Researchers sound alarm bell on threats to shola forests in Ghats

Mysuru: The first Indian conservation conference to mark 50 years of the country’s Project Tiger initiative has sounded the alarm bell on the challenges faced by shola forests in the Western Ghats of Chikkamagaluru district, where expansion of coffee plantations, unchecked tourism activities and forest fires threaten the ecology.
Researchers at the three-day conference, that concluded in the city today, pointed towards an unwelcome change in the land cover in Mullayanagiri and Baba Budangiri peaks, which are tourism hotspots.
According to a research paper presented by Gopi M and BC Nagaraja from the Department of Environmental Sciences, Bangalore University, the total land cover of shola forest patches is 5,871 hectares. Of this, 8.11% (476 hectares) has been transformed in just two decades, leading to critical modification of acoustic niches.
The authors of the research paper said integrity of the landscape has a direct impact on its faunal diversity. The shola forest complex, known as sky islands, has its unique acoustic niches. The diversity of these niches is subjected to stress due to landscape degradation, climate changes and anthropogenic impacts.
According to BC Nagaraja, professor and head of the department, Environmental Sciences, Bangalore University, who was the principal investigator (PI) for the project, the study was carried out as part of an initiative by Karnataka Biodiversity Board.
Research scholars Gopi M and Vidyashree S carried out the study.
According to their findings, in Chikkamagaluru, shola forests are good in the Bhadra Tiger Reserve and Kudremukh National Park areas. However, they are facing challenges in Mullayanagiri and Baba Budangiri peaks due to three reasons -- forest fires, unrestricted tourism activities and expansion of coffee plantations.
To promote tourism, roads are constructed in the sensitive zones, thereby affecting the ecology, Nagaraja cautioned. He further said that delay in the announcement of these peaks as conservation/ protected areas due to opposition by locals, dispute over land ownership, among other factors, has resulted in a challenging situation.
The two peaks, Mullayanagiri and Baba Budangiri, are the worst victims of Western Ghats-centric tourism activities. Resorts and homestays have been built in the core areas, adding to the pressure on ecology. The government must act immediately to address these challenges, said Rajesh Kumar, a resident from Chikkamagaluru.