#Ajayan

Kochi | Amidst the raging issue of wild tusker nicknamed Arikkomban which has been relocated from Chinnakkanal to the Periyar Tiger Reserve because a few people who were made to occupy forest land considered it a rogue, there is a big lesson to be learnt from the Wildlife Trust of India’s exercise undertaken two decades ago in Wayanad.

Sabu Jahas, Project Advisor for WTI and Director and wildlife biologist at Research Centre for Environment and Social Sciences, recounted to Metro Vaartha the single-handed mission he undertook to relocate people from four villages in a tough elephant corridor in Wayanad in Kerala, secure it and transfer it to the forest department in the State.

There are four elephant corridors in Kerala. Among them the Tirunelli-Kurakote (Brahmagiri-Tirunelli) elephant corridor has been identified as a vital and high-priority one. It connects the Brahmagiri Wildlife Sanctuary bordering Kerala and Karnataka. The corridor was under threat because of settlements that could cause further degradation and ultimately lead to loss of connectivity, he says.

The case of Chinnakkal, the home of Arikkomban, is no different. Despite a note from the then Divisional Forest Officer Prakriti Srivastava to the Government in 2002 to rid the 302 Colony of people and rehabilitate them, the State Government ignored it and allocated land there to people in 2003. The rest is history and the elephant corridor is blocked.

It was way back in 1994 that Sabu started his study on  human-animal interaction in Wayanad along with recognized scientists, Dr Sankar S and Dr PS Easa of Kerala Forest Research Institute. He had mooted relocation of people from the area for better interaction.

WTI learned about his studies and suggested further research as part of a project to relocate people and save the corridor. From there it was a strenuous time, living in the forests for months together, engaging himself with the tribespeople and learning about their lifestyle and trying to find the best solution.

A ground truth study was undertaken in four villages – Tirulakkunnu, Valiuaemmady, Kottapady and Puliyankolly – which were part of the corridor. Research on animal density in the corridor and its mapping were initiated along with socio-economic assessment. It was then that consent was obtained from the villagers. None was coerced, affirms Sabu.

But the task was not easy as sanctions had to come from several departments. Finally, there were negotiations for a suitable package. This included clearing bank loans and such matters. And when all that was ready, they were asked to select plots outside the corridor matching the amount of land they owned. As they were mainly tribespeople into paddy cultivation, besides land to build their houses, wetlands were also bought so that they could continue with their livelihood.

In some cases, families were large to include children and their spouses and siblings. Houses were built according to their choice and separate rooms were provided to each girlchild in the family. All houses had water and power supply.

Members of the International Union for Conservation of Nature who supported the venture were wonderstruck and said they lived in smaller houses in their country, Sabu said.

Since it was practice among tribespeople to gather in the evenings, a separate hall was built for them where they would gather and also hold functions, thus ensuring that their social life remained unaffected. A reading room was also set up.

It did not end there as they were properly relocated and there was regular assessment of the socio-economic condition of these people for years together.

While they were officially engaged in farming on their own land, they had extended this to forest land. Thus, if 25 acres was bought for them as per records to match the land under their legal possession, what was secured was four times that in the corridor as they had moved out once and for all.

The secured land was then handed over to the Kerala forest department. Interestingly, immediately after this, animals began movement into the corridor and today that area is dense forest, adds Sabu with pride. WTI continued monitoring the secured land to assess the movement of wildlife.

Dr Sankar, part of the initial study in the area, said this was perhaps the biggest-ever relocation covering four villages to re-secure and safeguard an elephant corridor. Authorities should learn from this and take it forward across the State. This will, he says, ensure better human-animal interaction and save forests and its wildlife and also humans.