LSWC Report / May 1998 – November 2001 / p.

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REPOR T ON
EPORT
THE ACTIVITIES OF

LONGW OOD SHOLA

ONGWOOD
WATCHDOG COMMIT TEE
OMMITTEE

(Kotagiri, Nilgiris) 1998-2001

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 LSWC Report / May 1998 – November 2001 / p. 1

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REPORT ON THE ACTIVITIES OF

LONGWOOD SHOLA WATCHDOG COMMITTEE
(Kotagiri, Nilgiris) 1998-2001

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INTRODUCTION
“Shola” is an ancient Tamil word found in the oldest Sangam literature. Today, it
applies to evergreen montane tropical or subtropical natural rainforests growing
at an altitude higher than 1,500 metres above sea level, mostly along the Western
Ghats. Their hallmarks are an extraordinary biodiversity of both flora and fauna
(the result of a million-year-long evolution), and a considerable capacity to retain
rain water and discharge it throughout the year, which makes them ideal natural
reservoirs.
Shola forests were very extensive
in the Nilgiris until British policies
of converting them into man-made
plantations (eucalyptus, acacia,
cypress) and tea plantations made
huge inroads into them. This
shrinking process has been halted
only in recent decades, when the
irreplaceable value of these forests
became finally understood and the
urgency to protect what is left of
them increasingly recognized. But
this understanding often came very
late, as species of Shola trees have a
very slow growth rate (typically five
to ten years for three metres,
depending on local conditions),
and their regeneration is therefore
a great challenge, vulnerable as
they are to human interference of
many kinds and the faster growth of
exotic species.
 LSWC Report / May 1998 – November 2001 / p. 2

KOTAGIRI AND LONGWOOD SHOLA

Longwood Shola is a relatively small native Reserve Forest (116 hectares) on the
northern edge of Kotagiri town, and the last remaining patch of Shola forest near
the town. It has received many visitors, some of them illustrious. Its singular beauty
inspired the English poet James Cousins to compose a long poem in honour of
this forest.
Longwood Shola is of great importance to the surround-
ing region : a perennial water source to fifteen villages and
hamlets downstream (i.e. 30,000 to 50,000 people), it also
plays a vital role in Kotagiri’s famed microclimate.
Like other Sholas, it shelters a varied flora and fauna :
besides many species of birds, its inhabitants include
barking deer, wild cats, porcupines and wild boars,
jungle, Malabar and flying squirrels, hares, bonnet
macaques, the rare mouse deer and civet ; panthers and
Indian bisons (gaurs) occasionally pass through the
forest. Smaller animals (bats, frogs, toads, rats, and
of course myriads of insects) all play their part in the
complex Shola ecosys-
tem, which is also
home to hundreds of species of trees, shrubs,
creepers and lianas, grasses and herbs, ferns
and mosses and bamboos, wild flowers, mush-
rooms and fungi — all contributing to the still
poorly understood Shola ecosystem.
 LSWC Report / May 1998 – November 2001 / p. 3

LONGWOOD SHOLA WATCHDOG COMMITTEE

Being near Kotagiri town and surrounded by several villages and settlements, all
of them with an exploding population completely unaware of the treasures and
gifts of this native forest, Longwood Shola has suffered much over the last thirty
years. The wounds are still visible in the absence of several generations of me-
dium-sized trees (30 to 50 years of age), leaving in many parts of the forest the
older upper layer (the canopy) and the thick lower layer of recent regeneration,
with little in between.

From the early 1980s, Michel Danino, a French scholar and author at the nearby
Mother’s Institute of Research, waged a lonely battle to protect the forest from
unchecked depredations. Intervention by the Tamil Nadu Forest Department also
helped control the ravage, but the situation tended to relapse periodically.
On 2 May 1998, the Forest Department constituted the LONGWOOD SHOLA
WATCHDOG COMMITTEE (LSWC) in order to assist it in the challenging task of
protecting this endangered forest. The committee consists of a few concerned
citizens of Kotagiri ; among the more active members are M. Balamurugan (a
headmaster in a T. N. Government school), K. J. Raju (a mathematics teacher in
a Central Government school and a social worker), Michael Ezekiel (a music
teacher and a social worker), and Michel Danino. Despite their own heavy
 LSWC Report / May 1998 – November 2001 / p. 4

professional commitments, they have succeeded in steering the Committee

towards previously unhoped-for results.
LSWC has worked in close and growing collaboration with the Forest Depart-
ment, setting a model of cooperation between the administration and the public.
It has also received help and active participation from a number of local friends
and organizations, including the Nilgiris Wildlife and Environment Association
(NWEA), the Kotagiri Wildlife and Environment Association (KWEA) and the
Tamil Nadu Green Movement (TNGM).
Since its inception three and a half years ago, LSWC has concentrated its
energies on several fronts. We present here an overview of its achievements,
failures, as well as prospects.

