Conservation of Western Ghats

Context: A landslide in Maharashtra’s Raigad district has brought back into focus the 2011 Dr Madhav Gadgil report on conservation of the Western Ghats.

Western Ghats

The Western Ghats are a 1,600-km-long chain of mountains running parallel to India’s Western Coast that traverse through the states of Kerala, Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka.  It is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site. These mountains hold great significance due to the following reasons:

• Monsoon Influence:
  • The Western Ghats play a crucial role in shaping India’s monsoon weather patterns.
  • They act as a barrier to the rain-laden monsoon winds that arrive from the south-west during the monsoon season.
  • The mountains force the moisture-laden winds to rise and cool, resulting in heavy rainfall along the windward side and creating a rain shadow effect on the leeward side.
• Climatic Regulation:
  • The presence of the Western Ghats helps in mediating the warm tropical climate of the region.
  • By blocking the direct impact of the monsoon winds, they contribute to the creation of diverse microclimates and ecosystems across the Western Ghats region.
• Biodiversity Hotspot:
  • The Western Ghats are renowned for their rich biodiversity.
  • They are home to a wide variety of plant and animal species, including tropical evergreen forests and many endemic species found nowhere else on Earth.
• Globally Threatened Species:
  • The Western Ghats host a significant number of endangered and globally threatened species.
  • Approximately 325 species found in this region are listed as globally threatened, making conservation efforts in the area crucial to safeguarding these vulnerable species.
• Water Source: The Western Ghats act as a major source of water for numerous rivers (Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri), streams, and lakes in the region.
• Cultural and Indigenous Importance:
  • The Western Ghats have cultural significance as they are home to various indigenous communities that have lived in harmony with nature for centuries.
  • The region’s unique cultural heritage and traditional knowledge add to its overall value.
• Ecotourism and Recreation:
  • The Western Ghats attract tourists and nature enthusiasts due to their scenic beauty, diverse landscapes, and abundant wildlife.
  • The region offers opportunities for ecotourism, hiking, trekking, and other outdoor activities, contributing to the local economy.

Major threats faced by Western Ghats

• Unchecked mining: With a steep increase in iron ore prices and demand for lower grade ores, mining activities have grown rapidly especially in Goa and often in violation of all laws, resulting in serious environmental damage and social disruption.
  • Sand mining has emerged as a major threat in Kerala. Unsustainable mining has increased vulnerability to landslides, damaged water sources and agriculture, thus negatively affected the livelihoods of the people living in those areas.
• Livestock grazing: Livestock grazing within and bordering protected areas by high densities of livestock (cattle and goats) is a serious problem because it causes habitat degradation. Growth in livestock densities often accompany human population growth, resulting in serious conflicts between villagers and forest department officials.
• Human-Wildlife conflict: Given that the Western Ghats exists within an intensely human-dominated landscape, human-wildlife conflicts are a common phenomenon. For example, villagers living close to Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary in the State of Karnataka, lose approximately 11 percent of their annual grain production to raiding elephants annually (CEPF).
• Extraction of forest produce: Human communities living within and adjacent to protected areas in the Western Ghats are often dependent on extraction of NTFPs to meet a diversity of subsistence and commercial needs. With rising population and changing consumption patterns, sustainability of NTFP is a critical issue.
• Encroachment by human settlements: Human settlements where legal and/or traditional rights of land ownership occur both within and outside protected areas all across the Western Ghats and represent a significant landscape level threat.
• Plantations: Agroforestry systems in the Western Ghats are today dominated by tea, coffee, rubber and monocultures of various species, including the recently introduced oil palm. Over the years, plantations of cash crops have displaced extensive patches of natural forests throughout the Western Ghats and are frequently associated with encroachment of surrounding forest areas.
• Hydropower projects: Large dam projects in Western Ghats have resulted in environmental and social disruption despite cost benefit analyses and environmental impact assessments being done by the government and companies.
• Pollution: The unrestricted use of agrochemicals in the vicinity of forests, particularly in tea and coffee estates, causes serious damage to aquatic and forest ecosystems.
• Deforestation: Conversion of forest land into agricultural land or for commercial purpose like tourism, illegal logging for timber have had significant negative effects on biodiversity.
• Climate change: According to the Second National Communication on Climate Change (NATCOM, 2012), the Western Ghats is expected to experience increase in temperature regimes, rainfall and extreme events due to climate change.
  • According to a research, Climate change in the next half a century could severely reduce the extent of suitable habitats for wildlife endemic to the Western Ghats, such as the Indian brown mongoose.

