Express News Service
CHENNAI: In a controversial move, the state Forest Department has decided to clear and auction over 10,000 fully-grown dead trees lying inside Kanniyakumari Wildlife Sanctuary, which is a tiger habitat and one of the most diverse wildlife locations in the country. These trees were uprooted during cyclonic storm Ockhi last December.
The justification the Forest department is giving to undertake such a ‘complex’ exercise was that this fallen material may activate timber smuggling gangs and with acute staff shortage it was becoming increasingly difficult for the department to safeguard the property. A majority of fallen trees are rosewood and teak that have high market value. It is estimated to generate several crores of rupees of revenue.
However, the wildlife activists in the region fear that such a move would delay the forest regeneration and disturb the ecological balance.
The standing committee of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) has considered the request of the Tamil Nadu Chief Wildlife Warden and State Board for Wildlife and granted approval for auctioning the fallen trees. The minutes of the 50th meeting of the NBWL held a few days ago, accessed by Express, say, “The standing committee decided to recommend the proposal with the condition that the revenue generated be used for the benefit of local people and conservation of the Kanniyakumari Wildlife Sanctuary.”
Also, the NBWL said removal of the fallen trees should be done in a phased manner so as to keep the anthropogenic disturbance at a minimum level. “The state government should prepare a habitat improvement plan, wildlife conservation plan, and human-wildlife conflict mitigation plan which shall be implemented simultaneously from the above-generated income.”
A senior forest official told Express that it was completely legal to auction the wind-fallen trees inside a sanctuary with the approval of the NBWL. Under Section 29 of Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, the Chief Wildlife Warden is authorised to grant such permit, provided the forest produce removed from a sanctuary be used for meeting the personal bona fide needs of the people living in and around the sanctuary and shall not be used for any commercial purpose. “The NBWL clearance was needed as there is a Supreme Court order which states that no permission under Section 29 be granted without getting the approval of the NBWL,” the official said.
S Anand, District Forest Officer (DFO), Kanniyakumari, told Express that the purpose was to prevent illegal theft. “The number of tree fallen during Ockhi is still inconclusive and 10,000 trees was only a rough estimate. We will ensure safe collection without any pilferage and minimum disturbance,” he said.
Disputing the decision, SS Davidson, managing trustee of the Tribal Foundation, Nagercoil, says, “I visited parts of Kanniyakumari Wildlife Sanctuary post-Ockhi cyclone and the damage caused was huge. There would be a minimum one lakh trees uprooted. The teak and rosewood we find here are of first grade quality. So, it’s huge money. But, the decision to remove them will create a disconnect in the forest recycle. Dead trees are abode for several microorganisms; many amphibians depend on them and they are like biological capital for the forest,” he said and added that such move would also set a wrong precedent.
What Section 29 of Wildlife Act, 1972 says
The Chief Wild Life Warden is authorised to issue a permit: Provided the forest produce removed from a sanctuary be used for meeting the personal bona fide needs of the people living in and around the sanctuary and shall not be used for any commercial purpose
