Coast ready to green western Ghats region

Mangaluru: Following the alarming degeneration of green cover over the coast due to various infrastructure projects including the Nethravati diversion project (touted as Yettinahole), the development of three national highways, power lines and petroleum and chemical pipelines the forest department has begun bringing green cover back to its pristine self in urban, rural, and western ghats area all along the coast.

Over 1.5 crore saplings have been readied at 16 major nurseries in three coastal districts of the forest department. Out of this at least 5 per cent have been reserved for tree planting projects taken up as the corporate social responsibility of various corporate bodies like MRPL, OMPL, SEZ, UPCL, Ports at Mangaluru, Udupi and Karwar, vital installations like Navy and Nuclear Power Corporation Limited at Kaiga in Uttara Kannada. In addition, 7-8 per cent will be planted under the Koti Vriksha project of the government which the schools and educational institutions execute and the rest will be planted by the forest department in various reserve forests, western ghats pockets, wildlife divisions, national parks that borders Uttara Kannada, Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Kodagu. “We know due to many infrastructure projects we have lost so much green cover, but we have readied the nurseries in the forest department to plant four trees for every tree lost during the project execution in the western ghats and the coastal region. It is not only compensatory forest development but also extensive forest development coupled with a concentration in the areas where the trees were cut” forest officials told Hans India.

The forest department officials in three districts say that all the local and western Ghats endemic species have been developed. Range Forest Officers of 16 ranges across the coastal districts told Hans India that all the greening of the Western Ghats is happening on the seaside face of the Western Ghats the department has over 70 small, medium and big nurseries of Mangaluru range P Sridhar said that “many flowering, shade-giving, berry yielding and tree species have been selected, which are in fact included in the plant and tree diversity of the Western Ghats. 28 species of saplings including Kakke, Holay Dasavala, Rosi Owlanda, Nerale (blueberries) Ranje, Ashoka, Jack, wild jack, wild Mangoes, Mahagoni, Pepul, wild fig have been selected for planting in the forests”

Officials at the New Delhi-based Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority (PPVFRA) told Hans India that the time has come to consciously protect plant diversity and not get lost in the melee of commercial propagation of plants in unlikely regions.

Ever since agriculture came to be practised for the survival of Human beings 20,000 years back, plant diversity has been the object of study. Modern scientific findings have established that there are 49,000 species, out of which 3900 species have been used for human consumption and 3000 for Medicinal purposes. But in pursuit of developing cities and concrete jungles, we have destroyed many species, but now the time has come for us to protect the ones we are left with, fortunately, India is one among the 17 countries that share top plant diversity and our farmers have protected it to the maximum extent possible the plant scientists at the Authority told.

The most happening areas in this unique green drive were Reserve Forests like Kanakamajalu, Kannadka and Periyabaney where the department has identified several types of bamboo and canes in over 75 hectares. All bamboo varieties are good for soil conservation, rain, several species of wildlife habitat and also for commercial value. The Kanakamajalu range forest nursery has readied 2,75,000 saplings of western ghats endemic varieties out of which 40,000 will be reserved for public distribution.