Mapping of two Western Ghats districts shows much of proposed ESA overlaps with Notified Forests, Protected Areas, or existing ESZs

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The Paani Earth Foundation zoomed into two districts, Kodagu and Udupi, and mapped the proposed ESA villages using the spatial layers for administrative boundaries from Karnataka Geographical Information System to understand them in the context of the landscape and existing legal protection layers. | Photo Credit: File photo

Amid cacophony surrounding the Western Ghats and the measures that have been proposed to conserve it, Paani Earth Foundation, a citizen-led initiative, has broken down the Centre’s draft notification on the proposed Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA) in the Western Ghats.

The foundation zoomed into two districts, Kodagu and Udupi, and mapped the proposed ESA villages using the spatial layers for administrative boundaries from Karnataka Geographical Information System (KGIS) to understand them in the context of the landscape and existing legal protection layers.

This comes even as the Karnataka legislature, on September 22, unanimously passed a resolution rejecting the K. Kasturirangan Committee report on the Western Ghats in its current form in response to the draft published on July 27.

The foundation’s report begins by clarifying that the ESA notification is not the same as the Kasturirangan Report. “The Kasturirangan High Level Working Group (HLWG) submitted its report in 2013. It identified and delineated the villages proposed as ESA. The ESA notification includes some of the restrictions recommended by the HLWG.... The ESA village boundaries come from the Kasturirangan report,” it says. But many of its other recommendations were not included.

These include incentives for growers to move towards organic cultivation, financial benefits for ESA villages, local community ownership and benefits in tourism related activities, a stronger role for Gram Sabhas and communities, and greater environmental scrutiny of development projects.

Looking at the extent of areas coming under the two districts in the ESA notification, 54 villages in Kodagu have been proposed as ESAs. "Our mapping shows that about 70.8% of the proposed ESA area in Kodagu overlaps with Notified Forests, Protected Areas, or existing ESZs, while 30% lies outside these three existing protection layers. This 30% area being included in the ESA does not, by itself, make these areas Notified Forests, Protected Areas, or ESZ,” it says.

The report said many streams originate in or flow through the proposed ESA landscape which feed rivers flowing east into the Cauvery system and west through the Kumaradhara, Payaswini and Barapole/Valapattanam systems towards the Arabian Sea. “Kodagu is therefore an important headwater landscape, both for water within the district and for river systems flowing beyond it,” it added.

Similarly, in Udupi, 35 villages have been proposed as ESAs. “Our mapping shows that about 82% of the proposed ESA already overlaps with Notified Forests, Protected Areas or existing Eco-Sensitive Zones. ~ 18% lies outside these three existing protection layers. The proposed ESA areas have a dense network of headwater streams that feed Udupi’s west flowing rivers including the Sita, Chakra and Varahi river systems carrying water from the Ghats to the Arabian Sea. Udupi’s proposed ESA villages are important for water within the district and for river systems that flow beyond it, supporting towns and villages downstream,” it says.

The Karnataka government has argued that the ESA should cover only notified forest areas and other forest areas, and should not include plantation areas, agriculture and horticulture fields, or residential and public areas. It has also expressed concerns over possible restrictions on agriculture, housing, and day-to-day activities.

But the Paani report contends that a village being included in the proposed ESA does not, by itself, change all land within that village into forest land. “Existing land status, records and applicable laws continue to apply. The ESA 7th draft notification specifically states that there will be no displacement or dislocation of local people, agriculture and plantation activities will not be affected, property ownership will not be affected, existing residential houses can be repaired or renovated as per prevailing laws and regulations, and all existing healthcare establishments may continue and proposed Primary Health Centres established,” it says.

What is completely banned is mining, quarrying, and sand mining. Existing mines should be phased out within five years of the final ESA notification or when the existing mining lease expires, whichever is earlier, no new thermal power projects or expansion of existing plants, no new Red-category industries or expansion of existing Red-category industries, no new or expanded projects with 20,000 sq m or more built-up area, no new or expanded projects of 50 hectares or more, or with 1,50,000 sq m or more built-up area will be allowed, it added.

The foundation plans to extend these analyses to the other districts coming under the proposed ESA.

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