Eminent ecologist Dr Madhav Gadgil completes extensive study of Karnataka wildlife

Gadgil: alarmedThe lion-tailed macaque, the black buck, and the Nilgiri langoor are facing extinction. The mangrove forests have disappeared from the West Coast. The scrub forests of the Deccan Plateau have been totally destroyed. Dandeli, one of the richest bamboo forests in the Western Ghats, is being systematically wiped out. And in two decades, the forest-clad Western Ghats would have nothing growing but parthenium and eupatorium, two obnoxious weeds.These are some of the chilling findings made by eminent ecologist Dr Madhav Gadgil, National Environment Fellow and Associate Professor, Centre for Theoretical Studies, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. Gadgil has just completed an extensive study of Karnataka wildlife to assess conservation efforts and evolve methods to effectively preserve the diminishing fauna. Summarising his survey results, the bespectacled Gadgil said: "Our present efforts to conserve wildlife are classical in their approach. Most of the sanctuaries and national parks were formerly the favourite hunting grounds of maharajahs and were created to preserve spectacular animals like tigers, panthers. elephants and gaurs, neglecting other flora and fauna. By concentrating on preserving the habitats of big game we have failed to realise the significance of preserving the entire variety of plant and animal life, a resource that is a highly specialised bio-chemical factory. Unless we change our approach and preserve as wide a spectrum of plants, animals and micro-organisms as possible they will become extinct even before we can recognise their unique values."Vanishing Wildlife: Gadgil began his study of Karnataka wildlife and ecology in 1974. His research team consisting of four students surveyed 85 forest ranges in Karnataka apart from making an in-depth study of the mammals in the Bandipur game sanctuary and the bamboo ecology in the Dandeli forest reserves. The team found that the best known sanctuaries such as Bandipur and Nagarhole were in deciduous forests which sheltered the more spectacular animals. Significantly, there were no conservation efforts in the evergreen forests which had a richer variety of flora and fauna, and harbour species not found anywhere else in the world.A lion-taled macaque monkeySeveral uropeltids, a group of burrowing snakes, and several species of cacelians, a group of limbless frogs, are found only in the Western Ghats. A unique mammal found in these forests is the lion-tailed macaque, a monkey with a mane around its face and a tail ending in a tuft like that of a lion. Its body is jet black in colour. This animal, along with the Nilgiri langoor, is facing extinction because of neglect of the evergreen forest habitat.Apart from the diminishing wildlife, the evergreen forests of the Western Ghats, which originally extended up to the West Coast, have been steadily destroyed. The mangrove forests have disappeared from the coast and so have the semi-evergreen forests of the coastal plain. These have been replaced by paddy fields and coconut plantations. Formerly the evergreen ranges accounted for 20 per cent of Karnataka's forest area but now only 5 per cent of the hills have evergreen forests.The forests are being ruthlessly exploited. Said Gadgil: "We should reap from forests only the interest on their capital stock. We should always maintain the capital. But our present rate of harvesting is now eating into the capital to reap short-term benefits resulting in serious long-term destruction." Giving the example of Karnataka bamboo forests he said that of the total capital stock of 14 lakh tonnes, the annual interest on capital or the new bamboo culms (stems) grown every year is 1,30,000 tonnes.But forest-based and cottage industries fell about 1,60,000 tonnes annually thereby eating up 30,000 tonnes extra every year and steadily cutting into bamboo stocks Sparse Forests: The degradation of the once rich Dandeli forest is having a tremendous impact on wildlife. Elephants which used to feed on bamboo now search for other pastures. They make periodic raids and destroy crops and coconut cultivations. Apart from this, vast areas formerly covered with bamboo groves are now tilled with a weed called eupatorium, which is fast becoming a major menace all over the state. The weed is inedible and was imported from Burma. It is similar to parthenium and is found in high rainfall areas.A black buck: dwindling numbersWhile evergreen forests have been considerably reduced, the scrub or thorn forests, which formerly accounted for 50 per cent of the forest area of the state, have been totally wiped out to make way for cultivated land. Except for Rannebennur, which has now become a eucalyptus plantation, there are no sanctuaries for scrub animals. The black buck, an antelope, is endangered while the cheetah has become extinct. Wolves exist in meagre numbers.Deciduous forests, which used to cover about 30 per cent of the forest area, have fared better but here also the wildlife population has been steadily decreasing. The tiger population has been considerably reduced although the panthers have suffered less because they are more adaptable. The elephants are now concentrated in Bandipur and Nagerhole and those living in other areas are in a precarious position. The gaur is now found in large numbers only in Bhadra and Jager Valleys. The barking deer, which used to be hunted for its meat, survives in small numbers.Apart from this the total deciduous forest area has been reduced from 30 per cent to 12 per cent. Many of the bigger and more valuable trees do not exist any more. In 1814, when an Englishman, Basil Hall, recorded the size of bamboo trees on the Mysore plateau, he noted that each was 80 feet tall, its stem was as thick as a human thigh and each clump had a hundred or more culms. But now each clump has hardly 10 culms, the trees are not more than 50 feet high and no stem is thicker than a wrist. The bamboo groves no longer stretch for miles but exist only in small pockets.Cramped Habitats:Another important finding of the study is that the fragmentation of forests has resulted in the disappearance of a relatively large quantity of biological life. Small habitats in the long run cannot sustain the original biological diversity. When the team drew up a fragmentation index they found that the greater the fragmentation the sharper the decline in wildlife population.In the Anekal forest range, as a result of fragmentation, the overall elephant population per square kilometre had increased but their cramped confines were forcing them to raid crops. The team concluded that if wildlife had to be conserved effectively it was important that areas contiguous to forests remained untouched.If the present approach to conservation was classical and limited in its viewpoint, what were the solutions. Gadgil feels that conservation efforts must be directed towards preserving the overall biological diversity. This can be done by developing "biosphere" reserves which consist of large stretches of forest areas that include all the three types of forests - this set-up would preserve the maximum variety of plants and animals. Recently the Central Government has been considering a proposal to develop a Nilgiri biosphere, the first of its kind in India. It will span 7,000 square miles and will extend from the Mysore plateau to the Nilgiri and south Palghal hills. If the Nilgiri biosphere becomes a reality, India would take a great leap forward in preserving her ecology, and sanctuaries would no more be just the heirlooms of former maharajahs.Published By: AtMigration Published On: Nov 16, 2013 12:20 IST--- ENDS ---

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Eminent ecologist Dr Madhav Gadgil completes extensive study of Karnataka wildlife

Dr Madhav Gadgil completed an extensive study of Karnataka wildlife to assess conservation efforts and evolve methods to effectively preserve the diminishing fauna.

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