EVS FIELD REPORT ARA ARAVALI BIODIVER BIODIVERSITY SITY PARK
Vatsal Sapra BMS 1-E 16191
INTRODUCTION Living in Delhi is not easy. I love waterbodies, to the extent that I love hotels because they have bathtubs. Delhi has lakes and a monumental river, we all know how they are doing. We have quite a few parks, I have previously written about the need for an all night park in Delhi. ut the government is worried about law and order. !o, what do you do" #ou make do with what you have and explore them all over and over again. ut it seems I had missed one. $ravali iodiversity %ark. $ friend had mentioned the name once, another was living nearby. ut as it happens, I take parks very seriously. It has to be the most perfect combination of mausam, fursat and saath to en&oy a park. 'r one has to be a in a mood for solitude. 'ne evening, we went to the park under the former circumstances. #ou can enter the park from the (asant (ihar market side )park at the end of the *odern school road+ or from the -I university side. If you take the latter route, go to *adhyanchal which is right outside the gate. It/s a *adhya %radesh bhawan. he food is ok, but I go there because I am so cheap. he park is huge, so carry water and snacks. If you have kids, take at least two, so they don/t bother you. 'nce you enter, you will be surprised to see that such a green heaven exists within the city. he park was almost deserted in the afternoon. $ few &oggers crossed us once in a while but it seemed we had the whole park to ourselves. I didn/t know much about the trees, but someone who did will lose his sanity here. We didn/t spot any animals apart from a few peacocks. *ay be, because all the trails were closed. I had read a lot about the trails and had planned to explore a few. It seemed like a repeat of the 0ero1 !hah 2otla fort episode, the caretaker had locked it all and gone on a leave. ut we didn/t mind much. he geography itself was quite beautiful. here was a massive gorge that my brilliant but humble phone has not done any &ustice to. We didn/t do the whole walk, which I am sure would have been a long one. but whatever we saw of it is worth going back to.
We came across a few tents inside the park. hey didn/t seem to be for renting out but I sincerely hope that happens someday. elow there were women collecting firewood and above the planes kept descending and ascending from the airport nearby. 3o there once, it/s worth it.
BASIC INFORMATION he $ravali iodiversity %ark is spread over 456 acres )6.7 sq km+ on the !outh 8entral Delhi idge within the $ravalli ange. Delhi Development $uthority and 9niversity of Delhi under a &oint programme, iodiversity %arks %rogramme maintains the area. -very year a substantial amount of money is spent in restoration, development and maintenance. he $ravali iodiversity %ark was once a site for mining. he land was devoid of any natural growth due to extensive mining of the area. he 8enter for -nvironment *anagement : Degraded -cosystem )Delhi 9niversity+ is working closely with the Delhi Development $uthority and has plans to revive native flora and 0auna of $ravalli hill ranges. %lanting of native species like Dhau )$nogeissus pendula+, abul )$cacia nilotica+, 2air )8apparis decidua+,and Dhak )utea monosperma+ etc. has been carried out. $ angeland with native grasses has been developed. $ conservatory of butterflies, orchidarium and fernary has been developed. It is believed that $ravallis are one of the oldest mountain ranges in India which evolved around ;<== million years ago. he range extends from 3u&arat through a&asthan to >aryana?Delhi. In Delhi the spurs of the $ravallis are commonly known as the Delhi idge which is sub?divided into the @orthern, 8entral, !outh 8entral and !outhern idges. he $ravali iodiversity %ark was declared open by >aryana 8hief *inister hupinder !ingh >ooda on Aune
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flitting across the bushes making it a rich place for nature and a great reservoir for photographers as well.
DATA ANALYSIS 0rom a barren piece of land in 6==C to a lushgreen sanctuary hosting birds, mammals, reptiles, rare ayurvedic plants, butterflies and other insects, the $ravalli iodiversity %ark is the most incredible ecological transformation that Delhi has seen so far. !pread across 456 acres of land, the park in (asant (ihar is currently hosting 6= distinct forest communities )group of tress+. In approximately eight years, since the plantation began in 6==<, the biodiversity park has become a home for over ;,=== different species of plants, ;5= species of birds, 5= species of butterflies and over a lakh species of insects and 6C species of reptiles, said Dr *. !hah >ussain, ecologist and scientist in?charge of the park. -ach of the 6= forest communities in the park include around five to six rare trees, different types of grass and herbs and ;< to 6= species of plants that pump oxygen into the atmosphere. he park plays a significant role in the conservation of the capitalEs environment. 0rom cutting carbon dioxide and other gas emissions, to acting as dust traps, recharging ground water and promoting cloud formation and local precipitation, the forestEs existence is largely responsible for the smooth proceedings of many natural events, the ecologist said. Like all forest reserves, this park also maintains three?level food chain system. -very single forest community accommodates three levels of food chain ? plants, herbivorous and carnivorous beings )animals, birds and insects+ ? to maintain the natural balance of the habitat, >ussain said.
