This year, we’re going to change around our Biodiversity Wednesday series. Instead of posting a YouTube clip of some various organism or region, we’re going to highlight a lesser known region of biodiversity importance and discuss related conservation and management issues.

Located along the west coast of India, the Western Ghats are a 1600-km mountain range formed when the Indian sub-continent split from Gondwana approximately 150 million years ago. These basalt mountains are rich in iron ore and, to a lesser extent, bauxite, making them prime candidates for mineral extraction. Due to the position of the mountains, the Western Ghats interact with the annual monsoon season to generate high amounts of rainfall. Nearly 40% of all Indian river systems drain through the Western Ghats.

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