The Western Ghats have been labeled a world heritage site, but scientists from the city-based Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology have found that biodiversity is not well conserved in the region’s vast terrain and forest tracts. Scientists from CCMB have studied Annamalai and Madumalai tiger reserves in the Western Ghats and Gir National Park in Gujarat. As part of an international effort, their study shows that despite protection, biodiversity is not well conserved in these regions. The findings were recently published in science journal, Nature.
Estimates of how biodiversity has changed over the past 20 or 30 years in these regions suggest that while most reserves were helping protect their forests, about half were struggling to sustain their original biodiversity. This result is a sample of protected areas across the globe. “Decline of the number of species is extremely widespread and a large variety of species are affected. These include big predators and other large-bodied animals, many primates, old-growth trees, stream-dwelling fish and amphibians, among others,” Dr G. Umapathy, a scientist with CCMB’s Laboratory for Conservation of Endangered Species, said.
The study also reveals the importance of peripheral regions of the reserves. 85 per cent of the reserves studied were found to have lost nearby forest cover over the last two to three deca-des, resulting in significant loss to the biodiversity. Only two per cent saw an increase in the surrounding areas. According to CCMB director Dr Ch Mohan Rao, the outcome of the study is the need to preserve peripheral regions and prevent human activities in and around the reserves.