Report of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel - Part II : Actionable points for the WGEA : Annexure: Minutes of the Meetings of the WGEEP:

Opinion
27/12/2018
1628.

Sub : Report of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel - Part II : Actionable points for the WGEA : Annexure: Minutes of the Meetings of the WGEEP:

Ref : Annexure: Minutes of the Meetings of the WGEEP:

Minutes of the First Meeting of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel held on 31st March 2010 at 10.00 am at ATREE, Bengaluru.:

The first meeting of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel was held at Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment (ATREE), Royal Enclave, Srirampura, Jakkur Post, Bengaluru 560 064 on 31st March, 2010.

The following were present :

1. Prof. Madhav Gadgil Chairman
2. Shri. B.J. Krishnan Member
3. Dr. Nandakumar Mukund Kamat Member
4. Dr. K.N. Ganeshaiah Member
5. Dr. V.S. Vijayan Member
6. Prof. (Ms.) Renee Borges Member
7. Prof. R. Sukumar Member
8. Dr. Ligia Noronha Member
9. Ms. Vidya S. Nayak Member
10. Prof. S. P. Gautam Member
11. Dr. G. V. Subrahmanyam Member Secretary

Dr. P.L. Gautam, Chairman, National Biodiversity Authority; Dr. R.R. Navalgund, Director, SAC, Ahmedabad, Member of the Panel could not attend the meeting. He deputed Dr. P. S. Roy, Dy. Director, NRSC, Hyderabad to represent him.

The Chairman welcomed all the members and requested them to introduce themselves. Thereafter, Dr. G.V. Subrahmanyam briefly outlined the tasks and expected outcomes of the Panel. These included assessment of the current status of the ecology of the Western Ghats region, demarcation of areas within the region to be notified as ecologically sensitive zones under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, as also to recommend modalities for the establishment of the Western Ghats Ecology Authority under the Environment (Protection) Act. He also informed members that the Panel, with a term of one year, was to submit its interim report within six months from the date of its constitution.

The Chairman briefly explained the TORs of the panel and introduced the major agenda points to be taken up during the meeting.

These included :

1. Work plan
2. Organizing an information system
3. Organizing a process of Comprehensive Consultation
4. Time frame

I. Work Plan :

The Chairman introduced the agenda item on work plan (Annexure-I) as prepared by him and thereafter a detailed discussion was held. The following were the major points that emerged during the discussions :

 The Panel may collect the following relevant information to address the terms of reference listed at I to VI of the MoEF order of 4th March, 2010 :

o Status and on-going changes in health of soils, water, air, biodiversity, rural and urban settlements, forestry, farming, herding, fishing, industry, tourism, mining etc.

o Institutional issues related to ecologically sensitive areas, community conservation areas, wildlife sanctuaries, national parks, biosphere reserves, project tiger reserves, environmental impact assessment, assessment of carrying capacity, Central and State Pollution Control Boards, Coastal Regulation Zone, National, State and local biodiversity authority/ boards/ management committees, Heritage sites, Threatened species, Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights Act, Joint Forest Management, Tribal Forest Right Act, models like Dahanu Taluka Environment Protection Authority, working of Panchayati Raj Institutions, possible new initiatives grounded in positive incentives such as the Australian Soil Carbon Accreditation scheme and Costa Rica’s Payment of Service Charges to farmers for providing watershed services through maintenance of tree cover on private land.

o A Western Ghats Ecology Authority could be constituted under Sub-section 3 of Section 3 of Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, as has been done in the case of the Dahanu Authority and many other such Authorities. Though the Dahanu Authority is an outcome of judicial intervention, the Ministry as an Executive could pro-actively constitute the proposed Western Ghats Ecology Authority as has been contemplated under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. Nevertheless, it may be desirable to enact a separate law for establishing the ‘Western Ghats Ecology Authority’. Such a law would serve as a model in future.

 Intersectoral/interdepartmental conflict resolution (vis-à-vis mining against forests etc.) could be done by suitable amendment to the EPA to establish a clear hierarchy for better executive and judicial interpretation.

