Relevance (GS-III/GS-I): Environment; biodiversity and Indian geography

Context. The International Union for Conservation of Nature’s latest World Heritage Outlook places the Western Ghats in the “Significant Concern” category. The warning stems from a cocktail of pressures—habitat loss, fragmented governance, climate risks and project-driven encroachments—on one of the world’s great tropical mountain systems.

What exactly has IUCN flagged?

• Conservation outlook has weakened due to continuing land-use change, linear infrastructure, and climate stress on species and watersheds that feed peninsular rivers.
• Management complexity: the Western Ghats World Heritage Site is a serial property across multiple States and protected areas; uneven protection outside parks leaves wildlife corridors exposed.
• Rising developmental footprints (roads, power, mining in adjoining landscapes) that erode contiguity and trigger landslides and floods.
  

Why the Ghats matter (for ecology and people)

• A global biodiversity hotspot with exceptional endemism (for example, the Malabar spiny tree mouse, a “living fossil”, listed as Vulnerable).
• Source of major west- and east-flowing rivers, stabilising monsoons and water security for millions.
• Cultural landscapes and livelihoods (plantations, non-timber forest produce, eco-tourism) depend on an intact mosaic.
  

The policy backstory: Gadgil vs. Kasturirangan

• The Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (Gadgil, 2011) prescribed wide Ecologically Sensitive Zones with strong community participation and a new authority.
• The High Level Working Group (Kasturirangan, 2013) proposed a smaller Ecologically Sensitive Area, seeking a “development–environment” balance and listing village-wise ESAs.
• Many recommendations remain partially implemented, leaving corridors and slopes vulnerable.
  

What needs urgent fixing

1. Secure corridors and slopes: notify and restore wildlife corridors; regulate blasting and cut-and-fill on steep gradients; mandate slope-stability audits in project clearances.
2. Plan at the landscape scale: move from project-by-project approvals to cumulative impact assessments across river basins.
3. Climate-smart watershed work: revive wetlands, shola–grassland systems and riparian buffers that cushion floods and droughts.
4. Carrying-capacity based infrastructure: align roads, tourism and hydropower to scientifically assessed limits (Karnataka has begun such a study).
5. People-centred conservation: implement Forest Rights Act fairly; embed eco-livelihoods, payments for ecosystem services, and local monitoring. (Principles echoed in both panel reports.)
   

Laws, institutions and schemes to link in answers

• Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, Biological Diversity Act, 2002, Forest (Conservation) Act framework; Eco-Sensitive Area notifications; Project Elephant for corridors; Disaster Management Act, 2005 for landslide/flood readiness. (See also IUCN Outlook for site-level governance gaps.)
  

Key terms

• World Heritage Outlook (IUCN): a periodic health-check of natural World Heritage sites.
• Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA): legally regulated landscape around rich ecosystems where harmful activities are restricted.
• Wildlife corridor: a habitat strip that enables animal movement between protected areas; losing it isolates populations.
• Carrying capacity: the maximum ecological load an area can bear without long-term harm.
• Cumulative impact assessment: evaluating combined effects of multiple projects, not just one in isolation.

Exam hook

Use the IUCN “Significant Concern” tag to connect biodiversity, disaster risk, federal governance, and rights-based conservation in one frame.

Key takeaways

• IUCN red-flag arises from habitat fragmentation, governance gaps and climate risk.
• Panel roadmaps exist; implementation is uneven across States.
• Solutions: corridor protection, landscape-level appraisal, climate-smart restoration, carrying-capacity limits, community stewardship.
  

UPSC Mains question

“Western Ghats are a biodiversity hotspot under ‘Significant Concern’. Outline a governance blueprint that reconciles conservation, climate resilience and local livelihoods.”

One-line wrap

Protect the ridges, connect the corridors, and plan by basin—only then will the Western Ghats move from “Significant Concern” to lasting security.