DISPLAY COPY DO NOT REMOVE IUCN Directory of South Asian Protected Areas Compiled by The World Conservation Monitoring Centre Z i, Z f - - : uh i _ |UCN - The World Conservation Union Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2010 with funding from UNEP-WCMC, Cambridge http://www.archive.org/details/iucndirectoryofs90gree IUCN Directory of South Asian Protected Areas IUCN - THE WORLD CONSERVATION UNION Founded in 1948, IUCN — the World Conservation Union — is a membership organisation comprising governments, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), research institutions, and conservation agencies in 120 countries. The Union’s objective is to promote and encourage the protection and sustainable utilisation of living resources. Several thousand scientists and experts from all continents form part of a network supporting the work of its six Commissions: threatened species, protected areas, ecology, sustainable development, environmental law and environmental education and training. Its thematic pro- grammes include tropical forests, wetlands, marine ecosystems, plants, the Sahel, Antarctica, population and sustainable development, and women in conservation. These activities enable IUCN and its members to develop sound policies and programmes for the conservation of biological diversity and sustainable development of natural resources. WCMC - THE WORLD CONSERVATION MONITORING CENTRE The World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC) is a joint venture between the three partners in the World Conservation Strategy, the World Conservation Union (IUCN), the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Its mission is to support conservation and sustainable development by collecting and analysing global conservation data so that decisions affecting biological resources are based on the best available information. WCMC has developed a global overview database of the world’s biological diversity that includes threatened plant and animal species, habitats of conservation concer, critical sites, protected areas of the world, and the utilisation and trade in wildlife species and products. Drawing on this database, WCMC provides an information service to the conservation and development communities, governments and United Nations agencies, scientific institutions, the business and commercial sector, and the media. WCMC produces a wide variety of specialist outputs and reports based on analyses of its data. IUCN Directory of South Asian Protected Areas Compiled by Michael J.B. Green World Conservation Monitoring Centre IUCN Commission on National Parks and Protected Areas With financial support from Norwegian Agency for International Development IUCN —- THE WORLD CONSERVATION UNION 1990 Published by: IUCN-The World Conservation Union, Gland, Switzerland, and Cambridge, UK. Prepared by the World Conservation Monitoring Centre, and published with financial support from the Norwegian Agency for International Development A contribution to GEMS — the Global Environment Monitoring System. Gs Copyright: 1990 International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Reproduction of this publication for educational or other non- commercial purposes is authorised without prior permission from the copyright holder. Reproduction for resale or other commercial purposes is prohibited without the prior written permission of the copyright holder. Citation: IUCN (1990). IUCN Directory of South Asian Protected Areas. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, U.K. xxiv + 294 pp. ISBN: 2-8317-0030-2 Printed by: Unwin Brothers Woking, U.K. Cover photos: Sundarbans, Bangladesh/India, Rangdum S.(proposed), India, Horton Plains N.P., Sri Lanka, by M.J.B. Green. Lalsohanra N.P., Pakistan by Mauri Rautkari/WWF. Cover design by: Jo Taylor, IUCN Publications Services Unit Compiled by: Michael J.B. Green. Available from: IUCN Publications Services Unit 219c Huntingdon Road, Cambridge CB3 ODL, U.K. The designations of geographical entities in this book, and the presentation of the material, do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of IUCN, WCMC or other participating organisations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. TABLE OF CONTENTS RE eee ee ce a ds ea ee ds ao Re an oe a i ARMM RAENENCRT Ee cg Sot ppacpee Te) Hol ine Se) ee ee iii PRC RARO OCCU ICTIEGN cae als Jag) Sayin, so Oe le ele pel ier 9 en iv Managing information on protected areasatWCMC ....... Vii Information sheets: guidelines to their contents ........... ix Information sheets on protected areas systems ............... ix infonmguonsheetsion protected areas). 49>. 2 2) Sa ake Se ee xi ei NA iE ae clo Tal ja) x, 4 3. n,m gc Aw aye eee XV Annex 1 Categories and management objectives of protected areas. . xvi Annex 2 IWCN threatened species categories... 10 222s ee XVil oo GUS 1 DIS 2 Sa Se ee EE eed a ote pest 0: 1 Map.of protectediareas Of Bangladesh 2. 2k. wi es es ee 6 Summary of protected areas of Bangladesh ................ q! SAAR ASA OMIE AERA Ni sth so vn! weir mh gaa oS es eke ole Biuale, gl ane 9 Char Kukri-Mukri Wildlife Sanctuary”. ...............-. 10 Pern illic Sanctilary: a). asl a ae so a eit eo Sustag dl aie fo 12 ical El teat WV ite SARCIUALY) vuoi. ... i. 6-3, wale nas te eee 2 ee 128 Peres RESeEv Oi ce ah rea Pete Pe eae 'olene ye, Scie an SEO hats 130 Khwnjerab NationgPeie ee. aes ere ee oe won 130 Kerhk/Mintaka Gant Reserve. cs...) 95 ho. ee pe es 135 Kinjhar (Kaln) Lake Wildite Sanctuary, 2055's... «4. sss s+ 136 Karthar National Pati: 35 Seay ec ae AA eA) ale esd 139 Lal. Suhanra National Parkae gis). fra. gros ais ww ls sheds, oie. sume date 144 Langh (Lungh) Lake Wildlife Sanctuary ................. 148 Midcinare Grauie RESERVEN aii. S aotce) So ea a ew 8 a, Ce 150 percreeerae ATIC Wi oe 5. 5 bi ses x ihe pShereseya wince wane sana A Oe ake 152 Beans? Wilditte; sanctuary 9). J. .<.... 4.2.. Se lone ene 154 Marsala Hills; National Park... ............... . S90 lagu. a ae 156 Mattar Wildlife Sanctuary }\5-409 0s 2 ieee Aa eee 159 iar/Ghoro Nallah’Game Reserve >... ......<.« Sec. eee Z 160 iNazbar Nallah Gamie Reserve. 30.6.2)... dys)» STRUIOORE e 161 NMemal Cake Wildlife Sanctugry |. .......s:..,.. dense ale uae bokbiee Oe 163 Rakora Game Reserves ict Siar do a Se ee so 165 Rasool Barrage Wildlife Sanctuary .................... 166 Satpard Wildlife Sanctuary’). 30. 6 so Oe OO ee ee 168 Sheri@illahiGame Reserve: ; :tii-n ec) cus Camedia tet koe ee ee 169 aad aan eye iS ks RA SG Rae I ae 171 Banos Game RESCIVE 65 us cee «oye js oe sae PES, SRO ROE 173 Daunsa Barrage Wildlife’Sanctuary’ ¢... ..... 7 Lee eee 174 hanadarwala\ Game RESERVE ee 3a i= js = seranit «ORAS eee 176 Mang Nawar Game Reserve, ... . yeeessand sins 4 Sei ae 178 Ziarat Juniper Wildlife Sanctuary — .. ..... ». .. 21S bale ies ema 180 SRIAINIR AG OS .)62 So speeulemey aioe al A ek ye Re FB 183 Map of protected areas of Sri Lanka. ..:..4. 4). opi a ae 192 Summary of protected areas of SriLanka .........-..---. 193 Bellanwilla-Attidiya Marshes Sanctuary ..........-..----- 196 BinGalaSARCtUALY (oes jee ese: Ss Sy agi sa sp mgsyans Boa (i see 198 Ce Tape tS Ata ANC OAL, iin cae Sachin che ners calohanl eke) oll gated esieammenacinss 201 Pigod Piams National bark Sen. 3 kee le, a we eae es 202 Gal Oya National Park, Senanayake Samudra Sanctuary ........ 206 Gal Oya Valley North-east and South-west Sanctuaries ......... 206 Slant Ss abatik SANCtAALY, 0. Xs seesacngaeiiswers\yaics. “Thay BRS EN RSLS aioe 210 Hakeala Strict Natural Reserve’... 2... 6 ee es 211 Hikkaduwa Marine Sanctuary, including Rocky Islets (Ambalangoda) Sanctuary ....------+++-:- 214 Horton Plains National Park. 0. a ee 216 Hurulu RorestiReserves ic... cox Scie hi eee «sre Beets 220 Kalametiya Kalapuwa Sanctuary ......--- ++ s +e eee eee 222 Ae AIA ot psi alidlnck si hike Voting Wehintetetahs va’ a « OOCIR MAREN 224 Lahugala Kitulana National Park ........ 0.000.000.2205 226 Madurm Ova National Park 4... 22-000 :.:.%<00 BUS ORAM, Gong, CEG 228 Minneriya-Giritale Sanctuary). 04.64.5640 54 50. CRORE OE TA 232 Peak: Wildemess Sanctuary .....2)...\.). RP REOR O Rea at 234 POlOMMArU Wa SANCOlALy ous. cide ues ads ke ss «ON RES A GRY gs 237 itieala Strict Natural Resetve...,.\:.-... ... Yaeronies DOU. see Tag 239 Ruhuna (Yala) National Park, Yala Strict Natural Reserve ....... 242 metiwila-Allai Sanctuary... wc... PORIRUA pyeTiEh, leg 247 Pb ya SANCHIANY), oh ons igyels aes etd conde . MUMQU WEG QU ap 249 Sinharaja National Heritage Wilderness Area .............. 250 Somawathiya Chaitiya National Park .................. 256 amkonamady Natire RESERVE (6 oc .2 vs vs nero, to cw 1. SV VORA LD BR 259 Uda Walawe National Park :............ . qRoaRO DIY pee cag 261 Pidawattekele Sanctyary yn: ion. ces. ssn « « AVL lee ew en 263 Victoria~-Randenigala-Rantambe Sanctuary ............... 265 Wassomuwa National Park oo. ci... 5 RUA oe 267 Wilpattu National Park and Wilpattu North Sanctuary .......... 271 Wirawila-Tissa Sanctuary | .... ......:. wdtsd He hare Does 275 fala Bast National:Park . .... ... .stdoJ nd dean eric ep rae 277 Generaphical index . ..........: 2 .we/ane? eadewMiagiind allio 279 TARO ING OK caw ok Bae , VC ee 281 FOREWORD The Indomalayan Realm, corresponding approximately with tropical Asia, represents one of the biggest paradoxes in conservation. On the one hand, it extends over a number of densely settled nations, including three of the world’s most highly populated (China, India and Indonesia), while, on the other, it supports perhaps the richest and most diverse biological communities on earth - moist tropical forests. The wealth of plant and animal species is due to many factors: great topographic diversity from sea level to the Himalayas, an enormously varied climate from the dry Thar desert to the world’s wettest areas, and to plate tectonics which are responsible for the mosaic of shifting land masses and island archipelagos. The peripheral regions have gained much of their flora and fauna from the neighbouring cold Palaearctic, the hot, dry Afrotropics, and to a lesser extent from the Australian realm. But Indomalaya is the richest of these realms, at the heart of which lies its tropical forests - the "world’s rain forests of grandest structure and of probably greatest richness in both animal and plant life" (T.C. Whitmore, Tropical rain forests of the Far East, 1975). The most diverse portion is Malesia, which is estimated to contain over 25,000 species of plants (about 10% of the world’s total) and about 300 mammal species. Protected areas are predominantly natural areas established and managed in perpetuity, through legal or customary regimes, primarily to conserve their natural resources. Despite the acute pressures of rapidly increasing human populations, more and more protected areas are still being declared in the Indomalayan Realm. Here, it is worth remembering that the concept of protecting natural areas in tropical Asia is very ancient and may have taken root in the Indian sub-continent, where the practice of affording special protection to patches of forest can be traced back several thousand years to hunter-gatherer societies. Many hundreds of ‘sacred groves’, so-called because they are dedicated to deities, still exist today. Traditional conservation practices, of ‘locking away’ areas are becoming increasingly inappropriate, however, due to ever-mounting human pressures on natural resources. They are being superceded by more strategic approaches, enshrined in the World Conservation Strategy (1980) and based on managing natural areas to support sustainable development. The fundamental contribution of protected areas to sustainable development was reaffirmed by participants at the 3rd World Congress on National Parks held in Bali, Indonesia (1982). In the Bali Action Plan, a target was set for 10% of each terrestrial ecosystem to be under some form of protection to stem the trend towards species depletion. This recommendation, considered to be realistic for many countries, has since been endorsed by UNEP and the Brundtland Commission. The way in which protected areas networks have been rapidly developed in the Indomalayan Realm over the last few decades bears testimony to their importance being increasingly recognised by governments, aid agencies, non-governmental organisations and the public. In this directory for the South Asian region, the status of existing networks in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka is described as fully as the available information permits. In the case of India, protected areas are not individually described because the Ministry of Environment and Forests is supporting the production of a series of state directories. These are being prepared by the Environmental Studies Division of the Indian Institute of Public Administration, and follow on from the Directory of National Parks and Sanctuaries in India produced in 1985. The JUCN Directory of South Asian Protected Areas is the third in a series of regional directories prepared by the Protected Areas Data Unit, World Conservation Monitoring Centre, in collaboration with the IUCN Commission on National Parks and Protected Areas. It builds on the foundation provided by the United Nations List of National Parks and Equivalent Reserves (first published in 1961 and periodically updated since then) and the World Directory of National Parks and Other Protected Areas (1975, 1977), and a draft Directory of Indomalayan Protected Areas presented at the 25th Working Session of the IUCN Commission on National Parks and Protected Areas held in Corbett National Park, India in February 1985. Further directories covering other parts of the world are planned for publication in time for the 4th World Congress on National Parks and Protected Areas, to be held in Venezuela in February 1992. The goal of the next Congress will be to further promote the effective management of the world’s natural habitats. Basic information on protected areas, such as is provided in these directories, is a prerequisite for assessing the contribution of protected areas to the conservation of biological diversity and, ultimately, to sustaining human society. Samar Singh Vice-Chairman, Indomalayan Realm IUCN Commission on National Parks and Protected Areas INTRODUCTION As recognised by participants at the 3rd World National Parks Congress, the ready availability of comprehensive good-quality information on the world’s protected areas is essential to a wide range of international organisations, governments, protected area managers, voluntary bodies and individuals. Such information is a prerequisite for assessing the coverage and status of protected areas from regional and global perspectives. Moreover, monitoring protected areas is vital to ensure that those areas allocated to conserve the world’s natural resources meet the needs of society. The World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC) is gradually expanding its capabilities as an international centre for information on protected areas, which is managed by its Protected Areas Data Unit (PADU). As part of the WCMC core programme, PADU is gradually compiling a series of regional protected areas directories, with priority addressed to tropical countries where much of the world’s biological diversity is to be found. Past work has been focussed on the Neotropics and Afrotropics, culminating in protected area directories published for each of these realms. Efforts have subsequently been concentrated on the Indomalayan Realm, beginning with the production of a draft Directory of Indomalayan Protected Areas circulated for review to participants at the 25th Working Session of the IUCN Commission on National Parks and Protected Areas held in Corbett National Park, India in February 1985. Since then, the original material has been extensively revised and up-dated, with the incorporation of much additional material, commensurate with WCMC’s developing capabilities. The Directory of South Asian Protected Areas is the first in a series of volumes covering the Indomalayan Realm. It is due to be followed by a second volume for Mainland South-east Asia, already drafted and reviewed but awaiting funds for publication. It is anticipated that further volumes in this series will cover Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, but these have yet to be drafted. The present volume covers the protected areas systems of Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Summary data are presented for all protected areas known to exist in these countries but only 100 properties are described in detail. This is largely a reflection of the availability of information, documentation on many of the less significant properties (often the smaller sites) being non-existent or not easily obtainable. That said, all 12 existing protected areas in Bangladesh and over half (36) of Sri Lanka’s properties are described. Descriptive information for Pakistan is less comprehensive but the main protected areas are covered, with the exception of a few of the more recently notified national parks. No attempt has been made to compile descriptive information on Indian protected areas because such initiatives are already underway in-country. The Government of India has already supported the production of a Directory of National Parks and Sanctuaries in India(1985), and a series of state directories is now being prepared by the Environmental Studies Division, Indian Institute of Public Administration. ili The way in which information on protected areas is managed at WCMC is described in the next chapter, and the structure and contents of the standard-format information sheets are outlined in the subsequent chapter. The directory is organised into chapters for each country. Each chapter comprises a description of the national protected areas system, accompanied by a summary list and map of protected areas, and is followed by descriptions of individual properties in alphabetical order. Geographical and taxonomic indexes enable the reader to refer quickly to individual properties and plant or animal species, respectively. Acknowledgements This directory has benefited from a temendous amount of cooperation from within the South Asian region, highlighted in the case of the Sri Lankan authorities by the convening of a meeting specifically to review draft material. Many people have contributed to the preparation of the directory through reviewing or compiling material and providing new information. Their assistance is greatly appreciated. Those who spring to mind in the final hours of its preparation are listed below under respective country chapters. To others, whose contributions may have been overlooked inadvertently in the course of time, sincere apologies are due. Bangladesh Mr Abdul Wahab Akonda (Department of Forests-Wildlife, Government of Bangladesh), Mr John Blower (FAO Consultant), Mr G.S. Child (Forestry Department- Wildlife and Protected Area Management, FAO), Dr Zakir Hussain (Department of Forests, Government of Bangladesh), Mr Fazlul Karim (Society for Conservation of Nature & Environment, Bangladesh), Dr Md Ali Reza Khan (Al Ain Zoo and Aquarium, Abu Dhabi), Dr M Salar Khan (Bangladesh National Herbarium), Dr Egbert Pelinck (Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken, Netherlands), Mr S.A. Rahman (Department of Forests-Wildlife, Government of Bangladesh), Dr Sultan H Rahman (Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies), Mr Haroun Er Rashid (Polli Unnayan Sangstha, Bangladesh), Mr S.M. Saheed (Soil Resources Development Institute, Bangladesh), Mr R.E. Salter (UCN Consultant). Particular thanks are due to Mrs M. Nazneen Mansur-Azim (IUCN Programme Coordinator, Bangladesh) for her efforts in helping with the collection of information, and to Dr Monowar Hossain (Multidisciplinary Action Research Centre, Bangladesh) for coordinating in-country review of draft material. India Mr AG Oka (Department of Environment, Forests & Wildlife, Government of India), Mr H S Panwar (Wildlife Institute of India), Dr M.K. Ranjitsinh (Department of Environment, Forests & Wildlife, Government of India), Dr W.A. Rodgers (Wildlife Institute of India), In particular, a strong link has been developed with the Environment Studies Division, Indian Institute of Public Administration and its database on Indian protected areas, thanks to the help of Dr Shekhar Singh and Mr Ashish Kothari. Pakistan Mr James Burt (formerly World Pheasant Association-Pakistan), Dr Abdul Aleem Chaudhry (Wildlife Department, Government of the Punjab), Mr Peter Conder (UK), Mr D.M. Corfield (formerly Asian Study Group, Islamabad), Mr Guy Duke (International Council for Bird Preservation), Mr W.D. Edge (Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, USA), Mr I.R. Grimwood (Kenya), Mr Mazhar Hussain (Capital Development Authority-Environment Directorate, Islamabad), Mr Al Lee (World Pheasant iv Association-Pakistan), Mrs Aban Marker Kabraji (IUCN, Pakistan), Mr Mumtaz Malik (formerly Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, USA), MrZ.B. Mirza (WWF-Pakistan), Dr Yasin J Nasir (National Herbarium, Islamabad), Dr B.W. O’Gara (Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, USA), Prof G. Pilleri (Hirnanatomisches Institut, Switzerland), Mr Abdul Latif Rao (National Council for Conservation of Wildlife, Government of Pakistan), Mr Per Wegge (IUCN Consultant), Dr M. Woodford (IUCN Consultant). In particular, considerable assistance has been received from Mr M. Hamid Ali (National Council for Conservation of Wildlife, Government of Pakistan), Mr Ghulam Rasul (Wildlife Warden, Northern Areas and compiler of a directory entitled National Parks and Equivalent Reserves in Northern Areas of Pakistan) and Mr T.J. Roberts (UK). Sri Lanka Dr K.R. Ashby (University of Durham, UK), Mr J.D.N. Banks (formerly Ceylon Bird Club), Dr Cyrille Barrette (University of Laval, Canada), Mr J.W. Bright (US National Park Service, Colorado), Mr R.D.A. Burge (formerly University of Durham, UK), Mr S.R.B. Dissanayaka (Department of Wildlife Conservation, Government of Sri Lanka), Mr A.B. Fernando , Prof. I.A.U.N. Gunatilleke (University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka), Dr A.H.M. Jayasuriya (National Herbarium, Sri Lanka), Mr Childers Jaywardana (Department of Wildlife Conservation, Government of Sri Lanka), Dr R.P. Jayewardene (Natural Resources, Energy & Science Authority of Sri Lanka), Mr R.I.C. Kuruppu (Mahaweli Environment Project, Government of Sri Lanka), Ms M.J.McDermott (formerly Oxford Forestry Institute, UK), Major General M. Madawela (formerly Department of Wildlife Conservation, Government of Sri Lanka), Mr V.R. Nanayakkara (Forest Department, Government of Sri Lanka), Mr A.S.A. Packeer (Mahaweli Environment Project Consultant, Government of Sri Lanka), Mr Sherley Perera (Department of Wildlife Conservation, Government of Sri Lanka), Mr S Sahajananthan (Forest Department, Government of Sri Lanka), Mr Charles Santiapillai (WWF-Indonesia, Bogor), Mr David Sheppard (National Parks and Wildlife Service, New South Wales, Australia), Mr H.D.V.S. Vattala (Department of Wildlife Conservation, Government of Sri Lanka), Mr S. Wazeer (Department of Wildlife Conservation, Government of Sri Lanka), Ms S.M. Wells (Consulant, UK), Dr W.L. Werner (University of Heidelberg, West Germany). The timely support of Dr S.W. Kotagama (Department of Wildlife Conservation, Government of Sri Lanka) and Dr N. Ishwaran (Division of Ecological Sciences, Unesco) in organising a workshop at which the Sri Lanka material was reviewed is particularly acknowledged. Special thanks are also due to Mr M.A.B. Jansen (US Mission to Sri Lanka) for preparing some of the Sri Lanka material, and to Mr T.W. Hoffmann (Ceylon Bird Club) for extensive review comments and provision of a considerable amount of published and unpublished documentation. A number of present and previous staff of PADU have been involved in the preparation of this directory. The first preliminary draft, presented at the 25th Working Session of the IUCN Commission on National Parks and Protected Areas, Corbett National Park, India, 1985 was prepared by my predecessor Sally Ward. Other technical assistance has been provided by Harriet Gillett and James Paine, with secretarial support from Clare Billington and Alison Suter. Particular thanks are due to Jeremy Harrison, mentor and facilitor, and also Head of PADU. Others in WCMC who have contributed their expertise include Mike Adams, Steve Davis, Brian Groombridge, Tim Inskipp, Martin Jenkins, and Duncan Mackinder, and also Richard Grimmett and Tim Johnson from the International Council for Bird Preservation, and Derek Scott from the International Waterfowl and Wetlands Research Bureau. The support of our colleagues at IUCN headquarters is also acknowledged, notably Vitus Fernando, Jeffrey McNeely and James Thorsell. The final copy was prepared for publication by Jo Taylor, IUCN Publications Services Unit, and Alison Suter helped with proof reading. Funds for publishing this directory have been provided by the Norwegian Agency for International Development, and financial assistance towards the final preparation of the Sri Lanka material has been received from the World Heritage Fund. Not withstanding the significant contributions of those mentioned above, errors and omissions must remain the responsibility of the compiler. Corrections and additional material is always very welcome and can be sent to PADU at the address below. Michael J B Green WCMC Protected