BHUBANESWAR: The picturesque Gandhamardan hill range of Odisha has been accorded the tag of ‘biodiversity heritage site’ -- the third such spot in the state after Mahendragiri hills in Gajapati and Mandasaru gorge in Kandhamal district.
Issuing a notification to this effect, the Forest, Environment and Climate Change department stated that a total 18,963.898 hectares (189.639 square km) of Gandhamardan hill system, spread over 12,431 hectares in Bargarh and 6,532 hectares in Balangir, has been declared a ‘biodiversity heritage site’ as per the provisions of Odisha Biodiversity Rules - 2012 to protect its fragile ecosystem.
A treasure trove of medicinal plants, the hill system within Gandhamardan reserve forest is considered the 'Ayurvedic paradise' of the state.
The Odisha Biodiversity Board (OBB) had sent a proposal to the state government in December last year to declare the threatened and ecologically sensitive landscape as a ‘Biodiversity Heritage Site’ for long-term protection, conservation and management of biological resources of the hill range having socio-economic, ecological and biological significance.
After the Board received proposals from the Biodiversity Management Committee (BMC) of Nandupalla, Telenpalli, Bartunda, Mithapalli as well as proposals from DFO Balangir and Bargarh and other stakeholders to declare the hill range as a biodiversity heritage site, a detailed inventory of the flora and fauna in the hill ecosystem was prepared.
The board found 1,700 species of plants and animals -- 1,200 species of plants and 500 species of animals -- in the hill ecosystem. Besides, around 209 trees, 135 shrubs, 473 herbs, 77 climbers and 300 species of medicinal plants were also recorded in the hill ecosystem of which 18 species are tagged as threatened and one species as endemic.
As per the government notification, Gandhamardan hill range is famous as ‘Ayurvedic paradise’ of Odisha’ where traditional knowledge holders have been collecting wild medicinal plants to treat different diseases and ailments.
Two historical monuments -- Nrusinghanath temple on the northern slope of the hill and Harishankar temple on the southern slope of the hill -- have immense cultural significance, it stated.
However, the rich biological resources of the cultural landscape are under pressure due to anthropogenic and climatic factors, while the traditional knowledge associated with the bio-resources is also declining, necessitating long-term protection and conservation of the hill range, the department underlined.
Notably, the Odisha government had notified Mahendragiri as the ‘biodiversity heritage site’ in November 2022, while the Mandasaru gorge in Kandhamal district was the first landscape to be notified as bio heritage site in the state in 2019.