The Nelliyampathy Riddle

Try locating Nelliyampathy Hills on the Google Earth. It is a fascinating hill station on the tourist map of Western Ghats in Kerala where thousands flock to see the picturesque Seetharkundu view point from where the famous Palghat gap starts and where the Karappara River emerges through the coffee and tea plantations. What neither do tourists notice nor can google earth reflect are the plantation labour that is flocking to the neighboring Tamil Nadu plains for jobs. Falling productivity, increasing cost of production and reduced control over prices have only added to the impact of subtle climate change. The beauty of Nelliyampathy is only on the surface!

Nelliyampathy is a microcosm of change in the high altitude areas of the entire Western Ghats. The hills agro-ecosystems are dominated by tea, coffee, rubber and other monoculture plantations like oil palm – an estimated 750 sq. km under tea, at least 1,500 sq. km of coffee plantations and some 825 sq. km of cardamom cover have been reported in the Western Ghats. While around 40 per cent of natural vegetation was replaced with plantation crops between 1920 and 1990, it also became a source of livelihoods to as many as 3.6 lakh workers in Kerala alone. But all that is seemingly changing as more and more of plantation labour is pushed out of jobs owing to water scarcity, reduced productivity and falling prices. The high hills are also becoming ecologically and climatically incapable of supporting the existing crops, leave alone the new.

The eco-restoration of degraded forest patches between plantations and abandoned plantations areas, restoration of wild life corridors between plantations and other agricultural areas, shift to organic farming practices are critical to the rejuvenation of the hill streams and shola that give birth to the rivers in the Western Ghats. Only by doing so can an year-round flow in Karappara and thousands of such hill streams be restored, which currently have reduced flow immediately after the north-east monsoons. Coupled with reduced moisture in the soil and humidity in the atmosphere, irrigation through groundwater has intensified. Excessive pumping of groundwater in turn has dried small streams feeding into the river. A cycle of destruction has been set in motion!

As many planters are reverting to traditional crops like coffee, one wonders if we have come full circle! Is nature forcing us to mend ways and revert to sustainable land use? The answer is hard to come by. However, it is time the plantation industry and the Spices board wake up to the inevitability of the situation. For sure, the drier winds and desiccating weather can neither support plantations nor the tourists. The paradox of Nelliyampathy is out in the open. The tell-tale signs are reverberating across the entire Western Ghats. Is anyone listening!

Author Dr A Latha, a frequent visitor to the place, is pained at the steady transformation of Nelliyampathy

Western Ghats can't afford GM crops

Kerala has been the first state to denounce GM crops and was followed by Orissa, Chattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. Unless others states existing within the Western Ghats region viz., Tamilnadu, Karnataka, Goa and Maharshtra make similar commitments, the Kerala decision may not have the desired impact.

It will be foolish to introduce `genetically engineered' products in a region where `natural engineering' is still at work, tossing new species frequently. Almost a dozen new ambhibians (see picture) were found in last couple of years. Clearly, this laboratory is far more sophisticated than any GM lab.

It costs no less than $41 million to develop a GM crop and secure administrative sanction for it. Data on safety and productivity of these crops is therefore generated to suit the interests of the companies that developed them because at the end-of-the-day the companies would not only need to recover the investment but make profit too.

Kerala has taken first step to say `NO' to GM crops but unless it is enacted as a legislation, it may remain vulnerable to the dismal science and dubious design of the GM industry. The GM industry has already co-opted the most vulnerable sections of the country's scientific and administrative syatems, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and the Genetic Engineering Advisory Committee being the frontrunner in the category.

Despite growing opposition to GM, in India and across the World, the GM industry may not give in easily. It is backed by `money' that can buy `patronage'. Reports indicate that two US-based scientists are travelling across the country to convince people about GM crops. They already held a meeting in Trivandrum in early December. The scientists who are allegedly on the payroll of industry would only like to clone their species.

Western Ghats cannot afford mindless violation by genetically-modified industry and its cronies. It is a ecological heritage whose economic worth is several times the cumulative assets of the entire GM industry.

