case study on deforestation in western ghats

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Devastation in the Western Ghats in the name of unplanned development

Activities like rampant stone quarrying, construction of infrastructure in fragile areas and deforestation for commercial plantation have led to massive changes in the Ghats, causing landslides, floods, droughts and other events in which hundreds have died

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• Corpus ID: 26493545

Deforestation and land use changes in Western Ghats, India

• C. Jha , C. Dutt , S. Bawa
• Published 2000
• Environmental Science, Geography
• Current Science

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244 Citations

Forest cover change detection of western ghats of maharashtra using satellite remote sensing based visual interpretation technique..

• Highly Influenced

Mapping Deforestation and Forest Degradation Patterns in Western Himalaya, Pakistan

Forest cover change detection analysis in the eastern ghats of tamil nadu, india - a remote sensing and gis approach, land cover change analysis with special reference to forests and paddy wetlands of neyyar and karamana river basins, kerala, sw india using gis and remote sensing, land use and land cover changes in a tropical river basin: a case from bharathapuzha river basin, southern india, assessment of spatial changes in forest cover and deforestation rate in eastern ghats highlands of odisha, india,, monitoring of deforestation and land use changes (1925–2012) in idukki district, kerala, india using remote sensing and gis, assessment and monitoring of long-term forest cover changes in odisha, india using remote sensing and gis, assessment of spatial and temporal dynamics of tropical forest cover: a case study in malkangiri district of orissa, india, forest degradation in the western ghats biodiversity hotspot : resource collection, livelihood concerns and sustainability, 4 references, remote sensing and tropical land management., environmental geology, indian context, the southern western ghats : a biodiversity conservation plan, related papers.

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• Environment
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Saving India’s Western Ghats: A Long-Drawn-Out Debate Surrounding Conservation and Development

• Minerals and Mining
• Climate Diplomacy

The Western Ghats are one of the top biodiversity hotspots in the world and form an important watershed. In five Indian states, the mountain range is at the heart of environmental conflicts: Fragmentation and deterioration of forests, biodiversity loss, pollution, soil erosion and landslides, soil infertility and agrarian stress, depleting groundwater resources, climate change and introduction of alien species, caused by developmental and mining projects, have raised the alarm in recent years.

This article is based on a role play event developed by adelphi to complement the Exhibition on Environment, Conflict and Cooperation (ECC) and adapted to the case of the Western Ghats by Manipal University. The event is part of the Climate Diplomacy Initiative supported by the German Federal Foreign Office.

The role play develops a fictional scenario in which the governments of two countries, a mining company, the local rural population and a separatist group have competing interests and claims over shared resources. Also, they have to deal with drought and the harmful impacts of mining, besides facing a changing climate. By slipping into the different actors’ roles, students can experience the connections between natural resources, environmental change and conflict. Participants can also simulate negotiations and engage in multi-party consensus finding. This form of collaborative learning makes clear how shared natural resources can be both a potential source of conflict as well as a point of departure for dialogue and cooperation.

adelphi inaugurated the role play in August 2016, in Berlin, with international high-school students as part of the Elbe Green Summer Session organised by AFS Interkulturelle Begegnungen e.V.

Arrayed along India’s southwest coast is a 1,600-kilometre-long mountain chain with forests older than the Himalayas: the Western Ghats. The mountains are one of the top biodiversity hotspots in the world, housing a large number of indigenous species of plants and animals, and are a recognised UNESCO World Heritage Site. Forming one of the four watersheds of India, the Ghats also attract large amount of rainfall and are at the heart of water conflicts in five states (Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu). Fragmentation and deterioration of forests, biodiversity loss, pollution (air, water and soil), soil erosion and landslides, soil infertility and agrarian stress, depleting groundwater resources, climate change and introduction of alien species, to name just a few, caused by developmental and mining projects have raised the alarm in recent years.

In response to this visible environmental deterioration, the central government constituted two panels comprising environmental experts and other professionals from both governmental and non-governmental organisations (NGO), which recommended that certain landscapes be declared as Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESA), where developmental activities would be banned or restricted. Reports released by both panels were rejected by the state governments. In September 2014, the National Green Tribunal (NGT), established for “effective and expeditious disposal of cases relating to environmental protection and conservation of forests and other natural resources,” criticized the central government for not coming out with a clear and unambiguous stand on the issue and failing to accept completely the recommendations of either reports.

Following stiff opposition from the state governments in the Western Ghats region, the central government asked them to submit reports on the demarcation of ESAs, including ground surveys and objections, further delaying the draft notification for ESA in the region – prompting mine owners to seek conditional sanction from the judiciary to resume operations in Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra. All the states, except Tamil Nadu, have submitted their reports and all except Gujarat have recommended a decrease in ESA . The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has initiated fresh consultations with the state governments to reach a consensus and, in the process, also interact with the locals before arriving at a final decision.

The Western Ghats continue to remain in the news as the stalemate over the ESA proposal is far from being resolved. The NGT has under its disposal many cases against projects in the Western Ghats region – the latest being against the Yettinahole Project in Karnataka, wherein the NGT has issued a notice to the MoEFCC, Karnataka government, Karnataka Neeravari Nigam Limited (KNNL), Regional Office of the Environment Ministry and the tree conservation officer. Protests have also not died down on both sides of the debate (conservation and development), as political parties try to create mileage out of the issue by organising hartals (mass protests often involving a total shutdown of workplaces, offices, shops, courts of law etc), as evidenced by the dawn-to-dusk hartal in Idukki district called by the United Democratic Front (EDF), the opposition party in Kerala, against the ruling Left Democratic Front’s (LDF) stance on the inclusion of certain number of villages in the ESA.

The state of socio-ecological affairs in the Western Ghats  

Being a breathing ground for several endangered species of flora and fauna, carrying out effective development in this region is a greater problem as there is no comprehensive solution that can guarantee total sustainability as well as no degradation. The balancing act between conservation and development has given rise to more conflicts in the region than a way out. For example, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have been embroiled in an ugly legal battle over the sharing of water of the River Kaveri (Cauvery) that originates in the Western Ghats. This conflict remains unresolved despite the recommendations of a tribunal that oversees the sharing of the river’s waters and repeated judgements of the Supreme Court (SC) of India (apex court). Recently (in 2016), both states witnessed violence against people and public/private property belonging to the other state in the aftermath of a SC hearing. With the two governments enmeshed in this conflict  unwilling to negotiate on equal terms and accept any decision amicable to both parties, the Kaveri dispute is a long way from being resolved. At the same time, dam projects, as a solution for drinking water problems, are being pushed ahead.

With the exclusion of dams for drinking water and industrial water supply from the ambit of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification 2006, the rampant construction of dams throughout the Western Ghats is causing massive deforestation. The regions in which these dams are being constructed fall under the Ecologically Sensitive Zone (ESZ) 1, according to the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel’s (WGEEP led by ecologist Madhav Gadgil, also called the Gadgil Commission, set up by the central government) recommendations, wherein construction of large dams is not to be allowed. If these projects are undertaken on a larger scale, the Western Ghats are set to lose 6,000 hectares of forest cover . According to some estimates, these projects in the Western Ghats could trigger the displacement of more than 30,000 tribal peoples in Maharashtra, rendering it a social problem as well.

