Towards development in Bio-

diverse regions..
Effort by:
Omkar Parishwad & Priti Jumde SPA Bhopal
Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a
given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. It is a measure of
the health of ecosystems. It is in part a function of climate
(Natural Heritage).
Species, Ecosystem and Genetic Diversity.
Western Ghats:
They form the catchment area for complex riverine drainage
systems that drain almost 40% of India.

The area is one of the worlds ten "Hottest biodiversity
hotspots" and has over 5000 species of flowering plants, 139
mammal species, 508 bird species and 179 amphibian
species, many undiscovered species lives in the Western
Ghats.
At least 325 globally threatened species occur in the Western
Ghats.
HADP: Balanced social &
economical development; National
development Council; 1965- Fifth
five year plan.
WGDP: High Level Committee for
Western Ghats in 1972, launched in
1974-75.
Forest Survey of India landuse
NDVI (Normalized differential
vegetation index)
Birdlife International for Western
Ghats and that by NRSA for Eastern
Ghats- Conservation priority.
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Receives high
rainfall
Receives low
rainfall
Rainfall in WG:
Godavari,
Krishna,
Kaveri
Mandovi,
Zuari
Areas: Maharshtra, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil
Nadu; Satpura Range, Sahyadhri, Servarayan
range, Tirumala range, Nilagiri malai range.
The northern portion of the narrow coastal plain
between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea is
known as the Konkan Coast or simply Konkan, the
central portion is called Kanara and the southern
portion is called Malabar region or the Malabar
Coast. The foothill region east of the Ghats in
Maharashtra is known as Desh, while the eastern
foothills of the central Karnataka state is known as
Malenadu. The largest city within the mountains is
the city of Pune (Poona), in the Desh region on the
eastern edge of the range.
The area is ecologically sensitive to development
and was declared an ecological hotspot in 1988
through the efforts of ecologist Norman Myers.
The GOI established many protected areas
including 2 biosphere reserves, 13 National parks
to restrict human access, several wildlife
sanctuaries to protect specific endangered species
and many Reserve Forests, which are all managed
by the forest departments of their respective state
to preserve some of the ecoregions still
undeveloped. Many National Parks were initially
Wildlife Sanctuaries.
The Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve comprising 5500 km
of the evergreen forests of Nagarahole, deciduous
forests of Bandipur National Park and Nugu in
Karnataka and adjoining regions of Wayanad and
Mudumalai National Park in the states of Kerala
and Tamil Nadu forms the largest contiguous
protected area in the Western Ghats.
The Western Ghats in Kerala is home to numerous
serene hill stations like Munnar, Ponmudi and
Waynad. The Silent Valley National Park in Kerala
is among the last tracts of virgin tropical evergreen
forest in India.
The Fifth Plan - Beneficiary oriented. Activities such as horticulture,
plantation, afforestation, minor irrigation, animal husbandry and tourism.
The Sixth Plan - balance in emphasis between beneficiary oriented and
infrastructural development schemes, keeping in view the vital importance
of ecological restoration and conservation.
The Seventh Plan - Maintenance of ecological balance essential for the life
support system. Preservation of the genetic diversity. Restoration of the
ecological damage caused by human interactions. Creation of awareness
among the people and educating them on the far-reaching implications of
ecological degradation and securing their active participation for the eco-
development schemes.
The Eighth Plan - taking up integrated development programmes on
compact watershed basis keeping in view the overriding priorities of eco-
development and eco-restoration as well as the basic needs of the hill
people like food, fodder, fuel and safe drinking water. Efforts would be
made to adopt a sub-plan approach in the WGDP.
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of
Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)
Ministry of Environment and Forestry (MOEF)
International Union for Conservation of Nature( IUCN)
Intensification of Forest Management (IFM)
Western Ghats Development Program (WGDP)
Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP)
Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF)
Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology & Environment
(ATREE)
Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA)
Special Central Assistance (SCA)
Forest Cover:
Forest cover between 1973 and 1995 in
the southern part of the Western Ghats
using satellite data. The study
area(Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu) of
approximately 40,000 sq.km showed a loss
of 25.6% in forest cover over 22 years.
The dense forest was reduced by 19.5%
and open forest decreased by 33.2%. As a
consequence, degraded forest increased
by 26.64%.
There has been a great deal of spatial
variability in the pattern of forest loss and
land use change throughout the region.
Our estimates of deforestation in the region
for the contemporary period are the highest
reported so far.
Before : 2009
After: 2010
INDUSTRY:
Gujarats industries are now an emerging threat to both the sensitive coastal and hill
ecosystems in the state. It has been estimated that 1,782 km2 of forest area in Gujarat
(12% of the current total forest area of the state) was lost between 1960 and 2000 as a
result of irrigation projects, agriculture, mining, road building, industry and the
legalization of encroachments.
Maharashtras MIDCs, adjacent to the Ghats. These centers are growing as a
consequence of easy access to cheap unskilled rural labor, water that comes from the
forested Ghats sector, energy, for example, the Pirangut Industrial Estate.
In Goa, the mining and tourism industries have severely impacted the integrity of its
ecologically diverse landscape elements.
Mangrove ecosystems in Maharashtra are under heavy pressure as a result of increase
in human activity.
ROADS
The need to link these two economic development zones (coastal zone and the Deccan
Plateau)
has led to more roads traversing the Ghats section to move goods and business
services.
An example is the road that connects Pune from the Deccan Plateau to Mahad on the
coast via the Western Ghats in Mulshi Taluka of Pune district, effectively fragmenting
the forests of the Western Ghats in this region.

