Preserve lifeline

The turn of events is bizarre to say the least. A prestigious international recognition to one of India’s biodiversity hotspots should have brought cheers. Instead, within hours of Unesco giving the heritage status to 39 sites along the Western Ghats, two prominent Ghat states, Karnataka and Kerala, came out in the open, opposing the tag. They want the Central government not to take any step to implement Unesco mandate that comes with the tag.

. The tussle over the Western Ghats is not new. India received the Unesco tag after six long years of campaigning, interspersed by opposition from Ghat states. Similar opposition restricted the Central government from implementing the recommendations of an expert panel headed by former Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Professor Madhav Gadgil. The panel suggested separation of the Ghat into three zones and adopt different conservation practices for each. It also recommended establishing a legally empowered authority to oversee developmental activities in the Western Ghats region. “Gadgil panel’s recommendations are impractical. States have to strike a balance between development and conservation without sacrificing one for another,” said Kerala Chief Minister Oomen Chandy.

Within 48 hours, Karnataka forest minister C P Yogeshwar too opposed the heritage tag, arguing that it would lead to displacement of people. But environmentalists assert that the minister is not only trying to mislead people but also is masking the state government’s real intention of continuing with its development projects along the Ghat.

“The world heritage site designation would not lead to displacement of local communities. The sites – legally constituted national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, tiger reserves and reserved forests – would stand to benefit from increased visitation and provide additional livelihood support to local communities,” Vinod Mathur, dean at Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, and a member of the 36th session of the Unesco World Heritage Committee meeting at St Petersburg, Russia, told Deccan Herald.

The heritage designation was accorded to only 39 sites along the Western Gnats covering 8000 sq kms and not to the entire hill range which starts from the Tapir Valley in Maharashtra and goes southwards up to Kerala covering an area of about 1,40,000 sq kms.

Conservationists, however, have several questions on whether increased tourist flow is a good thing for Ghat biodiversity and how forest departments of the Ghat states will adopt best site management practices, which are always unique to a particular site. “If we are not prepared to face increased visitors following the Unesco tag, it will adversely impact the biodievrsity. We need to develop our own standards to conserve,” said K N Ganeshaiah, a scientist at the University of Agricultural Sciences in Bangalore and a member of the Gadgil panel.

The Western Ghats has a lot to preserve. The nature’s bounty include not only 5,000 plant and 650 tree species but also an exceptional variety of amphibians (179 species), reptiles (157 species) and fishes (219 species). Close to 80 per cent of tiger moths found here are endemic, which means they are not found anywhere else in the world outside Western Ghats.

The region also houses India’s largest population of globally threatened ‘landscape’ species including elephant, tigers and gaur. Other endangered species include lion-tailed macaque, Nilgiri tahr and Nilgiri langur.

The hill chain serves as water tower of peninsular India. Its high montane forest ecosystems influence the Indian monsoon weather pattern and present one of the best examples of the monsoon system.

Perched at the top of the Nilgiris and the other ranges in the Western Ghats there is an ecosystem, which needs special mention. This is the montane ecosystem that features tropical montane evergreen forests (called ‘sholas’) set in a matrix of grassland.

Unfortunately, the ecosystem is on a decline, which began almost 150 years when British came to stay in the Nilgiris.

“We had fought for the Western Ghats nomination repeatedly to ensure that this unique natural forest is preserved from the threat of mining and other dangers,” said Jawahar Sircar, former secretary to the Union culture ministry and current chairman of Prasar Bharati, who is familiar with the campaign during his previous posting in the government.

Ghat states, however, are not convinced on prioritising environment and biodiversity over developmental imperatives and political gains. But environmentalists say these fears are unsubstantiated and the government could use the heritage tag for the benefit of the states.

“Kalidasa likens the Western Ghats to a charming maiden. Once the lady was adorned by a saree of rich green hues; today her mantle lies in shreds and tatters. It has been torn asunder by the greed of the elite and gnawed at by the poor, striving to eke out subsistence. This is a great tragedy, for this hill range is the backbone of the ecology and economy of south India,” Gadgil said in his report.

While Sircar pointed out mining activities as a “very major problem”, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has pointed to hydroelectricity plants, irrigation, wind farms besides mining as major threats.

Assuaging apprehensions of states, Mathur said that concerns of states were required to be addressed though better communication and adoption of best management practice. There will not be any new law as the 39 sites would be managed in accordance with the requirements under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1973; Indian Forest Act, 1927; Forest Conservation Act, 1980, and Forest Rights Act, 2005.

“Shortly, the Unesco World Heritage Centre, Paris, would send an official communication to the Ministry of Environment and Forest about the inscription of 39 serial sites in the Western Ghats. The MoEF in turn would inform the states. Forests being on the Concurrent List, there should not be any issue,” according to Sircar.

Over-emphasis on the Western Ghats and other biodiversity hotspots, however, is ruining the ecology in lesser known but quite important spots in the Eastern Ghats and Aravalli for whom nobody cares. “This is dangerous. We must spend on our internal conservation model suiting the local needs,” rues Ganeshaiah.

Preserve lifeline

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