Part 1 - English version (PDF) - Convention on Biological Diversity

Overview of Biodiversity: Status, Trends and Threats
Table 1.15: Biodiversity of Western Ghats
Group Total Endemic % endemism
species species
Angiosperms 4,000 1,500 38
Butterflies 332 37 11
Fishes 288 116 53
Amphibians 156 94 78
Reptiles 225 97 62
Birds 508 19 4
Mammals 137 14 12
Source: http://www.wii.gov.in/envis; ZSI 2008
Fifty-six genera and 1,500 species (38%) of flowering plants and 63% of India’s evergreen woody
plants are endemic to the Western Ghats.
Of the known mammals, 14 species are endemic. The mammalian fauna of the Western Ghats is
dominated by insectivores (11 species), bats (41 species) and rodents (27 species including the
porcupine). Among the 508 species of birds recorded from the Western Ghats, 144 (28%) are
aquatic birds including those found in the coastal habitats. A total of 324 species (64%),
predominantly land birds, are residents. Sixteen species of birds are endemic to the Western
Ghats.
Threat status
In the past, the forests of the Western Ghats had been selectively logged. Large tracts of forests
were also converted to agricultural land for monoculture plantations of tea, coffee, rubber, oil
palm, teak, eucalyptus, and wattle, building reservoirs, roads, and railways.
Over 20% of the original forest cover remains more or less in pristine condition and the remaining
is subject to varying degrees of human pressure including collection of fuel wood and NTFPs for
subsistence. Mass tourism, grazing and forest fires are other concerns.
The poverty is rife and economic development is poor in regions adjacent to forests including the
PAs. The competing needs of the people residing in the forest fringes lead to human wildlife
conflicts.
Of the total known fauna, 102 species fall under different categories of threat (Figure 1.10), and
of these, mammals (30 species; 21.9%); and amphibians (52 species; 33.3%) are the prominent
groups.
Figure 1.10: Representation of threatened faunal diversity in Western Ghats
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