1. PROTECTION AND PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

This was the area that called for the most urgent attention. Several methods were
adopted to put a stop to man-made destruction of this forest.
Patrolling : LSWC members conducted frequent patrols (including occasional
joint patrolling with the local Forest staff). They intercepted and confronted
dozens of woodcutters, driving them out after seizing ropes or machetes, or
handing them over to the Forest Department in the more serious cases. Even
mere collection of fallen dead wood was strictly disallowed, as experience had
shown that this concession encouraged many to break hundreds of young trees
by hand and collect them later once they had dried up.
Persistent and systematic
rounds soon paid off as word
spread. Within just a year, wood
collection and cutting was down
by at least ninety percent. For
the first time in decades, fresh
stumps of young or medium-
sized trees became a rarity ; fallen
logs could be seen lying on the
main pathways for weeks or
months, whereas they previously
disappeared in days.
The immediate reward has been a massive spontaneous growth of regenera-
tion, which can be seen in almost all open and degraded parts of Longwood
Shola, especially the fringe areas preferred by depredators.

Removal of harmful waste : Plastic, glass and other non-degradable waste,

dumped by picnickers and other revellers, also by inhabitants of nearby settlements,
 LSWC Report / May 1998 – November 2001 / p. 5

is dangerous as it can end up choking streams or animals’ stomachs. It has been

removed from the forest on every patrol, and also more intensively during special
programmes with students (see further below).

Fencing : LSWC has kept

watch on the condition of the
HADP fence, repaired it in a
few places, convinced the For-
est Department to undertake
its complete maintenance.
Spot repairs of the fence have
often been done with the help
of students again. LSWC also
closed a number of unauthor-
ized entry points, erected two
strong gates, and placed four
permanent boards for the
public at crucial points.

Board erected at the

Kairbetta entrance of
Longwood Shola

Operation Exotica : An aggressive weed, Cestrum auriantacum, native of South

America, has been silently invading the fringes of Longwood Shola for years,
choking native growth and threatening to overrun the entire forest in the long
run. It is a fast-growing shrub that can reach a height of six to eight metres, a girth
of one metre, with clusters of orange trumpet-like flowers and spherical creamy
seeds (dia. about 1 cm). The plant, identifiable by the bad smell its leaves produce
when crushed, grows equally well in the shade and in open spaces, and propagates
through roots, shoots as well as seeds. It is therefore most difficult to eradicate,
and growing as it does ten to twenty times faster than native Shola species, it
forms thickets from which all Shola saplings are wiped out. It has invaded large
areas of the Nilgiris (where city dwellers often plant it to quickly produce thick
hedges) and several Sholas have been almost completely overrun by this menace.
 LSWC Report / May 1998 – November 2001 / p. 6

Manual eradication is the only

known solution, which natu-
rally demands determination
as well as persistence.
In Longwood Shola, much
of the fringe areas along the
southern and western sides
(closer to the town) were
invaded in the 1980s before
the danger was understood.
LSWC members, volunteers,
squads of students have joined
forces in uprooting the plants, and as of now the invasion has been halted, al-
though complete eradication may take another five years at the least.
Poaching and other interference : Frequent patrolling has allowed the removal
of numerous traps laid by poachers along the fringe areas, discouraging them
from their nefarious practice. A small distillery unit of illicit arrack was also
discovered in February 2001in an annexe of Longwood Shola and dismantled.
Several minor forms of human interference have also been discouraged, such as
picnicking, littering, gambling, or other gatherings.

2. INTERACTION WITH VILLAGERS

From the start, LSWC realized that physical protection, however important, can
only remain a short-term solution. Only the collaboration of nearby villagers and
town inhabitants can ensure a long-lasting protection. LSWC has conducted
several programmes to try and secure this collaboration.
In November 1998, LSWC printed and got distributed throughout Kotagiri a
public appeal (4,000 copies in both Tamil and English ; the English version is
reproduced overleaf).
This notice invited the
people’s collaboration in
saving this forest which
is contributing so much
water to many nearby
villages including Kotagiri
town.
LSWC conducted
meetings and awareness
camps in nearby villages,
intended not only to
 LSWC Report / May 1998 – November 2001 / p. 7

