For more than two decades now, an NGO is taking over tea tracts and converting them into endemic forests. The credit goes to Dr. Tarun Chhabra and Mr. Ramneek Singh, residents of Ooty and Coonoor, and their venture called Edhkwehlynawd Botanical Refuge (EBR) Trust 3. The path has not been easy. There is bureaucratic apathy, and the sentiments of the autochthonous peoples to be dealt with; there is political interference, since livelihoods are at stake – in some cases, of forest-dwelling tribes who have grown up to take commercial advantage of the plantations. Over time, the trust has taken over more than 24 acres of tea farms in West Nilgiris, and planted endemic trees and grasses in over 7 acres. Neighbouring forest is acacia and eucalyptus plantations, and the Forest Department should hold hands with this very noble cause, but the intent seems to be lacking.
In 2018-19, another NGO named Clean Coonoor stepped in parallelly to try and resurrect marshes with indigenous grasses. The Yedapalli marsh was the first such location, and it was assumed that the Government agencies whose jurisdiction it is to control and protect the environment, would take over. Sadly, that has not happened. The project did not find much favour with the citizens of the neighbouring villages, who would let in their cattle to graze, much before the grasses had established a foothold for themselves to survive and expand.
The Keystone Foundation, based in Kotagiri, has been involved in numerous projects directed towards revivals. One of the recent projects was revival of Millet farming in Aracode; In another project, Keystone Foundation teamed up with INDCOSERVE, for eco-restoration of two of their tea factories at MahaLinga and Kattabettu. This included clean up of the streams passing through the premises, removal of invasive flora and planting of native and endemic shola trees. The project of restoration of wetlands around Kotagiri commenced in 2006 4, and is still ongoing. This includes about 118 hectares in five sites. Keystone Foundation has established nurseries in partnership with the local inhabitants, and continuously monitors the progress of the restoration. One of the main challenges was sensitizing local community members on the importance of the shola-wetland service provided by these ecosystems. Another challenge was the lack of sanitary facilities in the area. Keystone Foundation worked towards providing toilets to the families and ensured that the waste goes into a septic tank and not into the wetlands, which was happening for a long time. With about 80 hectares restored, and work progressing in the rest, this has been a successful project.
Restoration of the Happy Valley outside Kotagiri 5 took over a decade of hard work. It is an acre-sized bit of Shola forest, which was taken over by invasives – wattle and eucalyptus. The wetland within this forest now boasts of 350 native species now, and the restoration has amazed the locals as well, whose elders never expected the return of species that they had seen decades ago.
Godwin Vasanth Bosco is an ecologist working towards restoration of forests and grasslands of the Nilgiri Highlands 6. He has years of experience with the landscape and ecology. He has organized planting projects and has set up nurseries. He brings innovative thought and research into identifying ways in which we can work towards holistic regeneration. He heads a project on the restoration of Shola grasslands that covers about 267 acres in 21 fragments.
In so far as sustainability is concerned, the Toda, autochthonous peoples of the plateau, have had a tradition of burning grasslands in their nomadic pattern of existence. There are mixed reviews of the effect of the burning of grasslands – on the one hand, it is good for the soil and the grasses; on the other hand, it leads to pollution in the air. There are some research studies in the West that point to an overall gain in burning grasslands for sustained grazing by cattle. This tradition is gradually waning in the Nilgiris for multiple reasons – the number of Toda continuing in the employ of traditional practices has dwindled, there is an overall sentiment against burning anything, and there has been a reduction in grazing pastures, making it difficult to move to an alternative one.