Environment & Ecology
Documenting Nature | Chetan Sahasrabudhe
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| The book illustrates how a community develops a system that incorporates an efficient visitor management model that benefits the local people while protecting the region's local resources. With a proficient ecological vocabulary, the book comprises trail maps for those wanting to camp out at Yelavali in the forest and habitat maps that together act as a reliable guidebook for the interested.
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Forest Camping and Trail Guide to Yelavali, Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary
Author: Swati Sahasrabudhe & Peeyush Sekhsarai
Published by Department of Landscape Architecture, BNCA Publication Cell, 2017
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Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary in the Pune district of Maharashtrais a known biodiversity hotspot. Home to endangered species such as the giant squirrel, it has attracted nature lovers and researchers alike. The culture of an independent traveller or a trekker, getting around with maps and without a guide, is not yet viable in the subcontinent. As is the case with almost all such areas in India, the Bhimashankar region lacks a reliable trail map and guidebook that can be used by those who are interested in having a richer and more informed experience of the trail.
The small book titled 'Forest Camping and Trail Guide to Yelavali-Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary' published by the Department of LandscapeArchitecture, BNCA Publication Cell, attempts to fill in this gap.It is a compilation of the studio work (ecology studio) done by Mastersof Landscape architecture students guided by experts from the fieldsof landscape architecture, ecology and geography. It is broadly dividedinto three sections: Trails and Ecology, People, and Imagery. The trailmaps are based on Google Earth underlays and are accompanied by sectionsthat add to the richness of the information. The section on ecologygoes into more detailed mapping of habitats such as forest types andalso gives glimpses into the diversity of flora through quadrat mapping.The next section on people serves to highlight the intersectionsbetween forests and livelihoods. An important aspect of Yelavali that thebook mentions is the visitor management model that has been worked out by the villagers along with the NGO Kalpavriksha to benefit the locals rather than external entrepreneurs.
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