Ecological Restoration (ER)
This topic, so vital in this Anthropocene era of global climate change has now received a fillip after being declared as the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration https://www.decadeonrestoration.org/ We are glad that the movement started by EBR in this corner of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve along with so many others globally, has now been acknowledged as the most important citizenry action of our times.
EBR has purchased twenty-four acres from the over seventy-acre Ammagal Tea Estate that is surrounded by the core zone of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. Much of this land purchase was made possible by the IUCN-NL Small Grants for the Purchase of Nature programme. The consequent first phase of land restoration management including a botanical survey of the adjacent Reserve Forest was supported by Both Ends foundation, Netherlands, under the guidance of the Keystone Foundation, Nilgiri Subsequent support for land purchase and maintenance was provided by the MM Muthiah Research Foundation, Chennai, that continues to provide support along with other major supporters like Value Labs Limited.
EBR is engaged in active restoration and rewilding of the land it has purchased and is also propagating and planting a range of plant species that are culturally significant for Toda Indigenous People. The plant nursery has produced and is planting five-thousand seedlings of 25 forest species and grass plugs (from mother-beds) of over six grassland species this year. Many rare, endangered and endemic herbs that are restricted to this area are being raised in the plant nursery, and are being readied for in situ planting during the second stage. Species like Osbeckia that occur in rocky patches even within the restoration site are being propagated. Initially, there were several challenges to the ER effort ranging from availability of manpower, to trying different methods of removing thousands of over a century-old tea bushes that kept sprouting again, to the wild herbivores that graze here at night. In some areas, this was redressed by complete mechanical removal of tea, while repeated pruning was used elsewhere. This, coupled with solar fencing of the areas under restoration, ensured that the native plants regenerated fast. A regular fence was always breached by Gaur, Sambhar and Muntjac jumping over, while Mousedeer and Porcupine were able to sneak in from below! Being surrounded by wilderness, natural regeneration is aiding the process of ER.
Restoration in progress
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EBR site plan
Toda lady working in plant Nursery
The site area (at around 2400m. above msl) is bounded by Reserve Forest with a mixture of Eucalypt forest on the East side and shola forest on the West. The Northern upper end of the ridge carries mixed shola forest and exotic plantation and Forest Department access track bordering eucalyptus plantation and shola forest forms the boundary of the lower (South) side of the site. The site has been selected and purchased because it was once predominantly an area of shola-grassland climax montane ecosystem that is globally unique; this is now a tea estate that is becoming less economically viable.
Project Outcomes
The restoration will provide an excellent habitat for flagship mammals like the Tiger that are often spotted in this area. This area is one of the important tiger zones in the Upper Nilgiris plateau
Ecological Restoration and Rewilding
The Edhkwehlynawd Botanical Refuge (EBR) is committed to restoring 24 acres within the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve as part of the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.
The Edhkwehlynawd (‘place with a spectacular view’ in Toda) Botanical Refuge (EBR) is a small yet vital ecological sanctuary located in the Upper Nilgiris of South India. Here, a quiet but impactful movement is underway to restore the region’s ancient ecological landscape. What began as a modest initiative by concerned citizens has grown into a significant effort to conserve and revive the unique biodiversity of this globally recognized biosphere reserve. EBR sits at the heart of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, the first of its kind in India, acknowledged by UNESCO for its exceptional bio-cultural diversity. The refuge serves as a model for ecological restoration, inspired by the traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) of the indigenous Toda people.
The immediate first phase of the project will increase shola forest by about 5 ac. and grassland by 19 ac. which will also become available for grazing by Toda buffalo and wild herbivores, as well as providing a corridor for myriad species. This phase has already begun with the active removal of tea bushes and other weeds, followed by planting of native grass species and other herbs, as well as shola saplings over an extent of around eight acres. A welcome development is that natural regeneration and floweringof grasses is occurring, presumably due to birds and insects.
The immediate first phase of the project will increase shola forest by about 5 ac. and grassland by 19 ac. which will also become available for grazing by Toda buffalo and wild herbivores, as well as providing a corridor for myriad species. This phase has already begun with the active removal of tea bushes and other weeds, followed by planting of native grass species and other herbs, as well as shola saplings over an extent of around eight acres. A welcome development is that natural regeneration and flowering of grasses is occurring, presumably due to birds and insects.
The project will increase the sense of community commitment to the Nilgiris environment and especially the appreciation and management of the landscape by Toda assistants and local volunteers who help with the planting. The culturally significant species of the Toda people will be given precedence in the restoration effort. Efforts will be made to conserve and propagate the rare, endemic grass, Eriochrysis rangacharii, that is used by them to thatch their dairy-temples, in collaboration with the nearby Korakundah TE. Such projects will enhance the bio-cultural heritage of this unique area. The project will improve links between native communities and the Forest Department.
The project will safeguard and enhance the lives, livelihoods, and living conditions of Indigenous and other local residents.
The total number of beneficiaries of this project is estimated at up to 20,000 (in the watershed). Full- or part-time employees will include indigenous Toda and Kurumba people.
Any restoration of the natural shola-grassland mosaic will improve the water-yield and quality for downstream wetlands and village communities, reducing nutrient leaching and fertiliser runoff, and thereby also improving the sustainability of the soil nutrient cycle.
The restoration will provide an excellent habitat for flagship mammals like the Tiger that are often spotted in this area. This area is one of the important tiger zones in the Upper Nilgiris plateau.