CURRENT ECOLOGICAL STATUS AND IDENTIFICATION OF

POTENTIAL ECOLOGICALLY SENSITIVE AREAS IN THE

NORTHERN WESTERN GHATS

OCTOBER 2010

INSTITUTE OF ENVIRONMENT EDUCATION AND RESEARCH

BHARTI VIDYAPEETH DEEMED UNIVERSITYPUNE, MAHARASHTRA

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Team at BVIEER.................................................................................................................... iv

Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................. v

Disclaimer ............................................................................................................................. vi

Terms of Reference................................................................................................................ vii

Framework........................................................................................................................... viii

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION..........................................................................1

HISTORY OF CONSERVATION IN THE WESTERN GHATS.........................2

CURRENT THREATS TO THE WESTERN GHATS .......................................2

CONCEPT OF ECOLOGICALLY SENSITIVE AREAS (ESAS) .......................3

NEED FOR IDENTIFYING ESAs IN THE WESTERN GHATS......................3

DEFINING ESAs ..............................................................................................4

GENESIS OF ESAs IN INDIA ..........................................................................5

CHAPTER 2: ECOLOGICAL STATUS OF THE NORTHERN WESTERN GHATS..............................................................................................7

LANDSCAPE ELEMENTS OF THE WESTERN GHATS ...............................7

Geomorphology and Hydrology........................................................................................... 8

Climate ............................................................................................................................. 10

ECOSYSTEM DIVERSITY ............................................................................. 10

Forest Types ...................................................................................................................... 11

Grasslands......................................................................................................................... 17

Streams and Rivers ............................................................................................................ 17

Plateaus............................................................................................................................. 18

SPECIES DIVERSITY..................................................................................... 18

Flora ................................................................................................................................. 24

Fauna................................................................................................................................ 26

PROTECTED AREAS..................................................................................... 35

CHAPTER 3: IMPACTS ..................................................................................... 43

INDUSTRY ..................................................................................................... 43

MINING.......................................................................................................... 45

ROADS............................................................................................................ 45

AGRICULTURE ............................................................................................. 48

NEW TOWNSHIPS......................................................................................... 50

TOURISM ....................................................................................................... 50

INVASIVE EXOTIC SPECIES......................................................................... 51

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CLIMATE CHANGE ...................................................................................... 52

OTHERS.......................................................................................................... 54

CONCLUSION................................................................................................ 54

CHAPTER 4: PLANNING OF ESAS ................................................................. 59

CATEGORIZATION OF EXISTING ESAS............................................................................................. 59

Protected Areas ................................................................................................................. 60

ESAs around Protected Areas ............................................................................................ 62

Hill-station ESAs ............................................................................................................... 63

CATEGORIZATION OF PROPOSED ESAS .................................................. 64

Areas Planned but not Notified as PAs ............................................................................... 64

Reserve Forest and Closed Canopy Forest........................................................................... 65

Water Bodies ..................................................................................................................... 66

Sacred Groves.................................................................................................................... 68

Specialised Ecosystems ...................................................................................................... 72

Species Based ESAs ........................................................................................................... 78

CHAPTER 5: PRIORITIZATION....................................................................... 85

IDENTIFYING BIODIVERSITY ASSET VALUES......................................... 88

Protected Areas ................................................................................................................. 88

Protected Area Surrounds ................................................................................................ 90

Hill Stations ..................................................................................................................... 91

Reserve and Closed Canopy Forest..................................................................................... 91

Water Bodies ..................................................................................................................... 91

Specialized Habitats........................................................................................................... 93

Habitats of Threatened Species .......................................................................................... 95

Corridors........................................................................................................................... 96

IDENTIFYING THREAT VALUES ................................................................ 99

Mines ................................................................................................................................ 99

Industrial Areas ................................................................................................................ 99

Catchment Area Threats .................................................................................................... 99

Protected Areas Surrounds (ESA) Threats .......................................................................... 99

GRADING THE ESAs .................................................................................... 99

ANALYSIS OF TALUKAS FROM NORTH TO SOUTH BASED ON ESA CATEGORY AND THREAT LEVEL ................................ 103

Sector 1 ............................................................................................................................103

Sector 2 ............................................................................................................................104

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Sector 3 ............................................................................................................................105

Sector 4 ............................................................................................................................106

Sector 5 ............................................................................................................................107

Sector 6 ............................................................................................................................109

Sector 7 ............................................................................................................................110

PLANNING FOR CORRIDORS................................................................... 111

The Need for Corridors.....................................................................................................111

Landuse Within Existing Corridors ...................................................................................111

Types of Corridors............................................................................................................112

Establishing Corridors in the Northern Western Ghats.......................................................112

Potential Corridors within the Northern Western Ghats .....................................................113

CONCLUSION.............................................................................................. 116

CHAPTER 6: IMPLEMENTATION AND MANAGEMENT........................... 119

MANAGEMENT AND INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS .................. 121

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT................................................................ 123

ECORESTORATION .................................................................................... 125

ECOTOURISM ............................................................................................. 127

IMPLEMENTATION OF CORRIDORS ....................................................... 127

NEED FOR EDUCATION AND AWARENESS ........................................... 127

CHAPTER 7: JUDICIAL CONCERNS ............................................................ 129

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ACT, 1986 ........................................... 129

WILDLIFE PROTECTION ACT, AMENDED 1993 .................................... 130

WILDLIFE PROTECTION ACT, AMENDMENT 2002 ............................... 134

INDIAN FOREST ACT 1927 ........................................................................ 135

FOREST CONSERVATION ACT, 1980 WITH 1988 AMENDMENTS.......... 139

FOREST CONSERVATION ACT, 2003 ........................................................ 140

BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY ACT, 2002 ......................................................... 142

MAHABALESHWAR AND PANCHGANI ESA NOTIFICATION .............. 143

MAHARASHTRA REGIONAL AND TOWN PLANNING ACT 1966 ........ 148

NATIONAL WATER POLICY 2002 IN RELATION TO THE LAKES AND CATCHMENTS............................................................................................. 149

GUIDELINES FOR NATIONAL LAKE CONSERVATION PLAN .............. 150

CHAPTER 8: CONCLUSION .......................................................................... 153

CHAPTER 9: REFERENCES ........................................................................... 155

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TEAM AT BVIEER

Erach Bharucha

Shamita Kumar

Parag Khatawkar

Anand Shinde

Kranti Yardi

Jyoti Prabha

Karishma Mehta

Ganesh Zende

Anwesha Borethakur

Prajakta Chiplunkar

Rashi Khare

Vidya Pujari

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This discussion paper on the ‘Current Ecological Status and Identification of Potential Ecologi-cally Sensitive Areas in the Northern Western Ghats’ is an output supported by a large number of stakeholders. They are all concerned about the conservation of natural resources and biological

heritage in this globally recognized hotspot of biodiversity. They have readily contributed towards efforts to give a broad based assessment for developing a framework for a doable conservation strategy for the Sahyadris. Having said that, this is not a final statement, but a basis for further discussions and additional inputs from an even wider range of people.

While there are too many people to acknowledge, individually there are some who have led to a clearer understanding of what this initiative should lead to in the future. To Professor Madhav Gadgil who thought it fit for me and my colleagues at BVIEER to attempt framing this report, we are indeed profoundly grateful. My ever ready team of collaborators at BVIEER who have all worked ceaselessly late into the night for the last five months, I am greatly indebted. They are the backbone of our institution and have fulfilled a wide range of tasks that were essential for the completion of this output.

We at BVIEER acknowledge with gratitude the vast array of scientists who have added information bit by bit to the complex web of life of the Sahyadris that is the core of this report. The report is based mainly on the multitude of secondary resources that have been forwarded to us. We thank them all for their support. We greatly appreciate the inputs of Parag Khatawkar in the initial phase of the project that has helped us frame the methodology.

We would like to mention the contributions of IIRS and P S Ray on whose initial GIS based platform we have been able to build this locale specific output. The many individual contributors that gave us their time and ideas include Ashok Captain, Varad Giri, Aparna Watve, Archana Godbole, Neelesh Daha-nukar, Ankur Parwardhan and A Padhye among others all of whom are responsible for adding to its authenticity through their long personal association with the Ghats.

There are institutions that also readily supported this output. They include the BNHS, SACON, GSDA of CDAC, the French Institute Pondicherry, ZSI and BSI. We thank all of them for their unstinting sup-port.

I personally am indebted to the people of the Sahyadris who have over the last several decades told me of their close linkages to nature and the consequences of what we call development. Much of what they experienced in previous decades has been prophetic. As I see the superb wilderness of the rugged hills invaded by the hand of man, and its astonishing complex sensitive ecosystems vanish year by year, I can recall as if it was yesterday, many of the statements of so many local inhabitants who readily spoke to me, invited me into their homes and shared their life stories and livelihood issues with me. How can I thank them adequately for having enriched my own life, while they eked out an existence based on the meagre resources that they used sustainably from the forested hills, valleys and water sources.

E. K. Bharucha

BVIEER

Pune, October 2010

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DISCLAIMER

This report is a document based on the letter to the Director of BVIEER from Professor Madhav Gadgil, Chairperson of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel and their personal discussion on 15th June 2010. This has led to the formation of a small core group at the BVIEER to act as

a think-tank and data collection centre to formulate a fairly comprehensive and innovative document for comments at a proposed meeting of local experts and interested people to be held at BVIEER once the Draft has been put on the website.

This Report is a baseline draft of views expressed by a variety of people who are concerned about the future and present sustainability of landuse in the northern Western Ghats. They are not necessarily the views of the author alone but attempt to capture several other viewpoints. To start with this has been based on existing published work, includes views mentioned in reports and committee meetings of the MOEF, and even unpublished dissertations of students that have been verified by expert guides for their masters and doctoral studies in environmental botanical and zoological studies. While most such litera-ture has been referred to in this report, other unpublished readings have been used to bring in a wider range of thought without actually referring to the aspects dealt with in grey written material and personal communications.

This report is a compendium of a vast number of independent studies, reports and findings of a num-ber of researchers, many of whom may have conducted credible research and have reported their findings thereof. These findings may be valid with the basis and assumptions that have been taken into consider-ation by those researchers who have conducted their studies and at the time they were conducted. The authors of this report take no responsibility on the accuracy of the findings nor can they be held respon-sible or accountable for the conclusions thereof, especially under current and/or new assumptions. Even though best efforts have been made to collect, collate and present this independent report, the authors by no means can opine that this report is complete and accurate in the representation due to the large amount of data/findings and sometimes which may not be material, relevant and may be conflicting.

The report, thus, should be regarded at best an endeavor towards a compendium of work done by many others in the field. The authors are thus not responsibe for the veracity and validity of the findings and resultant conclusions presented in the report.

The report is meant to provide a framework around which certain initiatives could be taken to protect the Western Ghats. There could be many other such frameworks and initiatives which could be taken based on further primary and secondary research. The proposed framework and comments are neither tested nor verified.

Readers of this report are encouraged to form their own conclusions and opinions and are requested to post them on the website: www.westernghatsindia.org. A number of questions have arisen during the course of developing this output for which a systematic, scientifically organized study needs to be con-ducted to put forth conclusions based on verifiable credences.

Errors and omissions are bound to exist in such a report as it is a compendium and not an independent research on scientific principles. Readers are earnestly requested to provide feedback to the author in this regard.

We hope that this compendium acts as a consolidated pool of knowledge and data for all interested people who have a deep interest to conserve and implement a substantial strategy for one of the world’s rarest and most biologically diverse ecological systems. If this knowledge/database can help create a multitude of options on the principle of collective wisdom and debate, the purpose will have been served. This report is just meant to create such a dialogue and is not to be regarded as a complete and validated output.

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TERMS OF REFERENCE

AGHARKAR RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Agarkar Road, Pune 411 004, Maharashtra, India

E-mail: madhav.gadgil@gmail.com

Dr. Erach Bharucha

Bharati Vidyapeeth Institute of Environment Education and Research, Pune

Dear Dr. Bharucha,

Sub: Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel – request on behalf of

Thank you so much for your most kind offer of help in taking forward the work programme of Western Ghats of Dangs and Maharashtra, when we personally met at BVIEER on 15th June. The mandate of WGEEP is as follows:

To assess the current status of ecology of the Western Ghats region.

To demarcate areas within the Western Ghats Region which need to be notified as ecologically sensi-tive and to recommend for notification of such areas as ecologically sensitive zones under the Environ-ment (Protection) Act, 1986. In doing so, the Panel shall review the existing reports such as the Mohan Ram Committee Report, Hon’ble Supreme Court’s decisions, Recommendations of the National Board for Wildlife and consult all concerned State Governments.

To make recommendations for the conservation, protection and rejuvenation of the Western Ghats Region following a comprehensive consultation process involving people and Governments of all the concerned States.

To suggest measures for effective implementation of the notifications issued by the Government of India in the Ministry of Environment and Forests declaring specific areas in the Western Ghats Region as eco-sensitive zones under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

To recommend the modalities for the establishment of Western Ghats Ecology Authority under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 which will be a professional body to manage the ecology of the re-gion and to ensure its sustainable development with the support of all concerned states.

To deal with any other relevant environment and ecological issues pertaining to Western Ghats Re-gion, including those which may be referred to it by the Central Government in the Ministry of Environ-ment and Forests.

We would therefore like to request you to draw on BVIEER’s own extensive work on the of Western Ghats of Dangs and Maharashtra, as also review other available material and prepare a background pa-per, if possible in both English and Marathi, addressing our mandate by early August 2010. This could be uploaded on the WGEEP website as well as circulated through other media, followed by an open dis-cussion meeting in BVIEER auditorium around the third week of August. I also greatly appreciate the fact that you do not require any specific funding to render this important service to WGEEP.

With personal regards,

Yours sincerely

Madhav Gadgil

Chairman

Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel

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FRAMEWORK

The introduction provides a brief account of the status and concerns leading up to the need for setting up a mechanism to reduce threats to the biological diversity in the northern Western Ghats.

The body of the report has sections on:

1. Present ecological status of the Northern Western Ghats

2. Conceptual categorization and prioritization of ESAs in the Western Ghats

3. Implementation and executive actions required for supporting the integral ecological values of the Ghats

4. A review of existing legislative and judicial instruments that can strengthen local execution

5. A bibliography of published and unpublished literature on the subject

Some questions that the report addresses include:

1. Can ecosensitive areas be identified in the Northern Western Ghats?

2. Are there significant differences in the level of fragility or robustness?

3. Are there hotspecks of high diversity or mini-ecosystems within the globally recognized hot spot of the Northern Western Ghats?

4. Are there areas of great importance outside PAs and PA surrounds (ESAs) that require urgent protection from rising threat levels?

5. Can a conceptual framework be created for a system of corridors as a major component of ESAs be evolved in the northern sector of the Western Ghats?

6. How can ESAs be prioritized based on conservation values and threat levels?

7. What are the possible executive and judicial actions that can strengthen the management of ESAs in the Western Ghats?

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The Western Ghats are a well-known hot-spot of biodiversity. The Ghats are a range of hills which were once covered with ex-

tensive forest all along the length from the Dangs in Gujarat to the southern part of Kerala. The North-ern Western Ghats extend across the three states of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Goa which is also a region that includes several unique ecosystems and harbours a large number of threatened and endem-ic species. It also includes areas with rich cultural heritage sites.

A paper on the zoogeography of the Western Ghats (Ramakrishna, Radhakrishnan, and Gopi 2001) characterises the Western Ghats on the basis of geology, biology and elevation. The northern sector is lower in altitude than most of the south-ern section. At an altitude of less than 1500 m, the northern sector has more impacts on the fragile landscape elements than in the South. The West East division shows bio-geographical variations ranging from coastal plains to hill ranges that merge into the Deccan Plateau. The range itself is covered by fragmented patches of forests as well

as intensively used landuse patterns. The Western part primarily has unique steep rocky escarpments that are covered with waterfalls in the monsoon. The crest line is a narrow strip broken into flat lat-eritic plateaus. The eastern slopes decent gradually to the Deccan Plateau and have irregular off shoots and spurs interspaced with water bodies created by dams that deride the ranges and plateau and flood plains of rivers into minor and major watersheds.

The high level of fragility of the Western Ghats ecosystems is thus due to its inherent geomorpho-logical, climatic and biological characteristics. The area’s biodiversity status which consists of ever-green and semi evergreen forest has seen rapid deg-radation in the recent past. A report on a descrip-tion of the Western Ghats as a biodiversity hotspot (Gunawardene et al. 2007) states that the Western Ghat has 6% of India’s landmass with 30% of plants and animals. However, only one third of the region is under natural vegetation in the to-tal extent of the hill range which covers 180,000 square kilometres. This makes it imperative that conservation measures are urgently implemented

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

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to preserve what is left of this important natural and cultural heritage area.

HISTORY OF CONSERVATION IN THE WESTERN GHATS

The current ecologically valuable assets in the Western Ghats are an outcome of the local histori-cal background, such as the tradition to preserve sacred groves which is embedded in ancient tribal culture and folklore; the good governance prin-ciples of Shivaji Maharaj which included an edict issued to protect tree cover of the Ghats. His fore-sight and vision was promulgated throughout his kingdom well before this was foreseen elsewhere. The British had a strong self-interest to preserve forests through a system of Reserved Forests. However, they exploited the forests for their own enormous timber requirements especially during the two World Wars. They used large quantities of teak to build their ships. Deforestation continued in post Independent India for several decades.

In more recent times there were moves made mainly by non-government organizations which lobbied strongly for containing the on-going de-struction of forests in the Western Ghats. Finally the Forest Department developed new Working Plans which excluded the practice of timber extrac-tion from the Ghats after the mid-1980s in Maha-rashtra. Gujarat had a moratorium on the extrac-tion of timber from the teak forests in the Dangs for several years.

In the 1970s and 1980s all the states created a series of Protected Areas (PAs) in the Ghats. This was a response to a strong directive from the then Prime Minister Mrs Indira Gandhi. Following this a series of administrative actions for different objectives have attempted to protect the inherent

values of the sensitive ecological attributes of the Ghats.

While a chain of Protected Areas has been creat-ed from north to south in the Ghats such as Purna Wild Life Sanctuary (WLS) and Vansda National Park in Gujarat; Kalsubai WLS, Bhimashankar WLS, Tansa WLS, Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Koyna WLS, Chandoli WLS, Phansad WLS and Radhanagri WLS in Maharashtra and Molem WLS, Cotagi WLS and Bondla WLS in Goa, their potential for connectivity through corridoring, or lack thereof, has not been adequately assessed.

One of the earliest moves to bring attention to the ecological sensitivity of the Western Ghat was the ‘Save Western Ghat March’ organized through a consortium of NGOs in the concerned states in November 1987. The prime mover was the late Shri Jagdish Godhole. The other interested in-dividuals were Dr. K. C. Malhotra (Anthropolo-gist), Vijay Paranjape and Dr. E. K. Bharucha then WWF Pune Committee Members and several other NGOs and NGIs. The March was flagged off by the Maharaja of Bansda who was seriously concerned by the depletion of wildlife in Gujarat and Admiral Awati then Chairman of WWF-Ma-harashtra and Goa. The March that went through all the states eventually ended in Kerala at Kan-yakumari. It was well published in the press and strongly supported by NGOs, academicians, the public at large and to some extent by concerned forest officials.

CURRENT THREATS TO THE WESTERN GHATS

The Western Ghats today are being rapidly de-graded due to various landuse changes that have occurred in the recent past. Apart from the tradi-tional impacts from farming, grazing and fire there are newer changes in landuse that are leading to biodiversity losses. This includes deforestation due to mining, roads, dams, townships and industrial-ization. Changing existing wilderness areas into intensive agriculture, urbanization and industry in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa has altered the natural ecological attributes over the last several decades. This has not spared the Western Ghats where dams, roads and other economic develop-ment programs have led to new forms of landuse.

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The industrial expansion due to globalization of the late 90s led to rural industrialization which has been strongly supported by the Industrial De-velopment Corporations. The river valley projects that have been developed for over a century now include nearly every possible major valley leaving very few as intact forest tracts. Mining has cre-ated large gaps. Added to these gaps are a string of roads winding across expanses of several kilo-metres (Ramakrishna, Radhakrishnan, and Gopi 2001). The special requirements of sustainable development in areas that are ecologically fragile such as the Western Ghats finds little place in cur-rent planning processes.

While the Western Ghats in the southern states have been better studied, the ranges of the northern sector have been neglected. The two ecosystems vary widely and suffer from different human im-pacts.

Degraded areas across the Ghats now form a mosaic of patches with different levels of degrada-tion. Climate change will further add to alterations in biodiversity values in future. Any adaptation strategy to preserve the integrity of the natural for-ests, in the context of future climate change, will have to take into account the varied landscape ele-ments that are inherent environmental assets in the Western Ghats. The strategy should preserve bio-logical diversity, hydrological balance and ecologi-cal services. (Ramakrishna et al. 2001)

CONCEPT OF ECOLOGICALLY SENSITIVE AREAS (ESAS)

Over the last several years it has been appreci-ated that protected areas alone (National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries) cannot conserve or pro-tect all species and ecosystems as islands in a ma-trix of other forms of landuse. Thus the concept of biosphere reserves, ecologically sensitive areas and community conserved areas has led to newer and wider frameworks for conservation at the land-scape level. This has also been expressed and given legal sanctity through the Environment Protection Act 1986 and several such areas have already been notified in India (see box).

Section 3(2)(v) of the Act empowers the central government to take all such measures that it deems necessary to protect and improve the quality of the environment and prevent environmental pollu-tion. It allows for the restriction of areas in which certain developmental activities can be prohibited. Further, section 5(1) of the Environment (Protec-tion) Rules (EPR), 1986, specifies certain criteria like topographic and climatic features of an area, biological diversity of the area, environmentally compatible land use, extensive cultivation, proxim-ity to the protected areas, etc. that can be consid-ered while prohibiting or restricting certain opera-tions in different areas.

NEED FOR IDENTIFYING ESAS IN THE WESTERN GHATS

The forests of the Western Ghats have been con-sidered critically important habitats for biodiversity conservation over several decades. Conservation

Section 3 of the Environment (Protection) Act 1986 (EPA) gives power to the Central Government i.e. the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests to take all measures that it feels are necessary for protecting and improving the quality of the environment and to prevent and control environmental pollution. To meet this objective, the Central Government can restrict areas in which any industries, operations or processes or class of industries, operations or processes shall not be carried out or shall be carried out subject to certain safeguards [Section 3(2)(v)]

Section 5(1) of the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986 (EPR), states that the central government can prohibit or restrict the location of industries and carrying on certain operations or processes on the basis of considerations like the biological diversity of an area (clause v) maximum allowable limits of concentration of pollutants for an area (clause ii) environmentally compatible land use (clause vi) proximity to protected areas (clause viii).

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planning has included the main range and its as-sociated hills as a region of great biological value by notifying a series of PAs (Rodgers and Panwar 1988). However, the importance of protecting in-tervening areas has not been given sufficient at-tention. The need to preserve these unprotected gaps as forest corridors in a well-managed network requires urgent attention. Currently there are no clearly defined strategies for implementing this concept. Buffer areas for National Parks, notifying Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESAs) around each Protected Area, and the creation of Biosphere Re-serves have similar and even overlapping objectives which can form a basis for developing an overarch-ing conservation policy for the Western Ghats. These currently used strategies have however not been able to protect corridors for preserving the long-term values of biodiversity in the northern sector of the Western Ghats. There have been no integrated plans for developing an interstate PA system for the Ghats. It is thus important to define various categories of ESAs and manage them ef-fectively through a well regulated network under a single authority.

A historical review shows that the forests formed a continuous tract which was minimally impacted by human activity till only a few decades ago. The forested Ghats act as the life support system for lo-cal residents as well as for people of the adjacent coastal belt and Deccan Plateau. The implications of deforestation and land degradation are already evident. Thus if these ecologically sensitive systems are disrupted further, the residual relict natural for-est ecosystems will be converted into serious envi-ronmental problems. In ecosystem management, prevention of degradation is better and cheaper than the cure. Thus apart from long term economic losses due to unsustainable development, restora-tion will become financially unviable. The tipping point at which landscape level changes will sub-stantially hinder sustainable development cannot be easily ascertained.

In many areas across India economic develop-ment will not unduly disrupt the more robust nat-ural ecological processes. In the Western Ghats however environmental changes will rapidly dam-age the highly sensitive ecosystem as the Western

Ghats is a thin north- south aligned strip of nar-row forested hills with specific geographical, cli-matological, geological, hydrological and biologi-cal aspects. If this is disrupted anywhere along its length, there will be a rapid deterioration of any possibility of long-term preservation of biodiver-sity, unless the fragile region is notified as a set of Ecologically Sensitive Areas. This will require a new policy which can be implemented through specific management strategies and rules created to implement conservation of these varied fragile areas.

DEFINING ESAS

The landscape elements that must be protected as Ecologically Sensitive Areas in the Western Ghats are of several types. The protected patches currently include the existing National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries, the Reserved Forest patches, and to some extent, the forested hill stations.

Fragments of the more remote forests have a relatively intact ecological status as compared with areas that have been subjected to recent lan-duse changes. Apart from the forests there are also more cryptic and specialized landscape ele-ments that must be preserved for their great eco-logical value. These include lateritic plateau tops, rocky escarpments with seasonal waterfalls, sacred groves, remote sites covered by old growth forests, river sources and the catchments of dams and riv-ers. These ecologically sensitive areas must be identified and managed in order to form a corri-dor through a network for maintaining the genetic diversity of flora and fauna. The important un-protected corridors between the Protected Areas of the Ghats and the adjacent coastal belt must also be identified as ESAs in spite of being degraded. This would require the use of new and innovative ecorestorative strategies.

No importance has been given to prevent the continual loss of forest cover in the catchments of dams in the Western Ghats. The Western Ghats are the sources of all the rivers of the Deccan and the coast. These catchments are essential for pre-serving life support systems for water to cities, ir-rigating croplands that ensure food security and the supply of water to industries. The catchment zones of all these dams constitute a set of special

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mission, was entrusted with the task of studying the issue to make appropriate recommendations to the Government. The Committee provided its comprehensive and well researched report on the selection of parameters for designating Ecologi-cally Sensitive Areas (Sen 2000). However in spite of this visionary and scientifically framed docu-ment, which was circulated to a large number of experts and NGOs, strategies for implementation have been woefully inadequate across the country. A major cause for inaction has been that the docu-ment had not spelled out the time frame and agen-cies responsible for implementation of ESAs at the national and state level. This relative weakness has left the fragile landscape elements of the Sahayad-ris to the vagaries of the voracious appetite of short term economic development processes.

While all the conditions of the Pronab Sen Re-port are not necessarily relevant to the Western Ghats, identification of the relevant parameters, designing modifications specifically for the West-ern Ghats and including all its different sensitive landscape elements to the list of suggested ESAs must become a key objective of the current pro-posed strategy for conserving the biodiversity of the Ghats. Other reports such as that of the Mohan Ram Committee (Ram 2001) have further added to a deeper understanding of the need for identifying

Ecologically Sensitive Areas of great economic im-portance to the wellbeing of people of Peninsular India.

The varied categories of ESAs consisting of sev-eral landscape elements will have to be preserved as a network. A chain of diverse interlinked land-scape elements must be selected to preserve the ecological, biological and ecosystem functions of the Western Ghats. This must stem from a conser-vation policy for the states of Gujarat, Maharash-tra, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala.

GENESIS OF ESAS IN INDIA

The need for declaring certain special ecological-ly important sites as ESAs has been discussed in In-dia for over three decades. The initial moves in the MOEF were made in 1989. The concept has grown simultaneously with moving from planning a PA network for India in 1988 by Rodgers and Panwar to the need for a broader avenue for protecting bio-diversity on a wider scale in non-PA areas such as reserve forests (Kapoor, Kohli, and Manju Menon 2009).

At the national level the need to rationalize these early initiatives of the MOEF by creating ESAs was felt way back in 1999 and a committee of experts under the chairmanship of Dr. Pronab Sen, Ad-viser (Perspective Planning) of the Planning Com-

Year Events

1986 Environment Protection Act (EPA) and Environment Protection Rules ( EPR)

1989

1990 MoEF Report on Parameters for Determining Ecological Fragility1991

1992 2. Numaligarh ‘No Development Zone’1996 Planning Commission Report on Conserving Ecologically Fragile Ecosystems

1998 1. Taj Trapezium Zone Pollution Authority

2000

1. Pronab Sen Committee Report

2001 Mohan Ram Committee to examine the ESA proposals & review the existing ESAs2002 Hill Stations Committee200320082009

Source (Kapoor, Kohli and Menon 2009)

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ESAs.

In the recent past however, at the national lev-el several ecosystems such as the Himalayas, the North Eastern states, the Western Ghats, coastal areas, wetlands etc. were recognized as being foci of recent destruction and even devastation. The first areas to have been notified by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) as ESAs were the twin hill stations of Mahabaleshwar and Pan-chgani and the hills of Matheran in Maharashtra. These sites have been great tourist attractions for generations. However, due to their ecological fra-gility and lack of careful environmental planning, their hill forest ecosystems were being rapidly de-graded. Although they are situated in a globally rec-ognized hotspot of biological diversity in the West-ern Ghats they have been engulfed in the process of being converted from evergreen forests into con-crete jungles! Their notification as ESAs was thus a strategy to create a more sustainable development paradigm for these forested hill stations. This was expected to prevent further degradation of their forests and biodiversity values and ensure that they are maintained as crucial corridors for preserving the biological integrity of the two important Pro-tected Areas in the northern sector of the Ghats, namely between Bhimashankar and Koyna. This was supported by NGOs and given legal sanctity by the Honourable High Court of Bombay.

The next important group of Ecologically Sensi-tive Areas was created by the MOEFs instructions to states to notify belts of land measuring five to ten kilometres around all Protected Areas as Ecologi-cally Sensitive Areas under the Environment Pro-tection Act. This significant notification resulted from the initiative of the Goa Foundation versus Union of India judgment in 2004 of the Hon Su-preme Court and its order in 2006 to declare areas of 10 km buffer zones around PAs as ESAs. This has generated both positive and negative reactions from a variety of stakeholders. The polarization of viewpoints has led to acrimonious debates between those who strongly uphold the need to preserve, at all costs, the treasure house of invaluable biological diversity within the Protected Areas of the Western Ghats, and those who believe economic develop-ment for these poverty ridden backward areas must

get precedence over all else. There is also the third dimension of people who hope to get rich through land use changes and speculating on land deals.

The Protected Areas in the Western Ghats are isolated patches and there has been no concrete ef-fort to develop an integrated PA network for the re-gion. Notified Ecologically Sensitive Areas, which constitute 10 km belts around the PAs, are already severely impacted by all manner of intensive use (Bharucha 2006). If one takes into account the ex-isting rules for ESAs, the 10 kilometre belt around each Protected Area would include parts of the coastal belt and the industrialized Deccan Plateau.

Beyond the confines of the Protected Areas there are substantial areas of high ecological sensi-tivity suffering from the growing level of impacts. These forests consist of Reserved Forest, Protected Forest and ‘Malki’ tree covered lands with tradi-tional agriculture. The hill ranges however include landscape elements such as urbanization, industry, mining, railways, roads and dams which have now spread into these once forested tracts. Appreciat-ing the existing level of impacts and their present and future spatial spread is of great relevance for creating effective ESAs.

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The overall environmental status of the West-ern Ghats is now seeing a rapid change in landscape elements from the once continu-

ous and impenetrable tracts of forest interspersed by small hamlets of its agropastoral people to highly intensive landuse elements. Thus process has changed river tributaries into lakes, forests into blanks due to mining, and most recently wilderness into townships. Developing a set of Protected Ar-eas mainly through the notification of new Protect-ed Areas during the World Bank Forestry Project (1984) has not been able to stem the onslaught of unsustainable development in the Ghats.

The boundaries of what constitutes the Western Ghats have been seen from different perspectives by several experts. This has been perceived from a geomorphological perspective (Diddee 2002), from the viewpoint of forest types (Champion & Seth 1968), from ecological aspects (Puri 1983) and

from forest types (Pascal 1963). More recently, the boundaries have been described based on biogeog-raphy (Rodgers and Panwar 1988) which suggests a sharp distinction between the hill ranges and the coastal plains. The Western Ghats boundary as de-fined by the Western Ghats Expert Ecology panel (WGEEP) has been adopted for this study of delin-eating ESAs in the Northern Western Ghats.

LANDSCAPE ELEMENTS OF THE WESTERN GHATS

The Ghats are characterised by a large diversi-ty in ecosystems that constitute a major aspect of their threatened biological diversity. These ecosys-tems which include not only the forested hill rang-es but their streams, escarpments, plateaus, rugged crests etc. are specialised ecological systems with their own distinctive abiotic (geomorphological, geographical, hydrological and climatic) variabil-

CHAPTER 2: ECOLOGICAL STATUS OF THE NORTHERN

WESTERN GHATS

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ity. This has a strong bearing on the biological di-versity and uniqueness of these ecosystems, com-munities, species and genetic variability. Thus both the abiotic and biotic components of these ecosys-tems contribute towards giving the Western Ghats its globally recognized ‘hot spot’ status.

Geomorphology and Hydrology

The crest line of the Ghats, which is generally 1000 meters above sea level, contains isolated patches of evergreen and semi evergreen forest and experiences a rainfall of around 5000mm. In most areas the main hill range is around 30 to 50 km wide. The escarpment meets the coastal plains abruptly in the west. The varied landscape ele-ments, the sea shore, the coastal plains and estua-rine ecosystems contrast sharply with the hill for-ests of the Ghats. Where they lie adjacent to each other they are separated by a narrow distinctive ecotone. To the east, the Ghats have low ranges which extend down to 500 - 600 meters where they merge into the scrub covered hill slopes and the Deccan plateau grasslands. The steep western es-carpments that overlook the coastal plains, the river valleys and coastal estuaries are ecologically sensi-tive landscape elements. The land use pattern in the region as a whole thus requires a special focus on preserving their natural resource conservation as well as spectacular aesthetic values. The latter is hardly ever taken into consideration in our country where resource use is considered of paramount im-portance today.

Biogeographically, the hill chain of the Western Ghats constitutes the Malabar province of the ori-ental realm, running parallel to the West coast of India from 8°N to 21°N latitude and stretched over a length of around 1600 km. They rise as a relative-

ly narrow strip of hills adjacent to the coast as the western border and reach up to a height of 2800m before they merge in the east with the Deccan Pla-teau at an altitude of 500-600m. The average width of the mountain range is about 100 km (Nagendra 1999).

Geologically the Western Ghats may be divided into two segments. The hills north of the Krishna basin (largely Maharashtra and Gujarat) with frag-ile basaltic rocks, are results of the same processes that gave rise to the Deccan trap (Widdowson and Cox 1996).

The Western Ghats escarpment in the western coastal region of peninsular India is locally capped by plateau remnants on which a regional high-level laterite carapace is preserved. Geochemical ‘fin-gerprinting’ studies show that the laterite has been developed from a protolith of Panhala Formation basalts. This is the most recent formation of the Deccan sequence. It is the original upper layer of the lava pile. The high-level laterite is structurally concordant with the underlying basalts. The low-level, younger laterite carapace has developed in the Konkan plains below the escarpment where it is discordant and lies on basalts of the Ambenali and Poladpur formations, from which it developed in situ. The low-level laterite rises topographically in the north. This is a response to differential up-lift, maximally seen in the Nasik region. The major structures of the Ghats which excludes the coastal monocline are in the Nasik dome and the Maha-baleshwar anticline (Widdowson and Cox 1996)

The Western Ghats escarpment is one of the classic examples of passive margins of great escarp-ments in the world. It is an area of rugged terrain, deep valleys, waterfalls, and dense forest with other associated landforms such as plateau outliers, deep gorges, beheaded plateau valleys and laterite pla-teaux or tablelands. The Ghats is the fountainhead of many large, east-flowing rivers and numerous short, swift, coastward-flowing rivers (Kale 2010).

The Dangs district which starts from the rug-ged mountain chains of the Sahyadri hills in the east and descends in the west to the plains of Gu-jarat, forms the northernmost limit of the Western Ghats. The entire region is extremely hilly, but ex-cept for a few high hills in the east and the south,

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it is essentially made up of a series of flat topped low hills. The elevation of these hills varies from 105m in the west to 1317m on the eastern border. On the whole, barring a few high hills and few low depressions, most of the area in the Dangs lies be-tween elevations of 300 to 700 meters above mean sea level. The area is distinctly divided into the four main valleys of the Gira, Purna, Khapri and Ambika rivers. All four rivers rise in the hills of the Western Ghats and flow towards the west.

The Western Ghats between latitudes 18°20’N and 19°15’ N, have been geomorphologically mapped into three subgroups and ten formations: the Kalsubai subgroup with the Jawhar, Igatpuri, Neral, Thakurvadi, and Bhimashankar formations, the Lonavala subgroup with the Khandala and the Bushe formations and the Wai subgroup with the Poladpur, the Ambenali, and the Mahabaleshwar formations (Beane et al. 1986).

The geomorphology of Maharashtra is mainly dominated by the presence of Deccan Volcanic Basalt flows covering an area of about 500,000 sq. kms. These horizontally disposed lava flows have been outpoured during the most stupendous epi-sode of the earth’s volcanism ranging from Creta-ceous to Eocene time. These flows cover most of the west-central India. Along with other volcanic rocks such as rhyolites, trachytes and andesites, there are horizons of patchy laterites.

The flows extend in an east–west direction from the neighbourhood of Porbundar on the Kathi-awar peninsula to a little beyond Amarkantak in the highlands of central India. Isolated exposures occur further east upon Ambikapur. The province stretches for some 850 kms, in a north-south direc-tion, from Nemach in the north to Belgaum in the south. The individual flows have thickness ranging from few metres to 100 mts and even more.

The geomorphology of this terrain straddles two main sub-divisions, namely Upland plateau of Maharashtra and low-lying Konkan coastal belt. Both are separated by stupendous Western Ghat escarpments, overlooking the Konkan coastal belt towards west. The Western Ghats in Maharashtra are popularly termed as Sahyadries, which form a major water divide between the two geomorphic zones.

The research undertaken during post-Koyna earthquake has brought about a number of geo-physical characteristics of the region. Accordingly, it is now accepted that the geomorphology of the region is shaped due to the tectonic activity of the peninsular India under the litho-structural and cli-matic controls.

It is mainly the amalgamation of these con-trols that the erosional features such as flat topped mountains, steep, as well as, broad valleys have been carved out on the earth’s surface. Kalsubai forms the highest peak while the typical trappean flat topped hills are predominantly seen at various forts like Rajgarh, Raigarh, Purandar, Harischan-dragarh, etc. The longitudinal profile of the West-ern Ghats also shows erosional characteristics of the basalt flows with elevations increasing towards southern peninsular region.

The Western Ghats region also shows stepped appearance, as well as, steep escarpment zones. The former characterizes the flat surfaces to west of the Sahyadries of the Nashik district (at 300-360 m) while latter features are valley heads of the major streams (river Krishna at Mahabaleshwar, Indrayani and Ulhas at Lonavala, Bhima at Bhi-mashankar, etc. These varied geomorphic features are characterized by their typical altitude, climate, rainfall and rock types. These regions, therefore, are known for their characteristic forest zones such as Southern Tropical Semi-evergreen forests of Bhimashankar, Radhanagari and Amboli; South-ern Tropical Moist Deciduous forests of Peint and Surgana Talukas of Nashik district, Wada and Jawahar in Thane district and Melghat region; Southern Tropical Dry Deciduous forests of Chan-drapur, Gadchiroli, Nagpur, Bhandara Wardha and Yevatmal districts; Thorny forests stretched right from Khandesh in the north to the Solapur and Sangli districts in the north.

The characteristic fauna and flora are met with at all these hilly and valley tracts of the basalt flows and exhibit an astonishing biodiversity at different elevations, latitudes and longitudes. The lithology, climate and structural configuration of the basalt flows together have shaped the characteristic bio-diversity of these regions. These zones being very eco-sensitive, have been undergoing tremendous

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destruction due to man’s interference. The growth and nurturing of such a wide spectrum of fauna and flora may not be possible unless the zones are strictly protected under the state laws. If this trea-sure is to be maintained for the future generations then there is no substitute for the preservation of this biodiversity (Dikshit 2001).

Presence of numerous barren, rocky, lateritic plateaus, locally known as ‘sadas’, is a unique fea-ture of the Northern Western Ghats. It supports characteristic ephemeral flush vegetation that in-cludes monotypic genera, many of which have a highly restricted distribution (Kanade et al. 2008).

Since all the rivers in the Western Ghats are mon-soon dominated, the annual flow pattern changes in accordance with the monsoon rainfall. Most riv-ers in the Western Ghats are characterised by a tri-partite sequence of flows (Diddee 2002):

1. Dry or very low non-monsoon flows

2. Normal monsoon flows

3. Infrequent high magniture floods

Some unique characteristics of the river systems are (Diddee 2002)

Throughout the year, most rivers follow a simple fluvial regime, showing only one significant maxi-mum

The rivers’ flow rises at the beginning of the monsoons much more quickly than it falls at the end of the monsoon.

During the monsoon, river flows show many sharp peaks, sometimes increasing daily discharge by an order of magnitude

Most rivers vary significantly both intraannually and interannually in terms of their stream flows and their flood magnitudes

Rivers in the Western Ghats show low flood variability

It has been shown that due to changes in the catchment land use and vegetation cover as well as due to construction of a large number of dams and weirs on most of the rivers in the Western Ghats, the natural cycles of flooding and sediment trans-portation have been affected (Diddee 2002).

Climate

Climatic conditions in the Western Ghats vary with the altitude and physical proximity to the Ara-bian Sea and the equator. Although the Western Ghats experience a tropical climate - being warm and humid during most of the year with mean the temperature ranging from 20°C in the south to 24°C in the north, the higher elevations experience subtropical climates and on occasions frost. Fur-ther, it has been observed that the coldest periods in the Western Ghats coincide with the wettest (Dan-iels 2001).

Whereas rainfall peaks of 9000 mm and above per year, are known locally, annual rainfall as low as 1000 mm are frequent in the east bringing the average to around 2500 mm. The northern West-ern Ghats receive the highest rainfall (locally over 9000 mm) and yet experience dry weather over more than half the year. On the contrary, areas re-ceiving much less rainfall in Kerala and closer to the equator experience rain almost all through the year. Much of the rainfall is received during the southwest monsoon season. Peak period of rainfall is July-August (Daniels 2001).

ECOSYSTEM DIVERSITY

At the biogeographic regional level the Ghats can be divided as described by (Rodgers and Panwar 1988). At a smaller scale however, the Ghats have a variety of smaller distinctive landscape elements, microhabitats and niches. This mosaic adds to the ecosystem diversity: the communities of floral and faunal elements that inhabit them and the range of species from common to the most fascinating en-demics. The ecosystem that is most familiar is the forest which has been given a range of descriptive terms.

Of special concern are grassy and herb covered plateaus, some of which are natural while others are a result of biotic pressures due to traditional forms of agriculture, fires lit by local people and cattle grazers. It is the natural monsoonal vegeta-tion of plateaus that appears to have a large pro-portion of endemics and endangered or threatened plants (Watve and Thakur 2006)

The specialised waterfalls, cascades and streams constitute highly specialized aquatic lentic systems

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with specialised aquatic plants, insect, amphibia and fish. This has another component of congru-ent endemics from a variety of taxa that show high concentrations in and around these water courses. The stream banks are a profusion of terrestrial flo-ral and faunal elements that can be observed as vertical belts of vegetation in a series of horizon-tal forest tracts created by rocky escarpments and forests on the shallow soil due to repeated ancient volcanic activity.

Within such perennial and ephemeral areas there are microhabitats such as pools with algae, aquatic insects such as whirly gig beetles, water skaters etc. Such waterfalls and pools form the favoured habi-tats of birds such as the spectacular songster, the Malabar Whistling Thrush.

The small but ancient sacred groves are equally enthralling. Their ancient buttressed giant trees tower over the rest of the shrubland, created through hundreds of years of agricultural pasture use.

At the most micro level, tree bark covered in moss and lichen is the home of insect life, shrill intermittent shrieking cicadas, the silent flap of moth wings at dusk and the persistent call of the night jar, punctuated by a disturbed lapwing calling ‘did you do it?’ as it flies agitatedly over this pleth-ora of microhabitats in the forest, epitomises the magnificence of the evergreen forest ecosystem. Even a small snag or hole in a large old tree is home to a myriad of faunal species, changing with each season.

Forest Types

There are 16 major forest types in India, accord-ing to studies by Champion and Seth (1968) and they are classified on the basis of their dominant tree species. This gives importance to the three or four most common tree species within them.

There are 16 major forest types in India, accord-ing to studies by Champion and Seth (1968) classi-fied on the basis of their dominant tree species. Of these three types are prominently seen in the North-ern Western Ghat. This gives importance to the three or four most common tree species within them.

A forest classification for India that is based on ecological considerations and the dominant com-mon or distinctive species has been developed by GS Puri (Puri et al, 1983). This holistic classifica-tion describes about 29 distinctive types that range from the most arid thorn forests, to the high rainfall evergreen forms. While these different forest types are based on important tree species, several char-acteristic types such as open grass covered areas or degraded vegetation forms depending on the level of human pressure are described. Such open areas are frequently of biological value as they form a different habitat type for several plant and animal species.

According to Puri 1983 the forests in the north-ern part of the Western Ghats include Moist Tropi-cal Forest which includes:

Group 1A - Southern Tropical Wet Evergreen Forest

Group 2A - Southern Tropical Semi Evergreen Forest and West Coast Semi Evergreen Forest

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The forest structure consists of a profusion of plant species in the groundcover, the shrub layer, epiphytes and climbers at trunk level, and is char-acterised by a closed canopy cover. The forests of the crestline of the Western Ghats of Maharashtra are areas in which most of the trees are evergreen. In other areas there are hill slopes covered by de-ciduous forests.

The Moist-Deciduous Teak Forest

This type has a series with Tectona—Dillenia—La-gerstroemia lanceolata—terminalia paniculata. In the Northern Western Ghats this occurs predomi-nantly on the western slopes of the Western Ghats north of Goa. The forest occurs at a height of 600 to 1000 metres (Puri 1983).

The Semi-Evergreen Forest

This type has a Toona—Garuga series. The cano-py itself is semi-deciduous in nature, which makes the forest an intermediate type between more Wet Evergreen communities and the Moist-Deciduous Types (Puri 1983).

Evergreen Forest

The evergreen types of the Southern part of the Western Ghats contrast sharply with those north of Goa.

The Memecylon—Actinodaphne—Syzygium seriesof the Western Ghats north of Goa is a typical for-est type that has been extensively fragmented. This typical form has as many as six ficus species. These forests are typically seen in Mulshi, Mawal, Maha-baleshwar and Bhimashankar in Maharashtra. This is a three-tiered, low, but extremely dense veg-etation type, consisting of mostly evergreen spe-cies. It rarely grows taller than 15 metres, especially

in the exposed windy areas. It is usually located 700 metres above sea level. Between 600 to 700 me-tres, the common series on western slopes and above 800 metres on eastern slopes of the Western Ghats is the Bridelia—Ficus racemosa—Syzygium se-ries. This is a transitional form between the moist teak and the evergreen Memecylon—Actinodaphne—Syzygium series.

