Association ofofWUdlifeand Wildlife and Human Society BiosphereConservation 2 (2) :83-90, 1999 Locals' perception of Himalayan brown bear conseryation and management at habitat Deosai,Northern Areas,Pakistan Aleem Ahmed and Khani,Umeed Khalid2, RafiqAhmed Rajput3 iOrnithotogicalSociety "D " ofPtikistan, IVear C7zowk Flawara, Block RO, Bex Z3; Dera Ghazi Khan, 3220a Pakistan 2Ndtionat Councilfor Conservation of valdlije, Building # 79-E; At-Rehman Chambe4 3rd,Floony BlueArea,Islamabad; Pakistan 3Sindh PPitdlijle Dqpartmen4 Stretchen Roa4 Kbrachi, Pakistan Abstract 11ne Himalnyan brown bear (Ursus arctos isabeUinus), Tibetan wolf (Canis lupus chanco) and snow leopaTd (U}!cia uncia) are rncdium and large carnivores living in Deosai Plains, Northern Areas, Pakistan. Formerly, Hima]ayan brown bears could be comparatively, easily watched by visitors at a c]ose distance in the natural habital. During the three study years of 1993-95, however, it was revealed that the bear population had decreased in number from quite common in the past to only 24. Thus, the Deosai bear population has c]ear]y been endangered. In order to conserve the animais within thc habitat, a Rapid Rura] Appraisal (RRA) with a participatory approach was con- ducted in 1O strategic villuges around Deosai Plains. [[1ie rcsults reyealed the symbiotic relationship of the bears with locals. People realized the importance of wildlife and promised to be further involved in conseryation of fauna, especia]]y the brown bears. Key words: Himalayan brown bear, tfrsus arctos isabeUinus, habitat rnanagemcnt, ]ocals, Deosai, Pakistan INTRODUCTION The aims of this study were to involve all stake- holders, especially locals, in planning and monitor- Deosai Plains, Northern Areas, Pakistan, have been ing processes, as their perceptions are the most inci- traditiona]ly used as ]ivestock grazing fields and as a sive for long-term sustainability of the area. The con- market route for carrying livestock to Astorians and fiicts and compromises of ]ocal communities with re- Baltis by herdsmen (Gujjars) who migrate up from spect to the natural resources of Deosai, with particu- the lowlands. Further, Deosai was an important route lar reference to the Himalayan brown bear (Ursus connecting Kashmir, Gilgit and Skardu in undivided arctos isabellinus), may affect the long-term imple- India and an arca of confiict between warriors such as mcntation of conservation process. Dogras and ]ecai tribes (Khan 1962). Thus, Deosai has remained as an irnportant place to man as well as STUDY AREA wildlife (Khan et al. 1996). tcn strategic vil]ages with 13,910 people in total Thc Deosai Plains (latitude 340 45' to 350 10' N, are located in close proximity to Deosai Plains, These longitude 75e 15Z50' E) are located in Baltistan people have easy access to exploit the resources of the (16,190 km2), Northern Areas, Pakistan. In Northern area and may even overexploit the rcsources of Deosai Areas three mountain ranges, the Himalayas, Plain, These same communities, however, may p]ay a Karakoram, and Hindu Kush, converge. Skardu is the constructive role in the conservation and development headquarters of Baltistan, bounded by Gilgit and China ofbio-wealth, provided they are trained and we11 aware in the north, by Ladakh in the east, by the state of Kash- of the significance of wi]dlife and habitat preserva- mir in the south, and in the west by Diamir and Gilgit tion. reglons. 83 NII-Electronic Library Service Association ofofWUdlife Wildlife and Human Society BiosphereConservation 2 (2), 1999 The Deosai Plains are located approximately 30 km ber and early October, making the area irnpassable by south ef Skardu, and are divided into Bara (big) Deosai the end of November. The entire area remains within and Chota (srnall) Deosai, Bara Deosai is a plateau of snow bound till ]ate May and early June. The access about 32 km (east-west) by 24 km (north-south), rang- road from Skardu is usually open for traffic by the ing from 3,636 m to 4,242 m in elevation. Chota Deosai middle of July. The weather throughout the months of forms a narrow va]ley of about 40 km in length and July and August is pleasant, with warm days and chi]ly O.5-2,O km in width, located on south ofBara Deosai, nights. The high mountains of the east block most of and has been used as apublic thoroughfare due to the the monsoon clouds, resulting in relatively meager presence of vi]lages located theTein. Since 1995 most amounts of rainfall, Minirnum temperatures approach of the plains have been designated as Deosai National freezing point during the evenings in August, By the to Park (DNP) encompassing 2,240 km2 area (Fig. 1). end of September, however, temperatures plunge -10eC Central Deosai is the main stronghold of the brown sub-zeTo levels, avcraging