Introduction
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The roots of our present day environmental crisis lie in a queer combination of scientific materialism and economic determinism which fail to recognise the physical limits imposed by ecological systems on our economic progress. For economic growth to be sustainable, strategies must fully take into account the limited restorative and regenerative capacities of ecosystems. Industrial projects in any given planning region must learn to respect the ecological integrity and biodiversity values of that region as these are going to be the determinants of environmental quality 'as well as the sustainability of development interventions. While some trade offs with these values may be inevitable, it is now widely recognised that the measure of resulting environmental degradation will be an inverse indicator of sustainability: the higher the compromise, the greater the unsustainability .Sustainable development is one that meets the needs of present, without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their needs (Brundtland 1992). In practice, industrial development is often accompanied by significant adverse impacts on all or different components of the environment. With determination and effort these unwanted consequences of development can be reduced substantially as we progressively hone our technical and managerial skills for preventing and/or mitigating them. For all potentially impacting development projects like multipurpose hydroelectric projects, thermal power plants, fertilizer plants, nuclear plants, transport and telecommunication projects, prior assessment and appraisal of impacts on the different components of environment (abiotic and biotic, including forests, wildlife and people) is imperative for several reasons, of which the following are most significant : 1. To ensure sustainability that can result from conservation of ecological processes and thereby of life support systems and gene pool resources (or biodiversity). World Conservation Strategy (IUCN 1980) has laid down three criteria for identifying impacts on the environment. The first concerns the length of time and geographic area over which the effects will be felt. The second is urgency or the quickness with which a natural system might deteriorate. Finally, it is important to assess the degree of irreversible damage to communities of plants and animals. 2. To ensure developmental pace and economic prosperity without actually altering the state of the environment. 3. To meet the statutory requirements of obtaining clearance under the various environmental as well as forest and wildlife conservation laws of the country. Often people wildlife conflicts become more acute as a result of such a situation. Some such notable conflicts between development and wildlife conservation relate to the Silent Valley Hydel Power Project, Government sheep farm within Dachigam National Park, Army firing ranges in many sanctuaries, salt mining in the Wild Ass Sanctuary , and proposed railway line through parts of Kaziranga (Rodgers, 1989). Examples of forests and wildlife being directly or indirectly affected by developmental activities like irrigation and hydropower projects, mining, road building, pipeline laying and transmission line upgradation are too numerous. Often developmental projects tend to overlook forest conservation values altogether or consider them trivial and dispensable compared to the economic benefits of these projects. The adversity gets further compounded when local people's dependence upon forests does not feature in any calculations at all. Apart from direct loss due to diversion of forest land to such projects, the residual forest potentially becomes subjected to accelerated degradation because the needs of people must be met from the much reduced residual forest area. Mananthody Hydroelectric Project in Wynad, and the proposed Bodhghat Hydroelectric Project in Bastar district of M.P are examples of such indirect impacts on wildlife and forests (Balakrishnan etal, 1988 and Panwar etal, 1989). The flora and fauna of the south-western coastal area and Little Rann of Kutch, the last refuge for the highly endangered Wild Ass, are also likely to be similarly impacted by the proposed tidal power project in Kutch. Wetlands are yet another category of important wildlife habitats that have been exploited by man for various natural resources and subjected to anthropogenic pressures for agriculture and urban development in developing countries (Pandit, 1991). Consequently the drastic reduction in the overall availability of such habitats has led to deterioration in their ecological values. The reduced habitat quality of the remaining such areas has also resulted in disruption/disorientation of the migratory routes of birds. Pronounced decline in the number of Siberian cranes visiting Keoladev Ghana National Park in Bharatpur is a manifestation of the disruption of migratory routes as well as the deterioration in habitat quality of the wetlands en route and those in the proximity of Bharatpur. The project site for the tidal power project in the Gulf of Kutch has been a traditional stopover area for migratory birds that travel from north east Africa and Eurasia. Unplanned developmental activities in this region are posing threat to these migratory birds. Progressive fragmentation of natural habitats- a process whereby contiguous tracts are reduced into numerous smaller patches can also be an outcome of unplanned developmental activities including agricultural extensions. Reduction in habitat resulting from fragmentation may, according to the theory of Island Biogeography, lead to the loss of species (Wilcox, 1980). Small isolated populations are subjected to loss of genetic diversity through inbreeding depression -a process that may lead to extinction (Gilpin and Soule, 1986). The Ramganga Reservoir and the Chilla Power Channel have played a major role in breaking the contiguity of the home range of the north western elephant population and the breeding of mahaseer fish. The resulting insularization of elephant population also holds threats for its long term viability. Yet another example of potential threat is the contiguous stretch of evergreen forest west of Eravikulam National Park extending upto the Peechi-Vazhani Sanctuary through Parambikulam and Chimony sanctuaries. This is at present protected to allow for movement of elephant and gaur and as a habitat for the endangered Nilgiri thar and Malabar civet. Together with the adjoining Anamalai Sanctuary in Tamil Nadu, this entire area has been proposed as a large and viable Anamalai-Anamudi Conservation Unit (Rodgers and Panwar, 1988). However, proposal for the construction of 8-10 dams in the area, if implemented, will fragment the entire area into smaller unviable units. It becomes evident from the foregoing text that there has been a rapid and ongoing diversion and degradation of forest and non forest wilderness and concomitant loss of wildlife and genetic resources. In this scenario, conservation of forests/wildlife habitats and species has become a major national issue. Of the actual forest cover of 64.01 million ha., only 37,85 ha (11.51 % of the total geographical area) has adequate forest cover i.e. a crown cover of over 40 percent. For environmental stability the country should optimally have at least 1/3rd of its geographical area under adequate forest cover. At the present rate of consumption of forest produce and on the current production of forests, the country needs a minimum of 0.47 ha. of forest land for every individual in order to meet basic needs. But presently only 0.09 ha. of forest area is available per capita for Rajasthan and 0.23 ha/capita for M.P (Forest Survey of India, 1991). Similarly, the existing 4.1 % of land area under protected areas is neither adequate nor biogeographically fully representative so as to safeguard our rich biological diversity which holds the key for futuristic well being of humankind. With this, it becomes all the more imperative to evaluate developmental projects to ascertain the appropriateness of their location and technology with regard to forest and wildlife conservation. India has made rapid strides in the development of energy generation capacity which has gone up from 1700 MW in 1950 to over 67 ,000 MW today (Ministry of Non Conventional Energy Sources, 1992). Despite this, the gap between the demand and supply of commercial energy in general and petroleum products in particular has been widening over the years with the urban population increasing at the rate of 4 % every year and the demands for modern fuels increasing at about 5.5 % every year (UNDP Report). It is in this context that the need for the conservation of petroleum products has assumed an unprecedented significance and urgency. Natural gas is now emerging as a major source of energy and feedstock for petrochemicals and fertilizer industry and its importance in the national economy has assumed great significance. The Government of India set up the Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) in 1956 for the exploration and production of petroleum and natural gas in the country.Subsequently, to take charge of all post exploration activities connected with natural gas, Gas Authority of India Ltd. (GAIL), a Government of India undertaking was established in 1984. It has come up as a nodal agency for developing an integrated industry in the country based on natural gas. The major responsibilities assigned to GAIL include :
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Last Updated: October 8, 2015