In general the forests of the Sahyadharis in the Western Ghats of Maharashtra are known as Trop-ical Evergreen Forests which cover sections of the steep hill slopes (Champion and Seth 1968). The plant community varies significantly in the differ-ent topographic features. There are open plateaus with a large diversity of herbs, many of which are rare and steep precipices with specially adapted plants. The vegetation along nala courses differs from the rest of the forest. This feature leads to the formation of several microhabitats with their own plant communities.

High Altitude Forest

Above 900 metres, the red lateritic soils support small relict patches of a special form of forest con-sisting of Syzygium cumini (Jamun), Actinodaph-nae sp. (Pisa), Mangifera indica (Mango) with an under-story of Memecylon sp. (Anjan) trees and an undergrowth of Carvia callosa (Karvi). This is typical of patches in the northern part of the West-ern Ghats, where the rainfall is over 5000 mm. These forests are rich in forest birds, amphibia and insect life.

Low Level Forest

Typically the forests that occur in depressions and along nala courses create a mozaic with the dome-shaped hilltops covered by open grasslands. The water courses include forest patches with river-ine vegetation. The giant trees of the valley forests contrast sharply with the grassy slopes and crags that form vertical rock faces nearly devoid of plant cover.

These valley forests are extremely dense. In most situations the trees grow to a height of about 45 metres. About 75 per cent of the trees are of species that may individually contribute only 1 per cent of the tree community. The height of the trees below the canopy is occasionally structured

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into well-defined layers with a specific canopy tree and a community of different under-storey trees. At times the vegetation forms a tangle of thick foliage. The numerous climbers range from small vines to giant lianas, the latter standing on their own even after the supporting tree dies. In areas where the canopy is exceptionally dense, the floor of the forest has very little vegetation. The ground is covered with decaying leaves, fungi and rocky ex-posures. Nala courses and sloping soil from which subsoil water finds its way out in minute trickles have banks of ferns and bryophytes. These forests are extremely rich in orchids. The undergrowth has cane and bamboo in patches. Strobilanthus callosa (Karvi shrubs frequently occur as ground cover es-pecially along the edges of a forest patch or in for-est openings. This plant occurs gregariously, cover-ing large open areas with their dense impenetrable stalks and flowers cyclically after seven years of dormancy.

Description of Forest in the Western Ghats of Gujarat

According to Champion and Seths (1968) re-

vised classification of forest types (1968), the for-ests of the Dangs belong to the subgroup; South Indian Moist Deciduous forests’. Within this type they are classified a ‘moist teak forests’. Based on the holistic classification of vegetation followed by Puri et al. (1983) these forests are classified as de-ciduous teak forest types intermediate between dry and moist categories. They are named as the Tec-tona-Terminalia-Adina-Anogeissus series which is also encountered in the Valsad district of Gujarat, Nasik and Thane districts of Maharashtra and in Nagar Haveli. Teak is the most dominant species and its occurrence is almost universal throughout the area. The composition of tree growth varies slightly according to the edaphic and biotic factors but by and large it is the same throughout the area (Worah 1991). According to Gadgil and Meher-Homji (1986) it is vital that the vegetation of this region should be preserved and not ‘sacrificed on the altar of teak plantations’. The only other areas in the country where the forest series represented in the Dangs, the Tectona-Terminalia-Adina_Ano-geissus series is found area are all heavily degraded. In view of these facts the conservation importacne

Percentage Loss of Forest Cover in the Dangs (Worah, 1991)

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of these forests cannot be overemphasised.

Description of Forests in the Western Ghats in Maharashtra

Champion and Seth describe the Montane sub-tropical forests of this region. It includes Group 8-Subtropical Broad leaved hill forests, of which Subgroup 8A-Southern Subtropical Broad leaved Hill Forests occurs in Maharashtra. In contrast to the Southern Western Ghat these northern forests grow where rainfall is relatively lower and unequal-ly distributed, having a marked dry season. These forests occur between 1000 m and 1700 m; and typically occur in Mahabaleshwar at 1300m. The neighbouring forests are of the dry deciduous type.

Champion and Seth (1968) describes the crest-line forests in Maharashtra as type C2-Western Subtropical Broad leaved Hill Forests as having unique features. In well developed form it is a dense evergreen forest of mixed species, where the height does not exceed 15 m. The trees have a typ-ical spreading habit. The old trunks become hal-low. Occasionally large emergents are Terminalias or Stereospermum trees of great girth. These for-ests mainly grow above 100 m in Maharashtra. Good examples are found in Mahabaleshwar and Bhimashankar where rainfall is relatively high. The soil is formed from basaltic trap which is cov-ered by a thick lateritic cap especially over the flat plateau tops that are devoid of tree cover but have a profusion of ground flora with endemic and rare plants. Champion calls this type C2 - Western Sub-tropical Hill forest which has Syzygium cumini, Acti-nodaphne hookeri, Memecylon umbellatum as its dom-inant trees. Randia dumetorum, Flacourtia latifolia, Terminalia Chebula, Olea dioica, Glochidion hohenack-eri, Pouteria tomentosa are also found in the canopy.

The undergrowth consists of Carvia callosa, Canthi-um dicocium, Scutia myrtina. The shrubs include Capparis pedunculosa, Zizyphus rugosa, Pavetta indica.Puri and Mahajan (1960) describe three other com-munities which predominantly include Terminalia chebula, Kandia dumetorum and Artocarpus hirsuta.

Along the Western coast of Maharashtra Cham-pion and Seth describe, Group 2 - Tropical Semi evergreen Forest, type 2A /C2 , and West coast Semi-evergreen forest. The last is an intermediate type that occurs between evergreen and moist de-ciduous with Xylia and Bambusa arundiracea (cane) and several climbers. The lower storey is mostly evergreen. The forest typically forms a thin strip. The rainfall is between 2000 and 2500mm. This forest runs along hill slopes from 450m to 1050 m. It has mainly Terminalia paniculata, Largestoremia lanceolata, Holigarna arnottiana, Elaeocarpus serratus, Mallotus philippensis.

The type 5 A / C3 Southern Dry Mixed Decidu-ous forest of the Northern Western Ghat differs from Dry Teak forest in having different domi-nants such as Boswellia. It also includes some thorny plants. It is poor in climbers. The rainfall is between 875mm to 1125 mm. The character-istic trees include Anogeissus latifolia, Terminalia to-mentosa, Hardwickia binata, Boswellia serrata, Hetero phragma quadriculare, Dichanthium annulatum. The common shrubs include a profusion of Xizyphusmauratiana. However, the undergrowth is generally poor and there are patches with dense grass which grows during the monsoon.

Pascal describes the Memecylon umbellatum – Syzyguim cumini - Actinodaphn angustifolia type in great detail as it is different in structure and com-position. The upper story has over 60% of Meme-

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cylon trees with a complement of deciduous trees giving the overall appearance of a semi – ever-green forest type. The trees are stunted, gnarled, and covered in moss and lichens. It is said to be a secondary edaphic form on the lateritic cap, but is very ancient.

The loss of forest cover in the Western Ghats region of Maharashtra over a period of 20 years has been studied by (Panigrahy et al. 2010). The decrease in the area of dense forest and increase in open forest and scrublands are indicators of pres-sures on the core forested areas. The significant in-crease in water bodies has been a response to the growing needs of agriculture, industry and urban-ization. The impact is related to a further fragmen-tation of forest continuity. While some species can get across water bodies others are completely cut off from neighbouring populations.

According to the State of Forest Report (For-est Survey of India 2001), in Maharashtra, Thane district shows the most serious (29.29%) decrease in dense forest, followed by Nashik (22.5%) and Ratnagiri (16.45%). Only Raigad district shows a marginal increase (2.79%) in dense forest. All

other districts follow a decreasing trend. The ma-jor chunk of dense forest is transformed to open forest and scrublands. Thane district shows a large increase (30.67%) in open forest which is mostly contributed by the degradation of dense forest. An increasing trend is also followed by Nashik district (>27.25%). Except Mumbai and Kolhapur, all oth-er districts follow an increasing trend. Mangrove forests were interpreted only in the four coastal dis-tricts of Maharashtra, i.e. Thane, Mumbai, Raigad and Ratnagiri. Raigad district shows highest posi-tive change in mangroves followed by Thane and Mumbai, whereas Ratnagiri district shows slight decrease. Highly dense tree farm land is mapped only in the four districts, i.e. Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sa-tara and Sindhudurg. The area statistics follows an increasing trend in Raigad, whereas a decreasing trend in Sindhudurg and more or less no change in Satara and Ratnagiri districts. Less dense tree farm land is also mapped in only four districts, i.e. Raigad, Ratnagiri, Satara and Sindhudurg. Only Sindhudurg district follows an increasing trend in statistics, whereas Raigad and Ratnagiri show a decreasing trend. Scrubland area is decreased in Satara district whereas it is increased in all other

Forest Cover Change in Maharashtra over 20 Years (Source: Panigrahy et. al 2010)

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districts. Sindhudurg district (26.28%), Thane (21.72%) and Kolhapur (19.01%) exhibit the high-est change in scrublands. The water body area has increased more or less in all the districts, out of which Kolhapur (by 10 times) and Sangli (by 6 times) show the highest change.

Grasslands

Landscapes in which vegetation is mainly formed by grasses and small annual plants form a variety of grassland ecosystems with their specific plants and animals adapted to India’s varied climatic con-ditions. Grasslands are usually formed in areas of low rainfall where there is poor soil depth or qual-ity. These conditions inhibit the growth of trees and shrubs but are sufficient to support the growth of grasses and herbs, that spring from the ground during the monsoon. These grasses and herbs dry off during the summer months, only to grow back in the next monsoon. This changes the appearance of the grasslands according to the season, with a growth phase followed by a dormant phase. A variety of grasses, herbs, insects, birds and mam-mals have evolved to live in these grassland areas. Grasslands have been used by man as pastures for their livestock ever since he became a pastoralist in ancient times.

Grasslands form a variety of ecosystems ac-cording to the different climatic conditions. The grasslands of the Northern Western Ghats most of which have been over-grazed or turned into agri-cultural lands through irrigation. Grasslands also occur when clearings are made in a forest, or when repeated fires are lit that do not allow the forest to regrow. Each grassland type has its own commu-nity of grasses and herbs. They also form habitats for specialized animals.

Human beings began to use these as pastures to feed their livestock when they changed from being hunter-gatherers to pastoralists. In the past, such grassy areas were considered to be the common pastures of a village community, and were appro-priately managed. Changes in land-management have led to grasslands becoming degraded and unproductive. Our growing livestock population, however still depends mainly on these degraded grassland ecosystems. A major threat is the con-version of lowland grasslands into irrigated farm-

lands. As pressures on land increased, these village commons were the first to be degraded (Bharucha 2008).

Streams and Rivers

These ecosystems include freshwater ecosystems like lakes, rivers, ponds and wetlands. These eco-systems are rich in their diversity and provide hu-mans with a wealth of natural resources and ser-vices. Water, an essential ingredient for life, is provided by these ecosystems. These ecosystems include specialized plant and animal species that are adapted to live in water. These aquatic ecosys-tems are characterized by their abiotic features or physical aspects such as quality of water, including salinity, rate of flow, clarity and oxygen content. They are classified as being either still-water eco-systems such as ponds and lakes, or running-water ecosystems like streams and rivers. The bed of the aquatic ecosystem, i.e. the mud, gravel or rocks at the bottom, alters its characteristics and influences its species composition.

Streams and rivers are flowing-water ecosystems in which all the living forms are specially adapted to different rates of flow. Some plants and animals such as the snails and other burrowing animals can withstand the rapid fl ow of the hill streams.

Other species of plants and animals like the wa-ter beetles and skaters can live only in slower mov-ing water. Some species of fish, such as the mah-seer, go upstream from rivers to hill streams for breeding. They need crystal-clear water to be able to breed. They lay eggs only in clear water so that their young can grow successfully.

As deforestation occurs in the hills the water in the streams that once flowed throughout the year

18

becomes seasonal. This leads to flash floods in the rains and a shortage of water once the streams dry up after the monsoon.

The community of flora and fauna of streams and rivers depends on the clarity, the rate of flow and oxygen content as well as the nature of their beds. The stream or river can have a sandy, rocky or muddy bed, each type having its own species of plants and animals. River ecosystems have been been cradles of human civilization, and in India, as elsewhere in the world, ancient settlements were established on river banks. As these settlements grew, people attempted to retain water, the most precious of resources, for longer periods by con-structing dams. However, changing the flow pat-terns of rivers beyond a certain limit has in fact led to serious problems and a loss of productivity in the aquatic ecosystem and in the surrounding land (Bharucha 2008).

Plateaus

A very important but neglected and little studied ecosystem is the ‘sadas’ or the rocky out-crops in the Western Ghats. There have been very little studies done on this unique ecosystem. One of the only studies on this ecosystem is by Watve and Thakur 2006. These rocky outcrops are masses of exposed rock with very shallow soil cover varying from a few millimetres to 30 centimeters. The soil scarcity makes it very difficult for perennial vegeta-tion to thrive. The study by Watve et al. has listed 20 major plateaus in the western-most parts of Sa-tara, Sangli, Kolhapur and the eastern Sindhudurg district as being unique Indian rock outcrops due to being isolated island like formations on the tops of tall hill ranges. The unique biodiveisty on these rocky outcrops is a result of the extreme climatic

conditions that exist here in combination with the geology and altitude. This in turn results in ex-tremely high local endemism among the flora as well as the fauna.

The Kas plateau which is a 25 km. long north-south piece of land has 35 endemic plants of which five are rare and critically endangered. More than 99 percen tof the species are herbaceous annuals that complete their life cycle during the monsoon. The profusion of flowering plants on Kas has aptly given its name as ‘Maharashtra’s Valley of flow-ers’. The flora on these plateaus is dominated by Urticularia sp., Eriocaulons sp., Drosera, orchids and lilies. These plateaus are equally rich in fauna with several new species fo caecilians being report-ed.

SPECIES DIVERSITY

The floral and faunal species of the northern Western Ghats have elements that are fairly dis-tinctive to the region and have extremely patchy distributions. While the southern Western Ghats has been better studied due to its highly endemic and charismatic species such as the Lion Tailed Macaque, the Nilgiri Langur and the Nilgiri Thar, habitat specific species in the northern Western Ghats have received less attention. This is because they are often regarded as less charismatic. For ex-ample, reptiles, amphibia and a wide spectrum of herbs and other less ‘flamboyant’ floral elements than those seen in the orchids of the south. Nev-ertheless, the level of threat which is higher in the north than in the south makes it even more impor-tant to rapidly assess biodiversity values and put into place both in situ and ex situ species survival programmes.

The Western Ghats is one of the biologically richest areas in India harbouring no less than 3500 species of flowering plants consisting of about 27% flowering plants in the country. The Western Ghats are the most important distribution range for many plants at family and generic levels which have ex-tremely restricted distributions. They are a poten-tial gene pool of many plant species (Ramakrish-na, C. Radhakrishnan, and K. C. Gopi 2001). The Ghats harbour a healthy population of most of the animal species of India with a fairly high degree of endemism.

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tions in the range of major mammals have become an overt phenomenon and are often reported in newspaper articles. However, changes in the ranges

of less known taxa such as Hemidactylus prashadi, a rare gecko that has spread northwards in Maha-rashtra, does not make newspaper headlines (Giri

NameCritically

EndangeredEndangered Vulnerable

NearThreatened

Least Concern Endemic Total Threatened

A B R M P A B R M P A B R M P A B R M P A B R M P A B R M P

Aguada Fort 1 2 3 1

Ahmednagar 2 1 3 3

Ajgaon 1 1 1

Akkalkuva 1 1

Alibag 1 1 1 3 2

AmbaVillage 2 6 1 9 2

Amravati 2 2 2

Ambavane 3 2 1 6 6

Ambaghat 2 2 1 5 5

Amboli 7 11 1 1 5 2 2 3 1 1 1 3 38 32

Anjanari 2 1 1 4 4

Anjuna 3 7 1 3

Archirne 1 1 1

Aurangabad 2 1 3 3

Baga 1 1 7 9 2

Bapdev Ghat 11 11

Bandra 2 2 2

Bardez 3 3

Bedse 1 1 1

Bhandardara 1 1 1

Bhandup 1 1 2 2

Bhatgar dam 2 2

Bhimashankar 1 3 2 1 2 1 4 69 4 3 9 14

Bhor Ghat 1 3 4 1

Bondla Sanctu-ary 1 1 3 1 1 2 15 14 38 9

Borivili 1 2 4 2 1 4 1 15 1

Canacona 2 1 2 1 3 6 5 2 15

Candolim 1 1 1

Carambolim 2 2 13 17 4

Castle Rock 1 1 1

Chakur 3 3 3

Chandoli 1 1 5 2 2 18 2 2 33 11

Chapora estu-ary 1 1 2 4 2

Chandgad 1 2 7 2 12 3

Coastal belt of Goa 3 1 1 1 1 8 15 7

Colva 2 2

Corlim 2 13 15 2

Chakan Alandi Road 1 1 1

Chorao sanctu-ary 1 1

Cortalim 1 1 1

Partial List of Threatened Flora and Fauna in Various Locations in the Northern Western GhatsA= Amphibians B= Birds R = Reptiles M = Mammals P=Plants

Threatened = Critically Endangered + Endangered + Vulnerable + Near Threatened

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NameCritically

EndangeredEndangered Vulnerable

NearThreatened

Least Concern Endemic Total Threatened

A B R M P A B R M P A B R M P A B R M P A B R M P A B R M P

Cotigoa WLS 1 1 2 2 4 16 3 29 1

Curlorim

Dabolim 1 1

Dajipur 1 3 2 6 4

Daulatabad 1 1 1

Dangs 1 1 3 3 1 8 7 6 3 1 34 24

Dapoli 2 2 2

Devgad 4 4 4

Devrukh 1 1 2 1

Dhadgaon 3 3

Dhanori 1 1 1

Dhobi Waterfall 1 1

Dhule 1 1 1

Divar 1 2 3 1

Dona Paula 1 1 2 4 1

Dongarwadi 1 1 1

Dudhsagar 2 1 1 1 1 6 5

Duke’s Nose 1 1

Elephanta Caves 1 1 1

Gaganbawda 1 2 3 6 6

Ganpati Pule 1 1 1

Gautala WLS 2 2

Goregaon 1 1 1

Ghod River 1 1 1

Ghoti 2 2

Goa-Karnataka border 2 2 2

Goa Meat Complex 2 1 1 4 3

Harishchan-dragad 2 5 5 2 14 14

Hewra 1 1 1

Hills of Satara 1 1

Igatpuri 1 1 1 3 6 3

Jarandeshwar 2 2 4 4

Javali 1 1

Junnar 5 7 9 1 22 22

Kalapani 1 1 1

Oyster Rock 1 1

Kagal 1 1

Kalamba 3 3

Kamshet 1 1 2 1

Kanheri Caves 1 1 1

Kankavli 1 1 1

Karanja 1 1 1

Karjat 1 2 3 1

Karli 1 1 1

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NameCritically

EndangeredEndangered Vulnerable

NearThreatened

Least Concern Endemic Total Threatened

A B R M P A B R M P A B R M P A B R M P A B R M P A B R M P

KarnalaBird-sanctuary 15 15

Katrajghat 1 2 1 2 6 4

Kas Plateau 2 7 1 3 13 10

Kelshi 1 1 1

Keri 2 4 4 1 2

Khadakwasla 5 5

Khardi 1 1

Khandala 7 6 1 16 1 6 82 1 3 123 37

Khed 2 1 3 3

Kolad 1 2 3 1

Koyna Dam 1 1 1 5 1 3 29 2 2 45 12

Kumbharli Ghat 1 1 2 4 4

Lingmala Wa-terfall 2 2

Lohagad 1 1 1

Lonavala (INS Shivaji) 2 3 1 8 3 1 1 17 19

Madei

Mahabaleshwar 8 19 2 1 12 1 2 1 4 25 1 3 79 5

Mahim 1 1 1

Maheshma 3 3

Malad 1 1 1

Malangarh 1 1

Marathawada 1 1 1

Marleshwar 1 1 1

Margaon 1 3 4

Marmagoa 4 3 7

Mahad Ghat 1 1 1

Malshej ghat 15 15

Malwan 3 4 2 3 12 12

Maneri 1 1 1

Matheran 1 4 1 9 1 1 1 27 1 1 47 18

Mayem 3 3 3

Mira Bhayandar Road 1 2 3 3

Mirya 1 1 1

Moti Bagh 1 1

Mulshi 1 1 1 1 15 1 20 4

Mumbai 1 1 2 1

Mumbra 1 2 3 3

Mollem 2 3 2 1 3 4 4 4 18 25 66 23

Nagapur 1 1 1

Nagoa Velley 3 5 8 3

Nagothane 2 2 2

Naneghat 1 1 1

Narayangaon 1 1

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NameCritically

EndangeredEndangered Vulnerable

NearThreatened

Least Concern Endemic Total Threatened

A B R M P A B R M P A B R M P A B R M P A B R M P A B R M P

Nashik-PuneRoad 1 1 2 1

Navapur 1 1

N.D.A. Pune 1 1

Nizampur 3 3

Osmanabad 1 1 1

Pandavleni Hill 1 1 1

Panaji 2 1 2 2 7 3

Panchgani 1 12 5 1 4 21 44 23

Panhala 1 1 3 5 2

Patan 1 1 1

Paud 1 1 1

Panvel 2 2

Pasarni Ghat

Panshet 37 1 38

Pen 1 1

Peth 1 1 1

Phaltan 1 1 1

Phansad 2 2 26 2 1 33 4

Phonda 2 1 1 1 4 7 16 9

Pimplaner 12 12

Poinguinim 1 6 7

Pratapgad 1 1 1 3 2

Pune 1 1 2 1

Purandar 3 7 5 1 3 19 16

Radhanagari 1 2 2 1 5 3 29 1 4 48 14

Raigad 4 7 1 12 11

Raireshwar 3 1 2 6 4

Rajgad 1 1 2 1

Ramghat 2 4 1 7 7

Ratangad 5 1 6

Ratnagiri 3 1 7 11 11

Roha 1 1 1

Sajjangad 1 1 1

Sakri 3 3

Salsette Island 1 1 2 2

Sanegaon 1 1 1

Saputara 1 1 1

Sanguem 1 1

Sanquelim 1 1 1

Santa Cruz 1 1

Satara Fort 1 1 2 4 2

SawantwadiRF 1 1 1 24 1 28 3

Selaulimn 1 1

Shahada 4 4

Shindewadi 1 1

Shirgaon 1 1 1

Shirpur 2 2

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NameCritically

EndangeredEndangered Vulnerable

NearThreatened

Least Concern Endemic Total Threatened

A B R M P A B R M P A B R M P A B R M P A B R M P A B R M P

Shirwal 1 1

Shirwata 1 1 1

Sindhudugh 3 1 3 7 7

Sinhagad 1 5 8 4 1 1 53 1 74 2

Talegaon 2 2 2

TambdiSurla-temple 1 1 1

Tamhini Ghat 3 3

Tansa WLS 1 2 18 21 3

Tapti 8 8

Takmak Hill 1 1 2 2

Torna 1 1 1

Tilari Ghat 2 2 2

Tiswadi 1 1

Trombay 1 2 3 3

Tungar 3 1 1 5 4

Tungaresh-warWS 1 11 12 1

Vaibhavwadi 1 1 1

Valpoi 1 3 4 4

Vasco da Gama 1 1 2 1

Valsad 1 2 3 3

Valvan Dam 1 1

Velim 1 1 1

Vasota Fort 1 2 1 1 14 1 2 5

Vengurla 1 2 1 4 4

Verla-Canca 1 1

Wada 2 2

ZuariandMa-ndovirivers 1 1 1

Yavteshwar 1 1 2 2

Yelur 1 1 1

Aravind et al. (2007) have compared the rate of discovery of new species for eight taxa in the West-ern Ghats. They conclude that while the rate of discovery of birds and butterflies has slowed down, the possibility of discovery of new species among frogs, tiger beetles, grasses, asters, ferns and or-chids is still high considering that not much work has been done on these taxa.

As taxonomic research into plants and animals in the Western Ghats continues, new species are constantly being identified. This is a result of more intensive work, for example, among Aerocolons in floral surveys and amphibians such as caecilians

and frogs in faunal studies. Surprisingly, they are found almost anywhere in the Western Ghats, not necessarily in very remote, undisturbed or inacces-sible regions. This makes the precautionary princi-ple in identifying ESAs one of the most important aspects in developing possible protection strate-gies to prevent extinctions in the northern Western Ghats.

While a few species have shown extended ranges in the recent past, several others have been reduced to restricted ranges. A typical example is the north-ward extension in Maharashtra of elephants from the south and tigers into Chandoli WLS. Altera-

Sources: Zoological Survey of India, Botanical Survey of India, Important Bird Areas, Red Data Book, ENVIS, AERF, Aparna Watve, Prachi Mehta, Jayant Kulkarni, Sameer Punde, Varad Giri, Ashok Captain, Ankur Patwardhan

24

Western Ghats are endemic. Sixty three per cent of India’s evergreen woody plants are said to be endemic to the Western Ghats (Daniels 2001).

During a vegetation survey of Chandoli WLS in the northern Western Ghats, some forest patches were found to be supporting climatic climax forest harbouring high levels of tree endemism. A total of 102 woody plant species were recorded belong-ing to 85 genera and 44 families, of which 13 tree species are endemic to Western Ghats and 4 are threatened (Kanade et al. 2008).

The Botanical Survey of India (BSI) floras that have been published over the last decade or two pro-vide a background for further studies that can help categories ESAs. During the recent past, several ‘loras of Maharashtra’ that include the Western Ghats have been produced between 1996 and 2001. The ‘Flora for Mahabaleshwar’ has been produced in 1993 and 1995 in 2 volumes. The ‘Flora for of Khandala’ is relatively old flora and was produced in 1967. A redo of this Flora would be an appropri-ate way to appreciate which species have been lost during the last 50 years. The ‘Plant Diversity Hot Spots in India – An Overview’ (Hajra and Mudgal 1997) has relevance to the floristic bases on which ESAs in the Western Ghats could be based.

In 1980, Botanical Survey of India published ‘Threatened Plants of India – A state of the Art Report’ (Jain and Sastry 1980); and in 1983 fol-lowed this with ‘An Assessment of Threatened Plants of India’ (Jain and Rao 1983) and the ‘En-demic Plants of the Indian Region’ (Ahmedullah and Nayar 1987).

A review the vegetation, diversity and peculiari-ty of the flora of the Western Ghats with particular reference to angiosperms (Nair and Daniel 1986)

and Bauer 2006).

Flora

As early as 1904, Hooker had drawn attention to the distinctive flora of the Western Ghats which he called the ‘Malabar’ floristic region. These include species such as Bambusae, Dipterocarpaceae, Gut-tiferae, Myristicaceae and Palmae (Arecaceae) (Hooker 1904).

Four thousand species of flowering plants are known from the Western Ghats. The gymnosperm flora is represented by Cycas circinalis (Cyca-dales), Decussocarpus wallichianus (Coniferales) and Gnetum ula and G. contractum (Gnetales). Amongst the lower plants around 320 species of pteridophytes, 200 species of bryophytes, 300 spe-cies of algae and 800 species of lichens are known. There are 600 species of fungi. Fifty-six genera of flowering plants are considered endemic to the Western Ghats. Recent studies have suggested that there could be 1500 endemic species of flowering plants. Although the exact number keeps varying with the author and time, what is of interest is that nearly 38% of all species of flowering plants in the

25

26

shows that this flora is of an ancient lineage. Ende-mism in the angiosperm flora has been reviewed with present knowledge on the presumably extinct, endangered, threatened and rare plants of this re-gion. An attempt has been made to identify the threats. The current conservation status is dis-cussed and certain measures to counter the further loss of species are suggested.

The three volumes of the ‘Red Data Book of In-dian Plants’ were written between 1984 and 1987 (Nayar et al. 1987). This shows that much of the floristic work relevant to the ESAs of the Western Ghats would have to be based on data collected twenty years ago! The two more recent works are also a decade old. These include ‘Endemic and Threatened Flowering Plants of Maharashtra’ (Mishra and Singh 2001) and ‘Flora of Sanjay Gan-dhi National Park, Borivali’ (Pradhan et al. 2005). This illustrates a need for more updated documen-tation of recent floral status compared with the older versions. However, this requires funds and expertise. This could use newer methods of species identification and distribution which have been developed in the recent past, for example micro satellite markers for critically endangered species (Sumangala et al. 2009).

Fauna

During the last decade, work done by the Zoo-logical Survey of India focuses more on North Eastern states of India and Andaman fauna rather than on the northern Western Ghats.

Fauna of Gujarat (Vertebrates) and Fauna of Goa were published in 2000 and 2008 respectively by the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI). However a single volume of the fauna of Maharashtra has

not yet been published. There are isolated docu-ments pertaining to certain areas of Maharashtra. These include ‘Fauna of Sanjay Gandhi National Park’ (Zoological Survey of India 2006) published in 2006 by the ZSI, ‘A catalogue of new taxa de-scribed by the scientists of the Zoological Survey of India, during 1916-1991’ (Das, 2003), ‘Globally Threatened Indian Fauna’ (Kumar and Khama, 2006), ‘Faunal Resources in India’ (Alfred, Das, and Sanyal 1998) and ‘Fauna of Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary’ (Mahabal, 2009).

According to a report by the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (Bawa et al. 2007), in the West-ern Ghats, there are:

508 species of birds of which 4% are endemic

218 species of fish of which 53% are endemic

157 species of reptiles of which 62% are endemic

137 species of mammals of which 12% are en-demic

126 species of amphibians of which 78% are en-demic

New species are still being identified at irregu-lar intervals in the northern Western Ghat of both plants and animals. Currently the focus has been on amphibian insects and plants. A recent exam-ple is the discovery of a new caecilid caecilian in the Western Ghat of Southern Maharashtra. These are just a few examples that demonstrate the rate at which even little understood taxa are being found. It is an indicator of not only species richness but about what still remains unknown to science, hid-den away in the depths of the forests of the West-ern Ghats.

Mammals

The status of large mammals of the northern Western Ghats has been depleted in large sections of the Western Ghats. There has been a recent abundance however in some species within a few of the Protected Areas. Outside Protected Areas the situation continues to worsen due to habitat loss as well as hunt by rich urban dwellers and by rural people for crop protection and to prevent pre-dation of their cattle and snaring for meat.

A few species that were not seen over several de-

27

cades have however been seen in the recent past. An example is the Rusty Spotted Cat that has been seen in the Dangs, Nashik and Borivali.

The Gaur population is probably stable in Rad-hanagari and may have increased to some extent in Chandoli and Koyna. Gaur have moved towards old Mahabaleshwar. A single stray male was seen and tranquilized in the BVIEER Nature Trail at Dhankawadi which was then considered to be the southern outskirts of Pune in January 2000 (BVIEER, personal communication).

The Malabar Giant Squirrel may have stable populations in areas such as Bhimashankar but is distinctly rarer than a few decades ago in areas such as Lonavala-Khandala and Mahabaleshwar. However, as there are no carefully quantified scien-tific studies on their population dynamics, this re-mains questionable.

Two species have distinctly expanded their range. The leopard near Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctu-ary has moved into sugarcane agricultural tracts of Junnar. They have led to serious conflict issues. Bonnet macaques moving into village and urban environments such as Matheran have even turned

aggressive towards humans.

Finally the surprise package has been the north-ward spread of elephants into the Sahyadri in Ma-harashtra where they have not occurred in histori-cal times. There has also been a recent northward range extension of the tiger into Chandoli and probably as far north as Mulshi through Koyna and Mahabaleshwar.

The question that remains unanswered is wheth-er this indicates a true increase in abundance lead-ing to moving outwards or an increase in the level of disturbance in existing habitats.

These movements however, suggest the existence of viable corridors. But the corridors may be under serious threats from new forms of landuse.

While sambhar and chital in the Dangs have all but disappeared except in Vansda National Park, a small patch of old grown teak forest, these her-bivores appear to be less abundant everywhere. Chital however increased distinctly in the Sanjay Gandhi National Park.

The Mouse Deer and the Four Horned Antelope are distinctly less common. However, there is little quantified census of these animals except in PAs during their annual census.

Nameer et al. provide a comprehensive check-list of mammals of the Western Ghats which in-clude 137 species. Thirty two mammals which are threatened globally or in India occur in the West-ern Ghats. However, there is not enough informa-tion to assess the status of 22 mammals. Of the 16 endemics, 13 are threatened in the Western Ghats. They record 50 species of Chiroptera, 31 species of Rodentia, 25 Carnivora, 11 Artiodactyla, 11 Insec-

28

tivora and 5 Primates in the Western Ghats.

The Western Ghats is store house of endemic flora and fauna, in which endemicity appears to increase with decreasing body size. Mammals are well represented in this chain of mountains with 137 species of which 16 are found in no other place on earth. The mammalian fauna of the Western Ghats is dominated by insectivores (11 species), bats (41 species) and rodents (27 species includ-ing the porcupine). Collectively the various threats had already led to serious implications on mam-mal abundance. The authors point out that small-er mammals have been poorly studied which in fact dominate the species of the mammals in the Ghats. Few studies have however paid attention to the community structure and organisation of these small mammals in the Western Ghats. There there have been attempts to review the understanding of the status and ecology of smaller cats and lesser carnivores. Evergreen forests are particularly suit-ed to frugivorous arboreal primates and squirrels while the deciduous forests offer the best habitat for the larger grazing herbivores like the gaur and deer (Nameer, Molur, and Walker 2001).

The other detailed published works on fauna include ‘Checklist of Mammals of India’ (Alfred 2002), ‘Endemic Birds of India’ (Dasgupta et al. 2002) and ‘Endemic Mammals of India’, (Alfred and Chakraborty 2002), ‘Wroughton’s Free Tailed Bat’ (Ramakrishna et al. 2003), ‘Validation of Threatened Mammals of India’ (Alfred et al. 2006) and ‘Checklist of Indian Ungulates’ (Alfred and De 2006) by the ZSI.

Birds

The Western Ghats is well known for its richness

in bird species. What has hit the avifauna seriously and precipitously is the near total loss of the cir-cling vultures that thermaled their way over the crags and escarpments of the Western Ghats only two decades ago. Diclophenac has seriously killed off thousands of these important scavenging birds within a very brief span of time.

Raptors are distinctly falling in numbers across the northern ranges. However, this appears to be the case across the country. Studies on pessarine bird communities through ringing have not been done for many years and thus quantified evidence of their abundance is unavailable.

Many of these hill bIrds are common to the Hi-malayas and are migrants that move southwards in the Ghats during the winter. They also move lo-cally up and down the Ghats from the plains to the crestline forests seasonally. Nearly a third of In-dia’s bird species are found in the Western Ghats. Disturbances in the migrational movements, in-creasing forest fragmentation with isolation of the forest patches could be responsible for major losses of avifauna in the near future.

Of all organisms, birds are the best studied in the Western Ghats. Beginning in the 1860s, Brit-ish naturalists and planters were busy surveying the Western Ghats, collecting and describing the avi-fauna. Subsequent surveys by the Bombay Natural History Society (then led by Dr Salim Ali), the var-ious State Departments of Forests, especially Ker-ala, many nature clubs and amateur birdwatchers have suggested that there are 508 species of birds, of which a total of 324 species (64%) are resident. These are predominantly land birds. Nineteen spe-cies may be considered endemic to the Western Ghats. For example, the most important pheasant

29

species are found only in the Western Ghats and nowhere else.

Few endemic species have been observed to ex-tend north of Goa. In general, the endemic bird species of the Western Ghats are primarily birds of the rainforests and of the higher elevations of sho-la-grassland complexes. Locally, when equal areas are compared, there are more species of birds per unit area in the central parts of the Western Ghats. This is primarily due to mixing of migrants and generalist species of birds with the resident special-ists and endemics. Although they provide habitat to a number of specialists and endemic birds with greater conservation value, wet evergreen forests and montane sholas are comparatively less diverse in bird species than secondary or disturbed ever-green and moist deciduous forests (Daniels 2001).

Padhye et al. describe season and landscape ele-ment wise changes in community structure of Tamhini in the northern Western Ghats. The study area is a typical semi-evergreen forest patch where degradation has altered the landscape substantially over the last 3 or 4 decades (Padhye et al. 2007). The authors demonstrate two peaks due to migra-tion, breeding, food availability and vegetation

changes. A major peak was in early winter as mi-grants move south and another in spring as they move back northwards. The species richness in shifting cultivation sites, scrubland and paddy lands, was higher than in evergreen forest, stream banks and grassland. This suggests that while ever-green patches in this fragmented habitat are impor-tant for the rarer forest birds the patches of man-modified systems are also important as they support a diversity of generalist species.

Reptiles

157 species of reptiles including the crocodile Crocodylus palustris are known from the Western Ghats. Majority of the reptile species are snakes. In all 97 species, representing 36 genera (2 genera of turtle/tortoise, 20 snake, 14 lizard) are endemic. Endemism is highest amongst snakes, especially with the family Uropeltidae alone contributing 33 species. Amongst lizards, dwarf geckoes (Cnemas-pis spp) and skinks (Ristella, Lygosoma, Mabuya and Scincella) have the maximum number of en-demic species (Daniels 2001).

Unlike other groups this group has a limited number of published works. An earthsnake, Uro-peltis macrolepis (Peters) from Mahabaleshwar,

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Satara District which differed from the descriptions in the old and new faunas, not only in the presence of an unbroken line but also in the scalation was identified in 1955 by V. K. Chari (Chari 1955). The state of taxonomy of Uropeltis snakes has been studied by Gower et al. from the Western Ghats of Maharashtra. They have demonstrated the distri-bution of a species that is known only from Bhi-mashankar and Fangul Gawhan which are 30 km apart (Gower, Captain, and S. S Thakur 2008).

A new ground dwelling gecko has been described from plateau tops in the northern Western Ghat of Maharashtra. Hemidactylus species of Gekkoni-dae have extremely restricted ranges though they cover wide expanses of geographical area. The habitat in which it was described consists of a de-graded plateau top with wind mills and electric poles near Satara (Giri and Bauer 2008). New spe-cies are still being discovered in the northern West-ern Ghats and there could be several other undis-covered ones. Giri et al. describe a new ground dwelling gecko from the Northern Western Ghat near Kolhapur in 2009. A typical feature is the un-usal occurrence of an iridescent tail not seen in geckos (Giri, Bauer, and Gaikwad 2009).

The Northern Western Ghats remain largely un-explored for herpetological values but with more field work being undertaken the knowledge of spe-cies level diversity is on the rise. Three new species of caecilians and two lizards have been described in recent years (Giri, Aaron Bauer, and Gaikwad 2009). This gives further importance for creating ESAs as there are likely to be many other species with limited ranges that are not found in other parts further south.

Amphibia

Over three fourths of the amphibia found in the Western Ghats are endemic to this small biogeo-graphic zone. Of the 224 amphibia found in In-dia 121 (60%) are present in the Western Ghat of which 89 are endemic to this biogeographic region The 121 species fall under 24 genera, six families and two orders. The family ranidae (true frogs) has the largest number of species (49) amounting to 42% of the amphibian fauna of the Western Ghats. There is a remarkable diversity of caecilians in the Western Ghats. 16 out of 20 species known in In-dia occur in the Western Ghats; all 16 being en-demic (Daniels 2001).

Species that are unique to the Western Ghat such as caecilians and the frog Nasikabatrachus sahy-adryensis are fairly recent discoveries indicating the need for more taxonomic research in the northern Western Ghat. This unique frog has been placed in a new family and is said to be allied to frogs in Seychelles and Madagascar.

Daniels described the amphibians of the West-ern Ghat in 1992. The paper shows that the West-ern Ghats of India are very rich in amphibian spe-

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cies with 117 species of frogs, toads and caecilians. Eighty-nine species are endemic to this biogeo-graphical region. Analysis of ranges and patterns of geographical distribution of amphibians on the Western Ghats suggest that the southern half of the Western Ghats and the low-medium elevation hills are more diverse in species than the northern half and higher hills. This is attributed to the more widespread rainfall and the less variable climatic conditions in the south. About half the species are apparently localized. Of those, species with wider ranges, a majority show patchy distribution. Spe-cies preferring the moist evergreen forests as habi-tats tend to have a highly patchy and fragmented distributions. This appears to be a result of habitat destruction and fragmentation and isolation. The overall patterns of species richness and local ende-mism are rather different from those of the angio-sperms and birds. In birds and angiosperms, a sig-nificant proportion of endemics are found on the higher hills. On the contrary, endemic amphibian species are found in the lower altitudinal range of 0-1000 m, with a majority between 800 and 1000 m (Daniels 1992).

There have been several studies doen on amphib-ians in the Northern Western Ghats especially Ma-harahstra. Bhatta has developed a field guide for Western Ghats caecilians in 1998 (Bhatta 1998). Pillai and Ravichandran have created a taxonom-ic study of the amphibians of India in 2005 (Pil-lai, Ravichandran, and Zoological Survey of In-dia 2005). Dinesh et al. have made an annotated checklist of ‘Amphibia of India’ published by ZSI in 2009 according to which of the 284 species of amphibians that are from India, 132 are endemic to Western Ghats (Dinesh et al. 2009)

In Amboli Ghat a new toad Xanthophryne tige-rinus was identified in 2009 (Biju et al. 2009), In 2004 Giri et al. discovered a new caecilid caeci-lian from Khandala – Lonavala (Giri, Gower, and Wilkinson 2004). The region that comprises the Northern Western Ghat is thus recognized as an important center of diversity of these little known limbless, snake–like caecilian amphibians (Gower et al. 2007). Pillai and Ravi Chandran identified four endemic species of caecilids (Ravichandran, Gower, and Wilkinson 2003).

Dahanukar and Padhye have described amphibi-an diversity and distribution at Tamhini ghat at the boarder of Pune and Ratnagiri Districts. This is a zone that will be increasingly disturbed by urban-ization and road transport in the Mulshi Taluka. This study done in 1997-2000 provides a base line study documenting 23 species, of which eight were restricted to only 3 sites, 5 were partly distributed in 3-7 sites. The rest were continuously spread. Spatial distribution of frogs showed a nested bio-diversity in the Western Ghat. It showed a higher species richness in the south, a decrease of species at higher elevations and an increase in number in relation to an increase in tree species (Dahanukar and Padhye 2005)

Another new species of caecilidae was identified in Bondla Wildlife Sanctuary in Goa in 2004 (Bhat-ta and Prashanth 2004). In between the years 2000 and 2007 four new species of caecilians were dis-covered (Bhatta et al. 2007).

Fish

There are around 218 species of primary and secondary freshwater fishes in the Western Ghats. 53% of all fish species (116 species in 51 genera) in the Western Ghats are endemic (Daniels 2001). A review of literature shows while there have been a few publications, a lot of work still needs to be done.

A ‘Checklist of Freshwater Fishes of India’ by AGK Menon appeared from the Zoological Sur-vey of India (ZSI) in 1999 (Menon 1999). A book on the Deccan Mahseer was published by Jayaram in 2005 (Jayaram 2005). Yadav published Ichthyo fauna of the northern Western Ghat in 2003 (Ya-dav 2003)

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Distribution, endemism and threat status of freshwater fishes in the Western Ghats of India has been reviewed (Dahanukar, R. Raut, and Bhat 2004). From literature review the paper records 288 species belonging to 12 orders, 41 families and 109 genera, of which 118 species are endemic and 51 are unique. However, the species accumulation curve showed that there might be 345 species in this region, indicating that 16% species have not been recorded.

An analysis of the distribution pattern of fishes in the Western Ghats suggests that the southern re-gion is more diverse than the northern and central regions. The southern region shows high endemism and high uniqueness while the northern region shows high endemism but less uniqueness. The similarity index between the zones indicates that as the distance between the zones increases similar-ity decreases. The status of 105 of 288 species was not known due to data deficiency but among the remaining 183 species, 58 species were categorized as low risk, 41 as vulnerable, 54 as endangered, 24 as critically endangered while the remaining six species were introduced.

The paper concludes that the distribution pat-terns of fishes in the Western Ghats is in accor-dance with the geography of Western Ghats, its climatic conditions and ‘Satpura Hypothesis’.

The threat status of fishes found in Western Ghats suggests that at least 41% of fish fauna is threatened by either being vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered.

Studies by Kharat et al. investigated changes in species diversity of riverine fish fauna in North western Ghats. This was done using five faunal checklists spread over the last six decades. Though the fish species diversity of Mula-Mutha river ap-pears to be constant, loss of endemic and native species and their replacement with introduced spe-cies is a serious threat. Besides heavy harvest, an-thropogenic activities like dam construction, habi-tat destruction, biological and chemical pollution in the Mula -Mutha rivers are assumed to be re-sponsible for the loss of over 30 native fish species during the last 60 years. They suggest that apart from pollution heavy harvesting, introductions of exotic fish are contributory causes in their pres-

ence in four dams that limit fish movement thus accounting for their presence only in extreme up-stream areas. One of the major losses has been the complete local extinction of the Mahseer that was found well into the 1950s. Conservation measures include pollution management, controlled harvest-ing of fish and artificial breeding (Kharat et al. 2003). The Tata Power Company Mahseer breed-ing center initiated by Mr. Shashank Ogale has been running a highly successful breeding program and has performed major reintroduction into their lakes and natural ponds.

A study by Bhat has stressed that very little is known about freshwater species distributions in the Central Western Ghat. Four rivers, Sharavati, Aghanashini, Bedti and Kali, of the central West-ern Ghats were studied for their fish diversity and composition. A total species richness of 92 spe-cies (and an endemicity of 25%) was reported. A comparison of expected species richness estimates using different statistical estimators was made – these showed the expected species richness to be in the range of 92–120 species. Many of the spe-cies were found to be shared with those belonging to the southern Western Ghats, but the study also unearthed new findings in terms of description of a new species and extension of the known distri-bution range of some of the species. The study at varying spatial and temporal scales also showed that while the rivers are very similar to each oth-er in terms of the species richness values, they do vary with respect to the species composition. Spe-cies compositions across upper (or lower) reaches of these rivers were found to be more similar to one another than the upstream and downstream reaches in the same river. Temporal patterns, with regard to diurnal activity of fishes were studied. These showed that of the 72 species collected at night, 29 were exclusive to night sampling. Though much of the information of the feeding and habitat preferences of the fishes in this region is lacking, it is speculated that the differences in their activity patterns could be related to feeding and predator avoidance (Bhat 2003).

Macro and microhabitat analyses were applied to characterise the fish assemblage structure in ten streams of the Western Ghat mountains of Penin-

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sular India. Macrohabitat features, such as chan-nel gradient, stream depth, stream width, riparian cover, instream cover, habitat types and substrates, were used. Microhabitat requirements of the abun-dant cyprinids (35 species) were also analysed. Macrohabitat assessment indicated that high habi-tat diversity was associated with a high species di-versity, and that habitat volume was a major deter-mining factor for species diversity and abundance. In all streams, cyprinids were the dominant group in the assemblage and almost all cyprinids were confined to pools with varied habitat diversity. Riffle dwelling species included ancient forms such as Glyptothorax madraspatnum, G. trewasae and Homaloptera santhamparaiensis. Suitable micro-habitats for dominant cyprinid species were pools and riffle edges. Big-sized barbs and mahseers such as Hypselobarbus dobsoni, H. curmuca, H. du-bius, Labeo calbasu, Puntius sarana, Tor khudree and Tor khudree malabaricus were confined to deep pools with a large area. Smaller Puntius spe-cies like P. fasciatus, P. melanampyx, P. narayani, P. sophore, P. ticto and P. vittatus lived in shallow backwater pools and pools with low flow. Species like P. arulius tambiraparniei, P. amphibius, P. bi-maculatus and P. filamentosus were found towards shallow pools with moderate flow. Surface-dwell-ing species such as Danio aequipinnatus, Rasbora daniconius, Salmostoma spp. and Barilius spp. pre-ferred deepwater habitats with high flow. Habitat-based multivariate analysis revealed four guilds: surface dwellers, column dwellers, generalized bottom dwellers and specialized bottom dwellers (Arunachalam 2000).

