World Heritage Status for Western Ghats: Some Facts

UNESCOs World Heritage Committee inscribed the Western Ghats of India as a world heritage site on July 1, 2012. The tag came at the 36th session of the World Heritage Committee (WHC) in St Petersburg in Russia. Altogether 39 sites that dot the Western Ghats landscape will be part of the region that has been designated as World Heritage Site. Kerala leads with 20 sites being inscribed in the heritage list followed by Karnataka with ten, Tamil Nadu five and Maharashtra four. The Western Ghats Some Facts The Western Ghats is a mountain range that runs along the western side of India. It runs, about 1600 kms, North to South, along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau. It is one of the eight hottest hotspots of biological diversity in the world. It originates near the border of Gujarat and Maharashtra, and runs through the states of Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, finally ending at Kanyakumari. These hills cover a total area of 160,000 square kms. The average elevation is about 1,200 m (3,900 ft). The region is home to over 5000 species of flowering plants, 139 mammal species, 508 bird species and 179 amphibian species. It is also reported that the Western Ghats is home to at least 84 amphibian species, 16 bird species, seven mammals, and 1,600 flowering plants which are not found elsewhere in the world. There are numerous protected areas designated by the Government of India in the Western Ghats. They include two bio reserves and thirteen National Parks. The Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve that comprises 5500 square kms of evergreen and deciduous forests forms an important part of the Western Ghats. The Silent Valley National Park in Kerala, which forms part of the Western Ghats, is one among the last tracts of virgin tropical evergreen forest in India. In August, 2011, the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) designated the entire Western Ghats as an Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA). The panel also assigned three levels of ecological sensitivity to its different regions. Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP):

The Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel was constituted by the Ministry of Environment & Forests in February 2010 under the chairmanship of noted environmental expert Prof. Madhav Gadgil. The panel has identified several eco-sensitive zones in the region and recommended that they should be declared no-go areas. Among its recommendations, the panel has also called for scrapping of Karnatakas Gundia and Keralas Athirapally hydro-projects, and gradual phasing out of mining activities in ecologically highly-sensitive areas of Goa by 2016. It has also suggested setting up of a Western Ghats Ecology Authority (WGEA), as a statutory authority appointed by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, with the powers under Section 3 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. The 24-member body is to have ecologists, scientists, representatives of civil society, as well as tribal groups, officials from the Union Environment Ministry, Planning Commission, National Biodiversity Authority, Central Pollution Control Board, and representatives of the state government as its members.

List of Western Ghats World Heritage clusters in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala and TN MAHARASHTRA Kaas Plateau Chandoli National Park KARNATAKA Brahmagiri Wildlife Sanctuary Padinalknad Reserved Forest Aralam Wildlife Sanctuary Someshwara Wildlife Sanctuary Balahalli Reserved Forest Talacauvery Wildlife Sanctuary Kerti Reserved Forest Kudremukh National Park Agumbe Reserved Forest Someshwara Reserved Forest KERALA TAMILNADU Kalakad- Tiger Reserve Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary Kulathupuzha Range Periyar Tiger Reserve Konni Forest Division Srivilliputtur Wildlife Eravikulam National Park Karian Shola National Park Mankulam Range Mannavan Shola New Amarambalam Reserve Forest Kalikavu Range Pushpagiri Wildlife Sanctuary Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary Palode Range Ranni Forest Division Achankovil Forest Division Tirunelveli North Forest Division Grass Hills National Park ParambikulamWildlife Sanctuary Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary Silent Valley National Park Mukurti National Park Attapadi Reserved Forest Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary Radhanagari Wildlife Sanctuary