Kerala Bans Indiscriminate Geotagging of Forest Locations

Indiscriminate geotagging of locations in Kerala’s forests is now illegal. The Kerala government’s Forest Department has decided to find locations in the state’s forests that have been illegally geotagged by individuals on online map platforms and remove them. Rajesh Ravindran, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Head of Forest Force for the state forest department, told The Indian Express that this is being done to prevent people from entering sensitive ecological spots at the expense of their lives and that of the animals and fauna which exist there. Earlier, Kozhikode Divisional Forest Officer M Joshil had sought the removal of Google Maps listings inside reserve forests in his district noting that these were encouraging illegal entry. Here’s what to know. Geotagging is the process of assigning a geographical location to a photo or video or any other pictorial representation on an online map. The process becomes illegal, according to the Kerala state government, if the location being added to the map is “a sensitive ecological spot”. The state Forest Department has referred illegal geotagging to their IT wing to collate a list of such illegally tagged locations, which will then be forwarded to the Forest Management Wing. What can be done about already geotagged locations? The forest department is likely to submit a final list of illegally geotagged locations to online map platforms to get them to remove the tags. The department also plans to identify the individuals who uploaded the locations within the reserve and protected forest areas and initiate legal action. “Geo-tagging these sensitive locations on web mapping and navigation platforms had led to unlawful entry into reserve forests,” Ravindran said. According to him, even trekking trails used by forest department staff inside protected forest patches in Silent Valley have been made available on online maps. “These are ecologically sensitive locations,” Ravindran said. Why is illegal geotagging a worry? The places which are being illegally tagged are mountainous regions prone to disasters including mudslides, forest officials said. “Tourists in an effort to see the Kerala monsoon in all its beauty are stepping into such dangerous zones. The other reason to deem some geotagging as illegal is that wildlife corridors are being exposed. We do not want humans to come in contact with the big cats, elephants and bison without the permission of the forest staff,” Ravindran said. Follow our daily newsletter so you never miss anything important. On Wednesday, we answer readers' questions. “The sanctity of such areas will have to be preserved and not anyone can enter these places for tourism purposes,” he added. Ravindran said that he hopes online maps remove such illegal geotagged locations from their platforms once “the forest department writes to them”. What other action is being planned? Ravindran said that he has instructed his team to get in touch with human inhabitations near these sensitive zones. “We are in touch with the local bodies to set up a regulatory mechanism to prevent illegal entry and tagging,” he said.