The Western Ghats has made it to the coveted list of World Heritage Sites. The World Heritage Committee, meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia, late on Sunday, decided to inscribe 39 serial sites of the Western Ghats on the World Heritage List.
“The Western Ghats was inscribed under criteria 9 and 10 of the Operational Guidelines of the World Heritage Convention,” Vinod B. Mathur, Dean of the Wildlife Institute of India, told The Hindu from Russia.
Criterion nine 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 discussion on the Ghats witnessed representatives from 17 nations — Algeria, Cambodia, Columbia, Estonia,, Ethiopia, Iraq, Japan, Malaysia, Mali, Mexico, Qatar, Russia, Senegal, Serbia, South Africa, the UAE and Thailand — coming out strongly in favour of India. The Indian delegation aptly responded to a range of questions, clarification and amplifications,” Dr. Mathur said in a communication. “The decision is a reflection of India’s concerted efforts to inscribe the world’s hottest hotspot on the World Heritage List.