HYDERABAD: It would take years, if not decades, for Mother Nature to undo the ecological damage caused by the rare weather phenomenon that laid waste to around one lakh trees in the Eturnagaram Wildlife Sanctuary in Mulugu district on August 31, according to experts.
Mohan Chandra Pargaien, former Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF), told TNIE: “The event was a natural phenomena which led to the uprooting of trees, which was a linear and a restricted kind of destruction in a single stroke, meaning in a short duration. This can happen only due to an unusual and exceptional phenomena, a strong gust of wind. The damage has occurred in one stretch in one location and has uprooted thousands of trees altogether. I have never seen such an incident in my life.”
Explaining the impact, Pargaien said that the massive vegetation destruction means that the forest cover has been lost which would mean deforestation. “The green cover has reduced. The capacity of the affected area for green cover has gone down. The soil binding capacity has also gone down, which is very likely to cause more soil erosion during heavy rains. In addition, local biodiversity has also been affected as their habitat has been destroyed. Although, no animal death has been reported so far and does not look like this event will lead to any man-animal conflict as such,” Pargaien said.
As the destruction was spread over 200 hectares of the forest area, the way towards restoration appears to be tough.
R Shobha, former PCCF and adviser, forestry affairs, told TNIE: “This kind of phenomena is common in the USA and other countries but unheard of in India. What can be seen after the event is that some trees are still standing, while others have been uprooted. This means that those trees with vigorous trunks could sustain the heavy winds, whereas the trees with hollow trunks and weak roots, especially the old withering trees, got uprooted. The best hardwood tree species have been destroyed. The restoration task is colossal and time-consuming. Firstly, twice the number of trees that got uprooted have to be planted, and it does not end with plantation. The trees have to be protected and it will take another 30 years to restore the forest area to its full glory”.
She said that it might take ten years to get the canopy and that it was important to plant the 1-2 metres tall local species not just in the affected area but in the nearby stretches. Shobha also warned that the valuable wood needs to be cleared, which could otherwise lead to illegal activities in the area.