Context: Recently, the Karnataka Government has submitted its opposition to the Centre against the Kasturirangan Committee report as it can adversely affect the livelihood of people in the region. 

• The Kasturirangan committee report has proposed 37% of the total area of Western Ghats to be declared as Eco-Sensitive Area (ESA).

Reasons behind rejection by Karnataka
The Karnataka's Government is of the opinion that declaring Western Ghats as ESA would adversely affect the livelihood of people in the region by displacement of locals. 

• Hitherto conservation measures: Karnataka has the distinction of being one of the states with extensive forest cover and the government has taken care to protect the biodiversity of Western Ghats.
• Curb over development activities: The state believes that implementation of the report will halt the developmental activities in the region.
• Issues over satellite observations: The Kasturirangan report has been prepared based on the satellite images, but the ground reality is different.
• Adaptation by People: People of the region have adopted agriculture and horticultural activities in an eco-friendly manner.

About Eco-Sensitive Areas

• These type of areas are located within 10 kms around Protected Areas, National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries.
• ESAs are notified by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) under Environment Protection Act 1986.
• The basic aim is to regulate certain activities around National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries so as to minimize the negative impacts of such activities on the fragile ecosystem encompassing the protected areas.?

Kasturirangan Committee Report

• The Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP), also known as the Gadgil Commission after its chairman Madhav Gadgil, was an environmental research commission.
• It was appointed by the Ministry of Environment and Forests of India. The commission submitted the report in 2011.
• The WGEEP was succeeded by an eminent scientist K. Kasturirangan.

Key recommendations by the committee
(1) Declaration of Eco-Sensitive Area (ESA)

• The committee report proposes 37 per cent of the total area of Western Ghats, which is roughly 60,000 square km, to be declared as eco-sensitive area (ESA).
• Out of this, 20,668 sq km of the area falls in Karnataka (46.50%) covering 1,576 villages.

(2) Ban on various activities

• The report recommended a blanket ban on mining, quarrying, setting up of red category industries and thermal power projects.
• It also stated that the impact of infrastructural projects on the forest and wildlife should be studied before permission is given for these activities.

(3) Urging of UNESCO World Heritage tag

• It has sought for UNESCO Heritage tag as an opportunity to build global and domestic recognition of the enormous natural wealth that exists in the Western Ghats.
• The 39 sites are located across the Western Ghats and distributed across the states (Kerala 19), Karnataka (10), Tamil Nadu (6) and Maharashtra (4).

Significance of the recommendations

• There have been massive encroachments across the state forest areas and these have been done at the behest of political leaders.
• We are in the throes of extreme climate events, which are impacting nature and people.
• Hence it is prudent to conserve the fragile ecosystems as it costs less compared to the situation prone to calamities (with changes in the climate).

What will be the implications if the recommendations are not implemented?

• Climate change has grave repercussions for all of the globe and specially India, thus, it is prudent that governments accept these recommendations. 
• Otherwise, it can lead to not just an ecological loss but also an economical one, as the cost of conserving these ecosystems will be much lower than their restoration and rejuvenation. State governments should focus on long term benefits . 

Road Ahead

• Central Government can firstly focus on implementation of clauses that have wide acceptability and then engage in consultative process with all stakeholders on other recommendations of the report, that are cause of concern. 

Additional Information

About Westen ghats

• It is one of three global biodiversity hot spots in India (other two are The Himalayas and Indo-Burma Region). There are just 34 spots all over the world.
• Western Ghats get UNSECO World Heritage Site tag in year 2012.
• The entire Western Ghats (Sahyadri) extend from Dang on Maharashtra-Gujarat to near Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu, along the western coast that is 7,953 sq km of area.
• Western Ghats are home to several rare as well as endemic species of birds, animals, insects, fish, amphibians and plants. There are over 5000 species of flowering plants, 139 mammal species, 508 bird species and 179 amphibian species
• Northern Western Ghats are known for several species of endemic limbless amphibians (caecilians) and floral diversity plateaus, such as Kaas
• The floral vistas of Neela Kurunji in Kerala and Karvi in Maharashtra are a visual treat in monsoons after periodic intervals
• Several streams originating in Western Ghats are home to endemic species of hill stream fish
• The forests of the Western Ghats have a stabilizing effect on the climate, which induces heavy rains on the western slopes and the western coast and moderate rains on the eastern slopes
• The ports and creeks along the western coast, which are so crucial to the economy of the region and transportation, can be kept navigable and silt free, only if the forests on the Western Ghats are preserved
• The almost continuous forests along the crest and the base of the Western Ghats and the mangrove forests along the coast play a vital role in carbon sequestration and reduction of global warming
• The cluster of sites considered for nomination are the landscapes of Agasthyamalai, Periyar, Anamalai, Nilgiris, Upper Cauvery in Kodagu, Kudremukh and Sahyadri.