To protect Western Ghats, southern states must break impasse

📌 Summary:

• Context: Implementation of measures to protect the Western Ghats, proposed by the K Kasturirangan Committee, has been pending for over 12 years due to state pushback.

• Core issue: States (Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka) opposed declaring 60,000 sq km (about 37% of the range) as an Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA), objecting to bans on mining, polluting industries, thermal plants and large constructions.

• Recent shift: Gujarat, Maharashtra and Goa have now relented, potentially enabling ESA protection over about 19,000 sq km.

• Why the Ghats matter: one of the world's eight "hottest hotspots" of biodiversity; the landform acts as a barrier to moisture-bearing winds (driving monsoon rainfall); source of the Godavari, Krishna, Cauvery, Periyar and other rivers.

• Development-vs-environment tension: the region is densely populated (unlike the Himalaya), so the development argument gained traction, though ecologists stress ESAs would not harm farm livelihoods and could shield farmers from climate vagaries.

• Evidence and solution: Kerala floods (2018) and Wayanad landslide (2024) showed the perils of ignoring the Ghats' fragility; Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu (about two-thirds of proposed ESA) must be brought on board; a payment-for-ecosystem-services model could reconcile economic aspirations with ecology.

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS3 — conservation, ecologically sensitive areas, biodiversity hotspots; centre-state coordination on environment; disaster risk from ecological degradation.

📝 Prelims Facts:

• Kasturirangan Committee proposed about 37% (~60,000 sq km) of the Western Ghats as ESA; the earlier Gadgil panel had recommended a larger area.

• The Western Ghats are a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the world's biodiversity hotspots.

• Palakkad Gap is the major break in the range on the Tamil Nadu-Kerala border; rivers sourced include Godavari, Krishna, Cauvery, Periyar.

🔑 Key Term: Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA) — a zone notified under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 where ecologically harmful activities are regulated or prohibited to conserve biodiversity.