Vandalism takes its toll at Horton Plains

By Amal HEWAVISSENTI

Four years before Charles Darwin put forward his 'Theory of Evolution', Seattle Duams, the Red Indian Chief delivered historic speeches which the underlined man's essential symbiosis with environment.

He had expressed his deep anxieties about our own environment is vulnerability to the process of ruination made possible by industrial and technological advancement. His philosophy of environmental preservation holds water even today and in all respects, it is a clear prediction of possible environmental hazard in time to come.

Here our theme of discussion centres on how to safeguard Horton Plains against detrimental human operations.

Unarguably, Horton Plains is a national treasure which possesses matchless scenic attraction and environmental value. The twenty five Bio-diversity Hot Spots of the world include Sri Lanka and Horton Plains is valued as a major bio-diversity hot spot in Sri Lanka.

The Horton Plains national park is a natural upper mountain rain forest and is the only national park in the wet zone.

This peculiar region with the perilously charming World's End, Bakers Falls and grasslands dotted with solitary trees is being imperilled by unscrupulously rash activities by visitors.

Empty bottles

The first identifiable threat to Horton Plains is visitors' uninterrupted disposal of garbage which remains undecayed among grasslands and the forest. Empty beer bottles, plastic cans, yoghurt cups, empty packets of cigarette, plastic bottles lie scattered in the forest area surrounding Baker's Falls. Even though visitors are generally subjected to a thorough check at the entrance, some visitors carrying unwanted stuff are artful enough to filter into the park undetected.

What ultimately happens is that wild animals are endangered once they try to eat what is inside the discarded garbage stuff. Most often they die from the effect of various allergies to what has been eaten from the garbage.

Some visitors are indiscriminate enough to shatter glass bottles (beer bottles) on the plains and leave the fragments to damage another visitor or animal. It is absolutely disheartening to note that many species of wild animals notably sambhurs died at a considerable rate recently.

Plants smuggled

Certain visitors are tempted to remove and smuggle plants in Horton Plains because the plants are extremely attractive and because they happen to be plants that the visitors have never seen or heard of before.

They are blatantly forgetful of the 'Horton Plains theory' that certain attractive plants growing in the forests and grass lands of Horton Plains do not grow in any other place in the country. In short, such plants once uprooted never take root in an area other than Horton Plains.

Plants such as ground orchids, Maharathmal, Nil binara, Mahasudana are the most frequently removed plants which contain higher amount of medicinal properties. Some visitors remove the park off Maharathmal plants for medical formulas.

As a result, the rare and beautiful plants dry and die faster and Horton Plains may lose them forever. Those who remove such plants leave them within the limits of Horton Plains as they are checked for at the exit.

Horton Plains and the forest is faced with large scale burning by people. Some areas, being set ablaze, will have stretches of exposed land which in turn experience constant erosion. The grasslands are crucial for the existence of animals such as sambhur, lizard, varieties of butterflies and nests.

The grassland is important for the 1500 sambhurs and attractive reptiles such as 'Kata Kaluwa' (black mouthed lizard).

Grasslands, once burned take years to return to normalcy and the damaged forest too may take up a hundred years to be fully grown one.

The great fires that occurred in 1989 and 1998, brought about widespread devastation on the bio-diversity of Horton Plains.

The stubs of cigarettes thrown on the grass by the visitors directly account for the burning of the grassland apart from the large scale destruction on the park by farmers who sometimes burn a patch of forest for cultivation.

The Horton Plains National Park is otherwise disturbed by the forms of entertainment used by younger generations.

Most young men are used to sing vociferously and play various musical instruments while cruising the park.

This disturbs and frightens wild animals who roam freely. Animals once frightened, abstain from haunting open spaces and may confine themselves to completely sheltered places.

Sometimes visitors may carve names and figures on the barks of trees.

These carvings are easily seen on Maharathmal trees on the World's End, but this damage to the barks will assuredly dry and kill the tree. Apart from that there is a greater trend to bathe and swim in the pool of Baker's Falls. People intentionally or unintentionally pollute the water by releasing garbage and this process, if continued, will hamper the natural balance in the water ways and kill off aquatic creatures.

A fresh water prawn (Cardina singhalensis) which is endemic to Horton Plains is disappearing at a terrifying rate.

More damage inflicted by visitors on the Horton Plains is the placards being increasingly spoilt. The placards indicate the places where particular rare animals can be viewed and where special places and routes are located.

Visitors scribble names on the placards, specially the one (Na) containing "statement of Horton Plains", one indicating where leopards can be seen and the one (No. 2) directing visitors to Baker's Falls and World's End.

This clearly indicates the sheer carelessness, ignorance and indiscipline of some visitors who are least concerned about preservation of such national treasures as these nature reserves.

Approximately 20 leopards and 1,500 stags live in Horton Plains.

Some people have been known to set traps to catch these animals and hunt them.

Most deplorable situation

This is the most deplorable situation prevailing in Horton Plains because hunting of a leopard or any other rare animal directly influences the bio-diversity (Only a very limited number of such animals remains for the future generations to see) in a cold, picturesque national park situated on the highlands of Sri Lanka)

The authorities in Horton Plains, under the directions of Wildlife Conservation Department have taken precautionary measures in this regard. Considering the environmental damage, the visitors are strictly warned not to carry any polythene and plastic products into the park.

At the same time garbage baskets have been placed in certain locations where a large number of visitors gather (for example World's End and Baker's Falls).

The garbage baskets have been placed on such an elevation that no animal is capable of eating anything in the baskets.

The authorities have introduced exclusive environment friendly bags which can be bought at lowest prices at the wildlife office. Those who encroach on the park with a view to hunt animals or to remove plants are liable (according to the enactments and ordinances) to fines ranging from Rs. 10,000 and are subject to imprisonment from one and half years.

To minimise the destruction by fires on the grasslands, fire belts (cleared strips of land) have been made across such grasslands.

The belts are about 20 feet wide and effectively prevent fires spreading over to the stretches of forests beyond grassland.

Moreover, public awareness programs related to the value of Horton Plains have been conducted during the past few years.

For instance, the HSBC organised an exclusive workshop in 2003 for officials who generally educate the visitors about the bio-diversity of the national park and the need to preserve it.