Eco-insensitive: The deadly landslide in Wayanad is a wake-up call for heeding environmental warnings – Opinion News

The torrential downpour in Wayanad district in Kerala has triggered deadly landslides, resulting in habitations being washed away and a mounting death toll. This tragedy doubtless is a wake-up call for India’s policymakers to cope with extreme weather events by promoting sustainable development, especially in ecologically fragile zones like the Western Ghats — which is the second-most landslide-prone region in the country after the Himalayas. Madhav Gadgil, who was chairman of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel, has termed this disaster as a “man-made tragedy” attributing it to the state government for not following the panel’s recommendations to prevent such incidents at a time of climate change. Four years ago, the state disaster management authority had, in fact, advised relocating families from landslide-prone areas in Wayanad.

This disaster was a chronicle foretold as there has been massive deforestation, mining activities, and construction of tourist resorts and artificial lakes in the hilly district. In an ecologically sensitive zone, these developments loosen the topsoil and impact hillside stability triggering frequent rain-induced landslides. 

The proximate cause of the Wayanad disaster no doubt is the extremely heavy rainfall. The India Meteorological Department has predicted above-normal rainfall of 106% of the long period average this year, with the second half being better than the first half. While the number of rainy days is declining, the incidence of very heavy and extremely heavy rainfall events — 115.6 to 204.4 mm and above 204.4 mm respectively — has been rising.

Due to climate change, the warming of the Arabian Sea is allowing the formation of deep cloud systems that has resulted in copious rainfall not just in Wayanad, but also in Kozhikode, Malappuram, and Kannur according to S Abhilash, director of the Advanced Centre for Atmospheric Radar Research at the Cochin University of Science and Technology. 

The state government has identified a waterlogged hillock not far from the affected villages in Wayanad as the origin of the landslides. These deep cloud systems are similar to those seen in 2019, which resulted in heavy floods. Rising sea surface temperatures also result in a higher frequency of cyclone formation in the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal causing high-intensity rainfall.

The policy imperative must be to check the degradation of the natural ecosystem in the Western Ghats on a war footing. This applies not just to Kerala but also to other states like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Goa, and Gujarat. Kerala’s experience stands out as there has been a rising frequency of landslides as its wetlands, forests, and tree cover have been degraded. 

This ecologically fragile zone is unable to withstand heavy downpour resulting in considerable loss of lives. The state must therefore work on a priority basis to ensure that development in Wayanad is sustainable. Looking beyond Kerala, it is high time that the Western Ghats is tagged as an eco-sensitive zone to protect it from environmentally hazardous economic development.

Despite five draft notifications from the Centre since 2014, the states in the Western Ghats, especially Karnataka, are not on board for the final notification. A couple of years ago, Karnataka even urged the Centre to withdraw the draft as it would impact livelihoods in the state. Maharashtra and Goa, for their part, sought a reduction in the eco-sensitive area to allow development activities. The Wayanad tragedy must trigger a swift response from these states to notify Western Ghats as an eco-sensitive area.

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