THE OTHER SIDE
The State’s wildlife board recently recommended denotification of the Shivalik elephant reserve. According to the authorities, the withdrawal of the elephant reserve notification issued in 2002 will open the doors for increased developmental activities in an area covering about 5,405 square kilometres including the expansion of the Dehradun airport. The denotification will enable acquisition of land for developmental purposes in about a dozen forest divisions in the state. It will be recalled that earlier, many had protested when it became known that about 10,000 trees would be axed in the elephant reserve to facilitate expansion of the airport. Even the central government had suggested that an alternative be considered. The decision to denotify the sole elephant reserve in Uttarakhand has naturally elicited strong objection from many. However, one would disagree with the perspective of those who say that this decision will be bad for the environment and wildlife.
Firstly we must see what is at stake and comprehend that this is not just about an elephant reserve or 10,000 trees. The elephant is the national heritage animal and a little more than 2,000 pachyderms are known to live in the state. Due to factors like habitat fragmentation, disruption of their traditional corridors and increasing pressure of human activities, the state has been preparing all the ingredients needed to cook up a serious human-wildlife conflict involving elephants. In the coming years it is going to be much worse than it is now. Needless to state, the elephant reserve supports a whole range of wildlife and flora apart from the elephants. But since this is not about the elephant reserve alone, one will recall one of the favourite statements of most politicians and officials- 70 per cent of the state’s area is under forest cover. The Himalayas, glaciers, origin of the Ganga, Yamuna, their tributaries and the rich forests of the state are either viewed as sources of income or hindrances to what some term as development. It would be interesting to note here how much the forests of the State actually provide in monetary terms. A report on green accounting of forest resources was prepared with the help of Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal and released by the chief minister last year. The report provides economic estimates for as many as 21 ecosystem services from the forest area of Uttarakhand. The study findings indicate that the monetary value of flow benefits emanating from the forests of Uttarakhand is approximately Rs 95,112 crore (lower bound estimates) annually. This is equivalent to an annual flow value of Rs 3,88,085 per hectare of forest in Uttarakhand. Further, the forests of the state protect and conserve stock comprising the value of land, timber stock and carbon storage valued at Rs 14,13,676 crore. Instead of helping understand the value of forests, such information mainly becomes the ground for demanding green bonus.
Returning to the elephant reserve, it is being denotified mainly to facilitate expansion of the Dehradun airport. The state wants more air traffic to reach Dehradun directly to boost tourism and development. Honestly, the plans of successive state governments especially when it comes to tourism are akin to a person inviting an endless stream of guests to his or her home without knowing or caring about how many people can be accommodated in the home. The authorities continue to work for increasing the tourist flow without calculating the carrying capacity of the state. If the plans envisioned by the establishment actually come true, it might actually become difficult to find peace even in this Himalayan region which would get crowded by noisey tourists and noisier helicopters. The effects will be much worse than disturbance. So, the denotification of Shivalik elephant reserve is not bad only for the wildlife and environment but much more bad for the people. The denotification represents skewed priorities and lack of actual innovation to enable development without taking a heavy toll on the basis of life and prosperity not just in Uttarakhand but also beyond. The ecological services provided by the forests of Uttarakhand are enjoyed by people across the nation apart from the rivers which impact a large swathe of the nation. Many downplay the cultural and spiritual importance of environmental jewels like the Ganga but none can deny its environment and economic importance. It would be much better if the State goes beyond simply feeling good about what it already has and starts doing something to actually maintain and nurture it.
Saturday, 28 November 2020 | Paritosh Kimothi | Dehradun
