Terai Arc Landscape

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Terai Arc Landscape

The Terai Arc Landscape (TAL) is composed of 14 Indian and Nepalese trans-border protected ecosystems of the Terai (Sanskrit for "lowlands") and nearby foothills of the Himalayas.[1][2] and encompassing 14 protected areas of Nepal and India. The area spans approximately 12.3 million acres (5 million hectares) and includes Nepal's Bagmati River to the east and India's Yamuna River to the west.[1] The TAL is home to many endangered mammals including the Bengal tiger (of which it has one of the world's highest densities),[1][2] the Indian rhinoceros, the gaur, the wild Asian elephant, the hispid hare, the sloth bear, the South Asian river dolphin and the chital, as well as over 500 species of birds, many endangered. Examples of birds are the endangered Bengal florican, the sarus crane, and the black stork.[3]

Ranitaal Lake in Shuklaphanta National Park
The Sarus crane, one of the endangered species in the TAL

The rivers and wetlands of the TAL are rich and diverse ecosystems with many endemic species that support, besides birds and mammals, a wide range of fish, amphibians, and fresh water crustaceans.[3] However, the area faces many challenges to the wildlife.[4] Of the 14 protected areas within the TAL, none is large enough, by itself, to sustain a population of tigers over time. If the protected areas were to be linked by wildlife corridors, individual tigers would be able to move from area to area, furthering its ability to survive long-term.[1] TAL is densely populated and its welfare is of critical importance to its human and animal life.[5] Its approximately three million people are among the world's poorest (50% live below the poverty live) and generally subsist on the land.[1] As of the beginning of 2013, the Indian government will give a donation to farmers who grow flowers in the Terai.[6]

Protected areas within the Terai Arc Landscape

The following are protected areas within the boundaries of the TAL:[1]

Shuklaphanta National Park

Page 'Shuklaphanta National Park' not found

Bardia National Park

Page 'Bardia National Park' not found

Banke National Park

Page 'Banke National Park' not found

Blackbuck Conservation Area

Page 'Blackbuck Conservation Area' not found

Chitwan National Park

Page 'Chitwan National Park' not found

Parsa National Park

Page 'Parsa National Park' not found

Jim Corbett National Park

This section is an excerpt from Jim Corbett National Park[edit]
Jim Corbett National Park is a national park in the Nainital district of the state of Uttarakhand, India. It was established in 1936 as the country's first national park and is named in honour of Jim Corbett, who had played a leading role in its establishment. It was the first to come under the Project Tiger initiative and encompasses an area of 520.8 km2 (201.1 sq mi) consisting of hills, riverine belts, marshy depressions, grasslands and a large lake at an elevation range of 400–1,220 m (1,300–4,000 ft). It receives rainfall from July to September. Almost 73% of the national park is covered by dense moist deciduous forest dominated by Shorea robusta, peepal, rohini and mango trees among 110 tree species and 617 different plant species. Grasslands cover about 10% of its total area. It harbours 50 mammal species, 580 bird species and 25 reptile species. The increase in tourist activities continues to present a serious challenge to the park's ecological balance.

Rajaji National Park

This section is an excerpt from Rajaji National Park[edit]

Rajaji National Park is an Indian national park and tiger reserve[7] that encompasses the Shivaliks, near the foothills of the Himalayas. It is spread over 820 km2.,[8] and three districts of Uttarakhand: Haridwar, Dehradun and Pauri Garhwal. In 1983, three wildlife sanctuaries in the area namely, Chilla, Motichur and Rajaji sanctuaries were merged into one.[8]

Rajaji National Park has been named after C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji), a prominent leader of the Freedom Struggle, the second and last Governor-General of independent India and one of the first recipients of India's highest civilian award Bharat Ratna (in 1954).

Pilibhit Tiger Reserve

Rocket, a Bengal tiger on the pakki patri area at Pilibhit Tiger Reserve
These paragraphs are an excerpt from Pilibhit Tiger Reserve[edit]

Pilibhit Tiger Reserve is located in Pilibhit district of Uttar Pradesh and was notified as a tiger reserve in 2014.[9] It forms part of the Terai Arc Landscape in the upper Gangetic Plain along the India-Nepal border. The habitat is characterized by sal forests, tall grasslands and swamp maintained by periodic flooding from rivers. The Sharda Sagar Dam extending up to a length of 22 km (14 mi) is on the boundary of the reserve.[10]

Pilibhit is one of the few well-forested districts in Uttar Pradesh. According to an estimate of the year 2018, Pilibhit district has over 800 km2 (310 sq mi) forests, constituting roughly 23% of the district’s total area. Forests in Pilibhit have at least 65 tiger and a prey including five species of deer. The tiger reserve got the first International award TX2 for doubling the tiger population in a stipulated time.[11]

Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary

This section is an excerpt from Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary[edit]
The Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary is a part of the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve near Mailani in Uttar Pradesh, India. It covers an area of 227 km2 (88 sq mi) and was founded in 1972. It is 13 km away from Bhira town in Lakhimpur Kheri District. The sanctuary is covered with a dense deciduous forest of sal, teak and jamun.

