Behali Wildlife Sanctuary, located in the

Biswanath district Biswanath (IPA: ˌbɪswəˈnɑːθ ˈtʃɑːrɪˌælɪ) is an administrative district in the state of Assam in India. It is one of newly created district in the year by 2015, declared by Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on 15 August 2015. The dis ...

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

is a patch of semi-evergreen forest in the foothills of

Eastern Himalaya ] The Eastern Himalayas extend from eastern Nepal across Northeast India, Bhutan, the Tibet Autonomous Region to Yunnan in China and northern Myanmar. The climate of this region is influenced by the monsoon of South Asia from June to September. It ...

s. This forest is a part of the greater Sonitpur Elephant Reserve and was declared as a Reserved forests and protected forests of India, reserved forest in 1917. It lies between the two famous protected areas, the

Nameri National Park Nameri National Park is a national park in the foothills of the eastern Himalayas in the Sonitpur District of Assam, India, about 35 km from Tezpur. Nameri is about 9 km from Chariduar, the nearest village. Nameri shares its northern boundary ...

on its west and

Kaziranga National Park Kaziranga National Park is a national park in the Golaghat and Nagaon districts of the state of Assam, India. The park, which hosts two-thirds of the world's great one-horned rhinoceroses, is a World Heritage Site. According to the census held i ...

on its south comprising a total area of 140 km². Hence it acts as an important corridor for migration of several species between these protected areas mainly the elephants. On 4 May 2022, In The Assam Gazette, The

Governor of Assam This is a list of governors of Assam, and other offices of similar scope, from the start of British occupation of the area in 1824 during the First Anglo-Burmese War. The Governor of Assam is a nominal head and representative of the President ...

proposed to declare the Behali Reserved Forest as a

Wildlife Sanctuary A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

. It is also recognized as an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

in 1994 and a

Key Biodiversity Area The Key Biodiversity Areas (KBA) approach helps to identify and designate areas of international importance in terms of biodiversity conservation using globally standardised criteria. KBAs extend the Important Bird Area (IBA) concept to other taxono ...

in 2004. Located between 93°11′30.58″ E and 93°23′21.09″ E longitudes and 26°52′20.08″ N and 26°57′33.17″N latitudes, the area is bordered in the east by the Buroi River, west by Borgang river, the north side is by Papum Reserve of

Arunachal Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh (, ) is a state in Northeastern India. It was formed from the erstwhile North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and became a state on 20 February 1987. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south. It shares int ...

and several human habitations, tea plantations and paddy fields in the south. With an elevation between 90 metres to 110 metres a.s.l., the forest comprises several highlands and lowlands. The temperature varies between 13 °C to 37 °C and the mean annual rainfall in the forest is about 1800 mm.

Landscape and Biodiversity

Rivers

Borgang Borgang is a small village in Sonitpur district in the state of Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bo ...

and Buroi are the main tributaries flowing through Behali Reserve Forest and drains in the

Brahmaputra The Brahmaputra is a trans-boundary river which flows through Tibet, northeast India, and Bangladesh. It is also known as the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibetan, the Siang/Dihang River in Arunachali, Luit in Assamese, and Jamuna River in Bangla. It ...

. Apart from these, there are several other small streams spanning the forest such as

Behali Bahali is a village and union councils of Pakistan, union council (an administrative subdivision) of the Mansehra District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...

of the forest has recently been explored. It is known to host a total of 308 native angiosperm species. Several of which are hidden for decades. Three taxa are described as new to science form this forest by the botanist, Dipankar Borah. Of which, ''Chlorophytum assamicum'' and ''Peliosanthes macrophylla'' var ''assamensis'' are endemic to this forest and ''Aristolochia assamica'' is now endemic to

Northeast India , native_name_lang = mni , settlement_type = , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , motto = , image_map = Northeast india.png , ...

after being collected from a few more locations in NE India. ''Tupistra stoliczkana'' rediscovered after more than a century, ''Galeola nudifolia'' and ''Pandanus unguifer'' recorded as new for the flora of Assam and ''

Citrus indica ''Citrus indica'' is a species of hybrid ''Citrus'' known by the common name Indian wild orange.Malik, S. K., R. Chaudhury, O. P. Dhariwal and R. K. Kalia. (2006)Collection and characterization of ''Citrus indica'' Tanaka and ''C. macroptera'' Mon ...

'' recollected after several years from Assam which elucidates the importance of the area to maintain the unique natural elements in order to preserve its ecological integrity. These exceptional plant discoveries, rediscoveries and records also emphasizes the rich floral wealth of this forest and illustrates the dearth need of plant explorations to undiscover many such elusive elements in the near future. Galeola nudifolia 2

'' Magnolia hogdsonii,

Elaeocarpus rugosus ''Elaeocarpus rugosus'' is a species of flowering plant in the Elaeocarpaceae family. It a tree is found in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore. It is threatened by habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduct ...

, E. varunua,

Bauhinia variegata ''Bauhinia variegata'' is a species of flowering plant in the legume family, Fabaceae. It is native to an area from China through Southeast Asia to the Indian subcontinent. Common names include orchid tree (though not belonging to the family O ...

,'' and ''

Gynocardia odorata ''Gynocardia'' is a genus of dioecious evergreen tree belonging to the Achariaceae family, containing the sole species ''Gynocardia odorata''. The trees grow up to 30 m tall. The species is found in moist forests of mountain valleys in South Asi ...

