South Asian Rainforests and Indian connection

A CDM consultant working in afforestation projects in South India shared some stories about the deforestation of old growth forests of Malaysia and Indonesia, for timber and palm oil.. The scale was rather shocking..a total forest loss of 1,486,000 ha , around 85% deforestation since 1990 in Malaysia alone !

What is special about Old growth of Malaysia ? : Compared to the rest of the world's rain forests, Malaysia's is a grandmother. During the Ice Ages, much of the Earth was covered by immense glaciers that kept the global climate cool. Consequently, many of the planet's tropical rain forests had to wait until the glaciers receded before they could evolve. Malaysia's forest, however, was blessed with a location far enough away from the ice that it developed 130 million years ago - far earlier than those of Africa and Latin America (Source :Forests of Malaysia)

I turned my attention to some recent projects in India - tried to look up the World Bank website to find out the patterns of Category A projects approved (Category A project is likely to have significant adverse environmental impacts that are sensitive, diverse, or unprecedented. These impacts may affect an area broader than the sites or facilities subject to physical works)

• Lanco Amarkantak Power Private Limited - coal based power plant in Chattisgarh
• Vicat Sagar Cement - a 60 MW captive coal-fired power plant in Chatrassala village, Karnataka
• Tata Ultra Mega (Tata Mundra) - A coal based 4,000MW ultra mega’ imported coal and supercritical technology based power plant at the port city of Mundra in the state of Gujarat - The coal will be sourced from mines of Indonesia and other countries..operated by Adani group

See also protest by local NGOs : http://www.himvani.com/news/2010/02/20/small-hydel-projects-a-big-issue/4083/

Getting our Malaysian/ Indonesian connection ? and the connection between rainforests and electricity we produce in India? It is the coal, timber and palm oil that connects us all ! I realised the cynicism in the consultant's voice towards my activism :-) This activism is once again a droplet.. we need to increase the droplet into oceans of change - compare the hectares of rainforests lost -rainforests are nature's oxygen mask for the entire world !

What did we do?

• Mr.Khan of KK English School made a good start to his vacation by taking 100 school principals on an eco tourism to Madikeri - how about influencing 100 heads who can potentially influence another 1000 * 100 ? !!!
• Mrs Usha Ramaiah, Nirmith S, Samarendra S and Sreenivasa T took 120 (kids and adults) on a Kids for Tigers nature trail to the forest talking about deforestation issues, loss of tiger habitat, climate change and ofcourse inspiring atleast 60 kids to appreciate the sound and signs of the forest http://picasaweb.google.co.in/meera.rajesh/KFTTrailForMindtreeEmployees#

Though a droplet, impacts are obvious around us - we are seeing an ability in people to point out facts..there are positive debates happening and we have come across a few doers too - every individual should wake up from this long slumber and start being participative, leveraging one's core skills to conserve our environment for future generations.

Homo Sapiens have taken centuries to become global and understand globalisation ( slight variations can cause compounded effects in the economics of this world) AND, we still don't realise that forests and other naturals systems have always been globlal !

NH212 - A corridor of accident for wildlife

Couple of times in the past one month we happened to cross Bandipur National Park towards the Kerala border . We had welcomed the ban on vehicular movement in the night - though it means an additional 100 km drive on a rough patch of road - good enough to cause damage on software consultants' spinal chord ! The gyan over the past 2 years has deepened the sense of concern towards other species that share this planet .. and the effect was to welcome this ban wholeheartedly.
We were waiting in front of the Karnataka side of the forest checkpost awaiting the opening of the gate at 6AM - the scene there was rather chaotic - there were close to 30-40 vehicles waiting at the gate - ready to take the first chance to cross (respect the impatience of the drivers who wait overnight to save 100 km ) .
Instead of early morning birds , it was the honking that woke me up ; it was the carbon monoxide and other GHGs that filled the forest air ... Once the chaos was cleared and every vehicle got a chance to move forward into the park, most of the vehicles were moving in high speed unwary of animals crossing - the speed and callousness was enough to knock down even the magnificent elephants on the way !
Many times I have heard people say that the kerala side of the forest is not well maintained - I tend to agree - the roads are better on the Kerala side whereas the forests are not - off late I see lot of houses, huts, business establishments popping on the road side.. There are roadside cafe's which serve tea in plastic cups and you obviously see a mini Bangalore in the making with the cups strewn on the leaf litter.There is an obvious invasion of forest land .... Beyond this there is enough of litter on either side of the road contributed by tourists who want to "enjoy" their weekends from Kerala and Bangalore invading into the privacy of wild animals.
We know wild animals try to poke into the plastic covers which carry salt and food remnants, we also know that these are not welcome material among the leaf litter
I crossed the forest with thoughts lingering in my mind - how do we educate a passing population who cross the forest to enjoy ? how do we educate truck drivers who try to tease wild animals with their heavy vehicles ? Is media the right answer ? With one vehicle crossing every 0.41 minutes can we expect a perfect management from forest department ? Or should we impose a ban on small shops inside the park ?
More info : http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/report_night-drives-through-bandipur-forest-area-in-karnataka-banned_1357415