Field Report

EVS FIELD REPORT ARAVALI BIODIVERSITY PARK

Vatsal Sapra BMS 1-E 16191

INTRODUCTION Living in Delhi is not easy. I love waterbodies, to the extent that I love hotels because they have bathtubs. Delhi has lakes and a monumental river, we all know how they are doing. We have quite a few parks, I have previously written about the need for an all night park in Delhi. But the government is worried about law and order. So, what do you do? You make do with what you have and explore them all over and over again. But it seems I had missed one. Aravali Biodiversity Park. A friend had mentioned the name once, another was living nearby. But as it happens, I take parks very seriously. It has to be the most perfect combination of mausam, fursat and saath to enjoy a park. Or one has to be a in a mood for solitude. One evening, we went to the park under the former circumstances. You can enter the park from the Vasant Vihar market side (park at the end of the Modern school road) or from the TERI university side. If you take the latter route, go to Madhyanchal which is right outside the gate. It’s a Madhya Pradesh bhawan. The food is ok, but I go there because I am so cheap. The park is huge, so carry water and snacks. If you have kids, take at least two, so they don’t bother you. Once you enter, you will be surprised to see that such a green heaven exists within the city. The park was almost deserted in the afternoon. A few joggers crossed us once in a while but it seemed we had the whole park to ourselves. I didn’t know much about the trees, but someone who did will lose his sanity here. We didn’t spot any animals apart from a few peacocks. May be, because all the trails were closed. I had read a lot about the trails and had planned to explore a few. It seemed like a repeat of the Feroz Shah Kotla fort episode, the caretaker had locked it all and gone on a leave. But we didn’t mind much. The geography itself was quite beautiful. There was a massive gorge that my brilliant but humble phone has not done any justice to. We didn’t do the whole walk, which I am sure would have been a long one. but whatever we saw of it is worth going back to.

We came across a few tents inside the park. They didn’t seem to be for renting out but I sincerely hope that happens someday. Below there were women collecting firewood and above the planes kept descending and ascending from the airport nearby. Go there once, it’s worth it.

BASIC INFORMATION The Aravali Biodiversity Park is spread over 692 acres (2.8 sq km) on the South Central Delhi Ridge within the Aravalli Range. Delhi Development Authority and University of Delhi under a joint programme, Biodiversity Parks Programme maintains the area. Every year a substantial amount of money is spent in restoration, development and maintenance. The Aravali Biodiversity Park was once a site for mining. The land was devoid of any natural growth due to extensive mining of the area. The Center for Environment Management & Degraded Ecosystem (Delhi University) is working closely with the Delhi Development Authority and has plans to revive native flora and Fauna of Aravalli hill ranges. Planting of native species like Dhau (Anogeissus pendula), Babul (Acacia nilotica), Kair (Capparis decidua),and Dhak (Butea monosperma) etc. has been carried out. A Rangeland with native grasses has been developed. A conservatory of butterflies, orchidarium and fernary has been developed. It is believed that Aravallis are one of the oldest mountain ranges in India which evolved around 1500 million years ago. The range extends from Gujarat through Rajasthan to Haryana-Delhi. In Delhi the spurs of the Aravallis are commonly known as the Delhi Ridge which is sub-divided into the Northern, Central, South Central and Southern Ridges. The Aravali Biodiversity Park was declared open by Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on June 5th 2010, on World Environment Day. Once developed, the Aravali Biodiversity Park would give the citizens of Gurgaon access to 600 acres of pristine space and connect them to nature. It will be a place for leisure walks, jogging, trekking, bird watching, gardening, contemplation and cultural expression. A pristine natural space where nature and people merge into a beautiful natural landscape… The area often frequented by the villagers and construction workers would not see as much wildlife save for Peacocks, Parakeets, Mynahs and Cuckoos as the area is quite small, however one can easily take short detours towards the horizontal boundaries where small pockets of wetlands make up for some good bird watching - Red Whiskered Bulbuls, Coppersmiths, Wren Warblers & the Ashy Prinias easily seen.

flitting across the bushes making it a rich place for nature and a great reservoir for photographers as well.

DATA ANALYSIS From a barren piece of land in 2004 to a lushgreen sanctuary hosting birds, mammals, reptiles, rare ayurvedic plants, butterflies and other insects, the Aravalli Biodiversity Park is the most incredible ecological transformation that Delhi has seen so far. Spread across 692 acres of land, the park in Vasant Vihar is currently hosting 20 distinct forest communities (group of tress). "In approximately eight years, since the plantation began in 2005, the biodiversity park has become a home for over 1,000 different species of plants, 190 species of birds, 90 species of butterflies and over a lakh species of insects and 24 species of reptiles," said Dr M. Shah Hussain, ecologist and scientist in-charge of the park. Each of the 20 forest communities in the park include around five to six rare trees, different types of grass and herbs and 15 to 20 species of plants that pump oxygen into the atmosphere. "The park plays a significant role in the conservation of the capital's environment. From cutting carbon dioxide and other gas emissions, to acting as dust traps, recharging ground water and promoting cloud formation and local precipitation, the forest's existence is largely responsible for the smooth proceedings of many natural events," the ecologist said. Like all forest reserves, this park also maintains three-level food chain system. "Every single forest community accommodates three levels of food chain - plants, herbivorous and carnivorous beings (animals, birds and insects) - to maintain the natural balance of the habitat," Hussain said.

