Foresters Find Tough Checking Livestock From Grazing in Forests

 Vijayawada: Foresters are finding it tough to prevent livestock, mainly sheep and goats, from grazing in forests, which is leading to degradation of forests and soil erosion.

Villagers living on fringes of forests find it convenient to raise sheep and goats, as they can take them into the forests every day. This is resulting in degradation and even destruction of forests, as the livestock eat up plants as well as seedlings.

There is thus no regrowth of vegetation and over a period of time, some parcels of forest lands go barren. Heavy rainfall in such conditions causes erosion of soil, which travels through streams and rivulets to reach water bodies like canals, drains and reservoirs. This results in formation of silt at the bottom, affecting the water holding capacity of water bodies. This, in turn, causes overflowing of such bodies, leading to breaches. This results in inundation of low-lying habitations and farmlands, causing enormous loss to people, especially farmers.

A section of shepherds are habituated to smoking. Some of them end up throwing burning cigarette / beedi butts in the forests. This results in forest fires affecting the flora and fauna.

Foresters have suggested to higher authorities to identify wastelands near the villages of shepherds, where plantations could be raised to feed their livestock, instead of allowing them to graze in forest lands.

Forest authorities are also taking up awareness drives among villagers not to use forest lands for feeding their livestock, as it could affect wildlife with no availability of adequate vegetation. This would result in the population of herbivores dwindling, which affects the survival of carnivores.

Palnadu divisional forest officer (social forestry) K. Ashok Kumar pointed out that such grazing is not confined to Palnadu area but the entire state. “We are organising awareness programmes to discourage such practice, besides penalising those who flout norms,” he said.