Vision of Life; by Sanjay: Giving Back to the Forests!

"It’s not what forests have given us but what we are giving back to them that will decide our future"…

No big environmentalist personality or a wildlife researcher or any forest officer has said the above words but it’s what I feel like replying when someone asks me, how I am connected with the forests or wildlife! And when it's giving back then sky is the limit especially when the receiver is none other than nature in its best form i.e., the forests! Actually NGOs & many wild lifers will say, no need to give back to the forests or wild life, just leave them on their own but then I will say (with due respect) they haven’t yet understood the forests, in the first place! Because when you have asked to look after a healthy person then you can just let him be on his own & you can just observe from a distance but when you are supposed to look after a disabled person or a patient, will you allow him to be on his own? Answer will be no, right? Rather you will try to take all the possible care of such disabled person & make sure that his life is being comfortable by providing every necessary thing including good food, shelter & medication! Same is the scene on the front of forest or wildlife conservation as had it been a century back (100 years) then I would have done nothing & left the wild life alone but in last say 100 years we have crippled the once healthy forests & now if we don’t try every possible way to make it comfortable then it will die surely, this is my logic for giving back to the forests!

And when it's giving back to the forests the most important aspect is awareness, as if you don’t know whom or what you are going to save, how you will save that person or the entity, right? And on the forest awareness front right from making films, to using photographs, to arranging wildlife exhibitions, to webinars to making presentations in schools about wildlife to running Nature Clubs in schools & colleges, hundreds of initiatives can be taken! In one such initiative (read as effort) in our recent completed project we have got paintings made of different habitats (forests) found in India & with a small note about each painting (habitat in the painting) these paintings are displayed in the Common Lift lobby of each floor, so the residents as well the visitors can have a look at them & know what they have to conserve! Here is some more detailed sharing about these forests which has given us so much & with no expectation & let me clarify at the start, all the information is in the language which a common man can understand & not much figures or numbers as nature can’t be measured on the scale of numbers but has to be felt, is what my logic is…

1.Tadoba Forests… Land of Tigers!

These bamboo clad forests seem to be most preferred by the yellow black stripes! If the maximum density of the tigers makes Tadoba "capital of the tigers" then on the other side it's a big concern for the man-animal conflicts too where both species are fighting for their space! Located near Chandrapur, Maharashtra i.e., Central India, Tadoba forest majorly consists of Bamboo plantation & Teak & mix vegetation! In summer the Mercury rises above 45 degrees making Tigers come out at water holes to cool down, posing for tourist's cameras!

Need of the present times is, making people around these forests aware to accommodate the tigers along with wild life & live in harmony with it!

2.Western Ghats… Treasure of Nature!

Probably the best biodiversity treasure in the form of the mountain range & plains around it which runs parallelly for nearly 1500 kilometres along the western sea shore of our country. This habitat covers six States including Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nādu & some parts of Gujrat. Shekru (Giant Squirrel), Malabar Hornbill, Butterflies, Frogs, Snakes to Tiger, the forest is full of every known & many unknown species of animals, insects, vegetation & birds too! "Devrai" i.e., Sacred Forests is one of the best features of Western Ghats.

Needless to say, industrialization in these parts as well as infrastructure Developments are the major threat to the entire Western ghat region & we only need to strike a balance between development & nature!

3.Wonders of the Wetlands...

Many of the wildlife lovers also don't know that wetlands in the forms of natural lakes, backwaters of dams, low lying areas where there is fresh water year long, all such water bodies & the vegetation around them, are a type of forest too! Rather at many places it's a haven for migratory birds from raptors to water birds like flamingos which travel thousands of kilometres to visit these habitats which are rich with biodiversity! Ujani Back Waters around Pune, Maharashtra is one such live example.

Unfortunately, all these wetlands are in grave danger because of urbanization & pollution of fresh water sources, causing threat of extinction of many species including insects as well birds here!

4.Corbett... Magic of Himalayan Forests.

The grass spread seems to be endless at first but then on one side it meets up with a thick green wall of forest which is a mix of all sorts of trees, creepers, shrubs then other end gets merged with hills which ahead gets merged with the mountains & on other side there is Ramganga river. And on all this canvas tiny figures move, which actually are elephants & in the distance you can even hear the roar of a tiger also making the hair of your neck stand, such is that sound!! And along with this Corbett represents the perfect Himalayan Forest habitat with hundreds of colourful birds making the rhododendrons their home!!

No wonder lots of tourism activity in the form of resorts & urbanization combinedly are a big threat to these forests! As well, tree cutting for various purposes adds fuel to the destruction of the habitat!