The sanctuary is also home to reptiles such as monitor lizards, snakes, chameleons and mammals like jackals, blue bulls, porcupines and

others. Other highlights of the park are a bat cave, an orchard, a butterfly garden, a fernery and a medicinal plants conservatory. "At this point, the park is only meant to preserve various life forms and is not open for public. However, we do encourage educational trips into the park. We plan to open certain sections of the park for the people but that will not happen before 2015-2016," said Hussain. The ecologist said there are plans to develop a rock garden, a cactus house, an arboreta (a garden where many different types of tree are grown, for people to look at or for scientific study), a tropical rain forest and a conservatory of bulbous and tuberous plants. "The cactus house will include a collection of rare cactus species. In the arboreta, 75 to 100 species of trees that flower in different seasons will be planted," he added. The tropical rain forest will be created in a series of interconnected pits extended to a length of 500-600 metres and depth varying between 40 and 100 metres. The width will vary between 100 and 200 metres, said Hussain.

Till eight years ago, the south-central ridge (now the park) was barren land used for mining of mica, sandstone, china clay and gravel. However, in 1996, the Supreme Court issued an order forbidding the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) from allowing any construction activity in the region. In 2004, the DDA decided to develop the area into a biodiversity park and today it's the green pride of the Capital.

Butterflies

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They may not visit your garden anymore but the butterflies are very much there in the Capital. The Aravalli Biodiversity Park in Vasant Vihar has become the new home of butterflies, which had started disappearing from the city a few years ago. According to the Centre for Environmental Management of Degraded Ecosystems (CEMDE), their garden is hosting about 90 species of butterflies, some of them extremely rare and breathtakingly beautiful. It is the first-of-its-kind butterfly garden which boasts of hosting rare species such as Lime Butterfly, Indian Fritillary and Striped Tiger. The Grass Jewel, the smallest butterfly in the world, can also be found in this garden. "The garden has 450 host plants which have been helpful in attracting over 90 different species of butterflies. We have deliberately conserved weeds and wild grass to make a perfect habitat for these day-flying insects," said Dr M. Shah Hussain, ecologist and scientist in-charge at the Aravalli Biodiversity Park. Hussain said butterflies are incapable of surviving in extreme temperatures as they are sensitive to both heat and cold. The CEMDE maintains regular supply of water in the garden in order to control the level of humidity. According to biologists at CEMDE, curry leaf tree, lemon and other citrus fruits, asclepias or milk weed varieties, ageratum also called white weed, nerium and bael tree attract maximum number of butterflies. The park has played a major role in bringing back the butterflies which had started disappearing from the city. In 2005, when the garden has just been started, barely 14 species of butterflies could be sighted there.

"The transition has taken a lot of time, research and effort. We started growing host plants and some varieties of weeds which supported butterflies. We also collected caterpillars from the plants and shifted them to a butterfly nursery where they were preserved till they turned in to fully grown butterflies and then they were released outside. We continue to follow the same routine even today," Hussain said.

CONCLUSION In just 7 years,Delhi’s Aravali Biodiversity Park has transformed a barren landscape into 20 distinct forest communities with 1,000 species of plants and,if you please,an orchid garden,a bat cave and a natural conservatory for butterflies. In the short span of seven years,the park has grown into about 20 distinct forest communities with 1,000 species of plants. Each community has five to six species in the top layer,15 to 20 species as underwood and a native ground cover with several grasses and herbs. Many species provide timber and products of industrial value. All the communities have three trophic (food chain) levels — autotrophs (plants),herbivores and carnivores. There are abundant insects attracting as many as 190 bird species to these communities. About 24 types of reptiles,including monitor lizards and snakes,are also found in these forests. Mammals such as jackals,blue bull,porcupines and others are common. The once-barren landscape has been transformed into a thriving wilderness of Delhi. I was told Delhi is the only city to have a biodiversity park inside it. Cities often have parks and impressive ones at that,but these are not biodiversity parks. Typically,city parks are manicured with walks,grass lawns,flower beds,etc,for recreation. Biodiversity parks as natural reserves are a special feature for Delhi,but it should be possible to replicate these in cities where geography permits. While most dead ends in Delhi colonies lead to garbage dumps, Vasant Kunj now has a different story to tell. Nestled in its corner is the beautiful Aravalli Biodiversity Park, which seeks to restore the flora and fauna native to the Aravallis and create a space that is both recreational and educative. Divided into four areas-a visitor's zone, a nature reserve, an educational zone and a rangeland-the park contains a herbal garden, a butterfly park, a fernery and an orchidarium. The last is the definite highlight of the park and has been created out of a pit that is 800 m deep and 100 m wide. 500 cactus varieties 300 varieties of orchids 140 bird species

Incidentally, only 250 of the total 693 acres set aside for the project are ready so far. Expected to be completed by 2010, the Biodiversity Park is a collaborative effort by the DDA and Delhi University's Centre for Environmental Management and Degraded Ecosystems (CEMDE). "The Yamuna basin and the Aravallis are the two life support systems of Delhi. Over time, the ecological balance has been disturbed and it's time the vanishing gene pools were restored," says CEMDE director C.R. Babu. Look out for the proposed tropical rain forest and wetlands designed to attract birds.