Forest plunder may spell disaster for Sikkim

GANGTOK, APRIL 10: Plundering of forest resources along the porus Indo-Nepal border of one of the world's highest bio-diversity reserves h...

GANGTOK, APRIL 10: Plundering of forest resources along the porus Indo-Nepal border of one of the world8217;s highest bio-diversity reserves has become rampant.

Concerned over the unchecked plunder of forest wealth and lack of vigilance along the Indo-Nepal border, stretching from the Singalila range between Sikkim-Nepal and neighbouring Darjeeling hills, local non-governmental organisations are planning to form pressure groups to campaign against the ongoing destruction.

Environmentalists in Sikkim and Darjeeling hills allege that unchecked and rampant felling of the quot;daphne cannabinaquot; bark would destroy these valuable plants and be disastrous for the region. This region is a natural habitat for the species, known as quot;kagatayquot; in Nepali, which is used for making expensive hand-made paper, popularly known as quot;Nepali kagatquot;. The paper is used for recording historic government documents, religious scroll and decorative items.

According to Himalayan environmentalist and secretary of the Darjeeling-based Environmental Protection Society Umesh Drevedi, the destruction of these valuable plants would spell disaster for the region ecologically.

8220;We are planning to form a pressure group to campaign against the rampant and illegal plunder of natural resources in the region which is home to the world highest biosphere,8221; says Drevedi.

Drevedi said, 8220;traders from Nepal are involved in felling of the daphne cannabina, while Indian pharmaceutical firms also exploit the shurb for its medicinal value.8221;

The environmentalist said, 8220;the rampant extraction of the plant, which is an intergal component of the alpine vegetation of the silgalila range situated on the Indo-Nepal border at an altitute of over 12,000 feet, has resulted in the opening up of ancillary industry in Nepal8217;s Ilam district bordering drajeeling hills.8221;

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Drevedi said, 8220;other flora under siege in the bio-diversity reserve are the quot;taxus bacattaquot; known as dhange salla in Nepali. Taxol, a drug for fighting cancer is made from the taxus bacatta. The chirata and majeto used as a kind of dye are also extracted from the reserve.8221;

Meanwhile, secretary of the Siliguri-based Himalayan Nature and Adventure Foundation, Animesh Bose, who recently made a survey of the Singalila range told newsmen that about a dozen hand-made paper units that have mushroomed in the eastern Nepalese district of Ilam are exploiting both Indian and Nepali villagers in felling and smuggling the daphne cannabina trees.