The Distribution, Nesting Habits and Status of Threatened Vulture Species in Protected Areas of Central India

Madhya Pradesh is a wildlife tourism destination in India. However, some Protected Areas are not developed, and their importance is not well-known. Weak management practices and low motivating factors for staff, lack of ownership among the communities were some of the restricting factors why they have not been able to develop to their full potential. In order to support their development, organizations having corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds were identified from various districts of Madhya Pradesh viz. Indore, Dhar, Satna, Katni, Singrauli and Dewas. The primary objective of this study is to throw light on their potential, to generate awareness about their potential and how they can be promoted to boost ecotourism with the help of all concerned stakeholders’ participation.

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Habitat Connectivity for the Conservation of Small Ungulates in A Human-Dominated Landscape

ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information ◽

10.3390/ijgi10030180 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 180

Author(s):

Rajashekhar Niyogi ◽

Mriganka Shekhar Sarkar ◽

Poushali Hazra ◽

Masidur Rahman ◽

Subham Banerjee ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Protected Areas ◽

Central India ◽

Mitigation Measures ◽

Multiple Use ◽

Geospatial Information ◽

Habitat Network ◽

Presence Data ◽

Suitable Habitats ◽

Wildlife Mortality ◽

Present Setting

Conserving landscape connections among favorable habitats is a widely used strategy to maintain populations in an increasingly fragmented world. A species can then exist as a metapopulation consisting of several subpopulations connected by dispersal. Our study focuses on the importance of human–wildlife coexistence areas in maintaining connectivity among primary habitats of small ungulates within and outside protected areas in a large landscape in central India. We used geospatial information and species presence data to model the suitable habitats, core habitats, and connectivity corridors for four antelope species in an ~89,000 km2 landscape. We found that about 63% of the core habitats, integrated across the four species, lie outside the protected areas. We then measured connectivity in two scenarios: the present setting, and a hypothetical future setting – where habitats outside protected areas are lost. We also modelled the areas with a high risk of human-influenced antelope mortality using eco-geographical variables and wildlife mortality records. Overall, we found that the habitats in multiple-use forests play a central role in maintaining the connectivity network for antelopes. Sizable expanses of privately held farmlands and plantations also contribute to the essential movement corridors. Some perilous patches with greater mortality risk for species require mitigation measures such as underpasses, overpasses, and fences. Greater conservation efforts are needed in the spaces of human–wildlife coexistence to conserve the habitat network of small ungulates.

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Food security and livelihoods of post-resettlement households around Kanha National Park

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0243825 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 15 (12) ◽

pp. e0243825

Author(s):

Amrita Neelakantan ◽

Ruth DeFries ◽

Jessica Fanzo

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Food Insecurity ◽

Coping Strategies ◽

Protected Areas ◽

National Park ◽

Central India ◽

Well Being ◽

Host Community ◽

Household Level ◽

Forest Dependency

Globally, conservation efforts have moved millions of people out of protected areas since the 1970s, yet quantitative studies on post-resettlement well-being remain a challenge due to poor documentation. Since 2008, the Indian forest department records demographic and financial details at the household level under standardized guidelines for resettlement. Here, we examine the food security of approximately 600 households’ post-resettlement from Kanha National Park (KNP) in central India between 2009 and 2014. We compare food security of resettled households with host community households with a total of 3519 household surveys, conducted over three seasons within one year. We measure food security using food consumption scores (FCSs), coping strategies index (CSI) and household hunger scale (HHS). Food insecurity is widespread in the landscape, with over 80% of households reporting poor or borderline FCSs year-round. Additionally, we recorded food insecurity increases in monsoon for all households regardless of resettlement status. Results indicate that resettled households are comparable to their host community neighbors in FCS and all households use mild coping strategies to combat food insecurity. While widespread, food insecurity in the KNP landscape is not acute with very few (<10) reports of severe hunger (as measured by the HHS). Almost all foods are market bought (>90%) and sometimes supplemented by gathering locally prevalent greens or from kitchen gardens (forest dependency for food was negligible). Accruing assets and diversifying incomes from non-labor avenues would alleviate food insecurity for all households. The patterns of market dependence and food security associated with diversified stable incomes around protected areas is in contrast with many studies but is likely to occur in similar human-dominated landscapes.

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