The Hindu : Goats depleting Orissa forests

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 09, 2003

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Goats depleting Orissa forests

By Prafulla Das

BHUBANESWAR FEB. 8. Goats look harmless enough. But local conservationists say that they are culprits posing a serious threat to Orissa's forests.

According to a survey by the Wildlife Society of Orissa, a goat nibbles around 250 to 300 tender plants every day, preventing regeneration of forests that are already in various stages of depletion.

Unhindered grazing by goats is cleaning up large tracts, endangering thousands of wildlife species living in the wild. It is estimated that five lakh goats were entering the State's forests for grazing every day.

Biswajit Mohanty, secretary of the WSO, says that from each village located in the forest areas at least 150-200 goats are taken out every day for grazing in the surrounding forests. Mayurbhanj district has the largest number of goats in the State.

Goats are fond of tender shoots of forest species plants and trees. Once a growing tree's lead is eaten by the goat, it ceases to grow and becomes stunted and dies ultimately. Similarly, hundreds of thousands of cattle enter the State's rich forest areas and trample and graze upon the growing tender plants and trees preventing regeneration of the forests.

Thousands of goats are found grazing everyday inside the wildlife sanctuaries such as Chandaka, Simlipal, Sunebeda, Kuldiha and Satkosia. There were around 65 villages inside the Simlipal Tiger Reserve all of which rear goats. An estimated 7,000 goats from the villages inside Simlipal and another 70,000 goats from the peripheral villages graze everyday inside the tiger habitat destroying the rich flora. Herbivores such as sambhar, deer, barking deer, wild boar, bison etc. are deprived of their rightful fodder. This would lead to a decline in prey base for the tigers, Mr. Mohanty says. He points out that as per law, it was illegal to allow grazing inside any reserve forest or wildlife sanctuary. However, the authorities were unable to enforce the laws as they would give rise to conflict with the local people.

According to B.K. Nayak, a retired forest officer who has worked for many years in Simlipal, goat grazing was much more harmful to forests compared to timber-felling and fuelwood collection.

Goat farming was introduced in Orissa in early 1960s and it was proposed that the goats be kept in stalls and provided with fodder from the forests. Various Government agencies are giving out assistance to the villagers for goat farming, but no one insists that they should be only reared by stall-feeding, Mr. Mohanty says.

The State Government, he feels, should launch a massive awareness campaign in the forest areas to educate the goatkeepers about the harmful effects of grazing on regeneration of forests. Unless goat farming was done in a sustainable manner, the rich forests would be lost forever, he warns.

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Goats depleting Orissa forests