Western Ghats to be UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2012

A cluster of sites from the Western Ghats in peninsular India will be inscribed in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 2012. This announcement is likely to be made at the 36th session of the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO in Bangkok next year. The cluster of sites being considered for nomination are in the landscapes of Agasthyamalai, Periyar, Anamalai, Nilgiris, Upper Cauvery in Kodagu, Kudremukh, and Sahyadri. These constitute the thirty nine sites in seven sub-clusters of the Western Ghats, identified and proposed as a potential UNESCO World Natural Heritage Cluster Site, in 2006. The proposal was made by the Ministry of Environment and Forests based on expert inputs from ATREE, Nature Conservation Foundation, Mysore and Wildlife Institute of India, Dehra Dun.

The Committee bases its decision on the technical evaluation report of the IUCN in deciding the status of the sites nominated by the countries. As a part of the process of declaring a proposed area as a Heritage site, a team of UNESCO appointed IUCN representatives came to India in October 2010 to evaluate the scientific, technical and administrative aspects of the proposal. The Committee is now awaiting the recommendations of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel constituted by the Ministry of Environment and Forests for the conservation and protection of the Ghats, on basis of which it will take the decision on inscription of the 39 serial sites of the Ghats next year.

During the same meeting, the Committee removed Assam's Manas Wildlife Sanctuary from the ‘world heritage in danger' list after taking into account the significant improvements made for its management. The Sanctuary was inscribed on the danger list in 1992, seven years after UNESCO declared it a world heritage site.

India currently has 23 cultural sites and 5 natural sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage Site list, but the newest addition would boast an additional 7,953 km2 of area in the Western Ghats.

The UNESCO recognizes Natural World Heritage sites as areas representing pre-eminent spots of biodiversity that must be identified, protected and conserved by a global community. Sites are selected for their outstanding universal value, based on the magnitude of identifiable biological and cultural significance. Criteria include sites containing the most important and significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity, or representing significant on-going ecological and biological processes, among others. Thirty-nine serial sites in the Western Ghats as well as three single site nominations are up for inscription to UNESCO’s list. The nominated sites and a summary submitted to UNESCO can be seen at http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/2103/.

Conservation imperative

The Western Ghats are a biological hotspot harbouring 60 Important Bird Areas (IBA), 325 globally threatened species, many endemic species and sacred groves (Krishnaswamy et al, 2006), across six states.

The area of 150,000 km2 boasts a varied ecosystem with a historical Gondwanaland origin and significant global value. The Ghats can lay claim to a unique landform and biodiversity; however they are also under threat of increased developmental pressure from energy needs. Coffee, tea and rubber plantations too have grown over the years, leaving the area with less undisturbed space. Under the title of a Natural Heritage Site, it is expected that areas of the Western Ghats pronounced World Natural Heritage sites will be able to restrict some development, allowing these areas to be better conserved. A group of experts is currently managing the Western Ghats nomination matters in preparation for becoming a World Heritage Site. The Ministry of Environment and Forests has also constituted a Western Ghats Natural Heritage Committee to oversee the nominated sites. This committee will work to address the conservation, development and livelihoods concerns and manage the site with respect to stated UNESCO goals.

ATREE’s continuing role

ATREE has a continuing role in attaining this important title for the Western Ghats. In 2006, ATREE worked with NCF and WII in order to evaluate sites for submission into UNESCO’s Natural Heritage Properties. These sites were submitted in order of prioritization, considering environmental and cultural irreplaceability, sensitivity and overall value.
Seven sub-clusters were selected to represent the outstanding universal value of the diverse habitat types distributed along the Western Ghats. The selection process involved comparative ranking of sites, based on consultations with experts, and conservation prioritization based on the presence of threatened or endemic species and habitat integrity.

Thirty-nine nominated sites in the Western Ghats, as well as three single site nominations, are up for inscription to UNESCO's list. The Ministry of Environment and Forests Western Ghats Natural Heritage Committee will oversee the nominated sites and take action to ensure biodiversity conservation goals are maintained. ATREE's Dr. Jagdish Krishnaswamy has been nominated to this management team, which incorporates clear goals on maintaining biodiversity of the unique landscape; meeting livelihood needs of local communities; providing recreational opportunities compatible with conservation objectives; and promoting research and monitoring to support management. The Western Ghats World Heritage Committee met in September 2010 to review itinerary and logistics for the two-member technical team of Wendy A. Strahm and Brian James Furze, the IUCN team that would evaluate the current nominated sites before the Committee met in June 2011 to take a decision. The team assessed the scientific, technical and administrative aspects of the Western Ghats proposal through site visits and interactions with scientists, conservationists and government officials. ATREE hosted an interaction meeting on 17th October 2010, with the IUCN team, scientists, conservationists, media and other civil society representatives who are committed to the conservation of the Western Ghats at ATREE, Bangalore.

Useful Links

http://www.biodiversityhotspots.org/xp/hotspots/ghats/Pages/default.aspx
http://www.westernghats.org.in/
http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/where_we_work/western_ghats/
http://moef.nic.in/
http://atree.org/cepf_small_grants

Works Cited

Das A., Krishnaswamy J., Bawa KS., Kiran M., Srinivas, V., Samba Kumar, N, Ullas Karanth, K. 2006. Prioritization of Conservation areas in the Western Ghats, India. Biological Conservation 133(1):16-31.
Krishnaswamy, J, Raman, TR., Prasad, A., Raghunath, R, & Datta, A., Mishra, C., Madhusudan, MD., Kiran, MC., Das, A., (2006). India's tentative list of natural heritage properties to be inscribed on the unesco world heritage list Retrieved from
www.atree.org/sites/default/files/articles/WHSFinal.pdf

Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment