Revival of sub Himalayan-grasslands by managing invasive alien plants in Manas World Heritage site
The grasslands at the regional scale provide crucial wildlife habitat to a multitude of species, and safeguards human well-being by ensuring water availability, while at the global scale, it plays a critical role in mitigating the effect of climate change through carbon sequestration. The grassland ecosystem of Manas National park in Assam is a home to many threatened and rare grassland obligate species. However, these grasslands are on spatial decline and have high invasibility primarily by invasive alien plants (IAPs)- Chromolaena odorata and Mikania micrantha, which have a negative impact on grassland obligate species. In this talk, I will showcase how the IAPs have impacted the existing grassland habitat, its dependent fauna and how through tried and tested methods we are reviving the degraded ecosystem. We facilitated the recovery of approximately 2km2 of grassland habitat in MNP. Our efforts to address invasion involved engagement of local communities from the fringe areas, which supplemented their livelihood and inculcated conservation-sensitive behaviour by being a part of the restoration process.
About the speaker
Alolika Sinha is a conservation biologist who works towards reversing grassland degradation by managing invasive alien species to safeguard threatened species and ensure human well-being. She also works closely with local communities, Forest officials and other Government Line Departments to promote human-elephant coexistence through conservation education, supplementing livelihoods of local people and supporting them with mitigation tools.