Paul Blanchflower arrivedin Auroville in 1991 from the UK, having studied ecology. He expected to stayfor two or three years to gain experience with tropical forestry. However, theplace offered so many unique opportunities and experiences that he has beenbased here for the last thirty years. Since August 2000 he has been in charge of thedevelopment of the Auroville Botanical Gardens. This has kept him occupied forthe past twenty-three years, building up on 50 acres of bare land an organizationthat looks after a garden dedicated to the conservation of the Tropical DryEvergreen Forest. He has been involved in large-scale re-afforestation projectsin India and is a founding member of the Ecological Restoration Alliance ofIndia (era-india.org). He currently works closely with the Ramco group,developing environmental projects with them for their companies and CSR programme.
<p style="margin: 6px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; line-height: 24px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif;"><em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: 0px 0px;">trees of South India</em> is a result of over fifty years of dedicated work of restoring and researching the</p><p style="margin: 6px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; line-height: 24px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif;">forests and native trees of the Coromandel Coast of South India, all the way to the lower reaches of the</p><p style="margin: 6px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; line-height: 24px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif;">Western Ghats, and on to the hillocks of the Eastern Ghats-a contiguous woodland until a few thousand</p><p style="margin: 6px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; line-height: 24px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif;">years ago. Geographically, this range covers the states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and, to some extent, Odisha. Within this vast span there are a number of distinct forest types adapted to variations in rainfall, soil type, altitude and fauna.</p><p style="margin: 6px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; line-height: 24px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif;">Containing deep botanical knowledge and a wealth of information, this detailed and easy-to-use pictorial guide will help readers identify 190 ecologically important species of native trees and shrubs, including many rare and threatened plants such as satin wood, poplar-leaved ardor, Indian kino, red sanders and rosewood, etc. With growing awareness of the significance of native forests in the fight against climate change, this book is a powerful resource for amateur naturalists, plant explorers and conservationists interested in learning about indigenous flora and working towards their preservation.</p>
