To ensure progressive sustainable living, every citizen should take some responsibility and take care of the motherland. The caring of motherland includes saving its ecology and genetic diversity. Various international bodies, including the United Nations, have laid emphasis on this.
Essential ecological process means the single continuous action or a series of actions of one or more ecological systems governing or strongly influencing existence of certain biosphere. Similarly, life support system includes the ecological process that sustains the productivity, adoptability and capacity for renewal of lands, water and or the biosphere as a whole. The genetic diversity includes the variety and frequency of different genes and the genetic stocks of an ecological system in diversified ecosystems.
All the ecological systems of any region under any climatic condition are useful to man as they are field of resources. Any use of species either of animal or plant should be in a sustainable manner.
Sustainability means a process or a state that can be maintained indefinitely or that can give yield in perpetuity without any failure.
These days the day temperature remains high in most places of the State due to several reasons. In many towns it is beyond 430 Celsius.
All the time, we are blaming a scorching sun for usual heat in climate, but the real offenders are none other than us. Pollution and clearing of trees remain a concern and unfortunately, despite tall claims we have not been able to have control over them.
Prior to 1962, the entire Bhubaneswar temple town was full of forests involving areas like Patia, Chandaka, Damapada and Khorda. Here a diversified healthy biosphere used to prevail. However, modernity has taken a toll of the green cover. After establishment of the new capital in Bhubaneswar, the entire biosphere went on a course of constant destruction. About 37 small and big streams were scarified for expansion of the capital city. The water sources were completely destroyed once for all inviting catastrophic situations.
If sufficient water bodies are there in a region, then the atmosphere of that region remains cool. Similarly, large presence of rich flora and fauna makes an atmosphere soothing and pleasant. Thick green cover also reduces the effect of sun heat. Again rocks without vegetation absorb maximum amount of heat from sun during day time and release the heat during night time, making the atmosphere very unpleasant and unhealthy.
There are small hillocks like Barunei Pahada within Khorda — Chandaka —Damapara and Patia biosphere reserve, which was once a famous bio- climatic zone of the State and the great lingaraj Temple was located within it. But now, high rises and buildings have replaced the forest cover. In addition, there are several stone quarries and industries which are functioning within the city polluting the atmosphere. Again ground water and surface water is being used heavily in construction work and other purposes. Sometimes forest fires are also occurring within Chandaka- Damapada degraded forests, for which atmospheric temperature shoots up. Further, the rate of suspended particles in the atmosphere of the region is also increasing very fast including carbon dioxide and carbon- monoxide, which form the atmospheric hazards.
Titilagarh often remains in headlines for being the hottest place in the State during summer. A few decades back, Titilagarh was full of tropical dense ever green, semi-evergreen and deciduous hill forests.
The area is bounded by several small hillocks, which are now barren and treeless. Similarly, there were several small sustainable streams flowing within the region. Titilagarh is a small town in Balangiri revenue district adjacent to Kalahandi district. Kalahandi district had once dense teak and other forests which were ideal for Royal tigers and wild buffalos. But such situation no longer exists now due to indiscriminate felling of trees. Shifting cultivation, mining, annual fire and other reasons in undivided Kalahandi and Balangiri districts have led to fast rise in temperature in the area. Balangir was also very famous for natural teak and chandan forests, but they have vanished now.
The writer in early days of his service served for a term in Kashipur forest division, which was then in Kalahandi revenue district. Due to huge forest resources of Kalahandi revenue district, the whole district was divided into two forest divisions form management point of view. One was Kalahandi division and other was Kashipur forest division. Such situation no longer exists now. On account of non-presence of forest covers from these tropical lands, the mercury of these soils has gone beyond 430 C.
The situation of Talcher is no better. The forest and water resources of the land are fast on the wane. Coal stockyards are burning. The mushrooming of mines and industries has created massive atmospheric pollution in the area.