Landscape Connectivity in India

  • What approaches can decision-makers and planners use to ensure that the needs of rural infrastructure and economic development in India is not achieved at the expense of landscape connectivity for wildlife?

Roads, rail, and other infrastructure are fundamental for India’s economic development. However, these linear features sever connectivity between protected areas. Protected areas in India are often too small to support viable populations of wide-ranging species, such as elephants and tigers. Connectivity is crucial for genetic viability of these species.

 

OUR APPROACH: The group has helped decision-makers plan for infrastructure development while maintaining connectivity of the landscape. They created an open access, web-based tool for planners by using scientific evidence like spatial data layers and data analysis to identify major challenges for wildlife connectivity across India.

Team Status:

  • Completed

Goals

Results

  • Establish a platform for communication and planning across the conservation community and sectors involved in infrastructure expansion
  • Provide an information base for evaluating alternative strategies for infrastructure development in India
  • Apply the analyses of alternative strategies to two forested biodiversity rich landscapes in India – Central India and the Western Ghats – where infrastructure is expanding

 

Open Data Portal
The team created a data portal titled “India Under Construction” to provide planners, consultants, lawyers, and other stakeholders with accurate data on protected areas. The portal’s layers show fragmented landscapes and connectivity routes that must be conserved and maintained. Spatial layers provide infrastructure planners with the information they need to develop in a manner that does not infringe on livelihoods of local animal populations.

 

Hybrid Landuse-Landcover Map
The team created a map of Central India identifying 16 protected areas, and then connected the protected areas with 30 paths and accounting for over 562 barriers that could prohibit complete linkages. Barriers include mines, reservoirs, roads, and rail. Maintaining and restoring connectivity between source populations is essential for the long term viability of wide-ranging species. Increasing infrastructure needs could impact the connectivity between protected areas.

Impacts

“Our data portal empowers the decision makers, but it also allows local advocacy groups to use this information and engage with data-driven practices. The impacts could very well span over decades.”  

– Krithi Karanth, Project Leader

Key Products

Danger posed to wildlife by roads

Restoration sites to improve connectivity in a landscape

India Under Construction

Linear infrastructure severely affects large forest patches in India

See More Outcomes

Teams

Leaders

Ullas Karanth

  • Wildlife Conservation Society

Ruth DeFries

  • Columbia University

Krithi Karanth

  • Wildlife Conservation Society

Members

Vinay Kumar

  • Wildlife Conservation Society

Udayan Patil

  • Srushti Paryavaran Mandal

Trishna Dutta

  • Independent Researcher

Tarun Nair

  • Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment

Suman Jumani

  • Foundation for Ecological Research, Advocacy and Learning

Subhorajan Sen

  • Pench Tiger Reserve

Srinivas Vaidyanathan

  • Foundation for Ecological Research Advocacy and Learning

Shankar Sharma

  • Power Policy Analyst, Private

Shishir Rao

  • Centre for Wildlife Studies

Robert Ament

  • Western Transportation Institute

Ramki Sreenivasan

  • Conservation India

Rajat Nayak

  • Foundation for Ecological Research Advocacy and Learning

R. Mohanty

  • India International Infrastructure Engineers

Praveen Bhargav

  • Wildlife First

Pranav Chanchani

  • World Wildlife Fund

Prakriti Srivastava

  • Forests, Eco Development and Tribal Welfare

Prachi Thatte

  • National Centre for Biological Sciences

Nitya Satheesh

  • Centre for Wildlife Studies

Niren Jain

  • Kudhremukh Wildlife Foundation

Naveen Bhat

  • NU Associates

Milind Pariwakam

  • Wildlife Conservation Trust

Mandar Pawgi

  • Conservationist, Maharashtra

M. Seshagiri Rao

  • Rail India Technical and Economic Services

M. K. Jiwrajka

  • Indian Forest Service

Kirk Olson

  • Wildlife Conservation Society

Kishore Rithe

  • SATPUDA Foundation

K Ramesh

  • Wildlife Institute of India

Jagdish Krishnaswamy

  • Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment

D S Ravindran

  • Forests, Khazane – II) and Ex –Officio Commissioner, Treasuries

Ashwini Chhatre

  • Indian School of Business

Ashoka Vardhana

  • Freelance Writer and Publisher

Anubhav Vanamamalai

  • Centre for Wildlife Studies

Anisha Jayadevan

  • Centre for Wildlife Studies

A S Karanth

  • DEIF India

Ajith Kumar

  • Wildlife Conservation Society

Advisors

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