Areas Data Unit 219(c) Huntingdon Road CAMBRIDGE CB3 ODL United Kingdom Tel. 0223 277314 Fax 0223 277316 Tlx 817036 SCMU G vi MANAGING INFORMATION ON PROTECTED AREAS AT WCMC Institutional background The IUCN Commission on National Parks and Protected Areas (CNPPA) has been actively involved in the collection and dissemination of information on protected areas ever since it was set up in 1960 to serve as the "leading international, scientific and technical body concerned with the selection, establishment and management of national parks and other protected areas". Over the years CNPPA’s information management role increased to the extent that in 1981 it set up the Protected Areas Data Unit to undertake this service. Support for this initiative was forthcoming from the United Nations Environment Programme, as part of its Global Environmental Monitoring Programme. Originally part of the IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre, PADU is now an integral part of the World Conservation Monitoring Centre, restructured in July 1988 as a joint venture between the three partners in the World Conservation Strategy, namely IUCN-The World Conservation Union, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Objectives WCMC aims to provide accurate up-to-date information on protected area systems of the world for use by its partners (IUCN, WWF and UNEP) in the support and development of their programmes, other international bodies, governmental and non-governmental organisations, scientists and the general public. Such information covers the entire spectrum of protected areas, from national parks and sanctuaries established under protected areas legislation or customary regimes to forest reserves created under forestry legislation. It also includes privately-owned reserves in which nature is protected. PADU has an integral relationship with CNPPA. In particular, PADU is responsible to CNPPA for producing the United Nations List of National Parks and Protected Areas (1982, 1985, 1990), which is periodically generated from its protected areas database currently totalling some 20,000 records. This database, together with supporting documentation, includes comprehensive information on natural sites designated under international conventions and programmes, namely the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (World Heritage Convention), Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat (Ramsar Convention), and Unesco Man and Biosphere Programme. Thus, PADU cooperates closely with the Division of Ecological Sciences, Unesco, in maintaining information on Biosphere Reserves and World Heritage Sites accorded by the MAB Secretariat and World Heritage Committee, respectively. Likewise, it is responsible to the Ramsar Bureau for managing information on Ramsar Wetlands. vii Information capture, management and compilation Information is collected from official sources, viz. national agencies responsible for administering protected areas, and other sources through a global network of contacts ranging in profession from policy-makers and administrators to land managers and scientists. It is also obtained from published and unpublished literature. Regional CNPPA meetings and other relevant scientific and technical meetings provide valuable opportunities for making new contacts and collecting fresh information. Information, ranging from books, reports, management plans, scientific papers, and maps, is stored as hard copy in manual files. Basic data on individual protected areas are extracted and, after verification, entered in a protected areas database. This computerised database can be used for generating lists of protected areas meeting pre-defined criteria, together with summary statistics, as well as performing more complex tasks. In addition, boundaries of protected areas are gradually being digitised, using a Geographic Information System, in order to be able to generate computerised mapped output. The raw information is also used for compiling information sheets on national protected areas systems (protected areas systems information sheets) and on individual protected areas (protected areas information sheets). These information sheets are compiled according to standard formats developed over the years by PADU in collaboration with CNPPA, details of which are given elsewhere in this directory. Dissemination of information Compiled information is periodically published in the form of regional or thematic directories, with sections on individual countries comprising a protected areas system information sheet, a protected areas list with accompanying map, and a series of protected areas information sheets covering at least the more important properties. Prior to releasing or publishing documents, draft material is circulated for review by relevant government agencies and experts to help ensure that compiled information is accurate and comprehensive. Regional and thematic directories published to date are as follows: IUCN Directory of Neotropical Protected Areas (1982) IUCN Directory of Afrotropical Protected Areas (1987) MAB Information System: Biosphere Reserves: Compilation 4 (1986) Biosphere Reserves: Compilation 5 (1990) Directory of Wetlands of International Importance (1987, 1990) Protected Landscapes: Experience around the World (1987) Information is also made available to a wide range of users, including international organisations, governments, protected area managers, conservation organisations, commercial companies involved in natural resource exploitation, scientists, and the media and general public. It may be consulted by arrangement. Material may be prepared under contract: for example, PADU regularly provides UNEP with summary data on protected areas for its biennial Environmental Data Report. PADU is experimenting with providing outside users with direct access to its protected areas database. Trials have been ongoing with the US National Park Service since 1986 and it is hoped to be able to extend this service to other users in due course. PADU is also able to disseminate information through the CNPPA Newsletter and Parks magazine. In the case of the latter, PADU has recently assumed responsibility for compiling Clipboard in which world news on protected areas is featured. Viii INFORMATION SHEETS: GUIDELINES TO THEIR CONTENTS Information Sheets on Protected Areas Systems COUNTRY ' - Full name of country or political unit, as used by the United Nations (1982) AREA - Area of country or political unit according to the Times Atlas of the World (Seventh Edition, 1986), unless otherwise stated (with full reference). Terrestrial and marine components are distinguished, if appropriate. POPULATION - Population of country or political unit and its rate of natural increase according to the Population Reference Bureau, Washington DC, whose data are based on those of the United Nations Statistical Office. Year of census or estimate is indicated in parentheses. If another source has to be used, it is cited. GNP - Gross national product in US dollars, with year in parentheses, of country or political unit according to the Population Reference Bureau. POLICY AND LEGISLATION - Information on aspects of the constitution that are relevant to protected areas - Details of national policies that relate to nature conservation, particularly with respect to the protection of ecosystems. Policies relating to environmental impact assessments and national/ regional conservation strategies are outlined. - Brief historical account of national legislation and traditions that relate to the estab- lishment of the protected areas system, with dates and numbers of acts, decrees and ordinances. Legislation covering forestry and other resource sectors is included, in so far as it provides for protected areas establishment. Procedures for the notification and declassification of protected areas are summarised. - Outline of legal provisions for administering protected areas. 1 ‘In the case of countries with federal systems of government, a single information sheet describes the protected areas system at both federal and state levels, except in the case of geographically disjunct regions . - Legal definitions of national designations of protected areas, together with the names of the authorities legally responsible for their administration, are summarised. National designations are cited in the original language or transliterated, followed in brackets by the English translation as appropriate. Details of activities permitted or prohibited within each type of protected area and penalties for offences are outlined. - Reviews of protected areas policy and legislation are noted with deficiencies in prevailing provisions highlighted. INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES - Participation in international conventions and programmes (World Heritage and Ramsar conventions, MAB Programme, UNEP Regional Seas Programme) and regional agree- ments (African, ASEAN, Berne, FAO Latin American/Caribbean Technical Cooperation Network, South Asian Cooperative Environmental Programme, South Pacific, Western Hemisphere) relevant to habitat protection is summarised, with details of dates of accession or ratification etc. - Outline of any cooperative programmes or transfrontier cooperative agreements relevant to protected areas ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT - All authorities responsible for the administration and management of protected areas are described, including a brief history of their establishment, administrative organisation, staff structure, budget and any training programmes. Authorities responsible for different types of protected areas are clearly distinguished. - Outline of the role of any advisory boards - Cooperative agreements between management authorities and national or foreign univer- sities and institutes, with details of any research underway or completed. - Details of non-governmental organisations concerned with potected areas, including reference to any national directories of voluntary conservation bodies - Effectiveness of protected areas management, noting levels of disturbance and threats to the national network. Attention is drawn to any sites registered as threatened under the World Heritage Convention, or by the IUCN Commission on National Parks and Protected Areas. SYSTEMS REVIEWS - Short account of physical features, biological resources, and land use patterns, including the extent and integrity of major ecosystems. (Appropriate sources of information include IUCN’s Plants in Danger, protected areas systems reviews, and wetland and coral reef directories.) - Brief historical account of nature conservation, so far as it relates to the establishment and expansion of the national protected areas network. Emphasis is given to any systems reviews or comprehensive surveys of biological resources, with details of major recom- mendations arising from such studies. - Threats to the protected areas system beyond the control of the management agencies are outlined. OTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION (optional) - Tourism and other economic benefits of the protected areas system, if applicable - Other items, as appropriate ADDRESSES - Names and addresses (with telephone, telex and FAX nos, and cable) of authorities responsible for administering protected areas, including the title of the post of the chief executive) - Names and addresses (with telephone, telex and FAX nos, and cable) of non- governmental organisations, including the title of the post of the chief executive, actively involved in protected areas issues REFERENCES - Key references (including all cited works) to the protected areas system, in particular, and nature conservation, in general, are listed. Those not seen by the compiler are marked as ‘unseen’. DATE - Date of last extensive ‘review’ and the most recent ‘update’ DOCUMENT - Reference number of the file in which the document is held on computer. Information Sheets on Protected Areas 2 COUNTRY - Short name of country or political unit, as used by the United Nations (1982) NAME - The name of the property or properties (including any collective name, if applicable), as designated in the original language or transliterated. Where appropriate, the English translation is given underneath. In the case of transliteration, standard systems are used. IUCN MANAGEMENT CATEGORY - The property is assigned to the most appropriate [UCN management category (see Annex 1) in collaboration with the IUCN Commission on National Parks and Protected Areas. BIOGEOGRAPHICAL PROVINCE - The biogeographical code, followed by the name of the province in brackets (after Udvardy, 1975) 2 Sheets contain information on individual protected areas or clusters of such properties that form discrete conservation units. ‘No information’ is entered under any heading for which no data are available. GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION - The general location of the property within the country, including province and/or administrative district, proximity to major towns and/or topographical features, and means and ease of access. The location of different units is described, if applicable. - The boundary of the property is briefly described, its relation to any significant political boundaries noted, and geographical coordinates are given. DATE AND HISTORY OF ESTABLISHMENT - The date of establishment, together with the act, decree or ordinance number of the original and subsequent legislative articles relating to its establishment. Proposed extensions or upgradings are detailed. - A brief chronological history of previous designations, together with details of subsequent additions (including their sizes in hectares). - If applicable, dates of inscription as World Heritage Site, Biosphere Reserve, Ramsar Wetland or other appropriate international and regional designations are given. AREA - The best estimate of total area in hectares (ha), together with sizes of individually gazetted units, if applicable. If this differs from the total area as notified, the discrepancy is indicated. The extent of terrestrial and marine components is specified, if appropriate. - Contiguous or otherwise associated protected areas are noted and their sizes given in hectares (ha) in parentheses, including any lying across international borders. LAND TENURE - Land ownership (e.g. state, provincial, freehold, private, customary etc.), including sizes or proportions of respective areas if owned by several authorities ALTITUDE - Maximum and minium altitude in metres (m) PHYSICAL FEATURES - General description of abiotic features, covering geology, topography, geomorphology, soils and hydrology CLIMATE - Seasons, annual precipitation, and maximum and minimum temperatures, with respect to altitude if appropriate. Other outstanding climatic features are noted. VEGETATION - Main vegetation types are briefly described, including their approximate coverage and state of preservation. Characteristic species are noted. - Communities and species of particular interest, including endemic, globally threatened (see Annex 2), economically important and potentially economically important (e.g. crop relatives), and invasive or introduced species. Any nationally threatened species of direct relevance to management are also mentioned. - References to vegetation descriptions and species inventories are included in the above. NB Names of genera and families are based on Mabberley (1987). xii FAUNA - Mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian, fish and invertebrate faunas are described in relation to the different habitats, with emphasis on dominant, endemic, globally threatened (see Annex 2), economically important, and introduced or re-introduced species of particular interest. Where relevant, information is given on the use certain species make of habitats for breeding, stopover, migration, etc. Population sizes are given in the case of key species, with details of trends over specified periods of time. - References to species inventories are included in the above. NB Scientific nomenclature of species is based on Honacki et al. (1982) for mammals, Moroney et al. (1975) for birds, Frost (1985) for amphibians, Nelson (1984) for fishes and Parker (1982) for invertebrates. The preparation of a taxonomic reference for reptiles is being coordinated by The Association of Systematics Collections. CULTURAL HERITAGE (if relevant) - Archaeological features and cultural monuments - Ethnic groups and their traditions - Historical features LOCAL HUMAN POPULATION (if relevant) - Size of the human population resident, transhumant or nomadic within the property, together with details of the number and distribution of settlements - Livelihoods of local populations are briefly described in relation to any zonation of the property, with details of land use (e.g. numbers of livestock and amount of land under permanent or shifting cultivation). - Land use is described for the area surrounding the property, particularly as it impinges on the integrity of the property. VISITORS AND VISITOR FACILITIES (if relevant) - Annual number of visitors, together with proportions of nationals and foreigners for the latest year. Total revenue accruing from tourism is also indicated. Significant trends over specified periods of time are noted. - Types of accommodation available on site (or nearby), with details of location and amount if it is particularly limited - Availability and location of interpretation programmes, including visitor centres, educa- tional facilities and museums - Any other recreational facilities of particular interest SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND FACILITIES - A brief historical account of research undertaken, together with details of ongoing studies. Bibliographies, if compiled, are cited. - Laboratories and other facilities, including accommodation, available to scientists CONSERVATION VALUE - Geological, scenic, biological, cultural and socio-economic values of the property, and justification for its conservation - In the case of World Heritage sites, all natural and cultural criteria are outlined, based on the IUCN evaluation of the nomination submitted to the World Heritage Committee. xiii CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT - A brief history of the conservation of the property, including any reasons for its original establishment where these differ from its present conservation value. Any legal provisions specific to the protection of the property are mentioned, together with details of activities (e.g. hunting, fishing, grazing) specifically permitted or prohibited. - Administrative structure and management, including location of main facilities (e.g. headquarters) - Management objectives, as drawn up in the management plan, and their degree of implementation. (The existence or absence of a management plan or ‘statement of objectives’ is noted and, if appropriate, the authority responsible for its implementation.) - Major management activities (e.g. controlled burning, culling) - Any system of zonation, including function and size of zones - Significant training, interpretative and extension programmes - Recommendations, particularly those made in the management plan, for future conserva- tion and management of the property MANAGEMENT CONSTRAINTS - Past and current problems are briefly described, such as invasive species, poaching, fire, pollution, disease, agricultural encroachment, impact of tourism, relationship between management authorities and local people, lack of trained manpower or equipment, and proposed developments (e.g. roads, dams), with emphasis on the main types of threat and their extent. Threats from within and outside the property are distinguished. - If a property is registered as threatened by the IUCN Commission on National Parks and Protected Areas or under any national or international convention (e.g. World Heritage), details are provided. STAFF - Numbers of staff allocated to each position and, if applicable, details of voluntary staff for the latest year, with trends if significant BUDGET - Annual budget for the latest year (in parentheses) in local currency, and in US dollars for ease of comparison. Capital (e.g. construction of facilities) and recurrent (e.g. salaries) costs are distinguished. Significant trends are noted. - Financial support from outside sources LOCAL ADDRESSES - Names and addresses (with telephone, telex, FAX nos, and cable) of the local authorities responsible for the day-to-day administration and management of the property, including the title of the post of the chief executive (i.e. park warden or equivalent) - Names and addresses (with telephone, telex, FAX nos. and cable) of any local non- governmental organisations directly involved in the protection and management of the property, including the title of the post of the chief executive REFERENCES - Key references, including management plans, reports, scientific monographs, bibliog- raphies and handbooks, in addition to other scientific papers or popular articles and books specifically about the property. Particularly relevant references not available for consult- ation are also listed and cited as ‘unseen’. xiv DATE - Date of last extensive ‘review’ and the most recent ‘update’ DOCUMENT - Reference number of the file in which the document is held on computer. REFERENCES Frost, D.R. Ed. (1985). Amphibian species of the world: a taxonomic and geographical reference. Allen Press and The Association of Systematics Collections, Lawrence, Kansas, USA. 735 pp. Honacki, J.H., Kinman, K.E. and Koeppl, J.W. (1982). Mammal species of the world: a taxonomic and geographic reference. Allen Press and The Association of Systematics Collections, Lawrence, Kansas, USA. 694 pp. IUCN (1984). Categories and criteria for protected areas. In: McNeely, J.A. and Miller, K.R. (Eds), National parks, conservation, and development. The role of protected areas in sustaining society. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington. Pp. 47-53. IUCN (1988). 1988 IUCN Red List of threatened animals. TUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. 154 pp. Mabberley, D.J. (1987). The plant-book. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 706 pp. Morony, J.J. Jr, Bock W.J. and Farrand Jr (1975). Reference list of the birds of the world. American Museum of Natural History, New York. 207 pp. Nelson, J.S. (1984). Fishes of the world. John Wiley, New York. Parker, S.P. (1982). Synopsis and classification of living organisms. 2 volumes. McGraw Hill, New York. Udvardy, M.D.F. (1975). A classification of the biogeographical provinces of the world. [UCN Occasional Paper No. 18, Morges, Switzerland. 