Athirappilly, home to one of Kerala’s most unique riparian ecosystems and among the richest biodiversity landscapes in the Western Ghats, is seeking to transform its extraordinary natural wealth into a model for sustainable development.

Reinforcing this vision, the second volume of the People’s Biodiversity Register (PBR), documenting the region’s vast biological wealth, has been released. The register was prepared by Athirappilly grama panchayat biodiversity management committee (BMC) with technical support from the Kerala State Biodiversity Board and the Western Ghats Hornbill Foundation.

The updated register records an impressive 1,090 species of flowering plants, 57 species of ferns, 225 species of bryophytes, 71 species of mammals, 241 species of birds, 33 amphibians, 61 reptiles and 108 species of fish, underscoring Athirappilly’s status as one of the biodiversity hotspots of the Western Ghats.

Kerala State Biodiversity Board Chairman N. Anilkumar, who released the register, said Athirappilly could emerge as a model for other local bodies in Kerala by combining biodiversity conservation with sustainable economic development under a scientifically prepared local action plan.

Livelihood generation

Western Ghats Hornbill Foundation director K.H. Amitha Bachan, who presented a draft action plan, proposed linking biodiversity conservation with livelihood generation for the panchayat, tribal grama sabhas and local communities through the Access and Benefit Sharing mechanism.

“The communities sharing and protecting biological resources should receive equitable economic benefits from their sustainable utilisation,” the proposal suggested.

Representatives of forest rights committees, Kadar tribal elders, officials from the Forest, Agriculture and Tribal Development departments, and elected representatives from neighbouring local bodies participated in the discussions on integrating the Biological Diversity Act, the Forest Rights Act, the Panchayat Raj Act and forest laws into a coordinated conservation and development framework.

Athirappilly occupies a unique place in Kerala’s conservation landscape. Besides being home to all four hornbill species found in the Western Ghats, including the State bird, the Great Hornbill, it harbours rare riparian forests, a remarkable diversity of endemic freshwater fish and extensive bamboo and reed resources. Nearly 60% of the population of the Kadar, one of the oldest indigenous communities of the Western Ghats, lives in eight settlements in the region.

Community initiatives

“The region has been at the forefront of community-based conservation initiatives. Protection of hornbill nesting sites with the participation of Kadar tribal communities has been under way since 2005. Athirappilly also prepared Kerala’s first Local Strategy and Action Plan for biodiversity conservation in 2021,” Mr. Amitha Bachan pointed out.

Habitat restoration along riverbanks to mitigate human-wildlife conflict, implemented through a partnership involving the panchayat BMC, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, the Forest department and the Western Ghats Hornbill Foundation, has been widely recognised. The panchayat was also the first in Kerala where Community Forest Resource rights under the Forest Rights Act were granted to four tribal communities, including the Kadars.

Officials said the long-term objective is to develop Athirappilly as a State-level model where conservation, local governance and community rights are integrated, while enabling local communities to derive sustainable economic benefits from their rich biological resources.

The event also featured a seminar and stakeholder consultation on Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS), a key provision of the Biological Diversity Act aimed at ensuring that local communities benefit from the sustainable use of biological resources.

Athirappilly grama panchayat president K.S. Satheesh Kumar presided over the function. Biodiversity Board member secretary V. Balakrishnan delivered the keynote address, while Vazhachal divisional forest officer Suresh Babu was the chief guest. Principal scientific officer C.S. Vimal Kumar outlined the role of Biodiversity Management Committees.