convince the villagers of the

importance of this forest, but
also to assess their real needs.
Such programmes, in which
Forest Department officials
often participated, have so far
been held at Kairbetta Hosa-
hatty (2.9.99), Kairbetta
(13.2.00), Dhimhatty (26.4.00),
Millidhane (28.4.00) and
Jackanarai (5.5.2000).
During those village aware-
ness programmes Forest
officials, LSWC members and environmentalists spoke to the villagers, who
participated actively in the discussions. The functions were very well received,
made the presence of LSWC known and respected, helped build a bridge between
the Forest Department and the villagers, and allowed the latter to convey their
own needs of assistance in terms of water, firewood and various local problems.
A fund of goodwill has been generated, and any harmful interference from those
villages has almost disappeared. In fact, some of the younger generation have also
come forward and assisted in protecting the Shola, although more participation
remains expected.
Besides these programmes,
in December 1999 LSWC
printed a hand bill (in Tamil,
overleaf), and over two ses-
sions (5.12.99 and 11.6.2000),
LSWC members accompanied
by Forest Department staff
distributed it door-to-door to
nearly 700 houses in villages
and settlements around the
Shola and even in the town.
This had a noticeable psycho-
logical impact, as villagers
never expected such visits.
This was possibly the one programme that had the most dramatic effect in
bringing down intrusion by wood collectors and cutters.
Notices warning against poaching were also distributed to about 50 non-
vegetarian tea-stalls, messes, and hotels throughout Kotagiri.
 LSWC Report / May 1998 – November 2001 / p. 8

3. ECO-SEMINARS

Another long-term objective is to create awareness in the educated public, which

in reality is hardly less ignorant than villagers of the importance of preserving
native forests. For the purpose, the Forest Department put a building at Longwood
Shola’s entrance at the disposal
of LSWC, where a number of
seminars have been arranged.
This “Longwood Shola Eco-
Centre” was inaugurated on 15
November 1998 with a perma-
nent photo exhibition consist-
ing of some 70 photographs of
Longwood Shola, its flora and
fauna. A Nature library and
documentation centre is being
built up for students. A young
supervisor takes care of the Eco-
Centre under LSWC’s guid-
ance. The Forest Department has provided funds for all those activities (Rs. 50,000
in 1999-2000 and Rs. 30,000 in 2000-01), and LSWC has also been raising some from
well-wishers.
In March 1999, LSWC also collaborated with the Forest Department in the
publication of a colour brochure on Longwood Shola (appended), which has had
a good impact in spreading information.
At the Eco-Centre, LSWC invited several well-known environmentalists to give
lectures on Nature and conservation issues. For instance Dr. Sathis Chandran
Nair (15.11.98), Mr. B. J. Krishnan and Dr. Tarun Chhabra (25.4.99), Mr. Latheef
Klissery (13.6.99), Dr. Ameem and Mr. Guruprasad (1.8.99). In addition a full-day
seminar was held on Women’s Day (11.3.2000), in which over 80 people partici-
pated (50 of them teachers), and several smaller programmes with representa-
tives from local NGOs.
In addition, LSWC has received many visits from NGOs, social workers and
environmentalists. Researchers from SACON (Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and
Natural History, Anaikatti), IISc (Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore) and other
research organizations have conducted field research at Longwood Shola in
collaboration with LSWC. High officials from the Forest Department and the
Tamil Nadu government have also been frequent visitors (recent examples
include Smt. Fatima Beevi, Governor of Tamil Nadu, on 5.5.01, Shri Vijaykumar,
Secretary for Planning and Development on 8.5.01, Shri Vasisht, Chief Conser-
vator, on 26.6.01).
 LSWC Report / May 1998 – November 2001 / p. 9

4. TEACHERS’ AND STUDENTS’ PROGRAMMES

Even more importantly, the teaching and student community must be the target
of any sustained environmental effort, since that is where the seeds of future atti-
tudes towards Nature can be sown. LSWC has been particularly active on this front,
and has guided into Longwood Shola dozens of visiting groups of students from
Kotagiri, Coonoor, Ooty,
Coimbatore, Erode,
Chennai, Madurai, etc.,
explaining the unique
Shola eco-system and the
importance of its preser-
vation. Two ten-day NSS
camps have also taken
place at Longwood Shola
(with two more sched-
uled in December 2001),
and a Polytechnic Col-
lege of Kotagiri has
adopted it as part of its
ecological activities. Altogether, over 1,500 students have visited Longwood Shola
and many of them have got first-hand experience of the working of the Shola eco-
system and of practical tasks such as removal of exotics, clearing of unwanted
waste, repairing of the fence, etc. Many of these programmes were reported in the
local English and Tamil press (a few articles are reproduced overleaf over the next
three pages).
Moreover, LSWC has reached out directly to hundreds of headmasters and teach-
ers, securing their collaboration in spreading the message of Nature preservation.
Among the numerous programmes involving students and teachers, 35 of the
chief programmes are briefly given below (chronologically) :
 LSWC Report / May 1998 – November 2001 / p. 10

