The Western Ghats (Sahyadri)

Two-thirds of India’s freshwater fish species live nowhere but here. The Western Ghats pack that much biodiversity into a single mountain chain.

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Indian Geography · IndGeo0024

The Western Ghats: A Biodiversity Hotspot

1,600 km

Length, across 6 states

2,695 m

Anamudi, the highest peak

UNESCO

World Heritage biodiversity hotspot

Endemic species — found nowhere else

Plants

2,180 of 4,780

Amphibians

~50%

Fish species

~67%

Two reports, two visions

Gadgil (2011) marked ~60% of the range as highest-priority Ecologically Sensitive Zone, leaning toward protection. Kasturirangan later scaled that back to ~37%, trying to balance conservation against development.

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Must Know

• The Western Ghats, also called the Sahyadri, run along India’s western coast for about 1,600 kilometres.
• They span six states: Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu.
• Anamudi, in Kerala, is the range’s highest peak, standing at 2,695 metres.
• UNESCO designated the Western Ghats a World Heritage Site, recognising them among the world’s key biodiversity hotspots.
• During the southwest monsoon, the Ghats block rain-bearing clouds. That gives their western, windward side far heavier rainfall than the rain-shadowed eastern side.

Good to Know

• The hotspot holds at least 4,780 vascular plant species. Of these, 2,180 are endemic, found nowhere else on Earth.
• It also holds 1,073 vertebrate species, with 355 endemic to the region.
• About half of India’s amphibian species, and two-thirds of its fish species, are endemic to the Western Ghats.
• This same orographic rainfall mechanism also drives the heavy rain that feeds the Malabar Coast, just viewed from the mountain side.

Test Yourself

Please wait…

1. The Western Ghats are also known by which local name?

The Sahyadri

The Purvanchal

The Karakoram

The Zanskar Range

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Great to Know

• In 2010, the government set up the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel, led by ecologist Madhav Gadgil.
• The Gadgil Committee’s 2011 report marked about 60% of the Western Ghats as the highest-priority Ecologically Sensitive Zone.
• A second panel, led by K. Kasturirangan, later reviewed the Gadgil report. It recommended a smaller Ecologically Sensitive Area, covering about 37% of the range.
• Where Gadgil’s report leaned toward environmental protection, Kasturirangan’s report tried to better balance conservation against development pressure.