At the stretch between Visakhapatnam and Bhimili
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

With landscapes that range from the world’s greatest peaks to low-lying coastal plains, India showcases a diverse morphology that has evolved over billions of years. In several places, we find a variety of rocks and minerals and distinctive fossil assemblages. These geological features and landscapes tell us the spectacular ‘origin’ stories derived not from mythology but from scientific interpretations. India’s tumultuous geological past is recorded in its rocks and terrains and should be considered as our non-cultural heritage. India offers many such examples. Geo-heritage sites are educational spaces where people acquire much needed geological literacy, especially when India’s collective regard for this legacy is abysmal.

Scant traction in India

Geological conservation seeks to ensure the survival of the best representative examples of India’s geological features and events so that present and future generations can appreciate more of the world’s best natural laboratories. Despite international progress in this field, geo-conservation has not found much traction in India. Many fossil-bearing sites have been destroyed in the name of development and real estate growth, Destructive stone mining activities also add to this misery. The magnitude of these activities is evident from the fact that the area covered under stone-mining operations exceeds more than 10% of the total area of India.

Also read | Why the Indian subcontinent is a geological museum like no other

These geological features tell us how the land we are so familiar with came to be, and are part of an evolutionary history that has made Indian terrane what it is today. Ironically, on the one hand, we reach out to Mars in search of evidence for early life but on the other, we destroy such proof that is so precious and right in our backyard. How many of us know about the little-known Dhala meteoritic impact crater in Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh? This between 1.5 billion to 2.5 billion-year-old crater is evidence of a celestial collision when life must have begun. The more famous Lonar crater in Buldhana district of Maharashtra was earlier dated to be about 50,000 years old, and a recent study suggests its origin around 5,76,000 years ago.

The importance of the shared geological heritage of our planet was first recognised in 1991 at a UNESCO-sponsored event, ‘First International Symposium on the Conservation of our Geological Heritage’. The delegates assembled in Digne, France, endorsed the concept of a shared legacy: “Man and the Earth share a common heritage, of which we and our governments are but the custodians”. This declaration foresaw the establishment of geo-parks as sites that commemorate unique geological features and landscapes within their assigned territories; and as spaces that educate the public on geological importance.

Geo-heritage sites in many countries such as Canada, China, Spain, the United States and the United Kingdom have been developed as national parks. UNESCO has also prepared guidelines for the development of geo-parks. Many countries also have the necessary legislation to build, protect and designate geo-parks. Europe celebrates its geological heritage across 73 zones. Japan offers another good lesson in such conservation. Today, there are 169 Global Geoparks across 44 countries. Thailand and Vietnam have also implemented laws to conserve their geological and natural heritage. Though a signatory, India has no such legislation or policy for geo-heritage conservation.

This situation calls for sustainable conservation approaches, such as those we have been able to formulate to protect biodiversity. The Biological Diversity Act was implemented in 2002 and there are now 18 notified biosphere reserves in India. Although the Geological Survey of India (GSI) has notified 34 geological monuments, it lacks the regulatory powers to implement the preservation measures. A recent development in the case of a cliff in Varkala in Thiruvananthapuram district, Kerala, is a typical example. This cliff which overlooks the Arabian Sea is made up of rocks deposited millions of years ago and has been declared by the GSI as a geological heritage site. To save some unauthorised structures, the district administration recently demolished a part of this cliff citing landslide hazards. Many such features around the country face such survival threats.

Half-hearted measures

The Government of India has attempted to address these concerns on some occasions. In 2009, there was a half-hearted attempt to constitute a National Commission for Heritage Sites through a Bill introduced in the Rajya Sabha. Though it was eventually referred to the Standing Committee, the government backtracked on it for some unstated reasons and the Bill was withdrawn. The Bill was meant to constitute a national commission to implement the stipulations of the UNESCO World Heritage Convention 1972 and to create a national roster of heritage sites. More recently, in 2022, the Ministry of Mines has prepared a draft Bill for preservation and maintenance, but no further progress on this has been heard. As the annexure to the Draft Geoheritage Sites and Geo-relics (Preservation and Maintenance) Bill, 2022 says, “In sharp contrast to the well laid out protection and conservation measures addressed with relevant legislation on archaeological and historical monuments and cultural heritage sites, India does not have any specific and specialized policy or law to conserve and preserve the geoheritage sites and geo-relics for future generations.”

Specifically, India needs the following at the earliest: first, create an inventory of all prospective geo-sites in the country (in addition to the 34 sites identified by the GSI); second, frame geo-conservation legislation for the country along the lines of the Biological Diversity Act 2002; and third, have a ‘National Geo-Conservation Authority’ along the lines of the National Biodiversity Authority, with independent observers, while ensuring that the establishment will not lead to red tape and encroach on the autonomy of researchers and academically-inclined private collectors.

C.P. Rajendran is an adjunct professor at the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru and the Director of the Consortium for Sustainable Development, Connecticut, U.S.