Fine-tuning of ESA maps to be over by month end

T. Nandakumar
Thiruvananthapuram,  
The Hindu, September 18, 2014 

Following up on the massive ground truthing exercise to demarcate the Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESAs) in the State, the Kerala State Biodiversity Board (KSBB) has embarked on a project to fine-tune the cadastral- level ESA maps of the 123 villages identified by the K. Kasturirangan committee.

The block- level cadastral maps demarcating the ESAs are being electronically stitched together to prepare village- level maps. The maps, along with a report on the ground truthing exercise, are sought by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) for inclusion in the revised draft notification expected to be issued on the basis of feedback from other States.

KSBB chairman .Oommen V. Oommen said the report would indicate the ESA and non- ESA areas within each survey number. The work, he said, was expected to be over by the end of the month.

The cadastral-level maps, with different colour codes to indicate forests, residential areas, waterbodies and rocks, were prepared following a draft notification issued by MoEF in March redefining the territorial extent of the ESAs in Kerala. Earlier, the Kasturirangan committee had earmarked 13,108 sq km across 123 villages in Kerala as ESA. Following widespread protests and political turmoil, the State government, on the basis of a ground- level verification, had proposed the exclusion of 3,117 sq km from the ESAs.

Meanwhile, a team of officials from the MoEF regional office in Bangalore is expected to visit the State shortly for a physical verification of the ESA maps submitted by the State.

The team, which held a preliminary meeting with State officials here in June, is expected to carry out field verification in at least 25 per cent of the 123 villages.

The KSBB had taken up the job of fine-tuning the cadastral maps after paucity of funds forced the Kerala State Remote Sensing and Environment Centre (KSREC) to drag its feet on a project to digitize the ESA maps and convert them to the GIS (Geographic Information System) format.

Official sources said KSBB had received requests from Karnataka and Goa for assistance in preparing ESA maps.