Research Paper ISSN-2455-0736 (Print)

Peer Reviewed Journal ISSN-2456-4052 (Online)

PROTECTION OF WESTERN GHATS AND GADGIL REPORT

Boby Thomas

Assistant Professor, Pavanatma College, Murickassery

b.athickal@gmail.com

Abstract
Environmental fundamentalism often ignores the humanitarian aspects of development. The human life
style has changed a lot from the primitive culture of eco-friendly life style to modern civilised and city-
like life style. Often the environmental fundamentalists concentrate on urban areas, and try to impose
fundamentalist view on the village people. This is often supported by the Government since the village
people are voice less. It often creates some issues in the rural areas especially in a state like Kerala where
there are least regional imbalances, as compared to other states of India. The fundamentalists obtained
the labelling ‘World Heritage Zone’ for the Western Ghats from the UN, in such a manner which is
criticized and objected by the UN itself. With a view to cover the UN objections to that proposals, the
Government appointed a High Level Committee chaired by Prof. Gadgil. As per the request of the MPs
of the region he also suggests to exclude certain areas of Western Ghats from the labelling, which is
accepted by the Government. But the criteria of exclusion neglected the concerns of thickly populated
remote villages in the region.
The article tries to justify the arguments and demands farmers union in the region on the basis of the
‘Report of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel’ chaired by Prof. Madhav Gadgil, Submitted to
‘The Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India’ on 31 August 2011. It also discusses
the historical perspective of the environmental awareness to find more light to the issues. The irony of
environmental promotion which ignores the eco friendly life style of the villages is criticised, on the basis
of Gadgil committee report.

Key Words: Eco-friendly life style, Environmental promotion, World Heritage Zone, Environmental
fundamentalism

Introduction
Human being is considered as the animal with a developed brain. Developed from the single
isolated animal like life style, he turned as a social animal and continued to develop his
social behaviour in conformity to the natural environment. Development is an inevitable
demand of human being and it is there in every society. Each races developed their own
system of development, but nature was the focus of it. The ancient rituals of religion were
nothing but the observation of nature as an inevitable part of life. Irrespective of the
primitivism in religion, they all advocated and reminded the human being that he is only a
substance of this natural environment.
Objective
To analyse the issues in Western Ghats on the basis of „Gadgil Committee Report‟

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Methodology
The study is mainly conducted on the basis of „Report of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert
Panel‟ chaired by Prof. Madhav Gadgil, Submitted to „The Ministry of Environment and
Forests, Government of India‟ on 31 August 2011. Discussions with the inhabitants of
Idukki district are also conducted for the study. As a part of the inhabitant group in the area,
the author makes use of his own experiences also. Published reports in news papers and
reputed books are also considered for the study.
Civilisations
The development of modern civilisation has a critical impact on the environment. The
ancient civilisations did least harm to the environment. But the critical examination by the
historians, points out that many environmental changes has been made by these civilisations
for the construction of their cities.
But the most harm to the environment is made as an impact of industrialisation.
Industrialisation focused on mass production, without any „ethics of necessity‟. Needs are
created for the products. The rulers of any civilisation are highly influenced by the so called
business men, who have least environmental ethics. Environmental ethics is the part of
environmental philosophy which extends the traditional boundaries of ethics from humans to
the non-human world. Even the propagators of environmental protection are highly
influenced by the „background rulers‟.
Deforestation and Civilisations.
Deforestation is an inevitable element of every civilisation. The rulers were the main
advocates of deforestation. Mahabharata gives a beautiful narration of the development of a
civilisation. The deforestation made by the Pandavas, with the permission of the „rulers‟
results in the formation of famous rich „Indraprasta‟.
Agriculture based village economy also gives scope for deforestation. But the formation of
agriculture based economy gives least harm to the nature, even though it accounts for
deforestation. Agriculture and the farmers were mostly eco friendly and their villages‟
accounts for a separate eco system, which protects the species of that environment to a great
extent.
City life and pollution
Industrialisation has brought economic development to the nations. The economic power and
the modern amenities have a mesmeric effect which attracted the other developing nations to
adopt the industrialisation policy. Rapid industrialisation was most harmful to the
environment than the so called deforestation for the village economy.
„Efficiency‟ is an undoubted and unquestioned value that any society preserves and aspires
for. The maximum utilisation of production capacity has been considered as a sign of
efficiency. This efficiency is criticised when the goods are not sold out. So „innovation‟
comes forward to influence the theories of consumption.
The industrialised civilisation propagates the newer definitions of „efficiency‟ and
„innovation‟. They have all the innovative mechanism to influence the culture and
philosophies of all civilisations. Environmentalists are also influenced by this phenomenon.
New concepts of ethics were also defined.

