THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : History also sets the scene for man-wildlife conflict in Kerala. While it was rampant commercialisation of land that marred the forest cover in the north, the south saw a more organised utilisation of green zones.
At least up to the 18th century, three-fourths of the land in Kerala was thick forests. And the Travancore, Cochin and Malabar regions narrate different kinds of forest history.
The policies of Travancore and Cochin were based on revenue compulsions that gave rise to plantations being set up near the forests. These princely states were more involved than the landholders of Malabar, which was directly under British rule.
In Malabar, the commercialisation of land was the overriding principle, which caused heavy migration from central Travancore to the hills of Wayanad and beyond. “It was similar to the California Gold Rush,” says Sebastian Joseph, environmental historian and professor at the UC College, Aluva. “The migration continued well into the 1970s.”
Meanwhile, the Travancore and Cochin kings had a better grip on the situation with the plantations being set up in areas at a clear distance from the core forest lands. They worked out plans for reserve forests, and Konni was declared the first reserve forest in 1888 as per the Travancore Forest Act, 1887. In 1889, more areas were slotted as reserve forests.
The plantations in Travancore and Cochin employed tribal communities, a deft move to quell any chances of rebellion. “The stands of the rulers were not exactly in favour tribals, but it allowed them to live in peace,” says Joseph.
While in north Kerala, tribal people were evicted and their forests were cleared to make way for farms, teak plantations. All this to help local rulers and the British with trade and building ships and trains.
The saleability of land was also projected to increase migrations. “In fact, timber from the area was used even before the British, by the Arabs to add to their fleet of ships. Those forests bore the brunt of human ambitions for long,” says a researcher, who requests anonymity.
Such flaws in forest policy were criticised even by the ‘medical botanists’ employed by the British. “The sad fact is the Indian laws that replaced the British ones were also regressive,” the researcher adds.
The pro-trade policy has now been replaced by the ambition of even small farmers to build resorts. Roads are built probably through elephant corridors and then electric-fenced. With the distance reducing, the animals move towards the villages, heightening the chances of conflict.