This is an email sent by Dr. Kartik Shanker on matters related to the
ongoing discussion on IUCN and the Dhamra port in Orissa. Since Kartik
is not on this egroup he has requested for the following communication
to be forwarded.
pankaj



Date: Mon, 01 Sep 2008 17:05:39 +0530
From: Kartik Shanker <kshanker@...>


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------\
--------------------------------------------------

Hi all,

I have been forwarded some recent exchanges on the Andaman and Nicobar
list with regard to Dhamra. A series of articles on this subject with
contributions from various perspectives will appear in the Marine Turtle
Newsletter (www.seaturtle.org/mtn) and Indian Ocean Turtle Newsletter
(www.iotn.org) in September.

Here are some clarifications in summary:

Many sea turtle biologists in India have been associated with protests
against the Dhamra port for the last decade. Some of us were asked to
carry out these studies by TATA / DPCL. I am personally not against
engaging with responsible corporations, but declined because many
colleagues and conservation groups felt that TATA/DPCL was not amenable
to some minimum terms.Many other colleagues were also in principle
against engaging with TATA and DPCL.

Since no local groups or biologists were willing to take this on, TATA
or DPCL approached IUCN. When IUCN proposed to take on this project,
there was considerable opposition during their national meeting, but
they went
ahead and took on the project anyway.

I was at the time the Regional Vice Chair of the MTSG, and advised the
MTSG against involvement in this project (unless they could get the
consensus and support of sea turtle biologists and conservationists in
India). However, they ignored me and th MTSG co-chair became involved in
the project.

As a result, I resigned as the Regional Vice Chair. All the MTSG members
in India and several of the IUCN members have written a strong letter of
protest to the IUCN. We have received a very general response from them
and are finalising a second letter (all these are attached).

I should also clarify that MTSG itself has not received funds, but IUCN
has. Of course, expenses and honorariums are paid for those MTSG experts
(mainly the co-chair and a couple of US experts on dredging and
lighting). Though many of us have protested very strongly against MTSG
and IUCN involvement in this project, I believe that the MTSG experts
are not doing this for money but because they genuinely believe that
they are helping marine turtles. However, I do agree with others that
their decisions are misguided, based on incomplete information about the
situation in Orissa, and/or based on a narrow perspective of conservation.

Please contact me if you wish to recieve copies of my article, the
letters to the IUCN and their response. I would be happy to provide any
further clarifications.

Best
Kartik

Kartik Shanker
Assistant Professor, Centre for Ecological Sciences
Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012.
India.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------\
----------------------------------------------
Adjunct Fellow, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment
(ATREE)
Executive Editor, Conservation and Society (www.conservationandsociety.org)
Editor, Indian Ocean Turtle Newsletter (www.iotn.org)
Editor, Current Conservation (www.currentconservation.org)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------\
-----------------------------------------------
Mobile: 91 99455 65935 Phone: 91 80 22933104 Fax: 91 80 23601428
Homepage: http://ces.iisc.ernet.in/kartik

--
This message has been scanned for viruses and
dangerous content by *MailScanner* <http://www.mailscanner.info/>, and is
believed to be clean.

--

http://pankaj-atcrossroads.blogspot.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pankajsekhsaria/
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/psekhsaria/Atcrossroads

C/o Kalpavriksh
Apt. 5, Sri Dutta Krupa,
908 Deccan Gym
Pune 411004
India
Tel: 020 25654239
Mob: 09423009933
Email: psekhsaria@...