• On 8.1.99 : an eco-awareness seminar was conducted for about 40 Nilgiris head-

masters and headmistresses, with Mr. K. P. Duraiswamy (District Forest Officer,
Nilgiris North Division) as chief guest.
• On 26.1.99 : 15 Kotagiri DIET students participated in the first programme of
removal of exotics.
• On 10.4.99 : 18 DIET
students and 20
teachers from vari-
ous Kotagiri schools
participated in a
massive programme
of removal of exotics.
• On 7.9.99 : a quiz on
Nature and Environ-
ment for 50 students
from ten local
schools. Mr. K. M.
Bellie, District Edu-
cational Officer, dis-
tributed the prizes.
• On 13.11.99 : a
“Green Children’s Day” with drawing and drama competition on Nature themes,
in which more than 200 Kotagiri students participated.
• On 2.11.99, 10.11.99, 18.12.99 : in each of these three sessions, 40 DIET students
participated in removal of exotics.
• On 7.1.2000 : a full-day seminar with 45 teachers and other members of the public ;
the Nilgiris Collector Mr. P. Sivasankaran was the chief guest of the valedictory
function.
• On 19.2.2000 : 20 Boy Scouts from Kattabettu’s Govt. High School and 20 girl
students from Providence College, Coonoor, participated in removal of exotics.
• 20.2.2000 : Over 30 students from seven Madurai Colleges spent a full day in
Longwood Shola, with
lectures and field studies.
• 2.3.2000 : A group of
trainees at the Forest
College, Coimbatore,
visited Longwood Shola
and had a long interac-
tion with LSWC mem-
bers about Joint Forest
Management.
• On 23.3.2000 : A full-day
programme and slide-
 LSWC Report / May 1998 – November 2001 / p. 11

show at Kotagiri’s DIET on

World Forest Day, at which
many environmentalists
spoke to 150 students.
• 21-30.6.2000 : 35 students of
Kotagiri’s Green Valley Ma-
triculation and Higher Sec-
ondary School conducted
an NSS camp in Longwood
Shola. They camped at the
Eco-centre accompanied by
their teachers, were given
several lectures by environ-
mentalists and had numer-
ous work sessions inside
Longwood Shola.
• 22-30.7.2000 : 30 girl students
of Coonoor’s Providence
College conducted an NSS
camp in Longwood Shola,
camping at the Eco-centre
with their teacher. They were
given lectures by environmentalists and had daily work sessions inside
Longwood Shola.
• 23.9.00 : Girl students from Providence College, Coonoor, helped in removal of
exotics.
• 23-25.12.2000 : 30 students from various Nilgiris schools participated in a three-
day camp at the Eco-Centre with lectures and field studies.
• 26-28.12.2000 : 34 students from Manjoor, Ooty and Masinagudi schools par-
ticipated in a three-day camp with lectures and field studies including massive
removal of plastics from a nearby exotics plantation being reverted to Shola.
• 25.1.01 : 40 Kotagiri DIET students participated in removal of exotics.
 LSWC Report / May 1998 – November 2001 / p. 12

• 30.1.01 : Over 200 students

from 25 Nilgiris schools par-
ticipated in a Nature quiz
programme.
• 10.2.01 : First session with 30
students of NPA Polytechnic
(Kotagiri) led by their prin-
cipal and teachers. Repairs
were carried out to close
gaps in the HADP fence.
• 17.2.01 : Second session with
students of NPA Polytech-
nic ; fence repairs.
• 6.3.01 : 25 girl students from
Providence College, Coonoor,
helped in removal of plastics and were taken on a trek.
• 5-7.4.01 : 35 Kotagiri DIET students participated in a three-day camp at the Eco-
centre with lectures, field studies and work sessions including removal of exotics.
• 16.5.01 : 43 Kotagiri DIET students participated in removal of exotics and plastic
waste.
• 1-2.6.01 : 32 tribal students for local schools participated in a two-day camp with
lectures, field studies, work sessions and trek.
• 23.6.01 : 28 students from Cordite Factory Higher Secondary School (Aruvangadu)
were taken on field studies and trek.
• 29.6.01 : About 30 students from various
Erode schools were taken on field studies and
trek through Longwood Shola.
• 28.7.01 : Another visit of students from
Cordite Factory Higher Secondary School.
• 15.8.01 : 36 students of Govt. High School,
Millidhane, helped remove exotics from a
nearby plantation being reverted to Shola.
• 18.8.01 : 25 students from Stanes School,
Coonoor, participated in field sessions includ-
ing removal of exotics.
• 1.9.01 : 15 girl students from Providence
College, Coonoor, participated in removal of
exotics.
• 8.9.01 : 53 NCC Cadets of Govt. Arts College,
Ooty, participated in an intensive session of
removal of exotics inside Longwood Shola.
 LSWC Report / May 1998 – November 2001 / p. 13

• 29.9.01 : About 20 students from the U.S.A. undergoing a six-month cross-

cultural course in Bangalore were taken on a trek through Longwood Shola
and explained the complexities of Nature conservation.
• 13.10.01 : Another visit of 43 students of Govt. High School, Millidhane.

