India’s Emerging Ecological Public and the Western Ghats …
425
MoEF with District Ecology Committees (DEC). The DECs were to work in collaboration with the district level Zilla Parishad/ Zilla Panchayat Biodiversity Management Committees. The panel sought to strengthen the existing Paryavaran Vahinis
or environmental committees of the concerned citizens to serve as the watchdogs
to monitor the environmental situation and also to build capacity at the grassroots
level. The Panel cited that such committees were very vibrant in Dakshina Kannada
District in the state of Karnataka in the 1990s and were well-promoted through Five
Year Plans.
Recognising the contributions of various traditional communities in conserving
ecology in the form of sacred groves, the Panel regretted the bias of the state with
regard to these communities. It said, “Yet the official conservation efforts in the
form of Protected Areas are being pursued on the assumption that it is the local
people who are primarily responsible for loss of biodiversity and the highest priority
should be given to excluding them” (WGEEP, p. 14). The Panel recognised the role
of local communities like Soligas of Biligiri Ranganswami Temple (BRT) Hills in
the forest conservation. The Panel established the need for relying on forest dwelling
communities and local people through adaptive management against reckless, rigid
methods of development and exclusive command of the forest authority. Apart from
the above the Panel sought to:
• Extend the moratorium on new environmental clearances for mining red and orange
category polluting industries and power plants in this region till an analysis is done
of the status report of these regions.
• Evolve people’s participation in deciding the future course of development to promote sustainable development that is not guided towards particular vested interests.
• Undertake cumulative impact studies of industrial mining, power generation and
other activities in Ratnagiri and Sidhudurg districts.
• Persuade the State Forest Departments to proactively assist the Tribal Welfare
Departments in the implementation of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional
Forest Dwellers (Rights over Forests) Act.
• Establish and activate biological diversity management committees and tailor environmental education projects to serve as instruments of participatory environmental monitoring involving local community members; connect such exercises in the
preparation of People’s Biodiversity Registers by the local Biodiversity Management Committees.
The panel argued that the WGEA should strive to make a transition from regulations
and negative incentives to promote nature conservation-oriented activities with positive incentives. It recommended that the traditional practices such as sacred groves
9
are to be promoted. It cited the example of Kerala Biodiversity Board which paid the
conservation service charges to a farmer for maintaining mangrove growth on his
private land. The panel also demonstrated the need for undertaking a critical assessment of the efficacy of funds being deployed towards conservation efforts by WGEA
9 Forest areas of natural vegetation preserved over generations on religious grounds.
425
MoEF with District Ecology Committees (DEC). The DECs were to work in collaboration with the district level Zilla Parishad/ Zilla Panchayat Biodiversity Management Committees. The panel sought to strengthen the existing Paryavaran Vahinis
or environmental committees of the concerned citizens to serve as the watchdogs
to monitor the environmental situation and also to build capacity at the grassroots
level. The Panel cited that such committees were very vibrant in Dakshina Kannada
District in the state of Karnataka in the 1990s and were well-promoted through Five
Year Plans.
Recognising the contributions of various traditional communities in conserving
ecology in the form of sacred groves, the Panel regretted the bias of the state with
regard to these communities. It said, “Yet the official conservation efforts in the
form of Protected Areas are being pursued on the assumption that it is the local
people who are primarily responsible for loss of biodiversity and the highest priority
should be given to excluding them” (WGEEP, p. 14). The Panel recognised the role
of local communities like Soligas of Biligiri Ranganswami Temple (BRT) Hills in
the forest conservation. The Panel established the need for relying on forest dwelling
communities and local people through adaptive management against reckless, rigid
methods of development and exclusive command of the forest authority. Apart from
the above the Panel sought to:
• Extend the moratorium on new environmental clearances for mining red and orange
category polluting industries and power plants in this region till an analysis is done
of the status report of these regions.
• Evolve people’s participation in deciding the future course of development to promote sustainable development that is not guided towards particular vested interests.
• Undertake cumulative impact studies of industrial mining, power generation and
other activities in Ratnagiri and Sidhudurg districts.
• Persuade the State Forest Departments to proactively assist the Tribal Welfare
Departments in the implementation of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional
Forest Dwellers (Rights over Forests) Act.
• Establish and activate biological diversity management committees and tailor environmental education projects to serve as instruments of participatory environmental monitoring involving local community members; connect such exercises in the
preparation of People’s Biodiversity Registers by the local Biodiversity Management Committees.
The panel argued that the WGEA should strive to make a transition from regulations
and negative incentives to promote nature conservation-oriented activities with positive incentives. It recommended that the traditional practices such as sacred groves
9
are to be promoted. It cited the example of Kerala Biodiversity Board which paid the
conservation service charges to a farmer for maintaining mangrove growth on his
private land. The panel also demonstrated the need for undertaking a critical assessment of the efficacy of funds being deployed towards conservation efforts by WGEA
9 Forest areas of natural vegetation preserved over generations on religious grounds.