Win-win, not 'go, no-go'

The Western Ghats need local environmental governance

What sets the report of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel, headed by Professor Madhav Gadgil, apart from most other reports delivered by such government-appointed committees is that it does not view environmental factors in isolation from development imperatives. Nevertheless, its recommendations pay careful attention to the need for protection and preservation of the biological wealth of one of the world’s hot spots for biodiversity: the Western Ghats. This mountainous belt, measuring around 1,600 kilometres, spreads across six states — Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat. Its biodiversity is extraordinary: over 5,000 species of plants, 450 birds, 140 mammals and 260 reptiles, a large number of which are unique to the range. Besides these, the Ghats have more secrets in store — for example, several new species of frogs have been found in the past decade.

The Ghats also have copious reserves of minerals and ores, including iron ore, basalt, laterites and bauxite. Tragically, indiscriminate and poorly monitored exploitation of the Western Ghats has led the inhabitants to deal with multi-faceted degradation of their environment, with barely a quarter of the original native vegetation and other biodiversity being preserved. It is interesting to note that the Gadgil panel has disparaged the “go, no-go” concept of environment protection currently in vogue and has outlined an environmentally friendly doctrine of “balance” between ecological conservation and economic development. The question, the panel argues, is one of a governance deficit; present policy forcibly divorces conservation from development. Thus, a dichotomy is created: of people-unfriendly conservation in some areas (notably protected areas) and reckless development at the cost of ecology in some others.

The panel has, therefore, suggested that development plans should be tailored to specific local conditions and involve full participation of local communities. However, even while commending such a paradigm shift in environmental administration, the Gadgil panel has not displayed any leniency towards irresponsible economic activities, calling for effective regulation of mining, agro-plantations and power projects (both thermal and hydel), in the Ghats. It has recommended the cancellation of approvals to Karnataka’s Gundia and Kerala’s Athirapally hydro-power projects, and the phasing out of mining in the highly vulnerable areas of Goa and elsewhere in the next five years. Whether this is workable remains an open question, but the panel has chosen to look forward as well as back. It has said that existing pollution-prone industries (usually categorised as “red” and “orange” industries) should switch over to zero pollution by 2016 and should be subjected to social audits. Mystifyingly, the same environment ministry that created the panel dilly-dallied for nearly nine months before making its eminently sensible report pubic — and that, too, only after judicial intervention. Now that the ministry has placed the report in the public domain, it should allow reasonable time for people to respond before taking a final call on its recommendations. There is little need to delay a debate on its recommendations, so that those wishing to participate in the development of the Western Ghats face a transparent, responsible and consistent regulatory regime.