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Preening the green
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Kunal Sharma’s workday means going on safaris and talking to people about conservation, while managing operations at Kabini River Lodges
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ECHOING THE FORESTS With thoughts of conservation
These are my official work clothes!” says Kunal Sharma, his brown eyes twinkling. Clad in cargoes, a T-shirt and hawai chappals, with his two month old ‘baby’ Sid (a Labrador) scampering and scurrying around his ankles, this unassuming 29 year old works as the Resident Manager for Kabini River Lodges, (a unit of the Jungle Lodges eco resort) located about a couple of hours from Mysore.
An MBA from the Indian Institute of Forest Management at Bhopal, with a specialisation in forestry, natural resources management and ecotourism, he started his career with an NGO, Keystone Foundation, working with tribals in the Nilgiri Forests.
Attracted to nature
Having spent years working with tribals, understanding their living conditions, livelihood and ecological complexities, he has co-written and co-designed a book titled “Honey Trails in the Blue Mountains”, which is a consolidation of first hand information collected during his stint there.
“Coming from Punjab, where forests are scarce, I was always attracted towards nature. When the time came to choose between a ‘normal’ career vis a vis something to do with nature, I jumped on that opportunity,” he exclaims, adding that even years later he enjoys his job, and neither the low pay nor the ‘slightly tougher life’ have been irritants.
Talking about his favourite topic of forest conservation, he says, “Since only 20 per cent of land in India is forest land and only four per cent is left as ‘protected’ as national parks and sanctuaries it is but natural for the tug of war between activists who are ‘pro-wild-life’ versus others who are ‘pro-tribals’. While it is unfair to displace tribals and other indigenous communities in the name of forests, it is also unfair to mindlessly do away with forests to make way for tribal communities!”
Forests will smile again
Directing effort in finding that mid path between these two opposing factions, one of his pet projects was managing sapling planting programme around the forest area of Nilgiris (the count is now a staggering one lakh!) and others such as setting up nurseries near agricultural lands of tribals and setting up marketing facilities for honey collected by the communities (so they get a fairly decent margin).
Spending any spare moment of his day talking to guests and visitors at Kabini about his pet topic of conservation, Kunal adds, “My focus is on workable conservation, such as actual planting of trees, reducing pressures on the forests, educating people not to destroy these resources, working with children, preserving wetlands…Conservation has to be done now and people and wildlife must find an accommodative way to live together.”
He adds, smiling, “Conservation actually needs a figure like Gandhiji who can bring various issues together. God willing, it will happen as nature is resilient enough and this modern development shall soon stabilise and the forests will smile again!” Kunal can be contacted at kunaltuk@gmail.com and his blog can be visited at http://livingforest.blogspot.com
This column features those who choose to veer off the beaten track
BINDU TOBBY
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