"Western Ghats ESA notification stalled amid Centre-State conservation disputes"
Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA)
a zone notified under the Environment Protection Act, 1986 where specified activities are prohibited or regulated to protect ecology.
Ecologically Sensitive Zone (ESZ)
sub-divisions within an ESA (ESZ1, ESZ2, ESZ3) with progressively relaxed activity restrictions proposed by the WGEEP.
The Western Ghats, stretching approximately 1,600 km along India's western coast across six states — Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu — is one of the world's eight biodiversity hotspots. Recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2012, it harbours thousands of endemic species and serves as the origin of major peninsular rivers including the Godavari, Krishna, Kaveri, and Periyar. The region's ecological sensitivity prompted the Union government to constitute the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) in 2010 under ecologist Madhav Gadgil, whose 2011 report recommended classifying approximately 64% of the Western Ghats as Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA), sub-divided into three Ecologically Sensitive Zones (ESZ1, ESZ2, ESZ3) with progressively relaxed restrictions.
Facing strong local and political opposition from the concerned states, the government constituted a high-level working group in 2012 — the Kasturirangan Committee — to review the WGEEP recommendations. This committee adopted a more development-permissive approach, recommending ESA status for only 37% of the region, limiting restrictions to ecologically sensitive natural landscapes rather than the entire Ghats. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) issued the first draft notification based on this recalibrated report in 2014, triggering a decade-long impasse between the Centre and the six states.
The legal basis for ESA notification rests on the Environment Protection Act, 1986, which empowers the central government to restrict or prohibit industrial activity, mining, and construction in ecologically fragile areas. Once notified, an ESA provides statutory protection to the region's biodiversity and regulates human activities that could degrade fragile ecosystems.
An Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA) is a zone notified under the Environment Protection Act, 1986 where certain activities are prohibited, restricted, or regulated to protect ecological integrity. The Kasturirangan framework — which forms the basis of all draft notifications since 2014 — identifies approximately 59,940 sq km of the Western Ghats as ESA, covering natural landscapes while excluding human-modified areas such as plantations and agricultural land. This distinction is critical: the Gadgil report treated the entire Ghats as a single ecological unit, while the Kasturirangan approach separates 'natural landscape' from 'cultural landscape,' the latter being areas already substantially modified by human activity.
Between 2014 and 2026, five successive draft notifications were issued, each lapsing without finalisation due to the absence of consensus between the Centre and the states. The states' objections cluster around three concerns: the impact on agriculture and plantation crops (arecanut, coffee, rubber, coconut), restrictions on mining and infrastructure development, and the perceived unfairness of using satellite imagery to demarcate ESA boundaries — imagery that, communities argue, cannot distinguish plantation crops from natural forest cover. …
Consider the following statements:
1.In India, the Himalayas are spread over five States only.
2.Western Ghats are spread over five States only.
3.Pulicat Lake is spread over two States only.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Which of the following are in Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve?
From the ecological point of view, which one of the following assumes importance in being a good link between the Eastern Ghats and the Western Ghats?
With reference to the Western Ghats Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA) notification process, consider the following statements:
1.The WGEEP (Gadgil Committee) recommended classifying approximately 64% of the Western Ghats as ESA.
2.The Kasturirangan Committee recommended ESA status for approximately 37% of the Western Ghats.
3.ESA notifications are issued under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
4.The Western Ghats spans six coastal states of India.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
Which of the following best describes the key methodological distinction between the Gadgil Committee and Kasturirangan Committee approaches to Western Ghats ESA classification?
The communities living near the Western Ghats protected areas have raised concerns that satellite imagery used for ESA demarcation is unfair. What is the primary reason cited for this concern?
Want the full note, Prelims Facts & MCQ answers?
Create a free account — takes less than a minute.
Create free account