REGIONAL OFFICE FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (RAP), BANGKOK FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS Regional Quarterly Bulletin on Wildlife and National Parks Management Vol. XL: No. 3 July-September 2013 Featuring Vol. XXVII: No. 3 Contents Biodiversity of mangrove forests of Indian Sundarbans and its conservation.........................................................1 Ecology and conservation of goral outside protected areas by community-based approach in Thailand........................ 12 Distribution and conservation status of Chinese pangolin in Nangkholang VDC, Taplejung, eastern Nepal................22 Status of seagrasses in Marine National Park, Gulf of Kachchh, India............................................................... 28 REGIONAL OFFICE FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC FAO’s work on combating climate change receives TIGERPAPER is a quarterly news bulletin recognition at Thailand’s Climate Change Adaptation Expo..1 dedicated to the exchange of information World teak experts, producers and traders convene in relating to wildlife and protected area Thailand..........................................................................3 management for the Asia-Pacific Region. Global meeting in preparation for FRA 2015.........................6 ISSN 1014 - 2789 The illegal timber trail.........................................................8 FLEGT in Asia: Supporting good governance and responsible trade for Asia’s forests.....................................................10 Address. APEC Forestry Ministers commit to increased cooperation on SFM...........................................................................11 TIGERPAPER Vietnam launches national UN-REDD Phase II................... 12 FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific UN-REDD programme trains Solomon Islands Forestry Maliwan Mansion, Phra Atit Road Officers in forest inventory............................................... 13 Bangkok, 10200, Thailand Staff Movement................................................................ 15 Tel: (662) 697-4000 E-mail: [email protected] FAO Asia-Pacific Forestry Calendar................................... 16 Website: http://www.fao.org/asiapacific/ rap/nre/links/tiger-paper/en/ Editor: Janice Naewboonnien Advisor: P. Durst TIGERPAPER is dependent upon your free and voluntary The opinions expressed by the contributions in the form of articles, news items, and announcements in contributing authors are not the field of wildlife and nature conservation in the region. In order to necessarily those of FAO. The better serve the n eeds of our readers please write to us and send in the designations employed and the information you have or let us know if there is any information that you presentation of the material in the need. We appreciate receiving your letters and make all efforts to TIGERPAPER do not imply the respond. expression of any opinion on the part of FAO concerning the legal or Front cover: Spotted deer (Axis axis) in Indian Sundarbans constitutional status of any country, Back cover: Goliath heron (Ardea goliath) in Indian Sundarbans territority or sea area, or the (Photos courtesy of P.K. Pandit) delimitation of frontiers. Vol. 40: No. 3 2013 | Biodiversity of mangrove forests of Indian Sundarbans and its conservation Biodiversity of mangrove forests of Indian Sundarbans BIODIVERSITY OF MANGROVE FORESTS OF INDIAN SUNDARBANS AND ITS CONSERVATION by P.K. Pandit | Mangrove forests of Sundarbans (Photo: P.K. Pandit) Introduction richness. The biodiversity of mangroves has also been gaining greater importance because of the iving along the interface between land and sea, conservation of biological biodiversity and also Lthe mangrove forests support genetically diverse because the mangrove ecosystems are one of the groups of aquatic as well as terrestrial organisms. most threatened by global climate changes, Mangrove habitats constitute a diverse group of especially the rise in sea level. These highly habitats such as core forests, water bodies (rivers, productive and dynamic ecosystems are subjected bays, intertidal creeks, channels and back waters), to different types of threats such as anthropogenic mudflats, litter-forest floors and sea grass ecosystem pressure, which includes excessive natural-based (wherever these occur). Mangroves can exist and resource dependency of fringe villages for the flourish under a wide range of salinity conditions, collection of fuel wood and small timbers; over- tidal aptitudes, winds, temperatures and in muddy exploitation of aquatic fauna (e.g., collection of and anaerobic soil conditions. The highly variable crabs, fishes, tiger prawn seeds); collection of honey conditions make mangrove forests profusely rich in