Editorial Viewpoint
Countering the pests
Three weeks after we wrote about the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) neglecting to control the termite menace at Doongerwadi ("Termites at work: Do not disturb,” Parsiana November 7, 2012) the WAPIZ (World Alliance of Parsi Irani Zarthoshtis) Page (WP) in the Free Press Journal (FPJ) of November 30 issued a rejoinder. The headline stated, "Doongerwadi is not a garden. It is a forest. It must be looked after as such!” The subhead continued, "Expert’s report proves that BPP trustee Khojeste Mistree’s stand on how to preserve this forest is absolutely correct!”
The WP quoted from a report by botanist Dr C. S. Lattoo titled "Doongerwadi: An inventory and forest health assessment” which states, "Even small interventions, such as the one time application of a given pesticide, can have serious and irreversible harmful side effects… termites and other insects and fungi…help convert (dead wood) by decomposition into nutrients essential for the renewal of the forest… most forest creepers including the ones we observed are not parasitic and do not harm the plant.” They "should not be removed.” So also fallen trees, branches, etc should be left to decompose and thereby serve as a natural fertilizer. "There is no need to add manure and fertilizer in the forest since the forest is a natural ecosystem.”
Lattoo praises the Doongerwadi estate terming it "a forest within the city…rich in diversity of plants, birds and butterfly...a great solace.” The report refers to the Bombay Municipal Corporation census which "registered 1,317 trees at Doongerwadi and 1,063 trees” at Godrej Baug (GB). It is possible the GB figure is erroneous as the area occupied by the colony is around one fifth of the area demarcated for Doongerwadi, according to the sketch in the report. Trees on other portions of the estate may have been included in GB. A sketch of the plot in the report shows the "thick vegetation areas (at around 60 percent of the area)” in Doongerwadi. The rest is utilized for bunglis, dakhmas, offices, staff housing, parking space, driveways, walkways etc. If the aviaries are constructed, more space would be gobbled up.
When we inquired from Lattoo over the phone about termites attacking trees he replied that healthy trees were not in danger and at most the bark would be eaten by the termites. Our request for an interview was politely declined as he felt it would be inappropriate for him to talk to the Press when he had been given the assignment by the BPP and had submitted his report to them. He reiterated that what was stated in the FPJ was the correct position.
Lattoo terms the wooded area "a low disturbance urban forest” which results in "more and better ecosystem services” and resilience "in plants and animal species and greater overall biodiversity.” He recommends minimum human intervention and in his conclusions suggests "plantation of additional shrubs and trees which have aromatic flowers to maintain pleasant ambience” (and no doubt lessen the stench from the decomposing corpses). He notes "a forest officer should be appointed…on a permanent basis, if not at least on a visit basis.”
But with the human traffic in the area, the driveways and walkways the presence of an ozone plant and solar concentrators, Doongerwadi resembles a wooded factory more than a forest.
In its characteristic manner the WP states the editor of Parsiana has "ended up with a whole lot of egg on his face” and is "barking up the wrong tree.” While we willingly concede we may truly be "barking up the wrong tree” there are still some points to which thought should be given.
Firstly Lattoo "delivered (his) paper to the BPP on November 22, 2012,” according to the WP. The date of the report’s delivery and the sections specifically countering the points raised in the Parsiana editorial imply that Mistree may have influenced the final document’s contents. Lattoo’s undated report thanks Mistree "for his persuasion and cooperation.”
In regard to the letters the four high priests shoot out on occasion, there is little doubt as to who are the draftsmen. The normal practice among the WAPIZ trustees is to get at least four of the high priests to rubber stamp any decision pertaining to the sacred precincts. True, the clergymen may not know much about sustainable forest management. But then what do they know about aviaries and vulture breeding? Yet they opined on the subject as they are entitled to.