AGRICULTURE
Traditional hill slope agriculture in forested areas from the Dangs southward into
Maharashtra
has long been considered an ecological problem.
Recently irrigated sugarcane based agriculture has replaced traditional agriculture.
Eco Sensitive Zone that has been converted to intensive agriculture.
Factors such as effects of monocropping patterns and the use of fertilizers,
herbicides
and pesticides can have serious implications on the biodiversity of the adjacent PAs.
This includes disruption of food chains where insects form major link species as
well as deranging their function of pollinating both forest plants and crops.
TOURISM
The tourist facilities on the boundaries of the PA have equally serious impacts
which create high levels of water pollution, large amounts of non-degradable waste,
noise, etc.
NEW TOWNSHIP
Conversation of agriculture land
No scientific development
Neo-townships in the Western Ghats have the most deleterious consequences for the
integrity of the eco-sensitive slopes of the Western Ghats.

Objective: Demarcate areas of the Western Ghats to be notified as Ecologically Sensitive.
This will require identifying of landscape elements with clearly defined norms of land use
management. Thus the proposed ESAs would have to be categorized into different types, as
their sensitivity levels and patterns vary across the Ghats. Two basic issues need to be
considered:
I. Existing ESAs: There are already notified ESAs supported by the MOEF and the
judiciary.
1. Protected Areas
2. ESAs around Protected Areas
3. Hill-station ESAs

II. Proposed ESAs: There are equally and even more biologically valuable potential ESAs
that must be categorised into different types for area specific management.
1. Areas Proposed but not Notified as ESAs
2. Reserve Forests and Closed Canopy Forests
3. Water Bodies
4. Sacred Groves
5. Specialized Ecosystems
6. Species Based ESAs
The Protected Areas have already been prioritized
based on their legal status into National Parks,
Wildlife Sanctuaries and recently newly suggested
as Community Reserves.

There are two other useful data sources that are
used to plan effective ESAs:

Planning a Wildlife Protected Area Network
Management of National Parks and Sanctuaries

ESAs around Protected Areas:
Currently the Ministry of Environment and Forest
(MOEF) has mandated that a 10 km buffer zone
around the Protected Areas should be notified as
an ecologically sensitive area. However, this
ruling has been repeatedly violated around the
PAs of the Northern sector of the Western Ghats.
There are 18 PAs within and at the periphery of
the northern part of the Ghats. The level of
protection has been varied and fluctuating due to
unclear management and differences in the prior
ownership of the land.
Hill-station ESAs:
Among the hill stations of the Western Ghats, only Panchgani, Mahabaleshwar, Matheran in
the Sahyadris have been classified as Ecologically Sensitive Areas. This leaves out areas such
as the new townships, old forts such as Panhala, Sinhagad etc. that area growing into urban
centers with serious environmental problems due to garbage dumping, water pollution, etc. as
their tourist carrying capacity has been exceeded.

Mahableshwar-Panchgani Ecologically Sensitive Area: 237.28 sq km
The Department of Environment, Maharashtra Government carried out a study on the
environmental status of the Mahabaleshwar plateau in 1982 and stated if not checked now, the
entire plateau may be destroyed within a decade and rendered unfit for human habitation.

(MoEF) had gazette a preliminary notification inviting public objections and suggestions for
the declaration of Pachmarhi as an Ecologically Sensitive Area. This was the first hill station to
be considered for declaration as ecologically fragile.


Examples:
tribal retaliations that occurred in and around Purna Wildlife Sanctuary in Gujarat a few
years ago. This led to the uncontrolled felling of a large number of trees in the Protected
Area, development of roads, industrial and urban development, tourist activity. This has
broken the continuity of forests.


