HERITAGE AND CONSERVATION

The Maharaja Sayajirao University, Vadodara MURP’2014-16 | PARTH SADARIA

Western Ghats Region

Contents

• Introduction

• Parameters for delineation of region

• Biospheres

• Councils & Programs

• Five Year Plans

• Land Use change & Polices

• Planning of ESA’s in Western Ghats: WGEEP

• Impacts

• Impacts of Global Warming on Western Ghats

• Current Schemes (2011-12)-WGDP

• Intensification of Forest Management

Introduction

• What is natural conservation?

• Biodiversity• 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 region

• The Western Ghats Hill Ranges run to a length of about 1600 Kms.,more or less parallel to the west coast of Maharashtra starting from themouth of river Tapti in Dhule district of Maharashtra and ending atKanyakumari, the southern-most tip of India in Tamil Nadu.

• Activities that aim to protect the natural environment and reduce or limit the impacts of human activity towards it • Intrinsic value of nature• Environmental problems are caused by human exploitation• We are ethically obliged to protect the environment

SOURCE :planning commission,moef

• Their positioning makes the Western Ghats biologically rich andbiogeographically unique-a veritable treasure house of biodiversity.

• Though covering an area of 1,80,000 square kilometres, or just under6% of the land area of India, the Western Ghats contain more than30% of all plant, fish, flora-fauna, bird, and mammal species found inIndia.

• Many species are endemic, such as the Nilgiri tahr (Hemitragushylocrius) and the Lion-tailed macaque (Macaca silenus), in fact 50%of India’s amphibians and 67% of fish species are endemic to thisregion.

• Western ghat form the catchment area for complex riverine drainage systems that drain almost 40% of India.

• The area is one of the world’s 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.

Parameters for delineation of region• 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, 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.

Biospheres

• Many National Parks were initially Wildlife Sanctuaries.

• The Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve comprising 5500 km² of the evergreen forests of Nagarahole, deciduous forests of BandipurNational 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.

• Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve comprising 1828 km² of Neyyar, Peppara and Shenduruny Wildlife Sanctuary and their adjoining areas.

• 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 eco-regions still undeveloped.

Five Year Plans• The Fifth Plan (1974–1979) - Beneficiary oriented. Activities such as

horticulture, plantation, afforestation, minor irrigation, animal husbandry and

tourism.

• The Sixth Plan(1980–1985) - balance in emphasis between beneficiary

oriented and infrastructural development schemes, keeping in view the vital

importance of ecological restoration and conservation.

• The Seventh Plan(1985–1990) - 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(1992–1997) - 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.

Councils & Programs• 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)

Land Use change & Polices

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.

1975

1995

Planning of ESA’s in Western Ghats: WGEEPObjective:

• Demarcate areas of the Western Ghats to be notified as EcologicallySensitive.

• This will require identifying of landscape elements with clearly definednorms 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:• Existing ESAs: There are already notified ESAs supported by the MOEF and

the judiciary.1. Protected Areas2. ESAs around Protected Areas3. Hill-station ESAs• Proposed ESAs: There are equally and even more biologically valuable

potential ESAs that must be categorised into different types for area specificmanagement.

1. Areas Proposed but not Notified as ESAs2. Reserve Forests and Closed Canopy Forests3. Water Bodies4. Sacred Groves5. Specialized Ecosystems6. 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.

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 forthe declaration of Pachmarhi as an Ecologically Sensitive Area. This was the

first hill station to be considered fordeclaration as ‘ecologically fragile’.

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 Ecologically Sensitive Areas 214.73 sq km• It was constituted as an ESA in 2003. • 200 m buffer zone and consists of the area of the Matheran Municipal Council

and its environs.

Acts: Suggestions

THE INDIAN FOREST ACT, 1927 ON RESERVEDFORESTS

The limits of ESAs canbe decided using Geo-informatics to study vegetation,slope, hydrology etc.

MAHARASHTRA REGIONAL ANDTOWN PLANNING ACT 1966

Areas that contain high biological values and are ecologicallyfragile are NOT suitable for township development.Thus most of the western ghats are not suitable for developing such townships.

