Forest officials and experts are divided in their opinion on the two borewells that have been sunk by the World Wildlife Federation-India in Omkara and Kundukere ranges of the Bandipur Tiger Reserve (BTR). These two ranges are the epicentre of man- animal conflict as they border villages.
The borewells were dug in coordination with the Forest department, citing less rainfall this year.
Hari Somashekar, director of WWF-India, Karnataka, said that these solar-paneled borewells were drilled to mitigate the water crisis. "The water from these borewells is pumped to tanks 50 to 300 metres away from waterholes in the forest. The pumpsets work only on solar energy and 50,000 litres can be pumped in a day," he explained.
Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF-wildlife) B J Hosmath said, with the waterholes in the forest areas going dry, the borewells would come in handy.
Based on the utility of these two borewells, more may be sunk. This was better than bringing water tankers into forest areas, he pointed out.
T Heeralal, Conservator of Forests, BTR, said these two borewells had been sunk in core areas of the forest. There are 370 waterholes in BTR, of which 210 have completely dried up in the forest patch that is home to large populations of tigers and elephants. In 2012, around 50 elephants had died due to drought.
Spurt in poaching
Former PCCF Avani Kumar Verma said that such a move was being implemented in Dudhwa National Park, Uttar Pradesh, to provide water to the animals. But another former BTR official said that this proposal would backfire.
"This will open the gates for poaching as Omkara and Kundukere are conflict zones. By creating a permanent water source, not only animals, but poachers too will be attracted," the officer said. Another Forest department official pointed out that the minor irrigation department had constructed a tank over 10 years ago in Omkara range, which is surrounded by a eucalyptus plantation.
Praveen Bhargav, Trustee of Wildlife First, said scientific studies have established that there is higher concentration of elephants in riparian habitats and in the vicinity of large streams and rivers during dry seasons. An artificial increase in water availability in elephant habitats without intensive studies may be counter-productive, particularly in places like Omkara range, where natural habitats have been replaced with eucalyptus plantations.
"We must allow ecological processes, including natural mortalities of wild animals due to adverse climatic conditions, to play out. Such management interventions must be done very cautiously and kept to the barest minimum," he said.
![]( "Water gushes out of one of the borewells sunk in the Bandipur Tiger Reserve.")
Forest officials and experts are divided in their opinion on the two borewells that have been sunk by the World Wildlife Federation-India in Omkara and Kundukere ranges of the Bandipur Tiger Reserve (BTR). These two ranges are the epicentre of man- animal conflict as they border villages.
The borewells were dug in coordination with the Forest department, citing less rainfall this year.
Hari Somashekar, director of WWF-India, Karnataka, said that these solar-paneled borewells were drilled to mitigate the water crisis. "The water from these borewells is pumped to tanks 50 to 300 metres away from waterholes in the forest. The pumpsets work only on solar energy and 50,000 litres can be pumped in a day,” he explained.
Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF-wildlife) B J Hosmath said, with the waterholes in the forest areas going dry, the borewells would come in handy.
Based on the utility of these two borewells, more may be sunk. This was better than bringing water tankers into forest areas, he pointed out.
T Heeralal, Conservator of Forests, BTR, said these two borewells had been sunk in core areas of the forest. There are 370 waterholes in BTR, of which 210 have completely dried up in the forest patch that is home to large populations of tigers and elephants. In 2012, around 50 elephants had died due to drought.
Spurt in poaching
Former PCCF Avani Kumar Verma said that such a move was being implemented in Dudhwa National Park, Uttar Pradesh, to provide water to the animals. But another former BTR official said that this proposal would backfire.
"This will open the gates for poaching as Omkara and Kundukere are conflict zones. By creating a permanent water source, not only animals, but poachers too will be attracted,” the officer said. Another Forest department official pointed out that the minor irrigation department had constructed a tank over 10 years ago in Omkara range, which is surrounded by a eucalyptus plantation.
Praveen Bhargav, Trustee of Wildlife First, said scientific studies have established that there is higher concentration of elephants in riparian habitats and in the vicinity of large streams and rivers during dry seasons. An artificial increase in water availability in elephant habitats without intensive studies may be counter-productive, particularly in places like Omkara range, where natural habitats have been replaced with eucalyptus plantations.
