Deobali Jalah, Sialmari, Haibargaon, Khutikatia (Nagaon) (18073)
India, Asia

Site overview

KBA status: confirmed

Year of last assessment: 2004

National site name: Deobali Jalah, Sialmari, Haibargaon, Khutikatia (Nagaon)

Central coordinates: Latitude: 26.3250, Longitude: 92.6722

System: freshwater, terrestrial

Elevation (m): 60 to 60

Area of KBA (km²): 25.17672

KBA classification: Global/Regional TBD

Legacy site: Yes

Site details

Site description: Deobali Jalah (c. 1,000 ha) includes a marshy tract with beels (wetlands) and grassland in central Assam. Located 15 kms to the south-west of Nagaon town, it is perhaps the last remaining intact grassland which is still unprotected in Nagaon district. The entire area is interspersed with numerous wetlands. The Haria river to the south and the Kollong river to the north form the natural barriers for the grassland, while the other sides are occupied by human habitation. Nagoan is a town situated almost in the middle of Assam and surrounded by thickly populated Assamese villages. In the township two nesting colonies of Greater and Lesser adjutants exist - North Haibargaon and Khutikatia- which are approximately 4 km. from each other. These are traditional breeding sites of Greater and Lesser adjutants and locals say that these have been used for nesting for many years. These places are urban areas with thick human habitations. New buildings are being built very near to the nesting trees. The nesting trees are private property and are located just near the settlements. A few busy public roads intersect the North Haibargaon colony also. A small river named Kolong flows about 100m from the colony. On the other hand, the Khutikatia colony is about 100m away from the national highway 37, which runs parallel to the colony (Singha 1999). Other site Sialmari is a permanent and regular feeding ground of the Greater Adjutant in Nagoan township, about 7 km and 4 km from North Haibargaon and Khutikatia nesting colonies respectively. It is a bone-collecting place, comprising agricultural fields, barren fields, a small rivulet 100m from the bone dump and a dry land on the other bank of the river. This dry land gets inundated during heavy monsoon and occasionally crops are grown. Every night, inedible part of slaughtered cattle and their bones are brought from the town and dumped here. The stomach content and other meat parts are thrown over the ground and bones are collected in an upside open bamboo case. Jackals and dogs devour most of the food at night and only a small amount of food is left for Greater and Lesser adjutants, vultures and crows (Singha 1999).

Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance because it meets one or more previously established criteria and thresholds for identifying sites of biodiversity importance (including Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas, Alliance for Zero Extinction sites, and Key Biodiversity Areas)

Additional biodiversity: AVIFAUNA: So far more than 100 bird species have been identified in the area. Some of the uncommon species found in the area are Jerdon’s Bushchat Saxicola jerdoni, Bristled Grass-Warbler or Grassbird Chaetornis striatus, Greater Adjutant Leptoptilos dubius and Lesser Adjutant Leptoptilos javanicus. The last three are treated as globally threatened (BirdLife International 2001). For the Bristled Grass- Warbler, there are only a handful of sites in Assam (Choudhury 2000). Among the winter visitors, Garganey Anas querquedula, Nothern Pintail Anas acuta and the Near Threatened Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca are noteworthy. Swamp Francolin Francolinus gularis is another threatened species recorded in this IBA. Hilloljyoti Singha has done a detailed study for his Ph.D on Greater Adjutant in the Brahmaputra valley. He mentioned in his thesis that these three sites are very important for the Greater Adjutant. During the studies, he found 18 nests of Greater Adjutant in Haibargaon, and 5 nests in Khutikatia. He also counted 92 bird in the non-breeding season (65 adult and 27 juveniles). OTHER KEY FAUNA: Other fauna of the grassland include Golden Jackal Canis aureus, Mongoose Herpestes edwardsi, Jungle Cat Felis chaus and different species of turtles.

Delineation rationale: The 2004 IBA Deobali Jalah, Sialmari, Haibargaon, Khutikatia (Nagaon) (SitRecID 18073) has been superseded (reduced) to cover solely the area of Deobali Jalah (SitRecID 24995) in the 2016 India IBA review. 2018-06-01 (BL Secretariat): coordinates corrected to fall on Sialmari (26deg19.5N 92deg40.33E; between Deobali and North Haibargaon).

Habitats

Land use: agriculture | fisheries/aquaculture | urban/industrial/transport

IUCN Habitat	Coverage %	Habitat detail
Artificial - Terrestrial	33
Wetlands(Inland)	33
Grassland	33

Threats

Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: MAIN THREATS: Collection of reeds and thatch; Agricultural encroachment; Use of chemicals and pesticides; Poaching and trapping; Excessive fishing; Nesting Tree cutting; Disturbance to birds; Livestock grazing in the feeding ground; Recently killing of birds in the field for food. Encroachment by local villagers, excessive collection of reed and thatch from the grasslands, seasonal cultivation of paddy in small clearings, which is on the increase with tractors used for ploughing in recent years. Other issues that are seriously threatening the existence of this grassland are poaching of birds and excessive fishing. Rescue center for the Storks has been setup by the researchers of Aaranayak (a local IBCN partner NGO in Assam).

Threat level 1	Threat level 2	Threat level 3	Timing
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops	Small-holder farming	Ongoing
Agriculture & aquaculture	Livestock farming & ranching	Small-holder grazing, ranching or farming	Ongoing
Biological resource use	Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	Intentional use (species being assessed is the target)	Ongoing
Biological resource use	Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources	Unintentional effects: subsistence/small scale (species being assessed is not the target) [harvest]	Ongoing
Biological resource use	Gathering terrestrial plants	Unintentional effects (species being assessed is not the target)	Ongoing
Biological resource use	Logging & wood harvesting	Unintentional effects: subsistence/small scale (species being assessed is not the target) [harvest]	Ongoing
Pollution	Agricultural & forestry effluents	Herbicides and pesticides	Ongoing
Human intrusions & disturbance	Work & other activities		Ongoing

Additional information