Journal of Threatened Taxa |
www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 August 2020 | 12(11): 16571–16575
ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893
(Print)
doi: https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.4392.12.11.16571-16575
#4392 | Received 12 November 2019 | Final
received 03 June 2020 | Finally accepted 30 July 2020
Open garbage dumps near protected
areas in Uttarakhand: an emerging threat to Asian Elephants in the Shivalik Elephant Reserve
Kanchan Puri
1, Ritesh Joshi 2 & Vaibhav Singh 3
1,2 Environment Education Division,
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, New Delhi 110003, India.
3 Lansdowne Forest Division, Kotdwar, Uttarakhand 246155, India.
3 Currently with Rudraprayag Forest Division, Rudraprayag,
Uttarakhand 246171, India.
1 genetics_1407@yahoo.co.in, 2
ritesh_joshi2325@yahoo.com (corresponding author), 3 vaibhav.singh1212@gmail.com
Editor: L.A.K. Singh, Bhubaneswar,
Odisha, India. Date of publication: 26 August
2020 (online & print)
Citation: Puri, K., R. Joshi & V.
Singh (2020). Open garbage dumps
near protected areas in Uttarakhand: an emerging threat to Asian Elephants in
the Shivalik Elephant Reserve. Journal of Threatened Taxa 12(11): 16571–16575. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.4392.12.11.16571-16575
Copyright: © Puri et al. 2020. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License. JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproduction, and
distribution of this article in any medium by providing adequate credit to the
author(s) and the source of publication.
Funding: None.
Competing interests: The
authors declare no competing interests.
Abstract: Waste dumping sites near
protected areas are a growing issue, which may affect the activities and
behaviour of wildlife, more than what we notice. Here, we present two of our case studies,
where Asian Elephants were found feeding at garbage dumps in Haridwar and Ramnagar forest divisions in the Shivalik
Elephant Reserve in Uttarakhand State.
Since garbage dumps may spread bacterial infection and induce adverse
changes in the health conditions of the elephant population, we draw the
attention of planners to develop a plan of action for proper disposal of the
garbage through these preliminary observations, without affecting protected
areas and wildlife species, including elephants. Moreover, collection of data on the presence
of garbage dumps across the reserve and a study on the behavioural responses of
scavenging and non-scavenging animals visiting the dumps would give us a better
understanding of the level of impact of garbage dumps for disposal planning. It
is to emphasize that garbage does not constitute a part of natural food for
elephants. There are restrictions and guidelines in the Indian Wildlife
(Protection) Act 1972, Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 and Guidelines for
Declaration of Eco-Sensitive Zones around National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries.
Keywords: Elephants, garbage dumps,
protected areas, Shivalik Elephant Reserve.
Protected areas play a key role
in maintaining biodiversity and services provided by natural systems (Kolahi et al. 2013).
Dumped garbage that is nondegradable or contain harmful chemicals, may
cause negative impact on the regeneration of vegetation, ground water
reservoirs, and adversely affect the life and behaviour of wildlife anywhere,
including protected areas.
Protected areas defined under the
Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and its amendments, are carefully delineated
habitats for wildlife conservation. Of
late, waste dumping sites near protected areas have become a serious issue,
which may be affecting the activities and behaviour of wildlife, more than what
we readily notice. The food waste
generated by humans is often accessible to wildlife, which not only affects
wildlife ecology and behaviour but also affects the ecological processes and
community dynamics (Newsome & van Eeden
2017). One of the most significant
threats in the protected areas in Asia is inappropriate waste management, which
is related with the practice of land filling or combustion of waste and low
environmental awareness (Przydatek 2019). The congregation of animals at rubbish dumps
near human settlements may increase negative human-animal interactions like
animal attacks on people, livestock depredation, and the risk of aircraft
collision with scavenging birds (Plaza & Lambertucci
2017).
In the last few years, there have
been reports of wild animals straying to the outskirts of protected habitats,
near the garbage dumps. Such garbage
around the protected forests is usually dumped unknowingly by tourists or
thrown on the road side by the people living adjacent to the forests. Garbage dumps normally comprise of both the
residual organic and inorganic waste from the cities. Contrary to all this, it is also true that
these temporary garbage dumps attract wild animals and among several adverse
possibilities, it may pose threat for premature death as well. It is now widely acknowledged that the
attraction of wildlife to the dumping sites is also changing the behavior of individuals, particularly in making them
opportunistic feeders. Wild animals
feeding on the garbage in the outskirts of forests may have drastic impacts on
their behaviour; it may affect their activity pattern and even made them the
carriers of pathogenic infections.
A recent study carried out on the
foraging behavior of some vertebrates near garbage
dumps and the risk of plastic consumption indicated that the garbage dumps are
resulting in a shift in food habits of some wild animals (Katlam
et al. 2018).
