The Western Ghats are well known for their rich and unique assemblage of flora and fauna. Efforts are on to get this bio-diversity hotspot declared a World Heritage site by the UNESCO. Radhakrishna Rao reports. In a development of significance, a number of eco activist groups in Karnataka have requested the Government of Karnataka to set up a committee empowered to study the measures needed to protect and conserve the ecologically diverse and biologically rich Western Ghats, which, in recent years has been showing up the strains of environmental disruption brought about by widespread deforestation and plunder of the natural resources through illegal mining activities. These environmental organisations have also urged the Government of Karnataka to impose a blanket ban on mining activities in the region. Further, they have urged the Karnataka Government not to go ahead with the construction of the thermal power station at Tadadi in Uttara Kannada district as it could pose a serious threat to both the highland and coastal belt of the State. The need to conserve Western Ghats stems from the fact that it is one of the 25 biodiversity hotspots in the world with more than 4,000 plant varieties thriving in its rich, dense forests. A recent survey of Western Ghats has revealed that 80% of the floral varieties of Western Ghats are economically important species. This five-year-long survey meant to document the floral wealth of the Western Ghats has been funded by the National Biodiversity Resources Development Board. "The area covering Western Ghats in Uttara Kannada and North Kerala is quite rich in rare plant population and needs preservation. The relocation of human settlements from the core areas of the Western Ghats could be a solution but the process is quite tedious," says a researcher associated with the survey. Meanwhile, efforts are on to get the Western Ghats declared as a World Heritage site by UNESCO. "Western Ghats is a very unique area as far as biodiversity is concerned and it has everything needed to be accorded the status of a World Heritage site,' says a researcher from the Dehra Dun-based Wildlife Institute of India (WWI). The Kaziranga reserve in Assam and the Nanda Devi Biosphere reserve in Uttaranchal are the two Indian natural spots that have been declared World Heritage sites. Interestingly, Western Ghats are known for the rich variety of life forms they hold. The densely wooded mountain stretches of the Ghats rise to an average height of 3,000 m and boast of flora and fauna, next only to the Himalayas, in richness and variety. The Ghats account for over a third of the avian varieties endemic to India and provide sanctuary to many endangered species. Further, an entire family of burrowing snakes called Uropeitids is found in the thick forests of Western Ghats. A variety of vegetation too adds up to the richness of the Ghats. The Ghats, which account for a third of India's total flowering plants, are rich in orchid varieties, many of which are endangered. On another front, the Western Ghats are a major source of coffee, tea, pepper, cardamom, rubber and cashew plantations and are also a repository of important minerals like iron, manganese and bauxite. Clearly, they serve as an economic powerhouse of western and southern India. Moreover, being the source of all the great rivers of peninsular India - Krishna, Kaveri, Periyar, Tungabhadra and Kali - these Ghats constitute the most important watershed of South India. In addition, unchecked industrialisation, dam construction, road building, plantations and the introduction of exotic species like acacia and eucalyptus are threatening to tear apart the fine ecological balance of these Ghats. Forestry experts point out that more than half of the forest stretches in Western Ghats have been affected by human encroachment and development activities. The hydro electric projects have been the single largest contributing factor to the eco destruction of Western Ghats. For well over six decades now, the rivers and streams originating in the Ghats have captivated the narrowly channelled imagination of technocrats with little respect for ecological balance. The thickly wooded forests of the Western Ghats act as the catchment area for a large number of rivers and streams. Unlike the rivers emanating from the depths of the Himalayas, which are fed by the melting snow of the mountains, these rivers are perennial because of the vegetation in the catchment area. In step with the destruction of the vegetation cover in the Western Ghats, there has been a massive increase in the incidence of soil erosion, which, in turn, has triggered off a process of siltation. In the face of massive siltation, the efficiency of the hydro electric projects, a vicious cycle of extensive deforestation, soil erosion, silting and consequent shortening of life by hydroelectric projects have become a grim reality that cannot be wished away. In the ultimate analysis, helping the Western Ghats retain their eco health is the key to the well-being of the states covered by the densely wooded mountain stretch.