The tag came late on Sunday at the 36th session of the World Heritage Committee (WHC), which is meeting in St Petersburg in Russia.
The Western Ghats have finally got the UNESCO world heritage site status. The tag came late on Sunday at the 36th session of the World Heritage Committee (WHC) which is meeting in St Petersburg in Russia. Altogether 39 sites that dot the Western Ghats landscape will be part of the region designated as WHS.
The WHC decision reportedly came after intense lobbying by the Indian government. The Western Ghats almost did not make it to the WHS list after the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which assesses proposals for sites of natural significance, asked UNESCO to defer granting the WHS tag to the Ghats in May.
Had the WHC abided by the IUCN’s recommendations, the Western Ghats would have had to wait for another three years before it could apply for the status again. Even last year, the proposal of the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) was almost shot down. India, however, managed to keep the proposal afloat.
When the Indian team went to St Petersburg, the WHS status for the Western Ghats was almost a lost cause. Given the backdrop, the Indian government has been able to pull off a coup of sorts.
Sunday’s development now puts the ball back in the court of the Indian government—it needs to act on the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) report.
The IUCN, in fact, asked India to take into account the recommendations of the WGEEP since the panel had been specifically tasked to compile scientific data and define ecologically sensitive areas through consultation.
Among other things, the report of the WGEEP headed by eminent ecologist Madhav Gadgil had faulted the government on the virtual non-implementation of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act.
The Indian government, for now, has got the coveted status. India will have little option but to adhere to the Operation Guidelines if it wants to retain the tag.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}