In this note, we report on two
case studies in which elephants were feeding on the garbage dumps lying across
Haridwar and Ramnagar forest divisions in the state
of Uttarakhand, India (Image 1). These
divisions are among the crucial habitats for elephants, as these habitats are
endowed with the natural water reservoirs and food plant species of
elephants. Both the study areas fall
under the Shivalik Elephant Reserve in northern India
and are adjacent to Rajaji and Corbett national parks.
Study sites and
observation of cases
In the year 2002, one of the northwestern elephant range was designated as the 11th
elephant reserve in the country, naming it as the Shivalik
Elephant Reserve (henceforth Reserve), covering an area of 5,405km2. The reserve mainly consisted of three
protected areas in the state of Uttarakhand, namely, the Jim Corbett National
Park, Rajaji National Park, and Sonanadi Wildlife
Sanctuary, apart from some other reserve forests. As per the recent estimates carried out by
the state government in the year 2015, it was revealed that the state harbours
nearly 1,800 elephants (Uttarakhand Forest Department 2015). The estimation also reveals that the Reserve
has been maintaining a viable population of elephants for the last two decades,
and it averaged at 1,572 ±319 (range 1,346–1,797). In the Shivalik
Elephant Reserve, the male-female ratio of elephants in Rajaji and Corbett
national parks was recorded as 1:1.8 and 1:1.5–2.1, respectively (Williams
2002), however, another study carried out in Rajaji National Park indicated
that the male-female ratio of the elephants is 1:4.4 (Joshi et al. 2007). All these figures, if taken into account,
reveal that the Reserve consists of a healthy population of elephants.
Unfortunately, the Reserve is
suffering from the consequences of negative man-elephant interactions. Rapidly increasing demand for land for
habitation, agriculture, industries, and unsustainable land-use practices have
overarching negative impacts on the large migratory corridors of the
elephants. Incidences of straying of
elephants in crop fields and habitations, human encroachments into forest
areas, and killing of humans by the elephants are increasing. Linear infrastructure developments in the
form of roads, railway lines, power lines, and canals add to the problems in
some of the habitats across the Reserve.
Case Study-1: Shyampur
Forest in Haridwar Forest Division
The first observation of concern
was made during the year 2007 from Shyampur Forest
Range of the Haridwar Forest Division, now a part of the Rajaji Tiger Reserve,
wherein a bull elephant was found feeding on a garbage dump lying along the
east Ganga canal (29.920N, 78.170E; Image 2). This garbage belonged to the city of Haridwar
and was being thrown at the site for about two decades (from the year 1995 to
2015) in about 0.32km2 of the land.
The garbage consisted of both biodegradable and non-biodegradable solid
wastes, including the waste generated at Har-ki-Pauri
from the tourist aggregation, hospitals, and industries. The dumping site was being used mainly for
land filling. Since the garbage
contained leftover food and the remains of flowers and leaves, the elephants
were found attracted towards the dump.
This garbage not only affects the environment but also exposes the wild
animals to an unpredictable threat.
An inspection done by the state
forest department during the year 2015 at Shyampur
forest indicated that at a few places, the biodegradable and non-biodegradable
waste, originating from Haridwar City, was not being disposed-off properly
(Anonymous 2015). Between the years 1995
and 2015, more than 100,000 ton of garbage has been dumped in this site every
year, including 300 tons of garbage every day from the Haridwar Municipal
Corporation (Sharma 2015). Fortunately,
in the year 2015–2016, the Corporation started dumping of the city’s garbage in
a piece of government land near Sarai Village in Haridwar. Since the year 2016, any kind of garbage is
not being thrown at the east Ganga canal site.
Elephants use this track to visit the river Ganga crossing the Haridwar-Bijnor National Highway.
This forest is also a connecting chain for elephant movement in between
Rajaji and Corbett tiger reserves.
Case Study-2: Kosi
Forest in Ramnagar Forest Division
The second observation was made
during the year 2017 in the Kosi Forest Range of the Ramnagar Forest Division, wherein some pieces of plastic
bags were found in the dung piles of an
elephant (29.450N, 79.150E; Image 3). This division is adjacent to Corbett Tiger
Reserve and is a potential tourism zone.
Though any permanent garbage dumping site was not found in and adjoining
areas of the division, it was assumed that the elephants probably ate plastic
bag either from the garbage being thrown by the pilgrims in Sitabani
Temple or from the Chhoi Village near Ramnagar City. The Sitabani Temple is situated in Kota Forest Range, and is
well connected to the Kosi Forest Range (7–8 km from
the spot from where the observation was made).
Every year thousands of tourists and local villagers visit the temple
and notably the waste from anthropogenic activities and the remains of the
offerings along with the plastic bags are scattered in the surroundings. In order to minimize the use of plastic bags,
the forest department started distributing jute carrybags
to the tourists in the year 2017.
