Western Ghats

The Western Ghats is also known as the Sahyadri. It is a north-south mountain range that runs along the
western edge of the Deccan plateau. With over 5,000 flowering plants, 139 animals, 510 bird species,
and 180 amphibian species, the Western Ghats are one of the planet's biodiversity hotspots. There are at
least 325 globally threatened species are found here. The range encompasses 60,000 square kilometres
and serves as the catchment region for a network of river systems that drain about 40% of India, making
the Western Ghats a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Mount Anamudi, located in Kerala, is the highest
peak in the Western Ghats, standing at 2695 metres.
The Western Ghats are home to a wide range of habitats, from tropical wet evergreen forests to montane
grasslands, rich in medicinal plants and vital genetic resources, including wild cousins of cereals, fruit,
and spices.

According to Science, the Western Ghats are one of the world's 137 "irreplaceable regions" due to its
extensive evolutionary history and fluctuating temperature over thousands of years, resulting in a
bewildering array of flora and fauna. Many unique and endemic species to this area will become extinct if
the Ghats are destroyed. With the Indian government under pressure to exploit the region's wood and
minerals, time may be running out for plenty of equally attractive species, other than substantial
charismatic animals like tigers and elephants.
Biogeography

As one of the world's biodiversity hotspots, the Western Ghats maintain a vast vegetal resource that has
been under severe stress due to anthropogenic disturbances throughout the years. According to
phylogeographers, the "Malabar Botanical Province" is a short tract of land stretching from the hills south
of the Tapti River in the north to Kanyakumari in the south along India's west coast, encompassing the
states of Goa, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala. The Western Ghats' small width of
around 1500 km covers a significant variety of climatic conditions, resulting in the development of varied
forest types ranging from dry scrub to semi-evergreen and evergreen forests.

Biodiversity
The most notable features of the Western Ghats are the growth of tropical rain forests in the southern
Western Ghats and the sholas in the Nilgiris area. The whole Western Ghats biogeographic area is a
significant genetic hotspot with abundant ancient lineage biodiversity. There are almost 5800 flowering
plant species here, with 56 genera and 2100 species being endemic. Karnataka alone has 3900 species,
divided into 1323 genera and 199 families, whereas the Nilgiris has 2611 flowering plant species.
Endemism
Endemism refers to a species' occurrence in a single geographical location, such as an island, country, or
other defined zone. Paleoendemism, a subcategory of endemism, describes organisms that were once
widely distributed but are now limited to a tiny area. According to a study on endemic species, the
Western Ghats, far older than the Himalayan highlands, sustain many relict or palaeoendemic species.
The abundance of monotypic taxa is another distinguishing trait of the indigenous flora of the Western
Ghats.
 Neelakurinji and Nilgiri Tahr

Plant biodiversity and endemism are abundant in the Western Ghats, one of 36 global biodiversity
hotspots. The majority of arboreal taxa in the Western Ghats (63 per cent) are indigenous to the region,
and the evergreen forests have a significant number of endemic species.

Malabar Grey Hornbill(Ocyceros griseus)

The Western Ghats are home to most of the evergreen forests in southern peninsular India. Tree
endemism in the region shows latitudinal variation, with the highest endemism in the southern Western
Ghats and gradually decreasing through the central Western Ghats to the northern Western Ghats. The
middle Western Ghats' evergreen woods serve as a transition zone, representing the northern boundary for
numerous indigenous and evergreen plants. Endangered species have a high conservation value since they
are rare.

Anjili (Artocarpus hirsutus)

Threats
Endemics have a high conservation value since their range is minimal, and they may be lost forever due
to human-caused threats. Like other tropics regions, the Western Ghats are one of the world's most
heavily human-impacted hilly tracts, and different anthropogenic activities have contributed to a
threatening biodiversity situation, driving many plant species into one of two categories of concern. The
majority of India's red-listed tree species (53 out of 96) are unique to the Western Ghats, suggesting that
they are under severe threat.
 Kerala flood 2020

The ruthless extraction and exploitation have posed many issues affecting many people's lives. Climate
change has gained momentum in recent. Floods have destroyed Kerala's Ghat regions three times in the
last four years (2018-21), killing hundreds of people and devastating infrastructure and livelihoods. In
2021, the Ghat regions of Konkan were destroyed by landslides and flash floods. All these are some of
the after-effects that occurred due to the exploitation of natural resources in the Ghat region.

Conserving and protecting the Western Ghats is of prime importance. Also, there are environmentally
sensitive areas where any developmental activities can completely disrupt the entire ecosystem. For the
existence of a diverse ecosystem and to prevent all the catastrophes, it is necessary to have appropriate
knowledge about our surroundings!