Environmental sensitivity of western

ghats

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 AIM
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• Aimlevel
Second is to acquaint the class on the environmental sensitivity of
Third level western ghats
Fourth level
Fifth level

Western ghats also known as Sahyadri

UNESCO World Heritage Site. One among 8 hottest hotspots of biodiversity
Block rain fall to Deccan plateau.
Separates Konkan from Deccan plateau.
Home to thousands of plants and animals
PHASES
• Phase
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- OVERVIEW
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Second level
• PHASE
Third level 2 -IMPACT
• PHASE
Fourth level
Fifth level 3 -REPORTS
 OVERVIE
W
Gujarat
• Location:- Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa,
Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu

• Click to edit Master text styles Maharashtra

• Formed during
Second level the break up of
Gondwana before 1500 million years.
Third level
Fourth level Goa,
Fifth level
• Starts near the border of Gujarat and Karnataka
Maharashtra, south of the Tapti river,
ending at Kanyakumari, at the southern
tip of India. Tamil Nadu

Kerala
• Includes Sahyadri, Nilgiri and Anamalai
mountain ranges and also 34 peaks.
• Interrupted only by a 30-km break,
Palghat Gap in northern Kerala.
• Cover an area of about 138,600 km²
Lake and Rivers • Climate
• The climate is humid and
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Many bigSecond
lakeslevelare mainly in Tamil Nadu. tropical in the lower
Pookod Third
lakelevelin Wayanad and Devikulam reaches.
Fourth level
in Munnar are the ones from Kerala. • Temperatures touch the
Fifth level
freezing point during the
Rivers include Godavari, Krishna and winter months.
Kaveri,Periyar, Bharathappuzha, • During the monsoon
Netravati, Sharavathi, Mandovi and season, the heavy,
eastward-moving rain-
Zuari bearing clouds are forced
to rise and in the process
deposit most of their rain
on the windward side
Flora and Fauna

• Many
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Second level
• 5000 species of
Third level
flowering
Fourth level plants,
Fifth level
• 139 mammal species,
• 508 bird species and
• 179 amphibian species.

• Search is
on…………………..
Climate change is not only a major global environmental problem but is also an
issue of great concern and challenge to a developing country such as ours.
The earth's climate has demonstrably changed on both global and regional
scales since the pre-industrial era, with some of these changes attributable to
human activities.
The observed changes in regional climate have already affected many of the
physical and biological systems and there are also indications that social and
economic systems have also been affected.
Climate change is likely to threaten food production; increase water stress and
decrease its availability; lead to sea level rise flooding crop fields and coastal
settlements; and increase the occurrence of disease such as malaria.
India has limited capacity to develop and adopt strategies to reduce their vulnerability
to changes in climate in the wake of adequate resources, access to technology and
finances (NATCOM, 2012).

Assessment of impacts of projected climate change on natural and socio economic

systems is central to the whole issue of climate change. Climate change impact
assessment involves the following:

-- Identification, analysis and evaluation of the impact of climate variability and

change on natural ecosystems, socio economic systems and human health
-- Assessment of the vulnerabilities which also depend on the institutional and
financial capacities of the affected communities such as farmers, forest dwellers and
fishermen
-- Assessment of the potential adaptation responses
India has low adaptive capacity to withstand the adverse impacts of climate
change due to high dependence of majority of the population on climate
sensitive sectors such as agriculture, forestry and fisheries, coupled with poor
infrastructure facilities, weak institutional mechanisms and lack of financial
resources. India is, therefore, seriously concerned with the possible impacts of
climate change such as:
•Water stress and reduction in availability of fresh water due to potential decline
in rainfall
•Threats to agriculture and food security since agriculture is monsoon
dependent and rained agriculture dominates many States in India
•Shifts in area and boundary of different forest types and threat to biodiversity
with adverse implications for forest dependent communities
•Impacts on human health due to increase in vector and water borne
diseases such as malaria
•Increased energy requirements and impacts on climate sensitive industry and
infrastructure.
• Assessment of climate change impacts, and vulnerability and
adaptation to climate change, requires a wide range of physical,
biological and socio economic models, methods, tools and data.
• Principally, the studies on impact of climate change on Western
Ghats have been undertaken on forests and crops grown in the
region. The methods for assessing the vulnerability, impacts and
adaptation are gradually improving but are still inadequate to help
policy makers to formulate appropriate adaptation measures, due
to uncertainties in regional climate projections, unpredictable
response of natural and socio economic systems and the inability
to foresee future technological development.
INDUSTRY:
•Gujarat’s 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.
•Maharashtra’s 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.
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REPORTS
Gadgil report

• Madhav Gadgil, an eminent

ecologist.
• He was assigned to
prepare a report on
Western Ghats. Head of
Western Ghats Ecological
Expert Panel(WGEEP).
• Commission submitted the
report to the Government of
India on 31 August 2011.
What Gadgil says:

• Gadgil report considers the whole Western

Ghats region as ecologically sensitive area.
• He divides WG into 3 zones based on
ecological sensitivity(ESZ1, ESZ2 , ESZ3).
 MAJOR
RECOMMENDATIONS

• Major recommendation is the establishment of Western Ghats

Authority.
• Genetically modified crops not allowed.
• Ban plastic within 3 years.
• No new hill stations.
• Public land should not to be used for private purposes
• Green building code .
• Water resource conservation plans.
• Forest land should not be taken for other uses(Z1)
• Roads and constructions only after study of environmental
consequences.
• Red and orange industries not allowed in Z1 and Z2.
• Forest rights act to be strictly followed
• Ban chemical fertilizers.
• Large scale mining prohibited.
• No large scale hydroelectric projects(Z1, Z2)
• Encourage non conventional energy.
KASTURI AND HIS REPORT

• Dr. Kasturi Rangan is the former ISRO Chairman.

• He is an expert in Nuclear Sciences and one of scientific
advisers to the PM of India.
• He was assigned to analyse the WGEEP Report and to give
guidelines to the govt. and to formulate an implementable
action plan.
 KASTURI SPEAKS……
• Different from the terms of reference, he
made a new report.
• The report divides WG into 2: Cultural
landscape and Natural landscape.
 Recommendations

• To ban activities which harm the environment.

• Mining and Quarrying activities completely restricted.
• No new thermal power plants.
• Hydroelectric projects can be initiated obeying terms and
conditions.
• Industries in red category not allowed.
• Building around 20,000km2 can be allowed..!?
FAULTS IN THE REPORTS

 Kastoori Rangan report found unscientific .

 While it has made deep analysis, its recommendations
do not match with its analysis.
 Gadgil report had been criticizedthat it is against
farmers and its recommendations are too extreme and
it does not consider human
 Gadgil against farmers?????
 Gadgil is actually helpful for farmers
 See some of his recommendations:
1.Implement water resource protection programes at
panchayat level.
2.Stop agriculture using chemical fertilizers and
gradually convert it to organic farming.
3.Provide incentive payment to farmers who maintain
agriculture and cattle farming using primitive varieties of
seeds and cattles.
 Thank you

3/19/21
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