Report of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel - Part II : Human Pressure and Ecological Impacts : Assessing the Current Ecological Status of the Western Ghats :

Opinion
       03/11/2018
                 1518.

SUB : Report of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel - Part II : Human Pressure and Ecological Impacts : Assessing the Current Ecological Status of the Western Ghats :

REF : I.. Assessing the Current Ecological Status of the Western Ghats :

The basis for identification of Ecological Sensitive Areas anywhere in the country, including, of course, the Western Ghats, is provided by the Report of the Pronab Sen Committee on‚ Identifying Parameters for Designating Ecologically Sensitive Areas in India,? of the Ministry of Environment & Forests, GoI, September, 2000.

As an important follow up of this report, the Pronab Sen Committee had recommended that : -

1. There is no comprehensive programme for generating base-line data on different aspects relating to bio-geographical regions in India. Measures need to be taken to systematically map and record such information on ecological characteristics.

2. The expertise available on Conservation Biology, including ecology and wildlife, in the country is extremely limited, especially in so far as field investigation is concerned. Measures need to be taken to encourage and expand such capabilities in the country, both at the institutional and individual levels.

3. A comprehensive monitoring programme and network must immediately be designed and operationalized, which would involve not only government agencies but also other institutions, universities, NGOs, and even individuals, particularly those living in and around these areas.

4. In view of the urgency of the situation, the above steps should be carried out in Mission mode.

II. Primary Criteria :-

The Pronab Sen Committee recommends that areas which meet even one of the following primary criteria deserve to be protected without any additional factor or consideration being brought in.

III. Species-based :-

1. Endemism
2. Rarity
3. Endangered species
4. Centers of evolution of domesticated species

IV. Ecosystem-based :-

5. Wildlife Corridors
6. Specialized ecosystems
7. Special breeding site/area
8. Areas with intrinsically low resilience
9. Sacred groves
10. Frontier Forests

V. Geo-morphological features-based :-

11. Uninhabited Islands in the sea
12. Steep Slopes
13. Origins of Rivers

The "Definitions" and "Area" sections that follow for each criterion are taken directly from the Pronab Sen Committee report.(MOEF, 2000)

VI. Endemism :-

1. DEFINITION :-

Endemism refers to any species which is exclusively confined to a particular geographical area and occurs nowhere else in the world.

2. AREA :-

The area of occurrence of an endemic species needs to be protected in its entirety. The precise demarcation of the area may take into account population density of the endemic species, quality of habitat, level of exploitation and the effect of introduced taxa, pathogens, competitors, parasites and /or pollutants.

3. Application to Western Ghats :-

The Western Ghats harbors over 1500 endemic species of flowering plants, and at least another 500 species of endemic fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. A very substantial number of invertebrates and fungi are also likely to be endemic, but little is known of them. For instance, apart from dragonflies, most species of aquatic insects from the Western Ghats are yet to be described. These endemics are distributed throughout the region, in all sorts of habitats.

Thus, several species of the wild yam genus Amorphophallus that are endemic to Western Ghats occur in highly human impacted habitats such as roadsides. It can therefore be stated with complete confidence that the entire Western Ghats region needs to be protected in its entirety as the area of occurrence of a substantial number of endemic species.

Since no action has been taken since 2000 to organize pertinent information as called for by the Pronab Sen Committee, WGEEP had to initiate compilation of such data.

We could access the following relevant data sets for the Western Ghats: -

1. Endemic plants: Number of endemic plant species
2. Endemic vertebrates
3. Endemic Odonata

This, of course, is very incomplete information that WGEEP has been able to use in quantifying the levels of ecological sensitivity over the Western Ghats.

NEXT : Endangered species -

To be continued ..

JAIHIND
VANDEMATHARAM