Speakers
Who decides how to run the Western Ghats?
This panel discussion examines the emerging frames in climate communication, and the public outcry they generate. Specifically, the policy imbroglio over declaring the Western Ghats a World Heritage Site, which is yet to reach a decisive point. Through case studies of Kodagu and Chikmagalur, two economically rich districts of Karnataka, the discussion examines community and citizen activism, alongside the role and impact of social media.
The Central Government has recently reissued its draft notification proposing an Ecologically Sensitive Zone across the Western Ghats, after the previous draft lapsed amid continuing differences between the six states it traverses. Ambiguity in policy and legislation can lead to skewed development, often at the cost of fragile biodiversity and the communities that depend on it. The discussion also outlines the essential role offline, on-ground efforts play in mediating policy, legislation and community action.
Venue: Seminar Halls
Speakers
A. N. Yellappa Reddy
Dr A. N. Yellappa Reddy is a former Indian Forest Services (IFS) officer, author, educator, and environmentalist. During his tenure, he shaped key environmental policies in Karnataka and was instrumental in forming laws including the Karnataka Preservation of Trees Act (1976) and the Forest Conservation Act (1980). An active member of the Bangalore Environment Trust, he has worked on forest conservation, water systems, and rehabilitation of over 145 rare and endangered species, including greening 4 lakh hectares of barren land in Uttar Kannada. He is the author of Sacred Plants and a recipient of the Karnataka Rajyotsava Award and holds an Honorary Doctorate from Bangalore University.
Girish DV
Girish is a wildlife conservationist and coffee farmer from Chikkamagaluru, instrumental in the voluntary resettlement of over 450 families from Bhadra Tiger Reserve and the closure of iron-ore mines in Kemmangundi and Kudremukh. He has received the District Rajyothsava Award, the Protect the Tiger Award (Royal Bank of Scotland), the Tiger Gold Award, the Carl Zeiss Wildlife Conservation Award, and recognition from the Wildlife Conservation Society, as well as a joint WWF-PATA award with the Karnataka Forest Department. He has served multiple times as Honorary Wildlife Warden, Chikkamagaluru.
Devaiah Kelettira
Devaiah Kelettira is a coffee planter from Kodagu who raised public awareness of biodiversity degradation through a video documenting large-scale tree felling and road excavation on a protected Ecologically Sensitive Zone property. The video sparked the “Save Malma” protests, drawing significant community participation and prompting the landowner to halt construction and negotiate returning the land to the community.
Deepti Ganapathy
Professor Deepti Ganapathy is a communication and media scholar, former journalist, and full-time faculty member at IIM Bangalore. Her book Media and Climate Change: Making Sense of Press Narratives examines the Western Ghats Ecologically Sensitive Zone debate and was featured on the 2022 Honour Book List at the Green Literature Festival. She is an affiliate faculty at George Mason University’s Centre for Climate Change Communication and led a cross-country study on climate change’s health implications published in The Lancet Planetary Health. She has authored over one thousand articles in leading publications including Deccan Herald, The Times of India, Forbes India, and The Hindu.
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