Dachigam National Park at risk as forest cover, natural habitat reduces, reveals study

  • November 25, 2023
  • Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
  • Category: DPN Topics
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Dachigam National Park at risk as forest cover, natural habitat reduces, reveals study

Subject: Environment

Section: Protected Area 

Context:

  • The Dachigam National Park is currently under significant threat, as the forest cover decreased by 7 percent, and there was a notable reduction in natural habitat, indicating habitat fragmentation.
  • Experts say the significant changes and infrastructure development in and around the park have a huge influence on Dal Lake.
  • The Great Himalayan National Park in Himachal Pradesh is currently grappling with the exotic brown trout invasion.
  • CSIR – Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (IHBT) is situated in Palampur, Himachal Pradesh.

About the Dachigam National Park:

  • The Dachigam National Park in Kashmir is surrounded by the lush Zabarwan mountains.
  • It is an important conservation reserve serving as habitat for some endemic and endangered species in the valley.
  • The park is home to rare medicinal plants, conifers, oak trees, shrublands, and meadows.
  • Fauna- Critically endangered hangul (Kashmir stag), Asiatic black bears, leopards, langurs and a variety of endemic bird species.
  • This conservation reserve plays a crucial role in supporting Dal Lake, the second largest lake in Jammu and Kashmir. The water from Dachigam National Park flows into Dal Lake making it an important catchment area and source of water for Srinagar city.
  • A decrease in forest cover of the park can lead to more silt in the water which will eventually flow into Dal Lake and cause ecological disruptions.

Gulmarg Wildlife Sanctuary in North Kashmir:

  • 364 species of plant species were recorded from the sanctuary.
  • Out of these plant species, 161 species are native to the Himalayan region and the remaining 203 species are non-natives.
  • Out of the total 161 native plant species, 82 were endemic to the Himalayan region. Further, 22 plant species are threatened.
  • The major threats to biodiversity within the sanctuary include “changing phenology, over-exploitation, overgrazing, land-use change, invasive species, human settlements, huge tourism influx and pollution”.
    • Phenology is the study of seasonal or periodic cycles in ecosystems.
Kashmiri Stag:

  • The Kashmir stag also called hangul is a subspecies of Central Asian red deer endemic to Kashmir
  • It is found in dense riverine forests in the high valleys and mountains of Jammu and Kashmir and northern Himachal Pradesh.
  • In Kashmir, it is found primarily in the Dachigam National Park .
  • A small population has also been witnessed in Overa-Aru Wildlife Sanctuary in south Kashmir.

Conservation status

IUCN: Critically Endangered

CITES : Appendix I

Dachigam National Park at risk as forest cover Environment