48 pp. United Nations (1982). Names of countries and adjectives of nationality. Terminology Bulletin No. 327. XV Il IV VI Vil ANNEX 1 Categories and management objectives of protected areas Scientific Reserve/Strict Nature Reserve: to protect nature and maintain natural pro- cesses in an undisturbed state in order to have ecologically representative examples of the natural environment available for scientific study, environmental monitoring, education, and for the maintenance of genetic resources in a dynamic and evolutionary state. National Park: to protect natural and scenic areas of national or international significance for scientific, educational and recreational use. Natural Monument/Natural Landmark: to protect and preserve nationally significant natural features because of their special interest or unique characteristics. Managed Nature Reserve/Wildlife Sanctuary: to assure the natural conditions necess- ary to protect nationally significant species, groups of species, biotic communities, or physical features of the environment where these require specific human manipulation for their perpetuation. Protected Landscape or Seascape: to maintain nationally significant natural landscapes which are characteristic of the harmonious interaction of man and land while providing opportunities for public enjoyment through recreation and tourism within the normal life style and economic activity of these areas. Resource Reserve: to protect the natural resources of the area for future use and prevent or contain development activities that could affect the resource pending the establishment of objectives which are based upon appropriate knowledge and planning. Natural Biotic Area/Anthropological Reserve: to allow the way of life of societies living in harmony with the environment to continue undisturbed by modern technology. VIII Multiple-Use Management Area/Managed Resource Area: to provide for the sustained IX production of water, timber, wildlife, pasture, and outdoor recreation, with the conservation of nature primarily oriented to the support of economic activities (although specific zones may also be designated within these areas to achieve specific conservation objectives). Biosphere Reserve: to conserve for present and future use the diversity and integrity of representative biotic communities of plants and animals within natural ecosystems, and to safeguard the genetic diversity of species on which their continuing evolution depends. World Heritage Site: to protect the natural features for which the area is considered to be of World Heritage quality, and to provide information for world-wide public enlightenment. Abridged from IUCN (1984) Xvi ANNEX 2 IUCN Threatened species categories Species identified as threatened by IUCN are assigned a category indicating the degree of threat. Definitions are as follows: (Ex) Extinct: species not definitely located in the wild during the past 50 years. (E) (V) (R) (1) (K) (T) (C) Endangered: taxa in danger of extinction and whose survival is unlikely if causal factors continue operating. Vulnerable: taxa believed likely to move into the ‘Endangered’ category in the near future if causal factors continue operating. Rare: taxa with small world populations that are not at present ‘Endangered’ or ‘Vulner- able’ but are at risk. Indeterminate: taxa known to be ‘Endangered’, ‘Vulnerable’ or ‘Rare’ but where there is insufficient information to say which of these categories is appropriate. Insufficiently known: taxa that are suspected, but not definitely known, to belong to any of the above categories because of lack of information. Threatened: threatened is a general term to denote species which are ‘Endangered’, ‘Vulnerable’, ‘Rare’, ‘Indeterminate’ or ‘Insufficiently known’. It is used to identify taxa comprised of several sub-taxa which have differing status categories. Commercially Threatened: taxa not currently threatened with extinction but most or all of whose populations are threatened as a sustainable resource, or will become so unless their exploitation is regulated. Abridged from IUCN (1988) XVii £ KG A TO RR YRMN NEG SeelbhMTID itis arene que aba van Dan aE tional r Praytareel hee, bee! ava , 2 bisa aca ahi ptt pa on _ Rengerisson rity evinnatienepeiaret nce co sie 280 yr adeaacll we t- ghia ans AU ST Ee iit bi iarnctasn sttadmase at hoe bic ceate a FD gucinn? srmbacges aby a ie anki’ wih Mii Seats onse: pet 9 rr My F i vredt ce all iG ‘ x uf ee hah fh ipa fs ie- Pee bie hae , cy oe eS gL Soe ephieiaicarhircid 30 ‘nicely, Heocpene ibe a y a OF ity ioail span = Ru NGOING! HE ast ye aio sect Ws staldw yy 61 ax a soa ¥ Rauons Sy ts ee nt “J Sy ees oF WT gg ae ealy Hench ae cooly Ceapiaiet Seasinab scat. teehaiabiaba ete nits ater 29 sh dene: seated “Seer beamed hia! aati she tle ott: s08 hie, we Cree St hoe aiege re ee taiathe sindes ob osvet feromag ¢ ef Lisnaitionti Bare: "ibd SLY Cua" semninvehisind Foci Sit a metas > CS eipm's itae ny | ‘sdahehalieibaalinenstinad ert is ale ar he ONset Vat ype ase “rece. 293 pining Hie worn tnet noltoatixe dhitw honstenuls yliernes ton nasi wr Se ie) ig Parmer Here Rie esornnan ww cows vetoed Vil? Mypitipte Sherageetat Arce Sfanayed & deities Ayan: He pees ‘i we por Prete 7 et creiben ARGS, psn, a ct once ana e rd ba d PR tr ati verti’ to Pe Supp? OF toe omneucd ieee fe f et eM vet Phe wility, eyes Arete aie ve m6 pan i Miyagimer y f v.56 eon See eattaat ane fefare ix «bee Poets QpreSrnicee cae emtrennabanips af giptict wad aatroads +2 cs hun writen + wives Senn pete cin wishes chk < ort BANGLADESH Area 144,000 sq.km Population 114,700,000 (1989) Natural Increase 2.8% per annum GNP US$ 160 per capita (1987) Policy and Legislation Environmental policy in Bangladesh is based on the following three broad principles: precautionary, whereby harm to the environment is avoided; originator, whereby the costs of ameliorating damage to the environment are borne by those responsible; and cooperation, whereby relevant bodies are involved in planning for environmental protection (Rahman, 1983). The need for an explicit national policy on environmental protection and management has been repeatedly highlighted (BARC, 1987), and is presently under consideration by the government. Objectives of such a policy will be as follows: to create, develop, maintain and improve conditions under which man and nature can thrive in productive and enjoyable harmony with each other; to fulfill the social, economic and other requirements of present and future gener- ations; and to ensure the attainment of an environmental quality that is conducive to a life of dignity and well-being (Rahman, 1983). Environmental impact assessment for anticipating adverse impacts has not yet been incorporated into the development planning process, nor is it a mandatory requirement of project-approving agencies. According to government policy, sanctioning agencies should ensure that project proposals contain adequate environmental safeguards but, in practice, this is not strictly followed (BARC, 1987). Bangladesh has completed the first phase of a national conservation strategy aimed at integrating conservation goals with national development objectives and overcoming identified obstacles to sustainable development (BARC, 1987). Some twenty sectors in the current Third Five Year Plan are identified for critical analysis during a second phase, including the conservation of genetic resources, and wildlife management and protected areas. The Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council, Ministry of Agriculture is the lead agency for the implementation of Phase II which began in October 1989. There is no national wildlife conservation policy. The Bangladesh Wildlife (Preservation) Order, 1973, promulgated under Presidential Order No. 23 on 27 March 1973 and subsequently enacted and amended in two phases as the Bangladesh Wildlife (Preservation) (Amendment) Act, 1974, provides for the establishment of national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, game reserves and private game reserves. A national park is defined as a comparatively large area of outstanding natural beauty, in which the protection of wildlife is paramount and to which the public may be allowed access for recreational and educational purposes. A wildlife sanctuary IUCN Directory of South Asian Protected Areas is an area closed to hunting and maintained as an undisturbed breeding ground, primarily for the protection of all natural resources, including vegetation, soil and water. A game reserve is an area in which the wildlife is protected but hunting is allowed on a permit basis. Under Article 23, cultivation, damage to vegetation, killing or capturing wild animals within a radius of 1.6km outside its boundary, and pollution of water is not allowed in either a national park or wildlife sanctuary. Entry or residence, introduction of exotic or domestic species of animals and lighting of fires is prohibited in wildlife sanctuaries, but not national parks. By contrast, firing of guns or other forms of disturbance to wild animals is prohibited in national parks, but not wildlife sanctuaries. No specific rules are detailed for game reserves. The Article makes provision, however, for the Government to relax any of these prohibitions for scientific, aesthetic or other exceptional reasons, and to alter the boundaries of protected areas. Under Article 24, provision is made for the establishment of private game reserves upon application by the landowner. The owner of a private game reserve may exercise all the powers of an officer provided under the Act. Proposals are being drawn up to strengthen the existing legislation, largely through raising fines and terms of imprisonment for offences. Conservation, use and exploitation of marine resources are provided for under the Territorial Water and Maritime Zones Act, 1974. According to provisions in this Act, conservation zones may be established to protect marine resources from indiscriminate exploitation, depletion or destruction. At present, there is no legal provision for the management of coastal zones. The Forest Act, 1927 enables the government to declare any forest or waste land to be reserved forest or protected forest. Activities are generally prohibited in reserved forests; certain activities, such as removal of forest produce, may be permitted under license in protected forests while others, such as quarrying of stone and clearing for cultivation, may be prohibited. The rights of government to any land constituted as reserved forest may be assigned to village communities, with conditions for their management prescribed by government. Such forests are called village forests. Under the Forest (Amendment) Ordinance, 1989, penalties for offences committed within reserved and protected forests have been increased from a maximum of six months imprisonment and a fine of Tk 500 to five years imprisonment and a Tk 5,000 (US$ 1,700) fine. In accordance with the National Forest Policy, adopted in 1979, effective measures will be taken to conserve the natural environment and wildlife resources. The Policy does not, however, deal explicitly with the need to set aside special areas as protected forests, as distinct from productive forests, to preserve genetic diversity and maintain ecological processes within the context of sustainable development (BARC, 1987). Other environmental legislation less specifically related to protected areas is reviewed elsewhere (DS/ST, 1980; Rahman, 1983). International Activities Bangladesh is party to the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (World Heritage Convention) which it accepted on 3 August 1983. No natural sites have been inscribed to date. Bangladesh participates in the Unesco Man and Biosphere Programme. Apart from a couple of reserved forests proposed as candidate sites by the Bangladesh MAB National Committee in the late 1970s, there does not appear to have been any significant development in recent years. A proposal to become a party to the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat (Ramsar Convention) was submitted to the erstwhile Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry by the Forest Department and awaits approval. It is proposed to nominate the Sundarbans mangrove Bangladesh forests as a wetland of international importance, in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the Convention (Rahman and Akonda, 1987). Administration and Management Wildlife conservation, including the management of protected areas, is the responsibility of the Forest Directorate within the new Ministry of Environment and Forests formed in 1989. Previously, the Forest Directorate came under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests while the former Department of Environmental Pollution Control, concerned largely with environmental pollution, was under the Ministry of Local Government and Rural development. In 1976 a Wildlife Circle was established within what was then known as the Forest Department, with specific responsibility for wildlife matters under the charge of a Conservator of Forests responsible directly to the Chief Conservator of Forests. A $13.3 million scheme, entitled "Development of Wildlife Management and Game Reserves", was incorporated within the country’s First Five Year Plan, but reduced to $92,000 in the subsequent Two Year Approach Plan (Olivier, 1979). The Wildlife Circle was subsequently abolished in June 1983, allegedly in the interests of economy and following the recommendations of the Inam Commission. The post of Conservator of Forests (General Administration and Wildlife) remains but the incumbent has many other administrative duties unrelated to wildlife. Following its general down-grading within the Forest Department, wildlife conservation has become the theoretical responsibility of the various divisional forest officers (Blower, 1985; Husain, 1986). Separate staff are deployed for protection purposes in a number of national parks and wildlife sanctuaries (Sarker and Fazlul Huq, 1985). The Bangladesh Wildlife (Preservation)(Amendment) Act, 1974 also provides for the estab- lishment of a Wildlife Advisory Board, which was set up in 1976 under the chairmanship of the Minister of Agriculture. The Board is supposed to approve important wildlife management decisions and directives (Olivier, 1979). Although it still exists, it does not appear to be a dynamic force (Blower, 1985; BARC, 1987). In view of the low priority accorded to protected areas, a Task Force was formed by the Ministry of Agriculture in 1985 to identify institutional and other measures needed to improve current provisions for wildlife conservation. Recommendations of the Task Force, submitted to the government in July 1986, await approval by the competent authority. They include a plan to immediately revive the erstwhile Wildlife Circle, review Phase II of the Wildlife Development Project and secure protection of 5% of the total land area of the country for conservation purposes (Rahman and Akonda, 1987). The principal non-governmental conservation organisations within the country are the Society for Conservation of Nature and Environment (SCONE), which is mainly concerned with environmental pollution, and the Wildlife Society of Bangladesh. Pothikrit, based in Chunati, and Polli Unnayan Sangstha (POUSH), founded in 1984, are both involved in promoting the adoption of sound management practices in and around protected areas. Their efforts are presently focussed on Chunati Wildlife Sanctuary and Teknaf Game Reserve. Given that wildlife resources are vested largely in reserved forests, their conservation has in the past been diametrically opposed to forest management practices. Few, if any, protected areas are effectively managed and protected. Lack of personnel trained in wildlife conservation is a further handicap (Olivier, 1979; Gittins and Akonda, 1982; Khan, 1985). The very low priority IUCN Directory of South Asian Protected Areas apparently now accorded to wildlife conservation is reflected in the recent abolition of the Wildlife Circle, the reassignment of staff to normal duties, the lack of any separate financial provision within the Forest Directorate’s budget and the now moribund Wildlife Advisory Board (Blower, 1985). Systems Reviews Some 80% of Bangladesh is lowland, comprising an alluvial plain cut by the three great river systems (Ganges-Padma, Brahmaputra-Jamuna and Meghna) that flow into the Bay of Bengal. Typically, at least one-half of the land is inundated annually, with one-tenth subject to severe flooding. The entire flood plain was well-vegetated, but much of the forest has been replaced by cultivations and plantations in recent decades due to mounting pressure from human populations. Here, the only extensive tract of forest remaining is the Sundarbans. Hills are confined chiefly to the east and south-east, notably the Chittagong Hills where forest cover is among the most extensive in the country. According to the 1987 Statistical Yearbook of Bangladesh, forests cover 2.1 million hectares or 14.7% of total land area but this represents neither the area under forest nor that under the control of the Forest Department (Rashid, 1989). In 1980, Gittins and Akonda (1982) estimated remaining natural forest to be 4,782 sq.km (3.3%) and scrub forest 9,260ha (6.5%). Actual forest cover is presently estimated to be 1 million hectares or 6.9% of total land area, a reduction of more than 50% over the past 20 years (WRI/CIDE, 1990). The major forest types are mangrove, moist deciduous or sal Shorza robusta, restricted to the Madhupur Tract and northern frontier with Meghalaya, and evergreen forests found in the eastern districts of Sylhet, Chittagong and Chittagong Hill Tracts. A small amount of freshwater swamp occupies the basins of the north-east region. Wetlands, variously estimated as covering between seven and eight million hectares or nearly 50% of total land area, support a variety of wildlife, as well as being of enormous economic importance (Scott, 1989). The only known coral reef is around Jinjiradwip (St Martin’s Island) in the Bay of Bengal. It is reputed to be a submerged reef but little is known about it (UNEP/IUCN, 1988). Conservation efforts began in 1966, prior to independence, when the Government of Pakistan invited the World Wildlife Fund to assess its wildlife resources and recommend measures to arrest their depletion. Two expeditions were mounted (Mountfort and Poore, 1967, 1968) and the severity of the situation confirmed, whereupon the Government was urged to appoint its own Wildlife Enquiry Committee. The committee was established in 1968 and by 1970 had drafted areport. That part relating to East Pakistan was published as a separate report (Government of East Pakistan, 1971). Considerable progress was made with the establishment of several protected areas (Mountfort, 1969), research undertaken on the Sundarbans tiger population of East Pakistan (Hendrichs, 1975), and technical input from UNDP/FAO (Grimwood, 1969). Then, in 1971, came the War of Liberation which inevitably disrupted subsequent progress. In spite of political instability, however, the Bangladesh Wildlife (Preservation) Order was pro- mulgated in 1973 and an ambitious programme of wildlife management developed, followed by the formation of a Wildlife Circle in 1976 and further technical assistance from UNDP/FAO (Olivier, 1979). Economic constraints, however, have subsequently been responsible for the loss of much of this initiative (Blower, 1985). Bangladesh The existing system of protected areas has recently been reviewed (Green, 1989). It is not comprehensive, having been established with little regard to ecological and other criteria, and falls well below the target of 5% recommended by the erstwhile Ministry of Agriculture Task Force. Some effort has been made to include representative samples of the major habitats but, for example, marine and freshwater areas have been largely neglected (Olivier, 1979; Gittins and Akonda, 1982; Khan, 1985; Rahman and Akonda, 1987). Priorities to develop the present network of protected areas are identified in the IUCN systems review of the Indomalayan Realm (MacKinnon and MacKinnon, 1986) and further recommendations are made in the Corbett Action Plan (IUCN, 1985), many of which are based on earlier recommendations by Olivier (1979). More recently, wetlands of conservation value have been identified (Scott, 1989). Of outstanding importance is the need to prepare a plan for the development of the country’s protected areas network. Addresses Conservator of Forests (General Administration and Wildlife), Office of the Chief Conservator of Forests, Bana Bhawan, Gulsham Road, Monakhali, DHAKA 12 (Cable FORESTS; Tei. 603537) Chief Conservator of Forests, Forest Directorate, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Bana Bhawan, Gulshan Road, Monakhali, DHAKA 12 (Cable FORESTS) Polli Unnayan Sangstha, 43 New Eskaton Road, DHAKA (Tlx 642639 OCNBJ; Tel. 402801, 406628) Pothikrit, CHUNATI VILLAGE, Chittagong District Secretary General, The Society for Conservation of Nature and Environment, 146 Shanti Nagar, DACCA 17 (Cable ENVIRON DHAKA; Tel. 409119) General Secretary, Wildlife Society of Bangladesh, c/o Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka, DHAKA 1000 References BARC (1987). National conservation strategy for Bangladesh. Draft prospectus (Phase I). Ban- gladesh Agricultural Research Council/IUCN, Gland, Switzerland. 154 pp. Blower, J.H. (1985). Sundarbans Forest Inventory Project, Bangladesh. Wildlife conservation in the Sundarbans. Project Report 151. ODA Land Resources Development Centre, Surbiton, UK. 39 pp. DS/ST (1980). Draft environmental profile on Bangladesh. Science and Technology Division, Library of Congress. Washington, DC. 98 pp. Gittins, S.P. and Akonda, A W. (1982). What survives in Bangladesh? Oryx 16: 275-281. Government of East Pakistan (1971). Report of the Technical Sub-committee for East Pakistan of the Wildlife Enquiry Committee. Dacca. Green, M.J.B. (1989). Bangladesh: an overview of its protected areas system. World Conservation Monitoring Centre, Cambridge, UK. 63 pp. Grimwood, I.R. (1969). Wildlife Conservation in Pakistan. Pakistan National Forestry Research and Training Project Report No. 17. FAO, Rome. 31 pp. Hendrichs, H. (1975). The status of the tiger Panthera tigris (Linne, 1758) in the Sundarbans mangrove forest (Bay of Bengal). Saugetierkundliche Mitteilungen 23: 161-199. Husain, K.Z. (1986). Wildlife study, research and conservation in Bangladesh. Eleventh Annual Bangladesh Science Conference Section 2: 1-32. IUCN (1985). The Corbett Action Plan for protected areas of the Indomalayan Realm. YUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. 23 pp. IUCN Directory of South Asian Protected Areas rotected reas Existing Circle area equates to actual park area Less than 50 sq.km. Proposed Less than 50 sq.km. Protected areas of Bangladesh Numbers correspond to those in the summary. Bangladesh Summary of Protected Areas of Bangladesh National designation IUCN Management Area Year Name of area and map reference category (ha) notified National Parks 1 Bhawal* Vv 5,022 1982 2 Himchari* Unassigned 1,729 1980 3 Madhupur* Vv 8,436 1982 4 Ramsagar* Unassigned 52 1974 Subtotal (% total land area) 15,239 (0.1%) Wildlife Sanctuaries 5 Char Kukri-Mukri* IV 40 1981 6 Chunati* IV 7,764 1986 7 Pablakhali* IV 42,087 1983 8 Rema-Kalenga* IV 1,095 1981 9 Sundarbans East* IV 5,439 1977 10 Sundarbans South* IV 17,878 1977 11 Sundarbans West* IV 9,069 1977 Subtotal (% total land area) 83,369 (0.6%) Game Reserves 12 Teknaf* VII 11,615 1983 Subtotal (% total land area) 11,615 (0.1%) Proposed 13 Hail Haor Wildlife Sanctuary* Proposed 1,427 14 Hazarikhil Wildlife Sanctuary* Proposed 2,903 15 Rampahar-Sitapahar Wildlife Sanctuary* Proposed 3,026 TOTALS Existing areas (% total land area) 110,226 (0.8%) Proposed areas (% total land area) 7,356 (0.1%) 1, ocations of protected areas are shown in the accompanying map. * Site is described in this directory. IUCN Directory of South Asian Protected Areas Khan, M.A.R. (1985). Furture conservation directions for Bangladesh. In: Thorsell, J.W. (Ed.), Conserving Asia’s natural heritage. YUCN, Gland, Switzerland. Pp. 114-122. MacKinnon, J. and MacKinnon, K. (1986). Review of the protected areas system in the Indo- Malayan Realm. TUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. 284 pp. Mounffort, G. (1969). Pakistan’s progress. Oryx 10: 39-43. Mountfort, G. and Poore, D. (1967). The conservation of wildlife in Pakistan. World Wildlife Fund, Morges, Switzerland. Unpublished report. 27 pp. Mountfort, G. and Poore, D. (1968). Report on the Second World Wildlife Fund Expedition to Pakistan. World Wildlife Fund, Morges, Switzerland. Unpublished report. 25 pp. Olivier, R.C.D. (1979). Wildlife conservation and management in Bangladesh. UNDP/FAO Project No. BGD/72/005. Forest Research Institute, Chittagong. 121 pp. Rahman, S. (1983). Country monograph on institutional and legislative framework on environment, Bangladesh. UN/ESCAP and Government of Bangladesh. 76 pp. Rahman, S.A. and Akonda, A.W. (1987). Bangladesh national conservation strategy: wildlife and protected areas. Department of Forestry, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Dhaka. Unpub- lished report. 33 pp. Rashid, H. Er (1989). Land use in Bangladesh: selected topics. Bangladesh Agriculture Sector Review. UNDP Project No. BGD/87/023. Pp. 106-155. Sarker, N.M. and Fazlul Huq, A.K.M. (1985). Protected areas of Bangladesh. In: Thorsell, J.W. (Ed.), Conserving Asia’ s natural heritage. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland. Pp. 36-38. Scott, D.A. (Ed.) (1989). A directory of Asian wetlands. TUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. 1,181 pp. UNEP/IUCN (1988). Coral reefs of the world. Volume 2: Indian Ocean, Red Sea and Gulf. UNEP Regional Seas Directories and Bibliographies. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambidge, UK/UNEP, Nairobi, Kenya. 389 pp. WRI/CIDE (1990). Bangladesh environment and natural resource assessment. Draft for review. World Resources Institute/Centre for International Development and Environment, Washington DC. 86 pp. Date July 1984, updated August 1990 Bangladesh BHAWAL NATIONAL PARK IUCN Management Category V (Protected Landscape) Biogeographical Province 4.03.01 (Bengalian Rainforest) Geographical Location Lies in Dhaka Forest Division, about 40km north of the capital city of Dhaka, from where it is easily accessible throughout the year by road. 24°01’N, 90°20’E Date and History of Establishment Established and maintained as a national park since 1974 but not officially declared as such until 1982, under the Bangladesh Wildlife (Preservation) (Amendment) Act, 1974. Area 5,022ha Land Tenure State Altitude Up to 4.5m Physical Features The topography is characterised by low hills which rise 3.0-4.5m above the surrounding paddy fields. These hills or ridges, locally known as ‘chalas’, are intersected by numerous depressions or ‘baids’. The soil is yellow-red, comprising sandy clay mixed with magniferous iron ores. Climate Conditions are moderate, the coldest and hottest months being January (down to 10°C) and April (up to 37°C), respectively. The cold season lasts from November to January. Mean annual rainfall is 2500mm, most of which falls in the monsoon between June and September. Vegetation Most of the original sal Shorea robusta forest has been destroyed. It has been protected from further destruction and now, due to extensive regeneration, coppiced and seedling sal covers 90% of the area (Womersley, 1979; Sarker and Fazlul Huq, 1985). Fauna Mammal diversity is low. Species include fox Vulpes bengalensis, jackal Canis aureus, small Indian civet Viverricula indica, wild boar Sus scrofa and black-naped hare Lepus nigricollis. The avifauna is similar to that found in Madhupur National Park (Sarker and Fazlul Hug, 1985). Cultural Heritage No information Local Human Population Some 2,000 people reside and cultivate land in the national park. Visitors and Visitor Facilities Public usage is intense, with 25,000 visitors recorded at weekends (Womersley, 1979). Accommodation includes four rest houses and two cottages. Recreational and educational facilities include some 25km of trails, an artificial lake, two ponds and two observation towers. IUCN Directory of South Asian Protected Areas Scientific Research and Facilities A wildlife survey was carried out by the Forest Directorate in 1981 (Sarker and Fazlul Huq, 1985). Conservation Value Bhawal is not an important wildlife conservation area but, being close to a large urban centre, it is valued for recreational purposes (Olivier, 1979). Conservation Management Recreational and educational facilities were improved and de- veloped under the management of the Forest Department, but plans were subsequently discon- tinued. Forestry operations are limited to re-forestation of damaged areas (Olivier, 1979; Womersley, 1979; Sarker and Fazlul Huq, 1985). Management Constraints The original forest vegetation has been removed and wildlife severely depleted. Staff No information Budget No information Local Addresses No information References Olivier, R.C.D. (1979). Wildlife conservation and management in Bangladesh. UNDP/FAO Project BGD/72/005. FAO, Forest Research Institute, Chittagong. 