Only about 4.77% of India's total geographical area falls under the Protected Area Network. This area is not contiguous and are now in fact receding tracts of wilderness increasingly compromised by human settlements and activities.
Habitat fragmentation is one of the major threats to India's wildlife. Large, migratory mammals like Asian elephants, with vast resource requirements, are among the worst affected. Historically spread across most of the country, the Asian elephants' home range has now shrunk to about 110,000 sq km of fragmented forests scattered across northeast, northwest, central and south India.
Many of these isolated elephant habitats are further threatened by fragmentation due to developmental activities. Several of these habitats are crucially connected by corridors, which too are steadily being erased by human invasion.
Interference in their natural migratory paths has resulted in increased human-elephant conflict and also insidiously in the genetic isolation of Asian elephants in India. One of the main needs for the long-term survival of Asian elephants is connectivity in their habitats, allowing not only sufficient foraging grounds but uninterrupted gene flow to prevent inbreeding. The establishment of corridors and improvement in habitat quality of existing ones to consolidate elephant habitats has emerged as one of the most critically effective methods of maintaining this connectivity.
ABOUT NATIONAL ELEPHANT CORRIDOR PROJECT |
An elephant corridor is roughly defined as a stretch of forested (or otherwise) land that connects larger habitats (with elephant populations) and forms a conduit for animal movement between habitats. This movement helps enhance species survival and birth rate.
In 2001, Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and its international partner International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), with financial support from US Fish and Wildlife Services (USFWS), began an extensive country-wide study to identify critical elephant corridors as the first phase of its National Elephant Corridor Project. Along with the Asian Elephant Research and Conservation Centre (AERCC, which surveyed the elephant habitats in southern India), State Forest Departments and Project Elephant, WTI identified 88 elephant corridors in India.
With the help of its supporters IFAW, USFWS, Elephant Family, World Land Trust, IUCN-Netherlands, the second phase of the project was initiated to help implement the recommendations of the study, including recognition and notification of these corridors by relevant state governments to ensure legal protection.
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Ground truthing corridor land |
Interactions with Chief Wildlife Wardens of elephant range states revealed an overall keenness and cooperation to follow the recommendations of the survey and declare these corridors, state elephant corridors. A few selected high or medium priority corridors were therefore extensively ground- truthed to evaluate the cost, possibility and means of securing.
The survey reported only about 22.8% of the existing corridors in India to be free of major human settlements. It was clear that securing corridors with dense human settlements would involve possible resistance, relocation and rehabilitation of the residents. Even in those with low human habitation, land securement would not be successful without the participation of local communities (lawful owners of the land) and their consent to the proposed acquisition. Hence, among the initial activities was the pioneering effort of WTI to purchase private land to secure corridors. This formed the base of a replicable model for conserving endangered elephant habitats in India.
Three approaches were used to acquire the land. The first was direct acquisition by the state forest department with WTI as a facilitator. The second included land purchase by WTI and subsequent handover to the forest department for protection. The third involved local communities, who were willing to set aside their land for conservation; WTI, its partners and the forest department, supported them with expertise and aid in the form of eco-development etc.
In the first and the second approach, the securement involves elaborate socio-economic surveys and dialogue with stakeholders to understand their requirements and views. The local residents are then gradually convinced to voluntarily relocate to an alternate site, selected according to their needs. Religious or sentimental attachments to their land make people unsure of relocation option. However, in most cases, one of the prime factors that work in favour of their decision to relocate is the perennial human-wildlife conflicts that are a way of life in these corridors.
The third approach involves collaborative work with the Autonomous District Council and the local communities. The communities set aside parts of forest area under their ownership, in lieu of eco-development and other assistance provided to help strengthen their livelihood and reduce their dependence on forests.
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Signage to be placed in Edayarhalli-Doddasampige corridor |
After acquisition, by purchase or otherwise, the corridor land has to be secured against further human intrusion. As a first step, signage informing people of the new status of the corridor land is fixed along the secured stretch, with the permission of the state governments. This helps curb illegal encroachments and other human activities which disturbs and sometimes prevents animal movement.
Preferably, the corridors are fused with nearby protected areas wherever feasible; in other cases, declaration as Ecologically Sensitive Areas or conservation reserves are considered minimum requirement to grant it state protection.
During the process of securing a corridor, monitoring for animal movement is carried out; depending on the need, habitat restoration work is also done following the securing.
