Figure 1. Gundia catchment area

Figure 2.       a) Hongadahalla valley view – asset of next generation
        b) Road  creation for the movement of HMV’s.
                              c) Great carvings! Approach roads made through a hillock
       d) Vateria tree logs - more than 60 years old .

Netravathi River and Kumaradhara Rivers of Central Western Ghats, Karnataka are two west flowing rivers. The river systems with numerous perennial streams with typical tropical evergreen forested catchment areas are the regions of high conservation value. Highlights of the riparian vegetation are the naturally grown Vateria indica trees in the upper Ghat region and the presence of Gymnacranthera canarica in the lower reaches of the Ghats. Over 5000 mm of annual rainfall complement to the ecological rich habitats. 

History of exploitation
The Malnad part of the district has seen large scale land cover changes with the overexploitation of vegetation during the last two centuries. It was probably during the direct British rule of the district from 1831 to 1881 that several parts of Malnad was thrown open to the British planters often ex-army men who had changed over to civilian occupation at the end of the Anglo-Mysore wars. Kadamane, Biccodu, Cognur, Karadi-betta, Barchinhullu, Matsagar are only few of the estates dating from this period. The early planters gradually cleared forest tracks and planted them with the shade loving coffee and cardamom, the tall areca and the bushy orange. Tea was introduced at Kadamane in the early twentieth century and now it constitutes one of the major produces of this estate (Saldanha, et al. 1978).

Since 1945 there has been a spurt in the plantation industry so that the original vegetation had been greatly altered. There is scarcely any virgin forest in private hands. Major state forests have also been subjected to selective felling of hard structural timbers as well as soft woods for the plywood and matchstick industries. Large tracts of revenue lands with dense evergreen to semi-evergreen forests are being swiftly and completely logged to pave way for other land uses such as plantations.