Kundwara Forests Victim of Agricultural Expansionism

Agriculture in any form in India has never been seen as a malady thanks to teeming uncontrolled population with billion mouths to feed. Its status is akin to the holy cow whether productive or not. The biotic stress is difficult to manage and the environment is crumbling under the pressure.  But little do people realise that the same life saving agrarian benevolence has wreaked havoc on our ecosystems all over the country. 

Agriculture has made inroads into the heart of nature in India and remote places are remote no more, they have been recklessly invaded by humanity completely degrading habitats and wiping off nearly all life forms. The negative impact of encroachment and subsequent land clearance for settlements and urbanization has been further enhanced by large-scale livestock rearing. Both have made rapid strides all over India in order to feed the people and establish local economies. It is time now to increase the productivity of land in an organic manner and free as much land as possible for regeneration by reducing dependence on traditional farming. Even livestock at places are unproductive but weigh down heavily creating biotic pressure. More productive stock and alternative eco-friendly income is the need of the hour.            

                                                            Kundwara Forests 

In my quest for understanding nature in India, I have noted with much sadness the wide-scale loss of our ecosystems and the near extinction of our precious wildlife. This though has not drawn much concern among the people as well as the administrators and politicians to a large extent. Lost habitats with lone trees and past zoo geographical status may find mention here and there but for us, the living suffering from amnesia nothing is lost. But surely whence environmental impacts broil down our throats the absence of precious ecosystems will become conspicuous. 

                                                                Kundwara Rest House

The impact is already in effect due to global warming and pollution. In spite of public outcry, the negative fallout of unplanned development at places has not made any impact. Although this is not happening in remote rural confines the ecosystems are being nipped in the bud by constant abiotic and biotic pressures. Infrastructure development in remote confines is limited but encroachment or stripping of land for economic purposes and settlement albeit slow cannot be ruled out.        

                                                    Brook at Kundwara Forests

Driving down to Kundwara Forest Rest House is one fine way to discover the damage agriculture has brought about. The RH is situated near Baghraji (Bagh=Tiger) a hamlet named after the tiger. And this nomenclature is not due to a fig of imagination, in the past, this destination was full of big cats and diverse wildlife in large extant forests that were part of the Central Indian Highlands. Most of the forests in Central India and elsewhere are pockmarked with settlements and the fallout on surrounding forests is evident. The crown cover is absent and so is the wilderness.  

                                                                           Nursery

Even to the uninitiated, the strip of forest on the hills and its absence in the plains nearby rings an alarm bell, the sordid saga of degradation brought about by humans. Twenty years back I had seen tigers on the descent before the RH. Then throughout the night in the Scary darkness of the Dak Bungalow, I heard the mating calls. The sound made in heaven and the sighting were instrumental in the discovery of tigers where they had lost ground a long time back.       

Kundwara RH is now a hub of picnickers and enthusiasts on nature trails. The romantic British-built RH has been replaced by a modern construction that does not gel with the surroundings. The path leading to the brook in the middle of the forests is good enough for nature walks but the tigers and other animals are missing replaced by a bunch of picnickers and nature lovers. The nearby Laver River was inhabited by marsh crocodiles, pythons, and other aquatic life. This exotic rivulet is devoid of wilderness and completely dependent upon humanity that prevails in the precincts. Spotted Deer though scarce are sometimes visible on the drive and the chinkaras which I used to see often are much scarcer their meat is easily available leading them to near extinction here perhaps. 

"Nothing much here except the chitals," the guard informed me. "Even the tigers you have seen are not here anymore. Migrated perhaps." 

I remember very much the big cats were attracted by the water in the nursery in the summers. A well-armed Thakur from a nearby village used to score the jungles in search of a game. He told me of his escapades whence hunting was not illegal, and for a small fee, VIPs used his services to bring down already beleaguered wildlife. This should have stopped post Wildlife Protection Act 1972 but as he told me he cannot let go of hunting even if it is illegal. I am told he was brought to the book by a vigilant and daring officer. 

