Karnataka's wildlife is fast dwindling. But driven by sincere work and sheer conviction, a few naturalists and trekkers are fighting for what is left. A few volunteers from an  organisation called ‘Green Earth’ are silently working for the conservation of evergreen forests and wildlife in the Karnataka-Goa border. These volunteers are moving from village to village in the Western Ghats region, spreading awareness about wildlife conservation and its importance. Trekking this belt of around 250 km several times in the last two decades  has made these volunteers tough.

The 250-km-long stretch of Sahyadri, a hill range in Belgaum and Karwar districts, includes Western slopes, crest hills and around 150 villages. The forests in this stretch harbour many endangered species comprising Black Panther, Tiger, Gaur, Elephant, Leopard, Sloth Bear Dhole, etc. The Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary, Anashi National Park, Katigao and Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary of Goa come under this belt.

The Sahyadri range is also a rich repository of some rare species of plants that are of great ecological and medicinal value.

Unfortunately, large scale destruction of forests and the establishment of projects and industries in this region has been dangerously affecting the ecology of this range. Tiger population has drastically come down and though there are stringent laws against poaching,  villagers continue to hunt wildlife.

With its limited staff, the Forest Department is struggling hard to control poaching. Anti-poaching camps have also been set up in areas where poaching was rampant. However, naturalists who have become the guardians of our natural  heritage are striving hard to preserve nature.

Meet Mr Gangadhar Kallur, a trained mountaineer from the Himalayan Institute of  Mountaineering at Darjeeling and a well-known trekker in the Western Ghats and Himalayan regions.

He is on his mission to save the Sahyadri for the last two  decades. He taught  English for 10 years in various degree  colleges. A heroic son of a police officer, he has the distinction of having gone on 700 treks in the Western Ghats and 43 in the Himalayan region. Impressed by the writings of Jim Corbett and Henri Cherrarrie's Papillion, he took upon himself the task of saving the Western Ghats. He often stays with the villagers in forests to know their opinion on wildlife conservation.

In fact, many villagers regard him as a hero. According to Kallur, villagers value forests more than urbanites and are slowly realising the importance of wild animals. All thanks to the efforts of forest officials in this belt.

Mr Kallur takes young students of various schools and colleges to forests and educates them about their role in wildlife conservation. He has dedicated his life to sparking the imagination of little minds in the wild.

The core of Kallur's philosphy is simple: keep children interested in wildlife - they will be the future guardians of our forests. Manjunath, Vilas, Girish, Sagar and Dhiraj are some volunteers who, at times, accompany Kallur.

Convincing villagers not to kill wildlife and making them aware of wildlife conservation is no mean task, feels P S Manjunath, the founder of Green Earth organisation. Having born, brought up and educated in the remote areas of Western Ghats has made him a botanist.

According to Manjunath, the Belgaum and Karwar Sahyadri belt is chiefly occupied by the Marathas and tribals who hunt wild animals for food. However, in the recent years, due to stringent forest laws, people have stopped hunting in most villages.

Times are slowly but surely changing. But, it may take some time before we see light at the end of the tunnel.