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Established in 1982, Wildlife Institute of India (WII) is an internationally acclaimed Institution, which offers training program, academic courses and advisory in wildlife research and management. The Institute is actively engaged in research across the breadth of the country on biodiversity related issues.
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Technical manual for Management Effectiveness Evaluation (MEE) of 210 National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries in India during 2020-21
(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2021) Mohan, D.; Talukdar, G.H.; Sen, M.; Ansari, N.A.
Transportation essentials for Asian elephants : technical manual
(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun and Uttarakhand Forest Department, 2021) WII
Transportation of both captive and wild elephants is a necessity For a variety of management reasons. However, unplanned and poorly executed transportation can cause enormous stress to the elephants, jeopardize their safety and
compromise their well-being. Such operations can also pose considerable risks to the Frontline staff, elephant handlers, veterinarians and other support personnel involved. In order to minimize risks to both elephants and the personnel involved, meticulous planning and consideration of a number of critical points are essential. Proper justification of the need to transport elephants is crucial. Equally critical is the need to evaluate availability of trained manpower with adequate experience and other essential resources to safely transport elephants. Although elephant transportation is not uncommon, precautionary measures to be considered and best practices to be Followed to minimize the risks to both the elephants and the personnel involved are not readily accessible For the field managers. The Frontline managers at the helm of the operations are often handicapped when such ready references are not available. Acknowledging this lacuna. this document aims at aiding managers dealing with captive and wild elephants to be better prepared to safely transport elephants. The document IS intended For veterinarians, wildlife biologists, and field officers working in the field. It details the preparatory essentials For elephant transportation, aspects of loading and restraining elephants, safety considerations, vehicle preparation For the travel and veterinary considerations. Considering that there are Rapid Response Teams IRRTs) at most conflict-prone Forest jurisdictions, this manual hopes to aid the RRT to be prepared to handle elephants during conflict situations.
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.
Capacity building initiative on the dispersal and ranging patterns of elephants for effective management of human-elephant interactions
(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2022) Nigam, P.; Pandav, B.; Mondol, S.; Lakshmiarayanan, N.; Kumar, A.; Nandwanshi, V.B.; Das, J.; Biswas, S.; Udhayaraj, A.D.; Vishwakarma, R.; Habib, B.; Miachieo, K.; Narasingh Rao, P.V.
Wild Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) populations are distributed in four major regions namely North West, North-East, East-Central and Southern regional meta-populations across India. Amongst them, the East-central regional population spread across the States of Odisha, Jharkhand, southern West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, and lately in Madhya Pradesh suffers disproportionately high levels of human elephant conflict. Among the myriad challenges facing management of human-elephant conflict in the region, elephant range expansion into new areas is overriding. One such range expansion that resulted in acute human-elephant conflict is being witnessed in the State of Chhattisgarh. Although northern Chhattisgarh was historically an elephant range, elephants reportedly disappeared during the period 1920 to late 1980s. While episodes of sporadic elephant occurrence in Chhattisgarh was reported during
the period 1988- 1993, contemporary range expansion and concomitant human-elephant conflict began from the year 2000, and has accelerated during the last one decade. Faced with an enormous challenge of managing human-elephant conflict that is spatiotemporally dynamic unlike that of other elephant range States, constrained by limited Institutional capacities to assess and deal with the issue. Chhattisgarh Forest Department has been trying diversity its conflict mitigation strategies. Recognizing the need to objectively evaluate human-elephant conflict situation in the State, during the year 2017 Chhattisgarh Forest Department invited Wildlife Institute of India to conduct ecological research on elephants in Chhattisgarh with a three-year budget outlay. The project was a collaborative effort between Chhattisgarh Forest Department and WII. Considering the scope of the project, the project duration was further extended and eventually, the project lasted for the period July 2017 to March 2022. Being the final project report, the activities carried out as part of the project is summarized as under. Distribution and Demography In Chhattisgarh, the elephant distribution during the period 2012 to 2017 was reported from 16 Forest Divisions and four Protected Areas in the north and north-central regions of the state. The elephant population, as enumerated by Chhattisgarh Forest Department during 2021 , ranged from 250 to 300.
