CHENNAI: “Protecting catchment areas surrounding Vedanthangal bird sanctuary is a very important factor towards conserving the rich heritage,” say wildlife experts. Senior ornithologist and former director of Bombay Natural History Society, Asad Rahmani, along with Prerna Singh Bindra, former member of National Board for Wildlife, and Ritesh Kumar, Director of Wetlands International South Asia, in a joint statement stressed the importance of preserving the biodiversity of the area.
The trees in Vedanthangal tank provide a nesting and roosting place for over 30,000 birds each year, they said, adding that the mosaic of waterbodies and agricultural fields in the surrounding area served as feeding grounds for them. Concerns were raised after TNIE reported on the proposal by the Tamil Nadu forest department to denotify the outer 2 kms of the bird sanctuary. The application by the department was pending before the National Board for Wildlife.
Bindra said she was puzzled as to how the State Wildlife Board had recommended the proposal through “circular agenda”, rather than discussing it in a regular meeting. “Denotifying a major chunk of a sanctuary is a big decision. The forest department should not worry about hurdles for commercial growth in the area. The department’s primary responsibility should be to protect the sanctuary,” she said.
On groundwater pollution by certain industries, Ritesh Kumar said that effluents from a pharma unit could cause irreversible damage. He highlighted the State’s commitment to implement the provisions of the Wetlands Rules of 2017, which insists on conserving wetlands and its zone of influence. Environmental activist Nityanand Jayaraman alleged that, if permitted, the move would remove over 50 square kilometres from the protection of the sanctuary.
M Yuvan of Madras Naturalists Society, who recently co-ordinated a Twitter campaign against the move, called for an inquiry into the department’s irregularities in the administration of the sanctuary. After the issue snowballed into a major controversy, the forest department, in a press release, claimed that the ongoing exercise was in compliance with the Government of India guidelines requiring states to demarcate all protected areas into Core, Buffer and Eco Sensitive Zones (ESZ).
“Accordingly, 5 km of land around the sanctuary has been categorised as Core (0-1 km), buffer (1-3 km) and eco-sensitive zone (3-5 km). This makes it clear that the 5 km circumference will continue to be a birds administration region without any reduction,” the release stated. However, activists say the department’s claim was untenable as ESZs cannot be demarcated inside a sanctuary.