Forest Group report

The early years

When Auroville was initiated in 1968, the area was a barren landscape devoid of trees, other than some palms and a few Banyans. The Auroville plateau with its red lateritic soil was as hard as iron; the summer temperatures reached over 40°C. , the humidity was 90%; and the long dry season was prone to dust storms. It clearly was a very harsh environment.

In the months of the Northeast monsoon, rainstorms that could deliver up to 50% of the average annual precipitation of 1250 mm within ten days transformed the plateau soil into a highly erodible substrate that would wash sediment, along with the precious rain water into the Bay of Bengal through a network of canyons. At that point there was no large environmental wisdom or vision, it was basic human necessity, that of water and shade, that spurred the initial environmental restoration effort. The main effort for all Aurovilians was to protect the land and create a livable environment. 

Certain members of the community were drawn to the task of working and toiling on the land, to prepare the physical body of Auroville. Later, in 1982, the Forest Group (FG) was formed with most of these land pioneers grouping together to work in a more efficient and coherent way.

With limited resources, the initial work of transforming the environment in those early days was that of soil and water conservation. This would be fundamental in ensuring that the seasonal monsoon rains were not lost, but would infiltrate into the subterranean aquifers, ensuring water security for Auroville as a whole. With the intensity of the Northeast monsoon, where 300 mm of rain can fall within a 24-hour period, the success of any sapling plantation would be questionable unless the rain water run-off was quelled. To address this, many kilometres of contour bunding were dug by hand on the open land that slopes from 50 metres to sea level, over a distance 4.7 km. In the highly eroded system of gullies, ravines and canyons that carried rainfall runoff across the watershed, gully plugs, earth dams and granite check dams were constructed. 

This effort to maintain “zero run-off” has been a continued effort as Auroville developed and as impermeable surfaces, paths and roads were built. To this day, soil and water conservation remains a high priority.

The early days created a history of rich tales about the collective efforts of tree planting. This was a grassroots movement where saplings were planted in a passionate, albeit haphazard way. 

The absence of any local nurseries and knowledge of the flora of the area led to a mix of seeds being collected and germinated from a variety of sources, including the Pondicherry Botanical Garden, roadside plantations, the local government forest department, and seeds that community members had collected on route to Auroville. Plant nurseries were set up and the challenges of seed germination were overcome. 

Once the saplings were ready, due to the harsh environment they were planted in large pits with as much organic matter added as possible, as the soil was so compacted and devoid of nutrients. 

It also became apparent that the plantation season was limited to the period of the Northeast monsoon, a narrow, yearly, window of opportunity.

The plantation areas were nurtured, with manual watering and mulching whenever possible. Initially, the plantations were not contiguous but spread out over large areas due to land ownership. This made aftercare and protection from grazing and browsing by the local livestock very challenging, but as the land was progressively purchased this became more manageable.

As the decades progressed and the yearly seasonal plantation continued, it was observed that out of the many species of plants that were experimented with most failed to get established. The species success rate in protected areas, such as around dwellings and public spaces, like schools, were higher due to ease of aftercare. In the larger tracts of land which were designated as green areas or forests, or reserved for future development, the species survival rate was lower. Certain species like the Acacia auriculiformis, an exotic wattle from Australia, outperformed the others. With its nitrogen fixing capacities it not only thrived on the lateritic soils with almost non-existent topsoil, but it also grew rapidly, and in later years provided firewood and timber when it died naturally after 25 to 35 years. 

Luckily, the tree planting in these Acacia areas was prolific, so though the diversity was not as rich as hoped, the areas were covered and by the late 80’s a hybrid forest with an assemblage of exotic and native species emerged.

As the forest flourished, birds returned quickly, benefitting from a diverse set of flowers, fruiting plants, and an increasing variety of insects. The bird list now has reached over 100 species. The butterflies were also attracted to this new environment, with current studies estimating over 200 species. The reptile population was also seen to increase, with over 20 species of snakes recorded. Other species, such as the monitor lizard, increased in numbers. 

The common mammal population soon grew, making this forest a habitat for the Indian mongoose, civet cat and the jackal. In recent years, even the porcupine and spotted deer have made their way back to the area, with occasional sightings of the jungle cat and the rusty spotted cat. The mammal biodiversity indicates a thriving ecosystem.

The next steps, the early 90’s

It was clear that this newly grown forest, though it held beauty and offered the services of shade, water and soil security, micro-climate creation and biomass production, would not be the final vegetation type aimed for. It could be said that it was a pioneer forest. It was only in the mid to late 90’s, after an in-depth study of the tropical indigenous vegetation type of the area and its dynamics, that the native species of the area were planted in volume. This coincided with the conditions created by the pioneer forest to be optimum for this next stage of development: the shade, the biomass, the soil health, and rainwater conservation were all in place.

Working from the Pitchandikulam Bio-research Centre and Shakti Herbarium, and with funding from the Foundation for the Revitalization of Local Health Traditions (FRLHT) and a European Commission (EC) funded project, work began on researching the native Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest (TDEF).

During this research period, with guidance from the French Institute in Pondicherry and Pondicherry University, the team set out to locate potential remnants of the TDEF. Once the remnants were located, visits to 85 sites were arranged for plant identification, phenology, samples were collected for the newly created herbarium, and seeds collected to be germinated and propagated in the Auroville nurseries.

