Recently, the Karnataka CM has informed the Centre that the state is opposed to the Kasturirangan Committee report on the Western Ghats.

What is the issue?

• The Kasturirangan committee report proposes 37 per cent of the total area of Western Ghats, which is roughly 60,000 square kilometers, to be declared as eco-sensitive area (ESA).
• Declaring this would adversely affect the livelihood of people in the region, asserted the Karnataka CM.

Kasturirangan Committee Report

• The Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP), also known as the Gadgil Commission after its chairman Madhav Gadgil, was an environmental research commission.
• It was appointed by the Ministry of Environment and Forests of India. The commission submitted the report in 2011.
• The WGEEP was succeeded by an eminent scientist K. Kasturirangan.

Key recommendations

(1) Declaration of Eco-Sensitive Area (ESA)

• The committee report proposes 37 per cent of the total area of Western Ghats, which is roughly 60,000 square km, to be declared as eco-sensitive area (ESA).
• Out of this, 20,668 sq km of the area falls in Karnataka (46.50%) covering 1,576 villages.

(2) Ban on various activities

• The report recommended a blanket ban on mining, quarrying, setting up of red category industries and thermal power projects.
• It also stated that the impact of infrastructural projects on the forest and wildlife should be studied before permission is given for these activities.

(3) Urging of UNESCO World Heritage tag

• It has sought for UNESCO Heritage tag as an opportunity to build global and domestic recognition of the enormous natural wealth that exists in the Western Ghats.
• The 39 sites are located across the Western Ghats and distributed across the states (Kerala 19), Karnataka (10), Tamil Nadu (6) and Maharashtra (4).

Reasons behind rejection by Karnataka

• Hitherto conservation measures: Karnataka has the distinction of being one of the states with extensive forest cover and the government has taken care to protect the biodiversity of Western Ghats.
• Curb over development activities: The state believes that implementation of the report will halt the developmental activities in the region.
• Issues over satellite observations: The Kasturirangan report has been prepared based on the satellite images, but the ground reality is different.
• Adaptation by People: People of the region have adopted agriculture and horticultural activities in an eco-friendly manner.

Significance of the recommendations

• There have been massive encroachments across the state forest areas and these have been done at the behest of political leaders.
• We are in the throes of extreme climate events, which are impacting nature and people.
• Hence it is prudent to conserve the fragile ecosystems as it costs less compared to the situation prone to calamities (with changes in the climate).

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