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Pollution of Village by City industrialists

Traditionally the eco friendly nature of the villages are least influenced by the civic culture.
But the industrialisation and the newer definitions of efficiency naturally have an eye on the
70% population that lives in the villages. The „Green Revolution‟ of India accelerated the
use of chemicals for the maximum utilisation of „agricultural land‟. The productivity
increased, but that was the first mass attack on the ecosystem of the villages in India.
Use of High Yielding Varieties (HYV), use of Chemicals (fertilisers), use of insecticides,
pesticides, etc were the major components of Green revolution in India. HYV seeds are
highly responsive to use of fertilisers and are equally vulnerable to pest attacks and growth
of useless weeds. As a result the village ecosystem was negatively affected by large.
The inventions of village researchers, eco friendly HYVs, were not promoted by the formal
system. For eg „Kunjooj rice seed‟ invented by a farmer „Kunjooj‟ in Idukki district had a
high movement among the then rice farmers of the region, but gradually ignored with the use
of synthetic HYVs of the Govt.
Even though we are successful in attaining self sufficiency in food grain, poverty eradication
remained a big question in front of the government, till liberalisation. There will be no
question on the poverty of village people and their economic backwardness. The major
negative impact of the green revolution in the villages are:
(a) Abolition of several species from the agricultural lands. The insectivorous birds such
as the drongo, bee-eater, even the house sparrow became rare or locally extinct,
indicating the collapse of the entire food webs of the farmland.i
(b) As a result of all these "modern" techniques, the air, water and the soil were polluted;
most food grains and farm products were contaminated by pesticides. The runoff from
the farm land contaminated the wetlands – rivers, tanks, ponds, reservoirs, lakes and all
water bodies – and the life in them.
(c) Serious health problems like cancer and other ailments, especially in villages adjacent
to plantations, such as renal failure, stillborn babies, birth defects (mentally and
physically retarded and handicapped children). Eg. Padri village in Kasargode district
(cashew nut plantation) of Kerala.
(d) Addiction to the use of chemicals and the allied problems,ii lead to the loss of eco
system and eco friendly lifestyle.
(e) The advent of chemical intensive farming and its prevalence in Kerala for the past 50
years have resulted in the near stagnant levels of productivity of many of these
economically important crops such as coconut, cashew, pepper, coffee, tea, cardamom
and arecanut. Besides these, many regions in Kerala, like Wayanad started facing acute
water scarcity.iii
(f) The economic liberalization and WTO policies, bring down the prices of agriculture
commodities, increasing instances of suicide by farmers. iv
(g) Investment in agriculture has changed from the farmer to the industries supplying input
to the farmer, and as a direct consequence, net income for farmers decreased while the
industries supporting agriculture in the country flourished. v
(h) "High yield variety-fertilizer-pesticide pack" of the Green Revolution, is afailure. It
leads to degradation and disruption of the fragile ecosystems of „God‟s own country‟

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HYVs are the chief culprits for the water scarcity, nutritional insecurity, loss of
primary productivity and agrarian crisis being faced by the State.vi
(i) The pesticide „endosulfan‟ already banned by 62 countries of the World is still being
used in India.vii
(j) Over criticism imposed on the migrant farmers as a threat to the environment.
(k) The ever remaining poverty of the village inhabitants, irrespective of the growth in
GDP & PCI.
The toxic consequences of industrialisation are always unquestioned, especially in a world
which is ruled by the industrialist „from the back of the curtain.‟ The nation ruled by cities
always shut their eyes on the evils of modern civilisations and they have all the mechanism
to propagate their agendas.
Environment Protection Irony
The modern world is well aware of the toxic effect of industrialisation. Global warming,
deforestation, threat species, etc are the common terminologies used to warn the world.
Thanks to the studies made by the scientists of cities. But the remedies proposed by the
environmentalists seem to be an irony in the eco friendly lifestyle.
(a) There is no control on harmful industries and products. Eg. „plastic free campus
campaigns‟ Instead of controlling the production, Market for „endo sulfan‟, „DDT‟, etc.
(b) All the environmental awareness programs became dramatic and paved least impact on
the people for environment protection. Eg. Packaged drinking water (plastic bottle)
culture, instead of common purified water system.
(c) The awareness programs of the environmentalists, focused least on the existing eco
friendly system of the villages. The farmers turned addict to the use Government
sponsored chemical. The program boosted the industry, rather than to protect
agriculture. And the environmentalist failed to make awareness to the government or the
industrialists or even to the farmers.
(d) Penalty escape mechanism of Developed Nations: The developed nations were more
aware of the damaging environment, and they impose heavy penalty on the anti
environment elements of the industries as well as individuals. But the „eco-envy
addiction‟ of the civic society prevents the eco-friendly life style, irrespective of the
environmental awareness and penalties.
There aroused a most hypocritical environmental protection mechanism to evade the
penalties, again on the shoulder of the third world countries. For eg .Carbon credit fund,
a legal and formal mechanism to evade penalties imposed on „environmental damage‟.
(e) Waste dumping yards of cities: In India at least one village is destroyed by the waste
dumping of cities. Cities are the areas with concentration of money and power. Often the
cries and pains of these villages go in vain. The damage to the eco system or the
environment is least attended by the environmentalists, as they are also the part of cities.
Eg. Mandur village near Bangalore city, Deonar, Mulund and Kanjurmarg in Mumbai,
Ghazipur, Okla and Bhalswa near Delhi, Kodungaiyur near Chennai, Vadavathoor near
Kottayam, Cheranallor near Kochi, Njeliamparambu near Kozhikode, etc are few
examples. The living conditions for residents living in the vicinity of the dump yard are
miserable. The village people are not even compensated by the mechanism.

