Western Ghats: Indias ecological treasure….Ananda Banerjee
Running along the south-western edge of the Indian peninsula, it is home to one of the most significant repositories of species found only in this countrypopularly referred to as endemism
Running along the south-western edge of the Indian peninsula, it is home to one of the most significant repositories of species found only in this countrypopularly referred to as endemism
New Delhi: Scientists believe the Western Ghats to be among the worlds top 10 biodiversity areas. Running along the south-western edge of the Indian peninsula, it is home to one of the most significant repositories of species found only in this countrypopularly referred to as endemism.
For example, in just the last decade, more than 50 new amphibian species, including 12 new species of night frogs belonging to the genus Nyctibatrachus, have been discovered in the Western Ghats.
Out of 179 species of amphibians found in the Western Ghats, 138 are endemic to the region.
While ongoing research is likely to lead to more species being discovered, the Ghats are currently known to have more than 5,000 plant and 140 mammal species, 16 of which are endemic, including the lion-tailed macaque and the Nilgiri tahr. It has 508 bird species, 16 of which are endemic, including the Nilgiri flycatcher and the Malabar parakeet, besides 102 species of fish, endemic and endangered, such as the Malabar mahseer.
The Western Ghats comprise nine geological landscapes with 11 distinct types of evergreen vegetation spanning myriad ecosystems such as myristica swampsa primitive family of flowering plants, shola-grasslands; and the hill plateaus of the northern Western Ghats. All of these are severely disturbed and, in consequence, large tracts of the Western Ghats deserve to be considered ecologically sensitive.
The Western Ghats are also the water storage tanks of peninsular India, being the source of numerous east-flowing rivers, but the construction of dams and roads connecting to the cities has long exposed virgin forest land to exploitation. Human intervention is undoing geological evolution that began millions of years ago when what is now Madagascar broke away from the land mass that is now India, resulting in the rising of the Western Ghats.
In the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) report yet to be accepted by the ministry of environment and forests, its chairman Madhav Gadgil wrote: The protector of the Indian peninsula, the mother of the Godavari, Krishna, Netravathi, Kaveri, Kunthi, Vaigai and a myriad other rivers, Kalidasa likens the Western Ghats to a charming maiden; Agasthyamalai is her head, Annamalai and Nilgiri the breasts, her hips the broad ranges of Kanara and Goa, her legs the northern Sahyadris. Once the lady was adorned by a sari of rich green hues; today her mantle lies in shreds and tatters. It has been torn asunder by the greed of the elite and gnawed at by the poor, striving to eke out subsistence. This is a great tragedy, for this hill range is the backbone of the ecology and economy of south India.
To be sure, the newfound status of the Western Ghats as a Unesco World Heritage site may have little effect on the ground by way of conservation measures, given the experience of the renowned Keoladeo National Park in Bharatpur and the Manas National Park. Both of these have long been on the list of world heritage sites.
While vote bank politics and water mismanagement has destroyed the world-famous birding paradise of Bharatpur, Manas is yet to recover from the years when the area was in the grip of insurgency, with militants having wiped out all its large fauna.
The government should first accept the WGEEP report and act accordingly to safeguard the huge ecological treasure as represented by the Western Ghats.