Biodiversity Documentation for Kerala: Algae (Part I)

Proper documentation and investigation of biodiversity has become essential from the point of view of conservation and sustainable utilization, especially after the 1992 declaration on Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The Kerala State, situated in the southern part of the Western Ghats, a biodiversity hotspot, is rich in flora and fauna including several endemics. The literature on various aspects of plants and animals is being generated by Research and Academic Institutes in Kerala over the years. However, there had been no concerted effort to compile this scattered information as a database. The Western Ghats Cell of the Department of Planning and Economic Affairs, Government of Kerala, should be congratulated for initiating a programme in documenting the biodiversity of Kerala and approving a project to be implemented by Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI). The result is the series on the biodiversity documentation for Kerala covering various groups of plants and animals, which is first attempt in any of the States of India. Handbook on Algae, one of the least known and less documented groups of lower plants, provides all the published information from Kerala along with the related literature citations.