UNESCO's World Heritage Committee inscribed the
Western Ghats of India as a world heritage site on July 1. 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.
List of Western Ghats World Heritage clusters in
Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala and TN
MAHARASHTRA
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Kaas Plateau
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Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary
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Chandoli National Park
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Radhanagari Wildlife Sanctuary
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KARNATAKA
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Padinalknad Reserved Forest
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Kerti Reserved Forest
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Aralam Wildlife Sanctuary
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Kudremukh National Park
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Someshwara Wildlife Sanctuary
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Someshwara Reserved Forest
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Agumbe Reserved Forest
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Balahalli Reserved Forest
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KERALA - TAMILNADU
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Kalakad- Tiger Reserve,
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Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary,
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Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary,
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Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary
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Kulathupuzha Range,
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Palode Range
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Periyar Tiger Reserve
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Ranni Forest Division
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Konni Forest Division
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Achankovil Forest Division
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Srivilliputtur Wildlife
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Tirunelveli North Forest Division
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Eravikulam National Park
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Grass Hills National Park
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Karian Shola National Park
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Parambikulam Wildlife
Sanctuary,
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Mankulam Range,
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Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary
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Mannavan Shola
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Silent Valley National Park
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New Amarambalam
Reserve Forest
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Mukurti National Park
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Kalikavu Range
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Attapadi Reserved Forest
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While environmentalists are rejoicing that constant international
scrutiny will curb amassment of forest wealth by vested interests, the state
governments have given a guarded reaction. Skeptics are of the view that the
tag will make little difference to many ecologicaly destructive
projects that have been implemented or are proposed in the Western Ghats.
Recognition
Comes After Rejection
The world heritage tag for the Western Ghats has
come after many glitches. The proposal for including 39 sites in the Western
Ghats as world heritage was rejected by the World Heritage Committee in its
35th meeting last year. When the proposal for it was re-submitted for
consideration this year, it was once again on the verge of getting rejected. The International Union for Conservation of
Nature (IUCN) suggested that India should review and refine the proposal to
redefine the boundaries of the proposed sites to maintain the contiguity of the
forests. The Indian delegation in St
Petersburg, however, managed to convince the world heritage committee on the
merits of India’s proposal and also discussed the issue with 21 members of the
committee. The intense lobbying paid off, as the Russian delegation moved a
proposal which was backed by several Asian and African nations.
Importance of Western
Ghats
Older
than the Himalayas, the Western Ghats are the treasure trove of bio-diversity.
In fact they are recognized as one of the 8 global hot-spots harbouring a wealth of flora, fauna. The Western
Ghats which begin at the Dangs in Gujarat,
run through the western parts of Maharashtra, the tiny state of Goa, the Malnad region of Karnataka and the highlands of Kerala and
Tamil Nadu, before ending near Kanyakumari.
The Ghats are currently known to have more
than 5,000 plant and 140 mammal species, 16 of which are endemic, i.e. species
found in that area alone. Notably among these being the lion-tailed macaque and
the Nilgiri tahr. Out of
179 species of amphibians found in the Western Ghats, 138 are endemic to the
region. It has 508 bird species, 16 of
which are endemic, including the Nilgiri flycatcher
and the Malabar parakeet.
The Western Ghats are considered
ecologically sensitive region with nearly 52 species moving one step closer to
extinction. Habitat change, over-exploitation, pollution and climate change are
the principle pressures causing bio-diversity loss.
The need to protect the ecology of the
Western Ghats can hardly be over-emphasized.
The UNESCO Mandate
The UNESCO has noted with appreciation
India’s ongoing commitment to conserving high bio-diversity values of the
Western Ghats, but has clearly underlined that more needs to be done. The World
Heritage Committee has suggested to the Indian Government to take into account
the recommendations of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel. It has also
asked the government to strengthen buffer zones to provide increased protection
within the nominated sites. The UN body also wants to promote participatory
governance approaches through community participation to ensure equitable
sharing of benefits. The panel has said that no industrial activity should be
allowed without the consent of the locals.
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 Karnataka's Gundia and Kerala's 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.
Both the Karnataka and
Kerala state governments have been opposed to the recommendation to scrap the
hydro projects in their respective regions. The Karnataka Government had also
been opposing the World Heritage tag citing regulatory hurdles in the
development of places falling under these regions. Goa's lackadaisical
attitude in conserving the Western Ghats has resulted in the state not getting
any site in the list of 39. Maharashtra
Government has welcomed the World Heritage Status to Western Ghats, but that is
unlikely to change the state’s present stance of not imposing a complete ban on
mining and industries, except in the core areas. The state,
nevertheless is encouraging green fuel movement in the villages of Western
Ghats by way of up to 75% subsidy on biogas and 50% subsidy on shift to low
yielding cattle, which rely on domestic fodder instead of open grazing.
Impact of UNESCO World
Heritage Site
The World Heritage status could have implications on development
in and around these sites as UNESCO prescribes creation of additional buffer
zones around the natural world heritage sites and putting in place an
overarching management authority for conservation of the selected 39 serial
sites. Conservationists also fear a mad-rush
to these sensitive areas in the guise of eco-tourism. “This might trigger commercial activities in the Western Ghats,
followed by construction activities like building roads, structures, power
lines and other infrastructure, which will defeat the purpose of protecting the
green cover and habitat protection,” says an activist associated with the Kudremukh Wildlife Foundation in Karnataka.
The Western Ghats expert Dr. Madhav Gadgil has welcomed the UNESCO gesture and said “It will hopefully strengthen the Acts like Biological
Diversity Act of 2002, which empowers the local bodies like panchayats
to take appropriate steps for conservation.”
The participation of locals is going to be crucial in determining the
success of conservation efforts and promising sustainable development.
All along the Western Ghats in five states, there are lakhs of tribal people who have made their homes in the ghats. The Thodas of Nilgiris, Soligas of BR Hills, Malekudiyas of Belthangady, Halakki Vokkals of Uttara Kannada, the Sidhis of Kumta, Paniyas of Waynad, Kattunayakans of Malabar
and many others in Goa and Maharashtra are some of them. The Perspective Plan
for Protection of Biodiversity 2001-16 states that “tribal communities are part
of the biodiversity and the state governments should not take them out of their
natural surroundings, but empower them democratically and let the government
facilities go to them.”
The
ground situation for people’s participation in development is conducive in most
parts of the Western Ghats. The
region has some of the highest levels of literacy in the country, and a high
level of environmental awareness. The democratic institutions are well
entrenched, and Kerala leads the country in capacity building and empowering of
Panchayat Raj Institutions. Goa has recently
concluded a very interesting exercise, Regional Plan 2021, of taking inputs
from Gram Sabhas in deciding on the land use
policies. Evidently, Western Ghats are an appropriate region of the country to
attempt to make the transition towards an inclusive, caring and environment
friendly mode of development.
The Western Ghats - Some Facts
The Western Ghats, is a
mountain range that runs along the western side of India.
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It runs, about 1600 kms, North to South, along the western edge of the Deccan
Plateau.
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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.
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The average elevation is about 1,200 m (3,900 ft).
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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.
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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 Nilagiri 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.
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In 2012, thirty nine places in the Western Ghats
region have been declared as World Heritage Sites by the UNESCO.
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