Jul 31, 2024 08:43 PM IST
The development versus environment debate may not always have a clear winning side, but when it has an endangered species at the centre, the scales must tip in favour of conservation.
The development versus environment debate may not always have a clear winning side, but when it has an endangered species at the centre, the scales must tip in favour of conservation. Vedanta-owned Cairn’s proposal to drill in the Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary in Assam could have severe consequences for the Hoolock Gibbon, India’s only ape species, and a cascading impact on the region’s biodiversity. Wildlife scientists have warned that even a small erosion of the forest canopy could destabilise the animal’s population, given how it is almost entirely arboreal and moves around using the top branches. Cairn has the blessings of the state government, the Union environment, and the forests and climate change ministry’s regional office, albeit with conditions. But the Centre’s Forest Advisory Committee must consider expert opinion carefully, given the species is classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
The gibbons already face a threat to their habitat from the Railways’ plans to electrify and expand its network on the sanctuary’s land. Ironically enough, two aspects of sustainability are clashing here, with route electrification being key to the Railways’ plan to decarbonise. Against this backdrop, hydrocarbon exploration, with all its implications for the country’s energy security, may seem a weaker case to risk the likely biodiversity trade-off.
In the Railways’ case, the Wildlife Institute of India had recommended setting up artificial canopy bridges for the gibbons as a last resort. Experts will need to weigh in on whether this alternative is even feasible for a drilling project, considering it involves more invasive activity, over a longer period.
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