Assam : Wildlife and Ecotourism - Assam PCS Exam Notes

Assam has very rich source of wild flora and fauna. One horned Rhino is the major wildlife species of the Assam. Among other species, which inhibits in Assam are pigmy hog, elephants, wild buffalo and tigers.

There are 18 Wildlife Sanctuaries in Assam. The details of these sanctuaries are given in the below table:

S.No.	Name of Wildlife Sanctuary (WLS)	State	Established Year	Area (In km²)
1	Amchang WLS	Assam	2004	78.64
2	Barail WLS	Assam	2004	326.25
3	Barnadi WLS	Assam	1980	26.22
4	Bherjan-Borajan-Padumoni WLS	Assam	1999	7.22
5	Burachapori WLS	Assam	1995	44.06
6	Chakrashila WLS	Assam	1994	45.56
7	DeeporBeel WLS	Assam	–	4.14
8	DihingPatkai WLS	Assam	2004	111.19
9	East KarbiAnglong WLS	Assam	2000	221.81
10	Garampani WLS	Assam	1952	6.05
11	Hollongapar Gibbon WLS	Assam	1997	20.98
12	Lawkhowa WLS	Assam	1972	70.14
13	Marat Longri WLS	Assam	2003	451
14	Nambor WLS	Assam	2000	37
15	NamborDoigrung WLS	Assam	2003	97.15
16	Porbitora WLS	Assam	1987	38.81
17	Pani-Dihing Bird WLS	Assam	1995	33.93
18	SonaiRupai WLS	Assam	1998	220

Source – Wildlife Institute of India

Assam has 5 national parks in the state. These are listed below:

S. No.	Name of NP	State	Year	Area (km²)
1	Dibru-Saikhowa National Park	Assam	1999	340
2	Kaziranga National Park	Assam	1974	858.98
3	Manas National Park	Assam	1990	500
4	Nameri National Park	Assam	1998	200
5	Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park	Assam	1999	78.81

Source – Wildlife Institute of India

Wildlife and Eco-tourism:

The prime segments of ecotourism in Assam:

(A) Wildlife Tourism: The national parks, bird and wildlife sanctuaries of Assam are good examples of wildlife tourism. About 180 species of mammals, 195 species of reptiles and more than 800 species of birds are found here which are significant in comparison to any other state of India.

Due to unique presence of its wildlife and climatic conditions, Assam has very good scope of eco-tourism. Many wildlife sanctuaries and national parks has as stated above have various unique species like one-horned rhino, tiger , Red panda.

Kaziranga National Park:

Spread over an area of 858.98sq Km, Kaziranga National Park is one of the most important wildife parks in entire India.

The park is situated around 235 Km from Guwahati and the best time to visit the park is during November to March.

It is most famous for the number of one horned rhino that are found here. It is the highest anywhere in the world and is two third of the total world population. A major potion of the park is covered with elephant grass which are quite tall. They prove to be an ideal grazing ground for the rhino. Kazirangapark also has the highest density of tigers in the world. Other animals that are found in the park are Indian bison, swamp deer, Sambar, Hog deer, sloth bear, Hoolock gibbon and many more. Kaziranga National Park is also a great nesting place for local and migratory birds like Hornbill, egret, heron, adjutant stork and fishing eagle.

Manas National Park

Manas National Park is located on the foothill of Himalayas with some part of the part extending into the territory of Bhutan. In December 1985, UNESCO recognized it as World Heritage Site. Today the park covers a total area of 500 sq km, has a core area of 360 squarekm. It is the only wildlife park in Assam that is comes under Project Tiger. The park is around 176 km from Guwahati and there are regular bus service between the two destinations.

(B) River Tourism: The mighty Brahmaputra and the Barak attract the ECOTOURISM IN ASSAM 189 water adventure lovers from different parts of the world. The tributaries of both the rivers have immense potentialities for angling, boating, canoeing, parasailing etc. The areas that have potentials in angling are: • Mathanguri (Manas River) • Umrangso (Kapili River) • Panimoor (Kapili and Amring river) • Ramghat (Burai River) • Pathali Pam (Subansiri river) To make river tourism even more interesting, the ASTC as well as the private sector of Assam have introduced cruising facilities for domestic and foreign tourists like M.V Charaideu, Sukafa, Jalparee, Alfrasco etc.

(C)Tea and Golf Tourism: The tea gardens rolling out green carpets for miles are ideal to meet the pursuit of romantic and exotic experience of modern tourists. Many tea gardens have 18-hole golf courses- another major attraction for modern tourists. There are more than 800 tea estates and 20 golf estates within the state. Mini airstrips fitted with golf courses are surely attractive destinations for the international tourists for whom ambience is the most important aspect of a leisure holiday. Some of the golf courses are:Digboi golf tourism, Margherita golf club, Biswanathan golf etc. The courses have natural greens as there is plenty of rainfall and ground water available. (Government of India). The ATDC (Assam Tourism Development Corporation) has introduced a tea festival that is held in Jorhat every year.

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