India’s Emerging Ecological Public
and the Western Ghats: The Gadgil
Committee Report and the Responses
of Contiguous States
Rose Veera D’Souza
Abstract Constituting the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP), popularly known as the Gadgil Committee was a significant move of the Government of
India in conserving the Western Ghats. The Western Ghats are known as the ‘hottest
hot spot’ and a treasure trove of biodiversity. Considering the earlier reports and scientific writings, the Gadgil Committee report provided a handle to engage with the
key issues relating to ecology and sustainable development in the region. It anticipated the targets that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) specifically signify
on ecology. The report has an account of the rich diversity as well as the catastrophic
ecological disaster awaiting the region. This paper attempts to trace the ecological
concerns in the report and their bearing on the sustainable development goals. It also
endeavours to analyse the different reactions and responses of the contiguous states
vis-à-vis the idea of development which is an oft-repeated political slogan in India.
This will also lead us to assess the nature and role of democratic dissent made with
regard to such an ecologically sensitive concern and the challenges in achieving the
goals of sustainable development enumerated in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development. Needless to add that the recommendations of the Gadgil report and
the response it has invoked has wider implications and can be profitably compared
to similar concerns in countries like Brazil.
Keywords Sustainable development · Gadgil report · Western Ghats · Contiguous
states · Democratic dissent · Ecological public
1 Sustainability and Conservation of Western Ghats
Western Ghats in southern India is considered one of the eight ‘hottest hot spots’
of biodiversity in the world (UNESCO 2012). It has rich endemic flora, fauna and
shares biological affinities with the forests of south-east Asia. The Western Ghats
R. V. D’Souza (B)
Department of Political Science, St Aloysius College (Autonomous), Mangaulru, Karnataka
575003, India
e-mail: roseveera69@gmail.com
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
W. Leal Filho et al. (eds.), Universities and Sustainable Communities:
Meeting the Goals of the Agenda 2030, World Sustainability Series,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-30306-8_25
417
and the Western Ghats: The Gadgil
Committee Report and the Responses
of Contiguous States
Rose Veera D’Souza
Abstract Constituting the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP), popularly known as the Gadgil Committee was a significant move of the Government of
India in conserving the Western Ghats. The Western Ghats are known as the ‘hottest
hot spot’ and a treasure trove of biodiversity. Considering the earlier reports and scientific writings, the Gadgil Committee report provided a handle to engage with the
key issues relating to ecology and sustainable development in the region. It anticipated the targets that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) specifically signify
on ecology. The report has an account of the rich diversity as well as the catastrophic
ecological disaster awaiting the region. This paper attempts to trace the ecological
concerns in the report and their bearing on the sustainable development goals. It also
endeavours to analyse the different reactions and responses of the contiguous states
vis-à-vis the idea of development which is an oft-repeated political slogan in India.
This will also lead us to assess the nature and role of democratic dissent made with
regard to such an ecologically sensitive concern and the challenges in achieving the
goals of sustainable development enumerated in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development. Needless to add that the recommendations of the Gadgil report and
the response it has invoked has wider implications and can be profitably compared
to similar concerns in countries like Brazil.
Keywords Sustainable development · Gadgil report · Western Ghats · Contiguous
states · Democratic dissent · Ecological public
1 Sustainability and Conservation of Western Ghats
Western Ghats in southern India is considered one of the eight ‘hottest hot spots’
of biodiversity in the world (UNESCO 2012). It has rich endemic flora, fauna and
shares biological affinities with the forests of south-east Asia. The Western Ghats
R. V. D’Souza (B)
Department of Political Science, St Aloysius College (Autonomous), Mangaulru, Karnataka
575003, India
e-mail: roseveera69@gmail.com
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
W. Leal Filho et al. (eds.), Universities and Sustainable Communities:
Meeting the Goals of the Agenda 2030, World Sustainability Series,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-30306-8_25
417