Panaji: Although the mining sector is a major contributor to the state's economy, it could have devastating effects on the butterfly species of Goa, Isaac Kehimkar said.Widely recognised as the 'butterfly man of India', Kehimkar, who was in the state on Saturday, spoke to STOI about butterfly biodiversity and the pressing need for its conservation."Nothing can be more degrading than mining. Vehicles criss-crossing in mining areas, which are usually located in rich, forested regions, cause much of the collateral damage, as land-based creatures get run over constantly. Mining almost clean-shaves the area, transforming it into a lifeless desert," he said.Kehimkar added that the problem is particularly profound for endemic butterfly species. "With the habitat lost, such species cannot survive," he said.He, however, maintained that owing to the state's rich biodiversity heritage, butterflies still survive rather precariously in some situations, despite heavy degradation of some prime forests for developmental activities.Kehimkar conducted a nature trail at the Butterfly Conservatory of Goa, Priol. This was organised to commemorate the life of educationist, Ranjana Kakodkar.His recent book on butterflies covers 1,025 of the 1,500 species of butterflies found in India. He said Goa has some butterflies endemic to the Western Ghats, such as the Malabar tree nymph, Malabar raven, Malabar banded swallowtail, Paris peacock, Malabar banded peacock and Tamil lacewing.Yashodhan Heblekar of the Butterfly Conservatory of Goa said habitat destruction was the biggest challenge when it came to conservation of species. "Change in government policies would help. One would be allowing butterfly-farming (captive breeding of butterflies). This automatically involves habitat protection and has a commercial interest to it.""It's high time that NGOs and corporates (through CSR) lend a helping hand," Kehimkar said.

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