IDUKKI: For the visitors of Munnar, a walk through the plantations of Acacia Mearnsii, commonly known as Black Wattle, is a fascinating experience. But the trees, belong to the Alien Invasive Species (AIS), have been identified as a grave threat to the bio-diversity across the globe. Realising the danger, the Forest and Wildlife Department authorities have embarked on a new mission - to restore the eco-system in Pampadum Shola National park in Munnar.
The participation of the public, arguably the first such instance in a drive like this, makes this initiative, launched in November 2015, a novel one. According to the officials it has been a big success.
The Wattle was introduced in Munnar in 1981, mainly to conserve natural grasslands in high altitude areas. But contrary to the expectations, the trees invaded the adjacent natural shola forests, causing grave threat to the environment.
According to Forest Department officials, the trees now occupy approximately 3,200 hectares in the Munnar and Marayur forest ranges in Idukki. Following this, Forest Department started cutting the Wattle trees as per the directions of the Union Government.
In March 2015, a forest fire broke out, destroying entire flora and fauna in around 39 hectares of the Pampadum Shola National Park transforming the land into bare knolls. It paved the way for massive germination of wattle seeds due to fire scarification. “We are planning to restore the grassland with indigenous and wild varieties of grass in these areas with the participation of various organisations like Kottayam Nature Society (KNS). We have regained around 25 per cent of land so far. We expect to complete the eco-restoration programme by June this year,” said Prasad G, wildlife warden, Munnar, who initiated the programme.
According to Nidheesh S Kumar, a member of the KNS, who organises nature camps, as many as 16 camps have been conducted in Pampadum Shola so far and more than 600 people, including school students, participated in the eco-restoration programme. “It is a long-term process and we are trying to bring back the natural soil structure here, which was already destroyed by the Wattle trees,” said Prasad.