5.Magial Melghat… Satpura Range Forests

The Satpuras i.e., range of the mountains which lay all across Central India dividing the peninsula down south. Along these mountain ranges which run along the border of Madhya Pradesh & Maharashtra, Melghat forest is spread. It‛s the biggest tree cover & probably the poorest region of our country. Thousands of kilometers of forests if one side is boon for nature then its curse also for the local tribes & residents, as many of the villages or towns here, are cut off from any basic facilities essential for human life.

Yet these forests also are under threat as hunger and poverty of the humans in & around them is the biggest threat to the wildlife of Melghat. The ranges of mountains thickly covered by woods and rivers flowing through these mountains, makes Melghat truly Magical!!

6.Kanha.... Sal Heaven in Central India

Kanha is probably the most known forest and the best by me personally. The vast landscape covers thousands of square kilometers of land in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh i.e., Central India. This forest mainly consists of Sal Trees which are evergreen for most part of the year unlike other Central Indian forests making Kanha uniquely wonderful on the landscape front. The hills, meadows, valleys are perfect for tigers, leopards as well their prey base & lots of birds and reptiles too! Apart from the Tigers, the Barsinga are the main feature of Kanha Forest as once nearing to extinction, with efforts from the forest dept. and all they now paint the Kanha Landscape with their graceful walk!! Truly, places like Kanha are our real treasure which we only must conserve giving all we got!!!

7.Grasslands… Hidden Wonders of the Grass.

One of the best forms of forests is the Grasslands, mostly found all across Central India. These seemingly dry (for most of the period of the year) grass and shrubs patches are the outcome of the rain shadow regions i.e., lesser rainfall in general. These are habitants for many migratory species of birds as well local birds along with mammals like Indian Grey Wolf, Jackal, Jungle Cat & many reptiles.

The Grasslands all around the country are under big threat from humans for many reasons such as cattle grazing, plotting for homes, garbage dumping as well industries around, causing many species to go near extinction due to loss of their habitat i.e., a Home!...

8. Mangroves…Where Rivers meet the Ocean!

Our country i.e., India is blessed with nearly 7500 km length of sea shore & hundreds of rivers, streams carry fresh water right from the Himalayas as well the Central Plains to the sea & it’s at this junction where sweet water & salty water of see gets mixes one of the most interesting forests exists called as Mangroves! These are dense water plants which can withstand salt water too & they are homes to water species as well birds & mammals. Sundarbans is one classic example where the tigers have adapted to hunt fish as their food!

Needless to say, our rampant pollution by dumping garbage in water bodies & chemicals, is the biggest threat to the mangroves along with reclamation of the sea shore for our commercial purposes!

9.Desert Forests… Sands are alive here!

India has a unique landscape, if on the north we have snow-clad Himalayas, then on the east we have ever green thick rain forests & on south-west/south-east we have coastal forests then on the north-west we have something very special & that’s Desert Forests. Thar Desert covers nearly 2,00,000 sq. km area & don’t go by the infinite spread of lifeless yellow sand as even with very less annual rainfall which is as low as 4” yet the trees like Khajri & some shrubs which survives with the available rainfall & are enough to compete the life cycle here. Here you can find Wild Ass & Blackbucks as well migratory birds & reptiles, making the desert as their perfect home.

That way these might be the only forests where human interference is less yet poaching & cutting whatever little vegetation for firewood, are the two major threats for the flora & fauna in the desert forests!

10.Forest of Seven Sisters… Magnificent North East!

Probably the most inhabited & lesser studied forests of our country which are spread over the seven States of eastern border & known as Land of Seven Sisters! Heavy rainfall, hilly area, inaccessibility to the most parts all these factors make the forests here very mysterious! Right from the animals to birds to flowers are exotic in colors & at many places the sun rays never ever have touched the grounds, such is the denseness of the forest here!

These hills & forests makes a perfect safety wall for our country also all along the China border yet the threat of encroachment for farming & wood cutting along with poaching is looming on the biodiversity here, as monitoring these dense & remotest forests is a herculean task because of the spread & the terrain.

Apart from above types of the habitats every village, city & town has their own small forest around in different forms & within that species other than humans resides & we owe them their space which when is our space we call it a Home, is the simple thing we have to keep in mind as then only there only lies some Hope for every specie in the forests!

We are thankful to Rangsparsh, for making these wonderful paintings & Jairaj Arts, for making beautiful frameworks for the same!

Sanjay Deshpande

Sanjeevani Dev.

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