06-bioresourcesstatu.. - M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation

Malvan
REGIONAL PLAN
RATNAGIRI - SINDHUDURG RESOURCE REGION.
LOCATION
RATNAGIRI-SINDHUDURG REGIONAL PLANNING BOARD
II. Description of Site
i. Location
Malvan is situated 16°04'N latitude and 73°28'E
longitude on the West coast of Maharashtra. It is
a Tahsil place in Sindhudurg district. The former
Ratnagiri district was split into two, the south
part was named Sindhudurg district. The district
boundary is to the north of Deogad (Map: 1). The
district marks southern boundary of state of
Maharashtra. Malvan is one of the 7 tahsils in
Sindhudurg district. It covers the area of 663.3 sq.
km. The number of villages under the tahsil is 136;
in addition there are 772 "wadis'.
ii. Climate
Malvan experiences three well-defined seasons
i.e. summer (Feb-May), rainy (June-Oct) and
winter (Nov-Jan).
The mean annual rainfall is 1997 mm. The
maximum rain days occur in June. Total no. of
rainy days are 106with maximum rainfall ranging
from 960-2500mm. October is the month with low
rainfall.
iii. Soils and topography
The chief rock types are basalt, granite and
gneisses. The soil is lateritic. The tahsil is typical
of Konkan region having a narrow belt of coastline
and non-deltaic seaboard. The rivers are short
course and rushing, ending in small estuary,
finally joining the Arabian Sea. The Western Ghats
from the eastern boundary of the tahsil. The tahsil
is limited in the north by Achara river and the
south boundary is another river, Karli. There are
two more rivers in the tahsil, Kolamb and
Kalavali. These rivers form tidal swamps and
support mangrove vegetation.
iv. Vegetation and animal life
More than 30 mangrove species have been
recorded from region during several visits of the
investigator. The most important species of
mangroves, which is critically endangered,
Xylocarpus granatum, is recorded by the author
from Malvan tahsil (Bhosale et. aI., 2000).
At least 20 species of edible fish from estuaries are
recorded from the tahsil. The corals are found
around Malvan. Its seaweed flora is very rich. The
fauna is equally rich hence Marine park is
proposed (Map 2). There are about 100 species of
avifauna. About 10 species of reptile and 10
species of mammals (Kavinde, 1997, BCPP Final
Report).
In addition Western Ghat region of Malvan
supports medicinal plants, the list includes about
124 species (Annexure I) as per the research data,
collected by Dr. Yadav of Botany Department of
Shivaji University, Kolhapur.
III. Population Profile
The provisional population totals are available on
the basis of 2001 census are given below:
Table 1 : Population Profile of District and Tahsil
Total Population
Males
Females
SindhudurgDistrict Malvan Tahsil
8,61,672
4,14,900
4.46,772
Source: Provisional Population TOtals
Maharastra 200.1 Census
1,16,091
95,777
6,314
The population figure is higher than the year 1991
by 3.55%, in 1991 it was 6.56% higher than
previous census.
The sex ratio (number of females per 1000males)
was 1137 in 1991 which is now 1077.
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