he sanctuary is also home to reptiles such as monitor li1ards, snakes, chameleons and mammals like &ackals, blue bulls, porcupines and
others. 'ther highlights of the park are a bat cave, an orchard, a butterfly garden, a fernery and a medicinal plants conservatory. $t this point, the park is only meant to preserve various life forms and is not open for public. >owever, we do encourage educational trips into the park. We plan to open certain sections of the park for the people but that will not happen before 6=;ussain. he ecologist said there are plans to develop a rock garden, a cactus house, an arboreta )a garden where many different types of tree are grown, for people to look at or for scientific study+, a tropical rain forest and a conservatory of bulbous and tuberous plants. he cactus house will include a collection of rare cactus species. In the arboreta, F< to ;== species of trees that flower in different seasons will be planted, he added. he tropical rain forest will be created in a series of interconnected pits extended to a length of <==?4== metres and depth varying between C= and ;== metres. he width will vary between ;== and 6== metres, said >ussain.
ill eight years ago, the south?central ridge )now the park+ was barren land used for mining of mica, sandstone, china clay and gravel. >owever, in ;554, the !upreme 8ourt issued an order forbidding the Delhi Development $uthority )DD$+ from allowing any construction activity in the region. In 6==C, the DD$ decided to develop the area into a bio? diversity park and today itEs the green pride of the 8apital.
Butterflies
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hey may not visit your garden anymore but the butterflies are very much there in the 8apital. he $ravalli iodiversity %ark in (asant (ihar has become the new home of butterflies, which had started disappearing from the city a few years ago. $ccording to the 8entre for -nvironmental *anagement of Degraded -cosystems )8-*D-+, their garden is hosting about 5= species of butterflies, some of them extremely rare and breathtakingly beautiful. It is the first?of?its?kind butterfly garden which boasts of hosting rare species such as Lime utterfly, Indian 0ritillary and !triped iger. he 3rass Aewel, the smallest butterfly in the world, can also be found in this garden. he garden has C<= host plants which have been helpful in attracting over 5= different species of butterflies. We have deliberately conserved weeds and wild grass to make a perfect habitat for these day?flying insects, said Dr *. !hah >ussain, ecologist and scientist in?charge at the $ravalli iodiversity %ark. >ussain said butterflies are incapable of surviving in extreme temperatures as they are sensitive to both heat and cold. he 8-*D- maintains regular supply of water in the garden in order to control the level of humidity. $ccording to biologists at 8-*D-, curry leaf tree, lemon and other citrus fruits, asclepias or milk weed varieties, ageratum also called white weed, nerium and bael tree attract maximum number of butterflies. he park has played a ma&or role in bringing back the butterflies which had started disappearing from the city. In 6==<, when the garden has &ust been started, barely ;C species of butterflies could be sighted there.
he transition has taken a lot of time, research and effort. We started growing host plants and some varieties of weeds which supported butterflies. We also collected caterpillars from the plants and shifted them to a butterfly nursery where they were preserved till they turned in to fully grown butterflies and then they were released outside. We continue to follow the same routine even today, >ussain said.
CONCLUSION In just 7 years,Delhi’s Aravali Biodiversity Park has transformed a barren landscape into 2 distinct forest communities !ith ", species of plants and,if you please,an orchid #arden,a bat cave and a natural conservatory for butterflies$ In the short span of seven years,the park has grown into about 6= distinct forest communities with ;,=== species of plants. -ach community has five to six species in the top layer,;< to 6= species as underwood and a native ground cover with several grasses and herbs. *any species provide timber and products of industrial value. $ll the communities have three trophic )food chain+ levels G autotrophs )plants+,herbivores and carnivores. here are abundant insects attracting as many as ;5= bird species to these communities. $bout 6C types of reptiles,including monitor li1ards and snakes,are also found in these forests. *ammals such as &ackals,blue bull,porcupines and others are common. he once?barren landscape has been transformed into a thriving wilderness of Delhi. I was told Delhi is the only city to have a biodiversity park inside it. 8ities often have parks and impressive ones at that,but these are not biodiversity parks. ypically,city parks are manicured with walks,grass lawns,flower beds,etc,for recreation. iodiversity parks as natural reserves are a special feature for Delhi,but it should be possible to replicate these in cities where geography permits. While most dead ends in Delhi colonies lead to garbage dumps, (asant 2un& now has a different story to tell. @estled in its corner is the beautiful $ravalli iodiversity %ark, which seeks to restore the flora and fauna native to the $ravallis and create a space that is both recreational and educative. Divided into four areas?a visitorEs 1one, a nature reserve, an educational 1one and a rangeland?the park contains a herbal garden, a butterfly park, a fernery and an orchidarium. he last is the definite highlight of the park and has been created out of a pit that is 7== m deep and ;== m wide. 500 cactus varieties 300 varieties of orchids 140 bird species
Incidentally, only 6<= of the total 45H acres set aside for the pro&ect are ready so far. -xpected to be completed by 6=;=, the iodiversity %ark is a collaborative effort by the DD$ and Delhi 9niversityEs 8entre for -nvironmental *anagement and Degraded -cosystems )8-*D-+. he #amuna basin and the $ravallis are the two life support systems of Delhi. 'ver time, the ecological balance has been disturbed and itEs time the vanishing gene pools were restored, says 8-*D- director 8.. abu. Look out for the proposed tropical rain forest and wetlands designed to attract birds.
