ABOUT THE CENTRAL INDIAN HIGHLANDS
The Central Indian Highlands stretch across Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, and Andhra Pradesh in Central India, forming a continuous landscape dominated by tropical deciduous forests. The region houses key protected areas like Kanha, Satpuda, Pench, Melghat, Tadoba, and Achanakmar, along with vital forest corridors that facilitate wildlife movement. They play a crucial role in supporting tiger populations (Panthera tigris), accounting for 17% of India’s tiger population, and also sustain other species such as leopards (Panthera pardus), sloth bears (Melursus ursinus), gaur (Bos gaurus), and swamp deer (Cervus duvacelli).
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The region serves as the headwaters for major rivers, including R. Narmada, which ranks among India’s seven major rivers and meets the irrigation, industrial, and urban water needs of the area. Forests here are integral to local livelihoods, contributing 60% of the income for people living in non-protected areas. Key forest products include cattle fodder, tendu leaves (Diospyros melanoxylon), mahua flowers (Madhuca indica), and Amla fruit (Phyllanthus emblica), which are vital for the herbal medicine industry.
Residents of the Central Indian Highlands sustain themselves through agriculture, forest produce collection, tourism, and urban employment. Development projects, such as the introduction of new crops and construction of roads, railways, mines, and tourism infrastructure, have significantly impacted the region.
Meanwhile, climate change studies highlight the area’s vulnerability to rising temperatures and altered precipitation patterns, which threaten to disrupt both environmental systems and economic stability.
Effective, science-based management of the Central Indian Highlands is essential to balance multiple objectives. These include enhancing the well- being of local communities, conserving wildlife habitats, protecting watersheds, supporting tourism, and accommodating the region’s growing infrastructure development needs in a rapidly changing future.