The State Board of Wildlife recently approved a proposal to have 5010 acres of grasslands as the Greater Hesaraghatta Conservation Reserve (GHCR).
Did you know that there is a thriving grassland in Bangalore? Well, chances are most denizens are unaware of the same. However, a recent proposal to make Hesaraghatta a conservation reserve is sure to change that notion. After all this space is like no other as it probably even has the solution to solve water shortage issues.
This move is definitely a good thing for the ecosystem due to the fact that the region gets protected. The important thing here is that this one is a unique habitat. Some of the some of the places that have been potentially notified as a Conservation Reserve, are what habitat needs to look like, in particular, in Bangalore, with grasses and water in between. This is a very disappearing landscape. Now, the fact that the one such place very close to the city and is 5000 hectares is an amazing thing, and we have to protect it, irrespective of biodiversity, in terms of benefits that people can get. One is it ensures water security as it was used to supply water to Bangalore, and it’s a large basin. It sort of enhances Bangalore’s water facility. And of course for the local people living near the region or in the region itself, their borewells will be recharged. These are some of the ecosystem services.
For all the researchers that we have, in Bangalore, this is right under our nose. This needs to be also content center in terms of focusing on research. It can be used for education, it can be used for conservation and can be used for understanding how ecosystems function, and especially the grassland patch that has now completely overrun by tourists and people driving around cars and mountain motorbikes, managing the habitat that’s become a good threat, and all of these things need to be curbed, which is why the conservation reserve is a good idea.
Read the full story that first appeared in Our Bangalore dated Nov 23-29, 2024 here:
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