The Northern Western Ghats have approximate-ly 80 species of food fish, 25 species of aquarium fish and 32 species of larvivorous fish which could possibly be used in bio-control of malaria. It is thus evident that maintainenece of natural rivers with respect to quality and quantity of water is cru-cial to fish conservation in the Northern Western Ghats.

Insects

Both day and night insect richness is a promi-nent feature of the faunal diversity of the Western Ghats. Their status in terms of abundance is diffi-cult to assess. Several prominent butterflies appear

to be less common. Moths such as the Atlas and Lunar Moths have decidedly become rarer in the last decade or two.

Joshi and Dahanukar have studied the ecology and diversity of centipedes in the Northern West-ern Ghat. The species showed habitat and micro-habitat preferences, feeding habitats and seasonal variations. In the northern Western Ghat of the 102 species of centipede found in India 18 were found in the study area. Open scrub was a pre-ferred habitat type.

Butterflies in the Western Ghats belong to five families, 166 genera and 330 species. Of these, 37 species are endemic. These 330 species of butter-flies depend on over 1000 species plants for feeding and breeding. Butterflies of India – Red Data Book was published in 2005 by ZSI (Gupta and Mondal 1994). Out of a total of 50,000 km2 of primary forest in the Western Ghats, only 16% of primary forest cover exists today. Being good indicators of climatic conditions as well as seasonal and ecologi-cal changes, butterflies can serve in formulating strategies for conservation. Butterfly visibility gives these insects an important place as an indicator of change in habitats if done repeatedly by using the same methodology over several years. Single as-sessments however have a rather limited note ex-cept in comparing their abundance in different landscape elements (Padhye et al. 2006).

Subramanian studied spiders of the Western Ghat in the 1950s. The author describes the Tet-ragnathidae and Argiopidae, with which the paper deals, are two large families of web-weaving spiders under Arachnomorphae. In these families there are several curious genera which present great varia-tion in size, shape coloration and habits. Some spe-

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cies are so small that they cannot be studied with-out a lens. On the other hand there is a well known gaint spider, Nephila maculata whose body length measures more than two inches. Most of the mem-bers weave plain, circular snares suspended verti-cally, obliquely, or horizontally among plants and shrubs or between branches of trees (Subramanian 1955).

Kunte (1997) work on butterflies in northern Western Ghats (India), describes four tropical hab-itats with different disturbance levels which were monitored for diversity and seasonal patterns in butterfly communities. Species richness was high-est in late monsoon and early winter. Majority of the butterfly species also showed abundance peaks in these seasons. Fire played a significant role in determining species composition in fire-afflicted areas and affected flight periods of some species but did not affect species richness. Grazing had a major impact on species composition and it fa-voured only those Lycaenids and Nymphalids whose caterpillars feed on herbs. Kunte identifies seasonal patterns in butterfly, abundance and spe-cies in four tropical habitats in the northern West-ern Ghat with different pressures such as fires and grazing. The four sites are along the western slopes of the Ghats in the Pune region. Populations be-gan to rise in the monsoon and peaked in the late monsoon with a second peak in winter. In case of one of the sites where phenophases of the larval foodplant and population trend of a small Lycae-nid was documented, the population showed rapid increase at the time when the plants were in suit-able phenophase for growth of the caterpillars. The author proposes a possible evolutionary interaction between herb-feeding and non-herb-feeding Lycae-nids (Kunte 1997) .

Others

A few studies in the Western Ghats have paid attention to aquatic invertebrates including mol-luscs. During the early 1980s, a study of aquatic insects in the Nilgiris indicated that human inter-ference in the upper Nilgiris has apparently reduced the diversity of species in seemingly undisturbed areas as Silent Valley. Habitat loss and pollution in Pune city have been attributed as reasons for the decline of aquatic insects and molluscs.

Limited range species such as the Malabar Giant Squirrel, pangolin, mouse deer, etc. and a variety of birds, reptiles and amphibian in the Northern Western Ghats have been inadequately studied to develop habitat optimization through strategic management of patch size, corridors etc.

The status of several species in northern West-ern Ghats requires detailed evaluation to support ESAs. This not only will require floristic evalua-tions based on geoinformatics but the use of ‘Con-servation Assessment and Management Planning’ (CAMP), Workshops for selected species (Singh and Kaumanns 2005).

These sub regional differences are further ex-emplified by more locale specific observations on plant communities and forest structure. The veg-etation patterns of the catchment areas of dams in the Mawal and Mulshi Talukas were assessed for their species abundance and richness of tree species. Each catchment differed substantially in structural and species characteristics. Several spe-cies were unique to a single catchment or even a section of the catchment area (BVIEER 1998).

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PROTECTED AREAS

The PAs include 3 National Parks and 15 Wild-life Sanctuaries in the three states of Gujarat, Ma-harashtra and Goa in which the northern sector of the Ghats are situated. Gujarat and Maharashtra rank among the top five states in terms of PA cov-erage. In the Western Ghats the PAs include Purna Wildlife Sanctuary, and Vansda National Park in Gujarat, while Kalsubai Wildlife Sanctuary, Bhi-mashankar Wildlife Sanctuary, Koyna National Park, Chandoli Wildlife Sanctuary (proposed Na-tional Park) and Radhanagri Wildlife Sanctuary in Maharashtra are situated along the crest and slopes of the Western Ghats in Maharashtra. In Maha-rashtra the Protected Areas that extend into the coastal belt include Tansa Wildlife Sanctuary, San-jay Gandhi National Park (Borivali) and Phansad Wildlife Sanctuary while those that extend into the Deccan Plateau are the potential PAs of Mulshi and Mawal talukas which were discussed frequent-ly but were never formally notified. Some of these PAs extend from the coastal plains into the West-ern escarpment. Others include forests between catchment areas of dams along the eastern spurs

that slope into the Deccan.

The following section provides an overview of the status of Protected Areas and their surrounds.

Purna Wildlife Sanctuary

The Purna Wildlife Sanctuary includes 200 km2 of forests in several patches with the best patches of natural vegetation occurring in Mahal and Bar-ipada. The 10 km Ecologically Sensitive Zone un-der EPA is a key to developing a viable corridoring system between Bansda National Park and the Purna Wildlife Sanctuary and neighbouring Re-serve Forest patches.

Bansda National Park

The Bansda National Park once the private prop-erty of the Maharaja of Vansda was acquired by the Government of Gujarat in 1972 for a paltry sum of Rs. 10 lakh. The 24.5 km2 area contained some of the most valuable residual mature teak in Gujarat. It still contains viable populations of leop-ard, chital, barking deer and an abundance of bird-life. The flagship, rarely seen species is the Rusty Spotted Cat that has been observed on several oc-

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casions since 1988.

The pale coloured squirrel, once found in the Dangs is now probably extinct. The darker squirrel is found from

Bhimashankar to Lonavala.

Sanjay Gandhi National Park

This Sanjay Gandhi National Park (10307 ha), Tungareshwar Wildlife Sanctuary (8750 ha) and Reserve forests between them constitute an IBA. It is partly located in the Mega Meteropolitan, Mum-bai. The PA constitutes the prime catchment area of two freshwater lakes, Tulsi and Vihar, which supply water to Mumbai city. The forest here is classified as Tropical Dry deciduous or the South-ern Dry Deciduous according to Champion and Seth (1968).

Nearly 300 species of birds have been identified, cluding some threatened ones. The park lies in the Western Ghats Endemic Bird Area (EBA 123) where Statterfield et al.(1998) have identified 16 re-stricted range species. The important avifauna seen here include the Oriental White-backed Vulture, Long-billed Vulture, Pallas’s Fish-Eagle, Greater Spotted Eagle, Lesser Adjuctant, Nilgiri Wood-Pigeon, Emerald Dove, Drongo-cuckoo, Malabar

Trogon, Three-toed Kingfisher and the Yellow-backed Sunbird. The PA includes 59 species of mammals, 155 species of butterflies, 24 species of ants, 52 species of reptiles, 13 species of amphib-ians and 30 species of fishes. The important mam-mals found here include the Leopard, Common langur, Rhesus Macaque, Wild boar, Chital, Sam-bar, Barking Deer, four-horned Antelope and the Mouse Deer. Reptiles such as the Pond Terrapin, Deccan Banded Gecko, Spotted Forest Gecko are also seen here.

Illegal tree felling, man-animal conflict, en-croachment, illegal styone quarries, firewood col-lection, poaching, tourism, and presence of anti-social elements are the major threats faced by the PA.

In order to ensure long-term viability of Sanjay Gandhi National Park and Tungreshwar Wildlife Sanctuary, it is extremely important to protect the reserve forest lying between them.

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Tansa Wildlife Sanctuary

This sanctuary is of great relevance to the sur-vival of Mumbai city as it supplies water for the people of the city. The sanctuary primarily consists of dry deciduous and moist deciduous forest. Its wildlife values are relatively low.

Kalsubai (Harishchandragad) Wildlife Sanctuary

The Protected Area is the northernmost sanctu-ary in the Western Ghats of Maharashtra. Its for-ests are highly fragmented, both due to topographic and edaphic features.

Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary

It is well known for highly endangered subspe-cies of the Indian Giant Squirrel locally known as Shekru. This is an IBA.

Gole (2000) listed over 172 bird species in the Sanctuary including several globally threatened and restricted range species. The site falls in the Western Ghat Endemic Bird Area (Stattersfield et al. 1998). The Nilgiri Wood-Pigeon, a global-ly threatened and restricted range species of the Western Ghats (Birdlife Internation 2001) gener-ally arrives in February and can be seen/heard till the break up of the monsoon in end June (Gole

2000). It leaves the high rainfall plateau during the monsoon to reappear in winter. Its arrival is also dependent on the fruiting season. The Blue-winged Parakeet and Plum-headed Parakeet also visit the Sanctuary from late winter onwards.

The Malabar Grey Hornbill an endemic species, is generally found below the plateau on the Konk-an side and not observed in the plateau, while the Yellow-browed Bulbul a biome species, and White-bellied Blue-flycatcher an endemic species are hill species and seldom seen below 620 m(Gole 2000). Small Sunbird another endemic of the Northern Western Ghats has good resident population in this IBA. One of the most interesting winter visitors to this site is the Tytler’s Leaf Warbler a bird of the Western Himalaya (Ali and Ripley 1987, Grim-mett et al. 1998). It has good population of the Grey-fronted or Pampador Green Pigeon. The im-portant fauna found here include Leopard, Sam-bar, Barking Deer, Wild Boar, Common Langur, Rhesus Macaque and Mouse Deer, Striped Hyena, Golden Jackal and the Indian Pangolin. The lan-duse pattern includes wilderness as well use of land for tourism and recreation, transport, re-search, livestock grazing and agriculture.

Issues such as tourism, lLivestock grazing, man-animal conflicts, fuel wood gathering, agriculture intensification and expansion, commercial devel-opment and plastic consumption by animals are some of the major threats to this PA.

Phansad Wildlife Sanctuary

This is the only important coastal protected area in Maharashtra. It was once the shooting reserve of the rulers of Janjira. The forest has evergreen and semi-evergreen elements with areas of grass-land and small rocky plateaus. The floristic values are considered to be very important as there is no other sanctuary along the coast of Maharashtra.

Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary

The Chandoli corridor connects this sanctuary to Radhanagari Wildlife Sanctuary in the South. Historically the Vasota fort constructed in during 1178-1193 lies in the Center of the Sactuary. The PA has Southern Tropical Evergreen Forest and Southern Moist Mixed decidous Forest as per the classification of Champion and Seth (1968). The Sanctuary hosts a threatened tree species called Narkya Mappia foetida. Tiger, Gaur, Indian Wild Dog, Sloth Bear, Sambar, Barking Deer, Mouse Deer, Indian Giant Squirrel and Common otter are some of the important mammals found here. The PA is also home to the Indian Python, Beddome’s Keelback, Indian Chameleon, Banded Gecko and Dwarf Gecko among reptiles and endemic am-phibians such as the Koyana Toad, Indotyphlus, a caecilian, Wrinkled Frog and Bombay Frog. The land use here is primarily wilderness, agriculture with a hydroelectric project. Dam construction, hydroelectric project, poaching and exploitation of medicinal plants are some of the threats to this PA.

At the peripheary of the Sanctuary, the area is being actively promoted as a tourism zone by the Government of Maharashtra. This would create serious environmental problems in the form of increased tourist traffic, water pollution, littering of non-degradable waste and general disturbance.

Koyna is well-known trekking location. Aggressive promotion of tourism in this area would increase the garbage and noise pollution.

Chandoli National Park

This protected area has recently been upgraded to a National Park status. Recently, there have been a spate of sightings of tigers which has led to sug-gestions to upgrade it to a Tiger Reserve. There are also endemic and endangered species reported from the Protected Area.

Radhanagari Wildlife Sanctuary

The Radhanagari Wildlife Sactuary is situated on the border of Kolhapur and Sindhudurg dis-tricts. The PA harbours several sacred groves inside the Sanctuary which are traditionally protected by local people. Thus large stands of virgin forest still exist here. This sanctuary houses the major irriga-tion projects in the Kolhapur district. Besides some parts of sanctuary are rich in bauxite ore and many plateaus with high quality bauxite have been mined. The mining company wants more areas to be opened for mining which is a major threat to this fragile ecosystem.

The forest types are Southern Semi-evergreen,

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Southern Moist Mixed Deciduous and Southern evergreen. The vegetation includes several threat-ened and endemic tree species such as Mappia Foetida, Turpunia malbarica, Euphorbia longna, Elaeocarpus tectorium and Harpullia arborea. It lies in the Western Ghats Endemic Bird Areas (EBA 123) where Stattersfield et al (1998) have identified 16 restricted range species.

During winter, many Himalayan forest birds are found here. Indian Blue Robin belonging to the Si-no-Tropical Temperate Forest has been seen here. Some interesting species such as Ceylon Frog-mouth, Yellow-browed Bulbul, Dusky Eagle-owl, Great Pied Hornbill, Black Bulbul, Speckled Picu-let, and Malabar Crested Lark are commonly seen here.

INS Shivaji and Lonavala

The presence of this defence establishment, spread over 1,500 acres, has protected some valu-able original tropical moist/semi evergreen forest and upland grass land habitats of the area against growing urbanization and development.

The surrounding hills include good forest beyond Khandala towards Duke’s Nose hill. Extending to-ward the Tiger’s Leap ravine along top of the ridg-es, and upto 2 km on either side of the ridges is pro-posed as an IBA. The area has evergreen and moist deciduous type vegetation with a high diversity of plant species. The carnivorous plant Utricularia sp. which plays an important role in ecology and nitro-gen cycle is a common plant found in small springs here. Carvia callosa (Karvi) is a dominant plant species on the hill slopes. Other tree species Careya arborea (Kumbha), Memecylon umbellaum (An-jani), Vitex nigundo (Nirgudi) and Randia dumeto-rum are commonly found here. Nesting population

of the long billed Vulture, Gypes indisus, a critical endangered species is found here. Eight out of 16 restricted range species of the Western Ghats En-demic Bird Area are found here.

Leopard and Uropelttid snakes are also common here. Many endangered amphibian species such as the Bombay Bush frog, Humayun’s wrinkled frog, Nyctibacrachus humayuni, besides endangered and endemic caecilians, inhabit the area (Varad Giri pers.comm.).

Strategic presence of a defense establishment, the Mumbai Pune corridor which is on fast track to development continue to play havoc with the original pristine habitats unless conservation mea-sures are initiated at the earliest.

Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary

Bhagwan Mahavir wildlife sanctuary located in the Sanguem taluka on the eastern border of Goa has a core area, consisting of 107 sq. km. which was declared as Mollem National Park. National highway 4A and Mormugao_Londa railway line run through the sanctuary. Collem Railway station lies within the sanctuary area.

Many small rivulets flow through the Sanctury in the monsoon, but dry up in summer. Dudhsagar falls is a popular tourist spot. The Devil Canyon is a splendid piece of geological rock formation. The canopy is almost closed and the availability of grass is very limited. Evergreen vegetation is main-ly seen in higher altitudes and along the riverbanks. The main vegetation types are West Coast Tropical Evergreen Forest, West Coast semi-Evergreen For-est and Moist Deciduous Forest.

The Malabar Pied Hornbill and the Indian Black woodpecker or White-bellied woodpecker can be

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seen in the most part of Sanctuary. According to Harvey D’Souza the Nilgiri wood-pigeon, Blue-winged parakeet, Malabar Gray Hornbill and small Sunbird are present in this IBA. These birds are listed as Restricted Range by Statersfield et al (1998) under the Western Ghats Endemic Bird Ar-eas 123. This PA has excellent wet evergreen, semi-evergreen and moist deciduous forest.

The Leopard, Gaur, Barking deer, Mouse deer are also found here. Other important mammals of the site are Pangolin, Slender loris, porcupine, and small Indian Civet.

Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary

This is an IBA site named after the river Mha-dei (Mandovi) which is considerd the lifeline of Goa. The forest type range from moist deciduous, semi-evergreen and secondary scrub. The annual rainfall is 3,000 mm. This IBA site is of great cul-tural significance as most of the sacred groves of Goa are located in this region. The sacred grove Nirankarachi is dominated by a unique plant spe-cies Myristica malabarica, which is endangered and endemic to the site. More than 45 species of snakes are known to occur in the region. The thick forests of Mhadei provide an ideal habitat for aga-mids, skinks and geckos. There are also confirmed reports of the presence and movement of tigers in the area. The Atlas Moth is also recorded here.

Deforestion, poaching and encroachment are major threats here. Exrensive habitat degradation and loss are a constant problem at the site. Alter-ing the habitat structure has resulted in reduction in abundance and range of several bird species. In this ecologically rich area, the Karnataka Govern-

ment has planned a chain of seven diversion dams and three main dams for the Mhadei Hydroelectric project.

Another grave danger comes from open-cast mining. There are about 40 mining leases, of which only 11 mines are active, while others are not work-ing. The miners lease owners want the potential mining areas to be excised from the Sanctuary.

Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary

The Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary at the southern-most tip of Goa protects a remote and vulnerable area of forest lining the Goa-Karnataka interstate border. The main vegetation type is the West Coast Tropical Evergreen Forest, West Coast semi-Ever-green forest and Moist Deciduous forest. The Ever-green forests are mainly present on higher altitudes and on riversides.

The site lies in the Western Ghats and has listed 16 species as Restricted Range. The flying squir-rel is present here alongwith the slender loris and pangolin but difficult to see due to their nocturnal habit. The small Indian civet and the golden Jackal are the smaller predators here. Cotigao has many species of interesting reptiles, including the King Kobra but not much is known about them. Simi-larly, the freshwater fish have not been adequately surveyed here.

Carambolim Lake

Carambolim Lake lies in Ilhas taluka, about 12 kms from Panjim, the capital of Goa. The main vegetation consists of Nymphea stelleata, a root-ed plant with floating leaves, Oryza rufipogon, an emergent wild paddy, and submerged Hydrilla verticillata. Carambolim lake attracts thousands of birds, especially waterflowl.

Close to Carambolim lake, at Corlim (Tiswadi), is located Swiss-owned Hindustan Ciba Geigy Ltd (HCGL) factory which produces highly toxic pesticides for agriculture use. The large factory compound contains two shallow ponds that give undisturbed shelter to Goa’s only known heronry, and a safe haven to quite a number of migrant and vagrant Ciconidae and Threskiornithidae (Lainer 1999).

One of the biggest threats faced by Carambolim

41

Lake was the construction of the railway track of the Konkan Railway Project very close to the lake and increasing disturbance due to urbanization.

The long-term and irreversible disturbance is from private encroachment, night soil generated from the migrant human population, and the silt deposition, leading to the development of marshy conditions.Carambolim lake need to be protected under the new category of Community Reserve in the modified Indian wildlife (Protection) Act.

43

The northern sector of the Western Ghats has not been given sufficient conservation attention over the years. All the attention

has been concentrated in the south while the for-ests of the Ghats sections of Gujarat, Maharash-tra and Goa have been continually degraded. No effort at an overall protective strategy or attempt to reverse the degradation has been attempted in this section of the Ghats. The southern sector has a large number of PAs which are relatively close to each other and have been protected even across state boundaries. In the northern states there are large unprotected or inadequately protected sec-tions that have isolated the PAs from each other. The Western Ghats in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Goa have been subjected to greater impacts of rapid industrial growth than the southern sector of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Threats can be intrinsic to the area or extend from its periphery, or even from a distant site. The threats include a wide spectrum of human activi-ties of different intensities. These impacts disturb the ecosystem as a whole or inflict their influence

on a single landscape element.

INDUSTRY

Gujarat has initiated a program of neo – indus-trialization which borders on the catena of the Ghats and spreads into the periphery of the Dangs. Gujarat’s industries are now an emerging threat to both the sensitive coastal and hill ecosystems in the state. It has been estimated that 1,782 km2 of for-est area in Gujarat (12% of the current total forest area of the state) was lost between 1960 and 2000 as a result of irrigation projects, agriculture, min-ing, road building, industry and the legalisation of encroachments (Trivedi and Soni 2006)

Maharashtra was one of the earliest States that rapidly developed its industrial capability, as a re-sult of its proximity to Mumbai which is consid-ered to be the business centre of the country. The unsustainable levels of industrial development around Mumbai and its link-city of Pune thus led to rapid urbanization and industrialization to the West and East of the Ghats section in Karjat, Lonawala, Mulshi and Mawal Talukas. This trend

CHAPTER 3: IMPACTS

44

has now inevitably spread to Maharashtra’s second level townships such as Nashik, Kolhapur, Sangli and Satara with their sugarcane based industries that are now diversifying into other sectors.

The various state industrial development corpo-rations are strong supporters of industrial develop-ment in the rural sector. Several of Maharashtra’s MIDCs, with their concomitant urbanization, dot the landscape which was once a mix of rural and wilderness areas, within and adjacent to the Ghats. These centres are growing as a consequence of easy access to cheap unskilled rural labour, water that comes from the forested Ghats sector, energy from the hydel dams and expansion of the road

transport sector in Maharashtra, such as, for exam-ple, the Pirangut Industrial Estate.

In Goa, the mining and tourism industries have severely impacted the integrity of its ecologically diverse landscape elements.

The hydro based energy sector in the Ghats is dependent on east flowing rivers, which are within the Ghats. The dams and their lakes segregate the forests into multiple isolated patches that create a discontinuity in the habitat making it impossible for many species to cross the water spread. Most of these waterspreads span across the eastern val-leys while their backwaters cut into the forested slopes of the Ghats, thus fragmenting and isolating forested regions into smaller patches. There are hardly any large valleys in Maharashtra that have remained intact.

The intactness of the narrow forested strip of the fragile Western Ghats in this region is threatened by landscape level changes due to ports and other development projects in the adjacent coastal belt and by the sugar and heavy industries developed through irrigation and water availability on the eastern aspect in the Deccan Plateau.

Name ofProtected Area MIDC Areas

Possible Impact

Industries

Possible Impact

Saw Mills Mining

Water Air Solid Waste Water Air Solid

Waste

Tansa WLS NILForging &

ChemicalsHigh Mod. Shahapur Nil

BhimashankarWLS Nil Nil Info. NA Info. NA

Karnala Bird Sanctuary

Rasaini Chemicals

and DyesHigh High

Chemicals and

DyesHigh High Info. NA

Stone Quarry

Chinchwan

Phansad WLS Roha Moderate Moderate Chemical Mod. Mod. PhansadStone Quarry,

Mazgaon Phansad

Koyna WLS Nil Nil Info. NA Info. NA

Chandoli WLS NilSugar Factory

(Karanguli)Low Info. NA Info. NA

Radhanagari Bison WLS Shiroli, Shirgaon Low Sugar Factory Mod. Info. NA

INDOL, Bauxite

Mine

Sanjay Gandhi NPMarol, ITC and

Kalwa, Thane,

Mira

High High High

Chemical Forging,

Pharmaceutical,

Dairy, Textiles,

Dyes, Tanneries,

Domestic Waste

High High High Info. NA

Stone Quarry

along the

Boundary

Impact Colour Codes High Moderate Low Nil

45

Mangrove ecosystems in Maharashtra are under heavy pressure as a result of increase in human ac-tivity with their area being reduced, and thus some important species are becoming extinct (Mulik and Bhosale 1989). The threat to mangroves has since become more severe even though it should have been reduced by the Coastal Regulation Zone and increasing awareness. The same situation applies to the Western Ghats unless the planning and im-plementation of sustainably managed ESAs does not reduce the threat to this fragile forest ecosys-tem.

Industrialisation has occurred most rapidly in Shahapur and Wada near Tansa; roha and murud near Phansad; Radhanagari and Gargoti near Rad-hanagari Sanctuary. The industrial development is a reponse to the state’s strong Maharahstra In-dusrial Development Corporation (MIDC). San-jay Gandhi National Park, Karnala Bird Sanctu-ary, Phansad Wildlife Sanctuary have one or more MIDC’s within the 10 km ESAs around PAs. These industries lead to variable elvels of air, water and noise pollution and environment management problems due to indusrial and even toxic solid waste affecting lichens, fish populations causing disruption of aquatic ecosystems. Species such as the Deccan Mahseet once common in these rivers is extinct throughout the rivers of Maharsahtra. The small and large scale industries also lead to loss of spill over habitats for wildlife and produce impacts on the seclusion required for wildlife to breed suc-cessfully. This is a result of increasing movement of people both through and around the PA. Saw-mills create problems as frequently illegally felled timber is easily processed at a mill that is the vicin-ity of a PA. There are saw mills near Tansa Wild-life Sanctuary at Shahapur and near Phansad.

MINING

The industrial use of raw material from mined areas within the Ghats is a serious impact factor on local biodiversity. Consumerism is the driving force and the forest is its victim. Mined areas cre-ate large gaps which are left as blanks covered in weedy growth. While mitigation is expected to re-habilitate and restore these areas this is generally carried out inadequately. Most abandoned mined areas are left for years and are covered by exotic

weedy growth that can support only the general-ist species of fauna. The mined blanks thus lead to severe impediments for many species to move between patches of forest.

In Maharashtra, the major impacts among the PAs surrounds is due to stone quarrying in the ESAs. Therre are also impacts due to bauxite and other mining operations. Major mining conces-sions lead to serious impacts on conservation val-ues leading to serious conflict issues during land-scape level lanning and is a serious concern for the future. A major problem that constantly recurs is due to the major mining potential at Radhanagari WLS. This is a serious concern as there is a con-stant pressure to open this area to mining (Bharu-cha, 2006).

ROADS

The Dangs have a better road network than ten years ago, with almost all the villages having mo-torable roads. Most fo the forest roads till 2000 were unpaved. The negative effect of the growing road network is that the Reserved Fores patches which did nto have motorable access till about ten years ago are now highly accessible. This can be disastrous in the Dangs, especially a illegal timber extractors can now access certain remote areas. There is also a growing threat of unsustainable tourism spreading from Saputara.

The need to link these two economic develop-ment zones (coastal zone and the Deccan Pla-teau) has led to more roads traversing the Ghats section to move goods and business services. The quantum of industrial products developed in Ma-harashtra’s industrial belts has grown enormously and is dependent mainly on constructing shortcut new roads, often without a proper analysis of the real needs of the industrial sector. The plans are frequently an outcome of local political pressures. The widening of existing roads, to reach the ports is another persistent demand without a proper as-sessment. An example is the road that connects Pune from the Deccan Plateau to Mahad on the coast via the Western Ghats in Mulshi Taluka of Pune district, effectively fragmenting the forests of the Western Ghats in this region.

The gaps between PAs are traversed by several

46

Name of Protected Area

Road ((I) = Inside, (O)= Outside) TypeLength of roads

Railway Lines (length)Inside Within 10 km Total

Tansa Mumbai-Agra NH-3 40 40 Kalyan-Nashik (50 km)

Murbad-Vada (I) SH-38 9 25 34

Shahapur-Javhar (I) SH-36 10 15 25

Murbad-Vada (I) Pakka Road 6 22 28

Javhar-Khardi Pakka Road 15 15

Palghar-Nashik (I) SH-34 8 27 25

Total 32 144

Bhimashankar Ahupe-Ambegaon (I) Pakka Rd. 3 13 16 Nil

Ahemadnagar-Karjat (I) (O) SH-37 32 24 24

Ahupe-Nigdale (I) Pakka Rd. 12 12

Bhimashankar-Rajgurunagar (I)SH-54 4 11 15

Total 19 48

Karnala Mumbai-Goa (I) NH-17 2 24 26 Panvel-Uran (14.6 km)

Pune-Panvel (O) NH-4 0 19 19 Konkan Railway Line (34. 6 km)

Panvel-Aware (O) Pakka Road 0 25 25

Total 2 68

Phansad Murud-Alibag (O) MSH-4 28 28 Nil

Murud-Roha (I) SH-90 2 5 6

Murud-Roha (O) SH-92 18 18

Alibagh-Roha (I) Pakka Road

Total 2 51

Koyna Karad-Chiplun (I) SH-78 0 42 42 Nil

Patan-Jalu (I) Pakka Road 0 14 14

Morgiri- Dicholi (O) Pakka Road 14 22 36

Mahableshwar-Vasota (O) Pakka Road 38 11 48

Mahableshwar-Satara (I) Pakka Road 0 46 46

Total 52 134

Chandoli WLS Karad-Sangameshwar (I) SH-78 27 40 67 Nil

Chiplun-Karad (O) SH-78 12 12

Kokisare-Humbarli (I)PaKKa Road

-27 23 23

Sangameshwar-Kolhapur (O) MSH-3 0 26 26

Total 27 100

Radhanagari Kankawli-Kolhapur (right) (I) SH-116 33 32 65 Nil

Kankawli-Kolhapur (left) (I) Pakka Road 25 33 58

Radhanagari-Gawathanwadi (I) Pakka Road 10 12 22

Vaibhavwadi-Kolhapur (O) SH-115 0 15 15

Radhanagari-Sawantwadi (O) SH-120 0 57 57

Total 68 150

Sanjay Gandhi Borivali Mulund West (I) Pakka Road8 2 10

Mumbai Ahmedabad (35 kms)

Goregaon Mulund West (I) Pakka Road 4 Mumbai Nashik (38 km)

Thane Vasai (I) SH-41 2 9 11

Mumbai-Agra (O) NH-8 41 41

Western Express Highway (O) 23 23

Mumbai-Ahmedabad (O) NH-3 37 37

135 110

Impact Colour Codes High Moderate Low Nil

47

existing highways, minor roads, and a major ex-pressway between Mumbai and Pune. There are proposals for several small roads to be widened and there are demands for more roads across the Ghats. The latter will increasingly isolate the patches of natural forests in future. This will reduce the vi-ability of potential corridors unless the areas are notified as ESAs and mitigation measures such as underpasses and over bridges are made for wildlife to get across these gaps.

There are demands for more East-West roads to link south bound highways in the Deccan to the coastal highway. These new roads will continue to create further fragmentation. Such roads cannot be sanctioned on merely political grounds but must be prioritized based on a balance of economic societal and most importantly ecological considerations. This brings in the need for sustainable land use planning and judicious governance by involving scientifically trained regional development plan-ners for the whole Ghats section of these states. An orientation on the ecological costs for road plan-ning and the special requirements for constructing roads along steep escarpments while considering their future maintenance costs is a crucial concern.

Orienting road planners to prevent damage to sur-rounding forests during construction, retaining in-tegrity of the local hydrology of nalla courses and waterfalls, preventing landslides and damage to ar-eas which have unique floral and faunal elements located in even small restricted ecosystems types must become a part of future road development in the Ghats. Areas in the Ghats section which include multiple highly specific ‘niches’ must be carefully studied during the EIA for roads. Such local issues must be cautiously dealt with if present within a larger ESA during the EIA process. Road align-ments that would traverse across on ESA must be planned only if adequate mitigation is offered by using norms as have been suggested for CAMPA by the Hon. Supreme Court.

The existing roads especially on the Western es-carpment wind back and forth from the base to the crest line and then more gradually wind down to the plateau. Thus the impact is not only of a few meters on either side of the road but consists of a wide belt from the northern most to the southern-most point where the road twists back and forth through a wide belt of forest along the side of the range. The road thus creates a large zone of dis-

48

turbance in the Ghats section where roads have been developed. Unless special measures are taken to permit wildlife to get across such gaps the con-tinuity of the Western Ghats forests to maintain biological values is heavily compromised. A set of ESAs which specifically consider the possible im-pacts of the present road transport network and its future development is a key concern for identifying impacts on biodiversity. Thus such areas need to be seen as a specific ESA category.

There are several major roads that transgress some of the PAs in the Western Ghats in Maha-rashtra. While these have been implicated as ma-jor impacts on these PAs, and their development has often been resisted by conservation oriented NGOs, they have been developed in spite of this resistance. Several such incidences can be reported from Maharashtra, such as the road in Bhimashan-kar connecting the Deccan Plateau to the Coast. While these are known concerns, all the 10km ESZs of the PAs have major roads and highways through them. Some of these impact belts are sev-eral kilometers long and therefore impact large pro-portions of the ESAs. The development of high-ways stimulate urbanisation and industralisation along them and thus will lead to serious impacts on conservation values of these PAs. This road re-lated change in landuse leads to water, air and solid waste pollution, noise and disturbance to adjacent wildlife populations in the PA. National Highways pass through Karnala and borders Tansa Wildlife Sanctuaries. The scenario is much worse in the ESAs with 5 National Highways that impact PAs such as Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Tansa and Karnala. There are State Highways in 5 PAs and in ESAs of all the PAs in the NWG. Several PAs have more than one or two roads that lead to impacts. However road length is not an adequate indicator of pressure as there are differences in traffic den-sity. Four PAs have road lengths exceeding 100kms in the ESZs. These are Radhanagari 149.5km, Tan-sa 144km, Koyna 133km, and Chandoli 100.4km. Sanjay Gandhi National Park has 110km of ma-jor roads and a large number of smaller roads net-worked in the ESA, which is in fact a major part of the Mumbai and Thana Metropolitan areas. Road widening and development of new roads is a seri-ous concern as they stimulate unsustainable devel-

opment.

Three of the PAs in the NWG are impacted by railway lines. These result in animal kills, distur-bance of wildlife migration routes, pollution and solid waste management problems.

The growth of these transport facilities has thus disrupted the continuity of the forest ecosystem along the entire length of the Western Ghats in these states. The steepness of the escarpment ne-cessitates developing long stretches of winding roads that span an extensive tract of vegetation for each new road.

This disrupts the floral and faunal integrity of a wide sector to construct what is considered ‘just one more road’. This does not take into account the length of the winding road sector that traverses along major sections of the escarpment through the Ghats. The roads created thus have multiple wide gaps that many species may not be able to bridge from one forested patch to the next. A good exam-ple is the Giant Squirrel which is found in this part of the Western Ghats. It is an arboreal species that rarely comes to the ground and needs an unbroken canopy for its survival. There are no under passes or over bridges for wildlife to cross these roads that already have a high density of vehicles. Road kills are extremely frequent.

AGRICULTURE

Traditional hill slope agriculture in forested ar-eas from the Dangs southward into Maharashtra has long been considered an ecological problem. Local tribal people have used the ancient agricul-tural practice of rab by lopping forest biomass which they burn in the fields for wood ash cultiva-tion. The fire also helps kill off insect pests in their

49

rice paddies. They cultivate rice, nachani, varai and legumes by rotation every few years. In the past this was followed by several years during which the forest could regenerate before the next cycle was initiated. Cutting trees and retrieving branches or leaf material from surrounding forests at an in-creasing frequency has led to the development of deforested patches that are now not given a suffi-cient period to regenerate. The increasing number of farmers who use this once sustainable agricul-tural practice has led to shorter periods for forest regeneration and consequently an increasing num-ber of open patches along the once thickly forested slopes (Goswami, Chatterjee, and Worah 2006).

Agricultural pressures in Maharashtra are due to traditional farming practices (wood ash culti-vation) also known as ‘rab’ mainly in hilly areas, which is forest biomass based. This has been preva-lent, both inside and on the periphery of several PAs. Recently irrigated sugarcane based agricul-ture has replaced traditional agriculture as seen in the table. The variation is a result of distance and spatial differences in the proportion of the Eco Sensitive Zone that has been converted to intensive agriculture. Factors such as effects of monocrop-ping patterns and the use of fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides can have serious implications on the biodiversity of the adjacent PAs. This includes dis-ruption of food chains where insects form major link species as well as deranging their function of pollinating both forest plants and crops. It could also lead to biomagnification of pesticides up the food chain and affect for instance raptor popula-

tions (Bharucha, 2006).

Since most of the high and moderate pressures due to agriculture are observed in irrigated areas mainly for sugarcane holdings, they are linked through sugar co-operatives to adjacent sugar fac-tories which have their own serious impacts on the PAs. Chandoli and Radhanagari have sugar facto-ries within 10km of the boundary of the PA which lead to serious waste management issues from the release of molasses etc. See table Other changes brought about by conversion of rainfed agriculture to sugarcane include an increasing conflict level due to predation of livestock by carnivores. Jumar, a town close to Bhimashankar, has recently been irrigated and used as sugarcane fields. Leopards persistently move out of the Western Ghats from the vicinity of Bhimashankar Sanctuary into the adjacent cover of sugarcane. Conflict levels have increased with livestock and even human life is put at repeated risk. During the last couple of years a large number of leopards have had to be caught and translocated or put in zoos, only to be rapidly

Name of Protected Area Water Reservoirs and Impacts Irrigation Canals Agriculture Agricultural

ImpactsTansa WLS Tansa Dam, Vaitarna Dam Bhavsa- Bhivandi Rice Low

Bhimashankar WLS Backwater of Wadeshwar

and Dimbhe DamNil

Rice, Nachani, Varai.

Shifting CultivationLow

Karnala Bird Sanctuary Ransai Dam Info. NA Rice, Cereals, Varai Low

Phansad WLS Vihur Dam, Phansad Dam Nil Rice, Varai, Coconut Moderate

Koyna WLS Koyna Dam Nil Sugarcane, Rice Moderate

Chandoli WLS Chandoli Dam, Chandoli- Shirala Rice, Sugarcane, Nachani. Low

Radhanagari Bison WLS Radhanagari Dam,

Kallamawadi Dam, ModeratePresent

Sugarcane, Rice, Nachani,

VegetablesModerate

Sanjay Gandhi National Park

Tulsi Lake, Vihar Lake,

Pavai Lake

Irrigation Canals from

Tulsi and Vihar LakeRice Nil

Impact Colour Codes High Moderate Low Nil

50

replaced by other leopards.

NEW TOWNSHIPS

While traditional farming has indeed been a gradually growing impact, it is the newer forms of economic development strategies that have rapidly created expanding gaps that have led to a loss of corridors between the PAs of the Ghats. The de-velopment of neo-townships in the Western Ghats will have the most deleterious consequences for the integrity of the ecosensitive slopes of the Western Ghats. While townships such as the Amby Valley in Lonavala and Lavasa in the Mulshi Taluka in Pune District already exist and have disrupted forest con-tinuity, there will be increasing demands for land in this ecosensitive region for high income based satellite townships for Pune and other growing cit-ies in Maharashtra as well. This trend will displace poor agriculturists of the Ghats, deprive them of their lands, and create a new set of landless rural people across the whole length of the Ghats. This has already happened in the Mawal and Mulshi Talukas of Maharashtra. For example, under the Special Township Act of the Maharashtra Govern-ment, by 2010, 34 new townships, of a minimum area of 100 acres, have been planned and many of them sanctioned in and around the city of Pune in the Western Ghats (Bari and Savitha 2010). These will have an obvious impact on the integrity of the ecosystems of the Western Ghats.

Yet another impact is from the growing fringes of cities that have now begun to spread into the foothills of the Ghats both from the west coast and from the rapidly growing large cities of the Dec-can. Pune along with Pimpri-Chinchwad is well on the way towards becoming an emerging mega-city that is spreading into the Western Ghats. A case in point is the scrapping of the proposed Bio-diversity Parks covering an area of 18,000 acres in 23 newly merged villages of Pune city, in order to permit FSI of 4 on the hill tops and hill slopes sur-rounding the city (Chandawarkar 2010).

Unsustainable development of the urban edges from growing towns and cities from the eastern and western aspects into the Ghats has not been studied from a scientific point of view. The biases have been a reflection of local political pressures and land speculation from the builder lobby. Urban

fringes include slums and shanties that spread into the ecologically fragile hillslopes. The largest and most serious being the slums around the Sanjay Gandhi National Park at Borivali near Mumbai.

TOURISM

All the PAs have some level of impacts of tourist facilities on the edges of the PAs. The impact of day visitors is different from the pattern of impact of overnight stay visitors. Both these groups require different management strategies. Based on the number of tourists alone, there are three high im-pact, two medium impact and three low impact PAs due to tourism. Having said this, the true car-rying capacity depends on the size of the area, the presence of an effective core, buffer and tourist zo-nation, as well as the length of road networks in PAs and the pattern of tourist vehicles used. While these aspects are related to impacts that emanate directly within the PA, the tourist facilities on the boundaries of the PA have equally serious impacts which create high levels of water pollution, large amounts of non-degradable waste, noise, etc. In these PAs, 2 have major tourism development plans through the MTDC and several others are in the offing. These plans tend to increase generalised tourism and are only ‘ecotourism’ in name. This is probably one of the most serious concerns in which the two concerned line agencies, the Forest Depart-ment and the Tourism Department, require intense interactions to appreciate that tourism itself can form a major impact on the resource on which it depends, viz. wildlife. While its impact on the glamour species that tourists wish to see can be quantified to some extent, it is the less known spe-cies, such as endemic plants, insects, etc. on which there are likely to be cryptic impacts which could

51

lead to their extinction and/or to serious loss of critical habitats of endemic species. Other issues related to animal breeding behaviour, territorial be-havior, migration routes, etc. require more detailed studies as this is linked to the level of tourism pres-sure See table

Based on very general observations, Bhimashan-kar gets over a lakh of tourists per year who come for pilgrimage to the temple. Karnala gets over 3 lakhs mainly day visitors, picnickers and people passing along the highway. Sanjay Gandhi Na-tional Park has the largest number of visitors who are picnickers and casual visitors to the temple. The carrying capacity for tourists in these PAs is already exceeded. However, there are PAs which if managed for sustainable ecotourism, can evolve a strategy where the activity provides alternate in-come generation for local people. Some high pres-sure tourist areas in the northern Western Ghats are Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Mahabalesh-war-Panchgani, Mathern, Panhala, Sinhgad, Bhi-ma-shankar, Saputara, Radhanagari and Goa.

INVASIVE EXOTIC SPECIES

One of the less studied impacts on the forests of the Western Ghats is from accidental and purpose-ful introduction of exotic plant species over the last few centuries. Several of these highly invasive spe-cies have invaded the forests of the Western Ghats and are now considered naturalized species. These vigorous shrubs and ground flora have in many in-stances become integrated into the existing ecosys-tem and have developed linkages within the food chains of the ecosystems of the Ghats. Lantana, eupatorium, congress grass are examples of plants that now cover wide sections of the Ghats. Their impact on the forest ecology has led to alterations in the abundance and species dynamics of natural flora and fauna.

Ramakrishna et al. have shown that since many of them entered the region long ago, they have become pseudonatives (naturalised exotics). For example, eucalyptus, coffee, tea, rubber etc. and exotic fauna such as rainbow trout and tilapia (Ra-makrishna, C. Radhakrishnan, and K. C. Gopi 2001). There are more than 35 well established exotic trees in the Western Ghats of Maharashtra (Ghate and Vartak 1990). However current distri-bution of exotics remains poorly documented even

Name of Protected

AreaTourist Facilities

Tourists Per Year and Impacts

Tourist DensityPollution due

to Tourism

MTDCDevelop-ment Plan

TansaRest House, Huts, Interpretation Center (Inside)

100-200, Low 0.328-0.656Water (Nil)

Garbage (Nil)Nil

Bhimashankar Private Lodges (Inside) 1,00,000-2,00,000, High 764.64-1529.28Water (High)

Garbage (High)Info. NA

Karnala Suits, Log huts, Tents, Guest Houses, Dormitory, Interpreta-tion Center (Inside)

3,00,000-4,00,000, High66964.28-89285.71

Water (Nil) Garbage (High)

Info. NA

PhansadInterpretation Center, Guest House (Periphery)

3,000-4,000 Low 56.053-74.738Water (Nil)

Garbage (Nil)Nil

KoynaPrivate Lodges (Tapola) Irrigation Dept. (Koynanagar) (Periphery)

15,000-20,000 Moderate 35.41-47.21Water (Nil)

Garbage (Mod)Yes

Chandoli Irrigation Dept. (Inside) 5000 Low 16Water (Nil)

Garbage (Mod)Nil

RadhanagariIrrigation Dept. Forest Dept. MTDC - Suits(Inside)

5,000 - 6,000 Moderate 14.23-17.08Water (Nil)

Garbage (Nil)Info. NA

Sanjay GandhiResthouse, Dormitory, Interpreta-tion Center, Museum, Canteen

13,00,000-15,00,000, High14949.40-17249.31

Water (Nil) Garbage (High)

Yes

Impact Colour Codes

High Moderate Low Nil

52

though the importance of these plants as a threat to natural ecosystems is better appreciated.

The Forest Department has used Eucalyptus, Subabul, Glyricidia and Acacia auriculoformis se-quentially over the last fifty years. These planta-tions generally do not support the habitat needs of wildlife in the Ghats. Their ability to act as corri-dors is limited. Altering this to an ecorestorative naturalistic plantation would enhance a biodiver-sity oriented outcome.

CLIMATE CHANGE

The rather unpredictable outcomes of climate change is a major deterrent to designing appropri-ate responses and strategies for responding to al-terations in climate that may affect the Protected Area system of the Ghats. The current regional scale models appear to be imprecise and are fur-ther complicated by existing monsoonal vagaries, and the limited data on temporal and spatial scales of ecosystem responses to future climate change. Some ecosystem responses could take centuries, others may take decades. Thus expecting that spon-taneous adaptation by species will occur and sal-

vage species from possible extinction may be little more than an optimistic speculation.

It is predicted that by the end of the 21st century rainfall will increase in most of India, (especially along the west coast, and Western Ghats). The ef-fect on species may well be more serious than other existing human pressures that are seen due to al-terations in the landscape The PRECIS climate model from the Hadley Center, has shown the pat-tern of changes in climate between 1961-1990, and predict the expected trend in future from 2071 to 2100 under A2 and B2 scenarios. This shows that by 2040 India will see a generalized warming and increasing rainfall. The Indian Institute of Tropi-cal Meteorology simulations predict a 20% rise in the summer monsoon rainfall along the West coast in future. This biogeographic region would thus shift towards favouring plant species that grow un-der wetter conditions (Kumar et al. 2006).

The forests of the Western Ghats depend not only on the high level of precipitation but on the number of rainy days. With the anticipated chang-es in local weather conditions, alterations in the regulatory action of the monsoon could produce serious impacts on the forest type and structure in the future.

