Western Ghats

Tourism is increasing disturbance to sensitive areas. Massive pilgrimage tourism within the property is of concern (State Party of India, 2023). Tourism has been promoted beyond the carrying capacity of the settlements and has led to scarcity of water, increased sewage and solid waste and forest degradation (Kasturirangan, 2013). There is also some evidence that the heritage tag has led to increase in unregulated tourism (Agarwal, 2014) in hitherto unknown areas, such as the Kas plateau in Maharashtra.

The Western Ghats forms an important watershed for the entire peninsular India, being the source of 37 west flowing rivers and three major east flowing rivers and their numerous tributaries. Western Ghats also receives rains from the southwest monsoon and the average annual rainfall is 2,500mm. However, rainfall is not uniformly distributed on the windward slopes and there are pockets of very heavy rainfall (4,000mm) and relatively less rainfall (500mm) and these regimes have also seen fluctuations due to global climate change (Reddy et al., 2018).
Fast running rivers and steep slopes have also provided sites for about fifty major hydropower plants in the Ghats (Kasturirangan, 2013), some which are situated in or just outside the property boundaries with the potential for expansion in response to increased irrigation and hydro-electric demand. Since all infrastructure development is subject to environmental impact assessment, the pressure that this infrastructure will have on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property is contested (IUCN, 2012; Jumani et al., 2018).
In addition to this, large scale land cover changes have affected the water sustenance in the region, evident from the quantity and duration of water availability during post monsoon period (Ramachandra et al., 2017). It is estimated that due to forest cover loss, water availability will be reduced to around 65% by 2022 in the coastal zones and around 60% in the Western Ghats due to developmental projects such as dams, hydroelectric projects and monoculture plantations (Ramachandra et al., 2017).
In 2018, the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change issued an Eco-sensitive Zone draft notification (Aggarwal, 2018). This latest draft proposes an area of 56,825 square kilometres as Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESA) and environmentally destructive activities like mining and quarrying, thermal power plants, red category (polluting) industries, residential complexes exceeding 20,000 square metres, etc. are to be prohibited in areas that are notified as ESAs. However, hydropower projects, orange category industries and other existing activities are to be allowed (Aggarwal, 2018). Six draft notifications later, over 56,000 square kilometres are to be declared as ESAs, but the latest draft notification is still pending (India Times, 2024).

Occasional wildfires occur in the property (State Party of India, 2009) and in the surroundings (State Party of India, 2023). A study in Western Ghats reported forest burnt areas of 1,896 km2 in 2014 (Reddy et al., 2017). Though when analysed for a period of ten years (2007-2017), no significant trends could be derived using MODIS active fire locations for the last ten years (2007-2016) (Reddy et al. 2017). Overall, fires have been reported to impact diversity, but seedling regeneration has shown positive trends post fire incidents and can recuperate if well protected from grazing and trampling (Verma et al., 2017).

According to the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972, only hunting by Nicobar tribes is allowed. Most parts of Western Ghats are legally designated as Protected Areas and the majority of wild animals are also protected as schedule species under the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972. Hence, the monitoring and curbing of poaching, snaring etc. has improved within the component parts of the property. However, remaining forest patches in the buffer zone are subject to intense poaching pressure, and the growth of populations around protected areas and other forests has led to increasing human-wildlife conflict. Raiding elephants cause crop loss, and tigers and leopards kill livestock. Compensation for farmers is generally inadequate, and wild animals are often killed or injured in an attempt to reduce further damage (CEPF, 2013). Crop raiding wild pigs suffer from retaliatory killing, often by snaring (IUCN Consultation, 2020).
Although poaching pressure in protected areas may have decreased, large herbivores remain vulnerable to poaching for meat, competition with livestock and opportunistic snaring outside protected areas (Punjabi and Rao, 2017). Nilgiri langur and Lion-tailed Macaque, a Western Ghats endemic primate, have also suffered from illegal hunting (Kumara and Sinha, 2009; IUCN Consultation, 2020).

