A meet of environmentalists in the district held at Sulthan Bathery on the occasion of World Forest Day on Sunday demanded that the government declare Wayanad district as an ecologically fragile area.
Climatic changes, owing to global warming, have posed a serious threat to the very existence of the district, said a press release issued by the organisers on Monday. Drought and water scarcity have adversely affected the agriculture sector. Even in the midst of these troubles, tree felling has been continuing without any restrictions in large and small plantations, the release said.
Unchecked and unscientific mining of natural resources such as sand and granite, destruction of bamboo clusters for paper mills, and unruly interventions of human beings in the Muthanga and Tholpetty forests on the pretext of tourism promotion have posed a threat to the ecology of the district, they added.
N. Badusha, president, Wayanad Prakruthi Samrakshana Samithi, presided.
