| Name of the project: |
Baseline Survey for documenting mammalian diversity of Mouling National Park and developing an action plan for strengthening the traditional institution of the Adi tribal community in Arunachal Pradesh |
Program Area: |
NRM |
Country: |
India |
Project Length: |
October 2009 - June 2010 |
Sponsor: |
Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) |
Contact: |
jayahari@winrockindia.org |
Mouling National Park, one of the two national parks in Arunachal Pradesh was notified in 1986. Even after two decades of notification, the park lacks a biodiversity inventory and until recently did not have a management plan. The cause of the intactness of the park lies in its remoteness, absence of motorable roads, both in the core as well as the buffer area of the park and the taboo of the Adi tribes and its sub-tribes which prevents them to scale the three peaks, Ganging Mouling, Marrang Mouling and Mouling Sibum. Due to absence of a motorable road, the park’s boundary has been drawn through the aid of existing topo-sheet and aerial survey resulting in straight line segments in mountainous terrain. The PA has been carved out of a USF (Unclassed State Forest) and possibilities exist that wide consultation has not been made with the local communities while designing the park. However it appears that land use rights of the local communities are settled and no park and people conflict exists. The remoteness and pristine nature of the park does not make the park immune to threats. The park is accessible to the local communities and unofficial reports on trade in Kasturi the Musk deer (Moschus moschiferus) exist. Forests fires are limited but man wild life conflicts due to attacks by Himalayan Black bear (Selenarctos thibetanus) is on the rise. Complete lack of monitoring makes it impossible to assess the extent of these threats. The project aims at documenting the mammalian diversity of Mouling National Park through PRA techniques and develop a conservation action plan for the region. |