Rohan Chakravarty's Blog, page 57

Oil Spill at Baghjan Assam

Chances are that you have not heard or read about a major ecological and public health crisis brewing in Eastern Assam on any mainstream media channel. A crude oil pipe blowout caused a major oil spill at Baghjan, and the lives of marsh and aquatic wildlife, as well as villagers are now at grave risk, courtesy of Oil India Limited, the Indian government's oil extraction company.
How is this related to the ongoing national environmental crisis? By now you may be vaguely familiar with the many disastrous projects being planned in North-east India (such as a dam in the seismically sensitive Dibang Valley of Arunachal Pradesh, and a coal mine in Assam's Dehing Patkai Elephant Reserve). You may also be familiar with the MoEFCC's proposed revisions to the Environment Impact Assessment protocol, which seeks to do away with EIA for major projects. OIL has a record of violating Eco-sensitive zone boundaries and constructing pipelines even before due environmental clearances are obtained. To put it simply, the EIA revisions could legalize all of this. Read more about the draft EIA and what you can do to oppose it here.

Tiger Art Exhibitions

Tiger art exhibitions. Cartoon from my column with RoundGlass Sustain.

Desert Locust Plague

The Desert Locust Plague of 2020, now swarming across India and poised to cause famine in its path, is a perfect example of how the impacts of climate change in one part of the world could affect an altogether different region. Experts believe that the bumper breeding of these crop-raiding locusts this year traces back to unforeseen imbalances in the Indian Ocean Dipole (yes, the same phenomenon linked with the bushfires of Australia) and two cyclonic events in East Africa that created ephemeral lakes in the desert and facilitated locust breeding.

MoEFCC Chairman, Resign

From modifying the EIA to suit corporations and industries to boasting of a record of granting the quickest clearances to environmentally sensitive projects, MoEFCC Chairman Prakash Javadekar has made India's environment ministry a laughing stock. And all we have done so far is watch and laugh, without thinking of what this joke's practical repercussions could be.
After recent fiascos like a fudged EIA by the Wildlife Institute of India to sell out Dibang Valley, and the Dehing Patkai mining sanction, the heat is on the MoEFCC. It is time we account for responsibility from this ministry, and demand that its Chairman either perform or resign. 
Comic from my column with The Hindu, best read in a David Attenborough voice.

Gangtok Urban Biodiversity Map

Presenting my third project with ICLEI: an illustrated urban biodiversity map of Gangtok, the capital of the Himalayan state of Sikkim. Situated in a once pristine landscape that is now subject to rapid change and degradation, Gangtok still boasts of an incredible range of fauna and flora, specially in its greenest pockets (such as forests around the Himalayan Zoological Park, the Governor's Bungalow, and Hanuman Tok to name a few). Its orchid diversity makes it next to none among Indian capital cities. But although it is surrounded by protected areas and sanctuaries like Fambonglho, Kyongnodsla and the Kanchenjunga National park, Gangtok today struggles to strike an equilibrium between rapid urbanization and nature conservation. 
The map pays tribute to Thangka art, an art style that has fascinated me for years, and is almost synonymous with art itself in Sikkim. The Directorate of Handloom and Handicraft at Gangtok has a Thangka art school, where I spent some time learning a few tips and tricks from both art teachers and students before working on this map.
Thanks once again to ICLEI for commissioning me for the project. I also extend my gratitude to the prolific Sikkim forester and my mentor Mrs. Usha Lachungpa (who features in the map!), and my friends Minla and Karmachoden for all their help with my orientation of Sikkim and Gangtok, and without whom this illustration would be impossible to execute.  
The illustration can be downloaded in high resolution on the Interactbio ICLEI website here.Some snippets from the map are below (click on the images for a larger view):

Thackeray's Cat Snake and the Maharashtra Government

In 2019, a Cat Snake discovered in the Western Ghats in Maharashtra was named 'Theckeray's Cat Snake after Chief Minister Udhhav Thackeray's family. Now, the same CM's government has dishonoured both the snake and the Western Ghats by demanding mining reservations in several eco-sensitive zones in the Ghats. Comic from my column with Sunday Mid-Day.

Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises of India

Meet the 29 species of freshwater turtles and tortoises of India! While sea turtles usually make all the headlines on World Turtle Day, let's shine the spotlight this time on our inland chelonians. Barring 3 species, each of these are at the risk of extinction. Turtles are among the most poached of all reptiles, and alongwith primates, are considered the most endangered vertebrates. India's inland chelonians face many more threats: habitat loss, illegal pet trade, deforestation, sand mining and capture for temple ponds (ironically, temple dwelling turtle populations are now contributing to captive breeding programmes for species like the Black Softshell Turtle, in a bid to revive their wild populations).
For orders outside of India, the poster is available as a wide range of prints and merchandise on my webstore here. 
For orders within India, posters are available in the following sizes and prices:
A0 Poster (synthetic non-tearable, loose)- Rs. 3000 for the first print, Rs. 3000 for the second print onwardsA1 Posters (synthetic non-tearable, loose)- Rs. 2500 for the first print, 2500 for the second print onwardsA2 Posters (synthetic non-tearable, loose)- Rs. 1200 for the first print, 1000 for the second print onwardsLoose Posters (A3- Individual species and compilation)- Rs. 500 for the first copy and Rs. 200 for the second copy onwardsTshirts (individual species/compilation)- Rs. 1000 (White, Cotton, roundneck, sizes- S,M,L,XL)  
(To order, email me on rohanchakcartoonist@gmail.com with the number of prints and your postal address and contact number for delivery)

Cyclone Management and Mangroves

As India braces itself for Cyclone Amphan in the middle of a pandemic, let us remember that our very first line of defence against cyclones, mangroves, are under threat from both the Central and State governments. Some of these threats are the MoEFCC's ill-conceived policy of waiving EIAs for onshore oil and gas exploration, its draft EIA which will do away with clearance regulations for various projects along the coasts at the cost of mangroves, and unplanned development and construction along coasts by various state governments by clearing mangroves.

Dehing Patkai Mine

In support of the student protests against coal mining in Assam's Dehing Patkai Elephant Reserve. Why are we not demanding the sacking of India's worst environment minister (who by the way also heads the National Board for Wildlife AND the ministry of heavy industries)?

India's Endangered Freshwater Turtles

Turtles and tortoises are some of the most fascinating reptiles, and yet both poorly understood and the most endangered. India's inland species particularly are among the most neglected reptiles, that face numerous threats like poaching, illegal capture for pet trade, habitat loss, deforestation, sand mining, dredging and water pollution. Of the 29 species found in India, 26 are classified under various threatened categories on IUCN's Red List. With World Turtle Day around the corner, 5 such species complain about their plight, in this comic from my column with The Hindu.