The nature has gifted immense wealth at the Western Ghats and men have got its benefits in all times. The valleys and forest areas at here are treasure troves of many species of rare wild organisms including flora and fauna. Munnar is one of the most beautiful holiday destinations in the Western Ghats and the natural beauty of the valleys at here is the prime factor that attracts the travellers to here. The rich collection of these natural gifts has helped the people to make their living. Many of them started tea and spice cultivations and the nature has given every support for their effort. The spices from Munnar and premises are being used all over the nation and a part of it is being exported to other parts of the world. The climate has helped the farmers to go on with spice plantations and this became the backbone of economy at these places. The hill station and its natural beauty attracted the travellers from all over the globe and tourism became a way of business at here. Many people got living with this. Many people arranged home stays for the travellers, some started shops and so on. Thus the nature itself has created everything to make a good living at Western Ghats. But it is a setback that human activities have done many ill effects on the ecology at Munnar.
As we said, Munnar valleys are rich in many rare animals, birds, plants etc. But in the last decades many of these species are facing extinction due to hunting and habitat loss. Haunting was an entertainment for many of the travellers. They hunted many rare animals and birds. As a result their population declined to a pathetic range. Nilgiri Tahr is an endangered animal that is found exclusively at here. Its number was reduced to some hundreds due to the above reasons. After continuous conservation efforts now this is increased to around 2000. Another speciality of valleys is the Neelakurinji plant that blooms once in 12 years. As this plant also faced habitat loss, the Kurinjimala Sanctuary was made. This sanctuary protects the Neelakurinji plant. The major reason for habitat loss of these animals is deforestation. Human beings cut the forest to make their shelters. Many people illegally cut down the forest areas and constructed hotels, residences etc. He never thought that all these will do harm to him in the end. Many problems including soil erosion, climate change etc. has occurred after all these activities. We are nobody to destroy the things that nature has created. Nature has given freedom for every living thing to exist, reproduce and live secure. We should never interrupt in the privacy of other things. Thus all of us should become a clean nature lover at Munnar. We should never dispose waste materials in the valleys. We should never destroy the plants and trees. The animals, birds, butterflies must get peace and freedom. The rivers should flow pure. The nature loves us and it expects the same.
Jyothis Mp