424
R. V. D’ Souza
The FRA brought in a significant regime change from the forest administration
to the rightful owners of forest land (Mahapatra 2014).
The Committee classified the entire Western Ghats into three zones.
(1) Regions of highest sensitivity or Ecologically Sensitive Zone 1 (ESZ1)
(2) Regions of high sensitivity or ESZ2
(3) Regions of moderate sensitivity or ESZ3.
This classification was seen as being complementary to areas already declared
as Protected Areas (PA) which would continue to be managed under regulations
prescribed by pertinent acts such as the Wildlife Protection Act. Thus, WGEEP
came up with four colour maps spanning the entire Western Ghats depicting PAs,
and ESZ1, ESZ2 and ESZ3.
The Committee further felt that:
ESAs are not merely sensitive areas but are also Ecologically Significant Areas due
to their biological value, ecological value, economic value, cultural and historical
(both biological and anthropological) values and also for the fact that they are sensitive to external and natural pressures. Therefore they need to be conserved though
with graded levels of protection depending upon their intrinsic value and extent of
resilience (WHEEP, p. 99).
The Panel set broad guidelines for various sectors such as land use, waste water
management, forestry quarry and sand mining, polluting industry (Red/ Orange), Non
polluting (Green/ Blue Industry), energy and power generation, transport, tourism
education, science and technology and information management by widely consulting the stakeholders.
In order to address the myriad environmental implications in the Western Ghats
which are proposed as ESA along with various degrees of ecological sensitivity as
ESZI, 2 and 3, the committee proposed an apex authority for the entire Western
Ghats along with State Western Ghats authorities for each state and District Ecology
Committees (DEC) within them. The Western Ghats Ecological Authority (WGEA)
was to be the Apex multi-state authority for regulation, management and planning of
all activities impacting all categories of ecologically sensitive zones within the states
of the Western Ghats namely Gujarat, Goa, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and
Kerala, and would be constituted under the relevant provisions of the Environment
Protection Act, 1986. The Panel sought to strengthen the Western Ghats Ecology
Authority (WGEA) as a statutory body comprising 24 members with a chairman
who was either a retired Supreme Court Judge or an eminent ecologist appointed by
the Ministry of Environment. The WGEA would consist of domain experts, resource
experts and representatives from Nodal Ministries. The panel made a strong recommendation to replace the existing High Level Monitoring Committees
8 appointed by
for tribal population. The FRA is responsible for the regime change from the forest administration
to the rightful owners of forestland.
8 The High Level Monitoring Committees lack regulatory powers, financial and human resources.
R. V. D’ Souza
The FRA brought in a significant regime change from the forest administration
to the rightful owners of forest land (Mahapatra 2014).
The Committee classified the entire Western Ghats into three zones.
(1) Regions of highest sensitivity or Ecologically Sensitive Zone 1 (ESZ1)
(2) Regions of high sensitivity or ESZ2
(3) Regions of moderate sensitivity or ESZ3.
This classification was seen as being complementary to areas already declared
as Protected Areas (PA) which would continue to be managed under regulations
prescribed by pertinent acts such as the Wildlife Protection Act. Thus, WGEEP
came up with four colour maps spanning the entire Western Ghats depicting PAs,
and ESZ1, ESZ2 and ESZ3.
The Committee further felt that:
ESAs are not merely sensitive areas but are also Ecologically Significant Areas due
to their biological value, ecological value, economic value, cultural and historical
(both biological and anthropological) values and also for the fact that they are sensitive to external and natural pressures. Therefore they need to be conserved though
with graded levels of protection depending upon their intrinsic value and extent of
resilience (WHEEP, p. 99).
The Panel set broad guidelines for various sectors such as land use, waste water
management, forestry quarry and sand mining, polluting industry (Red/ Orange), Non
polluting (Green/ Blue Industry), energy and power generation, transport, tourism
education, science and technology and information management by widely consulting the stakeholders.
In order to address the myriad environmental implications in the Western Ghats
which are proposed as ESA along with various degrees of ecological sensitivity as
ESZI, 2 and 3, the committee proposed an apex authority for the entire Western
Ghats along with State Western Ghats authorities for each state and District Ecology
Committees (DEC) within them. The Western Ghats Ecological Authority (WGEA)
was to be the Apex multi-state authority for regulation, management and planning of
all activities impacting all categories of ecologically sensitive zones within the states
of the Western Ghats namely Gujarat, Goa, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and
Kerala, and would be constituted under the relevant provisions of the Environment
Protection Act, 1986. The Panel sought to strengthen the Western Ghats Ecology
Authority (WGEA) as a statutory body comprising 24 members with a chairman
who was either a retired Supreme Court Judge or an eminent ecologist appointed by
the Ministry of Environment. The WGEA would consist of domain experts, resource
experts and representatives from Nodal Ministries. The panel made a strong recommendation to replace the existing High Level Monitoring Committees
8 appointed by
for tribal population. The FRA is responsible for the regime change from the forest administration
to the rightful owners of forestland.
8 The High Level Monitoring Committees lack regulatory powers, financial and human resources.