Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd. (KIOCL), has been mining for iron ore in the Kudremukh region of Chickamagalur district of Karnataka on the basis of a 30 year mining lease No. 909 dated 25 July 1969, originally extended to National Minerals Development Corporation (NMDC)and which expired on 24 July 1999. A temporary extension of a year was extended by the Ministry of Environment and Forests on 16 July 1999 subject to various conditions, including conduct of comprehensive environment impact assessments and obligation ofthe State Government to notify the National Park within the said period. The extension allowed mining in already broken up area, i.e. 1,452.74 ha. of forest land, but did not make a mention of the fate of the already broken revenue land area of 1220.03 ha.

The original mining lease of 1969 allowed 5218 hectares for mining. However, about 613 hectares were surrendered on 15 July 1972, thus leaving 4,605 hectares for use by the company as per the lease conditions. Upto 3,200 hectares of this land is "forest land" and KIOCL, since its inception in 1976, has broken up 2672 hectares comprising 1,452 hectares of forest land and 1,220 hectares of revenue land for various purposes. Actual mining, however, has taken place on only 450 hectares of land. It can thus be observed that mining in this mountainous region results in wanton use of this thickly forested region.

The Kudremukh National Park forms an important area of the Western Ghats forests. This National Park was notified in 1987 by the State of Karnataka by including the areas under the Tungabhadra State Forest, the South Bhadra State Forest, the Naravi Reserve Forest & the Andar Reserve Forest, consisting an area of about 600 sq .kms. It is comprised of tropicalevergreen forests, the Shola Grasslands & mixed evergreen forests with plantations in the peripheries. The altitude ranges from 300m in the lowlands to the highest peak of Kudremukh at 1892 m. It receives rainfall of about 7000 mm. Two major tributaries, the Tunga & Bhadra originate in the Bhagavathi forest. The Bhadra flows through Malleswara and Nellibeedu areas where the Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Limited is mining & joins the Tunga at Bhadravathi to form Tungabhadra, a major South Indian river thateventually joins the Krishna river in the Deccan Plateau forming large and fertile floodplains.

The Western Ghats are increasingly under threat from the combined pressures of mining, deforestation and submergence by dams.Large scale encroachment has also been reported in recent years, especially by well connected large farmers. The fragmentation of these forests could form a major threat to species conservation, and the lack of green cover on these rising mountains could result in the devastating cycle of floods and droughts in the downstream areas. Such impact is already visible in the Tungabhadra dam, which has lost half its life, within four decades of its construction, due to high rates of siltation.

Mining, apartfrom destroying completely the habitat complex of highly threatened flora & fauna, has also resulted in high degree of pollution of the rivers and land surrounding the watercourse. The extensive mining operations of KIOCL over the past 25 years have depleted the shola forests and replaced them with heaps of mined waste. The area which was once known for its scenic splendor, has ugly scars of the mines and its attendant facilities. The impacts of mining at the source of the rivers Bhadra & Tunga, areyet to be fathomed. Several naturalists have accounted for the disappearance of many varieties of fish due to pollution from mining, especially the highly threatened Mahseer. Farmers complain of decline in agricultural productivity downstream due to deposition of mine tailings. Communities complain of sickness and disease due to pollution of a river, a major source of potable water. Yet, the company dismisses these claims, but without substantiating the same with transparent and regular monitoring of impacts.

Further, KIOCL prides itself by claiming that massive afforestation works have been undertaken to mitigate the damage to the forests and rivers due to mining. It claims over 75 lakhs (7.5 million) of Acacia, Eucalyptus and other exotic trees havebeen planted. Not realising, however, that such mono-culture forests are not a replacement to the diverse and unique natural habitats, even as the question remains of verifying independently the claim to such afforestation efforts.

The high level of disturbance activity inherent to mining has enabled ease of introducing exotic weeds, such as Lantana, Eupatorium & Parthenium. Also, the mining activity has encouraged growth of large and highly urbanised human settlements in the middle of the forests, causing irreparable damage to the local environment.