Post-booking criminals and wood loggers the administration is often pressurized by local political goons to let go. The brave resist and are subsequently punished by the local politicians reminding us that democracy has not been able to dilute the power of feudal and the local bigwigs. Anyway, the reserve forests notified as such do not hold much clout as the Protected Areas and National Parks do. Belonging to lower conservation rung they are subject to much exploitation, encroachment, and wildlife crimes with the criminal getting away using bribes, using powerful contacts, and the weak laws that prevail.    

Central India abounds in reserve forests beside a few PAs of repute. The reserve forest like Kundwara suffers from neglect even the local nursery beds were rotting with neglect and half-grown plants are left to die without any plantation efforts being made. This is a precious waste of public money and plantation exercise should be conducted only under responsible supervision or not at all.  

Anyway, the RH is well-maintained and the staff is polite and welcoming. A day can be well spent here on holiday and Kundwara is excellent for bird watching. Bring your own food or else ask the staff to cook for you if you have enough rations. The strip of forests will remain and the corridor it forms with other reserve forests and with Bandhavgarh though weak may last for quite some time.   

These rest houses surrounding small eco-units should play an active role in ecotourism in India. Kundwara already popular with tourists could fetch revenue for the development of the nursery, protection of the forests, and upkeep of the RH. The administration should follow suit with RH prevailing in scenic local or eco-units and use them for revenue generation while at the same time dispersing holidaymakers from already crowded tiger reserves.   

Kundware is about forty km from Jabalpur Airport on the Kundum Shahpura Highway. While driving from Jabalpur you have to turn left from Tilsani township (30Km) towards Baghraji in order to reach the RH. Permission should be availed from the DFO Jabalpur. RH facilities are provided on basis of permission availed.

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Uday Works as Freelance Naturalist and Blogs on conservation, tigers, and environmental issues.

He also provides SEO and Website Content in English.

He can be contacted at:

Mail: pateluday90@hotmail.com
 Mob: 09755089323

             

Tiger Conservation The Human Conundrum

This period of April and May were months of extreme upheaval in India as the nation was embroiled in a contentious parliamentary poll. The largest democracy naturally conducts the largest exercise at the hustings. The highlight of parliamentary elections in the country was of course the virulent campaigns that began and ended with unending fervor. The aftermath ended in a reverberating but gradually quietening atmosphere as the results were declared and winners took their seats.

For all political parties in India the propaganda revolves around many populist issues, but completely neglects the conservation and environmental issues though as a matter of principle they are ingrained in our policies albeit executed with scant regard.

The first to inculcate the order of nature and wildlife conservation in India where the Vedic literature, but we have conveniently forgotten them, the scientific journals have been relegated to the background as forgotten and inconsequential parts of our history.

The conservation ethos were carried forward by Asoka the Great, and after centuries of continuous destruction, we had a leader in Smt. Indira Gandhi rejuvenated conservation practices by inducting laws that mattered. The tiger and the ecosystem as a whole were the major beneficiaries of steps taken during her governance. Her zealous pursuit of protecting India's heritage was effective in conserving whatever was left. But after her sad demise no one stepped into her shoes. 

In midst of the mind-boggling exercise, one issue as always took a complete back seat for nowhere was there a mention of environment and nature in a country where multitudinous masses live. All through the campaigning, there was the worst kind of slander that included personal jibes, insults, and revelations all at the lowest level possible.

Forget about the environment and our remaining natural heritage no issues of serious nature were ever brought forth or discussed. That is how the prospects irrespective of their drawing treat their subjects - gullible, downtrodden, ignorant, and living in the stone age. The appeal for the vote is more of a tamasha, steeped in loud promises of piquant favors, charismatic chest-thumping, and yes development.   

After the hustings, all promises are forgotten except the development mantra which all parties think will offer a permanent majority in the parliament for decades. All the time the mantra of development was aimed at more than one billion people a promise if rightly fulfilled could lead to betterment of living conditions and emancipation from abject poverty the large populace is steeped in.   