It was during this period that the work of interplanting the hybrid Auroville pioneer forest with the native TDEF species in volume was initiated. One key advantage of planting these native species was that they are adapted to the conditions of the geographical location and are drought resistant. This meant there was little or no watering required after planting under the pioneer canopy. With minor aftercare, mulching and management of opportunistic species around the sapling pit, a survival rate of 90% was achieved.

As the years progressed and these TDEF species got established, there was a natural transition from the hybrid forest to a more native TDEF prominent ecosystem. This became the single planting focus of the Forest Group, and today half a million TDEF saplings of over 200 species have been planted.

Presently the TDEF has become established, with more than half the species reaching maturity and regenerating. This is a clear indication of success, and it is now apparent that the Auroville greenwork has created one of the largest areas of TDEF in this zone. Although it is but a young forest, it is starting to mature, and to regenerate. This vibrant growing forest, with its rich biodiversity, has become a valuable gene bank for the TDEF, securing these rare species for the future.

What is the Forest Group doing now?

The FG is a collective of individual Aurovilians with the common task of maintaining and developing the Auroville forest land and green spaces, of which there is currently approximately 1250 acres and currently 44 separate stewarded areas.

The FG is made up of land stewards, co-stewards and Aurovilians working within or for the forest. With approximately 80 members, the group is very diverse. The land stewards for each of the areas being managed for Auroville have responsibilities that include: a) protection, including prevention of encroachment of land, prevention of grazing and unwanted cutting b) soil and water conservation, in particular through a “zero-run-off” policy c) afforestation, involving management of the land according to a coherent concept of land management, the main focus being on the Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest d) the creation and maintenance of parks,  cycle paths, footpaths and  green corridors and maintaining relationships with local neighbours. 

The FG’s work benefits not only Auroville as a whole but also the local and bioregional population through the environmental work that is implemented and maintained. The work of establishing and protecting the biodiversity of the TDEF within the Auroville green spaces has larger benefits for future generations. 

The FG offers the Auroville community many services, some of these tangible and others intangible. These include microclimate management, water table enhancement and recreational spaces. Recently it was estimated that the annual value in Indian rupees of the carbon sequestered in Auroville forests is Rs 3,56,32,360; air pollution removed is Rs 36,22,334; and of run-off avoided is Rs 41,192.

Land use past and present

In the past, land was allocated to the FG mainly for land protection and preparation. This led to some lands being managed by the FG in areas that are not projected as long-term green space or forest. These lands were handed over once they were needed for city development. 

Presently, when land is purchased in designated green spaces and Greenbelt, a process of assessment and appropriate allocation is followed. As a general rule, any land that has fertile, agricultural grade soil goes to the Farm Group for management, and if the soil is poor or the area falls within a park/green corridor area, then the FG takes up its management. This process is according to and involves the protocol of the planning and FAMC groups.

Presently the land which the FG manages is 786 acres in the Green Belt, 291 acres in the inner city area, and 183 acres outside the Master Plan area: a grand total of 1260 acres.

Within the diverse management of different areas, the forest group creates various types of green space. These include sanctuaries, mixed forest, firewood plantations and timber stands, orchards and agro-forestry. 

The Forest Group’s next steps 

The future step would clearly be to continue this work of protecting and enhancing the forests and green spaces within Auroville. Parallel to this, the work has started to survey and document the state of the forest, to record the species that have reached maturity and are regenerating. The information gained will allow a longer-term planning process of the green belt to be undertaken, and would help in creating a long-term strategic plan for Auroville forest land management. The information gathered will also be useful for research and education, as recent studies have indicated that the Auroville forests are one of the largest and most diverse contiguous areas within the TDEF zone.

Forest Group finance

Due to the size of the operation that the FG runs there is a lot of expenditure. Presently, the largest expenditure (36%) is on wages to permanent forest workers, another 19% goes towards other wages, while personal maintenance comes to 26%. Like all environmental restoration work, initially, and for the first decades, the work itself did not create any income, therefore funding had to be sought and made available. 

The FG has benefitted from being partially supported by the Auroville Central Fund, now called City Services. This support came in the form of personal maintenance for those FG members whose needs required one, and a monthly recurring Forest budget which goes towards partially covering the FG’s employed watch persons and forest workers. These staff are required to help protect and develop the large landholding the FG manages for Auroville.

The plantation work has been funded over years with donations coming from various sources, initially from the Indian Government’s Department of Environment. Later, project funding came from NGO’s, foreign donations, Auroville friendly funding agencies, industrial CSR programmes, carbon offsetting programmes, Auroville units and Aurovilian well-wishers. 

In the last 20 years the FG have created a Forest Fund, into which all foresters in the group place 10% of the gross amount of any forest products sales. This fund is used yearly exclusively to help cover plantation and soil and water conservation.

Inevitably, even with all the goodwill and funding, the costs of creating, developing, protecting, and maintaining the Auroville forests, along with the infrastructure and tools required to do this work were never fully covered. In fact, since 1997 the City Service budget has covered less and less of the overall expenditure of the Forest Group members, while the shortfall which forest stewards need to cover has extensively increased.  This has meant over the years the stewards of the areas have had to utilise personal savings, inheritances, or have had to go out to do seasonal work abroad just to keep the work going. 

With all these expenditures and incomes, it was one of the forest stewards’ responsibilities to maintain clear and transparent accounts and, subsequently, submit them to the Auroville financial groups for auditing. This has been diligently complied with and records have been kept for many years for future analysis.