How Biodiversity Heritage Sites can turn out to be a lifeline for India’s conservation movement
Sacred groves, industrial complexes, national and state level institutes, village ponds, universities, defence lands, temple premises, parks in urban settings - distinct and mutually independent land uses spread across the country have but one thread in common. They are repositories of unique biodiversity and hold remnants of the ancient landscape that had once thrived in India. These small islands of biodiversity also face a continual threat as they have no protected status under the country’s forest or wildlife regime.
While most of these sites are more threatened and in a greater risk of extinction as compared to protected forest regions, some are being protected as a result of social and physical fencing. And while these small patches are often side-lined from popular discourse, the time is right to recognise them.
The concept of Biodiversity Heritage Sites (BHS), conceived under Section 37 of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 was one of the most imaginative steps taken to protect these vanishing biodiversity-rich regions. The idea has the potential of transforming the conservation landscape from a single-track protected area network into a multi-dimensional canvas of innumerable opportunities to conserve India’s biodiversity.
In its most basic interpretation, sites that are known to be unique, ecologically fragile ecosystems with rich biodiversity, whether wild or domesticated and have significant cultural, ethical or aesthetic values can be declared as BHS. These sites are considered to be important for the maintenance of cultural diversity and may or may not have had a history of human association and are preferably not under the already existing protected area network of India. Subsequently, the National Biodiversity Authority issued guidelines in the year 2008 and listed out management prescriptions for declaring and managing such sites thus paving the way to implement the concept of Biodiversity Heritage sites in India.
The Act thus opens a new window of opportunity for the several thousand sacred groves which have suffered twice over from a lack of recognition as protected areas and the threat of avaricious land conversion in the past decades. It also introduces a possibility of “Creative Conservation” that can help in protecting a site vis-a-vis the cost of introducing another land use. For instance, it will now be possible for a village panchayat or a Biodiversity Management Committee (BMC) to conserve a high-altitude grove when they strongly convey its water retention capacities by invoking provisions of the Biological Diversity Act as opposed to a traditional agitation to protect their land. Thus, with a legal provision such as BHS, these lands can be preserved for eternity even though they may not be currently protected by any other law.
A unique biosphere, Majuli island is regarded as the cultural capital of the Assamese consciousness. The entire 875 sq km island is ecologically fragile and significant interventions are underway to protect the island from further degradation. Considering its uniqueness, a proposal to declare the river island as a world heritage site was sent to UNESCO in the year 2004. With worldwide limelight on this fragile island, the Assam State Government in 2017 declared the entire island as a BHS site in order to highlight the biodiversity heritage of the island. With a robust BHS notification guiding the BMC in implementing the management plan, it is expected that this recognition will provide environmental, social as well as economic benefit in the long run. The case can also provide a roadmap on the possible long-term implications of declaring BHS sites.
As Majuli continues to be in the limelight, conserving an obscure sacred grove in the remote village of Chilkigarh in West Bengal becomes an equally important task. Considered to the largest sacred grove in the state, the Kanak Durga grove is spread over 60 acres and is regarded as a prime example of the relic climax forests that had once thrived in the region. Under sustained human-induced stress, concerns were raised by researchers that conserving this land use is necessary not just for ecological reasons but also to recognise the important role played by sacred groves in the social and religious milieu of the state of West Bengal. As a result of intense advocacy, the grove was declared as a BHS site in the year 2018.
While religion can be capitalized upon to protect isolated groves, ecological sustainability can also play a big role in protecting landscapes. The Covenant Centre for Development, an NGO in Tamil Nadu that has conserved more than 48 acres of degraded land at Sevaiyur near Madurai is currently grappling with a unique challenge in the vast forest that it helped create. The boundary is peppered with bore wells that provide a rare source of fresh water for the drought-prone farmers who have over the course of the past three decades come to recognise the importance of conserving the Sevaiyur forest. This man-made creation deserves the tag of protection and is an ideal case to be considered as a BHS site. Even natural forests that may be threatened by land use changes in similar landscapes such as Sevaiyur can be conserved under BHS provisions.
The Kaiga nuclear power plant lies in the midst of the Western Ghats and has considerably changed the face of the Kali river valley system. However, a grudging acknowledgement has emerged that the valley is a haven for wildlife and especially birdlife (with four native species of hornbills found in large numbers). The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited under its Environment Stewardship Program now organises an annual bird race and proudly talks about conservation. A Biodiversity Site here can not only put the spotlight on the vulnerable wildlife but also put the onus on the authorities to preserve large parts of the township under its jurisdiction.
Not only Kaiga but thousands of national and state level institutions have by design or inadvertently preserved large areas and significantly helped re-establish erstwhile remnants of biodiversity in these regions. These government institutions could help provide a much-needed push to actively protect biodiversity while at the same time put significant restrictions to prevent damage to these fragile regions.
It is not a pipe dream for already the Gandhi Krishi Vignyan Kendra campus (GKVK) spread over 167 hectares in Bangalore was declared as a BHS site after a proposal was received from the University of Agricultural Sciences in Bangalore. If more such institutions come forward, the snowball effect can provide legal protection to thousands of hectares of public land in India. It also provides an opportunity for industries to leverage their responsibility toward environmental sustainability. An intensive publicity campaign by the National and State Biodiversity Boards, state forest departments, support groups and NGOs can expedite the information sharing process.
The very nature of the regulations concerning BHS sites spells out hope for the long-term sustenance of the initiative. At its core, the voluntary nature of the entire process implies an intricate need to preserve the site. It also does not put any restrictions on the prevailing practices of the local community, other than those voluntarily adopted. Biodiversity Heritage Sites when institutionalized through a management plan can be utilized for a variety of purpose - to highlight the ecosystem services provided by the land, to reinforce traditional religious identities, as a source of revenue in the form of tourism and sustainable forestry, as a conservation initiative in the absence of applicability of forest laws and as a species centric protection measure.