The region harbours a significant tribal population, such as in Karnataka, which includes the Malekudiyas, Siddhis, Soliggas and Halakkis among others. In the politics of development, these tribes who have considered the land their home for ages now, are the affected stakeholders. As the stakes of development rise, when the central government talks of rehabilitation proposals, they do not seem feasible because such measures need a multi-fold backing as the displaced people need to sustain themselves too. Although the provisions of the Recognition of Forest Rights Act exist, basic facilities such as education and healthcare are still lacking in many parts of the region. However, these lands are mineral-rich and have therefore been at the centre of controversy for long due to the lack of compensation and resettlement packages on account of mining and other extractive activities.

Environmentalists have been rallying to raise awareness regarding the loss of forest cover and other issues pertaining to the Western Ghats for a long time. When the Gadgil Commission’s recommendations were made public, these caused massive protests across the five states, especially in Kerala, where strikes organised by political parties hit normal life in upland districts. Protesters called the Gadgil report anti-farmer and alleged that it would drive out forest dwellers. The original report by Gadgil does not mention any such moves and instead recommends that the tribals and other forest dwellers who reside in the Western Ghats region be provided financial assistance to help them switch to organic farming methods. In fact, this report revolves around the assertion that most members of the cultural landscape in the Western Ghats region are benefited by preservation of the natural landscape.

In the light of the protests that erupted as a response to the report, another expert panel was set up – this time under the chairmanship of space research scientist Kasturirangan – that came up with another set of recommendations. The Kasturirangan panel, also called the High Level Working Group (HLWG), mellowed the recommendations to a great extent by, as they said, taking into account human habitation and peoples’ livelihoods in the region – giving equal weight to both human and nature. It identified only 37 percent of the Western Ghats as ecologically sensitive. Moreover, the panel called for incentivizing green and sustainable practices in the region, rather than banning development outright. The result would reduce the area of the Western Ghats identified as ecologically sensitive by nearly half. In fact, Goa Foundation (an NGO) filed an appeal before the NGT, contesting the rejection of the Gadgil report by the MoEFCC. It argued that the Kasturirangan committee had diluted the recommendations of the Gadgil report and that the new report would not help in stopping environmental degradation in the Western Ghats. Still, certain state governments remained dissatisfied. For instance, Karnataka accepted the Kasturirangan report’s recommendation of stopping mining but not quarrying and sand mining in the ESA.

In Kerala, the story does not end at these two reports. The regulations laid down by the Kerala Forest (Vesting and Management of Ecologically Fragile Lands) Act (that empowers the Forest Department to take over EFL from private owners) have also caused confusion in the minds of people, particularly the farmers who feared that their lands would be taken away from them if the ESAs were converted into an EFL and that they would not be compensated. The issues of plantation farmers and hydel power projects (especially the Athirapally power project) are the biggest roadblocks in implementing the ESA proposal in the state. The Athirapally hydel power project would not have been given the green light if the Gadgil report had been enforced According to the Kasturirangan report, it can be carried out, but with certain conditions by which the flow of waterfalls would not be affected. However, the project faces severe opposition from the tribal community in the project area, who claim that the project would result in their rights being infringed upon under the Forest Rights Act of 2006.

On the tribal issue, both reports actually fail to reach any consensus on the fate of these communities, even while addressing the environment versus development debate. The 2006 Act on forest rights of tribal communities and traditional forest dwellers, allows them to cultivate the forest land on which they have depended for their livelihood for generations. But as the Gadgil report states, “Forest land should not be used for non-forest purposes.” This contravenes the said rights provided to tribes and traditional forest dwellers. Also, there are thousands of leasehold farmers who cultivate and secure livelihood from forest land and this clause would be detrimental to them too. The Gadgil report says that public land should not be converted into private land. But there are tens of thousands of peasant families, including tribes, possessing agricultural land for decades in the Western Ghats region but they have been denied land documents; many thousand families are prevented from remitting land tax. They are small and marginal peasants belonging to a new generation of settled farmers who have migrated to high ranges, or poor tribal families.

It is to be noted that the most polluting ‘ red ’ category industries (like fertilizer plants, oil refineries, tanneries and copper smelters), as per the Kasturirangan report, can be established outside the ESA (67 percent of the Western Ghats), while ‘ yellow ’ category industries can be set up anywhere in the Western Ghats. The only activities that are barred within the ESA are mining, quarrying and sand mining. These activities are banned in the protected areas anyway. The methodology adopted by the HLWG declares this agenda unmistakably clear and loud. According to this, the “natural landscape” needs to be considered for conservation, while in the rest of the area, referred to as “cultural landscape”, any kind of developmental activity is permissible. In other words, of the 164,280 square kilometres of the Western Ghats, as defined by the HLWG, only some 60,000 square kilometres (37 percent) have been set apart for conservation, and in turn to be declared as an ESA. And, it is to be noted that this includes national parks, sanctuaries, reserve forests, world heritage sites and other protected areas. Such kinds of conclusions should be reviewed further for an apt and viable solution.

Finding solutions and reaching consensus

While reaching a solution on the conflicts related to the Western Ghats seems to be a very difficult task, a certain degree of consensus can be reached on a few issues that affect all in the region and where solutions are implementable in terms of feasibility. The governments and other concerned stakeholders need to provide accurate information to the people so that players with vested interests cannot spread rumours to incite violence in order to further their own ends. The mining mafia has played a role in mobilising general sentiments against the Gadgil report.

On top of these two committees, the Kerala Government formed another committee to review the Kasturirangan report and it has recommended that “ the inhabited areas, plantations and agricultural lands in the Western Ghats region be excluded from the scope of ESA.” This bureaucratic logjam must end and steps to protect the eco-sensitive areas of the Western Ghats need to be taken. Water-sharing issues will have to be dealt with in a more cooperative manner than is currently being done, as the focus now lies on division of waters and not co-development. As far as energy requirements are concerned, if not on a large scale, a shift from the conventional sources of energy production is important and should be initiated at the primary level so as to sustain and promote it further. Such projects have been successful, as seen in the case of solar energy projects in towns like Kanhangad, Kerala.

On the social front, proper documentation of tribal and other backward and poor communities should be produced so as to segregate households and families during the implementation of projects (with their consent), giving a mutually accepted compensation securitised by a legal expert, an ecologist and a representative of a trusted local NGO, along with the tribal representatives so as to avoid any kind of exploitation in both legal and monetary terms. The local governments ( grama sabhas and panchayats ) have to partake in the final decision-making on the recommendations of reports or the draft notification (and its implementation). The best option, however, for the MoEFCC would be to get the summary of the reports of the WGEEP and HLWG translated into local languages and sent to the local governments in the Western Ghats region and seek their feedback. An overall objective approach of study and scrutiny should be initiated for further discussions involving all the key people in a true democratic manner.

A democratic process of identifying and demarcating the ESAs should be undertaken in order to avoid the mistakes committed by both Gadgil and Kasturirangan – the former took a completely ecological point of view while the latter’s methodology, as many (especially farmers) would argue, was highly “ unscientific ”, which is why many sensitive areas (such as Kuruva islands and Edakal caves in Wayanad) are excluded and many areas where no stipulated criteria were satisfied have been included. Aerial surveys have mistakenly marked plantation areas as forests. Both reports have declared numerous heavily populated habitats as ESAs though the suggested criterion is a population density below 100 persons per square kilometre.

