Gujarat: Biodiversity, Forests and Wildlife · GPSC (Gujarat)

What the official syllabus says

General Studies-III (Main Examination, Paper VI), (B) Environmental Science and Disaster Management:
International initiatives (Treaties, Protocols etc.) and India's commitment, Biodiversity, Forest and Wildlife in India and Gujarat.

This page takes the Gujarat part of the line. Gujarat has a desert and salt marsh, grasslands, dry forests, the moist forests of the Dang, and the longest coastline of any Indian State with mangroves and coral reefs, so its wildlife is unusually varied for its forest area.

Topics in detail

Ecosystems of Gujarat

The Rann of Kachchh: the Great Rann and the Little Rann, seasonal salt marshes
Grasslands: Banni grassland (Kachchh) and the vidis (protected grasslands) of Saurashtra; the threat from the invasive Prosopis juliflora (gando baval)
Dry deciduous and thorn forests of Saurashtra and North Gujarat; the Gir forest
Moist deciduous forests of the Dang and South Gujarat (the northern end of the Western Ghats)
Wetlands: Nal Sarovar, Thol, Khijadiya, Wadhvana (Ramsar sites), and many village tanks
Coastal and marine ecosystems: mangroves, coral reefs, mudflats and islands of the Gulf of Kachchh; the Gulf of Khambhat

Forests of Gujarat

A low share of the State's area under forest compared with the national average; forest concentrated in the east (Dang, Valsad, Narmada, Panchmahal, Dahod), Gir and Kachchh
Forest types: moist teak forests (Dang), dry teak forests, thorn scrub, mangroves
Mangrove cover: among the largest of any State (Gulf of Kachchh, Gulf of Khambhat); mangrove plantation along the coast
Social forestry, farm forestry and trees outside forests; Van Mahotsav and the State's cultural forests (sanskritik vans)
Forest Rights Act in the tribal districts of eastern Gujarat; joint forest management
Minor forest produce: tendu leaves, mahua, gum, bamboo

Protected areas

National parks: Gir (Asiatic lion), Velavadar Blackbuck National Park (Bhavnagar), Marine National Park, Gulf of Kachchh, and Vansda National Park (Navsari)
Sanctuaries: Gir, Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary (Little Rann of Kachchh), Kachchh Desert, Narayan Sarovar (chinkara), Kachchh Bustard Sanctuary, Nal Sarovar Bird Sanctuary, Thol, Khijadiya, Jessore and Ratanmahal (sloth bear), Shoolpaneshwar, Purna, Jambughoda, Barda, Marine Sanctuary (Gulf of Kachchh)
Kachchh Biosphere Reserve (2008)
Eco-sensitive zones around protected areas

Flagship species

Asiatic lion: its only wild home is the Gir landscape of Saurashtra; Gir's history of protection by the Nawab of Junagadh; lion population estimations and the monthly full-moon count (Poonam Avlokan); Project Lion; disease risk (canine distemper) and the case for a second home
Indian wild ass (ghudkhar) of the Little Rann
Blackbuck (Velavadar) and chinkara (Kachchh, Narayan Sarovar)
Great Indian Bustard and lesser florican in the Kachchh grasslands; effect of power lines
Greater and lesser flamingos breeding in the Great Rann
Marine life: dugong, corals, sea turtles, and the whale shark (protected under the Wildlife (Protection) Act since 2001; Gujarat's whale shark conservation campaign)
Wolves, striped hyenas, caracal and desert fox; sloth bear and leopard in the eastern hills

Conservation in Gujarat

Gujarat Forest Department; Gujarat Ecological Education and Research (GEER) Foundation; Gujarat Ecology Commission; Gujarat Biodiversity Board
Human-wildlife conflict: leopards in villages and towns, lions outside the protected area, crop damage by nilgai and wild boar
Threats: salt pans and industry in the Rann, coastal industries and ports, grassland loss, invasive species, open wells
Community roles: Maldharis of Gir, pastoralists of Banni, fishing communities on the coast
Restoration: mangrove plantation, grassland development, wetland management

Overlaps

Prelims General Studies: parks and sanctuaries under Physical Geography in relation to India and Gujarat.
General Studies-I: cultural landscape of Gujarat (coastal, tribal and other communities).