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(f) World heritage forests: UN provides funding for the protection of forests under the
banner of „World heritage zones‟. A World Heritage Site is a place (such as a building,
city, complex, desert, forest, island, lake, monument, or mountain) that is listed by the
United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as being of
special cultural or physical significance.viii There are, 1031 sites in the world heritage list:
802 cultural, 197 natural, and 32 mixed.ix Italy has the greatest number of World Heritage
Sites with 51 sites, followed by China (48), Spain (44), France (41), Germany (40), Mexico
(33), and India (32).
World Heritage Forest Zone of Western Ghats in Kerala
Western Ghats of India is a mountain chain, which is considered as older than Himalaya
Mountains. The forests of the site are home to at least 325 globally threatened flora, fauna,
bird, amphibian, reptile, and fish speciesx.
The Western Ghats region has some of the highest levels of literacy in the country, and a
high level of environmental awareness.xi
Rapid Migration to Western Ghats
As an aftermath of World wars, there was heavy shortage of food grains. India Government
promoted migration to Western Ghats with the main objective of eradication food shortage.
Even though the farmers are not funded by the government, they sweated blood to create a
civilised village with modern amenities. Thanks to the least direction given by the formal
system, the villages formed in the Western Ghats preserved the eco friendly system of the
traditional villages.
Ban on Deforestation
The rapid industrialization and urbanization in western countries which started before world
war, was causing rapid loss of natural resources. Naturally there raised concerns for
pollution, quality of life and environmental stress. The USA established a National
Environmental Policy Act in 1970 to consider its goal in terms of environmental protection.
The United Nations Conference on the Environment in Stockholm in 1972 and subsequent
conventions formalized EIA. At present, all developed countries have environmental laws
whereas most of the developing countries are still adopting it (Lee, 1995). In India,
Government has banned the deforestation and migration to forests with an enactment of
Indian forest act 1972. Forest Conservation Act was passed in 1980.

Deforestation by the Government.

Western Ghats has a long history of deforestation. For eg. River valley projects, hydro
electric projects, tea and cardamom plantations, etc. Idukki dam is a classic case wherein the
entire catchment was encroached along with dam construction. xii
Before issuing title deeds to the migrant farmers of the Western Ghats, Kerala Govt has
numbered all the forest trees in the agricultural land, through the forest ministry. Number
was carved on the trees as (k.X.1214 ie Govt Wood <No>). During 1980s government cut
all those trees and transferred them to the cities and auctioned. The remaining trees were
marked with positions in the patta, the conservation being the responsibility of the owner.
Western Ghats and Eco friendly life
The economy formed by the migrants was largely eco friendly in nature. They planted trees
in their land as a part of life style of the village. For eg. jack fruit trees, teak, mango trees,

