t
funded secondary schools. It serves to give these children confidence,
nutrition and basic training in hygiene. The school was founded and is jointly funded
by Tiger Mountain and Swissair for underprivileged children from lower
castes. It is a primary school which prepares the children for government
funded secondary schools. It serves to give these children confidence,
nutrition and basic training in hygiene.
The ITNC Tree nursery project has been set up to educate and interest the children in replanting the forest and conservation of the environment. Within the nursery each child has his or her own tree to nurture.
The school is situated on the border of the
park and takes children from within the buffer zones. The importance of an
environmental education for these children cannot be over emphasized. In
time, when these children grow to become family and village heads it is their
co-operation that the park will rely on to survive. They will manage,
cultivate and graze the lands
immediately adjacent to the park and the health of
the buffer zone forest will be in their hands. Without natural resources
provided by these forests outside the park, they will have to be taken from
within its boundaries.
There is a wide variation in the trees planted in the nursery but the concentration is on fast growing trees for timber and firewood. Kapok (Bombax malabaricum) is used for making pillows and quilts as well as cattle fodder. Pipal (Ficus moraceae) is an excellent shade tree whose timber is valuable for the production of matches.
The project was started in 1998 and it will take some years before income from selling saplings can make a contribution to its funding. Several fruit trees are to be planted and these are likely to bring in higher revenue. Where there are temporary gaps in the nursery the land is used for vegetable plants.
Ladakh is one of the highest and most remote regions on earth with one of the smallest population densities in India. The people are traditionally farmers in a region that is extremely barren, with extremes of heat and cold coupled with excessive dryness.
In an attempt to transform an area of barren
wasteland to prevent erosion and sustain the environment as well as
providing economic benefit to local people ITNC financially supported an experimental Sea Buckthorn project.
Previous attempts at reforestation have in these areas have focused on fast growing trees such as poplar and willow. Whilst these re-forest large areas there are no economic gains. By contrast Sea Buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.), a native of the mountainous areas of Asia that was known to eighth century Tibetan medicine, has several major advantages:
Ease of cultivation and toleration of harsh climates.
It roots easily and with its ability to obtain nitrogen from the air it improves the soil.
Its berries are a source of vitamin C, helping to prevent scurvy.
Valuable medicinal oil is obtained from pulp and the seeds.
Its wood can be utilized for fuel, fodder and fencing.