WII Technical Reports/Books/Manuals
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Item Identification of human-leopard hotspot the prioritizing the mitigation measures in Junnar Forest Division, Pune, Maharashtra(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2020) Habib, B.; Khandekar, V.; Nigam, P.; Mondol, S.; Jayaramegowda, R.; Ghanekar, R.; Kumar, A.Mitigation of human-carnivore conflict became a priority to wildlife managers for the conservation of large carnivores and human livelihood. Hence, for the effective mitigation measure, it is necessary to identify the priority human-carnivore conflict hotspots. In India, the growing human population, infrastructure development, and land modification are affecting the large carnivore population leading to human carnivore conflict. Among human-carnivore conflict, human-leopard conflict is common in different geographical regions due to the adaptability of species across a different environmental gradient in India. Human-leopard conflict records of 20 years (1999-2018) were collected from the different ranges of the Junnar Forest Department (JFD) in the Pune district. The area is known for the human-leopard conflict for the past three decades. The records show an abrupt surge of human-leopard conflict after the year 2014. Using these records, spatio-temporal clusters of the hot spots and cold spots were identified using optimized hotspot analysis tool in ArcGIS. Also, five different categories of hot spots in the study area namely, new hot spots, consecutive hot spots and sporadic hot spots of human-leopard conflict through emerging hot spot analysis in ArcGIS were identified. It is suggested that different management approaches and strategies focusing on the different categories of hotspots are required to deal with human-leopard conflict for effective mitigation measures. Villages have been highlighted as the new conflict hotspots i.e. which has emerged in recent years. Immediate actions like intensive night patrolling and awareness in the villages to control will help in reducing human leopard conflict.Item Long-term perspective plan: mitigating human-elephant conflict in Rajaji Landscape, Uttarakhand(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2022) WII-UKFD1. The Rajaji Landscape comprising of the Rajaji Tiger Reserve, and the adjoining Forest Divisions of Dehradun, Haridwar and Lansdowne in the state of Uttarakhand (henceforth, The Rajaji landscape) supports a population of about 550 elephants (Elephas maximus) as estimated by the Uttarakhand Forest Department during 201 5. Thus, the Raj aji landscape holds nearly 31% of the elephant population occurring in Uttarakhand. 2. The elephant population in Uttarakhand including that of the Rajaji landscape has been relatively stable and even witnessed marginal growth. However, with growing human population and associated impacts on elephant habitats such as increased resource demands and rapid expansion of physical infrastructure, there has been an increase in the human-elephant conflict (henceforth, HEC). Early detection of the problem and addressing its root causes would be an important conflict resolution strategy. 3. As part of the preemptive conflict management strategy in the Rajaji in landscape, a perspective plan has been envisaged. The overarching objective of the perspective plan is to synthesize available information on the existing HEC in the Rajaji landscape, draw broad inferences on the trends and patterns, and deliberate on different approaches that are appropriate for mitigating HEC. As HEC mitigation strategies are both short- and long -term, the perspective plan is drafted for a reasonably long period of 10 years spanning 2023 to 2033 . 4. The drafting of the perspective plan did not involve any primary background research. However, the plan was prepared using information available in the literature; existing data on elephant movement, home range and conflict collected as part of the WII -UKFD collaborative project (Nigam et al. 2022), and data obtained from the Project Elephant. Further to this, extensive field visits were carried out to corroborate on the important findings obtained from other studies. Furthermore, the plan also draws heavily on other policy documents as elaborated in the report. 5. As elucidated by the first steering committee report of the Project Elephant (Gajatame, 1993), conservation and management of elephants in the Rajaji landscape calls for harboring "viable elephant populations" Perspective Plan to Manage Human-Elephant Conflict in Raja); Landscape (2023 - 2033) in "viable elephant habitats". Often, human-elephant conflict and elephant habitat conditions are intricately linked. In areas where elephant habitat quality is optimal, intensity of human-elephant conflict in the landscape would be comparatively low. Considering this, the perspective plan places emphasis on improving habitat conditions for elephants. 