Sweet Taste of Success

The other day, i heard two people cutting down, at best, twenty meters away from our house. I took my camera to film them stealthily, but they were too many and there was a fear of them spotting me. While I was in the confusion of whether or not to go further and video them, I see a huge (30- 40 Ft) tree falling. My heart skipped a beat, it felt as if i heard the news of a dear one's death. I immediately telephoned, Mr. Mahesh Shirur (Deputy Conservator of Forests, Sagara division). He was very concerned and wrote down the exact location of the crime scene. He even refused to share my number and information with his subordinates because they could be compromised.

About 45 minutes after I called him, a Jeep arrives with four people in it and a motorbike with Mr. Vijay Kumar, Regional Forest Officer . What a personality he had! I'm sure the thugs peed in their pants by the sight of him. LOL!!

Four of the forest department folks went from either sides and surrounded the thugs. All this, I could see from our house. My aunt and I were watching tensely. After these four guards went in, the sound of the tree chopping stopped abruptly and nothing happens for a very long time. My aunt and I thought that the thugs fled and that the rangers are trying to hunt them down, but we were wrong. After an hour Mr.Vijay Kumar walks in front and the thugs shaking behind him followed by the other guards. The thug is Kalinga and the rest are his men and family (including his two young kids!).

By this time, the local villagers (which mostly comprised of two of my uncles and two other locals) arrived to see what happened. The thugs were caught red handed with a live tree (freshly chopped down) about 35 ft in length called "Salle" ( Kannada ) tree. The measurements of the tree was taken and the thugs were fined between Rs.8,000 to Rs.10,000 rupees. Considering the fact that the thug (Kalinga) was unable to pay the fine (It was to be paid to the forest department in the form of a DD), there was a case files against him and he is now an "offender" in the charge sheet. Servers the bloody murderer right!

Post this incident, my uncle, Sreepada Bhagawath and I went to meet Mr.Mahesh Shirur. However, that very day itself he had been promoted and transferred to Dharwad. Nevertheless, he gave us an audience and told us how to turn that part of the forest from "revenue" land to "forest" land. Later on, we met Mr.Vijay Kumar, RFO. I was extrememly intimidated in his presence but he put us to ease and spoke to us and promised to extend all the support required.
Hats off to the efforts of Mr.Mahesh Shirur and Mr. Vijay Kumar, those thugs won't think about another live tree for a long time.

This is exactly what I wished to accomplish and the efforts will continue, with rejuvenated force. With the help of such passionate and sincere forest officials, the goons who plunder our great forest will be brought to justice.

What a sight

"Because we do not know ourselves we are destroying other human beings; we are destroying this marvelous Earth"-Jiddu Krishnamurti

What a sight this was! As I walked along my neighborhood, I happened to see among the debris of the many fallen tress, this sight of a freshly slaughtered tree. The ones near them will soon meet their end as well. At the rate these tree hunters are going, very soon, the Malnad belt will lose the precious trees and greenery that thrives with it.

The tree stump looked like a human with an amputated torso. Anyone who can do this to a tree, has no soul, no character or values in life. There is no sight like the sight of an amputated soul. It is sad and repulsive at the same time. I looked around for the perpetuator of this heinous crime, I wanted to ask him..... But, why?

What will it take?

Trees clean air, improve water quality, save energy, increase real estate value, provide food, shelter for various species, are homes to birds and bees.What more reasons do we need to protect them, to conserve them? During our time, we had great leaders, philosophers, revolutionaries, humanitarians to fight and bring justice to causes that concerned human inequality and racism. Isn't this problem of tree slaughter the same? Except here, we have the human race pitted again the speechless jewels of our nature. Blazing fast, razor sharp chain saws and axes chopping the helpless trees away without rest.

Do we need a version of the great Martin Luther King Jr. , who will arise with a nature conservationist dream. Who will have to toil for the misdeeds of a bunch of money crazy animals? Can not regular and like minded folks like me and you make a difference? What will it take, I think is the key question.

Are we waiting for this also, to become a story of shame. Like the black revolution King lead, are we waiting for a green revolution? The officials of our prestigious forest department close eyes to these poachers. Their corrupt hands cannot stop the axe. Many attempts to bring this up made no difference with the authorities.

Saagara, part of the Malnad belt, a nature haven in the state of Karnataka ( INDIA ) is gradually but surely turning into a barren land. What can be done to prevent the obvious?

Will this help :-)

Hi Readers,

So I was pondering, why are these trees getting killed? Who is getting what out of this? Of-course, the answer is quite simple, MONEY!! As is the root cause of most problems in our world :-) How about applying some variation of reverse psychology here in this case?

A tree can return up to $2.70 for each $1 on community investment…that’s a 270% return (based on a 40 year average life span according to Center for Urban Forest Research, Pacific Southwest Research Station, U.S. Forest Service, Davis, CA)

• Four trees planted around a home can save up to 30% on summer cooling costs.
• One million trees save $10 million a year in energy costs.
• Forty trees remove 80 pounds of air pollutants annually.
• Four million trees can save $20 million in air pollution clean up.
• Four hundred trees capture 140,000 gallons of rainwater annually.
• Four million trees save $14 million dollars in annual storm water runoff costs.
• Trees in commercial parking lots induce shoppers to spend 11% more for goods and services.

  From: www.sactree.com

• Shade from trees could save up to $175 per year (per structure) in air conditioning costs. -Dr. Lowell Ponte
• Trees can boost the market value of your home by an average of 6 or 7 percent. -Dr. Lowell Ponte
• Healthy, mature trees add an average of 10 percent to a property's value. -USDA Forest Service
• Landscaping, especially with trees, can increase property values as much as 20 percent. -Management Information Services/ICMA
• The net cooling effect of a young, healthy tree is equivalent to ten room-size air conditioners operating 20 hours a day. -U.S. Department of Agriculture
• Nationally, the 60 million street trees have an average value of $525 per tree. -Management Information Services
  
  From: http://www.treelink.org
  
  
• A tree, over a 50-year period, will generate $31,250 worth of oxygen, provide $62,000 worth of air pollution control, and recycle $37,500 worth of water.
  
  From: http://www.arborday.org/trees/benefits.cfm

Homeless

The trees are home to various species, right from creepers to animals to birds, the role they play in our ecosystem and food chain is extremely critical. There are several species that will be rendered homeless if the tress slaughter does not end. Look at this chameleon or woodpecker perched on a tree, this is the way nature has designed a system of co-existance and interdependence. Uprooting these giants will cause an imbalance that cannot be reversed. Can you picture this chameleon perched on an electric post or a concrete building instead of a tree?? It will be as pseudo as the various 'modern' scenes we witness on television and in society around us.

Much like global warming effect, the felling of tress is an important issue that is least tended to. In fact, tree felling adds to an existing and looming problem of global warming. Inline with our malignant monetary system, which has the rich getting richer and the poor becoming poorer, the way we treat trees is very similar. The slaughter keeps getting higher and higher, the conservation efforts is minimal. Rehabilitation is not a necessity anymore, it is an emergency action required.

Save Our Tress Now Campaign

Hello Readers,

As I heard the axe chopping away, I could feel the tree wince in pain. The sight was as dreadful as a lion tearing away an innocent lamb, helpless and violated.

The illegal tree chopper looks up at me filming this murder and without another thought, continues the brutal act of sadistic exploitation. So, as a society we are becoming numbly tolerant to such acts of gross violence, disrespect for life and consumerism that takes away the basic want to live in any organism. Tress are living, breathing, growing and aging like any of us. We ought to do something about this very soon, and if we fail to, like the tigers, like the black bucks they also will fade away soon.