Our restoration programme in the Western Ghats focuses on the region’s unique, biologically diverse tropical rainforests. These complex ecosystems have historically been victims of severe onslaughts due to human activities, resulting in loss of forest cover, and degradation and fragmentation of remnant forests. Our past research and observations indicate that rainforest conservation goals will not be met by protection alone. One also needs to restore many degraded lands to improve habitat quality for the long-term survival of threatened species that survive within these forest patches as well as to improve landscape-level connectivity of existing patches.

With this in mind, we initiated this restoration project in the Anamalai hills of the Western Ghats. The project is carried out on private lands outside protected areas, which have been conventionally ignored in conservation policy and action. In the tea plantation dominated landscape of the Valparai plateau, NCF has over the last four years struck partnerships with private land-owning plantation companies, a research organisation, and the forest department to identify and restore critical wildlife areas (about 450 ha) which are designated as rainforest biodiversity conservation areas. Besides direct protection and restoration efforts, we document recovery and regeneration in abandoned plantations and degraded rainforest fragments and assess restoration success by monitoring different groups of animals (birds, spiders, mammals).

A key question underlying our work has been this: can a complex and biologically diverse forest, once destroyed by human action, ever be brought back to its  original state? Given current levels of biological understanding, this is perhaps a tall order. Often, one does not know what the original state of the forest was, prior to being disturbed, degraded, or deforested. Second, biologists around the world still grapple with the task of documenting the diversity and intricate relationships of organisms living in a forest ecosystem, whether it is the millions of micro-organisms in a pinch of soil, the towering trees, the myriad insects, or the variety of other animal life. It is widely recognised that it is best to leave a forest that has not been disturbed alone rather than destroy it in the belief that it can be recreated.

Nevertheless, what of forests that are already disturbed? Will they recover if they are now well protected? Or will their revival be hindered because the parent trees have disappeared or the soil seed bank is severely depleted? In many cases, weeds invade into disturbed forests and by smothering and out-competing all native forest vegetation can prevent them from ever recovering. What of reforesting once-forested areas along streams or as corridors to connect separated forest patches? In all such cases, there arises a role for ecological restoration, a vibrant and increasingly important field of applied ecology.

On the Valparai plateau, rainforest species for restoration planting are raised in a dedicated plant nursery. From 2001 to 2008, the nursery was located in Injipara estate belonging to Hindustan Lever Ltd (HLL) and later Tea Estates India Ltd (TEIL). The generous space and infrastsructural support provided by HLL and TEIL enabled us to raise over 125 native species over the last few years.

Since 2008, the nursery is now maintained in Varattuparai in space provided by Tata Coffee Ltd, another partner company. It now contains 25,000 saplings of around 80 rainforest tree and liana species. Over the last seven years, over 22,000 rainforest saplings (110 species) from this nursery have been planted and monitored within eight fragments identified for restoration. We are also trying to identify suitable native shade-trees for tea, coffee, vanilla, and cardamom plantations to replace the commonly used eucalypts and silver oaks. The programme has also assisted other local companies and the Forest Department develop native rainforest plant species nurseries. The protection and restoration efforts are carried out along with programmes to promote awareness among the local people.

See the Restoration Project Showcase for an overview and photographs of the restoration and recovery in the fragments.