{"id":36308,"date":"2018-11-02T12:05:59","date_gmt":"2018-11-02T06:35:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=36308"},"modified":"2018-11-02T12:05:59","modified_gmt":"2018-11-02T06:35:59","slug":"ret-species-recorded-in-southern-western-ghats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/ret-species-recorded-in-southern-western-ghats\/","title":{"rendered":"RET\u2019 Species Recorded in Southern Western Ghats"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>RET\u2019 Species Recorded in Southern Western Ghats<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><b>Context:<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Team from Botanical Survey of India has gathered research evidence on rare, threatened plants in the Southern Western Ghats<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>BSI project on endemic tree resources:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Botanical Survey of India (BSI) has been undertaking a three-year programme to document economically important endemic trees nationally.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The BSI project on endemic tree resources in the southern Western Ghats, has documented about 250 \u2018RET\u2019 species.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The assessment of some of these conducted by the International Union for Conservation of Nature for the IUCN Red List puts them under vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered categories<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, for nearly two decades, some of these plants have not been assessed by international conservation bodies.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The 22 day expedition in the Southern western Ghats started from Kurichyar mala in Wayanad.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The researchers have commented that a lot of existing knowledge on these plants has come up from the tribal communities. On contrary, the common man is unaware or has not even heard of many RET plants.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><b>What are RET species?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00b7<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">RET is the acronym for Rare, Endangered and Threatened.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00b7<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rare, Endangered and Threatened (RET) plant species can be defined as species with narrow geographical distribution ranges, highly specific habitat requirements and\/or species restricted only to small populations.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/botanical-survey-of-india\/\"><b>Know about Botanical Survey of India (BSI)<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><b>International Union for Conservation of Nature(IUCN)<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00b7<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is a membership Union uniquely composed of both government and civil society organisations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00b7<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The IUCN was created in 1948<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00b7<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">IUCN is the global authority on the status of the natural world and the measures needed to safeguard it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Function<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It provides public, private and non-governmental organisations with the knowledge and tools that enable human progress, economic development and nature conservation to take place together.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Key Environmental Agreements<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00b7<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">IUCN member organisations meet every four years<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">at the IUCN World Conservation Congress to set priorities and agree on the Union\u2019s work programme.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00b7 <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">IUCN congresses have produced several key international environmental agreements such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), the World Heritage Convention, and the Ramsar Convention on wetlands.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><b>IUCN Red List<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Founded in 1964,the IUCN Red List is the world&#8217;s most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A series of Regional Red Lists are produced by countries or organizations, which assess the risk of extinction to species within a political management unit.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Aim<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To convey the urgency of conservation issues to the public and policy makers, as well as help the international community to try to reduce species extinction.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Goals:<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to IUCN (1996), the goals of the Red List are:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00b7<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to provide scientifically based information on the status of species and subspecies at a global level<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00b7<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to draw attention to the magnitude and importance of threatened biodiversity<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00b7<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to influence national and international policy and decision-making, and<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00b7<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0to provide information to guide actions to conserve biological diversity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>IUCN Red List Categories<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00b7<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Species are classified by the IUCN Red List into nine groups<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00b7<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These are set through criteria such as rate of decline, population size, area of geographic distribution, and degree of population and distribution fragmentation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Extinct (EX).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Extinct in the wild (EW)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">3.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Critically endangered (CR)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">4.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Endangered (EN)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">5.<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Vulnerable (VU)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">6.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Near threatened (NT)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">7.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Least concern (LC)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">8.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Data deficient (DD)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">9.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not evaluated (NE)<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><b> \u00a0<\/b><b> \u00a0<\/b><b>Why Western Ghats?<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Western Ghats has been recognised as one of the 34 hotspot ecosystems in the world in terms of species and endemism.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Southern western Ghats consisting of southern parts of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu are the richest in terms of biodiversity.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are over 4500 flowering plants, of which 1500 are endemic to the Ghats.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Map of Southern Western Ghats<\/b><\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-3786 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.forumias.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/western-ghats-300x168.jpg?resize=555%2C311\" alt=\"\" width=\"555\" height=\"311\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/western-ghats.jpg?resize=300%2C168&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/western-ghats.jpg?resize=150%2C84&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/western-ghats.jpg?resize=768%2C431&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/western-ghats.jpg?w=819&amp;ssl=1 819w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 555px) 100vw, 555px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><b>Image courtesy: retplants.org<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Facts:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">About 177 species were recorded in Kerala\u2019s Wayanad district<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These species were recorded especially from biodiversity hotspots like Kurichyarmala, Ranimala, Aranamala, Chembra peak, Periya and Kuruva Island<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">4 RET species were found in Masinagudi, Kallatti and Pandallur in the Nilgiris.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Malabar Coast, Periyar National Park, Sholayar-Valparai region and Anamalai were part of the project.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Other Regions<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As a part of the project, team had also visited the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and many regions of the Eastern Ghats.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">127 endemic trees have been documented in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Significance of the Project<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Evidence on both medicinally and economically important plants has been collected.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Examples:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Medicinally important:<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Aglaia malabarica (critically endangered in the Red List)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Economically important:<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hopea ponga<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Researchers further aim at studying pharmacological values and economic importance of these plants.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Better records of poorly documented, heavily exploited or habitat-deprived species have been possible which is expected to help in better conservation of these plant species.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b><i>\u201c<\/i>Biodiversity is the greatest treasure we have&#8230; Its diminishment is to be prevented at all cost\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8211;<\/span><b>Thomas Eisner<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>RET\u2019 Species Recorded in Southern Western Ghats Context: Team from Botanical Survey of India has gathered research evidence on rare, threatened plants in the Southern Western Ghats BSI project on endemic tree resources: \u00a0The Botanical Survey of India (BSI) has been undertaking a three-year programme to document economically important endemic trees nationally. \u00a0The BSI project&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/ret-species-recorded-in-southern-western-ghats\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">RET\u2019 Species Recorded in Southern Western Ghats<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[555],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36308","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-test-1","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":{"total":191,"cached_at":""},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36308","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36308"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36308\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36308"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36308"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36308"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}