Invasive alien species are considered as the second major threat to native flora only after habitat destruction (Rao, 2012). The dominant invasive alien species in Western Ghats, based on highest population density, are Lantana camara, Chromolaena odorata, Ageratum conyzoides, Senna tora, Sida acuta, Mikania micrantha, Hyptis suaveolens and Parthenium hysterophorus. Senna spectabilis is also a huge problem in the moist areas of the lower Nilgiris (IUCN Consultation, 2020). High altitude ecosystems, especially shola-grasslands in Western Ghats, are under severe threat due to invasion by Acacia melanoxylon. Shrub species introduced by the British in the Nilgiri grasslands include Cytisus scoparius and Ulex europaeus (IUCN Consultation, 2020). The ecological impact of alien invasions is highest in the Western Ghats part of Gujarat, followed by Maharashtra, Karnataka and Goa (Reddy et al., 2018; Mesta and Hegde, 2018). Invasive species impact 22% of fishes (Molur et al., 2011). Selective logging and encroachment in the past, along with recurrent fires, have led to the proliferation of Ochlandra reed brakes in the gaps, preventing the regeneration of trees (Giriraj et al., 2008). Field research is conducted on the spread
of invasive species; remedial measures include through fire protocol, manual uprooting and regulation of livestock grazing (State Party of India, 2023)

To appreciate the scale of human pressure in the Western Ghats there are an estimated 50 million people living in this region (Kasturirangan et al., 2013). The growth of populations around protected areas and other forests has led to increasing human-wildlife conflict. Pressures on the region’s natural ecosystems are intensifying, driven by economic development, population growth and rising demand for power, agricultural commodities and minerals (CEPF, 2013; Gadgil et al., 2011; Kasturirangan et al., 2013; Bharucha et al., 2010; D’Souza, 2020). Residential and commercial development is one of the highest threats to freshwater biodiversity (Molur et al., 2011). Land use change continues to affect the property (State Party of India, 2023) and is attributed to human development pressure stemming from changing economic opportunities. A 2016 study of land use cover change in Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary in the furthest south Agasthyamalai cluster shows evergreen forest loss of 10% (likely converted to scrubland due to disturbance) in the period 2001-2015. Similar forest degradation trends have already been reported earlier in specific areas of Western Ghats (Vijayasoorya et al., 2016). Geospatial analyses of forest cover change across Protected Areas in Western Ghats resulted in recording overall loss of evergreen forest from 33.46% (in 1973) to 27.22% (in 2016) in Kudremukh national Park, while Bandipur Tiger Reserve lost deciduous cover from 61.69% to 47.3% due to mining, horticulture plantations and human habitations during the same time period (Ramachandra et al., 2018).

Although most mines have been excluded from the property, there remain mining concerns in Sindhudurg in Maharashtra. Similarly, Kudremukh National Park has a large iron-ore mine in the centre, which, although the State Party has re-confirmed that “no mining occurs at present”, holds the potential to be reactivated. An additional concern is the liability of mine rehabilitation, which in this case was reported to be the responsibility of the park on land which has been returned to the park (an area of 5,000 ha). All mines within the property require rehabilitation (IUCN, 2012). A newspaper article reports “In the past few years quarrying and sand mining have also encroached into parts of the Ghats” (Rao, 2014), although it is not clear if this occurs within the property or elsewhere in the Ghats. Mining is cited as a major threat, especially as negative externalities are not sufficiently addressed (Gadgil et al., 2011). The main threats impacting freshwater biodiversity are pollution from mining and other industries, habitat destruction and flow modification caused by dams. Energy production and mining impact 6% of fishes, 5% of molluscs and 4% of freshwater plants overall (Molur et al., 2011). As noted above, the report of the High Level Working Group (HLWG) recommends a ‘non-tolerance policy’ with activities like mining or polluting industries (Kasturirangan et al., 2013).