Several of the local endemic habitat specific species in the Western Ghats could be seriously threatened by climate change. Local ground flora could be substituted by a host of invasive species. Those species that have evolved to survive in limit-ed climatic ranges or are dependent on specialised restricted habitat needs may see either positive or negative effects on their populations depending on the magnitude and shifts of rainfall regimes. Spe-cies that are specific to drier habitats could suffer

53

a restriction of their ranges if rainfall increases. Those that depend on higher levels of precipitation could expand their range.

Studies on the possible shifts of geographical ranges of species due to climatic alterations are still at a preliminary stage. The ability of species to adapt to climate change is thus difficult to predict. This has implications for the future planning of ef-fective ESAs for responding to the unpredictable changes in rainfall and temperature in the Western Ghats.

Various studies quoted in the IPCC Report (Parry et al. 2007) suggest that there will be a loss of species diversity in several forest types due to climate change. This would particularly damage tropical forest hotspots in the Western Ghats. For-ests in higher altitudes will be encroached by low-land vegetation. A decrease in the colder high alti-tude habitats will change in response to increasing temperature. This should make species of the low lands move into the crest line, making it imperative to use new adaptive strategies to conserve all the threatened landscape elements within the Western Ghats.

Climate change responses in the forests of the Ghats cannot be expected to lead to a general over-all ecosystem shift. While some species of native plants have better adaptive strategies, others may be adversely affected as their adaptive capacity to change in altered climatic conditions is limited. Thus plant communities cannot be expected to migrate as complete entities. This implies that the newly located ecosystem will not have an intact food web. The ‘drop out’ species could well trigger a cascade of extinctions both of floral and faunal

elements even though the more robust species may relocate themselves in a new northern location or into higher altitudes in the Western Ghats, when temperatures increases.

It is not expected that evergreen plants may colo-nize the semi evergreen eastern slopes of the Ghats if rainfall increases, as these tree species grow from seedling banks under cover of a thick closed for-est canopy. If however some elements of the ever-green forests do spread northwards and eastwards some of its dependant fauna would also migrate, expanding the potential ranges of species such as the Nilgiri Thar (Hamitragus hilocrius), the Lion Tailed Macaque (Macaca silenus), Nilgiri Langur (Trachypithecus johnii), Malabar giant squirrel (Ratufa indica) and Grizzled giant squirrel (Ratufa macroura). However, this can only be possible if viable corridors are preserved through the length of the Western Ghats. Several arboreal evergreen forest birds could potentially spread northwards into the Sahyadris of Maharashtra and into the altered climatic conditions in the Dang forests of Gujarat. However the breeding biology of most of these species, which is tuned to very specific envi-ronments, and the number of rainy days in mon-soon months could be disrupted and breeding suc-cess depressed. These potentially positive effects on biodiversity would be reversed if rainfall decreases, which would reduce the habitat for species of the Shola forests in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

The population of rare and endemic reptiles and amphibians of the Ghats is already affected by for-est fragmentation. Any further alteration in their habitat may be disastrous for these little researched taxa. Endemic fish of the Western Ghats could

The globally recognized ‘hot spot’ of biodiversity in the Western Ghats and its adjacent coastal region has 56 PAs spread over its length from the Dangs of Gujarat, Sahyadris of Maharashtra, the Ghat sections of Goa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu hills and Kerala. As the warming progresses and rainfall patterns alter there is a need to be able to create south to north oriented corridoring that could benefit conservation in the aftermath of climate change. This is perhaps the most valid and rational use of our current knowledge of the relationship of biodiversity conservation strategies to climate change. No efforts should be spared in creating these all important ‘species survival corridors’ between the Protected Areas of the Western Ghats and its off shoots in the Nilgiris and Agasthamalai ranges. The sites would thus include different categories of Ecologically Sensitive Areas that must be declared and protected through selected executive bodies which are provided with a new set of legal provi-sions.

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also find themselves unable to cope with the more erratic monsoon that will derange the flow in their breeding streams. Increased temperature and a fur-ther enhancement of flow rates due to the increase in rainfall in the longer and heavier monsoons could damage the breeding niches of freshwater stream fish.

OTHERS

There are two impact agents that have not been given attention and are data deficient. The first deals with the long stretches of power lines across the Ghats where the forests are cut down and al-tered to a shrubby condition. Species such as the Giant Squirrel would find this a serious barrier. The newly instituted windmills on plateau tops have not been studied for their impacts on avifauna and the ground flora as they require connecting roads and maintenance crews.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, the age old impacts of traditional rab agriculture, cattle grazing, fire and NTFP col-lection within the Ghats forests was far lower than the neo-impacts of urbanization, transport, tour-ism, mines, dams and industrial development that is expanding rapidly into the ecosensitive Western Ghats and isolating its biologically important PAs from each other. A set of ESAs with their own policies, and implementation of locale specific rules and regulations will be required to arrest the threats that will lead to a rapid degradation of the ecological values of the region. Creating a series of ESAs with different locale specific objectives would substantially reduce the potential impacts on these fragile ecosystems. It is insufficient to do routine EIAs for specific development proj-ects. Apart from these EIAs, a carrying capacity study that looks at the cumulative impact on the region must form a major concern of the Western Ghats Authority. Developing corridors to support the Integrated Protected Area System in order to preserve bioresources and wilderness ecosystems in the long term is one important strategy. The un-predictable nature of future climate change itself brings home the importance of the precautionary principle in managing ecosystems, species and ge-netic values of the Western Ghats. Creating ESAs that are mandated to preserve corridors or even

stepping stones for wildlife between PAs could be crucial to protect biodiversity.

The loss of the original habitat of the Ghats has created the most profound impact on several spe-cies. This includes mammals, birds and other less studied taxa. Forest bird abundance is a good indi-cator of habitat quality in the Western Ghats. Competition and overcrowding however, appears to limit breeding success. Declines in the Malabar Giant squirrel populations is evident in areas where the canopy is opened up due to over use and altera-tions in species composition of trees due to planta-tions. The disappearance of habitat sensitive spe-cies is the earliest signs of habitat degradation. As shown by Mac Arthur and Wilson (1967) the rate of species loss in isolated fragments of habitat is inversely related to patch size. Only some species can cross over from patch to patch if the distance between them increases. Tigers for example are re-luctant to cross from one isolated patch beyond a certain threshold. Leopards in contrast will fre-quently attempt crossing over, as is observed in Junnar Taluka.

Thus combinations of several factors facilitate or deter specific species from retaining a healthy breeding population in the Western Ghats. These factors include habitat quality, reduced fragment size, increased edge effects and extent of isola-tion. Matheran a relatively isolated patch for in-stance has no sambar deer, but Mahabaleshwar is frequently visited by sambar moving into the for-est from Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary. These factors together act as a threshold, where local extinction results and recovery without a relocation program becomes next to impossible. Ecorestoration using a carefully designed strategy that creates room for re-

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covery requires both corridoring as well as manag-ing patch habitat quality. The ESAs would have to be managed through scientific ecorestoration pro-grams. This will essentially require detailed habitat studies so that populations of habitat specific spe-cies are able to recover in the ESAs.

THE DANGS FOREST, GUJARAT

The ecology and manage-ment of frgemented forests in the Dangs was studied by Bha-rucha and Worah, 1994. The study used a GIS analysis to identify potential habitats of four key species namely the Rusty Spotted Cat, the tiger, the Giant Squirrel and the spotted deer.

Based on the GIS analysis it was found that the distribution of optimal habitat conditions for each of the four target spe-cies was fragemented into iso-lated pockets. The species that had the largest amount of good quality habitat is the rusty spotted cat. This animal here is reported to use steep, rocky forested areas.. Studies also indicated that the forst on the steep rocky slopes in the Dangs was least disturbed. Thus the study reports that based on a combination of these two characteristics the rusty spotted cat has good chances of long term survival in the Dangs. This conclusion was supported by frequent sightings of this animal by local people. Good quality tiger habitat was patchy and thus the chances of long term survival of this animal in the Dangs was questionable. No evidence of tigers was obtained during the present study.

Of the four target species the giant squirrel had the least amount of potential habitat left in the Dangs. Besides it had nto been reported for the last forty years and is almost certainly extinct. Although the potential spotted deer habitat is scattered throughout the Dangs, the only existing population of this species today is found in the Bansda National Park where it has managed to survive. The only large mammal species that seemed to be surviving was the leopard.

The study showed that although the potential habitat for individual species is highly fragmented, the overall suitable habitat for the four target species combined showed a reasonably large contigous area. The best habitats were in the northern and the western parts of the Dangs where the Purna Wildlife Sanctuary and the Bansda National Park are located.

Both the Protected Forests and the plantations supported low wildlife values. However conservation of these areas was suggested in lieu of their role as forest corridors between the Reserve forest patches.

Impacted areas will require new norms for ecorestoration. Current greening programs insti-tuted as mitigation and rehabilitation of mined ar-eas is insufficient to provide the necessary habitat conditions for the sensitive species.

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Given the complex socio-eco-logical situation in the Dangs where the people are highly de-pendent on the forests for their survival, the study suggested a management strategy that would focus on the dual objectives of conservation of biological values of as much of the forest as pos-sible and improved management and restoration of the remain-ing forests for the benefit of local people. In order to achieve this, the study suggested increase of the boundary of the Purna WLS to increase the contiguous RF patches and shifting of the core area towards the east and the north where there were less pressures alongwith tightening controls of these areas. At the same time it suggested opening up of other areas for utilisation by local people as ‘multiple-use areas.

A follow-up study in the Dangs was carried out by Bharucha & Kolte, 2005. This study suggested that the forests has been increasingly fragmented and degraded due to expansion of ‘rab’ in Protected Forests with severe loss of habitat due to tree felling. The Dangs also underwent a periof of insurgency during 1989 to 1992 and villages with high disturbance showed large loss of trees. Illegal timber felling and increased population pressures also contributed to its degradation.

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CHAPTER 4: PLANNING OF ESAs

One of the major mandates of the WGEEP is to demarcate areas of the Western Ghats to be notified as Ecologically Sen-

sitive. In spite of the obvious sensitivity of the glob-ally recognised hotspot of biodiversity the Com-mittee is expected to bring out those areas that can be included as Multiple Use Areas with sufficient protection to ensure long term sustainable develop-ment.

This will require identifying of landscape ele-ments with clearly defined norms of landuse man-agement. Thus the proposed ESAs would have to be categorised into different types, as their sensitiv-ity levels and patterns vary across the Ghats. Two basic issues need to be considered:

I. Existing ESAs: There are already notified ESAs supported by the MOEF and the judiciary.

1. Protected Areas

2. ESAs around Protected Areas

3. Hill-station ESAs

II. Proposed ESAs: There are equally and even

more biologically valuable potential ESAs that must be categorised into different types for area specific management.

1. Areas Proposed but not Notified as ESAs

2. Reserve Forests and Closed Canopy Forests

3. Water Bodies

4. Sacred Groves

5. Specialized Ecosystems

6. Species Based ESAs

CATEGORIZATION OF EXISTING ESAS

The existing ESAs in the northern Western Ghats as stipulated by the Ministry of Environ-ment and Forests include the network of Protected Areas, a 10 kilometer buffer around each Protected Area and the three hill stations of Matheran, Ma-habaleshwar and Panchgani.

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Protected Areas

The most important group of ESAs in the West-ern Ghats are the existing and potential sites noti-fied as Wildlife Sanctuaries (WLS) and National Parks (NP). While the notified areas are protected under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972, the process of notification has not been completed for many reasons for several PAs.

The PAs of the Northern Western Ghats include 3 National Parks and 15 Wildlife Sanctuaries in the three states of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Goa. Gujarat and Maharashtra rank among the top five states in terms of PA coverage. In the Western Ghats the PAs include Purna Wildlife Sanctuary, and Vansda National Park in Gujarat, while Kal-subai Wildlife Sanctuary, Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary Koyna National Park, Chandoli Wild-life Sanctuary (proposed National Park) and Rad-hanagri Wildlife Sanctuary in Maharashtra are situated along the crest and slopes of the Western Ghats in Maharashtra. In Maharashtra the Protect-ed Areas that extend into the coastal belt include Tansa Wildlife Sanctuary, Sanjay Gandhi National Park (Borivali) and Phansad Wildlife Sanctuary while those that extend into the Deccan Plateau are the potential PAs of Mulshi and Mawal talukas of Pune district which were discussed frequently but were never formally notified. Some of these PAs extend from the coastal plains into the West-ern escarpment. Others include forests between catchment areas of dams along the eastern spurs that slope into the Deccan.

The PAs in this biogeographic region include several landscape types which lie in the hill sec-tions and adjacent coastal plains. Several of the floral and faunal elements are common to both these sub regions. A number of species are how-ever unique to the hills (Bossuyt et al. 2004). To-gether this group of PAs constitute the most im-portant ESAs of the Western Ghats. Most of them spread across the crest line and extend into parts of the eastern slopes into the Deccan where they include patches of deciduous forests and old teak plantations. This gives rise to a wide range of land-scapes with many different and unique landscape elements. As the rainfall drops drastically from the crest line to the Deccan plateau, the vegetation of most of these PAs changes dramatically from west to east (Champion and Seth 1968).

Several of these Protected Areas have villages within them. The settlements are usually situat-ed where the hill slope meets a river flood plain. Patches of agricultural land surround the villages even within the PAs. In several hill slopes there are blanks due to ‘rab’ cultivation, where a mosaic of forest and ‘rab’ agriculture forms a distinctive lan-duse category with these two different landscape elements.

The priority would be to create not just contigu-ous but continuous corridors in between the above given network of PA’s.

The Protected Areas have already been pri-oritized based on their legal status into National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries and recently newly sug-

State National Park Wildlife Sanctuaries

Gujarat Vasda National Park Purana Wildlife Sanctuary

Maharashtra Sanjay Gandhi National Park Kalsubai Harishchandra Wildlife SanctuaryTansa Wildlife SanctuaryBhimashankar Wildlife SanctuaryChandoli Wildlife SanctuaryKarnala Wildlife SanctuaryKoyna Wildlife SanctuaryPhansad Wildlife SanctuaryRadhanagari Wildlife SanctuarySagareshwar Wildlife Sanctuary

Goa Molem National Park Bondla Wildlife SanctuaryCotigao Wildlife SanctuaryMadei Wildlife SanctuaryMolem Wildlife SanctuaryNetravalli Wildlife Sanctuary

List of National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries in the northern Western Ghats

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gested as Community Reserves.

Early efforts for prioritization of Protected Ar-eas were done for the World Bank Forestry Sector in Maharashtra in 1991. Planning a PA network for Maharashtra led to the institution of new PAs mostly based on Rodgers & Panwar 1988. A pa-per by (Bharucha 1996) dealt with prioritization among the 29 PAs of Maharashtra.

For the Western Ghats PAs this paper has rated Radhanagari, Koyna and Phansad as (+++) indi-cating above average scoring for all the major cri-teria ie: conservation potential, utilitarian potential and conflict levels. The author notes that the pos-sibility of restoration appears almost feasible in this group. He suggests that the aim of manage-ment should be to create as large a core as pos-sible with ecodevelopment inputs for conserving the buffer on a sustainable basis. The low conflict

level is a distinct advantage making restoration an attainable target. It was also suggested that Rad-hanagari, Koyna and Phansad should be upgraded to NP status to provide inviolate cores and better management which would ensure their preserva-tion on a long term basis. Chandoli has been given a rating of (+00) indicating that it has a high con-servation potential with average ecodevelopment possibilities and moderate levels of conflict. Bhi-mashankar has been given a rating of (+0-) as it has a very high biological significance being situated in a ‘hot spot’ of biodiversity but has local conflict problems. Sanjay Gandhi National Park has been given a rating of (0+-) signifying a PA of average importance where ecodevelopment is feasible but unduly high conflict levels. The paper suggests that management here must focus primarily on reduc-ing conflict. Kalsubai and Karnala have been given

State Area Name Status Significant Biome / Land Unit

Evergreen Forest

Semi-Evergreen Forest

Moist Deciduous Forest

Dry Deciduous Forest Plantation

Gujarat Bansda P P

Maharashtra Tansa S

Bhimashankar S ? P P

Koyana S P P

Chandoli S P P

Kalsubhai-Har-ishchandragad S P P P

Radhanagari S P P P

Goa Mollem S P P

Bondla S P P

Cotigao S P P P

State Area Name Status Significant Species

Tiger Elephant GaurRusty Spotted Cat

MalabarCivet Hornbills

Mugger Crocodile

Gujarat Bansda P E ?

Maharashtra Tansa S P P

Bhimashankar S P

Koyana S P P P P

Chandoli S P P P

Kalsubhai-Har-ishchandragad S P

Radhanagari S P P P P

Goa Mollem S ? ? P P P

Bondla S

Cotigao S P P

Summary of Values of Existing and Proposed Protected Areas (Rodgers and Panwar 1988)

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a rating of (--0) indicating a low conservation po-tential with low utilisation potential and moderate levels of conflict. The paper suggests that manage-ment planning must focus on a good substitution program for resources and identify those that have specific conservation objectives.

Very little work on prioritizing PAs in the north-ern part of the Western Ghats appears to have been done in the recent past. The currently ongo-ing Management Effectiveness Evaluation being carried out by the MoEF and the WII can be used as an available source of data and information on management outcomes that can be used to plan ESAs and their selection based on this evaluation experience. Several of these PAs have already been included in the study and have a wealth of useful information for planning ESAs in the Ghats.

There are two other useful data sources that can be used to plan effective ESAs. While both these were carried out in the late 1980s, reviewing them and comparing their data to current situations could form a vitally important study to formulate plans for ESAs in the Ghats section. The two studies are: Planning a Wildlife Protected Area Network in In-dia (Rodgers and Panwar 1988) and Management of National Parks and Sanctuaries in India: A Sta-tus Report (Kothari, Forests, and Division 1989).

ESAs around Protected Areas

Currently the Ministry of Environment and For-est (MOEF) has mandated that a 10 km buffer zone around the Protected Areas should be notified as an ecologically sensitive area. However, this ruling has been repeatedly violated around the PAs of the Northern sector of the Western Ghats.

In the Western Ghats the surrounds of Protected Areas are of special significance. There are 18 PAs within and at the periphery of the northern part of the Ghats. The level of protection has been varied and fluctuating due to unclear management and differences in the prior ownership of the land. The PAs are however ‘protected’ at least on paper. Ex-amples of management alterations in time include issues such as tribal retaliations that occurred in and around Purna Wildlife Sanctuary in Gujarat a few years ago. This led to the uncontrolled felling of a large number of trees in the Protected Area

and its surrounding Reserve Forest blocks. Roads passing through these PAs and their surrounds have not been considered as requiring a different level of management. Such areas should have tran-sit passages for wildlife in the form of underpasses or overbridges. No industrial or urban development should have occurred in these areas. In many situa-tions, tourist complexes have spread all around the PAs in what is now considered an ESA.

The rapid deforestation that has occurred in the catchment areas whenever dams have been built, even in the vicinity of Protected Areas has broken the continuity of the forests. These areas on the fringes of Protected Areas are vital to the integrity of the Western Ghats Protected Area system, es-pecially in relation to their potential value as cor-ridors between PAs. A corridor that includes the PA surrounds must be notified as an ESA as part of a precautionary principle even beyond the 10 km rule. The currently notified PA surrounds must be notified and managed as per the orders of the Hon. Supreme Court. New projects that require landuse alterations must not be permitted around the PAs in the Ghats in the future. This includes establish-ing new tourism areas, or ‘cities’ like those devel-oped at Amby Valley and Lavasa, which have led to disruption of potentially viable forest corridors.

There is thus a strong rationale to include the surrounding landscape of Protected Areas as a spe-cial category of ESAs. In the future, surrounding human perturbations around PAs will have strong negative impacts on the conservation potential of PAs in the Ghats. Several PA surrounds harbour a mosaic of forest types in Reserve Forests and specialized ecosystems such as plateaus and scrub-lands that act as vital buffers to the biodiversity sequestrated in National Parks and Wildlife Sanc-tuaries. A review of the present landuse around PAs in Maharashtra (Bharucha 2006) suggests that there are a large number of existing impacts on these ESAs. These include industrial establish-ments, dams, hydel power stations, roads, mines, and townships. These existing landuse categories cannot be wished away. However attempts must be made to limit the impacts and provide mitigating measures by creating legislations and rules to re-duce their impact. No new development should be

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permitted in this category of ESAs. This is an im-portant issue as many PA surrounds in the North-ern Western Ghats are already surrounded by other forms of landuse (Bharucha 2006).

Hill-station ESAs

Increasing levels of tourism have led to defor-estation, problems of waste disposal, housing expansion, roads and water shortage in most hill stations both in the northern Western Ghats and elsewhere in India. For several years, and more so from the early 1990s, NGOs and conservation re-search groups have debated the need to protect hill ecosystems and the hill stations within them. The Pronab Sen Committee Report (Sen 2000) includes hill stations as an ESA group. Currently new town-ships such as Sahara and Lavasa and the proposed New Mahabaleshwar Township should be brought under the purview of the same conditions as they are nested in the Western Ghats and are distinctly a growing threat within the biodiversity hotspot region of the Western Ghats (Kapoor, Kohli, and Menon 2009).

Among the hillstations of the Western Ghats, only Panchgani, Mahabaleshwar, Matheran in the Sahyadris have been classified as Ecologically Sen-sitive Areas. This leaves out areas such as the new townships, old forts such as Panhala, Sinhagad etc. that area growing into urban centers with serious environmental problems due to garbage dumping, water pollution, etc. as their tourist carrying capac-ity has been exceeded.

The Mahableshwar-Panchgani Ecologically Sensitive Area covers an area of 237.28 sq km. In terms of the history of the ESA classification, the Department of Environment, Maharashtra Gov-ernment carried out a study on the environmental status of the Mahabaleshwar plateau in 1982 and stated in its report ‘unless checked now, the entire plateau may well be destroyed within a decade and rendered unfit for human habitation’. Around the same time, the Ministry of Environment and For-ests (MoEF) had gazetted a preliminary notifica-tion inviting public objections and suggestions for the declaration of Pachmarhi as an Ecologically Sensitive Area. This was the first hill station to be considered for declaration as ‘ecologically frag-ile’. This created the ground for pushing the Ma-

habaleshwar-Panchgani Notification in the Min-istry. Thus the Mahabaleshwar-Panchgani ESA Notification follows the same pattern as used by the Pachmarhi draft ESA Notification. For the first time provisions were made for heritage conserva-tion, regulation of groundwater extraction and regulation of traffic. These provisions were added keeping in mind the ecology of the hill station as an ESA.

A review by Kapoor et al., 2009 of the ESAs de-picts milestones from 2000 onwards that have led to the process of a proposed Sahyadri ESA. The altitudinal gradient of the proposed area coupled with the difference in rainfall across the area con-tributes to the creation of the diverse forest types that are seen in the area which provide the range of hills with exceptional biological values.

They have shown that deforestation, poaching and encroachments are serious deterrents to the ecological and environmental assets within this re-gion. The concept was initiated around 1991 when a Sahyadri Ecologically Sensitive Areas (SESA) consisting of 4200 sq km. in Karnataka in Maha-rashtra was suggested as an ESA in the Northern Western Ghats. This was first proposed by the Na-tional Committee for the Protection of Natural Resources. By its notification dated June 21, 1999, the MoEF invited suggestions or objections on the draft rules proposed to prohibit or regulate loca-tion of identified industries in proximity to iden-tified ecologically and environmentally sensitive areas. After the last meeting of the Mohan Ram Committee on June 29, 2004 and its suggestions, the Sahyadri Ecologically Sensitive Areas has not been discussed in the MoEF. According to Dr. H.Y. Mohan Ram, the Chairman of the committee to declare areas as ecologically sensitive, though SESA was a good proposal and aimed at protect-ing the Western Ghats, how it would ensure sound management being spread across three states was not clear. Thus, he felt it was better not to notify the entire region as an ESA, but select areas which could be declared as ecologically sensitive within the larger area (Kapoor, Kohli, and Menon 2009)

Matheran was constituted as an ESA in 2003. By that time the Pronab Sen Committee’s report (see section 4 of this chapter) was out and the Matheran

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Notification was now re-drafted to fit the criteria laid down in this report. The Eco-Sensitive Area covers an area of 214.73 sq km and a 200 m buf-fer zone and consists of the area of the Matheran Municipal Council and its environs.

CATEGORIZATION OF PROPOSED ESAS

There can be several categories of ESAs depend-ing on the ecological process and biodiversity val-ues that can be maintained within them in the long term. Each category can be separately rated on the basis of their function in the Western Ghats land-scape as well as their level of threat. For example, the Bhor Ghats at Khandala is a substantial gap in the effort at corridoring, which needs to be included as an ESA. Some patches of relatively good forests that function as critically important corridors must form a key aspect of notifying ESAs. . Similarly, ar-eas where new dam and mining projects have been proposed need to be extensively reviewed. It is im-portant to balance the needs of conservation and development through a set of priorities, the institu-tion of good governance practices and principles of sustainability to stem or reverse threats.

(Sarkar et al. 2006) outline these concerns which apply to conservation planning for the Western Ghats. They contend that representation and per-sistence are important parameters as conservation competes with other forms of landuse. The long-term sustenance of ecological and evolutionary principles must govern the objectives of creating ESAs in the Western Ghats. The authors consider ‘complimentarily’ ‘irreplaceability’ and ‘vulner-ability’ as key issues for conservation planning.

The ESAs in the Western Ghats will require the use of several decision making tools to bring out a well-considered ESA management strategy.

The ESAs in the northern sector of the Ghats is one strategy that could bring about longterm sus-tainable land management in the Ghats. This must bring to the front not only activities or development projects that cannot be carried out, but also indi-cate areas where activities may be permitted based on the special needs or under specific requirements. This must be based on cumulative (region based) carrying capacity studies rather than single project

ESAs.

If the objective of a Western Ghats Authority is a sustainable management strategy for the Western Ghats it must look at environmental social and eco-nomic factors to permit or disallow certain forms of development.

Thus the rating for a parcel of land that is to be protected or developed through ESAs must take into account all three concerns. As the primary fo-cus is biodiversity conservation this must be given a large score; as social issues related to local farmers and tribal folk require a greater degree of protec-tion to their resources rather than shift their land use into an urban category, this must be based on social issues such as traditional resource use and sacred groves. The economic concern here is closely linked to social concerns as for example the support for ecotourism through which the income goes to the local communities rather than five star tourism operators. Economic considerations must focus on providing a better quality of life for local people such as access to potable water, access to health, better housing, agricultural technology and alternate income generation possibilities.

Based on these three conditions activities can be considered as sustainable or unsustainable in a par-ticular ESA category. Thus for example a parcel of ESA could be permitted for grazing or collection of firewood or NTFP at a sustainable level of de-velopment.

The rating scale to quantify this would thus have conservation assessment, evaluation of social ben-efits and economic concerns. It would also assess present and future threats. Thus rather than a sin-gle score the outcome should include a ‘signature’ for each category that would give a positive value to conservation social and economic importance and a negative scoring system for threat evaluation.

However to prioritize the level of eco-sensitivity most authors add the conservation importance to the threat values to compare different areas.

The various categories of areas that could be in-cluded as an ESA are described below.

Areas Planned but not Notified as PAs

The existing PAs of this biogeographic zone as

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listed by (Rodgers and Panwar 1988) and (Rodgers et al. 2002) are useful documents that could be used as a basis for suggesting inclusion of the potential PAs into a network of ESAs under the proposed Western Ghats Authority. There are two such ar-eas in the northern Western Ghats, both in Maha-rashtra. These are Mahabaleswar and Fr. Santapau Sanctuary, later suggested as Rajmachi and Mulshi wildlife sanctuaries.

For example, the mitigation measures suggested for the Mumbai Pune Expressway was to develop two Protected Areas of 100 km2 each in the West-ern Ghats north and south of the alignment. While this was planned by the Forest Department in great detail using satellite imaging and Reserve Forest from toposheets, the mitigation agreed to, has nev-er been implemented. The proposal had envisioned including only the RF blocks and renotifying them as Wildlife Sanctuaries. This proposal could be eas-ily revived and either notified as has been agreed to or be included as ESAs under the Western Ghats Authority.

Reserve Forest and Closed Canopy Forest

Das et al. 2006 have identified high conserva-tion value grids containing RFs adjoining existing PAs. The feasibility of including these forests in the respective protected area should be examined. In Maharashtra, the Sahyadri Konkan corridor con-sisting of the Bhimgad Reserve Forest, Amboli Reserve Forest and the forests of Mahabaleshwar have been put into this category.

The pattern of vegetation in the Ghats is influ-enced strongly by geological, climatological and altitudinal factors. Most of the RF patches are rela-tively small and have been altered by decades and even centuries of human interference of different types and levels of impact. These natural and bi-otic influences have led to the most complex forms of forest communities and created a jigsaw puzzle of landscape elements that form distinct mosaics

across the Ghats. This effects forest communities from north to south – the geomorphological effect, and west to east – the climatological effects of pre-cipitation.

Historically, the protection strategy in early times is evident only from the very small but widespread groups of sacred groves maintained by local forest dwelling people. These form benchmarks of what the ESAs should look like in the future.

For purposes of creating viable ESAs the most obvious patches of forest are within Reserved For-ests in the Western Ghats. The forests with over 60% canopy values appear to be mainly the RF patches some of which have been incorporated into PAs.

A major concern is the need for forest connec-tivity which is a prime concern in the design of a network of ESAs. This must not only look at North – South corridoring but at connectivity be-tween forests of the hill range and the coastal belt. While several floral and faunal elements between the Western Ghats hill section and the forests in the coastal belt differ significantly, there are common elements which require this connectivity between hill range crests, the escarpment, and the coastal plain. Much of this West – East connectivity is through stream edge vegetation which is linked to riparian vegetation of river banks and finally to the mangroves in estuaries.

‘Signature’ for ESAs based on sustainability

Conservation assessment score (positive) (positive)

Local Economic stability (positive)

Threat considerations (negative)

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Several species of insects, amphibians and fish are most vulnerable to a breakdown of such tracts which are highly susceptible to the negative im-pacts of roads, power lines, and to some extent the conversion of nachni-varai and paddy lands into terraced sugarcane.

In the Northern Western Ghats there is a need to classify forests into ecologically based formations. The two more typical examples to be considered include high tall and low stunted forest structures that are seen in patches. The dominant trees in-clude the Memecylon – Syzygium – Actinodaphne, semi evergreen formations – for example of Ma-habaleshwar and the very different Dimocarpus – Holigarna in Bhimashankar, Chandoli, Koyna that forms another distinctive forest. In contrast a majority of the forests of the catena in Gujarat has moist and dry deciduous teak or miscellaneous for-ests (Worah 1991).

Existing forest corridors and potential corridor-able sites are a key to preserving biological val-ues of these varied forests types. This is of great relevance to managing faunal values not only for the areas intervening between the PAs but for the longterm genetic and evolutionary processes of the Ghats as a bio-ecological entity of global value.

The Forest Survey of India’s categorization of vegetation classes into high density moder-ate density and scrub land is an indication of the fragmentation of the forests. Any further degrada-tion is likely to have the most serious consequenc-es. While some of this could be tackled through ecorestoration, mined areas for example that have been rehabilitated by a green cover of exotic trees may be unusable for a large variety of fauna. The outcome of neglect at this stage could well lead to a permanent and irreversible damage to biodiversity.

Some of the important aspects of notifying ESAs in the Reserve Forest category include the following:

1. Size (for core species)

2. Configuration

3. Connectivity

4. Naturalness (Least disturbed by plantations >60% canopy of indigenous forest tree spe-

cies)

The level of fragmentation of different forest types is a key concern for developing a system of ESA corridors for the Western Ghats.

Water Bodies

The aquatic ecosystems of the Ghats consist of lotic and lentic systems. While the streams and riv-er tributaries range from temporary monsoon tor-rents to slow moving pools, the lakes contiguous to the Ghats area all artificial impoundments due to the construction of a series of dams developed progressively for over a century.

River Sources

In the Western Ghats the forest is the source for all the rivers that meander through the vast Dec-can, as well as give birth to the river deltas and es-tuaries in the coastal region.

The relationship of river sources with Protected Areas, temples and other historical sites is found in several parts of the Western Ghats, such as the five rivers including the Krishna from old Maha-baleshwar and the Bhima river in Bhimashankar. These sources have some level of traditional or in-stitutionalized protection. However, most other riv-er sources have no protection from the impacts of a number of development related activities. New townships that have sprung up in the Ghats have created impacts on these river sources by using the perennial sources for their own use, disrupting their flow and altering their natural ecological attributes.

Changes made by human activity at these river sources can have serious consequences down-stream. These rivers arise from water that perco-lates from a lateritic plateau into underground stores and then emerges at a lower level as a spring. The disturbance to the flow of surface water on the crest of the range can modify the flow from the spring. This not only adversely affects the veg-etation around the spring, but reduces the critical availability of a perennial source of water for wild-life. These sites should form a separate category of ESAs. The most critical spots are sources of streams that are perennial as they form keystone resources for wildlife in summer.

While the temples attempt to protect these river

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sources, the growing level of pilgrimage tourism to these sites due to better roads up to the temple has become a serious impact on the ecological features of these river sources. Bhimashankar receives thou-sands of tourists during the Mahashivratri festival, causing pollution from food waste, faecal matter, plastic bags, bottles and oil from motor vehicles that pollute the crystal clear waters of the spring where the Bhima originates. Such sacred temple sites where rivers originate must be included in a specific set of ESAs to prevent the desecration of the water sources especially during religious yatras.

The important river sources that need to be pro-tected are linked to the integrity of watersheds with different types of land and resource use within them.

Watersheds

The Western Ghats are collectively an important watershed region. All the major rivers of the Dec-can Plateau and the coastal region arise in a series of adjacent independent watersheds in the Western Ghats. Their upper catchments are the most eco-logically sensitive zones as they are on steep slopes which were once surrounded by an intact continu-ous forested tract along the Ghats and its offshoots.

The rivers are fed by a large number of tributar-ies of ecological significance. The major rivers from North to South include Godavari, Purna, Manjra, the Pranhita (Penganga-Wardha), Indravati, the Sabari, Darna, Kadwa, Mula, Karanji, Madhur-nala, Devanala, Hebbala, Krishna, Koyana, Varna, Panchganga, Doodhganga, Bhima, Musi, Paleru, Maneru, Ghataprabha, Malaprabha and Tungab-hadra.

The west flowing rivers in the Western Ghats are Purna, Auranga, Par in Gujarat; Surya, Vaitarna, Damanganga, Ulhas, Savitri, Vashisthi, Gad, Kaja-vi and Kodavali in Maharashtra; Mandovi, Zauari, Tiracol, Chapora, Talpona in Goa.

Several of the smaller tributaries are of ecologi-cal importance. Each river has its own abiotic fea-tures in its catchment zone which includes topog-raphy, slope, geological nature, soil characteristics, rainfall patterns and biotic features such as forest types, open grasslands and shrubby growth. Dis-regard for the integrity of the watersheds of the

tributaries emanating from the Ghats, (both on the Western and Eastern aspects) leads to severe altera-tions, in water supply for all types of human use, besides creating a serious problem for the conser-vation of wildlife.

The aquatic and terrestrial features of the catch-ments constitute a complex and interrelated eco-logical mosaic. Destabilising either component leads to disruption in the other. Thus deforestation of the terrestrial ecosystem alters flow rates in the streams of the Ghats. Altered overutilization of water from the stream destroys the riparine threat-ened ecosensitive vegetation.

The watershed as a whole thus is an important ESA with very special management considerations as a category requiring its own norms and rules. Securing these functions is a key to sustainable de-velopment at the regional level. This will require locale specific microlevel planning and the coop-eration of local people.

Catchments of Dams

The catchment zones are rapidly losing the forests that once prevented soil erosion and mon-soonal flooding downstream of the dams. The de-forested areas in the catchments have led to rapid siltation with a serious reduction in the water hold-ing capacity and the life span of the dams. Desilt-ing dams is a much more expensive process than preventing deforestation and afforesting the de-graded catchment areas.

A review of the catchments of the dams along the Western Ghats demonstrates that there are hardly any large valleys left without a water-spread created by the series of dams. Thus once the dams have lost their long term viability through siltation there are no valleys where new dams can be built. Thus the command agricultural areas, of the dams, the cities and industrial belts that are completely dependent on a year round supply of water from the dams will be crippled and an entire set of nega-tive economic and social concerns will be seen af-ter a few decades.

It may be noted that if all the catchments are to be considered as ESAs there is very little inter-vening land between them. They are separated by a narrow range of steep hills. Thus the whole of

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the Ghats section which surround the catchment of the dams must be included in these ESAs. Each catchment area of these dams must be included in a highly essential group of special category ESA.

Studies by Bharati Vidyapeeth Institute of Envi-ronment Education and Research for Tata Electric Company’s hydel catchment areas (BVIEER 1998) demonstrated two patterns of biotic pressures. At Valvan and Shirowata, the area within the catch-ment has no villages and has tracts of Reserved Forests from which the villages were resettled in the early 1900s outside the catchment. Here the pressure of grazing and fuel wood collection oc-curred from outside the catchment. This created a centrifugal pressure which began at the ridge and has moved progressively downwards into residual patches of forest in a less degraded condition at a lower level. In contrast, in the Andhra Lake and in the Mulshi catchment the villages are in the flood plains of the original Indravati and Mula rivers. Here the pressure is primarily centripetal, begin-ning from the base of the hill ranges and extending gradually towards the crest line. The more intact forests are closer to the higher ridges of the catch-ment areas. This has implications for managing ESAs of all the catchment areas in the Western Ghats.

Sacred Groves

The large number of small patches of ‘sacred groves’ maintained by local communities in a relatively high state of ecological integrity are of considerable conservation value as benchmarks of naturalness. Established conservation programs (e.g. protected area networks) do not recognize the value of traditional institutions, despite the exist-ing evidence for their effectiveness in biodiversity conservation and pressure from researchers to in-clude them in local and regional conservation plan-ning (Bhagwat and Rutte 2008).

Gadgil and Vartak as early in the late 60s pio-neered studies on the sacred groves of Maharashra. When the floral species richness of adjacent groves is aggregated, the small groves together contain most of the species found across wide expanse of the Ghats. They thus not only act as bench mark-ers of ecological intactness but as gene banks for seed recovery of the rarer species of plants (Bharu-

cha 1999). In Mawal and Mulshi even though the sacred forest patches are small in size their aggre-gated species richness usually represents the com-plete spectrum of plant species of the forest type around the catchments of the hydel lakes in this region (BVIEER 1998).

Sacred groves have been defined as a biological heritage and a system that has helped to preserve the representative genetic resources existing in the surrounding regions for generations. They are a rich repository of biodiversity and a product of a certain socio-ecological philosophy, which is today a potent tool to avert any crisis in the society (Singh et al.2009). They reflect a cherishment of sanctity through conservation of biodiversity. Tree cutting and other such extraction of resources is forbidden only in the smaller groves, while larger groves often function as resources for the sustenance of local people. Threats to sacred groves today are due to modernisation, liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation, leading to an erosion of values that created the concept of sacred groves.

These informal protected areas are as impor-

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tant for biodiversity conservation as formal areas. While endemic trees were more abundant in for-est reserves than in sacred groves; threatened trees were more abundant in sacred groves in the south-ern Western Ghats. (Bhagwat et al. 2005). sacred groves cover many important habitats and species which are not covered by Pas. A study on the sa-cred groves of Mawal and Mulshi Talukas showed that each grove had a different complement of large old trees. However when they were added to-gether even the small groves had contributed to the list of tree species and thus all the species found in the forests of Mawal and Mulshi Talukas were accounted for within the groves (Bharucha 1999).

The patches of old growth forests which have large trees and hollow trunks are of importance for forest birds, giant squirrels, flying squirrels, bats and several insects. These old growth patches in Maharashtra are associated with tribal deities which are protected by local people as ‘devrai’s, ‘deo rahati’ or have no specific nomenclature, but are never-the-less preserved as intact or semi-intact forest patches dedicated to animistic deities. These are often depicted as fearful female gods, or ani-mals such as the tiger. For example, in the Mawal and Mulshi talukas there are 44 groves of one to eight hectares in size maintained by local commu-nities. They have been looked after mostly by the Mahadeo Koli tribe. Each grove is named after a special deity. Several have a mythological story re-lated to their origin (Malhotra et al. 2001)

Intricate local traditional customs have main-tained the groves through a stochastic method in which a ritual by the pujari controls the amount of resources that may be extracted from the grove at any point in time. The local communities es-tablish rules that vary from grove to grove. These norms often prohibit the felling of trees and the killing of animals, but do allow for the collection of firewood, fodder, and medicinal plants by local people (Hughes and Chandran 1998). Also, in a majority of groves studied in Mawal and Mulshi Talukas some resources are extracted based on rit-uals which permit a small and sustainable level of resource-use for local purposes. In some deadwood and fruit may be collected. In others palm juice may be taken for toddy.

The local ‘kaul’ ritual is performed in several groups of groves in the Western Ghats which lim-its resource extraction by a ceremony based on chance. The priest makes two trickles of water on the side of the deities platform. He then places a grain of wheat in each of the trickles which stick to the side of the platform till the decrease in surface tension permits one of them to fall. Depending on whether the right or left grain falls first the deity permits or discourages the extraction of branches, or trees from the grove. There are several alterna-tive ways of doing the ceremony, all of which have a fifty-fifty percent chance of permitting a resource to be taken from the grove.

In most groves a blanket preservation of the ex-traction of all resources is not usually carried out. A temple for the grove may be built on money col-lected by selling timber from the grove under spe-cial conditions. This has strong community sup-port from local village folk. In contrast the groves in Kerala are maintained by each family in their backyards.

In most cases the protection afforded is governed

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A Partial List of Sacred Groves in the Northern Western GhatsDistrict Taluka Village Area (HA) Deity

Ratnagiri Chiplun Kudap 14.81 ---

Ratnagiri Chiplun Sawarde 12.18 ---

Ratnagiri Dapoli Kudavale 46.00 ---

Ratnagiri Dapoli Sadavali 12.14 ---

Ratnagiri Sangmeshwar Adawad 25.00 Unapdev

Ratnagiri Sangmeshwar Devde 30.00 Mhasoba

Ratnagiri Sangmeshwar Marleshwar 100.00 Marleshwar

Sindhudurg Kankavli Bidvad 12.04 ---

Sindhudurg Kankavli Pise Kamate Bidvad 12.79 ---

Sindhudurg Kudal Awalegaon 23.29 ---

Sindhudurg Kudal Khochre 23.29 Dungoba

Sindhudurg Sawantwadi Ambegaon 20.00 Mauli

Sindhudurg Vengurle Achra 20.00 Rameshwar

Raigad Alibag Adi 17.25 ---

Raigad Alibag Chirgaon 32.18 ---

Raigad Alibag Dahan 30.08 ---

Raigad Alibag Deodhar 33.69 ---

Raigad Alibag Khandala 90.00 Siddheshwar

Raigad Alibag Kole 17.59 Kole

Raigad Alibag Mangloli 18.72 Kalkai

Raigad Alibag Mapgaon 125.00 Kanakeshwar

Raigad Alibag Talwadi 14.33 Talwadi

Raigad Alibag Varvante 16.39 Bhairidevi

Raigad Dehan Dehan 17.6 Dehan

Raigad Mangaon Tilore 18.00 Bhairoba

Thane Wada Ambiste Bk. 60.5 Nagnath

Thane Wada Ambiste Bk. 44.4 Nagnath

Thane Wada Gourapur 43.7 Laxmi Narayan

Thane Wada Gunj 22.36 Bhargavnath

Thane Wada Gunj 18.87 Vajreshwari

Thane Wada Sange 37.6 Tryambakeshwar

Thane Wada Shelte 34.22 Gramdevi

Kolhapur Chandgad Bhololi 20 ----

Kolhapur Shahuwadi Ugwai 34 Ugwaidevi

Ratnagiri Chiplun Kotakwadi 27.56 ----

Ratnagiri Chiplun Pathe 13.73 ----

Ratnagiri Lanja Prabhanvalli 27.4 ----

Ratnagiri Mandangad Pat 18.01 ----

Ratnagiri Sangmeshwar Gothane 18.37 ----

Ratnagiri Sangmeshwar Gothane 16.47 ----

Ratnagiri Sangmeshwar Kinjale 13.00 Gaondev

Sindhudurg Kudal Shivapur 19.14 ----

Sindhudurg Sawantwadi Sarmale 40.65 ----

Sindhudurg Vaibhavwadi Het 31.94 ----

Sindhudurg Vaibhavwadi Karul 20.02 ----

Sindhudurg Vaibhavwadi Kumhavade 19.10 ----

Sindhudurg Vaibhavwadi Madhalwadi 19.12 ----

Sindhudurg Vaibhavwadi Mandvikar wadi 53.55 ----

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by locally set principles of resource use. The con-cept that in all sacred groves no utilization of re-sources is permitted is an over statement based on insufficient scrutiny on the way in which the groves are traditionally managed. Groups of these groves must become a part of a special category of Eco-logically Sensitive Areas, by supporting the tradi-tional sentiments that have led to their preservation over several generations.

Incorporating these sites into conservation net-works could enhance the effectiveness of PAs by covering a wider variety of habitats and by har-nessing the support of local people.

Most of the groves are small in size and isolated from each other. As an ESA category their man-agement may be entrusted to the same village in-stitutional arrangements that have protected them over generations. Giving them an ESA status must be used primarily to strengthen the existing local

protective strategy that has been traditionally used by local people. Similar groves are found in Satara, Kolhapur and Ratnagiri Districts.

In the Dangs of Gujarat, the Bhils have their own system of preserving trees around their sacred totems that are situated on the road side or at some remote site in the hills. Hot springs such as at Un-nai in Gujarat have been insufficiently studied for their ecology and the impact of the human activity on these sources which is very high. A large num-ber of people who believe that the spring water has medicinal properties channel water through to the tank built around this special feature. Hot springs should be considered as special ESAs.

The study of the Bombay Natural History Soci-ety on ‘Conservation and development of sacred groves in Maharshtra done in 1999 has a list of im-portant sacrd groves that could be given an ESA status (See table on next page). During the study

Sindhudurg Vaibhavwadi Navale 77.49 ----

Sindhudurg Vaibhavwadi Nimarule 47.35 ----

Sindhudurg Vaibhavwadi Sonali 14.17 ----

Sindhudurg Vaibhavwadi Tiavde turf. Khare 27.84 ----

Sindhudurg Vaibhavwadi Vayamboshi 14.03 ----

Kolhapur Shauwadi Kassarde 12.00 Dhopeshwar

Pune ------ Bibi 54.5 Shambhu

Pune Bhor Shirgaon 15.00 Durgadevi

Pune Junnar Junnar 20.00 Jalvandidevi

Pune Junnar Khubewadi 63.00 Khubidevi

Pune Junnar Kopare 50.00 Virobha

Pune Junnar Madh 110.58 Khandoba

Pune Junnar Pimpalgaon Joge 15.00 Kotamichidevi

Pune Junnar Taleran 14.00 Kalubai

Pune Junnar Khubi 63.00 Chedoba

Pune Maval Vahangaon 20.23 Anjubai

Pune Velhi Mangaon 18.00 Jananidevi

Pune Junnar Kolhewadi 263.00 Bhairavnath

Pune Junnar Pimpalgaon Joge 15.5 Kotmai

Ahmednagar Sangamner Ambidumala 80.00 Rokdeshwar

Sangli Atpadi Hivtad 40.00 Shukdev

Sangli Atpadi Nelkarnje 25.00 Bhimashankar

Sangli Atpadi Nelkarnje 25.00 Mhasoba

Sangli Atpadi Ramghat 25.00 Shriram

Sangli Jat Banali 20.00 Banshankari

Yeotaml Wani Khansadgaon 19.80 Pharsopen

Bhandara Bhandara Korambhi 22.00 Kalkai

Source: Deshmukh 1999

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the Western Ghats region was divided into zones based on the agroclimatic regions of Maharashtra as used by Deshmukh (1999) (Guidelines provided by National Agricultural Research Programme, Planning Commission, Govt. of India). Within these zones the sacred groves that have been pri-oritized are given in the second table (Note: These sacred groves are from outside the protected areas.)

