Forests and Cities

The discussion on forests was initiated as part of developing awareness on International Day of Forests (21st March). A book-reading was conducted on the story ‘Elephant Doctor’ on 21st and 22nd of June, in ERCs as part of book review sessions. The story is about a veteran conservationist, Dr V Krishnamurthy, his narration of events, experiences and life in forests.

Hornbill – Protector of Forests

The session started with an engaging video on the Great Indian Hornbill (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C91N34WLq7Q) of the Western Ghats.

The video narrated the bird’s nesting and feeding habits with ultimate precision. It also informed on the role of Hornbills in maintaining the balance of the forest ecosystem. After this, the discussion began on the basic understanding of forests with a few questions such as ‘What are forests? How would a forest look?, and so on.’

Introduction to Forests

The assumptions were that forests are places having dense trees, also dark as sunlight cannot penetrate down the canopy covers, with more animals, and so on. When the discussion put forth the question – if teachers had come across forests in cities, most of them replied in denial. These points - what are forests, the types of forests and forests in cities - were later dealt in detail.

Two facts were represented to initiate further discussion:

Facts on urban trees and forests:

1. According to a recent study that sampled 1,383 trees in 10 different cities around the world, urban trees of the same age were larger on average than rural trees because urban trees grow faster.
2. China is building an incredibly beautiful Forest City in the mountainous region of Guangxi. Expected to be completed in 2020. Schools, offices, hospitals and homes will be covered in one million trees and plants that will absorb 10,000 tons of CO2 each year.

Discussion on reasons as to why trees in urban areas grow faster were generated. Various reasons like less competition to grow in urban area, little disturbance from animals and overtly caring by pruning the sides and watering, were given as some responses. Then teachers expressed that the project of building a city with planned forests is good and it would be better to live in them.

Types of Forests

Building on the earlier answers of lush green, denser trees and more animals, tropical rainforests were introduced. A short introduction was given on tropical regions located between Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn. Temperate regions were introduced as regions north and south of the tropic circles and including even some high altitude mountains in tropical regions.

Next, Tamil names of the forests types were distributed in chits among groups of teachers, who tried to decipher the meaning of the names. They were then asked to discuss in few points about each forest type.

The examples are explained with the help of pictures in the power point presentation,

• Rainforests are dense forests, the ones in heavy rainfall regions like North East India, Andaman and Nicobar Islands. They have diverse plant and animal life.
• Deciduous forests are usually found in plains. We can even find them in Puducherry. But most of it is now restricted to protected areas and Eastern Ghats. However, there are still small pockets of such forests in human habitations, too.
• Alpine forests are the ones with less or no trees and animals. They are found in the snowy regions of Himalayas.
• Coniferous are the ones seen in medium altitude mountains with trees having needle-like leaves. Some examples include the pine forests of Himalayas. The teachers also reflected and gave examples of pine forests found in Kodaikanal.
• Savannah grasslands are plains which have mostly grasses. On reflection, some teachers explained of how it looked like paddy fields.
• Temperate grasslands are the grassland regions in high altitude mountains and temperate regions. These kind of forests are mostly found in high altitude mountains with less trees.
• Deserts are the ones with less rainfall, minimal plants and animals. Teachers reflected that plants in these regions would have adaptation like spines on leaves and stems to withstand desert conditions of less rainfall and hot weather. In India, it is in Rajasthan.
• Littoral or swamps are the wetlands, creeks which are mouth of rivers meeting sea and mangroves. The area has brackish water which is a mix of sea salt water and river water. The plant and animal life around this region are also characterized to adapt to live in brackish water conditions. For example, aerial prop (pneumatophores) roots of trees in mangroves forests absorb oxygen which is less in the soil there. We can see these kind of forests in Pichavaram and a small part in Thengaithittu in Puducherry.

Urban forest – Forests in Cities

We then watched a video - ‘What is the Urban Forest’ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAnIzROgU9s) which explains on closer proximity of forests to our locations. The trees and animals in urban area can also be considered to be a forest.  E.g. Parks, where more trees are planted that invites various animals, birds and insects. Along the roads, there are various trees that also attract wildlife. In Pondicherry, forest department and Bharathi Mills were taken for discussion as teachers were able to relate and connect with them easily. With more discussion, teachers agreed to the point that forests exist closer to us and we will have to recognize, celebrate and preserve it. Even schools have more trees in their premises. These kind of areas should be conserved and expanded so as to give an experience of forests in urban area.

Forests in Puducherry

We analyzed the situation of mangroves through a newspaper article (http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/puducherry/sewage-endangers-mangrove...) which spoke about the mangroves, sewage discharge and poor attention in parts of the city. Puducherry belt has forest type of Tropical dry evergreen forests, which falls along the coast from Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh to Kodiakarai in Tamil Nadu. Tall trees and lush patches of greeneries behind Bharathi Mills and forest department premises are some examples of urban forests in Puducherry. Besides there are some artificially regenerated forests like Pitchandikulam, Thengaithittu, etc. These forests are the best examples of man-made efforts towards creating a forest through scientific methods and community involvement.