One would assume that after the report was received, circulated, studied and discussed the BPP would decide on the best course of action to follow in consultation with the Doongerwadi Advisory Committee (DAC) which includes some or at least one of the high priests
Lattoo visited Doongerwadi in May 2012. Even if his report was not ready at the time, surely Mistree and the other trustees must have had some inkling as to his thinking on the subject. After all, the termite treatment had ceased long before Lattoo’s report as had the practice of procuring and spreading cow dung. Parsiana wrote to the BPP chairman on October 22 stating, "We intend to write about the discontinuation of earlier precautionary horticulture practices at Doongerwadi (and) would like to publish the BPP’s reasoning and rationale for the change in policy.” Whilst no explanation was proffered, chairman Dinshaw Mehta responded that "all efforts are being made to give proper termite treatment/pest control to the trees at Doongerwadi.”
Even prior to Parsiana’s write up, Dr Homi Dhalla, a member of the DAC and the prime mover behind the installation of solar concentrators abutting the dakhmas had written about the termites attacking the trees at Doongerwadi. His article appeared in the Parsi Times issue of October 6, 2012. Even at that stage, no effort was made to explain the BPP’s reasoning.
In the Parsiana write up at no stage did we recommend the use of pesticides. The base of tree trunks are often painted with lime and other natural substances to prevent termites from destroying the bark. One could spy such coatings on trees lining the highways.
Dipak Shah, chairman of the Pest Management and Consultants (India) Limited and former senior vice president at Pest Control (India) Private Limited in a telephonic conversation with Parsiana stated that the chemicals that were once considered harmful to the ecosystem were long ago banned by the government. While it is not advisable to treat all the trees at Doongerwadi, a few trees around buildings, infected by termites, can have the surrounding soil treated after digging a pit around the tree. "If the bark on the lower part of the tree trunk is affected it can be cleared and termiticide applied,” opines Shah. The chemicals do not penetrate deep into the tree so any collateral damage is minimized.
An Agence France-Presse report that appeared in The Free Press Journal of December 10, 2012 warns of "an alarming increase in the death rates of…giant old trees…unless there were policy changes to better protect them.” Trees were "perishing at 10 times the normal rate.” The study prepared by the Australian National University cited the probable causes as "rapid climate change…rampant logging and agricultural land clearing.” For Doongerwadi, add urbanization.
If this "religion-cultural sacred treasure,” as Lattoo terms it, is to survive a concerted community effort will be required. Utilizing the "treasure” to curry favor and settle scores is not in anybody’s interest.
The WP quoted from a report by botanist Dr C. S. Lattoo titled "Doongerwadi: An inventory and forest health assessment” which states, "Even small interventions, such as the one time application of a given pesticide, can have serious and irreversible harmful side effects… termites and other insects and fungi…help convert (dead wood) by decomposition into nutrients essential for the renewal of the forest… most forest creepers including the ones we observed are not parasitic and do not harm the plant.” They "should not be removed.” So also fallen trees, branches, etc should be left to decompose and thereby serve as a natural fertilizer. "There is no need to add manure and fertilizer in the forest since the forest is a natural ecosystem.”
Lattoo praises the Doongerwadi estate terming it "a forest within the city…rich in diversity of plants, birds and butterfly...a great solace.” The report refers to the Bombay Municipal Corporation census which "registered 1,317 trees at Doongerwadi and 1,063 trees” at Godrej Baug (GB). It is possible the GB figure is erroneous as the area occupied by the colony is around one fifth of the area demarcated for Doongerwadi, according to the sketch in the report. Trees on other portions of the estate may have been included in GB. A sketch of the plot in the report shows the "thick vegetation areas (at around 60 percent of the area)” in Doongerwadi. The rest is utilized for bunglis, dakhmas, offices, staff housing, parking space, driveways, walkways etc. If the aviaries are constructed, more space would be gobbled up.
When we inquired from Lattoo over the phone about termites attacking trees he replied that healthy trees were not in danger and at most the bark would be eaten by the termites. Our request for an interview was politely declined as he felt it would be inappropriate for him to talk to the Press when he had been given the assignment by the BPP and had submitted his report to them. He reiterated that what was stated in the FPJ was the correct position.
