Kasturi Rangan and Madhav Gadgil report in Malayalam

ഗാഡ്ഗിൽ, കസ്തൂരി രംഗൻ സമിതി റിപ്പോര്ട്ട്

ഇന്ത്യയുടെ തെക്കുഭാഗത്തായി സ്ഥിതിചെയ്യുന്ന പശ്ചിമഘട്ട മലനിരകളും അതിനോടനുബന്ധിച്ച പ്രദേശങ്ങളും അടങ്ങുന്ന പാരിസ്ഥിതിക വ്യൂഹം നേരിടുന്ന പ്രശ്നങ്ങൾ സംബന്ധിച്ച് പഠിച്ച് റിപ്പോർട്ട് സമർപ്പിക്കുന്നതിനായി ഇന്ത്യാ ഗവൺമെന്റിന്റെ വനം - പരിസ്ഥിതി മന്ത്രാലയം രൂപീകരിച്ച വിദഗ്ദ്ധ സമിതിയാണ് പശ്ചിമഘട്ട പരിസ്ഥിതിവിദഗ്ദ്ധ സമിതി (വെസ്റ്റേൺ ഘട്ട് ഇക്കോളജി എക്സ്പർട്ട് പാനൽ - WGEEP). ജൈവ വൈവിദ്ധ്യ - പരിസ്ഥിതി സംരക്ഷണ മേഖലകളിലെ 14 വിദഗ്ദ്ധർ അടങ്ങിയ ഈ സമിതി തയ്യാറാക്കിയ റിപ്പോർട്ട്, അതിന്റെ അദ്ധ്യക്ഷനായിരുന്ന മാധവ് ഗാഡ്ഗിലിന്റെ പേരിൽ ഗാഡ്ഗിൽ കമ്മറ്റി റിപ്പോർട്ട് എന്നാണ് അറിയപ്പെടുന്നത്.

രൂപീകരണ പശ്ചാത്തലം

2010 മാർച്ചിൽ അന്നത്തെ കേന്ദ്ര വനം - പരിസ്ഥിതി മന്ത്രിയായിരുന്ന ജയറാം രമേഷ് ആണ് പശ്ചിമഘട്ട പരിസ്ഥിതി സംബന്ധിച്ച് പഠിക്കുന്നതിനായി ഈ വിദഗ്ദ്ധ സമിതിയെ നിയോഗിച്ചത്. ഇന്ത്യയുടെ 40 ശതമാനത്തോളം വരുന്ന ഭൂപ്രദേശങ്ങൾ പശ്ചിമഘട്ട മലനിരകളോട് ബന്ധപ്പെട്ട പരിസ്ഥിതിവ്യൂഹത്തിന്റെ സ്വാധീന പ്രദേശങ്ങളായി വരുന്നുണ്ട്. ഈ മേഖലയില അനിയന്ത്രിതമായ പൃകൃതി ചൂഷണത്തിന് നിയന്ത്രണം ഏർപ്പെടുത്തുന്നതിനായി പശ്ചിമഘട്ടത്തിന് പ്രത്യേക പരിഗണനകൊടുത്തുകൊണ്ടുള്ള സംരക്ഷണ പ്രക്രിയയ്ക്ക് തുടക്കമിടണമെന്നത് കാലങ്ങളായുള്ള ജനകീയ ആവശ്യമായിരുന്നു. പശ്ചിമഘട്ട സംരക്ഷണവുമായി ബന്ധപ്പെട്ട് 2010 ഫെബ്രുവരിയിൽ നീലഗിരി മലകളിലെ കോത്തഗിരിയിൽ നടന്ന പാരിസ്ഥിതി പ്രവർത്തകരുടെ സമ്മേളനത്തിലാണ് ഈ സമിതി രൂപീകരിച്ചുകൊണ്ടുള്ള പ്രഖ്യാപനം ജയറാം രമേഷ് നടത്തിയത്.

പരിസ്ഥിതി സംഘടനകളും ശാസ്ത്ര-സാങ്കേതിക സമൂഹവുമൊക്കെയായി നടത്തിയ വിശദമായ സംവാദങ്ങൾക്കും സാങ്കേതിക ചർച്ചകൾക്കും അഭിപ്രായ രൂപീകരണവും നടത്തിയതിനുശേഷം 2011 ഓഗസ്റ്റ് 31 നാണ് ഗാഡ്ഗിൽ സമിതി തങ്ങളുടെ 522 പേജുള്ള റിപ്പോർട്ട് സർക്കാരിന് സമർപ്പിച്ചത്.

സമിതി അംഗങ്ങൾ

പ്രൊഫ. മാധവ് ഗാഡ്ഗിൽ (അദ്ധ്യക്ഷൻ), ബി.ജെ. കൃഷ്ണൻ, ഡോ. കെ.എൻ. ഗണേഷയ്യ, ഡോ. വി.എസ്. വിജയൻ, പ്രോഫ. റെനീ ബോർഗസ്, പ്രോഫ. ആർ. സുകുമാർ, ഡോ. ലിജിയ നൊറോന്ഹ, വിദ്യ എസ്. നായക്, ഡോ. ഡി.കെ. സുബ്രഹ്മണ്യം, ഡോ. ആർ.വി. വർമ്മ (കേരള സംസ്ഥാന ജൈവവൈവിദ്ധ്യ ബോർഡ്), ചെയർമാൻ, ദേശീയ ജൈവവൈവിദ്ധ്യ അതോറിറ്റി, പ്രൊഫ. സി.പി. ഗൌതം (കേന്ദ്ര മലിനികരണ നിയന്ത്രണ ബോർഡ്), ഡോ. ആർ.ആർ. നവൽഗുണ്ട് (സ്പേസ് ആപ്ലിക്കേഷൻ സെന്റർ), ഡോ. ജി.വി. സുബ്രഹ്മണ്യം (ശാസ്ത്രസാങ്കേതിക പരിസ്ഥിതി മന്ത്രാലയം ഉപദേശകൻ)

പശ്ചിമഘട്ടത്തിന്റെ അതിരുകൾ

പരിസ്ഥിതിലോലമെന്ന വിഭാഗത്തിൽ പെടുത്തേണ്ട പശ്ചിമഘട്ടത്തിന്റെ അതിരുകൾ ഏതെന്നതാണ് സമിതി പ്രധാനമായും നിർണ്ണയിച്ച ഒരു കാര്യം. മഹാരാഷ്ട്ര, ഗോവ, കർണ്ണാടക, തമിഴ്‌നാട്, കേരളം എന്നീ സംസ്ഥാനങ്ങളിൽ കൂടി അറബിക്കടലിന് സമാന്തരമായി കടന്നുപോകുന്ന ഏതാണ്ട് 1490 കി.മീ. ദൈർഘ്യവും കുറഞ്ഞത് 48 കി.മീ. മുതൽ 210 കി.മീ. വരെ പരമാവധി വീതിയും 129037 ചതുരശ്ര കി.മീ വിസ്‌തൃതിയുമുള്ള പശ്ചിമഘട്ട മലനിരകളാണ് സമിതിയുടെ പഠനത്തിന് വിധേയമായത്. ഇത് മഹാരാഷ്ട്രയിലെ താപി നദിയുടെ തീരത്തുനിന്നും ആരംഭിച്ച് തെക്കോട്ട് കന്യാകുമാരിയിൽ വരെ വ്യാപിച്ചു കിടക്കുന്ന 8°19′8″N 72°56′24″E മുതൽ 21°16′24″N 78°19′40″E വരെയുള്ള അക്ഷാംശ രേഖാംശാ പ്രദേശമാണ്.

