CHENNAI: In an important development that would regulate the construction activities around protected areas, the Central government has approved eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) for 11 sanctuaries in Tamil Nadu.
Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar on Friday took to Twitter to make the announcement. “To help scientific conservation of ecosystems and at the same time, give relief to the people in the area, I have approved final eco-sensitive zone notifications of 11 sanctuaries in Tamil Nadu,” he said in the tweet.
ESZs act as “shock absorbers” to the protected areas. The basic aim is to regulate certain activities around national parks and wildlife sanctuaries, so as to minimise the negative impacts of such activities on the fragile ecosystem.
Activities, including commercial mining, setting of saw mills and industries causing pollution and major hydro-power projects, are prohibited in such areas. However, it would not hinder ongoing agriculture and horticulture practices by local communities, rainwater harvesting, organic farming and adoption of green technology.
The State had published draft notification demarcating ESZs, for all the 11 sanctuaries last year, seeking public comments. The proposals were discussed during the 34th ESZ Expert Committee meeting, held on March 6 in New Delhi, wherein the committee recommended for the finalisation of draft notifications.
Javadekar said this scientific demarcation of final ESZ and 10 km from the protected areas, will help farmers, artisans, rural people and small businesses, as the uncertainty has gone. The width of the ESZ and type of regulation may vary from protected area to area. However, as a general principle, the width of the ESZ could go up to 10 km around the protected area. The ministry directed all states and union territories to forward site-specific proposals to set up ESZs.
The nominated sanctuaries
ESZs have been finalised for the Sakkarakottai bird sanctuary in Ramanathapuram, Srivilliputhur Grizzled Squirrel wildlife sanctuary in Virudhunagar and Madurai, Kanjirankulam bird sanctuary in Nilgiris, Vettangudi bird sanctuary in Sivaganga,Kanniyakumari wildlife sanctuary, Megamalai sanctuary in Theni, Point Calimere sanctuary in Nagapattinam, Kodaikanal wildlife sanctuary, Vaduvoor bird sanctuary in Tiruvarur and Oussudu Lake bird sanctuary in Villupuram.Sources in the forest department told TNIE that this was crucial for wildlife conservation as ESZs are ecologically important areas, notified under the Environment Project Act which would protect the sanctuaries.
For instance, early this year, National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) raised the issue of non-compliance over quarrying of granite from within 10 km of Vallanadu Black Buck Sanctuary. The Madras High Court had directed the Thoothukudi collector to ascertain and suspend the operation of granite quarries located within a 10-km radius of Vallanadu wildlife sanctuary, which are found guilty of operating without the clearance from NBWL and forest department.
Forest officials said now the ESZ for Vallanadu Sanctuary has been finalised to the extent of 2 km. “The State had rejected numerous mining proposals and no further activities are permitted in the ESZ,” a forest official said.
Officials said all the sanctuaries are adequately protected, with ESZ going up to 6 km from the boundary of protected areas, like the case of Srivilliputhur Grizzled Squirrel Wildlife Sanctuary, which is the meeting place of two distinct geographical regions of biodiversity landscape i.e., Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Point Calimere Sanctuary, which is home to the largest population of the black buck in southern India and has the single largest stretch of the unique dry evergreen forest in the country. Some of the less known biodiversity hot spots like Vaduvoor bird sanctuary in Tiruvarur and Oussudu Lake in Villupuram, which were facing problems, would get protection now.