Residents of two villages in the Indian state of Goa have petitioned the environment ministry for their villages to be recognized as “eco-sensitive areas.” The residents want their villages’ natural resources to be protected from large-scale infrastructure projects and tourism development, reports Mongabay India’s Simrin Sirur.
The villages of Loliem and Poingunin are located in southern Goa, in a part of the Western Ghats, a mountainous biodiversity hotspot. They host a rich complex of forests, mangroves and riverine wetlands. The villages are also home to the Bhagwati Plateau, made of lateritic rocks rich in iron and aluminum. These porous rocks help replenish and store groundwater, and during the monsoons bloom with rare plant species, Sirur writes.
But like most of Goa, the villages are under increasing pressure from luxury tourism infrastructure. A part of the plateau governed by Loliem is also the site of a proposed filmmaking hub funded by the Goa government.
“Loliem is special because we have the plateau at the top, which absorbs water, followed by orchards and forest on the slopes, and then the khazan lands, rivers at sea level,” Manoj Dutta Prabhugaonkar, chairman of Loliem’s Biodiversity Management Committee, told Mongabay India. “All these ecosystems are working together. If you remove the plateau or disrupt the water supply, it will lead to an imbalance across these ecosystems.”
Ecologists have previously identified areas in the Western Ghats, including in Goa, that need to be officially designated as eco-sensitive areas, where infrastructure development should be restricted. In response, the central government has released six drafts of the Western Ghats’ Eco Sensitive Areas (ESA) notification, identifying areas in six key Western Ghats states, where industrial activity, mining and large-scale construction will be prohibited or limited. However, all states, including Goa, have pushed back, demanding that several villages be dropped from the list, so infrastructure development can continue to ensure economic development.
Worried about not making it in the list, residents of both Loliem and Poinguinim have sent separate petitions to the central government, asking for protection for their natural resources and to remain in the ESA draft list with strict enforcement of the law.
“Our village of Loliem is facing a disastrous assault from real estate speculation, luxury tourism, infrastructure projects and other forms of destruction,” says the letter signed by 341 residents. “The low altitude lateritic plateaus, forests and the riverine wetlands… are under immediate assault and will be lost forever unless included in the Ecologically Sensitive Areas of Western Ghats.”
“We’ve seen how tourism and rampant development have ruined typical Goan villages. We don’t want that here,” Dennis Fernandes, a resident of Loliem, told Mongabay India.
This is a summary of “These Goan villages want to be recognised for their natural resources” by Simrin Sirur, Mongabay India.
Banner image: A satellite view of Loliem village and the Bagwati Plateau. Map via Google Earth Pro.
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