Why India needs another green revolution

The Western Ghats a UNESCO World Heritage Site is considered one among the eight hotspots for biodiversity in the world It is also however plagued by issues including illegal mining which has wreaked havoc in the region Drawing attention to it is the 56minute Marathi documentary Nata Pashchim Ghatashi translates into lsquoa relationship with the Western Ghatsrsquo In the news for having won awards at the Vasundhara International Film Festival and the Vatavaran Environment and Wildlife Film Festival it was screened last week at the Bombay Natural History SocietyThe base of Vanzra Falls in Goa a niche ecosystem that is nurtured by the spray of these falls Pic Courtesy team wildernestIt is directed and narrated in Marathi by 36yearold Arti Kulkarni a broadcast journalist with a TV news channel who took a sabbatical to shoot the documentary Her work took her to six states mdash Gujarat Maharashtra Goa Karnataka Tamil Nadu and Kerala Kulkarni reflects on the project ldquoIt was very topical as the Western Ghats were recently declared as a World Heritage Site in 2012 Going back in time itrsquos been 25 years since the Save the Western Ghats march padyatra in 198788 drew attention to the regionrdquoA view of the Western Ghats pic courtesy Isaac kehimkarAlarm bellsShe adds that as a journalist who covered environmental issues she was alarmed by the fact that the area which is rich in natural resources was being steadily destroyed She visited a few spots in the Western Ghats for a reality check which led to the documentary Kulkarni took nearly nine months from February to November 2013 to complete the film and was clear from the start that it would be a noncommercial filmArti Kulkarni extreme right with environmentalists and forest officialsThe issues highlighted include illegal sand mining in Gujarat and Goa setting up of windmills in Maharashtra and hydroelectric plants in Kerala ldquoA documentary seemed the most effective way to put forward the message of conservation The idea was to cover the regions during the three seasons of winter summer and rainfall In every region we had a resource person ranging from forest officials to environmentalists locals and activists who guided us and voiced their opinions and worries on camerardquo she informs Kulkarni worked on a shoestring budget and pooled in her award money of 2 lakh towards financing the film With the eventual cost of filming at 7 lakh she is still scouring for fundsGreat Pied Hornbill is found in the regionChallenging terrainShe worked with just 34 people including two camerapersons and a driver The major challenges she recounts were the funding and the travel logistics ldquoI started my journey from northern Maharashtra headed to Gujarat and returned to Maharashtra as the Western Ghats crisscross state limitsrdquoKulkarni admits that she ensured the documentary presented a comprehensive and balanced view of the region She consciously chose to focus on unexplored places and gave the common tourist areas a miss ldquoI wanted to explore newer ecosystems so the film showcases dams and rainforests in Karnataka Keralarsquos jungles and the birds insects and plants found in the Western Ghats Of all the places we visited Goa was the best and the worst in terms of destruction It is the heart of the Western Ghats With 70 of the biodiversity destroyed in Goa how can we expect regenerationrdquo she ruesWhile the Western Ghats span 1600 km Kulkarni covered 1000 km for the shoot ldquoIn the film I have narrated our journey as we went from place to place so that the viewer feels a part of the process I wanted to bring these grassroot issues to the mainstream Being the origin of rivers like Krishna Kaveri and Godavari the Western Ghats are a life source and yet few are aware of its significancerdquo she remindsDid you knowgtgt Thirtynine locations of the Western Ghats have been declared as World Natural Heritage sites by UNESCOgtgt There are 5000 species of plants 137 species of mammals 508 species of birds and 181 species of amphibians in the Western Ghatsgtgt According to the World Wide Fund for Nature WWF there are 200 globally threatened species in the Western Ghats but only 10 per cent of the Western Ghats comes under protected category