6. It has been observed that owing to adequate protection and voluntary relocation of Van Gujjars from the National Park areas, it is certain that habitat quality from wild life point of view had improved in select areas within Rajaji National Park. However, the highly productive critical ecotone habitats (located in the eco-tone of Bhabar and Terai tracts) in Shyampur and Chidiyapur Forest Ranges of Haridwar Forest Division have suffered major habitat degradation owing to Gujjar settlement in the area and corresponding resource extraction pressures. 7. While the forest cover did not change much in Rajaji Landscape during the period 1985 to 2022, the land-use outside forests have changed substantially. The urban built-up area in particular has mushroomed all around with long-term implications for elephant movement, dispersal and HEC management as well. Unlike in rural areas, Managing HEC in urban areas is far more challenging due to crowd factor. The potential of invoking provisions of Ecologically Sensitive Zone area under Environmental Protection Act, 1986 to disallow urban expansion close to forest boundary need to be explored. 8. Critical corridors like the Chilla - Motichur remained non-functional for a long period. This had resulted in isolation of elephant populations on either side of river Ganga with long-term effects on dispersal, migration and demography of elephants. Nevertheless, huge efforts were invested by the Uttarakhand Forest Department due to which the Chilla - Motichur corridor has been mostly restored. The other critical corridors like the Motichur - Gohri corridor along the Song River would require renewed focus so that this vital corridor can be recovered on time. The Rajaji landscape had also lost a corridor that connected Ramgarh range of the National Park with the Lacchiwala range of the Dehradun Forest Division across Susua river near Dudhli. This was lost largely due to lack of focus as the corridor was not recognized. 9. In the Rajaji Landscape, the natural grasslands along the river Ganga had either been lost (due to human occupation) or degraded. While it would be impossible to recover the once expansive and productive 2 Perspective Plan to Manage Human- elephant Conflict in Rajaji Landscape (2023 - 2033) grasslands along Ganga, it certainly is critical to restore Chilla, Kunaon, and Dassowala grasslands for elephants. Riverine grasslands were important dry-season habitats for elephants in the past. Recovering critical grasslands and restoring their quality would enhance the inherent carrying capacity of Rajaji Landscape to support elephants. Addressing human-elephant conflict in Rajaji Landscape would also be dependent on recovering and restoring habitat in Shyampur and Chidiyapur Forest Ranges. 10. Linear infrastructure expansion including upgradation of existing village roads and district roads in addition to the Highways and concurrent with rapid increase in the vehicular traffic along these roads pose a major long-term threat of habitat fragmentation. Implementing ecofriendly green infrastructure by ensuring habitat permeability would be critical in the Rajaji Landscape to prevent isolation of elephant populations. Isolated elephant populations are predisposed to cause high levels of human-elephant conflict. 11. Physical barriers that separate elephants and people along the forest interface would be crucial to achieve co-existence in the landscape. Without physical barriers at strategic locations, addressing elephant conflict would be difficult. The barriers currently built by the Forest Department along the forest-agriculture interface pose no threat to habitat connectivity. Limitations and opportunities of implementing physical barriers have been elaborated in the report 12. There are 77 places of religious worship inside Rajaji Landscape that draws over 10000 pilgrims every year. Places of religious worship are located in 18 (58%) ranges of 5 (83%) Forest Divis ions in the Rajaji Landscape. While religious tourism has the potential to reinforce cultural underpinnings of nature conservation as practiced in India besides enabling public appreciation of nature, unregulated pilgrimage in wildlife habitats can pose a challenge to elephant conservation as elephants can abandon habitats with chronic biotic pressure resulting in surfacing of human-elephant conflict. Measures to minimize the threats posed by places of religious worship are deliberated. 13. Further, solutions for the sites used for Kumbh mela for festival related activities were also used extensively by elephants as detailed in the report. Hitherto, the temple committees and other religious institutions have not proactively engaged with the forest department in regulating pilgrims and maintaining the integrity of local ecology. Forest Perspective Plan co Manage Human-Elephant Conflict in Rajaji Landscape (2023 - 2033) department with lean headcount of staff cannot be expected to regulate pilgrims and their activities. Given the huge biotic imprint of places of religious workshop on wildlife habitats in Rajaji Landscape, the perspective plan favors vesting substantial responsibility and sharing of resources by committees of the religious worship to maintain the integrity of forests as envisaged by NTCA guidelines issued during 2012. 