at night. Sudden bear population and a key area from a conservation changes in temperature caused by turbulent cloud cover Maximum mean temperature stand point (Fig. 2). Chota Deosai starts beyond patterns are frequent, Chillam, at the Burzil Pass and, like a crescent, curves (8eC to 120C) was recorded in July 1993, and mini- -20eC) south and eastward at Gultari and Shakma, The el- mum mean temperature (-16eC to in January, evation of Cheta Deosai is comparatively low, rang- 1995. There are pronounced local variations and cli- The annual ing from about 3,030 m to 3,939 rn (Khan and Zakria matic conditions vary from year to year. 1995). precipitation in the Deosai aTea is 501-750mm. Snowfal] in the plains begins around ]ate Septem- [[bn strategic villages arc distributed around Deosai, Shlgartheng 26KA fo ASTOR x DU 4365 5301 i 52DT . 3P22 . Bobind 3el {452 Kharpitoo "?o /[srop?SE 4.156 i 4B20 l( 3649tr GUDAI x Das SAI B GultariShakma Fig. 1. Map of Deosai Plains showing park boundaty and study area. Numbers show elevations in melre, 84 NII-Electronic Library Service Association ofofWUdlife Wildlife and Human Society Biosphere Conservatien 2 (2), 1999 T ela XDgr pa ll Fig. 2. Map of Deosai National Purk $howing distribution of grnzing ureus ewned by different communitygroups, where 13,910 people and 38,489 livestock live ([fable(2)What are your basic problems? (3)Will you partici- 1). People cultivate various crops around the villages. pate in conservation of wildlife, including thc Hima- Forests of.iuniper, birch, willow, pop]ar, and bluc pine, layan brown bear at Deosai, and welfare development are sparsely distributed in sma]1 patches, and no for- works? csts werc found around somc villages, like Dappa, Forrnal and inforrna] rneetings were arranged to Kharpitoo, and Sadpara, People formerly ce]lected discuss thc issucs. In order to gain a gender percep- firewood from those forests. tion in planning, Balti speaking fema]e coordinators from Aga Khan RuTa] Support Programme (AKRSP) METHODS were included in the Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) tcam. However, in the Shina speaking area, due to non- A cornprehensive study was carried out during the availability of native speaking women coordinators, summers of 1993-1995. The present fauna was re- it was impossib]e to obtain the female perception. The corded mostly by physical sightings and interviews RRA was preferred due to the fact that life remains with locals, hunters and herdsmen (Gejjars). Tbn stra- dormant in the area for almost eigbt months and thc tegic vi]lages were surveyed in order to know the lo- people are extremely busy during summer in their cals' peTception about the significance of Deosai, [Ib routine work, such as harvesting, grazing their live- this end, no preset questionnaires were formulated but stock, collecting grass, wood, grain, and other neces- basicandopenquestionswereputtothepeop]etogleansities for the coming winter season. Keeping in view their very frank opinion. The questions were: (1)What the importance of time availab]e to the communities, is your perception about the significance of Deosai? it was decided to adopt the RRA instead ofParticipa- 85 NII-Electronic Library Service Association ofofWUdlife Wildlife and Human Society BiosphereConservation 2 (2), 1999 kble 1.Generul information about the ten strategic vil]ages surveyed at Deosui, 1993-1995. Fuel wood Villagessurveyed lbtalpopulation conslyrlfumily Forest cover Livestock Main crops (in maund) Shigarthang 3,280 140 Good patch ofjuniper, 11,73S Barley, mustard, peu. po{uto. birch, willow, poplar with a turnip t'ew blue pines Dappu 2.000 93*120 Almostnegligible s.ooo Burley, pea, potato, turnip. wheat Kharpitoo 2,ooe Almostnegligible 500 App]e, apricot. barley. cabbage, caulifiower, mulberry, rne[ons, pea,peach,potato,spinach,wheat cabbage, Sadpara{BaruGaoon)1,420 175 Alrnost neg}igiblc 4,282 Apple, barley, brow, mulberry,onion,potato,sugar- beat, tomato, wheat Gultari(Khar)Das1,070 150 Extremelydegradedpatches 637 Bar]ey, mustald, pca, potato, ofjuniperandbirchforest turnfipBarlcy, Bala{Chillam)Bobind(Gudai)Sherku]]i(Chillam)Shee]a500 13S Sorne good und small 7eo rnusturd, pea, potuto, putches of blue pine forest wheatBarley, 1,400 120 Some good patches of blue 14,065 potato, turnip, wheat pine forest 37S l15 A small patch of b]ue pine 820 Barley, pea. petalo, turnip with degruded birch forest 500 40** Almost negligible with very 375 Burley, cabbage, potHto, turnip degradedjuniper 22250 cabbage, Kurabos 1,365 Sorne good putches of birch, 375 Burlcy, peu.potulo, bluepincandjuniperforest tumip ktal 13,910 38,489 ' " Ke[osene oil in titrcs; Dry eow dung manurc in maund {one maund = 37.5 kg) or ]ong-tailed tory Rural Appraisal (PRA) (Feuerstein 1992). Addi- mon otter