The Hindu : Depletion of biodiversity threatens tribals

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jun 15, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Kerala

Depletion of biodiversity threatens tribals

By R. Madhavan Nair

KOZHIKODE JUNE 14. It has become clear that the depletion of Wayanad's biodiversity is a major cause of the poverty of its large population of tribal people.

The food security of Wayanad's tribal people is at a dangerously low level because of the disappearance of many species of plants, animals and fish. Evidence now available indicate that the principal cause of poverty and malnutrition-induced diseases among the tribal people is depletion of biodiversity.

Residents in two panchayats of Wayand have confirmed that many sources of food supply for tribals have vanished.

The information contained in the recently released "biodiversity registers'' prepared for Thariyode and Pozhuthana panchayats in the district points to a direct connection between the depletion of biodiversity and deterioration of the health status of its large tribal population.

The reports also confirm what many Nature lovers had suspected for long _ there has been a drastic depletion of biodiversity in the two grama panchayats of Wayanad district.

The salient changes that have taken place in the geographical features of the two panchayats has been drastic shrinkage of forest cover and large-scale conversion of paddy fields into coconut and areca gardens.

The biodiversity register indicates that Pozhuthana grama panchayats's past and present landscapes have changed almost beyond recognition.

The richness of its biodiversity has diminished. The panchayat has tribals belonging to the Paniyar, Kurichiar and Wayanadan Pulayar communities.

Of the nine eco-systems identified in Pozhuthana, paddy fields have suffered the most damage, the register says. Nearly 90 per cent of the paddy fields are now used for growing banana, areca and ginger. There was a time when 106 rice varieties, including a number of high-yielding varieties, were grown in this panchayat. However, as many as 71 of these have disappeared, including "karuthan'', a variety that can be grown on plain land.

The story of Tharioyde panchayat, as told by its biodiversity register, is almost similar. It points out that the forest cover of this panchayat has also shrunk drastically (almost the entire region was once a dense forest) to 3,982 hectares of vested forests. This forest is home to many varieties of rare and priceless plants and wild animals like elephants, panther and wild buffalo.

As in Pozhuthana, in Thariyode too large tracts of forests were converted to agricultural fields. This happened after the arrival of migrants in the 1940s and it led to large-scale depletion of biodiversity.

In the early period of migration from the southern and central parts of what is now Kerala State, the settlers cultivated ragi, vettiver, little millets and paddy besides vegetables and tubers. The presence of large pastures also encouraged the settlers to take to animal husbandry in a big way. Among the cash crops, the most common was pepper. About 23 varieties of tapioca were grown. Aromatic plants like lemon grass which was once widely grown are scarce.

Many traditional rice varieties have also disappeared. While about 44 varieties of traditional rice varieties were grown in Thariyode in the early days of migration, only five are now cultivated, that too only by the Kurichiya community.

Areca and coconut palms have taken over 95 per cent of Thariyode's paddy fields. The rich diversity once seen in vegetable farms has disappeared. Yet, Thariode is home to 19 traditional types of banana, including the rare "chundilla kannan'', seven types of jack fruits and nine varieties of mangoes. Even cherry and star apple trees are grown.

Study teams which prepared Thariyode's biodiversity register found 111 varieties of medicinal plants, five of them rare. It also reports a low level of awareness about the importance of many medicinal plants which may be why no serious effort has been made to conserve them.

The local people are known have made use of 21 species of wild life which are considered to have medicinal value. Of these peacock, python, Malabar squirrel and the Nilgiri langur have disappeared from Thariyode's landscape.

Excessive use of chemical fertilisers have led to the disappearance of many varieties of fish. Large-scale proliferation of pests that attack crops have been reported by farmers and many have developed resistance to insecticides.

Speaking to The Hindu, N. Anil Kumar, who heads the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) in Kalpetta, said the connection between the poverty which stalks settlements of tribals in Wayanad and the depletion of biodiversity in Wayanad's villages becomes clear when examined in the light of the information contained in the biodiversity registers.

``The registers show there has been a marked reduction in availability of fish, crab and forest produces all of which had given the tribal people a strong immune system. With reduction of food supply, the tribal communities have become undernourished,'' he said.

The biodiversity registers which document resources available locally and traditional knowledge were prepared by committees consisting of volunteers in the panchayats under the guidance of MSSRF.

The social consequences of the depletion of forest cover and paddy fields in Wayanad have been obvious. A large number of Pania women who used to earn their daily wages as labourers in paddy fields are out of work because of the conversion of paddy fields into to coconut and areca plantations.

The impoverishment of Wayanad's biodiversity , even if in a small degree, is a grave national issue. And it is a matter of life and death for the tribal people whose food security is inextricably linked to biodiversity.

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