Hence, the MoEFCC must take steps to have a detailed survey with the involvement of the local people to identify and demarcate the ESAs. The government must also issue land pattas (a legal document issued by the government in the name of the actual owner of a particular plot of land) to deserving peasant families in possession of agricultural land. Instead of depending on surveys submitted by the state governments, the MoEFCC should take into consideration the recommendations of the two panels (Gadgil and Kasturirangan), based on another review conducted by a joint committee of experts, environmentalists and government officials (local, state and national). Additionally, based on the survey of industries, polluting ones need to be barred or restricted, but those critical for livelihood/employment and basic facilities should not be scuttled completely in the name of conservation. At the same time, big power projects need to go through strict environmental impact assessment procedures.

The Centre – MoEFCC – is not in a position to make a decision that caters entirely to conservation or on other hand, the states’ demands. In the end, it is about finding solutions to the problem of power shortage, paucity of drinking water, poverty and unemployment, without forgetting the fact that ecological biodiversity needs to be recognized as an integral part of the human and cultural landscape as well as the natural one. Everyone agrees that one must strike a fine balance between conservation, preservation and development and ensure that they can go hand in hand; but this is easier said than done.

Contributors: Shariq Ahmad Khan, Nadeem Ahmed, Anirban Paul, Rakshan Kalmady and Nachiket Tekawade (pursuing Bachelor’s in Journalism and Communication, School of Communication, Manipal University, Karnataka, India)

Guided by: Ms. Maitreyee Mishra, Assistant Professor – Senior Scale, School of Communication

Compiled and edited by: Dhanasree Jayaram, Project Associate, Manipal Advanced Research Group (MARG), Manipal University

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are personal.

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Deforestation in Western Ghats reducing rain in Tamil Nadu, other southern states: Study

The study ‘moisture supply from the western ghats to water deficit east coast of india’ was published in geophysical research letters journal on friday.

Deforestation in the Western Ghats leads to a decrease in rainfall during the southwest monsoon season in the water-scarce state of Tamil Nadu, Cauvery river basin, and other states in south India that run through the ghat region, a new study has revealed.

A study led by the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B) has found that vegetation in the Western Ghats influences 25%-40% rainfall during June to September kharif cropping season in Tamil Nadu, which at present is under severe water crisis owing to an interstate water sharing dispute with Karnataka, and touches 50% during a dry spell or below normal monsoon season.

Western Ghats, considered one of the global biodiversity hotspots that run through Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat, lost 33,579 sqkm (35.53%) forest cover from 1920 to 2013, according to Indian Space Research Organisation’s National Remote Sensing Centre, Hyderabad. The reasons for deforestation include increase in plantations, agriculture land and construction of dams for irrigation.

The study ‘Moisture supply from the Western Ghats to water deficit east coast of India’ was published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters on Friday. Researchers stressed the need to enforce strict laws to stop deforestation that will not only protect biodiversity but also maintain the water cycle over semi-arid parts in southern states. Every year, Tamil Nadu receives an average rainfall of 960mm, of which 33% occurs from June to September.

Based on numerical simulations, the four-member team has shown that vegetation in the Western Ghats contribute around 3mm rain every day during August and September for a majority of the state and Cauvery river basin, the main source of water for irrigation in agriculture. However, rainfall declined to 1mm to 2.5mm per day when the Ghats were devoid of vegetation, which is around 25% of the total rainfall over Tamil Nadu.

In addition to affecting rainfall in Tamil Nadu, the study has also found that deforestation in the Ghats has led to 0.25 degrees Celsius increase in surface temperature across the state.

“Monsoon period has wet and dry spells. During a dry spell, cloud cover is less, leading to an increase in solar radiation. A rise in radiation leads to more evaporation of water from the vegetation which generates more moisture. This moisture gets transported to Tamil Nadu resulting in good rainfall,” said Subimal Ghosh, lead investigator and professor, IIT-B. “Vegetation is basically working as capacitor.”

To assess the impact of deforestation on rainfall in Tamil Nadu, the team selected three years that witnessed severe rainfall deficit during the southwest monsoon season: 1993, 1999 and 2002. Simulations with Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled to the Community Land Model showed that deforestation in Western Ghats decreased rainfall over the state by 40%-50% across all the three years.

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• Western Ghats

A Scientific study of Forests of the Western Ghats

• August 2021
• Indian Journal of Multilingual Research and Development
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The tale of three landslides in the Western Ghats, India: lessons to be learnt

• R. S. Ajin 1 ,
• D. Nandakumar 2 ,
• A. Rajaneesh 3 ,
• T. Oommen 4 ,
• Yunus P. Ali 5 &
• K. S. Sajinkumar 3  

Geoenvironmental Disasters volume  9 , Article number:  16 ( 2022 ) Cite this article

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In recent years, landslides have become a typical monsoon calamity in the Western Ghats region of Kerala, India. In addition to property damage, heavy rainfall (36% above normal) and multiple landslides (4728) killed 48 people in 2018. This tendency continued throughout the monsoon seasons of 2019, 2020, and 2021, resulting in the deaths of over 100 people. Anomalous precipitation is ascribed to the frequent development of low-pressure in the surrounding oceans. Using ground real data and satellite imagery, we evaluated the features of three large landslides in the state of Kerala, which occurred during the monsoon season of 2021. Our investigation found that the Kokkayar landslide was triggered by anthropogenic-related agricultural activities, the Plappally landslide by geomorphic and tectonic processes as well as human involvement, and the Kavali landslide by forest fragmentation with dense vegetation on thin soil. The triggering mechanism for all three of these landslides, however, is the intense rainfall of 266 mm in less than 24 h. Thus, an accurate and precise forecast of rainfall can be used to define a threshold for an early warning, which will be vital for saving lives.

Introduction

Catastrophic landslides have become a common monsoonal phenomenon in India’s southwest state of Kerala, which is located in the foothills of the prominent mountain chain, the Western Ghats. The anomalous rainfall of 2018, which was about 36% more than the normal rainfall (Vishnu et al. 2019 ), triggered 4728 landslides (Hao et al. 2020 ) and killed 48 people. These landslides occurred in a single storm-event i.e., 16th August 2018. The following years saw further landslides, with the monsoon season of 2019 witnessing disastrous landslides such as the one at Puthumala, which killed 17 people, and the Kavalappara, which killed another 59 people (Sajinkumar and Oommen 2020 ; Wadhawan et al. 2020 ). Both these landslides occurred on 8th August 2019. The Pettimudi landslide of 6th August 2020 was the most tragic one that killed 70 people and devastated several hutments in a tea plantation region (Achu et al. 2021 ; Sajinkumar and Oommen 2021 ). Year 2021 also experienced cataclysmic landslides on 16th October with the most disastrous ones being at Kokkayar in Idukki district and Plappally and Kavali, near Koottickal in Kottayam district. All these devastating landslides that occurred since 2018 showed an uneven geographic distribution (Fig.  1 a, b), pointing to the possibility that many parts of the Western Ghats are susceptible to landslides, though these landslides are located along the same valley (Fig.  1 c). In this study, we narrate the ground real data and interpretation of high-resolution remotely sensed images of the three landslides- Kokkayar, Plappally and Kavali (Fig.  2 , a, b, c) that occurred in 2021. We also employed ethnographic techniques, such as in-depth interviews with elderly impacted individuals, to learn about their shared experiences. These three landslides are amongst the tens of landslides in the vicinity of the study area (Fig.  3 ). The reason for selecting these three landslides is because of their catastrophic nature resulting in many human casualties. We believe that the narrative of these three landslides applies to other landslides that occurred in the immediate vicinity of this area.

