The Climate Champions are Here

A veiw from asara mattam of the Manalapatti Valley

Time and again I end up divulging a lot on the climate issues. Perhaps it is destined that I write about it invariably. Venu (D.Venugopal) said he is going to pull all stops to highlight the recent devastations & landslides that happened in Nilgiris which he attributes to climate change in Nilgiris, Nilgiri Documentation Center (NDC) that venu founded, firstly did a tribal music concert (Music of the Mountains) in Coimbatore, Now the NDC is priming up to put the Nilgiris on the International Climate Change Map, NDC in association with the British Council is organising the second International Climate Champions Programme (ICCP) in the Nilgiris from January 24 to 30, 2010 The ICCP will consists of 30 young champions chosen across 14 countries 4 candidates have been included from the Nilgiri District. The ICCP will be based in Coonoor (Salivation Army) for 7 days & will be moving around various parts of Nilgiris observing impact of climate change on the people, land, forest, fauna, flora and general ecology of the Nilgiris; thereby interpreting the observations in the context of the respective countries of the participants; and seek to draw common lessons for managing such impact in the future.

They would also try to understand the mitigation measures being taken, their effectiveness and the role of NGOs in the fight against climate change impacts. At the end of the camp, they would develop and administer a learning framework to reinforce the experience to their own contexts and individual learning.

Apart from the observation and interpretations the ICCP will gain mileage in various media & give much needed exposure to the general public about the critical importance of the climate change at the local level, for the same there will be few lounges opened at the Salivation Army Conference facility exhibiting climate features, an art gallery, a Kota pottery sessions, sale of native produces and a photo gallery commemorating 25 years of Save Nilgiris Campaign (SNC).

The men who keeps your Tigers

-

In the age where it is a compulsive fad, too glam and to too hepp to profuse of tiger conservation... in this very world lives these men scoffing of poachers gun powders, braving forest fire and occasional wild life aggression there is no protagonist hep conservation theory here- just commitment and the livelihood strands that they cling on to for nothing more then mare pittance doled out by the forest department – the arrival of even that pay packs has no fixed date either- waiting for more then three months or even six months before the lay their hands on the pay register. They are the first in line ears eyes and defense in the forest management, toiling beyond their primary duties, life of an Anti Poaching Watcher (APW) is a wrenching tirade and dribbling sweat shop treatments on a normal day they trudge minimum of around 20 km to mind their beats ( forest tracts divided into small areas for easy managements) apart from monitoring the beats they double up as fire watchers, on occasion of fire flares up they have to dig trenches and fire lines to contain the fire from spreading. The APW force is drawn mostly from the indigenous native menfolk who are well versed with the terrain and surroundings more over the department leverages the local knowledge base and intelligence in turn providing them small employment window (mostly on Temporary roles) for these predominant herders and farm hands.

Featured here:

Bhojan crossing the stream near Shanda Mattam Anaikatti ~ a 46 year native Irulan is father of three and belongs the the Segur Division Forest Circle on the Temporary roles for more then 12 years now (finally got inducted). Attacked by Sloth Bear once – escaped with a ripped shoulders bones and broken arm was in the Gudalur Government Hospital for more then three months. Snarled by Tigers, Chased by Elephants umpteen number of times. “He has chased wild Elephants” at least once, as far as I have seen with my own eyes. Believe me. Waiting to see his daughter graduate from the College in Coimbatore.

-

Transportation by all Means

In the deep recesses of sathy forests this is transport by all means, one is always inquisitive if the great Indian development ethos hasn't arrived here as yet. It will remain as a paradigm that equates the human aspiration on one side and the greater common good of conservation on the other side which will be detrimental to development For these people who have sustained in this part of the world for generation as as predominant herders and cultivating upstream settlers. The fallout of the greater common good side is the development marginalization which is very much evident here, attributing to conservation of the critical wildlife habitat that this region boosts of as an Elephant corridor and a haven to host of other endangered species. These people are thus denied of their share in the great Indian Development pie.

A mud road that leads from the town of Bhavani Dam all the way to Thengumarada dotted with small settlements of Hallimoyar, Gazallhatti and Kallampalayam. This route is being serviced by a Government Bus once in a day with erratic timings and by the milk van that you see in the above frame. It is a 2 hours drive from Bhavani Dam.