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    Long-term perspective plan: mitigating human-elephant conflict in Rajaji Landscape, Uttarakhand
    (Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2022) WII-UKFD
    1. 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.
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    Assessment and conservation practices of pollinators through community participation in the Indian Trans-Himalayan region: Climate change perspectives
    (Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2020) Uniyal, V.P.; Chauhan, Mona; Chandra, A.; Mehrwar, Vandana; Thakur, P.; Singh, A.P.
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    Radio-tracking of western tragopan (Tragopan melanocephalus) in Great Himalayan National Park, India
    (Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2001) Ramesh, K.; Sathyakumar, S.; Rawat, G.S.
    Attempts were made to radio-tag western tragopan (Tragopan melanocephalus) to study the habitat use and movement pattern in Great Himalayan National Park, India. Fall net and leg-hold noose were used to trap birds. One female tragopan was caught in the leg-hold noose in May 1999, and was radio-tagged using necklace type collar. Both home-in and triangulation methods were adopted to record radio-locations and the home range was estimated using Minimum Convex Polygon method. The habitat use was studied by overlaying radiolocations and home range polygons on the spatial layer on vegetation, digital elevation model, aspect and slope, and also by studying random plots. Though trapping was tried for three months (April - June) with total trap efforts of 256 man-days and 6694 trap hours, trap success was very low for western tragopan (of just one bird). The overall home range of the radio-tagged bird was estimated to be 31.6 ha and for summer and autumn, the home range was 20.5ha and 4.7ha respectively. The bird moved between the elevation ranges 2530m and 2710m in summer and between 2440m and 2530m in autumn, and in both the seasons the bird was using broad leaf dominated forests with moderate level of canopy cover and shrub density. Though conclusive results could not be drawn from a study based on just one individual, the findings appear to largely concur with the earlier studies on the species and its congeners.
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    Rapid survey and mapping of medicinal plants in forest divisions of Garhwal region, Uttarakhand : Executive summary
    (Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun and Uttarakhand Forest Department, 2012) Rawat, G.S.
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    Assessment of cumulative impacts of hydroelectric projects on Aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity in Alaknanda and Bhagirathi basins, Uttarakhand
    (Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2012) Rajvanshi, Asha; Arora, Roshni; Mathur, V.B.; Sivakumar, K.; Sathyakumar, G.S.; Rawat, G.S.; Johnson, J.A.; Ramesh, K.; Dimri, Nandkishor; Maletha, Ajay
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    Key areas for long term conservation of Galliformes I- Uttarakhand
    (Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2011) Ramesh, K.; Qureshi, Q.; McGowan, P.
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    Ecological assessment of sites designated for collection of sand and bouders from river beds of Uttarakhand : study report
    (Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2011) WII
    Economic development invariably requires resources. Extraction of resources from the environment involves changes in the state of the environment. Hence, our ability to integrate development and ecological integrity can help in making informed decisions without affecting the ecological values of the ecosystem. The Riverbed Materials (RBM) are renewable resource which are abundantly used as construction materials. RBMs are byproduct of the massive sediment load and deposition that the rivers carry along the course of its flow. In Uttarakhand, most rivers that run through bhabar tract are targeted for their rich deposition RBM ( sand and boulders). Uttarakhand Forest Development Corporation (UAFDC) has proposed extraction of RBM form different rivers in Uttarakhand. Under the direction of Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF), vide letter No.11-329/2010-FC, dated 16 November 2010 the Wildlife Institute of India has carried out a study to assess the impact of RBM collection in six rivers (Kosi, Dabka, Nihal, Gola, Sharda and Kiroda Nullah). Subsequently, vide its let No. 8- 80/93-FC (pt.), dated 26 November 2010 the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India directed to add two more sites; viz. Tons and Yamuna Rivers at Kalsi and Rampur Mandi respectively in Chakrata Forest Division. The Terms of Reference (TOR) of the study are as under: 1. Assessment and identification of the adverse impacts, if any, of the collection of sand, boulder and other minor minerals on wildlife and its habitat; 2. Identification of the appropriate ameliorative measures to eliminate if possible, or minimize to the extent possible, the identified adverse impacts of the collection of minor minerals on wildlife and their habitat; 3. Identification/ delineation of the migratory corridors in and around the area proposed for collection of minor mineral; 4. Assessment and identification of the adverse impacts, if any, of the non-collection of sand, boulder and other minor minerals from the area identified as corridor on river geometry and soil erosion pattern along the adjoining river banks; and 5. development of an appropriate plan for management of the identified migratory corridors. Such plan inter-alia may include restriction on collection of minor minerals for major part of the year, with a provision of periodic accelerated collection (preferably during the period having least frequency of wildlife movement) to maintain river geometry.
