Beyond Protected Areas News

Protected areas only cover about 5.02 percent of India’s total area. Consequently, a large percentage of India’s wildlife live outside protected boundaries. This gives rise to situations spanning between coexistence and conflict, which requires acknowledgement and awareness. With just five percent of India’s total forest cover officially protected, sharing habitat with humans is the reality for much of India’s diverse wildlife. In western Maharashtra, for example, every 100 square kilometers of land is home to 10 large carnivores (leopards and hyenas) -- and more than 30,000 people. In India, a protected area (PA) is defined as a zone “in which human occupation or at least the exploitation of resources is limited.” These PAs include national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, conservation reserves, community reserves and marine protected areas. In this series, Beyond Protected Areas, Mongabay-India will be addressing the urgent need to raise awareness of practices which make the land surrounding official protected areas more supportive of wildlife. One of the main threats to biodiversity outside protected areas is widespread infrastructure development, including linear incursions like roads and railways. The resultant habitat fragmentation splits up wildlife populations, causing an overall reduction in genetic diversity, which in turn decreases the resilience of species to pressures such as climate change and diseases. In this context, large carnivores prey upon livestock, while herbivores such as elephants, nilgai and wild boar damage crops. Human-wildlife conflict seems inevitable, but there are novel solutions that have come to light from across the country. We explore biodiversity and communities along the spectrum between conflict and coexistence, from across the country.

Indrella ampulla’s genetic tapestry unveils colour morphs isolated across the Palghat Gap

While Banni readies for cheetah, native pastoralists demand land rights

Restaurants fuelling demand for shark meat in India, finds study

India one of the nine countries to sign global pact to protect endangered river dolphins

Living with wildlife in urban Asia

Gujarat bans exotic Conocarpus tree amid health and environment hazard

Controlling the population of animals in conflict

[Commentary] The future of Delhi’s green spaces

Domestication trials in Bihar aim to mitigate farmer-nilgai conflict

Problems maximise for Elephas maximus in Karnataka

Interlinking of rivers could flood India’s freshwater with invasive fish

India gears to use eDNA to identify, track wildlife

Study finds physical barriers restricting blue sheep gene flow

Pythons return home, slowly but surely, finds a new study

Grassland loss threatens endemic birds in Arunachal sanctuary

Genetic insights of the Kempholey night frog offer better conservation strategies

Loss of forest cover in Kashmir is pitting a protected animal against the world’s costliest spice

India following a global trend of forsaking environment protection for “national security,” paper says

Rusty-spotted cat conservation hinges on dedicated research and management plans

Mistaken identity becomes a major threat for India’s small wild cats

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