Why western ghats are so important?

Subject :Environment

Section: Biodiversity

Concept :

Older than the Himalaya mountains, the mountain chain of the Western Ghats represents geomorphic features of immense importance with unique biophysical and ecological processes.
The site’s high montane forest ecosystems influence the Indian monsoon weather pattern.
Moderating the tropical climate of the region, the site presents one of the best examples of the monsoon system on the planet.
It also has an exceptionally high level of biological diversity and endemism and is recognized as one of the world’s eight ‘hottest hotspots’ of biological diversity. The forests of the site include some of the best representatives of non-equatorial tropical evergreen forests anywhere and are home to at least 325 globally threatened flora, fauna, bird, amphibian, reptile and fish species.

Western Ghats are one of eight hottest biodiversity hotspots of the world.

What are biodiversity hotspots?

Biodiversity hotspots are regions with high species richness and a high degree of endemism.
The British biologist Norman Myers coined the term “biodiversity hotspot” in 1988 as a biogeographic region characterized both by exceptional levels of plant endemism and by serious levels of habitat loss.
Conservation International (CI) adopted Myers’ hotspots and in 1996, the organization made the decision to undertake a reassessment of the hotspots concept.

According to CI, to qualify as a hotspot a region must meet two strict criteria:
- It must contain at least 1,500 species of vascular plants (> 0.5% of the world’s total) as endemics – which is to say, it must have a high percentage of plant life found nowhere else on the planet. A hotspot, in other words, is irreplaceable.
- It has to have lost at least 70% of its original habitat. (It must have 30% or less of its original natural vegetation). In other words, it must be threatened.
The 35 biodiversity hotspots cover 2.3% of the Earth’s land surface, yet more than 50% of the world’s plant species and 42% of all terrestrial vertebrate species are endemic to these areas.
In 2011, the Forests of East Australia region was identified as the 35th biodiversity hotspot.

Biodiversity hotspots in India

Himalaya: Includes the entire Indian Himalayan region (and that falling in Pakistan, Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, China and Myanmar).
Indo-Burma: Includes entire North-eastern India, except Assam and Andaman group of Islands (and Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and southern China)
Western Ghats and Sri Lanka: Includes entire Western Ghats (and Sri Lanka).
Sundalands: Includes Nicobar group of Islands (and Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Philippines).

What are the 8 hottest of the hotspots?