121 pp. Sarker, N.M. and Fazlul Huq, A.K.M. (1985). Country report on national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and game reserves of Bangladesh. Prepared for the 25th Working Session of IUCN’s Commission on National Parks and Protected Areas. Corbett National Park, India. 4-8 February 1985. 5 pp. Womersley, J.S. (1979). Botanic Garden Dacca, commercial horticultural forest botany and national parks. UNDP/FAO Project BGD/72/005. FAO, Forest Research Institute, Chittagong. 71 pp. Date May 1987, updated August 1990 CHAR KUKRI-MUKRI WILDLIFE SANCTUARY IUCN Management Category IV (Managed Nature Reserve) Biogeographical Province 4.03.01 (Bengalian Rainforest) Geographical Location Lies on Char Kukri-Mukzsi Island, in southern Charfession Upazilla, Bola District, some 130km from Barisal Town in the Gangetic Delta of southern Bangladesh. 21°55’N, 90°38’°E Date and History of Establishment Declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1981 under the Ban- gladesh Wildlife (Preservation) (Amendment) Act, 1974. Also referred to as Charfession Wildlife Sanctuary. 10 Bangladesh Area 40ha Land Tenure State Altitude No information Physical Features Char Kukri-Mukzi, lying in the outer Gangetic Delta, is a small low-lying island (2,500ha) with extensive mudflats. At high tide much of it is under water, apart from agricultural land. The sanctuary is dissected by small khals or creeks (Sarker and Fazlul Huq, 1985; Scott, 1989). Climate Rainfall is heavy and humidity high due to the influence of the Bay of Bengal. Mean annual rainfall is likely to be in the region of 2790mm, with 80% falling in the monsoon from June to September, as recorded on the Sundarbans coast (Seidensticker and Hai, 1983). Vegetation Comprises mangrove forest. Patches of hogla Typha elephantina and horgoja Acanthus illicifolius occur in places; keora Sonneretia apetala is widespread; and khalisha Aegiceras maius is also present. A thick growth of the small spiny ‘tamfulkanta’ tree covers much of the sanctuary (Sarker and Fazlul Huq, 1985). Fauna Common mammals include fishing cat Felis viverrina and Oriental small-clawed otter Aonyx cinerea. More than eight species of heron breed in the sanctuary. Other waterfowl include egrets, bitterns and grey pelican Pelecanus philippensis. All three monitor species known for Bangladesh are reported from this sanctuary, Varanus salvator, V. bengalensis and V. flavescens (Sarker and Fazlul Huq, 1983). Furthez details of the waterfowl are given by Scott (1989). Cultural Heritage No information Local Human Population The sanctuary is not inhabited but the south-west of the island is settled and plantations cover 1,500ha. Much of the surrounding land has been cultivated (Sarker and Fazlul Huq, 1985; Scott, 1989). Visitors and Visitor Facilities No information Scientific Research and Facilities Some preliminary floral and faunal surveys have been undertaken (Scott, 1989). Conservation Value Char Kukri-Mukri is an important wetland site (Scott, 1989). Conservation Management The best area of mangrove forest in the island is included within the wildlife sanctuary. No forestry activities are carried out in the mangroves apart for the purpose of conserving wildlife populations (Scott, 1989). Management Constraints No information Staff No information Budget No information 11 IUCN Directory of South Asian Protected Areas Local Addresses No information References Sarker, N.M. and Fazlul Huq, A.K.M. (1985). Country report on national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and game reserves of Bangladesh. Prepared for the 25th Working Session of IUCN’s Commission on National Parks and Protected Areas. Corbett National Park, India. 4-8 February 1985. 5 pp. Scott, D.A. (Ed.) (1989). A directory of Asian wetlands. TUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. 1,181 pp. Seidensticker, J. and Hai, M.A. (1983). The Sundarbans Wildlife Management Plan: conservation in the Bangladesh coastal zone. YUCN, Gland, Switzerland. 120 pp. Date May 1987, updated August 1990 CHUNATI WILDLIFE SANCTUARY IUCN Management Category IV (Managed Nature Reserve) Biogeographical Province 4.04.01 (Burman Rainforest) Geographical Location Lies about 70km south of Chittagong Port, Chittagong and Cox’s Bazaar districts. The eastern boundary is formed by the Chittagong- Cox’s Bazaar Highway. 22°08’-22°53’N, 91°58’-92°05’E Date and History of Establishment Formerly part of the reserved forests of Chittagong Forest Division, the area was designated a wildlife sanctuary on 8 March 1986 (Notification No. XII/For-1/84/174). Area 7,763.97ha Land Tenure State Altitude Up to 90m Physical Features The sanctuary is bisected along its north-south axis by a range of hills, some 60-90m high. Spurs projecting from this range are separated by deep ravines. The area is drained by four major streams. Climate No information Vegetation The area used to support subtropical semi-evergreen forest, dominated by garjan Dipterocarpus spp. Associates were ratkan Lophopetalum spp., jam Syzium spp., uriam Man- gifera spp., chapalish Artocarpus spp., simul Salmalva spp., korai Albizia spp. and toon Cedrela spp. Bamboos and grasses were profuse. Much of the original vegetation has been heavily disturbed through commercial exploitation, illegal felling and encroachment (Jalil, n.d.). 12 Bangladesh Fauna Wildlife populations are depleted due to heavy disturbance to the habitat. Some 26 species of mammals are reportedly present, including rhesus macaque Macaca mulatta, common langur Presbytis entellus, Hoolock gibbon Hylobates hoolock (V), dhole Cuon alpinus (V), fox Vulpes bengalensis, leopard Panthera pardus (T), tiger P. tigris (E), Indian elephant Elephas maximus (E), Indian muntjac Muntiacus muntjak and sambar Cervus unicolor (Ahmed, n.d.). A resident herd of 15 to 30 elephant is present, as well as a dozen of the nationally rare serow Capricornis sumatraensis. Tiger Panthera tigris (E), last recorded in 1983, may also be present (IUCN, 1990). Some 40 species of birds have been recorded, including a variety of birds of prey, pheasants and fish-eating species (Ahmed, n.d.). Cultural Heritage ‘“Chuna’ means chosen and, according to legend, Chunati was chosen by members of Shah Shuja’s caravan who remained in the area while the Prince continued his journey to Arakan to flee from his brother, Aurangzeb. The history of the region has since been recorded in Persian by scholars from the region (Rahman, 1989). Local Human Population Surrounding areas are settled. About 500 households distributed among 10-12 villages depend on the sanctuary’s wood resources as a source of income (IUCN, 1990). Visitors and Visitor Facilities No information Scientific Research and Facilities A preliminary inventory of the mammals and birds has been compiled (Ahmed, n.d.). Conservation Value Chunati lies at the northern edge of one of the most dense tropical rain forests in Bangladesh. It supports a rich flora and fauna and its diminishing resources are vital for the poor and landless (Rahman, 1989; IUCN, 1990). Conservation Management A citizens committee, known as Pothikrit, was responsible for persuading the government to declare the area a wildlife sanctuary. Since then, Pothikrit has been raising the level of awareness among the poor and landless farmers about the need to conserve forest resources. For example, poor people dependent on the sanctuary’s wood resources have been engaged in forestry activities in peripheral areas to plant and raise trees. In time, this may ease pressure on the sanctuary and adjacent forests (Anon., 1990; IUCN, 1990). Chunati has not been subject to any management regime since its inception. Plans have been drawn up, however, to restore the sanctuary to its original condition but await sanctioning. Priorities include the provision of adequate staffing and quarters, development of pastures and waterholes for wildlife, and construction of visitor facilities (Jalil, n.d.). Management Constraints Encroachment has been a persistent problem in and around the sanctuary. The forest has been cleared for cultivation by wealthy land-owners. Timber and firewood resources have been legally and illegally extracted for many years, this being the major cause of depletion and loss of wildlife habitat. Timber traders represent a strong vested-interest group and are located near the sanctuary. Impoverished fuelwood gatherers have also tradition- ally depended on the resources of the sanctuary, as it represents their major source of income, particularly outside the agricultural season. In addition, wildlife is under constant threat from 13 IUCN Directory of South Asian Protected Areas chronic hunting and poaching. The Forest Department has so far proved to be ineffective in arresting deforestation and the decline of wildlife within the sanctuary and, at present, there is no management plan. Unless new management measures are implemented soon, it is anticipated that the sanctuary will be destroyed within 15 years. These constraints are addressed in a project proposed by IUCN (1990) to assess the forest resources in Chunati and the dependence of the local people on them, and to prepare a management plan. Staff Presently staffed by one honorary wildlife warden but one assistant conservator of forests, one forest ranger, one forester, forest guards and honorary wildlife wardens are proposed (Jalil, n.d.). Budget No information Local Addresses Divisional Forest Officer, Chittagong Forest Division References Ahmed, M. (n.d.). Introducing the Chunati Wildlife Sanctuary. Forest Research Institute, Chittagong. Unpublished report. 6 pp. Anon. (1990). Participatory forestry. Bangladesh Environmental Newsletter 1(1): 5. IUCN (1990). Applied research and management plan for Chunati Wildlife Sanctuary, Chitta- gong. Bangladesh. Project Proposal. 8 pp. Jalil, S.M. (n.d.). Chunati Game Sanctuary. Chittagong Forest Division. Unpublished report. 4 pp. Rahman, S.H. (1989). About Pothikrit and Chunati. Unpublished paper presented at the Seminar on Forest Resources Management, Chittagong, February 1989. 4 pp. Date July 1989, updated August 1990 HAIL HAOR WILDLIFE SANCTUARY IUCN Management Category Proposed Biogeographical Province 4.09.04 (Burma Monsoon Forest) Geographical Location Hail Haor, a wetland, lies 3km north-west of Srimangal and 14km south-west of Moulavi Bazar in Moulavi Bazar District, Sylhet. 24°18’-24°26’N, 91°38’- 91°45°E Date and History of Establishment No existing conservation status Area An area of 1,427ha is proposed for designation as a wildlife sanctuary. The area of the wetland varies from a minimum of 3,643ha in the dry season to a maximum of 8,906ha in the rainy season. Land Tenure State Altitude c.5m 14 Bangladesh Physical Features Comprises a large shallow lake in a saucer-shaped depression, bounded in the south, east and west by low hills and in the north by the plains of the Manu and Kushiara rivers. The haor is almost encircled by a chain of tea estates and natural forest blocks. Gopla River flows through the wetland in a north-south direction. The lake floods during the rainy season to a maximum depth of 3m, and almost dries up during the dry season. Land exposed as the water level recedes is converted to rice paddies. Much of the lake’s surface is overgrown with lotus and water hyacinth. Climate Conditions are subtropical monsoonal, with a mean annual rainfall of approximately 4000mm. Temperatures at Srimangal normally vary between a maximum of 32.8°C and a minimum of 9.0°C. Vegetation The aquatic vegetation includes Typha elephantina, Trapa bispinosa, Nelumbo nucifera, Hygrorhiza aristata, Eichhornia crassipes and species of Utricularia, Ceratophyllum, Vallisneria, Hydrilla, Najas, Potamogeton, Nymphoides, Pistia, Lemna and Azolla. Plant communities in adjacent areas include Bambusa spp., Musa spp., Mangifera indica, Erythrira spp. and Crataeva nurvula. Fauna _ In the 1960s, it was estimated that some 100,000 lesser whistling duck Dendrocygna javanica, 1,000 fulvous whistling duck D. bicolor and 40,000-50,000 migratory ducks fre- quented the lake in early winter. In recent years, however, the number of Anatidae visiting the lake has decreased dramatically, although there may still be 10,000-15,000 ducks present in late November and even larger numbers in late February and March. Lesser whistling duck and cotton pygmy goose Nettapus coromandelianus are common residents, breeding at small lakes and ponds throughout the region and congregating in large numbers at Hail Haor during the cold season. Fulvous whistling duck is a cold season visitor, usually arriving in January and sometimes in very large numbers. Much the commonest migrant ducks are garganey Anas querquedula, northerm pintail A. acuta, and northern shoveler A. clypeata, although common teal A. crecca and pochard Aythya nyroca sometimes occur in large numbers. Gadwall Anas strepera, spotbill duck A. poecilorhyncha and tufted duck Aythya fuligula are regular visitors in small numbers. Bar-headed goose Anser indicus was formerly a regular winter visitor to the area, but now occurs only as an occasional passage migrant in flocks of up to 40 birds. Greylag goose Anser anser, ruddy shelduck Tadorna ferruginea, comb duck Sarkidiornis melanotos, teal Anas falcata, mallard A. platyrhynchos, red-crested pochard Netta rufina, common pochard Aythya ferina and Baer’s pochard A. baeri have been recorded as rare visitors. Haii Haor is also important for many other species of waterfowl such as little grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis, little cormorant Phalacrocorax niger, Indian pond heron Ardeola grayii, cattle egret Bubulcus ibis, little egret Egretta garzetta, intermediate egret E. intermedia, great egret E. alba, water cock Gallicrex cinerea, moorhen Gallinula chloropus, purple swamphen Porphyrio porphyrio, common coot Fulica atra, pheasant-tailed jacana Hydrophasianus chirurgus, bronze-winged jacana Metopidius indicus, painted snipe Rostratula benghalensis, red-wattled lapwing Vanellus indicus, a wide variety of migratory shorebirds, and whiskered tern Chlidonias hybrida. Open-bill stork Anastomus oscitans is a regular visitor, and the rare Goliath heron Ardea goliath and Blyth’s kingfisher Alcedo hercules have been recorded. Birds of prey include osprey Pandion haliaetus, Eurasian marsh harrier Circus aeruginosus and pied harrier C. melanoleucos. Other wildlife known to occur in the area includes a variety of snakes, monitor lizards, freshwater turtles, tortoises and frogs. Fishes include Catla catla, Labeo rohita, L. calbasu, L. gonius, Cirrhina mrigala, Barbus spp., Wallago attu, Mystus tengra, M. aor, Oampok pabda, Gadusia 15 IUCN Directory of South Asian Protected Areas chapra, Clupea spp., Notopterus notopterus, Clarius batrachus, Heteropnuestes fossilis, Chan- na spp., Anabas testudineus and Colisa fasciata. Freshwater shrimps of the genus Macrobra- chium are common. Cultural Heritage No information Local Human Population Fishing is the principal activity, but this is declining due to large portions of the lake basin being leased to local people for cultivation. During the dry season, aquatic vegetation is collected for the preparation of compost. There is also a considerable amount of legal and illegal hunting at the lake. Surrounding areas are under cultivation, mainly for rice. Visitors and Visitor Facilities No information Scientific Research and Facilities Some research has been carried out on the waterfowl populations, notably a study by the Forest Department in 1980 and a survey by scientists from the Bangladesh Zoological Society in 1985. Mashu Kabir made regular observations of the Anatidae between 1973 and 1987. Botanical studies have also been carried out. Conservation Value Hail Haor is one of the most important wetlands in the Sylhet Basin for both resident and migratory waterfowl. The lake is particularly important as a refuge in periods of drought, when many other wetlands in the area dry out completely. Conservation Management The Forest Department has established a centre for the protection of waterfowl from illegal hunting and trapping. Management Constraints The level of the wetland is rising as a result of increased siltation caused by soil erosion in the water catchment area, and large areas of the lake basin are being converted to agricultural land. There is considerable disturbance to waterfowl populations from hunting, fishing and agricultural activities throughout the year. Very heavy huuting pressure on both resident and migratory species of waterfowl reportedly occurred in the winter of 1984/85. Staff No information Budget No information Local Addresses No information References Information is taken directly from: Scott, D.A. (Ed.) (1989). A directory of Asian wetlands. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. 1,181 pp. Date March 1989, updated August 1990 16 Bangladesh HAZARIKHIL WILDLIFE SANCTUARY IUCN Management Category Proposed Biogeographical Province 4.04.01 (Burman Rainforest) Geographical Location Lies in the Ramgarh-Sitakunda forests, 45km north of Chittagong Port in south-east Bangladesh. 91°40’E, 22°40’N Date and History of Establishment Proposed as a wildlife sanctuary in 1967. Maintained since the mid-1970s by the Forest Directorate. Area 2,903ha. According to a report by the Divisional Forest Officer, the proposed area is 2,033ha (Olivier, 1979). Land Tenure State Altitude Mean altitude is 350m. Physical Features The terrain is irregular, comprising ridges from which numerous spurs protrude in various directions. Soils vary from clay to clay-loam on level ground, and from sandy loam to coarse sand on the hills. The sandy soil is often impregnated with iron. Climate Conditions are moist tropical. Mean annual rainfall is 3000mm, falling mainly between June and September (Sarker and Fazlul Huq, 1985). Vegetation Comprises evergreen and semi-evergreen forests. Predominant tree species are Dipterocarpus spp., Artocarpus chaplasha, Tetrameles nudiflora, Cedrela toona, Mesuaferrea, Eugenia spp., Ficus spp. and Albizia procera. The undergrowth is dominated by bamboos and Eupatorium odoratum (Sarker and Fazlul Hug, 1985). Fauna Mammals known to be present include rhesus macaque Macaca mulatia, capped langur Presbytis pileata, dhole Cuon alpinus (V), sloth bear Melursus ursinus (1), wild boar Sus scrofa and Indian muntjac Muntiacus muntjak (Sarker and Fazlul Hug, 1985). Hoolock gibbon Hylobates hoolock (V), leopard Panthera pardus (T), and Phayre’s leaf monkey Presbytis phayrei may also be present (Olivier, 1979), as may sambar Cervus unicolor (S.M. Saheed, pers. comm., 1989). Indian python Python molurus (V) is reported to be present but low in number (Sarker and Fazlul Huq, 1985). Cultural Heritage No information Local Human Population No information Visitors and Visitor Facilities No information 17 IUCN Directory of South Asian Protected Areas Scientific Research and Facilities Limited census of the wildlife has been undertaken (Olivier, 1979). Conservation Value The area is reportedly rich in wildlife (Olivier, 1979). Conservation Management Though not yet notified a wildlife sanctuary, forestry operations have been suspended (Sarker and Fazlul Huq, 1985) and some 12km of the boundary demarcated (Olivier, 1979). Management Constraints No information Staff Quarters for staff have been constructed (Olivier, 1979) but the present level of staffing is not known. Budget No information Local Addresses No information References Olivier, R.C.D. (1979). Wildlife conservation and management in Bangladesh. UNDP/FAO Project BGD/72/005. FAO, Forest Research Institute, Chittagong. 121 pp. Sarker, N.M. and Fazlul Huq, A.K.M. (1985). Country report on national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and game reserves of Bangladesh. Prepared for the 25th Working Session of IUCN’s Commission on National Parks and Protected Areas. Corbett National Park, India. 4-8 February 1985. 5 pp. Date May 1987, updated August 1990 HIMCHARI NATIONAL PARK IUCN Management Category Unassigned Biogeographical Province 4.04.01 (Burman Rainforest) Geographical Location Lies 1.5km to the south of Cox’s Bazar township in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Forms part of Cox’s Bazaar Peninsular Reserved Forest. 21°22’N, 92°02’E Date and History of Establishment Declared a national park in 1980 under the Bangladesh Wildlife (Preservation) (Amendment) Act, 1974. Previously established as a reserved forest under the Forest Act, 1927 and subsequently declared a game reserve, with an area of 2,331ha. Area 1,729ha Land Tenure State Altitude No information 18 Bangladesh Physical Features The terrain is irregular with steep-sided hills aligned in a north-to-south direction, and bounded on the west by the Bay of Bengal. Soils comprise clay loams and loams on hills, and sands along beaches. Climate Conditions are moist, humid and maritime, with little temperature variation. Rainfall is high, falling mainly between May and October. Vegetation Characteristically comprises tropical semi-evergreen forest, which is dense and multi-storeyed. Deciduous trees predominate in the upper canopy, common species including Albizia procera, Artocarpus chaplasha, Salmalia malabarica and Sterculia alata. The sub-canopy is dominated by a great variety of evergreen species including Quercus, Castanopsis, Eugenia, Lannea, Lagerstroemiaand Amoora spp. The undergrowth consists mainly of bamboo (Sarker and Fazlul Huq, 1985). Fauna Mammals include gibbon Hylobates hoolock (V), capped langur Presbytis pileatus, thesus macaque Macaca mulatta, leopard Panthera pardus (T), dhole Cuon alpinus (V), leopard cat Felis bengalensis, jungle cat F. chaus, fishing cat F. viverrina, sloth bear Melursus ursinus (1), elephant Elephas maximus (E), Indian muntjac Muntiacus muntjak and wild boar Sus scrofa (Sarker and Fazlul Hug, 1985). Hog-badger Arctonyx collaris and pangolin Manis sp. may also be present (S.M. Saheed, pers. comm., 1989). There are many species of birds. The reptile fauna is rich and includes Indian python Python molurus (V) (Sarker and Fazlul Huq, 1985). Cultural Heritage No information Local Human Population No information Scientific Research and Facilities No information Conservation Value Limited due to the poor quality of the habitat and its isolation (Olivier, 1979). Conservation Management Blocks 34, 35 and 37 (totalling 2,331ha) were originally recom- mended as a ‘Class A’ national park (Government of East Pakistan, 1971). In the event, Blocks 35 and 37, which still contained commercially valuable forest, were rejected in favour of Blocks 30, 32 and 33, which consisted of poor-stature, partially-logged, semi-swamp forest whose further exploitation had been abandoned. Thus, not only does the area afford poor habitat for wildlife, but itis isolated from all other forests within the division (Oliver, 1979). A development scheme prepared for the park and to be executed by the Divisional Forest Officer has not yet been approved (Sarker and Fazlul Huq, 1985). Management Constraints The park is encroached by hundreds of villagers entering daily to cut timber (Rashid, 1990). Staff No information Budget No information Local Addresses Divisional Forest Officer, Cox’s Bazaar Forest Division 19 IUCN Directory of South Asian Protected Areas References Government of East Pakistan (1971). Report of the Technical Sub- committee for East Pakistan of the Wildlife Enquiry Committee. Dacca. Olivier, R.C.D. (1979). Wildlife conservation and management in Bangladesh. UNDP/FAO Project BGD/72/005. FAO, Forest Research Institute, Chittagong. 121 pp. Rashid, H. Er (1990). Note on an environmental study visit to Cox’s Bazar in February 1990. Unpublished report. Polli Unnayan Sangstha, Dhaka. 5 pp. Sarker, N.M. and Fazlul Huq, A.K.M. (1985). Country report on national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and game reserves of Bangladesh. Prepared for the 25th Working Session of IUCN’s Commission on National Parks and Protected Areas. Corbett National Park, India. 4-8 February 1985. 5 pp. Date May 1987, updated August 1990 MADHUPUR NATIONAL PARK IUCN Management Category V (Protected Landscape) Biogeographical Province 4.03.01 (Bengalian Rainforest) Geographical Location Situated in the Madhupur tract (Mymensingh Forest Division), some 160km north of the capital city of Dhaka and 32km south-west of Mymensingh Town. The park is bounded by the Mymensingh-Tangail road to the south-east, forest to the north-west and by agricultural land and settlements on other sides. It is easily accessible throughout the year and is bisected by an 8km-long semi-metalled road from Rasulphur to Dokhola. 