Assam Floods Part II

Click here for Part I

What was the issue?

The recent floods in Assam highlighted the role played by humans in destabilizing the flood plain ecosystem and animals life.

What are the advantages of floods?

• Floods play an important role in maintaining key ecosystem functions and biodiversity.
• They link the river with the land surrounding it, fill wetlands, increase the connectivity between aquatic habitats, and move both sediment and nutrients around the landscape.
• For many species, floods trigger breeding events, migration, and dispersal. These natural systems are resilient to the effects of floods.
• Apart from the environmental benefits, flooding also helps the economy through increased agricultural and fish production, recharge of groundwater resources etc..

Is flooding a bizarre event inKaziranga?

• The Kaziranga national park is situated on the south bank of the river Brahmaputra.
• It primarily consists of alluvial grasslands, woodlands, tropical moist mixed deciduous forest, and tropical semi-evergreen forest.
• It is basically a flood plain.
• Floods are the primary means by which it keeps its own health alive and that of the animals that inhabits it.
• Not having floods or stopping them will have disastrous effect on the park and its inhabitants.

• All wildlife are known to deal with the floods from time immemorial.

What constitutes to the unnatural death of animals?

• The reason for the unnaturally number of death high is not the, floods.
• The main problem is the human encroachment on the flood plains.
• Wild animals tend to move to high grounds at the time of floods, but these high grounds surrounding the park are obstructed by land mafias.
• The animals attempted to reach the hills of KarbiAnglong by crossing the highway.
• This led to death of manyby collisions with speeding vehicles on the highway that passes alongside Kaziranga.
• Many animals are killed by the opportunistic killing of those who come across these stranded migrating animals, mainly for their meat.
• There have also been cases where poachers have ventured inside Kaziranga and killed rhinos stranded in highlands.

Source: Indian Express