5. FAILURES & FUTURE PROSPECTS

Much has been achieved in just over three years, the most important being that
the forest is now well protected and awareness of its precious contribution to the
region has spread. However, for an experiment such as LSWC to be fully success-
ful, several weak areas need to be addressed :
F UEL R EQUIREMENTS : Unless the villagers’ long-term fuel requirements are
addressed, there is always a risk of their falling back on the Shola forests for fire-
wood. LSWC tried to secure gas connections for the people living in the vicinity
of the Shola, but failed owing to poor cooperation from LPG dealers and insuffi-
cient groundwork. Yet such an arrangement — even connections subsidized by
the Government for hill areas — is an urgent necessity. In the meantime, LSWC
has convinced villagers still dependent on firewood to turn to eucalyptus or
acacia (wattle) plantations and draw from them reasonable quantities. Such plan-
tations are found around Longwood Shola and are therefore precious buffers.
LSWC has also requested the Forest Department to open subsidised firewood
depots in surrounding villages, as the main depot located in the town cannot
meet the demand.
THREAT TO BIRD LIFE : Longwood Shola is famous for its rich bird life. Dozens of
species, some of them rare, can be found. But in recent years, they have been
under growing threat from multiplying jungle crows. Crows are actually the town’s
chief scavengers and have been thriving on its rapid expansion. They have
invaded the nearby Longwood Shola, and at every nesting season can be seen
raiding many nests and carrying away the chicks, sometimes with the parents in
hot pursuit. From the tiny white-eye to the jungle fowl, with the bulbul and the
blackbird in between, no species is spared. This is not a “natural” predation but
one that has been growing in proportion to the human population, which
remains the chief feeder of crows. It has led to a sharp decrease in the bird popu-
lation in the last ten or fifteen years, noticeable to bird watchers accustomed to
Longwood Shola. Several species spotted twenty years ago can no longer be seen.
The situation might become irreversible in a few years. But no effective solution
has been found so far to tackle it.
REPLICATION OF THE WATCHDOG COMMITTEE MODEL : Insofar as LSWC offers a viable
model of joint forest management involving both the Forest department and local
citizens, its replication to other areas of the Nilgiris and beyond is a necessity. So
far LSWC has worked mostly in preparing its ground. But it is now trying to
 LSWC Report / May 1998 – November 2001 / p. 14

encourage areas of the Nilgiris with similar situations to draw from its experience.
Recently a watchdog committee was started at Banagudi Shola, and work is on
to organize one at Konavakorai. However much more needs to be done in this
area, and farther afield.

CONCLUSION
The result of these first three years is certainly encouraging. It shows that a cor-
dial and fruitful collaboration between the Forest Department and the public is not
only desirable, but the only workable solution to complex conservation problems
caused by a high population density still largely dependent on firewood for fuel,
a general ignorance of the limits to Nature’s bounty, and a polity where protec-
tion of Nature often becomes a casualty of politics and other short-sighted con-
siderations.
Such a collaboration demands sincere efforts both from the Forest Depart-
ment, often too slow to react and bound by antiquated rules and approaches to
Nature, and from the public, often too prompt to complain about the state of
affairs and offer armchair advice but little physical involvement. Such a shared
sincerity has been the key to the success of the Longwood Shola experiment, a
success that needs to be strengthened and built upon.

Contact address of LSWC : Photographs of Longwood Shola and

report prepared on behalf of LSWC by :
Michael Ezekiel, Coordinator
LONGWOOD SHOLA WATCHDOG COMMITTEE Michel Danino
“Dawn Cottage”, Club Road THE MOTHER’S INSTITUTE OF RESEARCH
KOTAGIRI - 643 217 Longwood Shola
(Nilgiris) Tamil Nadu KOTAGIRI - 643 217
Tel : 04266-72038 (Nilgiris) Tamil Nadu
Email : longwoodshola@yahoo.com Email : michel_danino@yahoo.com
Map by Michel Danino, Feb. 1999