Members of the Save Western Ghats Movement, Parisarakkagi Navu and other organisations have opposed the State government’s decision to reduce Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA) in the State by nearly 20%.
Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre has announced that the State government will consider the reduction of Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA) as indicated in the Union Ministry for Environment and Forests and Climate Change’s sixth draft notification, ESA SO 3060(E) dated 31-07-2024, to 16,114 sq km from 20,668 sq km.
This was decided in a meeting of elected representatives from the 11 Western Ghats districts. This is unacceptable. It is clearly against the long-term interests of not only the ecologically sensitive districts but also of the Earth, Belagavi-based environment advocacy group Parisarakkagi Naavu said in a release.
Activists have started writing to the Union government expressing concern over the move, the letter said.
All representatives of various parties have raised objections to the decision on ESA. However, their objections were unfair, unscientific and absurd. They were also against the concern expressed by various environment groups and missions like the Save Western Ghats march way back in 1989.
The Minister’s proposal of according ESA status only to 16,114 sq km covers those areas that already have the status of protected sanctuaries and national parks. Even though anthropological pressures continue to deteriorate those areas, the mandated Ecologically Sensitive Zones around most of them are not demarcated even today, it said.
Residents of the Western Ghats and the rest of the State benefit from the protected forests. Their water security, rainfall and balanced ecosystem depend on forests remaining as they are. However, it is sad to see that the political leaders from the region fail to see such issues, it said.
The ESA policy banks on activities like mining, thermal power production, polluting and hazardous industries, monoculture plantation, big buildings, large townships, unregulated hydro power projects. None of these affect the daily life of the residents. But if the area is reduced and these are allowed, then there arises a problem.
Western Ghats are considered the water tower of peninsular India and the climate gatekeeper and weather regulator for the entire sub-continent. It is mainly responsible for the monsoon and impacts weather and rainfall in half the globe, while supporting livelihood.
It is considered one of the world’s eight bio-diversity hotspots. It is considered India’s largest natural carbon sink holding 1.23 million gigagrams (Gt) in its vegetation and soils with annual incremental carbon held up to 37.5 million tonnes.
It stretches from the river Tapi to Kanyakumari, for around 1500 km and covers around 1.3 lakh km area.
It is present in six States, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. All these States need to protect it. Karnataka is estimated to have lost around 200 sq km of forests in the region between 2001 and 2017. The threats continue in the form of river diversion projects, power plants, mining and change in land use patterns.
Unscientific mountain cutting, widening of roads, laying or doubling of railway lines, timber extraction, unregulated tourism, establishment of resorts and other activities continue in the area unabated.
Implementation of the ESA is one of the ways to check them. But the legislators seem to have thrown such concerns to the wind and are catering to the demands of large industry. This is condemnable, the letter said.
Members Dileep Kamat, Sharada Gopal, Nitin Dhond, Nyla Coelho, Parashuramegowda, Mamatha Rai, Anjaneya Reddy R., Shobha Bhat, Parvathi Sriram, Mahesh Basapura have signed the letter sent to the Union Ministry.
Published - September 27, 2024 09:35 pm IST
