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The call to action came in the early 1990s when the project area (suffered
deficient rainfall, droughts and falling water tables which degraded the
ecology, adding to the unsustainable pressure from human communities clearing
forest land for agriculture, over-grazing, stone quarrying and intense water
extraction – all combining in a relentless attack on the natural resources
causing long term harm to the environment.
Then, in 1995, long before Global Warming and Climate Change became buzzwords
that signal alarm about humanity’s unsustainable lifestyle, we began to
consolidate and protect the ecology and communities around the villages of
Bathera, Kemri, Sarvaniya and Patolia. The protected project area is now called
Kemri Nature Reserve.
Initially, during 1995-2008, our efforts focused on habitat protection and land
consolidation to ensure the project achieved a geographical footprint large
enough to restore and sustain an ecosystem surrounding a water reservoir. As a
result of the effort, the ecology has strengthened considerably within the
project area of c400 acres, in stark contrast to the surroundings which remain
very degraded.
Apart from the visible impact evidenced by the much richer flora and fauna
within the Reserve, the success is also evident in the breeding and predation
cycle of several species of avian, aquatic and mammalian life as well as
harmonious relations with the surrounding human communities who directly or
indirectly benefit from the project activities.
From 2009 onwards the project initiated more direct action to assist the natural
regeneration of the ecosystem and to enhance benefits to the local community.
The scope of activities now include reforestation, building infrastructure for
water distribution to support the planting effort, increasing collaboration with
local population in eco-restoration, spreading awareness in the surrounding
villages to bring more land under community protection and education support for
children from financially weak families. |
