To protect Western Ghats, southern states must break impasse

The implementation of a series of measures to protect the Western Ghats, proposed by a committee headed by the eminent scientist K Kasturirangan, has been hanging fire for more than 12 years. State governments in the region — Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka — pushed back against the proposal to declare 60,000 sq km of the Western Ghats, roughly 37 per cent of the mountain chain, as an Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA). They took exception to the Kasturirangan Committee’s proposal to ban mining, polluting industries, thermal power plants and large constructions in the ESA. The governments of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Goa have now relented. This could pave the way for ESA protection in about 19,000 sq km of the Western Ghats.

The continuous mountain chain, with a break at the Palakkad Gap on the Tamil Nadu-Kerala border, harbours one of the world’s eight “hottest hotspots” of biological diversity. Its landform influences the monsoon by acting as a barrier to moisture-bearing winds, resulting in bountiful rainfall along the Western Ghats’ coastal side. It’s the source of the Godavari, Krishna, Cauvery, Periyar, and several other rivers. The region is much more densely populated compared to several other ecologically sensitive areas — the Himalaya, for instance. This means the argument pitting environmental protection against development has gained traction in the region’s six states, even though ecologists have consistently emphasised that ESAs would not harm farm livelihoods. In fact, environmental protection could shield agriculturists against climate vagaries.

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The Kerala floods of 2018 and the Wayanad landslide in 2024 underscored the perils of not respecting the frailties of the Western Ghats. That’s why Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, which have about two-thirds of the ESA area proposed by the Kasturirangan Committee, need to be brought on board urgently. The benefits of ecological services provided by the Western Ghats — water security, carbon sequestration, biodiversity conservation and climate regulation — extend beyond the region. Some ecologists, therefore, believe that a system to remunerate the area’s people for such services could help reconcile economic aspirations with ecological realities and break the impasse on the Kasturirangan Committee report in the southern states. Such conversations need to inform policymaking.