World Heritage Identification Number: 1342
World Heritage since: 2012
Category: Natural Heritage
WHE Type: Natural Landscapes & Geographic Features
Transboundary Heritage: No
Endangered Heritage: No
Country: 🇮🇳 India
Continent: Asia
UNESCO World Region: Asia and the Pacific
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The Western Ghats: A Biodiversity Hotspot and Climate Regulator
The Western Ghats, also known as the Sahyadri, is a significant mountain range that spans approximately 1,600 kilometers along the western coast of India. This ancient range, older than the Himalayas, covers an area of around 160,000 square kilometers and traverses six Indian states: Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. The Western Ghats forms an almost continuous chain of mountains along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau, from the Tapti River to Swamithoppe in Kanyakumari district at the southern tip of the Indian peninsula.
More to come…UNESCO Description of the World Heritage Site
Older than the Himalaya mountains, the mountain chain of the Western Ghats represents geomorphic features of immense importance with unique biophysical and ecological processes. The site’s high montane forest ecosystems influence the Indian monsoon weather pattern. Moderating the tropical climate of the region, the site presents one of the best examples of the monsoon system on the planet. It also has an exceptionally high level of biological diversity and endemism and is recognized as one of the world’s eight ‘hottest hotspots’ of biological diversity. The forests of the site include some of the best representatives of non-equatorial tropical evergreen forests anywhere and are home to at least 325 globally threatened flora, fauna, bird, amphibian, reptile and fish species.
UNESCO Justification of the World Heritage Site
Criterion (ix): The Western Ghats region demonstrates speciation related to the breakup of the ancient landmass of Gondwanaland in the early Jurassic period; secondly to the formation of India into an isolated landmass and the thirdly to the Indian landmass being pushed together with Eurasia. Together with favourable weather patterns and a high gradient being present in the Ghats, high speciation has resulted. The Western Ghats is an “Evolutionary Ecotone” illustrating “Out of Africa” and “Out of Asia” hypotheses on species dispersal and vicariance.tb1
Criterion (x): The Western Ghats contain exceptional levels of plant and animal diversity and endemicity for a continental area. In particular, the level of endemicity for some of the 4-5,000 plant species recorded in the Ghats is very high: of the nearly 650 tree species found in the Western Ghats, 352 (54%) are endemic. Animal diversity is also exceptional, with amphibians (up to 179 species, 65% endemic), reptiles (157 species, 62% endemic), and fishes (219 species, 53% endemic). Invertebrate biodiversity, once better known, is likely also to be very high (with some 80% of tiger beetles endemic). A number of flagship mammals occur in the property, including parts of the single largest population of globally threatened ‘landscape’ species such as the Asian Elephant, Gaur and Tiger. Endangered species such as the lion-tailed Macaque, Nilgiri Tahr and Nilgiri Langur are unique to the area. The property is also key to the conservation of a number of threatened habitats, such as unique seasonally mass-flowering wildflower meadows, Shola forests and Myristica swamps.
Encyclopedia Record: Western Ghats
The Western Ghats, also known as the Sahyadri, is a mountain range that stretches 1,600 km (990 mi) along the western coast of the Indian peninsula. Covering an area of 160,000 km2 (62,000 sq mi), it traverses the Indian states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. The range forms an almost continuous chain of mountains along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau, from the Tapti River to Swamithoppe in Kanyakumari district at the southern tip of the Indian peninsula. The Western Ghats meet with the Eastern Ghats at Nilgiris before continuing south.Additional Site Details
Area: 795,315 hectares
Number of Components: 39
(x) — Contains most important habitats for biodiversity
Coordinates: 8.5297222222 , 77.2497222222
IUCN World Heritage Outlook
The 2025 Conservation Outlook on Western Ghats reports the following assessment:
Source: International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) · View assessment
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© Arunguy2002, CC BY-SA 3.0 Resized from original. (This derivative is under the same CC BY-SA license.)
World Heritage Research
Discover scientific research and academic studies that deepen our understanding of Western Ghats from its history and significance to its conservation, management, and contemporary challenges.
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Temporal Trends of Rainfall and Temperature over Two Sub-Divisions of Western Ghats
A study analyzing rainfall and temperature trends over the Western Ghats, a critical watershed for South Indian rivers, reveals significant regional disparities. While Konkan and Goa experienced increased rainfall from 1977 to 2016, Coastal Karnataka saw a decline, with both changes statistically significant. Temperature trends were consistently positive across all seasons. The research also found no strong link between the Indian Summer Monsoon Rainfall (ISMR) and the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon in this region. These findings highlight the need for tailored climate change adaptation strategies for the Western Ghats, considering its ecological significance.
Mann, R., & Gupta, A. (2022). Temporal Trends of Rainfall and Temperature over Two Sub-Divisions of Western Ghats. HighTech and Innovation Journal, 3, 28–42. https://doi.org/10.28991/hij-sp2022-03-03
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The tale of three landslides in the Western Ghats, India: lessons to be learnt
A study of three devastating landslides in Kerala, India, during the 2021 monsoon season reveals that intense rainfall—exceeding 266 mm in under 24 hours—serves as a universal trigger, while underlying causes vary. The Kokkayar landslide was primarily driven by anthropogenic agricultural activities, Plappally by geomorphic and tectonic processes combined with human influence, and Kavali by forest fragmentation on thin soil. These findings underscore the critical role of precise rainfall forecasting in establishing early warning thresholds to mitigate future disasters. The research combines ground-based data with satellite imagery to analyze these events, providing actionable insights for disaster preparedness in the Western Ghats, a UNESCO World Heritage Site prone to landslide risks.
