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Depleting forest cover of Satkoshia Sanctuary cause for concern

BHUBANESWAR: The forest cover of Satkoshia Wildlife Sanctuary has changed from ‘good’ to ‘poor’ within past 25 years while density and diversity of forest have decreased due to heightened levels of smuggling activity and insufficient protection of forest.

According to a study conducted by Angul-based voluntary organisation Foundation for Ecological Security (FES), approximately 80 per cent villages situated depending on rich Satkoshia forest reported that the forest was in good condition 25 years ago and now over 70 per cent rated the forest as poor.

Satkoshia is a rich biodiversity zone with 400 plant species, 38 mammals, 126 birds, 28 reptiles, four amphibians and 183 fish species. However, it is increasingly becoming degraded due to added anthropogenic pressures. The sanctuary has 55 villages within its core area, 80 villages in buffer one and 105 in the periphery.

The study involved tedious process of circulating questionnaire among people living inside Satkoshia sanctuary to putting preliminary information into software by further using Geographic Information System (GIS) and Global Positioning System.

On the basis of community perceptions on threat assessment of various ecological risks, it was found that man-animal conflict remained at the top of the table followed by forest fire, smuggling, poaching and non-timber forest produce extraction.

It suggested that eco-management of forests and community participation in natural resources protection must be incorporated into future management plans of the sanctuary.

Similar sentiments were expressed by two wildlife experts at a workshop on ‘Balancing Conservation and Livelihoods in Protected Area’ organised here on Tuesday.

“We have to take up more and more capacity building programmes by which villagers will be able to pick employment opportunities. Bee-keeping and development of bamboo artisans were some of the value additions, the policy makers should look at,” former Chief Wildlife Warden and noted wildlife expert Saroj Patnaik said.

He said the eco-tourism projects should be taken up in such a way that no booming urban centre would come up inside the forest areas and the management plan should be site specific.

Deliberating on the issue Director of Nandankanan Zoological Park Ajit Pattnaik said site managers should adopt adaptive planning in which good practices could be added frequently. Sisir Pradhan of FES was of the view that careful community participation would help achieve the conservation goal.

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