Gandhamardan Hill Accorded Biodiversity Heritage Site Tag

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Government has accorded a Biodiversity Heritage Site (BHS) tag to the Gandhamardan hill.
Spanning 18,963.898 hectare over Bolangir and Bargarh districts, the Gandhamardan hill has become the third biodiversity heritage site of the State.
In a notification, Forest, Environment and Climate Change Department, said that the Gandhamardan hill, spread over nearly 190 square kms, will now have the ‘biodiversity heritage site’ tag under the Odisha Biodiversity Rules – 2012 to protect its fragile ecosystem.

After Mandasuru Gorge in Kandhamal district and Mahendragiri Hill Range in Gajapati, the Gandhamardan hill becomes the third biodiversity heritage site in the State.

The Gandhamardan hill is a treasure trove of medicinal plants. It has some 1,055 plant species that include 849 angiosperms, 56 Pteridophytes, 40 Bryophytes, 45 Lichens and 02 Gymnosperms and 63 species of Macrofungi. It boasts of some 500 species of animals that include 43 Mammal speices, 161 Birds, 44 Reptiles, 16 Amphibians, 118 Butterflies, 27 Dragonflies and 7 Damselflies and 83 species of Spiders.

Besides, two historical monuments including the famed Nrusinghanath Temple located on the Northern slope and Harishankar Temple located on the Southern slope of the foot hills of Gandhamardan have immense cultural significance. These two hill shrines are the two major pilgrimage sites of Odisha.

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 Forest Department said.