Author: Malini Bhupta
Publication: India Today
Date: February 28, 2008
URL: http://indiatoday.digitaltoday.in/index.php?option=com_content&Itemid=1&task=view&id=5164§ionid=24&issueid=43&latn=2
Introduction: A teacher turns barren land
into a biodiversity park and shows the way to fight global warming
Be it the biting cold in Mumbai this winter
or the dastardly floods of 2005, global warming is making its presence felt.
Even as governments pay lip service to the need to retain the earth's green
cover, individuals continue to prove that every single effort counts. Like
Hector Andrade's. Head of department in philosophy at the Mahindra United
World College of India (MUWCI), Pune, Andrade decided to transform a barren
170-acre campus into a flourishing green area.
Working on a budget of Rs 1 crore, his venture
led to the birth of a biodiversity park, that houses thousands of species
of flora and fauna. Called the Van Vihar Biodiversity Park, MUWCI aims to
make it a model oasis in a world where green spaces are shrinking.
The project was launched in June 2006 when
Andrade began by first building 800-metre-long trails and pathways. Under
this project, 30,000 trees were planted within the first six months. The park
also has a bird and a tree trail, where people can see some 120 varieties
of trees of local origin. Inaugurating the park on February 9, Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh said, "As the ominous shadow of global warming looms large
over us, creative venture such as this are the need of the hour."
The geodesic dome in the park houses 150 species
of succulents
The park now seeks to become a template for
individual initiatives at greening the earth. Apart from creating a green
lung in what was a barren piece of land, the park will also have a beneficial
impact on the surrounding community. Along with the college campus, the biodiversity
project also includes the regeneration of a 250-acre forest on a hilltop close
by. The efforts is to restore streams and preserve soil in order to lead to
better crop production in the fields below. This is being hailed as the park's
best benefit as it will go a long way in restoring the forest ecosystem.
This park will also make the college campus
more self-sufficient over the next 10 years as with dams, reservoirs and conservation
of rainwater, the water table is expected to increase in the area. At present
the biodiversity park has around 800 species of flora, including trees, climbers,
grasses and shrubs. The fauna comprises 130 varieties of birds, 160 varieties
of moths, 60 species of butterflies and 30 of animals. "As we started
greening the area, which was earlier barren, many species started coming back
here. In 10 years, this will be a large forest with many species of fauna,"
says Andrade. He has shown the way, now all he needs are followers.