Wednesday, July 11, 2012

The Western Ghats- a World Heritage Site

 The Western Ghats are a series of heavily wooded mountain ranges along the west coast of India. They are one of the 18 bio-diversity hot spots on earth. Besides being home to tigers, leopards, elephants, bison and different birds and insects, this region is also  home to thousands of plants some of which grow nowhere else,
 This giant Barleria flowers once in eight years.


Older than the Himalayas, the Western Ghats are the fountain of life for the Indian peninsula. They control the weather pattern, the rainfall in the subcontinent. Many of the life giving rivers of India begin their journey here. Recently, the Western Ghats were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which was welcomed by naturalists, environmentalists and nature lovers, but vehemently opposed by the mining lobby and other vested interests. I hope these beautiful cloud forests will thrive.

8 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing this important information. Nice pictures too ! Indeed I also echo your sentiments - for the sake of posterity these lovely forests should thrive and remain evergreen.

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  2. very nice. where in the western ghats were these pictures taken?

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  3. nice snaps. it seems like earths heaven.i really echo ur sense of nature loving.its the fountain of life in indian peninsula. They control the weather pattern, the rainfall in the subcontinent.

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  4. Arati, some pictures were taken at Dandeli, and some in Wayanad.

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  5. it is actually an important landmark in the conservation attempts of our beloved western ghats and its rich biodiversity.But the politicians are now fighting against it. Let us hope that the vested interests which loot our forests will not win their argument.

    Do you think the protest by some state against the heritage tag has any positive side?

    The photos look nice. thanks for sharing.

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  6. thanks for your sharing, impressive blog

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