Conservation Concerns: Several Species Await Urgent Research In MP
· Free Press Journal
Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): In Madhya Pradesh, several species and aspects of wildlife management await urgent research, including Eurasian and smooth-coated otters, the hispid hare (reported from Kanha grasslands), the mouse deer and the Indian pangolin, which may be under serious threat of extinction owing to rampant poaching and illegal trade.
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This has been stated in the Madhya Pradesh Wildlife Plan prepared for the period till 2043. It states that the study of small cats is also a victim of funders' bias.
Among birds, knowledge of the distribution and abundance of raptors, many of which are threatened and represent ecosystems including grasslands and wetlands, is scant.
Several decades of research on the Bengal Florican (reported from Kanha grasslands) and the lesser florican have not answered questions about their migration.
Many species of birds are facing varying degrees of threat and need immediate management interventions based on sound scientific studies.
Vertebrates such as the caracal, gharial (critically endangered), Ganges river dolphin (endangered), marsh crocodile (vulnerable), smooth-coated otter (vulnerable), red-crowned roofed turtle (critically endangered), narrow-headed softshell turtle (endangered), Indian skimmer (endangered) and black-bellied tern (endangered) are victims of human-influenced alterations to the ecosystem.
The changed flow of rivers due to excessive extraction of water for human and industrial use and the untimely opening of barrage gates impact the formation of sandbars and sandbanks, which are the nesting sites of several of these species.
Rampant illegal sand mining and free-ranging dogs and livestock severely threaten the nesting sites of reptiles and birds.
The Ganges river dolphins are losing their deep pools to the incessant extraction of sand and the unregulated release of dam waters.
Regular monitoring of human-induced changes in such fragile ecosystems is therefore imperative.
The report adds that the state achieved remarkable success in removing the threat of poaching to the endangered Indian pangolin.
The state leads the country in the number of tigers (around 785 as of 2023) and some other species.
But success was not uniform. Some species conservation programmes did not work owing to flaws in strategy and external factors.
The great Indian bustard faced a decline in Karera and Ghatigaon. The lesser florican too dwindled in the Sailana and Sardarpur sanctuaries, while the blackbuck in Bagdara Sanctuary also lost ground.
The florican, which is a monsoon visitor to Madhya Pradesh, may have suffered from power lines and windmills en route and from intensive farming and the use of fertilisers and pesticides at its breeding grounds.
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