(Source: Google Earth) ( b ) Study area with elevation map draped over hill shade map showing major landslides since 2018 (Elevation data is ALOS PALSAR) ( c ) Google Earth image showing the spatial distribution of these three landslides along a valley

Location map ( a ) South India

Field photos of ( a ) Kokkayar landslide ( b ) Plappally landslide ( c ) Kavali landslide

A distant view of the hills in the study area showing several landslides

Site and situation of the landslides

Kokkayar landslide.

Kokkayar landslide (9°34′21''N; 76°53′13''E) of Peermade taluk in the Idukki district of Kerala has killed seven people and completely destroyed seven houses. The dimension of this landslide is 500 m (length) × 40 m (avg. width) × 1 m (avg. thickness). Rubber plantations predominantly occupy the area with intermittent clusters of mixed vegetation. The area is utilized for agriculture through terrace cultivation with the cut slope protected by rubble masonry wall. Rain pits were constructed on this slope. Houses are constructed by the cut and fill method but without any support in the cut slope. Most of the houses have dug wells and the depth to water level is shallow (< 2 m) whereas during the landslide these were found overflowing (as per local witness), pointing to the fully saturated column of soil. Numerous springs spout from this area (Fig.  4 a). This spouting phenomenon existed before landslides because dwellings have drains to flush away storm water (Fig.  4 b). These observations indicate that a seasonal first and/or second-order stream flows through this area, which might have been modified during the course of agriculture and/or habitation. A few fresh gullies have been formed, to which water is now confined.

a Spouting of spring at Kokkayar landslide ( b ) A demolished house having provisions for draining storm water ( c ) A highly-weathered joint in the country hornblende biotite gneiss ( d ) Soil profile showing dislodged material, lateritic soil, saprock and weathered bedrock

The in-depth interviews with the local people revealed that the vegetation, mainly rubber trees were clear-felled after slaughter tapping a few years prior to the event. Contour bunding and rain-pits were made prior to replanting the rubber saplings. These interventions seem to have taken place ignoring the natural hydrological requirement of letting the first/second order streams to have its free flow channels. Such interventions may have contributed to destabilizing of soil on the slopes.

The area is characterized by outcrops of hornblende biotite gneiss. The general trend of this foliated rock is 173°/35 W. The preponderance of feldspar in this rock and its subsequent alteration through weathering has resulted in the formation of clay. The rock is highly jointed, and weathering is found to be extensive along these joints (Fig.  4 c). The crown of the landslide is occupied by bouldery outcrops of this rock with no soil cover. Hence, during monsoon, all the water in the crown part has surcharged the immediately downslope column of lateritic soil causing an increase in pore-water pressure. Near the flanks of the landslide, the soil profile shows dislodged soil followed by lateritic soil of 1 m thickness and another 1 m thick saprolite (Fig.  4 d). This is further followed by bedrock. The dislodged material was finally dumped into the Pullakayar, a tributary of Manimala River.

Plappally landslide

Plappally landslide (9°37′3''N; 76°52′21''E) in Kanjirapally taluk of Kottayam district has killed four people and demolished two buildings. This landslide of 500 m (length) × 20 (avg. width) × 1 m (avg. thickness) was initiated in a rubber plantation whereas its runout stretches through areas of different land use types. In the Google Earth image (before landslide), the upslope in which the landslide occurred is confined is a truncated spur and its right boundary is marked by a straight lower-order river course, indicating a lineament (Fig.  5 a). Due to the broader surface area of this spur, the run-off zone is more extensive. The storm water when crossing the barren rock outcrop, situated downslope, facilitates sudden surcharge to the thin veneer of soil lying immediately downslope. It is in this zone the recent landslide was initiated. The surcharge zone can be well seen in the high-resolution (3 m) False Colour Composite (FCC) of Planet Lab (Fig.  5 b). The truncated spur together with the bulged foothill suggests this as a paleo-landslide, within which the recent landslide occurred.

a Google Earth image showing a distant view of Plappally landslide showing a suspected lineament, remnants of paleolandslide and its associated truncated spur ( b ) 3 m resolution FCC of Planet Lab image showing the landslide runout and its surcharge area ( c ) Storm water gushing through the uprooted house location ( d ) The ruins of the devastated house, which was constructed along the course of a lower-order stream ( e ) Seepage along the joints of hornblende biotite gneiss

This landslide is also confined to a lower-order stream course. The two buildings, which were destroyed, were constructed precisely on the river course. Water gushes through this during the monsoon (Fig.  5 c), whereas it is dry during the non-monsoon season (Fig.  5 d) showing its seasonal nature. But seepage can be seen along the joints of the country rock, hornblende biotite gneiss (Fig.  5 e). Here again, in the upper slope, where the houses stood before the landslide, plantation with young rubber trees existed, which indicates a similar influencing factor like at Kokkayar.

Kavali landslide

Six people died and one house was demolished by the Kavali landslide, which is 250 m (length) × 15 (avg. width) × 2 m (avg. thickness) in dimension. Hornblende biotite gneiss is the country rock, which is highly weathered and jointed. The attitude of this highly foliated rock is 315°/80NE. Here too, spring water is tapped for domestic purposes. The destroyed house was constructed in a cut-slope, but the cut-slope is still retained after the landslide. The cut-slope profile exhibits lateritic soil, saprolite, and weathered bedrock. The area is characterized by thick vegetation when compared to the sparse vegetation in the adjacent area. This thick mixed vegetation with rubber plantation is the major crop, followed by nutmeg, arecanut, and teak. Google Earth image (Fig.  6 a) also revealed thick vegetation. A Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) map was created using the high-resolution Planet Lab image to understand the area’s land use. NDVI revealed that the landslide occurred in a densely vegetated area when compared to other areas consisting of a wide variety of land uses like moderate vegetation, grassland, barren outcrop, and built-up. Usually, landslides are less reported in densely vegetated areas (cf. Alcantara-Ayala et al. 2006 ; Reichenbach et al. 2014 ). In contrast to this, a recent study by Lan et al. ( 2020 ) suggests that a densely vegetated slope decreases its stability. This study has been concurred with by the recent findings of Hao et al. ( 2022 ) wherein most of the landslides that occurred in Kerala during 2018 are spatially associated with forest land. However, a closer look at Fig.  6 a, b reveals forest fragmentation and breaking-off of the contiguity of the forest canopy, creating scattered and fragmented forest islands. Studies reveal that such a process could compromise landscape integrity (Ramachandra and Kumar 2011 ; Batar et al. 2021 ).

a Google Earth image showing a distant view of Kavali landslide and forest fragmentation ( b ) NDVI of Kavali area depicting dense vegetation in landslide occurred area

The Western Ghats, especially its southern part encompassing the entire state of Kerala, witness landslides often during monsoon season. Since 2018, the noteworthy feature of the monsoon has been that it triggers landslides during the sporadic high-intensity rainfall (cf. Vishnu et al. 2019 , 2020 ; Yunus et al. 2021 ; Sajinkumar et al. 2022 ). Though several studies have been conducted in this region, and measures suggested were not adopted, we present here specific omnipresent reasons that facilitate landslides in this region.

