Yamuna biodiversity park, located on

Yamuna The Yamuna (Hindustani language, Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in List of major rivers of India, India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a ...

river front is a 9770 hectares biodiversity area in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

, India.Scientists engaged to develop four biodiversity parks
''Deccan Herald'', 23 August 2015.
It is developed by Delhi Development Authority (DDA) with the technical help of Centre for Environmental Management of Degraded Ecosystems (CEMDE), University of Delhi. It serves as an ideal alternative habitat for migratory and resident bird species. It also is designed to conserve the wild genetic resources of agricultural crops and enhance

groundwater recharge Groundwater recharge or deep drainage or deep percolation is a hydrologic process, where water moves downward from surface water to groundwater. Recharge is the primary method through which water enters an aquifer. This process usually occurs in ...

and augment freshwater availability.

History

Delhi has 7554 hectares of fragmented forests which are deprived of wild animals due to unplanned urbanisation, and of the 400 wetlands, fewer than 3 or 4 were left. In 2015, Delhi already had Aravalli Biodiversity Park and Yamuna biodiversity park.

Delhi Development Authority The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) is a planning authority created in 1957 under the provisions of the Delhi Development Act "to promote and secure the development of Delhi". It is responsible for planning, development and construction of h ...

(DDA) engaged the scientist of

Delhi University Delhi University (DU), formally the University of Delhi, is a collegiate university, collegiate Central university (India), central university located in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly and ...

to develop four more biodiversity parks in Delhi, including the Northern ridge biodiversity park (Kamla Nehru Ridge),

Tilpath Valley Biodiversity Park Tilpat is a census town in Faridabad district in the Indian state of Haryana that comes under the Capital Region. It is famous for the revolt against Mughals. It also has the Tilpat 1 & 2 ranges of Indian Air Force on the banks of Yamuna.

, Neela Hauz biodiversity park and phase-2 of the Yamuna Biodiversity Park. Phase-I of Yamuna biodiversity park focused on barren floodplains commenced in 2005 and phase-2 focused on the active floodplains commenced in 2015.

Restoration

In 2005 restoration of floodplains of Yamuna commenced, which had been lying barren due to

sodic soil Soil salinity is the salt content in the soil; the process of increasing the salt content is known as salinization. Salts occur naturally within soils and water. Salination can be caused by natural processes such as mineral weathering or by the ...

making it difficult for plants to grow. In Phase-I, 157 acres ecosystem was restored by developing two wetlands, a grassland and forest communities. Native plant species were reintroduced to reduce the salt content in the soil.Government takes steps to restore biodiversity of Kamala Nehru ridge
Millennium Post, 14 October 2014. The pH level (scale of acidity) of the soil was not neutral and detrimental to the success of the native Indian plants. Researchers from Delhi University had to plant one specific species of grass that brought the pH level from 10 to seven (neutral) level.From barren land to rich ecosystem: Story behind Yamuna Biodiversity Park
The Indian Express, 23 May 2019.

Flora

According to prof. C R Babu of Delhi University, initially only mongooses, lizards and 31 species of birds were there in the park up until 2004. By 2014 the biodiversity park already had 900 species of native plants. The native species reintroduced included

adina ADINA is a commercial engineering simulation software program that is developed and distributed worldwide by ADINA R & D, Inc. The company was founded in 1986 by Dr. Klaus-Jürgen Bathe, and is headquartered in Watertown, Massachusetts, United St ...

, sal,

teak Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters (panicl ...

and

hardwickia ''Hardwickia'' is a monotypic genus of flowering plant in the subfamily Detarioideae of the legumes. The only species is the Anjan, ''Hardwickia binata'', a tree which is native to India, and which grows to height of 25-30 meters. This plant gen ...

. As of 2019, it has about 1,500 species of plants and animals, and 200 species of birds.

Fauna

By 2014, the wetlands was already attracting thousands of

migratory bird Bird migration is the regular seasonal movement, often north and south along a flyway, between Breeding in the wild, breeding and wintering grounds. Many species of bird migrate. Animal migration, Migration carries high costs in predation a ...

s from Siberia, Central Asia and Europe. It had 200 species of birds, 75 species of butterflies, 10 species of snakes, and big mammals like

porcupine Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp spines, or quills, that protect them against predation. The term covers two families of animals: the Old World porcupines of family Hystricidae, and the New World porcupines of family, Erethizont ...

small Indian civet The small Indian civet (''Viverricula indica'') is a civet native to South and Southeast Asia. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List because of its widespread distribution, widespread habitat use and healthy populations living in agr ...

and

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...

References

{{reflist Wildlife sanctuaries in Delhi Forests of India 2015 establishments in Delhi Protected areas established in 2015

History

Restoration

Flora

Fauna

See also

References