Odisha declares Gandhamardan Hill as biodiversity heritage site

The Odisha government has declared the Gandhamardan Hill Range in Bargarh and Balangir district as a Biodiversity Heritage Site (BHS), three decades after a highly successful people’s resistance against bauxite mining there. The decision was made after it received several representations from individuals and organisations for declaring Gandhamardan as BHS.

The Odisha government has declared the Gandhamardan Hill Range in Bargarh and Balangir district as a Biodiversity Heritage Site (BHS), three decades after a highly successful people’s resistance against bauxite mining there.

A notification issued by the State Forest, Environment and Climate Change Department says, the government declared an area of 18,963.898 hectare of Gandhamardan Hill (Gandhamardan Reserve Forest) including 12,431.8 ha (Bargarh) and 6,532.098 ha (Balangir) as BHS of Odisha.

Prior to the declaration, the Odisha Biodiversity Board had received several representations from individuals and organisations for declaring Gandhamardan as BHS.

This is the third BHS of Odisha after Mandasuru Gorge in Kandhamal district and Mahendragiri Hill Range in Gajapati district.

“At present the rich biological resources of this cultural landscape are under pressure due to various anthropogenic and climatic factors, and the traditional ecological knowledge associated with the bio-resources of the hill is declining. The long-term protection, conservation and management of biological resources of the Gandhamardan Hill is of utmost significance for the State,” the notification says.

Stating that Gandhamardan Hill, located in both Balangir and Bargarh, is considered as the treasure trove of medicinal plants and an Ayurvedic paradise of Odisha, the government says, “This ecologically fragile ecosystem is rich in floral and faunal diversity having diverse socio-economic, ecological and biological significance for the people of Odisha.”

As per the government, the floral diversity of the hill comprises 1,055 plant species that include 849 angiosperms, 56 pteridophytes, 40 bryophytes, 45 lichens and two gymnosperms and 63 species of macrofungi.