Designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Western Ghats display a rich diversity of woody plants nestled in its mountain ranges. Ruchi Sharma elaborates with various studies that among other things, the need to increase the protected areas in the zone to mitigate the effects of stress caused by human activity. The importance of the region is underscored by the fact that it is home to unique biophysical and ecological processes.
One of the most ecologically diverse regions in India, and the world, the Western Ghats are a chain of mountain ranges that form the western rocky barrier of the Indian peninsula. A formidable mountain range, they cover a huge area across the Indian states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, an area of about 1,60,000 sq km as they run parallel to the western coast of India.
A recent study conducted by CSIR – Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) has revealed interesting facts about the mountain range. It has unfolded many aspects of the evolution of plants in the Western Ghats. As per the study, the Western Ghats serve as a museum and cradle of evolutionary diversity. The research conducted in collaboration with several international and national institutions further revealed that South Western Ghats have about six times more number of species as compared to the North Western Ghats.
The study also found that the Western Ghats have a higher diversity of woody plants with over 60 per cent endemic to the region. These woody plants serve as museum and cradle of evolutionary diversity i.e., they comprise old and young species on the evolutionary timescale ranging in millions of years. Published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society of B, the study also highlighted the need to increase the protected areas in the zone to mitigate the effects of stress caused by human activity.
Rich in heritage
The Western Ghats were designated as UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2012. They are one of the 36 biodiversity hotspots of the world and are older than the mighty Himalayas. There are more than 300 species of flora, fauna, reptile, fish, amphibian and bird species found in the Western Ghats that are globally threatened including Vulnerable, Endangered and Critically Endangered species.
The Ghats comprise the rich natural heritage of India as they are home to unique biophysical and ecological processes. For example, the Western Ghats play an important role in influencing the monsoon pattern owing to the montane forests. The Ghats form a physical barrier intercepting the south-west monsoon winds that water a majority of India in the rainy season.
There is an exceptionally high level of biological diversity and endemism in the Western Ghats. Of the more than 600 species of trees found here, 54 per cent are endemic; amphibians, 65 per cent are endemic; fish, 53 per cent endemic; reptiles 62 per cent endemic; tiger beetles, 80 per cent endemic. Single-largest population of globally threatened ‘landscape’ species such as Tiger, Asian Elephant and Gaur and endangered Nilgiri Tahr and Nilgiri Langur are found here.
The Western Ghats are very important as some of the major river systems originate here – more than 40 per cent of the perennial rivers flowing in India. These include the Krishna, Kaveri, Godavari, Tungabhadra and Thamiraparani rivers that form one of the four watersheds of India.
Owing to the volume of water carried by these rivers, these have been dammed for various purposes but mainly for irrigation and for generating electricity. More than 80 per cent of India’s hydropower is generated from the rivers traversing the Western Ghats.
There are more than 50 dams on the rivers in the Ghats. Also, some of the most popular waterfalls of India are located here including Dudhsagar, Jog, Shivanasamudra, etc.
Impact of climate change
Like any other biologically diverse region, the Ghats are also extremely vulnerable to climate change. Climate change has initiated extreme weather events, change in forest types in the Ghats, change in rainfall patterns, increased floods and droughts, increased landslides, loss in biodiversity, rise in sea level and more coastal erosion that has impacted many marine species, plants and animals both.
A study published in Theoretical and Applied Climatology has revealed that the Western Ghats has experienced warming of about 0.8 degrees Celsius in the past 100 years due to climate change.
The latest United Nations Climate Change Report says that climate change will cause immense damage in several areas in the Western Ghats owing to high-intensity rains in short duration that will render useless the existing systems.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report released in August 2021, climate change will severely impact the Western Ghats and their biodiversity. As per the report, in the second half of the 20th century the monsoon in the subcontinent has weakened. Human activities are affecting the major climate systems and that is detrimental to the Western Ghats as well.
The report further states that by 2050, 33 per cent of the biodiversity of the Western Ghats will be lost due to extreme weather conditions. This includes the changing of the forest type from evergreen to deciduous and dry deciduous affecting the water cycle and carbon storage.
A large part of the Indian state of Karnataka lies in the Western Ghats. The arid regions of northern Karnataka are predicted to experience high-intensity rains in short duration followed by prolonged droughts. The coastal areas, on the other hand, will face sea level rise, storm surges and saltwater intrusion.
The main cause of these changes is anthropogenic activities that are crippling the ecological balance in the Ghats. Some of the activities such as deforestation of native trees for commercial plantation, mining, stone quarrying, building of dams on rivers, urbanisation and infrastructure construction in ecologically sensitive and fragile zones have wreaked havoc in the Western Ghats.
The zone now witnesses massive floods, droughts, landslides that are taking human lives, displacing people and ruining economic activities as well. Human activities that are dumping excessive greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have expedited and aggravated the effects of climate change.
Protecting the Ghats
As a rich natural heritage of India, there’s a pressing need to protect them. Today, there’s an imminent need for the conservation of the biodiversity and the ecological processes of the Western Ghats.
The Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) and the High-Level Working Group (HLWG) made recommendations that if implemented can help in the protection. They identified ecologically-sensitive areas and suggested guidelines for development activities.
They further recommended increasing public awareness on the biodiversity and the effects of climate change, promoting community-based initiatives, furthering scientific research and monitoring and strengthening policy and legal frameworks for environmental governance as part of efforts to protect the Western Ghats from the effects of climate change.
The Western Ghats have many protection regimes such as Reserved Forests, Tiger Reserves, National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries. These are protected under several laws including the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972, Indian Forest Act of 1927 and Forest Conservation Act (1980).
These specific components of the Ghats are controlled and legally protected by the Forestry Department where the Forest Conservation Act (1980) provides the necessary regulatory framework to protect them from developmental activities such as infrastructure development and other anthropogenic activities causing damage to the natural resources and processes.
Ruchi Verma is a media researcher with The History and Heritage Project – A DraftCraft International Initiative to document details, analyse facts and plug lacunae generated by oversight or to further national or foreign agenda in History and Heritage Across India and Beyond Borders.