24°45’N, 90°05’E Date and History of Establishment First established as a national park in 1962 but not officially declared as such until 1982, under the Bangladesh Wildlife (Preservation) (Amend- ment) Act, 1974. Received special protection as a vested forest in 1959 under the provisions of the East Pakistan Private Forest Ordinance, 1959. Area 8,436ha Land Tenure State Altitude Rises up to 15m above sea level. Physical Features The local topography is characterised by flat topped ridges, known locally as “chalas’, intersected by numerous depressions or ‘baids’. Two small rivers, Banar and Bangshi, flow through the eastern and western portions of the park, respectively. Soils are mostly pale brown to yellow-red (acidic) clay-loams to clays on ‘chalas’ and grey, silty clay-loams to clays in valleys. Climate Conditions are moderate, with April the hottest month (maximum of 37°C) and January the coldest (minimum of 10°C). The cold season lasts from November to February. Mean annual rainfall is 2500mm, most of which falls between June and September. 20 Bangladesh Vegetation Some 40% of the forest cover comprises sal Shorea robusta in association with Dillenia pentagyna, Lagerstroemia parviflora, Adina cardifolia, Miliusa velutina, Lannea grandis, Albizia spp., Bauhinia variegata, Spondias mangifera, Butea frondosa and Barringto- nia acutangula. Species commonly occurring in the undergrowth include Eupatorium odora- tum, Pennisetum setosum, Asparagus racemosus and Rauwolfia serpentina (Sarker and Fazlul Hug, 1985). Some areas are planted with Tectona grandis, Cassia siamea, Morus spp., Terminalia arjuna, Syzygium cumini and Lagerstroemia speciosa. A total of 149 tree species has been recorded (Akonda et al., 1989). Fauna _ The area used to be rich in wildlife, but Indian rhinoceros Rhinoceros unicornis (E) disappeared in the last century and, more recently, tiger Panthera tigris (E), leopard Panthera pardus (T), elephant Elephas maximus (E), all species of deer native to Bangladesh, wild buffalo Bubalus bubalis (E), and peafowl Pavo sp. have become locally extirpated (Reza Khan, 1985). Characteristic mammal species still remaining include rhesus macaque Macaca mulatta, capped langur Presbytis pileatus (V) (formerly one of the densest populations surviving in Bangladesh), jackal Canis aureus, fox Vulpes bengalensis, small Indian civet Viverricula indica, wild boar Sus scrofa, Irrawaddy squirrel Callosciurus pygerythrus, porcupine Hystrix indica and black- naped hare Lepus nigricollis (Sarker and Fazlul Huq, 1985; Khan, 1985). The capped langur population is thought to have declined in recent years - 548 individuals were counted in 1986 (Akonda et al., 1989). Species inventories of 21 mammals and 29 reptiles have been compiled by Akonda et al. (1989). Clouded leopard Neofelis nebulosa (V) and Indian python Python molurus (V) may also be present (S.M. Saheed, pers. comm., 1989). Some 140 species of birds were recorded in 1974-1975 by Hossain and Hoque (cited in Akonda et al., 1989), of which 116 are residents and 24 migrants. According to Khan (1985), about 200 species are present. Cultural Heritage No information Local Human Population Some 4,500 Garos (tribals) were allowed to settle inside the park (Mountfort and Poore, 1968) but about 850 families have been resettled (Womersely, 1979). In 1989 there were some 14,000 Garos within the park, plus additional numbers of Bengalis. Rice is grown in low-lying areas, and pineapples and cassava on higher ground for commercial consumption. The surrounding area is densely populated (Green, 1989). Visitors and Visitor Facilities There are three rest houses and a youth hostel providing overnight accommodation. Seven picnic spots have been provided by the Forest Directorate. The zoo is ina poor state. Visitor use is high, with many bus loads of holiday makers appearing on public holidays (Olivier, 1979; Womersley, 1979; Green, 1989). Scientific Research and Facilities A wildlife survey was carried out by the Forest Directorate in 1981 (Sarker and Fazlul Huq, 1985). The capped langur population has been censused at various times, latterly in 1986 (Akonda et al., 1989), and a preliminary ecological study undertaken (Stanford, 1989). Conservation Value Madhupur features and best remaining patch of sal forest in Bangladesh (Khan, 1985). It is also important for its capped langur population (Akonda et al., 1989) 21 IUCN Directory of South Asian Protected Areas Conservation Management The forests of Madhupur were formerly rich in wildlife and were a favourite tiger-hunting area (Olivier, 1979). By 1967, however, the area had lost much of its value for wildlife, owing to considerable disturbance, but its potential for recreation and education was recognised (Mountfort and Poore, 1968). Subsequently, it was recommended that Madhupur be established as a ‘Class B’ national park to provide "recreational and educational interest for the youth and people of urban areas" (Government of East Pakistan, 1971). In 1974-75 a programme was initiated to preserve the wildlife and to provide recreational and educational facilities for the local people and other visitors. With the establishment of the national park, all flat areas suitable for growing paddy were excised and 850 families of Garos were resettled (Womersley, 1979). Trees have been planted in disturbed areas and an artificial lake created for migratory waterfowl (Sarker and Fazlul Huq, 1985). Madhupur warrants conservation priority over other areas of sal forest. It needs to be enlarged and brought under an effective wildlife management regime (Khan, 1985). Management Constraints Management has always been problematic due to the large number of Garos settled in the park. Only about 1,300ha is under effective management, the rest of the park is in the hands of the Garos. The situation may improve with the recent tightening of the forestry legislation, with much heavier penalties for illicit felling. Also, initiatives are underway to enable local people to benefit from the park’s resources (Green, 1989). Staff A total of 60 staff, including two range officers and one deputy ranger, administers the three ranges (Headquarters, Dokhola and Arankhola). Budget Tk 12 lakh (US$ 40,000) is budgeted for staffing the three ranges (1989). Local Addresses Officer-in-Charge, Madhupur National Park Headquarters, P.O. Gobtali, District Mymensingh References Akonda, A.W., Rashid, S.M.A. and Stanford, C.B. (1989). Capped langur (Presbytis piteatus) in the Madhupur National Park. In: Karim, G.M.M.E., Akonda, A.W. and Sewitz, P. (Eds), Conservation of wildlife in Bangladesh. German Cultural Institute/Forest Department/Dhaka University/Wildlife Society of Bangladesh/Unesco, Dhaka. Pp. 169-176. Government of East Pakistan (1971). Report of the Technical Sub-Committee for East Pakistan of the Wildilfe Enquiry Committee. Dacca. Green, M.J.B.(1989). Bangladesh trip report. World Conservation Monitoring Centre, Cambridge. 7 pp. Khan, M.A.R. (1985). Future conservation priorities for Bangladesh. Paper prepared for the 25th Working Session of IUCN’s Commission on National Parks and Protected Areas. Corbett National Park, India. 4-8\February 1985. 15 pp. Mountfort, G. and Poore, D. (1968). Report on the Second World Wildlife Fund Expedition to Pakistan. Unpublished report. Pp. 23-24. Olivier, R.C.D. (1979). Wildlife conservation and management in Bangladesh. UNDP/FAO Project BGD/72/005. FAO, Forest Research Institute, Chittagong. 121 pp. Sarker, N.M. and Fazlul Huq, A.K.M. (1985). Country report on national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and game reserves of Bangladesh. Prepared for the 25th Working Session of IUCN’s Commission on National Parks and Protected Areas. Corbett National Park, India. 4-8 February 1985. 5 pp. 22 Bangladesh Stanford, C.B. (1989). The conservation of capped langur (Presbytis pileatus) in Bangladesh. In: Karim, G.M.M.E., Akonda, A.W. and Sewitz, P. (Eds), Conservation of wildlife in Bangladesh. German Cultural Institute/Forest Department/Dhaka University/Wildlife Society of Ban- gladesh/Unesco, Dhaka. Pp. 90-93. Womersley, J.S. (1979). Botanic Garden Dacca, commercial horticultural forest botany and national parks. UNDP/FAO Project BGD/72/005. FAO, Forest Research Institute, Chittagong. 71 pp. Date May 1987, updated August 1990 PABLAKHALI WILDLIFE SANCTUARY IUCN Management Category IV (Managed Nature Reserve) Biogeographical Province 4.09.04 (Burma Monsoon Forest) Geographical Location Lies at the northern end of Kaptai Reservoir in the south-eastern part of Kassalong Reserve Forest in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, some 112km from Rangamati Town. The western boundary is formed by Kassalong River. 23°08’N, 92°16’E Date and History of Establishment Declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1983 under the Ban- gladesh Wildlife (Preservation) (Amendment) Act, 1974. First established as a game sanctuary in June 1962. Area 42,087ha Land Tenure State Altitude Ranges from 100m to 300m. Physical Features The topography comprises a complex of hills and valleys aligned north- south, with spurs branching from the ridges. The hills are rugged and steeply sloping to the north, and smaller with gentler slopes to the south. Some 3,885ha in Working Unit I have been under water since 1963, following the construction of a dam at Kaptai as part of the Karnafuli hydro-electric project (Olivier, 1979). Soils are typically clay or clay loams in the valleys, and pale brown to yellow-red (acidic) clay loams and loams in the hills with localised concretions of iron-manganese. Climate Conditions are typically sub-tropical with a long dry season lasting from November to May. Mean annual rainfall is 2500mm. Mean temperature ranges from 23°C in December to 35°C in May. Humidity is high throughout the year. Vegetation Three forest types can be distinguished. Tropical wet evergreen forest commonly occurs in valleys and on sheltered slopes with a plentiful water supply. The irregular canopy, characterised by emergent trees, is dense and rich in species. Typical trees include civit Swintonia floribunda, garjan Dipterocarpus spp., Pterygota alata, Quercus spp. and Castanop- sis spp. Tropical semi-evergreen forest, the most extensive forest type in the sanctuary, includes 23 IUCN Directory of South Asian Protected Areas a significant proportion of deciduous canopy species. The predominant tree genera are Diptero- carpus, Mangifera, Amoora, Cinnamomum, Syzygium, Tetrameles, Artocarpus, Salmalia and Albizia. Tropical moist deciduous forest is confined to new alluvial areas near rivers and streams. The trees are scattered and interspersed with extensive patches of khagra and nal grassland and stands of wild banana. Characteristic tree genera include Albizia, Salmalia, Terminalia and Ficus. Bamboo grows beneath the canopy of all three forest types (Sarker and Fazlul Hug, 1985). Fauna _ According to reports in old district gazetteers, Kassalong Valley used to be rich in wildlife, with tiger Panthera tigris (E), two species of rhinoceros Rhinocerotidae spp., gaur Bos gaurus (V) and banteng B.\javanicus (V) present in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Tiger, gaur and banteng were last seen in the early 1970s (Khan, 1985), but tiger and also leopard Panthera pardus (T) are reported to still occur (Sarker and Fazlul Huq, 1985). Most important is the small population of Asian elephant Elephas maximus (E) that commonly uses the southern part of the sanctuary, probably because of the mosaic of habitats and permanent water supply (Olivier, 1979). Many other large mammals are present, including rhesus macaque Macaca mulatta, capped langur Presbytis pileata, Hoolock gibbon Hylobates hoolock (V), dhole Cuon alpinus (V), small cats, otters and wild boar Sus scrofa (Sarker and Fazlul Huq, 1985), and also Indian muntjac Muntiacus muntjak and sambar Cervus unicolor (Olivier, 1979). Hague (1989) lists 61 species of mammals recorded in the late 1970s. Some 133 bird species have been recorded from the sanctuary (Husain, 1975). This total includes 25 species previously reported by Mountfort (1969). Following the formation of Kaptai Reservoir and with the continuing reduction of former wintering grounds in Sylhet and Mymensingh, the sanctuary supports increasing numbers of resident and migratory waterfowl (Olivier, 1979), notably little grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis, a variety of herons and egrets, common moorhen Gallinula chloropus, common coot Fulica atra and Asian openbill stork Anastomus oscitans (Scott, 1989). White-winged wood duck Cairina scutulata (V) used to be common but the population has declined in recent years, most probably due to systematic clear-felling of primary forest and its replacement with commercially viable timber species (Khan, 1986). Some five pairs were present up to 1979, but the status of the species has since become uncertain owing to political disturbances (Khan, 1985). Khan (1986) estimates there to be some 20 pairs within an area of 240 sq.km in and around the sanctuary. Of the reptiles, Indian python Python molurus (V) is common (Sarker and Fazlul Huq, 1985). Cultural Heritage No information Local Human Population Part of the sanctuary has been allotted to settlers from the plains. Rebel tribal groups operate in the area (Khan, 1985). Visitors and Visitor Facilities Access to the Chittagong Hill Tracts has been restricted since 1982 for security reasons. There are two rest houses. Scientific Research and Facilities The elephant population was surveyed by the Forest Directorate in 1978 (Olivier, 1979; Sarker and Fazlul Huq, 1985). The status of white-winged wood duck was first investigated by Husain (1975, 1977) and subsequently by Khan (1986) between 1978 and 1981. Its population dynamics and breeding behaviour were examined by an university student in 1976-1977 (Sarker and Fazlul Huq, 1985). 24 Bangladesh Conservation Value Pablakhali contains some of the finest lowland forest remaining in Bangladesh and is also an important wetland site (Scott, 1989). Conservation Management Under the working plan, due to expire in 1988/1989, the sanctuary is divided into two working units. Some 25,900ha are allotted to Working Unit I, in which wildlife is protected and forestry operations are prohibited. In the remaining area allotted to Working Unit Il, it is intended that wildlife preservation proceed alongside normal forestry operations. Working Unit I comprises some 3,885ha of reservoir, 1,554ha of teak plantation and 20,461ha of natural forest. This is nowhere more than 5km wide and runs north-south along the eastern edge of Working Unit I; to the east is unclassed state forest, which has been heavily disturbed by local hill tribesmen. Conversion of Working Unit II to plantations has been proceeding steadily (Olivier, 1979). Some 7,770ha (Compartments 23-30) within Working Unit I were proposed as an elephant sanctuary, but the area was considered far too small and devoid of much suitable habitat. This proposal is thought to have arisen as a result of the Technical Sub-Committee of the Wildlife Enquiry Committee having originally proposed Compartments 23-30 as Pablakhali Wildlife Sanctuary (Olivier, 1979). Management prescriptions include strict protection of the wildlife and provision of artificial feeding sites, waterholes and salt-licks. It was planned to limit forestry operations to thinning of existing plantations and impose a three-year cycle for collection of bamboo (Olivier, 1979). Management Constraints Few of the original management prescriptions have proved possible to implement. Rice was cultivated beside the reservoir, grass cut for fodder and thatching material, and cattle roamed freely inside the sanctuary. Most serious is the encroachment on the narrow strip of natural forest running north-south. In many places, this had either gone or been reduced to a few hundred metres in width, thereby isolating the smaller southern part of the sanctuary from the rest and threatening the free movement of elephants to and from preferred feeding areas (Olivier, 1979). In the mid-1980s the government began to lease out forest lands, both within the sanctuary and neighbouring areas, to plains-dwellers for settlement at the rate of 2.5ha per family, as a counter-measure to tribal insurgency. This policy is very detrimental to wildlife, and much encroachment has resulted. Locals hunted white-winged wood ducklings with dogs in 1981 and this practice may be continuing (Khan, 1986). Staff No information Budget No information Local Addresses Divisional Forestry Officer, Chittagong Hill Tracts (North) Forest Division References Haque, M.N. (1989). The mammalian fauna of Pablakhali Wildlife Sanctuary. In: Karim, G.M.M.E., Akonda, A.W. and Sewitz, P. (Eds), Conservation of wildlife in Bangladesh. German Cultural Institute/Forest Department/Dhaka University/Wildlife Society of Ban- gladesh/Unesco, Dhaka. Pp. 133-139. Husain, K.Z. (1975). Birds of Pablakhali Wildlife Sanctuary. (The Chittagong Hill Tracts). Bangladesh Journal of Zoology 3: 155-157. Husain, K.Z. (1977). The white-winged wood duck. Tigerpaper 4(1): 6-8. 25 IUCN Directory of South Asian Protected Areas Khan, M.A.R. (1985). Future conservation directions for Bangladesh. In: Thorsell, J.W. (Ed.) Conserving Asia's natural heritage: the planning and management of protected areas in the Indomalayan Realm. TUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. Pp. 114-122. Khan, M.A.R. (1986). The threatened white-winged wood duck Cairina scutulata in Bangladesh. Forktail 2: 97-101. Mountfort, G. (1969). The vanishing jungle. Collins, London. 286 pp. Olivier, R.C.D. (1979). Wildlife conservation and management in Bangaladesh. UNDP/FAO Project BGD/72/005. FAO, Forest Research Institute, Chittagong. 121 pp. Sarker and Fazlul Huq, A.K.M. (1985). Country report on national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and game reserves of Bangladesh. Prepared for the 25th Working Session of IUCN’s Commission on National Parks and Protected Areas. Corbett National Park, India. 4-8 February 1985. 5 pp. Date June 1987, updated March 1989 RAMPAHAR-SITAPAHAR WILDLIFE SANCTUARY IUCN Management Category Proposed Biogeographical Province 4.04.01 (Burman Rainforest) Geographical Location Lies 48km north-east of Chittagong Port. Approximately 22°30’N, 92°20°E Date and History of Establishment Presently classified as reserved forest, Rampahar-Sita- pahar has not yet been designated a wildlife sanctuary under the Bangladesh Wildlife (Preser- vation)(Amendment) Act, 1974 but has been maintained as such by the Forest Department since 1973 (Sarker and Fazlul Huq, 1985). Area 3,026ha Land Tenure State Altitude No information Physical Features Comprises low, gently sloping hills which are steeper in Sitapahar block than Rampahar block. The Karnaphuli River flows through the area. Soils are clays or clayey loams in valley bottoms and mostly pale brown (acidic) clay loams and loams on hills (Sarker and Fazlul Huq, 1985). Climate Conditions are typically sub-tropical with a long dry season from October to May. Mean temperatures vary from 24°C in December to 35°C in May. Mean annual rainfall is 2500mm. Vegetation Comprises evergreen and semi-evergreen forests. Predominant tree species are Dipterocarpus spp., Artocarpus chaplasha, Tetrameles nudiflora, Cedrela toona, Mesuaferrea, Eugenia spp., Ficus spp. and Albizia procera (Sarker and Fazlul Huq, 1985). 26 Bangladesh Fauna Mammals include capped langur Presbytis pileatus, sloth bear Melursus ursinus (1), Indian muntjac Muntiacus muntjak and sambar Cervus unicolor. Reptiles include python Python molurus (V) (Sarker and Fazlul Hug, 1985). Cultural Heritage No information Local Human Population No information Visitors and Visitor Facilities No information Scientific Research and Facilities No information Conservation Value No information Conservation Management Maintained as virgin forest by the Forest Department. Management Constraints No information Staff No information Budget No information Local Addresses No information References Sarker, N.M. and Fazlul Huq, A.K.M. (1985). Country report on national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and game reserves of Bangladesh. Prepared for the 25th Working Session of IUCN’s Commission on National Parks and Protected Areas. Corbett National Park, India. 4-8 February 1985. 5 pp. Date March 1989, updated August 1990 RAMSAGAR NATIONAL PARK IUCN Management Category Unassigned Biogeographical Province 4.03.01 (Bengalian Rainforest) Geographical Location Lies in Dinajpur District, about 9km from Dinajpur Town, in the extreme north-west of Bangladesh. 25°40’N, 88°30’E Date and History of Establishment First established in 1960 but not officially notified as a national park until 1974. Area 52ha 27 IUCN Directory of South Asian Protected Areas Land Tenure State Altitude No information Physical Features Ramsagar is a lake surrounded by high embankments. The embankments are flat-topped ridges, which slope gently down to the lake, and cover 50% of the area. The soil is red-yellow clay (Sarker and Fazlul Huq, 1985). Climate No information Vegetation Forest is absent. The flora consists of ornamental and fruit trees (Sarker and Fazlul Hug, 1985). Fauna The diversity of mammals, birds and reptiles is low; such species as are present occur widely throughout the country (Sarker and Fazlul Huq, 1985). Cultural Heritage It is believed that the lake was excavated by King Ramnath, Maharaja of Dinajpur, before the Battle of Plassey. Local Human Population No information Visitors and Visitor Facilities There is one rest house, and five picnic sites have been constructed by the Forest Department. Scientific Research and Facilities No information Conservation Value Minimal Conservation Management It was originally recommended that Ramsagar be developed as a ‘Class B’ national park for purposes of recreation and education (Government of East Pakistan, 1971). Subsequently, under a separate development plan, the site was proposed as a recreation centre (Olivier, 1979). Information concerning the present management is not available. Management Constraints No information Staff / Budget No information Local Addresses No information References Government of East Pakistan (1971). Report of the Technical Sub-Committee for East Pakistan of the Wildilfe Enquiry Committee. Dacca. Olivier, R.C.D. (1979). Wildlife conservation and management in Bangladesh. UNDP/FAO Project BGD/72/005. FAO, Forest Research Institute, Chittagong. 121 pp. Sarker, N.M. and Fazlul Huq, A.K.M. (1985). Country report on national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and game reserves of Bangladesh. Prepared for the 25th Working Session of IUCN’s Commission on National Parks and Protected Areas. Corbett National Park, India. 4-8 February 1985. 5 pp. Date May 1987, updated August 1990 28 Bangladesh REMA-KALENGA WILDLIFE SANCTUARY IUCN Management Category IV (Managed Nature Reserve) Biogeographical Province 4.09.04 (Burma Monsoon Forest) Geographical Location Situated in the Tarap Hills of Sylhet District in eastern Bangladesh, adjacent to the international border with India. The sanctuary is difficult to reach, particularly in the monsoon season. 24°05’N, 91°37’E Date and History of Establishment Declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1981 under the Ban- gladesh Wildlife (Preservation) (Amendment) Act, 1974, having previously been part of Kalenga (Tarap Hill) Forest Reserve. Area 1,095ha Land Tenure State Altitude No information Physical Features The Tarap Hills are dissected by numerous valleys, separated by ridges rising some 50m above them. The hills are generally low and gently sloping. Soils range from clay loams on level ground to pale brown (acidic) clay loams and loams on the hills. Red sandy clay contains granules of magniferous iron ore. Climate Conditions are warm and humid, with a mean annual rainfall of 28300mm, most of which falls between June and September. April and May are the warmest months, and December and January are the coolest (Sarker and Fazlul Hug, 1985). Vegetation Comprises tropical evergreen and semi-evergreen forests (Sarker and Fazlul Huq, 1983). The flora is very rich (Mountfort and Poore, 1968). Fauna _ Five species of primate are present, namely slow loris Nycticebus coucang, rhesus macaque Macaca mulatta, pig-tailed macaque M. nemestrina, capped langur Presbytis pileata and dusky langur P. phayrei. Other mammals include jackal Canis aureus, Indian muntjac Muntiacus muntjak, wild boar Sus scrofa, porcupine Hystrix indica and black-naped hare Lepus nigricollis (Sarker and Fazlul Huq, 1985). Capped langur, leopard Panthera pardus (T), muntjac and several species of squirrel were numerous, at least one tiger Panthera tigris (E) was recorded, sambar Cervus unicolor were occasionally seen, and it was in this region that the Asiatic golden cat Felis temmincki (I) was sighted during the Second World Wildlife Fund Expedition to Pakistan (Mountfort and Poore, 1968). Dhole Cuon alpinus (V) and at least one species of bear are also reported to have been present (Olivier, 1979). 