Where the kurinji blooms Where the kurinji blooms a biodiversity learning module This manual is produced & published by: Keystone Foundation Contents 35, Groves Hill Road, Kotagiri - 643 217 The Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu, India www.keystone-foundation.org Funded by: Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (NBR): A bird's eye view 5 Mountains and Valleys 8 This manual is supported by the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF). The CEPF is a Water 14 joint initiative of l’Agence Francaise de Developpement, Conservation International, the Global Environment Facility, the Government of Japan, the MacArthur Foundation and the World Bank. Climate 22 A fundamental goal is to ensure civil society is engaged in biodiversity conservation. Biodiversity 28 Text & Content: Saneesh C.S Indigenous People 36 Editors: Anita Varghese, Mathew John & Philip Mulley Non-Timber Forest Produce (NTFP) 44 COPYLEFT Food 50 Activities 1 - 16 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/). Reference Photos: All photos are by Keystone Foundation unless otherwise mentioned. Illustrator: Manoj Kumar ISBN: 2012 Special Thanks: Sunita Rao, Vanastree, Sirsi, Sujatha Padmanabhman, Kalpavriksh, Pune Payal Bhojwani Molur, Coimbatore Vinayan P A, Ferns, Mananthavady Mridula Mary Paul, University of Oxford Designed & Printed at Text & Graphics 1 Introduction Foreword to nurture a lifelong love towards nature ‘Where the kurinji blooms' is a biodiversity learning module for The Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (NBR) can be said to have witnessed conservation education and has been designed for adults who work what some observers have termed a “Living Past”. The “Living Past” of with children. The module is based on the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve the indigenous communities, numbering not less than thirty groups in (NBR) and uses the region as the learning canvas. The diversity, inter the biosphere reserve has had profound relevance to their immediate linkages and richness of the reserve has inspired this book. This learning environment. The nature-culture interface that is obtained in the NBR module can only be tapped fully if the adults are guided by the even down to post-modern times survives with some degree of tenacity. following principles of learning - 1. Learning requires the active How many of the livelihood traditions stemming from this complex participation of the student.2. Children learn in a variety of ways and at 'psyche' could still help these communities in redefining their role is different degrees.3. Learning is both an individual and a group process. exciting. Children can be taken through the disciplines of science and This exercise provides an exploratory context in which these humanities through the study of conservation, this is an advantage of the communities are to be placed. The several aspects of this context have study of terrestrial environments. In many aspects, this biodiversity been presented in this instructive work. The able team of Keystone learning module will provide children a broader understanding of Foundation has succeeded in producing an exemplary manual towards how sciences interrelate than if they were to be studied achieving an understanding of the environment of the NBR. separately. This task has been undertaken targeting the future generations of the The educator-led activities, provided in this module, encourage communities whose home is the NBR. Written in cogent language, this children to discover animals and plants in a variety of habitats and their work seeks to educate, enlighten and establish a knowledge base meant relationships. The module also encourages children to discuss with for those who are really the stakeholders of this region. Imparting a elders who are custodians of traditional knowledge in this biosphere process of comprehension of the needs of the region is very well reserve. Understanding maps through activities based on them has displayed in all the chapters of this work. The dynamics of been incorporated in the activities. The rich images are all taken from environmental, social and cultural changes in the biosphere reserve the NBR and the illustrations represent life in the region. have been addressed commendably by the compilers of this volume. This manual will have served its purpose if educators are inspired by it More detailed comprehensive and wide ranging issues emanating from and find the information and activities relevant and useful. One does these sources, I am confident, would be readily responded to by the not have to be a specialized subject teacher to implement this module, Keystone Foundation. only inspired and interested. We look forward to your feedback, The potential offered by the environment of the NBR at various levels of comments and suggestions. development and interwoven with the indigenous perspectives ‘If you are thinking one year ahead, sow a seed; if you are thinking documented here certainly showcases the living past of this hoary 10 years ahead, plant a tree; if you are thinking 100 years ahead, region. And I wish this significant publication to launch a learning educate people' mission in the evaluation of the uniqueness of the NBR in its human as well as ecological setting. -Chinese proverb Saneesh C.S. Keystone Foundation Rev. Philip K. Mulley Trustee-Keystone Foundation Native of the Nilgiris, Storyteller, Cultural Anthropologist…. 