River sources and hill tops have been used to build temples for several generations. In many situ-ations there are trees planted in their enclosures. They act as staging sites and roosts for colonies of birds and bats. These should be included in the category of traditionally protected ESAs. The pres-ence of sacred groves in cultivated landscapes can also provide habitat and corridors, allowing the movement of many different organisms. It is ques-tionable whether any single sacred grove could have conservation value, in view of the small size of these fragmented forest patches. However, as a network, the sacred groves in a region can preserve a sizeable portion of the local biodiversity in areas where it would not be feasible to maintain large tracts of protected forests and where protected re-serves would be unlikely to receive local support. Such sites could play an important role in commu-nity based conservation of biodiversity and should therefore be included in ESA conservation strate-gies.

The integration of sacred groves and other sa-cred natural sites into the existing protected area networks must take into account the local ecology of the area, as well as the prevailing threats. As a result, it would be unwise to prescribe a single management approach.

In Maharashtra sacred groves are found in tribal as well as non-tribal areas. The sacred groves in the Western part of the state are called devrais or devrahatis. Gadgil and Vartak documented 233 sacred groves from Thane, Raigad, Jalgaon, Pune, Satara, Kolhapur, Yewatmal, Bhandara and Chan-drapur districts (Gadgil and Vartak 1981). A recent study by Bombay Natural History Society shows existence of about 1600 SGs in Maharashtra. It was found that almost every village in the Western Ghats region of Maharahstra – where the concept of sacred groves has been evolved and continued

to exist for over several centuries, harboured atleast one or more sacred grove their size ranging from a clump of trees to a few hundred hectares (S. Deshmukh, Gogate, and Gupta 1998).

The distribution of sacred groves overlaps with the distribution of forests in the State. The aver-age size of the groves is a few acres. Large groves are found occasionally. Smaller groves in the west-ern and eastern parts rarely allow extraction of resource from the groves. Sacred groves form an important landscape feature in the deforested hill ranges of the Western Ghats of Maharashtra.

In Gujarat, twenty nine sacred groves have been reported from Banaskantha district of Gujarat. The sizes of the groves run from one acre to two square kms (Ramakrishnan, Saxena, and Chandrashekara 1998).

Specialised Ecosystems

Specialized ecosystems are unique communities of plants and animals using complex ecological situations that have a limited range. They frequent-ly include highly specific abiotic conditions that strongly influence the ecosystem which supports specialized floral and faunal elements. The com-plexity results from mutually dependent param-eters such as topographic features, climatic condi-tions, soil type and the resultant biotic features that form islands of unique landscape elements within the Western Ghats. They are inherently fragile due to their special nature and small size. Due to the restricted range of their species they are eas-ily disrupted by human activity that affects habitat specific species. An alteration in their abiotic char-acteristics can lead to perturbation in the entire bi-otic community leading to a few or several local extinctions. Such perturbations may be effected by changes beyond the immediate surrounds of these super sensitive ecosystems. A specialized ecosys-tem may have a single or multiple limiting factors.

These highly specialised and fragile ecosystems of the Ghats such as plateau tops, steep escarp-ments, gorges, nala courses, have an intrinsically low resilience to environmental disturbance from a variety of human activities. As most of these specialized ecosystems have restricted areas, or form islands within a matrix of more robust sys-

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tems, there is a need to find ways for these special ‘niches’ and their species to be preserved even as isolated patches. As impacts keep increasing they may require special attention towards corridoring at even small spatial levels. On the other hand as they are by nature found as isolated patches, there may be special mechanisms that keep them intact as isolated fragments as long as external pressures are within acceptable limits.

Plateau tops such as in Panchgani have been de-stroyed by high levels of tourism. Caves in Maha-baleshwar which have colonies of endemic and rare bats have been disturbed by tourists. The carrying capacity for tourists of such specialized sites is ex-tremely low and increasing demands for enhancing tourism with its inherent uncontrolled disturbance levels can lead to rapid extinction of species.

Eagles and vultures have been disturbed by rock climbing enthusiasts as these precipices are the fa-voured nesting sites of these birds due to the inac-cessibility to most humans and predators. However such challenging rock faces are also prime targets for highly skilled climbers for the excitement of the ascent and the fun of rappelling down on ropes. Added to this is the impact of overenthusiastic wildlife photographers who disturb nests dur-ing their photographic expeditions. Such areas of high ecological importance must be secured under ESAs however small they may be. In fact the small-er unique patches may be of the greatest conserva-tion significance.

Areas that have a low resilience are related to highly specific abiotic features such as rainfall pat-terns, temperature variability, and/or number of rainy days per year. They are limited by soil char-acteristics, topographic features, patterns of land cover and different land use categories. Any shift in land use towards more intensive utilization can lead to irreparable damage even if it appear to be a minor alteration in one or more of the above abiot-ic parameters. Once disturbed, the capacity of such ecosystems to return to their original state can take decades.

These are all landscape elements that have unique floral and faunal elements on which very limited work has been done. Making them poten-tial ESA sites as a precautionary measure against

possible extinctions is the only way to conserve these unique ecosystems.

The problem of notifying these specialized eco-systems is that their identification requires to be done at a highly localized level. Creating these ESAs is like notifying individual cultural heritage sites where thousands of ancient monuments that dot the Indian landscape have been notified by the Archaeology Department. The ability to preserve these natural heritage micro-sites depends on the land tenure in which they are situated. This could be the Forest Department, the Revenue lands un-der local tehsildars, or under Village Panchayats.

Specialized ecosystems within the Ghats are of several types.

Old Growth Forests

Intact old growth forests in the Western Ghats harbor several keystone species. Several of the fi-cus species are found in the less disturbed forests and are vital suppliers of food for frugivorous in-sects, birds and mammals during several months of the year when most other fruit bearing plants do not have edible fruit. The patchy forests of the Northern sector of the Western Ghats which have rain only for 3 or 4 months support moisture laden micro-climates and highly fluctuant water courses, all of which contribute towards a highly special-ized forest type and structure which is easily dis-ruptedby human interferences. While it may not be possible to put a grading scale on the level of susceptibility to such habitats, there is enough evi-dence to show that such regimes, especially if tra-ditional agro-pastoral use is shifted to other forms of land-use can lead to a rapid loss of biodiversity. Developing new pressures which can spread their ecologically adverse effects through the whole re-gion in the Ghats cannot be restored for several de-cades.

Valleys

There are valleys inundated by heavy cloud cover for prolonged periods which is known to ac-count for a profusion of species of plants includ-ing ground and canopy orchids, ferns and fungi. The Father Santapeau valley at Khandala near the Dukes Nose Point is one such example.

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Waterfalls

Large waterfalls and small cascades comprise only a small percentage of the overall landscape of the Western Ghats, but are of considerable eco-logical value. The floral and faunal elements are adapted to the torrential flow of water during the monsoon and change to completely terrestrial con-ditions in the rest of the year. These are found near-ly everywhere along the western escarpment.

Plateau Tops

Exposed lateritic plateau tops are a good exam-ples of specialized ecosystems in which endemic and rare ground flora are linked to their specific specialized habitats. The plateaus have a patchy distribution and are isolated from each other by valleys and ridges. The crest of the Western Ghats is locally capped by lateritic plateaus at varying in-tervals. These plateaus are well known sites having high floristic values. Panchagani’s five plateaus, the Kas plateau near Satara and fragments of plateaus in Mahabaleshwar are the best known examples. (Watve and Thakur 2006) have done a great deal of work on the vegetation patterns of the monsoonal plants of these rocky outcrops and flat expanses of

rock that are nearly devoid of vegetation for sev-eral months of the year but are covered by a profu-sion of ground flora in the monsoon. The lateritic plateau tops are examples of naturally restricted ecosystems in the Ghats and they have floral ele-ments that flower fruit and seed only for a brief few weeks during the monsoon. These are thus habitats of ‘restricted range species’. These highly special-ized ‘niches’ are sites of endemism that are used by small restricted populations of highly specialized species. Many of these species are probably threat-ened by local or even global extinction. Some of the important plateaus in the northern Western Ghats are (personal communication, Aparna Watve).

Plateaus of the Western Ghats are all ecologi-cally sensitive and extremely difficult to prioritize in the absence of locale specific data. Thus the pre-cautionary principle would apply more strongly to this category. This is all the more so as a very small percentage of the 160000 km2 of Western Ghats lies within this highly unique landscape element. Another aspect is that there are several types of plateaus based on primarily geomorphological fac-tors which strongly influence their mosaic of tiny patches of monsoon flora.

Important Plateaus in the Northern Western GhatsLocation Plateau

Junnar Naneghat

Durgawadi

Harischandragadh

Bhimashankar Ahupe

Nashik Anjeneri

Nashik Saptarshungi

Nashik Wani

Kas

Amboli

Chaukul

Chorla

Vishalgadh Zenda

Masai

These factors present a severe problem in prioriti-zation based on ‘good guess’ studies done rapidly in the absence of a large number of authenticated data sets. As all the different types of plateaus have been placed here in a single category each type must be represented. This indicates that protect-ing a mere 10 or 20% of plateaus as ESAs would not provide the category with a sufficient area to

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conserve all their species. The types are based on their altitude; geomorphology, vegetation commit-tees and can be observed on the ground and from satellite images.

Hill streams

The hill streams that alter their flow rate within minutes of a cloudburst are specialized habitats of molluscs, crustaceans and fish which have to alter their movement, feeding patterns and breeding be-haviour within very brief intervals as the flow rate alters from a torrent to a trickle within even a few minutes. Avifauna that feed on such aquatic inver-tebrate species know when and how to alter their own feeding behaviour to remain in tune with the constant fluctuations in the availability of their food. The Malabar Whistling thrush and the Black-bird for example have close association with rapid-ly flowing waterfalls and streams and are adapted to feeding in the micro habitat and niche present in the waterfalls that it frequents.

Ridges

The Western Ghats has a main north-south ridge with outlying west-east ridges that extend into the Deccan between each major river watershed. The steepness of these ridges determine the level of uti-lization from terraced paddies, hillslope broadcast-ed nagli and varai fields, grazing lands and unap-proachable rocky precipices. This must be included as an ESA.

Escarpments and Steep Slopes

The crest line of the Western Ghats constitutes a very special geological and biological form that is not seen elsewhere in India. The trees are gnarled and stunted with a closed thick canopy. The pre-cipitous escarpments of the Western Ghats have a

special ecological significance. They invariably in-clude waterfalls, cascades and nala courses which flow in the monsoon. As their catchments in the mountain tops are relatively small peaks and pla-teaus their flow rate rapidly increases in a down-pour and equally rapidly shrinks to a trickle when the shower abates. Some plant and animal species are unique to these highly variable habitat condi-tions. The catchments of the streams are covered by forests that are dependent on high levels of pre-cipitation. The closed forest canopy and the thick-ness of the detritus on the forest floor hold the rain water like a sponge. This permits greater penetra-tion into the ground water stores which are slowly released into the perennial streams. The detritus preserves the evergreen forests’ need, not only for retaining large quantities of water, but maintains nutrients for forest growth and prevents soil ero-sion of the steep slopes. As alterations in stream flow by deforestation, or changes in the upper catchments can have serious local and even region-al consequences. These steep areas must constitute a special category of ESAs. The steeper the slope the more grave the need for an appropriate protec-tive strategy.

The categories for slope used are: Flat- 0°; Gentle slope 2°; Sloping-4°; Moderately steep- 8°; Steep- 14°; Very steep-26°; Extremely steep-45°. Any area with a slope steeper than 260 should constitute an ESA, as it is generally considered ecologically sensitive. On either side of a steep slope a protec-tive buffer of 500m must be maintained to prevent landslides along these steep and easily eroded hill slopes.

The disturbed escarpment of the Ghats along the Mumbai-Pune expressway and the Konkan Railway are examples where well known adequate management principles have not been instituted during planning, construction and follow up res-toration that has led to years of grave ill effects on economic social and ecological aspects. Land-slides have been a constant feature and enormous funds have been allocated without attending to the root cause of the problem. This is related to inad-equately done EIAs, lack of appreciation that the area is of special significance and is consequently a future hazard to lives and wellbeing of users; and

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a complete disregard for preventive maintenance, and a lack of a serious restoration of the ecology and habitat conditions on the periphery of roads constructed in the Western Ghats. A special cat-egory of ESAs along the escarpment with special provisions to address future problems should be in-cluded in the management strategy established by the Western Ghats Authority.

Shrubland

The presence of shrubland with copts of stunted trees such as Memecylon, Jamun and Carissa are a common occurrence. Most of these areas are due to continual lopping for fuelwood, where the trees are lopped year after year. The root stock is old and the copt of shrubby growth has an old tree at its base. If permitted to regrown, the shrubby growth begins to grow into tree cover. This provides an op-portunity for an ecorestoration strategy that can be used to reform corridors between forest patches. However, this would only be possible if such a po-tential corridor is considered ecosensitive and pro-vided protection during restoration.

The genesis of such areas is frequently due to the grazing pressure of domestic anumals. Cattle that browse along cattle trackes in the forest gradu-ally feed on the lower branches of trees and widen the path into small clearings. Lopping for fuelwood and rab material removes larger branches creat-ing a treeless patch. The root stock copices into a shrubby growth. Fire maintains the shrub copt and does not permit the regrowth of trees. This creates larger and larger matrices of grass covered areas with islands of shrubs. This finally develops into a shrubland used by both cattle and generalist wild fauna.

Grasslands

Grasslands in the northern sector of the West-ern Ghats are either natural where the soil depth and quality is too poor to support woodland, or are formed due to forested areas that have been cleared for rab. During the recent past, land that has been transferred to urban developers has been bulldozed to reduce the slopes. Trees and shrubs have been re-moved for construction and left fallow. These areas have become weedy grass covered patches

Open areas of the Western Ghats in the northern

sector which have a limited soil cover are covered by naturally occurring grasslands which have been traditionally used for grazing by agro-pastoralists of the Ghats. These grassy slopes are also used by migrant shepherds who move from the Deccan to the coastal plains feeding their flocks along their traditional route along the hill slopes. The southern part of the Western Ghats have shola grasslands where the forest grows along sheltered streams beds while the grassland patches cover the inter-vening hill slopes. In the Northern sector there are similar grasslands maintained by annual fires which are used as grazing areas for the large popu-lation of domestic livestock. These grasslands are thus maintained by fire regimes, grazing pressure from domestic stock and grass collection for thatch and other purposes. The diversity of flora and fau-na of these grasslands is high and supports several endemic species of conservation importance. The less disturbed natural grasslands of a considerable size which lie outside the PAs of the Ghats should be given the status of ESAs.

Grassland types that are uncommon in terms of dominant or endemic species of grasses and herbs should be given the highest importance.

Grasslands that are less grazed have a low in-cidence of fire, include palatable species for wild-life and domestic animals and are a valuable part of the mosaic of vegetation patterns in the Ghats. Those that support abundant wildlife (grazers), and include the presence of forest corridors be-tween large forest patches are important and could be considered to be ESAs.

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Forts

While forts in the Ghats are described as having historical and archaeological significance and should be protected on these grounds alone, they invariably have high but cryptic ecological values. The people of Maharashtra see these forts as a part of their cultural heritage. They have been the seat of power of the Maratha Empire that alone could stem the expansion of the Moghul Empire into peninsular India. While this sentiment can be used to protect the forts, their inaccessible locations and their forested surrounds are of equal ecological im-portance. In historical times, the hills were devel-oped as forts due to their extreme inaccessibility and the availability of perennial water sources. Their near vertical rocky formations that are sur-rounded by belts of inaccessible vegetation formed an impenetrable barrier to the invading Moghul forces. The fortifications were built around lateritic flat plateaus. They frequently had springs that had a year round supply of water. The natural charac-teristics of the forts thus include remoteness, inac-cessibility due to their steep terrain, forested sur-

rounds, presence of perennial streams and flat open lateritic plateau tops, all of which also form special habitats for a range of plant and animal spe-cies and landscape elements of considerable eco-logical significance. These areas are well known habitats for reptiles, both snakes and lizards. As they have water sources, they are favoured by both carnivores and herbivores especially when the stream courses and pools on the hillslopes have be-come dry in the summer. With only these water sources left, the wildlife aggregates around the tanks in the old uninhabited forts.

The forts are now more accessible due to the development of roads for enhancing cultural tour-ism, for communication towers and other purpos-es. With the increasing access to these sites they are now under severe biotic pressures. Setting aside these forts and sequestrating them from being ‘de-veloped’ with new housing and tourist complexes can be achieved by notifying them as special Eco-logically Sensitive Areas.

High Precipitation Areas and Cloud Forests

The exceptionally high rainfall tracts especial-ly those covered by low clouds that provide near 100% humidity in the Ghats must be included as ESAs. This places special valley sectors of the Western Ghats into an ecosensitive zone that re-quires especially well protected areas. The south-ern ranges which gets a year round rainfall due to a dual monsoon from south-west and north-east forms a tract of high conservation value. Equally important are valleys in the northern sector where low cloud cover during several monsoon months provides special habitat needs for ferns, orchids, mosses and lichens.

At the regional level topographical situations lead to very high rainfall tracts that receive tor-rential rain in the Northern sector of the Ghats

Matheran. It is here that the vegetation cover has unique biological values and is of utmost impor-tance in preventing severe erosion. Torrential rain predisposes the region to landslides and floods af-ter deforestation.

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Species Based ESAs

Habitats of Species of Great Value

There is a serious paucity of data on the distribu-tion range and population dynamics of the endan-gered, endemic and highly restricted range species in the Northern sector of the Western Ghats. For example little is known on the status of the Mala-bar Giant Squirrel outside the well known pockets in the PAs such as Bhimashankar, Koyna, Chan-doli etc. The ability of Giant Squirrel populations to move between isolated between forest pockets is highly unlikely. As it is primarily restricted to the canopy level, their ability to cross gaps of a relative-ly large size is likely to be poor at least (BORGES 1992; Borges 1993; Joshua and Johnsingh 1994). On the other hand the status and distribution of species such as the Lion tailed macaque, Nilgiri Tahr and Nilgiri Langur of the southern Western Ghats is better appreciated.

The dwindling population of vultures is yet an-other serious concern. Their residual colonies must be included in this important ESA category. Birds of prey frequently use the same tree for nesting year after year. These are not protected and are fre-quently disturbed. Similarly the Great Pied Horn-bills and owls nest in the same nesting hole year after year. Bayas use the same nesting colony for many years. Among mammals bats use the same roosts in caves and large copts of trees.

All these individual and disaggregated sites will need protection by local communities. Once identi-fied the only chance of success is gaining local pub-lic support to protect them. A strong public aware-ness strategy is the only way to make this happen.

Any pocket outside PAs where species of special importance are present must constitute a highly specialized category of ESAs. Their linkage to the PAs through natural or man-made corridors is an important conservation concern.

Habitats of Endemic and Endangered Species

The Western Ghats forests have special floris-tic features related with their high level of species richness and endemicity. There are several identi-fied centers of locally important floristic endemism (Nair and Daniel 1986).

Apart from the well-known endemic mammals and birds it is known to harbour endemic snakes and other reptiles, molluscs, and insect life (Groom-bridge, 1983).

Mammals, birds, amphibia, insects tend to have overlapping areas referred to as congruent ende-mism (International Council for Bird Conserva-tion). This congruence in endemism occurs in sev-eral vertebrates, invertebrates as well as the plants which form their habitat. It is important to map endemic species of plants and animals in the West-ern Ghats and overlay their distribution patterns on the landscape elements using a geoinformatics platform which constitutes their specialized and frequently restricted habitat ranges. This aspect of congruent endemism of the Western Ghats can also become a basis for arresting threats from al-terations in land use by categorising these zones as a special category of ESAs.

While it is of importance to study the range of distribution of all the endemics it would be more important to look for sites of endemic congruence to give these special areas the highest level of pro-tection.

The topographic, geological, microclimatic and vegetation distribution pattern correlated with con-gruent endemism is a most valuable tool in notify-ing these sites as important ESAs.

Apart from a simple correlation of endemic taxa it may also be possible to identify areas that have high concentrations of rare or threatened species. Indications of such high concentrations in even small sized pockets must be identified by docu-menting the more obvious endemic species such as hornbills, rare endemic butterflies, less known rep-tiles, amphibia, molluscs, insects, spiders etc.

Species that are easy to observe and whose abun-dance can be estimated are better indicators than less overt species such as cryptic endemic micro flora and fauna, fungi and even insect life which are generally not overtly seen in nature. Birdlife that can be seen and heard are good indicators of overall abundance as well as for identifying areas where there are endemic avifaunal species.

The refuge theory suggests that there could be small areas in the forests of the Western Ghats

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where species richness and local endemism has re-sulted from speciation in ancient geological times. The refuges could also result from subsequent frag-mentation of the habitat. Such areas require special attention as there may still be unidentified species in such small sequestrated areas within the Ghats.

There are specific patches in the Western Ghats that are of special significance as they constitute habitats of endangered species several of which are on IUCNs endangered species list.

The rarity of plant life has been discussed by many authors. Rarity can have several causes. They may be relict old populations or recently evolved species that are still to spread to their outer limits. Thus there are genetic ecological geological and historical aspects to rarity and endemism. Endem-ic species are related to a geographical area, have a limited ecological breadth and are seen in rela-tively more isolated areas from each other. Moun-tains are known to be rich in endemic species often related to soil characteristics and microclimates. Waterfalls, stream sides and pools form local micro climatic conditions increasing diversity of plants. This also supports local endemics with their niche requirements (Kruckeberg and Rabinowitz 1985).

In the Northern Western Ghats the well-known mammals include the tiger and the lesser cats. Of special importance is the Rusty Spotted Cat (Con-servation Status: Vulnerable) that has been seen in a few locations by observers (personal observation by Bharucha, Solanki and Worah). The most fre-quent sightings in the wild are from Sanjay Gan-dhi National Park where two were trapped a few decades ago. Another location where the species has been seen is in the Dang forests of Gujarat. At least three live specimens have been collected in the last three or four years. These have been bred at the zoo at Sanjay Gandhi National Park. These three kittens have grown into adults. These are the only Rusty Spotted Cats being successfully bred apart from those from Sri Lanka which are being bred in Frankfurt zoo in Germany.

The Giant Squirrel of the Dangs which was golden yellow has not been seen over the last four or five decades. The Giant squirrel (Conservation Status: Near Threatened) is seen in small numbers in the patches of forests with very dense canopies

in the Ghats from Kalsubai to the PAs of Goa.

Among the herbivores of the Northern sector the Mouse Deer (Conservation Status: Least Con-cern) is less frequently seen than were observed a few decades ago. The large hornbills, such as the Malabar Pied Hornbill and the Great Pied Horn-bill (Conservation Status: Near Threatened) which are rare and endangered are found in small patches distributed in the more intact forests. The popula-tion of birds such as green pigeons, barbets, wood peckers appear to have dwindled in most parts of the Ghats. Their populations however seem to be more stable in the PAs. However there are no quan-tified studies done in the northern sector to be able to know for certain the population trends of these hill forest birds over the last few decades. There ap-pears to be a depletion in the abundance of night-jars outside the Protected Areas in many parts of the Ghats during the last three or four decades. Vultures are severely threatened and only a few pockets in high elevations are observed in different isolated patches in the Ghats. Even here, numbers are down to 5 and 6 birds where once there were hundreds.

The BNHS and other organizations have studied the frogs and reptiles in the Ghats. However these consist of taxonomic studies and are not focused on ecological and population trends that are so vi-tal for taking appropriate and timely conservation action.

The only way to counter this uncertainty is to create ESAs wherever there are known populations of endemic or endangered groups of species.

Chandoli has less than 1% of the geographical area of Maharashtra but it supports nearly 30% of the total number of woody species recorded from the Western Ghats of Maharashtra (Kanade et al. 2008). Chandoli is a Wildlife Sanctuary with very low levels of impacts which has recently seen a return of a small tiger population after several de-cades. (Imam, Kushwaha, and Singh 2009; Rithe and Fernandes 2002)

Habitats of Restricted Range Species

Restricted range species of the Western Ghats include several well-known mammals such as the Lion Tailed Macaque, the Nilgiri Langur, Grizzled

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Giant Squirrel, birds such as Great Pied hornbill and the Malabar Pied Hornbill which are found in restricted ranges. Frequently these species have a few separate small habitats and are isolated from each other.

Any species which has a range less than 50 sq. km. within the Ghats should be considered as a ‘restricted range species’ and the area considered a special ESA category. Quantitative data on habi-tat distribution are lacking on species such as for example the Malabar Brown Civet. It is possible that montane species distributions of the Ghats are related to highly specific habitat variables that have not been studied for taxa such as bats, small mam-mals, and several others.

Paucity of data on range and abundance or rar-ity of especially the less obvious species is a seri-ous limitation in creating a crucially vital ESA to prevent extinctions. Thus while the more overt spe-cies may find a place in ESAs, less easily observed species could be left out of the planning of ESAs in the Ghats. The precautionary principle must be applied in this situation and any likelihood or sus-picion of a record of a less known species should be used in creating ESAs.

A special feature of the Western Ghats is the re-stricted range of flora of the basaltic and lateritic plateau tops. Examples include the five plateaus of ‘Panchgani’, the plateau at Wilson Point in Maha-baleshwar, Kas and the other plateaus near Satara, and those near Panhala and Kolhapur all of which have important floral elements. Any interference or changes in the texture of the rock layer of the later-itic crust that has multiple holes and cervices, with only a very thin layer of soil, can disrupt this sensi-tive ecosystem. The rarer monsoon plants grow in small patches barely a few sq. meters in size. They are seen in a matrix of more abundant species of herbs, utricularia and grasses. These plateau tops constitute a special habitat that needs urgent pres-ervation as ESAs (Watve and Thakur 2006). There are probably a large number of restricted range spe-cies about which we have no data and thus will be unable to include these in the selection of ESAs. With increasing levels of data several species may be included in this group resulting in creating new ESAs progressively. A few examples of such re-

stricted range species have begun to emerge.

Presently Cnemaspis kolhapurensis is known only from the south central part of the northern Western Ghats. Based on the extent of the degrad-ed semi-evergreen type forest patch which extends into Belgaum and South Goa district, it is possible that C. kolhapurensis could also be found through-out (Giri, Bauer, and Gaikwad 2009) Other species that currently show restricted range include Hemi-dactylus, Uropeltis bicatenata and more than seven diverse species of caecilians.

Sinhagad and Amboli in Maharshtra have been described by the IUCN as wholly irreplaceable for-ests due to Millardia kondana (Mishra and Dhan-da 1975) and Philautus Amboli (Biju and Bossuyt 2009) respectively.

Important Bird Areas

The Important Bird Areas Program (IBA) is a global effort to identify and conserve areas that are vital to birds and other biodiversity. IBAs that have been identified by Bombay Natural History Soci-ety in the Western Ghats include primarily all the existing National Parks (NP) and Wildlife Sanctu-aries (WLS) (Rahmani and Islam 2004). The non-protected area identified in the northern Western Ghats is in INS Shivaji and the surrounding hills of Lonavala.

IBAs are good indicators of overall biological wealth. Hill birds in the Western Ghats are specific to this evergreen and semi evergreen forest ecosys-tem which is characterized by a high rainfall of over 5000 mm. The avifaunal communities in these distinctive biogeographic entities are a characteris-tic feature of this region.

Avifauna is reasonably well documented in many Protected Area and IBAs. However the paucity of data outside PAs makes it difficult to select ESAs outside the chain of Protected Areas. As birdlife is a good indicator of biodiversity richness and ende-micity this is an excellent tool for identifying the existence of viable corridors in the Ghats section that should be considered as a special category of ESAs.

There are 345 bird species, including 5 near-en-demic species that are found in the montane forest

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Site Number of Species Coordinates Land use Threats

Critically Endangered

Vulner-able

Threat-ened

Endem-ics

BhimashankarWLS

2 3 1 5 19º59’28”N73º35’09”E

Tourism and recreationTransportLivestock grazingAgriculture

Tourism and recreationTransportLivestock grazingAgricultureMan-animal conflictsFuel wood collectionCommercial developmentPlastic consumption by animals

INS-Shivaji and Lonavala

1 2 8 18º46’10”N73º24’46”E

Defence establishmentReserve forestRoads and railway linesHydroelectric project

DeforestationRoads and railwaysLand development

Koyna WLS 2 1 2 17º38’26”N73º42’31”E

Nature ConservationAgricultureHydroelectric project

Dam constructionHydroelectric projectPoachingExploitation of medicinal plants

RadhanagariWLS

2 1 2 16º22’60”N74º00’00”E

Sanjay Gandhi NP

2 5 1 19º18’35”N72º57’48”E

Nature Conservationand research

TransportLivestock grazingMan-animal conflictsFuel wood collectionPoachingTourismIllegal tree fellingAnti-social elements

Tansa WLS 2 1 19º31’18”N73º15’36”E

Nature ConservationCatchment area of reservoirs

Livestock grazingIllegal tree fellingPoachingExpansion of agriculture

Bhagwan Ma-havir WLS

2 6 15º19’32”N74º01’27”E

Nature ConservationTourism and recreation

Tourism and recreation

Cotigao WLS 1 1 6 14º59’04”N74º12’13”E

Nature Conservation EncroachmentGrazing

Mhadei WLS 1 7 15º37’34”N74º12’22”E

Nature Conservation PoachingEncroachmentDeforestation

Carambolimlake

1 2 15º22’60”N73º49’60”E

Irrigation Urbanizationrailways

Important Bird Areas in the Northern Western Ghats (Source: (Rahmani and Islam 2004))

Scientific Name Common Name Status

Gyps bengalensis Oriental White-Backed Vulture Critically Endangered

Gyps indicus Long-billed Vulture Critically Endangered

Leptoptilos javanicus Lesser Adjutant Vulnerable

Haliaeetus leucoryphus Palla’s Fish Eagle Vulnerable

Aquila clanga Greater Spotted Eagle Vulnerable

Falco naumanni Lesser Kestrel Vulnerable

Rynchops albicollis Indian Skimmer Vulnerable

Columba elphinstonii Nilgiri Wood-Pigeon Vulnerable

Schoenicola platyura Broad-tailed Grass Warbler Vulnerable

Circus macrourus Pallid Harrier Near Threatened

List of Threatened Bird Species in the northern Western Ghats (Source: (Rahmani and Islam 2004))

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eco region. However, they are patchily distributed. The better (less disturbed) patches of a consider-able size must find a place in this ESA category.

This shows that endemic avifauna require as much attention as rare or vulnerable species as they occur nowhere outside the Western Ghats. Areas where these birds are found in even small patches with reasonably appreciable numbers must be in-cluded as ESAs.

The globally threatened Spot-billed Pelican (Pele-canus philippensis) and Lesser Florican (Eupodotis indica) are or have been a part of the ecoregion’s bird community. The Malabar grey hornbill (Ocy-ceros griseus), Indian grey hornbill (Ocyceros bi-rostris), and Great Hornbill (Buceros bicornis) re-quire mature high forests for nesting and are a focal species for conservation. The ecoregion overlaps with an EBA, Western Ghats, identified by Bird-Life International. However, relative to the south-ern part of the Western Ghats, the northern parts have been poorly surveyed (World Wildlife Fund and McGinley).

Habitats of Wild Edible Plants and Wild Rela-tives

These habitats indicating high levels of ecologi-cal sensitivity are less important but should be con-sidered to be ESAs in the Ghats on a case to case basis. These include areas that contain wild rela-tives of food plants. Several studies need to be initi-ated to identify grasses, fruiting shrubs and trees which have been used by local people as there are edible, such as Carissa.

Jamun and Mango are good examples of trees that grow naturally in the Northern Western Ghats. Their taste and other attributes vary from those which are cultivated. As we do not know which attribute will be of use in future these wild varieties must be preserved.

Carissa shrubs give fruit that ranges from sour to sweet and even tasteless in different shrubs. They even vary in size and the amount of pulp. Their genetic variability is extremely high, and this needs to be preserved. The plant also has a great potential to make jams and preserves.

Another potential use is the flowering species of

plants such as orchids and ground flora such as the curcumas whose utilization as garden plants has been ignored even though they are exceptionally beautiful.

Habitats Supporting Migration

The birds of the Western Ghats have both resi-dent and migrant species. Several of these hill forest birds are similar to species found in the Himalayas. Bird distribution studies show that several species, or their subspecies, are found both in the Ghats and the north and east Himalayas as discontinu-ous populations (Hora 1953; Ali 1949). This phe-nomenon of two distinct isolated populations has been ascribed to ancient linkages through a range of mountains that has now disappeared. Similar evidence is found in the fish fauna of hill streams of the Ghats and the Himalayas in the North East Movements of several taxa have not been studied in detail. The migration southward of hill birds through the Ghats during winter is a major rea-son to protect a corridor of forests from Gujarat through to Kerala. Migration of resident birds also shows a North-South seasonal movement. Several hill forest species move from a lower to a higher elevation in summer for breeding during the mon-soon. In winter they move down into the valleys to avoid the cold and move back into the crestline forest in summer.

Bird such as thrushes, babblers and flycatchers move to and from favoured breeding areas in the hills. Herons and egrets which use specific roosting colonies in the Western Ghats also have seasonal local migrations into low lying areas on the coast.

The movement patterns, several of which have been insufficiently documented, are integral to the maintenance of bird populations of the Ghats. This is a special ESA category that supports Im-portant Bird Areas, or IBAs of the Western Ghats (Rahmani and Islam 2004).

Colonies and Breeding Sites of Fauna

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There are several birds and bats whose popula-tions are dependent on forming colonies for roost-ing and breeding. These include several endangered birds such as storks and vultures. Heronries which are dependent on large colonies constitute impor-tant locations that must be included in small ESAs. A minor disturbance can lead to these birds aban-doning their colonies never to return. Colony nest-ers require an optimum population for successful breeding. Several such nesting sites are associated with large trees in village surrounds along the foot-hills of the Ghats. Colonies of storks, ibis, spoon-bills, cormorants, egrets etc. are associated with copts of tall trees where they nest year after year. The trees act as their traditional nursery, However the feeding ground is linked to wetlands or rivers which may be several kilometers away where the parents gather food for their nestlings. The to and fro movement from the colony may fan out to sev-eral important feeding areas where fish crustacea and molluscs abound, or to a single stretch of un-disturbed river or a marsh. The feeding grounds should also be considered as part of the ESA. There are cryptic ecological reasons for the birds to select a specific patch of trees to build their nests. The nesting sites require special protection along with their identified feeding zones to protect their popu-lations. Protecting the small copts of trees can only be done through local support. Public awareness is a key to their protection.

Bats that belong to several species live in colonies of which at least two are endangered in the West-ern Ghats (Korad, Yardi, and Raut 2007). The bat colonies which are found in caves and on excep-tionally large old trees in the Ghats are a cause for concern. Their population distribution in the West-

ern Ghats has not been identified.

The endangered vultures have selected roosts and nesting colonies on steep rocky cliffs. Each and every site however small must be protected as an ESA as a last ditch stand to prevent the complete extinction of the depleted vulture colonies. Finan-cially protecting the residual population of vultures in their colonies in-situ is cheaper that the expense incurred in breeding and managing them in ex-situ conservation facilities.

Breeding streams of Western Ghats fish such as the Mahaseer require protection. Mahaseer are al-ready gravely endangered and will become extinct if their breeding micro niches in the streams of Western Ghats are disturbed or polluted further. The Deccan Mahaseer was known to move from rivers into the hill streams during the monsoon to spawn in the 1950s. Dams and other impediments have reduced their breeding sites leading to a dras-tic fall in their population. The Mahaseer which is now highly endangered once bred profusely in such streams and moved eastwards into rivers of the Deccan as adults. This has been severely curtailed. In many sites where breeding once occurred the species is locally extinct. A major ex-situ breeding program run by Tata Power Company at Lonawala restocks their hydel lakes with these fish. There is a possibility that these fish have begun to breed again spontaneously in some of the less silted streams around the lakes.

The large number of small fresh water fish of the streams of the Western Ghats choose special breed-ing sites and move towards clear streams during the monsoon to spawn. Such sites are currently outside the Protected Area network of the Ghats. Identify-ing these local sites will require a large scientifically done status survey to identify these micro-ecologi-cally sensitive areas (Arunachalam 2000).

A locale specific management profile for such ar-eas can only be effective with localized initiatives to prevent impacts on these hot specks of ESAs. Pub-lic awareness strategies and involvement of local school students could go a long way in identifying, protecting, monitoring and sustainable develop-ment of a long-term conservation strategy through notifying a set of special micro-eco-sensitive areas for faunal breeding sites.

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CHAPTER 5: PRIORITIZATION

There are various tools described to priori-tize ESAs. For the Western Ghats, there are two concerns. The first relates to prioriti-

zation within each category of ESA. The other is prioritization between the different categories. Ob-viously not all ESAs are equally ecologically sen-sitive. However, it must be kept in mind that the whole of the Western Ghats is in fact a globally recognised hot spot of biological diversity. No area in the Ghats section can be considered essentially a robust area.

Das et al 2006 describe areas of high conserva-tion value which were identified in the Western Ghats using a systematic conservation planning approach. They chose surrogates which were as-sessed for effectiveness on the basis of spatial con-gruence using Pearson’s correlations and Mantel’s tests. The surrogates were, threatened and endemic plant and vertebrate species, unfragmented forest areas, dry forests, sub-regionally rare vegetation types, and a remotely sensed surrogate for unique evergreen ecosystems. The author has shown that at the scale of this analysis, amphibian richness was most highly correlated with overall threatened and endemic species richness, whereas mammals,

especially wide-ranging species, were better at cap-turing overall animal and habitat diversity. There was a significant relationship between a remote sensing based habitat surrogate and endemic tree diversity and composition. None of the taxa or habitats served as a complete surrogate for the oth-ers. Sites were prioritised on the basis of their ir-replaceability value using all five surrogates. Two alternative reserve networks are presented, one with minimal representation of surrogates, and the second with 3 occurrences of each species and 25% of each habitat type. These networks cover 8% and 29% of the region respectively. Seventy per cent of the completely irreplaceable sites are outside the current Protected Area network. This observation is of great importance as ESAs outside the PA net-work would help protect these key conservation sites in the Western Ghats. While the existing Pro-tected Area network meets the minimal represen-tation target for 88% of the species chosen in this study and all habitat surrogates, it is not represen-tative with regard to amphibians, endemic tree spe-cies and small mammals. Much of the prioritised unprotected area is under Reserve Forests and can thus be incorporated into a wider network of con-

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servation areas.

Prioritisation of areas and consequentially with-in a PA network or the future network of ESAs in the Western Ghats is a major concern for manage-ment. It must entertain issues related to cost benefit analysis, the serious impacts of industry and busi-ness strategies, the need for eco restoration versus simple protection, ecodevelopment for the local people and monitoring and evaluating long term effects of positive and protective land-use change and possibilities of further degradation.

Economic valuation methods for biological as-sets are a means towards prioritization at different spatial levels and for genetic, species and different landscape elements. These tools and principles for managing a network of ESAs can become a basis for setting of priority areas within the West-ern Ghats. Valuations based on purely economic terms however are often questioned as there are di-rect and indirect benefits especially related to the various functions that are inherent in the different types or categories of ESAs. For example PAs con-serve genetic species in the ecosystem structure and function. Catchment areas protect water resources. Agriculture in the Ghats means food security for the poor. “Devrai’s” are intrinsic to societal and religious needs. These are a few examples that make economic value based decisions in prioritiz-ing ESAs extremely complex (Nunes and van den Bergh 2001). Pierce et al. 2005 bring out the need for ‘Systematic (target-driven) conservation plan-ning products. This includes developing maps and guidelines and the use of stakeholder inputs.

While at larger spatial scales it is possible to use IUCNs, PAs ranked in terms of management ob-jectives from I to VI and Management Effectiveness Evaluations which are being done in India over the last few years. These do not however provide the fine nuances required for developing management strategies for the different categories of ESAs of the Western Ghats.

Margules, Pressey, and Williams 2002 point out the importance of sampling the known biodiversity of a region and separating biodiversity from pro-cess that threatens its presence. ESAs apart from being prioritized in the Western Ghats must also look at issues such as uniqueness and representa-

tiveness. Scoring systems based on diversity, rarity, naturalness, endangered and endemic species size and vulnerability of the habitat have all been used to indicate priority areas for conservation.

Early attempts in India, (Bharucha 1996) were used as a basis by the Maharashtra Forestry Sector Project for the PA network in Maharashtra.

In the ESA network for the Western Ghats the need to prioritize carefully is even greater than for PAs as the whole area cannot be given a single man-agement strategy. As Margules and Pressey suggest conservation planning has generally not been sys-tematic and new reserves have often been located in places that do not contribute to the representa-tion of biodiversity.’ (Margules and Pressey 2000)

Within each category a prioritization can be made based on a variety of characteristic features that indicate its level of importance. This is more difficult when one has to compare between differ-ent categories. The most simple characteristics in-clude the ‘3S s’ of Siting, Size, Shape. Other char-acteristics include interior to border ratio, linkage to the same or other category, and level of intact-ness and inclusion of unique features. Levels of in-tegrity, fragility and high levels of threat decrease effectiveness and increase costs.

Siting:

An ESA within the boundaries of the West-ern Ghats is better than one that is at the pe-riphery or close to the edge.

An ESA that is directly contiguous to anoth-er is better than one that is connected by a corridor or is surrounded by gaps.

An ESA that is contiguous with its own cat-egory which is adjacent to it is likely to be better than one that is linked to some other category as it is corridored for the same rath-er than different species making the corridor more useful.

Broadly linked patches of the same category are better than those connected by short nar-row corridors which are better than those connected by long corridors even if they pass through a different category of ESA as spe-cies communities are different.

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Size:

The well-known effect of island biogeogra-phy and its more recent ramifications is an important characteristic to prioritize ESAs within the same category. However, even small islands are of value as jump stations for migrant bird species.

Large size that includes several West to East forest types is better than those having a small size in a single forest type.

Large size would usually contain a better in-terior – fringe ratio as the type of interior spe-cies are likely to be rarer and are endemics or unique species rather than fringe generalists that are more robust and can adapt better to man – modified habitats.

Shape:

A more or less circular, square, or rectangu-lar ‘regular’ shape is better taken an irregular shape with finger like protrusions, as interior to edge ratios are better and they invariably contain less disturbed interiors.

Interior – edge boarder ratios are primar-ily governed by the ‘3Ss’ mentioned above.However the inclusion even of a relatively inadequate and disturbed ESA is better than none, as the site may be crucial to corridor-ing and it could be used as a restorative site for better long-term connectivity in future.

Sensitivity:

We have used the term fragile for ecosystems that are likely to be seriously impacted by the slightest disturbance to their ecosystem. Such areas are invariably small in extent highly diverse, con-tain rarer threatened and several endemics which are vulnerable or threatened by extinction.

Sensitive ecosystems are easily disturbed but

may be capable of withstanding short and small perturbation to their environments in comparison to the more fragile systems. Ecosensitive areas are primarily related to evergreen forests the best ex-amples being within the cores of National Parks. They also include areas of special importance on account of the small or relict populations of flo-ral communities such as in semi –evergreen forests, plateau tops and other significantly unique assem-blages of flora and fauna.

Relict populations refer to ecosystems that are likely to have had a wider range than at present. Evolutionary, climatic or human induced altera-tions due to effects of climate change or habitat degradation from overuse or misuse has greatly re-duced their erstwhile extent in the Ghats.

Highly fragile areas where restoration may not be feasible and ecosystems that harbour several endangered species, or endemic spe-cies. They are the best examples of highest value in their own category.

Fragile areas are ecosystems that can be re-verted through high cost ecorestorative strat-egies and harbour some endangered or en-demic species and constitute the best known second level within each category.

Highly sensitive areas that are mostly large areas that cover a considerable position of the Ghats but require special care and avoid-ance of certain types of pressures while per-mitting some selected activities on a case to case bases.

Sensitive areas where restoration is now un-feasible, which can be used for multiple se-lected purposes but cannot be used for any damaging landuse change.

Robust Sensitive Highly Sensitive Fragile

Not present is the Western Ghats as it is a global hot-spot of biodiversity. Resil-ient systems are absent.

Sensitive area needs some protection – MUA for sus-tainable use, some changes in landuse permissible only for local peoples long term benefit

Require high levels of protection – MUA for sustainable use at a very minimized levelManagement Strategy: Ecodevelopment

Areas for non-use. Suitable for WLS or corridoring and/or ecorestorationNo more utilization or alter-nate uses permissible.Management Strategy: Ecorestoration

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An Attempted Prioritization Exercise

This section attempts to discuss prioritization factors that need to be considered in the process of identifying ecosensitive areas, when adequate data is available. Here, an exercise has been attempted to identify potential ecosensitive zones based on exist-ing secondary data using GIS. This aspect must thus be kept in mind while interpreting the results.

Review of literature has revealed that the data needed for an exercise of this kind is extremely lim-ited. Most species data that is available give very broad descriptions of areas, mostly in terms of Ta-lukas or PAs or RF areas. However species related data is an important criterion for identifying of ESAs. The Biodiversity Information System por-tal set up by the Department of Space and Depart-ment of Biotechnology maintained by the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, Dehradun is a good starting point for such a database and needs to be used in fine tuning the results of the present study.

Due to the limited availability of data, this study has used the Taluka boundaries as the basic unit for prioritizing zones on a landscape level. The Taluka is also the administrative unit for managing ESAs in the future. Based on the availability of data this basic unit could be narrowed down to a village, block, etc. The results are thus only indicative and need a detailed ground survey for finalization and identification of specific sites within these Talukas.

The study has primarily relied on data provided by the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, Deh-radun for the base maps of landuse cover, frag-mentation and disturbance of the northern West-ern Ghats. Taluka boundaries have been obtained from Survey of India. The PA boundaries are ap-proximate boundaries digitized on the basis of data available at BVIEER and that provided by the Wildlife Institute of India. Catchment areas have been extracted from Google images. The Aster DEM was used for extracting elevation. The spe-cies data has been compiled from various sources and have been indicated at the end of each table in the report. These have chiefly included reports and publications of the Botanical Survey of India, the Zoological Survey of India, the ENVIS Cen-tres, the French Institute, Pondicherry, the Gujarat Ecological Society and published work of several

individuals across the country.

IDENTIFYING BIODIVERSITY ASSET VALUES

Protected Areas

National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries and their adjacent buffers with a core and a larger buf-fer ESA form a unit for management. In some situations the ESA around the Protected Area cov-ers the full width of the Western Ghats. In such situations the ESA must evidently permit certain activities while disallowing others. For example traditional landuse such as agriculture and lim-ited grazing would be permitted but no new lan-duse such as urbanization can be permitted. In a low priority situation decisions would have to be carefully made on possible future impacts based on a cumulative carrying capacity study rather than single project wise EIA.

