State government opposes move to declare Western Ghats as world heritage site

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, July 5, 2012 : The State of Karnataka has opposed UNESCO’s move to declare the Western Ghats as a world heritage site on grounds that it will hinder development work.

C. P. Yogeshwar, minister for forests, informed reporters that, although the state had opposed the proposal, the central government has approved it. He explained that declaring 10 spots in the Western Ghats as a world heritage sites will hinder development work and create problems for the people living there. He said that he will soon discuss the issue with the CM.

BJP MLA D. N. Jeevaraj of Chikmagalur also opposed the proposal.

Last year, the Government of Karnataka had written to the central government stating that the 10 spots in the Western Ghats must not be declared as world heritage sites.

Recently, UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee included the Western Ghats in its list of world heritage sites because they among the eight most biologically diverse places in the world.