A Manifesto For the Alphonso

(A sweet response to Save Western Ghats Manifesto in the latest issue of Outlook. The work with the manifesto is far from over. Til the time communities draft their own manifestos and hold the elected representatives (at all levels) accountable, the task is far from finished. We need `perpetual manifestos and not election manifestos. Any takers!)

Manifestos are usually boring documents that are never read or taken seriously. But if you love the sensuous and succulent delights of the Alphonso mango, I urge you to look at this particular manifesto that has been put out by activists of the `Save Western Ghats Campaign'.

by Sugata Srinivasaraju

Manifestoes churned out by political parties in an election season are usually boring documents that are never read or taken seriously. But if you love the sensuous and succulent delights of the Alphonso mango, I urge you to take a look at this particular manifesto that has been put out by activists of the 'Save Western Ghats Campaign'.

To be fair to the manifesto, the Alphonso is not the only item on its agenda. There are other things too. Such as: Protecting natural forests to ensure water security and energy security (through hydel projects) of south India. The need to regenerate forests with indigenous rather than exotic species of plants. The rights of forest dwellers in national park areas. The need to extend employment guarantee scheme (NREGA) specifically for ecological rehabilitation and the necessity to declare Western Ghats a 'GM free zone' figure prominently.

The campaign is essentially targeting 32 parliamentary constituencies spread across five states (including Karnataka) that fall in this region that hosts one of the richest slices of bio-diversity on planet Earth. The item at the end of the chart is the one that relates to the Alphonso and it says that a series of mega thermal power projects being established in the Konkan and the west coast are severely affecting the micro climate required to cultivate these world-famous mangoes.

Since I have an edible interest in the Alphonso and have already tasted dozens of them this season, I naturally followed up on its fate with some farmers and activists living in the adjoining districts of Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg in Maharastra, where these mangoes are majorly grown. The following is the summary of what I gathered from my conversations:

Apparently, in the 1990s, the Alphonso cultivation in Ratnagiri district was just on 37,000 hectares and in Sindhudurg it was limited to 11,000 hectares, but in 2008 the area of cultivation spread to about 63,000 hectares in Ratnagiri and touched 26,000 hectares in Sindhudurg. This systematic spread in area and increase in production happened because of various promotional schemes of the government in the last two decades. The two districts were also declared agro export zones in 2003-04. But nevertheless, with a spate of power projects being announced in the region in the last few years, people feel that an agricultural zone is fast becoming an 'unofficial special economic zone for power plants'.

Ever since the mid-1980s, there has been an increasing awareness about the potential of the region and when the regional development map was created in 1987, Ratnagiri area was marked as 'eco-sensitive' and a conscious decision was taken not to allow any industries that emit hazardous chemicals. In pursuance of this policy, around 1991, a major boost was given to horticulture in the region and a lot of subsidies were offered to people who took it up. And till about 1995, a good eight years, no 'harmful' industries were allowed. There were no coal-based power projects and the only power project in the area was the Koyna hydel project.

Not to allow industries that let out harmful emissions was crucial to protect the delicate climate of the region that allowed the Alphonso crop to flourish. In fact, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg form a narrow strip between the Arabian sea and the Sahyadri hills, measuring close to 400 kms. The pH quality of the dew that falls here during the flowering season, as well as the humidity and rainfall levels are said to greatly influence the distinct flavour and aroma of the mangoes grown here. But now people fear that Sulphur Di-oxide and other emissions from thermal power plants will affect the pH quality of the dew and, in turn, the quality of mangoes.

Arguably, the sweetest ones are grown in the 15 km width and 180 km length of the Arabian sea here, on an expanse of five taluks. The mangoes grown in this limited area carry the Geographical Indication (GI) tag and are marketed as the very special Ratnagiri Alphonso or Haapoos in the local Marathi tongue. The GI tag is similar to the one conferred upon Champagne, the sparkling white wine produced from the grapes grown in the vineyards of the Champagne region in north-east France. The cherished sourness of the grapes of Champagne is similarly dependant on the micro climate of the region.