The PAs in the Northern Western Ghats were prioritized based on three parameters, namely their size, area-perimeter ratio and the forest type. The total weight for the PA was an average of these three parameters. The forest cover was given weights us-ing the above methodology while size and area pe-rimeter ratios were given weights from 10 (highest) to 1 (lowest) based on the calculations. Each Ta-luka was then assigned the PA weight according to the PAs it contained.

High Low

Protected Area Size

Large (More than 300 km2)

Medium(100-300km2)

Small (50-100 km2)

Very Small (Less than 50 km2)

Protected Area Shape: Area to Perimeter Ratio

Regular with core

Irregular with core

Regular withoutcore

Irregular withoutcore

Forest Type

EvergreenSemi Ever-green

Moist De-ciduous

Dry De-ciduous

The following is a list of protected areas catego-rized by ecological and threat value

1. Chandoli

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2. Bhimashankar

3. Karnala

4. Mhadei

5. Cotigaon

6. Radhanagari

7. Koyna

8. Phansad

9. Kalsubai

10. SGNP

11. Mollem

12. Bondla

13. Bhagwan_M

14. Tansa

15. Purna

16. Vansda

Protected Area Surrounds

This is going to be increasingly problematic and for any such PAs the 10 Km Surrounding ESAs must be given the highest priority in this category. Examples include the neighbourhood mining activ-ities of Radhanagari at the fringe of the Protected Area. The slum outside Sanjay Gandhi National Park and Mumbai itself makes the 10 km Zone ap-pears to be a no-win situation. There are no fringe areas in some of these locations. They are difficult to rate during prioritizing within a category.

This gives a very high priority status to a sur-rounding or adjacent ESA. Examples of important locations for these ESAs abound in the southern Western Ghats such as habitats of Nilgiri tahr, Nilgiri languor, Lion tailed macaque. In the north-ern Western Ghats consider the Rusty spotted cat known from only two or three PAs with small populations. Isolated patches of old growth forests (RF or Sacred Groves) with Malabar Giant Squir-rel may exist. The ESA surrounds of these PAs are of greater importance in the northern Western Ghats due to a lack of interconnectedness. As a ten km zone around each Protected Area is a notified ESA, a buffer was drawn around each PA and a

similar method followed for assigning weights to the ESA. Areas overlapping the buffers were sepa-rated out and then used for calculation. The ESA weights for a Taluka were averaged and calculated based on their percentage coverage in the Taluka.

High Low

Level of Disturbance

Undis-turbed

Partly Dis-turbed

Moderately Disturbed

Severely Disturbed

Forest Type

EvergreenSemi Ever-green

Moist De-ciduous

Dry De-ciduous

Threats

Industry/Settlements

Intensive Agriculture

Traditional Agriculture

Fallow Land

The following is a list of PA surrounds ranked by ecological and threat value

1. Mollem WLS

2. Mhadei WLS

3. Chandoli WLS

4. Cotigaon WLS

5. Bhagwan Mahavir WLS

6. Radhanagari WLS

7. Phansad WLS

8. Bondla WLS

9. Koyna WLS

10. Bhimasankar WLS

11. Karnala WLS

12. Vansda NP

13. Tansa WLS

14. Kalsubai WLS

15. Sanjay Gandhi NP

16. Purna WLS

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Hill Stations

Hill stations can be prioritized using the following

parameters.

High Low

Intactness and Notification

NotifiedIntact

NotifiedDisturbed

Non-noti-fied Recog-nized

Non-noti-fied Unrec-ognized

Forest Type

EvergreenSemi Ever-green

Moist De-ciduous

Dry De-ciduous

Reserve and Closed Canopy Forest

The larger forest patches must be prioritized as they probably contain a higher proportion of forest interior species. This would have to be done for all forest types – evergreen, semi evergreen and moist deciduous.

Using the base vegetation map of the IIRS, areas consisting of evergreen, semi evergreen, moist de-ciduous, dry deciduous, shrubland, grassland were extracted for every Taluka and weights given based on the respective percentage cover in each Taluka.

The weights were given on a scale of 10 with ev-ergreen having the highest and shrubland having the lowest. These ranks have been based on the fact that evergreen, semi evergreen and moist decidu-ous forests are likely surrogates for high species di-versity.

High Low

Forest Cover

ContinuousDiscontinu-ous

Highly Fragmented

Completely Degraded

Forest Type

EvergreenSemi Ever-green

Moist De-ciduous

Dry De-ciduous

Water Bodies

As these are envisioned as Multiple Use Areas the highest priority should go to those that have steeper slopes and more erode-able sides. Those with paddy lands within them should not be per-mitted to use land for alternate land use unless cer-tified by the Western Ghats Authority as sustain-able in environmental, (ecological) societal and long-term economic terms. Catchments were pri-oritised based on their forest cover as described above as well as their elevation. Highest elevations were given a weight of ten. The catchments weights for a Taluka were averaged and calculated based on their percentage coverage in the Taluka.

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High Low

Disturbance

UndisturbedForest

Traditional Agriculture

Disturbed(Scrubland)

Disturbed(Changed Landuse)

Forest Type

EvergreenSemi Ever-green

Moist De-ciduous

Dry De-ciduous

Threats

Industry/Settlements

Intensive Agriculture

Traditional Agriculture

Fallow Land

The following is a list of dam catchments ranked by biodiversity value

1. Supra

2. catchment

3. Shirowata

4. Temghar

5. Varasgaon

6. Dodamarg

7. Uksan

8. Bhandardara

9. Dimbe

10. Selaulim

11. Pavana

12. Mulshi

13. Panshet

14. Pimpalgaonjoga

15. Valvhan

16. Manikdoh

17. Bhatgar

18. Thokarwadi

19. Chapet

20. Vadaj

21. Warana

22. Chaskaman

23. Chandolilake

24. Shivaji SG

25. Bhama

26. Urmodi

27. Tulsisagar

28. Dhom dam

29. Khadakvasla

30. Doodhgangasagar

31. Mukhane

32. Chitri

33. Karanj

34. Jangamhatti

35. Salher

36. Yedgaon

37. Kanher

38. Punegaon

39. Ganagasagar

40. Kadava

Specialized Habitats

These are essentially small but are of high prior-ity status. Examples include the largest and least disturbed sacred groves and plateau tops.

Specialized ecosystems (plateau tops, and water-falls for example) are relatively small but at multiple locations. They cannot be placed in a few ESAs as they are widely spread out and are included in mul-tiple ESA categories. Prioritizing such hot speck locations for sufficiently long term possibilities for survival of their species will require a completely new thinking from traditional concepts of manag-ing an interlinked and corridored network of PAs.

Many such factors which have been observed in the northern Western Ghats will have to be run through prioritization exercises by groups of spe-cialists and ecological experts.

For example we know that the Malabar Giant Squirrel is found in small pockets where cano-pies are intact. But protecting only a few locations makes little sense as this squirrel has several varia-tions in coloration all of which require protection in ESAs.

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The BNHS list of prioritized sacred groves devel-oped by the BNHS (Deshmukh, 1999) for Maha-rashtra was used for this purpose. There has been no such prioritized list available for Goa although a list of groves in each Taluka is available with Goa Foundation.

Forests are known to harbour several important species and also have a high cultural heritage value. As only a list of forts was available and no priori-tization was done, this weight was done on a pres-ence/absence basis for each Taluka.

High Low

Biodiversity

High Biodi-versity

UniqueEcosystems

ModerateDiversity

Low Diver-sity

Cultural Heritage

High Low

Sacred Groves Size

High Low

Sacred Groves Number

>10 10-8 7-5 4-2 1

Escarpments

1800-1500

1500-1200

1200-900

900-600

600-

300

300-0

Each Taluka was given weights for elevation as follows based on percentage coverage.

Forts

Presence Absence

The following is a partial list of forts in and around the Northern Western Ghats.

Name Height Base Village District Highlights

Ratangad 4255 Ratanwadi Ahmednagar Pond

Rockface

Cave

Karvi

Nedhe

Lake

Forest

Name Height Base Village District Highlights

Harishchan-dragad 4671 Khireshwar Ahmednager Cave

Karvi

Rockface

Jivdhan 3754 Ghatghar Pune Forest

Rockface

Chavand/Prasannagad 3495 Chavand Pune Grassy

Reptiles

Shivneri 3342 Junnar PuneReserve Forest

Cave

Rockface

Bhairavgad 2835 Durgwadi Satara Forest

Sanctuary

Cave

Rockface

Hadsar 4687 Hadsar Pune Cave

Lake

Nimgiri 3635 Bagadwadi Pune

Narayangad 2872 Khodadgaon Pune Plantation

Dhakoba/Durg

4148/3855 Palu Pune Forest

GiantSquirrel

Biodiversity

Plateau

Gorakhgad 2137 Dehari Thane Eucalyptus

Cave

Siddhagad 3223 Narivali Thane Cave

Forest

Rockface

Bhimashan-kar 3296 Khandas Pune Forest

Padar 2002 Padarwadi Pune Plateau

Forest

Rockface

Cave

Peth/Koth-ligad 1550

Ambivali/Jambrukh Raigad Grassy

Bushes

Plateau

Tungi 2019Ambivali/Jambrukh Raigad Cave

Dhak 2320 Sandshi Raigad Plateau

Under-growth

Forest

Cave

Rockface

Bhimgad 803 Vadap Raigad

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Name Height Base Village District Highlights

Rajmachi 2710 Kondivde PuneUnder-growth

Plateau

Forest

Pond

Lohgad 3412 Malawali Pune Cave

Pond

Visapur 3567 Patangaon Pune Cave

Plateau

Rockface

Forest

Tikona 3580 Tikona Peth Pune Cave

Rockface

Tung 3526 Tungwadi Pune

Korigad 3049Peth-Shah-pur Pune Cave

Lake

Rockface

Pond

Telbaila 3322 Telbaila Pune Rockface

Ghangad 2565 Ekole Raigad Cave

Rockface

Plateau

Forest

Sudhagad/Borapgad 2030 Dhondase Raigad Plateau

Lake

Sparse Veg-etation

Sarasgad 1433 Pali Raigad Rockface

Cave

Grassy

Bushes

Kurdugad 2021 Jite Raigad Rockface

Forest

Cave

Sinhagad 4320 Kondhana Pune Cave

Forest

Tourist Pressure

Rockface

Rajgad Vajeghar Pune Plateau

Lake

Cave

Torna 4604 Velhe Pune Nedhe

Rockface

Lingana 2979 Paane Raigad Rockface

Raigad 2829 Pachad Raigad Cave

Lake

Purandar/Vajragad

4560/4422 Narayanpur Pune

Name Height Base Village District Highlights

Malhargar 3166 Sonori Pune Plantation

Rohida 3661 Bazarwadi PuneDeforesta-tion

Raireshwar/Kenjalgad

4589/4269 Korle Pune Plateau

Lake

Rockface

Kamalgad 4522 Tupewadi Satara Rockface

Forest

Cave

Grassy

Lake

Chandragad 2257 Dhavle Raigad Forest

Animals

Cave

Mangalgad/Kangori 2465

Dudhanewa-di Raigad Grassy

Pratapgad 3556 Satara Forest

Animals

Makharand-gad 4064 Hatlot Satara Forest

Vasota 3614 Met Indavali Satara Forest

Lake

Rockface

Karvi

Grassy

Cave

Chakdev 3230 Chakdev Satara

Rasalgad 1769 Rasalwadi Satara

Sumargad/Mahipatgad

2801/3090 Dahivali Ratnagiri Forest

Karvi

Pond

Habitats of Threatened Species

For our purposes of managing ESAs, a relatively simple prioritization that can achieve sustainability trends should have the aim of providing shelter to all rare species. A rare species with low abundance may be known from a single or only a couple of lo-cations. Such a location must be put on a high pri-ority listing and any pressures must be minimized such as grazing or fire and no new pressures should be permitted such as urbanization or road building.

Rare species may be highly endemic, endangered or threatened. IUCNs categorization may be used for prioritization in such a situation. In the West-ern Ghats there is a gap in knowledge as there are species listings based only on floras where exact

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locations are unknown or only occasionally docu-mented. This makes prioritization imminently im-possible. Here the “precautionary principle” and the possibility of other rare taxa being present in the same location must be currently applied. Sev-eral rare taxa may in all probability coexist as the area possibly offers the necessary unique habitat requirements of a large number of rare and highly endemic species from multiple taxa of flora and dependant or even functionally closely linked spe-cies within the area.

Using data from secondary published sources the number of critically endangered, endangered, vulnerable and no threatened species (IUCN cat-egories) were calculated for every Taluka and weights assigned as follows. As the number of spe-cies in each Taluka could not be accurately ascer-tained, the weights were assigned to the presence of the following category of species. This could be further refined if accurate number of species of the following categories are available. As there has been no way to assess abundance, the presence or absence of species of the above categories has been given weights irrespective of the number of sight-ings/population size. If this can be quantified, the weights can be revised to include abundance. Habi-tats of threatened species can be prioritized based on the following parameters.

High Low

Species Richness

Very High High Medium Low

Presence of Threatened Species

More than 5 species

3 to 5 spe-cies

1 to 3 spe-cies

1 species

Level of Species Threat

Critically Endangered

Endangered VulnerableNearThreatened

Corridors

Corridoring for seasonal changes are important for the recent northward spread of elephants for example. This will in all probability become a ma-jor concern in prioritizing ESAs in some parts of the southernmost extent of the northern sector of the Western Ghats. This should ensure that those wandering elephants are given an opportunity to go back to their original habitat in Karnataka.

Broader and shorter corridors are obviously bet-ter than narrow long corridors. Broad short cor-ridors are the best, narrow long corridors are the worst. Unfortunately for some highly prioritized species only the last may be feasible as a last ditch stand.

Corridors were drawn visually between PAs and PA surrounds. For this study weights were then as-signed to the presence or absence of this corridor. Detailed studies on corridors can help in identi-fying accurate weights based on their shape, land cover, etc.

High Low

Corridor Potential

High Low

Corridor Shape

Broad Short Narrow Short

Broad Long Narrow Long

Corridor Type

NaturalEcorestora-tion

PlantationFallow/Ag-riculture

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IDENTIFYING THREAT VALUES

The threat map for every Taluka has been gener-ated using the following criteria and weights.

The disturbance map created by IIRS has been used here. The Disturbance Index has been com-puted by IIRS by adopting a linear combination of the defined parameters on the basis of probabilistic weightages.

Disturbance Index (DI):{(fragmentation, po-rosity, interspersion, proximity from disturbance sources) settlements, roads, etc.) and juxtaposition}

This map has classified disturbance into four classes, i.e.: high disturbance, moderate distur-bance, low disturbance and no disturbance areas. These categories were extracted for every Taluka and weights given based on their percentage cover-age within a Taluka.

High Low

Disturbance Level

High Medium Low None

Mines

As there have been no studies available on the impact of specific mines on specific ecological re-gions of the Western Ghats, this weight has been given on a presence/absence basis.

High Low

Presence Absence

Industrial Areas

In the absence of data on specific industries near forest patches in each Taluka, the presence of in-dustrial plots belonging to the Maharashtra Indus-trial Development Corporation (MIDC) has been taken as an indicator though this may not neces-sarily impact the forest. This is however an indi-cation of urbanization in the Taluka. This weight has been given on a presence/absence basis. The weights could be changed and made higher if spe-cific data is available.

Some of the MIDCs in and around the North-ern Western Ghats include those at Satpur, Mu-salgaon, Ambad, Dindori, Malegaon, Ratnagiri,

Zadgaon, Mahad, Taloja, Islampur, Roha, Patal-ganga, Ranjangaon, Kharadi, Kurkumbh, Palus, Baramati, Bhosari, Chakan, Jejuri, Hinjewadi, Chiplun, Dapoli, Lote Parshuram, Shirgaon, Miraj and Kadegaon

High Low

Presence Absence

Catchment Area Threats

Settlements within the catchments have a greater impact than catchments that have RF within them and settlements outside. A threat map was devel-oped for catchments using the weights as given be-low.

High Low

Settlements AgricultureFallow/Barren Land

Protected Areas Surrounds (ESA) Threats

Along with a biodiversity weight a threat weight that considered percentage of settlements, agricul-ture, fallow/barren land was also developed. Settle-ments within ESAs of PAs have a great impact as they are most susceptible to future landuse change that will seriously impact biodiversity values of the PAs and disrupt potential corridors. The param-eters for the PA threat map are given below.

High Low

Settlements AgricultureFallow/Barren Land

GRADING THE ESAS

From the above methodology two raster maps of ecologically important areas and threats were developed respectively. The Ecologically Impor-tant Area map was reclassified into critically im-portant, high importance, moderate importance, low importance and least importance areas. The threat map was reclassified into high threat, mod-erate threat and low threat areas. To identify the ecosensitive areas the ecologically important area map was overlaid with the threat map and based on the scores the final output has been reclassified as Fragile Areas, Highly Sensitive Areas and Sensi-tive Areas.

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For a composite map of prioritized ESAs based on Talukas, see the next page.

Protected Areas

Pre-processing and Weight Assignment to Individual Criterion

Ecologically Impor-tant Areas (Taluka-wise)

PA Surrounds

Forest Cover (IIRS)

Catchments

Elevation

Sacred Groves Ecologically Sensitive Areas

Species Fragile

Raster Processing Highly Sensitive

Disturbance Map (IIRS)

Pre-processing and Weight Assignment to Individual Criterion

Threat Levels (Taluka-wise)

Sensitive

Mines

MIDCs

Threat to PA Surrounds

Threat to Catchments

Methodology used for Prioritisation of ESAs based on Talukas

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ANALYSIS OF TALUKAS FROM NORTH TO SOUTH BASED ON ESA CATEGORY AND THREAT LEVEL

Sector 1

TALUKA: AHWA, NAVAPUR, SONAGADH

ESA Category Features

Category Number

Category Key Features

Existing ESAs

1 Protected AreaPurna WLS Bansda NP

2Protected Area Surrounds (ESAs)

Purna WLS Surrounds Bansda NP SurroundsConsist of overlapping large patches of Reserve and Protected Forest

3 Hill Stations Nil

Proposed ESAs

A Ecosystem Based

4 Forests outside PAs Large patches of Dry and Moist Deciduous Forest

5 Water BodiesWatershed areas of west flowing rivers, Gira, Purna, Khapri and AmbikaNo major dam catchment present

6 Others Nil

B Species Based

7 Threatened Species High

8 Important Bird Areas Nil

Threat Features

Threat Category Key Threats

Industry Illegal logging during forest insurgency in 1990s, Commercial timber extraction

Mines

Roads SH 13, 21, 26, 27

Agriculture Rab agriculture

Settlement

Tourism

Potential Corridor

Potential corridor present between Protected Areas

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Sector 2

TALUKA: SAKRI, SATANA, KALVAN, DINDORI, PEINT, DHARAMPUR, SURGANA, NASIK, IGATPURI, MOKHADA, JAWAHAR

ESA Category Features

Category Number

Category Key Features

Existing ESAs

1 Protected Area Nil

2Protected Area Surrounds (ESAs)

Bansda NP Surrounds Tansa WLS Surrounds

3 Hill Stations Potential ESA Hill-station at Saputara

Proposed ESAs

A Ecosystem Based

4 Forests outside PAsSmall severely fragmented patches of Dry Deciduous and Moist Deciduous forest, better in Western aspect of Jawahar

5 Water BodiesCatchments of three dams in Dindori, two dams in Nasik

6 OthersSmall tribal sacred sites, Saler Fort, Nasik has high elevation areas

B Species Based

7 Threatened Species High in Anjaneri Hills in Nasik

8 Important Bird Areas Nil

Threats

Threat Category Key Threat

Industry

Mines

Roads Present (SH 44, 46, NH 222)

Agriculture Present

Settlement Present

Tourism

Potential Corridor

Long narrow corridor requires ecorestoration and ecodevelopment

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Sector 3

TALUKAS: VASAI, GREATER MUMBAI, THANE, BHIWANDI, VADA, SHAHAPUR, MOKHADA, AKOLA, JUNNAR, AMBEGAON, KHED, KARJAT, MURBAD

ESA Category Features

Category Number

Category Key Features

Existing ESAs 1 Protected Area Sanjay Gandhi NP Tansa WLSKalsubai Harishchandragadh WLSBhimashankar WLS

2 Protected Area Surrounds (ESAs)

Tansa WLS SurroundsSanjay Gandhi NP Surrounds: City of MumbaiKalsubai Harishchandragadh WLSBhimashankar WLS

3 Hill Stations Matheran, outlying range of the main ridge of the Western Ghats

Proposed ESAs A Ecosystem Based

4 Forests outside PAs Patches of Moist Deciduous, Dry Deciduous, Semi Evergreen, Evergreen forest present. Northernmost intact evergreen patches, semi evergreen canopy for giant squirrel in patches in Bhimashankar.

5 Water Bodies Tulsi, Vihar, Powai, Tansa, Chaskman Dams

6 Others Kanheri Caves, temples, Harishchandragadh Peak, Bhimashankar escarpments, about ten forts, several sacred groves in Junnar, Bhimashankar

B Species Based

7 Threatened Species High number of threatened species in areas of Har-ishchandragadh, Bhimashankar, Matheran, Junnar, Ambegaon, Karjat, Murbad, Khed and all the PAs, important Giant Squirrel habitat

8 Important Bird Areas Bhimashankar WLS, Tansa WLS, Sanjay Gandhi NP

Threats

Threat Category Key Threat

Industry SGNP and Tansa are highly industrialised

Mines

Roads Many roads, NH 3 near SGNP, Ghadegaon-Bhimashankar, Khed-Bhimashankar

Agriculture Intense in PA surrounds, grass collection, fires, baling

Settlement SGNP consists of slums and massive urbanisation, other PAs have smaller agricultural settlements

Tourism Severe impact, Kanheri caves, temples in SGNP, Kalsubai and Bhimashankar due to pilgrimage

Potential Corridor

Very good potential east west corridor, however, practically extremely difficult These are natural bot-tlenecks in the Western Ghats where they narrow in width West to East corridors which consist of dif-ferent forest types, Moist Deciduous Coastal Forest of SGNP, Dry Deciduous Forest of Tansa, Moist Deciduous, Semi Evergreen and Evergreen forest of Kalsubai and Semi Evergreen and Evergreen forest of Bhimashankar, are of great importance for future climate change mitigation

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Sector 4

TALUKA: KHALAPUR, MAVAL

ESA Category Features

Category Number

Category Key Features

Existing ESAs 1 Protected Area Proposed Sanctuary at Father Santapau Valley, Khandala

2 Protected Area Surrounds (ESAs)

3 Hill Stations Khandala, Lonavala

Proposed ESAs A Ecosystem Based

4 Forests outside PAs Semi Evergreen, few Evergreen, highly fragmented and isolated forest

5 Water Bodies Thokarwadi (Andhra), Uksan, Shirota, Valvan Dams

6 Others Escarpments, Karla Caves, about three forts

B Species Based

7 Threatened Species High in Khandala, Bhimashankar, INS Shivaji Lonavala,

8 Important Bird Areas INS Shivaji-Lonavala

Threat Features

Threat Category Key Threats

Industry

Mines

Roads Ghodegaon-Bhimashankar, Khed-Bhimashankar, Mumbai Pune expressway

Agriculture

Neo Townships Aamby Valley Township, Lonavala township, Land sale for farmhouses

Tourism High impact from neighbouring Mumbai Pune cities

Potential Corridor

Very high north south potential. Corridoring is possible locally between catchments and along the crestline. However, the Aamby Valley township narrows the potential corridor. This creates a serious impediment to corridoring possibilities and has already disrupted connectivity that has an adverse effect on wildlife populations. The expressway and NH 4 together forms a large disruption in the potential corridor which would require major management interventions to create underpasses and overpasses for wildlife. The creation of two protected areas, north and south of the expressway of 100 square kilometres each would greatly facilitate corridoring in spite of the presence of the existing gap.

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Sector 5

TALUKA: MAVAL, MULSHI, VELHE, PURANDAR, BHOR, WAI, MAHABALESHWAR, MEDHA, SATARA, PATAN, SAWANTWADI, SHIRALA, SHAHUWADI, PANHALA, BAW-

DA, RADHANAGARI, GARGOTI, KUDAL, AJRA, DODAMARG, CHANDGADH, KAGAL, VAIBHAVWADI, POLADPUR

ESA Category Features

Category Number

Category Key Features

Existing ESAs 1 Protected Area Proposed Mulshi PA as compensation for Mumbai Pune expresswayKoyna WLSChandoli WLSRadhanagari WLS

2 Protected Area Surrounds (ESAs)

Koyna WLSChandoli WLSRadhanagari WLS

3 Hill Stations Mahabaleshwar, Panhala, Panchgani

Proposed ESAs A Ecosystem Based

4 Forests outside PAs Semi Evergreen, Evergreen patches, Important tracts of intact canopy as a narrow strip near Tamhini and Mulshi, Good evergreen forest from Mahabaleshwar (Stunted) to Koyna and Chandoli (Tall) in the valley to Radhanagari (Stunted) in the crestline. Large semi evergreen forest with high biodiversity value unprotected in Chandgad and Sawantwadi

5 Water Bodies Several catchments, such as Pavana, Mulshi, Temghar, Chapet, Bhatgar, Varasgaon, Dhom, Kanher, Shivaji Sagar (Koyna), Varna (Chandoli), Doodhgangasagar (Radhanagari) and eight others

6 Others Several sacred groves present ranging from 1 to 8 hect-ares in size, Mulshi Taluka has 22 groves, about 23 forts, Presence of prominent escarpments especially in Maha-baleshwar, Kas Plateau and other important hotspecks in the Koyna belt, waterfalls, Arthurs seat escarpment, benchmark of old grown forest,

B Species Based

7 Threatened Species High in all the PAsHigh in Mulshi, Tamhini, Mahabaleshwar (sightings of major mammals), Bhor, Raireshwar Fort, Kas Plateau, Patan, Possible tiger and elephant movements to the north from the south (Chandoli)

8 Important Bird Areas Koyna WLSRadhanagari WLS

Threat Features

Threat Category Key Threats

Industry Windmills have unknown possible impact

Mines Major impact in Sawantwadi, Dodamarg, Radhanagari, Shahuwadi, Chandgad. Several mines are present in the Radhanagari WLS.

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Roads Enhanced road traffic, new road from Pune to Coast. Roads have high traffic density and have been widened, cutting though forest and passing several important sacred groves. Also leading to landslides and erosion.

Agriculture

Neo Townships Lavasa Township, Land sales in Mulshi, Tamhini, Potential township of New Mahabaleshwar near Kas, Panchgani, High future urbanization

Tourism Tourism in Tamhini, Mahabaleshwar- Panchgani, Kas Plateau

Other Human Elephant Conflict reported from Sawantwadi, Dodamarg and Chandgad

Potential Corridor:

Corridoring to Chandoli through natural forest is possible Bhor Mahad will require ecorestoration

Very important corridor connecting protected areas, require scientific restoration and prevention of any form of intrusion of development, high corridoring possibility from Mahabaleshwar to Koyna

Good potential of PA surrounds through ecorestoration Bavda, Vaibhavwadi and Kagal is an impor-tant potential corridor between Chandoli and Radhanagari WLS

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Sector 6

ALUKA: ALIBAG, PEN, PALI, ROHA, MURUD, MANGAON, SRIVARDHAN, MHASALA, MAHAD, MADANGARH, DAPOLI, GUHAGARH, CHIPLUN, DEVRUKH, RATNAGIRI,

LANJA

ESA Category Features

Category Number

Category Key Features

Existing ESAs 1 Protected Area Phansad WLS

2 Protected Area Surrounds (ESAs)

Phansad WLS

3 Hill Stations Nil

Proposed ESAs A Ecosystem Based

4 Forests outside PAs Forests at Alibag, Pen, Pali, Chiplun consist of evergreen forest remnants which are at a higher elevation compared to the rest of the coastline

5 Water Bodies Multiple short rivers and estuaries

6 Others Some forts, many sacred groves along the entire length, important sacred grove belt, larger than in the Western Ghats

B Species Based

7 Threatened Species Alibag, Roha, Chiplun High

8 Important Bird Areas Nil

Threat Features

Threat Category Key Threats

Industry Large industrial belt stretching from Roha, Mahad and south, proposed coal based power plants

Mines Mining licenses granted in Sindhudurg

Roads Wildlife underpasses and overpasses are required for the coastal highway and railway passing through the evergreen forest patches

Agriculture Intensive prawn farming along the coast

Settlement Present everywhere

Tourism Five star tourism in Alibag

Potential Corridor

No potential corridor

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Sector 7

TALUKA: VALPOY, SANGUEM, QUEPEM, CHAURI

ESA Category Features

Category Number

Category Key Features

ExistingESAs

1 Protected Area Mhadei WLSBhagwan Mahavir WLSMollem WLSCotigaon WLS

2 Protected Area Surrounds (ESAs)

Mhadei WLSBhagwan Mahavir WLSMollem WLSCotigaon WLS

3 Hill Stations Nil

ProposedESAs

A Ecosystem Based

4 Forests outside PAs Continuous evergreen forest patches throughout, honey-combed by mines even in the protected areas

5 Water Bodies One major catchment in Sanguem

6 Others Several sacred groves,

B Species Based

7 Threatened Species High in all PAs

8 Important Bird Areas Bhagwan Mahavir WLSCotigaon WLSMhadei WLSCarambolim Lake

Threat Features

Threat Category Key Threats

Industry Mining related industries

Mines Extremely high mining threats within the sanctuaries and their surrounds

Roads State highways exist throughout the protected areas, important to build underpasses and over-passes

Agriculture

Settlement

Tourism High pressure in coastal areas affect the forest area

Potential Corridor

The protected areas and surrounds form a natu-ral corridor to the southern Western Ghats. This entire belt from Valpoy through Chauri consists of continuous evergreen patches and forms an excel-lent corridor to the southern Western Ghats. How-ever, mining within the sanctuaries and surrounds is a major threat.

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PLANNING FOR CORRIDORS

The Need for Corridors

Corridors are particularly important in the north-ern Western Ghats as they allow movement of ani-mals from one forested patch to another. Seasonal movements enlarge the animal’s range and habitat preferences, which help to increase their genetic di-versity and health. This indicates that corridors are extremely important for the survival of a healthy population of species (Bharucha 2000).

In the Western Ghats corridors between PAs is of great importance as the N-S orientation of the hill range would permit floral and faunal elements to migrate in response to climate change. Elsewhere where corridors lie in other directions they may be less amenable to future shifts of species. This great potential for species to migrate northwards in response to a rise in temperature will be possible in the Western Ghats forests only if the corridor forests are kept reasonably intact between the PAs. There is thus an opportunity for judiciously man-aging corridors to adapt to the ill effects of climate change. The corridors require not only an adequate width, but should include quality habitat condi-tions that would permit several different species to migrate through them. This would mean reducing pressures from neighbouring landscape elements. The corridors will enhance the carrying capacity of the PA network for maintaining heterozygos-ity within species. The integrity of natural and even semi natural ecosystems can be maintained through ecorestoration only if sufficiently large and optimal habitats are protected for its species. Thus corridoring is an essential component for managing genetic, species and ecosystem diversity of the northern Western Ghats.

Corridors are equally important for local people as once they are disrupted both predators and her-bivores are forced into their agricultural lands and their settlements. This leads to serious people – wildlife conflicts. Currently several leopards have been moving out of their forest patches around Bhimashankar into the sugarcane fields at Junnar. A stray tiger was known to move around villages near Tamhini Ghats in Mulshi Taluka in 2004. A Gaur was found to infiltrate into the Bharati Vidy-

apeeth’s campus in Dhankawadi in Pune in 2000. Elephants have strayed repeatedly into southern Maharashtra from Karnataka in recent years. All these animals appear to have been attempting to unsuccessfully look for more suitable habitats. This could indicate a loss of optimal habitat conditions, or an overabundance in the existing habitat, or both.

Straying into a distant location also indicates the presence of some level of corridoring which is sufficient to permit these stray animals to move into an alternate area. However the new location may not be an appropriate and safer habitat, as the above incidents have shown.

The long – term value of corridors is highly de-pendent on the health of the adjacent landscape and presence of large patches of natural vegetation. This applies to our current critical situation in the Western Ghats. Even with the existence of forest corridors, several local species will be lost unless the larger islands of relatively intact vegetation are protected. Thus ESAs that will be managed with a view to protect / enhance natural biodiversity will be a key to a successful integrated landscape plan through a chain of relatively large patches linked by viable corridors. The meta populations of large species such as tiger, gaur, and sambar are more likely to survive in the long-term if this strategy is developed at the landscape level, as the forest is already severely fragmented. In these major overt indicator species, which prefer to use forest interi-ors and cannot survive at forest edges, the reduced size of patches and increased isolation has already led to local extinctions. This eventually annihilates these species in the region. It is evident that the smaller the forest fragments the lower the popu-lation of forest interior species. In contrast edge species such as the more adaptable ones would in-crease in abundance due to the multiplication of the fragments with a concomitant increase in the extent of edges even though fragments become smaller.

Landuse Within Existing Corridors

Currently the existing corridors between PAs in-clude patches of Reserve Forest, Protected Forest and ‘Malki forest areas’. They include forests of various levels of intactness from over 80% canopy,

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to those between 40-80%, and degraded areas of shrubland. The latter are primarily village grazing lands, which have been frequently dubbed ‘waste-land’. These “blank” areas are frequently commu-nity owned pastures used by local agro-pastoral people. Fires are lit on these hill slopes in February and March to get a quick flush of palatable grass for the large number of free ranging village cattle.

Another landscape element that is present in these corridors are the patches of shifting agricul-ture on the hill slopes where hill rice, nagli, varai etc. are grown by lopping the forest, to use as a wood ash fertilizer. Fire is a component of the lo-cal management regime.

The potential areas that are selected to develop corridors must include a strategy for ESAs that must consider the existing land use and define lo-cale specific management practices for them. This depends on the varied needs of animal species that are expected to use these corridors. As the land tenure differs from site to site there will have to be a set of specific norms and rules for utilization of these potential corridors. A complete ban on their use by local people would create serious conflict issues. What must be done is preventing new forms of development of these potential corridors.

Types of Corridors

Corridors in the Western Ghats are of two types:

Natural Relict Corridors for Biologically Impor-tant Patches

The most important ESAs are already seques-trated in the PAs. However the corridors are small and inadequately buffered from surrounding lan-duse pressures. Ecorestoration in buffer areas and dam catchments is a key to maintaining the integ-rity of biodiversity of the Western Ghats through a system of existing relict forest corridors.

Potential and Restored Corridors

These are blank or degraded patches which are not connected by natural vegetation. These degrad-ed areas lie between significantly large patches of forest or those that are created by plantation for-estry for a variety of purposes. Such areas would require extensive ecorestorative efforts in the West-ern Ghats.

It is the first type that is of great value and must be protected as bridges for species to move between PAs. Plantations though usable by certain species may not be used by the more ecologically discern-ing species (National Resources Conservation Ser-vice).

There are several specialized ecosystems within the Western Ghats that must be included in a spe-cial corridor ESA category. Forest patches that are significantly different in composition and structure and include unique features must be adequately connected. There are also the plateau tops with a lateritic crust on which floral elements of great biological diversity grow only during the monsoon. The precipitous Western slopes are of interest as they have waterfalls and cascades which are the specialized ‘niche’ of a variety of plants, amphib-ians, crustacean and molluscs. Nalla courses with both perennial and monsoonal flows are rich in aquatic and semi aquatic floral elements that are fairly specific and form aggregations of species rich micro habitats. All these must be identified and in-cluded in a special category of protected corridor that connects such patches in the Western Ghats. Thus a variety of natural landscape elements must be included in the formation of ESA corridors be-tween PAs.

Establishing Corridors in the Northern Western Ghats

Existing corridors in the Western Ghats can-not be simply viewed on a satellite image. This is only the first step. This must be followed by ground truthing to appreciate if the width is adequate, the connectivity between patches is relatively intact, and the structure of the protected vegetation is in a stage of recovery towards ‘naturalness’. Corridors seen on the satellite image may appear intact but on the ground consist of tiny isolated fragments as seen in areas overgrazed by cattle. Such areas have multiple small patches of grassy open gaps surrounded initially by a matrix of forest. In more severely grazed areas the openings form the matrix and the forests appear as islands with no interior habitat and largely consist of edge habitats. The fi-nal stage of such degradation is formation of shru-bland.

Little is known about the effects of weed infesta-

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tion in the Northern Western Ghats. For example Lantana spreading along forest edges and even infiltrating forest interiors may affect the popula-tion of some species but favour others. For exam-ple leopards and even tigers appear to appreciate thickets of Lantana for their shade and seclusion in degraded areas. Birds in the Western Ghats such as Red Vented Bulbul and Red Whiskered Bulbuls feed on Lantana berries. Butterflies feed on Lanta-na flower nectar. What remains enigmatic is what happens with species such as the Black Bulbul and Yellow Browed Bulbul which are associated with intact forests. A list of butterflies if any, which have been able to adapt to Lantana for laying eggs on which their caterpillars can feed successfully, needs to be acquired through detailed studies. Thus ef-fects of infestation by exotic plants may have a much greater impact on forest biodiversity in the Western Ghats than is generally believed. A sto-chastic or cyclic event such as flowering of bam-boo or Strobilanthus could lead to a rapid spread of an invasive species. Such an event could virtu-ally destroy habitat quality of an ESA. The species composition and density of a faunal community is thus dependant on weed infestation which is a phe-nomenon which remains essentially unexplored in the Ghats. Weed infestation is linked closely to cor-ridor effectiveness in the Ghats.

In the Western Ghats the streams are impor-tant natural riparian corridors. For example nal-las are frequented by species such as the Malabar Whistling thrush. Surrounding deforestation al-ters stream flow converting perennial or long flow duration streams, into short flow duration, or dry stream beds immediately after the rains. In such situations the corridor effect of riparian vegetation is severally compromised.

Old growth ‘deorais’ can act as stepping stones for birds such as the Great Pied hornbill.

The efficiency of the habitat to support a com-plete compliment of plant and animal species is thus a cumulative effect of a vast combination of factors operating at the landscape level in the Ghats ecosystem.

According to a study conducted by Das et alseveral of the prioritized unprotected areas in the Western Ghats are under Reserve Forests and can

thus be incorporated into a wider network of con-servation areas. Such areas would undoubtedly be capable of linking at least some of the ‘better’ patches of forests.

After restoring a corridor through a series of ini-tiatives it is important to assess whether the newly created corridor is capable of performing the de-sired ecological functions. It is also important to study the structure and existing ecological status of the recipient habitat patches. Inferior ecological status of recipient habitat patches may have an ad-verse effect on the target species as well as on the corridor. Corridors may act as sinks if patches that are linked are not appropriately conserved. While evaluating corridor functions it is important that the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, habitats, species, and natural features of the landscape are taken into account.

Potential Corridors within the Northern Western Ghats

Purna Wildlife Sanctuary to Vansda National Park

PA: Vansda National Park – Too small but of good biological value with mixed and Nature Dry Deciduous and Moist Deciduous Teak with herds of cheetal in a single pocket, leopard, Felix chaus, Jackal, accessioned sightings of Rusty spotted cat.

PA: Purna Wildlife Sanctuary – Disturbed by agriculture in PF – Natural teak plantations and some mixed forests. Good habitat for birdlife.

PA: ESAS surrounding the PAs overlap and in-clude a viable corridor of dry deciduous forest.

Forest: Has good quality old Teak trees in Dry Deciduous forests across most of the Reserve For-est patches but fragmented by Protected Forest with extensive agriculture.

Forest: Fragmented by traditional ‘rab’ agricul-ture which has escalated during the last 20 years

Forest: Connectivity possible through riverine tracts of important rivers.

Fauna : Few endangered endemic mammals – Rusty Spotted Cat, Leopard

Fauna: Important Bird Area

Forest corridoring: Forest patches large to mod-

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erate size but convoluted edges and some corridor-ing possible.

Corridor: Importance of riverine tracts as corri-dors which will require ecorestoration.

Corridor : Natural forest corridoring present be-tween some patches of Reserve Forest

Corridor: Corridoring possible through ecores-toration especially for forest patches, but difficult in Protected Forest areas.

Impact : Traditional agriculture by rab, some evidence of hunting for food

Impact: By roads especially along single main tract from Nasik via Saputara to Balsar and Billi-moria.

Vansda National Park to Sanjay Gandhi National Park

Long narrow corridor through Surgana, Peint, Nashik, Igatpuri

Forest: Fragmented

Corridor: Will require ecorestoration

Impact: Roads, agriculture, settlements

Sanjay Gandhi National Park through Tansa Wildlife Sanctuary and Kalsubai Harishchan-dragadh Wildlife Sanctuary to Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary

PA : Potential PA of Father Santapeau Sanctu-ary not notified as suggested by Rodger and Pan-war (1988)

Forest : Excellent but fragmented forest patches of moderate size around Bhimashankar

Forest : Moderate size of patches, isolation of patches of natural forest in and around Bhimashan-kar

Water bodies (Catchment): Valwan and Shi-rowata are high priority catchments without any villages and low pressures from outside the catch-ment. All other catchments with villages and ag-ricultural land (Rab) with relatively high pressure

Fauna : Important Bird Area recorded at INS Shivaji by BNHS

Fauna: Important ex situ breeding facility for Mahseer fish which have been introduced into

Andhra, Valwan, Shirowata and Mulshi lakes.

Corridor: Priority patch for corridor to Bhi-mashankar-WLS.

Corridor: Important existing corridor of natu-ral forest (between Bhimashankar and Koyna), but parts of it broken by Expressway between Mumbai – Pune in addition to the National Highway and railway tracks.

Corridor : Important lateral westward offshoot corridors to Tansa, Borivali (Sanjay Gandhi Na-tional Park) and Bhimashankar, Alcota Matheran (ESA)

Corridor : Important for corridoring southward to Koyna

Impact – Mumbai – Pune Expressway with high traffic density, air pollution, landslides, forest deg-radation, and road kills of wildlife. (Requires WL passages)

Impact –Urbanization of Lonavala – Khandala expansion

Impact – New township and access road to Sa-hara which is a large unbridgeable gap.

Impact - PA to have been developed as a com-pensation for mitigating impact of Mumbai – Pune Expressway which has NOT been implemented.

Impact: Religious tourism, solid waste overbur-den, water pollution and over utilization of forest resources in Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary.

Hills Stations HS: Priority patch for corridor to Matheran notified ESA for hill station.

Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary to Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary

PA: Potential PA as suggested but not notified in Mahabaleshwar. (Rodger and Panwar (1988))

PA: Koyna WLS, backwaters of great biodiver-sity conservation value

PA: Excellent tall semi evergreen forest – Koyna backwaters and – West bank of lake

Forest : Moderate size patches of intact RF

Forest : Northern most well preserved RF patch-es of evergreen and semi evergreen vegetation around Mahabaleshwar seen at a high elevation in

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a high rainfall belt

Forest : Good patches of natural forest – Tam-hini – Dongarwadi - Adarwadi

Forest : Fragmentation – moderate

Forest : Isolation – minimal

Forest : Excellent stunted semi-evergreen Mem-ecylon forests at ridge

Forest Ecosystem: Panchgani and Kas plateaus of great importance for endemic and endangered monsoonal flora. Several similar laterite plateaus of value have been identified

Fauna : Giant squirrel present in patches, also tiger, leopard, sambar, gaur

Fauna : IBA recognized internationally – BNHS

Corridor: Relatively intact natural forest corri-dor in patches between Bhimashankar WLS and Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary to be protected through an important ESA through a corridor system de-veloped by ecorestoration of catchment areas.

Corridor: Important off shoot corridor to Kar-nala WLS.

Impact : Lonavala complex – heavily urbanized

Impact : Major break in corridor due to Mumbai – Pune Expressway and highway

Impact : Widened Road between Pune and Ma-had

Impact : Gaps at Sahara and Lavasa townships

Impact: Unauthorized Construction in Maha-baleshwar – Panchgani and intervening tracts.

Impact : Moderate amount of ‘rab’ cultivation

Sacred groves: Nearly 40 odd sacred groves of Mulshi and Mawal. Some well preserved and an-cient patches, mostly from 0-4 ha in size.

Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary to Chandoli Wildlife Sanctuary

Forest: Intact evergreen and semi evergreen

Forest: Existing corridor for wildlife

Corridor: Well developed natural, short, wide corridor exists

Chandoli Wildlife Sanctuary to Radhanagari

Wildlife Sanctuary

PA: Chandoli is one of the most important PA in Maharashtra for WG typical evergreen and semi evergreen formations.

Fauna: Presence of largest population density of Gaur, possibly tiger, leopard, and sambar popula-tions.

Fauna : To be developed into only Tiger Reserve in northern Western Ghats

Fauna : Recognized IBA

Impact: Large feral buffalo population.

Impact: Mining operations within 10 Km ESA surround with no buffer area.

PA: Radhanagari is an important PA of Western Ghats – Large size, good patches of intact forest and large plateau.

Forest: Intact continuous evergreen and semi ev-ergreen forest.

Forest: Continuous Forest canopy in ESA sur-round.

Forest: Very low fragmentation, no isolation of fragments.

Fauna: Best specimens of Gaur in northern Western Ghats with high population density. Also has Sambar, Barking deer, Wild boar, excellent population of forest birds, thrushes, babblers, war-blers, and flycatchers.

Fauna : Important Bird Area recognized by BNHS

Corridor : Viable natural forest corridors both to the North towards Chandoli and South wants to Protected Areas of Goa

Impact : Impacts – initial urbanization

Impact: Impact of mining is a severe on-going threat.

Radhanagari Wildlife Sanctuary to all Goa Sanc-tuaries

PA: The Protected Areas include 3 or 4 of the contiguous areas with overlapping ESA surrounds thus requiring no special corridor.

Forest: Continuous tall evergreen forest forma-

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tion.

Forest: High level of fragmentation in certain sectors due to mining

Fauna: Gaur, Sambar, Leopard, Lesser cats.

Corridor: Good possibilities for corridoring, short and wide existing corridor.

Impact: Mining is a major impact on the con-servation potential of the region and damages the corridor.

CONCLUSION

There are some important parameters for priori-tisation. An area that is intimately connected with an adjacent ESA of the same category is better as the floral and faunal community would be similar, thus permitting and promoting movement and ge-netic heterozygosity within each of its component species. If represented by a gap or some other cat-egory of ESA the specialist species are likely to be different. Thus even though apparently linked to an adjacent ESA the different category of the ESA may constitute a gap for a particular habitat spe-cific species.

In each category the relative importance of each ESA must carefully be rated. The Pranob Sen Com-mittee in 2000 (Sen 2000) stated that ‘the technical expertise available to the Government at present for evaluating ecological sensitivity or fragility and de-marcating the area concerned is extremely limited’ ….. ‘Each (agency) has a very specific focus and none at present are focused on mapping of ESAs. During the last decade the use of geoinformatics has grown considerably. Large areas have been worked on. For example in Maharashtra a large exercise has been done to produce maps and data to redefine the boundaries and reduce the size of the GIB grassland Sanctuary in Maharashtra from 8000 Sq. Km. of grassland in Reserve Forest to 1200 Sq. km. Similar studies to look at corridoring and other wildlife parameters using GIS have been done at Bharati Vidyapeeth Institute of Environ-ment Education and Research. Several other stud-ies in different regions have been conducted even in the Western Ghats (Bharucha 2000). Thus while the capacity has grown in the field of ecological mapping the parameter and assessment criteria to

establish a rating scale has remained elusive. This is now increasingly essential.

