Alarm in Bhadra Tiger Reserve as weed runs rampant

Bhadra Tiger Reserve: An aggressive new weed is rapidly spreading its tentacles in the Bhadra Tiger Reserve (BTR) and threatening its biodiversity.

Mikania micrantha, which was first noticed in the region two years ago, has already covered nearly 10% to 15% of the BTR, spooking forest officials who said efforts to arrest the growth of the creeper is being hobbled by the Centre dragging its heels over the release of funds under Project Tiger.

Also known as mile-a-minute vine, the weed is considered a major reason for the destruction of biodiversity in Chitwan National Park, Nepal, and Valmiki Tiger Reserve, Bihar.

The creeper, along with lantana camara, senna spectabilis, chromolaena odorata and eupatorium odoratum, is taking over native species, including bamboo, which were in abundance within the protected areas of the reserve that is spread over Chikkamagaluru and Shivamogga districts. 

The high abundance of grass and bamboo used to limit human-animal conflict in and around the BTR. However, with the spread of the weed in several pockets of the 1072 sq km reserve, environmentalists and forest officials fear an increase in human-animal conflict in the coming days.

Researchers and forest officials are clueless on how the weed was introduced into the forest. The weed is prevalent in agriculture fields surrounding BTR and experts suspect that the weed could be a by-product of the fertiliser used by farmers. It might have entered the protected areas from these fields, they feel.

Forest officials claim that they are unable to take up de-weeding in large areas due to the curtailing of funds under Project Tiger. The Centre has not released even 50% of the required funds for the BTR for the last three years to take up weed removal and fireline management.

Of the Rs 9.14-crore annual plan operation (APO) approved by Project Tiger in 2022-23 for the BTR, the Centre released only Rs 2.78 crore; in 2023-24 the APO was Rs 13.05 crore, but only Rs 6.63 crore was released.

This financial year, the Centre has approved Rs 14.12 crore for the BTR but has not released a single paisa so far, according to documents with DH.

“We are digging into Tiger Foundation funds, collected through safari booking and photography fees, to provide salaries to contract staff and maintain anti-poaching camps, as funds from Project Tiger have been cut significantly," said a senior official at Bhadra, who did not wish to be named. "We do not have adequate funds and permanent staff to take up large-scale de-weeding. 

Kuvempu University Botany Professor Y L Krishnamurthy said the weed belongs to the same family as parthenium.

“We cannot completely remove these weeds as they grow very fast. We can only manage their spread by uprooting them before they flower. In two to three years, they can cover large areas, resulting in complete damage to native plants,” he said. 

Environmentalist Girish D V blamed the forest department. “Loss of high canopy and removal of native plants in the name of forest-fire management over the years have resulted in the growth of weeds in Bhadra. Growth of weeds can result in loss of food for herbivores and increase human-animal conflict in the coming days,” he said.

BTR Field Director Yashpal Kshirsagar said the spread of mikania micrantha is a matter of concern. “We have taken up de-weeding across the four ranges of BTR. As much as 10%-15% of the total tiger reserve is affected by weeds. We cannot remove all of them at once. We have put in place weed management, where weeds are being removed from critical areas depending upon the funds available.”

He said the BTR's functioning was getting affected by lack of funds.