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coconut trees, Konna, neem trees, guava tree, mahogany, etc are very common in almost all
fields. The eco friendly system is such that the people who look from a Helicopter may
suspect the entire region as a thick forest.
One cannot deny the fact that the eco system is affected by a large through the use of
chemical fertilisers and pesticides. But the inhabitants are not the culprits, but the formal
system of „agri-development mechanism‟ and off course the plantation industries. Dragon
flies, butterflies, toads, frogs, crab, and a lot of varieties of species are missing in the
vegetation, not because of the farmers, but because of the use of pesticides supplied through
the government mechanism with subsidies.
“Use of chemical manure has not only killed the soil but also has even changed the soil
structure affecting soil fertility in the Western Ghats. This leads to application of an
increasing quantum of chemical fertilizers without any scientific basis. Since fertilizers
demand more water, there is an increased and unsustainable exploitation of water resources
in the Ghats affecting the entire ecology of the hills and downstream.” xiii
Western Ghats Issues
The idea of making people a part of governance was overpowered by the need to get more
industries. This overpowering need to seek multinational investment is still a policy xiv.
Importantly, the WGEEP proposals would overcome the serious and quite genuine
objections raised at the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues to the Indian proposals
on 17 May 2011 at the Tenth Session, New York, 16–27 May 2011.xv With an eye on the
UN fund allocated to the „world heritage zones‟, India somehow succeeded in getting the
UN declaration to the Western Ghats as a whole, violating even the rules and regulations of
the UN as a whole.
Objections Raised at UN PFII to Indian Proposalsxvi
1. As the report reads “We would like to again bring to the attention of the Permanent
Forum our serious concern about the continuous and on-going disrespect of the principle
of free, prior and informed consent by UNESCO‟s World Heritage Committee when it
designates sites in Indigenous peoples‟ territories as ‚World Heritage sites.
2. In many cases Indigenous peoples were not even consulted when their territories were
designated as World Heritage sites, although this designation can have far-reaching
consequences for their lives and human rights, their ability to carry out their subsistence
activities, and their ability to freely pursue their economic, social, and cultural development
in accordance with their right of self-determination.
5. It is also inconsistent with UNESCO‟s objective to integrate a human rights-based
approach into all of its programmes and activities.
7. „Western Ghats‛ (India); „Trinational de la Sangha‟ (Republic of Cameroon); „Kenya Lake
System in the Great Rift Valley‛ (Kenya). All three sites are nominated under natural World
Heritage criteria alone, without giving due consideration to the Indigenous cultural
values connected to these areas and Indigenous peoples‟ roles as stewards of these places.
Moreover, all of the mentioned nominations were prepared without meaningful
involvement and consultation of the Indigenous peoples concerned and without
obtaining their free, prior and informed consent.
Main points by then Idukki MPxvii

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7. In the Idukki- Munnar region, more than 200 acres of Cardamom Plantations have been
classified as forest land. The Cardamom Reserve Land and the CHR issues of Idukki district
needs to be settled soon.
12. At the Periyar, Munnar and Anaimudi areas, no compensation has reached the affected
people so far. Whether the Anaimudi area is going to be declared as a Biosphere Reserve or
not may be clarified.
Response of MoS (I/C) E&F xviii
7. The State of Kerala will need a special dispensation, as the area of forest in proportion to
the land area is the highest in the State. Settlements where people have been living in the
same area for more than 100 years will be given special consideration.
Findings:
1. Objections raised by the United Nations and the formulation of Gadgil Committee there
after shows that the Government has appointed the High Level Committee to escape the
objections from UN.
2. MPs recommendation to exclude 200 acres of cardamom plantations shows that he is
well aware of the consequences.
3. The MP keeps silent on the villages in Idukki where there is no forest at all.
4. The period of 100 years of migration seems to be baseless as the first Act in this regard
was passed in that year 1980.
5. The people in the region are not aware about the UN objection of „this designation can
have far-reaching consequences for their lives and human rights‟.
6. The Governments seems to be ignoring the above statement while implementing the
world heritage zone labelling.
7. Eco friendly life style is not given due importance in environmental protection.
8. The really threatening products are not banned and controlled at source.
Conclusion:
The objections raised by the UN itself states that the declared World Heritage zones will
considerably affect the life of the inhabitants. Considering this areas with a migrant history
of more than 100 years were excluded from the program. The selection of 100 years as a
boundary is meaningless. This consideration simply ignores the well developed civilisation
inhabited with the support of the Government before 1973. Fundamentalism is not advisable
in democracy. Promoting the eco friendly life style is more advisable than the fundamentalist
views of „environmental protection which ignores the rights of human beings. Environment
can be protected only through a system of eco-friendly life style.

End Notes
i Madhav Gadgil (Chair), Report of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel, Part I, 2011, P.316
ii
Ibid
iii
ibid
iv
Ibid
v
ibid
vi
Ibid, p.317
vii
Ibid, p240

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viii
http://whc.unesco.org/en/about/
ix
World Heritage List, UNESCO World Heritage Sites official sites,
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list//en/news/1049/en/list
x
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1342/
xi
Madhav Gadgil (Chair), Report of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel, Part I, 2011, p.v
xii
Ibid, p. 33.
xiii
Ibid, p. 40
xiv
Ibid, p. 107
xv
Ibid
xvi
Ibid, appendix 3, p. 151
xvii
Ibid, P. 239,
Minutes of the Meeting of the MPs of the Western Ghats Region with the Minister of State (I/C)
Environment and Forests along with the Members of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel held on
17th August, 2010 at Parliament House Annexe, New Delhi.
xviii
Ibid, page 242, Response of MoS (I/C) E&F
XIX Jha, C. S., et al. “Deforestation and Land Use Changes in Western Ghats, India.” Current Science, vol.
79, no. 2, 2000, pp. 231–238. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/24103455.

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