MARGAO
Goa Forward Party Chief Vijai Sardesai has knocked the doors of UNESCO and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), World Heritage Programme, to save Mollem, fearing that Goa’s UNESCO protected biodiversity hotspot and the state’s share of Western Ghats will soon be home to a coal corridor and infrastructure projects.
Sardesai warned the government that the debate on coal and the linear projects on the floor of the House and the Zilla Panchayat elections is not an end to the campaign to save Mollem, asserting that people will approach every forum to ensure that the government is forced to stop the controversial projects. He also extended the party’s full support to the Save Mollem agitation.
At a media briefing, the Goa Forward Chief said he has written to Mrs Mechtild Rössler, Director, UNESCO World Heritage Center, Paris and Peter Shadie, Director, IUCN World Heritage Programme, Switzerland, with a plea to save Mollem.
In the letter to UNESCO and IUCN, Sardesai pointed out that the biodiversity value of the Mollem forest is higher than reported values for several Indian forests, and that out of 133 species recorded, 18 species were given special status according to the Wild Life Protection Act 1972. The letter indicates that five new species have been recently discovered and three endangered species are found here.
Besides, he said the Mollem region is also home to several important Hindu temples dating back to the historic Kadamba era of Goa, and home to Goa’s iconic Dudhsagar and Tambdi Surla waterfalls.
