In view of the rapid reduction and eventually possible decimation of the dry deciduous forests from the semi-malnad and maidan regions, it is necessary to ensure protection of the remaining pockets of these forests by any means. One way of ensuring this is to declare some of these areas as protected areas. The objective is primarily to protect the bio-diversity which includes both the flora and fauna existing in these forests. This will automatically help in conservation and development of the natural forests within the protected areas. This process has already begun with the notification of a number of protected areas such as Jogimatti wildlife sanctuary (Chitradurga district), Gudekote sloth bear sanctuary (Ballari district), Rangayyanadurga four horned antelope wildlife sanctuary (Davanagere district), Ramadevara Betta vulture sanctuary (Ramanagar district), Yadahalli chinkara wildlife sanctuary (Bagalkot district), Chincholi wildlife sanctuary (Kalaburagi district), Thimlapura wildlife sanctuary (Tumkur district), Kappathgudda conservation reserve (Gadag district), Thimlapura conservation reserve (Tumkur district), etc. In addition, a number of dry deciduous forests of Bengaluru (Rural), Ramanagara and Mandya districts have been added to the existing protected areas such as Bannerghatta national park and Cauvery wildlife sanctuary. It is necessary to continue this process and include more and more natural forests into the protected area (PA) network. Priority should be given to those districts from which the natural forests have practically vanished. The existing remnant natural forests such as Kammasandra and Royalpadu in Kolar district, Narasimhadevarabetta and Ittikaldurga Blocks (NDB and IDB) of Chikkaballapura district, forest blocks of Manvi and Deodurga ranges in Raichur district, Agoli-Benakal forest blocks of Koppal district, Changler and Shahabad forests of Bidar district, Devarayanadurga and Siddarabetta forests of Tumkur district, etc. are examples of such forests. The forests of Sandur in Ballari district, which were adversely affected by large-scale mining of iron ore during the recent years, also need to be given utmost protection. Sandur forests stand out as an outstanding example of how a forest eco-system can retain its unique bio-diversity in harsh climatic and soil conditions. The erstwhile rulers of Sandur state were successful in managing these forests ensuring the least biotic interference.
Source: This is an abstract taken from the book, 'Status of forests in Karnataka' (https://bit.ly/2G2iTh0). The author is Mr. Dipak Sarmah.