സമിതിക്ക് ലഭിച്ച ഉത്തരവാദിത്വങ്ങൾ

താഴെപറയുന്ന കാര്യങ്ങൾ വിലയിരുത്തുന്നതിനായുള്ള അനുശാസനമാണ് മാധവ് ഗാഡ്ഗിൽ സമിതിക്ക് സർക്കാർ നൽകിയത്:

1. പശ്ചിമഘട്ട മേഖലയുടെ നിലവിലുള്ള പാരിസ്ഥിതിക സ്ഥിതി വിശകലനം ചെയ്യുക.
2. 1986 ലെ പരിസ്ഥിതി (സംരക്ഷണ) നിയമം പ്രകാരം പശ്ചിമഘട്ടമേഘലയിലെ പാരിസ്ഥിതിലോല പ്രദേശങ്ങളായി വിജ്ഞാപനം ചെയ്യേണ്ട പ്രദേശങ്ങൾ ഏതൊക്കെയെന്ന് കണ്ടെത്തി അതിരടയാളപ്പെടുത്തുക. ഇപ്രകാരം ചെയ്യുന്നതിലേക്ക് നിലവിലുള്ള റാം മോഹൻ കമ്മറ്റി റിപ്പോർട്ട്, സുപ്രീംകോടതി നിർദ്ദേശങ്ങൾ, ദേശീയ വന്യജീവി ബോർഡിന്റെ ശുപാർശകൾ എന്നിവ സമിതി പരിഗണിക്കുക, ബന്ധപ്പെട്ട സംസ്ഥാന ഗവൺമെന്റുകളോട് ആരായുക.
3. ബന്ധപ്പെട്ട മേഖലകളിലെ ജനങ്ങളും സർക്കാരുകളും ചേർന്നുള്ള സമഗ്ര സമ്പർക്കത്തിലൂടെ പശ്ചിമഘട്ട മേഖലയുടെ സംരക്ഷണം, പരിപാലനം, പുനരുജ്ജീവനം തുടങ്ങിയവയ്കാവശ്യമായ ശുപാർശകൾ സമർപ്പിക്കുക.
4. പരിസ്ഥിതി സംരക്ഷണ നിയമപ്രകാരം ഇന്ത്യാ ഗവൺമെന്റിന്റെ വനം - പരിസ്ഥിതി മന്ത്രാലയം ഈ പ്രദേശങ്ങളെ പരിസ്ഥിതി ലോല പ്രദേശമായി വിജ്ഞാപനം നടത്തുന്നതിന്റെ കാര്യക്ഷമമായ നടത്തിപ്പിനാവശ്യമായ മാനദണ്ഡങ്ങൾ നിർദ്ദേശിക്കുക.
5. ബന്ധപ്പെട്ട എല്ലാ സംസ്ഥാനങ്ങളുടെയും പിന്തുണയോടെ, പ്രദേശത്തിന്റെ പാരിസ്ഥിതിക പരിപാലനത്തിനും സുസ്ഥിര വികസനത്തിനും ഉതകുന്ന ഒരു പ്രൊഫണൽ സംവിധാനമായി, പരിസ്ഥിതി സംരക്ഷണ നിയമപ്രകാരമുള്ള ഒരു പശ്ചിമഘട്ട പരിസ്ഥിതി അതോറിറ്റി രൂപീകരിക്കുന്നതിന്റെ നടപടിക്രമങ്ങൾ ശുപാർശ ചെയ്യുക.
6. പശ്ചിമഘട്ടത്തിന്റെ പരിസര - പരിസ്ഥിതി സംബന്ധമായി, കേന്ദ്ര വനം - പരിസ്ഥിതി മന്ത്രാലയം പരാമർശിക്കുന്നടക്കമുള്ള മറ്റെല്ലാ വിഷയങ്ങളും കൈകാര്യം ചെയ്യുക.
7. അതിരപ്പള്ളി, ഗുണ്ടിയ ജനലവൈദ്യുത പദ്ധതികൾ, ഗോവയിലെയും തീരപ്രദേശമുൾക്കൊള്ളുന്ന മഹാരാഷ്ട്രയിലെ രത്നഗിരി, സിന്ദുദുർഗ് ജില്ലകളിലെയും പുതിയ ഖനന അനുമതികൾക്ക് മോറൊട്ടോറിയം പ്രഖ്യാപിക്കൽ തുടങ്ങിയവ സംബന്ധിച്ച ശുപാർശകളും സമിതിയുടെ അനുശാസനത്തിൽ ഉൾക്കൊള്ളിക്കുന്നതിനായി പരിസ്ഥിതി മന്ത്രാലയും പിന്നീട് ആവശ്യപ്പെടുകയുണ്ടായി. 

കസ്തൂരി രംഗൻ സമിതി റിപ്പോർട്ട്

മാധവ് ഗാഡ്ഗിൽ സമിതിയുടെ ഈ റിപ്പോർട്ട് സംബന്ധിച്ച് ഒരു വിഭാഗം ജനങ്ങളും സംസ്ഥാന സർക്കാരുകളും കടുത്ത ആശങ്ക ഉന്നയിക്കുകയും വിവിധ രാഷ്ട്രീയ കക്ഷികൾ ഇതിനെതിരെ ശക്തമായ നിലപാടെടുക്കുകയും ചെയ്തു. ഇതിനെത്തുടർന്ന് ഈ ആശങ്കൾ പരിഗണിച്ചും ഗാഡ്ഗിൽ സമിതി ശുപാർശകൾ വിലയിരുത്തിയും പ്രത്യേകം റിപ്പോർട്ട് സമർപ്പിക്കുക എന്ന നിർദ്ദേശത്തോടെ കേന്ദ്ര ആസൂത്രണ കമ്മീഷൻ അംഗം കെ. കസ്തൂരി രംഗന്റെ നേതൃത്വത്തിലുള്ള മറ്റൊരു സമതിയെ കേന്ദ്ര സർക്കാർ നിയോഗിച്ചു.

