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| Silent Valley conservation movement enters silver jubilee |
| N Muraleedharan/PTI / Thiruvananthapuram Nov 16, 2009, 10:23 IST |
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Kerala is all set to celebrate the silver jubilee of the declaration of evergreen rainforest Silent Valley as the National Park, after one of the country’s pioneering conservation struggles which saved the rich treasure house of flora and fauna from destruction for a hydro power project.
At the height of the campaign which saw environmentalists, scientists, writers and concerned public at large coming together, the rare biosphere on the southern slopes of the Western Ghats was declared a National Park on November 15, 1984 and was formally inaugurated by the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi the next year.
But looking back, some of those who were in the forefront of the campaign now appear slightly skeptical on whether the message of the Silent Valley campaign has helped stop vandalisation and degradation of nature in other parts of the country in the name of development. "It certainly was a crucial phase in the conservation history of India. But it is sad to know that the core message of the Silent Valley movement has not yet been conveyed to the world even during its sliver jubilee”, said Prof M K Prasad, who was a leading campaigner for the Silent Valley.
"What is important is now is to make use of the occasion to sent a strong message across the country that nature could be protected only by its scientific management," he said.
Opponents of the movement often sought to demoralise the campaigners dubbing them as fighting for a few 'monkeys' ignoring the development of Kerala and the benefits for the common man. But as the campaigners stood firm and the issue even received support from green movements the world over, the Centre proposed detailed studies of the impact of degradation of the forest. It ultimately led to dropping of the project proposal.
Interestingly, even after Silent Valley became a successful symbol of conservation struggle, few years back, a proposal was mooted to set up a run-of-river power project at Pathrakkadavu, close to the core of the Silent Valley. It had been shelved in the face of stiff resistance from environmentalists and scientists.
Known as Sirendhry Forests based on folk traditions associating the areas with characters of the great Indian epic Mahabharata,the scientific and environmental importance of the area was first recognised by British botanists who explored the area and mentioned Silent Valley in their records. The biosphere, which was part of the British Malabar, was declared a reserve forest in the 19th century itself. Of the total 237.54 sq km, 89.54 sq km forms the core and the rest is treated as a buffer zone.
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