The blazing heat and the failure of monsoons have partnered together to create a real havoc in the forests of the Western Ghats. The entire area of western ghats in Coimbatore and Nilgris districts wear a parched look. 'The dearth in vegetation and water resources and the rate at which it keeps diminishing is really alarming! And, that's the reason for the unusual migration of herds from Mudumalai Forest Range to Wayannad and Kabini reserve in Karnataka', say Forest Officials.
Thorny scrubs, parched grass with trees sans any green is nevertheless a disturbing sight. It is expected that during the onset of peak summer, the vegetation would further worsen leading to increased man vs animal conflict along with death of wild animals due to hunger and dehydration.
To get more insights on the preparedness of the forest department for the upcoming summer season, we got in touch with District Forest Officer (DFO) S. Ramasubramaniam, who briefed on the cautionary measures taken by the forest department to protect the fauna and flora of the forests.
"Our Forest department along with a city-based NGO conducted a 6-month survey to rule out the reasons for increased man animal conflict. Upon analyzing the records and the footage recorded in the CCTV cameras, we were surprised to note that wild animals including bison, elephants, leopards, deers entered the villages and residential areas nearly 360 times for fodder and water within a period of six months. We spent close to 14,000 man hours for conducting this survey.
Based on the outcome of the research, forest department has taken many steps to iron out the practical issues faced by the animals, which predominantly is scarcity of water. There are 7 forest ranges in the District of Coimbatore and close to 7 to 8 water turfs are created in each range. Each turf can hold upto 5000 litres of water. The forest watchers and the field staff continuously monitor the situation and re-fill the tanks with adequate water.
Despite this move, animals especially elephants trespassing into villages for water continues. Hence, it is decided to increase the number of turfs at each range. Structure and placement of the turfs will very crucial. Usually turfs have been placed on the fringes of the border between land and forest, but the issue is animals have to travel a long distance to reach the turfs.
This tiring journey makes them very aggressive and tend to trespass the nearby villages and destroy the plantations. Apart from elephants, animals like monkeys, peacocks, deer and nocturnal animals like hyena quench their thirst at the turfs installed by the forest department. We have statistics and analytics on the animals visiting the turf through the CCTV cameras installed adjacent to the turfs. Hence, it is decided to construct more turfs in the interior of forests and fill water using solar-energy as filling through motors becomes impracticable.
Fodder is also another challenging issue which leads to increased man-animal conflict during summer. By keeping fodder at places, frequently visited by the animals we could control the conflict incidence. Juicy fruits, cereals, leaves, grass and other likable fodder for the animals will be kept at paths frequently visited so that those animals do not enter the villages for food.
When questioned on the action plan to prevent forest fire DFO, Ramasubramaniam shared that "Forest fires are either natural or man made. Though natural fire cannot be prevented, we are educating our field staffs to handle the situation every professionally. We also train them on personal safety, logistics and first aid. Fire lines have been created at high risk places.
And, with regard to man made forest fire, we have advised all our forest staff to thoroughly check the people who enter areas which are more vulnerable to fire. Despite all these measures, only if people act responsibly forest fires could be totally prevented. Throwing lit cigar pieces and setting camp fires in forest areas, are the main reasons for man-made fire. Such heedless act by the people leads to irreplaceable destruction of the entire vegetation in the forests.
As announced, stringent action will be directed against people who do not adhere to forest rules and regulations. The responsibility of protecting and conserving our forest lands is just not vested in the hands of the forest department but with people's co-operation our forest could be conserved and bettered in all ways. Let's act responsibly and protect our flora and fauna this upcoming summer', said DFO Ramasubramaniam.