Western Ghats News

Adventurers out to save the Ghats : GUNVANTHI BALARAM
AGENCIES[MONDAY, APRIL 03, 2000 02:57:19 PM]
MUMBAI: Here's adventure that combines fun with an ecological mission. Here are urban slickers taking a canoeing trip, a jungle trek, a rock-climb or a tribal village tour while helping to improve the local environment at the same time. 

So, students may be clearing litter from forest trails while on a trek, orchid lovers may be collecting data on the dwindling varieties of the flower, a budding ornithologist could be participating in a bird count, a sociologist recording the folk-songs of a tribe, ora historian documenting a local monument.

This is the modus operandi of `The Adventurers', a voluntary group working in the Western Ghats under the leadership of engineer- turned-ecologist S.L.N. Swamy. And it's producing such good results that it's earning them international acclaim.

Operating out of their base camp in Honnemardu (a scenic hamlet in Karnataka's Shimoga district that lies at the centre of the 1,400-km-long ghats), Mr Swamy, his wife and their band of 15 have launched several schemes to save the ghat-forests and improve the lot of its indigenous peoples. The projects are run by a vast network of volunteers and local supporters. At any given time, the Adventurers have 200-odd volunteers from India and abroad, who camp with them for six to 12 months.

``It all started about twenty years ago when I realised how rapidly the ghats were being eroded,'' says Mr Swamy, who has been trekking them since he was a boy. ``I knew that preaching about environmental issues in classrooms and seminars would be of no use, that only a physical experience could move people to act. So, I started organising adventure trips. I was confident that people who get hooked on adventure will gradually turn their attention to serious conservation issues. They will want to give something back to nature,'' explains the self-effacing crusader who passed through Mumbai recently.

Mr Swamy was right. What's more, he has effectively translated this positive sentiment into meaningful action over the years__involving people in tasks that check the degradation of the ecosystem, promote sustainable development and revive the cultural heritage of the ghats.
Apart from running adventure/ eco-awareness programmes, his network has set up co-operatives for forest dwellers and taught them to utilise renewable forest resources in a better manner. The Adventurers have been planting endemic species that are dwindling, gathering data about endangered flora and fauna, exploring forts, temples and ancient monuments and tracing their history, and even spearheading restoration work.

They charge a fee for their adventure camps: Rs 150 per day per head for school children, Rs 5 per day per head for street children, Rs 500 to Rs 3,000 per day per head for corporate executives who come for special de- stressing-cum-training sessions. But they take no grants for their community projects.

``Rather, we mobilise local resources and make the projects self- sustaining. And our pilot projects in the six villages of Kanoor, Nandigodu, Hasuvante, Marathur, Hosanagar and Sagar in Shimoga district are progressing well. The villagers have been taught to market their forest produce, make jams and chips out of jungle fruit, mint oil, shikakai, incense, honey and wax. They are now aspiring to establish full-fledged co- operativies and market the products outside their region,'' says Mr Swamy with a smile. ``We are also working closely with local communities like the Nayaks, the Halakkis and the Kunubis, who rely on the forests around them for most of their needs.

It is a matter of deep satisfaction for him that the same villagers who had once been forced to connive with mercenary loggers to earn a few extra rupees are now not only sheltering their habitat, but also earning a livelihood from it. ``It's wonderful. Terms like sustainable development begin to make more sense after one has worked on such projects,'' enthuses Sarita Shahani, a Mumbai student who spent a summer in Honnemardu.

These concepts are discussed with the forest dwellers, ``an approach that builds mutual respect'', adds Lisa Garfinkle, the organisation's international coordinator, who came to Honnemardu in 1990 as a volunteer and stayed on. She helps in recruiting international volunteers by spreading the word among outdoor organisations in North America, and has also been garnering international support for the projects (a Canadian television series, Man Alive, focused on her work). Garfinkle, who has just left for Montreal__to get married, incidentally__will be back with her American photographer- husband shortly.

The Adventurers are also making gains in the field of heritage conservation. In tandem with Chittara, a local NGO, they are researching, documenting and propagating the art and culture of the Deevaru, a unique OBC ghat community. They are also restoring Kanoor fort and the ancient Bheemeshwar temple in Sharavathy valley with the assistance of Ahmedabad-based conservationist Debashish Nayak and local well-wishers.

But we've miles to go before we can sleep. The task of conserving the entire estern Ghats is overwhelming. We have several NGOs working here, but we need many more new groups and better networking,'' states Mr Swamy. To this end, his group is forging links with Maharashtra NGOs like the Gokul Prakalp Pratisthan, which works in watershed management in Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg.

Together with The Adventurers and local village women, we plan to restore the green cover to the denuded Konkan hill-tracts,'' says Gokul's Vasant Gangawane. ``New volunteers and voluntary groups are welcome to join us.