Time is ticking away for Goa to achieve another global distinction of its stretch of the Sahyadri hills being included in the UNESCO list of world heritage sites. The state has just over a week left to present its case to UNESCO.
UNESCO had approved the listing of the Western Ghats as a natural heritage site for protection under certain conditions on July 2, 2012. Environmentalists in Goa were disappointed that the state government did not make a case for inscription of the biodiversity-rich state with its 750 sq km of integrated protected area network as a heritage site.
UNESCO had extended the deadline for the Union ministry of environment and forest (MoEF) to make a case for an inscription of Goa stretch of the Western Ghats till January 19, 2013.
"The NGOs have done their work and the proposal is ready and the government should release the file," Goa Foundation's Claude Alvares said.
After environmentalists raised an alarm over the non-inclusion of the stretch of Sahyadris in Goa, the forest department worked on a proposal to make good the omission.
"The forest department has already submitted the file to the government," a source said.
Forest minister Alina Saldanha said the matter will be discussed by the government shortly. "There is a meeting of the high-level working group to review Madhav Gadgil's Western Ghats ecology expert panel on January 14," Saldanha said.
Chief minister Manohar Parrikar, the forest minister and government officials will attend the meeting of the nine-member panel headed by Planning Commission member (science) K Kasturirangan.
Goa's inclusion is considered crucial for the protection of one of the hottest biodiversity hotspots in the world, spanning five other states-Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Gujarat. Goa and Gujarat overlooked the opportunity while the four other states cited 39 serial sites in the Western Ghats in the nomination dossier.
Though the hills narrow towards Goa, the Sahyadris in the state offer a solid and ideal north-south corridor for the 2,000-km range stretching through almost half of India. Goa's five wildlife sanctuaries and a national park provide contiguity to the protected areas of Bhimgad wildlife sanctuary and the project tiger reserves of Dandeli WLS and Anshi national park in Karnataka.
"This is an important transitional portion between northern and southern ghats and if this link is broken, the conservation of natural heritage will suffer," Alvares said.
The government showed little interest after the inscription process was initiated. Former chief wildlife warden and additional principal chief conservator of forests Shashi Kumar did not attend two meetings of the Western Ghats natural heritage management committee to take up matters pertaining to the nomination dossier.
The built heritage of Old Goa comprising church complexes and ruins of other monuments has been already included as a world heritage site by UNESCO.
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