More at http://www.sanctuaryasia.com |Opinion
FACING PAGE Though cliched, the slogan ‘Grasslands are not wastelands’ needs to be drummed
into the heads of planners who are unable to comprehend the ecological services these vital
ecosystems off er. Meanwhile, the clouds of ‘development’ close in to threaten landscapes that
enabled the rise of the mammals.
BELOW The Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve boasts picturesque and vital grassland landscapes,
crucial to carnivores that depend on the herbivores that grasslands support.Such plantations were driven by
commercial ambitions, a false sense
of aesthetics, mistaken notions of
environmental protection, and misguided
eff orts to enhance soil productivity.
Some were well-intentioned, but almost
all lacked scientifi c temper. Half-baked
knowledge combined with misplaced
power resulted in the planting of exotic
species on barren lands. Needless to add,
more harm than good resulted.
DIVERSITY – THE SPICE OF LIFE!
The once-elegant stretches of contiguous
Banni grasslands and wetlands of Kutchh
are losing their edge on account of
runaway ‘modern’ agricultural practices.
Traditional wisdom involving rotational
grazing and seasonal harvesting has led
to the near-disappearance of Banni’s
natural ecosystems and its incredible wild
species. As I look over the vast expanse
of fragmented islands of grasses, the
negative impact of Prosopis julifl ora on
these impossibly biodiverse grasslands
hurts deeply.
The Velavadar National Park and its
small core area are relatively safe for now.
Here, one can still see galloping blackbuck
Antilope cervicapra chased by wolves,
with an impossibly beautiful backdrop of
a setting sun. This grassland haven, crucial
also for birds like the Lesser Florican and
harriers, is threatened by a whole slew of
development projects and farms that are
fated to fail. Some suggest that croplands
do not harm crop-loving species such as
the blackbuck. But in the long run, the
conversion of grassland wildernesses to
crop fi elds will lead to the antelope and
their co-inhabitants’ demise.
Added to this are the innumerable
turbines and power transmission lines
that are popping up all over the semi-arid
landscape. These spell death for Great
Indian Bustards (Sanctuary Vol. XXXVIII
No. 12, December 2018), whose presence
signifi es the health of grasslands in the
same way that the presence of tigers
signifi es the health of forests.
Those who have seen such ecosystems
damaged and then protected, with next to
no inputs from humans, discover viscerally
how utterly correct are those who
advocate leaving nature to its own devices
because ‘nature knows best’.
In another part of the country, shola
grasslands form a royal-green carpet and
walking through the mists and clouds
on this carpet is the closest to heaven I
have ever been. These unique montane
grasslands of the Western Ghats are
facing habitat fragmentation and possible
climate change repercussions. Tall teak
and eucalyptus plantations are now the
dominant community in these mountain
ranges and have been replacing most of
our fi nest grasslands.
Do not be fooled by the green slopes!
Most are cultivated, commercial timbers- the alien invaders that we need to be
worried about. The green carpets along the
slopes are hectare after hectare of coff ee
and tea plantations, which in concert with
eucalyptus, rubber and wattle plantations
have drastically changed and damaged the
landscape’s community structure.
Travel northward and you’ll fi nd
the most fertile region of our country,
‘the Indo-Gangetic plains’, have become
well-established, human-made grasslands
of rice, wheat and sugarcane. Ironically,
this signifi cant fl oodplain region houses
the highest large mammal densities in
the region. Human-animal confl ict is
consequently an everyday aff air across
the fertile belt because animals will go
where food is available.
Having turned animal homes into
factories and industries, our rational minds
should hardly be shocked when animals
enter human settlements. Following
human footsteps in these exquisite
riverine grasslands, come invasive species.
Wading through shrubs in few of the
Protected Areas in this landscape, it
became increasingly depressing to see the
terai region plagued with Parthenium and
Lantana, which become more dominant
by the day thanks to cattle grazers and
timber lobbies. Basically, humans have
mismanaged landscapes in an attempt to
squeeze more out of them than nature
intended to deliver and the best we can
do now is to work with nature to try and
restore ecosystems to a measure of their
former health. This of course, will only be
possible through the help of the biodiverse
organisms that originally crafted the
landscapes, long before humans were even
a blip on the evolutionary horizon.ABSENT EULOGIES
That grasslands are incredibly diverse
becomes obvious with just one visit
to any healthy grassland ecosystem.
But with little knowledge at their
disposal, powerful planners, egged on byGrasslands are referred to as ‘Banjar Bhoomi’ in Hindi, ‘Porambokku Nilam’ in Tamil, ‘Khil Bhoomi’ in Bengali, ‘Padik Jamin’ in
Marathi - all denoting spaces that are ‘wastelands’ or ‘infertile lands’. Little wonder then that they are the fi rst victims of
agricultural expansion and the fi rst choice for waste dump-sites.PRAVEEN RAO