Conservation activists voice concern over Theppakadu Elephant Camp modernisation plan

A conception of biology activists has voiced interest implicit the wood department’s plans to conception an ‘ultra modern Elephant Conservation and Environmental Centre’ successful the halfway country of the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) successful The Nilgiris.

The estimated ₹35 crore task is being designed to upgrade the much than century-old Theppakadu Elephant Camp that houses 27 campy elephants. However, conservationists person voiced their concerns implicit the interaction the task would person connected the tiger reserve and the wildlife that surrounds the Theppakadu Elephant Camp, which is wherever the operation is to instrumentality place.

Officials from the State wood section said the upgradation of the facilities are to instrumentality spot successful each the 3 blocks of the campy including the elephant camp, the cafeteria which sits crossed the campy on the Moyar River and the visitant mentation centre. They added nary caller buildings would beryllium added and the built-up country would stay the same.

‘Crossing-point’ for chaotic elephants

Conservationists, however, contend the determination is simply a important “crossing-point” for chaotic elephants looking to transverse the Moyar River, and is captious for situation contiguity successful the region. The conservationists had antecedently opposed the operation of a ‘township’ for the families of 44 mahouts astatine the camp, arguing it would sever important elephant question pathways.

Construction successful halfway country of tiger reserve

Conservation biologist and subordinate of the National Board for Wildlife, Priya Davidar, said she has “strong misgivings” astir the existent task arsenic it involves operation successful the halfway country of a tiger reserve and important elephant habitat. “Basically, it's inadvisable to person immoderate operation activities instrumentality spot successful the halfway country of a tiger reserve,” she said.

Activists besides assertion the facilities are being constructed to gully much visitors to the tiger reserve, with footfall witnessing dependable summation implicit the past fewer years, pursuing the release of a documentary movie centring astir the lives of 2 mahouts astatine the elephant camp. “More facilities volition mean that much radical volition sojourn and further summation the pressures connected a tiger reserve that is already struggling to mitigate the effects of rampant tourism,” said a elder Tamil Nadu-based conservationist.

Landscape ecologist, Jean-Philippe Puyravaud, said Theppakadu was successful the halfway country of the champion elephant situation successful confederate India. “This being the case, you cannot support gathering oregon upgrading structures erstwhile the request is to determination tourism to the buffer zones oregon extracurricular the tiger reserve entirely,” helium said.

Mr. Puyravaud said caller probe suggests valleys and rivers service arsenic important pathways to guarantee familial travel betwixt elephant populations and operation on these areas could pb to elephants not being capable to entree these areas.

According to officials, barriers are besides portion of the connection to support the elephant campy protected and secure, which activists reason volition further bounds question of wildlife.

‘No caller facilities’

When contacted, a apical authorities wood section authoritative said, “no caller facilities” would beryllium created arsenic portion of the project. He argued the elephant campy was not an country for eco-tourism but an acquisition and consciousness centre wherever radical larn astir the functioning of elephant camps and their roles successful struggle mitigation. “This elephant campy is implicit 100 years old, and determination is simply a request to upgrade the facilities to support gait with the tourer inflow and pressures that originate from it,” helium said, adding that nary Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has yet been completed oregon sanctioned for the project.

However, conservationist K. Mohanraj said the conception of elephant camps serving immoderate beneficial relation to conservation itself was outdated. “If you spot the impacts astir the camp, you tin spot that a ample magnitude of canopy has disappeared astir Anaimalai and Theppakadu owed to the campy elephants needing to beryllium fed. This results successful lesser availability of fodder for chaotic elephants, which already look different pressures specified arsenic constricted nutrient availability owed to invasive taxon and situation loss,” helium added.

He said alternatively of gathering much infrastructure wrong elephant camps, they should beryllium moved extracurricular tiger reserves to lessen the impacts of tourism and besides the interaction the camps themselves person connected the surrounding ecology.