The Western Ghats of India
The Western Ghats are a long, narrow range of forested hills that run parallel to the Western Coast of India, from Bombay to the southernmost states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
The environmental importance of the Western Ghats
 The region is home to some of the rarest species of plant and animal life on Earth. Asian elephants, Indian tigers, and the endangered lion-tailed macaque (which is unique to the region) are but a few examples of the animals found here.
Although there are several wildlife sanctuaries and national parks in the Western Ghats, large and sensitive areas remain at risk. Expanding cities and agriculture, mining for iron and manganese, and traffic in wildlife products pose the most serious environmental threats.
Conservation International has declared the Western Ghats a 'Biodiversity Hotspot' - a region that harbors a great diversity of endemic species and, at the same time, has been significantly impacted and altered by human activities. The United Nations Environmental Programme also considers closed-forest preservation 'critical' in the area and all of India.
To see images, and learn more about the unique flora and fauna of the Western Ghats, click here.
How the Sierra Club is helping
In 2000, Indian environmentalist Durgesh Kasbekar asked the Sierra Club to help preserve the rainforests
of the Western Ghats of India. Drawing on more than a century's experience in conservation work in the United States - and using the lessons it learned campaigning for the protection of the Sierra Nevada mountain range - the Sierra Club is promoting, and helping Indian environmental groups develop, effective conservation strategies for the hills of the Western Ghats.
The Sierra Club has taken the following actions:
- Written to the World Bank urging them to avoid funding a controversial water diversion scheme that threatens biodiversity in the Western Ghats.
- Written to India's federal and state authorities and prominent personalities urging them to oppose a separate environmentally destructive water diversion scheme, and a mining project, in Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary.
- Co-sponsored a presentation at the World Affairs Council in San Francisco by Dr. Kamaljit S. Bawa on how to meet the needs of the people of the Western Ghats without destroying the region's valuable natural habitat and biodiversity. Dr Bawa is a Distinguished Professor of Biology at the University of Massachusetts and a Senior Fellow at the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) in India.
- Organized a meeting between the Sierra Club and the Consul General of India, San Francisco, to share perspectives on the Western Ghats.
- Lobbied for preservation of the Western Ghats at the 2002 Earth Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa.
- Solicited support from, and pooled resources with, scientists working to protect biodiversity around the world.
The Sierra Club is working on the following initiatives:
- Networking with Indian groups opposing environmentally destructive practices in the Western Ghats.
- Providing support to Indian groups seeking the expansion of the region's existing national parks and wildlife sanctuaries to include other areas of great biodiversity.
Through these efforts The Sierra Club aims to (1) build consensus in India for a more integrated development strategy for the Western Ghats, and (2) promote cooperation on environmental matters between NGOs in the United States and India.
Contact the Sierra Club International Committee
For more information about the Sierra Club's Western Ghats campaign, contact Michele Perrault, Vice President for International Affairs.
Photo courtesy of Ian Lockwood.
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