biodiversity kaziranga case study final

7/23/2019 Biodiversity Kaziranga Case Study FINAL

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Kaziranga national park: one hundred years of conservation success

Vinod Mathur and Sue Stolton

The valley of the Brahmaputra River covers some 60 per cent of the state of Assam in north

eastern India. The immense river is fed by the southwest summer monsoon, when over 80 per

cent of Indias total precipitation occurs! ma"in# the valley one of the most fertile stretches ofland in India. $ver %& per cent of the Brahmaputra watersheds ori#inal forest has been lost,

much of it to tea plantations, and currently only four per cent of the land area is protected

'()*+$, -00%.

The #rasslands, floodplains and flood plain la"es of Assam provide ideal habitat for a wide

variety of species. /any of these are endan#ered and have had their habitat limited to small

areas within the state most notably 1a2iran#a )ational 3ar". The par" has the lar#est

#rassland area left in the re#ion, stretched alon# about 40 "m of the Brahmaputras south

ban". The annual river floods replenish the wetlands and allow the #rassland areas to flourish

'houdhury, -005. 3reliminary notification of the area as a forest reserve was #iven in 704,

ma"in# it one of the oldest protected areas in the world. The par" was desi#nated as a naturalorld 9erita#e site in 784.

The par" is home to about 60 per cent of the world population of the Indian one:horned

rhinoceros 'Rhinoceros uncornis, about 40 per cent of the endan#ered Asiatic wild water

buffalo 'Bubalus arnee and has the only viable population of eastern swamp deer 'Cervus

duvaucelii in the north:eastern re#ion! about 500 animals. Its ma;or conservation success has

been the increase in rhino numbers. A mere handful were recorded when the par" was first

established, with population counts recoverin# to &66 at the time of the first survey in 766,

,44- in 777 and numbers are still increasin# '


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The 1arbi 3lateau to the south of par" is another important area of hi#h #round. ?ar#e:scale

habitat chan#es in the plateau include conversion to tea #ardens, settlement, lo##in# and

jhum'shiftin# a#riculture. $ne impact is that the #ap between the par" and the plateau is

increasin#, as suitable habitat is destroyed. This has serious implications for the ability of

1a2iran#a to maintain healthy animal populations. @or e=ample, the -000 census recorded 86ti#ers in the par", which is a #rowin# and healthy population. A #lobal study identified the

1a2iran#a:/e#halaya re#ion as one of the priority ti#er conservation habitats in the Indian

subcontinent 'i"ramanaya"e et al, 778. 9owever as land:use chan#es increase around

the par" the resident population of ti#ers and other animal species ris" becomin# #enetically

isolated and over time no lon#er viable.

Althou#h 1a2arin#a has seen ma;or conservation success, there are still many endan#ered

species within or passin# thou#h the par". There are, for e=ample, nearly -00 species of

auatic vertebrates in the Brahmaputra River +ystem! includin# the endan#ered river dolphin,

'Platanista gangetica, which is in steady decline. The conservation of this species is ur#ent,

but will reuire strate#ies which #o far beyond the boundaries of 1a2iran#a, in particular, thebetter implementation of the Indian @isheries Act 'Boruah and Biswas, -00-.

!onclusions

$ver the last 00 years 1a2iran#a )ational 3ar" has been able to secure the habitat of several

endan#ered species includin# rhino, elephant, ti#er, wild buffalo and swamp deer. The par"

mana#ers, frontline staff, local communities and civil society have, under the #uidance of the

administrative as well as political leadership in Assam, played a vital role in achievin# this

success. $ver the ne=t century, 1a2iran#a, in common with many other protected areas, will

li"ely find mana#ement within its boundaries threatened by chan#es in the wider landscape.

@uture success will depend on a the overnment of Assams commitment to adoptin# a

landscape approach to conservation throu#hout the state, and ensurin# that chan#es that ta"e

place outside the par" do not create pressures so lar#e that 1a2iran#a can no lon#er function

effectively.

"eferences

Bonal, B. +. and howdhury, +. '-005Evaluation of barrier effect of National Highway 37

on the wildlife of a!iranga National Par" and suggested strategies and #lanning for

#roviding #assage$ % feasibility re#ort to the &inistry of Environment ' (orests) /inistry of*nvironment C @orests, overnment of India, )ew >elhi

Boruah, +. and Biswas, +. 3. '-00- *cohydrolo#y and fisheries of the upper Brahmaputra

basin, *he Environmentalist, ##D -, 7:&

houdhury, A. '-005a!iranga$ +ildlife in %ssam, Rupa C o, )ew >elhi, India

/athur,


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efinin# 3riorities for ?ar#e /ammal onservationD The Ti#er as ase +tudy,Conservation Biology, #D 5, 864:8%8.

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biodiversity kaziranga case study final

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