Introspection of land use policy

The recent landslide susceptibility map of Kerala (cf. Sajinkumar and Oommen 2021 ; Escobar-Wolf et al. 2021 ) shows an area of 3300 and 2886 km 2 as highly and moderately susceptible to landslides, respectively. It will be an arduous task to implement stringent measures such as habitation- and construction-free zones in these areas. However, some of the landslide-facilitating practices that are common, may be inadvertently so, can be averted. Kerala is predominantly an agrarian state, and the general agricultural land use seen are cash crops, with rubber plantations occupying the midlands and tea, coffee and cardamom in the highlands. All the three landslides occurred in the midlands, especially where rubber plantation dominates the land use. The construction of rain pits is a common practice in almost all rubber estates. Major disturbance to the slope stability occurs when fully matured rubber trees are slaughtered after their life span of ~ 20 years, and fresh saplings are planted in a broad pit of 1 m 3 size. Rain pits are also dug here. The method of stubble mulching is not practiced here and large area of land will be disturbed when the trees are uprooted using machinery. Hence, avoiding rain pits, planting pits, and promoting stubble mulching practice will help reduce the probability of landslide occurrences. Avoiding rain pits and planting pits in susceptible landslide areas will help increase run-off rather than infiltration. In addition, all agricultural techniques on the hilly slope affects the lower-order drainage, by obstructing it with rubble-masonry walls, redirecting it to a more hazardous slope, or by constructing houses. These lower-order courses, except in thickly vegetated forest areas, are usually seasonal, and during monsoon season, the normal flow of water is thus disturbed by these practices. Hence, a stringent land use policy to avoid such practices in agricultural fields is a pressing requirement.

Rainfall- the sole triggering factor

As mentioned, these three landslides were also triggered by a sporadic-high intensity rainfall of > 266 mm in a single day (Fig.  7 ) but with a 5-day antecedent rainfall of only 109.9 mm. The comparatively higher rainfall of 48.8 (2nd October), 45.4 (8th October and 69.6 mm (11th October) might have saturated the soil column and the 16th October anomalous event was sufficient enough to trigger landslides. In order to limit the risk of rainfall-induced landslides, an accurate and exact rainfall forecast that allows for the issuance of early warnings based on the rainfall threshold of the area is essential (Weidner et al. 2018 ). The sparse density of rain gauges and manual operation methods make things difficult. For e.g., the rain gauge station nearest to these three landslides is Kanjirapally, approximately 10 km away from this landslide, which is grossly inadequate to capture the micro-climatic conditions of the susceptible areas. Moreover, this rain gauge station is a manual one with daily rainfall recording on the succeeding day at 8.30 am ( www.imd.gov.in ). Having automated rain gauges that report rain information near real-time will be critical for developing early warning systems.

Hyetograph of Kanjirappally rain gauge, which is the nearest to the landslide affected area. Note the prominent 266 mm rainfall on the landslide day

Soil thickness and soil-rock interface plane

The hilly area of the entire state of Kerala is characterized by a thin veneer of unconsolidated soil, resting above the massive Precambrian crystalline rock except for plateau regions like Munnar and Nelliyampathy (Sajinkumar and Anbazhagan 2015 ). Usually, the glide plane of the landslides will be the contact plane of these two litho-units (cf. Istiyanti et al. 2021 ). Thus, wherever the landslide occurs, the bedrock will be exposed, which can be seen in all these three landslides. Hence, along with the understanding of landslide susceptibility, the soil thickness of the area and the saturation capacity of that soil column have to be investigated. The contact between these two litho-units is stable in a plain or gentler slope (Fig.  8 a) whereas it will be in a meta-stable position when in a steep slope (cf. Getachew and Meten 2021 ; Puente-Sotomayor et al. 2021 ) (Fig.  8 b). This equilibrium will be lost when the soil column is saturated by water during the monsoon season (Fig.  8 c).

Sketch depicting the contact between unconsolidated soil and massive crystalline Precambrian rocks along the Western Ghats part of Kerala. ( a–c ) shows the different stages of stability of these two lithounits

The three landslides that occurred on 16th October 2021 are located in the same valley, and were triggered by a high-intensity rainfall of 266 mm in one day. These similarities are never the same when conditioning factors are analyzed. The steep slopes of the hilly regions where all three landslides occurred originally contained natural contiguous forests that may have held the thin soil and regolith layer together. The modern landscape, however, is dominated by human interventions such as the replacement of natural vegetation with plantations, highways, and human settlements. These measures facilitated the triggering of the landslides by a sudden storm of intense rainfall (cf. Lahai et al. 2021 ). However, a closer check using ground reality and satellite photographs revealed that the Kokkayar landslide was completely caused by humans, whereas the Plappally landslide was also affected by geomorphic and tectonic causes. The third site, the Kavali landslide, was caused by forest fragmentation on the forest island. Consequently, regardless of the contributing components, the common and vital feature to be researched is the rainfall dynamics, which can be converted into early warning systems, thereby saving countless lives.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) for facilitating fieldwork in these areas. Jobin Sebastian, a freelance photographer and paraglide trainer, is highly thanked for providing photos (Figs. 1 d and 2 ). The lab work was carried out at the Laboratory for Earth Resources Information System (LERIS) housed at the Department of Geology, University of Kerala. LERIS is a collaborative initiative of Indian Space Research Organization and University of Kerala.

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Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI, 49931, USA

Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Mohali, Punjab, 140306, India

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Ajin, R.S., Nandakumar, D., Rajaneesh, A. et al. The tale of three landslides in the Western Ghats, India: lessons to be learnt. Geoenviron Disasters 9 , 16 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40677-022-00218-1

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Rampant deforestation in the Western Ghats is causing recurring floods in Southern India

Besides better implementation of existing environmental laws, india needs new ones to conserve hills and mountains..

Floods are now an annual nightmare in many parts of Southern and Western India. Valleys in the states of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala that weren’t considered flood-prone until recently are at risk.

During floods and landslides in August, two villages were completely destroyed killing several people , while a year earlier Kerala saw its worst floods in a century .

These floods appear to be getting more severe. Climate change is causing stronger and more erratic rainfall with recurrent floods in low-lying areas while population growth is putting more people in risky areas. And another problem comes from deforestation in the mountain range where much of the water first fell: the Western Ghats.

The Western Ghats run for 1,600 km parallel to India’s West coast, from Gujarat right down to Tamil Nadu at the tip of the subcontinent. It is – or was – a picturesque landscape of serene valleys, steep gorges and virgin forests. Yet recurring floods and landslides in the mountains, hills and areas downstream – between the Ghats and the sea – show that India must rethink its environmental law to balance the needs of nature and humans.

The mountains are teeming with life. Though they cover only a small part of India’s total land area, the Ghats are home to more than 30% of the country’s species of plants, fish, reptiles, birds and mammals, including both wild elephants and tigers. Its combination of unique species and habitat loss means UNESCO has recognised it as one of eight global hottest hotspots of biodiversity.

Climate change is already having an obvious impact, with unprecedented rains in monsoon seasons and severe drought and dry rivers in summer . And as the human population has grown, people have chopped down the forests and replaced them with spice, tea, coffee and rubber plantations. Thousands of illegal stone quarries now also operate in the Ghats, where mountainsides are demolished to generate stones and sand for the construction industry. Deforestation and the use of highly destructive explosives mean these areas are prone to increased seismic tremors and landslides.

