These foot soldiers campaign for conservation - I

Eranna Haliyal, Dy.RFO, Daroji Bear Sanctuary 

For long there has been a dearth for an education wing in the Karnataka forest Department. The concept of Conservation got into the system in the seventies after the formation of Tiger reserves. Nine of them were identified to represent different ecosystem in the first leg of the Project Tiger. Elimination of the many factors contributing to the tiger’s decline: habitat destruction through forestry operations, cattle grazing and wood cutting by the local community, poaching for meat and trophy. All these factors could not be handled, with the existing style of Forest management.  Apart from strict enforcement of wildlife laws developing a tolerant neighborhood for tigers was an important agenda. The forest department, for the first time started conducting Nature education programs across the country. They looked after the logistics and the programs were done by many local naturalists, who were not associated to each other. WWF-India along with the BNHS pioneered the job and was followed by other agencies like CEE, CPR and others. The rising population and the consequence of globalization doubled the pressure on our protected areas and the stress for stronger environment education was felt. By the time the government agencies and the concerned NGOs realized that EE should be linked with the curriculum a lot of damage was done.

Eranna addressing high school teachers

 In 1989 the very first attempts were made at a national scale to link school curriculum with EE.  WWF-India with the assistance of ICEF undertook a pilot project in seven states involving local NGOs. That is when we as Mysore Amateur Naturalists joined the band wagon. Ever since, we have been with the changes that took place in the National policy that is diversely implemented across the country and the public response to it locally. We have involved and conducted hundreds of workshops for life science teachers and taken out thousands of children out into the outdoors. These fifteen years have made us travel across the state, district after district- Jamakhandi in Bagalkote to Kollegal in Chamarajanagara. From the sea coasts of Mangalore to the semi arid grasslands Tumkur we have seen a wide gap between centrally prescribed EE syllabus and the environment the children live. Bridging the gap asks for decentralized syllabus or an environmentally conscious, and highly motivated life science teacher.  Exposing the students to the great outdoors is another major handicap of our times. Very few schools consider it as an essential component of schooling.

Dicrostatis cineraria

Dicrostatis cineraria : inflorescence

Under such grim backdrop, there are a few young fore-runners of the forest department who are silently doing a yeoman service to Nature. They are far too qualified for their tedious and basic jobs. In spite of their day’s need of a lot of roughing up they manage to be cool as an enthusiastic teacher. Like for all the divisional offices, their too get a small trickle of annual funds to do some outreach program. They bring in students to the park and give more than a discourse. Nature and conservation apart, they give some great inspiring tips for life.  More than anything they are showcasing the department in a different light and creating a positive image in the young minds.

Mimosa pudica

Eranna Haliyal joined the department as a forester at Kamalapura Wildlife division in Bellary district, giving up a permanent job in the police department. His interest in the plant life has become a boon to the division. His keen observation of plant penology is something of a doctoral material in the studies of climate change. He has taken to photography since a year and a half and is grown wholesome with his collection of pictures of the flora of Daroji Sloth Bear Sanctuary and its environs. His communication skills and the patient perseverance with young minds make him a most promising EVS teacher in the region.

On a photo shoot