Similarly, Chhoi
Village is located about five kilometers from Ramnagar City, wherein garbage was observed being thrown by
the local people along the Ramnagar-Haldwani motor
road. This area is a connecting corridor
for elephant movement across Ramnagar and Terai West forest divisions. The presence of Kosi
River further facilitates the frequent movement of elephants across the
area. The garbage accumulated at both
the sites (in Sitabani Temple and Chhoi
Village) was found temporary. On
examining the garbage, it was found that the garbage mainly consisted of
leftover food, vegetable residues, wrappers of chips, etc.
Discussion
Impacts of garbage-feeding on
elephant
Improper management of waste can
lead to substantial and irreversible environmental, economic, and social
impacts (Dunjic et al. 2017). Though there are only a few reports of
elephants feeding on garbage, observations made from the Haridwar and Ramanagar forest divisions indicates that the garbage
dumping sites near elephant habitat may pose a threat to them. On several occasions, species like Spotted
Deer, Barking Deer, Sambar Deer, Wild Boars, and Rhesus Macaques have also been
observed feeding on garbage lying across protected areas. Even several birds like house crow, babblers,
doves, little egrets, and black kites were also recorded hovering and feeding
on garbage dumps.
Selective feeders with
specialized feeding apparatus (mouth or hand parts) such as primates or
insectivorous birds may be less susceptible to plastic ingestion and phthalate
accumulation (Hardesty et al. 2015) compared to elephants, ruminants or
carnivores, which are incapable of selectively retrieving food contained in
plastic (Katlam et al. 2018). Plaza & Lambertucci
(2017) pointed out that the species that take advantage of feeding in the
garbage dumps consisting of organic waste can produce negative impacts on other
species, which do not use to feed on the dumping sites. They also indicated that the probability of
pathogen infections, poisoning, foreign body ingestion may be high and such
feeding may also change the pattern of movement, migration, home ranges size,
and behaviours of the individuals. This
change in the movement patterns can have different ecological consequences as
well, like changes in pathogen distribution, which the species carry (Mc Kay
& Hoye 2016).
Such reports were also received
from Mudhumalai Tiger Reserve, southern India,
wherein elephants were found feeding in the dump yards, which were in the
middle of an elephant corridor (Ganesan 2016).
Even male elephants were found breaking the electric fence to enter
garbage dump areas in Silver Clouds in the Gudalur
area in the Nilgiris (Oppili
2016). Open garbage dumps have also been
recorded as a prevalent problem in Sri Lanka.
A detailed study carried out by Fernando & Pastorini
(2006) on the elephants in and around Wasgamuwa
National Park of Sri Lanka revealed that elephants use garbage dumps to feed on
edible items on a regular basis; even plastic bags were recorded in the dung
piles of elephants during the study in the year 2005. The death of an elephant was also recorded in
Sri Lanka in March 2017, which was found regularly eating garbage at Manampitiya (Rodrigo 2017).
In this context, the study and comments by Katlam
et al. (2018) is of significance about the risks resulting from garbage dumps
and the shift in food habits of some wild animals.
Legal provisions and
recommendations
In the year 2011, the Ministry of
Environment and Forests prepared draft guidelines for ecotourism in and around
protected areas (MoEF 2011) in which the emphasis was on banning of burning or
disposing non-biodegradable waste within the protected area or in surrounding
eco-sensitive zone or buffer area. Since
garbage dumps may spread bacterial infection and induce behavioural changes in
elephants, it is recommended that a plan of action is needed to be prepared for
proper dumping and disposing-off of garbage, especially across protected areas.
Rajaji and Corbett national parks
lie in the Shivalik Elephant Reserve in northern
India, wherein a large number of tourists arrive to observe wildlife in their
natural habitats. Considering that the
number of tourists is increasing every year, improper waste disposal practices
across the protected habitats may affect wildlife significantly. In order to minimize the impact of garbage on
elephants, formulation of an action plan for solid waste management (with
adoption of at-source segregation approach) for the Shivalik
Elephant Reserve needs to be developed.
Besides, tourists and local people need to be sensitized about the
harmful impacts of garbage dumps, especially plastic bags, using nature
education, and awareness tools.
Garbage dump and landfill sites
should be shifted away from the out skirts of protected habitats and wildlife
corridors; this approach will be helpful in minimizing the exposure of wildlife
to harmful wastes. Likewise, by collecting
data on existence of garbage dumps across the protected habitats of elephants
and initiating a study to better understand the level of impact of garbage
dumps on the behaviour of elephants, we would be able to know whether these
dumps are changing the behaviour and activities of elephants or not.
To achieve the objectives
contained in the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972, Solid Waste Management
Rules, 2016 and Guidelines for Declaration of Eco-Sensitive Zones around
National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries, there is a need to sensitize people
about effective ways of waste management and about the functional role of
species in maintaining the ecosystem and biodiversity. Moreover, ensuring local community and
stakeholder participation in conservation initiatives and habitat monitoring
would be an effective management and conservation strategy.
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