A foundation fights a lonely battle to conserve Mirzapur's fragile ecology

Vindhya Ecology and Natural History foundation is fighting a lonely battle to conserve a fragile ecology in Mirzapur

The conservation of forests and wildlife in India is usually focused on national parks and tiger reserves, and tigers and elephants. The country, however, also has increasingly fragmented stretches of forest which support relatively lesser known species, much of which are not as well-protected.

From an environmental standpoint, not only are such wild spaces groundwater rechargers and air purifiers, but they’re often also vital animal corridors and relatively unknown centres of biodiversity.

The Vindhya Ecology and Natural History Foundation, a group of citizens, environmentalists and researchers, is fighting a lonely battle to conserve the threatened ecology of one such zone in Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh. Situated on the foothills of the ecologically fragile Vindhya ranges, this region provides a critical connection between the Central Indian jungles of Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and UP.

“When I came to Benares Hindu University’s campus in Mirzapur as a student of environment technology in 2011, I realised that the forests of the Vindhyas were significant,” says Debadityo Sinha, co-founder of this group, also known as Vindhya Bachao Andolan (VBA).

Sambar Deer

Sloth bears were ubiquitous and historical accounts spoke of this region as being an ideal tiger habitat. However, the forests weren’t adequately protected and illegal mining, felling of trees and real estate development were wiping out much of the animal population in front of his eyes.

“Then we realised that a 1,320 Mw coal-based thermal power plant was soon to be constructed two km inside the forest by Welspun,” says Shiv Kumar Upadhyaya, a local journalist and co-founder of VBA. In their environmental assessment report, the company had declared that the site was on “barren land”, says Upadhyaya.

With a group of local academics and lawyers, they set up the foundation to challenge the case in front of the National Green Tribunal (NGT). To everyone’s surprise, this unlikely duo managed to convince the NGT to set aside the environment clearance granted to the thermal power plant. “It was a great, if unexpected, victory but it made us think,” says Sinha. “There was little documentation of the biodiversity in these forests.”

So VBA began lobbying for the setting up of camera traps in the forest. Eventually, in collaboration with the Mirzapur Forest Division and with support from the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation-Wildlife Trust of India and Earth Matters Foundation, interns and volunteers of the VBA braved the Central Indian summer to set up and monitor 15 camera traps.

Striped Hyena

The cameras yielded unexpected results. The forests that many (including Welspun) had dismissed as barren and useless turned out to be home to as many as 24 species, including sloth bears, leopards, two varieties of civets and jungle cats. Of these, seven were Schedule I species under the Wildlife Protection Act.

“Once this report is accepted by the forest department, we intend to use it to generate awareness among policymakers about the pitfalls of unplanned development in the Vindhya ranges,” Sinha says. “It is imperative that the policymakers see this region as a viable wildlife habitat and strategise development projects bearing this in mind.”

The beauty of the VBA model is that by mapping biodiversity using camera traps, it creates a strong legal basis to advocate for sustainable development. “By proving the presence of so many species in a jungle, we hope to be able to advocate more strongly for its protection,” says Sinha.

At present, Sinha, Upadhyay and their cohorts volunteer along with a couple of interns at VBA. Their plans include further research and mapping, as well as setting up of more camera traps in the Vindhya ranges. The plans in the years ahead depend on the funding they are able to generate, says Sinha. “To be honest, it is easier to raise money to build a temple here than it is to protect and conserve sloth bears.”

Meanwhile, the citizens’ group continues its research and advocacy, demonstrating that saving our forests at a time when the world is grappling with climate change doesn’t require huge budgets or an army of conservationists. All it needs is a bunch of dedicated people and some camera traps.

Learn more at vindhyabachao.org or follow them on Facebook

View Debadityo Sinha’s student film, The Vindhyan Scourge, at www.debadityo.com/p/vindhyan-scourge