14. The indiscriminate use of forest roads and trails by tourists visiting places of religious worship poses a huge risk of fatal encounters with wildlife. The situation calls for regulating/restricting use of forest roads and trails by tourists. There are also instances of forest trails being used as roads by clearing vegetation, which need to be curtailed. 15. Finally, the perspective plan favors active dialogue, and engagement with the communities of the Van Gujjars that live alongside elephant habitats. Partnering with local communities and involving them in implementing conflict mitigation strategies would improve the efficacy of the current efforts of Uttarakhand Forest Department.Item Mitigation measures for doubling of the Tiniaghat-Castlerock-Caronzol, SWR Railway track, Karnataka(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2020) WIIThe Indian Railway network, spread across 1,23,542 km (as of 2018-2019), is a vital component of transportation infrastructure since its inception in 1850. The railways have been pivotal in integrating markets, increasing trade, shaping finances besides serving as the backbone of linear transportation services. Even though railways are regarded to be an environmentally friendly option when compared to other forms of linear infrastructure, the development and expansion of rail networks pose challenges to the environment and biodiversity of the forest areas it passes through. Railways can pose both physical and behavioral barriers to wildlife and have negative impacts such as disturbance and mortality on populations living in proximity. The Railway Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) has proposed the doubling of the existing railway track between Hospet, Tinaighat, and Vasco Port that measures 345 km in length. The sanctioned project consists of 2 main phases: doubling of a line between Hospet and Tinaighat (Phase I) and between Tinaighat and Vasco (Phase II). At present, the existing single line limits the capacity of running trains in the critical ghat (hilly) section. Given the terrain of the region, landslides during the monsoons interfere with the functioning of the line. RVNL has justified the doubling of the railway track by stating that in addition to improving mobility and all-weather rail links in the region, the proposed doubling would also increase connectivity, trade, and commerce, enhance tourist flow, augment intermediate railway station facilities, and reduce bottlenecks of railway traffic in the ghat section. The Western Ghats that extend along the south-western parts of India, is known to harbour a wide diversity of flora and fauna and is one of the four biodiversity hotspots of the Indian subcontinent. In terms of faunal diversity, the area is home to about 30% of Asian elephant population, about 33% of India's wild tiger population and about 26% of India's leopard population (Jhala et aI., 2019; Jhala et aI., 2020). The landscape forms one of the largest and most contiguous protected area networks in the country. Within the Western Ghats, the Anshi-Dandeli-Sharavathi Valley complex consists of the protected areas of Mollem-Netravali, Anshi-Dandeli, Sharavathi Valley-Mookambika along with reserved forests of Goa which continue to the Sahyadri Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra. The major tiger source population in the complex is that of the Anshi National Park and Dandeli WLS (Qureshi et aI., 2014) that together form the Kali Tiger Reserve. Among the important tiger source populations in the landscape is the Anshi and Dandeli tiger population that provides a critical link to the northern Western Ghats, extending up to Goa and South Maharashtra (Sahyadris), which is threatened by anthropogenic activities such as land-use conversion and construction of linear infrastructure. The landscape is also home to 252 species of amphibians with 90% endemics, 108 species of reptiles with 56% endemics (Dahanukar & Molur, 2020; srinivasulu et al. 2015), and about 600 species of evergreen woody plants with more than 60% endemic. In the past decade, more than 100 species of amphibians and -50 species of reptiles have been discovered from Western Ghats (Aengles et aI. , 2018; Dahanukar & Molur, 2020; reptiledatabase.org). The area where the railway doubling is proposed falls in the Uttara Kannada region of the northern Western Ghats which is known to harbor approximately 50 species of amphibians that constitute almost one-fourth of the total Western Ghats amphibian diversity (Ramachandra et aI., 2012). The