2 3 Chapter 1 Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (NBR): A bird’s eye view WESTERN The Western Ghats, also known as the Sahyadris, is the main continuous mountain range in peninsular India. Its northern tip 1 originates near the Tapti River and tapers towards the south, ending Biosphere is a part of the near Kanyakumari. Since the Ghats stretch along the coast, rising up to earth and its atmosphere in which living organisms exist or GHATS an average elevation of 900-1500 meters above sea level (ASL), it which is capable of supporting obstructs the monsoon winds from the south west, thereby bringing life. The concept of a biosphere heavy rains to the western coast. The Western Ghats spread over 6 reserve emerged through the Man and Biosphere program, states, 51 districts and 163 taluks. It shelters 12 national parks and 44 initiated through a resolution wildlife sanctuaries. The Agasthyamalai Biosphere1Reserve and the passed at the Biosphere 2 Conference convened in Paris Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve are crucial habitats for biodiversity within the by UNESCO in 1968. Western Ghats. 2 Biodiversity is a general term used for species, habitat Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve: and genetic diversity. Designated in 1986 by the Man and Biosphere Program of the UNESCO, it comprises a total area of 5520.40 sq.km. and is a vast physical, ecological and cultural complex. The Nilgiris district in Tamil Nadu lends it name to this first Biodiversity hotspots are those areas that hold a biosphere reserve of India. The biosphere concept considers people as part of the high number of endemic ecosystem and recognizes the need to integrate them in conservation efforts. species. The concept of biodiversity hotspots was put The northern portion of the NBR comprises the Mysore plateau consisting of the forward by Norman Myers in Bandipur Tiger Reserve, Rajiv Gandhi National Park and the Mudumalai Tiger two articles in “The Reserve. On the western side lie the Waynad Wildlife Sanctuary, Silent Valley Environmentalist” (1988 & 1990). India is home to 3 National Park, and forests of the Siruvani Hills and the Nilambur Valley. The biodiversity hotspots - Eastern southern portion of the NBR comprises the Attapadi plateau and the contiguous Himalayas, Indo-Burma, and stretch of Coimbatore plains. Western Ghats. Source: http://keystone-foundation.org/proceedings-of-the-save-western-ghats-meet-2010/ Southern slopes of NBR 4 5 State wise distribution of the NBR: Blue Mountains: Spread of the NILGIRI BIOSPHERE RESERVE The word ‘Nilgiris’ is derived from two Sanskrit words; nilam (blue) and giri (a mountain). Its origin is at once apparent to those who have, at a distance, viewed the mountain, rising cool and tranquil, enveloped in TAMIL NADU the peculiar blue haze which usually shrouds them. Nilgiris Presence of isoprene5 in the atmosphere and the tiny molecules of Coimbatore oxygen and nitrogen, water and dust which interact with light and this Erode interaction scatters blue light in all directions. Thus, the sky looks blue when we are standing far from a mountain. The origin of the name ‘Nilgiris’ has also been attributed to the vast 5 stretches of blue occasionally seen on the slopes, as a result of the Isoprene is a colourless masses of purple coloured kurinji flowers on these mountains. liquid, produced and emitted by many species of trees into the KERALA atmosphere (major producers Palakkad are oaks, poplars, eucalyptus Malappuram and some legumes). Wayanad KARNATAKA Coorg Mysore State boundary Source: Primary data collected by Keystone Foundation 2010 NBR Boundary - R. Prabhakar, 1994 Map by Keystone Foundation Strobilanthes kunthiana - Photo: TNA Perumal The NBR is remarkable for its endemism3- of approximately 3000 3Endemism: Endemism is the ecological species of angiosperms (or flowering plants) known, 82 are endemic to state of being naturally unique to a this landscape. Amongst the 285 species of vertebrates endemic to the particular geographic location, such as a Western Ghats, 156 are found in the NBR. specific island, habitat 4 type, nation or other Topographic variation ranging from low lying valleys defined zone. Physical, in the west to mountains over 2000 meters and flat climatic and biological factors can contribute to elevated table land of nearly 800-1000 meters above endemism. For example, sea level in the east has resulted in the various the plant Cycas circinalis, and bird, climatic and vegetation zones. Thus, we find in the Malabar Grey Hornbill Western Ghats, dry scrub jungles, dry and moist are endemic to Western Ghats, meaning that deciduous forests, tropical evergreen and semi they are exclusively evergreen forests, and montane sholas.