During the monsoon, the area comes alive with a carpet of wildflowers attracting thousands of visitors every year
A plastic bottle discarded at the site despite there being a ban on plastic items. Pics Courtesy/Sagar Mahajan
Though the Kaas Plateau in Satara district is recognised as an UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site for its biodiversity, irresponsible tourist behaviour is threatening its ecosystem, with visitors trampling rare flowers to take photographs. The plateau is home to more than 850 species of flowering plants, including several endemic and threatened varieties such as the Smithia, Topli Karvi, and Dipcadi.
During the monsoon, the area comes alive with a carpet of wildflowers attracting thousands of visitors every year. Visitors and environmentalists have flagged tourist behaviour like plucking flowers, trampling delicate plant mats, and even sitting in the middle of blooming patches.
It may be easy to say this is just a flower or two, yet experts caution that each flower plays a role in maintaining the ecological balance. When people step on them for selfies, they aren’t just damaging plants, but entire life cycles of pollinators and insects. With at least 850 flowering plant species in Kaas Plateau, this is an absolute treasure trove of biodiversity.
More signage creating awareness about the damage caused by plucking and squashing plants will help stop some harmful behaviour. While there is a ban on chucking plastic, littering remains a festering problem. Enhancing patrolling will help. Officers can look at imposing fines on violators.
Most importantly, though, organising campaigns via social media and spreading awareness about Kaas and its value can affect mindsets positively and imbue a sense of responsibility and pride in visitors. The Kaas problem is symptomatic of the larger picture affecting our tourism in general. Defacement, littering, harmful selfie-seeking and social media-fuelled chaos, where structures and fauna become targets, need to end.
Start multi-pronged initiatives to bring this about.
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