The sacred grove of the Siva Vishnu temple at
Kalassamala, near Kunnamkulam, in Thrissur will be designated the first
Biodiversity Heritage Site of Kerala by the Kerala State Biodiversity
Board.
The Board is finalising the steps for making the declaration and is organising a meeting of the stakeholders.
The nearly 3.5-acre grove has 110
Syzygium travancoricum
(Kulavetti or Vathamkolli in local parlance) trees, a critically
endangered species on the IUCN Red List. The trees, which grow in
freshwater swamps, are endemic to India. The Red List says fewer than
200 of the species are left. The sacred grove of Aickad is reported to
have four of them, while Guddrikal has 15 to 20. A major threat “faced
by the trees is that the swampy wetland habitat has been widely drained
and converted into paddy fields,” the IUCN says.
The
board had earlier identified the sacred groves at Iringole, near
Perumbavoor, the Paliyeri Mookambika temple in Kannur, the Conolly Teak
Plantation in Nilambur, and Pathiramanal to be designated biodiversity
heritage sites of the State.
The Biological Diversity
Act, 2002, defines such sites as ecologically unique terrestrial,
freshwater or marine areas, having rich biodiversity, with one or more
of the components such as species richness, high endemism, presence of
rare, endangered, and threatened species, keystone species, species of
evolutionary significance, and sacred groves with wild relatives of
domesticated biodiversity.
The State biodiversity
Boards, in consultation with the local bodies and other stakeholders,
shall designate such areas heritage sites and the State governments
should issue the notification, says the Act.
The
Kerala Board is planning to convene a meeting of the stakeholders
shortly for completing the formalities regarding the declaration, said
R.V. Varma, Chairman of the Board.
The temple
authorities, including its trustees, will become the protectors of the
unique ecosystem. The National Biodiversity Authority and the State
Board will financially support the temple for protecting the ecosystem.
The local panchayat can earmark funds in its plan for protecting the
site. The only restriction will be a ban on cutting trees, Mr. Varma
said. The temple authorities will play a crucial role in the management
of the system when the local-level management committee is formed.
The views of the trustees will be considered while formulating the management plan and its implementation, he said.
M.K.
Harinarayanan, Assistant Professor of Botany at Sree Krishna College,
Guruvayur, who lives in the area, said the deep swamps in the area could
not be crossed by feet. Most of the swamps had dried up or had been
reclaimed over the years.
He said the extant swamp
extended up to nearly one acre. A section of the local population
depended on the critically endangered trees for firewood. Many trees
were lost in the process, but some were regenerating.
Considering
the ecological significance of the area and the presence of dolmens at
sites near the temple, a comprehensive conservation plan needs to be
evolved, Prof. Harinarayanan, a former assistant programme coordinator
of the Kerala Board, said.
Painting by Ivan Shishkin
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