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April 2002
European Union supports TDEF project
- by Isha
It was 3 years ago
that a project began to take shape, in the midst of much ongoing
Auroville greenwork, to secure major funding for extensive
ecosystem management. A proposal was drafted and submitted to the
EU, with the help of Martin Littlewood (Auroville International
UK) and Greta Jensen (consultant), and has now been approved, with
the funds ready and available for the beginnings of project
implementation. The total project budget is euros 560,000 to be
invested over 3 years, representing euros 450,000 sanctioned and
the rest to be found in additional matching funds.
Joss and Anita of
Pitchandikulam, Paul, Jaap, Walter, Glenn, Dirk, Mike, Gemma, now
joined by Paula (a Newcomer to Auroville), will embody our own
pool of human resources. This team from Auroville is enhanced by
participation from Mr. Abdul Kareem of FRLHT Bangalore (Foundation
for Revitalization of Local Health Traditions), Mr. A.N. Sharma,
of the Institute of Rural Management, and Ms. Manjula whose work
with Irula tribal women in the Chingleput area has proved very
successful.
The project is
designed to support the planting of 75,000 trees within Auroville,
fortifying AV forest gene banks in designated sanctuary areas to
the north and south of the City area, along with bunding and
checkdam work needed to combat soil erosion and enhance
groundwater percolation. Other aspects directly related to our own
development is the partial funding for the new herbarium, under
Walter's direction, at the new Botanical Gardens site.
The project also
focuses on work in the Auroville bioregion, specifically to the
north of Kaluveli Tank and its watershed. The objective is to
"bring back forests on forest land", in Joss' words. In
the present environmental circumstances only very small pockets of
natural TDEF remain in the coastal regions, in patches of reserved
forest, sacred groves, and in hillside gullies to elevations of
about 500 metres. These latter have survived intact primarily in
riparian microclimates, where seasonal streams ensure seed
dispersal and natural topography limits access to grazing,
cultivation, and fuel wood harvesting. Already in colonial times,
only an estimated 0.1% of this TDEF ecosystem was in evidence.
Joss hopes that in 50 years it will be possible to recreate climax
tropical dry evergreen forest (TDEF) previously found
predominantly along the coast of Tamil Nadu. In order to achieve
this aim the project will coordinate and collaborate closely with
Tamil Nadu State Forest Department officials. Auroville is already
quite advanced in the work of identifying existing remnant
species, with already 30 years of input, the most detailed in the
last 10 years.
The project hopes to
develop a strategy of shared forest management, concentrating
efforts of reintroduction and proper management on government
reserve lands, paramboke lands (common land), temple lands and
tank bunds. Methodology will involve identifying the 50 most
threatened forest species, continuing botanical surveys of
existing species, listing which species are best for
reintroduction, devising effective systems of monitoring and
implementing approaches to participatory community management.
A question that needs
addressing is "why have other joint forestry management
projects not been successful?" Joss feels that many such
projects are too "donor motivated," and the role of good
leaders on the local level is of prime importance, to convince
local people of the intrinsic value of properly managed resources.
Incentives to motivate committed participation take the form of
micro projects for income generation: timber and fodder lots,
cultivation and sale of medicinal plants, and possibly even
eco-tourism.
Near to Marrakanam,
adjacent to the village of Kurrupuram, there is an area of 250
acres of government reserve forest. Nearby there was an additional
200 acres which the forest corporation cleared in 1973 for
"commercial forestry", planting eucalyptus, acacia, and
some cashew trees. Natural regrowth is significant in these
plantations, and there is a possibility that it could become a
medicinal plant development area. It is also envisioned to create
nearby an "interpretation and training center",
displaying aspects of the life sciences, a traditional medicine
dispensary, and demonstration and ethno-medicinal gardens. In the
nearby reserve forest, students could explore the rich diversity
of the TDEF, for example, useful and interesting understory
plants, carnivorous insect eating plants, wild ground orchids, and
traditional medicinal plants such as elumbhuti, used to help set
broken bones.
Jaap, who lives in and
helps to manage Auroville's southern sanctuary area, is helping to
coordinate the very technical application of global satellite
imaging with help from ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization).
With this sophisticated tool it will be possible to map the entire
Kaluveli bioregion's vegetative and watershed patterns, and apply
strategies for inputs taking into account the overall picture.
This project component coincides with the interests and co-funding
of the Asia Urbs joint cities development project, recently
introduced through Aurovile's planning office and Aurofuture.
The first step will be
a CAMP (conservation assessment management plan) workshop at
Pitchandikulam Bio-resource Centre in March, with FRLHT who
already have much experience in prioritizing the threat status of
plant species in other south Indian ecosystems.
This Easter, at
Findhorn in Scotland, Joss and Paul will present this project at
the 'Restore the Earth!' conference hosted by Alan Watson (Trees
for Life/ Caledonian forest restoration project).
They will be there to help inspire the world with their vision and
dedication to the work of sensitive environmental restoration,
locally and globally.
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