approved alignment of the proposed line is parallel to the existing railway line and mostly lies within the railway land. However, the new railway (i)line is deemed to pass through the Kali (formerly Anshi-Dandeli) Tiger Reserve in the Uttar Kannada district of Karnataka and would impact the ecosystem during the construction and operational phase. Considering the irreplaceable ecological importance of the landscape and the critical link it provides for the Western Ghats, the project was required to obtain environmental clearance that included an environmental impact assessment study and a mitigation plan to reduce, offset and mitigate the negative impacts of the proposed doubling. A biodiversity assessment for the proposed line was then conducted by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) during the years 2017-2020. Environmental and Biodiversity Assessment by IISc Two environmental assessment reports were submitted by IISc (Sukumar and Sitharam, 2017 and Suresh et aI., 2020), detailing the floral and faunal studies of the project area in two stretches of the proposed railway track (Kulem to Castlerock, and Castle rock to Tinaighat). The authors carried out detailed assessments on the vegetation of the area during both study periods, and the structu ral and functional aspects of vegetation, and forecasts of a loss of vegetation in alternative rail alignment scenarios were reported. For mammals, sign surveys, camera trapping, and opportunistic sightings were recorded to assess the presence of mammals near the railway track and to identify areas of high animal activity and movement. As a result, stretches of railway tracks specified by chainages and critical animal crossing zones were reported. General recommendations for mitigation were proposed for such areas. For the herpetofaunal component, the studies documented the diversity and rail kills of amphibians and reptiles in and around the study area. However, no specific mitigation measures were provided aimed at reducing the impacts on amphibians and reptiles. The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) was subsequently requested to undertake the task of proposing mitigation measures for the proposed railway track doubling project by the DIG (Wildlife), Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India vide Letter F. No. 6-55/2020WL(part) dated 28th August, 2020 recommending that "detailed study for prescribing mitigation measures in this difficult terrain may be conducted by Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun. The study may cover the entire 25 km stretch of the project area from Castlerock in the Kamataka side to Kulem in Goa. The objective of the study by WII was to assess the length of existing and proposed railway track to suggest site-specific mitigation measures that will reduce the barrier effect, (ii) allow permeability for wildlife movement across the railway, and minimize rail-induced mortality. We carried out a rapid survey from 19th November to 5th December 2020. The main aims of the exercise were: 1. To assess potential animal crossing zones along the existing and proposed railway track. 2. To carry out inventory of herpetofauna along the railway track, identify potential microhabitats along the track. 3. Coalesce information obtained from field survey with baseline data in IISc assessment reports (2017, 2020), and 4. Suggest site-specific mitigation measures based on the intensive track survey, information obtained from field study and IISc reports. To identify potential animal crossing zones, we carried out camera trapping and sign surveys along the railway tracks. We also used rail mortality data from the Karnataka forest department and any opportunistic sighting or sign encountered during the survey to identify such areas. Visual encounter surveys, opportunistic surveys, stratified plot sampling, and collection of opportunistic rail kill data to assess the herpetofaunal diversity and identify critical zones for mitigation. We also surveyed the entire length of the existing alignment accompanied by a railway engineer to assess the proposed rail alignment, and review the crossing and drainage structures proposed by the railways in terms of suitability for animal crossing. The scope of constructing additional mitigation structures based on topography, probability of animal movement and engineering constraints was discussed on field. Summary of results Camera trapping spanning 660 trap nights yielded 156 captures of 17 mammals species along the railway track. We recorded 203 animal signs through sign surveys of 175 habitat plots near the railway track. A total of 47 species of herpetofauna was recorded during the survey. This number is expected to be higher since the study was conducted within a short period during the non-breeding season. The study revealed that perennial and seasonal streams, and ephemeral water bodies were crucial habitats