Protected Areas in NEWS

River Godavari passes through it. Part of the National Park is proposed to be submerged due to the Polavaram Hydroelectric Project.

Some parts of the park will sink due to Ken-Betwa river linkage project and construction of Daudhan dam.
Tiger Reserve

Located close to Surat city. Located in Western Satpura Range (Rajpipla hills). It is located on the boundary of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
Zarwani Waterfall is in it.
It was initially established as a protected area for protection of Sloth Bear. It is also home of Flying Squirrels (IUCN status) The area is predominantly tribal with Vasavas as the main tribal community.

Recently, 7 elephants died in the wildlife sanctuary due to haemorhagic septicimia which is a bacterial infection.

Situated in Kerala, this reserve is known for its high-quality sandalwood in India.
Reserve has many wild animals like elephants and Indian bison.
Owing to high oil content and high amount of hardwood, marayoor sandals have huge global demand. This reserve is crucial in connecting several national parks like Eravikulam, Chinnar, Kurinjimala, Anamudi and Pambadum sholai.

Entire Sanctuary is situated on a plateau, forming part of upper Vindhyan range.
The fauna is represented by tiger, panther, sloth-beer and wild dog among carnivores and blue bull, chinkara, spotted deer, sambhar and black buck among herbivores.
Three fourth of WLS falls in the Yamuna [Ganges] and one fourth of the WLS falls in the Narmada basin.
The north flowing Kopra River, Bamner River, Bearma River, which are tributaries of the Ken River, are the major rivers of this protected area.

Located in Madhya Pradesh.
It is widely believed that Kardhai tree, which is found in abundance here, turns green even with just presence of humidity in atmosphere, even before the arrival of first monsoon showers.
It has a combination of dry deciduous , dry savannah and tropical riverine forest.

It is in the Nilgiris District of Tamil Nadu. It is at the tri-junction of three states, viz, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
It is part of the larger Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
It has a common boundary with Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (Kerala) on the West, Bandipur Tiger Reserve (Karnataka) on the North, and the Nilgiris North Division on the South and East.
The Reserve has tall grasses, commonly referred to as “Elephant Grass”, Bamboo of the giant variety, valuable timber species like Teak, Rosewood, etc.

LOKTAK LAKE

Loktak Hydroelectric Project has disturbed the cycle of phumdis as it constantly keeps the water level in the lake high.
As a result, phumdis are unable to feed from the nutrients on the bed, they are thinning out and even breaking away.

Loktak and phumdis

Largest freshwater lake in northeast, located in Moirang, Manipur.
It is famous for the floating biomass islands or phumdis: The phumdis float during the rains and sink during the dry months, sucking nutrients from the lakebed to replenish their roots and float again when the next monsoon cycle begins.
The lake is a rich source of vegetation that has supported humans and animals for decades.
Keibul Lamjao National Park lies in the heart of the lake.
Loktak Lake is a ‘wetland of international importance’ under the Ramsar Convention.
Ministry of Shipping has given approval for development for Loktak Inland water way project.

Keibul Lamjao National Park

It is the only floating national park in the world.
The national park is home to the endangered brown-antlered deer, sangai, whose habitat is also under threat.

It has tropical deciduous forests and hosts fauna like tigers, leopards, sloth bears, spotted deer, sambhar and chinkara.

This is the fourth tiger reserve in Uttar Pradesh, after Dudhwa, Pilibhit and Amangarh (buffer of Corbett Tiger Reserve).
This is the first tiger reserve in the Bundelkhand region, which spans across the states of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
Uttar Pradesh houses 173 tigers, with Dudhwa National Park having the highest population.