposed the idea of global technology innovation centres working. Your support is crucial to get such centres going for the benefit of millions of ordinary people.

(Opening remarks of Mr Jairam Ramesh, Minister of State for Environment and Forests, at the ITC Green Building event on July 19 in connection with the visit of the US Secretary of State, Ms Hillary Clinton.)

Monday, July 20, 2009


Go Green: ITC Green Centre… WAY

India is a tropical country rich with sun light and wind energy, if many building like ITC Green Centre comes up by using the renewable energy and eco friendly materials, there will be less pressure on non renewable resources and it is every one duty to contribute for the protection of planet earth.
During her visit to ITC Green Centre, One of the first things Hillary Clinton noticed was how well ITC Green Centre was lit up inside by natural sunlight — the only other light coming from the TV crew's arc lamps..

‘‘India has many wonderful monuments like India Gate and Taj Mahal, and the ITC Green Centre is like a monument to the future. It may not be a centre stop on tourist maps, but it paves the way for energy conservation,'' Hillary remarked


ITC Green Centre, the futuristic office complex the company in Sector 32, Gurgaon, has been awarded the Platinum Green Building rating by USGBC-LEED (Green Building Council-Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). The company received the award at the International Green Building Convention held in Portland, Oregon, US.


It is the highest rating in this category, and ITC Centre is now the largest Platinum-rated building in the world. The company is the first corporate house in the country to bag this award. The actual rating process is based on submission of all design documents, simulation, construction and operating intent followed by an audit and review process. Out of the 150 projects around the world that the US agency has certified so far, only seven have been awarded Platinum rating. The other three categories are Gold, Silver and Certified.


The building rating system of USGBC-LEED was set up in the US in 1993, and focuses on design and construction practices that significantly reduce or eliminate the negative impact of buildings on their occupants and on the environment on certain parameters such as energy efficiency and renewable energy, quality of indoor environment, conservation of materials and resources, sustainable site planning and innovation and design processes.

• The ITC Green Centre in Gurgaon, the headquarters of ITC's Hotels Business is the physical expression of this commitment to sustainability - Ecological, Social and Economic. This building is one of the world's largest green buildings with space of over 170,000 square feet and the first non-commercial complex in the country to be awarded the United States Green Building Council-Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design's (USGBC-LEED) platinum rating - the highest in the order. it is one of the few buildings to get an internationally-recognized platinum rating

• Some of the salient green features incorporated in the new building are, zero water discharge, 53 per cent energy savings over a conventional building, 40 per cent reduction in potable water use, use of treated grey water for flushing and landscaping, use of fly-ash in bricks & concrete, high efficiency equipment, eco-friendly housekeeping practices and a well designated green education programme.

• The building's unique green features include indoor air-quality system, light pollution reduction; use of recycled materials, storm water management, and superior insulation At ITC Green Centre, energy consumption has been reduced significantly through design integration. The building has been designed to maximize the effect of natural light during daytime, largely eliminating the need for artificial ones. At the same time, the window glass, while allowing light inside, does not allow heat. This not only keeps the office cool from inside during the day, but also decreases the load on air-conditioners. Again, there is minimum exterior lighting to limit night sky pollution. The water consumption has dropped by 40 per cent and, with a water re-cycling plant, the building is now a zero water discharge building.

The building has followed three mantras "Reduce, Recycle and Reuse"

Sunday, July 19, 2009

India will not take on emission cut targets, Jairam tells Hillary

Photo:ToI

Environment minister Jairam Ramesh asserted on Sunday in the presence of visiting US secretary of state Hillary Clinton that Indiawould never take legally binding commitments to cut down on emissions.

"India's position is clear and categorical that we are simply not in a position to take any legally binding emissions reductions," Ramesh said at conference on climate change he addressed along with the visiting secretary of state to mark the opening of ITC's Green Centre building in Gurgaon.

His remarks came against the backdrop of growing pressure on India and China from the US-led bloc of developed countries to take quantifiable targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh alluded to the growing US-led insistence that India relent on its stand not to accept targets.

Ramesh drew the red lines clearly. "There is simply no case for the pressure that we, who have been among the lowest emitters per capita, face to actually reduce emissions. And as if this pressure was not enough, we also face the threat of carbon tariffs on our exports to countries such as yours."

Clinton defused what could have been an airing of differences between US and India when she said the US would do nothing to limit India's economic growth. "The US does not and will not do anything that will limit India's economic progress. We believe that economic progress in India is in everyone's interest and not just in the interest of Indians," Clinton said.

But despite her efforts to sound accommodative of India's development concerns, Ramesh's speech made it clear that climate change was emerging as a hot button issue on the bilateral agenda in the run-up to the UN-sponsored Copenhagen summit on the global challenge scheduled for December.

In fact, Clinton, while acknowledging US's responsibility as the biggest historic emitter of greenhouse gases, also spoke of across-the-board responsibility for tackling climate change. "To lift people out of poverty and to give every child born in India a chance to live upto his or her given potential is a goal that we share with you. But we also believe that there is a way to eradicate poverty and develop sustainably that will lower significantly the carbon footprint of the energy that is produced and consumed to fuel that growth," she said.

