Whispering Woods

In our first post in this joint blog, we begin with the most important wealth that we inherit from nature, the ‘GREEN HERITAGE’.

Welcome to the Western Ghats- Range of mountains listed by UNESCO under World Heritage Sites. Western Ghats are older than the Himalayas and it is a chain of mountains running parallel to India’s west coast. They give a welcome relief to the otherwise hot climate of India. Western Ghats raise like bulwark of evergreen and deciduous tangle of mountains transversing the states of Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Goa and Maharashtra.

The Western Ghats of Karnataka is somewhat special in many aspects!! It is richly credited with varied kind of vegetation and unimaginable topographical features and hence the Crowning Glory of the State. The Western Ghats mountain topography in Karnataka is broader and lengthier than other states. Invariably the rain bearing winds travel long distances resulting in heavier rainfall. Besides, the gentle gradient slopes allow greater absorption of sunlight and convection as compared to abrupt and steep slopes in other states. The rain gives Western Ghats its flavor, color and richness. Heavy rainfall has made the region as one of the wettest places on earth.

The significant characteristic of the Western Ghats is the exceptionally rich biological diversity and endemism, which can’t be found anywhere else. It is the most inaccessible and least studied habitats on the earth. This mountain chain is recognized as one of the world’s eight HOTTEST HOTSPOTS of biological diversity. Evergreen Forests of the Western Ghats are abundant in flora and fauna. More than 5000 species of plants are found here and 35% of them are endemic, including rare orchids and flowering plants. The Ghats is one of the major repositories of medicinal plants. It harbors 4000 species of medicinal plants which is the highest for any mountain range. It is also notable centre of commercially important domesticated plant species such as pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, mango and jackfruit. Abundant vegetation has given life to a large number of herbivorous animals-Lion tailed Macaque, Malabar Giant Squirrel, Indian Giant Flying Squrrel Indian Elephant, Sambar, Gaur to name a few.

One of the rarest and exclusive feature of this mountain range is the fresh water swamps known as MYRISTICA SWAMPS, which are not found anywhere in the world. These swamp forest systems with intricate biodiversity are having interesting adaptations of plants. The specialty of Myristica plant is that the root comes out of the earth, as if to breathe and goes back to the earth, then resembling the shape of a hook. It is an interesting fact that a kind of deep rooted paddy that grows only in anaerobic conditions needs the genes taken from Myristica plants. Plants like ‘Jaikayi’ belong to the Myristica group.

Our forefathers had given more importance to forests than we have. The people living amidst Western Ghats call it ‘DEVARA KADU’ which, in Kannada language, means ‘FOREST of GOD’. Since time immemorial, people lived with harmony in these Ghats range, imbibing immense knowledge from the mysterious rain forests and advocating traditional knowledge of varied nature to their future generations. The fear and devotion aspect in the human mind ensures the protection and preservation of this GREEN HERITAGE. ‘Love Thy Neighbour’ concept helps us to survive and live in harmony with nature.