The Western Ghats is home to one
of the most diverse biological treasures in India. This 1600 kilometre long abode, spanning an
area of 60,000 km2 and sandwiched between the Tapti River (on the
border of Gujrath and Maharastra) and Kanyakumari (in Tamil Nadu) is the home
to perhaps the maximum number of unique organisms that can be found at one
location in the entire universe!
Here a small list to give you a
fair idea of what this number is -
- 137 species of Mammals
- 508 species of birds
- 332 species of butterflies
- 290 species of fish
- 203 species of reptiles
- 181 species of amphibians
- 77 species of fresh water molluscs
- 270 species of land snails
And most importantly 375 of these
are endangered.
Some facts –
- The WWF (World Wildlife Foundation) has tagged the Western Ghats bio reserve as critically endangered
- The UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) has enlisted in its list of World Heritage Sites
- The WCMC (World Conservation Monitoring Center) has categorically stated this region as the most important fresh water biodiversity in the world.
- It is one of the 34 Global Biodiversity hot-spots
- It finds itself a place in the list of 8 hottest biodiversity hot-spots of the world
The ever increasing human
activity in and around this region poses the following threat to this biodiversity:
- Agricultural activities in the form of coffee cultivation and livestock grazing have resulted in considerable encroachment onto the forest land.
- The numerous proposed mini hydroelectric projects
- The proposed diversion of the Netravati River
- Climate change
- Illegal and Legal mining activities
Good article, but could have been elaborated a little more.
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