Ajin, R. S., Nandakumar, D., Rajaneesh, A., Oommen, T., Ali, Y. P., & Sajinkumar, K. S. (2022). The tale of three landslides in the Western Ghats, India: lessons to be learnt. Geoenvironmental Disasters, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40677-022-00218-1
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Assessment of pollution and risks associated with microplastics in the riverine sediments of the Western Ghats: a heritage site in southern India
Microplastic pollution in the Western Ghats, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in southern India, poses significant ecological risks to its rich biodiversity. A study analyzing riverine sediments from the River Sharavathi revealed microplastic concentrations ranging from 2.5 to 57.5 pieces/kg during pre-monsoon and 0 to 15 pieces/kg post-monsoon, with smaller particles (0.3-1 mm) dominating due to physical breakdown. The main polymers identified were polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, and polypropylene. Risk assessment indices indicated hazardous pollution levels, with the Potential Ecological Risk Index (PERI) showing higher values during post-monsoon seasons. This suggests severe ecological threats, particularly to the region's sensitive ecosystems, necessitating urgent mitigation strategies.
Amrutha, K., Shajikumar, S., Warrier, A. K., Sebastian, J. G., Sali, Y. A., Chandran, T., Sivadas, S., Naik, R., Amrish, V. N., Kumar, A., & Unnikrishnan, V. (2022). Assessment of pollution and risks associated with microplastics in the riverine sediments of the Western Ghats: a heritage site in southern India. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 30(12), 32301–32319. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-24437-z
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Rapid mapping of landslides in the Western Ghats (India) triggered by 2018 extreme monsoon rainfall using a deep learning approach
A deep learning approach significantly improves the accuracy of landslide mapping in the Western Ghats, India. By integrating PlanetScope imagery with convolutional neural networks (CNNs) and topographic slope data, researchers achieved a 78% mean accuracy in identifying rainfall-induced landslides triggered by the 2018 extreme monsoon season—an increase of 12.5% compared to spectral-only methods. This methodology effectively reduces false positives, distinguishing landslide areas from barren lands and riverbeds without compromising true positive detection. The study demonstrates a scalable solution for rapid hazard assessment in landslide-prone regions, offering potential applications for disaster mitigation strategies worldwide.
Meena, S. R., Ghorbanzadeh, O., van Westen, C. J., Nachappa, T. G., Blaschke, T., Singh, R. P., & Sarkar, R. (2021). Rapid mapping of landslides in the Western Ghats (India) triggered by 2018 extreme monsoon rainfall using a deep learning approach. Landslides, 18(5), 1937–1950. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-020-01602-4
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Spatial modelling of shallow landslide susceptibility: a study from the southern Western Ghats region of Kerala, India.
A study identified that agricultural areas with slopes of 10°–40° on denudational structural hills in the southern Western Ghats, India, are highly susceptible to landslides. The research used Dempster–Shafer, Bayesian probability, and logistic regression models to assess susceptibility, with the Bayesian model performing best (ROC-AUC: 0.833). Key factors influencing landslide risk included proximity to roads, streams, soil texture, and geomorphological features. This predictive model offers a reliable tool for future land-use planning to mitigate landslide hazards in this UNESCO-listed region.
Achu, A. L., Aju, C. D., & Reghunath, R. (2020). Spatial modelling of shallow landslide susceptibility: a study from the southern Western Ghats region of Kerala, India. Annals of GIS, 26(2), 113–131. https://doi.org/10.1080/19475683.2020.1758207
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Ecosystem-level carbon storage and its links to diversity, structural and environmental drivers in tropical forests of Western Ghats, India
Tropical forests in the Western Ghats, India, store significant amounts of carbon (C), with an average stock of 336.8 Mg C/ha across seven forest types. Woody vegetation, understorey, litter, deadwood, and soil contribute 231.3, 3.0, 2.4, 15.2, and 84.9 Mg C/ha respectively. Live vegetation, detritus, and soil account for 65.5%, 5.5%, and 29% of total ecosystem-level C stock, with the highest storage observed in TEF III forests. Plant diversity, structural attributes, and environmental factors positively correlate with C stocks, explaining 6.7%, 77.2%, and 16% of variance respectively. These findings underscore the importance of the Western Ghats' forests for carbon sequestration and highlight their potential for conservation and management strategies aimed at enhancing C storage.
Kothandaraman, S., Dar, J. A., Sundarapandian, S., Dayanandan, S., & Khan, M. L. (2020). Ecosystem-level carbon storage and its links to diversity, structural and environmental drivers in tropical forests of Western Ghats, India. Scientific Reports, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-70313-6
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GIS and AHP Techniques Based Delineation of Groundwater Potential Zones: a case study from Southern Western Ghats, India
Approximately 59% of the studied river basin in the Southern Western Ghats, India, is identified as having moderate groundwater potential, with high and low potential zones covering 11% and 29%, respectively. The study employed a combination of Geographic Information System (GIS) and Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP) techniques to delineate these zones using 12 thematic layers such as geology, geomorphology, rainfall, soil, and topography. This approach, validated with local groundwater data, achieved an overall accuracy of around 85%. The findings highlight the effectiveness of GIS-based methods in rapidly assessing groundwater potential, offering crucial insights for sustainable water resource management in tropical river basins.
Arulbalaji, P., Padmalal, D., & Sreelash, K. (2019). GIS and AHP Techniques Based Delineation of Groundwater Potential Zones: a case study from Southern Western Ghats, India. Scientific Reports, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-38567-x
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