PROFILES OF SELECTED NATIONAL PARKS AND SANCTUARIES OF INDIA JULY 2002 EDITED BY SHEKHAR SINGH ARPAN SHARMA INDIAN INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION NEW DELHI CONTENTS STATE NAME OF THE PA ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR CAMPBELL BAY NATIONAL PARK ISLANDS GALATHEA NATIONAL PARK MOUNT HARRIET NATIONAL PARK NORTH BUTTON ISLAND NATIONAL PARK MIDDLE BUTTON ISLAND NATIONAL PARK SOUTH BUTTON ISLAND NATIONAL PARK RANI JHANSI MARINE NATIONAL PARK WANDOOR MARINE NATIONAL PARK CUTHBERT BAY WILDLIFE SANCTUARY GALATHEA BAY WILDLIFE SANCTUARY INGLIS OR EAST ISLAND SANCTUARY INTERVIEW ISLAND SANCTUARY LOHABARRACK OR SALTWATER CROCODILE SANCTUARY ANDHRA PRADESH ETURUNAGARAM SANCTUARY KAWAL WILDLIFE SANCTUARY KINNERSANI SANCTUARY NAGARJUNASAGAR-SRISAILAM TIGER RESERVE PAKHAL SANCTUARY PAPIKONDA SANCTUARY PRANHITA WILDLIFE SANCTUARY ASSAM MANAS NATIONAL PARK GUJARAT BANSDA NATIONAL PARK PURNA WILDLIFE SANCTUARY HARYANA NAHAR SANCTUARY KALESAR SANCTUARY CHHICHHILA LAKE SANCTUARY ABUBSHEHAR SANCTUARY BIR BARA VAN JIND SANCTUARY BIR SHIKARGAH SANCTUARY HIMACHAL PRADESH PONG LAKE SANCTUARY RUPI BHABA SANCTUARY SANGLA SANCTUARY KERALA SILENT VALLEY NATIONAL PARK ARALAM SANCTUARY CHIMMONY SANCTUARY PARAMBIKULAM SANCTUARY PEECHI VAZHANI SANCTUARY THATTEKAD BIRD SANCTUARY WAYANAD WILDLIFE SANCTUARY MEGHALAYA BALPAKARAM NATIONAL PARK SIJU WILDLIFE SANCTUARY NOKREK NATIONAL PARK NONGKHYLLEM WILDLIFE SANCTUARY MIZORAM MURLEN NATIONAL PARK PHAWNGPUI (BLUE MOUNTAIN) NATIONAL 2 PARK DAMPA WILDLIFE SANCTUARY KHAWNGLUNG WILDLIFE SANCTUARY LENGTENG WILDLIFE SANCTUARY NGENGPUI WILDLIFE SANCTUARY NAGALAND INTANKI NATIONAL PARK PULIE BADZE WILDLIFE SANCTUARY RANGAPAHAR WILDLIFE SANCTUARY FAKIM WILDLIFE SANCTUARY ORISSA BALUKHNANDA WILDLIFE SANCTUARY DEBRIGARH WILDLIFE SANCTUARY SATKOSIA GORGE SANCTUARY SUNABEDA SANCTUARY RAJASTHAN PHULWARI WILDLIFE SANCTUARY MOUNT ABU WILDLIFE SANCTUARY JAISAMAND WILDLIFE SANCTUARY KUMBALGARH WILDLIFE SANCTUARY SITAMATA WILDLIFE SANCTUARY TAMIL NADU MUKURTI NATIONAL PARK UTTARANCHAL CORBETT NATIONAL PARK ASKOTE WILDLIFE SANCTUARY BINSAR WILDLIFE SANCTUARY SONANADI WILDLIFE SANCTUARY UTTAR PRADESH KATERNIAGHAT SANCTUARY WEST BENGAL SUNDARBAN TIGER RESERVE HALLIDAY ISLAND WILD LIFE SANCTUARY LOTHIAN ISLAND SANCTUARY SAJNAKHALI SANCTUARY 3 ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLANDS CAMPBELL BAY NATIONAL PARK Introduction Set in the north of Great Nicobar island, the Campbell Bay National park encompasses the northern and north-western coast of the island and a portion of the forested mountains in the interior. The gently undulating mountains are mist-covered and carpeted with closed canopy hill forests. Mount Thullier, the highest mountain in G. Nicobar reaching the height of 670m, is the special feature of the Campbell Bay NP. Mangroves and littoral forests line the sea shore which is mostly rocky, intercepted with small patches of sandy beach. Extensive coral reefs stretch into the sea all along the coastline. Description The Campbell Bay NP which is 426.23 sq. km. in area , located between 7 0 N and 7 0 20’N latitude and 93 0 37’E and 93 0 56’E longitude, was demarcated by the notification of 8.11.1989 and forms the core zone of the northern portion of the Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve. A buffer zone* stretches to the east of the NP up to the coast, and to the south of the NP where the East-West road separates it from the Galathea national park. The PA area also excludes the peripheral limits of the villages Kuchac, Reumong, Rechong, Pulobed and Pulokonji on the western coast (Saldanha 1991). Four rivers, Jubilee, Amrit Kaur, Dogmar and Alexandra flow through the NP. * While this constitutes the buffer zone of the Biosphere Reserve, it’s status vis-a vis the two national parks is not clear. BIOLOGICAL PROFILE Coasts The sea coast of the NP has excellent coral formation which is clearly visible through the transparent turquoise blue water, which is perfectly still and glass-like before the monsoon. Huge flat corals of Acropora species, Tridactna sp.giant clams, Holothuria sp. sea cucumbers, star fishes and colourful coral fishes can be seen while travelling by boat on the east coast, all the way from Laxman beach north of Campbell Bay up to the forest camp in Navy Dera and much further north. Good sea grass beds and coral formations are found around the mouth of Alexandra River and Casuarina Bay on the west coast, however there are indications that the sea grass habitat on the west coast is disturbed on account of over- exploitation (Das 1996). Conservation of these sea grass beds is of utmost importance as they are grazing grounds for dugongs (Dugong dugon) the highly endangered marine mammals, and for marine turtles. The mouths of Alexandra and Dogmar rivers also have well developed mangroves with Casuarina equisetifolia found in natural pure stands or associated with Pandanus sp. This is a remarkable feature of the Nicobar islands as this tree species does not occur naturally anywhere else in India, though it is planted extensively on the mainland. Rocky