Ecologically this area is an endemic hotspot for plants and is extremely rich in birdlife. The Nilgiri wood pigeon, Nilgiri flycatcher, white-bellied shortwing, Verditar flycatcher, black and orange flycatcher found in and around Pambar Shola are included in the Red Data list. There are eight species of plants that are endemic and are found only in this shola. The grassland slopes between Pambar and Shembaganur sholas have been declared as a Kurinji Reserve.

Vattakanal village came into existence about 150–200 years ago when the British decided to explore these hills. Many of the villagers originally came here as labourers or as workers in the convents and churches that were established around Kodaikanal. Presently, the major sources of income include plying taxi and auto services and letting out rooms to tourists. Villagers also tried potato cultivation and then stopped it as it was not profitable and caused soil erosion.

In 1989, a couple started a nursery of the different plants that were found in the Pambar Shola and now there are saplings of over 250 species.  One of the key tools used by them to generate awareness about the degradation of the shola was an audio-visual presentation to the villagers, which made the villagers take interest in conserving the shola.

By 1990, the shola tree nursery had become popular and saplings of all kinds (timber, fuelwood, shola and fruit) were taken from here and planted by the villagers. The villagers started planting fast-growing species as fences so that these could be used as fuelwood. Villagers made a conscious decision not to cut slow-growing shola species for fuelwood.

In 1992, a massive tree plantation was carried out by the villagers from Vattakanal which helped regenerate the forest. A group of youth registered as VOYCE (Vattakanal Organisation for Youth Community and Environment) in 1994 and they help conserve the shola. 

The motivation of the English couple who began the conservation initiative was to prevent the ‘majestic beauty’ of the village and the sholas from getting denuded fast as villagers used and sold firewood cut from the shola extensively. For the villagers, combatting the issue of soil erosion was another main motivation towards conserving the shola.

Since 1992, the villagers from Vattakanal along with the Forest Department have participated in conservation and tree planting. The youth of the village began to take interest in conserving the shola, and registered as VOYCE (Vattakanal Organisation for Youth Community and Environment) in 1994 in order to get funding for conservation- and community-related work.

Some of the activities carried out by VOYCE include:

• Regular and periodic cleaning of the area. This has resulted in drastic reduction of garbage inside the shola.

• Encouraging cultivation and multiplication of highly endangered plants including ferns, herbs, shrubs and trees. This is done by giving saplings to different people and institutions.

• Planting saplings in the degraded fringe areas with the help of the Forest Department.

• Campaigning against illegal logging in the mid hills.

• Defending village watersources from developers.

• Working on relocation and recycling of waste from Kodaikanal.

The tree nursery is one of the main conservation initiatives managed by the villagers. Alchemilla indica, a member of the rose family, was found in Pambar shola in the early 20th century and then almost disappeared. Now the specimens of this plant are multiplying and will probably grow well again in their original habitat. Psydrax ficiformis and Elaeocarpus blascoi, two tree species listed as ‘extinct or almost extinct’, were found here and are now being multiplied in the nursery. Genera Hova and Sonerita (which have only one species in that genus) and species of Plectranthus and Phyllanthus have also been successfully grown in the nursery. Crotalalaria beddomeana (a shrub) has also been propagated and planted extensively in and around Vatakkanal village.

Further, the people involved in conservation have learnt that in a plantation shola species have a tendency to invade the exotic species (which are used to provide cover from the sun). They have realized that where shola invasion is strong, the succession should be allowed to proceed and encouraged by selective weeding and species enrichment. Regarding removal of wattle, it was felt that manual weeding and ring barking at the base of fertile mother trees would speed up removal, and also that the cut material should be burnt or removed lest it act as cover for invasive species.

In addition to the flora, the village has provided sanctuary to a family of gaur, which has increased to more than 13 in number. Because of the efforts of the youth, the garbage from the shola has considerably reduced.

The FD erected a fence around the shola. The fencing was necessitated partly by the heavy influx of the tourists into the shola, but it has caused resentment amongst the villagers, as it goes against the ‘social fencing ‘ practiced by the villagers.

Planting in degraded areas belonging to the FD requires permission, and sometimes this causes conflict between the people and the FD.

A fire in 1998 under the Pond thermometer factory on the steep slopes of Pambar ravine led to seeding of exotic species (encouraged by the opened canopy), particularly acacia and surai, and now dense patches of these seedlings are well established.

Considering the Palni area as a whole, it is important to restore the grassland in the upper hills. Vast plantations of exotic species such as wattle, eucalyptus and pine and weeds such as Ageratum pose a threat to the habitat restoration of this area.

Tourism is a major threat to the shola. Waste washed down the Pambar stream due to large number of tourists coming to Ravine Falls has a detrimental impact on the stream and the shola. What seems to be demoralizing the villagers of Vatakkanal is that while part of the reserved forest is open to busloads of tourists who litter the place and go away, people who have been protecting the shola have no rights in this area.