No-Development Zones In Western Ghats Under Scrutiny

The Gore Effect? No-Development Zones In Western Ghats Under Scrutiny

With fossil fuel lobbyists and naysayers in the global warming debate trumpeting Al Gore's failure at predicting when the Arctic ice will melt, India too seems to be going a change. The furious debate over whether the Western Ghats will be protected from extensive development is not going to die down anytime soon. Environment minister Prakash Javadekar has indicated that the Centre has asked the 6 southern as well as western states of India falling in the Western Ghats region to conduct a survey of the area to define ecologically sensitive zones in the biodiversity rich region.

Media reports are now debating whether this means the previous recommendations of having a massive no-development zone now stands nullified. With critics crowing that Gore has been exposed and the report was a lie, perhaps the scientists would like to step in and explain that research involves hypotheses but global warming is an established fact. No one is imagining the thick smog and massive number of chronic and fatal respiratory diseases as a result of this. People can even see the black poisonous smoke of industrial effluents being spewed into the air. Reports are wrong often, but seeing is believing.

However, there are chances that the biodiversity hotspots of the Western Ghats may be safe from the ill effects of unsustainable development. The 6 states namely Gujarat, Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra have voiced their objections to the recommendations made by both panels-the Gadgil as well as the Kasturirangan.

Javadekar has also said that the 2 panels had relied on satellite data while the attemt is now to find the actual situation on the ground. If this means more protection for the biodiversity of the Western Ghats, this would be a massive achievement.

The ground survey is a step in another direction. The Kasturirangan panel had said that one-third of the hills should be protected from development. But the Gadgil panel had gone one step ahead and said the entire Western Ghats should be protected from development that destroys its fragile economy.

The Western Ghats is a UNESCO World Heritage Site which is home to around 500 endemic species of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians and fish. Ecologists firmly hold that the region's biodiversity must be protected. Just how tough is the situation in the Western Ghats? Reports suggest a dismal picture. Between 1927 and 1990, the Western Ghats lost around 40% of the forest cover to development in the form of coffee and tea plantations as well as agricultural farming. Endemic birds such as the Nilgiri wood pigeon and mammals such as the Malabar civet are now on the endangered list.

A national debate has been proposed by the RSS while the states are up in arms against the contentious issues. A Goan NGO is talking recourse to legal action to protect the Gadgil panel report from being trashed. On the other hand, some states are up in arms against the halt of development such as mining in Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg on which people depend for their livelihood. Development versus ecology only becomes a debate in the absence of sustainable development. Stakeholders and decision makers should consider this point before taking their stand. Al Gore can say what he believes in. That is what democracy is all about.