Astonishing..! TN Chief Minister's Master plan for the Wildlife and its Habitats

Chennai: TamilNadu Chief Minister M.K.Stalin had realised the importance of Wildlife for the entire country's welfare. Numerous steps had been taken for the protection of the state's wildlife and its habitats.

India's first sanctuary for the endangered Slender Loris had been established in Tamilnadu. Then the Government also declared an area in the reserve forests around Mettur dam as Cauvery South Wildlife Sanctuary. Very recently Arittapatti, a village in the district of Madurai has been notified as the first biodiversity heritage site aimed at preserving the rich biological repository prevailing in that region.

₹920 Crores for Biodiversity Protection:

From the day the DMK government took reign of the State, there had been immense measures taken for the protection of water bodies and hill regions. Chief Minister M.K.Stalin chaired the first meeting of the State Wildlife Board last November where he stated, "Without forests, there won't be a water ecosystem. Water is a major resource for farming. Thus, forests are much needed for a brighter future. existence of wildlife is essential to prevent the deterioration of forests". The Tamil Nadu Wildlife Board with Chief Minister as the Chairperson had appointed 28 members.

The Government notified that the members of the Board will draft the measures needed for the protection of Wildlife and its habitats. Further programmes will be implemented for the betterment of the people living in those regions, especially the Scheduled Tribes.

Additional Information is that the Tamil Nadu Biodiversity Conservation and Greening for Climate Change Response Project will be implemented at the cost of ₹920 crores.

Goal to achieve from 23.69% to 33%

The Forest cover of the State is around 23.69%. The state government's goal is to increase the forest cover to 33%. There is another good news to be shared about the state. Tamilnadu is in second place to hold a diversity of wild plant species in the country. Tamilnadu acquires the ninth position in terms of maximum forest cover.

Thus, Tamilnadu holds a good rating in terms of forest cover. The statistics state that there are 1559 rare herb species. Among that 533 herbs are estimated to be the native species of the state. Out of which 230 herb species are highly endangered. In the same way, 140 wildlife species were threatened by extinction.

Out of 818 endangered species, 331 wildlife species including birds, reptiles, and mammals are native to our region. The fertile biodiversity exists only by protecting and preserving the species. As per the reports Tamilnadu is in a better position for having healthy biodiversity in the system.

Wildlife cannot get better only with these statistical reports. Rather a better administrative body is the need of the hour. Only this can make the thriving of anti-social elements difficult. There are 152 Indian Forest Officials, 109 State Forest officials and 9578 assistants in the department deployed in the field to safeguard the forests.

Important Tiger Sanctuaries of Tamilnadu:

Only the state of Tamilnadu's forest cover had been categorised into various forms of sanctuaries in the country. Tiger sanctuaries, wildlife sanctuaries, Bird sanctuaries, National Parks, Biosphere reserves, Elephant sanctuaries and much more. Among this, the Tiger sanctuary is located at Kalakkad - Mundanthurai. In the same way, there are 20 tigers in the Yanaimalai Tiger sanctuary.

Mudumalai is home to 103 tigers, Sathyamangalam to 83 tigers and 15 tigers are at the Srivilliputtur Megamalai sanctuary as per the statistics. For tigers alone, there are five sanctuaries in Tamilnadu. This holds a major part in the Indian tiger statistics.

As per the Forest theory, a tiger is an essential part of the diversity for its preservation. tigers help maintain the ecological balance in the forest. By serving as the apex predator, tigers keep the population of herbivores in check, balancing the ecosystem. The presence of tigers in a forest is an indicator of the well-being of the forest ecosystem. It was the same theory quoted by CM Stalin in his speech.

17 Wildlife Sanctuaries in Tamilnadu:

There are 17 Wildlife sanctuaries in the state. Mudumalai wildlife sanctuary, indira gandhi wildlife sanctuary, mundanthurai, kalakaad, Srivilliputhur, kodiyakarai (Point Calimere), Vallanad Velirman sanctuary, Kanyakumari wildlife sanctuary, Megamalai, kodiyakarai, kodaikanal, Gangaikondan, north Cauvery, tirunelveli, Slender Loris Sanctuary, south Cauvery wild life sanctuary are the most greenish sanctuaries of the state.

In the Same way, there are 17 Bird sanctuaries in the state. vedanthangal bird sanctuary is quite famous. karikili bird sanctuary is less known. Other than these there Pulicat bird sanctuary, vettakudi, Kanjiramkulam, Chitrangudi, udayamarthandapuram, vaduvur, koonthankulam- kaadankulam, karaivetti, vellode, Melaselvanoor Keelaselvanoor, theerthangal, sakkarakottai, osudu lake, kaliveli bird sanctuary, nanjarayan bird sanctuary.

35,000 birds arrived at Vedanthangal:

Birds from as far as Siberia makes Vedanthangal their home for every reproductive season. In 2014, over 35,000 birds of various species visited the sanctuary. This attracted nearly 1,45,212 tourists to the sanctuary as per the data analytics.

Over 43 bird species visited koonthankulam bird sanctuary. More than 10 thousand birds visit this sanctuary annually during the peak season in December.

In Tamilnadu, there are 5 National Parks. Mudumalai National park is on the list. There is Indira Gandhi National park in Pollachi, Guindy National Park in Chennai, whereas mukurthi national park and gulf of Mannar national park have been categorised as marine parks. The Gulf of Mannar consists of 21 tiny islands.

There are even sea mammals are in this park. The Mukurthi park was created to protect its keystone species, the Nilgiri Tahr. the indira gandhi national park and the Sanctuary are under consideration by UNESCO as a part of The Western Ghats World Heritage Site.

260 crores of sapling around Tamilnadu:

Like Birds and Tigers Tamilnadu is a land which also protects Elephants. There are 5 Elephant sanctuaries in the state. Nilgris, nilambur elephant reserve, Periyar elephant reserve, parambikulam elephant reserve, agasthyamalai elephant reserve are in the list. Among these, agasthyamalai elephant reserve was established by CM Stalin recently.

As per 2017 status, there are 2,761 elephants are in the agasthyamalai elephant reserve. In accordance with the twitter post of the Union Environmental Minister Bhupender Yadav, 'agasthyamalai elephant reserve spread over 1,197 sq km.

Despite all these statistical reports, Tamilnadu government planned to plant over 260 crores saplings in the next 10 years to increase its green cover. 2.8 crore saplings had already been planted from 2022- 23. There are more than 360 plant nurseries are functioning to aid.

Thus, CM Stalin is on 'Mission Green Tamilnadu' to restore the green cover of the state and strike a balance between nature and development.