PANCHAGANGAVALI KANDLA FORESTS RECEIVED AS ‘BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOT’ TAG

PANCHAGANGAVALI KANDLA FORESTS RECEIVED AS ‘BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOT’ TAG

Context

The Panchagangavali Kandla forests which will receive the ‘biodiversity hotspot’ tag are located in Karnataka.

Details

• The forest is located in the Panchagangavali Estuary in Kundapur taluk in the Udupi district and is spread over an area of 100 ACRES.
• The forests will receive the ‘biodiversity hotspot’ tag from the Karnataka Biodiversity Board.
• The board will also recommend declaring a forest in the Udupi district as ‘Smriti Vana’ to commemorate the contributions of Udupi Pejawar Mutt’s late seer Vishwesha Tirtha Swami to the environment.

About Biodiversity Hotspot

To qualify as a biodiversity hotspot, a region must meet two strict criteria:

• It must have at least 1,500 vascular plants as endemics — which is to say, it must have a high percentage of plant life found nowhere else on the planet. A hotspot, in other words, is irreplaceable.
• It must have 30% or less of its original natural vegetation. In other words, it must be threatened.