Western Ghats Rivers & Streams - A Global 200 Ecoregion
Urbanisation, dams, water diversion projects, fish harvesting
Snapshot: Ecoregion 171
Size:
158,000 sq. km (61,000 sq. miles)
Habitat type:
Small Rivers
Southwestern Asia: western India
Conservation Status:
Critical/Endangered
Quiz Time!
Is the Deccan Plateau a part of Western Ghats?
Answer:
The Deccan Plateau is the oldest and most stable land in India. This vast area stretches between the Western Ghats and its sister mountains, the Eastern Ghats, and is covered with rich volcanic soils and rocky lava formations. Very little rain falls here, but the rivers that cross it provide enough water for tropical forests to grow.
Answer:
The Deccan Plateau is the oldest and most stable land in India. This vast area stretches between the Western Ghats and its sister mountains, the Eastern Ghats, and is covered with rich volcanic soils and rocky lava formations. Very little rain falls here, but the rivers that cross it provide enough water for tropical forests to grow.
About the Area
The Western Ghats run north to south for about 9,941 miles (1,600 km) and have peaks of many different heights up to 8,841 feet (2,695 m).
Steep canyons and countless small streams cut across the mountainsides that face west, but to the east there are gentle slopes and wide valleys. Several major rivers run either inland or toward the Bay of Bengal, including the Bhima, Godavari, Krishna, and Kaveri.The small rivers and streams draining the old, isolated, and relatively stable Western Ghats host a highly endemic aquatic biota with over 100 fish, about 20 per cent of mollusc species, and 100 amphibian species endemic to this ecoregion.
Local Species
Eighteen fish species in six families are recognised as threatened, including the Malabar batasio (Batasio travancoria), Peninsular hilltrout (Lepidopygopsis typus), six species in the genus Hypselobarbus, and Indian blind catfish (Horaglanis krishnai). Two endemic genera of gastropods, Turbinicola and Cremnoconchus, also live here.
Urbanisation, construction of dams, water diversion projects, fish harvesting, conversion to agriculture (e.g., rubber plantations), deforestation and its consequent effects on water quality and flow regimes - pose the largest threats to freshwater systems in this ecoregion.
Resources
• NationalGeographic.com
