The Western Ghats, extending along the west coast of India, covers an area of 180,000 square kilometers The Western Ghats comprises the major portion of the Western Ghats and Sri Lanka Hotspot, one of 34 global biodiversity hotspots for conservation and one of the two on the Indian subcontinent. The area is extraordinarily rich in biodiversity. Although the total area is less than 6 percent of the land area of India, the Western Ghats contains more than 30 percent of all plant, fish, herpetofauna, bird, and mammal species found in India. Like other hotspots, the Western Ghats has a high proportion of endemic species. The region also has a spectacular assemblage of large mammals and is home to several nationally significant wildlife sanctuaries, tiger reserves, and national parks
Biodiversity
In the Western Ghats, the Agasthyamalai Hills in the extreme south are believed to harbor the highest levels of plant diversity and endemism at the species level. Nearly 87 percent of the region’s flowering plants are found south of the Palghat Gap (37 percent being exclusive to this sub-region); these figures decrease to about 60 percent and 5 percent, respectively, in the Nilgiri Hills. There are more than 450 known bird species from the hotspot, of which about 35 are endemic.These includes Malabar grey hornbill,Wynadu laughing thrush,Grey headed bulbul,Malabar lark,Malabar barbet etc. The hotspot is home to about 140 mammal species,about which 20 are endemic to this region.Among the mammals there are species like Lion tailed macaque,Nilgirir langur,Nilgiri Tahr,Malabar civet,Nilgiri marten etc are made western ghats there own abode.This region is also home to about 260 species of reptiles of which 90 are endemic.130 species of about 175 of amphibians are unique to western ghats.Among endemics about 80 species are in the threatened category. A new amphibian species Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis recently discovered from kerala. Amphibian extinctions are also relatively well documented, with some 20 historically recorded extinctions. Nearly 140 of more than 190 species of strictly freshwater fishes are endemic to the hotspot.Chalakudy river which originates from anmalai hills supports the largest fish fauna in the country.
Conservation
Less than fifteen percent of the Western Ghats is protected in 20 national parks and 68 sanctuaries. Considering IUCN categories I-IV, which offer a higher level of protection, the figure drops to around 11percent, according to the World Database on Protected Areas. Thus, the protected area network is far from complete. One way of ensuring that the network of protected areas adequately conserves biodiversity is through the identification and conservation of “Key Biodiversity Areas” (KBAs). These are globally important sites for biodiversity conservation, defined by the presence of irreplaceable and threatened biodiversity: globally threatened species, restricted-range species, and species that concentrate in globally significant numbers. KBAs are biologically meaningful units that can be potentially managed for conservation, defined in a bottom-up, data driven process.
The identification of KBAs in the Western Ghats was initiated in 2003, coordinated locally by Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), and in collaboration with The Wildlife Conservation Society-India and the University of Agricultural Sciences in Bangalore. Building from preliminary data on Important Bird Areas, compiled by the Bombay Natural History Society, data on globally threatened species of mammals, birds, amphibians, plants, and to a lesser extent, reptiles and fish, were synthesized to identify and delineate 126 KBAs in the Western Ghats. These sites are high priorities for conservation action. KBAs in the Western Ghats will be refined as new and better data become available. Landscape-scale action, through biodiversity conservation corridors, will be necessary for wide ranging species such as the Asian elephant ( Elephas maximus, EN), tiger ( Panthera tigris, EN), Asiatic wild dog ( Cuon alpinus, EN), and greater spotted eagle ( Aquila clanga, VU).
Sources : Conservation International
WWF-India
ATREE
