Biodiversity Hotspots

Question 1

Biodiversity hotspots

Answer 1

To qualify as a hotspot, a region must meet 2 strict criteria: at least 1500 species of endemic plant species have lost at least 70% of its original habitat. These areas are usually occupied by poor people.

These are important because biodiversity underpins all life forms on earth. Hotspot overlap with natural places that benefit people the most.

Question 2

Biodiversity hotspots in India

Answer 2

Himalayas (entire Indian Himalayan region)

Indo Burma (northeast, except Assam and Andaman group of Islands)

Sundalands (includes Nicobar group of Islands)

Western ghats and Sri Lanka (entire Western ghats)

The Western ghats are spread across 6 States. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The tribes occupying it are adars, kotas, badagas, todas, kurumbas, puniyas, etc. There are two biosphere reserves and 13 national parks.

Difference between Western Ghat and Eastern Ghat:

The Western Ghat covers Kanyakumari to Gujarat, across Tamilnadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Goa and Kerala. The Western ghats are abiodiversity Hotspot and contains a large proportion of the country’s plant and animal species.

The Eastern ghats run from Northern Orissa to Tamil Nadu through Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. They are not as high as the Western ghats, but they too have a wide range of sanctuaries, national parks, hills, rivers, waterfalls etc.

Question 3

Committees on Western ghats

Answer 3

Gadgil committee:
The entire Western Ghat is an ecologically sensitive area
Recommended a bottom up approach to conservation with gram Sabha playing a crucial role in decision making
Recommended the recognition of three grades of ecologically sensitive zones and the complete ban on construction of high capacities storage dams and sand mining in ESZ-1 areas. Constituted the Western ghats ecology authority under the MoEF&CC to regulate and over see the conservation of the Western ghats.

Kasturirangan committee:
Only approximately 37% of the Western Ghat is an ecological is sensitive area
Envisages decision making as a responsibility that lies primarily with the government in the bureaucracy, like the forest officials
Hydroelectric power plants to be permitted in these areas only after a detailed study
Recommended complete ban on quarrying, mining and send mining in these areas.
Strengthen the current legal framework (such as the state pollution control boards and the state biodiversity boards)