The Western Ghats Plant Specialist Group (WGPSG) of the Species Survival Commission (SSC)of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), is to begin documenting the different kinds of native flora in the Nilgiris to help in future conservation efforts.
In a press release from the Keystone Foundation, whose Director-Biodiversity, Dr. Anita Varghese, is the Chair of the WGPSG, the NGO said that the WGPSG has “been constituted to bring plant taxonomists, ecologists, habitat restoration experts, and other such important role players on board to start working together to increase conservation planning fragile habitats important for plants in this mega diverse region.
It also intends to bring together experts to share methods of assessments and standardise protocols, through which we will be able to conserve species and their habitats bringing recognition for their special status.”
Dr. R Ganesan Fellow, Suri Sehgal Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation, Asoka Trust for Research in Ecology, Bangalore is Co Chair of the group.
Dr. Aparna Watve- MIT World Peace University, Faculty of Social Innovation, Partnership and Co-creation, Pune, Maharashtra, is the Red List Assessment Coordinator of the group.
More than 35 members from Tamilnadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Gujarat are also part of the group.
Comprehensive species
The WGPSG intends to collate a comprehensive species list of flora found in the Western Ghats followed by an assessment of plants based on priority needs and in-situ conservation of species.
The exhaustive list will include documenting all types of flora - including native grasses, sedges, herbs, shrubs, climbers, lianas and trees.
In the Nilgiris – the process of documentation will start with hill wetlands and high altitude species which are sensitive to any kind of threats such as habitat loss, and change in land use patterns.