Green Hills??

This image is from my Anayrangal visit. A first look and you will feel that the hills are lush green and lovely.

However, the sad part is this greenery comes at a great cost to the environment.

The bushes in the foreground is tea. Tea plantations cover up all the hills. No animal eats the tea leaves. I have been told that at times Gaur have been seen munching a few tea leaves, however I have never seen it myself. The pesticides being sprayed pollutes the streams that originate in the hills.

There is human elephant conflict happening in this area. Elephants pass through the hills and come in contact with the settlers. Most of the times these settlers are not aware of the habits of elephants and invite the wrath of the elephants.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

Lovely landscape, that is what anyone will say and feel. Thanks for pointing out the real truth behind the scene.

Thanks. We need more such images which can make people aware about vanishing wilds. This image is what many would pass off as beauty.

Unfortunately this scene is repeated too often. People say Kerala is wonderful, but we know that monoculture has wreaked havoc on the wildlife of the state.

Apana

Hi Sabayaschi,

Tea estates are green deserts with no biodiversity and are becoming nerve centres of man-elephant confilcts as invariably tea estates are sourrounded by elephant forests.

Restoration and creation of corridors to connect fragmented pockets of forests is sure to mitigate the conflicts. This was proven in Valparai region. Thanks to the efforts of NCF, Mysore based conservation group.

However, restoration and establishment of corridors is easier said than done. The conservation community invloved in such missions should be well supported and backed-up by naturalists like us.

Regards,

Lakshminarayanan