In the Western Ghats a particular area can be con-sidered an ESA on one or more than one ground. Thus it may include various categories each being given a different rating based on both quantitative objective measurable parameters and qualitative value judgments. This gives a more precise rating based on parameters such as biological values and extent of threat. This provides a balanced scoring tool that may give rise to a better outcome. For ex-ample National Parks would have a greater rating than Sanctuaries. Unique areas and micro – eco-systems or niches would be given higher scores. Large continuous forests belts have greater scores than small patches within an area. Areas with en-dangered or endemic species as well as common species at an optimal level of the carrying capacity of an area have higher ratings for species. Small relict natural formations such as plateau tops must be given a high rating for their number of endemic flora.

In terms of species and rating their abundance or rarity as well as importance has been attempted by several studies. Species with a low tolerance to habitat destruction have limited ecological am-plitude. The level of threat (risk) of extinction in-creases from rare species to vulnerable in the mid-term, to endangered where extinction may result in the wild in a short period of time. This is a strong criterion for placing an ESA within an ecologically important category at the top of the rating scale. An endangered species in all likelihood could lose 50% of its individuals within the next three genera-tion of the species (IUCN Category of Endangered Species).

The tool for evaluating the importance of a patch of forest as a valuable landscape element within a wider landscape that includes natural as well as man-modified patterns forming a complex mosaic must be rated depending on the local situ-ation. Here no quantified values are possible and a qualitative but carefully judged rating based on ecological functions, naturalness, uniqueness and other qualitative judgments are at times even more accurate than quantified notional values based on numerical values alone.

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Evergreen forests in the Northern Western Ghats are as important as the ‘sholas’. They have a low resilience and once their canopy is disrupted are rapidly recolonized by a range of species which are not from the local evergreen plant community.

On the slopes – both, the western escarpment and parts of the eastern aspect the gradient and to-pography are important factors to suggest relative importance within this category which is often seen in catchment areas of dams. The steeper the slope the greater its ecological sensitivity as erosion land-slides and siltation levels creates serious impacts on the longevity of the dams. Slopes that are steeper than 20 are considered moderately steep and form a dividing line for the level of ecological sensitive-ness (Sen 2000).

Several experts with whom this project has been discussed feel that this is the last time that an effort can be made to preserve the biological values of the Western Ghats. The planning exercise would have to consider various views of a wide range of stakeholders and bring about a consensus before any steps are taken to implement new ESAs.

The major concerns include a review of the existing data on ecosystem and species diversity. There should be in place plans to collect data on gaps in knowledge and to increase appreciation of the various impacts on the environment. An understanding of the management needs of each ESA category. Geoinformatics and ground surveys for planning corridors should be used. Finally the complex exercise of prioritization in terms of fu-ture landuse should be attempted.

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CHAPTER 6: IMPLEMENTATION AND MANAGEMENT

In several situations the implementation of conservation has not occurred in India due to inadequate planning, lack of political will,

or poor monitoring and evaluation. Knight et al (2006) stress the need to use well-tested tools such as area selection algorithms and principles that in-clude representation and complementarity which have to be used during implementation of a locale specific conservation plan (Knight, Cowling, and Campbell 2006). In the Western Ghats the ESA must be based on these concerns. The current MEE – Management Effective Evaluation being implemented by MOEF through the WII for PAs and Tiger Reserves shows that the gaps in imple-mentation are related to issues such as inadequate-ly trained manpower, delays in funding etc. These issues will have to be considered in managing the functions of the ESAs. We may know how to plan but do not know how to implement and achieve the objectives of the ESAs. Once initiated the Western Ghats Authority must be endowed with autonomy

which enables its functionaries and its selected ex-pert professional institutions to implement conser-vation action. This will require a broad consensus on which different line agencies in Government at Centre and State level should be empowered to act and to select stake holders who can effectively play a significant role through PPP to implement the objectives of ESAs. People support is said to be the most important strategy to create the approximate milieu for conservation.

Once initiated a regular review of activities through conservation assessment techniques would have to be put into place. Planning the in-dividual activities that can lead to successful man-agement of ESAs goes beyond prioritization based on appropriate site selection, capacity building, in situ conservation, corridoring etc. It will require a number of individuals who are trained and em-powered to put the ESAs management in an ac-tion oriented mode. It implies not only an under-standing of biological needs of the ESAs but the

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social and economic background in which they are situated. (Knight, Cowling, and Campbell 2006) propose clear components for ‘doing’ conservation planning.

The ESAs prioritized in the different categories will require an implementation strategy, capacity building of executives and front line staff and col-laborative and participative management. A sys-tematic conservation assessment tool will have to be put into place which is followed by operational models and evaluation of the success of manage-ment.

Don Faber–Langendoen (2007) demonstrates how Ecological Integrity Assessments assists in ecological classification through remote sensing, rapid assessment, intensive assessment and metrics documentation. The tool uses key ecological attri-butes and indicators for ranking biotic attributes, abiotic conditions, and area and landscape contest. An EIA score card is used to rank a particular area providing an ecological integrity rank.

There is a need to study the tree, shrub, climber and ground flora in each of the ESAs to be able to monitor the effectiveness of conservation before and periodically after implementation in the ESA by the Western Ghats Authority. This can be done by a periodic evaluation of woody and non- woody herbivorous vegetation.

There cannot be a single strategy to adequately protect the different ESA categories. As PAs, ESA of 10 kms around PAs, RF areas, and the three ESA – Hill stations already have their own protec-tion strategies these can continue to be governed by their existing acts, norms, rules and Court Orders.

It is other areas outside these relatively protected categories that require sustainable governance on a category-wise set of conditions that require urgent attention and a time – bound Rapid Action Plan. This includes a complete cessation by Regional and Town Planners for permitting or creating new townships, new hill stations, further construction in other existing hill stations, such as Panhala or urbanizing of areas such as the plateau tops, such as Kas.

A few guidelines on what can, may or not be done in each of these landuse elements need to be

developed through an Action Plan.

The ESAs are currently multiple – use areas with primarily an agro pastoral traditional based land use management. This is less damaging than more intensive farming, urbanization, road building, dam construction of the adjacent valleys etc. There is no need to curtail the activities of traditional farming except to reduce the frequency of hill slope cultivation, free uncontrolled grazing, prevent an-nual lighting of fires, and continual extraction of fuel wood and NTFP collection for sale.

This means that an alternate income generation model has to be developed for these local people especially so that there is no temptation for selling their lands to other types of land users such as farm houses, roadside, small time or large hoteliers, busi-ness and small scale industries that can together constitute a major cumulative threat.

Any tourism activity must be based on the prin-ciples of real ‘ecotourism’ which means that the strategy and activities must minimize its impacts on ecology and that the income generated must go to local people as a means towards alternate income generation and low impact form of home stay tourism rather than five star tourist complexes where the income generated goes to big business. The financial returns must go to local people as an alternate income generation strategy that reduces their impacts on the land and its resources. Low impact forms of home stays rather than five-star tourism (where the income generated actually acts as a draw for builders, hoteliers, land grabbers etc. has to become a part of an ecodevelopment initia-tive.)

While demands for more water will trigger more dams it is more appropriate to enhance the survival of existing impoundments by eliminating soil ero-sion, ecosensitive afforestation by using local tree species, especially focusing on those that have key stone properties, are rare or endemic to the West-ern Ghats.

Traditionally managed “deorai’s” should be managed through “as is where is” strategies with clear moratoriums on building temples within them, or expanding existing tribal shrines to ac-commodate gods other than the existing forest

deity. An education awareness drive in the local language and by local experts such as ecologists, anthropologists, social scientists, naturalists and NGOs should be used to advise local pujaris on the need to use the groves only for local people rather than opening them up to external religious tourism from adjacent towns except perhaps once a year. This will prevent problems such as trampling of seedlings, water pollution of stream courses, exces-sive garbage especially of plastic bags and bottles etc. within the site.

While road transport needs will continue to grow the demands to widen roads must be strategically denied by more stringent monitoring of EIAs. Bet-ter traffic control and policing, preventing double laneing due to overtaking, installing camera traps, traffic education are alternatives to unnecessary road widening plans. New alignments except to ac-cess villages that have remained unconnected will have to be permanently stalled.

All mining activities which destabilize soil and degrade forest cover will have to be prevented in areas designated as ESAs.

Outside ESAs these activities must follow very stringently the ecorestoration norms with an over-riding plan to use only local tree species, recreate the shrub layer and climbers and encourage the reformation of locally relevant ground flora espe-cially of important species such as endemic and endangered ground flora.

A major concern is the conservation of outlying hill ranges to the east of the main ridge and the out-crops and low plateaus or isolated hills adjacent to the Western Ghats in the Deccan to the east and on the coastal plain in the West. Such hills and elevat-ed areas can have immense bioresources with en-demic and endangered ground flora and their fau-nal inhabitants such as amphibian, reptiles, birds and mammals. Some of these may be more vital and / or threatened than similar populations in the Ghats themselves. This would have to be dealt with on a case to case basis as they would be outside the Western Ghats.

MANAGEMENT AND INSTITUTION-AL ARRANGEMENTS

The management for ESA’s of the Western Ghats

cannot consist of a single strategy as their conser-vation values, impacts and needs vary in different ESA categories and locations along the range.

Thus there is a need to group these varied eco-logically sensitive sites into specific categories and develop a strategy using specific management cri-teria for each ESAs type. The categories suggested are based on their specific objectives which are re-lated to a combination of factors that include eco-nomic development, local societal requirements, and most importantly for maintaining their ecolog-ical integrity. The last includes preserving genetic species and ecosystem diversity.

Some of these ecologically sensitive sites may already have institutionalized protective strategies such as NPs or WL Sanctuaries; Reserved For-ests, or preserved as traditionally protected sacred groves. Others may not have any protection at all and thus require a new set of legal provisions as ESAs, with new relevant rules and institutional ar-rangements for their protection. In some instances the sites may be so small that only locally relevant strategies can be used to protect them as ESAs.

All these different sites would fall under one or more categories within the umbrella of a network of ESAs in the Western Ghats.

The categories constituted as ESAs from a man-agement perspective are linked closely to land ten-ure and impacts from development. While some of the sites have great conservation significance they may also suffer from high levels of biotic pressures. Their conservation values may be depleted unless protective measures are rapidly instituted. Others may have lower conservation value but have low biotic pressures and may thus remain stable. How-ever their status could be enhanced by ecorestor-ative strategies. A high biodiversity value and a low biotic pressure would constitute the most impor-tant ESAs. In such situation long term preserva-tion through an ESA would lead to the most posi-tive results. Preventing unsustainable development from extending into such ESAs is the key strategy to be instituted in these sites.

Low conservation status areas with existing high impacts may be worthless and the costs of revers-ing degradation trends may be too high to be of

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any significant value.

The framework for the strategy to be used at a site can be developed by using a template as giv-en below. This can be filled for each Taluka in the Western Ghats.

Type (ESA category)

ConservationValue-Status

Impactlevel Strategy

Once a conservation strategy based on locale specific conditions is evolved for a Taluka, it is es-sential to identify the implementing agency – For-est Department, Revenue Department, Private agencies, NGOs, local people. A set of Rules and Regulations to manage each category must be for-mulated. These can be based on a modification of Rules used in the Wildlife Protection Act (1972); Forest Conservation Act (1980); Water Act (1974); Environment Protection Act (1986) etc. Relevant Rules that can be effectively modified for ESAs from these Acts are given in the section on Judicial Concerns.

Planning and designing an appropriate conser-vation development program for the future of the Western Ghats is now an urgent need. This stems from the enormous pressures on landuse based on the need for a rapid economic growth without any thought for its long-term sustainability.

The landscape in the Ghats currently consists of a patchwork of forests, narrowed degraded shrub land corridors, dam catchments etc. in a matrix of agriculture and degraded areas that constitute gaps between existing PAs. The PAs are nodes in the Western Ghats landscape that have significant pop-ulations of wild species of flora and fauna (Noss and Harris 1986).

The status and landuse pattern of these nodes and the existence of functional corridoring is a key conservation concern. Cores, buffers and bridges between forested patches must constitute a homog-enous management entity. In the Ghats this will require a conceptual framework, a review of the existing situation and a highly locality and species specific strategy. The complexity in management stems primarily from the multiple agencies in-volved in land management. Integrating their var-

ied functions into a unified perception related to the concerns of ESAs in the Ghats is a major issue for the proposed Western Ghats Authority.

The principles of management for ESAs should include the following:

1. Maintaining large continuous patch sizes rather than small multiple fragments

2. Creating well connected corridor between fragments is better than improving isolated patches

3. Closely contiguous patches are better than isolated patches

4. Widest possible natural corridors are better than restored ones

5. Sensitive management of Protected Area surrounds for local use with a reduction in conflict is the key to conservation

There are two processes that will have to be used in implementing ESAs. They are ecorestoration and ecodevelopment. Both have linkages to sus-tainable development. However, they are different approaches with certain parallel and even diver-gent objectives. These will require developing new management strategies with new structures and lo-cal capacity development.

This review has demonstrated the complexity of creating a management strategy for the future well-being of the ecology the biological diversity and the economic development of local people of the Western Ghats. To plan a sustainable development package that is suitable for an ecologically sensitive region of global and national importance for pres-ervation of its biological assets will require a great deal of locale specific planning taking into account the local people’s needs.

While the whole region is ecologically sensitive it is related to the different landscape elements that constitute a mosaic of different categories. Thus the region as a whole is not equally suitable for differ-ent forms of development. Within each landscape element the level of sensitiveness differs. This rang-es from extremely fragile, highly sensitive, less sen-sitive. All activities would have some impact on the biodiversity at either genetic, species or ecosystem levels. However as the level of sensitivity differs

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significantly with the different categories it would be essential to define the types of activity that may be permitted in certain areas within strong mitiga-tion and monitoring measures laid down for each category. This would range from hands off areas to those that would be least threatening to the existing status of biological diversity.

In fact the objective of the Management Plan for the region should be able to enhance the security of regional biodiversity by two types of strategies. The first is to prevent further degradation. The sec-ond is to enhance ‘naturalness’.

As within each landuse category the level of sen-sitivity differs the pattern of sustainable develop-ment differs. This is extremely relevant where the area is irreplaceable due to the presence of a spe-cies or a group of species that are pocketed into a tiny fragment.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Several concerns related to ecological sensitiv-ity of the Western Ghats are issues linked to a sustainable development strategy for the region. Traditional land management systems which were thought to be damaging now appear insignificant when compared to recent impacts due to landuse change.

Ecodevelopment is primarily concerned with an ecologically sensitive human development pro-gram aimed at improving the quality of life of local people of the Western Ghats. Its primary pillars in-clude sustainable economic growth, health, nutri-tion, housing, energy needs without compromising in any way the health of the ecosystem and its bio-logical diversity. The needs of the program would obviously centre around agro-pastoral and fishing communities.

Ecodevelopment as defined by the UN is a form of development at regional and local levels consis-tent with the potentials of the area involved, with attention given to the adequate and rational use of natural resources, technological styles and organi-sational forms that respect natural ecosystems and local social and cultural patterns (United Nations, New York, 1997).

Agroforestry in the Western Ghats of peninsu-lar India and the satoyama landscapes of Japan: a comparison of two sustainable land use sys-tems- Agroforestry in the Western Ghats (WG) of peninsular India and Satoyama in rural Japan are traditional land-use systems with similar evo-lutionary trajectories. Some of their relevance was lost by the middle of the twentieth century, when modern agricultural technologies and urbanisation engineered shifts in emphasis towards maximising crop production. There has been, however, a re-surgence of interest in traditional land-use systems recently, in view of their ability to provide ecosys-tem services. Both agroforestry and satoyama are thought to be harbingers of biological diversity and have the potential to serve as “carbon forests.” Carbon (C) stock estimates of the sampled home gardens in WG ranged from 16 to 36 Mg/ha. Sa-toyama woodlands owing to variations in tree stocking and management conditions indicated widely varying C stocks (2–279 Mg/ha). Agrofor-estry and satoyama also differ in nature, complex-ity, and objectives. While agroforestry involves key productive and protective functions, and adopts ‘intensive management’, the satoyama woodlands are extensively managed; understory production is seldom a consideration. Differences in canopy architecture (multi-tiered structure of agroforestry vs. the more or less unitary canopy of satoyama)

Terms used for Appreciating Ecosensitivity

Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs): KBAs are an overlapping subset of the existing and potential PAs (Lang-hammer et al. 2007).

Irreplaceability and Vulnerability are the most important aspects of conservation planning. Irreplaceability is related to uniqueness. Vulnerability deals with irreplaceability if threats continue unabated. High irreplace-ability and high vulnerability requires heightened levels of urgent actions.

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and land ownership pattern (privately owned/managed agroforestry holdings vs. community or local government or privately owned and mostly abandoned satoyamas) pose other challenges in the transfer and application of knowledge gained in one system to the other. Nonetheless, lessons learnt from satoyama conservation may be suitable for common pool resource management elsewhere in Asia, and aspects relating to understory produc-tion in agroforestry may be relevant for satoyama under certain scenarios.

In the Western Ghats the old settlements were most frequently a string of small hamlets at the foot of the mountain range. The local agro pastoralists of the northern Western Ghats were Marathas, and tribal communities such as the Bhils and the Koknas. In the Dangs they are frequently Bhil tribal folk and the Koknas who evidently migrat-ed northwards from the Konkan to take over Bhil lands. This altered the primarily hunting gathering Bhils who lived off the forest produce towards an agro pastoral system of rab (Worah 1991). This type of fragmented forest is seen in the rest of the Sahyadris. Newer trends in farming are more inten-sive but may be less dependent on forest biomass. The most recent trends however in the Dangs is to sell the teak illegally. In Maharashtra, in some ar-eas, the rising price of land has led to one time sale at a high price to urban land sharks, who take over lands purely for speculation. Agricultural lands thus remain fallow till urbanisation, electrification and water supply catch up with the speculators.

ECORESTORATION

Ecologically oriented restoration of land de-pends on what one wishes to achieve at the end of the program. The question is restored to what state? Before human intervention? Pre history? Historical times? A century ago? W. A. Rodgers often put this question in perspective when he was teaching at the Wildlife Institute of India. Current-ly in the Western Ghats one would wish to restore ecosystems so that all its biological diversity can be retained in the long term.

The Society for Ecological Restoration Inter-national defines ecorestoration as the process of assisting in the recover of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged or destroyed. Restoration

attempts to return an ecosystem to its historical tra-jectory (Clewell, Aronson, and Winterhalder 2004)

Habitat improvement strategies in the Western Ghats would require local people’s initiatives. It would also be supported by an increasing num-ber of conservationists – nature watchers, birders, wildlife photographers as well as the ‘recreation-ists’ who want to experience what ‘nature’ is for its own sake. The latter are conservation conscious individuals who believe in the intrinsic ‘good’ of the wilderness. They believe in the existence value of natural ecosystems and wish that the wilderness must be preserved for its aesthetic appeal. While the importance of protecting all species and in-dividuals that are alive, that is based on Hindu, Buddhists, and Jain philosophers, these concepts have not been used to support the cause of biodi-versity conservation. This societal value, such as preservation of sacred groves by tribal folk in the Ghats has been essentially left out of our modern conservation philosophy. The ESAs must rely or these locally important philosophies of life. Re-storing natural vegetation as attempted by the Tata Power Company in Mawal Taluka was initi-ated by setting up nurseries for over 40 species of trees found in the less disturbed patches of forest in their catchment areas. Concomitantly soil and water conservation measures were taken up in the degraded parts of the catchments of the dams. Old Eucalyptus and Acacia auriculoformis plantations were interplanted with local species of trees grown to a height of 1 to 1.5 meters in large sacks in the nursery for 3 to 4 years. The overall effect on biodi-versity was dramatic in restored areas after around 10 years. It showed an increase in abundance of forest canopy bird species, as well as birds such as grey jungle fowl and spur fowl in the regenerating ground cover. The area acted as a training facility for environmental education and nature awareness for visitors, trekkers and for guided school visits by BVIEER. Teacher educators of BVIEER were able to use the facility to train a large number of lo-cal school teachers on the use of field studies. The fringe benefits of this program thus elicited large social and educational outcomes. School students exposed to the facility imbibed concepts such as ecosystems, food chains and food webs not only through a greater degree of understanding but with

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the excitement of personally experiencing the joy of discovering nature. A respect for nature was an obvious outcome of this action oriented environ-ment education program.

Local residents around the catchment benefited from better and longer stream flows after the mon-soon.

In Lonavala large groups of monsoon trekkers, stream and waterfall picnickers have grown to unsustainable limits where the fun and games ap-proach exceeds the number of real nature enthu-siasts who require peace and tranquillity. This ex-pands the role of ecorestoration in these ESAs so that the needs of both groups can be accommodat-ed at sustainable levels. Large scale irresponsible tourism would negate the effects of ecorestoration of ESAs beyond a threshold of their carrying ca-pacity. Such activities would drive off wildlife from even adequately restored habitats. The ESAs can be used by local people to gain a self-controlled sustainable access to NTFP, consumptive use of fuel wood and grazing. Better quality and access to water sources would be a definite social benefit. Ecotourism could bring home to local people on alternate source of income. Education can be sup-ported through field visits for school students in the ESA to demonstrate changes in the ecosystem de-veloped through ecorestoration. Briefly, this strate-gy towards sustainable ecorestorative development would bring about a better quality of life for local inhabitants.

The first step to planning at the landscape level is to document a series of ecologically distinctive types. These must be categorized into those that have similar management regimes under different landscape managers.

This includes:

1. Revenue lands – Revenue Department

2. Forest lands – Foresters

3. Soil and water conservation - Forest Depart-ment

4. Agriculture, traditional / Irrigated – Agricul-ture Department

5. Dam catchments – Irrigation Department

6. Village surrounds – Panchayats, Forest Pro-tection Committees

7. Urban fringes – Regional and Town Planners

8. New Townships – Regional Planners

Each of these landscape element managers are involved with their own land tenure concerns in the Western Ghats. The Western Ghats Authority would have to be empowered to use its ability to bring in a consensus and finality to a participatory sustainable development paradigm with a view to conserving the all important biological diversity of this globally recognized hot spot.

ECOTOURISM

The ecotourism potential of the Ghats can bring about an alternate income generation source for local people without compromising on the ecosys-tem or altering its landscape features. The detailing has to be done on a village to village basis and re-quires capacity building in hygiene, water manage-ment and interpretation facilities. The major pre-determining aspect is to study the tourism carrying capacity of the ecotourism site before the program is implemented.

IMPLEMENTATION OF CORRIDORS

This appears to be one of the most critical as-pects of the program of ESA management. The selection of the sites and development of locale specific managerial skills is crucial to long term success of managing a complex network of ESAs.

NEED FOR EDUCATION AND AWARENESS

This will require a multitude of strategies begin-ning with school teachers and students, communi-ties, Government officials and Policy makers. Thus must be a precursor to any local programs and im-plemented by professional environment educators with a special interest in Education for Sustainable Development. Community participation in conser-vation awareness programs and development of lo-cale specific educational material is a key to a suc-cessful ecodevelopment initiative for ecosensitive locations in the northern Western Ghats.

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Implementation of the ESAs cannot be car-ried out without a formal legal instrument that supports the Authority with the powers to

execute programs and limit alterations in landuse that would destroy the Ghats’ biological diversity. A large number of Acts, Rules and Regulations al-ready exist which can be utilized for this purpose. A brief review of such laws and rules has been quoted here where individual sections are of rele-vance for management of ESAs. However, a single Comprehensive Act of Parliament would undoubt-edly be a better option in the long term.

The comments on the legislators need to be de-bated with expert environmental lawyers to bring about a Comprehensive Act.

All laws have been taken from the Website of the Ministry of Environment and Forest, Government of India. These annexures are of relevance to op-erationalzing the protection required for ecologi-cally sensitive areas in Western Ghats. They are to be used in constituting guidelines and Rules that would be utilized by a statutory Authority in the Western Ghats in each of the states. The under-

lined sections are of greater relevance in formulat-ing policies administrative and legal instruments for the ESAs. The comments are provided for emphasizing how there existing provisions can be used or modified to protect ESAs.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ACT, 1986

Implementation of Ecologically Sensitive Areas in the Western Ghat

The Ecologically Sensitive Areas will require that the Western Ghat Authority has powers to frame policy, create rules for its implementation at Central, State and Local levels; and develop a le-gal instrument that is specifically developed for the Western Ghats. This will require setting up a Di-rectorate for the Western Ghat in the MOEF and Executive Officers in the five related states.

Comment/Suggestion for Western Ghats Au-thority:

The Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986 can be suitably modified for Ecologically Sensitive Ar-eas. Several of its clauses can be used to regulate

CHAPTER 7: JUDICIAL CONCERNS

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Ecologically Sensitive Areas. The EPA Rules de-fines ‘sensitive areas’ as area whose ecological bal-ance is prone to be easily disturbed.

Ministry of Environment and Forests(Department of Environment, Forest and Wildlife)

Notification

New Delhi, the 19th November, 1986

The EPA Rules defines ‘sensitive areas’ as an area whose ecological balance is prone to be easily disturbed.

Comment/Suggestion for Western Ghats Au-thority:

These sites in the Western Ghats need to be se-lected and categorized to make this an effective set of norms. The implementing agency will have to be authorized and empowered to make decisions as land tenure varies throughout the Ghats. This includes Revenue lands, Forest, Irrigation and Pan-chayati lands.

Quote:

5. Prohibitions and restrictions on the location of industries and the carrying out processes and operations in different areas

(1) The Central Government may take into con-sideration the following factors while prohibiting or restricting the location of industries and carrying on of processes and operations in different areas:-

(i) Standards for quality of environment in its various aspects laid down for an area.

(ii) The maximum allowable limits of concentra-tion of various environment pollutants (including noise) for an area.

(iii) The likely emissions or discharge of envi-ronmental pollution from an industry, process or operation proposed to be prohibited or restricted,

(iv) The topography and climatic features of an area

(v) The biological diversity of the area which, in the opinion of the Central Government needs to be preserved.

(vi) Environmentally compatible land use.

(vii) Net adverse environmental impact likely to

be caused by an industry, process or operation pro-posed to be prohibited or restricted.

(viii) Proximity to a protected area under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 or a sanctuary, National Park, game reserve or closed area notified as such un-der the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 or places protected under any treaty, agreement or conven-tion with any other country or countries or in pur-suance of any decision made in any international conference association or other body.

(ix) Proximity to human settlements.

(x) Any other factors as may be considered by the Central Government to be relevant to the pro-tection of the environment in an area.

Comment/Suggestion for Western Ghats Au-thority:

The pressure on Ecologically Sensitive Areas de-clared by the Western Ghat Authority will require a similar set of provisions. This could be done by using the EPA itself or creating similar rules for ESAs by the Western Ghat Authority. Implemen-tation will require state level agencies for effective management.

WILDLIFE PROTECTION ACT, AMENDED 1993

There are several clauses in the Wildlife Protec-tion Act, the Indian Forest Act and the Forest Con-servation Act which must be used to provide pro-tection for make the Ecologically Sensitive Areas. A few of these clauses could be effectively modi-fied to be used by the Western Ghat Authority in managing Ecologically Sensitive Areas.

Wildlife Protection Act amended in 1993

Sanctuaries:

24. Acquisition of rights. – (1) In the case of a claim to a right in or over any land referred to in Sec.19, the Collector shall pass an order admitting or rejecting the same in whole or in part.

(2) If such claim is admitted in whole or in part, the Collector may either

(a) exclude such land from the limits of the pro-

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posed sanctuary, or

(b) proceed to acquire such land or rights, except where by an agreement between the owner of such land or the holder of rights and the Government the owner or holder of such rights has agreed to surrender his rights to the Government, in or over such land, and payment of such compensation, as is provided in the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (1 of 1894) [4(c) allow, in consultation with the Chief Wildlife Warden, the continuance of any right of any person in, or over any land within the limits of the sanctuary.]

Comment/Suggestion for the Western Ghat Au-thority:

In the Ecologically Sensitive Areas a similar pro-cedure for setting of rights in corridor areas and areas of special ecological value would have to be passed by the Western Ghats Authority. Without similar provisions effective management would not be possible. A major concern is that this cannot be done without eliciting the cooperation of local people.

[5(26A) Declaration of area as Sanctuary. –(1) When –

(a) a notification has been issued under sec.18 and the period for preferring claim has elapsed, and all claims, if any, made in relation to any land in an area intended to be declared as a sanctuary, have been disposed of by the State Government; or (b) any area comprised within any reserve forest or any part of the territorial waters, which is con-sidered by the State Government to be of adequate ecological, faunal, geomorphological, natural or zoological significance for the purpose of protect-ing, propagating or developing wildlife or its envi-ronment, is to be included in a sanctuary, the State Government shall issue a notification specifying the limits of the area which shall be comprised within the sanctuary and declare that the said area shall be sanctuary on and from such date as may be specified in the notification

(3) No alteration of the boundaries of a sanctu-ary shall be made except on a resolution

passed by the Legislation of the State.]

Comment/Suggestion for the Western Ghat Au-

thority:

A similar notification substituting the word ‘sanctuary’ by ‘Ecologically Sensitive Area’ should be issued to provide a legal framework for Ecologi-cally Sensitive Areas under the Western Ghats Au-thority whereby ESAs can be legally declared.

28. Grant of permit. – (1) The Chief Wildlife Warden may, on application, grant to any person a permit to enter or reside in a sanctuary for all or any of the following purposes, namely:

(a) investigation or study of wildlife and purpos-es ancillary or incidental thereto;

(b) photography;

(c) scientific research;

(d) tourism;

(e) transaction of lawful business with any per-son residing in the sanctuary.

(2) A permit to enter or reside in a sanctuary shall be issued subject to such conditions and on payment of such fee as may be prescribed.

Comment/Suggestion for the Western Ghat Au-thority:

A similar notification would have to be created for Ecologically Sensitive Areas. This would pro-vide rules for specific utilization of the Ecologi-cally Sensitive Area, so that people at large begin to value the area. The level of tourism should be controlled below the carrying capacity of the area based on clearly defined parameters.

[8(29) Destruction, etc., in a sanctuary prohib-ited without a permit. – No person shall destroy, exploit or remove any wildlife from a sanctuary or destroy or damage the habitat of any wild animal or deprive any wild animal or its habitat within such sanctuary except under and in accordance with a permit granted by the Chief Wildlife Warden and no such permit shall be granted unless the State Government being satisfied that such destruction, exploitation or removal of wildlife from the sanc-tuary is necessary for the improvement and better management of wildlife herein authorises the is-sue of such permit. Explanation: For the purposes of this section, grazing or movement of livestock permitted under clause (d) of Sec.33 shall not be

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deemed to be an act prohibited under this section.]

Comment/Suggestions for the Western Ghat Authority

A similar notification should be developed for Ecologically Sensitive Areas to permit the desig-nated authority to deny or permit certain activities within Ecologically Sensitive Areas. This would include prohibiting power lines, gas lines, water pipes, roads, townships etc.

30. Causing fire prohibited. – No person shall set fire to a sanctuary, or kindle any fire, or leave any fire burning, in a sanctuary, in such manner as to endanger such sanctuary.

Comment/Suggestions for the Western Ghat Authority:

A similar clause will have to be created for Eco-logically Sensitive Areas.

31 Prohibition of entry into sanctuary with weapon. – No person shall enter a sanctuary with any weapon except with the previous permission in writing of the Chief Wildlife Warden or the au-thorised officer.

Comment/Suggestions for the Western Ghat Authority:

A similar clause will have to be created for Eco-logically Sensitive Areas.

32. Ban on use of injurious substances. – No per-son shall use in a sanctuary, chemicals, explosives or any other substances which may cause injury to, or endanger, any wildlife in such sanctuary.

Comment/Suggestions for the Western Ghat Authority:

A similar clause will have to be created for Eco-logically Sensitive Areas. As these are multiple use areas there concerns are of greater importance and will require clearly defined regulations.

33. Control of sanctuaries. – The Chief Wildlife Warden shall be the authority who shall control, manage and maintain all sanctuaries and for that purpose, within the limits of any sanctuary,

(a) may construct such roads, bridges, buildings, fences or barrier gates, and carry out such other works as he may consider necessary for the pur-

poses of such sanctuary;

(b) shall take such steps as will ensure the secu-rity of wild animals in the sanctuary and

the preservation of the sanctuary and wild ani-mals, therein;

(c) may take such measures, in the interests of wildlife, as he may consider necessary for

the improvement of any habitat.

(d) may regulate, control or prohibit, in keeping with the interests of wildlife, the grazing or move-ment of [livestock].

(e) [omitted 19911

Comment/ Suggestion for the Western Ghat Au-thority:

Control of the Ecologically Sensitive Areas will be managed by the Western Ghat Authority. How-ever this would require a complete infrastructure and manpower at the state level. The alternative would be as follows.

The question here will be to decide who will act as the controlling authority for Ecologically Sensi-tive Areas under different land tenures.

In case of RF or PF which are to be included in Ecologically Sensitive Areas it could be the local Territorial Forest Officer, or Wildlife Conservator of the Area.

For areas under Revenue Department, Ecologi-cally Sensitive Areas outside the Forest Depart-mental lands, the District Collector shall have to control local issues within the Ecologically Sensi-tive Area.

In the case of Catchments of dams and river courses-This would be controlled through the Ir-rigation Department.

The possibility of using Village Panchayats to manage these Ecologically Sensitive Areas, as done for village forests that are looked after by Village Ecodevelopment Committees could be an alterna-tive controlling authority for some ESAs.

Interactions between these various line agencies and the Western Ghat’s Authority have to be given clarity so that implementation is possible at the ground level.

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National Parks

35. Declaration of National Parks. – (1) Whenev-er it appears to the State Government that an area, whether within a sanctuary or not, is, by reason of its ecological, faunal, floral, geomorphological, or zoological association or importance, needed to be constituted as a National Park for the purpose of protecting & propagating or developing wildlife therein or its environment, it may, by notification, declare its intention to constitute such area as a Na-tional Park.

(2) The notification referred to in sub-section (1) shall define the limits of the area which

is intended to be declared as a National Park.

(3) Where any area is intended to be declared as a National Park, the provisions of Sec. [1219 to 26-A (both inclusive except clause (c) of sub-section (2) of section 24)] shall, as far as may be, apply to the investigation and determination of claims and extinguishment of rights, in relation to any land in such area as they apply to the said matters in rela-tion to any land in a sanctuary.

(4) When the following events have occurred, namely

(a) the period for preferring claims has elapsed, and all claims, if any, made in relation to

any land in an area intended to be declared as a National Park, have been disposed of by the State Government, and

(b) all rights in respect of lands proposed to be included in the National Park have become vested in the State Government the State Government shall publish a notification specifying the limits of the area which shall be comprised within the Na-tional Park and declare that the said area shall be a National Park on and from such date as may be specified in the notification.

(5) No alteration of the boundaries of a National Park shall be made except on a resolution passed by the Legislature of the State.

(6) No person shall, destroy, exploit, or remove any wildlife from a National Park or destroy or damage the habitat or any wild animal or deprive

any wild animal or its habitat within such National Park except under and in accordance with a permit granted by the Chief Wildlife Warden and no such permit shall be granted unless the State Govern-ment, being satisfied that such destruction, exploi-tation, or removal of wildlife from the National Park is necessary for the improvement and better management of wildlife therein, authorises the is-sue of such permit.

(7) No grazing of any [livestock13] shall be per-mitted in a National Park and no livestock shall be allowed to enter except where such [livestock] is used as a vehicle by a person authorized to enter such National Park.

(8) The provisions of secs. 27 and 28, secs.30 to 32 (both inclusive), and CIS, (a), (b) and (c) of [Sec.33, 33A14] and sec.34 shall, as far as may be, apply in realtion to a National Park as they apply in relation to a sanctuary.

Comment/Suggestion for Western Ghats Au-thority:

Ecologically Sensitive Areas of very high bio-logical value may require a set of similar regula-tory mechanisms. As these areas should in effect be notified as PAs, which has not occurred for various political reasons, this would constitute an alterna-tive for conserving the highly endangered species and their ecosystem without an alteration in their tenures.

Sanctuaries or National Park declared by Cen-tral Govt.

38. Power of Central Government to declare ar-eas as Sanctuaries or National Park,

(1) Where the State Government leases or other-wise transfers any area under its control, not being an area within a Sanctuary, to the Central Govern-ment the Central Government may, if it is satisfied that the conditions specified in sec.18 are fulfilled in relation to the area so transferred to it, declare such area, by notification, to be a sanctuary and the provisions of [sec 18 to 35 (both inclusive) 16], 54 and 55 shall apply in relation to such sanctuary as they apply in relation to a sanctuary declared by the State Government.

Comment/Suggestion for Western Ghats Au-

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thority:

Similar powers should be provided for the West-ern Ghats Authority which should be with the Central Government as the Ecologically Sensitive Areas are in five states. Each state would also have to setup its own State level authority as has been suggested for implementation of the Biodiversity Act

WILDLIFE PROTECTION ACT, AMENDMENT 2002

18A. (1) When the State Government declares its intention under sub-section of section 18 to con-stitute any area, not comprised within any reserve forest or territorial waters under that sub-section,as a sanctuary, the-provisions of sections 27 to 33A (both inclusive) shall come into effect forthwith.

Comment/ Suggestion for the Western Ghat Au-thority:

A similar clause will have to be used when a Western Ghat Authority decides to notify an area as an Ecologically Sensitive Area.

(2) Till such time as the rights of affected per-sons are finally settled under sections 19 to 24 (both inclusive), the State Government shall make alter-native arrangements required for making available fuel, fodder and other forest produce to the persons affected in terms of their rights as per the Govern-ment records.

Comment/ Suggestion for the Western Ghat Au-thority:

A similar clause will have to be developed for Ecologically Sensitive Areas.

Declaration and Management of a Conserva-tion Reserve

“36A. (1) The State Government may, after having consultations with the local communities, declare any area owned by the Government, par-ticularly the areas adjacent to National Parks and sanctuaries and those areas which link one protect-ed area with another, as a conservation reserve for protecting landscapes, seascapes, flora and fauna and their habitat:

Provided that where the conservation reserve

includes any land owned by the Central Govern-ment, its prior concurrence shall be obtained be-fore making such declaration.

Comment/ Suggestion for the Western Ghat Au-thority:

The declaration is for the same purpose as an Ecologically Sensitive Area. However, few if any such corridor areas have been created as it is un-likely to get support from local communities unless they are given just and fair compensation for creat-ing an Ecologically Sensitive Area.

(2) The provisions of sub-section (2) of section 18, sub-sections (2), (3) and (4) of section 27, sec-tions 30, 32 and clauses (b) and (c) of section 33 shall, as far as may be, apply in relation to a conser-vation reserve as they apply in relation to a sanctu-ary

Conservation Reserve Management Committee

36B. (1) The State Government shall constitute a conservation reserve management committee to advise the Chief Wild Life Warden to conserve, manage and maintain the conservation reserve.

Comment/Suggestion for Western Ghats Au-thority:

A local Ecologically Sensitive Area management committee under the Western Ghat Authority may act as the outreach controlling mechanism at a lo-cal or regional leve; within the Western Ghat.

(2) The committee shall consist of a representa-tive of the forest or Wild Life Department, who shall be the Member-Secretary of the Commit-tee, one representative of each Village Panchayat in whose jurisdiction the reserve is located, three representatives of non-governmental organisations working in the field of wild life conservation and one representative each from the Department of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry.

(3) The Committee shall regulate its own proce-dure including the quorum.

Comment/ Suggestion for the Western Ghat Au-thority:

This has so far not been successfully ensured and the Ecologically Sensitive Areas must have a regu-lation in place where existing activities are limited

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and new activities that could place undue pressures on the Ecologically Sensitive Areas are not initiat-ed. This includes the development of roads, dams, townships etc.

Declaration and Management of Community Reserve

36C. (1) The State Government may, where the community or an individual has volunteered to conserve wild life and its habitat, declare any pri-vate or community land not comprised within a National Park, sanctuary or a conservation reserve, as a community reserve, for protecting fauna, flora and traditional or cultural conservation values and practices.

(2) The provisions of sub-section (2) of section 18, sub-sections (2), (3) and (4) of section 27, sec-tions 30, 32 and clauses (b) and (c) of section 33 shall, as far as may be, apply in relation to a com-munity reserve as they apply in relation to a sanctu-ary.

(3) After the issue of notification under sub-sec-tion (1), no change in the land use pattern shall be made within the community reserve, except in ac-cordance with a resolution passed by the manage-ment, committee and approval of the same by the State Government.

Comment/ Suggestion for the Western Ghat Au-thority:

Selected Ecologically Sensitive Areas could be managed in the same way as suggested for Com-munity Reserves. However, in the Western Ghat this has not been successfully implemented at pres-ent.

INDIAN FOREST ACT 1927

The Indian Forest Act, 1927 has several claus-es that can be suitably modified for regulating resource use in Ecologically Sensitive Areas. De-pending on the conservation value and threat levels a set of principles would have to be developed and judicial powers given to the Western Ghat Author-ity to use these provisions in a legal sense.

THE INDIAN FOREST ACT, 1927 ON RE-SERVED FORESTS

3. Power to reserve forests.–The State Govern-ment may constitute any forest-land or waste-land which is the property of Government, or over which the Government has proprietary rights, or to the whole or any part of the forest-produce of which the Government is entitled, a reserved forest in the manner hereinafter provided.

Comment/Suggestions for the Western Ghat Authority:

Power to create Ecologically Sensitive Areas should rest with the Western Ghat Authority with a mandate to limit any further pressures on Eco-logically Sensitive Areas of the Western Ghat.

4. Notification by State Government.-(1) When-ever it has been decided to constitute any land a reserved forest, the State Government shall issue a notification in the Official Gazette–

(a) declaring that it has been decided to consti-tute such land a reserved forest;

(b) specifying, as nearly as possible, the situation and limits of such land; and

(c) appointing an officer (hereinafter called “the Forest Settlement-officer”) to inquire into and de-termine the existence, nature and extent of any rights alleged to exist in favour of any person in or over any land comprised within such limits or in or over any forest-produce, and to deal with the same as provided in this Chapter.

Explanation.–For the purpose of clause (b), it shall be sufficient to describe the limits of the for-est by roads, rivers, ridges or other well-known or readily intelligible boundaries.

(2) The officer appointed under clause (c) of sub-section (1) shall ordinarily be a person not holding any forest-office except that of Forest Settlement-officer.

(3) Nothing in this section shall prevent the State Government from appointing any number of of-ficers not exceeding three, not more than one of whom shall be a person holding any forest-office except as aforesaid, to perform the duties of a For-est Settlement-officer under this Act.

Comment/Suggestions for the Western Ghat Authority:

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A similar regulatory function will be required if Ecologically Sensitive Areas have to be successfully implemented at State level. The limits of ESAs can be decided using Geoinformatics to study vegeta-tion, slope, hydrology etc.

5. Bar of accrual of forest-rights.–After the is-sue of a notification under section 4, no right shall be acquired in or over the land comprised in such notification, except by succession or under a grant or contract in writing made or entered into by or on behalf of the Government or some person in whom such right was vested when the notification was issued; and no fresh clearings for cultivation or for any other purpose shall be made in such land except in accordance with such rules as may be made by the State Government in this behalf.

Comment/Suggestions for the Western Ghat Authority:

Similar clause for Ecologically Sensitive Areas will have to be created.

6. Proclamation by Forest Settlement-officer.–When a notification has been issued under section 4, the Forest Settlement-officer shall publish in the local vernacular in every town and village in the neighbourhood of the land comprised therein, a proclamation

(a) specifying, as nearly as possible, the situation and limits of the proposed forest;

(b) explaining the consequences which, as here-inafter provided, will ensue on the reservation of such forest; and

(c) fixing a period of not less than three months from the date of such proclamation, and requir-ing every person claiming any right mentioned in section 4 or section, 5 within such period either to present to the Forest Settlement-officer a writ-ten notice specifying or to appear before him and state, the nature of such right and the amount and particulars of the compensation (if any) claimed in respect thereof.

9. Extinction of rights.-Rights in respect of which no claim has been preferred under section 6, and of the existence of which no knowledge has been acquired by inquiry under section 7, shall be extinguished, unless before the notification under

section 20 is published, the person claiming them satisfies the Forest Settlement-officer that he had sufficient cause for not preferring such claim with-in the period fixed under section 6.

Comment/Suggestions for the Western Ghat Authority:

A similar clause will have to be developed for Ecologically Sensitive Areas.

10. Treatment of claims relating to practice of shifting cultivation.—(1) In the case of a claim relating to the practice of shifting cultivation, the Forest Settlement-officer shall record a statement setting forth the particulars of the claim and of any local rule or order under which the practice is al-lowed or regulated, and submit the statement to the State Government, together with his opinion as to whether the practice should be permitted or pro-hibited wholly or in part.

(2) On receipt of the statement and opinion, the State Government may make an order permitting or prohibiting the practice wholly or in part.

(3) If such practice is permitted wholly or in part, the Forest Settlement-officer may arrange for its exercise

(a) by altering the limits of the land under settle-ment so as to exclude land of sufficient extent, of a suitable kind, and in a locality reasonably conve-nient for the purposes of the claimants, or

(b) by causing certain portions of the land under settlement to be separately demarcated, and giving permission to the claimants to practice shifting cul-tivation therein under such conditions as he may prescribe.

(4) All arrangements made under sub-section (3) shall be subject to the previous sanction of the State Government.

(5) The practice of shifting cultivation shall in all cases be deemed a privilege subject to control, restriction and abolition by the State Government.

Comment/Suggestions for the Western Ghat Authority:

Rabi cultivation occurs across the Western Ghats. Thus, a similar set of conditions would apply to traditional agricultural areas across the length of

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the Western Ghats. In the ESAs such land should not be converted to other forms of landuse in the Western Ghats.

11. Power to acquire land over which right is claimed.–(1) In the case of a claim to a right in or over any land, other than a right of way or right of pasture, or a right to forest produce or a water-course, the Forest Settlement-officer shall pass an order admitting or rejecting the same in whole or in part.

(2) If such claim is admitted in whole or in part, the Forest Settlement-officer shall either

(i) exclude such land- from the limits of the pro-posed forest; or

(ii) come to an agreement with the owner there-of for the surrender of his rights; or

(iii) proceed to acquire such land in the manner provided by the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (1 of 1894).

(3) For the purpose of so acquiring such land

(a) the Forest Settlement-officer shall be deemed to be a Collector proceeding under the Land Ac-quisition Act, 1894 (1 of 1894);

(b) the claimant shall be deemed to be a person interested and appearing before him in pursuance of a notice given under section 9 of that Act;

(c) the provisions of the preceding sections of that Act shall be deemed to have been complied with; and

(d) the Collector, with the consent of the claim-ant, or the Court, with the consent of both parties, may award compensation in land, or partly in land and partly in money.

Comment/Suggestions for the Western Ghat Authority:

Issues related to rights and privileges will emerge once the Ecologically Sensitive Areas are declared, requiring a similar set of procedures.

12. Order on claims to rights of pasture or to forest-produce.–In the case of a claim to rights of pasture or to forest-produce, the Forest Settlement-officer shall pass an order admitting or rejecting the same in whole or in part.

