Opinion | Kerala Tragedy: States Should Quit Objecting to 'ESA' Tags

The national government moved quickly to designate Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESA) in the Western Ghats, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the eight "hottest hotspots" of biological diversity in the world, in response to the recent landslides in Wayanad. Six states—Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu—have proposed to designate around 56,825.7 square kilometers of the Western Ghats as Ecologically Significant Areas (ESAs) in the sixth draft notification released by the national government on July 31. This includes the 13 Wayanad villages in Kerala, which on July 30 saw numerous landslides. The landslides claimed about 400 lives, and 150 are still unaccounted for. 

The decision by the central government is a reflection of their realization that declaring the entire region to be an ESA in one go might not be feasible.

The current notification replaces an earlier draft that was published in 2022 but expired because the federal government and the six states could not agree on the scope of the ESA in their individual jurisdictions.
The most recent draft suggests designating as ecologically sensitive areas 449 square kilometers in Gujarat, 17,340 square kilometers in Maharashtra, 1,461 square kilometers in Goa, 20,668 square kilometers in Karnataka, 6,914 square kilometers in Tamil Nadu, and 9,993.7 square kilometers in Kerala. The reason for this methodical approach is mostly a result of ten unsuccessful attempts to reach an agreement among the nations.

Why Is There No Consensus?

First released in March 2014, the Union Environment Ministry's draft notification for the ESA was based on suggestions made by the Central government's 2013-established High-Level Working Group (HLWG). Under the direction of space scientist K. Kasturirangan, the HLWG examined the 2011 recommendations from the expert committee on ESAs chaired by Madhav Gadgil. The Kasturirangan panel only that 37% of the Western Ghats be designated as ESA, although the Gadgil committee had advocated 64%.

The Gadgil research identified settlements at risk of landslides and provided a thorough mapping of landslide vulnerability. Stakeholder states, on the other hand, disagreed with these suggestions, claiming they were overly onerous and harmful to livelihoods and development. On the other hand, environmentalists assert that state governments have been under pressure to postpone action by special interests like the mining and tourism sectors.

"The consensus is being hampered by several stakeholders and propaganda from certain players. According to environmentalist Arun Krishnamurthy, founder of the Chennai-based NGO E.F.I, "local sentiments are often a sensitive subject, so even a national policy with scientific backing may not translate to reality." "Prolonged acceptance by state governments often correlates with grassroots acceptance of the proposed policies," he states.

Specifically, the proposed prohibitions on mining, quarrying, and the formation of new businesses were met with opposition from Kerala and Karnataka. In Kerala, where a sizable section of the populace lives inside or close to the proposed buffer zones, concerns have been expressed.