Interestingly, nearly 200 farmers in the two districts have been given the global Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) certificate that allows them to export their mangoes. After nearly 35 years, in 2006, Japan and USA, besides Europe started importing mangoes from this region. Earlier, they were banned because of fungus, absence of quality control in cultivation and also indiscriminate use of pesticides. But now with the GAP certificate farmers follow definite processes. The GAP certificate, issued by a Netherlands-based agency, clearly states that there should be no polluting industries in the area where the mangoes are grown and the certification could be withdrawn if such industries do come up. Yet, the very year the GAP certification was received by farmers there was a major turn around in policy for the region when a number of power projects were sanctioned by the government without proper public hearing or a 'cumulative' environment impact assessment (EIA) in the area. "The EIAs being smartly produced now are for single power projects that are being sanctioned, but what is needed is a study of the total or cumulative impact all these projects would have on the climate of this little strip," says Dr. Vivek Yeshwanth Bhide, an Ayurvedic physician and president of the the Ratnagiri Zilla Jagruk Manch.

If you think people in these two districts are being alarmists and are talking a predictable anti-development language, just consider the number of power projects that have come up or have been sanctioned since 1995 and more so in the last three to four years: In 1995, Dhabhol or Enron made its entry into the district with a plan to produce 2200 MW. The company is now renamed Ratnagiri Gas and Power Private Limited. Ten years after the Enron fiasco, in 2005, the Maharastra government entered into an MOU with the Jindals (JSW Energy (Ratnagiri) Ltd) to set up a coal-based 1200 MW power plant in the first phase. At a place called Ranpar, about 15 km from Ratnagiri town, Finolex first proposed a 22 MW captive coal-based power project and then increased it to 43 MW. Now a proposal to further expand this plant to 1000 MW is pending. In Dhopave of Guhagar taluk in Ratnagiri a coal-based plant of 1600 MW capacity has been approved. Again, in Dapoli of Ratnagiri, a 1980 MW coal-based power project of the GMR company has been sanctioned.

In Sindhadurg district at Dhakore-Azagao a 2000 MW coal-based power project has been sanctioned and in Munge a 4000 MW project has been approved. In Sawantvadi taluk of Sindhudurg a 2000 MW project has been approved. Also, in Jaitapur of Ratnagiri, India's biggest atomic power project with a capacity of 9600 MW in the first phase and 5400 MW in the second phase has been planned. But ironically Jaitapur is said to be rich with geo-thermal energy and unfortunately prone to seismic hazards. "In the last two years alone, 91 low-intensity tremors have been felt in the area," says Dr. Bhide.

With all these power projects coming up, what happens to the heritage fruit Alphonso is too serious a question to lay buried in a manifesto. By the time the next mango season arrives, let's hope that at least one MP from one of the 32 parliamentary constituencies in the Western Ghats would have raised a question in this regard in Parliament.If not instant action to save it, surely at least the Alphonso deserves a question in Parliament. Long live the Alphonso!

for original article published in Outlook, May 6, 2009, click

Bahuguna calls for crusaders to save fragile planet

Western Ghats Calling - 9

(Finally, the proposed event to revive the 1988 Save Western Ghats has been successfully completed at Goa from Feb 8-10, 2009. Over 150 participants drawn from 8 states and 3 countries took part in a high-octane event that tossed up collective energies to revive the covil society move to protect whatever is left of the Western Ghats. A pictorial book Sahyadri: Reminiscences & Reflections was released on the closing day.)

Panaji | Wednesday, Feb 11 2009 IST
Well-known environmentalist Padmavibhushan Sunderlal Bahuguna has called for more crusaders to save the fragile planet, particularly the Western Ghats as mountains are towers of water. Mr Bahuguna was participating in the 3-day meet on Save Western Ghats organised by the Peaceful Society at Madkai in Goa, that concluded here yesterday.

The subtle, yet, significant connects between the Himalayas and the Sahyadri (western ghats), need to be comprehended at several ecological and socio - political layers, he observed. Distinguished activist and environmental lawyer B G Krishnan from the Nilgiris set tone for the meet on February 8 by stating that there was no alternative or compromise to conservation of the Western Ghats.

