HESARAGHATTA GRASSLANDS WILL REMAIN UNTOUCHED

The large 5,678-acre grasslands in Hesaraghatta are finally under protection from encroachment and development.

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The Government of Karnataka issued the final notification of the Greater Hesaraghatta Grassland Conservation Reserve recently while conservationists and those who have been crying hoarse to save the city's remaining green areas heaved a sigh of relief.

The grassland region in Hesaraghatta forms a unique ecosystem close to Bengaluru and supports numerous species of flora and fauna, many of which are endangered. This area is a large carbon sink for Bengaluru and can be a powerful tool to mitigate climate change and counter the rapid concretisation of the city. Conserving the grasslands helps to mitigate the impacts of global warming.

The landscape surrounding the lakebed is the last remaining grassland habitat in the Bengaluru region and supports unique biodiversity. Hence, protecting the habitat by creating a conservation reserve for endangered wildlife species in surrounding areas was the need of the hour.

Dr. K.S. Seshadri, Fellow in Residence at the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) in the city, has been associated with the conservation efforts since 2012, when he wrote a report with his colleagues on the need to conserve the grasslands and its rich biodiversity.