Kaziranga and Brahmaputra Floods

What is the issue?

While on one side Kerala is devastated by floods, here is why floods are crucial and beneficious for the Kaziranga national park.

Why is Brahmaputra significant for Kaziranga?

• Kaziranga National Park is a 117-year-old park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985.
• Every year, the Brahmaputra takes away portions of land from the Park.
• Resultantly, on paper the park is 1,030 sq km in area, but in reality it is 884 sq km.
• It also continues to shrink year after year.
• It affects mostly hog deer, swamp deer, wild boar and other few animals.
• These are those that fail to reach higher ground in time after floods.
• Despite the above, Brahmaputra contributes more to, than harms, the wildlife in the park.
• It gives more to the habitat of the world’s largest population of one-horned rhinos.
• The unique biodiversity of Kaziranga is rejuvenated by a dynamic system that connects the Brahmaputra with its alluvial floodplains.
• But this year, the park has not been inundated, causing concerns for the park authorities.

Why are floods essential?

• Floods have long been beneficious to Kaziranga and Assam. Click here to know more.
• The deluge happens up to four times a year between April and October.
• Unlike farmlands across the Brahmaputra floodplain, monsoon floods are essential to Kaziranga’s ecosystem.
• Kaziranga’s plant and animal life are intrinsically linked to the floods.
• Its vast grasslands and beels (wetlands) are revitalised annually by the Brahmaputra’s overflow.
• The floods help deposit mineral-rich alluvial soil.
• This facilitates growth of grass and shrubs that are the main source of fodder for herbivores.
• Besides, the floodwaters, while receding, flush out aquatic weeds and unwanted plants.

What are the concerns?

• During floods, animals in Kaziranga flee to higher grounds within the park.
• These include 111 highlands built in the late 1990s.
• Each of them is 12 ft high and large enough to accommodate up to 50 large animals.
• There are 33 more being built, each 16 ft high, with a total area of 22 hectares.
• But when 70-80% of Kaziranga is under water, the animals usually flee to the hills of Karbi Anglong.
• This is located south of the park beyond a National Highway running along its edge.
• Speed of vehicles is regulated during floods, but some animals invariably get killed.
• Of greater worry is the destruction of the hills because of indiscriminate stone quarrying.
• Some of the major quarries are on animal corridors and thus affect their movement.
• Quarrying has increased, and extracted materials have been dumped at sites adjoining the park.
• So if floods happen, Kaziranga’s animals could find their escape route blocked or altered.
• Hence, while floods are good for the park, it needs interventions to make them really beneficious for environment and ecology.

Source: The Hindu