Ngengpui Wildlife Sanctuary (18322)
India, Asia

Site overview

KBA status: confirmed

Year of last assessment: 2005

National site name: Ngengpui Wildlife Sanctuary

Central coordinates: Latitude: 22.4833, Longitude: 92.8203

System: terrestrial

Elevation (m): 170 to 550

Area of KBA (km²): 80.16097

KBA classification: Global/Regional TBD

Legacy site: Yes

Site details

Site description: Ngengpui Wildlife Sanctuary is situated in the valley of the Ngengpui river, which flows through the Sanctuary, joining the Kolodyne in the south. The area is situated in the ‘ridge and valley’ province of southwestern Mizoram. The largest river in this area is the Chhimtuipui (Kolodyne). The terrain is undulating to hilly, with a series of parallel northsouth ridges, well drained by numerous streams with rocky as well as silted streambeds. The climate is tropical. Some of the finest patches of tropical rainforests in Mizoram with mature Gurjan Dipterocarpus turbinatus are found in this IBA. Major secondary landscape elements are fallow jhum fields, bamboo brakes, plantations and village gardens (Birand and Pawar 2001). Rainfall is fairly high, with distinct and predictable periods without rain. However, due to the relatively low-lying location of the site and high moisture retention capacity of the soil, conditions remain humid even in the rainless periods between November-December and April (Panwar 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) KBA identified in the CEPF Ecosystem Profile of the Eastern Himalayas Hotspot (2005). Taxonomy, nomenclature and threat category follow the 2002 IUCN Red List.

Additional biodiversity: AVIFAUNA: The Sanctuary lies within a biodiversity hotspot, with a variety of flora and fauna of Indo-Malayan origin. Over 85 species of birds were recorded from the region during a short IBA survey (Birand and Pawar 2001), though the bird life is certainly much richer, consequently it is listed here as a Data Deficient site. Some notable bird species recorded in this IBA are the Whitecheeked Partridge Arborophila atrogularis, Great Pied Hornbill Buceros bicornis, Malayan Night Heron Gorsachius melanolophus, Spot-breasted Scimitar Babbler Pomatorhinus erythrogenys, Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher Ceyx erithacus, White-crested Laughingthrush Garrulax leucolophus, Great-eared Nightjar Eurostopodus macrotis, Nepal Babbler Pnoepyga immaculata, Red-headed Trogon Harpactes erythrocephalus, Black-backed Forktail Enicurus immaculatus, Vernal Hanging Parrot Loriculus vernalis and Great Slaty Woodpecker Mulleripicus pulverulentus. The Oriental Pied Hornbill Anthracoceros albirostris appeared to be particularly common, especially around the forest edges and in disturbed and secondary forest (Birand and Pawar 2001). Other species recorded was Black Bazar Aviceda leuphotes. This IBA has a high proportion of typical low elevation evergreen/ semi-evergreen forest birds. As a dipterocarp dominated area, it would be interesting to compare its bird fauna with similar areas in nearby Myanmar and other dipterocarp forests as far north as Namdapha (an IBA). However, this area seemed to be poor in avifauna compared to other low altitudinal areas (Birand and Pawar 2001). Much of this disparity may be due to the apparent paucity of high altitude species. However, this needs further investigation across a wider area, and areas with habitat contiguity. The site appeared deficient in small insectivores, and the most common species in the forests were the Striped Tit Babbler Macronous gularis, Nepal Fulvetta Alcippe nipalensis and the White-bellied Yuhina Yuhina zantholeuca. Ngengpui is located in the region which is considered Eastern Himalaya Endemic Bird Area. In this EBA, 21 restricted range or endemic species have been identified. As we do not have sufficient data, we do not know how many restricted range species are found here. OTHER KEY FAUNA: This wildlife sanctuary is extremely rich in mammals, reptiles and amphibian fauna. It has all the typical mammals found in northeast India, such as the Slow Loris Nycticebus coucang, Hoolock Gibbon Hylobates hoolock, Oriental Small-clawed Otter Amblonyx cinereus, and Hairyfooted Flying Squirrel Belomys pearsoni (Birand and Pawar 2001), Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, Gaur Bos frontalis, Phayre’s Leaf Monkey Trachypithecus phayrei (Choudhury 2002b) and many others.

Habitats

Land use: agriculture | nature conservation and research | water management

IUCN Habitat	Coverage %	Habitat detail
Forest	100

Threats

Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: MAIN THREATS: Agricultural intensification and expansion; Forest fires; Habitat deterioration; Unsustainable exploitation of forest resources. The protected status of the Sanctuary has saved it to some extent, but the forests around it continue to deteriorate and the Sanctuary is increasingly becoming a fragmented patch of primary forest. There are several villages close by, and the fringes of the Sanctuary are under anthropogenic pressure. There has been a long standing scheme to relocate Khawmawi village which lies on the sanctuary border, but various impediments have prevented its execution (Birand and Pawar 2001).This is the southernmost protected area in northeast India and is relatively remote, hence monitoring is not easy.

Threat level 1	Threat level 2	Threat level 3	Timing
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops	Small-holder farming	Ongoing
Natural system modifications	Fire & fire suppression	Increase in fire frequency/intensity	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

Additional information

References: Birand, A. and Pawar, S. (2001) A survey of birds in Northeast India. Final Report, Center for Ecological Research and Conservation, Mysore, India. Choudhury, A. U. (2002a) Survey of Mrs. Hume’s Pheasant: NE India. Technical Report No. 5. The Rhino Foundation for nature in NE India, Guwahati (Final Report to OBC, UK), Pp 30. Choudhury (2002b) Distribution and conservation of the Gaur Bos gaurus in the Indian Subcontinent. Mammal Review 32(3): 199-226. Panwar, S. S. (1999) Effect of habitat alteration on herpetofaunal assemblages of evergreen forest in Mizoram, North-East India. M.Sc. dissertation. Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun. Pp. 64.