29 IUCN Directory of South Asian Protected Areas The primary forest harboured a great variety of birds, including kalij pheasant Lophura leucomelana, red junglefowl Gallus gallus, scarlet-breasted trogon Trogon sp. and many species of pigeons, barbets, sunbirds, flycatchers and flowerpeckers (Mountfort and Poore, 1968). Reptiles include Indian Python Python molurus (V) (Sarker and Fazlul Huq, 1985). Cultural Heritage No information Local Human Population No information Visitors and Visitor Facilities There is a rest house belonging to the Forest Department. Scientific Research and Facilities No information Conservation Value The sanctuary contains the last remaining patch of primary forest in the Sylhet region. Even this has been considerably reduced in extent since 1967 (Olivier, 1979), when some 2,072-2,590ha within Kalenga (Tarap Hill) Forest Reserve were originally recom- mended for total protection as a wildlife sanctuary. The rest of this forest reserve was under teak monoculture (Mountfort and Poore, 1968). By 1978, primary forest existed only in Compartment 8 (1,036ha) (Olivier, 1979). Conservation Management No information Management Constraints No information Staff No information Budget No information Local Addresses No information References Mountfort, G. and Poore, D. (1968). Report on the Second World Wildlife Fund Expedition to Pakistan. Unpublished report. 25 pp. Olivier, R.C.D.(1979). Wildlife conservation and management in Bangladesh. UNDP/FAO Project BGD/72/005. FAO, Forest Research Institute, Chittagong. 121 pp. Sarker and Fazlul Huq, A.K.M. (1985). Country report on national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and game reserves of Bangladesh. Prepared for the 25th Working Session of IUCN’s Commission on National Parks and Protected Areas. Corbett National Park, India. 4-8 February 1985. 5 Pp. Date May 1987, updated August 1990 Bangladesh SUNDARBANS EAST, WEST AND SOUTH WILDLIFE SANCTUARIES IUCN Management Category IV (Managed Nature Reserve) Biogeographical Province 4.03.01 (Bengalian Rainforest) Geographical Location The three wildlife sanctuaries lie on disjunct deltaic islands in the Sundarbans Forest Division of Khulna District, close to the border with India and just west of the main outflow of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers. Sundarbans West lies between the Raimangal and Malancha rivers at 2142’-2147’N, 8912’-8918’E; Sundarbans South, including Putney Island, lies between the Malancha and Kunga rivers at 2144’-2155’N, 8919’-8928’E; and Sundarbans East consists of that portion of Compartment 6 lying between the Katka and Supati Khals (creeks) at 2150’-2157’N, 8945’-8950’E. All three sanctuaries are bounded to the south by the Bay of Bengal. Date and History of Establishment All three wildlife sanctuaries were established in 1977 under the Bangladesh Wildlife (Preservation) (Amendment) Act, 1974, having first been gazetted as forest reserves in 1875. The entire Sundarbans is reserved forest, established under the Forest Act, 1927. Area Sundarbans West 9,069ha Sundarbans South 17,878ha Sundarbans East 5,439ha A proposed extension to Sundarbans East would enlarge its total area to 18,538ha (Blower, 1985). Sundarbans National Park (133,010ha), a World Heritage Site, lies to the west in India but is not contiguous with Sundarbans West Wildlife Sanctuary in Bangladesh. Land Tenure State Altitude Ranges from sea level to 3m. Physical Features The Sundarbans, covering some 10,000 sq.km of land and water, is part of the world’s largest delta (80,000 sq.km) formed from sediments deposited by three great rivers, the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna, which converge on the Bengal Basin (Seidensticker and Hai, 1983). The total area of the Bangladesh Sundarbans is 5,771 sq.km, of which 4,071 sq.km is land and the rest water (Christensen, 1984). The land is moulded by tidal action, resulting in a distinctive physiography. The whole area is intersected by an intricate network of interconnecting waterways, of which the larger channels of often a mile or more in width run in a generally north-south direction. Innumerable small khals drain the land at each ebb. Rivers tend to be long and straight, a consequence of the strong tidal forces and the clay and silt deposits which resist erosion. Easily eroded sands collect at the river mouths and form banks and chars, which are blown into dunes above the high-water mark by the strong south-west monsoon. Finer silts are washed out into the Bay of Bengal but, where 31 IUCN Directory of South Asian Protected Areas they are protected from wave action, mud flats form in the lee of the dunes. These become overlain with sand from the dunes, and develop into grassy middens. This process of island building continues for as long as the area on the windward side is exposed to wave action. With the formation of the next island further out, silt begins to accumulate along the shore of the island and sand is blown or washed away (Seidensticker and Hai, 1983). Apart from Baleswar River, which flows into the Bay of Bengal just east of Sundarbans East Wildlife Sanctuary, the waterways carry little freshwater as they are cut off from the Ganges, the outflow of which has shifted from the Hooghly-Bhagirathi channels in India progressively eastwards since the 17th century. They are kept open largely by the diurnal tidal flow (Seidensticker and Hai, 1983). Alluvial deposits are geologically very recent and deep. The soil is a silty clay loam with alternate layers of clay, silt and sand. The surface is clay except on the seaward side of islands in the coastal limits, where sandy beaches occur. In the eastern part of the Sundarbans the surface soil is soft and fertile, whereas it is harder and less suitable for tree growth in the west (Choudhury, 1968). The pH averages 8.0 (Christensen, 1984). Climate Rainfall is heavy and humidity high (80%) due to the proximity of the Bay of Bengal. About 80% of the rain falls in the monsoon, which lasts from June to October. Mean annual rainfall varies from about 1800mm at Khulna, north of the Sundarbans, to 2790mm on the coast. There is a six-month dry season during which evapotranspiration exceeds precipitation. Con- ditions are most saline in February-April, the depletion of soil moisture being coupled with reduced freshwater flow from upstream. Temperatures rise from daily minima of 2-4°C in winter to a maximum of about 43°C in March and may exceed 32°C in the monsoon. Storms are common in May and October-November and may develop into cyclones, usually accompanied by tidal waves of up to 7.5m high (Seidensticker and Hai, 1983). Climatic data for Khulna are summarised by Christensen (1984). Vegetation The mangroves of the Sundarbans are unique when compared to non-deltaic coastal mangrove forest. Unlike the latter, the Rhizophoraceae are of only minor importance and the dominant species are sund’ri Heritiera fomes, from which the Sundarbans takes its name, and gewa Excoecaria agallocha. The reason for this difference is the large freshwater influence in the north-eastern part and the elevated level of the ground surface. The Sundarbans can be classified as moist tropical seral forest, comprising a mosaic of beach forest and tidal forest (Champion, 1936). Of the latter, there are four types: low mangrove forests, tree mangrove forests, salt-water Heritiera forests and freshwater Heritiera forests. Choudhury (1968), on the basis of water salinity, recognises three zones. Sundarbans East falls within the freshwater zone, which is dominated by H.\fomes. Gewa occurs in varying amounts, and passur Xylocarpus moluccensis and kankra Bruguiera gymnorrhiza occur in more frequently flooded areas. The understory comprises singra Cynometra ramiflora on dry soils, amur Amoora cucullata on moister soils and goran Ceriops decandra especially in the more saline areas. Sundarbans South lies in the moderately salt-water zone, in which Excoecaria agallocha is dominant. It is mixed with Heritiera and has a dense understory of Ceriops. Xylocarpus is more frequent in this zone. Sundarbans West occurs within the salt-water zone, which supports sparse E.\agallocha, a dense understory of Ceriops, and dense patches of hantal palm Phoenix paludosa on drier soils. Dhundal and passur Xylocarpus spp., and Bruguiera occur sporadically throughout the area. Sund’ri and gewa cover most of the Sundarbans but Oryza coarctata, Nypa fruticans and Imperata cylindrica are prevalent on mud flats (Khan, 1986). Large stands of keora Sonneratia apetala are found on newly accreted mudbanks and provide important wildlife habitat (RE. Salter, pers. comm., 1987). 32 Bangladesh An account of the flora of the mangrove forest of the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta is given by Prain (1903). Seidensticker and Hai (1983) report a total of 334 plant species, representing 245 genera, present in the Bangladesh portion of the delta, and list principal woody and herbaceous species. Chaffey and Sandom (1985) provide a detailed list of trees and shrubs in the Bangladesh portion. Islam (1973) provides an account of the algal flora of the mangroves. Fauna The Sundarbans is the only remaining habitat in the lower Bengal Basin for a great variety of faunal species. The presence (or former presence) of at least 40 mammal species has been documented (Sarker, 1986). Of these, no less than five spectacular species, namely Javan rhinoceros Rhinoceros sondaicus (E), water buffalo Bubalus bubalis (E), swamp deer Cervus duvauceli (E), gaur Bos gaurus (V) and probably hog deer Axis porcinus have become locally extirpated since the beginning of this century (Salter, 1984). The only primate is rhesus macaque Macaca mulatta, considered by Blower (1985) to number in the region of 40,000 to 68,200, based on surveys by Hendrichs (1975) and Khan (1986), respectively, as compared to the much higher estimate of 126,220 derived by Gittins (1981). The Sundarbans of Bangladesh and India support one of the largest populations of tiger Panthera tigris (E), with an estimated 350 in that of the former (Hendrichs, 1975). Again, Gittins’ estimate of 430-450 tigers may be over-optimistic (see Blower, 1985). Spotted deer Cervus axis, estimates of which vary between 52,600 (Khan, 1986) and 80,000 (Hendrichs, 1975), and wild boar Sus scrofa, estimated at 20,000 (Hendrichs, 1975), are the principal prey of the tiger, which also has a notorious reputation for man-eating. Of the three species of otter, smooth Indian otter Lutra perspicillata, estimated to number 20,000 (Hendrichs, 1975), is domesticated by fisher- men and used to drive fish into their nets (Seidensticker and Hai, 1983). Other mammals include three species of wild cat, Felis bengalensis, F. chaus and F. viverrina, and Gangetic dolphin Platanista gangetica, which occurs in some of the larger waterways. Species accounts and a check-list are given by Salter (1984). The varied and colourful bird-life to be seen along its waterways is one of the Sundarbans’ greatest attractions. Over 270 species have been recorded (Scott, 1989), including about 95 species of waterfowl (Scott, 1989) and 38 species of raptors (Sarker, 1985b). Among the many which may be readily seen by the visitor are no less than nine species of kingfisher, including brown-winged and stork-billed kingfishers, Pelargopsis amauroptera and P. capensis, respec- tively; the magnificent white-bellied sea-eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster which, at a density of one individual per 53.1km of waterways (Sarker, 1985), is quite common; also the much rarer grey-headed fish eagle Ichthyophaga ichthyaetus, Pallas’s fish-eagle Haliaeetus ieucoryphus and several other raptors. Herons, egrets, storks, sandpipers, whimbrel, curlew and numerous other waders are to be seen along the muddy banks and on the chars or sandbanks which become exposed during the dry season. There are many species of gulls and terns, especially along the coast and the larger waterways. Apart from those species particularly associated with the sea and wetlands, there is also a considerable variety of forest birds such as woodpeckers, barbets, shrikes, drongos, mynahs, minivets, babblers and many others (Salter, 1984). Further details of the avifauna are given by Scott (1989). Some 45 reptile species and 11 of amphibians have been recorded (Sarker, 1986). Of these mugger Crocodylus palustris (V) is now extinct, probably as a result of past over-exploitation, although it still occurs in at least one location nearby (R.E. Salter, pers. comm., 1987). Estuarine crocodile C. porosus (E) still survives but its numbers have been greatly depleted through hunting and trapping for skins. There are also three species of monitor, Varanus bengalensis, 33 IUCN Directory of South Asian Protected Areas V. flavescens and V. salvator, and Indian python Python molurus (V). Five species of marine turtle, namely loggerhead Caretta caretta (V), green Chelonia mydas, hawksbill Eretmochelys imbricata, olive ridley Lepidochelys olivacea and leatherback Dermochelys coriacea, have been recorded from Bangladesh waters in the Bay of Bengal and are reported to occur along the Sundarbans coast. River terrapin Batagur baska (E) is also present. The eighteen recorded snake species include king cobra Ophiophagus hannah and spectacled cobra Naja naja, three vipers and six sea-snakes (Salter, 1984). Over 120 species of fish are reported to be commonly caught by commercial fishermen in the Sundarbans (Seidensticker and Hai, 1983). According to Mukherjee (1975) only brackish water species and marine forms are found in the Indian Sundarbans, freshwater species being totally absent. This may be assumed to apply also to the Bangladesh Sundarbans, except possibly in the eastern portion where there is freshwater in Baleswar River. Mention should also be made of mud-skippers or gobys which occur in large numbers and are a characteristic feature of mangrove swamps. Crustacea account for by far the largest proportion of animal biomass, with an estimated 40 million kg of fiddler crabs and 100 million kg of mud crabs (Hendrichs, 1975). The nutrient-rich waters of the Sundarbans also yield a considerable harvest of shrimps, prawns and lobsters. The area supports a varied insect population including large numbers of honey-bees, honey and beeswax being among the economically important products. It appears, however, that the insect life of the Sundarbans has so far been little studied. Cultural Heritage There is archaeological evidence of earlier human occupation on the deltaic islands. The human settlements are indicative of the former presence of abundant freshwater, both from the Ganges and from non-saline ground water. Human occupation ceased in the 17th century, reportedly due to pirate attacks (Christensen, 1984). Local Human Population There are no villages in the Sundarbans, but it provides a livelihood at certain seasons of the year for an estimated 300,000 people, working variously as wood-cutters, fishermen, and gatherers of honey, golpatta leaves (Nipa fruticans) and grass. Fishermen come in their boats from as far away as Chittagong and establish temporary encampments at various sites along the coast, where they remain until the approach of the monsoon season in April before returning to their homes. Apart from the large numbers of people employed by contractors in the commercial exploitation of sund’ri and other tree species, the local people are themselves dependent on the forest and waterways for such necessities as firewood, timber for boats, poles for house-posts and rafters, golpatta leaf for roofing, grass for matting, reeds for fencing and fish for their own consumption. The season for collecting honey and wax is limited to two and a half months commencing annually on 1 April. Thousands of people, having first obtained their permits from the Forest Department, enter the forest in search of bee nests which are collected and then crushed to extract the honey and wax. The total quantity of these commodities collected during the 1983 season was 232 tonnes, which at a market price of 30 Tk (US$ 1) per ser (approximately 0.9 kg) represents an appreciable source of income to local communities (Blower, 1985). Visitors and Visitor Facilities Few tourists visit the Sundarbans due to the difficulty and cost of arranging transport and to the lack of suitable accommodation and other facilities. The area has no potential for mass tourism but it does offer obvious possibilities for limited special-interest tourism from October to April or May. The use of launches equipped with catering and sleeping Bangladesh facilities is considered more practicable than permanent land-based facilities and would provide greater flexibility. There is, however, a large well-equipped rest house belonging to the Port Authority at Hiron Point, Sundarbans South Wildlife Sanctuary, and a smaller one belonging to the Forest Department at Katka in Sundarbans East Wildlife Sanctuary (Blower, 1985). Scientific Research and Facilities Considerable research has been carried out on the Sundar- bans ecosystem and its wildlife. A three-month field study of tiger, concentrating on the problem of man-eating, and other vertebrates and invertebrates, was undertaken by Hendrichs (1975) in 1971. Other faunal surveys include those of Gittins (1981) and Khan (1986) for rhesus macaque, Khan (1986) for spotted deer, Sarker and Sarker (1986) for birds, and Sarker (1985a, 1985b) and Sarker and Sarker (1985) for birds of prey. Further details of wildlife studies and surveys can be found in a synopsis compiled by Salter (1984). Conservation Value The mangrove forests of the Sundarbans are among the richest and most extensive in the world. The Bangladesh portion, covering 6% of total land area, represents over half of the country’s remaining natural forest. The forests and waterways support a wide range of fauna, including a number of species threatened with extinction. As one of the most biologically productive of all natural ecosystems, it is of great economic importance as a source of timber, fish and numerous other products (Blower, 1985). Of the three wildlife sanctuaries, Sundarbans East appears to be most valuable in terms of diversity of habitat and scenic attraction but is considered too small to be effective. Itis unclear whether or not the small island known locally as Putkadya, about 2km offshore, is included within this sanctuary but it should be in view of its suitability as habitat for waders and as a nesting site for marine turtles. Sundarbans West and Sundarbans South would seem to be of adequate size (Blower, 1985). Conservation Management Sundarbans East is administered from offices at Katka and Tiger Point, and Sundarbans South from Hiron Point. No office has yet been established within Sundarbans West. There are no recognised local rights within the reserved forest, entry and collection of forest produce being subject to permits issued by the Forest Department. The Department may issue hunting licences under the Bangladesh Wildlife (Preservation) (Amendment) Act, 1974, but in practice none is issued and the whole Sundarbans is thus effectively closed to legal hunting. Under the provision of this Act, various activities are prohibited within the wildlife sanctuaries, including inter alia residence, cultivation of land, damage to vegetation, hunting, introduction of domestic animals and setting of fires. Any of these prohibitions may be relaxed, however, for scientific purposes, aesthetic enjoyment or "improve- ment" of scenery (Blower, 1985). The Sundarbans has been the subject of a series of successively more comprehensive working plans since its declaration as reserved forest, the most recent of which points out the importance of the tiger in controlling the spotted deer population, and also mentions the intention of establishing compartments 3-7 as a ‘game sanctuary’, a total area of some 52,320ha (Choudhury, 1968). In the event, when Sundarbans East was eventually established it included only a part of Compartment 6, only one-tenth of the area originally proposed. A likely explanation is that the recommended areas contain high-quality timber relative to that gazetted, indicating that Sundardans East was chosen on the basis of its unimportance to forestry, rather than value to wildlife. Sundarbans South and West may have been selected for the same reason, as timber within both sites is of lower quality (Olivier, 1979). A plan relating specifically to wildlife 35 IUCN Directory of South Asian Protected Areas conservation was prepared under the joint sponsorship of the World Wildlife Fund and the National Zoological Park, Smithsonian Institution (Seidensticker and Hai, 1983). Emphasis is directed towards managing the tiger, together with all wildlife, as an integral part of forest management that assures the sustainable harvesting of forest products and maintains this coastal zone in a way that meets the needs of the local human population. The Sundarbans Forest Development Planning Mission, carried out by FAO in conjunction with the Bangladesh Forest Department in February-May 1984, collected all available data related to the use and manage- ment of forest products, wildlife and fisheries, assessed development potential and prepared proposals for further integrated development and conservation of the natural resources of the area (Christensen, 1984; Salter, 1984). More recently, Blower (1985) reviewed wildlife con- servation in the Sundarbans Reserved Forest as part of the Sundarbans Forest Inventory Project, carried out by the Bangladesh Forest Department and the Land Resources Development Centre of the UK Overseas Development Administration. The main purpose of the project is to provide the necessary data on which to base future exploitation of the forest for sustainable use of timber, fuelwood and other forest produce, with due consideration to wildlife conservation and the social amenity value of the area. It has been recommended that the Sundarbans be managed as a single unit with full protection afforded to both wildlife and habitat in the wildlife sanctuaries, and with forest resources exploited at sustainable levels but wildlife protected elsewhere in the reserved forest. The establishment of intermediate buffer zones, in which disturbance is kept to a minimum through restriction of access, is recommended in areas peripheral to sanctuary boundaries. A new working plan is due to be prepared, based on data collected by the project, and is expected to include detailed prescriptions concerning the conservation and management of the sanctuaries (Blower, 1985). Formulation of a strategy and integrated plan for the sustained multiple-use, conservation and management of natural resources in the Sundarbans Reserved Forest is due to commence shortly with funding from UNEP (Project: BGD/84/056/A/01/12). Management Constraints A long-term ecological change is taking place in the Sundarbans, due to the eastward migration of the Ganges, abandonment of some distributaries, diversion of water and withdrawals for irrigation. (Up to 40% of the dry season flow of the Ganges has been diverted upstream, following the completion of the Farraka Barrage in India in 1974.) Decreased freshwater flushing of the Sundarbans results in increased saline intrusion, particularly in the dry season. Concern has been expressed about recent indications of apparent deterioration in the flora, including localised die-back of sund’ri, commercially the most valuable of tree species. Top-dying of sund’ri is most likely associated with the decrease in freshwater flow, either as a direct effect of increasing salinity or other associated edaphic changes. A gradual replacement of Heritiera with Excoecaria, therefore, is a likely long-term effect (Christensen, 1984). While deterioration in the vegetation is already well-documented (International Engineering Company, 1977, 1980) and is the subject of continuing study, no attention has yet been given to the possible effects which these changes might have on the fauna. It is perhaps significant, however, that the stocking of spotted deer appears lower in western areas, where salinity is highest, than in the east where it is lowest. Oil spills are another potential threat and could cause immense damage, especially to aquatic fauna and seabirds and probably also to the forest itself (Blower, 1985). Cyclones and tidal waves cause some damage to the forest along the sea-face, and are reported to result occasionally in considerable mortality among spotted deer. The most immediate threat is over-exploitation, both of timber resources, which may have already taken place, and also of the fauna. Agricultural encroachment has already occurred to a limited extent on the eastern and western boundaries and, with increasing population pressure in surrounding settled areas, could reach serious proportions unless checked. Fishermen’s camps are a major source of 36 Bangladesh disturbance. There is extensive hunting and trapping, not only by fishermen and woodcutters but also reportedly by naval and military personnel from Hiron Point in Sundarbans South Wildlife Sanctuary (Blower, 1985). A total of 118 offences was recorded and over 3,300m of deer nets removed between 1981/82 and 1986/87 (Habib, 1989). The capture of adult marine turtles and Batagur in fishing nets and their subsequent killing and marketing for food is a potentially serious problem (R.E. Salter, pers. comm., 1987). The Sundarbans has been notorious for its man-eating tigers since the 17th century. Numbers of reported deaths has varied from 0 to 47 (mean = 22.1) per annum during the period 1947-1983 (R.E. Salter, pers. comm., 1987). In 1988, 65 deaths were reported during a four-month period (The Guardian, 28 December 1988). Noting that tigers that hunt man like any other prey occurred only in the south and west, Hendrichs (1975) hypothesised on a possible linkage between high salinity levels, due to the absence of freshwater, and man-killing. This is not substantiated by more recent analyses, which suggest that man-killing may be at least partly correlated with the availability of easy prey (humans) and the frequency of man-tiger interactions (Salter, 1984; Siddiqi and Choudhury, 1987). Staff Sundarbans East: one deputy ranger, one forest guard; Sundarbans South: one forest ranger, two forest guards; Sundarbans West: one deputy ranger, one forest guard. Staff are responsible for the protection of the sanctuaries but, in practice, they are involved primarily with collection of revenue and other normal Forest Department duties (Blower, 1985). Budget No information Local Addresses _ Assistant Conservator of Forests, Sundarbans East Wildlife Sanctuary, Sarankhola, Khulna District; Assistant Conservator of Forests, Sundarbans South Wildlife Sanctuary, Nalianala, Khulna District; Range Officer, Sundarbans West Wildlife Sanctuary, Burigoalini, Khulna District References Blower, J. (1985). Sundarbans Forest Inventory Project, Bangladesh. Wildlife conservation in the Sundarbans. Project Report 151. Overseas Development Administration, Land Resources Development Centre, Surbiton, UK. 39 pp. Chaffey, D.R. and Sadom, J.H. (1985). Sundarbans Forestry Inventory Project. A glossary of vernacular plant names and a field key to trees. Overseas Development Administration, Land Resources Development Centre, Surbiton, UK. 23 pp. Champion, H.G. (1936). A preliminary survey of the forest types of India and Burma. Indian Forest Record (New Series) 1: 1-286. Choudhury, A.M. (1968). Working plan of the Sundarban Forest Division for the period from 1960-61 to 1979-80. Vol. I. Government of East Pakistan, Forest Department, Dacca. 