Kamal Ghorui
New Delhi: The new decade-long working plan for Delhi’s forests focuses on reconnecting fragmented green spaces through overhead forests and underpasses to support wildlife movement and survival.The plan states that the primary challenge facing wildlife in the forested stretches of the capital is not poaching or hunting, but the increasing fragmentation of habitats caused by expanding human settlements and infrastructure.These isolated forest patches limit space, reduce the availability of natural food and disrupt free movement of animals. The plan also stresses the need to plant fruit-bearing species in the forests to provide wildlife with adequate natural food sources.“There is not much threat to the wildlife from organised poaching and hunting. However, habitat fragmentation and the small size of forest patches result in lack of space, which causes paucity of fodder and impedes free movement of wildlife. Sometimes, animals like porcupine, rhesus macaque and snakes venture into human habitations,” the working plan states, calling for the need to try and link forest patches wherever feasible.“Where linking of two forest patches is not possible due to urban establishments, the concept of a hanging forest can be tried, it states. The two fragmented and separated patches can be linked by creating overhead bridges, replete with trees, undergrowth and bushes for the animals to move freely from one to another. Similarly, a waterhole can be linked to an adjoining forest patch by an underpass or tunnel to enable animals to access it without causing harm to themselves or adjoining human settlements,” the plan states.Data in the plan shows that between 2022 and 2024, a total of 1,560 animals were rescued, with the rhesus macaque being the most common animal rescued. “The macaques were mostly involved in accidents, including road hits, falls from height and electrocution,” the plan states, also flagging that a notable portion of the rescue attempts ended with the animal being “not found” at the location, flagging gaps in response coordination and calling for the need for faster coordination.The other animals rescued included sambar deer, nilgai, porcupine, hare and even a striped hyena.The plan further proposes the need to plant fruit-bearing trees systematically over the next decade, suggesting at least 45 species, including mango, litchi, star fruit, java plum, jamun, falsa and coffee plum. While it has been suggested that the forest department plant at least 5,000 fruit-bearing trees every year in the north and central forest division, the plan proposes planting at least 8,000 such trees every year in the west forest division and 10,000 in the south forest division.The plan also calls for the protection of key species, particularly the leopard, sambhar, chital, Indian flying fox, Asiatic jackal and nilgai, establishing rescue centres with trained manpower and addressing the issue of human-wildlife conflict.