Large dams on major rivers offer renewable energy but also raise another set of environmental problems. In Kerala, many are located in eco-sensitive parts of the Western Ghats, with some dating back to British rule. As demand for energy increases, India plans to build more dams which in turn could lead to massive deforestation and ecosystem destruction. All this makes flooding more severe, as deforestation in the catchment area of a river reduces the land’s ability to retain water.

Whether triggered by damming, deforestation, or exacerbated by climate change, human-induced natural disasters in the region have pointed to a need for stronger environmental protection laws.

Protecting the Ghats

India’s 1950 constitution claims that protection of the environment is a fundamental duty of every citizen , and though it does not explicitly contain a right to a clean environment, legal authority for environmental lawmaking is derived from the document.

Over the years, the country’s central government has enacted various laws that are applicable to the Western Ghats: the Environment Protection Act 1986, the Forest Conservation Act 1980, the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2002 and so on. However, these laws are not implemented efficiently, which makes me wonder if areas like the Himalayas and the Western Ghats – internationally significant ecosystems and biosphere reserves – need their own special laws.

Additionally, India’s water laws are inadequate. Existing legislation primarily focuses on pollution control, meaning the law has little to say about preventing or even managing floods which result from mismanagement of dams or too much riverside development.

The problem is enhanced in the case of rivers that flow across state boundaries. Some of the major floods in the past couple of years happened after dams at or near full capacity in one district or state were opened, letting water flow downstream into another area . Recently, a draft dam safety bill has been proposed to address these problems.

Similarly, discussions over climate change and environmental lawmaking should involve more grassroots level participation. For most people, poverty and earnings still matter more than climate mitigation or adaptation. Hence people’s perception should be moulded to recognise and realise how deforestation or climate change impacts their daily life.

The Western Ghats are south India’s lifeline, with millions dependent on the range either directly or indirectly. These mountains need protection. However, while new development in the region continues to be human-centric, the entire concept of nature preservation is relegated. To protect the Western Ghats, what we require is an attitude that recognises the significance of these mountains and that will involve specific laws.

Gayathri D Naik is a research scholar at the School of Law, SOAS, University of London.

This article first appeared on The Conversation .

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Irshalwadi landslide exposes criminal neglect threatening Western Ghats ecology

Landslides in maharashtra’s sahyadri range raise the question: is gadgil report the way out.

Published : Aug 10, 2023 11:00 IST - 9 MINS READ

Rescue workers carry a body recovered at the site after the landslide in Irshalwadi village. | Photo Credit: Kunal Patil/PTI

Irshalwadi was a picturesque village at around 3,700 feet (about 1,128 metres) above sea level, deep inside the Sahyadri forest range (Western Ghats) near the famous Irshalgad Fort in Raigad district of Maharashtra. Its 228 inhabitants, residing in 48 households, had to walk one hour to reach the village from the foothills. On the night of July 19, Irshalwadi was wiped out, and in its place stands a huge mound of earth that once formed the now-barren hillside.

“We heard a big noise and immediately started running out of the house. I realised it was a landslide. Suddenly, my wife slipped, and the falling earth took her. I was holding my son’s hand but in the confusion, he too slipped into the loose soil,” said Bhagwan Bhagar, narrating his ordeal. He was lucky to survive as his father and neighbours rescued him. In his family of nine, only four survived; he also lost his brother, sister-in-law and their one-year-old daughter.

Also Read | Alarming rise in landslides now a pan-India peril

Tari Pardhi, 64, was in tears at a camp for survivors. On July 19 morning, she went to the nearby Panvel market with a harvest of homegrown vegetables and spent the night with her relatives in Panvel. She lost her husband Pandu and son Abos in the landslide. “We lived all our life by the side of this mountain,” said Pardhi. “I never thought the same mountain would make me lonely.”

The landslide brought destruction to Irshalwadi village. | Photo Credit: Kunal Patil/PTI

Only 142 of the 228 residents survived. After four days of relief work, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) suspended search operations as heavy rain had caused the bodies to decay. “Bringing out such bodies would be disrespectful to the deceased as well as to their families,” The State government declared in the Assembly. “There is also a fear of the spread of infectious diseases. So, after getting out 29 bodies and 57 still missing, the government has decided to suspend the search operation.” At least 180 personnel from five NDRF teams and the Thane Disaster Relief Force were involved in the search and rescue operations in continuous heavy rain.

A disturbing trend

Irshalwadi is the third village to be wiped out in the last 10 years. On July 30, 2014, Malin in Pune’s Ambegaon tehsil was the first to be wrecked, killing 151 people. Then, on July 24, 2021, Taliye village was wiped out; 85 lives were lost. Malin was on the east of the Sahyadri range, and Taliye and Irshalwadi were on the west. Data with the District Collectorate show that 387 people have been killed in landslides in the last 18 years in Raigad. In terms of landslide threat, the State disaster management cell has classified nine villages in the district as very sensitive and 11 as sensitive; the State as a whole has 230 sensitive villages. If landslide-prone is the criterion, the number increases to more than a thousand.

Kondhari in Pune district is a landslide-prone village with 41 houses and 324 residents in Bhor tehsil. A landslide in July 2022 damaged a few houses. Anusuya Mandhare, 72, has her home on a mountain slope and lives in fear after what happened to Taliye in 2021. At night, Mandhare and other senior citizens of Kondhari sleep in schools run by the district council. “Last year, we heard the noise of the landslide,” said Mandhare. “It is terrible. Since then, our youths have stayed awake the whole night in the rainy season.” Shankar Parathe, whose house is near Mandhare’s, said that the government should relocate them as soon as possible. “It was Malin first, then Taliye and now Irshalwadi. Ours could be the next village in this chain,” Parathe said. “We have heard that the proposal to relocate us has been given to the State government. We hope the government acts fast.”

Rescue workers climb a mud track leading to the site of a landslide in Irshalwadi village. | Photo Credit: Indranil Mukherjee/AFP

According to sources in the State’s Relief and Rehabilitation Department, there are 20 villages like Kondhari, which need immediate relocation. One source claimed that proposals had been submitted to the department and a decision over the relocation of homes was pending with the Ministry. While speaking in the Assembly after the Irshalwadi incident, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said orders had been given to the Rehabilitation Department to immediately find locations to shift the villages. “Villages which need immediate relocation will be given place,” said Shinde. “The department has been asked to work on the locations, discuss with villagers and finalise at the earliest.”

• On the night of July 19, Irshalwadi village was wiped out, and in its place stands a huge mound of earth that once formed the now-barren hillside. Only 142 of the 228 residents survived.
• Data with the District Collectorate show that 387 people have been killed in landslides in the last 18 years in Raigad.
• The Madhav Gadgil panel’s 2011 report recommended the classification of 64 per cent of the Ghats as Ecologically Sensitive Zones and the designation of the range as an Ecologically Sensitive Area but all six States opposed it.
• In recent times, floods have also underlined ecological degradation in the Western Ghats.

