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Ralph Waldo Emerson had famously said "The Earth Laughs in Flowers". The truth of this statement is realised every time one visits the plateaus of Goa during monsoons. Often termed as wastelands by our policy makers, plateaus are one of the dominant habitat types in the mid-highlands bio-geographic zone of Goa. Often, these neglected habitat types harbour amazing biodiversity that is ephemeral in nature, especially the plants that adorn them during monsoons. What looks like a dry barren land open for development projects during the months of winter and pre-monsoon, turn into lush green meadows filled with flowers of all imaginable colours to a human being's visual spectrum.
Our Monsoon Plateau Walk was conceptualised bearing in mind the importance of these plateaus for Goa and the need to connect our society with this fragile landscape. Today, a group of 14 enthusiastic people from across Goa, descended upon the sleepy village of Pale in Velguem that has one of the most bio-diverse plateaus of the state. Charismatic species of fauna like the Indian Jackal (Canis aureus indicus), Brown Fish Owl (Ketupa zeylonensis) and Smooth-coated Otters (Lutrogale perspicillata) have been recorded from this habitat before, however today's stress was to understand the ephemeral species of plants that are the crowning jewels of this habitat.
Ms. Akshatra Fernandes led Arannya Environment Research Organisation's trail today with the 14 participants and introduced everyone to the amazing world of Goa's biodiverse habitat