caves are found all along the coast of the PA from the east upto the northern portions and the western coast north of Koppenheat. The endangered Edible nest Swiftlet Collocalia fuciphaga nests in these caves which are very difficult to access as there are few landing spots for boats. The caves are located in deep cracks in the rocks, needing good rock climbing skills to get to. Viewing the nests involves walking carefully over slippery boulders 4 that are constantly being dashed by sea waves or climbing over sharp, barnacle - covered rocks on the shore. Vegetation and Fauna Please refer to the BIOLOGICAL PROFILE of Galathea NP. The vegetation and fauna of both the PAs are similar, therefore have not been described separately. SOCIO-ECONOMIC PROFILE Please refer to SOCIO-ECONOMIC PROFILE of Galathea NP. Barring the names of the villages, the profile is similar for both the PAs. Impacts on the PA and other issues Pollution • The beautiful, wild beaches of G.Nicobar island are littered with every kind of junk produced by modern civilisation. Plastic bottles, aluminium cans, rubber slippers, broken toys, pieces of thermocole, torn fishing nets, and other such rubbish is washed ashore from the sea and strewn all over, even in the most remote beaches of Campbell Bay NP. Most of this is from garbage callously thrown overboard from Indian as well as foreign ships. A collection made by a beachcomber included shampoo bottles, beer cans and even cosmetics made in Singapore and Australia! • This is clearly a hazard as such non-degradable waste causes unhygienic conditions, for example by accumulating stagnant water which in turn breeds insect pests. Empty plastic cans and bottles which may have originally contained toxic chemicals like pesticides and disinfectants, are a real threat to the Shompen tribals as they may unwittingly use them for storing food or water. We noticed several such containers near the Shompen’s huts, some of which ( fortunately only a Pepsi can this time) being used to collect and store hermit crabs. Wildlife could also be badly affected if they eat or lick such harmful material. The impact on delicate coral reef organisms and other marine life could be disastrous. • Waste oil from ships and boats is constantly being poured into the sea around the islands. Equipment like booms for removing oil slicks is also not available on passenger and cargo ship regularly plying between the islands, or at the port. Though ships do have guidelines for disposal of wastes, these are not followed. Crew of passenger ships run by the A&N Administration say that they are supposed to collect all the waste material and carry it to Port Blair for disposal. However, as Port Blair does not have the required facility, they dump the waste in the sea. The crew admit that such dumping would not be allowed anywhere else in the world, and they would lose their jobs if they tried. Roads • The east-west road cuts like a gash right through the forest of the Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve, for about 35 km.from the east coast up to Koppenheat on the west coast. However (as of March 1999), the road is blocked beyond 19 km on account of landslides. The fragile tropical forest soil on the hilly terrain of the central part of the island is unable to withstand the impact of the road, as a result of which the hillsides above the road keep slipping, pouring mud and rocks on the tar road. Despite continuous repair work the road is always blocked at some point or other on account of the frequency of the landslides. 5 • The road also appears to serve no apparent purpose as it was intended to reach Shompen Huts, a tribal welfare unit set up for Shompens, which has a dispensary, school and other facilities, but the staff posted there never actually go there and the Shompens do not make use of the facilities anyway. Repairing the road is an exercise in futility, which if completed will only lead to increased forest exploitation easier access, and consequently greater damage to the ecosystem. Uses of Flora & Fauna • No working plan has so far been drawn up by the forest dept, and there has been no timber extraction since 1996. There are 3 saw mills at Dingy Nala (2 private, 1 govt.)but their requirement is only 50 cu.m. per month ( B.P.Yadav, DFO pers.com). Other sources of information ( Daniels 1997) indicate that both legal and illegal felling takes place commonly all over the G.Nicobar island. • A number of wildlife species are exploited by the residents of Govind Nagar for food, such as pigeons, teals, parrots, fruit bats, wild pig and monitor lizard. Fat from snakes is considered medicinal. Cowries, conch shells and sea cucumbers (kaala keeda) are collected from the sea, for sale. • The Nicobarese kill turtles, wild pigs as well as megapodes for their own consumption, and Shompens subsist entirely on forest and marine produce. • Poaching is a serous problem. The greatest threat is from foreign poachers from Burma Thailand and even as far away as Taiwan , who come to the island with sophisticated equipment and fast boats to make a quick get away.