Forest dependents and other tribes who live inside the forest face adverse livelihood issues
The Tamil Nadu eco-tourism policy was prepared by the state forest department in 2017 following the principles of biodiversity conservation. The aim was the promotion of ecological security and livelihood opportunities as enunciated in the National Forest Policy.
The policy was prepared after extensive consultation with the experts in different disciplines, line departments, conservationists, non-profits, stakeholders and local community members.
Eco-tourism is defined as ‘responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment, sustains the well-being of the local people and involves interpretation and education’.
The policy talks about visits to natural areas with minimal impact, enriching the visitors’ experience and providing livelihood opportunities to the concerned forest dependents wherever possible.
The Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change recognised eco-tourism as a permissible activity in the protected areas and reserve forests.
Accordingly, eco-tourism sites at Parappalar Dam and Thalaiyuthu Falls (locally known as Thalaikuthu Falls) have been proposed in Oddanchatram forest range in Tamil Nadu’s Dindigul forest division through tribal and local community participation.
Thalaiyuthu Falls
The Parappalar dam has been built in the Palani Hills Northern Slope Reserve Forest. The reserve forest is part of the Western Ghats and so, the dam is filled with water almost throughout the year. Parappalar, Komaliyar and Manjolaiyar rivers empty the water into the dam.
Around 113.76 hectares (ha) of the dam’s 124.42 ha water-holding area is within the reserve forest. The forest area was handed over to the Public Works Department in 1976, with a condition that the area of the reserve forest to be submerged will continue to be under the control of the forest department.
The dam was built a kilometre away from the Thalaiyuthu Falls. The dam is situated at a distance of 12 km from Oddanchatram, which is on the way to Palani (about 28 km), the famous pilgrimage centre of Lord Muruga worshipped by the Tamil population.
The reserve forest located in the Western Ghats region experiences rainfall from both the summer and winter monsoons. So, naturally the falls are vibrant most of these months and the dam is filled with water almost throughout the year.
Both the waterfalls and the dam have huge potential for developing community-based eco-tourism. The livelihood of the local tribal group, Paliyars, and other forest dwellers can be developed sustainably if carefully planned through their participation.
A majority of the forest is moist deciduous type. The forests here harbour herbivores like Indian bison, spotted deer, barking deer, mouse deer as well as carnivores like wild dog and panther.Several species of reptiles and birds are also found in the region.
Water spread area of Parappalar Dam
The proposal has been prepared with the following objectives:
Dindigul district suffers from drought, soil erosion, groundwater depletion and fluorosis. As a result, the people of the district face poverty and other health-related issues.
Vast extent of land gets degraded annually due to soil erosion and run off. So, the productivity of the soil is reduced drastically.
The forest dependents and other tribes who live inside the forest face adverse livelihood issues. So, with the idea of promoting their livelihood through creation of employment opportunities and maintaining ecological security, the project of eco-tourism has been proposed.
In order to develop the community-based eco-tourism, the capacity of the forest dwellers has to be improved. In addition to this, the basic infrastructures like eco-development hall, hanging bridge, eco-awareness centre, home stay, view point, watch towers, nature trails, bird watching tracks and training halls should also be created. Once these facilities have been established, then the revenue generation will be regular, catering to the needs of the community.
There are about 207 families of the primiitve Paliyar tribe. They live in six villages that live nearby the Parappalar dam and Thalaiyuthu falls.
The forest tribes who depend on this project lack any assured employment, basic literacy and healthcare facilities.
Therefore, with the broad idea of promoting ecological security of natural sites and livelihood opportunities of the forest dwellers, the project has been proposed to the Tamil Nadu government.
Once the project is sanctioned, we can be hopeful of developing the Parappalar dam and the Thalaiyuthu falls, besides creating livelihood opportunities for the forest dependents.
Views expressed are the author’s own and don’t necessarily reflect those of Down To Earth
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