While most of these sites are more threatened and in a greater risk of extinction as compared to protected forest regions, some are being protected as a result of social and physical fencing. And while these small patches are often side-lined from popular discourse, the time is right to recognise them.
The concept of Biodiversity Heritage Sites (BHS), conceived under Section 37 of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 was one of the most imaginative steps taken to protect these vanishing biodiversity-rich regions. The idea has the potential of transforming the conservation landscape from a single-track protected area network into a multi-dimensional canvas of innumerable opportunities to conserve India’s biodiversity.
In its most basic interpretation, sites that are known to be unique, ecologically fragile ecosystems with rich biodiversity, whether wild or domesticated and have significant cultural, ethical or aesthetic values can be declared as BHS. These sites are considered to be important for the maintenance of cultural diversity and may or may not have had a history of human association and are preferably not under the already existing protected area network of India. Subsequently, the National Biodiversity Authority issued guidelines in the year 2008 and listed out management prescriptions for declaring and managing such sites thus paving the way to implement the concept of Biodiversity Heritage sites in India.
The Act thus opens a new window of opportunity for the several thousand sacred groves which have suffered twice over from a lack of recognition as protected areas and the threat of avaricious land conversion in the past decades. It also introduces a possibility of “Creative Conservation” that can help in protecting a site vis-a-vis the cost of introducing another land use. For instance, it will now be possible for a village panchayat or a Biodiversity Management Committee (BMC) to conserve a high-altitude grove when they strongly convey its water retention capacities by invoking provisions of the Biological Diversity Act as opposed to a traditional agitation to protect their land. Thus, with a legal provision such as BHS, these lands can be preserved for eternity even though they may not be currently protected by any other law.
A unique biosphere, Majuli island is regarded as the cultural capital of the Assamese consciousness. The entire 875 sq km island is ecologically fragile and significant interventions are underway to protect the island from further degradation. Considering its uniqueness, a proposal to declare the river island as a world heritage site was sent to UNESCO in the year 2004. With worldwide limelight on this fragile island, the Assam State Government in 2017 declared the entire island as a BHS site in order to highlight the biodiversity heritage of the island. With a robust BHS notification guiding the BMC in implementing the management plan, it is expected that this recognition will provide environmental, social as well as economic benefit in the long run. The case can also provide a roadmap on the possible long-term implications of declaring BHS sites.
As Majuli continues to be in the limelight, conserving an obscure sacred grove in the remote village of Chilkigarh in West Bengal becomes an equally important task. Considered to the largest sacred grove in the state, the Kanak Durga grove is spread over 60 acres and is regarded as a prime example of the relic climax forests that had once thrived in the region. Under sustained human-induced stress, concerns were raised by researchers that conserving this land use is necessary not just for ecological reasons but also to recognise the important role played by sacred groves in the social and religious milieu of the state of West Bengal. As a result of intense advocacy, the grove was declared as a BHS site in the year 2018.
While religion can be capitalized upon to protect isolated groves, ecological sustainability can also play a big role in protecting landscapes. The Covenant Centre for Development, an NGO in Tamil Nadu that has conserved more than 48 acres of degraded land at Sevaiyur near Madurai is currently grappling with a unique challenge in the vast forest that it helped create. The boundary is peppered with bore wells that provide a rare source of fresh water for the drought-prone farmers who have over the course of the past three decades come to recognise the importance of conserving the Sevaiyur forest. This man-made creation deserves the tag of protection and is an ideal case to be considered as a BHS site. Even natural forests that may be threatened by land use changes in similar landscapes such as Sevaiyur can be conserved under BHS provisions.
The Kaiga nuclear power plant lies in the midst of the Western Ghats and has considerably changed the face of the Kali river valley system. However, a grudging acknowledgement has emerged that the valley is a haven for wildlife and especially birdlife (with four native species of hornbills found in large numbers). The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited under its Environment Stewardship Program now organises an annual bird race and proudly talks about conservation. A Biodiversity Site here can not only put the spotlight on the vulnerable wildlife but also put the onus on the authorities to preserve large parts of the township under its jurisdiction.
Not only Kaiga but thousands of national and state level institutions have by design or inadvertently preserved large areas and significantly helped re-establish erstwhile remnants of biodiversity in these regions. These government institutions could help provide a much-needed push to actively protect biodiversity while at the same time put significant restrictions to prevent damage to these fragile regions.
It is not a pipe dream for already the Gandhi Krishi Vignyan Kendra campus (GKVK) spread over 167 hectares in Bangalore was declared as a BHS site after a proposal was received from the University of Agricultural Sciences in Bangalore. If more such institutions come forward, the snowball effect can provide legal protection to thousands of hectares of public land in India. It also provides an opportunity for industries to leverage their responsibility toward environmental sustainability. An intensive publicity campaign by the National and State Biodiversity Boards, state forest departments, support groups and NGOs can expedite the information sharing process.
The very nature of the regulations concerning BHS sites spells out hope for the long-term sustenance of the initiative. At its core, the voluntary nature of the entire process implies an intricate need to preserve the site. It also does not put any restrictions on the prevailing practices of the local community, other than those voluntarily adopted. Biodiversity Heritage Sites when institutionalized through a management plan can be utilized for a variety of purpose - to highlight the ecosystem services provided by the land, to reinforce traditional religious identities, as a source of revenue in the form of tourism and sustainable forestry, as a conservation initiative in the absence of applicability of forest laws and as a species centric protection measure.
