'Reject project proposals which seek to divert, exploit forest lands, fresh water sources in Western Ghats'

Counterview Desk

Shankar Sharma, Power & Climate Policy Analyst, in a representation has reminded Eshwar Khandre Minister for forests, environment and ecology, Govt. of Karnataka, that International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed Western Ghats as key freshwater biodiversity hotspot. Excerpt:

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A recent study report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has reiterated mwhat many other science based credible govt. agencies have been highlighting for decades; that Western Ghats in the state is a Key Freshwater Biodiversity Hotspot. The MoEF&CC itself has called Western Ghats as the fresh water fountain of the peninsular India. The associated implications for the state of Karnataka should become evidently clear, if we continue to ignore the critical importance of adequately protecting Western Ghats for the true welfare of our people.

"The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is a membership Union uniquely composed of both government and civil society organisations. By harnessing the experience, resources and reach of its more than 1,400 Member organisations and the input of some 17,000 experts, IUCN is the global authority on the status of the natural world and the measures needed to safeguard it.

"The IUCN's first multi-taxon global freshwater fauna assessment has identified India’s Western Ghats as a key hotspot for threatened freshwater species.

"The study pinpoints pollution, dam construction, water extraction, invasive species, and agricultural practices as primary threats to freshwater biodiversity in the Western Ghats. The iconic Humpbacked Mahseer, a critically endangered fish species weighing up to 60 kg, is among the species under threat in this region. The findings stress the need for urgent conservation measures to prevent further species losses and preserve freshwater ecosystems."

Other highlights of this study report are:

Significance of the Western Ghats

- The Western Ghats harbors over 300 freshwater fish species, making it one of the richest regions in freshwater biodiversity.

- The region has two endemic families of freshwater fishes, found exclusively in groundwater and subterranean systems.

- Kerala has the highest number of threatened freshwater fishes in India, with 74 out of 188 species listed as threatened.

- The Periyar River in Kerala is a critical conservation priority due to its high concentration of endemic and threatened species.

- The Humpbacked Mahseer, a critically endangered megafish, is an iconic species found in the Western Ghats.

Mitigation Efforts

- The study emphasizes the need for urgent conservation measures to prevent further species loss.

- Conservation strategies must address pollution, dam construction, overharvesting, and climate change impacts.

- There is a call to recognize freshwater ecosystems as distinct environments requiring separate management strategies from terrestrial and marine ecosystems.

Can the people of the state hope that a multitude of such credible science based reports will awaken the concerned authorities, at least now before it is too late, including the ministers, to the existential threats to our people, from the ongoing over-exploitation of the biodiversity wealth of the Western Ghats? The ongoing societal level agitations in the state against two pumped storage project proposals across rivers Sharavathi and Varahi, and more than 20 linear project proposals in the Western Ghats of the state, which are threatening about 20 lakh mature trees, must be diligently reviewed from this perspective.

The recent decision of the state Wildlife Board to endorse a project proposal to build a 2,000 MW pumped storage project in the Sharavathi LTM Sanctuary, in a biodiversity rich river valley, and with a potential to destroy about 350 acres of natural forest land will be a sort of death knell to this Key Freshwater Biodiversity Hotspot, and will pose existential threat to the legitimate rights of the people who have been living on the banks of this river, downstream of Gerusoppa dam, for hundreds of years.

I would like to reiterate a question, as has been raised repeatedly by various civil society groups in the state: whether the people in the state can hope to witness a sense of responsibility/ accountability, and the much needed wisdom among our authorities, not to destroy the right to existence of our people, through such high impact and destructive project in the Western Ghats of the state.

In this larger context, the environmentalists in the state can be seen as relieved by the latest news that the Union govt. has declined the approval to build a massive dam across river Kavery heavily impacting the Kavery Wildlife Sanctuary, and which had the potential to destroy about 11,000 acres of natural forest lands.

Once again, I urge the state govt. through you to reject all such high impact project proposals, which seek to divert/ exploit forest lands and fresh water sources in the Western Ghats. Instead, the benign and much less costly options to achieve the overall development of the state on a sustainable basis, as have been advocated by various civil society groups in recent years, must be effectively deployed.

My earlier representations in this context may please be taken serious cognisance of.

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