True to form

The government machinery has been true to type. After the Malin landslide in 2014, the State administration shifted 20 families from nearby Sakharmachi village to Lambachi Wadi in Thane district. The administration had assured them that permanent rehabilitation would happen soon. But even nine years later, the villagers of Sakharmachi continue to remain in Lambachi Wadi. “We keep going to officers at tehsil and district levels, but nobody listens to us,” said Shankar Mhase, a Sakharmachi villager. “For how long do we need to stay here in barracks kind of houses?”

Sakharmachi’s residents worry even more after the landslide at Irshalwadi. It is not as if the administration was not warned. Ramdas Thombare, a volunteer in the effort to preserve Irshalgad Fort, had alerted Chouk gram panchayat four years ago about landslide danger in the area. The gram panchayat informed the Khalapur tehsil office about the threat. In July, a part of a stone pinnacle at the fort collapsed. That was not enough of a warning for the administration to relocate the residents of Irshalwadi.

Irshalwadi has again brought to the fore the issue of the eco-sensitivity of the Western Ghats. In 2022, the Disaster Management Department commissioned a study of landslides by the Advanced Centre for Water Resources Development and Management. Its report said that landslide incidents had increased in the last 10 years and asked the government to set up an early warning system. Incessant rainfall plays a critical role, according to the report. Locations that received more than 100 mm rain in five hours have faced landslides within a fortnight. Marked shifts in the climate pattern and extreme rainfall events are major factors.

Irshalwadi is the third village to be wiped out in the last 10 years. | Photo Credit: By Special Arrangement.

In 2010, the Environment Ministry in the UPA government had appointed the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel, chaired by Madhav Gadgil, to assess the impact of climate change on the mountain range. The panel’s 2011 report recommended the classification of 64 per cent of the Western Ghats as an Ecologically Sensitive Zone and the designation of the range as an Ecologically Sensitive Area. The report’s most important recommendation was to halt infrastructure development in the range, including the building of roads, the construction of thermal power plants, and the construction of dams.

However, all six Western Ghats States opposed the recommendations of the Gadgil committee. The UPA government then constituted a high-level working group under the chairmanship of Dr K. Kasturirangan. This committee reduced the designated area for the Ecologically Sensitive Zone from 64 per cent in the Gadgil report to 37 per cent. Gadgil responded by delivering a stinging criticism of the Kasturirangan report.

“Join hands to save the Ghats”

While speaking in the Assembly after the Irshalwadi landslide, Congress State chief Nana Patole demanded the implementation of the Gadgil report to preserve the ecology of the Western Ghats. He said, “The work done by Dr Gadgil is important for the environment. The implementation of the committee report will help to prevent landslides in future.” Gadgil also spoke to the media after the Irshalwadi landslide. He appealed to the people to join hands to save the Ghats. “Roads have been built wrongly in the Irshalwadi area,” said Gadgil. “There are many illegal stone mines. These are the reasons for landslides. We can’t call it natural calamity alone.” On his report, Gadgil said, “Had government accepted the report, these incidents could have been averted. But everyone knows why the government will not accept it. That’s why people must come forward and raise their voice to save the Western Ghats. At least this will force governments to make some provisions to avoid such incidents.”

A group of activists conducted a survey in Chiplun, Khed, Mahad, and Poladpur tehsils in 2021. | Photo Credit: By Special Arrangement.

In recent times, floods have also underlined ecological degradation in the Western Ghats. Floods have become regular occurrences along the mountain range in Maharashtra. Kolhapur and Sangli districts experienced floods in 2019 and the Konkan region in 2019 and 2021. In 2021, Chiplun city of Ratnagiri district and Mahad of Raigad experienced heavy flooding that impacted many lives. After the relief work was completed, many activists joined hands to look into the possible factors that contributed to the flooding. On visiting locations in Mahad and Chiplun tehsils, activists were shocked with what they found. Rajan Indulkar, an activist from Chiplun, said, “The deforestation of Sahyadri was shocking. Basically, trees help to prevent soil erosion. The soil that accumulates in all the riverbeds of the Konkan region is the result of this deforestation. The possibilities of landslides and floods increase after such heavy soil erosion on mountain slopes.”

Irshalwadi has again brought to the fore the issue of the eco-sensitivity of the Western Ghats. | Photo Credit: By Special Arrangement.

Large-scale deforestation to build new tourist locations has also adversely impacted the mountain chain. Indulkar and his colleagues visited various locations in Mahad and Poladpur tehsils of Raigad district, and Khed and Chiplun tehsils of Ratnagiri district. “At many places, the smaller and medium pinnacles of the mountains are delinked from the main range,” Indulkar said. “It was like cutting a mountain into pieces. This increases the possibility of sudden increase in water level of rivers, floods as well as landslides.”

Also Read | Road and ruin

The Western Ghats cover 51 districts in six States and are one of 34 global biodiversity hotspots. The mountain range neutralises more than 4 million tonnes of carbon. The Ghat ecosystem accounts for 10 per cent of the total greenhouse gas emissions that are neutralised by the country’s forests. Geologists believe that the Ghats are 150 million years old, which makes it older than the Himalaya. Many rivers that flow through the Deccan Plateau originate from the mountain range. Landslides like the one at Irshalwadi have sent a clear and loud warning sign that life in the Western Ghats is under threat. The State government would do well to heed the warning and take concrete steps to protect people before the next tragedy occurs.

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How wayanad was turned into the land of disasters, behind the landslide tragedy, reckless change of land use and a disaster management policy from 2018 that's been gathering dust.

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Indiscriminate human activity, in the form of quarrying, change in land use patterns and tourism in the plantation areas, climate change and above-normal torrential rain have all contributed to making one of Kerala’s most pristine regions extremely disaster-prone.

T. Siddique, the Congress MLA from Kalpetta, calls Wayanad a land of tragedies, with high-intensity landslides striking every now and then. “This time, it occurred in Mundakkai and Chooralmala. Tomorrow, the worst may happen in other villages. We need a comprehensive policy and mechanism, including an early warning system, to protect villages in the Western Ghats and minimise the impact of natural disasters,” Siddique said in a conversation with INDIA TODAY.

The Congress leader strongly advised against any forceful eviction of villagers from the ecologically-sensitive or disaster-prone areas. “This would invite wide unrest since these populations have been living on the land for more than six decades. Instead, we have to adopt scientific methodology and novel disaster-management strategies to handle future calamities,” said Siddique.

The demand for continuous monitoring and an early warning system in the Western Ghats has been made by leaders cutting across party lines in Kerala, where major calamities have been striking at an alarming rate.

The mega floods of 2018 killed over 480 people and damaged property and infrastructure worth hundreds of crores. In 2019, heavy monsoon showers left over 120 people dead. Landslides have become an inherent aspect of life in the Western Ghats.

In October 2018, a post-disaster assessment, had clearly listed landslides as a major hazard along the Western Ghats in Wayanad, Kozhikode, Idukki and Kottayam districts. The Kerala government’s policy guidelines emphasise on ‘eco-sensitive and risk-informed approaches to land use in the landslides-prone areas’. “Buildings in the flood and landslide-prone areas are to be reconstructed using disaster resilient techniques and at the right location, away from flood plains and slopes,” state the guidelines.

According to the state’s disaster management policy, the reconstruction must take into account the hazards of the particular location and adopt designs that offer resilience against floods, cyclones, earthquakes and droughts. For all new construction, green building technology is the way to go.

