Ashokavana Documentation

Concept of private forest as a model of conservation in India is fairly a new concept. Ashoka Vana is one such attempt in Western Ghats. When Western Ghats identified as one of the bio-diversity hot spots in the world is in grave danger of extinction, several wild life enthusiasts came together and started this private forest initiative. Bisile forest is a very important elephant corridor, is a small stretch of Western Ghat. This was in danger of being used by tourism and hospitality industry. Sensing the danger, the Ashoka Vana experiment was initiated. In 2011 students of wildlife science camped here to assess the bio-diversity of the area. The effort was documented. One of the highlight of the documentation was the chance documentation of Nilgiri Marten which was assumed to be extinct several years ago! Ashoka Vana today stands tall as a symbol of private initiative and fight to preserve the last pockets of pristine forests of India.