Wayanad: Greens cry foul over jungle monoculture
Nature activists allege that entire grasslands of North Wayanad are shaven off to plant mahagony trees.
KOZHIKODE: The Greens of Wayanad district are on the warpath against the forest department for promoting monoculture in jungles, planting mahagony in large numbers this time, which has proved harmful to nature. It is happening at a time when there is a demand from the farming community to convert the teak and eucalyptus plantations into evergreen forests by planting a variety of indigenous trees.
A team of nature lovers visited Peria range of North Wayanad forest division where the planting work was on the other day.Wayanad Prakrithi Samrakshana Samithy president N. Badusha told DC that the entire grasslands had been shaven off to plant the mahagony (wietenia macrophylla) trees.
“We have been demanding a phased elimination of teak and eucalyptus plantations that have caused much damage to our water, air and ecosystem,” he said and added that majority of forest officials were against the move. “In the name of afforestation, large tracts of undergrowth have been removed,” he pointed out.
The Greens also met Forest Minister K. Raju and warned that if the forest department fails to ensure natural forest in the ecologically fragile stretches, the activists would uproot the plants. It is known that the teak and eucalyptus plantations have played a key role in destroying the eco-system of Wayanad district, an ecologically strategic spot in the Nilgiri biosphere.
According to the data of the forest department, teak has been planted in 10,700 hectares in Wayanad district, eucalyptus in 3,150 hectares and silver oak in 200 hectares. In the 34,400 hectares of Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary, teak constitutes about 8,000 hectares, eucalyptus 450 hectares and silver oak 200 hectares.
However, North Wayanad DFO Narendranath Veloori told DC that the department had plans to plant six varieties of indigenous trees, including mahagony in the forest. “The plantation land was vacant after felling teak and eucalyptus trees as part of a move to convert it into natural forest,” it was pointed out.