Lattoo terms the wooded area "a low disturbance urban forest” which results in "more and better ecosystem services” and resilience "in plants and animal species and greater overall biodiversity.” He recommends minimum human intervention and in his conclusions suggests "plantation of additional shrubs and trees which have aromatic flowers to maintain pleasant ambience” (and no doubt lessen the stench from the decomposing corpses). He notes "a forest officer should be appointed…on a permanent basis, if not at least on a visit basis.”
But with the human traffic in the area, the driveways and walkways the presence of an ozone plant and solar concentrators, Doongerwadi resembles a wooded factory more than a forest.
In its characteristic manner the WP states the editor of Parsiana has "ended up with a whole lot of egg on his face” and is "barking up the wrong tree.” While we willingly concede we may truly be "barking up the wrong tree” there are still some points to which thought should be given.
Firstly Lattoo "delivered (his) paper to the BPP on November 22, 2012,” according to the WP. The date of the report’s delivery and the sections specifically countering the points raised in the Parsiana editorial imply that Mistree may have influenced the final document’s contents. Lattoo’s undated report thanks Mistree "for his persuasion and cooperation.”
In regard to the letters the four high priests shoot out on occasion, there is little doubt as to who are the draftsmen. The normal practice among the WAPIZ trustees is to get at least four of the high priests to rubber stamp any decision pertaining to the sacred precincts. True, the clergymen may not know much about sustainable forest management. But then what do they know about aviaries and vulture breeding? Yet they opined on the subject as they are entitled to.
One would assume that after the report was received, circulated, studied and discussed the BPP would decide on the best course of action to follow in consultation with the Doongerwadi Advisory Committee (DAC) which includes some or at least one of the high priests
Lattoo visited Doongerwadi in May 2012. Even if his report was not ready at the time, surely Mistree and the other trustees must have had some inkling as to his thinking on the subject. After all, the termite treatment had ceased long before Lattoo’s report as had the practice of procuring and spreading cow dung. Parsiana wrote to the BPP chairman on October 22 stating, "We intend to write about the discontinuation of earlier precautionary horticulture practices at Doongerwadi (and) would like to publish the BPP’s reasoning and rationale for the change in policy.” Whilst no explanation was proffered, chairman Dinshaw Mehta responded that "all efforts are being made to give proper termite treatment/pest control to the trees at Doongerwadi.”
Even prior to Parsiana’s write up, Dr Homi Dhalla, a member of the DAC and the prime mover behind the installation of solar concentrators abutting the dakhmas had written about the termites attacking the trees at Doongerwadi. His article appeared in the Parsi Times issue of October 6, 2012. Even at that stage, no effort was made to explain the BPP’s reasoning.
In the Parsiana write up at no stage did we recommend the use of pesticides. The base of tree trunks are often painted with lime and other natural substances to prevent termites from destroying the bark. One could spy such coatings on trees lining the highways.
Dipak Shah, chairman of the Pest Management and Consultants (India) Limited and former senior vice president at Pest Control (India) Private Limited in a telephonic conversation with Parsiana stated that the chemicals that were once considered harmful to the ecosystem were long ago banned by the government. While it is not advisable to treat all the trees at Doongerwadi, a few trees around buildings, infected by termites, can have the surrounding soil treated after digging a pit around the tree. "If the bark on the lower part of the tree trunk is affected it can be cleared and termiticide applied,” opines Shah. The chemicals do not penetrate deep into the tree so any collateral damage is minimized.
An Agence France-Presse report that appeared in The Free Press Journal of December 10, 2012 warns of "an alarming increase in the death rates of…giant old trees…unless there were policy changes to better protect them.” Trees were "perishing at 10 times the normal rate.” The study prepared by the Australian National University cited the probable causes as "rapid climate change…rampant logging and agricultural land clearing.” For Doongerwadi, add urbanization.
If this "religion-cultural sacred treasure,” as Lattoo terms it, is to survive a concerted community effort will be required. Utilizing the "treasure” to curry favor and settle scores is not in anybody’s interest.
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