എന്നാൽ വിശദമായ വിലയിരുത്തലിനുശേഷവും ഗാഡ്ഗിൽ സമിതി ശുപാർശകളെ തത്വത്തിൽ അംഗീകരിക്കുന്ന നിലപാടാണ് കസ്തൂരി രംഗൻ സമിതിയും മുന്നോട്ട് വെച്ചത്. അതേസമയം സുപ്രധാനമായ ചില മേഖലകളിൽ കാതലായ മാറ്റങ്ങളും നിർദ്ദേശിച്ചു. പശ്ചിമഘട്ട മലനിരകളുടെ നാലിൽ മൂന്ന് ഭാഗവും പരിസ്ഥിതി ദുർബല പ്രദേശമായി പ്രഖ്യാപിച്ചുകൊണ്ടുള്ള ഗാഡ്ഗിൽ സമിതി ശുപാർശകളിൽ വിയോജിപ്പ് രേഖപ്പെടുത്തി പശ്ചിമഘട്ട മലനിരകളുടെ ഏകദേശം 37 ശതമാനം ഇപ്രകാരമുള്ള പ്രദേശമാണെന്ന് കസ്തൂരിരങ്കൻ സമിതി വിലയിരുത്തി. ഗാഡ്ഗിൽ കമ്മറ്റി ശുപാർശ ചെയ്ത മൂന്നു തരം പരിസ്ഥിതി സംവേദക മേഖലകൾക്കു പകരം ഒറ്റ മേഖലയെ മാത്രം സംരക്ഷിക്കാനാണ് നിർദ്ദേശം. കേരളത്തിലെ റിസർവ്, നിക്ഷിപ്ത വന മേഖലകൾ പോലും പൂർണമായി സംരക്ഷിക്കാൻ സമിതി ശുപാർശ ചെയ്യുന്നില്ല. ഉയർന്ന വന മേഖല ഉൾപ്പെടുന്ന കണ്ണൂർ ജില്ലയിലെ തളിപ്പറമ്പ് താലൂക്കിലെ ഒറ്റ വില്ലേജും പരിസ്ഥിതി സംവേദക മേഖലയായി പട്ടികയിലില്ലായെന്നത് പരിസ്ഥിതി പ്രവർത്തകരുടെ വിമർശനത്തിനു വിധേയമായിട്ടുണ്ട്. തലശ്ശേരി താലൂക്കിലെയും വനമേഖല പൂർണമായി സംരക്ഷിക്കപ്പെടേണ്ട പ്രദേശത്തിൻറെ പട്ടികയിലില്ല. മൂന്ന് വില്ലേജുകൾ മാത്രമാണ് പട്ടികയിലുള്ളത്. ഫലത്തിൽ ഗാഡ്ഗിൽ സമിതി റിപ്പോർട്ടിൻറെ അന്തസത്ത ഉൾക്കൊള്ളാതെയും പരിസ്ഥിതി സംരക്ഷണത്തിനുള്ള മാർഗങ്ങൾ വ്യക്തമായി നിർദ്ദേശിക്കാടെയുമാണ് ഈ റിപ്പോർട്ട് തയ്യാറാക്കിയിരിക്കുന്നത്. വിവിധ സംസ്ഥാന സർക്കാരുകളുടെയും കുടിയേറ്റക്കാരുടെ പേരിൽ ചില എൻ.ജി.ഒ സംഘടനകളുടെയും നിവേദനങ്ങളുടെ അടിസ്ഥാനത്തിലാണ് കാതലായ മാറ്റങ്ങൾ വരുത്തിയിരിക്കുന്നത്.പരിസ്ഥിതി സംവേദക മേഖലകളിലെ വികസനപ്രവർത്തനങ്ങളിൽ ഗാഡ്ഗിൽ സമിതി നിർദ്ദേശിച്ച കർശനനിയന്ത്രണങ്ങൾ തന്നെ നടപ്പാക്കണമെന്നും യാതൊരുവിധ ഖനനപ്രവർത്തനങ്ങളും ഇപ്രകാരമുള്ള പരിസ്ഥിതി ദുർബല പ്രദേശങ്ങളിൽ അനുവദിക്കുവാൻ പാടില്ലെന്നും സമിതി നിർദ്ദേശിക്കുന്നുണ്ട്. അതുപോലെ ഈ മേഖലയിലെ അൻപത് വർഷത്തിന് മുകളിൽ പ്രായമുള്ള അണക്കെട്ടുകൾ പ്രവർത്തനമവസാനിപ്പിക്കണമെന്ന നിർദ്ദേശത്തോടും കസ്തൂരിരംഗൻ സമിതി വിയോജിച്ചു. അവ അറ്റകുറ്റപ്പണികൾ നടത്തി സംരക്ഷിക്കാവുന്നവയാണെന്ന അഭിപ്രായമാണ് ഈ സമിതി പ്രകടിപ്പിച്ചത്. എന്നാൽ അതിരപ്പള്ളി ജലവൈദ്യുത പദ്ധതിയെ എതിർത്തുകൊണ്ടുള്ള ഗാഡ്ഗിൽ സമിതി ശുപാർശയെ ഈ സമിതിയും പിൻതാങ്ങിയെങ്കിലും പുതിയ പഠന റിപ്പോർട്ടുമായി അംഗീകാരത്തിനായി അപേക്ഷിക്കണമെന്നു കേരള സർക്കാരിനോടു നിർദ്ദേശിക്കുകയും ചെയ്തു. കസ്തൂരി രംഗൻ റിപ്പോർട്ട് തള്ളിക്കളയണമെന്നും പശ്ചിമഘട്ട സംരക്ഷണത്തിനായി ഗാഡ്ഗിൽ കമ്മറ്റി റിപ്പോർട്ട ചർച്ച ചെയ്തു നടപ്പാക്കണമെന്നും കേരളത്തിലെ പ്രമുഖ പരിസ്ഥിതി സംഘടനയായ കേരള ശാസ്ത്രസാഹിത്യ പരിഷത്ത് സംസ്ഥാന വാർഷികം പ്രമേയത്തിലൂടെ സർക്കാരുകളോട് ആവശ്യപ്പെട്ടു.

കസ്തൂരിരംഗന്‍ റിപ്പോർട്ട്  പൂർണ രൂപത്തിൽ വായിക്കുക: ECOLOGICALLY SENSITIVE AREAS IN WESTERN GHATS

മാധവ് ഗാഡ്ഗിൽ റിപ്പോർട്ട്  പൂർണ രൂപത്തിൽ വായിക്കുക:  WESTERN GHATS ESA REPORT

Courtesy: wikipedia

Decision to notify areas in Western Ghats as ESA 'betrayal': Greens

ECOLOGICALLY SENSITIVE AREAS IN WESTERN GHATS
Introduction

• The Western Ghats was declared as an ecological hotspot in 1988. A large number of plants, amphibians, birds, reptiles, mammals are endemic to this region. This area has a number of protected areas including 2 biosphere reserves, 14 national parks and several wild life sanctuaries. Besides,many regions are declared as reserve forests.

• In recent times,
due to anthropogenic pressures the intactness of the Western Ghats is getting fragmented day-by-day. Most of the ecosystem, which is outside protected area is now in danger. The habitat of plants and animals is also threatened due to large-scale deforestation and destruction of forests.

