Western Ghats designated as world heritage site

02 July, 2012

India's heritage sites are a main attraction for the people around globe. This time Western Ghats tops the list of UN world heritage site. This is likely to increase more tourism in the range.

THE WESTERN Ghats or the Sahyadri constitute a mountain range along the western side of India and run north to south along the western edge of Deccan Plateau. It also separates the plateau from a narrow coastal plain along the Arabian Sea. This area with one of the world’s ten “Hottest biodiversity hotspots” and has over 5000 species of flowering plants, 139 mammal species, 508 bird species and 179 amphibian species has been added to list of world heritage sites by the United Nations. Many undiscovered species live in the Western Ghats and at least 325 globally threatened species visit the place every year.

The Ghat starts near the border of Gujarat and Maharashtra, south of Tapti river, and runs approximately 1,600 km through the states of Maharastra, Goa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala ending at Kanayakumari, at the southern tip of India. Older than the Himalayan mountains, Ghats influence the Indian monsoon weather pattern. These Ghats form the catchment area for complex riverine drainage systems that drains almost 40% of India.

“I am happy it has been added to World Heritage list by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). This year I visited Western Ghats, the beautiful scenic region with boating in lakes and reservoirs are unforgettable experiences,” said Ayushi Gaur, an avid traveller. “South Western Ghats mountain rain forests are cooler and wetter than surrounding lowland forests and more dominated by evergreen trees and there are more flowering species in this eco-region,” she added.

The World Heritage Committee meets once a year and it is also responsible for the implementation of the UNESCO World Heritage Convention. Each year the committee decides the kind of world’s natural or cultural sites which can be considered for the World Heritage list.

This year besides Western Ghats of India, a historic 18th century Margravial Opera House Bayreuth in Germany, considered a masterpiece of Baroque theatre architecture has also been added to the list. The border town of Elvas and its fortifications in Portugal which represents the largest bulwarked dry ditch system in the world have been added at third place. The home of diverse fauna and microorganisms’ saline and freshwater lakes of Ounianga in Chad, which are 18 interconnected lakes in the arid Ennedi region of Sahara Desert have also been added to the list. Other new entry to the list of 2012 is a pearling site in Bahrain, Masjid-e Jame of Isfahan, an ancient mosque.