Ex-Situ Conservation Site at Assam State Zoo cum Botanical Garden

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Brandon Kelly
5 years ago
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1 Ex-Situ Conservation Site at Assam State Zoo cum Botanical Garden The Government of India, in order to combat the adverse effects of climate change on the Himalayan states of India, introduced the National Mission on Himalayan Studies (NMHS). Assam, being one of the 12 Himalayan states, has proposed a NLC which itself is the first and foremost initiative of its kind in the entire country, aims to inculcate environmental temperament and nature friendly attitude among people. The NLC will have the following facilities: A. Reception: The reception will comprise of the following provisions: Registration: The registration will help in keeping the records of the visitors. Distribution of kits: The kit containing notebook, pencil, pen, cap, T-Shirt etc. with NLC logo will be distributed. Feedback: To aid in improving the activities of NLC, feedback will be taken. B. Amphitheatre: The amphitheater will enable the visitors to interact, share and witness different live activities related to environment. It will include facilities of screening audio-visual programs like documentary, animated movies, interaction sessions, competitions, puppet shows, games etc. Distribution of leaflets, pamphlets, guide to the trails etc. will be carried out at the amphitheater. The construction of the amphitheater is underway. C. Creeper House: Two Creeper house are already being built. Creeper house are being used for growing orchid and cactus species for NLC ex-situ conservation. One of the creeper house with variety of orchids is a part of the nature walk via which the visitors can witness a number of local, exotic and endangered species of orchids. The other creeper house is presently kept as a nursery. D. The nature Trail: To execute various adventurous activities that have been planned at the proposed NLC site, the first step was to understand the topography and the biodiversity of the area. To accomplish it, the NLC team, along with Zoo officials, visited the proposed site of Zoo multiple times to identify the probable routes of the nature trails and finally mapped. The entire process was conducted in the following ways: Inspection of the area: To have an account on various aspects like the existing species of the site, presence of various ecosystems, topography of the area etc., the NLC team explored the entire area. This helped in planning the proposed activities in an organized manner and come up with a number of new activities. The NLC site has

2 different ecosystems like forest, grassland, wetland, pond etc. and they hold a vast species diversity. Identifying the trails: One of the major goals of exploring the area is to identify the probable major routes where a number of activities will be set up for the visitors. GPS devices have been used to record the coordinates of the identified routes and also to locate the probable activity sites. Apart from it various important and remarkable sites, patches of trees, objects etc. were also marked with help of GPS. Three routes have been identified based on specific target age groups and difficulty levels and named as Trail A, Trail B and Trail C. Mapping of the Routes: The identified routes were mapped with the help of the coordinates recorded during the visits to the site. A detail map has been prepared showing the routes and various spots of importance. The detailed maps of all the three identified trails are attached. The different trails with tentative activities are as follows: Trail A: This is the shortest (around 1 km) and easiest trail targeted especially for the children under the age group of 10 years. The trail is designed in such a manner that it encompasses the following: A water fall Rock cave Two bamboo grooves A fallen tree which is nurturing varieties of mushroom, bryophytes and some climbers. A butterfly trail will also be set up at the starting point of the trail A blue print of the activities of the shortest trail are detailed below. Trail B: This is the medium trail which will have a route of around 4 km in length. This trail is designed for the visitors above the age group of 10 years. This trail is set up in the undulating hillock to have an exciting experience of walking amidst nature along with various learning activities. This trail will include the features of Trail A along with the following points: A marshy land representing the wetland ecosystem

3 An old building which is the proposed site for the laboratory/exhibition/display unit set up Bamboo groves with variety of bamboo species A proposed site for wild endemic fruit bearing plants A trail of orchids in the wild A patch of tea plants A lake with diversified aquatic flora and fauna Trail C: This is the difficult route extending up to the peak of the hill. The entire stretch measures around 5 km in length. This will provide the visitors an opportunity to explore the hilly terrains by climbing the steep hilly slopes and rocks. In addition to the adventure of Trail A and B (up to the lake), this trail will include the following features: A site for viewing different tree canopies along the hill slope Brahmaputra view point City view point Rocks with different surface textures Study of soil profile in hilly areas Mountain climbing point E. Butterfly trail: The butterfly trail has been designed to attract the various butterfly species. To attract butterfly, host and nectar plants are identified. Some of the identified host plants are: Murraya koenigii, Citrus sp., Polyalthia longifolia, Calotropis sp., Cassia sp., Nerium oleander. The nectar plants identified are Lantana camara (a common weed), Asclepias sp. (Milk weed), Catharanthus roseus (Periwinkle), Heliotropium indicum, Castor plant. The site for the butterfly trail has been finalized and collection of saplings the mentioned plants are underway. F. Conservation patches: Areas for setting up the conservation patches are identified which initially would include the following species: Bamboo species: Different areas have been identified for conservation and display of the variety and variability of the bamboo sp. of Assam. Already 10 bamboo species are available in the Assam State Zoo and Botanical Garden campus. Fruit bearing plants: The listings of the species which need attention have been started.

4 Medicinal plants: A brief list of the indigenous medicinal plants of Assam has been created. Different Ocimum spp., Jatropha spp. will be initially collected for planting in the identified spots. Insectivorous plant: Conservation patch has been identified for plantation of pitcher plant (Nepenthes khasiana). Fern patch: As the topography of the NLC site is undulating and have water channels, display patch of different fern species are being planned.

5 Trail map of all the three routes

6 Trail map of the longest route

7 Trail map of the medium route

8 Proposed activities of the shortest route

9 Pictures of Amphitheater (under construction)

10 Creeper house 1

11 Display of Cactus varieties Creeper house II

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