What is ecological sensitivity;many definitions offered,unlikely that clarity will emerge,social concerns an important basis. We offer the following:

Define ecological sensitivity:concerns the Western Ghats ecosystem as a single unit; its ability to cope with environmental stresses – stresses like various human induced developments and their impacts;future impacts due to climate change; essentially the ecological resilience and how it might vary from landscape to landscape;

The most sensitive landscapes are those with the least resilience;Ecological Resilience may be assessed based on our understanding of trends of change in communities of woody plants, amphibians and birds or vertebrate animals in general;it is the lag-time (the time taken by different landscapes and their biological communities to come back to the pre-disturbance state; we may adopt the following working definition:Definitionof ESA: “An ecological sensitive area (ESA) is a bio-climatic unit (as demarcated by entire landscapes) in the Western Ghats wherein human impacts have locally caused irreversible changes in the structure of biological communities (as evident in number/ composition of species and their relative abundances) and their natural habitats”
Protected areas and ESA’s

• Protected areas in contrast to ESA’s: Extensive, standard, heavy and rigid restrictions, no scope for adaptive management, largely focused on flagship species and their habitats, leaves out small, unique habitats

• ESA’s may have Protected areas embedded in them, of various extents, could focus on small special habitats, flexible, adaptive regime of regulation, Whole HP,Sikkim as examples

Proposed criteria

Biological- cultural/ geo-climatic/ People’s perceptions
Biological: Richness: organismal and habitat; Rarity: organismal and habitat;
Biologcial productivity with NDVI and extent of aquatic habitats as the basis; cultural significance

Goeclimatic: Topography: steep slopes, high altitudes; Precipitation: high rainfall;

People’s perceptions: Public and Local bodies, especially Zilla Panchayats; invite people to submit perceptions, rationale and desired set of regulations

Study area: Western Ghats region of all six states(Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat)
Methodology: Western Ghats science database components:

1 .Topography database :The Digital Elevation Model (DEM) from ASTER( Advanced Space-borne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer) elevation data, at a spatial resolution of 30 m, would enable to derive slope, aspect of any given point.The data has a raster structure.

2 Climate: The time series data on rainfall by the IMD is an important constituent. Essentially the data is point information. The FIP has also information on the bioclimate for the vegetation types of Western Ghats.

3 Land use /Land cover maps: The nation wide LU/LC information being generated by ISRO at 56 m resolution provides state of land cover for 2009 vintage. For the purpose of ESA exercise, following broad classes will be used. These are Forest, Agriculture,water /wetlands, settlements and barren areas

4 Plant biodiversity maps: The ISRO has, in its nation wide study, generated vegetation types and their spatial distribution with landscape ecological attributes such as fragmentation, patchiness and others. These inputs will also constitute a database for ESA.

5 Roads and settlements: A measure of human activity would be obtained by using these datasets.

6 Human population: Data on aggregated taluk level human population will be made use of.

7 Corridors: As much of our extant biodivesrity is existing outside the formal protected areas. It would be essential to look into information on Corridors. {This will be derived information?}

8 Data on plants: A geographic grid referenced (5X5 ') plant species database available with UAS will be made use of. Possibly endemic, rare, endangered threatened species status will be practical criteria to be used.

9 Data on animal species: Distribution information of approx 400 endemic species of vertebrates, butterflies of Western Ghats would be generated on half degree square grid for the WG (Careearth datasets).


Maps based on data analysis

1) Generate two generic maps; assigning sensitivity levels; one based on Biological data and the other on Goeclimatic data:

2) Classify the entire Western Ghats into landscapes of varying levels of ecological sensitivity

3) Grade the different landscapes along a scale of decreasing sensitivity; example Grade I being the most sensitive, Grade II less sensitive and so on

4) List out the salient physiographic (including climate) and ecological attributes adopted in grading landscapes: Level 1: Geo-climatic attributes: Rainfall, length of the dry season (as inferred from the number of rainy days), altitude (standard low, medium, high and montane as that adopted by the French Institute in their vegetation maps), slope, vegetation type, fragmentation, connectivity and corridors, settlements, road network; all this information presented on a grid map of size 0.5deg x 0.5deg between 8 degN and 21degN; 73 degE and 78 degE; covering 100 grids of approximately 55km x 55km. at this scale the largest single bio- climatic unit (as defined by a single grid) will be around 3000km2; most others will be smaller as the western Grids will include the Arabian sea and the eastern grids, the Plateau outside the limits of the Western Ghats.

Level 2: Biological Attributes: essentially information on endemic species limited to 1) endemic angiosperms (c. 1700spp as available in Dr Ganeshiah’s database), 2) endemic butterflies (37 species), 3) endemic fishes (c. 130 spp), 4) endemic amphibians (c. 125 species), 5) endemic reptiles (c. 100 species), 6) endemic birds (19 species), and 7) endemic mammals (13-15 species); faunal data will be extracted from the NBSAP prepared by RJRD/Care Earth; the information when superimposed on the Geo-climate map will provide grid-wise information on the number of endemic species in selected classes of plants and animals. It is also possible to add information on wild relatives of crop plants if available on these grids. Further, the distribution of Protected Areas on the grids can also been shown.

5) Prepare a map of the entire Western Ghats delineating landscapes by their respective ecological sensitivity grade; this can primarily be guided by the geo-climate especially total annual rainfall and length of the dry season; Pascal (1988) describes the variation in the length of the dry season; there is a north-south and east-west gradient; north-south it is like this; Travancore (between Trivandrum and Allepey the dry period is 3-4 months and in the higher elevation 2-3 months; between Palghat Gap and 13deg 30’ (around Dakshina Kannada) it is it is 4-5 months; between 13deg 30’ and 14deg 15’ (Honnavar) it is 5-6 months; north of 17deg 49’ (Harnai) it exceeds 7 months. Similarly, there is an east-west gradient although not so marked; along the east in the southern Ghats (south of Palghat) the dry season varies from 3-8 months over a distance of just 17km; around Palghat gap it is 5-8 months over 30km. near Chickamagalur, it varies from 5-8 over 55km eastwards. Most significant is in Palni Hills (foothills) 5-12 months; 50% of the years it has been 7-9 months.
6) The map will generally guide the delineation of any landscape as ecologically sensitive area (ESA)

7) Biological communities and species can be used as tools for prioritizing landscapes

8) Biological communities and species should have one or more characteristics such as being relic, representative,endemic,endangered, of great human use value,etc

9) All other values being equal, priority should be accorded to landscapes that are likely to complement ongoing conservation efforts when delineated as ESA
Tentatively the following classes have been suggested: (Grade I most sensitive) Grade I:Type A; Long dry seasons (6-9m); Wet (5000-9000mm);Medium-high

steepness;Western Ghats ; north of 13o N;Typically what is often described as northern Western Ghats ; Example Maharashtra

 
Grade I: Type B; Montane (above 1500m); E & NE aspect; Steepness – high; Dry-moist; Medium-long dry season; Palni Hills and Eastern Anaimalai Hills; Example Kodaikanal

Grade II Landscapes: Pleistocene Landscapes High to Montane altitude; W-SW aspect; Steepness – high; Wet; Short-medium dry season; Nilgiri Hills,Anaimalai Hills, High Ranges & other Hills in the southern Western Ghats

Grade III Landscapes: watersheds; unique hydrological cycles; High density of first order streams;Torrents, cascades and waterfalls

Grade IV Landscapes: hill-coast ecotonesTo be managed in conjunction with CRZ

notification/rules/amendments; Low elevation; Coasts of north central Western Ghats; Example – Karwar, Honnavar

Grade V Landscapes: cultural landscapes; Landscapes that have preserved pre-colonial human traditions & livelihoods; High density of sacred landscape elements; Vayal, traditional cardamom, betel-nut cultivations, others (Data on crop plants and wild relatives from NBPGR will be useful here)

Grade VI Landscapes; Landscapes that have shown the most resilience;does not however mean they are to be thrown open to further abuse
  Assessment at Levels 2: Biological attributes: prioritization; Biological Communities; Relic, Representative; Restricted range; High species richness; High levels of endemism; High ecological service value; Species – Endemic; Endangered; Sacred/Venerated; High human use value

Class-1 or Critical Level-1 ESA: Are those that are identified as sensitive by all the three approaches independently- viz., geo-climatic, biological and public perception. These can be straight away listed and given to local managers and research workers to demarcate the exact boundaries to be notified as the CR- 1 ESAsa

Class-2 or Critical Level-2 ESA: Identified as sensitive based on geo-climatic and biological but not essentially by the public perception. These need to be identified as generic areas and much more fine scale zonation can be done by field visits and local details.