 The Panel suggested that the schedule of the work may be divided into the following modules:

o Research,

o Stakeholders consultation (Region-wise and State-wise) including the administration, MPs of the Western Ghats Region and local people,

o Outreach/communication plan and

o Implementation/constitution of the Western Ghats Authority.

II. Organizing an Information System :

The Chairman introduced the detailed Agenda (Annexure-II) as prepared by him and thereafter detailed deliberations were held by the Panel and the following action points emerged:

 Need to immediately begin with the organization of information pertaining to the current status of the ecology of the Western Ghats Region and to demarcate areas within the Western Ghats Region to be notified as ecologically sensitive areas under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

 Besides plants, animals, insects, birds etc., emphasis also needs to be given to the precious microbial diversity of the Western Ghats where hundreds of novel microbial species have been identified. Historical, archaeological aspects such as prehistoric human occupation sites and routes of migration, rock art sites etc. also need to be considered.

 The emphasis for data collection is on published material in English but a lot of information on the Western Ghats exists in local languages of the region in the five Western Ghats states and at least abstracts of these could be compiled.

 The tribals of the Western Ghats need special focus as they have traditional knowledge about the forest resources and they are the main stakeholders.

 The Ministry would make available the reports of the Pranob Sen and the Dr. T.S. Vijayaraghavan Committees on ecologically sensitive areas and also the recommendations of the National Board for Wildlife and Hon’ble Supreme Court decisions relating to eco-sensitive zones around National Parks and Sanctuaries.

 Dr. Ganeshaiah who has been involved in the development of the India Bio-resources Information Network and associated with ATREE’s India Biodiversity Portal and Dr. Sukumar who heads CES, IISc, which hosts ENVIS’s Sahyadri: Western Ghats Biodiversity Information System, were requested to assist the Panel in organizing the relevant information system using modern information technologies such as ICT including web 2.0 technologies. The assistance of Mr. Janardhan Pillai, Systems Manager, CES, may be sought.

 Dr. Ganeshaiah was requested to develop a proposal seeking a seed budget to initiate a programme for creating a Western Ghats data base site. This website is initially intended to serve the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel, including its outreach activities, but will eventually be expanded as a dedicated site for the Western Ghats data base management. A detailed proposal along with budgetary details for this purpose will be submitted to the MoEF for financial assistance. The Panel strongly recommended that such a proposal be funded in an expeditious manner.

 To incorporate in the proposed information system as well as uploaded on the web, soft copies be created of the documents relating to Western Ghats Ecology that are currently available as hard copies. Some of these include the following :

o the framework for assessment of the carrying capacity of Dakshina Kannada District by Dr. D.K. Subramanian

o the initial project document and a ten-year assessment of the Nilgiris biosphere reserve prepared by Prof. Madhav Gadgil

o relevant impact assessment documents especially those pertaining to protected areas in Western Ghats to be provided by MoEF, e.g. Kudremukh Iron Ore Project EIA report by NEERI

o Specific reports of importance towards defining Eco-sensitive Areas in the Western Ghats to be identified by the Panel and to be commissioned by the Ministry

o Landscape-level information by Dr. P.S. Roy, NRSC, Hyderabad

o Judicial and policy-related information to be provided by Shri B.J. Krishnan

o Various types of literature from NGOs, Millennium Biodiversity Report of CDFC and sacred groves to be provided by Ms. Vidya S. Nayak

o Information on Goa to be provided by Dr. Nandkumar Mukund Kamat
o Compilation of existing information on Western Ghats Microbial Biodiversity and to suggest systematic eco-conservation and sustainable utilization measures by Dr. Nandkumar Mukund Kamat

 The Chairman noted that a vast amount of pertinent information is available with the Ministry of Environment and Forests in its archives; this includes EIAs of projects on the Western Ghats, deliberations of various committees such as the Western Ghats Eco-development Research Programme, review of Niligiri Biosphere Reserve and so on. Apparently there is no system of filing and retrieval of all this valuable information. The Ministry is urged to initiate the process of identifying all such, so-called, ‘gray’ literature, scanning it and creating soft copies through an optical character recognition (OCR) process.

