Sharavathi Valley Wildlife Sanctuary (18232)
India, Asia
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2007
National site name: Sharavathi Valley Wildlife Sanctuary
Central coordinates: Latitude: 14.1578, Longitude: 74.8878
System: terrestrial
Elevation (m): 94 to 1102
Area of KBA (km2): 467.73216
KBA classification: Global/Regional TBD
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: The Sharavathi Valley Wildlife Sanctuary lies in the Western Ghats. It has an area of 43,123 ha, but 12,363 ha (and an additional 507 ha of islands) in the eastern part of the Sanctuary is occupied by Linganamakki Reservoir, serving the dam on the Sharavathi river, constructed in 1964-65. The remaining area has been divided into a core zone (7,433 ha), buffer zone (17,067 ha) and tourism zone (5,753 ha). The Sanctuary shares its southwestern boundary with the Mookambika Wildlife Sanctuary (Manjrekar 2000). The spectacular Jog Falls, where water from the Sharavathi river falls from a height of almost 300 m, is present on the northern boundary of the Sanctuary. Sharavathi can be reached by road or rail from Bangalore to Talguppa (352 km) via Tumkur, Shimoga and Sagar, then another 7 km by road to the Sanctuary. The Sanctuary has mainly tropical evergreen, semi-evergreen and some tropical moist deciduous forests. The top canopy of the evergreen forests is made up of Dipterocarpus indicus, Calophyllum tomentosum and Machilus macrantha. The middle storey has among others Caryota urens and Aporosa lindleyana. In the Semi-evergreen and moist deciduous forests, common species include Lagerstroemia lanceolata, Hopea parviflora, Dalbergia latifolia, Dillenia pentagyna, Careya arborea, Emblica officinalis, Randia sp., Terminalia sp. and Vitex sp.
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) KBA identified in the CEPF Ecosystem Profile of the Western Ghats Hotspot (2007). Taxonomy, nomenclature and threat status follow the 2002 IUCN Red List.
Additional biodiversity: AVIFAUNA: Around 50 species of birds are reported from the site (Ameen Ahmed pers. comm. 2003). However, this is only a preliminary list as detailed work has not been done in this IBA. This Sanctuary was selected as an IBA due to its great potential as an Endemic Bird Area, having Western Ghats restricted range bird species. OTHER KEY FAUNA: The Sanctuary has a good population of Gaur Bos frontalis, and 3 to 4 groups of Lion-tailed Macaque Macaca silenus. Other mammals of the Sanctuary include Tiger Panthera tigris, Leopard P. pardus, Wild Dog Cuon alpinus, Golden Jackal Canis aureus, Bonnet Macaque Macaca radiata, Langur Semnopithecus entellus, Wild Boar Sus scrofa, Spotted Deer Axis axis, Barking Deer Muntiacus muntjak, Mouse Deer Moschiola meminna, Common Otter Lutra lutra and Porcupine Hystrix indica. Reptiles of the Sanctuary include King Cobra Naja naja, Indian Rock Python Python molurus, Rat Snake Ptyas mucosus, Marsh Crocodile Crocodylus palustris and Monitor Lizard Varanus bengalensis.
Habitats
Land use: nature conservation and research | tourism/recreation
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Artificial - Aquatic | 50 | |
| Forest | 50 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: MAIN THREATS: Grazing; Hydroelectric project; Encroachment; Poaching. This IBA suffers from a litany of problems such as encroachment and conversion of forests into paddy fields and arecanut plantations. Another major problem is the Linganamakki Reservoir, which occupies almost half of this Sanctuary. A considerable patch of the forest has been broken into many islands by the reservoir. Most of these islands are very small. There are about 121 villages within the Sanctuary having grazing rights due to which the biotic pressure is very high in the eastern and northern portions. The biggest threat is from the Sharavathy Valley Tail Race Hydroelectric Project that would destroy 700 ha of prime evergreen forest, of which about 100 ha lie within the Sanctuary. Even if technically, most of the forest is outside notified Sanctuary, it has great biological values. The actual damage to the green cover would be much more than officially admitted, considering the corruption such projects generally entail. The project is to be located near Gersoppa on the Hanovar-Bangalore state highway, 2 km from Gersoppa town. The length of the dam will be about 560 m and height about 55 m from the deepest riverbed. The catchment area will be nearly 15,000 ha. The power house will work on continuous release of water from the main Sharavathy dam.
| 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 |
| Natural system modifications | Dams & water management/use | Large dams | Ongoing |
| Biological resource use | Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals | Intentional use (species being assessed is the target) | Ongoing |
Additional information
References: Manjrekar, N. (ed.) (2000) A Walk on the Wild Side. Karnataka Forest Department, Wildlife Wing, Bangalore.
Contributors: Key contributors: Thejaswi Shivanand and Ameen Ahmed.