Mumbai: Open grasslands are most often associated with Sabana Africa.
But new research shows that such an open natural habitat is widespread in India – and is not protected.
Inflammation, scrub, and desert ecosystems are 10% of the total land area – or 319,674 km square – but less than 5% of these habitats under protection, a new study shows.
Most of the protected areas are located only in five parks, found analysis by MD Madhusudan ecologists and in Vanak.
This is the Desert National Park Desert Rajasthan and Kailadevi Wildlife Reserve, Wildlife Wildlife Desert Kutch in Gujarat, Nagarjunsagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve at Andhra Pradesh, and Sanctuary Wildlife Kaimur Bihar.
The lack of protection makes this habitat vulnerable, the researchers said.
Studies, in pracrint, are part of the initiative to map and highlight Indian-open natural ecosystems through open data tools.
This habitat is mainly found in semi-dry areas in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, MP and Andhra Pradesh.
They support the Pastoralis community, provide animal feed for millions of livestock, and endangered host including Blackbuck and Badus Indian Bustard.
But this landscape has been ignored because of the historical focus on the forest, colonial administrative heritage, the researchers said.
“India has failed to recognize the meadow as a habitat,” Vanak said, a researcher with Ashoka Trust for ecology and the environment.
He noted that some of these open habitats were classified as “desert” in official records.
“There is a wrong idea that anything without a barren tree,” he said.
Such a misunderstanding makes this ecosystem very vulnerable to converts with other uses, the researchers said.
They hope their open data tool will help policy makers exclude this habitat when sitting a large project.
“Even though there is fragmentation, we still have large pieces of whole landscapes,” Vanak said.
Ironically, this habitat may be the most at risk of green energy projects such as solar parks and broad winds planned to meet the country’s low-carbon energy objectives, Madhusudan said, an independent researcher.