Comment/Suggestions for the Western Ghat Authority:

Similar claims have to be decided on for grazing areas that will be considered Ecologically Sensi-tive Area under the Western Ghats Authority. Lo-cal communities are agropastoralists who use the “wastelands” as their pastures which frequently re-sult in overgrazing beyond the carrying capacity of the pasture. Apart from the local community, in the Western Ghat of Maharashtra, the Dhangar com-munity migrates annually from the Mann Plateau into the Kokan plains. Their linkage to the grazing land they use along the passes and hill slopes will undoubtedly be obstructed by creating Ecological-ly Sensitive Areas. This would form a new area of conflict that will require mitigation.

13. Record to be made by Forest Settlement-of-ficer.–The Forest Settlement officer, when passing any order under section 12, shall record, so far as may be practicable,–

(a) the name, father’s name, caste, residence and occupation of the person claiming the right; and

(b) the designation, position and area of all fields or groups fields (if any), and the designation and position of all buildings (if any) in respect of which the exercise of such rights is claimed.

14. Record where he admits claim.–If the Forest Settlement-officer admits in whole or in part any claim under section 12, he shall also record the ex-tent to which the claim is so admitted, specifying the number and description of the cattle which the claimant is from time to time entitled to graze in the forest, the season during which such pasture is permitted, the quantity of timber and other forest produce which he is from time to time authorised to take or receive, and such other particulars as the case may require. He shall also record whether the timber or other forest-produce obtained by the ex-ercise of the rights claimed may be sold or bartered.

Comment/Suggestions for the Western Ghat Authority:

This will require special attention if the Ecologi-cally Sensitive Areas will have to reject certain ex-isting claims.

15. Exercise of rights admitted.-(1) After mak-

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ing such record the Forest Settlement officer shall, to the best of his ability, having due regard to the maintenance of the reserved forest in respect of which the claim is made, pass such orders as will ensure the continued exercise of the rights so ad-mitted.

(2) For this purpose the Forest Settlement-officer may

(a) set out some other forest-tract of sufficient extent, and in a locality reasonably convenient, for the purposes of such claimants, and record an or-der conferring upon them a right of pasture or to forest-produce (as the case may be) to the extent so admitted; or

(b) so alter the limits of the proposed forest as to exclude forest-land of sufficient extent, and in a locality reasonably convenient, for the purposes of the claimants; or

(c) record an order, continuing to such claimants a right of pasture or to forest-overpage produce, as the case may be, to the e tent so admitted, at such seasons, within such portions of the proposed for-est, and under such rules, as may be made in this behalf by the State Government.

16. Commutation of rights.–In case the Forest Settlement-officer finds it impossible having due regard to the maintenance of the reserved forest, to make such settlement under section 15 as shall en-sure the continued exercise of the said rights to the extent so admitted, he shall, subject to such rules as the State Government may make in this behalf, commute such rights, by the payment to such per-sons of a sum of money in lieu thereof, or by the grant of land, or in such other manner as he thinks fit.

Comment/Suggestions for the Western Ghat Authority:

Such problems created by Ecologically Sensi-tive Areas may have to be dealt with by providing a fund for this purpose. It may be possible to ear mark CAMPA funds for such purposes.

17. Appeal from order passed under section 11, section 12, section 15 or section 16.–Any person who has made a claim under this Act, or any For-est-officer or other person generally or specially

empowered by the State Government in this be-half, may, within three months from the date of the order passed on such claim by the Forest Settle-ment-officer under section 11, section 12, section 15 or section 16, present an appeal from such or-der to such officer of the Revenue Department of rank not lower than that of a Collector, as the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint to hear appeals from such orders:

Provided that the State Government may estab-lish a Court (hereinafter called the Forest Court) composed of three persons to be appointed by the State Government, and when the Forest Court has been so established, all such appeals shall be pre-sented to it.

Comment/Suggestions for the Western Ghat Authority:

The Ecologically Sensitive Areas under the Western Ghats Authority may also require judicial capability for supporting Ecologically Sensitive Ar-eas.

18. Appeal under section 17.–(1) Every appeal under section 17 shall be made by petition in writ-ing, and may be delivered to the Forest Settlement-officer, who shall forward it without delay to the authority competent to hear the same.

(2) If the appeal be to an officer appointed un-der section 17, it shall be heard in the manner pre-scribed for the time being for the hearing of appeals in matters relating to land-revenue.

(3) If the appeal be to the Forest Court, the Court shall fix a day and a convenient place in the neighbourhood of the proposed forest for hearing the appeal, and shall give notice thereof to the par-ties, and shall hear such appeal accordingly.

(4) The order passed on the appeal by such offi-cer or Court, or by the majority of the members of such Court, as the case may be, shall, subject only to revision by the State Government, be final.

19. Pleaders.–The State Government, or any person who has made a claim under this Act, may appoint any person to appear, plead and act on its or his behalf before the Forest Settlement-officer, or the appellate officer or Court, in the course of any inquiry or appeal under this Act.

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25. Power to stop ways and water-courses in reserved forests.–The Forest-officer may, with the previous sanction of the State Government or of any officer duly authorised by it in this behalf, stop any public or private way or water-course in a reserved forest, provided that a substitute for the way or water-course so stopped, which the State Government deems to be reasonably convenient, already exists, or has been provided or constructed by the Forest-officer in lieu thereof.

Comment/Suggestions for the Western Ghat Authority:

Similar issues would emerge from the notifica-tion of Ecologically Sensitive Areas.

26. Acts prohibited in such forests.–(1) Any per-son who–

(a) makes any fresh clearing prohibited by sec-tion 5, or

(b) sets fire to a reserved forest, or, in contraven-tion of any rules made by the State Government in this behalf, kindles any fire, or leaves any fire burn-ing, in such manner as to endanger such a forest;

or who, in a reserved forest–

(c) kindles, keeps or carries any fire except at such seasons as the Forest-officer may notify in this behalf,

(d) trespasses or pastures cattle, or permits cattle to trespass;

(e) causes any damage by negligence in felling any tree or cutting or dragging any timber;

(f) fells, girdles, lops, or bums any tree or strips off the bark or leaves from, or otherwise damages, the same;

(g) quarries stone, bums lime or charcoal, or col-lects, subjects to any manufacturing process, or re-moves, any forest-produce;

(h) clears or breaks up any land for cultivation or any other purpose;

(i) in contravention of any rules made in this be-half by the State Government hunts, shoots, fishes, poisons water or sets traps or snares; or

(j) in any area in which the Elephants’ Preserva-tion Act, 1879 (6 of 1879), is not in force, kills or

catches elephants in contravention of any rules so made, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees, or with both, in addition to such compensation for dam-age done to the forest as the convicting Court may direct to be paid.

Comment/Suggestions for the Western Ghat Authority:

These conditions all apply to ESAs and require sensitive management to prevent conflicts with lo-cal people. Similar rules will have to apply to Eco-logically Sensitive Areas that are not in Reserve Forest or Protected Forest, but are in malkilands. This could create severe conflict issues which will have to be addressed if these areas are to be effec-tively managed as Ecologically Sensitive Areas. Compensation will require setting up a fund to be distributed where local landowners will be affected by creating ESAs.

(2) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to prohibit

(a) any act done by permission in writing of the Forest-officer, or under any rule made by the state Government; or

(b) the exercise of any right continued under clause (c) of sub-section (2) of section 15, or cre-ated by grant or contract in writing made by or on behalf of the Government under section 23.

(3) Whenever fire is caused wilfully or by gross negligence in a reserved forest, the State Govern-ment may (notwithstanding that any penalty has been inflicted under this section) direct that in such forest or any portion there of the exercise of all rights of pasture or to forest produce shall be sus-pended for such period as it thinks fit.

FOREST CONSERVATION ACT, 1980 WITH 1988 AMENDMENTS

2. Restriction on the dereservation of forests or use of forest land for non-forest purpose.

Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force in a State, no State Government or other authority shall make,

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except with the prior approval of the Central Gov-ernment, any order directing-

(i) that any reserved forest (within the meaning of the expression “reserved forest” in any law for the time being in force in that State) or any portion thereof, shall cease to be reserved;

(ii) that any forest land or any portion thereof may be used for any non-forest purpose;

(iii) that any forest land or any portion thereof may be assigned by way of lease or otherwise to any private person or to any authority, corporation, agency or any other organisation not owned, man-aged or controlled by Government;

(iv) that any forest land or any portion thereof may be cleared of trees which have grown natural-ly in that land or portion, for the purpose of using it for reafforestation.

Explanation - For the purpose of this section, “non-forest purpose” means the breaking up or clearing of any forest land or portion thereof for-

(a) the cultivation of tea, coffee, spices, rubber, palms, oil-bearing plants, horticultural crops or medicinal plants;

(b) any purpose other than reafforestation;

but does not include any work relating or ancil-lary to conservation, development and management of forests and wildlife, namely, the establishment of check-posts, fire lines, wireless communications and construction of fencing, bridges and culverts, dams, waterholes, trench marks, boundary marks, pipelines or other like purposes.

Comments and Suggestions for Western Ghats Authority:

This section of the Forest Conservation Act must be suitably modified and used for protecting ESAs from further degradation. It should not be possible for State Governments to remove the Ecologically Sensitive Area status once it has been created on good scientific grounds.

FOREST CONSERVATION ACT, 2003

Ministry of Environment and Forests

Notification

New Delhi, the 10th January, 2003

G.S.R.23(E):- In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 4 of the Forest (Con-servation) Act, 1980 (69 of 1980), and in superses-sion of the Forest (Conservation) Rules, 1981, ex-cept as respects things done or omitted to be done before such supersession, the Central Government hereby makes the following rules, namely:-

6. Submission of the proposals seeking approval of the Central Government under section 2 of the Act.-

(1) Every user agency, who wants to use any for-est land for non-forest purposes shall make his pro-posal in the appropriate Form appended to these rules, i.e. Form ‘A’ for proposals seeking first time approval under the Act and Form ‘B’ for propos-als seeking renewal of leases where approval of the Central Government under the Act had already been obtained earlier, to the concerned nodal of-ficer authorized in this behalf by the State Govern-ment, alongwith requisite information and docu-ments, complete in all respects, well in advance of taking up any non-forest activity on the forest land.

Comment/Suggestions for Western Ghats Au-thority:

A similar clause will have to be developed for the Ecologically Sensitive Areas in the Western Ghat.

(2) Every State Government or other authority, after having received the proposal under sub-rule (1) and after being satisfied that the proposal re-quires prior approval under section 2 of the Act, shall send the proposal to the Central Government in the appropriate forms, within ninety days of the receipt of the proposal from the user agency for proposals seeking first time approval under the Act and within sixty days for proposals seeking renewal of leases where approval of the Central Govern-ment under the Act had already been obtained ear-lier:

Provided that all proposals involving clearing naturally grown trees in forest land or portion thereof for the purpose of using it for reafforesta-tion shall be sent in the form of Working Plan or Management Plan.

(3) The proposal referred to in sub-rule (2) above,

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involving forest land of more than forty hectare shall be sent by the State Government to the Secre-tary to the Government of India, Ministry of En-vironment and Forests, Paryavaran Bhavan, CGO Complex, Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110 003, with a copy of the proposal (with complete enclosures) to the concerned Regional Office.

(4) The proposal referred to in sub-rule (2) above, involving forest land up to forty hectare shall be sent to the Chief Conservator of Forests or Conser-vator of Forests of the concerned Regional Office of the Ministry of Environment and Forests.

(5) The proposal referred to in sub-rule (2) above, involving clearing of naturally grown trees in for-est land or portion thereof for the purpose of us-ing it for reafforestation shall be sent to the Chief Conservator of Forests or Conservator of Forests of the concerned Regional Office of the Ministry of Environment and Forests.

7. Committee to advice on proposals received by the Central Government.-(1) The Central Gov-ernment shall refer every proposal, complete in all respects, received by it under sub-rule (3) of rule 6 including site inspection report, wherever required, to the Committee for its advice thereon.

(2) The Committee shall have due regard to all or any of the following matters while tendering its advice on the proposals referred to it under sub-rule (1), namely:-

Whether the forests land proposed to be used for non-forest purpose forms part of a nature reserve, national park wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or forms part of the habitat or any endangered or threatened species of flora and fauna or of an area lying in severely eroded catchment;

Whether the use of any forest land is for agricul-tural purposes or for the rehabilitation of persons displaced from their residences by reason of any river valley or hydro-electric project ;

Whether the State Government or the other au-thority has certified that it has considered all other alternatives and that no other alternatives in the circumstances are feasible and that the required area is the minimum needed for the purpose; and

Whether the State Government or the other au-

thority undertakes to provide at its cost for the ac-quisition of land of an equivalent area and affores-tation thereof.

(3) While tendering the advice, the Committee may also suggest any conditions or restrictions on the use of any forest land for any non-forest pur-pose, which in its opinion, would minimise adverse environmental impact.

Comment/Suggestions for Western Ghats Au-thority:

The Western Ghats Authority should receive a specific mandate to study proposals and recom-mend necessary changes of landuse in the Western Ghats

Action of the Central Government on the ad-vice of the Committee.– The Central Government shall, after considering the advice of the Commit-tee tendered under rule 7 and after such further en-quiry as it may consider necessary, grant approval to the proposal with or without conditions or reject the same within sixty days of its receipt.

Proceedings against persons guilty of offences under the Act.-

(1) The Central Government may, by notifica-tion, authorize any officer not below the rank of Conservator of Forests or the concerned forest of-ficer having territorial jurisdiction over the forest land in respect of which the said offence is said to have been committed, to file complaints against the person (s) prima-facie found guilty of offence under the Act or the violation of the rules made there under, in the court having jurisdiction in the matter.

Provided that no complaint shall be filed in the court, without giving the person (s) or officer (s) or authority (s) against whom the allegations of of-fence exist, an opportunity to explain his or their conduct and to show cause, by issuing a notice in writing of not less than sixty days, as to why a com-plaint should not be filed in the court against him or them for alleged offences.

(2) The officer authorised by the Central Gov-ernment in sub-rule (1) may require any State Gov-ernment or its officer or any person or any other authority to furnish to it within a specified period

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any reports, documents, statistics and any other information related to contravention of the Act or the rules made there under, considered necessary for making a complaint in any court of jurisdiction and every such State Government or officer or per-son or authority shall be bound to do so.

Comment/Suggestions for Western Ghats Au-thority:

Similar clauses to punish guilty individuals of offences within the Ecologically Sensitive Areas will require to be formulated.

BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY ACT, 2002

Several of the Ecologically Sensitive Areas are to be notified due to their high biodiversity values. Relevant clauses of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 would apply to the Ecologically Sensitive Areas. However, as these are applicable to specific areas it may be essential to create modifications which may permit these to be used by the Western Ghat Authority in maintaining biological values of the Ecologically Sensitive Areas.

Biological Diversity Act- 2002

Duties of the Central and the State Governments

Central Government to develop National strate-gies plans. etc., for conservation, etc., of biological diversity

36.(1) The Central Government shall develop national strategies, plans, programmes for the con-servation and promotion and sustainable use of biological diversity including measures for identi-fication and monitoring of areas rich in biological resources, promotion of in situ, and ex situ, con-servation of biological resources, incentives for re-search, training and public education to increase awareness with respect to biodiversity.

Comment/Suggestions for Western Ghats Au-thority

All these concerns are of great importance in the effective management of the Ecologically Sensitive Areas.

(2) Where the Central Government has reason to believe that any area rich in biological diversi-ty, biological resources and their habitats is being

threatened by overuse, abuse or neglect, it shall is-sue directives to the concerned State Government to take immediate ameliorative measures, offering such State Government any technical and other as-sistance that is possible to be provided or needed.

Comment/Suggestions for Western Ghats Au-thority:

The Western Ghat Authority will be responsible for preventing threats affecting biological diversity within the Ecologically Sensitive Areas. Taking these steps would require locale specific studies and financial resources which should be provided through the Planning Commission as a “Planned Budgetary Allocation for the Western Ghat”.

(3) The Central Government shall, as far as prac-ticable wherever it deems appropriate, integrate the conservation, promotion and sustainable use of biological diversity into relevant sectoral or cross sectoral plans, programmes and policies.

4) The Central Government shall undertake measures,-

(i) wherever necessary, for assessment of envi-ronmental impact of that project which is likely to have adverse effect on biological diversity, with a view to avoid or minimize such effects and where appropriate provide for public participation in such assessment;

Comment/Suggestions for Western Ghats Au-thority:

Current EIAs give insufficient attention to bio-logical diversity values and possible threats. This requires urgent attention in the Western Ghat-Eco-logically Sensitive Areas. The studies on biodiver-sity in the Ecologically Sensitive Areas for EIAs must go beyond providing a list of species. Species richness, abundance studies on floral and faunal el-ements within and around the proposed project site must be include in EIAs that are to be conducted in Ecologically Sensitive Areas. Once a proposed project has been passed and implemented they must be regularly monitored for compliance by the Western Ghats Authority.

(ii) to regulate, manage or control the risks associ-ated with the use and release of living modified or-ganisms resulting from biotechnology likely to have

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adverse impact on the conservation and sustain-able use of biological diversity and human health.(5) The Central Government shall endeavor to re-spect and protect the knowledge of local people re-lating to biological diversity, as recommended by the National Biodiversity Authority through such measures, which may include registration of such knowledge at the local, State or national levels, and other measures for protection, including sui generis system.

Comment/Suggestions for Western Ghats Au-thority:

A similar section must be developed for people living in and around the Ecologically Sensitive Ar-eas of the Western Ghat.

Biodiversity heritage sites

37.(1) Without prejudice to any other law for the time being in force, the State Government may, from time to time in consultation with the local bodies, notify in the Official Gazette, areas of bio-diversity importance as biodiversity heritage sites under this Act.

Comment/Suggestions for Western Ghats Au-thority:

The Ecologically Sensitive Areas would benefit by using a similar clause as many of the Western Ghat Ecologically Sensitive Ar-eas will have areas of biological importance.(2) The State Government, in consultation with the Central Government, may frame rules for the man-agement and conservation of all the heritage sites.(3) The State Government shall frame schemes for compensating or rehabilitating any person or sec-tion of people economically affected by such noti-fication.

Power of Central Government to notify threat-ened species

38. Without prejudice to the provisions of any other law for the time being in force, the Central Government, in consultation with the concerned State Government, may from time to time notify any species which is on the verge of extinction or likely to become extinct in the near future as a threatened species and prohibit or regulate collec-tion thereof for any purpose and take appropriate

steps to rehabilitate and preserve those species.

Comment/Suggestions for Western Ghats Au-thority:

The threatened endemic and rare species or those ESAs that have a limited range must be protected under a similar legal clause. This will be one of the major activities under the Western Ghats Author-ity.

Power of Central Government to designate re-positories

39.(1) The Central Government may, in consul-tation with the National Biodiversity Authority, designate institutions as repositories under this Act for different categories of biological resources.

(2) The repositories shall keep in safe custody the biological material including voucher speci-mens deposited with them.

(3) Any new taxon discovered by any person shall be notified to the repositories or any institu-tion designated for this purpose and he shall de-posit the voucher specimens with such repository or institution.

Comment/Suggestions for Western Ghats Au-thority:

Similar consultation with the Western Ghats Authority should be used and State level research organizations should be funded for biodiversity conservation assessments by the Authority within the selected ESAs. As the Western Ghats are po-tentially areas where new endemic species can be discovered, the Authority must have powers to de-cide on activities related to the conservation of spe-cies both in situ and exsitu.

MAHABALESHWAR AND PANCH-GANI ESA NOTIFICATION

New Delhi 17th January, 2001

S.O 52(E).– Whereas a notification under sub section (1) and clause (v) of sub section (2) of Sec-tion 3 of the Environment Protection Act, 1986, inviting objection or suggestion against the notifi-cation notifying the Mahableshwar Panchgani as an Eco sensitive region and imposing restriction on industries, operations, processes and other devel-

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opmental activities in the region which have detri-mental effect on the environment was published in S.O. No. 693(E) dated the 25th July, 2000;

And whereas all objections or/and sugges-tions received have been duly considered by the Central Government

Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by clause (d) of sub-rule (3) of rule 5 of the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986, and all other powers vesting in its behalf, the Central Gov-ernment hereby notify the Mahableshwar Panchgani Region (as defined in the Government of Maharashtra notification of 29th April, 1983 as an Eco Sensitive Zone. (Copy attached as An-nexure). The Region shall include the entire area within the boundaries of the Mahableshwar Tehsil and the villages of Bondarwadi, Bhuteghar, Dan-wali, Taloshi and Umbri of Jaoli Tehsil of the Sa-tara District in the Maharashtra state.

All activities in the forests (both within and out-side municipal areas) shall be governed by the pro-visions of the Indian Forests Act, 1927 (16 of 1927) and Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 (69 of 1980). All activities in the sanctuaries and national parks shall be governed by the provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (53 of 1972).

2.The following activities are proposed to be reg-ulated in the Eco-Sensitive Zone.

(a) Zonal Master Plan: -

A Master plan for the entire Zone shall be pre-pared by the State Government and approved by the Ministry of Environment and Forests in the Government of India within a period of two years from the date of publication of this notification. The Master Plan shall be published by following a procedure similar to that prescribed under the Ma-harashtra Regional and Town Planning Act 1966. The Master Plan shall clearly indicate those limited areas where industries may be permitted.

The said Master Plan shall clearly demarcate all the existing forests, green areas, horticultural areas such as strawberry farms, raspberry farms, orchards, tribal areas, and other environmentally sensitive areas. No change of land use from green uses such as horticultural areas, agriculture, parks

and other like places to non-green uses shall be per-mitted in the Master Plan. The Master Plan shall indicate measures and lay down stipulations for regulating traffic, especially through traffic in the Eco sensitive zone.

The areas within and outside Mahableshwar and Panchgani municipal areas shall have Sub-Zonal Master Plans which may be prepared by the State Government as a component of the Zonal Master Plan and concurrence of the Ministry of Environment and Forests shall be obtained on this. This Sub-Zonal Master Plan shall include building regulations for the gaothan areas.

Pending the preparation of and approval by the Ministry of Environment and Forests to the Zonal Master Plan and Sub-Zonal Master Plans referred to above, there shall be no increase in the existing parameters of permissible Floor Area Ratio, per-missible height, permissible maximum number of storeys and permissible ground coverage; and there shall also be no reduction in the Forest Zone/Green Zone/Agricultural Zone. Absolute height of buildings shall not exceed 9 metres and number of storeys shall not exceed ground plus one.

Industrial Units: -

Location of industries shall be only in the desig-nated industrial areas or estates and has to be as per guidelines drawn up by the Government of Maha-rashtra as well as the guidelines issued from time to time by the Ministry of Environment and Forests. However this would not apply to all those units which have obtained Consent to establish and all other statutory permissions and have commenced construction at site on or before the date of issue of this notification.

In future only non polluting non hazardous ser-vice industries, units making footwear from pro-cessed and ready made leather, floriculture, horti-culture based or agro based industries producing products from indigenous goods from the Eco Sen-sitive Zone shall be permitted in this zone:

Provided that these do not result in polluting ef-fluent, emission or impact.

Comment/Suggestion for Western Ghats Au-thority:

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This clause should be used for all ESAs in the Western Ghats.

In the non municipal areas, the following shall also be permitted:

Larger dairy, poultry, mush-room-rearing and other units in the nature of allied agricultural ac-tivities and structures connected therewith may be allowed with the prior permission of the compe-tent authority subject to a maximum of 1/8th built up area, relaxable by the Monitoring Committee.

Structures connected with small agro-based in-dustries, activities related to the needs of the local village economy, and processing or storage of local agro-based products may be allowed subject to the usual “not agriculture” permission requirements and a maximum built up area of 1/8th.

Quarrying and Mining: - Quarrying and Min-ing activities shall be banned in this area. No fresh mining lease shall be granted in the Eco Sensitive Zone. However, the Monitoring Committee shall be the authority to give special permission for lim-ited quarrying of materials required for the con-struction of local residential housing and tradition-al road maintenance work only; provided that such quarrying is not done on forestlands.

Comment/Suggestion for Western Ghats Au-thority:

This is of great relevance to managing ESAs as it constitutes a severe threat to large areas in the Ghats in Maharashtra and Goa.

Trees: -There shall be no felling of trees whether on Forest, Government, Revenue or private lands within the Eco-Sensitive Zone, without the prior permission of the State Government in case of for-est land, and the respective District Collector in case of Government, Revenue and private land, as per procedure which shall be prescribed by the State Government, provided that the District Col-lector shall not delegate this power to any subordi-nate officer below the rank of Sub-Divisional Of-ficer.

Comment/Suggestion for Western Ghats Au-thority:

A similar clause must apply to all ESAs in the Western Ghats.

Tourism :-Tourism activities shall be as per a Tourism Master Plan to be prepared by the De-partment of Tourism of the State Government in consultation with the Ministry of Tourism of Gov-ernment of India and approved by the Ministry of Environment and Forests. The Tourism Mas-ter Plan shall also form a component of the Zonal Master Plan.

The Tourism Master Plan shall be based on a detailed Carrying Capacity Study of the Eco-Sen-sitive Zone, which may be carried out by the State Government and submitted to the Ministry of Environment and Forests for approval within two years of the date of this notification. All new tour-ism activities, developments for tourism or expan-sion of existing tourism activities shall be permit-ted only within the parameters of this tourism plan or carrying capacity study. Till the Tourism Master Plan is submitted to Ministry of Environment and Forests for approval, new tourism activities and developments for tourism or expansion of existing tourism activities shall be permitted only after a de-tailed analysis is carried out and approved by the Monitoring Committee subject to guidelines laid down by Ministry of Environment and Forests.

Natural Heritage: - The sites of valuable natural heritage in the zone shall be identified, particularly rock formations, waterfalls, pools, gorges, groves, caves, points, walks, rides etc. and plans for their conservation in their natural setting shall be incor-porated in the Zonal Master Plan and Sub Zonal Master Plans. Strict guidelines shall be drawn up by the State Government to discourage construc-tion activities at or near these sites including under the garb of providing tourist facilities. All the gene pool reserve areas in the zone shall be preserved. The State Government may draw up proper plans for their conservation or preservation within one year from the date of publication of this notifica-tion. These plans shall form a part of the Zonal Master Plan and Sub-Zonal Master Plans.

Comment/Suggestion for Western Ghats Au-thority:

For all the ESAs a similar clause mentioning the different categories of ESAs will be required to minimize impacts on the ESAs.

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Man-made heritage: - Buildings, structures, ar-tifacts, areas and precincts of historical, architec-tural, aesthetical, and cultural significance shall be identified and plans for their conservation, par-ticularly their exteriors (and wherever deemed ap-propriate their interiors also) shall be prepared and incorporated in the Zonal Master Plan and Sub-Zonal Master Plans within one year from the date of publication of this notification. Guidelines may be drawn up by the State Government to regulate building and other activities in the Zone, particu-larly in Mahableshwar and Panchgani municipal limits and in Kshetre Mahableshwar, so that the special character and distinct ambience of the towns and the eco sensitive zone is maintained.

Development or construction activity at or around heritage sites (both natural and man-made) shall be regulated in accordance with the Draft Model Regulations for Conservation of Natural and Man-made Heritage formulated by the Minis-try of Environment and Forests in 1995 as amended from time to time and circulated to all State Gov-ernments and Union territory Administrations.

Comment/Suggestion for Western Ghats Au-thority:

This is a very crucial set of Regulations that should be reviewed , modified as necessary and implemented so that natural heritage enrichment within the ESAs are protected for posterity.

Ground Water: - Extraction of ground water shall be permitted only for the bona fide agricul-tural and domestic consumption of the occupier of the plot. Extraction of ground water for private industrial/commercial/residential estates/com-plexes shall require prior permission from the State Ground Water Board. No sale of ground water shall be permitted except with prior approval of the Monitoring Committee.

(j) Use of plastics: - The use of plastics within the Eco Sensitive Zone shall be regulated by the Monitoring Committee.

(k) Protection of Hill Slopes: - The Master Plan shall indicate areas on hill slopes where construc-tion shall not be permitted.

Comment/Suggestion for Western Ghats Au-

thority:

Clearly spelled out rules in this regard must be provided. The current method of using bull dozers to show that the land was flat must be curtailed by the strictly observing that no heavy machinery can be used without proper authorisation in the ESAs.

(l) Discharge of effluents: - The discharge of any untreated effluent is prohibited within the Eco Sen-sitive Zone. No effluent, either treated or untreat-ed, shall be permitted to be discharged into water body/s and water source/s within the zone.

Comment/Suggestion for Western Ghats Au-thority:

This is of great relevance as new townships have been permitted within the Western Ghats.

(m) Solid Wastes: - The local authorities shall draw up plans for the segregation of solid wastes into biodegradable and non-biodegradable compo-nents. The biodegradable material may be recycled preferably through composting or vermiculture; the inorganic material may be disposed of at envi-ronmentally acceptable locations. It is clarified that the term solid wastes include domestic, industrial, commercial and garden wastes.

3 (a)The Government of India shall constitute a High Level Monitoring Committee to ensure com-pliance with the provisions of this notification. Besides the above provisions of the notification, the monitoring committee shall have the powers to regulate and control noise pollution within the Eco sensitive zone. The monitoring committee shall also have powers to regulate traffic especially through traffic within the Eco sensitive zone; once the Master Plan is approved by the Ministry of Environment and Forests in Government of India such regulation shall be in conformity with the pro-visions of the Master Plan. The monitoring com-mittee shall include representative(s) of the Minis-try of Environment and Forests, Central pollution Control Board and at least two representatives of non-government organisations working in the field of environment (including heritage conservation) (to be nominated by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India). The member-ship of the committee including Chairman shall not exceed ten.

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(b) It shall be the duty of the Monitoring Com-mittee to file complaints under section 19 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 if offences un-der the said Act come to its notice.

(c) The Committee or any officer or member of the Monitoring Committee authorised by the Committee shall be authorised to file complaints under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

Comment/Suggestion for Western Ghats Au-thority:

Similar powers should be provided to the West-ern Ghats Authority to be able to transparently protect the selected and prioritized ESAs

4. In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (3) of section 3 of the Environment (Pro-tection) Act, 1986, read with section 23 of the said Act, the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India empowers the Urban Devel-opment Department, Government of Maharash-tra and the High Level Monitoring Committee to discharge the functions specifically enumerated in this notification and to do all things incidental thereto, (except the functions as are required to be performed by the Central Government under the provisions of the Environment Impact Assessment notification of 27th January, 1994 as amended from time to time).

Provided that in respect of functions delegated under this notification, an appeal from any order shall lie to the Ministry of Environment and For-ests.

[File No. J-20011/7/98/IA-III]

Dr. V. Rajagopalan, Jt. Secy.

Annexure

Urban Development Department

NOTIFICATION

Bombay the 29th April 1983

Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966. -No. TPS. 1982/4507 (a)-UD 7: In ex-cersise of powers conferred by sub-section (1) of Section (3) of Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966 (Maharashtra XXXVII of 1966) (herinafter referred to as “the said act”), to Government of Maharashtra, hereby establishes a

region for the purpose of the said Act to be named as the “ Mahableshwar Panchgani Region” which shall include the entire area within the boundaries of Mahableshwar Tehsil and villages of –

(1) Bondarwadi

(2) Bhuteghar

(3) Danwali

(4) Taloshi

(5) Umbri

Of Jaoli Tehsil of Satara District in the Maharashtra State. A Copy of the plan showing boundaries of Mahableshwar Panchgani Region showing the area included as aforesaid is available for inspection at offices of the following officers namely:

(1) The Director of Town Planning, Ma-harastra State, Pune

(2) The Collector of Satara

(3) The Tahasildars of Mahableshwar and Jhaoli

(4) The Municipal Council, Mahablesh-war

(5) The Municipal Council, Panchgani

(6) The Assistant Director of Town Plan-ning, Satara

By Order and in the Name of the Governor of Maharashtra

Sd/-R.B. DONALD, Dy. Secy.

A. Area of Mahableshwar Panchgani Region = 237.28sq. kms

B. Of the above

(1) Mahableshwar Municipal Area = 19.55 sq. kms

(2) Panchgani Municipal Area = 6.16 sq. kms

(3) Gaothans outside Municipal limits = 0.95 sq. kms

C. Residential Zone outside Municipal limits = 1.66 sq. kms

D. Forest Zone

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= 123.96 sq. kms

E. Green Zone = 83.72 sq. kms

Comment/Suggestion for Western Ghats Au-thority:

Each ESA category will require careful demar-cation with a notification by the concerned State Government.

MAHARASHTRA REGIONAL AND TOWN PLANNING ACT 1966

The Government of Maharashtra has created a schedule for developing ‘Special townships’ in the area under Pune regional Plan. The proposal was first suggested in 2002. This was finalized in 2004.

The area requirements were as follows:

Quote –

Area Requirement: Any suitable area preferably vacant having sufficiently wide means of access not less than 18m wide can be identified for the purpose of development as special township.

Comment/ Suggestions for Western Ghats Au-thority:

There is no definition of the word suitable. Ar-eas that contain high biological values and are eco-logically fragile are NOT suitable for township de-velopment. Thus most of the western ghats are not suitable for developing such townships.

The area under the special township shall not be less than 40 ha (100 acres0 at one place, which shall not include the area under forest, water bod-ies. Like river, creek canal, reservoirs, lands falling within the belt of 100 mt from the HFL of major lakes, dams and its surrounding areas, lands in the command area of irrigation project, land falling within the belt of 200 mt from the historical monu-ments and places of archeological importance, Archeological monuments, Heritage precincts, proposed industrial zone, gaothan areas or con-gested areas, truck terminus specially earmarked on regional plan, wildlife corridors and biosphere reserves.

Comment/ Suggestions for Western Ghats Au-

thority:

The two townships at Sahara and Lavasa have tracts of forest even though they may not be noti-fied as Reserve Forest. Any land having a signifi-cant tree cover and even degraded scrubland capa-ble of being restored to a natural forest ecosystem aught to be treated as forest and township develop-ment in such areas must be banned. Both the town-ships have been developed in the catchment areas of dams.

However on such notified townships no develop-ment zone for such special township may include private land under Hill tops and Hill slopes zones in Pune Metropolitan Region as well as Hill tops and hill slopes outside Pune Metropolitan Region, whether earmarked on Regional Plan or not and afforestation zones.

Comment/ Suggestions for Western Ghats Au-thority:

Both Lavasa and Sahara include hill slopes which were covered in natural vegetation and/or Kumri cultivation before being converted into townships.

The area of lands in such Hill –Tops and hill slopes zones and afforestation zones shall be maxi-mum 40% of the gross area and such area shall be included in part of 50% area to be kept permanent-ly open where no development activity shall be per-missible under such townships. The said areas shall be thickly developed for tree plantation as per the norms specified above. However, for the purpose of calculation of PSI, such areas shall be excluded.

Comment/ Suggestions for Western Ghats Au-thority:

Plantations are not a substitute for highly diverse natural vegetations which covers there fragile hill slopes. This has been destroyed during the develop-ment of these townships.

1.4 Environment: The development contemplat-ed in townships shall not cause damage to ecology,

Comment/ Suggestions for Western Ghats Au-thority:

The development has destroyed ecology of the region without a shadow of doubt.

Environmental clearance shall be obtained from

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the Ministry of Environment and Forest, Gov-ernment of India as per directions issued by the MOEF’s notification dated 7th July 2004. The township shall provide at least 20% of the total area as park/ garden/ playground as mentioned in 4(f) below , with proper landscaping and open uses designated in the Township shall be duly developed by owner/ developer. The amenity shall be open to general public free of cost.

Eco-friendly amenities like solar water heating for the township shall be mandatory.

2. Special Concessions:

(a) N.A. Permission: Non-agriculture permission will be automatic. As soon as the scheme is noti-fied, lands notified under Special Township area as per 1.2 will be deemed to have been converted into non-agriculture and no separate permission is re-quired. Non-agricultural assessment however will commence from the date of sanction of schemed as per regulation no 6(c).

(b) Stamp Duty: The stamp duty rates applicable in Notified Special Township area shall be 50% of prevailing rates of the Mumbai Stamp Act.

(c) Grant of Government Land: Any Govern-ment land failing under townships area shall be leased out to the developer.

(d) Relaxation from Mumbai Tenancy and Agri-culture Land Act: The condition that only the agri-culturist will be eligible to buy the agriculture land shall not be applicable in special township area.

(e) Ceiling of agriculture land: There shall be no ceiling limit for holding agriculture land to be pur-chased by the owner/ developer for such project.

(f) Exemption from Urban Land (Ceiling and Regulation) Act, 1976: Special Township Projects will be exempted from the purview of Urban Lend ( Ceiling and Regulation) Act , 1976.

(g) Scrutiny Fee: A Special Township Project shall be partially exempted from payment of scru-tiny fee being levied by the Collector / Planning Authority for processing the development proposal on certain terms and conditions as may be decided by the Collector/ Planning Authority.

Comment/Suggestion for Western Ghats Au-

thority:

The amount of relaxation provided for these townships to be developed in ecologically fragile lands having enormous biological importance has amounted to a violation of good principles of land management. The seven relaxations indicate that there is a vested interest in creating these townships with complete disregard for norms of good land use policies as set out in 1.1 of this document itself.

NATIONAL WATER POLICY 2002 IN RELATION TO THE LAKES AND

CATCHMENTS

Government of India

Ministry of Water Resources

New Delhi

April, 2002

Institutional Mechanism

4.1 With a view to give effect to the planning, development and management of the water re-sources on a hydrological unit basis, along with a multi-sectoral, multi-disciplinary and participatory approach as well as integrating quality, quantity and the environmental aspects, the existing insti-tutions at various levels under the water resources sector will have to be appropriately reoriented / reorganised and even created, wherever necessary. As maintenance of water resource schemes is un-der non-plan budget, it is generally being neglected. The institutional arrangements should be such that this vital aspect is given importance equal or even more than that of new constructions.

Comment/ Suggestions for Western Ghats Au-thority:

The suggested institutional mechanism in the National Water Policy2002 has been consistently disregarded in the Western Ghats by developing townships, roads etc.

4.2 Appropriate river basin organisations should be established for the planned development and management of a river basin as a whole or sub-ba-sin s, wherever necessary. Special multi-disciplin-ary units should be set up to prepare comprehen-sive plans taking into account not only the needs of

150

irrigation but also harmonising various other water uses, so that the available water resources are deter-mined and put to optimum use having regard to ex-isting agreements or awards of Tribunals under the relevant laws. The scope and powers of the river basin organisations shall be decided by the basin states themselves.

Comment/ Suggestions for Western Ghats Au-thority:

River basin management for tributaries of the rivers in the Western Ghats has been neglected.

GUIDELINES FOR NATIONAL LAKE CONSERVATION PLAN

May 2008

FOREWORD

Ministry of Environment and Forests has been implementing the National Lake Conservation Plan (NLCP) since 2001 for conservation and management of polluted and degraded lakes in urban and semi-urban areas. The major objectives of NLCP include encouraging and assisting state Governments for sustainable management and conservation of lakes.

Comment/ Suggestions for Western Ghats Au-thority:

The lakes and backwaters in the Western Ghats have been seriously neglected. These are corridors for preserving biological diversity and the defores-tation due to housing development, urbanization, and road construction has seriously impacted the longterm viability. The National Lake Conserva-tion Pan has NOT been adhered in the lakes of this region.

Lakes being major sources of accessible fresh water, require well planned, sustainable and scien-tific efforts to prevent their degradation and ulti-mate death.

NLCP has attempted to learn from its experi-ence in the field for making improvements in the existing system of project formulation and imple-mentation. This document attempts to help the proponents in proper prioritization of lakes based on scientific selection criteria. It lays down guide-

lines for preparation of detailed project reports and focuses upon the responsibilities of the State Governments to work in close partnership with the Government of India in protection, conservation and sustainable management of lakes. It is hoped that State Government will find the revised guide-lines useful. Their committed implementation will immensely improve the prospects for protection and conservation of lakes.

The preparation of these guidelines is the result of excellent team work. I would like to acknowl-edge the contributions made by Dr. M. Sengupta, Advisor, Dr. (Mrs.) R. Dalwani, Director and Shri S. K. Srivastava, Deputy Director, NRCD (MoEF) who have worked with great dedication and devo-tion in preparation of this document.

(R.H.Khwaja)

Additional Secretary & Project Director

3.0 ACTIVITIES COVERED UNDER NLCP

Prevention of pollution from point sources by intercepting, diverting and treating the pollution loads entering the lake. The interception and diver-sion works may include sewerage & sewage treat-ment for the entire lake catchment area.

(i) In situ measures of lake cleaning such as de-silting, de-weeding, bioremediation,

aeration, bio-manipulation, nutrient reduction, withdrawal of anoxic hypolimnion, constructed wetland approach or any other successfully tested eco-technologies etc depending upon the site con-ditions.

Comment/ Suggestions for Western Ghats Au-thority:

The areas where townships have been developed are unsuitable as they are potential impacts on the ecological integrity of the lakes.

(ii) Catchment area treatment which may in-clude afforestation, storm water drainage, silt traps etc.

Comment/ Suggestions for Western Ghats Au-thority:

These are catchments which have been further impacted by developing roads and urban develop-ment.

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(iii) Strengthening of bund, lake fencing, shore-line development etc.

1 Unique fresh water ecosystems shall cover lakes that are unique entities of incomparable val-ues and need to be preserved & conserved e.g. high altitude lakes, Lonar lake Maharashtra etc.

Comment/ Suggestions for Western Ghats Au-thority:

All the lakes and their catchments in the West-ern Ghats under this category of unique entities as the valleys have a variety of forest systems and en-demic species.

(iv) Lake front eco-development including pub-lic interface.

(v) Solid waste management & provision of dho-bi ghats is generally not covered under NLCP.

(vi) Prevention of pollution from non-point sources by providing low cost sanitation.

(vii) Public awareness and public participation.

Comment/ Suggestions for Western Ghats Au-thority:

No public awareness or participatory manage-ment has been done. Instead there are sites which are to be developed into urban settings without any regard for the ecology of this series of lakes within the Ghats.

(viii) Capacity building, training and research in the area of Lake Conservation.

Comment/ Suggestions for Western Ghats Au-thority:

No such capacity building has been carried out.

(ix) Any other activity depending upon location specific requirements.

4.0 PRIORITIZATION OF LAKES

4.1 While the causes of degradation of lakes are many, in view of the limited resources available, it is not possible to take up all degraded lakes for con-servation under NLCP. It is, therefore, necessary to prioritize lakes along with the catchments, where conservation programmes need to be taken up first.

Comment/ Suggestions for Western Ghats Au-thority:

Lakes of the Western Ghats must be categorized as being the first to be prioritized to maintain their ecological integrity. Lakes under the TATA Power company have a large number of Mahaseer which is highly endangered.

4.2 In order to identify polluted and degraded lakes across the country, a study was carried out by the Ministry at the instance of Planning Com-mission, vide which 62 lakes were identified across the country for conservation. This list was sent to all State Governments for amendment and finalisa-tion keeping in view the state priority and the jus-tification for their inclusion in the priority list. The state priority and justification for such a selection needs to be a part of the proposal for consideration under NLCP. In view of the prevailing dynamic situation, states may revise the priority list at an interval of 5 years covering different geographic re-gions of

7.0 LEGAL SUPPORT & POLICY FRAME-WORK

The Lakes & Wetlands are presently not covered by any specific legal statute but several legislations enacted till date have relevance & provisions for conservation of lakes. Some of these are:

The Forest Conservation Act, 1980, The Wild-life Act, 1972, The Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, and the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. Besides these, some of the States have individual State level legislations for protection & conservation of their lakes & water bodies. The National Environment Policy (NEP), 2006 also seeks for setting up of a legally enforce-able regulatory mechanism for lakes & wetlands to prevent their degradation and enhance their con-servation. Till any specific regulatory framework for lakes & wetlands is formulated, the Lake Con-servation may be covered under the provisions of existing Central and State Legislations (Box.2)

Comment/ Suggestions for Western Ghats Au-thority:

Even though these legal provisions exist the catchments of lakes in the Western Ghats have been persistently violated.

Existing legal provisions

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1. The Water (Prevention & Control of Pollu-tion) Act, 1974 as amended deals comprehensively with water issues. It empowers the Government to maintain the wholesomeness of National Wa-ter Bodies. The Act also provides for prohibition on use of stream (includes inland water whether natural & artificial) or well for disposal of pollut-ing matter etc. It enables the Government through Central & State Pollution Control Boards to pre-scribe standards and has provisions for monitoring & compliance and penal provisions against the vio-lators of the Act.

2. The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 defines the power of the Central Government to take measures to protect and improve environment which includes water, air and land and the inter re-lationship which exists among and between water, air and land and human beings, other living crea-tures, plants, micro organisms and property.

Comment/ Suggestions for Western Ghats Au-thority:

The EPA has been violated in spirit by a series of development activities within the catchments of the Western Ghats. This includes provisions for developing bridges across the ecologically sensitive Mulshi Lake to facilitate more traffic to the new township of Lavasa.

The National Environment Policy (NEP), 2006, recognises the ecological services rendered by the water bodies like lakes & wetlands. The NEP states that wetlands including lakes are under threat from drainage and conversion for agriculture & human settlements besides pollution. The reduction in eco-nomic value of their environmental services due to pollution, as well as the health costs of the pollu-tion itself, are not taken into account while using them as a waste dump. The NEP identifies an Ac-tion Plan for these water bodies which importantly include formulation of conservation & prudent use strategies, integration of wetland and lake conser-vation into sectoral development plans for poverty alleviation and livelihood improvement, formula-tion of eco-tourism strategies prove multi stake-holders partnership and above all setting up of a legally enforceable regulatory mechanism for these water bodies.

Comment/ Suggestions for Western Ghats Au-thority:

Conversion for agriculture and more importantly human settlements (special townships) has serious long-term implications and violates the provisions of the NEP(2006).

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CHAPTER 8: CONCLUSION

The ESAs in the Western Ghat are expected to minimize further environmental degra-dation, project ecological and biological as-

settes and preserve social justice.

While permitting sustainable development trends in the Ghats. This can only be achieved by having different sets of norms for each ESA cate-gory depending on a combination of their ecologi-cal value, threat levels and conservation status.

The issues to be considered such as land use, bio-diversity, water, forest which are all to be concerned within the three pillars of unsustainable or sustain-able use under an umbrella of good governance.

One of the key concerns is the societal concerns where poverty has been a major factor in unsus-tainability of the region. Added to this is the stress induced by an increase in inequity which deters the quality of life of local citizens. They now see Lavasa and Sahara as a coveted way of life. They have sold their land, been deprived of their tradi-tional source of livelihood – their land, and now feel deprived. They see their forests lands degrad-

ed by mining, roads, new townships, new tourists centers, etc., all of which add to a longterm loss in their quality of life’. The cash they received for the sale of their lands was frequently too small and has been filtered away.

The economic growth in the region has been through only a fraction of what has gone out through unsustainable development at the local level.

While the issues related to the unsustainability of current regional development strategies in the Western Ghat is well known to ecologists and so-cial scientists as well as government line agencies and business, it is not clear to local people. Few at-tempts have been made to bridge this gap in knowl-edge. Examples include BVIEER school environ-ment program in the Mawal and Mulshi Talukas done a few years ago through funding from Tata Power Company. Several posters, CD ROMS, and other educational material have been developed by NGOs and Government agencies which have had a limited use in the region itself.

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Much more needs to be done for local pub-lic awareness through local schools and colleges on the ecology fragility and need for sustainable knowledge based initiatives in the region which should become a primary focus for the Western Ghat Authority.

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