Class-3 or Critical Level-3 ESA : Identified as sensitive by any of the approaches but those we can not immediately conclude. They need to be taken for further debate and discussion both among the scientific groups, public and forest / biodiversity managers.

Execution of the project
1. Dr. S N Prasad -SACON (-Investigator)
2.Dr. Ranjit Daniels – Care Earth (Investigator)
3.Representatives from NRSC, ISRO, Hyderabad
4.Dr KN Ganeshiah, (Investigator)UAS,Bangalore

Poaching of Asian elephants for Ivory

The continually growing human population of tropical Asia has encroached on the elephant's dense but dwindling forest habitat. About 20% of the world's human population lives in or near the present range of the Asian elephant.

Conflict, loss of land and hunting



Fierce competition for living space has resulted in human suffering, a dramatic loss of forest cover, and reduced Asian elephant numbers to between 25,600 and 32,750 animals in the wild.
Asian elephant populations are highly fragmented, with fewer than 10 populations comprising more than 1,000 individuals in a contiguous area, greatly decreasing their chances for survival.

Most of the national parks and reserves where elephants occur are too small to accommodate viable elephant populations. The conversion of forested areas to agricultural use also leads to serious elephant-human conflicts. In India, up to 300 people are killed by elephants each year.

Habitat loss and fragmentation

In the face of rapidly growing human populations, the Asian elephants' habitat is shrinking fast and wild elephant populations are mostly small, isolated, and unable to mingle as ancient migratory routes are cut off by human settlements.

Large development projects (such as dams, roads, mines and industrial complexes), plantations and spreading human settlements have fragmented what was once contiguous elephant habitat into small fragments.

Incidents of elephants raiding crops and villages are on the rise. This causes losses to human property and, sometimes, human lives. Retaliation by

villagers often results in killings of these elephants. Experts already consider such confrontations to be the leading cause of elephant deaths in Asia.

In some countries, the government provides compensation for crop damage or deaths caused by elephants, but there is still often strong political pressure on wildlife authorities to eliminate elephants near populated regions. As human populations increase, elephant-human conflicts are likely to rise.


Illegal hunting and trade
In Asian elephants, only males carry tusks and therefore poaching is aimed exclusively at males. Selective removal of tuskers for their ivory may lead to an increase in the proportion of tuskless males in the population.

Poaching of Asian elephants for ivory and meat remains a serious problem in many countries, especially in southern India (where 90% of the bulls are tuskers) and in north-east India where some people eat elephant meat.

A 1997 TRAFFIC report indicated that, seven years after international trade in ivory was banned, illegal commerce continued in the Far East, with South Korea and Taiwan being major markets. However, most of this illegal ivory appeared to come from African sources, rather than from Asian elephants.

Capture of wild elephants

The capture of wild elephants for domestic use has become a threat to wild populations where numbers have been seriously reduced. India, Vietnam, and Myanmar have banned capture in order to conserve their wild herds, but in Myanmar elephants are still caught each year for the timber industry or the illegal wildlife trade.

Unfortunately, crude capture methods have led to a high mortality level. Efforts are being made not only to improve safety but also to encourage captive breeding rather than taking from the wild. With nearly 30% of the remaining Asian elephants in captivity, attention needs to be paid to improved care and, where appropriate, reintroduction of individuals into the wild.

Genetic threat

There has been concern about the genetic effects of reduced numbers of male big tuskers. The danger arises when they are eliminated, and poachers find it worthwhile to kill immature males for their small tusks. When tuskers are killed, the number of males in a population decreases, resulting in skewed sex ratios. This may lead to inbreeding and eventually to high juvenile mortality and overall low breeding success. Removing large tuskers also reduces the probability that these longer-ranging loners will mate and exchange genes with females of different sub-populations.

Disease
In the early 1990s, an outbreak of haemorrhagic septicaemia, a cattle disease rare among elephants, was responsible for the deaths of several animals in Sri Lanka's Uda Walawe National Park in May 1994. In small herds of elephants, epidemics such as this could wipe out entire groups.

Western Ghats Mountain Range Into a Single Biogeographic Unit

The South Western Ghats Moist Deciduous Forests [IM0150] lie adjacent to the montane rain forest ecoregion in the southern extent of the Western Ghats Mountain Range. This ecoregion creates a landscape that extends from the lowlands to the highest peaks of one of the bioregion's richest and most diverse ecosystems. The ecoregion is wider in the drier, leeward side of the mountain range, where it drops down to the dry Deccan Plateau to encompass some prime habitat where some of the most important populations of tiger (Panthera tigris), Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), and gaur (Bos gaurus) live. The ecoregion represents a transition area between the South Western Ghats Montane Rain Forests [IM0151] and the South Deccan Plateau Dry Deciduous Forests [IM0209], and includes species from both. Therefore, species richness is high. But more importantly, the ecoregion provides continuity of ecological processes between the lowland and montane ecosystems. The moister forests of this ecoregion support many of the larger vertebrates also found in the dry forest ecoregion but at higher densities.

SCIENTIFIC CODE

(IM0150)

ECOREGION CATEGORY

Indo-Malayan

SIZE

9,200 square miles

STATUS

Critical/Endangered

HABITATS

Description 

Location and General Description

The ecoregion represents the band of moist deciduous forests that surround the montane evergreen rain forests in the southern part of the Western Ghats Mountains. It extends across the southern Indian states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Being part of the Deccan Plateau, the ecoregion has Gondwanaland origins. But the moist deciduous nature of the vegetation is a manifestation of the geological uplift that occurred during the upper Tertiary period and created the Western Ghats Mountain Range, which then began to intercept the southwestern monsoon and create a complex rainshadow. The swath of moist deciduous forests is very narrow on the steeper, windward side of the mountain range, where the southwest monsoon rains promote a wet evergreen forest. But on the shallower leeward side, the drier conditions caused by the rainshadow result in a broader, uneven swath of moist deciduous forests that extends further, into the Deccan Plateau. Rainfall on the leeward side is influenced by the complex landform, with some areas receiving less than a fifth of the 3,000 mm or more of annual precipitation that is deposited higher in the mountains.

Champion and Seth (1968) classify these forests as a Southern Indian Moist Deciduous Forest. The vegetation is characterized by Adina cordifolia, Albizzia odoratissima, Albizzia procera, Alstonia scholaris, Bombax ceiba, Toona ciliata, Dalbergia latifolia, Grewia tiliaefolia, Holoptelea integrifolia, Hymenodictyon excelsum, Lagerstroemia lanceolata, Lagerstroemia speciosa, Lannea coromandelica, Miliusa velutina, Pterocarpus marsupium, Schleichera oleosa, Spondias pinnata, Radermachera xylocarpa, Tectona grandis, Terminalia bellerica, Terminalia paniculata, Terminalia tomentosa, Vitex altissima, Xylia xylocarpa, and Machilus macrantha (Champion and Seth 1968).

