Tigers and men

Nokrek, highest point in the Garo Hills, is distinguished by its stunning mountain landscapes.

Black tigers, four-horned antelope, giant squirrels, mugger crocodiles, deer, rhesus macaques - this is just a sample of the fauna living in Nokrek, Pachmarhi and Similipal. Managers of these three Indian biospheres are counting on international support to protect the traditional rights of forest dwellers and at the same time preserve wildlife.

A green canopy of lush tall forests covers the Nokrek Biosphere Reserve in the North eastern Indian state of Meghalaya. The highest peak in the Garo Hills, at an altitude of 1,418 metres above sea level, Nokrek features undisturbed natural ecosystems and stunning mountain landscapes.

The area is home to wildlife, including elephants, tigers, leopards and hollock gibbons, and rare orchids, many of which have yet to be documented. Nokrek also houses a gene sanctuary to preserve rare varieties of citrus plants including the Indian wild orange (citrus indica), which could serve as a gene pool for commercially produced citrus.

Off the beaten path, Nokrek gained international recognition in May. Along with two other Indian biosphere reserves, Pachmarhi in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, and Similipal, in the eastern state of Orissa, Nokrek is among the 22 new sites recently added by UNESCO to its World Network of Biosphere Reserves. Their inclusion raises the number of Indian sites on the World list to seven, from a total of 15 Biosphere Reserves across the subcontinent.

The new status is expected to have a huge impact on the conservation and monitoring of these reserves to find the right balance between economic and human development.

The challenge for all three Indian Biosphere Reserves is to achieve a balance between human activity and environmental protection.

One of the tigers at the Satpura Tiger Reserve

The many beauties of the reserve

This is precisely the main challenge of UNESCO’s Man and Biosphere (MAB) Program. “Apart from being a huge accolade for the area, the inclusion of Nokrek on the World Network list will help local officials discover how people living in the area can improve their quality of life and enhance the superb natural environment,” said Vinod K. Nautiyal, principal chief conservator of forests, Meghalaya.

The state forest chief points out that guidance from international experts would greatly benefit Nokrek. He hopes the new designation will contribute to the research and documentation of landscapes, ecosystems, species and genetic variations, besides complementing conservation and sustainable development strategies already in place.

The Botanical Survey of India has revealed that 10 percent of plants in Nokrek are rare or endangered. Scientists fear that increasing human intervention around the area designated as the gene sanctuary is affecting the habitat’s natural balance.

Large-scale deforestation and shifting cultivation have led to soil erosion, and the selective cultivation of commercially-profitable citrus varieties in areas close to the reserve also threatens genetic diversity.

Spanning an area of 47.48 square kilometers, Nokrek’s core zone is an important source of many perennial rivers and streams, including the Simsang, Ganol, Bugi, Dareng and Rongdik rivers.

One of the biggest tourist attractions in the area is the Siju Cave, located on a cliff overhanging the right bank of the Simsang River.

Locally known as Dobakhol or the cave of bats, the cave is the third- longest cave in India, and consists of innumerable internal chambers and labyrinths which have yet to be fully explored.

Pachmarhi, botanical and religious sanctuary

Located in the heart of India, the Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve encompasses three wildlife parks - Bori, Satpura, and Pachmarhi. It also includes the Satpura Tiger Reserve at its core, and the picturesque hill-station of Pachmarhi, established by the British as a regional army headquarters.

With cascading waterfalls, ravines and gorges sculpted into the red sandstone earth, and dense evergreen sal and teak forests interspersed with wild bamboo groves, Pachmarhi is a veritable paradise for botanists and geologists.

Pachmarhi is also an archaeological treasure-house, with rock paintings in cave shelters, some of which are estimated to be 10,000 years old. Pachmarhi also has cultural and religious significance for Hindu pilgrims who throng here in large numbers every year to celebrate two important Hindu festivals, Maha Shivratri (in March) and Nagpanchmi (in July-August).

Pachmarhi boasts seven distinct forest types, including tropical, moist and dry as well as sub-tropical hill forests. A monsoon climate, with three distinct seasons, ensures rich and luxurious vegetation.

Perennial streams and dark shady gorges encourage the growth of moisture-loving species such as ferns, orchids and rare herbs. As many as 71 species of ferns and fern allies, and 1190 species of angiosperms (flowering plants) have been documented.

Pachmarhi’s dense forest vegetation provides an ideal habitat for wild animals, including panthers, wild boar, barking deer, rhesus macaques and crocodiles, besides tigers.

The area is home to over 50 species of mammal, 254 species of birds, 30 species of reptiles, and 50 species of butterflies.

The reserve, with a total area of 4926 square kilometres, comprises 511 villages, with agriculture as the main source of income. Poaching, deforestation and man-animal conflicts remain the reserve’s greatest problems.

“The international recognition that we have gained by being added to the World Network will provide tremendous financial support, needed for the improvement of infrastructure,” Nayan Singh Dungriyal, Field Director of the Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve said. This will allow us to discover new approaches to conservation and sustainable development.

Tigers of Similipal

The Similipal Biosphere Reserve, once a royal hunting ground of the Maharaja of Mayurbhanj, comprises the Similipal Sanctuary, and the adjoining Nato and Satkoshia Reserve Forests, covering a total area of 5,500 square kilometres. Sustained protection measures and management initiatives under the Indian Government’s ‘Project Tiger’ program have resurrected the dwindling population of tigers in the Similipal Tiger Reserve, which accounts for nearly half the tiger population in Orissa state, on India’s east coast.

Named after the silk cotton trees that bloom here, Similipal is a living laboratory for environmental scientists. Its ecosystems include lush forests, grasslands and wetlands, which are inhabited by elephants, panthers, four-horned antelopes, giant squirrels and mugger crocodiles, besides being the abode of tigers, including the rare black and melanistic tigers. It houses 94 species of orchids and over 3000 species of other plants.

The tribal inhabitants, who account for 73 percent of the total population of about 450,000, depend on agriculture, hunting and collection of forest products for their livelihoods, but need additional sources of income.

With 75 tribal villages located inside the tiger reserve, and the human population and livestock living in close proximity with wildlife, it is little wonder that forest officials are constantly challenged by man-animal conflicts.

“Our biggest challenge is to protect the traditional rights of the forest dwellers, while conserving wildlife”, said R. Nagaraja Reddy, Orissa’s Chief Conservator of Forests and Director of the Similipal Biosphere Reserve.

The inclusion of Similipal on the World Network will lead to meaningful exchanges of information, experience and personnel. It will also considerably help the research of ecosystems, as well as monitoring and training work.

Besides providing advice, Reddy hopes the new designation will ‘bring funding from UNESCO through seed funds which could initiate local efforts, help broker local projects, and establishing durable financial mechanisms’.

Belinda Wright, Executive Director of the Wildlife Protection Society of India said, “The benefits for the sites of joining the World Network are largely political. With world recognition, the state Governments of Orissa and Madhya Pradesh will focus more attention on the protection and management of these two tiger reserves, and this in turn should help improve their conditions”.

Courtesy: The UNESCO Courier Shiraz Sidhva, Indian journalist