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Wildlife hotspots and biodiversity
Different strokes for different folks!
The Mahadei river network is in the news for two different, and conflicting,
reasons. The river is getting dammed and the biodiversity is getting damned!
Amidst the despair is a reason to celebrate and sing the song "Cecilia" and
it can go breaking your heart. Nirmal Kulkarni, who has made biodiversity
conservation a part of his fine art in Goa, along with a team of Zoologists
led by Professor Dr. Gopalkrishna Bhat of MGM College Udipi [South Kanara,
Karnataka] and K.P.Dinesh of the Zoological Survey of India, Kochi [formerly
Cochin, Kerala], discovered a new Caecilian and named the species as
Gegeneophis goaensis [not Goanese].
This is an authentic discovery. Nirmal is as clear as his name, not a
mischievous child from Nandanwan who is prone to name dropping and name
calling. The team leader could have latinised his name Gopalkrishna but,
naturally, the latinised specific name 'goaensis ' is an honour and tribute
to Goa. The 'Generic' name Gegeneophis is in continuation with the cousins
of this limb-less amphibian that one could easily confuse for a large
earthworm. Our naturalist friend and history teacher, Rajendra kerkar , has
been living next door to these Caecilians all his life at Kerim in Sattari
taluka, right in the middle of our Chief Minister's Poriem constituency. It
is a further proof of Goa's status as a biodiversity hotspot, with plants
and animals yet to be discovered, documented, confirmed and named!
The Sattari taluka is also a favourite region for hiking. During the two
years that I worked as a farm manager in Naneli, the Botanical Society of
Goa organized day-long, over-night and even full moonlight hikes to the
breathtaking peak of Wagheri Hills. The orchid flowers hanging from roadside
trees from Valpoi to Thane and Rivem are a sight to see during August. The
misty nights from October to March have their own thrill. Some hikers are so
thrilled with the experience that they literally engrave their names in
stone. Such is the lasting effect of a single hike in Sattari, God's gift to
mankind. The name itself may have come from 'Sater' or anthill or, perhaps,
from our Earth goddess, Sateri.
On a very wet and rainy day in July 2005, the Rotaract Club of Mapusa
organised hike to Kumtal [off the Nanuz road] in Sattari taluka. It is a
part of the Mahadei Wild Life Sanctuary that is a gift to the world,
specially Goa, during the short term of President's Rule under Lt.General
J.F.R. Jacob with our own Goenkar Richard de Souza as the Conservator of
Forests. It was a grand affair.
Besides the Rotaractors from Mapusa, there were some Rotaractors from
Margao, and quite a few Rotarians from Rotary Club of Mapuca including
gynaecologists Dr.Sunil Kenkre, Dr. Ajit Mopkar, banker Salvador Pinto,
advertising entrepreneur Guruprasad Pawaskar, and my sons, Conrad and
Colin. Rotaract President Rtr. Paresh Rivonkar, led from the front with
hospitality man Rtr. Abhijeet Walke as the project co-ordinator and the
support of the then DRR Raaj Khalap, now the Treasurer of the Communidade of
Mapusa. Raaj and I, as Gaunkars of Mapusa, come from families that
worshipped the goddess Tulzai or Mapxenchi Saibinn, a form of goddess
Sateri. The bonding is so strong that even conversion and dedication of the
Church to St. Jerome has not been able to take the Saibinn out of the life
and tradition of Mapxemkars.
The thrilling parts of the hike were the dip in a milky waterfall and an
aerial river crossing on a single cable "bridge" erected by Adventure
trainer Pradeep Joshi of Prajosh Adventures. Strapping on a hip harness,
hooking the carabine to the cable and guy rope, and crossing the river like
a commando has its own thrill. The girls were no less courageous than their
male counterparts. It was great fun and no one had had enough of this
thrilling experience. We promised ourselves that we would come back for
more.
In July 2006, the Rotaract clubs of Mapusa, Panaji and the new club in Ponda
went on a memorable hike to Satrem and Kodal in Sattari along with Rotarians
from the two clubs in Mapsa. The hamlet of Kodal, on the fringes of the
Mahadei Wild Life Sanctuary was once being negotiated by the Ion Exchange
Ltd. company to promote their concept of a weekend farmer. It failed as the
land was too close to the Wild life Sanctuary with limitations on activities
and the land around was Government owned, in the care of either Forest or
Revenue Department. Thank Sateri for that! We had what Raaj described as
"the best hike of my life." I fully concurred with him though I have hiked
all over Goa, other parts of India and even in the Himalayan Kingdom of
Bhutan.
The sad news is that "development" is coming to this
little-hamlet-by-the-sanctuary in Satari. First, the Bailey bridge across
the Cumbarjua canal at Banastarim was dismantled and re-assembled in this
ecologically sensitive area. There are rumours now that there is a proposal
by the local MLA to have another bridge to nowhere in this region. The Water
Resources Department, in the meanwhile is building a road to nowhere in
Chorao, right in the lap of Dr. Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary. There does not
seem to be any sanctity left in a sanctuary. What the District Collector,
Police Department and Forest Department are bound by law to protect, the
Water Resources Department is all set to "officially" destroy.
So what if Dr. Claude Alvares wrote about environment laws and mangroves in
his book "Fish, Curry and Rice"? The yuppies are more interested in tandoori
nights! Their definitions of hotspots, flashpoints, wildlife and
bio-diversity are spiced-up, exotic and even erotic. The only 'Claude' the
yuppies know is "Cloud Nine". Substance is available to keep them there. C'est
la vie. goaensis. (ENDS)
Miguel Braganza's column at:
http://www.goanet.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=482
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The above article appeared in the February 2, 2007 edition of Gomantak
Times, Goa
