The Western Ghats is not just a place of breathtaking natural beauty but also a biodiversity zone where many rare and endangered species of flora and fauna flourish. But unrestricted mining, quarrying and huge infrastructure projects are endangering the fragile ecology of the region. This comes at a time when global warming is making its presence felt in the most acute way even in India. CNN-IBN's environment editor Bahar Dutt joined IBNLive readers for an interaction on the issue.
Q. Is the silent Valley really silent or is it silently being disturbed? Asked by: sundar1950in
A. Sundar, good question! it is silently being disturbed. There are now new plans emerging for a dam which could impact this important habitat all over again.
Q. Does the Ministry of tourism and Ministry of Industry coordinate with MOE&F regarding activities in western Ghats? Asked by: sundar1950in
A. I think we need a central nodal authority for the Western Ghats , the problem is there are too many agencies and different state governments
Q. I feel not only Western Ghats but also all the ghats must be protected? Asked by: prathap
A. Hi Prathap - yes all ghats. Even the eastern ghats , are full of biodiversity
Q. In Terms of Environment friendliness Gadgil report was one of the best reports that Independent India has seen. As soon as Jairam Ramesh was promoted to RD ministry, Ms. Natarajan shown dustbin to such a valuable report. Can you throw light on reasoning behind it, If any? Asked by: rushikesh_d
A. Good question Rushikesh. The Gadgil report was important,we have profiled him on our series that airs today do watch it at 1030pm. To answer your question without getting into individual accusations I would say that the issue is complicated as many of the state govt's don't want the world heritage tag , i think the MOEF needs to work closely with the state governments to convince them that saving these ghats is important.
Q. Population is a big problem in India and no one whether NGO or Govt failed to recognize this. People for survival purpose endanger the ecology of the region? What had happened to Ganges? More polluted than ever. To me Population is the reason, do you agree? Asked by: kochappan
A. hi Kochappan- I don't agree population is a problem. I think how we manage our natural resources is the question. Even the Ganga can become cleaner, provided we don't dump sewage, we decide if having 300 bumber to bumper dams is viable. The threats of dams, and highways are a far bigger threat to our forests and rivers than 'population' You can have huge consumption patterns and small population growth as in the West, but its still a threat.
Q. Attempts to have wild animal corridors, RESERVEs, and such exclusive zones for the wild animals have met with resistance from TRIBALS - who rightfully belong to those areas. Both need protection. Any way out? Asked by: sundar1950in
A. Yes I think the Toda tribals or the Cholanaickens, the indigenous tribals are as threatened as the flora and fauna of the Western Ghats. we visited a Toda village on this series and found most of them have abandoned their culture and way of life. You can call this progress but i wonder have we not lost something along the way?
Q. Environment ministry is defunct in many ways; one of the reasons is staff shortage, as it happened in the case of SEZ in Bellandur wetlands - http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/articles/view/5332. Any solution? Asked by: Shree
A. hi Shree, I don't think shortage of staff can be an excuse for the general lethargy. I think the judiciary is short staffed as well but they still do a brilliant task of environment protection. Its just a question of political will.
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