By Manish Desai*
UNESCO's World
Heritage Committee inscribed the Western Ghats of India as a world heritage
site on July 1.The tag came
at the 36th session of the World Heritage Committee (WHC) in St Petersburg in
Russia.
Altogether 39 sites that dot the Western Ghats landscape will be part
of the region that has been designated as World Heritage Site.Kerala leads with 20 sites being inscribed
in the heritage list followed by Karnataka with ten, Tamil Nadu five
and Maharashtra four
.
List
of Western Ghats World Heritage clusters in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala and
TN
MAHARASHTRA
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Kaas Plateau
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Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary
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Chandoli National Park
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Radhanagari Wildlife Sanctuary
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KARNATAKA
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Padinalknad Reserved Forest
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Kerti Reserved Forest
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Aralam Wildlife Sanctuary
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Kudremukh National Park
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Someshwara Wildlife Sanctuary
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Someshwara Reserved Forest
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Agumbe Reserved Forest
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Balahalli Reserved Forest
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KERALA - TAMILNADU
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Kalakad- Tiger Reserve,
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Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary,
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Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary,
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Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary
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Kulathupuzha Range,
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Palode Range
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Periyar Tiger Reserve
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Ranni Forest Division
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Konni Forest Division
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Achankovil Forest Division
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Srivilliputtur Wildlife
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Tirunelveli North Forest Division
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Eravikulam National Park
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Grass Hills National Park
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Karian Shola National Park
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Parambikulam Wildlife
Sanctuary,
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Mankulam Range,
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Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary
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Mannavan Shola
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Silent Valley National Park
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New Amarambalam Reserve
Forest
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Mukurti National Park
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Kalikavu Range
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Attapadi Reserved Forest
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While environmentalists are
rejoicing that constant international scrutiny will curb amassment of forest
wealth by vested interests, the state governments have given a guarded
reaction. Skeptics are of the view that the tag willmake little difference to many ecologicaly destructive projects that have been
implemented or are proposed in the Western Ghats.
Recognition Comes After Rejection
The world
heritage tag for the Western Ghats has come after many glitches. The proposal
for including 39 sites in the Western Ghats as world heritage was rejected by
the World Heritage Committee in its 35th meeting last year. When the proposal
for it was re-submitted for consideration this year, it was once again on the
verge of getting rejected. The
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) suggested that India
should review and refine the proposal to redefine the boundaries of the
proposed sites to maintain the contiguity of the forests. The Indiandelegation in St Petersburg,
however, managed to convince the world heritage committee on the merits of
India’s proposal and also discussed the issue with 21 members of the committee.
The intense lobbying paid off, as the Russian delegation moved a proposal which
was backed by several Asian and African nations.
Importance of Western Ghats
Older than the Himalayas, the
Western Ghats are the treasure trove of bio-diversity. In fact they are
recognized as one of the 8 global hot-spots harbouring a wealth of flora, fauna. The Western Ghats which
begin at theDangs in Gujarat, run through the western parts of
Maharashtra, the tiny state of Goa, the Malnad region
of Karnataka and the highlands of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, before ending near Kanyakumari.
The Ghats are currently known to have more than 5,000
plant and 140 mammal species, 16 of which are endemic, i.e. species found in
that area alone. Notably among these being the lion-tailed macaque and the Nilgiri tahr. Out of
179 species of amphibians found in the Western Ghats, 138 are endemic to the
region. It has 508 bird
species, 16 of which are endemic, including the Nilgiri flycatcher and the Malabar parakeet.
The
Western Ghats are considered ecologically sensitive region with nearly 52
species moving one step closer to extinction. Habitat change,
over-exploitation, pollution and climate change are the principle pressures
causing bio-diversity loss.
The need to protect the ecology
of the Western Ghats can hardly be over-emphasized.
The UNESCO Mandate
The UNESCO has noted with
appreciation India’s ongoing commitment to conserving high bio-diversity values
of the Western Ghats, but has clearly underlined that more needs to be done.
