TOURISM IN THE T OF HEATWAVE Warmer temperatures are resulting in the spread of invasive species of availability of food for wildlife in the mountains of southern

Last week, a sixyearold elephant in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve in the Nilgiris was found lying weak and exhausted in a private property, possibly due to the lack of green fodder and severe heat in the hills this year. Reminiscent of 2017, when a number of elephants died of thirst and starvation, 2024 too is set to be a challenging year for wildlife and conservation in the Western Ghats.

The hills of South India are expected to be a source of refuge for people trying to escape the heatwaves in the cities. Conservationists and experts working in the ecologically fragile Western Ghats have sounded the alarm over the expected surge in tourists to the mountains this year, stating that the increased pressures of tourism, combined with extreme weather, could have a widescale environmental impact on local ecosystems. For instance, storage levels in key drinking water sources in the Nilgiris, such as at Parsons Valley and Marlimund, are at 34% and 21% of their total capacities as of April 6.

Vasanth Bosco, a restoration ecologist and founder of Upstream Ecology, says that hotter summers in the hills lead to the spread of more invasive species such as Lantana camara and Eupatorium, and also to lesser availability of food for wildlife due to grazing pressures from cattle. “We are already witnessing higher humananimal conflict rates in parts of the Nilgiris such as Gudalur, as water becomes scarce. Tourism will only exacerbate the crisis,” he adds.

Larger issues

An analysis of the temperature trends in Udhagamandalam by the Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, with temperature data between 1960 and 2018, revealed that the frequency of ‘warmer years’ increased from 1990 to 2018. “The annual mean maximum temperature above 20° Celsius between 1960 and 1989 was recorded only twice, while the mean maximum temperature above the 20°C threshold was breached 10 times since 1990,” said a researcher who analysed the data.

Shobana Chandrashekar, a member of the ‘Make Ooty Beautiful’ project, who has been pushing for a more sustainable tourism model in the Nilgiris and the Western Ghats, said that there needs to be a cap on tourist numbers to the hills, especially during drought years.

In March, the Madras High Court had requested the Advocate General of Tamil Nadu to convene a meeting with the secretaries of municipal administration, forest and tourism departments to fix a carrying capacity for the ghat roads leading to the Nilgiris and Kodaikanal, which was agreed to inprincipal by the State government.

However, Suprabha Seshan, conservationist and longterm custodian of the Gurukula Botanical Sanctuary in Wayanad, says that tourism is only the “tip of the iceberg”. She believes the rising number of humananimal conflicts in Wayanad to be a result of of urbanisation and fragmented forest cover. “Small farmers who may feel the need to sell their properties for housing or resorts can be financially incentivised to nurture biodiversity,” Seshan says.

Understanding the forests The hills of Coorg too are witnessing severe stresses due tourism, adds Aparna Kumar, member of Clean Coorg. “Unli the Himalayas, Coorg and its rivers, including the Cauvery, completely rainfed.” Kumar s that conversion of what were previously agricultural lands i housing plots and resorts is threatening water security and local ecology. “Bengaluru’s ra expansion at the cost of its lak and tanks has led to the problems it currently faces. Tourism is bringing the same issues to Coorg and other hill regions,” she says.

Yercaud in Tamil Nadu has also witnessed a surge in touri particularly from Chennai and Bengaluru, in recent weeks. N Moinudheen, an independent researcher and wildlife biologi

We are already witnessing higher humananimal conflict rates in parts of the Nilgiris such as Gudalur, as water becomes scarce. Tourism will only exacerbate the crisis