82 pp. Christensen, B. (1984). Ecological aspects of the Sundarbans. FO: TCP/BGD/2309 (Mf). FAO, Rome. 42 pp. Gittins, S.P. (1981). A survey of the primates of Bangladesh. Unpublished report. Fauna Preser- vation Society, London. 64 pp. Habib, M.G. (1989). Wildlife management of the Sundarban - a case study. In: Karim, G.M.M.E., Akonda, A.W. and Sewitz, P. (Eds), Conservation of wildlife in Bangladesh. German Cultural Institute/Forest Department/Dhaka University/Wildlife Society of Bangladesh/Unesco, Dhaka. Pp. 161-168. Hendrichs, H. (1975). The status of the tiger Panthera tigris (Linne, 1758) in the Sundarbans mangrove forest (Bay of Bengal). Saugetierkundliche Mitteilungen 23: 161-199. 37 IUCN Directory of South Asian Protected Areas Husain, K.Z. Sarker, S.U. and Rahman, M.M. (1983). Summer birds of the Sundarbans’ ‘Nilkamal Sanctuary’, Bangladesh. Bangladesh Journal of Zoology 11(1): 48-51. International Engineering Company (1977). Special studies. Bangladesh Water Development Board, Dacca. International Engineering Company (1980). Southwest regional plan. Bangladesh Water Devel- opment Board, Dacca. Islam, A.K.M.N. (1973). The algal flora of the Sundarbans mangrove forests, Bangladesh. Ban- gladesh Journal of Botany 2(2): 11-36. Khan, M.A.R. (1986). Wildlife in Bangladesh mangrove ecosystem. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 83: 32-48. Mukherjee, A.K. (1975). The Sundarbans of India and its biota. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 72: 1-20. Olivier, R.C.D. (1979). Wildlife and management in Bangladesh. UNDP/FAO Project No. BGD/72/005. Forest Research Institute, Chittagong. 121 pp. Salter, R.E. (1984). Integrated development of the Sundarbans, Bangladesh: status and utilization of wildlife. FO: TCP/BGD/2309(MF). Report No. W/R0034. FAO, Rome. 59 pp. Sarker, S.U. (1985a). Ecological observation on the endangered whitebellied sea eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster (Gmelin) in the Sundarbans, Bangladesh. In: Symposium on endangered marine animals and marine parks. Vol. 4. Endangered and/or vulnerable other marine invertebrates and vertebrates. Paper No. 58. Marine Biological Association of India, Cochin. Sarker, S.U. (1985b). Density, productivity and biomass of raptoral birds of the Sundarbans, Bangladesh. Proceedings of SAARC Seminar on Biomass Production, 15 April 1985, Dhaka. Pp. 84-92. Sarker, S.U. (1986). Management of wildlife in the Sundarbans, Bangladesh. Paper presented at the International Seminar cum Workshop on Wildlife Conservation in Bangladesh, Dhaka, 1-4 December 1986. 7 pp. Sarker, S.U. and Sarker, N.J. (1985). Birds of prey and their conservation in the Sundarbans mangrove forests, Khulna, Bangladesh. ICBP Technical Publication No. 5. Pp. 205-209. Sarker, S.U. and Sarker, N.J. (1986). Status and distribution of birds of the Sundarbans, Ban- gladesh. The Journal of Noami 3: 19-33. Scott, D.A. (Ed.) (1989). A Directory of Asian wetlands. UCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. 1,181 pp. Seidensticker, J. and Hai, M.A.(1983). The Sundarbans Wildlife Management Plan: conservation in the Bangladesh coastal zone. YUCN, Gland, Switzerland. 120 pp. Siddiqi, N.A. and Choudhury, J.H. (1987). Maneating behaviour of tigers (Panthera tigris Linn) of the Sundarbans - twenty-eight years’ record analysis. Tigerpaper 14(3): 26-32. Date February 1987, updated August 1990 TEKNAF GAME RESERVE IUCN Management Category VIII (Multiple Use Management Area) Biogeographical Province 4.04.01 (Burman Rainforest) Geographical Location Lies 80km south of Cox’s Bazaar in the Teknaf Peninsula of south-eastern Bangladesh. Stretches from Thainkhali in the north to Teknaf township in the south, all of which is within Cox’s Bazaar Forest Division. 21°00’N, 92°20’E 38 Bangladesh Date and History of Establishment Teknaf is a reserved forest which was declared a game reserve in 1983 under the Bangladesh Wildlife (Preservation) (Amendment) Act, 1974. It includes an area formerly referred to as the Thainkhali Game Reserve (7,770ha) (Government of Bangladesh, 1973). Area 11,615ha Land Tenure State Altitude Ranges from 5m to 700m. Physical Features The terrain is rugged, with undulating hills aligned in a north-to-south direction and bordering the Bay of Bengal to the west. Soils on the hills are predominantly pale brown (acidic) clay loams and loams developed from shales and siltstones. Perennial water courses, known as ‘charas’, in the forested hilly areas are the only dependable source of water for elephants in the vicinity. Climate Moist tropical maritime conditions prevail, with a mean annual rainfall of 4060mm and mean humidity of 81.2% (Khan and Rashid, 1983). Vegetation Comprises evergreen and semi-evergreen secondary forests, which have regener- ated following clear-felling, and teak Tectona grandis plantations. The tropical wet evergreen forest is characterised by chapalish Artocarpus chaplasha, telsur Hopea odorata, chundul Tetrameles nudiflora, pitraj Amoora wallichi, uriam Mangifera longipes, civit Swintonia flori- bunda, toon Toona ciliata and jam Syzygium spp. It is now confined to deep valleys and shaded slopes with good water supplies. The dense multi-storeyed semi-evergreen forest, typical of the peninsula, ranges in height from 20m to 45m. The top canopy, which includes several deciduous species, is characterised by baitta garjan Dipterocarpus scaber, telya garjan D. turbinatus, dulya garjan D. alatus, koroi Albizia procera, chukka k’oroi A. chinensis, chapalish, uriam, civit, shimul Bombax ceiba and B. insigne, bandarholla Duabanga grandiflora and narikeli Sterculia alata. The second storey is dominated by evergreens, such as batna Quercus sp., jam, Casta- nopsis sp., jarul Lagerstroemia speciosa, bena Macaranga denticulata, kamdeb Calophylum polyanthum, hargoza Dillenia pentagyna, dharmara Pterospermum personatum, moos P. pa- niculata, Sterculia villosa, S. colorata, konak Schima wallichii, nageshwar Mesua ferrea, bahera Terminalia bellerica, haritaki T. chebula, champa Michelia champaca, gamar Gmelina arborea and bot Ficus spp. Saplings predominate below the second storey, together with adaliya Meliosma pinnata, naricha Musa ramentacea, dormala Callicarpa arborea, goda Vitex glabrata, kestoma and kechua Glochidion spp., sheora Streblus asper, jalpai Elaeocarpus spp. and bela Semicarpus anacardium. The undergrowth of both evergreen and semi-evergreen forests is dominated by bamboo, the commonest species being muli Melocannia bambusoides, mitenga Bambusa tulda, kaliserri Oxytenanthera auriculata, daloo Teinostachyum dulooa and orah Dendrocalamus longispathus (Khan and Rashid, 1983). Fauna Teknaf Peninsula still has quite a rich fauna. Moreover, it provides a vital refuge for elephant Elephas maximus (E), estimated in 1982-1983 to number 101, of which 71 resided within an area of 55,000ha and the rest came from the Arakan area of Burma (Reza Khan and Rashid, 1983). Other mammals include rhesus macaque Macaca mulatta, capped langur Presbytis pileata, Hoolock gibbon Hylobates hoolock (V), sloth bear Melursus ursinus (1), hog-badger Arctonyx collaris, crab-eating mongoose Herpestes urva, civets (Viverridae), small 39 IUCN Directory of South Asian Protected Areas cats Felis spp., flying squirrel Petaurista sp. and Malayan giant squirrel Ratufa bicolor (Khan, 1985a). Ungulates present in that part of the park which used to be known as Thainkhali Game Reserve include Indian muntjac Muntiacus muntjak, sambar Cervus unicolor and wild boar Sus scrofa (Olivier, 1979). Leopard Panthera pardus (T) and possibly dhole Cuon alpinus (V) are also present (Olivier, 1979). The avifauna is diverse and includes kalij pheasant Lophura leucomelana, fruit pigeons, hornbills and woodpeckers (Khan, 1985a). Reptiles include Malayan box turtle Cuora amboinensis, uncommon in Bangladesh, Indian python Python molurus (V) and monitor Varanus sp. (Khan, 1985a). Cultural Heritage No information Local Human Population There are 25-30 villages within the forests of the Peninsula and some 50 villages on their peripheries. Local people, who are largely dependent on forest resources for their livelihood, grow rice, millet, vegetables and pan in the valleys (Khan and Rashid, 1983). Visitors and Visitor Facilities The reserve has potential for tourism, particularly since Cox’s Bazaar, renowned as being the only health resort in the country, is a tourist centre (Khan and Rashid, 1983). There are two rest houses in the vicinity, at Inoni and Teknaf (Olivier, 1979). Scientific Research and Facilities The elephant population was studied between May 1982 and April 1983 (IUCN/WWF Project 3038) and a management strategy developed to conserve the species (Khan and Rashid, 1983). Conservation Value Teknaf Peninsula contains the most important tracts of evergreen and semi-evergreen forests in south-eastern Bangladesh (Khan and Rashid, 1983) and about one third of the country’s total elephant population, estimated at 300 animals (Khan, 1985b). The Peninsula is also an important wetland site (Scott, 1989), although the wetlands themselves lie outside the reserve. Conservation Management The reserve was established to protect the elephant population, but the Forest Department continues its operations in the area. Preliminary recommendations for elephant management include: replacing clear-felling with selective felling; replanting cleared areas with indigenous species of trees; establishing corridors to facilitate movement of elephants and other wildlife between cleared areas; and controlling encroachment, grazing by livestock and extraction of bamboo (Khan and Rashid, 1983). Management Constraints There has been considerable pressure on minor forest products from the coastal people who either fished or grew pan Piper betle. Removal of the forest understorey, to meet local demands for timber, firewood and bamboo, has interfered with natural regeneration. Large areas of forest have been turned into plantations (teak) and, since 1976, Burmese refugee camps have had a severe local impact on forests (Womersley, 1979). Most accessible areas on the Peninsula have been clear-felled or subjected to shifting cultivation, with the result that little virgin forest remains. Regeneration is hindered, due to the pressure of livestock and other forms of disturbance, and the vegetation is changing towards a drier scrub-forest or savannah, characterised by sungrass Jmperata cylindrica, bhat Clerodendrum infortunatum, Lantana 40 Bangladesh camara, Eupatorium odoratum, Melostoma sp. and others. The main elephant food, bamboo, has largely been extracted and replaced by unpalatable plants, such as Lantana and Eupatorium. This has probably been responsible for the increased raiding of crops, particularly by solitary elephants. Oil palm has recently been introduced to a 4,000ha area but is damaged by migratory elephants and, to a much greater extent, by porcupines. In 1978-1983, over 400ha of forested land was encroached by villagers with the authority of the Forest Department and others. Bamboo is extracted at an estimated rate of 10,000 canes per week, and some 8,000 cattle and water buffalo are taken daily into the forests for grazing, except possibly from January to April (Khan and Rashid, 1983). Staff Forest guards Budget No information Local Addresses No information References Government of Bangladesh (1973). Development of wildlife management and game reserves. Forest Department, Dacca. Olivier, R.C.D. (1979). Wildlife conservation and management in Bangladesh. UNDP/FAO Project BGD/72/005. FAO, Forest Research Institute, Chittagong. 121 pp. Khan, M.A.R. (1985a). Future conservation directions for Bangladesh. In: Thorsell, J.W. (Ed.) Conserving Asia’s natural heritage: the planning and management of protected areas in the Indomalayan Realm. TUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. Pp. 114-124. Khan, M.A.R. (1985b). Mammals of Bangladesh. Nazma Reza, Dhaka. 92 pp. Khan, M.A.R. and Rashid, S.M.A. (1983). Development of an elephant management plan for the Cox’s Bazar Forest of Bangladesh. Unpublished report to WWF/IUCN, Gland. 13 pp. Sarker, N.M. and Fazlul Huq, A.K.M. (1985). Country report on national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and game reserves of Bangladesh. Prepared for the 25th Working Session of IUCN’s Commission on National Parks and Protected Areas. Corbett National Park, India. 4-8 February 1985. 5 pp. Scott, D.A. (Ed.) (1989). A Directory of Asian wetlands. UCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK Womersley, J.S. (1979). Botanic Garden Dacca, commercial horticultural forest botany and national parks. UNDP/FAO Project BGD/72/005. FAO, Forest Research Institute, Chittagong. 71 pp. WWFIUCN Project No. 3033. Bangladesh, Cox’s Bazar Forest, elephant management plan. Date May 1987, updated August 1990 41 typ nininetiamneesne ae Pai AWAY a, AP ase eu pte . 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Ci Fe INDIA Area 3,166,830sq.km Population 835,000,000 (1989) Natural Increase 2.2% per annum GNP US$ 300 per capita (1987) Policy and Legislation A commitment to protect and enhance the environment is enshrined within India’s Constitution (Forty-Second Amendment) Act, 1977, as follows: "The State shall endeavour to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country." (Article 48A); and "It shall be the duty of every citizen of India ... (g) to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife, and to have compassion for living creatures." (Article 51A). There is no provision, however, which enables the union government to enact legislation pertaining to environmental issues that is uniformly applicable to all states and union territories. In addition to the separate federal and state jurisdiction, there exists a concurrent list of legislative powers which, since 1976, includes inter alia forests and the protection of wild animals and birds. The concurrent list gives over-riding power to the federal government but executive authority lies with the state governments (Dwivedi and Kishore, 1984). The constitutional directives have provided a strong basis for the enactment of legislative measures for environ- mental protection. The need to integrate environmental considerations with economic develop- ment was explicitly articulated for the first time in the 4th Five-Year Plan, 1969-1974 (Biswas and Bannerjee, 1984). There is no statutory requirement for environmental impact assessment at present but a mechanism has been initiated whereby assessment is an integral part of the planning process, with appraisals of major projects being the responsibility of the Department of Environment, Forests and Wildlife (Dwivedi and Kishore, 1984). Among the recommenda- tions of the Tiwari Committee, a high-powered committee appointed by the government in February 1980 to suggest administrative and legislative reforms to improve environmental protection in the country, was the introduction of environment protection in the concurrent list of the Constitution. The National Environment Policy envisages conservation and development, as well as equity among the people sharing the environment, but these tend to be mutually incompatible under much of the existing legislation (Singh, 1985). India is in the process of formulating a national conservation strategy. The protection of wildlife has a long tradition in Indian history. Wise use of natural resources was a prerequisite for many hunter-gatherer societies which date back to at least 6000 BC. The 43 IUCN Directory of South Asian Protected Areas most notable of such traditions are sacred groves, totally inviolate to any human interference, and village groves where only limited use by members of the community is permitted. Many of these are still in existence. Extensive clearance of forests accompanied the advance of agricultural and pastoral societies in subsequent millenia, but an awareness of the need for ecological prudence emerged and many so-called pagan nature conservation practices were retained (Gadgil, 1989). Among the earliest provisions for the establishment of protected areas are those codified in the Arthasashtra, India (321-300 BC), written by Kautilya, reputedly the Prime Minister of King Chandra Gupta Maurya. Prescriptions included rules for the adminis- tration and management of forests, and provisions for three classes of forests, namely those reserved for the king, those allocated for ascetics and those for the public which could be used only for hunting purposes. Kautilya is also the first-recorded person to have advocated the creation of ‘Abhayaranyas’, or sanctuaries for wildlife. The following century, during the reign of Emperor Ashoka, the first-recorded conservation measures for wildlife were enacted, and reserves were established for wild animals (Singh, 1986; Mitra, 1989). Hindu, Moslem and, latterly, British rulers continued these traditions in subsequent centuries, setting up reserves for privileged hunting over much of India. As more and more land became settled or cultivated, so these hunting reserves increasingly became refuges for wildlife. Many of these reserves were subsequently declared as national parks or sanctuaries, mostly after Independence in 1947. Examples include Gir in Gujarat, Dachigam in Jammu & Kashmir, Bandipur in Karnataka, Evarikulum in Kerala, Madhav (now Shivpuri) in Madhya Pradesh, Simlipal in Orissa, and Keoladeo, Ranthambore and Sariska in Rajasthan. The fact that the great majority of the Indian population is vegetarian (devout Hindus and Jains) has undoubtedly helped to preserve that part of India’s natural heritage which remains today (Singh, 1985; Gadgil, 1989). Following Independence, a number of states (Goa, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Mysore, Punjab, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu) enacted wildlife preservation acts, while others (Assam, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal) continued to enforce the Government of India Wild Birds and Animals Protection Act, 1912. National park acts were enacted by a few states but only five national parks were established under these acts, namely Kanha, Bandhavgarh and Shivpuri in Madhya Pradesh, Taroba in Maharashtra and Hailey (now Corbett) in Uttar Pradesh. The Hailey National Park Act of 1936 was probably the first law in India intended for the exclusive protection of wildlife and its habitat (IBWL, 1970; Kothari et al., 1989). A National Wildlife Policy for India was first formulated by an Expert Committee of the Indian Board for Wildlife in 1970 (IBWL, 1970). A major aim was to reserve at least 4% of the total land area for wildlife, both plants and animals - an objective which has recently been exceeded. Much of this policy was subsequently enshrined in the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972. The Act provides the necessary uniform legislation for the establishment of protected areas and has since been adopted by all states and union territories. Provisions include inter alia the constitution of state wildlife advisory boards and the notification of sanctuaries, national parks, game reserves and closed areas by state governments. A sanctuary is defined as an area of “adequate ecological, faunal, floral, geomorphological, natural or zoological significance." Setting up a sanctuary involves settling all private rights, either allowing them to continue or acquiring them after adequate compensation. Hunting, entry with any weapon, causing fire, and using substances potentially injurious to wildlife are prohibited, while fishing and grazing by livestock may be allowed on a controlled basis. Permission to enter or reside in a sanctuary may be granted by the Chief Wildlife Warden for purposes of photography, scientific research, tourism and transaction of lawful business with any person residing in a sanctuary. A national India park is defined similarly to a sanctuary. Similar provisions apply but hunting and cattle grazing are prohibited. In addition, exploitation or removal of any wildlife, or its habitat, is prohibited within a national park. Moreover, only a completely unencumbered area, in which all rights have become vested in the state government, can be declared as a national park. Once established, its boundaries may not be altered except through a resolution passed by the state legislature. A game reserve is an area in which only licensed hunting is permitted, and a closed area is one which is closed to hunting for such periods as may be specified in the notification. State-owned land leased or otherwise transferred to Central Government may be declared as a sanctuary or national park by the federal authority. The basis to present nature conservation policy in India is the National Wildlife Action Plan (Department of Environment, n.d.). Drawing on the World Conservation Strategy launched by TUCN in March 1980, the Bali Action Plan arising from the 3rd World Parks Congress in October 1982 and the World Charter for Nature adapted and proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in October 1982, it was adopted by the Government of India in October 1983 on the recommendation of the Indian Board for Wildlife. Objectives include the establishment of a representative network of protected areas and development of appropriate management systems (together with the restoration of degraded habitats), and the adoption of a National Conservation Strategy. The Indian Forest Act, first enacted in 1865 and succeeded by a more comprehensive act in 1927, provides significant protection to wildlife through the provision for reserved and protected forests to be established in any forest or waste lands belonging to the government, or over which the government has proprietary rights. Some states enacted their own forest legislation after the National Forest Policy was announced in 1952, while others amended the Act to suit their own requirements. Activities prohibited within reserved forests include: making fresh clearings or breaking up land for cultivation; kindling or carrying fire; trespass and cattle grazing; felling or otherwise damaging any tree; quarrying stone, burning lime or charcoal; removing forest produce; and hunting, shooting, fishing, trapping and poisoning water. In general, activities prohibited within reserved forests are subject to regulations in protected forests. In addition, in protected forests, any trees, class of trees or portion of forest may be temporarily closed to all forms of exploitation, including the quarrying of stone and burning of lime. The Act also makes provision for the rights of government over land constituted as reserved or, in the case of a few states, protected forest to be assigned to village communities. Such village forests are subject to all provisions of the Act that relate to reserved (or protected) forests. The Forest (Conserva- tion) Act was promulgated in 1980 to stem the indiscriminate diversion of forest land to non-forestry purposes. Under this Act, no forest land can be de-reserved or diverted to non-forestry purposes without the approval of Central Government. Other initiatives include a moratorium, imposed since 1983, on the felling of trees at altitudes of 1,000m and above (Ministry of Forests and Wildlife, 1985). The 1952 National Forest Policy was superceded by a new National Forest Policy (Resolution No. 3-1/86 FP) on 7 December 1988. Objectives include the maintenance of environmental stability, conserving the nation’s natural heritage by preserving remaining natural forests, preventing soil erosion and denudation of catchment areas, and