Cynthia Rodrigues

With its plantations in Munnar straddling a biodiversity hotspot rich in flora and fauna, environmental protection and regeneration have become a way of life at Tata Tea

According to a Cree Indian proverb, only when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the very last fish has been caught will human beings realise that they cannot eat money. Unfortunately, this wisdom of a simple Native American race is lost on most advocates of modernisation and technology, who refuse to believe that they need to learn lessons in ecology.

The story is different with Tata Tea, which has through a process of assimilation and tradition come to embrace the concept of environmental protection and regeneration. The company has been at the forefront of safeguarding the incredibly rich flora and fauna in and around Munnar, Kerala, the hub of its huge planting operations and a region that has been classified as one of the world's biodiversity hotspots.

Tata Tea has, over the years, initiated a number of innovative, extra-statutory practices aimed at limiting the damage being done to the environment and to conserve and restore the biodiversity of the mountainous expanse that is home to the company's operations. The centrepiece of this breathtakingly beautiful spread, from the environmental as well as aesthetic viewpoint, is the Eravikulam National Park.

Situated along the crest of the Western Ghats in the high ranges (called the Kanan Devan Hills) of the Idukki district of Kerala, and bordering three of Tata Tea's estates, the Park measures 97 sq km and consists of a shoal-grassland ecosystem that is perched at an average elevation of 200 metres above sea level. The sholas are evergreen forests characterised by stunted trees, with a dense crown, a thick canopy and small coriaceous leaves. Most of the surrounding knolls and peaks rise 100 to 300 metres higher, and some mountains climb to 2,500 metres. One of these mountains is Anaimudi, which at 2,695 metres (8,842 feet) is the highest peak outside the Himalayas in India.

The ecosystem of the shola-grassland has a mixture of tropical and temperate qualities. The unusual combination of high altitude and low latitude has blessed the area with a profusion of orchids and balsams. The spectacular mass flowering of the shrub Neelakurinji takes place every 12 years.

The Eravikulam National Park houses a large number of endemic and endangered life forms, mainly the Nilgiri Tahr, some 700 of which graze here. Tigers, panthers and wild dogs are sometimes sighted in the open grasslands as well as the sholas. Elephants and gaurs (Indian bison) frequently move into neighbouring estates, sanctuaries and reserved forests. They prefer the proximity of the sholas, which provide forest cover. The Tahr, on the other hand, prefer open grasslands under cliffs.

The Eravikulam National Park is jointly managed by Kerala's Department of Forests and Wildlife and the High Range Wildlife and Environment Preservation Association (HRWEPA). Along with the neighbouring protected areas and natural forests, this is one of the largest conservation areas in the Western Ghats, offering unprecedented opportunities for studying the biodiversity of montane vegetation and the ecological riddles of such ecosystems. This system of joint forest management came up only after the Kerala State Land Board recommended it. The collaboration was formalised in the management plan of the Eravikulam National Park.

The HRWEPA has executives of Tata Tea, the wildlife warden of Eravikulam National Park and the divisional forest officer, Munnar, as honorary members, and eminent environmentalists as its trustees. Since its formation, HRWEPA, which is instrumental in the management of the Park, has received the full support of Tata Tea.

A number of ecological challenges have come up in areas close to Tata Tea's plantations. A recent study undertaken by the French Institute in Pondicherry revealed that the ecosystem of the Kanan Devan Hills is extremely fragile. Any disturbance or change could damage its delicate ecological and economic balance. Approximately 2,200 hectares of the company's holdings is jungle and shola grasslands, classified as southern tropical wet temperate forest. These areas form a part of Tata Tea's holdings as granted land, but they have been retained and protected as the company's private forests.

In the early 1980s HRWEPA took the initiative of regenerating the degraded shola forests in the company's estates. This undid much of the damage wreaked by forest fires as well as the slash-and-burn cultivation techniques practised by the Muduvan tribe, which occupied the area around the 14th century and has been responsible for much of the denudation of the forests left on the plateau.

Tata Tea ensured that all its estate nurseries raise shola species and plant them in identified areas. A central nursery, established at Madupatty under the supervision of the company's research and development department, undertook centralised planting at these locations. At present, planting is underway in the Thenmallay area, as well as the company's Grahamsland and Kanniamallay estates.

To safeguard its regeneration efforts, Tata Tea engaged security staff in all the estates, so they could report any suspicious activity in the protected private forests. It also appointed 12 Muduvans, known for their tracking skills, as watchers in the fringe areas to control poaching and encroachment, monitor forest fires, and report animal sightings. These watchers report to their respective estate managers, who are designated as honorary HRWEPA wardens. This information is forwarded by each estate to the chairman of HRWEPA, who in turn sends a report to the Forest and Wildlife Department.

Tata Tea also funds and supports the High Range Angling Association, which maintains a hatchery for raising rainbow trout fish. The fingerlings raised are released in the streams that flow within the company's holdings. Since trout die in contaminated water, their survival in the streams serves as an ecological indicator of clean water bodies.

Tata Tea has also assumed responsibility for the conservation of swamps and streams inside and near its estates. The company maintains about 1,100 hectares under swamps and streams in South India as a protected habitat. This plays a crucial role in the availability of water for groundwater recharging and water harvesting. The plant Vetiver recharges ground water, is a good soil binder and is renowned for its eco-friendliness. Tata Tea has intensified the planting of Vetiver in all its estates.

The insecticides and pesticides used in tea cultivation are registered with the Central Insecticide Board. Registration with this central government body implies that a competent authority has accepted the documented proof submitted in support of claims of safety and efficacy. This information includes data on the compound's acute and chronic toxicity to mammals, birds, fish and non-target organisms, persistence on soil and in water, carcinogenicity, mutagenicity, etc.

The company has also committed itself to using approved agrochemicals in order to minimise their impact on the environment. This affirms that none of its products and services have any significant adverse impact on the ecology. In addition, Tata Tea uses recyclable and biodegradable packing material.

Another concern is cattle grazing, which goes on in the fringe estates adjoining the Eravikulam National Park. If not managed well, it can result in the outbreak of disease among wildlife. To guard against this threat, the veterinary department of Tata Tea monitors the health of the cattle. Since the fringe areas of the Park contain a large number of grasslands, the company assists the park management in fighting wildfires. Besides, wherever a thinning in the forest fringes is noticed, shola afforestation is undertaken.

Visitors to Eravikulam are fascinated by its beauty and serenity, but very few realise how much effort is required to safeguard this haven. Park officials have a hard time containing the menace of marijuana cultivation, which involves both poaching and tree felling. The largest sholas on the western side of the Park have been particularly affected. Small-time poaching by setting snares is common along the estate fringes, which are also used for illicit liquor distillation.

Sandalwood smuggling in the Anchanand valley means gangs use parts of the Park as transit routes. Unplanned fires during the dry months are also a source of concern, and constant vigil is required to prevent accidents. The sudden tourist inflow has become another major problem. Maintaining order in the Park has become even more difficult in such circumstances.

The challenges have not fazed Tata Tea. It has gone beyond the call of mere duty and transcended the prescriptions of environment statutes to introduce and encourage innovative ways to preserve the biodiversity of the region. The company has proved it is not one of those that wait for certain designated days to perform token service to the environment. At Tata Tea, every day is 'environment day'. The Cree Indians would have approved.

Uploaded in March 2005