The movement, launched 21 years ago, came back with the same resonating thought with over a hundred green crusaders gatheing from across the country, including Bahuguna, where a book on Sahyadri - Reminiscences and Reflections was released. The book captures the Sahyadri through wildlife photographer N A Nassers lens, and the hell that has been let loose on it through a series of writings collected over two decades.

'The book is an attempt to provide fleeting glimpses of the rich legacy of the Western Ghats and the challenges that lay in front, says its Delhi-based editor and researcher Dr Sudhirender Sharma. In the meet, they discussed strategies to address the conservation issues through strengthening networks, vigilant monitoring of management plans, careful revision of sub - standard Environment Impact Assessment reports, and an articulated seeking of legal and media support. They said Sahyadri must be viewed beyond a state specific subject but as an ecological continuum. Pandurang Hegde, the soul of the Save Western Ghats movement, re-instilled the conviction that Margaret Mead once sparked, Never doubt that a small group of people can bring about change; in fact that is the only thing that ever has. Mr Hegade a well known environmentalist and the founder of the famous Appiko movement of the 1980s.

More than 100 delegates from eight States of the country and three countries took part in the congregation . `It is a historic occasion for us to host this gathering to revive the ethos of the famous Save Western Ghats Walk of 1988 that too had culminated in Goa, said Kumar Kalanand Mani of the Peaceful Society. Mr Mani is known for his commitment to Gandhian values in his life and work. For past 25 years, he has been engaged in pursuing and encouraging social action through Madkai-based Peaceful Society. (UNI)

Gandhi versus Gandhi

Western Ghats Calling - 8

Western Ghats have an interesting ecological history of victories and defeats. While grounding of the controversial Silent Valley was an unprecedented victory in the 1988's, its haunting return to the Valley in 2004 signals defeat. With the state doing all round favours to industrial growth, the Western Ghats have become a new play ground for `destruction towards so-called development'. Much to the displeasure of the disempowered communities, the democratically elected government(s)are indeed digging their own graves by pitching people againt the state).

by Sudhirendar Sharma

Mrs Indira Gandhi would have been shocked! The rare precedent she had set by scrapping the controversial Silent Valley hydroelectric project in the 1980's has long been archived. The Ministry of Environment & Forests she had set up, following the historic Stockholm Summit on Human Environment in 1972, has literally been reduced to being a Ministry for Environment Clearances. A leading Business fortnightly has recently remarked: from Nano to SEZ's; from aviation to telecom, India Inc. is a tale of state patronage. Socialist state supports capitalist corporations at the cost of the poor and the environment.

If facts are anything to go by, the ministry is in a haste to clear projects. Ever since EIA notification came into force on September 14, 2006, but for 4 construction projects the remaining have been cleared. The approved projects include: 952industrial projects, 134 thermal projects, 1 nuclear power project, 1,073 construction projects and 587 non-coal mining projects. Experts argue that in doing so the ministry has not let the recommendations of the Govindrajan Committee go awry. The report had indicted controversy in site selection and peoples' growing opposition as the stumbling blocks to private investments for industrial growth.

As development juggernaut moves full throttle in the Westen Ghats,with Konkan region being its latest play ground, environmental regulations are being side stepped with impunity. Sample this: the JSW Energy Ltd first signed an MoU with Maharashtra Government for a thermal power project in Ratnagiri district and applied for environmental clearance later. Need it be said that in connivance with the powers that-be, site selection for projects has become a cake walk for the project proponents. Socialist state is clearly in the service of the corporate world!

Public opposition, on the other hand, is being silenced through the convenience of `public hearing', mandatory for such projects. Ironically, the outcome of the public hearings is rarely, if ever, counted in the process of according environmental clearance to controversial projects. Consequently, public concern remains unattended till it takes violent form as was in Nandigram and Singur. The mining cases in Goa are a case in point where despite complete opposition by the gram sabhas, lease for mining is being granted. No wonder, affected people are taking to the streets.

