10-Mar-2023: Reintroduction of tigers in Madhav National Park, Madhya Pradesh
Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Shri Bhupender Yadav informed in a series of tweets about Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shri Shivraj Singh Chauhan and Union Minister of Civil Aviation Shri Jyotiraditya Scindia releasing two tigers, a 4 year old male from Satpura Tiger Reserve and a three and half year old tigress from Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserves, into the specially created soft release enclosures in Madhav National Park, Madhya Pradesh. Shri Yadav said Under Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi India is making phenomenal progress in wildlife conservation and promoting tourism related livelihood opportunities for local communities.
Madhav National Park, one of the oldest National Park of Madhya Pradesh notified in 1956, had sizeable tiger population in the past. Over the years, the national park had sporadic presence of tiger and the last reported tiger presence was in 2012. Spread over an area of 354.61 sq km, the location of the park assumes conservation significance as it has the potential to connect Panna Tiger Reserve of Madhya Pradesh with Ranthambore Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan.
As part of the proposal to re-establish tiger population in Madhav National Park, the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department had prepared a plan for translocating 5 tigers (2 males and 3 females) from Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve and Panna Tiger Reserves and from the surroundings of Bhopal. For housing the tiger, 3 enclosures of 1.3 ha each have been constructed. Each of these enclosure are interconnected through gates and provision for water, shade and natural tree cover has been made. The newly introduced tigers will be monitored round the clock by the field staff. A full time veterinary doctor equipped with rescue vehicle, cages, immobilizing gun, drugs has been deployed at the national park for tiger monitoring.
8-Feb-2023: Rajasthan Government has proposed to construct a zoo inside Keoladeo National Park
The Rajasthan Government has proposed to construct a zoo inside Keoladeo National Park, a World Heritage Site popularly known as Bharatpur bird sanctuary, to display a range of wetland species.
In an effort to rejuvenate the biodiversity of the park and boost its outstanding universal values, the Rajasthan Government has proposed the construction of Wetland ex-situ Conservation Establishment (WESCE), which will be a zoo to display a range of wetland species, including rhinos, water buffaloes, crocodiles, dolphins, and exotic species. The WESCE plan is part of the ambitious Rajasthan Forestry and Biodiversity Development Project, which is funded by Agence Française de Développement.
Facilities planned:
- Breeding and reintroduction center for locally extinct species
- Aquarium for indigenous species
- Enclosures for display of large wetland species
Keoladeo National Park: Keoladeo National Park is a wetland and bird sanctuary located in Bharatpur, Rajasthan. It is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was the first Ramsar site of India(1981) along with Chilika Lake (Odisha). The park is known for its rich avian diversity and abundance of waterbirds, with over 365 species of birds, including several rare and threatened species such as the Siberian crane. It is also part of Montreux record along with Loktak Lake.
Flora & Fauna: The park is home to animals such as jackals, sambar, nilgai, wild cats, hyenas, wild boar, porcupine, and mongoose. The principal vegetation types are tropical dry deciduous forest dominated by Acacia nilotica and dry grassland. The Gambhir and Banganga are two rivers that flow through the national park.
30-Mar-2022: Geological Heritage Sites of Himalayan Region of India
Geological Survey of India (GSI) has identified two geological heritage sites in the Indian Himalayan Region of India. The details of the two sites identified by GSI in the Himalayan Region are as follows:
|
State |
Name of the site |
Location |
Brief description of the site |
|
Himachal Pradesh |
Siwalik Fossil Park, |
Saketi, Sirmour District |
The Siwalik Fossil park displays a rich collection of vertebrate fossils recovered from the Siwalik rocks of the area of Plio-Pleistocene age. The deposition of Siwalik sediments took place in the narrow linear depression, called the 'fore deep', which started developing in front of the Himalayas since the inception of its uplift in the middle Miocene |
|
Sikkim |
Stromatolite bearing Dolomite/Limestone of Buxa Formation |
Mamley, near Namchi, South District |
The Geo-heritage site at Mamley exposes litho units of Buxa Formation, Daling Group of Proterozoic age. The dolostones are profusely stromatolitic (Precambrian algal structures). This site provides one of the rare examples of early life in Sikkim Himalaya. |
These two geological heritage sites of Indian Himalayan region are not on the verge of disappearance. These sites are preserved in the respective States.
Ministry of Mines has approached Ministry of Culture to explore the possibility of inclusion of Geological Heritage sites declared by GSI, under the purview of existing Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act 1958 (amended in 2010), by making suitable amendment in the Act.