But six years on, little has changed on the ground. In 2019, a massive landslide in Puthumala, just 3 km from Chooralmala, caused 17 deaths. The following year, a landslide in August killed 66 people in Pettimudi near Munnar. During the same period, low-intensity landslides had struck Mundakkai.

Dr P.S. Easa, noted conservationist and member of several expert committees appointed by the Kerala government, says the state’s approach towards handling calamities must change. “Regretfully, we still wait for calamities to happen and then undertake massive relief operations, followed by the scientific community conducting studies and submitting reports. Nothing has changed,” Easa told INDIA TODAY.

Easa said all landslide-prone areas in the state have already been identified. Various studies have been conducted at the sites where they happened. Based on scientific data, government agencies must now work with global aid agencies to relocate people to safe zones and provide them livelihood.

“Restrictions should be imposed on land use change and quarrying in the landslides zones and violators reined in with heavy fines and penal action. A monitoring committee should scan the areas once a month and police intelligence must be used to collect information on changes in land use or illegal construction in the restricted zones,” Easa said. “Otherwise, tragedies will continue to recur in Kerala.”

In the past decade, more than 100 resorts and illegal homestays have come up in Meppadi panchayat, close to which lie Mundakkai and Chooralmala. In Mundakkai, an estate owner had put up a billboard offering ten cent plots for sale. He was fortunate that his land did not get consumed by the landslide.

Clearly, Wayanad’s charm as an exotic tourist destination has turned into a curse. “The land is being ravaged in the name of promoting tourism. Earlier, manual labour was used in the tea and coffee plantations. Now, mini-excavators do the job, disturbing the upper soil and reducing its capacity to conserve water,” said N. Badush, president of the Wayanad Environmental Protection Committee, who has been fighting to stop the environmental degradation of the Western Ghats.

Listing the priorities for Wayanad and its people, Badush said: “We require proactive steps as time is running out. Mundakkai, Vellarimala, Chembra Peak, Kurichiyarmala and Kappikkalm in Wayanad district fall in the highly hazardous zone. Some 4,000 families are living in the area.”

Badush pointed out that the government inertia so far had nothing to do with scarcity of funds since Rs 5,000 crore was now being channelled to rebuild the landslide hit area.

Clearly, Kerala needs a comprehensive mitigation plan and quick implementation of it. Otherwise, ‘God’s Own Country’ may just become history as ‘The Lost Land’.

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Study on first big landslide at Mundakkai 40 years ago pointed to geological, climate factors

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: At a time when there is a debate over whether human interventions led to the twin landslides in Wayanad, an expert study on the first massive landslide at Mundakkai in 1984 had categorically stated that unfavourable geological, climatological and geotechnical factors were responsible for the natural disaster.

The study, done by Dr P Basak and NB Narasimha Prasad from Ground Water Division, Centre for Water Resources Development and Management, Kozhikode, had recommended the installation of a warning system to minimize loss of life and movable property.

The first landslide at Mundakkai happened on July 1, 1984 at 2 pm. Field investigation revealed that the landslide originated in the Western Ghat hills. Even though only 17 people lost their lives, the actual death toll would have been much more but for the fact that the landslide area was in the reserved forest and majority of the field estate workers were away to attend a festival. However, the landslide extended around 80 acres. A total volume of 9.5 lakh cubic metres of earth mass was shaved off.

Monthly and daily rainfall records of the data of the area during 1983-1984 reveals that monthly rainfall during June-July of 1984 was as high as 1400 mm and on July 1, the day of the landslide rainfall was 340 mm in 24 hours. "The geological formations (very thick soft lateritic deposit, presence of viscous plastic clay and highly weathered and fractured rock basement) steep slope, presence of tension cracks, usually heavy rainfall on the fateful day, extreme saturation (within 80 percent of the liquid limit), loss of shear strength of the overburden coupled with possible tampering of natural drainage system at the top of the sliding mass, all have at various proportions triggered the landslide at Mundakkai," said the study.

"Geological map of Wayanad shows that the district is covered by gneissic rock, a commonly widely distributed rock of precambrian age (2500 million years). The cross-section of the exposed faces of the slided area at its origin indicates 3-4 metres of loose brown lateritic deposit overlying micaceous kaolinitic plastic clay bed around 3 metre thick which turn rests on highly weathered and joined gneissic rock around 15-20 metres. Such a high degree of lateralization and weathered gneiss in a relatively unweathered formation is due to extreme high annual rainfall of more than 3500 mm," it added.

The scientists said that "the liquified clay must have entered in all the fracture planes of the weathered gneiss below thus reducing the fractional resistance needed to resist the landslide further". They pointed out that the deforestation and subsequent replacing of plantation crops might have also contributed to it. The study also warned that the postmortem analysis of the Mundakkai landslide indicates the probable danger ahead in similar areas of the Western Ghats.

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Hydrological impacts of climate and land-use change in Western Ghats, India

• Original Article
• Published: 02 March 2022
• Volume 22 , article number  32 , ( 2022 )

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• Navya Chandu 1 ,
• T. I. Eldho 1 &
• Arpita Mondal 1  

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The West Flowing River Basins from Tadri to Kanyakumari (WFRB-2), India, is a highly complex hydrological system witnessing hydrological extremes frequently. In this study, the impacts of climate/Land Use Land Cover (LULC) changes on hydrology in WFRB-2 are investigated on a 0.25° spatial scale for a historic (1979–2018) time period. Six major river basins are chosen in the upper, middle and lower regions of WFRB-2 and the variable infiltration capacity (VIC) model is calibrated using SCE-UA (Shuffle Complex Evolution) algorithm. The linear trend analysis showed a significant increase in premonsoon/monsoon rainfall in the lower region and a 13% increase in the percentage of very wet years, while dry years completely disappeared in the recent past. Sensitivity analysis shows that annual mean surface runoff (SR) increases by 125 mm and evapotranspiration (ET) decreases by 562 mm when a fully forested grid was transformed into a fully built-up grid. Similarly, sensitivity towards rainfall alone is showing an increase of SR and ET by 54 mm (6%) and 64 mm (6%) respectively. Overall impact results in a reduction in the annual mean total runoff by 48 mm in the upper and 100 mm in the middle and a rise of 53 mm in the lower regions. This shows that in the lower region, with an increase in precipitation coupled with increasing urbanization, there is a possibility of greater magnitude flood peaks. This study is useful to understand the complex hydrological impacts due to climate/LULC changes for management decisions on a regional scale.

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Source: Decadal LULC classification from Landsat 4, 5 based on Roy et al. 2015 ) and 2016 (from Landsat 8)

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to express our deep gratitude to the Central Water Commission and Indian Meteorological Department for providing hydrological and meteorological data. The authors are thankful to the Editor and reviewers for their valuable comments which helped to improve the manuscript.

The authors also acknowledge the sponsorship of the project (17MWR0009-001) entitled ‘Impacts of Climate Change on Water Resources in River Basin from Tadri to Kanyakumari’ by INCCC, Ministry of Water Resources, Govt. of India.

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Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai, 400076, India

Navya Chandu, T. I. Eldho & Arpita Mondal

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Chandu, N., Eldho, T.I. & Mondal, A. Hydrological impacts of climate and land-use change in Western Ghats, India. Reg Environ Change 22 , 32 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-022-01879-2

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Received : 02 June 2021

Accepted : 16 January 2022

Published : 02 March 2022

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-022-01879-2

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