assam

More than 3.14 lakh hectares of protected forest land in Assam continue to remain under encroachment, despite extensive eviction drives undertaken over the past decade, Forest and Environment Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah informed the State Assembly on Tuesday. Responding to questions during the Budget Session, the minister said that as of February 12, 2016, a total of 3,15,996.13 hectares of land in wildlife sanctuaries and reserve forests had been illegally occupied. Since then, the government has cleared encroachments from 25,588.77 hectares, including 16,937.25 hectares during the last five years. According to the figures placed before the House, 17,421.50 hectares of land across eight wildlife sanctuaries and 2,96,717.94 hectares across 281 reserve forests are still under encro...

A recent wildlife survey has revealed the rich avian diversity of Assam’s Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve, recording 30 species of raptors and six species of storks across the protected landscape. The comprehensive stork and raptor rapid survey was conducted during February and March this year by the Kaziranga Tiger Reserve Authority in collaboration with researchers from Gauhati University. The findings were released on the occasion of World Environment Day. According to the report, a total of 217 individual raptors belonging to 30 species and 266 individual storks representing six species were recorded during the survey. Kaziranga's diverse habitats, including grasslands, wetlands and forested areas, provide ideal conditions for both resident and migratory bird species. ...