The Hindu Business Line : Blazing a new trail...

Koshi's family lives very close to forests. After the death of his father, Koshi followed in his footsteps by joining a gang engaged in poaching and wood smuggling. Soon he became a notorious poacher in the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary in Idukki district of Kerala and continued his `profession' until five years ago. There were many others like him who earned a living by felling giant trees and hunting wildlife.

Yet, this is not a story about poachers, but poachers reformed. After many years of plundering forest wealth, these people, today, lead a different life. "Now, we go to forests to protect trees and animals. We have 22 people in our group. We nabbed 85 people involved in sandalwood smuggling in five years," says Koshi, now a panchayat member representing the very people who once called him a thief. His is an example of the change that swept the Periyar Tiger Reserve after the Forest Department decided to utilise the local population in conservation efforts.

The sanctuary's story of social change began in 1998 when an effort was made to utilise the skills of the habitual offenders in protecting forests. Under the India Eco-Development Project, the Forest Department approached over 30 traditional offenders through a local NGO to give up their unlawful activities. About 23 of them agreed and joined the eco-development activities. And the forest officials were also willing to change the conventional system of protecting forests.

"Most of us are in the forests for nearly 25 years and know every trekking trail as well as names of trees and habits of the animals. We know more about forests than the forest officials do," says Noushad, an ex-poacher, who is now the chairman of one of the Eco-Development Committees (EDCs), comprising 22 ex-timber smugglers. Noushad himself had 18 cases against him for poaching.

Once the poachers gave up poaching, the forest department decided to conduct a unique eco-tourism programme with their help. This led to the formation of Tiger Trail, a protection-oriented trekking and camping programme where the reformed poachers act as tourist guides.

The authorities entered into an agreement with Kerala Travels Interserve, Thiruvananthapuram, to promote the tourism package. Since 2001, another Thiruvananthapuram-based travel operator called Tourindia has taken over this job. They market the trekking programmes where Koshi, Noushad and others are tour guides. "We were very keen in getting involved in the project, because, for us, this was a vehicle for bringing about social change," says Babu Varghese, Managing Director of Tourindia.

The tour operator pays Rs 2 lakh per month to the EDC, regardless of the number of tourists to whom the package is sold. More than half of the scheme's earning goes to the EDC account, where it is distributed equally among the members. This money is used for salaries and other operational costs. In five years of operation, around 1,200 tourists have bought the package for the trekking camp, with each paying approximately Rs 7,000.

Every guide earns between Rs 6,000 and Rs 7,000 a month. While this is not a lot of money compared to their earlier illegal earnings, the change in their quality of life is remarkable. "Police and forest officials frequented our house in search of my husband. Those days we had no peace. But these days, even though the money is less, we lead a stress-free life," says Rahmath, wife of Noushad.

Tiger Trail has already proved to be different from regular eco-tourism packages. At a time, up to five tourists are taken inside the forest by a group of five ex-poachers, accompanied by one or two armed forest guards.

Camping facilities are a bare minimum and tourists are expected to carry their own travel kits. But the most significant aspect of this package is the focus on prevention and detection of illicit activities such as collection of cinnamon bark or black dammar resin, poaching and illicit felling of trees. "They can detect any illegal entry of locals into the forests, and keep an eye on the activities of their former colleagues and give us valuable information on potential offenders," says S. Sivadas, Assistant Field Director, Periyar Tiger Reserve. Forest officials say that the poachers-turned-protectors were instrumental in nabbing more than 85 thieves in a span of five years. They have been responsible for the arrest of 14 sandalwood smugglers, 22 Vayana bark collectors, four elephant tusk poachers and 13 others engaged in illicit activities in the depth of forests.

"They are very sincere in their new role. Some of them have had physical injuries while on guard. Last year, one of them was killed by a wild elephant while he was chasing tusk poachers inside the sanctuary," says Raju James, Range Officer in charge of the Tiger Trail.

One of India's most lush and rich wildlife sanctuaries, the Periyar Tiger Reserve is a vast area of 777 sq km located in the Cardamom Hill Rages in the southern most part of Western Ghats.

Known for its many tigers and elephants, the reserve is also home to the sloth bear, gaur, lion-tailed macaque, great Indian hornbill, 38 species of fish, 44 species of reptiles and 315 species of birds. Nearly two-thirds of Kerala's famous orchids and close to half of all the flowering species in the State grow in the Periyar sanctuary.

After a dam was built across the Periyar river in 1895, the area was declared a reserved forest in order to protect the catchment area. In 1934, the area including the reservoir was declared a wildlife sanctuary.

The indigenous population comprised a few tribal groups, now relocated outside the sanctuary. The pressure on the sanctuary has been intensive as the local population depended largely on forests for livelihood, compelling the authorities to implement conservation schemes.

"Two basic objectives of the India Eco-Development Project were to reduce negative impact of local people on the sanctuary and to involve encroachers in conservation instead of exploitation," says Sivadas.

The dramatic change in Koshi's life testifies how the society accepts the novel initiative. Many had feared that like any other rehabilitation programme, this would also fail.

But even without realising the full import of eco-development and bio-diversity protection, these men have been involved in a great cause. And social approval has come in too.

"Earlier, teachers and students in our school treated us as children of a thief. It has all changed. Now, students and teachers consider us as children of a panchayat member," says Koshi's daughter Anila.

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