Mp Sal Forest Under Threat From Pests

A deadly pest called `borer insect has affected around 1.1 million sal trees in Madhya Pradesh. Around 40,000 of these trees are in the Kanha National Park and two nearby sanctuaries alone.

Wildlife experts have called upon the world science community to rush curative measures to tackle the menace which threatens to wipe out these trees in the state.

The World Wildlife Fund for Nature-India ( WWF-India) has welcomed the state government decision to ban `free felling of the trees in the affected areas, but has cautioned that these measures alone will not suffice unless advanced technologies are deployed immediately.

 

Sal trees cover around 26,050 sq km, spread over 14 districts in Madhya Pradesh and account for nearly one-fourth of the sal forests in the country.

Apart from providing timber, the sal forests are also the natural habitat for wildlife including tigers who number 927 in the state and account for 25 per cent of the world tiger population.

WWF-India secretary-general Samar Singh who attended the recent meeting of the state wildlife advisory board in Bhopal, is of the view that along with a ban on felling in the affected areas, the latest technology and expertise must be immediately deployed to tackle the problem before it engulfs the entire sal region.