Sahyadris: India's Western Ghats - A Vanishing Heritage

On the Malabar Coast of Southern India, along the Arabian Sea, lies a range of mountains known as the Western Ghats, or Sahyadris. Far more ancient than the larger and better-known Himalayas to the north, the Sahyadris harbour the most inact rainforests in Peninsular India. Countless species of plants and animals live here, many of which are found nowhere else on earth, and countless of which are still being discovered. Matching this incredible biological richness is the ethnic and cultural diversity of the Western Ghats. This book takes you on a visual journey through one of the last great places on earth - a place to be cherished, a wild heritage to be preserved for generations to come.

The book features nearly 400 photographs that portray both India's beauty and vanishing heritage.

Sandesh Kadur
An internationally renowned wildlife photographer and documentary filmmaker, Sandesh uses the power imagery to expose the need for conservation and encourages protection of our planet's natural resources. Based at Gorgas Science Foundation and the University of Texas at Brownsville/Texas Southmost College, he has worked on various subjects ranging from cloud forests and endangered sea turtles in Mexico to rainforests and King cobras in the Western Ghats of southern India. His documentary Sahyadris: Mountains of the Monsoon, earned world-wide acclaim and an array of prestigious international awards, while drawing attention to one of the world's top biodiversity hotspots. Through his work, Sandesh hopes to harness the power of nature education as a catalyst for long-term change. His goal is to inspire his audience to protect and appreciate what remains of our wilderness.

Kamaljit Bawa
A Distinguished Professor at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, Kamal has authored or co-authored more than 160 papers based on his 35 years of fieldwork in Central America and South Asia. He is the editor-in-chief of Conservation and Society, a recently launched interdisciplinary journal about conservation. He also serves on the editorial boards of several other journals and has been a member of numerous national and international advisory panels. He has been the President of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation, and a member on the board of many organizations. Kamal Bawa is the founder and President of the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), a non-governmental organization devoted to research, action and education in India (www.atree.org). He is also a founder-trustee of the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies in Environment and Development, Bangalore India.

"No one can look at the book and not be entranced and emotionally connected. The combination of photography and text is superb and truly conveys the great diversity of life in both reality and spirit."
– George Schaller, Director for Science, Wildlife Conservation Society.