Context: Pumped storage project in Sharavathy Lion-Tailed Macaque Sanctuary gets condition approval.
The Karnataka State Board of Wildlife (headed by Hon'ble Chief Minister of the State) gave conditional approval for the Sharavathy Pumped Storage Project in the Sharavathy Lion-Tailed Macaque Sanctuary.
The Central Electricity Authority had earlier approved the Detailed Project Report of the nearly ₹8,000 crore project.
The project covers regions in Shivamogga and Uttara Kannada districts.
Background:
While Karnataka Power Corporation Ltd. (KPCL)’s original proposal involved uprooting about 16,000 trees in the evergreen forests, the Board gave a green signal to the project, which is now expected to uproot 7,000 to 8,000 trees.
AS of now:
The proposal will now be sent to the Central Wildlife Board for approval.
The area around the Sharavathi project is inhabited by the endangered Lion-Tailed Macaque, which requires a tree canopy for their movement and survival, and the project is expected to put stress on the species that has been affected due to forest degradation in recent years.
Sharavathi Wildlife Sanctuary:
1. It is spread across the forests of Uttara Kannada & Shivamogga districts of Karnataka.
2. It is named after the Sharavathi River flowing through the sanctuary .
3. It was renamed recently as Sharavathi Lion-tailed Macaque Sanctuary in June 2019.
4. Flora: Southern Tropical Evergreen Type, Southern Tropical Semi-evergreen Forest, etc.
5. Fauna: It hosts Lion Tailed Macaque, Leaf Nosed Bats, Hornbills, Spotted Deer, Sambar, Gaur, Indian wild boar, etc.
Lion-tailed Macaque (Macaca Silenus):
1. It is an Old World Monkey, endemic to rainforests of Western Ghats.
a. It is an diurnal arboreal mammal.
2. It is a Schedule 1 species under WPA, 1972 and thereby, accorded the highest protection under the Indian law.
3. It is listed as ENDANGERED in the IUCN's List of Threatened Species.
4. It is listed in Appendix 1 of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
5. Global Population: 2,500 mature individuals.
a. In India: They are found as 47 isolated subpopulations across rainforests in Western Ghats of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
6. As per the report by Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, Coimbatore, there are 730 Lion-tailed Macaque in Sharavathi Valley LTM Sanctuary.
7. They primarily eat fruit, and fruit trees are sporadically distributed naturally.
8. Gestation is approximately six months. The young are nursed for one year. They have a unimale-multifemale social system.
9. It is active exclusively in daylight hours.
10. Threats: Human disturbance, Forest Fragmentation, Habitat Loss, Isolated living (increase in vulnerability).
11. Annamalai Hills in the Central Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu, is home to some of the largest populations of LTMs.
12. Conservation efforts: In 2017, the Karnataka forest department created the Agnashini LTM reserve in the Sharavathi Valley.
a. In 2019, the forest department extended formal protection to the Agnashini reserve and added it to the existing Sharavathi Wildlife Sanctuary and renamed it the Sharavathi Lion-tailed Macaque Sanctuary, recognising the primate as a flagship species of the region.
#SpeciesInNews #PFAs #WLS
Source: The Hindu
