Rainmaker and 'biodiversity hotspot', the Western Ghats of southern India are one of the country's most important natural assets. Biologically rich, the Western Ghats are blessed with one of the highest rates of endemism in all of India. The Western Ghats are also crucial for water regulation and it is their cold heights that block the monsoon and ensure a continuous supply of water to the dry plains. At a time when water scarcity and the loss of precious biodiversity have become common themes in the daily news, the importance of these ancient mountains cannot be ignored. The Western Ghats stretch 1, 440 km from the Tapti River, north of Mumbai, to the tip of the Indian peninsula at Kanyakumari. Composed of a variety of dissimilar mountain ranges, they form a near continuous wall separating the west Malabar Coast from the drier regions of peninsular India. Now, at the dawn of the 21st century, the Western Ghats are under assault from a number of forces.

Water, lifeblood of nature and our human civilisation, is one of the strongest reasons for which the protection of the Western Ghats is vital. Every summer as the earth tilts its axis, powerful winds push the moisture-soaked clousds of the south-western monsoon up the Malabar Coast. The Western Ghats, in fact, prevent the monsoon clouds from reaching the interiors of the peninsula. Despite this, forests on the slopes of the Western Ghats, acting much like a giant sponge, absorb these torrential rains and release water in the ensuing drier seasons. Eastward flowing rivers — the Cauveri and Krishna — are two of the larger rivers fed by the Western Ghats.When natural vegetation in the form of forests and grasslands has been destroyed and replaced by plantations and other human interventions, the mountains give less to the plains. Protecting the Western Ghats and their natural vegetation is thus vitally important to the millions of people living in the watershed areas on both eastern and western sides. It is a succinct lesson not easily lost to the people living in the shadows of the hills.

Just what does it mean to be a 'biodiversity hotspot' and why should we be concerned about this buzzword? A ‘biodiversity hotspot’ is an area of exceptional plant, animal and microbe wealth that is under threat from human activities. The Western Ghats, one of two 'biodiversity hotspots' in India (the other being the Eastern Himalayas), are blessed with an abundance of life forms found nowhere else on earth. Endemics in the Western Ghats include high profile mammal species like the lion tailed macaque (macaca silenus) and the Nilgiri tahr (hermitragus hylocrius). There are numerous lesser endemic life forms, and experts estimate that "nearly two thirds of the tree species in the forests of the Ghats are confined to these hill ranges." Aside from the utter criminality of destroying what is not ours to destroy, biodiversity holds the key to our future survival. In times of distress and disaster, it will be our islands of biodiversity that may provide for our future survival.

The Western Ghats present an amazing variety of mountain and forest habitats that provide a breath of fresh air for those seeking to reconnect with nature. Starting at Kanyakumari, the mountains rise abruptly from the plains and sea. In the wetter zones from Kerala north to Goa, fabulous evergreen rainforests teem with bird songs and the buzz of insects. Protected areas like Silent Valley, Periyar and the Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve still retain a hint of what was once a dominant vegetation type in the Western Ghats. Above these forests, protected by high cliffs, are plateaux whose biotic composition is influenced by the colder temperature and high velocity winds. The unique grasslands/shola ecosystem, often reminiscent of a surreal moonscape, dominate the higher plateaux that have escaped development. Mukkurthy, Eravikulam and Kudremukh retain examples of this unique ecosystem. Deciduous forests still carpet many of the slopes on the eastern rain-shadow of the Ghats. Protected areas in this zone, such as Nagarhole and Mudumalai, harbour an amazing variety of wildlife wealth from small creature all the way up to elephants, tigers and other classic Indian wildlife. From Karnataka northwards, the Ghats meet the expansive Deccan Plateau. The hills are lower in elevation compared to the rugged mountains of the south. Composed of ancient basaltic lava flows, they fall in steep, dramatic 'ghats' (steps) to the sea along the Konkan coast north of Goa. All these habitats, with their tremendous variety of vegetation, wildlife and landscape, provide nourishment to human soul.

The Western Ghats have been protected from serious exploitation throughout much of India's long history. Sheer inaccessibility and disease have made the mountain terrain difficult to cultivate and settle. The indigenous communities of people that overcame these challenges had little long-term impact on the habitat. Many of these groups, like the Mudhuvans of the High Range/Anaimalais area still live in isolated corners of the Western Ghats.

The isolation of the Ghats and other forested areas of India changed during the British period when large areas of virgin tropical forest were cleared for tea, coffee and spice gardens. Throughout the 20th century, natural vegetation was replaced on a massive scale with the introduction of exotic (non-native) tree species in the bills of the Western Ghats. Most visitors now mistake eucalyptus, pine and wattle trees for a part of the hill-station landscape when, in fact, they are dangerous invaders! These plantations of exotic trees have been one of the major factors in restricting the flow of streams in the dry season. Hydroelectric schemes, with dubious long-run benefits, were started in colonial times and have been pursued vigorously after India's independence. It took the Silent Valley campaign in Kerala to wake people up to the negative impacts of unquestioned dam-building sprees.

Today, habitat continues to be dented and due to expanding hill-station development and the greed for minerals hill-stations are becoming the antithesis of the rejuvenating experiences that they were designed to be. Towns like Udhagamandalam (Ooty), Kodaikanal and Mahabaleshwar used to be places of peace and reinvigoration. They are now overwhelmed beyond their carrying capacities with motorised, trash-throwing crowds. In the Nilgiri Hills, one of the first Western Ghats ranges to be developed as a hill station, cinema makers reckelssly film in sensitive habitat. They frequently leave a trail of trash and disturbance at sites where they have filmed. Making matters worse, viewers often seek to imitate their stars' exploits at these locations! The result has been the spoilage of once-pristine and remote environments. Meanwhile, mining in several protected areas is an ongoing challenge to the Western Ghats. Kudremukh National Park in Karnataka faces pressure from mining interests to denotify its protected interiors! Imagine the difficulty of protecting habitat that is not officially designated when notified areas are under pressure for their iron, granite and other natural resources buried under tree cover!

Much has been done to protect the Western Ghats and the tireless work of previous generations has ensured the survival of well-known sanctuaries such as Periyar, Nagarhole and Silent Valley. Courageous individuals, both in and out of the government, ensure a brighter future in the Western Ghats. Projects include everything from promoting the use of renewable energy to the inclusion of community participation in forest management issues. Despite this, experts estimate that of an area of 159,000 square kilometres, only 8.1% is protected. For an area with such a large impact on the lives of people in peninsular India, this is frighteningly small. Today it is critically important to continue spreading the important message of conservation and ecological awareness in the Western Ghats.

City dwellers have a role to play in protecting the Western Ghats. Our wasteful consumption of resources puts pressure on the fragile habitats where the resources originate. Precious water irrigates the crops that are our dietary staples. Some of this water is caught in the mountains and piped to our urban dwellings. We seek relief from the heat in the hills and nourish our polluted, traffic-jammed souls in these places of beauty. The plants and animals of ‘biodiversity hotspots’ like the Western Ghats may hold the keys to our future survival. We need a new appreciation for the phenomenal importance of these mountains and the value that there is in protecting them. There is a clear need for a new edict of environmentally responsible behaviour in the mountains-one that stresses walking over motorised transport, cloth over plastic, quiet over noise and natural over exotic.