“Only after the last tree has been cut down, only after the last river has been poisoned, only after the last fish has been caught, only then will you find that you cannot eat money.”
How true is that!
Kodagu district in Karnataka, renowned for its picturesque landscapes, has long been grappling with environmental issues. This year amidst a severe drought, several trees have allegedly been felled and burnt near the Talacauvery wildlife sanctuary in the Mundrote range of the Padivalkunadu reserve forest. The Mundrote forest range, located near the Kerala border where the illegal activity took place is renowned for its rich flora which includes over 6,000 species of trees and plants. This area is located near the Talacauvery sanctuary, recognised as one of the UNESCO world heritage sites in Karnataka.
It’s characterized by dense forest that have largely remained untouched. The perpetrators have burnt the felled trees, increasing the risk of the forest fire that could have potentially spread to other parts of the Talacauvery Sanctuary. Unfortunately, the forest department has failed to control such acts in the district and has been unaware of perpetrators burning trees, risking forest fires spreading to nearby areas.
The once beautiful Kodagu well on its way to be a concrete jungle. A big shout to the land mafias, esteemed elected representatives, MLAs, MLCs, MPs. Huge swathes of mountain and trees uprooted and felled to pave way for just developing housing board with conveyance of outsiders, real estate mafias under the district administration at K. Nidugane panchayat limits. Illegal logging is a driving force for a number of environmental issues such as deforestation, soil erosion and biodiversity loss which can drive larger scale environmental crisis. Before anyone can cut down trees, they may need to get a felling license from the forestry commission.
It’s an offense to fell trees without license, where one would have been required. Of all the environmental crimes, illegal felling of trees is understood to be the most profitable. The illegal timber trade is said to account for up to 90 percent of tropical deforestation, attracting the world’s largest organized crime groups. Along with economic damage it does even more harm to the environment, as well as society and increases violence amongst criminals operating in the regions of deforestation.
This is not simply the felling trees that should not been chopped down and can extend right through the timber supply chain, from the obtaining permission through corruption, to obtaining logging license illegally as well as exceeding of logging limits to the evasion of tax and much more including the setting up of illegal timber plantations. So, why is our local environment this important that it needs protecting? Trees, woodlands and forests are sensitive spaces. They provide shelter and food for wildlife and are important habitats for our own recreation. The spaces they take up form that of the wider landscape we see around us one we have treasured for millennia. Our voice matters in urging to bring back our resplendent with natural beauty, the verdant landscape of Kodagu.
