Paradise lost..almost
Paradise Lost almost! is a report on the Western Ghats written by Sudhirendar Sharma. The report follows the trail of destruction in the ghats and engages with those who have been engaged in the task of reversing the dominant trend. An IN-PICTURES feature.
Western Ghats: Biodiversity hotspot
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• The mountains, gorges and slopes of the Western Ghats continue to be among the world’s biodiversity hotspots despite unprecedented ecological decline. Of India’s 15,000 plant species there are 4,050 plants found in 17,000 sq.kms strip of forests in these ghats. There are 121 species of frogs and toads, 508 bird species, six types of turtles and terrapins, 87 species of snakes, 63 types of lizards and a variety of large mammals such as elephants, wild bisons, black panthers and leopards.
Watershed forests
The Western Ghats are the major watersheds for the important southern rivers such as Kavery, Nethravathi, Sharavathi and Tungabhadra. Population increase, political apathy, big hydel projects and lack of environmental consciousness are contributing to their degradation. Conservation of these forests is vital to meet local needs as well as national aspirations of keeping the river flow intact. Towards this goal the work of reviving the small streams and river catchments and restoring them with tree cover to ensure sustained flow in the rivers is a must.
Diagnosing development
Despite deep-rooted ecosystems and cultural diversity across the Western Ghats, the menu of developmental interventions has been on predictable lines. Although several initiatives have proven successful at grassroots level, the same haven’t contributed to alter the big picture of destruction. There is an immediate need to rewrite the ecological idiom and enlarge the scope of engagement in making a renewed case for the Western Ghats.
• Restoring endangered bioreserves
• Bad odour in forest of fragrance
This picture feature is based on the information in ‘Paradise Lost…almost!’ on Western Ghats written by Dr Sudhirendar Sharma. The report was commissioned by Prakruti under a grant from The Netherland Committee for IUCN to assess and analyse the status of civil society actions in light of the emerging challenges and to suggest strategic actions to bring Western Ghats into the mainstream of policy and planning processes.
The report has been published by Prakruti, Hulemalgi Brothers, Chowkimath, Sirsi, Uttara Kannada - 581401, Karnataka.
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Cite this article
Sudhirendar Sharma (2007) ‘Paradise lost..almost’, India Together, 28 August 2007. https://indiatogether.org/paradise-environment/
3 reader responses
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Deepa Mohan · 30 August 2007
That was a well-written and balanced article; I am both impressed by the efforts and saddened by the damage.
M.G.Sathya Narayana, Mangalore, Karnataka · 13 September 2008
In Karnataka state revenue & forest authorities are intially illegally mentioning thick forest area as bare land in revenue & forest records. And joining with politician alloting such lands to non-forest purpose through grabing huge bribe from beneficiary. We public have no voice or power on such official day robbery of forest area demolishing all over western Ghat area.
Girish Janney · 20 July 2010
A nice article on importance of western Ghats landscape and present threats to biodiversity of this valuable Ghats.As the author said,there is a need of immediate action plan to safeguard the biological wealth of Western Ghats.This can achieve only through public participation and Eco friendly government policies. In this article, what i found that, photograph (Mono plantation)used to explain the biodiversity of Western ghats is misleading.