"AT FIRST, I THOUGHT I WAS FIGHTING TO SAVE RUBBER TREES, AND THEN I THOUGHT I WAS FIGHTING TO SAVE AMAZON. NOW I REALIZE I AM FIGHTING FOR HUMANITY."
- Chico Mendes
Buxwaha forest lies in the Chhatarpur district in the Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh, about 260 km northeast of the state capital Bhopal. Recently, Aditya Birla Group's Essel Mining & Industries Limited won a bid for the block used for diamond mining. A forest habitat and over two lakh trees might be cleared for the proposed bunder diamond mining project of 364 hectares in the buxwaha forest.
It is home to several species of flora and fauna. The tree varieties found in the area are Khair, bel, dhava, ghost, and manymore, and animal species such as Indian Gazelle, Chowsingha, Leopard, Indian Rumped vultures are under threat the proposed project. It also shelters trees with medicinal benefits like Teak, Ken, Behda, Banyan, Jamun Tendu, Khair, Bel, Dhava, Seja, Ghoat, Renjha, Amltas, Saugon, etc.
Moreover, the forest safeguards more than 8000 tribal communities which depend on forest resources for their livelihood. The project faces resistance due to ecological concerns, and despite the claims to provide jobs in mining, locals feel that they will lose livelihood options due to the project. The project will need 5.9 million cubic meters of water per day for operating the plant and proposes to divert a seasonal stream for it by building a dam.
The local community fears that mining will further threaten the water security of Buxwaha, a water-stressed region. The Bunder mining project falls in the Bundelkhand region of India, which is a water-scarce area. Environmentalists believe that the considerable water requirement for diamond mining would add to the region's water woes.
Rio Tinto's Exit
After Rio Tinto's exit, they felt that they had protected the Buxwaha forest from destruction, but now they might have to lose their homeland after second bidding. Locals suspect the agencies are hiding the facts about the number of trees supposed to be cut. They presume it is not just 2,15,000 trees but is over 5,00,000 trees will fall for the projection, but the forest is still under threat.
The Ken-Betwa River Interlinking project already endangers 23 lakh trees, and 1.9 lakh trees have already been cut down for Bundelkhand Expressway Highway.
The forest ecosystem will be remarkably damaged due to habitat destruction, man-animal conflict, and infrastructure in the environmentally sensitive region. The destruction of flora, megafauna (tiger), and human socio-ecological domain done so blatantly and 'legally' shows that it is never about nature or the people. Nobody in power cares about this in present-day India.
Initially, only 154.79 acres of the land were accorded mining permissions by the government, but later the mining venture began demanding about 383 hectares of forest land. It proposes to use this forest land to scrap the debris generated, which would render the forest ecosystem. This diamond mining will not only clear a large region of forest, leading to loss of biodiversity but will also stress the water resources of an area that already faces water scarcity. This clearing would render the forest inaccessible and pollute the region, thus wreaking havoc on the forest ecosystem.
Mining and similar human activities in sensitive areas lead to the ecological and geographical disparity. This disparity becomes the reason for natural calamities such as earthquakes, droughts, floods, etc. The facts are saddening and alarming at the same time when the world is already facing drastic consequences of human interventions with nature in the form of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Government's Response
On the other hand, the government has condemned the opposing voices by saying it will bring development, and they will plant a sapling in compensation for the chopped trees. However, numerous researchers and empirical evidence point out that damage to a naturally grown forest is irreparable and can't be compensated by increasing the trees elsewhere because these trees will take decades to rejuvenate into a forest, and tribals and animals will have nowhere to go.
"THE EARTH, THE AIR, THE LAND, AND THE WATER ARE NOT AN INHERITANCE FROM OUR FOREFATHERS, BUT ON LOAN FROM OUR CHILDREN, SO WE HAVE TO HAND OVER TO THEM AS IT WAS HANDED TO US.”
- Mahatma Gandhi
COVID-19 pandemic has forced us to stop for a moment and think. Think about our actions. Think about the repercussions of interfering with nature and destroying the green cover at the expense of diamonds, especially when oxygen scarcity had rattled the nation amid the COVID-19 pandemic, where thousands died due to the unavailability of oxygen.
Now, it becomes imperative for us to reassess the idea of development at the cost of destruction. The implementation of the Bunder Mining Project will surely surge the exports of the diamond rather than importing them, thereby increasing the country's GDP. And the project will also steer the development and upliftment of the erstwhile primitive region.
But the question is whether it is this type of development that we want? The one at the cost of lakh of trees, millions of gallons of water, and unique species of the natural world can never be reinstalled through afforestation programs under the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act, 2016? The tribals who lodge in these forests for their livelihoods are the most affected communities. They are assured proper rehabilitation with requisite compensation. But how beneficial is it for them in the long term? Is it moral to mine diamonds worth billions for development but at the cost of priceless forests, wildlife, and tribals?
It's high time that we consider the idea of development. The preferable way forward for the same is for all the stakeholders to sit together at the decision-making tables, leading to holistic planning, execution, feedback of such projects, and shaping a brighter future.
- Team Prakriti, IIT Kanpur