The Wildlife (Protection) Act and conservation prioritization of butterflies of the Western Ghats, southwestern India

Various schedules of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (henceforth WPA), dictate the level of legal protection given to species of Indian animals. Shortcomings of the schedules of the WPA with respect to insects have been pointed out, but no solutions have been suggested. Here the author has used butterflies of the Western Ghats as a case study, analysed their conservation values with multiple species attributes and then compared his findings with the species listed under the WPA.