Thus the Mahabaleshwar-Panchgani ESA Notification follows the same pattern as used
by the Pachmarhi draft ESA Notification. For the first time provisions were made for
heritage conservation, regulation of groundwater extraction and regulation of traffic.
These provisions were added keeping in mind the ecology of the hill station as an ESA.


Sahyadri Ecologically Sensitive Areas (SESA) 4200 sq km. in Karnataka in
Maharashtra was suggested as an ESA in the Northern Western Ghats. This was
first proposed by the National Committee for the Protection of Natural Resources
on June 21, 1999.


Matheran was constituted as an ESA in 2003. The Eco-Sensitive Area covers an
area of 214.73 sq km and a 200 m buffer zone and consists of the area of the
Matheran Municipal Council and its environs.

The ESAs in the northern sector of the Ghats is one strategy that could bring
about longterm sustainable land management in the Ghats.
Acts: Suggestions
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
ACT, 1986
The Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986 can
be suitably modified for Ecologically Sensitive Areas
WILDLIFE PROTECTION ACT,
AMENDED 1993
Ecologically Sensitive Area
be issued to provide a legal framework for Ecologically
Sensitive Areas under the Western Ghats Authority
whereby ESAs can be legally declared.
THE INDIAN FOREST ACT, 1927 ON
RESERVED
FORESTS
The limits of ESAs can
be decided using Geoinformatics to study vegetation,
slope, hydrology etc.
FOREST CONSERVATION ACT, 1980
WITH 1988 AMENDMENTS
This section of the Forest Conservation Act must
be suitably modified and used for protecting ESAs
from further degradation. It should not be possible
for State Governments to remove the Ecologically
Sensitive Area status once it has been created on
good scientific grounds.
MAHARASHTRA REGIONAL AND
TOWN PLANNING ACT 1966
Areas
that contain high biological values and are ecologically
fragile are NOT suitable for township development.
Thus most of the western ghats are not
suitable for developing such townships.
RISE
IN
TEMPERATURE
INCREASE IN
GREEN
HOUSE
GASES
MELTING
OF ICE
SEA
LEVEL
RISE
SINKING
COAST
TSUNAMI &
EARTHQUAKE
FLOOD
EXCESSIVE
SUN
STROKE
LOSS OF
BIODIVERSIT
Y
FOREST
FIRE
FOOD
SCARCITY
SPREAD OF
TROPICAL
DISEASES
Location and Relief:
Latitude & Altitiude
Distance from Sea
Distribution of land and water
Air pressure and wind:
Surface pressure and wind
Upper air circulation
Western Cyclones
A) Ernakulam
B) Idduki
C) Nilgiri


The objective of scheme is to conserve the forest area of the Western
Ghats except Nilgiris district. It is being implemented in Coimbatore,
Erode, Dindigul, Kanniyakumari, Madurai, Theni, Tirunelveli, Tiruppur and
Virudhunagar districts.
Fire prevention works, soil and moisture conservation works, anti-
poaching measures and solar fencing are some of the major activities
carried out under this scheme.
During 2010-2011, an amount of Rs. 2.70 crore has been spent under
this scheme. In Dindigul, Madurai and Theni districts, the scheme has
been implemented at a cost of Rs.1.82 crore through the Tamil Nadu
Watershed Development Agency fund. It is proposed to implement this
scheme during 2011-2012 with an outlay of Rs.3.10 crore.
The erstwhile Integrated Forest Protection Scheme aimed at
protecting the forest resource by strengthening protection measures
to control forest fires, survey and demarcation of forest boundaries
to prevent encroachment by construction of cairns, carrying out fire
prevention works, improvement of roads for better protection,
provision of better communication facilities, preparation of working
plans for scientific management of forest divisions etc.
With a view to make the Integrated Forest Protection Scheme more
broad based, Government of India revised and renamed this scheme
as "Intensification of Forest Management". In addition to the above
components, four new components have been added in the existing
scheme, which are as follows:
Protection and Conservation of Sacred Groves.
Conservation and Restoration of Unique Vegetation and
Ecosystems.
Control and Eradication of Forest Invasive species.
Preparedness for Meeting Challenges of Bamboo Flowering and
Improving management of Bamboo forests.
Under the Grants-in-aid recommended by the 12th Finance Commission
Rs.27.35 crore was spent for maintenance of forests from 2005-2006 to
2009-2010.
The 13th Finance Commission has recommended an amount of
Rs.142.48 crore for Tamil Nadu towards grants-in-aid for Forests for the
period 2010-2011 to 2014-2015 for development of forests and
preservation of forest wealth.
During 2010-2011 the scheme was implemented at an outlay of Rs.6.88
crore. During 2011-2012, the scheme is proposed to be implemented at
an outlay of Rs. 28.74 crore.