Western Ghats, a vital carbon sink, is under threat

Forests occupy some 78 million hectares of India, constituting about 21% of its land area. Thus, the carbon stock of these forests is quite significant. Most forests, except Protected Areas (PA) and some other conservation zone forests, however, are suffering various stages of degradation from internal factors like soil degradation (soil erosion, grazing pressure) or poor seeding (absence of seed mother trees) and external factors like fire and biotic interference. Of late, uncontrolled tourism and pressure for development has aggravated the situation. All these factors have seriously impacted the carbon sequestration potential of these forests, which still have significant amounts of carbon.

The Western Ghats are a unique region of India, extending from the southern tip of Gujarat all the way down to Kerala, encompassing along the way the coastal and hilly terrains of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa and Tamil Nadu. In terms of area, it is 1,600 km long and 100 km wide, thus covering 1,60,000 sq km. The Western Ghats are a global biodiversity hotspot and a treasure trove of biological diversity, harbouring many endemic species of flowering plants, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals and invertebrates. However, the area also supports a population of approximately five crore people, and includes areas with high human population density.

The region, with only 5% the area of India has 27% of its species, that is about 1,000 species, and supports a unique ecosystem of forests, wildlife and biodiversity with one of the 10 biological hotspots of the world, two biological reserve spheres, 39 national parks and sanctuaries and 40% of India's river-drained areas.

However, this rich biodiversity area is facing serious conservation issues. Western Ghats forest cover has already reduced by more than 40% in the last century as pristine forests were diverted for agriculture, large-scale projects, housing and plantations. The present Western Ghats forest cover is barely 87,000 sq km, with the deforestation rate showing no sign of abatement as revealed by the latest Forest Survey of India report.

A study in the southern region, comprising the states of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, showed that between 1920 and 1990, about 40% of the original vegetation cover was lost or converted to another form of land use. According to a study based on remote sensing data, the loss of forest cover between 1973 and 1995 in the southern part of the Western Ghats was estimated to be 25.6%.

Consequently, the carbon assimilation potential of this vital zone of India has been seriously affected, adding to the climate change-related anthropological, vegetation and water woes of the region and the peninsular southern part of India, which depends on the rivers originating in these hilly forested lands.

The moist deciduous forests and moist teak forest sub-type have faced maximum logging of teak trees and conversion of them into plantations has disturbed the site condition. The evergreen and semi-evergreen forests were subjected to removal of large-girth trees in the pre-1980 era to meet the demands of the plywood industries, though since then these have been saved from further logging due to the ban on green felling. For restoration of the highly degraded sites with canopy density less than 40%, they are being treated with aided natural regeneration option to encourage coppice growth. In other areas, too, gap-planting with local and native trees is being done as the preferred silviculture operation. All these are expected to add to the carbon pool in the region.

A study has shown that while natural forests contribute about 8% of the carbon sequestration in the Western Ghats, planted trees - most of them of acacia and eucalyptus species - is of the order of 21%. This might cause temptation to go in for artificial planting, but this will never be able to match the biodiversity of a natural forest and therefore forests should remain the main strategy to build carbon sink. Hence, the conservation and protection of the natural forests of the area is of prime importance, including restoration of degraded forests.

Such restoration will help India meet its Paris Climate Change commitment of addition of about 2-3 billion tonnes of carbon sink by 2030. But this is a massive challenge and will need greater action on the ground by the government.

At the same time, the issues and challenges facing forest conservation in the Western Ghats will also have to be tackled appropriately as the development aspirations of the region have a direct impact on them. A balance will have to be struck between the two as huge tracts of forest land have already been cleared in the past for mega multi–purpose projects, agriculture and resettlement, etc. Such demands are bound to increase due to increased population. Large-scale removal and clearance of forests for fast-growing trees for industrial purposes and grant of unrestricted concessional rights and privileges of grazing and collection of firewood, bamboo and other non-timber forest products, etc., to people on one hand and extending cheap raw material to wood-based industries on the other hand ostensibly for economic development have contributed to degradation of ecologically-sensitive forests alike where more than a million hectares of forest land were diverted for projects alone.

It is imperative now that these forests be looked upon as precious yet exhaustible natural resources, to be protected for inter-generational equity and not destroyed indiscriminately for consumption.

Although conservation issues are largely national issues, they are all closely linked to international developments, particularly in climate change and global warming discussions, where international cooperation and interdependence have assumed significance in ongoing global negotiations. Policymakers will do well to remember the adverse effects that would befall the nation in case of any attempt to dilute our commitments towards these concerns.

(The writer is a former principal chief conservator of forests, Karnataka)