"The US and India can devise a plan that will dramatically change the way we produce, consume and conserve energy," Clinton stressed.

Ramesh tried to counter the view that India was fighting shy of taking measures to arrest climate change. After the conference, he said, "It is not true to say that India is running away from mitigation (efforts). India has been saying that its primary focus will be adaptation but there are specific areas where we are already in a policy framework that envisages mitigation which means actual reduction of emission."

No breakthroughs are expected during Clinton's official engagements beginning on Monday, this essentially being a trip where she is trying to do a couple of things -- to set out an agenda for future US-India ties, cutting across areas as diverse as non-proliferation and education, agriculture and civil nuclear energy, climate change and microfinance.

On Monday, Clinton is scheduled to meet the PM for lunch and thereafter meet foreign minister S M Krishna, Leader of Opposition L K Advani and Sonia Gandhi.

On the list of announcements on Monday, an end-user monitoring agreement (EUMA) is tottering after US and Indian officials failed to come to an agreement on two words, "legitimate self-defence and security". Officials expect a political push to cover the last mile, and there is expectation that will happen during the PM's meeting on Monday.

There will be a science and technology fund announcement, which is a holdover from the Bush visit of March 2006, a technology safeguards agreement on civilian space launches and an overarching strategic dialogue between Clinton and Krishna, which will also include a non-proliferation and security dialogue with US undersecretary Ellen Tauscher. India is expected to announce two nuclear sites for US companies in Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat, while in Vienna, India and US officials get ready for talks on a reprocessing agreement.

Ultimately, Clinton's visit is a charm offensive, that seeks to recapture the magic of Bill Clinton's visit in 2000 and to say that the Obama guys are not as uninterested in India as they are made out to be, given their overriding interest in Pakistan and China, two countries India is not overly enamoured with. In fact, US special envoy on Af-Pak Richard Holbrooke will be here next week to consult with India on the latest in the Af-Pak strategy.

Clinton arrived in Delhi from Mumbai on Sunday afternoon and was received at the airport by India's ambassador to the US Meera Shankar and Gayatri Kumar, joint secretary in charge of the US in the MEA.

Speaking at the climate change conference in Gurgaon, Ramesh said the two sides had agreed on the "need of partnerships, concrete partnerships, on projects in various fields like energy efficiency, solar energy, biomass, energy-efficient buildings of the type that you are seeing here today".

Proposing an Indo-US Foundation for Climate Change Technology with initial kick-start contributions from both governments, Ramesh said this would catalyse private investment into the corpus as well. "The focus of this foundation should be on transformative, discontinuity technologies that will enable leap-frogging."

But Copenhagen will be a sore point between the two countries. "Both of us reiterated our commitment to arriving at an agreement at Copenhagen that takes note of the imperative of doing something quickly but also takes note of the special concerns of countries like India for continuing with their path of economic growth with the objective of poverty eradication," Ramesh said. "I think this has been a good beginning," he added.

Link TOI

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Himalayan glaciers have shrunk by 38% in 40 years

Himalayan glaciers are going through a phase of retreat, with some glaciers in specific basins having shrunk by up to an alarming 38% 40 years while at the same time satellite mapping has not shown any accleration of the process even as the rate of Gangotri's shrinkage has slowed.

The overall process of shrinking is leading glaciers to fragment and, therefore, paradoxically enough, the total number of glaciers in the Himalayas is increasing. These were some of the conclusions ISRO scientists drew up during a presentation at a meeting -- organised by the ministry of environment -- of all institutions and experts in glaciology.


The ministry has decided to support ISRO and the department of science and technology to undertake long-term and extensive glacial surveys across the eastern and western Himalayas. Environment and forests minister Jairam Ramesh told TOI, "We will institutionalize scientific studies of not only glaciers but also studies on terrestrial hydrology and agriculture as well as measurement of green house gases along with the department of science and technology and ISRO."

Scientists at the meeting recorded there is no evidence yet to claim the rate of retreat of glaciers, ranging from a few cms to couple of metres a year, has accelerated in the recent past. Scientists from the Geological Survey of India noted that the rate of recession of the Gangotri glacier has actually reduced in recent years.

The scientific community also observed that the process of retreat and advance of the glaciers was a natural process and that at present there was no evidence to prove that the current glacial recession phase is a consequence of climate change.

But scientists did express concern about the health of the glaciers pointing to the evidence of debris accumulation at the snouts in some glaciers. At present, the worst impact is seen in the Suru basin, with glaciers recorded a 38% shrinkage between 1969 and 2004. The Chandra, Bhaga, Parbati and Warwan basins are the other four recording the worst recessionary trends over the same period.

