Artists With Animals - AWA

BEAUTIFICATION OF RAILADEVI LAKE TURNED OUR HOME INTO GRAVEYARD.

‘Protected species’ of turtles and several fishes died after Thane municipal corporation workers arbitrarily emptied out the 20 acre Railadevi Lake, one of the 35 lakes in thane which is known as the "city of lakes", for desilting work without evaluating its Environment impact assessment on the aquatic life. Entire biodiversity of the lake has been destroyed in the name of beautification by changing the topography of the lake by gabion structures.

Nature lovers in Thane have alleged that Railadevi Lake has turned into a graveyard for aquatic life due to ‘unscientific’ lake restoration work carried out by the MMRDA & TMC. It has a natural ecosystem. The need was to ecologically preserve and enhance it. But, the agencies involved in the so-called restoration have bulldozed the site and are looking to fill it with cement and concrete Without understanding the ecosystem of the lake & the aquatic life in it.

The incident was flagged off on Wednesday evening after animal welfare NGO spotted several fishes and 4 turtles including Indian softshell turtles listed under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 lying dead in the lake bed following which they alerted the forest department. Entire biodiversity of the lake has allegedly died because of the ongoing lake beautification work, The numbers would be more as many would have been eaten away by scavengers before NGO arrived.

On Friday, the members of Wildlife Welfare Association, an NGO rescued 14 turtle turtles that were jostling for space and oxygen in a small turbid pond were rescued on Thursday include 12 red-eared sliders (exotic species) and two softshell turtles (native species).
A huge rescue operation is underway to rescue the remaining aquatic animals with the help of various departments from the government body, Wildlife Welfare Association NGO from Thane city. A case has been filed by the forest department on MMRDA & TMC for their act of negligence under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

Reposted from



Companions in Catastrophe

A conceptual illustration of a clouded leopard in Northeast India’s verdant, biodiverse forests gazing at a future similar to that of species such as the Bornean orangutan, whose rainforest habitat has been destroyed by oil palm cultivation. This illustration was created by the artists’ collective - Artists with Animals () for our February Cover Story.

Artist Concept Note
Habitat destruction due to aggressive palm oil cultivation is an issue destroying forests across the globe. The orangutans of Southeast Asia have already fallen prey to this eco-crisis. And now, this problem has arrived home, causing trouble to the endangered clouded leopards living in the forests of Northeast India.
Will we simply sit and watch as they become companions to the orangutans in this ecological catastrophe, or will we act now?

Slide 2: A peek into their process.
Our process begins with conducting a brief study of the topic at hand and understanding the root causes of the problem. We then note down the key points to illustrate the message and elaborate our ideas visually by making multiple sketches on paper. Then, after a group discussion, we finalise one visual that best conveys the message and looks appealing. This visual is then illustrated digitally giving you the final realistic render.

Slide 3: Artwork Iteration

Read Umesh Srinivasan’s article titled, ‘The Oil Palm Paradox’ at Sanctuary Asia's link in bio.

We wish all our fellow a very happy ✨🐾🌏

Trouble in Paradise🏖️🛳️
A massive commercial port proposed at the Ennore-Pulicat wetlands by Port Ltd. is planned in the village of , just south of the Pulicat lagoon, this will expand across the L&T shipyard, to claim 6,108 acres, up from its present 330 acres.
Defying signals sent by rising seas and a worsening climate crisis, over 2,000 acres of this area will flatten land-based ecosystems, another 2,000 will claim rich, biodiverse coastal and intertidal habitats, and yet another 2,000 acres are to be ‘reclaimed’ from the ocean by dumping dredged sea sand and soil quarried from the Palaar river.
Understandably, fragile coastal habitats within this massive area will be damaged beyond repair. A total of 6 kilometres of beach is likely to be paved and privatised. Whole villages of fisherfolk will be ousted. It's now or never. We must raise our voices now and help from disappearing forever.

