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Sanction Date: |
22-12-2017 |
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Project Category |
LG |
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Year |
2017-2018 |
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Project Duration |
3 Years |
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BTA : |
Biodiversity Conservation and Management |
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Project Site/ State/ Districts/ Villages Covered: |
Pin valley National Park, Himachal Pradesh; Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary, Uttarakhand; Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary, Sikkim; Singalilla National Park, West Bengal; Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary and D'Ering Memorial Wildlife Sanctuary, Arunachal Pradesh |
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Organization/ Implementation Agency: |
Zoological Survey of India, Prani-Vigyan Bhawan. M-Block, New Alipore, Kolkata-700053, West Bengal. |
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Project Partners: |
S.No. |
Name |
Roles & Responsibilities |
1. |
State Forest Departments and Wildlife Department |
Capacity building programs on monitoring of threatened vertebrate fauna in their specific localities |
2. |
Local NGOs |
Active participation of the local communities |
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Lead Proponent: |
Dr. Kailash Chandra
Zoological Survey of India,
Prani-Vigyan Bhawan
M-Block, New Alipore
Kolkata-700053, West Bengal |
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Project Brief Description: |
Protected Network Areas were formed to sustain wildlife as pristine as they were before the human interference (Gomez-Pompa and Kaus, 1992). IHR, Covering 18% of the Indian landmass with seventy five protected areas situated in the tri-junction of the Palaearctic, the Africo tropical and the Indo-Malayan biogeographic realms harbors 6% of India's population. Inaccessibility (can be due to vegetation, climate, ruggedness, steepness etc.) in IHR is a common and most problematic factor regarding the survey and monitoring of animals both within and outside the protected areas in spite of having the latest gears and machines.
In this project, it is proposed to generate information on the threatened vertebrate fauna in the five most affected Indian States such as Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and West Bengal (northern hill districts) and Arunachal Pradesh. The context and existing knowledge indicates that various studies has been done in these regions on the threatened species but no long term monitoring program has ever been conducted in these States. Also the protected areas has been establish decades ago, since then various anthropogenic encroachment (Habitat destruction, deforestation, fragmentation), human induced climate change etc that have altered the distribution, spatial and temporal use of many vertebrates while the areas of the protected areas remains same. Reports like sighting of Bengal tigers in higher altitudes than before (Both in western & eastern Himalayas), range extension to more higher grounds of amphibians and reptiles, sightings of higher carnivores in lower elevations for food (Snow leopards), late migration (Fishes) and altered breeding cycles (Marmots, Amphibians) raises serious questions whether the areas selected protected areas are enough or accurate to protect the animal it is suppose to be. Studies like population viability analysis will also put more vivid picture on the current management strategies and monitoring protocols used by the forest staffs.
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Beneficiaries/ Stakeholders: |
Farmers, Gram Panchayats, Other local administrative bodies, Schools and colleges, Grass root level local institutes |
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Activity Chart (For 3years) |
Click Here |
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Project Objectives |
Quantifiable Deliverables |
Monitoring Indicators |
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To assess and monitor threatened vertebrate fauna in the Indian Himalayan Region and developing spatial database |
Spatial database of threatened vertebrate animals in five (5) States, and their permanent monitoring plot will be established. |
No. of New Database/ Datasets developed |
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To study the population viability of selected threatened species in Indian Himalayan Region for developing long-term conservation strategies |
Ecological indices and Viability analysis for the threatened vertebrate species in the five states of Himalayas will predict the future of the current populations for the next 100 years |
No. of IHR State-wise permanent monitoring plots established |
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To set long-term monitoring protocol for threatened vertebrate faunal groups in different parts of Indian Himalayan Region and to develop adaptive management strategies for long-term conservation of those species through community engagement |
Five (5) Conservation models of the threatened vertebrates in the five states, appropriate monitoring protocols and management strategies are required which will be accomplished from this objective |
No. of IHR State-wise Conservation Models developed |
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To enhance capacities of different stakeholders (including Forest & Wildlife department staff, local Institutions/ colleges, local NGOs and local communities) for monitoring and conserving threatened vertebrate fauna in the Indian Himalayan Region through capacity building programs and use of modern science, technological tools and approaches |
Baseline Survey on the ethno-zoological practices in the five states of Indian Himalayan region |
No. of Monitoring Protocols along with management strategies developed |
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Investigating whether ethno-zoological knowledge and practices can be a conservation measure for threatened vertebrate fauna in IHR.
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No. of Baseline Survey Reports |
| Publications and knowledge products (Nos.) |
