Wild meat hunting and consumtion is an integral part of the life of communities in the north east of India. Open wild meat markets exist in different towns and cities across the states. A hoopoe bird for Rs. 400, a giant squirrel for Rs 500, a barking deer for Rs 6000…while the forest seems devoid of wildlife, what you see in the markets is an indicator of what still remains.

We first came to the Northeast in 2002 to film the story of orphaned bear cubs being rehabilitated into the wild in Pakke National Park in Arunachal Pradesh. As we followed them over the years, the bears became central to many of the thoughts concerning this region:The bears were orphans of hunting. So, was their survival in the wild even possible as long as hunting exists? How widespread was this practice? Was it tradition or trade? Was it sustainable? What was the future of wildlife here?

THE WILD MEAT TRAIL is a quest to get some insight into the the extent of the hunting practices and its place in the current cultural context. It is a journey through the Northeast of India – travelling from small towns to remote villages, trekking though wild terrains, participating in village rituals, talking to sellers and consumers – in an attempt to develop some understanding of the state of the wildlife and whether there is another path possible.

The batch of 2006 has gone to sea. Hopefully, many of the Olive Ridley hatchlings will brave the odds and return as splendid turtles to continue their cycle of life on Orissa’s beaches.

Moves to protect the Olive Ridley Turtles, their breeding and nesting grounds have led to mounting conflicts involving fishing communities, government departments and conservationists, principally because these turtles’ breeding habitat in the river mouths also happen to be the richest fishing grounds of Orissa. Each year debates are refueled as dead carcasses start getting washed ashore. While it is clear that bottom trawl nets used by fishing vessels is one of the main reason for turtle mortality on this shore, in recent times even traditional fishing has come under scrutiny. And with that have risen questions about their livelihood.

THE RIGHT TO SURVIVE – Turtle Conservation and Fisheries Livelihoods takes an intense look at turtle conservation and the protection of the livelihoods of traditional fishing communities. It offers insights into the dilemmas facing the various stakeholders, and attempts to find solutions to save both Orissa’s turtles and its traditional fishing community. .

Earth Calling is a series about matters of the earth: stories of environment, wildlife and the wide natural world around us. Through this show we will visit exotic, beautiful places nestled in the lap of nature and take a hard look at environmental concerns that threaten their future survival. In Earth Calling, we will meet people who watch out for nature, raise crucial questions and fight the odds to save that one tree, that one animal or bring water to a whole thirsting village.

In this episode, we travel to Coorg, Karnataka, a global bio-diversity hot-spot, and also renowned for its coffee and spice plantations.

These coffee and spice plantations however have seen extensive use of pesticides, deeply affecting the ecology, and in some cases resulting in death of rare bird species.

At the same time the steady spread of coffee estates has dangerously eaten into crucial jungle areas, fragmenting the elephant corridor, and giving rise to human-elephant conflict.

So within all this, we meet Dr. Sujata and Dr. Anurag, who are trying to re-imagine Coorg by pioneering bio-pesticides on their organic farms. We also meet Pamela, who is trying to give back to elephants the forest they lost – by re-building the elephant corridor.

Plantations versus rainforest, humans versus animals, chemical cure versus bio-pesticides. But, as we see in ‘EARTH CALLING’, somewhere conservation is leading the way. There are people who are watching out for this paradise. And whatever is being attempted today has a vision for the future.

A Shawl To Die For traces the ancient handicraft of Shahtoosh weaving in Kashmir, India and tracks its link to the Tibetan antelope or Chiru found on the Chang Tang plateau in China. It establishes that shahtoosh is, in fact the fleece of the chiru, which is killed to extract this fibre. The international ban on Shahtoosh was critical for the survival of thee endangered Chiru, but it also spelt disaster for thousands of traditional Shahtoosh workers in Kashmir. The film explores this grim struggle between conservation and livelihood.

It also documents the interventions brought in by a community project initiated by Wildlife Trust of India and International Fund for Animal Welfare, supported by the British High Commission. The solutions thrown up by this project have been steadily implemented and the challenge now is to ensure and measure its growth and success.

Thick forests bank the Ganga as it flows into the plains; this is the Rajaji National Park in Uttarakhand, northern India, home to a rich variety of wildlife.

Between 1987 and 2001, eighteen Asian elephants and other smaller animals, were killed in train-hit accidents along a railway line that cuts across Rajaji National Park. This rail line connects the holy city of Haridwar with the capital of this state, Dehradun, and is one of the busiest rail stretches in the region. Invasive as the rail track is for this ancient wilderness and all wildlife within it, it is equally a lifeline for thousands of people commuting on this stretch everyday. There is no other way the railway line can be routed. Humans cannot do without the transport connections and wild animals find it difficult to learn that the strange parallel tracks running through their habitat can suddenly bring on huge, speeding monster machines that run them over, again and again.

ON THE RIGHT TRACK documents a project that looked at this problem closely and has found creative solutions to reduce the danger on these tracks. Undertaken by Wildlife Trust of India-IFAW, supported and meticulously implemented by the Uttarakhand Forest Department in collaboration with Northern Railways, the suggested solutions have ensured zero elephant deaths on this 14 km track since 2001. A heartening win that proves that a little bit of care can allow human technology and ancient natural living systems to coexist. The Rajaji example is now being replicated in other areas with similar problems.

All across India, non – timber forest produce (NTFP), spell a critical source of income for indigenous people and forest – dwelling communities, who are among the poorest of the poor.

Not only do the NTFPs play a crucial role in the livelihood of these people, but from a key incentive to conserving the forest of India. Moreover NTFPs are woven in with the social and cultural fabric of the communities living in India.

Communities are working hand in hand with grassroots non – government groups, traders, and government to address the challenges posed by low productivity, lack of technology, irrational NTFP laws, and wide – scale contract based extraction.

Over the years of hard work, inroads are being made. Community – based conservation, management, value addition, and marketing of NTFPs are being successfully practiced. Honey, mahua, resin, amla, sal leaf, and the thousand of other NTFP species will continue to flourish and play its role in the lives of communities today and in the future.

Anchored by two ten 11 olds – Sanchita and Dhruv, Small World is a show by and for children – the world through a child’s eye. It is an educational series that features environment, wildlife and social issues for kids in a simple, informative and fun way. In Small World children find solutions to problems, produce their own short films about the place they live in, find answers to their never-ending queries, talk about their achievements and explore career options. Small World is targeted at kids all over India – cities, towns, and villages.

Jambudwip is a small island at the edge of the Sunderban delta in India. Every year from October to Feb hundreds of fish workers migrate to the island to set up fishing camps. Some of them set off in boats to set up traditional nets in deep sea to catch fish. These boats remain in the sea through the season. Everyday carrier boats from the Jambudwip island ferry the fish catch back to the island for drying. This is the largest dry fish industry in the eastern part of India supplying dry fish starting from west Bengal to the northeast states. Its the poor man’s protein.

The geographical location and characteristics of Jambudwip make it ideal for drying fish .There are creeks within the island making it possible for the boats to get the fish right to the camp. This way the fish can be offloaded and dried immediately, making it better in quality. There are vast flat areas which serve as a good drying bed. The island has mangroves making it protected from cyclones.

In 2002 under an order of the Supreme Court the fish workers were banned from using the island. According to the order the island fell under the forest act and its use for fishing camps was declared illegal. Overnight almost 10,000 families directly or through ancillary industry lost their livelihood.

UNDER THE SUN tells the story of this transient fishing community, who have used the island since the 1960’s and since the ruling have not been able to return to Jambudwip.