Compiled by: Anzil Fernandes

The 21-nation panel of the World Heritage Committee (WHC) finally declared Western Ghats as the World Heritage Site (WHS). During the 36th session of the WHC held St Petersburg in Russia, the committee inscribed a total of five natural World Heritage Sites, one mixed natural and cultural site and 20 cultural sites.

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However it must be noted that only 39 sites that mark the Western Ghats will be part of the region that has been designated as WHS. The 39 sites are as follows:

1.) Kalakad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu, 2.) Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary in Kerala, 3.) Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary in Kerala, 4.) Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary in Kerala, 5.) Kulathupuzha Range in Kerala, 6.) Palode Range in Kerala, 7.) Periyar Tiger Reserve in Kerala, 8.) Ranni Forest Division in Kerala, 9.) Konni Forest Division in Kerala, 10.) Achankovil Forest Division in Kerala, 11.) Srivilliputtur Wildlife Sanctuary in Tamil Nadu, 12.) Tirunelveli (North) Forest Division (part) in Tamil Nadu, 13.) Eravikulam National Park in Kerala, 14.) Grass Hills National Park in Tamil Nadu, 15.) Karian Shola National Park in Tamil Nadu, 16.) Karian Shola (part of Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary) in Kerala, 17.) Mankulam Range in Kerala, 18.) Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary in Kerala, 19.) Mannavan Shola in Kerala, 20.) Silent Valley National Park in Kerala, 21.) New Amarambalam Reserved Forest in Kerala, 22.) Mukurti National Park in Tamil Nadu, 23.) Kalikavu Range in Kerala,24.) Attapadi Reserved Forest in Kerala, 25.) Pushpagiri Wildlife Sanctuary in Karnataka, 26.) Brahmagiri Wildlife Sanctuary in Karnataka, 27.) Talacauvery Wildlife Sanctuary in Karnataka, 28.) Padinalknad Reserved Forest in Karnataka, 29.) Kerti Reserved Forest in Karnataka, 30.) Aralam Wildlife Sanctuary in Kerala, 31.) Kudremukh National Park in Karnataka, 32.) Someshwara Wildlife Sanctuary in Karnataka, 33.) Someshwara Reserved Forest in Karnataka, 34.) Agumbe Reserved Forest in Karnataka, 35.) Balahalli Reserved Forest in Karnataka, 36.) Kas Plateau in Maharashtra, 37.) Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary in Maharashtra, 38.) Chandoli National Park in Maharashtra, 39.) Radhanagari Wildlife Sanctuary in Maharashtra.

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Location

Western Ghats begin near the border of Gujarat and Maharashtra, south of the Tapti River, and runs approximately 1,600 km (990 mi) through the states of Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala ending at Kanyakumari, at the southern tip of India.

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About Western Ghats

The Western Ghats, a mountainous ridge running parallel to the west coast of India’s ancient peninsula, has a rich and intriguing history. They boast an age of 150 million years, and have seen variations of climate that have helped shape the soils and geology of the hills. The escarpment of the Western Ghats probably formed during the Gondwana supercontinent break-up and is the faulted edge of the Deccan Plateau.

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The Western Ghats may even have formed when the chunk of what is India today, broke away from Madagascar. As the block of earth migrated north, it passed over the Reunion hotspot, where the volcanic eruptions 65 million years ago, laid down the basalt sheets or traps that define the peninsula. The uplifts have exhumed rocks of over 200 million years, at places such as the Nilgiri Hills.

The journey of this north-bound plate was halted when it collided into the Eurasian plate, and pushed the Himalayas into existence. This event was significant for the Western Ghats. The geologies that had seen the drift of continents, the progression of ice ages and meltdowns, the extreme irregularities of climate and several cycles of vegetative cover, was now in the tropical realms.

They form an abrupt barrier to the monsoon winds, and separate the coastal areas from the Deccan Plateau. With an area of 160000 square kilometers, a complex drainage system originates at these heights, which provides water to 40% of India’s area.

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Present-day biodiversity has evolved and adapted to the climate and the soils of the area. Within the tropical environment and the rich natural resources, a variety of mixed forests have sprung up along the Western Ghats. In them one can find species that have originated in different climates but have adapted to the tropical monsoon climate. Some of the species are present in specialized and restricted niches to form a rich, endemic population that defines the Western Ghats as a biodiversity hotspot.

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Over recent years, anthropogenic threats like population expansion, deforestation and forest fragmentation, mining, dam construction and inefficient land-use practices are shrinking and isolating ecosystems. These factors pose a serious threat to the endemic species of the Western Ghats.

What are Biodiversity Hotspots?

Biodiversity hotspots are biologically rich that is under threat from human activity. The defining features of such areas are high plant endemism and significant habitat loss.Western Ghats that spans 1,600 kilometers is one of the top ten most important hotpots across the world.

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Biodiversity hotspots by definition are:
• Those areas in the world that contain at least 1,500 species of vascular plants as endemics. (These constitute greater than 0.5 percent of the world’ total vascular plants)
• These sites, at a global level support nearly 60% of the world’s plant, bird, animal, reptile and amphibian species with a high share of endemic species.
• These sites are threatened and have lost at least 70% of their natural, primary habitat.

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This means that the ecosystem has faced severe adversity, and the threat still holds sway. Over 70% of the former extent has been lost, and may signify that the biodiversity has paid a similar toll.

This is what makes biodiversity hotspots most significant from the conservation point of view. Being severely threatened areas, representing 60% of the total global biodiversity, it is imperative that effective, comprehensive conservation strategies are designed to reverse this spiraling trend towards extinction.

Reference:
http://thewesternghats.in
http://whc.unesco.org
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Ghats

Posted on: 04-07-2012