 The Panel suggested that the data may be organized into biodiversity data, landscape/landuse data, natural resources (including soil, water and minerals), various policy / legal sets, conservation-related data, data related to endangered species, threat maps, human resources, spatial data, traditional / cultural data, pollution-related issues from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), tourism, governance and various notifications and finally bibliography.

 The Panel also suggested that important persons involved in the ecology of the Western Ghats be contacted; viz. Shri Jayant Kulkarni, Pune; Prof. Sharad Lele; Dr. N.R. Shetty; Prof. Vinod Vyasulu, IIM, Bengaluru; Dr. Janardhan Pillai, Centre for Budgetary Policy, Bengaluru, and also contacts be made with various institutions viz. Project Tiger of MoEF (Dr. Rajesh Gopal), Shri K.G. Tampi, IG (NAEB) and Forest Department MoEF (Dr. Dilip Kumar, DG & SS), Justice Dharmadhikari, Dahanu Authority, and Anthropological Society of India for tribal-related information.

 A questionnaire to collect information as per the mandate of the Panel will be designed by Dr. Sukumar for circulation to all PCCFs of Forest Departments and District Administration of the concerned States. Chairman may send a common circular (preferably in local/official language of the state) to Panchayat Raj institutions (PRIs) in Western Ghats districts asking for their comments/ suggestions so that the Panel’s work becomes truly participative at the grass-roots level. It was noted that Panchayat level Biodiversity Management Committees have been formed only in some Panchayats in Karnataka and Kerala.

 The Chairman identified the following as focal points for organizing the information system:

o Dr. K.N. Ganeshaiah and Dr. Sukumar – The information system, web-based database

o Dr. Nandkumar Mukund Kamat – various parameters pertaining to ecologically sensitive areas taking into account the existing reports of the Pranob Sen and Dr. T.S. Vijayaraghavan Committees on ecologically sensitive areas.

o Dr. K.N. Ganeshaiah and Dr. R. Sukumar – Mapping of Boundaries of the Western Ghats in collaboration with Dr. P.S. Roy, NRSC, Hyderabad

o Dr. B.J. Krishnan and Dr. Ligia Noronha – Site visit plans, public consultation processes to arrive at the core issues of the conservation process

o Dr. Renee Borges and Dr. Sukumar – To design the questionnaire

o Prof. S.P. Gautam – All pollution and industry-related information

III. Organizing a Process of Comprehensive Consultation :

The Chairman introduced the agenda on organizing a process of comprehensive consultation (Annexure-III) as prepared by him. Thereafter, the Panel discussed the agenda and the following action points emerged :

 Such a consultative process could involve: (a) discussions with people in the field in local languages, (b) brainstorming sessions involving a cross section of actors including government representatives in English, (c) correspondence including e-mails, and (d) web-based discussion forums.

 To put together a web-based data base of individuals and institutions concerned with environmental issues pertinent to the Western Ghats. This should be an open process of involving all interested individuals and institutions to register themselves.

 The web-based discussions need to be moderated taking the advantage of the experience of people like Dr. Aparna Watve.

 The data base should include the following fields:

o Data base of individuals: First name Last name Preferred address for postal communication E-mail Telephone Number(s) Geographic area of interest Thematic area of interest

o Data base of Institutions: Name Nature of organization Preferred address for postal communication E-mail

Telephone number(s) Geographic area of interest Thematic area of interest :

 Broad outline of the public consultation process will be prepared by Shri B.J. Krishnan in consultation with the other members of the Panel.

 The brainstorming sessions could be organized in the form of four or five workshops of two days each on identified themes followed by Panel meetings. The themes for the workshops will be identified by Dr. Ligia Noronha in consultation with the other members of the Panel.

 It would be useful to form an informal consultative – ‚Western Ghats Inter-University Forum‛ to bring together all the universities along the Western Ghats. The Chairman may write to the respective VCs to solicit help. Al the universities have repositories of information on the Western Ghats.

 All deliberations of the panel would be posted on the Ministry’s website. It might be appropriate to direct media to this material, rather than engage in making any other comments.

