KOLHAPUR: The wildlife will have their own habitat from the
Tillari forest in the south of the
Western Ghats section of Maharashtra to Jor-Jambhli forest in the north in Satara district, as seven forest ranges between the protected areas have been declared ‘conservation reserves’ (CR). A decision in this regard was taken by the state wildlife board, headed by chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, at a meeting in Mumbai on Friday.
As per the official definition, CRs are notified protected areas that act as buffer zones or migration corridors between established sanctuaries and protected forest areas.
Clement Ben, Kolhapur’s chief conservator of
forests, hailed the decision as historic, saying that it will ensure the entire stretch of diverse Western Ghats section in Maharashtra is protected.
“Granting the CR tag is a first step to protect forest and its wildlife. We have humananimal conflict and now these CRs will help the wildlife move freely. We had proposed only inhabitable sections of the forest ranges and our proposal has been accepted by the state board,” said Ben.
Wildlife activists too welcomed the state wildlife board. Samrat Kerkar, an activist associated with the Bison Nature Club, said, “Since these forest stretches are now protected legally, we expect more activities to help grow forest tourism. It will help in the growth of wildlife population as their habitat will remain secured.”
Now, any development work in these forest ranges will not be allowed without consulting the state board. All the rules of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, will be applicable to the new CRs.
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The total size of these
conservation reserve forest, along with two from Vidharbha region, is around 1,529 square kilometres.
The state government has decided to allocate funds up to Rs 20 crore for the protection of these CRs. In June this year, the board had granted the CR tag to Tillari, which connects the Madhei sanctury in Goa and Bhimgad forest in Karnataka.
The inhabitable sections of the Amboli-Dodamarg, Chandgad and Ajara forest ranges connecting Tillari CR to Radhanagari Wildlife Sanctuary, Gaganbawda, Panhalagad and Vishalgad connecting the Radhanagari to Sahyadri Tiger Reserve (STR) and Jor-Jambhali forest encapsulating the northern section of STR have been tagged as CRs.
Along with these, the surroundings of the Mayani bird sanctuary too have been declared a CR.