KOCHI:Poking his finger at a point on a map, near the forest watch tower, Dr R Sugathan, scientist and ornithologist at Thattekad Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary, said "See this point. This is where the secondary forest is flourishing”.
A photo taken by Dr Sugathan lines the secondary forest growth in all its green glory. From amid the canopy of teaks, there are other trees making their way up. Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary in Thattekad is the first birdlife sanctuary in the state. Flanked by the Periyar and Kuttampuzha rivers on both sides, the sanctuary is a nesting space for rare flora and fauna. When the sanctuary started functioning in 1983, one-tenth of it was Teak plantation. Teak plantation in then sanctuary was started during 1927. There is about 9 teak plantation comprising an area of 216.7 hectares in the sanctuary. There were some patches of natural forest which were left unhampered during the plantation period due to some unknown reasons.
After proclaiming it as a bird sanctuary, the officials decided to keep the plantation as such by restricting activities inside it. Many endemic birds had disappeared from the forest with the coming up of plantations. “We protected the plantation by restricting entries into it. Fire prevention walls were built around the plantation. We did not permit grazing on the land and the local community was not allowed to enter,” Dr Sugathan said.
Over the years, the natural forest which was left unhampered invaded into the teak plantation. The external agencies mainly, animals, birds, wind, rain and sometimes people who visited the place helped in the process. In a study conducted in 2011, they found that sixty per cent of the new trees that had invaded the forest were found in the natural forest.
“The natural forest is making its way into the plantation. The plantation is now a teak deciduous forest. It is a forest made by the plants and animals," Dr Sugathan said. According to him, in order to recreate old natural forests, it should be left as it is and space should be provided for it to grow. Even if it is a grassland, leave it as such," he added.