The blackbuck was made the flagship species on the IIT-M campus. Photo: K.V. Srinivasan. The Hindu

We commend the work of IIT-M, and thank the Hindu for its occasional coverage of conservation’s small but important victories:

…R.J. Ranjit Daniels of Chennai-based CareEarth, a biodiversity research organisation, said during 2006 there were reports of dwindling blackbuck population on the IIT-M campus. At that time, the population was recorded to be 12. Following this, the IIT authorities entrusted the work of documenting the biodiversity on the premises to CareEarth.

A team of trained biologists was roped in for the work and it identified the precise number of blackbucks, both male and female. The team also mapped the critical blackbuck habitat on the premises.

Proliferation of Prosopis juliflora (Veli Kaathan in Tamil) had been identified as one of the reasons for the dwindling population. Another issue was the cutting of trees. Thirdly, the team declared that critical habitats be declared as ‘No Development Zones’. The IIT authorities agreed to look into the three suggestions made by the team.

As a first step, the IIT authorities removed prosopis from a small area, where bamboo was planted. This helped in the growth of native grass species. The blackbuck was made the flagship species on the campus, and the IIT authorities were guided by a conservation plan. Census on the blackbuck population was taken up annually.

In 2008, the second counting was done, which showed an increase of eight animals. The third counting was done in 2010 in which nearly 25 animals were recorded. From 2010 onward the census was done every year, Dr. Daniels said…

Read the whole article here.