Committees for Western Ghats and their recommendations

• The Gadgil Commission was formed in 2010 by the Ministry of Environment to study the impact of population pressure, climate change, and development activities on the Western Ghats.

Key Observations of Gadgil Report

The key recommendations of the report on the conservation of the Western Ghats include:

• Classification of Ecologically Sensitive Zones (ESZ):
  • The report proposed the categorization of 64 percent of the Western Ghats, spanning six states, into Ecologically Sensitive Zones called ESZ 1, ESZ 2, and ESZ 3.
  • The entire region was also recommended to be designated as an Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA).
• Developmental Activities Restrictions:
  • In ESZ 1, all developmental activities such as mining, construction of thermal power plants, and dams were to be halted.
  • Decommissioning of similar projects that have completed their shelf life in ESZ 1 was also recommended.
• Hydel Projects: The report advised against granting environmental clearance to both the Athirappilly and Gundia hydel project sites as they fell within ESZ 1.
• Mining in Goa:
  • An indefinite moratorium on new environmental clearances for mining in ESZs 1 and 2 in Goa was suggested.
  • Mining in Ecologically Sensitive Zone 1 was to be phased out by 2016, while existing mining in Ecologically Sensitive Zone 2 was to continue under strict regulation with an effective system of social audit.
• Pollution Control:
  • In Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts of Maharashtra (ESZs 1 and 2), no new polluting (red and orange category) industries, including coal-based power plants, should be permitted to be established.
  • Existing red and orange category industries were to switch to zero pollution by 2016.
• Prohibition of Certain Activities:
  • Genetically modified crops were not to be allowed.
  • The use of plastic bags was to be prohibited.
  • Establishing new Special Economic Zones, new hill stations, changing land use from farmland to non-farm land, and diverting rivers were also discouraged.
• Bottom-to-Top Approach:
  • The report recommended a decentralized approach in the governance of the environment, giving more power to local authorities.
  • It proposed the establishment of a Western Ghats Ecology Authority under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, as a professional body to manage the ecology of the region and ensure sustainable development.
• Ban on Single Commercial Crops:
  • Growing single commercial crops like tea, coffee, cardamom, rubber, banana, and pineapple was advised against due to their negative impact on the environment.
  • The report advocated for a shift to more sustainable farming practices in the Western Ghats.
• Involvement of Citizens: The report urged the Ministry of Environment and Forests to involve citizens actively, including implementing provisions of the Community Forest Resources of the Forest Rights Act.
• Addressing Settlement Patterns and Development: The report highlighted the adverse effects of new settlement patterns and development, such as hill-cutting and changes in slope profiles due to roads, terracing, and construction. Measures to mitigate these impacts were recommended.

Kasturirangan Committee

• The recommendations of the Gadgil panel faced resistance from stakeholder states who were concerned about potential hindrance to development and loss of livelihood.
• In response to the objections and concerns, a High-Level Working Group on Western Ghats, led by Dr. K Kasturirangan, was constituted.
  • This panel formulated a report that reduced the area designated as ecologically sensitive to 37 percent, down from the 64 percent recommended by the Gadgil panel.
  • Different Categories: The Kasturirangan-led panel introduced red, orange, and green categories to regulate different activities in the Western Ghats.
    • The red list included a ban on certain activities like mining and thermal plants, while the green category allowed agricultural and horticultural activities.
• Controversy and Criticism: The Kasturirangan report faced criticism from Gadgil, who deemed it faulty and unscientific. He argued that the report perverted the essence of his panel’s recommendations and ignored the role of local communities in economic decisions.

Way forward

• There is a need for better understanding of the role of biodiversity in ecosystem functions and related ecosystem services. This would also help in eliciting greater civil society support and enhanced political will to conserve the Western Ghats.
• Land use policy and law enforcement should ensure that illegal hunting, deforestation, land use change and other human actions that contribute to livelihoods but hamper biodiversity conservation are kept in check.
• There is a need for policy changes that promote better management of human-wildlife conflict, financial incentives to encourage biodiversity-friendly farming and other incentive schemes such as payments for ecosystem services.
• A balance between conservation efforts and development should be sought and concerned state governments should come to a consensus for implementation of ESA in Western Ghats.

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