Biodiversity Features

Although it does not serve as home to as many endemic species as the montane rain forests, the moist deciduous forest ecoregion is actually richer in species, harboring more mammal and bird species. Among the eighty-nine mammal species known from here, six are near-endemic species (table 1). But none of the species are strict endemics, entirely limited to this ecoregion. Three mammal species, Nilgiri langur (Semnopithecus johnii), Malabar large-spotted civet (Viverra civettina), and Jerdon's civet (Paradoxurus jerdoni), also extend into the montane rain forests and the semi-deciduous coastal forests on either side, whereas the shrew Suncus dayi is also found in the coastal forests. Layard's striped squirrel (Funambulus layardi) is also found in the adjacent montane rain forest ecoregion.

Table 1 Endemic and Near-Endemic Mammal Species.

Family Species 

Soricidae Suncus dayi 

Pteropodidae Latidens salimalii 

Cercopithecidae Semnopithecus johnii 

Viverridae Viverra civettina 

Sciuridae Paradoxurus jerdoni 

Sciuridae Funambulus layardi

An asterisk signifies that the species' range is limited to this ecoregion.

Among the larger threatened mammal species in this ecoregion are the tiger, Asian elephant, gaur, Nilgiri langur, wild dog (Cuon alpinus), and sloth bear (IUCN 2000). Several of these large species need large spaces. Two of India's most important elephant populations-the Nilgiri-Eastern Ghats population, estimated at more than 6,300 animals, and the Anaimalais-Nelliampathis population, estimated at 1,200 to 2,000 animals (Sukumar 1989)-venture into this ecoregion. The ecoregion is also part of a high-priority (Level I) TCU (Wikramanayake et al. 1999) that also includes the montane rain forests. Some of the smaller threatened species include Jerdon's palm civet (Paradoxurus jerdoni), slender loris (Loris tardigradus), grizzled giant squirrel (Ratufa macroura), and Indian giant squirrel (Ratufa indica) (IUCN 2000).

The 322 bird species known from this ecoregion include nine near-endemic species (table 2).

Table 2. Endemic and Near-Endemic Bird Species.

  Family Common Name Species 

Columbidae Nilgiri wood-pigeon Columba elphinstonii 

Bucconidae Malabar grey hornbill Ocyceros griseus 

Pycnonotidae Grey-headed bulbul Pycnonotus priocephalus 

Timaliidae Rufous babbler Turdoides subrufus 

Corvidae White-bellied treepie Dendrocitta leucogastra 

Muscicapidae Black-and-rufous flycatcher Ficedula nigrorufa 

Muscicapidae Nilgiri flycatcher Eumyias albicaudata 

Pycnonotidae Yellow-throated bulbul Pycnonotus xantholaemus 

Psittacidae Malabar parakeet Psittacula columboides

An asterisk signifies that the species' range is limited to this ecoregion.

These species are shared with the South Western Ghats Montane Rain Forests [IM0151], but five species that are endemic to the montane ecoregion are absent from this lower, moist deciduous forest ecoregion.

The globally threatened lesser florican (Eupodotis indica) can be found in patches of grassland habitats in this ecoregion. BirdLife International has included these moist deciduous forests within an EBA, Western Ghats (123) (Stattersfield et al. 1998).

Current Status

Nearly three-fourths of the natural vegetation in the ecoregion has been cleared or converted, and the remaining forests are severely fragmented. However, there are fourteen protected areas that cover almost 5,000 km2 (21 percent), of the ecoregion's intact habitat (table 3).

Protected Area Area (km2) IUCN Category 

Nagarahole 620 II 

Bandipur 1,110 II 

Wynad 430 IV 

Mudumalai 400 IV 

Bilgiri Ranga Swamy Temple [IM0209] 370 PRO 

Megamalai [IM0151] 310 PRO 

Periyar [IM0151] 470 IV 

Anamalai [IM0151] 620 IV 

Eravikulam [IM0151] 90 II 

Chinnar 50 IV 

Parambikulam (extension) 60 PRO 

Peppara [IM0151] 40 IV 

Neyyar 150 IV 

Kalakad 240 IV 

Total 4,960

Ecoregion numbers of protected areas that overlap with additional ecoregions are listed in brackets.

One protected area, Bandipur, exceeds 1,000 km2 and is contiguous with Nagarhole, Mudumalai, and Wyanad. Together this protected area complex includes the largest protected elephant population, estimated at more than 2,500 elephants in India. Two other protected areas that exceed 1,000 km2, Periyar and Anamalai, straddle this and the adjacent South Western Ghats Montane Rain Forests [IM0151]. But eleven of the other reserves are small, less than 500 km2, and four are less than 100 km2. Therefore, many of the protected areas cannot support viable populations of the focal large mammals in this ecoregion.

Types and Severity of Threats

The most significant threat to the remaining habitat and existing reserves is from livestock grazing and associated impacts such as trampling, excessive fodder collection, and burning to create grasslands for livestock (IUCN 1991). These threats are especially severe in Karnataka State. Dam construction for hydroelectricity and irrigation has also caused habitat fragmentation, concentrating elephant populations in forest fragments and exacerbating human-elephant conflicts. Habitat is also being fragmented by forest clearing for plantations. Rodgers and Panwar (1988) present a comprehensive review of the protected area gaps and conservation needs in this ecoregion.

Justification of Ecoregion Delineation

In earlier analyses, MacKinnon (1997), and Rodgers and Panwar (1988) placed the Western Ghats Mountain Range into a single biogeographic unit. But Rodgers and Panwar (1988) acknowledged that the Western Ghats Range is too large to represent a single unit for conservation planning and implicitly divided the mountain range into northern and southern areas. They used the Wyanad as a transition zone from the southern Cullenia-dominated forests and the northern drier dipterocarp forests in this division. We also used this transition to make a more explicit division of the northern and southern ecoregions in the Western Ghats. But in keeping with our definition of ecoregions, we also separated the distinct belt of moist deciduous forests that surround the montane rain forests and placed them in different ecoregions. Thus the moist deciduous forests to the south of the Wyanad area were placed in the South Western Ghats Moist Deciduous Forests [IM0150]. This ecoregion falls within Udvardy's Malabar rain forest biogeographic province.

We used the 1,000-m contour from a DEM and MacKinnon's (1997) map of original vegetation to define the boundary between the montane rain forests and moist deciduous forests. The outer boundaries, between the dry forests in the Deccan Plateau to the east and the distinctly different lowland moist deciduous forests along the Malabar coast to the west, were defined using MacKinnon's (1997) reconstruction of the distribution of the original vegetation types.

