HUBBALLI: Professor Madhav Gadgil is often associated with the Western Ghats, but his work in Tumakuru district helped rare wildlife bounce back from the brink of elimination.
The wolves, blackbucks and slender lorris of Tumakuru district got their due after Gadgil took up a series of projects involving locals. Four panchayats in Tumakuru district started People’s Biodiversity Register in 2000 under the leadership of Ghadgil which led to the documentation of several rare flora and fauna from the region.
The results of the documentation led to the future conservation plan for the unique forest habitats that are today present in Tumakuru.
“The People’s Biodiversity Register was launched in Nagavalli village which is home for slender lorris. Thanks to Gadgil’s intervention the locals joined hands in conserving the rare primate species. Through Wildlife Aware Nature Club from Tumakuru Gadgil enlisted several biodiversity documentations in the district,” recalls BV Gundappa, a environmentalist from WANC.
Gadgil was instrumental in safeguarding the sacred groves which are locally called as ‘Guddu Topu’. As these unique tree patches, grasslands and rare native trees got importance from the works of Gadgil a sense of protection came into the minds of people. Gadgil also gave protection status to Jayamangali Reserve which is the best habitat for the blackbucks.
He gave environmentalists in Tumakuru an assignment of documenting the 18 villages in Bhadra Tiger Reserve which were marked for voluntary rehabilitation. “Such assignments led to many becoming conservation activists. Gadgil had a great role in drafting the Karnataka Biodiversity Act in 2022,” Gundappa said.
“Gadgil did not restrict his study to the Western Ghats. He studied every type of forest habitat in India. Scrublands, Western Ghats, dry deciduous forest which later became the protected areas. Several hydro projects in Kerala and Maharashtra were halted after the reports of Gadgil,” he added.