ENDOSULFAN HIT BIODIVERSITY

                                   ENDOSULFAN HIT BIODIVERSITY

   The spraying of Endosulfan in the cashew plantations of the state-owned plantation Corporation of Kerala caused a disaster on the biodiversity of the area, a study by Dr V.S Vijayan of the Salim  Ali Foundation shows.
  A quick survey By Dr Vijayan and his team indicates that the pesticide hit the plants and animals of the area besides causing endless human sufferings. The area showed a decline in plant diversity between 40 and 70 percent, particularly for native species,compared to the natural habitat.Among the fauna, fishes were the worst hit .
  In General, the area, particularly those close to the forests,was rich in wildlife,birds and butterflies as reported by the local communities. In Kallar area even elephants had been reported. In Rajapuram Estate, where the plantation is contiguous with forests, e;elephants are present even now.
  A traditional farmer reported that a large number of wildlife, including Nilgiri langur,tiger,jackal,wild boar,jungle cat, mouse deer, mongoose, squirrels, flying fox, blacknaped hare, sparrow, parakeets,crows, frogs, honeybees, snails were present in the Enmakaje panchayat. However, he said that every thing else, except the human beings, disappeared during the spray".
  Death of fishes, frogs and snakes was noted in the very first year of the spray itself. Abnormalities and deformities were recorded in cattle. Animals such as jackal, porcupine,wild boar,civet cats and bats, which were once common in the area, completely disappeared during the period of spray.
Dead snakes, squirrels, hares, peacocks,crows were found in the cashew plantations and adjacent areas during the period of spray, However, there are signs of their return during the last two to three years, that is, five to six years after stopping the aerial spray.
  Honeybees, which were abundant and were a source of income for most farmers, became almost completely absent during the period of spray. Butterflies, abundant prior to the spray, disappeared during the spray atthough some of them appeared to be on the  path of recovery, the study says. Fishes that are common in streams of the regions running through the areas where Endosulfan was sprayed.The fishers reported massive death of fishes during the spray. Some of the species had discernible size difference between those collected currently from Kasaragod and those from elsewhere those from the rivers of Kasaragod are smaller. Only two species of frogs namely Rana verrucosa and Nyctbatrachus major, where recorded by the team from the area, species such as Micrixalus and Rana  temporalis adapted to the torrential streams were absent
    Most of the common birds such as crows, mynas, parakeets,drongos, and koels disappeared during the period of spry. It is reported that since crows were absent,certain communities felt incompleteness in performing their religious rites after deaths. Major species of birds missing in the plantations were flycatchers,babblers,and endemics such as small sunbird,crimson-throated barbet,and white-bellied tree pie. Common birds absent in the plantations were fairy bluebird,large cuckoo shrike, and large wood shrike.
 (Ref; The Hindu,26th April,2011)
                                                                                            Prof. John Kurakar