Undoubtedly, the State's support to private sector is fuelling peoples' ire. Neglect of gram sabha's position is a clear reflection of `democracy deficit', a violation of constitutional mandate accorded to the panchayats. Critics argue that democracy has seemingly been restricted to electoral obligation by the citizens and does not necessarily translate into peoples' role in decision-making and governance. With the institutional mechanism of the state playing hands in glove with the private sector, the civil society and the responsible media have a major role to play in creating a greater appreciation of the simmering discontent amongst the masses,in the corridors of power.

In the present scheme of things, growth engine is clearing forest areas like never before. Forests are literally being `silenced' of their pristine riches and endemic wildlife. The threat to the Lion-tailed macaque in the Silent Valley had moved Mrs Indira Gandhi, resulting in her creating history of the sorts, but multiple threats to mute wildlife and poor humans in the Western Ghats is not even being heard by Mrs Sonia Gandhi. Without ecological contribution by flora and fauna, the fight to reverse climate change will remain incomplete. Else, the ghost of climate change will subsume the sparkle of economic growth.

(see a rare picture of Indira and Sonia Gandhi above)

Can faith move mountains?

Western Ghats Calling - 7

(From Feb 8-10, 2009, a large group of persons drawn from diverse backgrounds converged at Goa to assess the damage that has done to the pristine Western Ghats in developing strategies to bring about order in the prevailing insanity. The consultation delved into areas that have hitherto remained outside the domain of most civil society discourses. One amongst them has been the linkage between faith and ecology. This is the 7th in the series of despatches leading to the historic event).

by Sudhirendar Sharma

Recent news reports indicate that towards the close of the year, the hotspots of man-animal conflict will get mapped across the country. First of its kind study aims to do a comprehensive assessment across forest divisions in all states. Over past few years, man-animal conflicts have assumed serious proportions. While monkey menace is
commonplace across urban areas, incidents of dreaded King Cobra entering households living close to the forests have come to light in parts of the Western Ghats.

Forest clearing and habitat alterations are undoubtedly at the core of growing incidences of man-animal conflict. Interestingly, however, the cause-effect relationship of such conflicts are often restricted to species that are notoriously dangerous. But what about myriads of other species whose defence mechanisms are not as potent, and who fall victim to its habitat destruction? The Lion-tailed macaque is one species that is threatened on account of habitat fragmentation in its only home in the Western Ghats.

However, the story doesn't end here. The habitat alternation unleashed by the development juggernaut is alienating its very own people, the notion being that too poor and too disempowered people, like the mute creatures in the wild, cannot adequately articulate their own interests. People have been pushed to the limits of tolerance, man-man conflicts manifests in armed encounters across forested areas. Growing same-species intolerance has become a potent political tool to incite
hatred amongst different faiths.

It has long been argued that living close to and in harmony with nature has therapeutic value. Any disconnect in this relationships must trigger divergent responses - intolerance is amongst the first. However, the mechanistic world view that ascribes economic value to every transactions has deeper limitation in evaluating such relationships: as its evaluation is often based on a contract drawn up and signed by single party, leaving little scope for the intepretation of the symbiotic needs of co-habiting species and ecosystems.

Entire notion of living with nature is based on faith, often enshrined in diverse local cultures. Habitat alteration not only erodes prevailing faith(s) but makes people (and animals too!) vulnerable. Accumulated insecurity on account of vulnerabiity results in violence. This is one of the reasons why the Naxalite insurgency - which the Prime Minister has acknowledged to be the single most serious threat to the country - has found such fertile ground in India's forested lands. Western Ghats have not remained isolated from such influences.

Can rebuilding faith(s), not religious polarisation and bigotry, bring about sanity in man-man and man-nature relationship? Given the fact that science cannot be the final arbiter in the matter of our relationship with nature, increasing tolerance for eachother through inter-faith dialogue can help bring some order in a society that has been torn apart. While science has its limitation so has political action, as it cannot generate the imaginative resources that are necessary to a rethinking of the human relationship with nature.