for herpetofauna. Camera trap data indicated that tunnels along the railway track are being used as natural passages by animals for their movement across the landscape. Hotspots of animal activity were visualized by overlapping all animal signs, sightings, photo-captures and mortality data using kernel density analysis on GIS-platform. These were then combined with the hotspots identified in the IISc reports, and potential multi-taxa animal crossing zones were thus delineated. Mitigation measures for the rai/way track Mitigation measures for the proposed railway track evolved through a multi-step simultaneous process. We first evaluated the existing and proposed drainage and crossing structures on field, assessed the possibility of making the structures more suitable for wildlife movement and constructing additional non-drainage crossing structures, and finally overlapped potential multi-taxa crossing zones to finalise the location and dimensions of the crossing structures.Item Priority areas for ecological assessment along samruddi corridor, Maharashtra, India: preliminary report(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2019) WIIGlobal conservation strategies depend strongly on the creation and strengthening of the protected area network. However, several protected areas are facing new challenges of development In their surroundings leading to habitat f fragmentation and species loss. Roads are essential transport infrastructure to support India's endeavors of fulfilling vital transportation needs across the country. In the last decade, negative impacts of road network has been significant. .Special attention. is therefore required to protect wildlife values like corridors and distribution ranges of wildlife species that overlay the alignment of the expressway. The task, therefore, is to foresee conservation beyond protected areas that undergo modification due to growing infrastructural development, which eventually exerts pressure on protected areas. Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) has proposed to build a smart green expressway connecting Nagpur to Mumbai. The highway aims at strengthening the rural agriculture sector while enhancing mobility. Although, the proposed alignment does not cross through any existing protected areas nevertheless MSRDC has envisaged developing the road as wildlife friendly infrastructure aiming at conservation outside protected area network. The objective of this report is to assist MSRDC and Government of Maharashtra in addressing ecological concerns at an early stage of planning the highway for safeguarding wildlife values. The preliminary report by the Wildlife Institute of India provides a framework for the protection of wildlife along the proposed alignment (701 km) of Nagpur Mumbai expressway, Maharashtra, India. This report aims at developing a roadmap to assess and evaluate ecological implications of future road development in the landscape with special emphasis on wildlife corridor function. Relevant mitigation measures shall avoid these impacts (direct, indirect and cumulative) of road infrastructure on various wildlife taxa and their habitats within the three landscapes of Maharashtra. The consecutive assessments conducted post this report will provide a strategic mitigation plan to present and minimize impacts of the proposed expressway on ecological habitats and wildlife. The Nagpur-Mumbai expressway is planned to be the first of Its kind project, where mitigation measures for wildlife are planned before? the road is built. This report helps in identifying the Important wildlife habltats that may require further assessment to design appropriate mitigation structuresItem Suggested Measures to Mitigate Asian Elephant - Train Collisions on Vulnerable Railway Stretches in the state of Karnataka(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2024) PE-MoEFCC-WIIItem Suggested Measures to Mitigate Asian Elephant - Train Collisions on Vulnerable Railway Stretches in the state of Odisha(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2024) PE-MoEFCC-WIIItem Suggested measures to mitigate Asian elephant - Train collisions on vulnerable railway stretches in the state of Tamilnadu(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2024) PE-MoEFCC-WIIItem Suggested Measures to Mitigate Asian Elephant - Train Collisions on Vulnerable Railway Stretches in the state of Madhya Pradesh(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2024) PE-MoEFCC-WIIItem Suggested Measures to Mitigate Asian Elephant - Train Collisions on Vulnerable Railway Stretches in the state of Nagaland(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2024) PE-MoEFCC-WIIItem Elephant - human conflict in the state of Jharkhand, India (2000-2003) : trends, challenges and insights(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2025) Habib, Bilal; Pandey, R.; Nath, A.; Nigam, P.; Ganesan, A.; Roy, K.; Datta, A.