Sunteți pe pagina 1din 14

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.
Its 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 dont 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 didnt know much about the trees, but someone who did will lose his
sanity here. We didnt 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 didnt 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 didnt 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 didnt 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, its
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

find

new

home

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,Delhis 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.

S-ar putea să vă placă și