The Forest Department will set up a butterfly park at the Elephant Camp at Konni as part of the third phase of eco-tourism development in this part of the State.

P. Pukazhenthi, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), said the park was aimed at combining eco-tourism with an eye-catching display of butterflies and breeding of its different species.

He said the draft plan had already been submitted to the tourism department. The proposed park would be home to hundreds of colourful butterflies, including some rare species. The park would be enclosed in a polycarbonate dome suitably designed for weather control. It would be designed in such a way that it could educate the visitors about how the systems of nature work, using this insect as a model. The park would have a conservatory, museum and an audio-visual room aimed at creating awareness among the general public as well as students. A breeding house displaying development of a butterfly from larva to pupa and to the adult stage would be another major attraction. The old Forest Inspection Bungalow that dates back to 1915 at Konni would be converted into a heritage interpretation centre.

Depletion of green cover in cities and in certain village areas owing to the construction boom was identified as a major threat to butterfly population. Certain rare species of butterflies had already become extinct and the proposed park has much significance in this respect, the DFO said.

He said a modern inspection bungalow with bathing ghats and river watch pavilion would be constructed on the banks of river Achenkovil. The Forest and Tourism Departments had jointly developed an eco-tourism centre at the nine-acre Elephant Camp in January, 2007, making it a base station facilitating various eco-tourism activities in the region. The camp, at present, housed an elephant kraal, elephant shelters, elephant museum, mini-theatre, administrative block, a biogas plant, retiring rooms for mahouts and shops that sell forest produce.

Elephant safari was a major tourist attraction at the camp, besides rock climbing and jungle trek as part of the eco-tourism project, the DFO said.