Dudhwa National Park

This section is an excerpt from Dudhwa National Park[edit]
The Dudhwa National Park is a national park in the Terai belt of marshy grasslands of northern Uttar Pradesh, India. It stretches over an area of 490.3 km2 (189.3 sq mi), with a buffer zone of 190 km2 (73 sq mi). It is part of the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve in the Kheri and Lakhimpur districts.[12] It is located on the Indo-Nepal border in the Lakhimpur Kheri District, and has buffers of reserved forest areas on the northern and southern sides. It represents one of the few remaining areas of the diverse and productive Terai ecosystem, supporting many endangered species, obligate species of tall wet grasslands and species of restricted distribution.[13]

Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary

This section is an excerpt from Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary[edit]

The Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area in the Upper Gangetic plain, near Bahraich city in Bahraich district of Uttar Pradesh, India and covers an area of 400.6 km2 (154.7 sq mi) in the Terai of the Bahraich district. In 1987, it was brought under the purview of the ‘Project Tiger’, and together with the Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary and the Dudhwa National Park it forms the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve.[14] It was established in 1975.[15]

The Katerniaghat Forest provides strategic connectivity between tiger habitats of Dudhwa and Kishanpur in India and the Bardia National Park in Nepal. Its fragile Terai ecosystem comprises a mosaic of sal and teak forests, lush grasslands, numerous swamps and wetlands. It is home to a number of endangered species including gharial, tiger, rhino, Gangetic dolphin, swamp deer, hispid hare, Bengal florican, the white-backed and long-billed vultures.

In 2012, a rare red coral kukri snake was sighted in the sanctuary.[16] This snake with the scientific name Oligodon kheriensis was first described from the North Kheri Division in 1936.[17]

Suhelva Sanctuary

This section is an excerpt from Suhelva Sanctuary[edit]
Suhelva Sanctuary is a wildlife sanctuary located in Balrampur, Gonda and Sravasti districts of the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. It is about 66 km from Balrampur, 120 km from Gonda and about 210 km from Lucknow. It covers an area of 452 square kilometers.[18]

Valmiki National Park

This section is an excerpt from Valmiki National Park[edit]
Valmiki National Park is a national park and tiger reserve in the West Champaran District of Bihar, India covering 898.45 km2 (346.89 sq mi). It is the only national park in Bihar.[19]

Notes

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "The Terai Arc Landscape Bengal Tigers in the Himalayas' Shadow" (PDF). missouri.edu. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 March 2014. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Terai Arc Landscape". WWF India. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Terai Arc Landscape (TAL)". Government of Nepal - Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation. Archived from the original on 2 November 2012. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  4. ↑ "TAL - Challenges and interventions". wwfindia.org. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
  5. ↑ "Terai Arc Landscape (TAL), Nepal". WWF Global. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  6. ↑ Agarwal, B. C. (2013). "Farming of flowers grows in Terai belt". Times of India. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  7. ↑ http://projecttiger.nic.in/News/25_Newsdetails.aspx
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 [1] Official website of Haridwar.
  9. ↑ Chanchani, P. (2015). "Pilibhit Tiger Reserve: conservation opportunities and challenges". Economic and Political Weekly. 50 (20): 19.
  10. ↑ "Pilibhit Tiger Reserve". Reserve Guide - Project Tiger Reserves In India. National Tiger Conservation Authority. Retrieved 2012-02-29.
  11. ↑ "Pilibhit Tiger Reserve Gets Global Award For Doubling Tiger Population". NDTV.com. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  12. ↑ Mathur, P. K. & Midha, N. (2008). Mapping of National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries, Dudhwa Tiger Reserve. NNRMS - MoEF Project, Final Technical Report (PDF) (Report). Dehradun: Wildlife Institute of India. Archived 12 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ↑ Kumar, S. (2009). Retrieval of forest parameters from Envisat ASAR data for biomass inventory in Dudhwa National Park, U.P., India (PDF). Indian Institute of Remote Sensing and International Institute for Geo-information Science and Earth Observation.
  14. ↑ Mathur, P. K. and N. Midha (2008). Mapping of National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries, Dudhwa Tiger Reserve Archived 12 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine. WII – NNRMS - MoEF Project, Final Technical Report. Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun.
  15. ↑ Tripahti, K. P., Singh, B. (2009). Species diversity and vegetation structure across various strata in natural and plantation forests in Katerniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary, North India. Tropical Ecology 50(1): 191–200.
  16. ↑ "Rare Indian snake species discovered at Katarniaghat sanctuary". The Times of India. 16 July 2012. Archived from the original on 19 July 2013.
  17. ↑ Green, M. (2010). Molecular Phylogeny of the Snake Genus Oligodon (Serpentes: Colubridae), with an Annotated Checklist and Key. M. Sc. thesis, University of Toronto.
  18. ↑ "Official Website of UP Ecotourism". www.upecotourism.in. Retrieved 2021-07-05.
  19. ↑ Srivastava, Priya (15 December 2024). "Want to see untamed wilderness and tigers? Visit Valmiki National Park in Bihar". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2025-01-24.
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