Context: The Supreme Court of India issued a landmark environmental verdict ordering a time-bound, priority eviction plan to clear massive illegal encroachments across the Agasthyamalai ecological landscape.
About Agasthyamalai Ecological Landscape:
What It Is?
- The Agasthyamalai ecological landscape is a highly fragile, globally recognized contiguous forest ecosystem anchored by the Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve (ABR).
- Established by the Government of India in 2001, it was inducted into UNESCO’s prestigious World Network of Biosphere Reserves in March 2016 due to its hyper-diverse gene pool, dense endemic flora, and unique tribal heritage.
Location and Extent:
The landscape spans a massive area of 3,500.36 square kilometers, straddling the interstate border of South India at the absolute southernmost terminus of the Western Ghats mountain chain.
- Kerala Component (1,828 sq km): Encompasses parts of the Pathanamthitta, Kollam, and Thiruvananthapuram districts.
- Tamil Nadu Component (1,672.36 sq km): Covers sections of the Tirunelveli, Tenkasi, Theni, and Kanyakumari districts.
Key Geological and Physical Features
- The Peak (Agastya Mala): The landscape is dominated by the majestic Agasthyamala (Agastya Arkam) mountain peak, which stands at an elevation of 1,868 meters above sea level inside the Neyyar Sanctuary boundaries.
- Diverse Forest Stratification: Because of sharp elevation changes and proximity to both the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, the landscape exhibits a complex mosaic of ecoregions.
- This includes tropical wet evergreen forests, South Western Ghats moist deciduous forests, South Western Ghats montane rain forests, and high-altitude grassland-stunted forest systems known as Sholas.
- Hydrological Lifeline: The mountain range acts as a critical watershed, spawning major river networks (such as the Tambraparni and Karamana rivers) that supply drinking water and irrigation to multiple districts across Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
Significance:
- Agasthyamalai hosts over 2,000 medicinal plant species, including many rare and endemic herbs important for pharmaceutical research.
- The reserve supports endangered species such as the Bengal tiger, Asian elephant, and Nilgiri tahr, strengthening Western Ghats biodiversity.
- It is home to the indigenous Kanikaran (Kanikkar) tribe, known for their rich traditional knowledge of forests and medicinal plants.