creating a mass people’s movement with the involvement of women to achieve such aims and minimise pressure on existing forests. A target has been set for one-third of the total land area of the country to be under forest, as originally stipulated in the 1952 National Forest Policy, but in the hills and mountainous regions the target is two-thirds. In addition, forest management must provide ‘corridors’ to link protected areas and thereby maintain genetic continuity between artificially 45 IUCN Directory of South Asian Protected Areas separated subpopulations of migrant wildlife. Also, full protection of the rights and concessions of tribals and poor people dependent on forests is advocated (Government of India, 1988). A selected list of other environmental legislation is given in A Second Citizen’ s Report (CSE, 1985). Of particular note is the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, which provides a focus for environmental issues in the country and plugs loopholes in the existing legislation (Ministry of Environment and Forests, 1987a). Inadequacies in the existing nature conservation legislation are reviewed by Dwivedi and Kishore (1984) and by Singh (1986). The recognition of only wild animals and birds, without reference to plants, is an important omission from both the Wild Life (Protection) Act and the Constitution. Uniform and comprehensive forest legislation is urgently needed, with emphasis on forest conservation rather than the existing system of resource exploitation. Both acts are currently under revision. International Activities India ratified the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (World Heritage Convention) on 14 November 1977. Five natural sites have been inscribed on the World Heritage List to date, namely Kaziranga, Keoladeo, Sundarbans and Nanda Devi national parks and Manas Sanctuary. India acceded to the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Water- fowl Habitat (Ramsar Convention) on 1 October 1981, at which time Chilka Lake and Keoladeo National Park were designated as wetlands of international importance. Four more sites (Harike, Logtak, Sambhar and Wular lakes) were designated on 23 March 1990. Participation in the Unesco Man and Biosphere Programme began in 1972 with the constitution of the Indian National MAB Committee. The Indian Biosphere Reserves Programme will operate within the ambit of existing state and federal legislation; separate legislation for biosphere reserves is not envisaged (Ministry of Environment and Forests, 1987b). Thirteen potential biosphere reserves have been identified, of which the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve is the first to have been established but has yet to be nominated for inclusion in the international biosphere reserve network. Administration and Management The Department of Environment, Forests and Wildlife within the Ministry of Environment and Forests was created in September 1985. It serves as the administrative focus within Central Government for planning, promoting and coordinating environmental and forestry programmes, including the preservation and protection of wildlife and the biosphere reserve programme (Ministry of Environment and Forests, 1987a). Pre- viously, wildlife management was the responsibility of the Forest Department within the Ministry of Agriculture. Following recommendations made by the Tiwari Committee, a separate Department of Environment was constituted on 1 November 1980 to which wildlife management was transferred in September 1982. This Department became part of a new Ministry of Environment and Forests, constituted under Presidential Notification No. 74/2/1/85-Cab. dated 4 January 1985. At that time, the Ministry consisted of two departments, namely Environment and Forests & Wildlife, but these were merged later that year (Government of India, n.d.; Ministry of Environment and Forests, 1986, 1987a). Departments of environment have also been set up in a number of states (Biswas and Bannerjee, 1984). 46 India Wildlife, together with forestry, has traditionally been managed under a single administrative organisation within the forest departments of each state or union territory, with the role of Central Government being mainly advisory. There have been two recent developments. Firstly, the Wild Life (Protection) Act has provided for the creation of posts of chief wildlife wardens and wildlife wardens in the states to exercise statutory powers under the Act. This has largely been responsible for the creation of wildlife wings within each state headed by a chief wildlife warden. Under this Act, it is alsc mandatory for the states to set up state wildlife advisory boards. Secondly, the inclusion of protection of wild animals and birds in the concurrent list of the Constitution, has provided the Centre with some legislative control over the states in the conservation of wildlife (Pillai, 1982). Guidelines specifying that the management of protected areas should be under the remit of the wildlife wings were issued by Central Government in 1975, but progress in implementing them was slow. This prompted Central Government to threaten cessation of financial assistance to states which had not transferred protected areas to their respective wildlife wings. The situation has since improved, all states and union territories with national parks or sanctuaries having set up wildlife wings. However, by 1987, three states (Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Tamil Nadu) had not transferred control over any protected area to their respective wildlife wings, while eight others (Bihar, Gujarat, Kamataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal) had transferred only some of their national parks and sanctuaries (Ministry of Environment and Forests, 1987a; Kothari et al., 1989). Management of protected areas in individual states and union territories is summarised by Pillai (1982). The Indian Board for Wildlife under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister, is the main advisory body to the Government of India on wildlife matters. First constituted in 1952 as the Central Board for Wildlife, it was later re-designated as the Indian Board for Wildlife. Among its various achievements, it has been instrumental in the formulation of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, the establishment of many new protected areas (including tiger reserves), and in the formation of separate departments for wildlife conservation both at the Centre and in the states. State wildlife advisory boards have been constituted under statutory provisions of the Wild Life (Protection) Act to advise state governments (Saharia and Pillai, 1982). The administration of Project Tiger, initiated as a Central Sector Scheme in 1973, is overseen by a Steering Committee headed by the Minister of State for Environment and Forests. The Director is responsible for coordinating the Project within Central Government. Execution of the Project is the responsibility of the chief conservators of forests in the relevant states, with tiger reserves managed by field directors. The Project’s present status is that of a centrally- sponsored scheme, with costs shared equally between the union and state governments (Panwar, 1982). Training in wildlife management is undertaken at the Wildlife Institute of India, which became an autonomous institution of the Ministry of Environment and Forests with effect from 1 April 1986. Its objectives include training in protected areas management, research and extension services, building a computerised wildlife information system, and providing advisory services. The Institute offers a one-year post-graduate diploma course for forest officers, a three-month certificate course for forest rangers and an M.Sc. Wildlife Biology course (WII, 1987). There are many non-governmental organisations involved in nature conservation. The oldest is the Bombay Natural History Society, established in 1883 and currently comprising about 3,000 members. Whereas work undertaken in its early years was concentrated on collecting, ident- 47 IUCN Directory of South Asian Protected Areas ifying and documenting India’s flora and fauna, the emphasis has shifted to conservation- oriented research in recent decades, particularly threatened species and habitats. Long-term field studies are based in a number of protected areas, such as Keoladeo National Park (Rajasthan), Mudumalai Sanctuary (Tamil Nadu) and Dalma Sanctuary (Bihar). The Society’s Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society is widely circulated in India and overseas. World Wide Fund for Nature-India (formerly World Wildlife Fund-India), established in 1969, has quickly developed to become the largest non-governmental nature conservation organisation in India, with 20 branches and a total staff of about 130. Its activities include ecological research and surveys, policy reviews, conservation projects, nature education and responsibility to the Ministry of Environment and Forests for environmental information relating to federal and state legislatures, NGOs and the media. Two recent initiatives underway are the establishment of the Indira Gandhi Conservation Monitoring Centre and the launch of a Community Biodiversity Conservation Movement. The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage, constituted in January 1984, has rapidly emerged as one of the most progressive and influential conservation bodies in India. It has 150 regional chapters spread over India’s 32 states and union territories, the ultimate goal being to establish a chapter in each district. Its aim is to develop an awareness among the public of India’s cultural and natural heritage and to promote its conservation. The Trust set up a Natural Heritage Cell in May 1985 which promotes land-use planning and management in areas of critical conservation importance. The Centre for Science and Environment aims to publicise topical environmental issues, as well as promoting people’s participation in environmentally-sound rural development. Its findings are documented in its citizens’ reports, two of which have been published to date (CSE, 1982, 1985). Other national conservation organisations include the Wildlife Preservation Society of India, founded in 1958 and publisher of the journal Cheetal. Another is the Indian Society of Naturalists, which publishes Environmental Awareness. Details of some 700 environmental non-governmental organisations can be found in a directory produced by WWFE-India. Protected areas are often poorly managed, with little consideration given to the local people living in and around them (Singh, 1986). The legal, ecological and management status of protected areas has recently been examined by the Environment Studies Division, Indian Institute of Public Administration (Kothari et al., 1989). The study was commissioned by the National Committee on Environmental Planning in 1984 and sponsored by the Ministry of Environment and Forests. The survey shows, for example, that only 40% of 52 national parks and 8% of 209 sanctuaries have completed legal procedures for their establishment. Only 43% of national parks and 28% of sanctuaries surveyed have management plans; in many cases they are cursory documents and have never been approved by the state government. Many of the deficiencies in protected areas management reflect a lack of commitment of resources on the part of state governments. For example, in 1983-84, expenditure on protected areas was 1.5% of forest department budgets. The Environmental Studies Division is currently engaged in a series of in-depth studies of management issues in a selection of India’s major protected areas. Systems Reviews India is a nation of extraordinary diversity, the seventh largest and second most populous in the world. Its relief can be conceptualised in terms of three well-defined 48 India regions: the Himalayan mountain system along its northern margin; the Gangetic Plain, which extends some 2,400km from Assam in the east to the Punjab in the west and southwards to the Rann of Kutch in Gujarat; and the Deccan Plateau which is flanked on either side by the Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats (Mani, 1974). Its rich diversity of ecosystems, which range from tropical rain forests to deserts, and from marine and coastal systems to high mountains, support an estimated 5-8% of the world’s known flowering plant and animal species, of which a significant proportion are endemic (Gadgil and Meher-Homji, 1986). Important centres of biological diversity, particularly for plants, are the Western Ghats, north-eastern India and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Nayar, 1989). Forest once covered most of India but much of it has been destroyed or severely degraded as a result of human population pressures, particularly in the fertile lowlands which are among the most densely populated areas in the world. For example, 4.1 million hectares of forest were cleared mainly for agriculture between 1951 and 1980 (Vedant, 1986; Singh, 1986). Probably less than 1% of the total land area is covered by primary forest (Mani, 1974). Forests are estimated to have covered 64.01 million hectares in 1985-1987, or 19.5% of total land area comprising 11.5% dense forest (at least 40% crown density), 7.8% open forest (at least 10% crown density) and 0.1% mangrove forest (FSI, 1989). The total area of wetlands (excluding rivers) in India is 58,286,000ha, or 18.4% of the country, 70% of which comprises areas under paddy cultivation. A total of 1,193 wetlands, covering an area of 3,904,543ha, were recorded in a preliminary inventory coordinated by the Department of Science and Technology, of which 572 were natural. In a recent review of India’s wetlands, 93 are identified as being of conservation importance (Scott, 1989). Coral reefs occur along only a few sections of the inainland, principally the Gulf of Kutch, off the southern mainland coast, and around a number of islands opposite Sri Lanka. This is due largely to the presence of major river systems and the sedimentary regime on the continental shelf. Elsewhere, corals are also found in the Andaman, Nicobar and Lakshadweep groups, although their diversity is reported to be lower than in south-east India (UNEP/IUCN, 1988). Historically, conservation in India stems mainly from the creation of large forest reserves in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to safeguard timber, soil and water resources. Superimposed on this network of reserved forests has been a much smaller number of national parks and sanctuaries where the value of the biological resource has persuaded authorities to reduce the level of forest product utilisation (Rodgers, 1985). Both the adoption of a National Policy for Wildlife Conservation in 1970 and the enactment of the Wild Life (Protection) Act in 1972 lead to significant growth in the protected areas network. The network was further strengthened by a number of national conservation projects, notably Project Tiger, initiated on 1 April 1973 by the Government of India with support from WWF (IBWL, 1972; Panwar, 1982), and the Crocodile Breeding and Management Project, launched on 1 April 1975 with technical assistance from UNDP/FAO (Bustard, 1982). Project Tiger has been acclaimed as an internationally outstanding conservation success story. Its achievements and shortcomings are reviewed by Panwar (1984) and Singh (1986). More recently, the Government of India has initiated a Snow Leopard Conservation Scheme along the lines of Project Tiger, but with the emphasis on resolving conflicts between wildlife and resident human populations without having to relocate villagers from within protected areas (Ministry of Environment and Forests, 1987a). 49 IUCN Directory of South Asian Protected Areas In fulfillment of one of the major objectives of the National Wildlife Action Plan (Department of Environment, n.d.), the existing protected areas system has been reviewed and plans formulated for a comprehensive network which covers the full range of biological diversity in the country (Rodgers and Panwar, 1988). In mid-1987, there were 426 national parks and sanctuaries covering a combined area of 109,652 sq.km, or 3.3% of the country. Major gaps in the network included inadequate representation ( 1%) of the following biotic provinces: Ladakh, South Deccan, Gangetic Plains, Assam Hills and Nicobars. Recommendations in the review bring the total number of protected areas to 651, covering 151,342 sq.km or 4.6% of the country. Particular emphasis is given to protecting sites of high species diversity and endemism, as well as ecologically fragile areas. These proposals supercede previous recommendations emanating from the Corbett Action Plan (IUCN, 1985) and the IUCN systems review of the Indomalayan region (Mackinnon and Mackinnon, 1986). They also endorse the earlier work of Gadgil and Meher-Homji (1986), in which representation of the main vegetation types of India within the protected areas network is assessed. A number of states are now implementing many of the recommendations made in the protected areas plan, to the extent that total coverage by national parks and sanctuaries now exceeds 4%. Addresses Joint Secretary (Wildlife), Department of Environment, Forests and Wildlife, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Paryavaran Bhawan, CGO Complex, Lodi Road, NEW DELHI 110 003 (Cable: PARYAVARAN, NEW DELHI; Tlx: 3163015 WILD IN; Tel: 306156) Inspector-General of Forests, Department of Environment, Forests and Wildlife, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Paryavaran Bhawan, CGO Complex, Lodi Road, NEW DELHI 110 003 (Cable: AGRINDIA, NEW DELHI) Director, Project Tiger, Bikaner House, New Delhi-110011 Director, Wildlife Institute of India, PO New Forest, Dehra Dun 248 006 (Cable: WILDLIFE; Tlx 585238 PRES IN, 585258 FRIC IN; Tel. 27021-8, 28760, 27724) Chief Wildlife Warden, P O Chatham, PORT BLAIR, Andaman & Nicobar 744 101 (Union Territory) Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), HYDERABAD, Andra Pradesh 500 004 Chief Wildlife Warden, ITANAGAR, Arunachal Pradesh 791 111 Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden, Retabari, GUWAHATI, Assam 788 735 Chief Wildlife Warden, PO Hinoo, RANCHI, Bihar 834 002 Divisional Forest Officer and Chief Wildlife Warden, Estate Office, Sector 17, CHANDIGARH 160 017 (Union Territory) Chief Wildlife Warden, SILVASSA, Dadra and Nagar Haveli 396230 (Union Territory) ADM and Chief Wildlife Warden, Room 39, Ist Floor, Western Wing, Tis Hazari, DELHI 110 054 (Union Territory) Conservator of Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden, Wildlife and Parks Division, Junta House, 3rd Floor, PANAJI, Goa 403 001 Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden, Kothi Annexe, BARODA, Gujarat 390 001 Chief Wildlife Warden, Kothi 70, Sector 8, PANCHKULA, Haryana 134 109 Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) and Chief Wildlife Warden, Talland, SIMLA, Himachal Pradesh 171 002 Chief Wildlife Warden, Tourist Reception Centre, SRINAGAR, Jammu & Kashmir 190 001 Chief Wildlife Warden, 11 Floor, Aranya Bhawan, 18th Cross, Malleshwaram, BANGALORE, Karnataka 560 003 Additional Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden, TRIVANDRUM, Kerala 695 001 50 India Administrator, Via KAVARATTI, Lakshadweep 673 555 (Union Territory) Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) and Chief Wildlife Warden, Forest Department, 1st Floor, B-Wing, Satpura Bhawan, BHOPAL, Madhya Pradesh 462 001 Chief Wildlife Warden, Nature Conservation, MS, NAGPUR, Maharashtra 440 001 Chief Wildlife Warden, PO Sanjenthong, IMPHAL, Manipur 795 001 Chief Wildlife Warden, Risa Colony, SHILLONG, Meghalaya 793 003 Chief Wildlife Warden, AIZAWAL, Mizoram 796 001 Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), DIMAPUR, Nagaland 797 112 Additional Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) and Chief Wildlife Warden, 315 Kharvel Nagar, BHUBANESHWAR, Orissa 751 001 Chief Wildlife Warden, PONDICHERRY 605 001 (Union Territory) Chief Wildlife Warden, Punjab SCD 2463-64, Sector 22C, CHANDIGARH, Punjab 160 022 Chief Wildlife Warden, Van Bhawan, Bhagwan Das Road, JAIPUR, Rajasthan 302 001 Conservator of Forests (Fish and Wildlife) and Chief Wildlife Warden, GANGTOK, Sikkim 737101 Additional Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) and Chief Wildlife Warden, 571 Tiruchi Road, COIMBATORE, Tamil Nadu 641 045 Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden, PO Kunjaban, AGARTALA, Tripura 799 006 Chief Wildlife Warden, 17 Rana Pratap Marg, LUCKNOW, Uttar Pradesh 226 001 Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden, P-16 Exchange Place Ext., New CIT Building, CALCUTTA, West Bengal 700 073 Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), Curator, Hombill House, Shahid Bhagat Singh Road, BOMBAY 400 023 (Cable: HORNBILL; Tel. 243869, 244085) Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), Director, F6 Kailash Colony, NEW DELHI (Tel. 6438109) Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), Director-Natural Heritage, 71 Lodi Estate, NEW DELHI 110 003 (Tel. 611362, 618912, 616581) Indian Society of Naturalists (INSONA), Oza Building, SALATWADA, Baroda 390 001 Wildlife Preservation Society of India, Honorary Secretary, 7 Astley Hall, DEHRA DUN (Tel. 5392) Worldwide Fund for Nature-India (WWF-India), Secretary General, Secretariat, 172-B Lodi Estate, NEW DELHI 110 003 (Fax 626837; Tel. 616532, 693744) References Biswas, D.K. and Bannerjee, P.K. 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Wildlife Institute of India, Dehra Dun. 58 pp. 53 IUCN Directory of South Asian Protected Areas Summary of Protected Areas of India National/International designation IUCN Management’ Area Name of area category (ha) Ramsar Wetlands Keoladeo National Park II 2,873 World Heritage Sites Kaziranga National Park > 4 42,996 Keoladeo National Park xX 2,873 Manas Wildlife Sanctuary »4 39,100 Nanda Devi National Park xX 63,033 Sundarbans National Park xX 133,010 ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLANDS UNION TERRITORY National Parks Marine (Wandur) II 28,150 Middle Butten Island II 65 Mount Harriet Island II 4,622 North Butten Island II 44 Saddle Peak II 3,255 South Butten Island II 4 Sanctuaries Arial Island IV BD) Bamboo Island IV Be) Barren Island IV 810 Battimalve Island IV 223 Belle Island IV 8 Benett Island IV 346 Bingham Island IV 8 Blister Island IV 26 Bluff Island IV 114 Bondoville Island IV 255 Brush Island IV 23 Buchanan Island IV 933 Chanel Island IV 13 Cinque Island IV 951 Clyde Island IV 54 Cone Island IV 65 Crocodile (Lohabarrack) IV 10,600 Curlew (B.P.) Island IV 16 Curlew Island IV 3 Defence Island IV 1,049 Dot Island IV 18 54 Year notified 1972 1985 1985 1985 1982 1984 1983 1979 1979 1979 1979 1979 1987 1987 1977 1985 1987 1987 1987 1987 1987 1987 1987 1987 1987 1987 1987 1987 1983 1987 1987 1987 1987 Dottrel Island Duncan Island East (Inglis) Island East Island Egg Island Entrance IslandS Flat Island Gander Island Goose Island Gurjan Island Hump Island Interview Island James Island Jungle Island Kwangtung Island Kyd Island Landfall Island Latouche Island Mangrove Island Mask Island Mayo Island Megapode Island Montogemery Island Narcondum Island North Brother Island North Island North Reef Island Oliver Island Orchid Island Ox Island Oyster Island-1 Oyster Island-2 Paget Island Parkinson Island Passage Island Patric Island Peacock Island Pitman Island Point Island Potanma Island Ranger Island Reef Island Roper Island Ross Island Rowe Island Sandy Island Sea Serpent Island Shark Island Shearme Island 55 India 1987 1987 1987 1987 1987 1987 1987 1987 1987 1987 1987 1985 1987 1987 1987 1987 1987 1987 1987 1987 1987 1985 1987 1977 1987 1987 1977 1987 1987 1987 1987 1987 1987 1987 1987 1987 1987 1987 1987 1987 1987 1987 1987 1987 1987 1987 1987 1987 1987 IUCN Directory of South Asian Protected Areas Sir Hugh Rose Island IV 106 1987 Sisters Island IV 36 1987 Snake Island-1 IV 3 1987 Snake Island-2 IV 73 1987 South Brother Island IV 124 1987 South Reef Island IV 117 1987 South Sentinel Island IV 161 1977 Spike Island-1 IV 42 1987 Spike Island-2 IV 1,170 1987 Stoat Island IV 44 1987 Surat Island IV 31 1987 Swamp Island IV 409 1987 Table (Delgarno) Island IV 229 1987 Table (Excelsior) Island IV 169 1987 Talabaicha Island IV 321 1987 Temple Island IV 104 1987 Tillanchong Island IV 1,683 1985 Tree Island IV 3 1987 Trilby Island IV 96 1987 Tuft Island IV 29 1987 Turtle Island IV 39 1987 West Island IV 640 1987 Wharf Island IV 11 1987 White Cliff Island IV 47 1987 Subtotal 81,650 ANDRA PRADESH STATE Sanctuaries Coringa IV 23,570 1978 Eturnagaram IV 81,259 1953 Kawal IV 89,228 1965 Kinnersani IV 63,540 1977 Kolleru IV 90,100 1963 Lanjamadugu IV 3,620 1978 Manjira IV 2,000 1978 Nagarjunasagar Srisailam IV 35,689 1978 Neelapattu IV 453 1976 Pakhal IV 86,205 1952 Papikonda IV 59,068 1978 Pocharam IV 12,964 1952 Pranhita IV 13,603 1980 Pulicat IV 58,000 1976 Rollapadu IV 614 1988 Siwaram IV 2,992 1978 Srivenkateswara IV 50,700 Subtotal 673,605 56 ARUNACHAL PRADESH STATE National Parks Mouling Namdapha Sanctuaries D’Ering Memorial Itanagar Mehao Pakhui Subtotal ASSAM STATE National Parks Kaziranga Sanctuaries Barnadi Dipor Beel Garampani Laokhowa Manas Nameri Orang Pabha Pobitora Sonai Rupai Subtotal BIHAR STATE National Parks Palamau Sanctuaries Bhimbandh Dalma Gautam Budha Hazaribagh Kabar Kaimur Koderma Lawalang Mahuadaur Nagi Dam Nakti Dam Palamau Parasnath 57