BENGALURU: Forest, environment and ecology minister Eshwar B Khandre on Wednesday issued orders to undertake a carrying capacity study of the Western Ghats and submit a report within six months.
The orders were issued owing to the increasing pressure on the region because of infrastructure, mining, commercial, residential and tourism projects. This will be the first ever study of the region, which has been declared as a biodiversity hotspot by UNESCO.
The need for the study assumes importance as Karnataka houses the largest patch of the Western Ghats.
The study will be undertaken by the forest department, Karnataka Biodiversity Board and the Environmental Management and Policy Research Institute (EMPRI). A committee headed by Meenakshi Negi, principal chief conservator of forests and head of forest force, will be formed within 10 days, Khandre said.
He was speaking at a meeting of the Karnataka Biodiversity Board here. Khandre said the government has taken the landslides in the Western Ghats and the loss of life due to such disasters seriously.
Members of the biodiversity committee said the carrying capacity studies conducted in Uttara Kannada region and Bandipur Tiger Reserve were discussed during the meeting.
“The need for a participatory approach for the study was discussed. If a carrying capacity limit has to be set, empirical data is needed and how it has to be gathered and collated was also discussed,” said a committee member.
The adverse impact of opening the Western Ghats for various development projects is being felt now with heavy rainfall in short duration, landslides and low soil quality. Many caveats are put when projects are given environmental clearance. But have they been met? And what has been the impact has not been studied so far. This carrying capacity report will include all such details, another committee member said.