• Summary
  • Objectives
  • Status
  • Project Publications
Summary

Connectivity for large mammals is seriously hampered by linear intrusions within the Western Ghats. Currently, comprehensive assessments of connectivity across the Western Ghats are lacking. However, site-specific studies/reports indicate a lack or poor connectivity for large mammals across roads and railway lines, especially for elephants and tigers in several locations within the Western Ghats. At these locations, not only is the movement of dispersing individuals restricted, but also leads to mortality of animals owing to collision with vehicular traffic. Restoring and enhancing connectivity in these locations will greatly improve overall connectivity across the Western Ghats. Apart from the looming threat to the dispersal of wild animals, associated impacts of habitat fragmentation due to linear infrastructure are poorly known or evaluated across the Western Ghats.

Objectives

This two year project builds on the premise that identification of practical, cost-effective, science-based alternatives can lead to solutions that provide connectivity for wildlife while meeting essential needs for infrastructure. Objectives of this project include:

1. Assembling spatial datasets that will be combined into connectivity maps for the landscapes.
2. Compilation and analysis of datasets to assess the fragmentation impacts of linear intrusions within the Western Ghats.
3. Performing analyses of scenarios of various spatial arrangements, mitigation measures, and intensities of future infrastructure development and the impacts of these scenarios on connectivity in the Western Ghats.

Status
  • Between July 2016 and September 2019, we generated all spatial datasets required to assess structural and functional connectivity in the Western Ghats.
  • Apart from data collection we did a thorough literature review and finalised fragmentation indices that will be used to quantify fragmentation and connectivity. The structural connectivity analysis mainly involved characterising forest patches across the Western Ghats and three indices comprising of forest patch size, amount of perforation and distance between neighbouring forest patches were developed.
  • Functional connectivity for five species was generated using agent-based models.