Kerala - Kochi   

A cover for Mangalavanam

If everything goes well for Mangalavanam, the only bird sanctuary in Kochi, the areas adjoining the sanctuary will have the rare honour of being declared an ecologically sensitive area.

This is what the State Forest Department plans for the area. It will have to approach the Union Government through the State Government for realising its goal.

"The National Wildlife Action Plan for 2002-2016 envisages such a declaration for protecting ecologically sensitive areas. We have in mind Mangalavanam and the areas adjoining it for being declared an ecologically sensitive area," says V. Gopinath, Chief Wildlife Warden of the State. A protected area cannot remain as an island. Instead, it is an organic system, which is linked and dependent on its surroundings, he elaborates.

These words and vision may come as a relief to those who are worried about the future of the park. The green island in midst of the growing city has been under tremendous pressure for sometime. It is not just the mangrove vegetation inside the park and the giant trees that have spread their canopy over a few decades that are really threatened, but the buffer zone of the sanctuary also.

Although the State Revenue Department want to set up an eco-township in the buffer zone of the sanctuary, the Kochi Corporation is dead against the proposal. "There is no question of permitting any construction in the area and the Corporation is of the view that the sanctuary should be protected at any cost," asserts C.K. Manisankar, Deputy Mayor of Kochi Corporation.

Mr. Manisankar recalled that the Corporation had earlier declined permission for such a project when its clearance was sought. The Corporation council had even unanimously accepted a resolution urging the Government to desist from any move that would damage the area.

The Opposition leader V.S. Achuthanandan had visited Managalavanam when there was public uproar against a move to set up a parking bay for the new High Court building. Those Greens who are keen on protecting the park are now looking forward to the visit of another VIP to the sanctuary.

Former Union Minister for Environment and Forests Maneka Gandhi, who will be in town late this week, is expected to visit the area, giving fillip to the conservation moves.

The Forest Department is gearing up to present the management plan for the sanctuary early next year. Recently, it had transferred the responsibility of managing the sanctuary from the Social Forestry Wing to the Wildlife Wing. Now, the Wildlife Warden, Peechi, is managing the affairs of the sanctuary.

The move is aimed at better control and management of the sanctuary as the Wildlife Wing has the culture of conservation. It will also bring the park to the mainstream of wildlife management, says Mr. Gopinath.

K.S. Sudhi

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