To think you can deforest in Nicobar and manage its ecological impact by doing some compensatory afforestation in Haryana is a bogus argument, said Jairam Ramesh, Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member, speaking at the session titled ‘From the Aravallis to the Nicobar: At the edge of ecology’ as part of The Hindu Huddle in Bengaluru on Friday (June 5, 2026).

Pointing out that Nicobar is a unique biodiversity spot, the former Union Environment Minister criticised the goverment is allowing clearing of forest areas that should never be deforested.

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Cultural significance

“Large parts of Central India, which is the rich forest bowl of India, are under threat… We are seeing loss of forests and biodiversity that is known and unknown in Odisha, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Nicobar,” he said.

Taking the example of the protests that happened against Bauxite mining in Niyamgiri, he said that in many parts of India, people feel attached to their lands not just because of livelihoods, but because of their cultural traditions.

“Democracy ultimately is about protecting the smallest of the small. If a particular community says that this is integral to my culture, then it is incumbent upon us to protect that culture. Because in India, unlike in many other parts of the world, when we protect nature, you also protect culture,” he said.

Balanced dissatisfaction

However, he also acknowledged that governments have compulsions to create jobs and attract investments and said that the tradeoff between environment and development has to be a democratic, give and take process.

“In environment and development, you cannot satisfy all sides. The only policy that works is balanced dissatisfaction,” he said.

“But going hand in hand means making difficult choices. There are certain situations where you will have to choose development because jobs are involved, investments are involved, and organisations are involved. However, there are instances where you have to say, ‘no, we will protect the environment at all costs.’,” he said.

‘We don’t celebrate the country’s wildlife enough’

Kriti Karanth, CEO, Centre for Wildlife Studies, who took part in the conversation, raised concerns that Indians, although they celebrate their language, our culture, our history, do not celebrate the country’s wildlife despite India being one of the 17 mega biodiverse countries in the world.

“We’re forgetting that we are not the only Indians in the room. There are tigers, elephants, hornbills, the Narcondum hornbill which is going to disappear from the Nicobar Islands, a multitude of amphibians and butterflies and insects yet to be discovered,” she said.

While noting that in many parts of India including Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh. and Maharashtra, the wildlife numbers have gone up, she said that there are large parts of India that are in deep trouble.

“The Great Indian Bustard is going to go in our lifetime. There’s less than fifty of the gigantic birds that span the Deccan Plateau that are left,’ she warned.

With regards to man-animal conflicts, Ms. Karanth stressed that solutions have to be based on science and data, and require deep local community commitment.

“We now have high densities of animals, but we have huge cultural, social problems for wildlife in rural India…Urban Indians don’t make decisions that matter for tiger elephants, rural Indians do, and I think we have to empower rural Indians to solve the conflict,” she added.

The Hindu Huddle is presented by the Sami-Sabinsa Group as the Presenting Partner. The event is co-powered by the Government of Telangana and held in association with Khaja Bandanawaz University.

The event is further supported by Bank of Baroda, Larsen & Toubro, Apollo Hospitals, IIM Sirmaur, ICFAI Group, TAFE, Wizzmon, Uttarakhand Government, Associate Partners; Casagrand, Realty Partner; Toyota, Luxury Car Partner; Amity University Bengaluru, University Partner; Harrow International School Bengaluru, Education Partner; Meghalaya Tourism, State Partner; and NDTV 24×7, TV Partner.

Published – June 05, 2026 02:57 pm IST