FOREST CONSERVATION ACT, 1980WITH 1988 AMENDMENTS

This section of the Forest Conservation Act mustbe suitably modified and used for protecting ESAsfrom further degradation. It should not be possiblefor State Governments to remove the EcologicallySensitive Area status once it has been created ongood scientific grounds.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONACT, 1986

The Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986 canbe suitably modified for Ecologically Sensitive Areas

WILDLIFE PROTECTION ACT,AMENDED 1993

‘Ecologically Sensitive Area’be issued to provide a legal framework for EcologicallySensitive Areas under the Western Ghats Authoritywhereby ESAs can be legally declared.

ImpactsINDUSTRY :

• Maharashtra’s MIDCs, adjacent to the Ghats. These centers are growing as aconsequence of easy access to cheap unskilled rural labor, water that comesfrom the forested Ghats sector, energy, for example, the Pirangut IndustrialEstate.

• In Goa, the mining and tourism industries have severely impacted the integrityof its ecologically diverse landscape elements.

• Mangrove ecosystems in Maharashtra are under heavy pressure as a result ofincrease in human activity.

ROADS :The need to link these two economic development zones (coastal zone and theDeccan Plateau) has led to more roads traversing the Ghats section to movegoods and business services.An example is the road that connects Pune from the Deccan Plateau to Mahadon the coast via the Western Ghats in Mulshi Taluka of Pune district, effectivelyfragmenting the forests of the Western Ghats in this region.

AGRICULTURE

• Has long been considered an ecological problem.

• Recently irrigated sugarcane based agriculture has replaced traditionalagriculture.

• 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 ofthe adjacent PAs. This includes disruption of food chains where insects formmajor link species as well as deranging their function of pollinating both forestplants and crops.

TOURISM

• The tourist facilities on the boundaries of the PA have equally serious impactswhich create high levels of water pollution, large amounts of non-degradablewaste, noise, etc.

NEW TOWNSHIP

• Conversation of agriculture land

• No scientific development

• Neo-townships in the Western Ghats have the most deleterious consequencesfor the integrity of the eco-sensitive slopes of the Western Ghats.

Impacts of Global Warming on Western Ghats

RISEIN

TEMPERATURE

INCREASE IN GREEN

HOUSE GASES

MELTING OF ICE

SEA LEVEL RISE

SINKING COAST

TSUNAMI & EARTHQUAKE

FLOOD

EXCESSIVE SUN STROKE

LOSS OF BIODIVERSITY

FOREST FIRE

FOOD SCARCITY

SPREAD OF TROPICAL DISEASES

Current Schemes (2011-12) - WGDP

• 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.

Intensification of Forest Management• 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 byconstruction of cairns, carrying out fire prevention works, improvement ofroads for better protection, provision of better communication facilities,preparation of working plans for scientific management of forest divisionsetc.

• With a view to make the Integrated Forest Protection Scheme more broadbased, Government of India revised and renamed this scheme as"Intensification of Forest Management". In addition to the abovecomponents, 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.

http://planningcommission.nic.in/aboutus/committee/wrkgrp11/tg11_hillarea.pdf

http://planningcommission.nic.in/reports/peoreport/cmpdmpeo/volume1/163.pdf

References

Potential for Community and Conservation Reserves in the Western Ghats, India -Asian Journal of Conservation Biology, July 2013. Vol. 2 No. 1, pp. 61-68 ISSN 2278-7666 ©TCRP 2013

Book - Rainforest restoration - a guide to principles and practice divyamudappa and t r shankar raman

Book - Ecosystem Profile WESTERN GHATS & SRI LANKA BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOT WESTERN GHATS REGION Prepared by:Kamal S. Bawa, Arundhati Das and Jagdish Krishnaswamy(Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology & the Environment - ATREE)

Report - report of the high level working group on western ghats volume 1

Report of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel Part I Submitted to - The Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India

Report -

Thank You…