The meeting also noted that currently most of the automated weather stations are located in Jammu and Kashmir and serve the Army. These should be extended to Arunachal Pradesh,Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand in order to record data across the Himalayas

Link TOI

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Trees made in lab to capture CO2 faster

The thought of an artificial tree usually excites memories of building and ornamenting a Christmas centerpiece. But here’s an innovation that will put those plastic branches to shame: scientists at Columbia University are developing a structure that can capture carbon 1,000 times faster than a real tree.

Klaus Lackner, a professor of geophysics at the university, has been working on the project since 1998, according to a CNN report, and is optimistic about a near-future application. Modern improvements in coal-fired power plants have reduced carbon emissions, but Lackner is seeking a different function. The “tree” would be used to trap carbon that has already been emitted into the air by car gasoline or airplane fuel, CNN reports.
Unlike the real thing, the synthetic “tree” doesn’t need direct sunlight, water, a trunk, or branches to function, as it looks more like a cylinder than a soaring Redwood. The concept, which Lackner says is flexible in size and can be placed nearly anywhere, works by collecting carbon dioxide on a sorbent, cleaning and pressurizing the gas, and releasing it. Similar to the way a sponge collects water, the sorbent would collect carbon dioxide. Resin filters on top would capture CO2 from the ambient air. The CO2 is then removed at the bottom using a series of moisture and compression steps, according to one of the concept’s developers.

Each synthetic tree would absorb one ton of carbon dioxide per day, eliminating an amount of gas equivalent to that produced by 20 cars. Lackner is also co-founder and chairman of Tuscon, Arizonabased Global Research Technologies, which is working on the technology. Although the prospect of this is exciting, manufacturing the structures would be expensive, as each unit would reportedly cost about $30,000 to make.

Nonetheless, Lackner and his team are pushing the project full-force. CNN says he has already met with US energy secretary Steven Chu to discuss the concept, which Lackner says will have a prototype within three years. He is also writing a proposal for the Department of Energy in a continuous effort to raise attention for a concept, which he says is several hundred times more effective than the traditional windmill.

Link Times

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Layout/Images/TOINEW/Elements/empty.gif

Monday, July 13, 2009

Rich people to blame for carbon emission: Study

As the world grapples with the challenge of climate change, the wealthy seems to be caught on the wrong side, with a study saying that

rich people and their lifestyles account for a major chunk of the carbon emissions globally.

The study by a group of researchers from the Princeton University comes at a time when the developed and developing countries are yet to agree on carbon emission caps, which would help in tackling climate change.

"Most of the world's emissions come disproportionately from the wealthy citizens of the world, irrespective of their nationality," Shoibal Chakravarty, one of the leader authors of the report said.

Chakravarty, who is a physicist at the Princeton Environmental Institute, noted that most of the emissions come from lifestyles that involve airplane flights, car use and the heating and cooling of large homes.

"We estimate that in 2008, half of the world's emissions came from just 700 million people," Chakravarty was quoted as saying about the study in a statement posted on the Princeton University website.

At present, the world average for tons of carbon dioxide emitted a year per individual is about five tons.

Each European produces about 10 tons a year, with each American producing twice that amount, the statement said.

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Poaching of rare snake goes unchecked

At a time when wildlife enthusiasts are crying foul over the dwindling population of rare species of birds, reptiles and animals from the vast tracts of forests in Andhra Pradesh, here comes another dampener. No less than 10,000 snakes in Chittoor district are falling prey to greedy s m u g g l e r s every month. Especially, the ‘red sand boa’ snake, popularly known as ‘pudupamu,’ is under serious threat as hundreds of them are caught in villages and sold to brokers from neighbouring Tamil Nadu and Karnataka at a mindboggling rate of over Rs 1 lakh per snake.
Adults rarely exceed two feet in length (61 cm), although they sometimes reach 3 feet (91 cm). Adapted to burrowing, the head is wedge-shaped with narrow nostrils and very small eyes. The body is cylindrical in shape with small polished scales. The tail, which is blunt, rounded and not distinct from the body, appears truncated. Coloration varies from reddish-brown to dull yellow-tan. Eryx johnii is a non-venomous found in Iran, Pakistan and India.

“Red sand boas are killed for their medicinal value to cure chronic diseases, while the skins of other snakes are peeled off for making belts,” said Kiranmayee, a wildlife enthusiast. Ironically, the farmers in whose fields the snakes are caught get a pittance, while the brokers take a lion’s share of the earnings.

Asked as to why there is a huge demand for the snakes, a forest department official said the smugglers export them to China and Japan where snake meat is a delicacy. With the green belt of Seshachalam ranges covering the tail-end Chittoor district being home to several thousands of rare species of animals and reptiles, including golden gecko (golden lizard), slender loris, civet cat and red sand boa, the smugglers are having a field day.
“The spurt in smuggling and poaching of reptiles and animals is a cause of worry as these endangered species could become extinct very soon,” regretted a forest official. He said since Chittoor district is close to TN and Karnataka, smuggling is rampant. “We have nabbed several villagers when they were selling red sand boa snakes to some brokers in Ta m b a l l ap a l l e constituency,” he said.
Link TOI