Download Labreport SAdhikari

International University Bremen
NatSciLab Geosciences and Astrophysics I
(210111)
Report on Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve
Prepared By: Sanjaya Adhikari
Date of Submission: 21st March, 2005
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The Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve
The Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve is one of the fourteen national parks and
wildlife reserves in Nepal. Nepal is a landlocked country located in south
Asia with an area of 147,181 square kilometers. One of its most fascinating
features is its geographical diversity, given its small area. Its altitude varies
from 69 meters to 8,848 meters. Its geographical terrains range from the flat,
fertile land of the south, called the Terai, to the hills in the middle, the
Churiya and the Mahabharata Range, to the home of the tallest mountains in
the world, The Great Himalaya Range in the north. This geographic and
climatic diversity has resulted in a variety of flora and fauna, and made
Nepal an abode of some of the rarest plants and animals in the world. As a
result, there are quite a few conservation areas in Nepal and the Koshi Tappu
Wildlife Reserve is one of such conservation areas.
Figure 1: The Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve and its land usage (Nepal’s map in Inset)
[Source: http://www.resourceshimalaya.org/pas/ktwr_landuse.htm ]
The Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve was established in 1976 mainly to
protect the rare wild water buffalos, Arna (Bubalus Arnee) and their habitat.
Now, the Reserve is also famous for birding, for the elusive Gangetic
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Dolphin, Fishing Cat and for different species of butterflies. The reserve is
especially famous as one of the finest birding places in Asia. In fact, more
than 50 percent of the species (280 different species) of birds found in Nepal
are found in this small reserve as well. These birds fly all the way from
Serbia to migrate during the winter season. In 1987, the Reserve was
declared a Ramsara site, a wetland of international significance, the only
wetland area in Nepal of international importance. The site consists of the
natural river floodplains, including numerous low islands, extensive
mudflats, phragmites beds, oxbow lakes, freshwater, marshes and
grasslands.
The Reserve is located in the south-eastern part of the country in the flood
plains made by the Sapta Koshi River. It expands over an area of 175 square
kilometers and is roughly rectangular shaped. It lies in between the eastern
and western embankments of the Sapta Koshi River at an altitude between
75-81 meters from the sea level. The Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve
(KTWR) is categorized into eight major land use or cover classes. This
includes the agricultural land of about 100 hectare in the western side,
grassland or savannah of about 11 percent; forest cover of about 8 percent;
sand and gravel in the dry season of about 15.4 percent; transition zone of
about 22.8 percent; and lakes and marshes constitute the remaining portion.
The Reserve lies in subtropical climatic zone. The summer is hot and wet.
The temperature often reaches a maximum of about 40 degree Celsius in the
summer. The whole of the Reserve is flooded during the rainy monsoon
season. The flooding ranges from 10cm to 300cm. The Embankments have
been constructed along the river to help control the flooding. The winter is
dry and cold with the temperature sometimes dipping down to 7 or 8 degree
Celsius.
Figure 2: The Arna ( wild water buffalo) – one of the rare animals of the Reserve
[Source: http://www.guide.com.np/safari/]
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Figure 3: A panoramic view of the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve
[Source: http://www.mypage.bluewin.ch/raonline/pages/np/visin/npbtsaptari01b.html]
The wetlands and the grasslands of the reserve have been very suitably used
as a habitat of animals like wild water buffalo, Hog Deer, Smooth Coated
Otters, Fishing Cats, Nilgai Antelope, etc., some of which were brought
from other places when the reserve was established. The water of the Koshi
River is used for irrigating most of the eastern plains of Nepal. The alluvial
soil deposited by the river has made the soil nearby the area one of the most
fertile lands of the country and the area is appropriately called the ‘bread
basket of Nepal.’
The Reserve and its habitat and life face a serious challenge today. It lies in
one of the most overpopulated area of Nepal. The number of species of birds
in the reserve has been decreasing constantly. The number of rare wild water
buffalos, and other animals like Hog Deer and Antelope has also been
decreasing at an alarming rate. This is mainly due to the expanding human
population, haphazard deforestation, over grazing of pasture land and
forested areas, destructive effect of floods, soil erosion, fire etc. The local
people nearby the reserves are mostly uneducated farmers. They depend
heavily on the reserve land for grazing their animals, for fishing, to make
thatches for their houses and sometimes even for fodder and firewood. The
collection of fodder and firewood is not totally prohibited. In fact, it is legal
within a certain bounds defined seasonally. Even then, people need more and
poach the land illegally. Of late, random poaching has been a serious threat
to the vegetation, animals and birds of the reserve. Also, the Reserve lies
tantalizingly close to the India-Nepal open border. It is now poached by the
nearby Nepali and Indian community equally. Soil erosion is also one of the
problems of the reserve, though not as serious as in most of the other
reserves of Nepal, as it is located in the plains of the Terai, whereas most of
the other reserves are located in the high altitude hilly and mountainous
regions. The area nearby the reserve is also flooded almost throughout the
whole of the rainy monsoon season. Embankments have been made along
the river to prevent the nearby areas from flooding. The Koshi Barrage was
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built between 1958 to 1964 to prevent the nearby Nepali land and the larger
part of the Indian state of Bihar from flooding. As the reserve is located in
one of the most populated part of Nepal, it is also one of the most polluted
regions. The region is also one of the industrial parts of the Nepal. The
urbanization is unplanned and random. The industries discard the chemicals
to the land without properly treating it, which has caused severe chemical
pollution of the land, which can be attributed to some extent for the
endangering of the habitat of the rare animals at Koshi Tappu.
Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve is considered as one of the finest place for
birding in the whole of Asia and is home of some of the rarest animals and
birds in the world. The Reserve is owned and controlled by the government
of Nepal. However, it is one of the least researched and least protected
reserves of Nepal. The security is still not enough even to check the random
poaching of the reserve and the destruction of the habitat and the life. The
Sapta Koshi River has always caused havoc of the reserve during the rainy
monsoon season, as the reserve lies between the eastern and western banks
of the river. The land and air pollution due to the industries and the vehicles
have been on the rise for about three decades now. Still, there are not enough
laws to ban traffics which cause heavy pollution and industries which cause
chemical pollution of the land. Even if there are, they are not implemented
properly. The laws should be made even strict and they have to be
implemented properly if the reserve is to be protected. Some people even
argue that the dam of the Koshi River is quite old and cannot contain the
water of the river during the monsoon. If it is the case, then a new
embankment should be made and prevent the excessive and frequent
flooding of the reserve. The heavy deforestation in and around the reserve
area due to random, unplanned urbanization should be checked immediately
to protect the habitat of the animals and birds from being destroyed.
Sources:
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http://www.nepal-traveller.com/novdec2002/koshi.htm
http://www.nepaltravelinfo.com/wildlife9.htm
http://www.yomari.com/nepaltoday/2001/jan-feb/koshi.html
http://www.guide.com.np/safari/
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