Readers' Forum
“Ecological Eden”
I was very pleased to read about the Native Biodiversity Garden sponsored by Shapoorji Pallonji ("Ecological Eden,” Parsiana, October 21, 2016). As a conservation biologist I am particularly drawn towards such projects as we are losing a great deal of our local biodiversity due to rapid population growth, urbanization, destruction of forest cover and natural habitats.
Having seen the fabulous Black River Gorges National Park in Mauritius during my visit there in 1985 as a plant collector for the Food and Agriculture Organization, I was impressed with efforts made to preserve the biodiversity of plants and bird life in a protected area. At the same time it was an educational tool to make Mauritians as well as tourists aware of the great deal of local variety available in the flora and fauna of the island.
The National Park was conceived on an ambitious scale in 1974 and covers two percent of the island’s land mass. It is the last green resort of the island’s endemic plant, bird and animal life. The names of plants are clearly marked and there are hiking trails for nature lovers to walk through. Many of them carry binoculars to identify some of the 119 species of bird life, including the Mauritius Kestrel (Falco punctatus), the Echo Parakeet (Psittacula eques), and the Pink Pigeon (Nesoenas mayeri) which was once widely distributed across Mauritius before becoming restricted to the Black River Gorges National Park. Another distinctive feature is an area where a core sample of plants are grown in a living (in situ) conservation garden that is fenced off and not accessible to the public. Only those who want to seriously study the unique plant life of Mauritius are permitted entry.
The Western Ghats (also known as the Sahyadri hills), a mountain range that runs parallel to the west coast of the Indian peninsula, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the eight "hottest hot-spots” of biological diversity in the world. The area has over 7,402 species of flowering plants, 1,814 species of non-flowering plants, 139 mammal species, 508 bird species, 179 amphibian species, 6,000 insect species and 290 freshwater fish species. It is likely that many yet undiscovered species live in the Western Ghats. At least 325 are globally at risk but occur only in the Western Ghats. It would be great if a nature reserve were to be created there, based roughly on the Mauritius plan, so that this rich endemic biodiversity in preserved for future generations. It would be an excellent educational tool for impressing upon school children and college students the importance of conserving their biological heritage which is under threat of destruction.
The destruction, encroachment and deforestation of the Western Ghats began with the arrival of the British and continue unabated to this day. The hunting and encroachment into their habitat by humans are the key factors which make many species highly threatened. For example, at one time panthers were seen in large numbers at Khandala and Matheran. The late hotelier Jimmy Lord had shot a few that came up the trails in Matheran, and in the 1950s a panther had made himself at home in one of the bedrooms of the Nazir bungalow at Khandala. But they are very rare now, except under the protection of the National Park at Borivali.
Dr ARDESHIR B. DAMANIA
Davis, California, USA
abdamania@yahoo.com
Having seen the fabulous Black River Gorges National Park in Mauritius during my visit there in 1985 as a plant collector for the Food and Agriculture Organization, I was impressed with efforts made to preserve the biodiversity of plants and bird life in a protected area. At the same time it was an educational tool to make Mauritians as well as tourists aware of the great deal of local variety available in the flora and fauna of the island.The National Park was conceived on an ambitious scale in 1974 and covers two percent of the island’s land mass. It is the last green resort of the island’s endemic plant, bird and animal life. The names of plants are clearly marked and there are hiking trails for nature lovers to walk through. Many of them carry binoculars to identify some of the 119 species of bird life, including the Mauritius Kestrel (Falco punctatus), the Echo Parakeet (Psittacula eques), and the Pink Pigeon (Nesoenas mayeri) which was once widely distributed across Mauritius before becoming restricted to the Black River Gorges National Park. Another distinctive feature is an area where a core sample of plants are grown in a living (in situ) conservation garden that is fenced off and not accessible to the public. Only those who want to seriously study the unique plant life of Mauritius are permitted entry.
The Western Ghats (also known as the Sahyadri hills), a mountain range that runs parallel to the west coast of the Indian peninsula, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the eight "hottest hot-spots” of biological diversity in the world. The area has over 7,402 species of flowering plants, 1,814 species of non-flowering plants, 139 mammal species, 508 bird species, 179 amphibian species, 6,000 insect species and 290 freshwater fish species. It is likely that many yet undiscovered species live in the Western Ghats. At least 325 are globally at risk but occur only in the Western Ghats. It would be great if a nature reserve were to be created there, based roughly on the Mauritius plan, so that this rich endemic biodiversity in preserved for future generations. It would be an excellent educational tool for impressing upon school children and college students the importance of conserving their biological heritage which is under threat of destruction.
The destruction, encroachment and deforestation of the Western Ghats began with the arrival of the British and continue unabated to this day. The hunting and encroachment into their habitat by humans are the key factors which make many species highly threatened. For example, at one time panthers were seen in large numbers at Khandala and Matheran. The late hotelier Jimmy Lord had shot a few that came up the trails in Matheran, and in the 1950s a panther had made himself at home in one of the bedrooms of the Nazir bungalow at Khandala. But they are very rare now, except under the protection of the National Park at Borivali.
Dr ARDESHIR B. DAMANIA
Davis, California, USA
abdamania@yahoo.com
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