The World Heritage Committee has suggested to the Indian Government to take
into account the recommendations of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel. It
has also asked the government to strengthen buffer zones to provide increased
protection within the nominated sites. The UN body also wants to promote
participatory governance approaches through community participation to ensure
equitable sharing of benefits. The panel has said that no industrial activity
should be allowed without the consent of the locals.
The Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel, was constituted by the Ministry of
Environment & Forests in February 2010 under the chairmanship of noted
environmental expert Prof. Madhav Gadgil. The panel has identified several eco-sensitive zones
in the region and recommended that they should be declared no-go areas.
Among
its recommendations, the panel has also called for scrapping of Karnataka's Gundia and Kerala's Athirapally hydro-projects, and gradual phasing
out of mining activities in ecologically highly-sensitive areas of Goa by
2016. It has also suggested
setting up of a Western Ghats Ecology Authority (WGEA), as a statutory
authority appointed by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, with the powers
under Section 3 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
The 24-member body is to have
ecologists, scientists, representatives of civil society, as well as tribal
groups, officials from the Union Environment Ministry, Planning Commission,
National Biodiversity Authority, Central Pollution Control Board, and
representatives of the state government as its members.
Both the Karnataka and
Kerala state governments have been opposed to the recommendation to scrap the
hydro projects in their respective regions.
The Karnataka Government had also
been opposing the World Heritage tag citing regulatory hurdles in the
development of places falling under these regions. Goa's lackadaisical attitude
in conserving the Western Ghats has resulted in the state not getting any site
in the list of 39. Maharashtra
Government has welcomed the World Heritage Status to Western Ghats, but that is
unlikely to change the state’s present stance of not imposing a complete ban on
mining and industries, except in the core areas. The state, nevertheless is encouraging green fuel
movement in the villages of Western Ghats by way of up to 75% subsidy on biogas
and 50% subsidy on shift to low yielding cattle, which rely on domestic fodder
instead of open grazing.
Impact of UNESCO World Heritage
Site
The World Heritage status could
have implications on development in and around these sites as UNESCO prescribes
creation of additional buffer zones around the natural world heritage sites and
putting in place an overarching management authority for conservation of the
selected 39 serial sites. Conservationists
also fear a mad-rush to these sensitive areas in the guise of eco-tourism. “This
might trigger commercial activities in the Western Ghats, followed by
construction activities like building roads, structures, power lines and other
infrastructure, which will defeat the purpose of protecting the green cover and
habitat protection,” says an activist associated with the Kudremukh Wildlife Foundation in Karnataka.
The Western Ghats expert Dr. Madhav Gadgil has welcomed the UNESCO gesture and
said “It will hopefully strengthen the Acts like Biological
Diversity Act of 2002, which empowers the local bodies like panchayats to take appropriate steps for
conservation.” The
participation of locals is going to be crucial in determining the success of conservation
efforts and promising sustainable development.
All along the Western Ghats in
five states, there are lakhs of
tribal people who have made their homes in theghats.The Thodas of Nilgiris, Soligas of BR
Hills, Malekudiyas of Belthangady, Halakki Vokkals of Uttara Kannada, the Sidhis of Kumta, Paniyas of Waynad, Kattunayakans of Malabar and many others in Goa and
Maharashtra are some of them. The Perspective Plan for Protection of
Biodiversity 2001-16 states that “tribal communities are part of the
biodiversity and the state governments should not take them out of their
natural surroundings, but empower them democratically and let the government
facilities go to them.”
The ground situation for people’s
participation in development is conducive in most parts of the Western Ghats.The region has some
of the highest levels of literacy in the country, and a high level of
environmental awareness. The democratic institutions are well entrenched, and
Kerala leads the country in capacity building and empowering ofPanchayat Raj
Institutions. Goa has recently concluded a very interesting exercise, Regional
Plan 2021, of taking inputs from Gram Sabhas in deciding on the land use policies.
Evidently, Western Ghats are an appropriate region of the country to attempt to
make the transition towards an inclusive, caring and environment friendly mode
of development.
(Manish Desai is a
Freelance Writer. Views expressed by the author in this article are his own and
do not necessarily reflect the views of news.bdtv.in)