'' are some of the common woody species in the forest. The forest patch also hosts different habitat types such as pristine forests, secondary forests, rehabilitated forests,

riparian forest A riparian forest or riparian woodland is a forested or wooded area of land adjacent to a body of water such as a river, stream, pond, lake, marshland, estuary, canal, sink or reservoir. Etymology The term riparian comes from the Latin word '' ...

s, open habitats (e.g. grasslands), and

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

s. Further, the reserve forest is home to 37 orchid species distributed throughout the canopies and also the ground. ''

Ficus ''Ficus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending in ...

'' with 14 species is one of the keystone plant group on which several avifauna depend upon. Aristolochia_cathcartii

Fauna

The forest is also rich in its

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...

with 282 birds, 275

butterflies Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

, 49

mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

s, 23

snake Snakes are elongated, Limbless vertebrate, limbless, carnivore, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales. Ma ...

s, 12

amphibian Amphibians are tetrapod, four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the Class (biology), class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terres ...

s, 11

turtle Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked tu ...

s and 11

lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...

s documented so far. This last left forest patch is inhabited by some of the most threatened and endemic faunal species including Rufous-necked hornbill (''Aceros nipalensis)'''','' Wreathed hornbill ''(Aceros undulatus)'''','' Binturong (''Arctictis binturong)'''','' White-winged duck ''(Asarcornis scutulata)'''','' Indian Bison ''(Bos gaurus)'''','' Great hornbill ''(Buceros bicornis)'''','' Woolly-necked stork ''(Ciconia episcopus)'''','' Dhole ''(Cuon alpinus)'''','' Southeast Asian box turtle ''(Cuora amboinensis)'''','' Keeled box turtle ''(Cuora mouhotii)'''','' Asian Elephant ''(Elephas maximus)'''','' Black pond turtle ''(Geoclemys hamiltonii)'''','' Indian hog deer ''(Hyelaphus porcinus)'''','' Lesser adjutant ''(Leptoptilos javanicus)'''','' Smooth-coated otter ''(Lutrogale perspicillata)'''','' Tricarinate hill turtle ''(Melanochelys tricarinata)'''','' Clouded leopard ''(Neofelis nebulosa)'''','' Indian softshell turtle (''Nilssonia gangeticus)'''','' Indian peacock softshell turtle ''(Nilssonia hurum)'''','' Bengal slow loris ''(Nycticebus bengalensis)'''','' King cobra ''(Ophiophagus hannah)'''','' Leopard ''(Panthera pardus)'''','' Pygmy hog ''(Porcula salvania)'''','' Burmese python ''(Python bivittatus)'''','' Sambar deer ''(Rusa unicolor)'''','' River tern ''(Sterna aurantia)'''','' Capped langur ''(Trachypithecus pileatus)'''','' Asian black bear ''(Ursus thibetanus)'''','' Chinese pangolin ''(Manis pentadactyla)'''','' Red-headed vulture ''(Sarcogyps calvus)'' and Black softshell turtle (''Nilssonia nigricans)''.

Importance

Archaeological importance

Behali RF is a storehouse of many archaeological ruins. An ancient town of 14th century built by Boro-barahi kings remains hidden amongst the dense vegetation. Sculptured palaces, tanks, stone boundary walls, etc. can be seen dispersed till now. A rampart named Rajgarh is one of the many (forts) which runs through the Behali RF, built by the Ahom king Swargadeo Pratap Singha. And hidden for centuries, the Maidam Pukhuri, a tank built by the same king between the early 9th to 14th centuries still remains in the core part of Behali RF with the stone bound borders covering an area of 0.26 hectares.

The people and non-timber forest products

Several indigenous communities also resides in the boundaries of Behali RF and whom the Karbi and the Munda are the prominent settlers. Around 100

non-timber forest product Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) are useful foods, substances, materials and/or commodities obtained from forests other than timber. Harvest ranges from wild collection to farming. They typically include game animals, fur-bearers, nuts, seed ...

s have been reported to be used by these communities from Behali RF. The dependence on this forest is intricately associated with their culture, which might be an cause for the forests survival so far.

Ecological Importance

This forest is now the last left forest of

of Assam. Apart from hosting such a large sum of

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

it also balances the ecological sanctity of the area. It is the major oxygen producer for the zone and it stores tons of carbon emitted by the

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and northe ...

and brick industries predominant in the district. Maintaining the ground water level, providing essential commodities to several dependent population are many of the other examples known.

Conflicts and threats

The area is under severe conflict with its neighbouring region regarding its northern boundary. Illegal encroachment from almost all the sides, more severe in the northern boundary is one of the most major concern for survival of this forest along with

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...

and

hunting Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

. Now only 60 km² of the original forest cover is left, others being encroached or are degraded.

Demands

A lot of people from all over

are demanding for an

wildlife sanctuary A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

by conducting a peaceful protest through community meetings, awareness camps,

poster A poster is a large sheet that is placed either on a public space to promote something or on a wall as decoration. Typically, posters include both typography, textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or w ...

s and

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

s and also through

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

since 1996 by a

Non-Governmental Organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

named Nature's Bonyapran. So far 19 memorandums have been submitted to the governments since, for its upgradation into a

Wildlife sanctuary A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

. But attention hasn't been paid so far.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Research Paper on Behali Reserved ForestKey Biodiversities AreaDocumentary of Behali Reserved Forest
Tourism in Northeast India Tourism in Assam Geography of Assam Brahmaputra Valley semi-evergreen forests Important Bird Areas of India Biosphere reserves of India 1917 in the environment Biodiversity Protected areas established in 1917