Goa should grow the valuation of its environmental assets

At a recent talk in Goa, former Indian diplomat Shyam Saran spoke on climate change; is it too little, too late?

He ended his lecture with a Mahatma Gandhi quote – 'Nature has enough to satisfy everyone’s need, but not to satisfy everyone’s greed.' This statement of Gandhi’s has a resonating ring of truth in today’s environmentally degrading world.

As unrelenting greed swishes around, plundering planet earth’s natural resources, it gets manifested in air and water pollution, acidification of the ocean, rising sea levels, climate change, greenhouse effect and in so many other ways.

And, all this pillaging is being done in the name of development.

If you think hard, you wonder; is it actually development when all the frenetic economic activities are only wreaking monumental environmental destruction?

Yes, technological developments have made life easier for all of us, but it’s time to strike a balance between development and environment. Technocrat Elon Musk’s suggestion of escaping to another planet cannot be the solution. 

Why destroy it in the first place? Here’s where the significance of being environmentally conscious cannot be emphasised enough. And, it holds good in the context Goa’s quickly vitiating environment, too.

Over the past few decades, Goa has been witnessing indiscriminate development with largescale tree felling, hill cutting and Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) violations. These could have disastrous implications on the State’s environment.

Ecologically, Goa is an environmental haven with over 100 km of coastline and forest cover of more than 60 percent. Both of these – the forest and the ocean – serve as carbon sinks that help in mitigating the effects of climate change due to greenhouse gas emission.

Together, these two carbon sinks can absorb 50-55 percent of the earth’s carbon dioxide and warming effect of greenhouse gas emission. However, across the world, they are being flagrantly mutilated for “development”.

Hearteningly, Goa’s forest cover has consistently remained above the national average, which mostly hovers around 20 percent.

However, a closer look at the Forest Survey of India (FSI) data shows that a large part of the coastal State’s forest area is under open forest – area that has tree cover with canopy density between 10 percent and 40 percent.

As per FSI, Goa’s total forest area in 2019 was 2244 sqkm, of which 538 sqkm came under very dense forest (canopy density of over 70 percent), 576 sqkm under moderate forest (canopy cover of between 40 percent and 70 percent) and 1,130 sqkm under open forest.

The Indian State of Forest Report (ISFR), 2023, released by the central environment ministry, has pointed to a depletion in Goa’s forests by 1.50 sqkm or 150 Ha to 2,265 sqkm.

Looking beyond numbers, there has been concern over encroachment on the State’s forests by horticulturists. Environmentalists claim forest trees are being felled to give way to tree crops.

Such tree crops masquerade as forest trees and get included in forest cover data, distorting the real picture.

It’s economically imperative for Goa to protect its forests and ocean. Clean environment and natural beauty are valuable assets for it with over 16 percent of its revenue coming from tourism.  

Metros and major cities are already experiencing the ravaging impact of industrialisation and furious pace of development.

The pristine and virginal environment of Goa and other tourist destinations are today in short supply.

These are the places in high demand by people who want to escape the toxic environment created by unbridled development, and not Mars or any other planet in space.

And, they are ready to pay a premium for it. So, Goa don’t squander away your valuable treasures of extensive forests and the sea. Invest in them to make them more valuable for the coming generations, and not let greed overtake need.