The value of this concept is reaffirmed by the outcomes, both elephants as well as humans benefit. Not only does the securement facilitate free movement of elephants between forests, it also relieves the relocated people of the constant danger of human-elephant conflicts. With the elephant as a flagship, secured corridors also help in the overall improvement of the landscape as well as improved movement and survival of other species.
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Left: A Valiya-Emmadi resident signs up for alternate land at Panavally
Right: AV Sathyan, General Manager, WTI, completes Valiya-Emmadi land transfer formalities |
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Tirunelli-Kudrakote corridor connects Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary with Wayanad Wildlife Division, Kerala and leads to Brahmagiri Wildlife Sanctuary, Karnataka. The corridor-dependent villages include Edayurvayal, Valiya-Emmadi, Pulayankolli, Thirulakunnu and Kottapadi.
WTI and its supporters World Land Trust, Elephant Family and IUCN-Netherlands, have been working to relocate residents of Thirulakunnu, Valiya-Emmadi and Pullayankolli:
Four families from Thirulakunnu have been housed and allocated land in Annapara. They have begun farming. The yield has improved as the new site is free of conflict with animals. Moreover, their lifestyle has improved and they have better access to healthcare, education for children etc.
Four tribal and two non-tribal families of Valiya-Emmadi have been allocated alternate land at Panavally and nearby areas, as per their consent. Construction of houses and other necessary amenities have been initiated.
A pre-relocation socio-economic survey in Pullayankolli was done and dialogue with land owners has begun.
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Thirulakunnu villagers before (left) and after resettlement |
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Siju- Rewak corridor in Meghalaya connects Siju Wildlife Sanctuary with Rewak Reserve Forest, thereby connecting the elephant population of Balpakram NP and Siju WLS with Emangre RF and Nokrek NP. WTI, Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) and its supporters convinced the landowners of the corridor-dependent Aretika village to voluntarily set aside their land for conservation.
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WTI is currently demarcating the identified elephant corridors in Uttarakhand to facilitate notification by the state government.
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Elephant corridors in Tamil Nadu have been extensively ground truthed to assess the extent of land, ownership, rate, usage, etc, as a precursor to securing.
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Collaborative efforts to secure Kaziranga-Karbi Anglong elephant corridor in Panbari, Assam is underway with landowners, the District Administration and the Kaziranga Forest Department.
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WTI is assisting the Uttarakhand Forest Department to secure Chilla-Motichur Corridor in Rajaji National Park, by facilitating relocation and rehabilitation of Khand Gaon III villagers to Rishikesh Range. WTI-IFAW, Forest Department and Indian Railways have also successfully ensured zero elephant deaths due to train hits in Rajaji NP.
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WTI along with Project Elephant, Asian Nature Conservation Foundation (ANCF) and Karnataka Forest Department organised a national workshop on December 20-21, 2007,
to formulate a National strategy to protect the identified corridors. The workshop brought together authorities on wildlife and elephant conservation from all elephant range states to accelerate the process of protecting the corridors through formal declaration/notification and implementation of the recommendations of WTI's study on elephant corridors in India.
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Workshop on securing elephant corridors for long-term conservation of
Asian elephants in India |
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A comprehensive book 'Right of Passage - Elephant Corridors of India' was released on December 31, 2005 by Thiru A Raja, Hon'ble Union Minister of Environment and Forests (MoEF). The publication, an outcome of the extensive survey of elephant corridors by WTI-IFAW, AERCC, state forest departments and Project Elephant, provides detailed information on all 88 identified corridors and is being used to plan their securing.
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The people of Aretika village, in Siju-Rewak elephant corridor have voluntarily set aside 200 hectares of Rongjak forest towards the corridor. This was later notified and declared the Siju-Aritika Village Forest by the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council, in September 2007.
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Wildlife Trust of India has secured 25.5 acres in the Edayarhalli-Doddasampige elephant corridor that connects Biligiri Ranganswamy Temple (BRT) Sanctuary, Chamrajnagar Wildlife Division to Kollegal Division in Karnataka. The land was
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Vivek Menon (left), Executive Director, WTI, and IB Srivastava, PCCF (WL) and CWW, Karnataka, sign MoU to transfer Edayarhalli-Doddasampige corridor land to the Forest Department |
earlier used for agriculture by 17 families of Aandipalya village; this had nearly cut off the Doddasampige Reserve Forest from the Ramapuram range of Kollegal Division. The corridor has now restored the passage.
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On December 20, 2007, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed with the Karnataka Forest Department to hand over this acquired land for incorporation into BRT sanctuary for protection and management. Land transfer to the Forest Department is in progress. The corridor is also being observed for usage by animals and monitored for biotic interferences, if any.
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