By Harini Raghupathy
The Southern part of India depends majorly upon the South-West monsoons for its cultivation. The state of Tamil Nadu depends upon both the South-West and the North-East monsoons for its agriculture. The recent failure of the North-East monsoons and the below-average South-West monsoons have resulted in a severe drought, unlike any that the South Indian states have seen in centuries. Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry have declared drought in their respective states. Water levels in reservoirs have reduced, while the demand for water has increased in the present season. The affected areas include the villages and towns. However, the prolonged drought situation has also severely affected the flora and fauna in these regions.
Woes of the flora and fauna
Due to the drought, situations of man-animal conflicts have increased in the states of Karnataka and Kerala. In Tamil Nadu as well, the wild animals are affected to a great extent. The majorly affected ones are the elephants, leopards, and deer. Around thirteen elephants, five leopards and hundreds of deer have been reported as dead in Coimbatore, a district in Tamil Nadu. The main reason behind the deterioration of health of these animals is an acute lack of water in the perennial watering holes in the forest regions. Forest fires, another reason which stems from the adverse climatic situations, results in the displacement of wildlife into urban areas, giving way to man-animal conflicts.
Drought affects the trees, the soil, and species of flora which are intimately related. Therefore, drought may have serious consequences that may disrupt the forest ecosystem. This, in turn, affects the whole order of the food chain, causing severe damage to both direct and indirect stakeholders in the forest ecosystem.
Relief measures at work and models to follow
In the state of Tamil Nadu, the Government has allocated around INR 17.71 crores in order to execute summer management and wildlife conflict mitigation plans which will create artificial water resources to aid the wildlife. However, all this effort would only minimise the damages, instead of checking the problem at hand.
After the recent drought which occurred in Maharashtra, its Government launched the Jal Yukta Shivir Abhiyan which aims to make the state drought-resistant by 2019. They intend to do this by deepening and widening streams, constructing cement and earthen stop dams, working on nullahs, and digging farm ponds. The State Governments should take the cue and work proactively in order to avoid such a situation. Early warning systems need to be introduced to enable the anticipation of a drought, and to make necessary arrangements to deal with the scenario.
Featured image credits: The Wire.