Context: Recently, a new pumped hydro storage project has been proposed inside Sharavathi Valley Wildlife Sanctuary in Karnataka, threatening the Lion Tailed Macaque population.
Key Points

• The Union Government allowed a geotechnical investigation for the same. The project was cleared by the standing committee of National Board for Wildlife (SC-NBWL).
• The facility seeks to store water at the elevated Talakalale reservoir by pumping water from the lower Gerusoppa reservoir when demand on the grid for power is low.

About the Project

• Heavily dammed Sharavathi river contributes to 40 percent of the total hydropower generation in Karnataka. Now, a new underground pumped storage project is planned on the river by the Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL).
• Environmentalists fear a new infrastructure in the heart of the Sharavathi valley that demands diversion of 360 acres of pristine forest land would spell doom to the valley, one of the last existing habitats of the endangered lion-tailed macaque species endemic to the Western Ghats.
• Experts believe the power plant could end up consuming more energy from the grid than it can generate in a year and is not worthy of the huge ecological cost to the society.

Importance of Sharavati River Valley

• The Sharavathi river, originating in the central Western Ghats, runs through the districts of Shivamogga and Uttara Kannada of Karnataka. 
• The river, with a catchment area of about 3,600 square kilometres, takes birth at Ambuthirtha in Thirthahalli taluk and flows northwesterly for 130 km to join the Arabian Sea at Honnavar in Uttara Kannada district. 
• The Sharavathi river valley is home to a diverse array of species and sustains very rich biodiversity. 
• The river basin supports a rich flora of 215 herbs, shrubs and climbers. Many endemic and endangered species of fauna like leopard, spotted deer, mouse deer, civet cat, sloth bear etc. and 140 species of birds and 130 species of butterflies were identified here. 
• The presence of Myristica swamp in the climax evergreen forests is another notable feature of the valley.

Lion-tailed macaque

• The Lion-tailed macaque is a primate endemic to the Western Ghats.
• Diet:  fruits (primary) insects, eggs as well as small animals
• Habitation: Prefers the upper canopy of primary tropical evergreen rainforest
• Found in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Naduin the Western Ghats hill ranges from the Kalakkad Hills in the south to Sirsi-Honnavara in the north at an altitude of 100 to 1,300 metres.
• Major threats: Fragmentation of the habitathunting, roadkills.

Conservation status

• IUCN: Endangered
• Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species: Appendix 1
• Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule I species

Challenges

• As per the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the total number of mature individuals is less than 2,500.
• The population is expected to suffer an estimated decline of over 20% in the next 25 years due to varied reasons including Behavioural Change: They spend minimal time for foraging due to easy access to human-origin food, cooked and uncooked.

Sharavathi river

• The Sharavati River is a westward flowing river of India. It originates from the Western Ghats of Karnataka. Its empties into the Arabian Sea at Honnavar, also in Karnataka.
• Total length is 132 km
• The major tributaries of the river are Nandihole, Haridravathi, Mavinahole, Hilkunji, Yennehole, Hurlihole, and Nagodihole.

Key Facts

• The river forms the Jog Falls.
• Sharavati river and the valley play a crucial role in providing economic and ecological security to the people of Karnataka
• The Linganmakki Dam, Gerusoppa Dam are built on the river. Honnemaradu is an island on the reservoir formed by the Linganamakki dam.
• The Sharavati Valley Wildlife Sanctuary is part of the river basin.  Sharavati Valley is also known as the Silent Valley of Karnataka.
• The landscape is covered by climax tropical evergreen forests that are extremely rich in flora and fauna, like the lion-tailed macaque, Great Indian Hornbill etc.

About National Board for Wildlife (NBWL)

• Constituted By: Central Government under the provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (WLPA).
• Status: Statutory Organization
• NBWL headed by Prime Minister
• No of Members: 47 including PM (from Parliament, NGOs and ecologists, conservationists and environmentalists
• Standing Committee of NBWL: Vice-Chairperson (Union Minister in charge of Forests and Wildlife), the Member Secretary and not more than ten members
• NBWL can adjudicate on industrial projects, road diversions or matters of encroachment into Protected Areas or Forest eco-sensitive zones.
• Importance: Approval of the NBWL is mandatory for construction activities, alteration of boundaries, de-notification of Tiger reserves and among others in national parks and wildlife sanctuaries.