THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a novel nature conservation initiative, a Kolkata-based NGO has purchased four acres of private land along the forest enclosure in Malappuram’s Kurali village, to “re-wild” it, before handing it over to the forest department.
Nature Mates Nature Club (NMNC) purchased the land coming under the Sankarankode forest enclosure and approached the department with the request to receive and register it in the department’s name. The government gave its nod for the project on May 8.
In a similar initiative in Wayanad’s Thirunelli, another NGO — Wild Life Trust of India — recently purchased private land and transferred it to the forest department.
NMNC approached the department as part of an initiative to shift non-tribal people living or engaged in agriculture inside forest enclosures to non-forest areas. Following this, the principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife) and chief wildlife warden, through a letter on April 27, requested the government to accord approval for registering the four acres in the department’s name.
The NGO acquired land from three persons, Afsar, Assainar and Abdul Kareem. The Sankarankode enclosure has 60 acres of land in the possession of non-tribal inhabitants. The stretch is surrounded by new Amarambalam Reserve Forest and is part of the Nilambur Elephant Reserve. It is a forest area having good elephant habitat and active human-animal conflict, K Vijay Anand, CCF (Eastern Circle-Palakkad) told TNIE.
Move to help bring down human-animal conflicts
The Amarambalam Reserve and Nilambur Reserve are an important habitat of a variety of flora and fauna, including elephant, tiger, leopard, and sambar deer. As per the forest department, the area is situated in the corridor connecting the Karimpuzha Wildlife Sanctuary, Silent Valley National Park in Kerala and the Mukkurty National Park in Tamil Nadu, having high conservation value.
“The NGO informed us of its willingness to purchase and transfer private land inside the forest enclosure. That’s how we went ahead with the initiative. The 60 acres have no human habitation. These are agricultural land, and fences are used to prevent the entry of wild animals. This is the main reason for conflicts,” Vijay said.
After considering the NGO’s proposal, the department observed that the move will be beneficial in ensuring the continuity of elephant habitat and reducing the impact of human-animal conflicts in the surrounding landscape.