In Western Ghats, the greatest loss due to forest fragmentation has been to the migrating herds of Asian elephants (Midha et al., 2018). The Brahmagiri–Nilgiris–Eastern Ghats population range covers over 12,000 km2 across Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and holds a minimum population of 6,300 elephants. The Nilambur–Silent Valley–Coimbatore population range, with an estimated population of 956 elephants, is spread across Tamil Nadu and Kerala. This range still maintains tenuous links with the Brahmagiri–Nilgiris–Eastern Ghats population across the degrading Kallar corridor. The Anamalai–Parambikulam range is located south of the Palghat Gap, and extends over 5,500 km2 with an estimated population of 2,500 elephants. The Periyar– Agasthyamalai range extends over 5,600 km2 and has an estimated population of 1,800 elephants covering Tamil Nadu and Kerala (Midha et al., 2018; Ravisankar et al., 2019). But the connectivity between Anamalai-Prambikulam and Periyar-Agasthyamalai is broken for all large mammal species. Even the connectivity between Periyar and Agathyamalai is broken for species such as Lion-tailed Macaque (Sushma et al., 2014), Gaur and Elephant (IUCN Consultation, 2020). All this, and the delay in implementing management recommendations, leads to unmanageable trends in land-use pattern, traffic intensity, human–elephant interface, and escalation of costs for management options like land acquisition and engineering structures such as flyovers or ‘elephant underpass’. Ultimately leading to increased human elephant conflict (Midha et al., 2018).

India, an emerging economy, is the world’s fourth largest producer of wind energy and has one of the most ambitious renewable energy expansion targets as part of the Paris Climate Agreement. It plans to triple its existing renewable energy installation base from 59GW to 175GW by 2020 and wind energy is expected to contribute 60GW to this energy transition (Lakhanpal, 2019). The construction of a number of new windmills (possibly inside the property, or on its boundaries) may lead to loss of tillable agricultural land for farmers, and forced displacement. The project construction phase require acquiring large tracts of land, clearing forest areas, felling of trees, cementing an access road from the lower Ghats to the project site, widening of the access road to allow for wind turbines and construction of a power sub-station and linear transmission lines for power evacuation (MoEF, 2011). The post construction ecological threats are likely to have cascading ecological effects and the reduction in overall abundance of predatory birds, bird mortality and increased noise pollution are currently underestimated (Thaker et al., 2018). No updated information has been found on this topic.

Climate change has caused major variations in the duration and intensity of rainfall, leading to an increasing frequency of landslides in the Western Ghats (Mohan et al., 2024), including the devastating landslide in Kerala (Jinoy, 2024). While deforestation, changes in land use, mining and dams have also contributed to these natural disasters (Padma, 2018), climate change is also a major threat, particularly as this property was inscribed as constituting one of the best examples of a tropical monsoon system on the planet.

Forest fragmentation associated with human population increase in Western Ghats is predicted to increase, further shrinking the availability of suitable habitat outside Protected Areas. In addition, competition with livestock reduces the availability of food in remnant habitats for threatened large herbivores such as gaur and sambar (Punjabi and Rao, 2017). Both biotic and abiotic features have contributed to risks associated across landscapes such as anthrax prevalence in high livestock grazing areas (Walsh et al, 2019). Grazing within some of the properties is a threat. Some protected areas have been declared “grazing free” thanks to ecodevelopment projects, largely financed by the Government. However, in other areas grazing remains a visible impact (IUCN, 2012). However, there is some evidence to suggest that suppression of grazing on Kas plateau led to increased biomass of grasses which compete with other forbs. Though wild herbivores visiting the plateau has increased, the numbers are small as it is surrounded by human habitation (IUCN Consultation, 2025).

GIS analysis of six broad landuse classes (estates, forests, forest plantations, reservoirs, scrub and settlements) of the Western Ghats landscape suggest more than 93% of forest cover, however, there are areas of non-conservation land uses within the site (settlements; agricultural areas; reservoirs; and plantations – potentially of coconut, rubber, teak, eucalyptus, cardamom, tea, and coffee) (IUCN, 2012). Coffee, one of the most important tropical crops in terms of global trade, is grown in biodiversity-rich rainforest regions including several areas in Western Ghats (Nesper et al., 2017; Chang et al., 2018). Expansion of coffee plantations has been a major threat to forest biodiversity in the region. Coffee Board of India recorded a loss of 30% of the land in Kodagu, Karnataka region to coffee plantation between 1977 and 1997. While the conversion may have stabilised with no new areas being taken up, further intensification and loss of shade bearing tree cover has implications for decline in biodiversity in coffee plantations. This impacts pest and pollinator populations, reduces tree diversity and depletion of important soil nutrients (Molur et al., 2011; Verma et al., 2018). Pesticide use in the coffee and tea plantations is a huge threat to terrestrial and aquatic species (IUCN Consultation, 2020).