IV Time frame :

The Chairman introduced the agenda item on time frame (Annexure-IV) and after detailed discussions, the following time frame emerged :

 Commissioning of discussion papers – a list of discussion papers to be prepared by Dr. Ganeshaiah and circulated to all the members and finalized by 12th April, 2010. Thereafter, they will be commissioned by MoEF as quickly as possible with a request that they be submitted by 15th July, 2010.

 Develop the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) webpage on MoEF, ATREE and CES, IISc websites by 25th April, 2010. This will provide access to all documents of interest (older documents, commissioned papers as they are received, all records of work of WGEEP). Some of these will be both the normal and wiki version, open for inputs by all registrants. Hosting of pertinent documents will begin on 15th April, 2010 and continue till 15th September, 2010. Dr. Ganeshaiah will develop a proposal in this regard and submit the same to the Ministry immediately.

 Put up a site for registration by individuals and institutions who wish to contribute to the work of the WGEEP by 25th April, 2010. This will be done by Dr. Ganeshaiah.

 Site visits and consultation by members of the WGEEP. A tentative set of criteria for selecting sites for these visits will be prepared and circulated by Shri B.J. Krishnan. Based on the feedback a full plan for sites visit will be prepared. This will be finalized at the second meeting of the Panel in the Nilgiris on 7th May, 2010. Site visits will then be conducted over the period 15th May to 15th August, 2010. Records of the observations and discussions during these visits would be immediately put up on the WGEEP webpage, welcoming public feedback.

 Brainstorming sessions on specific themes: A broad programme will be prepared by Dr. Ligia Noronha and will be circulated to all the members. Based on the feedback, the themes will be finalized by 15th April, 2010.

 Develop and post initial version of the report of the WGEEP on its webpage by 1st September, 2010, welcoming public feedback.

 Submit a final version of the report of the WGEEP in both printed form and as a more detailed web-based version by 15th September, 2010.

Other Points :

Sustainable models of living in and across the Western Ghats where ecological/natural resources of Western Ghats linked to new marketing /employment opportunities, e.g. in sale of agro-horticultural produce, medicinal plants, handicrafts, artwork, ecotourism need to be highlighted.

The Panel suggested that all meetings should be held in all the concerned States and it was recommended to convene the next meeting of the Panel on 7th May 2010 at Ooty / Kotagiri, Nilgiris.

The meeting ended with a vote of thanks to the Chair.

***

KERALA FLOODS

NOTE :

1. Noted ecologist Madhav Gadgil has warned Goa may face the same fate as the flood-battered Kerala if it does not take precautions on the environmental front.

Like in some other states, Goa, too, is witnessing activities which are driven by greed for unlimited profits, said Gadgil, who headed a committee that authored a widely debated study on the Western Ghats a few years ago.

***

OPINION :

1. THE PRESENT COMMUNIST FRONT GOVERNMENT OF KERALA : BUSY IN SABARIMALA SELF MADE CONTROVERSIES, WELL OILED BY CONGRESS LED OPPOSITION, TURNING THE ISSUE INTO FLAMES;

2. AGAIN AFTER OKHI, AND FLOODS RECONSTRUCTION OF KERALA IS IN THE BACKYARD OF LDF, AS IT IS ENGAGED IN REGROUPING WITH ADDITIONAL SILLY COMMUNAL MUSLIM AND CHRISTIAN FRINGE ELEMENTS TO THE FRONT TO FACE 2019 LOK SABHA ELECTIONS;

3. PEOPLE OF KERALA, ENTANGLED WITH PARTY COLOURS AND FLAGS, AND NO SENSE OF KERALA AS WHOLE;

4. THE SILLY ATTITUDES AND NEGLIGENCE TO SEE THE TRUTH, LIVE IN DARKNESS, UNDER THE SHADOW OF VARIOUS CASTE, RELIGIOUS FRACTIONS, THE PUBLIC ALMOST FORGOTTEN THEIR CITIZEN RESPONSIBILITY AND PARTICIPATION IN NATION BUILDING;