Shobha Ramswamy

The appropriately named Atree has been working with the Soliga tribal community to reverse the damage done to the ecologically fragile BR Hills region near Mysore

The Biligiri Rangaswamy Hills near Mysore in Karnataka is home to an incredible spectrum of flora and fauna. It is also the domain of the Soligas, a tribal community that's almost as old as the forests here. The bond between these ancient people and a land now classified as rich in biodiversity has endured for millennia, but modernity is stretching matters to breaking point.

Numbering just around 5,000, the Soligas have traditionally survived by gathering honey, medicinal herbs, fruits and nuts. These natural resources, now categorised as non-timber forest products (NTFPs), were once abundant in the BR Hills, but they have been dwindling with a rapidity that threatens the Soligas as much as the environment in which they live. Leading the battle to restore the fine balance between the people here and their milieu is the Bangalore-based Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment (Atree).

Atree was established to address the environmental challenges facing India. Blending the principles of natural and social sciences, the organisation attempts to conserve biodiversity and promote sustainable development, primarily in the Western Ghats and the Eastern Himalayas. With support from the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, this catalyst for innovation and transformation undertakes research, conducts education and other outreach programmes, and advocates policy changes.

When Atree set up base at BR Hills, it spent almost two years researching and mapping the natural vegetation of the region. "Restoration is a complex process, especially when balancing human needs with the natural functions for the ecosystem," says Gladwin Joseph, director, Atree. "Our process, which combines traditional wisdom and scientific insights, is aimed at returning the ecosystem to health and vibrancy. The idea is to enable the land to provide sustained ecological services and products while maintaining its ecological integrity."

Atree's research and other initiatives work in partnership with the local communities of BR Hills. A big change that has happened since the organisation's intervention is that only about 75 per cent of NTFPs here are harvested today, leaving the rest for regeneration and animal consumption. Another significant environmental effort by Atree is the growing of quality native species, without which greening attempts cannot be sustained. Towards this end, a demonstration nursery with a greenhouse was started to supply saplings and seeds and impart training (four tribal men and one woman have become pioneer nursery technologists). As an alternate income source, people are encouraged to grow seedlings, which are then purchased by Atree at reasonable prices. The nursery has till now grown over 10,000 seedlings of 16 native species.

Time-tested techniques are being revived among the local farming community. Atree encourages the practice of planting along contours, with bunds at regular intervals, and row planting rather than broadcast sowing. This saves water and supports more than one crop in the year. The organisation also provides training in compost making, organic farming and cultivating herbal gardens (to reduce dependence on the forest).

Traditional agricultural crops such as finger millet, corn, red gram and mustard are promoted for farming instead of hybrid varieties, since the former are better suited for later value additions. To collect and preserve the indigenous varieties of seeds used by the Soligas, Atree has also established three seed banks with some 30 indigenous varieties.

To increase the local community's stake in conserving their biotic resources, Atree has partnered the Vivekananda Girijana Kalyana Kendra to create enterprises based on NTFPs that can be operated by the Soligas. Previously, the community sold the produce it collected to forest contractors at throwaway prices. Today its processing-cum-marketing unit purchases NTFPs, processes them, and markets products directly. Registered under the name Prakruti, the Soligas now run industrial units that produce honey, pickles, jam, herbal medicines etc that sell well in the open market.

The nearby Male Mahadeshwara Hills, once controlled by the infamous Veerapan, reflect a socio-economic transformation similar to the one scripted in BR Hills. Incessant felling had destroyed the rich bamboo groves in the forests here and the tribal community residing there was, as usual, the worst sufferers. The search for an alternative resource ended with lantana, a durable, inexpensive and easily available bamboo clone that is used by tribal communities in some parts of the country.

Lantana, a wild and shrubby plant counted among the world's worst weeds, was available in abundance locally. With the help of the Dehradun-based Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organisation, seven artisans were trained at a 10-day workshop on how to create products from lantana. Besides baskets, the weed is used to craft trashcans, pen stands, flowerpots and even furniture. Bamboo or cane product designs can be easily adapted to lantana. While the features are almost similar, the price difference tilts the scale in favour of lantana, which is available at half the cost of bamboo.

Lantana gaining popularity means that the pressure on bamboo is eased. Besides, it gives the local community an opportunity to increase its income. Atree holds regular training sessions in the settlements surrounding the forests to equip locals with the skills required to make lantana products. It has opened a centre where it feeds artisans information on designs and quality measures essential to selling lantana products in urban areas. The lantana culture has expanded so much that farmers increasingly use it as fencing to protect newly planted saplings from livestock damage.

Empowering women is crucial to every social movement. Atree has organised about 16 women's self-help groups in the villages here to promote grassroots institutions that provide them an equitable stake in the social structure. These groups are being trained in lantana basket weaving, vermin composting, apiculture and the making of incense sticks. They mobilise resources by giving small loans and taking up activities for income generation. They select their own representative for a fixed tenure to facilitate and coordinate the activities of the group. "The response has been phenomenal," says Dr Joseph, "and to think that many of these women had never set foot in a bank before."

BR Hills derives the first part of its moniker from Biligiri, which means 'white rocky cliff' in local parlance. The name comes from the white mist and silver clouds that cover the lofty hills here for a greater part of the year. Thanks to Atree, rising just as high in the local mindset is an awareness of and commitment to the environment that has nurtured the Soligas for centuries.

Uploaded on March 2005