The Unfinished March

Western Ghats Calling - 6

(A 3-month long padyatra involving over 1,000 social activists and researchers to Save Western Ghats had culminated at Goa on Feb 3, 1988. As the ethos of the padyatra get revived 21 years later, yet again at Goa from Feb 8-10, 2009, it is time to look back and reflect upon the past. One of the better known padyatri Mr B J Krishnan, an accomplished lawyer and man behind Save Nilgiris Campaign, reminiscences on the past. Interestingly, Krishnan would be at the upcoming national meeting to Save Western Ghats on Feb 8-10, 2009 in Goa to hand over the baton of responsibility to the young generation. This is the 6th in the series of despatches leading to the historic event.)

by B J Krishnan

Elephants migrated along these fabled forests long before man made his appearance. Birds of every description flitted between lianas, creepers, ferns and tall trees in whose canopy, it is believed, tree squirrels could once have travelled over 1,000 km. without ever stepping down to the ground. The Western Ghats were once rich and productive. Dense vegetation then formed an evergreen canopy to protect the fragile soils of this most diverse and magical belt. The long wall of tree-clothed slopes acted as a screen to capture the rain heavy south-west monsoon winds that blew in from the sea to water this 160,000 sq. km. Eden.

Legend has it that the picturesque ghats were pulled from the oceans by Sage Parshuram, a reincranation of Lord Vishnu. However, the Ghats that form the catchment area for the complex peninsular Indian river system that drains almost 40 per cent of India has been under threat. An area of critical conservation importance today, much of its natural wealth has vanished and little attempt has been made to stem the rot, despite the fact that there is a high degree of biological endemism; species desperately in need of preservation.

When the padyatra was held two decades ago, the marchers had noticed that the principal sufferers of forest loss in the ghats have not been the animals but tribals and rural poor. Watercourses had become polluted. The water table had fallen. Firewood, once abundant, was impossibly scarce and mere living had involved conflict with forest staff. Not much may have changed for the better though. Conversely, it only has worsened.

The Save Western Ghats March (SWGM) was a milestone event in building awareness among a large section of the society on the unique nature of mountain ecosystem in general and that of the Western Ghats in particular. Until then, the environmental focus was only on the Himalayas. That the Western Ghats was the lifeline of the Deccan Plateau was neither comprehended, nor appreciated till then.

During the historic padyatra, the marchers had highlighted the ecological imperative of these mountains as source of water, biodiversity and hydel power. During the one hundred days march, the participants had sharply focused on these environmental imperatives in their public interaction and campaign. This, I consider, as one of the constructive outcome of the March.

At the subjective level, the two group of marchers – one marching in the north-south direction and the other marching on the south-north direction on the ghats, it was an ecological pilgrimage. Marching through the pristine woods, settlements of indigenous people, clear streams and degraded forests, it was both a lesson and experience on the complex web of life in the context of mountain ecosystem.

At the closing stages of the event, an activist from Karnataka had confessed: ` My life will not be the same again.' That summed up the mood, individual transformation being imperative for social change and action.

With over 500 voluntary organisations converging for the largest ever social congregation, it was a great moment in the history of environment movement in the country. People from different parts of the country and abroad representing different shades of opinion and outlook had come together voluntarily for the cause of conservation. It was a defining moment in the ecological history of India.

At the end of the march, we had all converged at Ponda in Goa for a two-day experience sharing exercise. Representing the Save Nilgiris Campaign I had identified three major concerns viz., a highly toxic electroplating industrial unit on the banks of river Moyar; extensive eucalyptus plantation on the sprawling grasslands; and the conversion of virgin forests into tea-plantation in the Janmam lands in Gudalur. It is with some satisfaction I report that two of the three major threats have cased to exist, though conversion of forest into monoculture plantation is an ongoing evil.

The efforts to convert `march' into a `movement' hadn't fructified. As I write this note twenty years later, I'm convinced that we need to build upon the dormant seeds of that momentous event. We cannot allow environmental complacency to set in. Not only have the challenges amplified, the demon has become more potent.

(B J Krishnan,an ardent follower of J Krishnamurti,lives in Ooty with his wife)