"We must allow ecological processes, including natural mortalities of wild animals due to adverse climatic conditions, to play out. Such management interventions must be done very cautiously and kept to the barest minimum,” he said.
The borewells were dug in coordination with the Forest department, citing less rainfall this year.
Hari Somashekar, director of WWF-India, Karnataka, said that these solar-paneled borewells were drilled to mitigate the water crisis. "The water from these borewells is pumped to tanks 50 to 300 metres away from waterholes in the forest. The pumpsets work only on solar energy and 50,000 litres can be pumped in a day," he explained.
Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF-wildlife) B J Hosmath said, with the waterholes in the forest areas going dry, the borewells would come in handy.
Based on the utility of these two borewells, more may be sunk. This was better than bringing water tankers into forest areas, he pointed out.
T Heeralal, Conservator of Forests, BTR, said these two borewells had been sunk in core areas of the forest. There are 370 waterholes in BTR, of which 210 have completely dried up in the forest patch that is home to large populations of tigers and elephants. In 2012, around 50 elephants had died due to drought.
Spurt in poaching
Former PCCF Avani Kumar Verma said that such a move was being implemented in Dudhwa National Park, Uttar Pradesh, to provide water to the animals. But another former BTR official said that this proposal would backfire.
"This will open the gates for poaching as Omkara and Kundukere are conflict zones. By creating a permanent water source, not only animals, but poachers too will be attracted," the officer said. Another Forest department official pointed out that the minor irrigation department had constructed a tank over 10 years ago in Omkara range, which is surrounded by a eucalyptus plantation.
Praveen Bhargav, Trustee of Wildlife First, said scientific studies have established that there is higher concentration of elephants in riparian habitats and in the vicinity of large streams and rivers during dry seasons. An artificial increase in water availability in elephant habitats without intensive studies may be counter-productive, particularly in places like Omkara range, where natural habitats have been replaced with eucalyptus plantations.
"We must allow ecological processes, including natural mortalities of wild animals due to adverse climatic conditions, to play out. Such management interventions must be done very cautiously and kept to the barest minimum," he said.
Forest officials and experts are divided in their opinion on the two borewells that have been sunk by the World Wildlife Federation-India in Omkara and Kundukere ranges of the Bandipur Tiger Reserve (BTR). These two ranges are the epicentre of man- animal conflict as they border villages. The borewells were dug in coordination with the Forest department, citing less rainfall this year.
Hari Somashekar, director of WWF-India, Karnataka, said that these solar-paneled borewells were drilled to mitigate the water crisis. "The water from these borewells is pumped to tanks 50 to 300 metres away from waterholes in the forest. The pumpsets work only on solar energy and 50,000 litres can be pumped in a day,” he explained.
Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF-wildlife) B J Hosmath said, with the waterholes in the forest areas going dry, the borewells would come in handy.
Based on the utility of these two borewells, more may be sunk. This was better than bringing water tankers into forest areas, he pointed out.
T Heeralal, Conservator of Forests, BTR, said these two borewells had been sunk in core areas of the forest. There are 370 waterholes in BTR, of which 210 have completely dried up in the forest patch that is home to large populations of tigers and elephants. In 2012, around 50 elephants had died due to drought.
Spurt in poaching
Former PCCF Avani Kumar Verma said that such a move was being implemented in Dudhwa National Park, Uttar Pradesh, to provide water to the animals. But another former BTR official said that this proposal would backfire.
"This will open the gates for poaching as Omkara and Kundukere are conflict zones. By creating a permanent water source, not only animals, but poachers too will be attracted,” the officer said. Another Forest department official pointed out that the minor irrigation department had constructed a tank over 10 years ago in Omkara range, which is surrounded by a eucalyptus plantation.
Praveen Bhargav, Trustee of Wildlife First, said scientific studies have established that there is higher concentration of elephants in riparian habitats and in the vicinity of large streams and rivers during dry seasons. An artificial increase in water availability in elephant habitats without intensive studies may be counter-productive, particularly in places like Omkara range, where natural habitats have been replaced with eucalyptus plantations.
"We must allow ecological processes, including natural mortalities of wild animals due to adverse climatic conditions, to play out. Such management interventions must be done very cautiously and kept to the barest minimum,” he said.