and wax; hydrological factors, including an increase biodiversity and they support huge numbers of plant of salinity due to reduced flow of fresh water from and animal communities, including many rare, upstream; the construction of embankment endangered and threatened species. Mangroves are protection bundhs along fringe villages; climate biodiversity hot spots because of the high species change and global warming; increased levels of 111 Vol. 40: No. 3 2013 | pollution; changing species composition; etc. Many Every year around 250,000 tourists visit efforts have been made to save the world famous Sundarbans for entertainment, education, Sundarbans mangrove ecosystem, at both interpretation and to provide direct and indirect international and national levels. support to the fringe people. Study area Floristic diversity The Sundarban mangrove forest is the largest Mangrove and mangrove associates constitute the single track of mangrove forest in the world, dominant vegetation type of the area. These salt- covering an area of approximately 10,260 km2 in loving plants, which are found throughout the the delta of the rivers Ganga, Brahmaputra and tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world, have Meghna. It is shared by Bangladesh (6,000 km2.) been variously categorized by different authors. and India (4,260 km2). The Indian part of According to Champion and Seth’s revised Sundarbans is situated in the southernmost part classification, the mangrove forests of Indian of West Bengal State, in the district of South & Sundarban fall under mangrove scrub (4B/TS1), North 24-Parganas, lying a little south of the Tropic mangrove forests (4B/TS2), salt-water mixed of Cancer between latitudes 21°312 & 22°312 forests (4B/TS3), brackish water mixed forest North and longitudes 88°102 & 89°512 East. A (4B/TS4) and palm swamp type (4B/E1). Naskar close network of rivers, channels and creeks and Guha Bakshi (1982) grouped these forests intersects the whole Sundarbans, which has into five major zones: i) sea-face of beach forest; resulted in the formation of 102 islands, out of ii) formative island flora; iii) flora of reclaimed land which 54 have human inhabitants. The main rivers and low-lying areas; iv) flora of river banks; and which flow in and around Sundarbans are Matla, v) swamp forests. The first category is dominated Biodiversity of mangrove forests Indian Sundarbans and its conservation Bidya, Gosaba, Gona, Kalindi, Harinbhanga, by xerophytic plants due to the dryness of the soil | Raimangal, Jhilla, Kapura, Thakuran, Muriganga, and numerous sand dunes. The formative island Hatania and Doania. Raimangal, Harinbhanga and flora consists of mainly Porteresia coarctata, Kalindi rivers separate India and Bangladesh on Salicornia brachiata, Suaeda martima, S. the eastern side. Sundarbans is bounded by nudiflora, Acanthus illicifolius and a few tree Bangladesh in the east, fringe villages in the north specifies like Avicennia, Sonneratia and and west and the Bay of Bengal to the South. Excoecaria. The reclaimed land and low-lying The enormous amount of sediments carried by areas are dominated by mesophytic flora, while the rivers has contributed to its expansion and the last two zones are dominated by halophytic dynamics; salinity gradients change over a wide mangrove forests. range of spatial and temporal states. The area has a sub-tropical monsoonal climate with high There are 140 flowering plant species under 101 humidity and the average annual rainfall is genera and 59 families, comprising true mangroves, approximately 1,900 mm. High tides and ebb tides mangrove associates, back mangrove trees and occur twice daily and the current changes its shrubs, non-halophytic non-mangrove associates, direction at six hour intervals. The average halophytic herbs, shrubs, weeds, epiphytes and elevation varies from 5.8 m to 6.1 m above mean parasitic plants (Naskar, 2007). sea level, with several low line depressions. The maximum and minimum tides recorded at Sagar Mangrove forest is a special type of vegetation Island are 5.68 m and 0.96 m respectively. Biotic community comprising a variety of salt-resistant factors at Sundarban play a significant role in species having some special adaptations and physical coastal evolution and a variety of habitats characteristics for growing in intertidal areas and have developed for wildlife, which includes the estuary mouth between land and sea. The estuaries, beaches, permanent and semi- mangrove forest of Sundarbans is one of the most permanent swamps, tidal flats and tidal creeks. dynamic ecosystems on the earth (Alongi, 1996). The mangrove vegetation itself assists in the It provides habitat for diverse flora and fauna, formation of new landmasses and the inter-tidal including some that are endangered. However, this vegetation