A cluster of sites from the Western Ghats in peninsular India has been inscribed in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. This announcement has been made by the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO in Russia.

The clusters of sites are in the landscapes of Agasthyamalai, Periyar, Anamalai, Nilgiris, and Upper Cauvery in Kodagu, Kudremukh, and Sahyadri. These constitute the thirty nine sites in seven sub-clusters of the Western Ghats, identified and proposed as a potential UNESCO World Natural Heritage Cluster Site, in 2006.  The proposal was made by the Ministry of Environment and Forests based on expert inputs from ATREE, Nature Conservation Foundation, Mysore and Wildlife Institute of India, Dehra Dun.

The Western Ghats has been inscribed under criteria 9 and 10 of the Operational Guidelines of the World Heritage Convention.

Criterion 9 of the guidelines deals with properties which are “outstanding examples representing significant ongoing ecological and biological processes in the evolution and development of terrestrial, freshwater, coastal and marine ecosystems and communities of plants and animals.” 

Criterion 10 is relevant for “those properties which contain the most important and significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity, including those containing threatened species of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science or conservation.”

The Western Ghats are a biological hotspot harbouring 60 Important Bird Areas (IBA), 325 globally threatened species, many endemic species and sacred groves, across six states (Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala).

The area of 150,000 km2 boasts a varied ecosystem with a historical Gondwanaland origin and significant global value. The Ghats can lay claim to a unique landform and biodiversity; however they are also under threat of increased developmental pressure from energy needs. Coffee, tea and rubber plantations too have grown over the years, leaving the area with less undisturbed space. Under the title of a Natural Heritage Site, it is expected that areas of the Western Ghats pronounced World Natural Heritage sites will be able to restrict some development, allowing these areas to be better conserved.