As the JCB reached the well of a lake, a municipal contractor who lacked basic knowledge about the importance of the grasslands ordered, ‘Remove those grasses. ‘ When the monster machine started moving ahead, a few chirring munias flew out, while the juveniles were crushed. Coots, moorhens, and swamphens gave panic calls. This is not a rare sight; a JCB machine does not distinguish between parthenium, lantana, and grass. The JCB operator has only one mission, i.e., CLEAR EVERYTHING. And he is paid for that. In the meantime, we read some interesting news!

The Karnataka State Wildlife Board has approved the proposal to declare the Hesaraghatta Grassland area in Bengaluru as the “Greater Hesaraghatta Grassland Conservation Reserve,” At last, a long-drawn struggle has come to a close as the government opened its eyes to the ground reality. It was indeed a prolonged battle to save the vast grassland. In 2021, BDA tried to do some unscientific tree plantation drive, destroying the grassland. A valiant protest by the local activists ended fruitful in stopping the plantation drive. It is heartening to note that the residents staged an unyielding protest to declare it a conservation reserve.

In fact, grass has become a part of our lives, whether it is tall or trimmed. Especially, the Grassland is often an integral part of the ecosystem. In films, we see tigers emerging from grasslands. Animals and microorganisms survive in the grassland ecosystem. Everyone knows that grazing animals like sheep and goats survive on grass. They consume only the grass tips, leaving the regenerative capacity of the grass to the natural process. Plucking out the roots of the grass is just a man-made destructive activity to make way for the concrete jungle.  Water gets filtered by grass to enable clean water to enter the lakes and ponds. Grasslands capture water and regulate water flow, controlling floods besides storing carbon in the soil which regulates climate, and prevents soil erosion and loss of topsoil. Grassland enables more resilience to droughts, heatwaves, and wildfires. It is a gift from nature that the grassland houses pollinators like bees, birds, and beetles. 

It will not be out of context to mention the importance of the grasslands of the western ghats. The grasslands are at the top of the mountains forming a perfect natural ecosystem with Shola forests just below. Such ecosystems are unique and the grasslands drain the rainwater slowly. The spongy topsoil of the grassland-shola ecosystem works like a blotting paper and drips out in rivulets. For millions of years, this process has continued in these pristine forests on hill slopes and adjacent plains. Of late, these natural forests are vanishing at an exponential rate, because of the ignorance about the role of grasslands.

Precisely the waterbodies and forests will vanish if grasslands are destroyed

‘Please do not listen to environmentalists. They will say that the place has 300 types of ants and butterflies. Who counted them?’ a quote by a politician in a daily newspaper drew our attention. He was very sharp in passing such a strong statement, advising people to ignore the environmentalists. Such statements from politicians are not uncommon nowadays. It is ample proof of the shallow knowledge about the very meaning of the environment. Let us believe, the next time, if someone calls them to chair a convention on biodiversity, they will refuse the same.

During the last few decades, Indian forest acts have been diluted to accommodate many activities such as mining and other infrastructure projects to encroach the forest lands. Pristine forests are slowly giving way to avoidable developmental activities. Sustainable development is only in papers. The latest trend is to convert forest land into parks. The forest department is made to hand over sizable land to state governments or local authorities. The local authorities will then develop the acquired land into amusement parks with enclosures for animals and space for food courts. In due course, the converted land will lose its forest tag and get ready for some commercial activity.

People may not be aware of the clever moves of politicians. To appease the environmentally conscious people, who may not know the repercussions, converting forest lands to ‘people-friendly’ amusement parks is an easy excuse. To achieve such nefarious moves, politicians have to direct their anger against environmentalists. Such conversion moves may help politicians to accommodate contractors and suppliers who use the opportunity to fill up their coffers. Simultaneously politicians also turn into multimillionaires. If awareness grows and people muster the strength to protest, the agents of politicians will suppress peaceful environmental campaigning. Sometimes politicians even take the lead role in spearheading the environmental movement, to sabotage the movement silently. Innocent protesters fall prey to the evil traps of the politicians-bureaucracy combo.

Every day, we hear a lot of climate events. Melting glaciers, rising temperatures, unusual rains, failing monsoons, and flooding cities are all evidence of a climate emergency. If temperature rises beyond a certain tolerance level, life on earth will become miserable. The presence of an ant, a bee, or a butterfly does not impede human existence. They are the important links in our food chain. Naturalists and researchers count them, list and measure their worth, and explain the need to save the whole ecosystem. Reintroducing a cheetah saving a tiger or stopping a tree felling is not just an environmental activity, but an effort to stop the climate emergency, that is looming large on this planet. Will politicians listen or fill their pockets? The answer is known to all. If they cut the trunk, sitting on the delicate branch of a tree, they will fall as well as the tree.

Who realizes that a pet was once a wild animal? Recently a pet parent was going behind a pet dog without a leash. When asked why he didn’t use the leash, he replied that his pet did not want to be chained. No pet wants to be leashed.  Leashes are used to prevent animals from harming strangers. Fortunately, that unleashed pet did not harm the children or passersby. But in gated communities, there is a general rule that no pet could be taken for a walk without a leash. An animal is born to have five senses and tamed animals obey their masters for fear of punishment. Sometimes, pets perform feats for rewards. Until recently, we saw that bulls or horses were punished with whips. Nowadays, this torture is slowly coming down as people are scared of animal welfare activists. Bullock and camel carts were man’s inventions when no automobiles were there. However, we have forgotten their evolution.

All domestic animals were once wild animals and were domesticated by human action. Men were depending on animals from time immemorial. Elephants, horses, and camels were used extensively in wars. Contemporary domestic animals like dogs, cattle, horses, or camels were once wild but unfortunately, no one may believe that those were also once wild. Trained elephants in circuses and temples dance to our tunes literally. However, tamed elephants are seldom healthy.

The huge ‘leucodermic’ trunks and ears found in domesticated elephants are clear evidence that they are nowhere comparable to the natural wild elephants. Annual elephant camps are organized in states like Tamil Nadu to give a boost by making them live in a natural atmosphere. Elephants in the wild are healthier and gorgeous. Most of the time, we found the chained elephants in temples weaker. There is a dire need for the existing wild animals in the jungles to preserve their wild character. But what we experience is contrary to reality.

Wildlife tourism has taken a heavy toll. 100s of jeeps are being plied by the Forest Department inside the protected reserve forests. Of course, such Safaris are professionally organized by the department. But it is forgotten that we are intruding on wild animals’ privacy and disturbing the silence of the forests. The moment any jeep spots a big cat, the driver communicates to other jeep drivers and the next minute the jeep convoy surrounds the animal, making the animal retreat inside deeper zones.  In a recent safari, it was found that a tigress was casually lying on the ground, unmindful of the visitors. On seeing strangers, the big cat neither attacked nor growled or roared. In many cases, the tigers and leopards in the forests get accustomed to tourists on their safari. In another case, the elephant trumpeted and moved towards the jeep when the driver comforted the tourists that it was a mock charge and there was nothing to worry. The status is similar, either in Bantipur Tiger Reserve, Karnataka, or Sariska Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan.

In any case, these are not good developments. There is nothing wrong with conducting a Jungle Safari, which is expected to create interest in conservation. But wildlife tourism must undergo serious changes. Wildlife authorities should revisit the existing safaris all over India. Keeping a safe distance from wild animals, avoiding noise pollution, stopping rushing the other jeeps, and limiting the tourists are some of the measures that can help keep the wild animals, wild. The argument that the Forest Department will lose its revenue does not hold water. The government should pump in more money for protecting the wild assets.