The Western Ghats are home to many endemic, rare & endangered species of flora, and as well scores of economically important species & wild relatives of cultivated plants:

• The region has about 4,500 species of flowering plants. Of these about 1700 are endemic to the Western Ghats. Nearly a third are rare or threatened, & several are believed to be extinct, for instance Dalbergia travancorica & Vanda wightii.

• 58 genera of flowering plants are endemic to the region. Of these 42 genera are monotypic i.e. they have only one species. E.g. Blepharistemma membranifolia.

• About 80 species belonging to 28 families of dicots are endemic to the Western Ghats.

• 5 species belonging to 2 families of monocots are endemic to the region. E.g. Arenga wightii (Family: Arecaceae)

• Other important endemics include the Strobilanthus group, such as Carvia callosa, Supushipa scrobiculata & Phlebophyllum kunthianum. These plants flower once in their lifespan of 4 to 16 years and play an important role in the local ecology as their reproduction & proliferation depend on local insects, such as honey bees that pollinate them while collecting nectar.

• 80 endemic species of trees & shrubs are confined only to evergreen forests. Several woody genera found here have a large number of endemic species. E.g. Syzygium (18 endemic species), Litsea (14 endemic species).

• 84 species & 2 varieties of orchids are endemic to the Western Ghats.

• Each hectare of forest in the Western Ghats has about 8-10 termite hills which harvest termite hill mushrooms. The Western Ghats have the World's largest gene pool of Termitomyces & have a wealth of mushroom flora (700-750 Species).

• Kudremukh National Park presents a very good representation of several of these species and characteristics. In addition, Kudremukh is probably one of the largest reserves of high altitude grasslands in the Western Ghats.
  

Some plant groups with a large number of endemic species in the Western Ghats

Some endemic species believed extinct or on the verge of extinction in the Western Ghats:

The Western Ghats are known for their rich & endemic fauna. Several species are now vulnerable or endangered:

• Studies have revealed that 21 species of amphibians are strictly endemic to the Western Ghats. According to IUCN Red List categories the Kudremukh National Park region has 3 endemic & 7 vulnerable species of amphibians. E.g. Rana beddomei & Rana semipalmata. The endemic Cane turtle & the Terrapin are also found here. Also endemic are several species of Geckos such as Cnemaspis indica, Cnemaspis mysorensis and Hemidactylus m.maculatus. The number of reptiles+amphibians is ~320 species in the W. Ghats. The break up is roughly ~120 reptiles, and ~200 amphibians. About 60% of these [320] species are endemic, with slightly higher endemism among amphibians than reptiles.

• The fishes endemic to the Western Ghats river systems are Mahseers (Tor species e.g. Tor khudree), Barilins bendelsis, B. gatensis. Mahseer has been listed as an endangered species by the Zoological Survey Of India.

• The Western Ghats are rich in their invertebrate diversity, 16 species of ants are found to be endemic & many are endangered. E.g. Pachycondyla luteipes Mayr. Not much research data is available on this Class.

• Maximum butterfly diversity occurs in the Western Ghats. 320 species of butterflies are found in the Western Ghats & about 37 are endemic. Colias hyale is an endemic species listed under the Indian Wildlife Protection Act.

• About 508 species of birds occur in the Western Ghats (590 if sub-species are included). Among these about 16 species are endemic (27-30 if sub-species are included) & many have a patchy distribution. E.g., Nilgiri Wood Pigeon (Columbia elphinstonii), Bluewinged parakeet (Psittacula columboides), etc. Many endemic birds are exclusive to evergreen and shola forests.

• Several genera of mammals are endemic & representatives include the Slender Loris, the Lion-tailed macaque, 2 species of Mongoose, 2 species of Civet, Nilgiri Langur, Grizzled Giant Squirrel, & the Rusty Spotted Cat. These are well represented in the Kudremukh National Park area. The region has the single largest population of the Lion tailed macaque (about 200-300). The Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary, a Project Tiger Reserve, is adjacent to Kudremukh National Park.

It is thus apparent that the Kudremukh National Park forms a major reserve of the biodiversity of Western Ghats. Though anthropogenic pressures have destroyed large areas of such forests, the diversity still stands out in small patches. Such areas need to be conserved for prosperity, and thereby mining should never gain priority over protecting these regions.