Keri: Environmental activists from six states, including Goa, have unanimously called for a complete ban on proposed river-diversion and inter-basin water-transfer projects in the Western Ghats, including those affecting the Mhadei, Aghanashini, Kali, Netravati, Punnapuzha and Nallar rivers.The resolution was adopted at a Western Ghats Forum meeting at Bangaramakki in Gerusappa, Uttara Kannada, on Sunday. Maruthi Guruji, spiritual head of the Shri Veeranjaneya pilgrimage centre in Bangaramakki, presided over the meeting.Activists and local residents involved in protecting and conserving the Western Ghats said its rivers were ecological systems connecting forests, streams, wetlands, groundwater, biodiversity and people, rather than merely channels that could be dammed, diverted or transferred.The resolution also urged central and state govts to ban all proposed pumped-storage and hydropower projects, including small-scale projects with a capacity of less than 25MW.Delegates said protecting the Western Ghats also meant protecting its people, and that govt concerns over the impact of ecologically sensitive areas (ESAs) on residents must be considered alongside the consequences of continued ecological degradation.They said forests and soils in the Western Ghats regulated water, reduced soil erosion and helped maintain hydrological cycles. Altering rivers and fragmenting landscapes could affect water security, agriculture and livelihoods in the region as well as downstream.The delegates called for ecological protection to be balanced with local livelihoods and demanded that residents’ views be incorporated into states’ official policy feedback. The meeting also discussed the seventh draft notification on the Western Ghats and the way forward.Goa’s representatives urged authorities to retain all 108 villages listed in the Western Ghats as ecologically sensitive areas.