The adult sex ratio recorded during the study was 1: 4.5. About 44% of the female segment of the
population comprised of adults. Chhattisgarh elephant population is presently contiguous with other
elephant populations in the neighboring states i.e., Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and in Odisha occurring
as a meta-population 1 and thus cannot be considered as an isolated population. However, within
Chhattisgarh, the population is relatively small and it occurs scattered over a large area as small and
disjunctive groups facing a perpetual risk of getting isolated by ongoing linear infrastructure and other
associated developmental activities in the State. If such groups get isolated, then they will not be viable
in the long run.
1 Meta-population: Population of small populations that are connected through dispersals
1
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Home Range, Movement Patterns & Dispersal, and Habitat Selection by
Elephants
During the period 2018-2022, WII-CGFD collaborative effort resulted in 10 elephant radio collaring in
Chhattisgarh. The resultant effort provided 3106 elephant days of tracking information. Each of the radiocollared
elephants provided an average of 310.6 (± 273) days of tracking data. As on 31 51 March 2022
when WII-CGFD collaborative project ended, two of the collared elephants (SD - Sehradev and MT -
Maitri) were having functional collars. The estimated average home range (95% minimum convex
polygon) of elephants in Chhattisgarh was 3172.8 km2 (± 2002.2 km2, Range: 462.3 - 6969.7 km2). The
95% kernel density home ranges of elephants were much lower averaging 512.3 km2 (± 235.3 km2,
Range: 126.5 - 748.9 km2). The elephant home ranges were not wholly well defined, and marked by
inter-annual shifts caused by exploratory behaviour. The elephant home ranges were relatively large.
The dry season home ranges were significantly lower than monsoon and winter ranges. However, dry
season home ranges of elephants are larger. The present study indicates that habitat quality in some of
the forest patches - particularly those that are large and contiguous with minimal of human interference
can potentially support elephants in the landscape. Thus, dry season ranges of elephants could serve
as a surrogate for habitat quality. Monthly variations in home ranges were significant, and best explained
by idiosyncrasies of individual elephants. Among the forest types open, moderately dense and very
dense forests classified by Forest Survey of India based on crown densities, elephants selected open
forests, that were predominantly juxtaposed with human-use areas. Although the crown density was
low, the patches of open forests support dense stands of Sal (Shorea robusta) coppice with rank
undergrowth offering adequate cover for elephants. Elephant habitat selection of these open forest
patches appears to be influenced by potential foraging opportunities in human-use areas, and further
facilitated by low inter-patch distance.
Genetic Structure of Elephants
Using 258 genetic samples collected from 9 Forest Divisions, elephant genetic structure in northern
Chhattisgarh was evaluated. Analysis indicates that at least two different elephant lineages occur in
Chhattisgarh. This implies that elephants occurring in Chhattisgarh have possibly come from different
areas. Within the two different lineages, high relatedness amongst the individuals was observed
corroborating with the general social structure of Asian elephant clans where individuals are mostly
related.
Crop Losses and Human Fatalities due to Elephants
Crop losses caused by elephants were acute and widespread in Chhattisgarh. To draw an analogy,
Karnataka's ex gratia payment towards crop losses by elephants during the period 2015-2020 was
comparable with Chhattisgarh, although the former's elephant population is 93% more than the latter.
The landscape-level assessment covering the whole of northern Chhattisgarh, and fine-scale
assessment covering select areas in Surguja circle identified correlates of crop losses at both spatial
scales. Elephant-related human deaths were widespread in the state. However, nearly 70% of
incidences occurred in areas of high intensity of habitat-use by elephants. The human fatalities due to
elephants were both temporally and spatially auto-correlated.
2
Mitigation measures for doubling of the Tiniaghat-Castlerock-Caronzol, SWR Railway track, Karnataka
(Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2020) WII
The 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.