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(Online Course) Contemporary Issues for IAS Mains 2012: The Hindu - Protecting The Western Ghats
The Hindu
Protecting The Western Ghats
Q. Give an account on the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel report to the MoEF.
Answer: The Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel reporting to the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has made several salutary recommendations for the long-term conservation of this global biodiversity hotspot. Renowned for their flora and fauna, along with the Eastern Himalayas, these mountains and valleys hugging the Arabian Sea coast for a length of 1,500 km need an overarching protection regime that cares asmuch for the tribal people they have sheltered as for their biological diversity. The experts studied scientific reports and Supreme Court judgments, consulted the State governments involved, and listened to village panchayats.
If there is one single reason to protect the whole of the
Western Ghats, it is the phenomenon of endemism. According to reliable
estimates, they have more than 1,500 endemic species of flowering plants, and at
least 500 such species of fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. New
species continue to be reported. It is striking that the ghats represent an
extraordinary sliver of diverse life in a populous country and have in fact
survived with community support. The MoEF would therefore do well to heed the
advice of the expert group and unhesitatingly reject environmental clearance for
two controversial dam projects — Athirapilly in Kerala and Gundia in Karnataka.
The locations of both come under the most sensitive ecological zone category. In
this context, it is relevant that a decade ago the Kerala High Court directed
the State Electricity Board to repair and restore all existing dams to maximise
power output. Doing so can eliminate the need for a destructive new structure at
Athirapilly. A second issue relates to mining in Goa. Here the panel has rightly
called for an indefinite moratorium on clearances for new mines in sensitive
zones and phasing out of the activity in fragile areas by 2016. The guidelines
proposed are sound overall. Translating them into action through a statutory
apex
body such as a Western Ghats Ecological Authority holds the key.