Towards an eco-conscious culture

“Responsible ecotourism” is at best confined to making an area plastic-free, with hoteliers throwing in a few performing arts events to give the jaunt an ethnic flavour. The tourist certainly is not  more environment conscious post holiday.

Moving away from such platitudes is an all-encompassing eco-cultural-research centre coming up in a small village, Bada, near Kumta, in Uttara Kannada district, which promises not only an exciting ecotourism experience, but which will be a nucleus of cultural and ecological studies of the Western Ghats.

A brainchild of well-known environmentalist, filmmaker and actor Suresh Heblikar, the centre will have a distinct academic thrust to it by amalgamating cultural studies and environmental research to conserve and promote the fast-disappearing ecological and cultural heritage of the region.  

Spread over seven acres, the beach-side ethnic resort will have a detailed information centre on the Western Ghats, to usher in the visitor with a wealth of information. The guest then traverses through a sea-river-forest route that covers Karwar, Belgaum, Dharwad and Haveri. Interacting with tribes such as the Halakkis, and the Siddhis, who migrated from Madagascar and Angola over a thousand years ago, fishing expeditions, local cuisine, indigenous crafts, folk art and forms, traditional medicine, and an introduction to the wildlife and variegated vegetation of the Sahyadri range, is what one will be exposed to.

A museum devoted to the Siddhis will be an important adjunct to the centre as “I am looking at the anthropological aspects of the region too,” says Suresh. Green sports such as mountain biking, will be part of the itinerary. “Ours is basically academic tourism. Students will be invited regularly. They will record all the information they come across, which will be compiled and made available for researchers. It will become a resource centre too.”

The centre is part of the ecological conservation work of Eco-Watch, Suresh’s green organisation that has been campaigning for sustainable development since inception in 1998.

The activities of the centre will galvanise local employment and income generation, says Suresh, who is already working with the Buda Folklore Trust in Kumta, and organising cultural programmes and ecological studies. Training programmes for the local community are held regularly to make the centre an all-encompassing economic and knowledge-oriented project.  

Of equal magnitude in terms of ecological conservation is the little-known Ecotone belt covering a 200-km stretch of Belgaum, Dharwad and Haveri, where Eco-Watch is trying to create awareness on the importance of this special ecological system and its preservation.  

Ecotone zones are a confluence of various eco systems, where the differing landscapes nurse a unique ecology. The first to initiate a campaign to preserve this belt, Eco-Watch is involved in the overhauling of an entire socio-economic system and restoring it to its roots.

“Agriculture and horticulture took root in North Karnataka because of the seamless merging of the eco-systems or the ecotone belt. Historically too it has featured in ancient Kannada literature as ‘Belavalanaadu’or ‘land of growth’ for its beauty and richness. Capitalising on its richness without destroying it, is the challenge.”  

Local communities have been involved in reviving traditional crafts and cuisines. The Centre for Marine Biology and the local wing of the Centre for Ecological Studies, IISc, along with students, have been part of such workshops, pointing to rigorous grassroots level efforts. A recent workshop in Hubli on indigenous skills will be followed up by another at Belgaum in February.  

Tropical gene bank

If the Western Ghats is usually in the news for its systematic destruction, Eco-Watch holds out hope of its regeneration. Suresh’s son, Akshay Heblikar, and field expert M B Naik have identified 300 rare species and planted 6,000 of them at the Visvesvaraya Technical University in Belgaum, as part of its massive Tropical Gene Bank project, which includes butterfly and nectar gardens with medicinal plants.  

As an investment in the future, Eco-Watch has focused on children, its Green School Project exposing youngsters to conservation methods in daily life. Some 1,50,000 saplings of native species have been planted in different parts of the state under its Urban Forestry programme. About 4,000 native saplings have been planted along the Kelageri lake in Dharwar to help preserve its eco-system, making its greening plans a multi-pronged effort.