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    Field sampling protocol- mammalian fauna in Trans-Himalayan landscape, Uttarakhand, India
    (Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2015) Habib, Bilal; Shrotriya, Shivam; Mahar, N.; Lyngdoh, S.; Rawat, G.S.; Mohan, D.; Mondal, Indranil
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    Assessment of forest communities and dependence of local people on NTFPs in Askot landscape, Uttarakhand, Phase 1 - report
    (Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2015) Bisht, S.; Adhikari, B.S.; Uniyal, V.K.
    The Askot landscape represents a great diversity of ecosystems within a very short altitudinal range ie. from 600-7000 m. The assessment of vegetation was done during October, 2012 - October, 2014 covering the entire Gori sub-watershed between 600-2300 m in Askot Landscape in Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand under Biodiversity Conservation and Rural Livelihood Improvement Project (BCRLIP). A checklist of 573 species of plants was prepared including some rare and endangered species, of which 124 trees, 112 shrubs, 24 climbers, 35 orchids and 278 herbs were recorded after carrying out a reconnaissance of the valley. The data collected for vegetation was analysed and forest communities were identified based on TWINSPAN analysis and various village surveys were conducted to find out the use of various Non Timber Forest Products such as fuelwood, fodder, timber, medicinal plants etc. in the study area. A total of 11 forest communities were identified in the Gori valley, viz. Macaranga pustulata, Shorea robusta, Engelhardtia spicata, Diploknema butyracea, Pinus roxburghii, Alnus nepalensis, Quercus leucotrichophora, Litsea umbrosa, Quercus lanuginosa, Q. leucotrichophora-Neolitsea cuipala and Sorbus foliolosa along an elevational gradient between 600-2300m. It was observed that the total basal area of Q. lanuginosa forest was highest (38.8 m2 ha-1) followed by Q. leucotrichophora (32.7 m2 ha-1) and Pinus roxburghii (31.8 m2 ha-1) and minimum for Q. leucotrichophora-Neolitsea cuipala forest (10.8 m2 ha-1) and Sorbus foliolosa forest (9.2 m2 ha-1). Among Non Timber Forest Products 24, 26, 16 and 24 species were being used as fodder, fuelwood, timber and medicinal plants, respectively. Q. leucotrichophora has the highest preference among fodder followed by Bauhinia vahlii, Boehmeria rugulosa and Ougeinia oogenensis. Lyonia ovalifolia followed by Rhododendron arboreum, Q. leucotrichophora and Woodfordia fructicosa among fuelwood; Shorea robusta followed by Alnus nepalensis, Pinus roxburgii and Q. leucotrichophora among timber; and (ii) Eupatorium adenophorum followed by Terminalia chebula, Zanthoxylum alatum and Pleurospermum angelicoides among medicinal plants. Lopping, forest fire and weed infestation were among major cause of disturbance to forest resources. Impact of lopping on Quercus lanuginosa, Rhododendron arboreum and Q. leucotrichophora, forest fire in W and NW aspects due to the dominance of Chir pine forests and infestation of Cannabis sativa, Eupatorium adenophorum, Urtica dioica and Impatience edgeworthii was highest in NW aspect. The common species used for medicinal purposes by the villagers were Emblica officinalis, Terminalia chebula, Litsea monopetala, Celtis australis, Bauhinia vahlii, Syzygium cumini, Myrica esculenta, Berginia ciliata, Oxalis corniculata, Eupatorium adenophorum, Adhatoda zeylanica, Terminalia chebula, Cissampelos pareira, Viola canescens, Fragaria nubicola, Tinospora cordifolia and different orchid species in Gori valley. Twelve potential plant indicator species viz., Chimnobambusa falcata, Eupatorium adenophorum, Alnus nepalensis, Quercus leucotrichophora, Quercus lanuginosa, Macaranga pustulata, Rhododendron arboreum, Pinus roxburghii, Aconitum heterophyllum, Dactylorhiza hatagirea Picrorhiza kurrooa and Pleurospermum angelicoides were identified based on the information collected during the surveys as well as through secondary information. The distribution map of each species was generated according to climatic zone in ArcGIS software along with their potential distribution range. Finally, a species richness map was prepared to show the high species richness zone in the study area.
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    Effects of climate-change on riverine forests and indicator species along river Ganga in Uttarakhand: a multi-scale approach
    (Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2015) Ramesh, K.; Adhikari, B.S.
    The objectives were 1.Study the distribution pattern, range shift and population response of indicator species along the Ganga in Uttarakhand, from foot-hills to snout of the Gangotri glacier. 2. Quantify structure and functional attributes of vegetation along selected climatic ecotones. 3. Detect major drivers of landscape composition and configuration in space and time, and develop spatially explicit predictive models.