The goggle-eyed voters could understand the mantra of development very well but the related issues were not even in the picture. The emancipation that was promised was all that mattered - a panacea for all that ails society.

Where would the succor come from with deteriorating climatic conditions, abject shortage of water, and a badly polluted environment without the proper mix of air? The water shortage is a serious matter that should concern one and all especially those at the helm of governance.

We are constantly hurting our ecosystems (rivers, forests, deserts, grasslands) that deliver clean and fresh air, large tracts of forests are being decimated for linear development for highways, settlements and infrastructure expansion. Mining woes are not being mitigated at all. Environmental clearances are taking place in a jiffy with no serious thought to impending disasters, industrial belts and deadly polluting mega industries are taking their toll in this country with ever-increasing haste.

Species endangerment is taking place in the blink of an eye. A large number of species have already been lost. Does all this not matter? Aren't the participants of the democratic process the citizens not entitled to enlightenment as to what safeguards are being put in place that would prevent further depredation. Should not they be revealed during the poll propaganda? Who bothers? 

Human-centric development has always been the core practice of ruling polities with abject disregard for nature. This has been a global phenomenon and cuts across the vast spectrum of political establishments everywhere. India is not alone in this disastrous way of governance, we are in tandem with the World.

But ironically this does not alarm us. Nature is our life support system but we have taken it for granted. A denuded patch of forest does not raise eyebrows as it should hence climate change in its worst form is imminent.

A radical shift has to take place among the rulers as to how development and urbanization should be carried out. All the hindrances which are genuine should be respected and alternatives found. You cannot write off a strip of forest just to aid a highway or an industrial area. But this is happening and slowly we are destroying our green lungs and precious habitats which will augur climate change to the extreme.

The effect of our haste will result in an environmental condition that would make species survival  (including man) extremely difficult. The tiger has been the worst sufferer being an indicator species sitting at the top of the food chain we cannot let it go. Proper development policies without damaging the ecosystems, and keeping in mind the environmental consequences are imperative we should change over to.

For every step we take towards so-called development we have to keep its impact on nature all the time. The institutions in India will play a major role in safeguarding our environment in times to come. Provided there is the necessary radical shift in our perspective and a less destructive paradigm sets in. 

The public should play an important role as a watchdog and be conscious about social ills like exponential population growth which has to be brought down. Not only as tourists, but we should also reduce the biotic pressures on our surroundings in day-to-day living with a responsible lifestyle.

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Uday works as a naturalist at Kanha National Park in India.
He often writes on conservation issues as a blogger.
He can be contacted:
pateluday90@hotmail.com
09755089323

Tiger Tourism Beginning of the end

The bleak future unfolds as closure of tourism in tiger reserves appears imminent. There is hope that some space will be given but this is merely a conjecture. Tourism in buffer is just a joy ride in case of most of the reserves. The buffer zone suffers from intrusion and lot of other disturbance, secondly the ecosystem at most of the places is not intact. These factors do not contribute to stable wild populations. Certain endangered and niche dwellers are confined to the core zone.     

Hence tourist interested in wildlife watching will diminish and they will not arrive here. The park (Read Buffer) would be visited by holiday makers interested more in revelry than anything else.   

The major impact will be on forest guides and drivers apart from closure of most of the hotels. The wide scale unemployment will result in lots of frustration. These are the people with excellent knowledge of the whole forests, animal movements and behavior. They will be easy target for the vicious network of poachers. If tourism is practically closed then adverse means of income could be sought by many. The only answer  that seems plausible is a hefty compensation or large scale induction in the department in case of those who are in temporary status or not in the muster roll at all.         

The loss of income to the administration would mean less conservation and management efforts. Another loss would be that of awareness that was regularly created. Status maintenance would suffer or would be restricted to the department.The valuable contribution of amateur and professional wildlife photographers and observers would be practically negligible. I believe the access to core zone will remain open to the privileged dignitaries.            

With full respect to Hon. Supreme Courts Ruling time will tell the impact of the changing paradigm.