Western Ghats Southern Asia : Lush Tropical Evergreen Forest

Many years ago, the Malabar Coast Moist Deciduous Forests [IM0124] ecoregion was a swath of lush tropical evergreen forest that extended along the western coast of the Deccan Peninsula between the Western Ghats Mountains and the Indian Ocean (Champion and Seth 1968). These forests were once inhabited by tigers (Panthera tigris), Asian elephants (Elephas maximus), wild dogs (Cuon alpinus), sloth bear (Melursus ursinus), and a host of hornbills. But today very little of the natural habitat is left (Rodgers and Panwar 1988), the result of years of forest clearing to establish teak (Tectona grandis) plantations, human settlements, and other human activities such as fires set to clear forests for agriculture and promote grazing lands for livestock. Therefore, the original evergreen character of the forests has changed from the evergreen vegetation to a semi-evergreen condition (Champion and Seth 1968). Many of the large, space-dependent species have disappeared from the ecoregion, victims of habitat loss and fragmentation. This is another ecoregion on the verge of extinction.

SCIENTIFIC CODE

(IM0124)

ECOREGION CATEGORY

Indo-Malayan

SIZE

13,700 square miles

STATUS

Critical/Endangered

HABITATS

Description 

Location and General Description

The ecoregion represents the semi-evergreen forests along India's Malabar Coast, a narrow strip of land lying between the Indian Ocean to the west and extending up to the 250-m contour of the steep Western Ghats Mountains to the east (after Rodgers and Panwar 1988). It extends through the Indian states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Maharashtra.

Geologically, the Deccan Plateau-and thus the ecoregion-has Gondwanaland origins. After the Deccan Plate became detached and drifted northward to attach itself to the northern Eurasian continent, the Western Ghats Mountains were created by geological uplift. The mountains then began to intercept the southwestern monsoon rains, creating moister conditions on the western slopes of the range and drier conditions on the eastern side.

The southwestern monsoon brings more than 2,500 mm of annual rainfall to the ecoregion, influencing the vegetation. The southern parts of the ecoregion, in Kerala State, receive more rainfall, and the vegetation has responded by being tropical wet evergreen in the south with a gradual trend tending to drier conditions to the north.

The original vegetation along the west coast of the Deccan Peninsula was tropical evergreen (Champion and Seth 1968). But the forests have been largely replaced or interspersed with teak, giving the vegetation a semi-deciduous character; the teak is now considered indicative of a secondary successional stage or presence of plantations.

Champion and Seth (1968) characterized these southern moist mixed deciduous forests with the following species: Tetrameles nudiflora, Stereospermum personatum, Dysoxylum binectariferum, Ficus nervosa, Ficus glomerata, Pterocarpus marsupium, Salmalia malabarica, Terminalia bellerica, Terminalia tomentosa, Anogeissus latifolia, Dalbergia latifolia, Lannea coromandelica, Madhuca indica, Garuga pinnata, Syzygium cumini, Olea dioica, Pouteria tomentosa, Bridelia retusa, Mangifera spp., and Actinodaphne angustifolia. There is generally a second story of Erythrina variegata, Butea monosperma, Wrightia tinctoria, Bauhinia racemosa, and Zizyphus rugosa and a shrub layer of Flacourtia spp., Woodfordia fruticosa, Meyna laxiflora, and Carissa congesta (Puri et al. 1989). Along the northern coast of Karnataka State several patches of moist deciduous forests are represented by an association of Lagerstroemia microcarpa, Tectona grandis, and Dillenia pentagyna (Pascal et al. 1982), representing the drier climatic conditions. The Myristica swamps and the inland lagoons represent distinct habitat types within this ecoregion (Rodgers and Panwar 1988) that are now endangered.

Biodiversity Features

The ecoregion's mammal fauna, estimated at ninety-seven mammal species, includes five near-endemic species and a single small rodent species that is strictly endemic to this ecoregion (table 1). The near-endemic species are shared with the ecoregions along the Western Ghats Mountain Range. Many of the other species, especially the larger mammals, are widespread throughout the Indian subcontinent but are threatened by shrinking habitat. The threatened species include the Asian elephant, gaur (Bos gaurus), slender loris (Loris tardigradus), wild dog, sloth bear, Jerdon's palm civet, and grizzled giant squirrel (Ratufa macroura). The habitat in this ecoregion is too fragmented to harbor viable populations of wide-ranging species such as tigers (Wikramanayake et al. 1999). Elephants no longer roam the forests of this ecoregion, although one of India's most important elephant populations ranges along the Nelliampathi Hills (Sukumar 1989) adjacent to the southern parts of this ecoregion

Table 1. Endemic and Near-Endemic Mammal Species.

Family Species 

Soricidae Suncus dayi 

Cercopithecidae Semnopithecus johnii 

Viverridae Viverra civettina 

Viverridae Paradoxurus jerdoni 

Muridae Petinomys fuscocapillus 

Muridae Rattus ranjiniae*

An asterisk signifies that the species' range is limited to this ecoregion.

The ecoregion has an estimated 280 bird species, including one near-endemic species, the Malabar grey hornbill (Ocyceros griseus), which is shared with the submontane and montane ecoregions of the Western Ghats Mountains (table 2).

Table 2. Endemic and Near-Endemic Bird Species.

Family Common Name Species 

Bucconidae Malabar grey hornbill Ocyceros griseus

An asterisk signifies that the species' range is limited to this ecoregion.

The ecoregion also harbors several other species of conservation importance, including the globally threatened lesser florican (Eupodotis indica), a grassland species whose range fringes on this ecoregion. Other species such as the greater flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber), Indian grey hornbill (Ocyceros birostris), and great hornbill (Buceros bicornis), though not threatened, are nevertheless sensitive to disturbances and can be used as focal species for conservation.

Current Status

More than 95 percent of the ecoregion's natural habitat has been cleared or converted. The moist southern forests have been converted into coconut plantations and rice paddies and the northern forests into teak, rosewood, and rubber plantations. No large blocks of intact forest habitat now exist, although several smaller forest fragments have been preserved by local people as sacred groves.

The three protected areas in this ecoregion cover a mere 300 km2 

Table 3. WCMC (1997) Protected Areas That Overlap with the Ecoregion.

Protected Area Area (km2) IUCN Category 

Sanjay 50 II 

Bhagwan Mahavir 150 IV 

Peechi Vazhani 100 IV 

Total 300  

Ecoregion numbers of protected areas that overlap with additional ecoregions are listed in brackets.

Types and Severity of Threats

Most of the natural forest in this ecoregion has been converted to agriculture and plantations. Extensive teak plantations have created a semi-deciduous vegetation where there used to be evergreen forests. The unique Myristica swamps, limited to parts of northern Karnataka (e.g., Kumta) and Kerala and close to the coast, are being converted to areca and coconut plantations.

Continuing threats to this ecoregion include habitat damage from livestock grazing and trampling. The pastoralists themselves also overexploit the fodder trees and burn large areas to create grasslands. In Karnataka State, huge herds of domestic livestock have become uncontrollable. Meanwhile, Sanjay National Park in Maharashtra is subject to more than a hundred fires every year, and the park staff is not equipped to fight them.

Hydroelectric projects have also flooded large areas of forests; for instance, eleven dams have been constructed along the Periyar River, one of the largest waterways in the state of Kerala. Secondary effects of the dam projects, such as roads, have also allowed more human encroachment, which is causing serious fragmentation of the remaining forests (IUCN 1991).