Words by . To read further, visit the link https://sanctuarynaturefoundation.org/article/a-pulicat-story%3A-the-lagoon-that-protects-a-city

The has submitted an updated proposal for the project which includes constructing 3 new dams (Gargai, Pinjal, Damanganga) to the &CC on July 5. The project requires environment clearance, for which the BMC is yet to apply.
Hence, it becomes our responsibility to raise our voices and create awareness to help stop this proposal at the earliest stage possible. These dams will be built using 719 hectares forest land of the near Shahpur, Thane.
It is home to the critically endangered , 54 animal & 200 bird species. It will also cause felling of 4-5 lakh indigenous trees & displacement of 280 tribal families.
A solution to Mumbai's water crisis cannot be destruction of its forests. Raise your voices to . ✊🦉

#सह्याद्री ⁠

🏞SAVE DIBANG VALLEY🏞
The Hydroelectricity Project which will require building a dam on the river in , requires diversion of 1155.1 hectare of biodiversity rich community forestland and felling of 200,000 trees. Thus, putting at risk up to 555 bird, 60 mammal, 48 amphibian and 381 butterfly species; along with several other animal and indegenious human lives in this Valley.

A THRIVING ENVIRONMENT
IS THE SPINE OF A NATION
THIS INDEPENDENCE DAY, ASK
YOURSELF, SHOULD INDIA BE A
SPINELESS NATION?

Under the Draft Notification, our government and panels have cleared or discussed 30 projects in biodiverse areas. One of them being a limestone mine (hazardous, red category industry) in the , the only home to the .

WHY IS LIMESTONE MINING DISAGREEABLE?⛏️🦁

1. The rampant illegal sand and limestone mining in this region have dried the rivers, causing lions to migrate towards coastal areas as far as 300km.

2. Limestone mining causes habitat destruction, contamination of groundwater, dust pollution.

3. A notification of the eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) reduced the buffer zone from the proposed min. 8 km/max. 17 km from the boundary of the sanctuary, to a mere 500 m/4 km - all of this for mining.

4. This shortage of area for the lions is another problem in Gir, with Gujarat state officials resisting the relocation, fearing it would make the Gir Sanctuary lose its status, is making the lions stray in human habitats. Lions also die from drowning in uncovered wells, getting electrocuted by electric fences.

Under the Draft Notification, our government and MoEF&CC panels have cleared or discussed 30 projects in biodiverse areas. One of them being a limestone mine (hazardous, red category industry) in the , the only home to the . Today being the last day of raising our voice to , we request everyone to send emails to the government (draft link in bio) and protect the Lions of GIR, with many more flora and fauna that are in danger all over the country.

WHY IS LIMESTONE MINING DISAGREEABLE?⛏️🦁

1. The rampant illegal sand and limestone mining in this region have dried the rivers, causing lions to migrate towards coastal areas as far as 300km.

2. Limestone mining causes habitat destruction, contamination of groundwater, dust pollution.

3. A notification of the eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) reduced the buffer zone from the proposed min. 8 km/ max. 17 km from the boundary of the sanctuary, to a mere 500 m/ 4 km - all of this for mining.

4. This shortage of area for the lions is another problem in Gir, with Gujarat state officials resisting the relocation, fearing it would make the Gir Sanctuary lose its status, is making the lions stray in human habitats. Lions also die from drowning in uncovered wells, getting electrocuted by electric fences.

Twice the success, twice the celebration. Along with our campaign, the poster made by us has also been featured in 's August 2020 issue, under the 'Art from the Heart' article. This wouldn't have been possible without ; thank you Mr. Yuvan Aves for recommending our work for a good cause. We suggest everyone subscribe to and be updated with the latest environmental news and issues.

We are proud to announce that in less than a year of conception, Artists With Animals - AWA has been featured in one of the most prominent nature and wildlife magazines, . We thank them for covering our artists' collective and our campaign, in their August 2020 issue. We suggest everyone subscribe to and be updated with the latest environmental news and issues. Visit the link in bio to read the complete article!