Then we talked about the common animals like Indian palm squirrel, spotted deer, civet, monitor lizard and birds in Puducherry. Migratory birds like greater flamingo, Eurasian spoonbill, Northern pintails, spot billed ducks, etc., visit Ousteri lake from June to September every year. Birds like oriental darter, cormorant, etc., use Thengaithittu mangroves as breeding/nesting sites. Puducherry also has different owl species like barn owl and Eurasian eagle owl. Discussion on the tamil names of owls i.e. கோட்டான் (‘kottan’ – Barn Owl) and ஆந்தை (‘Anthai’ – Owl) were discussed. கோட்டான் is a species of owl, Eurasian eagle owl whereas ஆந்தை are owls in general.

Then we watched a video on protected region in Chennai, Pallikaranai Marsh (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1WjCZIVV-U), which shows the importance of the protected area attracting birds all through the year (it is estimated that a maximum of 22/23 species and 30,000 birds visit the area per month) being an important feeding ground in the rapidly urbanized region. The video also talks how it is being degraded due to the nearby land-fill, real estate and other encroachments. Everyone were surprised over the existence of such a place in an urban area and they also expressed interest in visiting the place. The discussion then continued on forests and protected areas inside Chennai mentioning Guindy National park in which IIT Madras, Raj Bhavan and Snake Park were built upon. The discussion also extended on animals in Guindy National park which includes Blackbuck, spotted deer, Civet, Jackal, Pangolin and many other birds. This way teachers realized that forests are not always far from cities, but exist very close to urban areas. Then we read news articles related to urban fauna to gain a better understanding of animals in urban forests. Some examples were Slender Loris of Bangalore (https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/jul/31/urban-slender-loris-banga...) and Leopards in Mumbai (https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2014/nov/26/leopards-mumbai-life-deat...).

Significance of urban forests

• Regulating air pollution and noise pollution and improving local climate; and to save energy (cooling the air and reducing the need for cooler systems)
• Source of food and medicines
• Regulating water and prevent flooding
• Food, habitat and protection for animals, birds and even for small plants

What can we do?

Planting trees in and around our schools and in our localities with community participation and continuous maintenance of these places

Connecting with forest department and other resource organizations like Environmentalists Foundation of India (EFI), Pitchandikulam forest unit of Auroville Foundation, etc., and engage in activities that help in afforestation and conservation of forests

Segregating wet waste and preparing a compost within the school. The compost can be used in school garden or distributed locally

Teacher Reflections:

தற்போது மக்கள்தொகைப் பெருக்கத்தினாலும், நகரமயமாதிலானும் உலகிலுள்ள பல்வேறு வகையான காடுகளின் பரப்பளவு குறைந்து கொண்டே வருகிறது. இதனால் மக்கள் நகர்க்காடுகள் உருவாக்குவதில் ஆர்வமாக உள்ளனர். நகரத்தில் குறிப்பிட்ட இடங்களில் அதிகமாக மரங்கள் வளர்த்து பல்வேறு வகையான உயிரினங்கள் சுதந்திரமாக வாழ வழி செய்வதே நகரக்காடுகள் ஆகும். மரங்களிலிருந்து நாம் உணவு, மருந்து, தூய்மையான காற்று, மழை, இருப்பிடம் போன்றவற்றை பெறுகிறோம். மரங்களுக்கும் மனிதர்களைப் போலவே உணர்ச்சிகள் உண்டு. அவை மகிழ்ச்சியான  நேரத்தில் செழித்து வளரும், துன்பமான நேரத்தில் சுருங்கி காணப்படும். சுற்றுச்சூழல் கெடாமல் பாதுகாப்பதில் மரங்கள் முக்கிய பங்கு ஆற்றுகின்றன. இன்று கிராமங்களும் நகரமயமாகி வருவதால் நகரங்களில் மரங்கள் வளர்த்து காடுகள் உருவாக்குவது மிகவும் அவசியமானதாகும். அதே நேரத்தில் வளர்ந்துள்ள மரங்களையும் அழிக்காமல் நாம் பாதுகாத்துக் கொள்ள வேண்டும். நகரத்தில் சுற்றுப்புறச் சூழலைக் காக்கவும், நகர மக்கள் மரங்களின் அவசியத்தை தெரிந்துகொள்ளவும் நகரக்காடுகள் உதவுகின்றன. இந்தியாவில் சென்னை (கிண்டி), பெங்களூரு, மும்பை, டெல்லி, கொல்கத்தா, ராஞ்சி போன்ற நகரங்கள் தேசியப் பூங்கக்களுடன் சேர்த்து நகரக்காடுகள் உள்ளன. அங்கு பல்வேறு வகையான பறவைகள், விலங்குகள், தாவரங்கள் காணப்படுகின்றன. சில வகையான அரிய உயிரிங்களையும் நாம் நகரக் காடுகளில் பார்க்கலாம்.

M. Ramakrishnan, GPS Sulthanpet