Western Ghats Project

Western Ghats Project: The Ministry of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences recently submitted a written reply in the Lok Sabha regarding the Western Ghats Project.

• About Western Ghats Project: A Call for Proposals (CFP) on “Geospatial Technology and Solutions” was issued on 13th June 2024 through the Electronic Project Management System (e-PMS) portal.

o The proposal aimed to develop a GIS-based Spring Information System for selected districts of Western Ghats to assess climate and land use impacts on watershed hydrology.

o The committee rejected it due to lack of scalability and commercialization potential.

• About Western Ghats: It is a mountain range (1,600 km stretch) parallel to the western coast of India.

o UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the 36 biodiversity hotspots in the world.

o Home to high mountain forests, which are severely fragmented due to human activities like tea, coffee, and teak plantations.

• Conservation Efforts: In 2010, MoEFCC appointed Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) under Dr. Madhav Gadgil to study population pressure, climate change, and development impact on Western Ghats.
• Implementation Status: In 2017, MoEFCC designated 56,825 sq km as ESA instead of 59,940 sq km recommended by Kasturirangan committee.
• ESA distribution among states: Kerala (9,993 sq km) → Karnataka (20,668 sq km) → Tamil Nadu (6,914 sq km) → Maharashtra (17,340 sq km) → Goa (1,461 sq km) → Gujarat (449 sq km)