Cauvery basin lost nearly 12850 sq. km of green cover
- December 11, 2023
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
Cauvery basin lost nearly 12850 sq. km of green cover
Subject : Environment
Section: Protected Areas
Context:
- A paper on the Cauvery Basin is published by scientists and researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru.
Study findings:
- Natural vegetation on nearly 12,850 sq. km of land (46%) in the Cauvery basin was lost in the 50 years from 1965 to 2016.
- The quantum of reduction of dense vegetation was 35% (6,123 sq. km) and that of degraded vegetation, 63% (6,727 sq. km).
- Karnataka has lost much more than any other State in the basin.
- It accounts for three-fourths of the lost cover, while Tamil Nadu’s share is around one-fifth.
- Areas that suffered adverse changes in the extent of forest cover include the Brahmagiri Wildlife Sanctuary, Bandipur National Park, Nagarhole National Park and the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary.
- In respect of the Bannerghatta National Park, the moist deciduous forest area, which was about 50% in 1973, stood at 28.5% in 2015 due to “anthropogenic pressure” on the National Park and its environs.
| Protected areas | Description |
| Brahmagiri Wildlife Sanctuary | It is located in Kodagu District, Karnataka State, India, within the Western Ghats and about 250 km from Bangalore. Flora: Evergreen and semi-evergreen forests, and in the higher altitudes are grasslands with shola.Bamboo plants are widespread. Fauna: Mammals in the sanctuary include lion-tailed macaques, Indian elephants, gaurs, and tigers. |
| Bandipur National Park | It is a national park covering 868.63 km2 (335.38 sq mi) in Chamarajnagar district in the Indian state of Karnataka. It was established as a tiger reserve under Project Tiger in 1973. It is part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve since 1986. |
| Nagarhole National Park | It is a national park located in Kodagu district and Mysore district in Karnataka, India. It is part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. The park has rich forest cover, small streams, hills, valleys and waterfalls, and populations of Bengal tiger, gaur, Indian elephant, Indian leopard, chital and Sambar deer. |
| Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary | It is a protected area located in the Mandya, Chamarajanagar and Ramanagar districts of Karnataka, India. The Cauvery River passes through its midst. It is established to provide protection, conservation and development of Wildlife and its environment. On its east, it adjoins Dharmapuri forest division of Tamil Nadu state. The sanctuary mainly consists of dry deciduous forests, southern tropical dry thorns and riverine forests. Flora: Terminalia arjuna, jambul (Syzygium cumini), Albizia amara, Feronia sp., Tamarindus indica, Mangifera indica, Hardwickia binata, and Acacia armata. Fauna: Bengal tiger, Indian elephant, wild boar, Indian leopard, dhole, spotted deer, barking deer, sambarped hare (Lepus nigricollis), chevrotain, common langur, bonnet macaque, honey badger, Malabar giant squirrel, grizzled giant squirrel, and smooth-coated otter. |
Cauvery basin:
- The Cauvery basin extends over the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and the Union Territory of Puducherry.
- It spans nearly 2.7% of the total geographical area of the country.
- It is bounded by the Western Ghats on the west, by the Eastern Ghats on the east and south and by the ridges separating it from the Krishna Basin and Pennar Basin on the north.
- The three main physiographic divisions of the basin are the Western Ghats, the plateau of Mysore and the Delta. The Western Ghat region is mountainous and covered with thick vegetation.
- The major reservoirs in the Cauvery basin are Krishnaraja Sagar, Mettur (Stanley), Hemavathy, Kabini, Harasngi, Lower Bhavani and Grand Anicut.
- The Cauvery River is one of the major rivers of the peninsular India.
- It rises at an elevation of 1,341 m at Talakaveri on the Brahmagiri range near Cherangala village of Kodagu district of Karnataka and drains into the Bay of Bengal.
- In size, it is smaller than the Godavari, the Mahanadi and the Krishna.
- Major left bank tributaries: Harangi, the Hemavati, the Shimsha and the Arkavati.
- Major Right bank tributaries: the Lakshmantirtha, the Kabbani, the Suvarnavati, the Bhavani, the Noyil and the Amaravati.