It was a walkathon with a difference held far from the madding crowd in the urban jungles, the normal locales for such events.
Conducted on the fringes of the Nagarahole National Park, the objective of the walkathon was to create greater public awareness on preventing forest fires where the local community is the stakeholder.
Organised by the WWF Karnataka State office, nearly 150 school students from Antharsanthe and D.B. Kuppe Wildlife Range participated in the event, which also an effort to reach out to the community in conservation. The students roped in for the purpose were members of the WWF Nature Clubs of India and the walkathon was held in N. Belathur Gram Panchayat of the Nagarahole Tiger Reserve. Forest fires are a major concern for people living in and around forest reserves as they can get quickly out of control and can cause serious damage to the agricultural and forested lands. The WWF said native animals usually escape fire, but disturbs the ecological balance and poses a threat to wildlife. Hari Somashekar, State Director, Karnataka, and WWF India, said, “Forest fire is major threat faced by wildlife during summer. Considering that majority of forest fires are caused due to human negligence, it is imperative that we educate people on the fringes of the forest area about the impacts of forest fires on humans as well as local wildlife. We wish to raise awareness on how local stakeholders can play an active role in helping the Forest Department by preventing and reporting forest fire,” he said.
As part of this walkathon, pamphlets and calendars were distributed to local residents that mentioned the contact details of the fire prevention department so that help is at hand anytime such a situation arises. The Forest Department personnel spoke on the importance of cooperation from the local community in preventing such fires as the interdependence of the community on the forest ecosystem was high and hence it was in their interest to help prevent such incidents.
Vinay K.C., Range Forest Officer, DB Kuppe Wildlife Range, underlined the importance of the public participation in preventing forest fires.