Justification of Ecoregion Delineation

In an earlier analysis of conservation units of India, Rodgers and Panwar (1988) delineated the coastal moist deciduous forests along the western coast of India as a single conservation unit, the Coastal Plain (5A). In a subsequent regional analysis, MacKinnon (1997) also recognized this unit as a distinct biounit. We retained their classification and placed the lowland moist deciduous forests in the Malabar Coast Moist Deciduous Forests [IM0124]. In doing so, we used MacKinnon's (1997) map of the original vegetation to delineate the ecoregion boundaries. This ecoregion falls within Udvardy's Malabar rain forest biogeographic province.

References

References for this ecoregion are currently consolidated in one document for the entire Indo-Pacific realm.

Indo-Pacific Reference List

Hope for the Rain Forests: Most important ecosystems in the world

Rain Forests are one of the most important ecosystems in the world, and their importance to the well being of our planet is an established scientific fact. Extraordinary in terms of their biological diversity, tropical rainforests are a major resource for medicinal plants and thousands of forest products. They are home to countless species and many unique indigenous cultures, and play a key role in the global ecosystem in regulating weather and producing significant amounts of the world's oxygen.

EXTENT OF RAINFORESTS: Tropical rainforests, clustered around the earth in a band on either side of the equator, cover 1,500,000 square miles, about 2% of the world's total land mass. Almost 60% are located in the Amazonian regions of Brazil, Columbia, Peru, Bolivia, Africa and Venezuela. Other regions of the world with significant tracts of tropical rain forests are  Papau-New Guinea, Burma and Indonesia.

Outside of the tropics, temperate rainforests are found in British Columbia, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, California's northern coast, the Caucasus region of Georgia, Norway, Scotland, parts of the Balkans, Japan, Tasmania, Chile, New Zealand and Australia.

BIODIVERSITY: Rainforests contain an incredible variety of different flora and fauna, with the total number of species numbering over 10 million. Rainforests are home to two-thirds of all the living animal and plant species on the planet and it has been estimated that many hundreds of millions of new species of plants, insects and microorganisms are still undiscovered. Tropical forests are regions of the highest biodiversity found anywhere on earth,  far more than any other region. The whole of the North American continent, for example,  is home to approximately 17,000 plants species while a  much smaller area, the Amazonian Basin, has over 50,000.


IMPORTANCE: The rain forests of the world are supremely important to the world ecosystem as climatic and environmental stabilizers. The trees of the rain forests bind up over 200 billion tons of carbon in their bodies, carbon that otherwise might be in the form of carbon dioxide and contribute to the growing greenhouse effect.  Without healthy rain forests, the global warming problem we are now experiencing will seem minor in comparison.

Rainforests also are the source for a large number of products that are of importance to man, including timber, nuts, fruits, oils, and spices and 25% of all prescription pharmaceuticals are derived from plants found there. The medicinal potential and promise of rain forests has barely been touched, and only one in ten tropical rain forest plants have even been studied for medicinal uses.

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS:
Rainforests are one of the most important ecosystems in the world, and their importance to the well being of our planet is an established scientific fact. Extraordinary in terms of their biological diversity, tropical rainforests are a major resource for medicinal plants and thousands of forest products. They are home to countless species and many unique indigenous cultures, and play a key role in the global ecosystem in regulating weather and producing significant amounts of the world's oxygen.


 Tropical rain forests are found only in a relatively small area on earth, between the latitudes 22.5 degrees North (Tropic of Capricorn) and 22.5 degrees South of the equator (Tropic of Cancer). Originally covering much vaster areas, rain forests in the world, though man's activities, have been reduced only about 2% of the earth's surface, (about 2.41 millions square miles or 625 million hectares). The largest continuous rain forest is found in the Amazon river basin in South America, much of which lies in Brazil. Indonesia and the Congo Basin in Africa are also home to extensive rain forests as well.

Geographically, the distribution of rain forests is seen in four areas based on four forested continental regions: 1) The Ethiopian/Afrotropical (30%)
2) Australasian (9%)
3) Oriental or Indomalayan/Asian (16%)
4) Neotropical (45%)

Biological diversity is the hallmark of tropical rain forests worldwide but they also share other defining characteristics as well, including  a warm, year-round climate with temperatures ranging from 72-93F (22-34C) and high precipitation levels between 80 and 430 inches of rain each year).

BIODIVERSITY:
 It is estimated that over 50 % of all life on earth is found in the rainforests. The number of species is staggering and may go as high as 50 million. This great biodiversity is a direct function of the favorable year round climate and high precipitation. Other ecosystems in the world, temperate forests and woodlands, pale in comparison to rainforests where biodiversity is concerned.


 RAIN FOREST STRUCTURE:
Tropical rain forests have a characteristic structure that is made up of a number of vertical layers that reach up from the forest floor to the very tops of the tallest trees. The primary layers are: 1) Ground Level, 2) Understory, 3) Canopy and 4) Overstory. An estimated 70-90 percent of life in rain forests exist in the trees, high above the shaded forest floor. Each layer has its own characteristic and unique plant and animal species

 The Ground Level is the forest floor, and in most true rain forests, the overhead vegetation of the layers above prevent very little light from reaching it. Growth on the ground floor is typically sparse, and there is little jungle like vegetation to impede movement. Typically as little as 5 percent or less of the light falling on the rain forests in the world make it to the ground level. The dominant features are decaying tree trunks, seedlings, saplings, fungus and low-growing sparse vegetation. It is the site of much decomposition, an important process for the health of the rain forest ecosystem.

The Canopy refers to the dense ceiling of tree branches with leaves that is formed by the closely spaced trees and can reach to 130 feet above the forest floor. An interesting feature of the canopy trees, which make up the largest proportion of vegetation in the rainforest, is the fact that despite overlapping tree branches, trees of the canopy rarely interlock or even touch. Instead they are usually separated by very small distances, sometimes only a few feet. Because of this animals that dwell in the rain forest canopies survive by having the abilities to climb, leaf, glide or fly.

The dominant function of this level of the rain forest, as well as the Overstory, is the conversion of sunlight to energy through the process known as photosynthesis. This is the process whereby plants convert atmospheric carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and simple sugars. The canopy of rain forests is a true high energy production system and is one of the most important biological engines on Earth for the production of oxygen and absorption of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas. Without rain forests and their buffering effects, the global warming  now being experienced would accelerate greatly.


The Understory is the layer of the canopy characterized by multiple leaf and branches and is the lower part of the canopy. The lowest part of the understory has a shrub layer that extends no higher than 20 feet or so above the ground and is usually made up of tree saplings and shrubs and smaller plants.

The Overstory is that part of the canopy that consists of the crowns of the most emergent trees. These can soar 20 to 100 feet above the rest of the canopy and some of the highest trees can reach to over 200 feet.

RIVER SYSTEMS IN RAIN FORESTS:

Some of the largest rivers in the world are found in tropical rainforests. These include the Amazon, Orinoco, Negro, Zaire, Madeira and Mekong rivers. These giant rivers are truly immense, and some have thousands of tributaries extending for thousands of miles. Amazing also in their biodiversity, the rivers of the rain forests are increasingly under threat from man and his activities, including pollution, hydroelectric projects, siltation from deforestation and overfishing and commercial exploitation.