Lumbini Crane Conservation Center
A joint effort between Nepalese Crane Conservationists and International Crane Foundation, USA
Highlights
August 17, 2010
Petition of objections against the proposed construction of an 108 m high Buddha statue
[ more ]
5th of August, 2010
Lumbini Stakeholders Consultation on Emerging Issues
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Lumbini
Introduction
Nawalparasi borders Rupandehi district in the east, Kapilvastu in the west, Palpa in the north and Uttar Pradesh State of India in the south. The geographical position of the district is 83.10º to 83.30º longitudes in the east and 27.10º to 27.45º latitude to the north. The total surface area of the district is 141340 ha with an altitude ranging from 95m to 1219m above sea level.Rupandehi is the extension of the Great Gangetic Plain. It is flat and formed from the alluvial deposits, the surface gradually slopes towards south. The rivers and streams flow towards south. Numbers of rainwater basins or depressions are found in the study area.
Climate
Rupandehi is situated in the tropical bio-climatic zone. Since it is situated in the tropical zone, the area is warmer and consequently the period of hot season is relatively longer than cold season. There are four distinct seasons occurring in this area namely, spring (pre-monsoon), summer (monsoon), fall (post-monsoon) and winter season. The maximum mean temperature of the area is 31º C. The highest temperature reaches up to 38.2º C in April 1992. However, the minimum mean temperature of the area is 18.2º C. The lowest temperature is around 9º C in January 1992.The annual rainfall recorded for that year is 1174 mm, of which 80% precipitation occurred during the monsoon period. The mean annual rainfall in the area is 98.9 mm. The maximum amount of rainfall (113 mm) was recorded during 24 hour period is on July 1992.
The premonsoon or summer is the month of March, April and May which hold the temperature of between 32º C – 38º C. The monsoon or rainy season lies on the month of June, July and August holding temperature as same as premonsoon season with high humidity. About 80% of the precipitation occur during this season. The post-monsoon season consists of September, October and November. During this season, days are warm and nights are cool. December, January and February (winter) ranges the average temperature from 21-23º C. This season is cool and nights is foggy. The relative humidity is high in the morning due to mist.
Landuse Types
The total area of the Rupandehi District is 141340 ha. There are 6 major landuse types practiced by the people of Rupandehi. Of which the dominant landuse type is cultivation (68.03%) followed by forest (21.56%). Since it is under the Terai region, very little amount of Mountain and Rocky cliff is available i.e. 0.29%.1. Cultivation
Terai is the main food producing area of Nepal, so consequently farmland of the Rupandehi district occupies greater area (96147 ha.) than other landuse types. After eradication of Malaria from Terai in 1960’s, most of the people immigrated from midhills to lowland Terai. It was the major cause of massive deforestation for expansion of farmland in Terai.More than 68% land of the Rupandehi is under cultivation where chiefly paddy crops are grown during the monsoon season. Most of the land is left as barren during other time of the year except some sugarcane, winter wheat, lentil and mustards grown in some arable fields.
Beside the cultivation of these crops, many insects, amphibians, snakes, fishes, birds, mammals etc. are naturally found in the farmland to stabilize the Agriculture Ecosystem or Eco-agriculture.
2. Forest
The presence, relative abundance, and relative size of the various species in the forest reflect the nature of the forest ecosystem as well as they may serve as indicator of site quality. There are two types of forest found in and around the Rupandehi area, one is natural forest and other is artificial forest (plantation). The natural forest is the Sal (Shorea robusta) dominant forest situated 10 km north of Lumbini Garden. Associated species include Terminalia tomentosa, Dillenia pentagyna, Bauhinia purpurea, Ficus spps. Bombax ceiba, Adina cordifolia, Accacia catechu etc. Plantation forest is situated inside the Lumbini Garden, which is chiefly composed of Sissoo (Dalbergia sissoo). Some forests are presently managed under Community Forest User Groups such as Kothiya Ghat Community Forest. However some forests are under government managed forest such as Sal Jhandi Forest.3. Grassland
Grassland covers 6% of the total land in Rupandehi District. It occurs mostly along the river courses and inside Lumbini Garden. The major grass species comprises of Imperata, Saccharum, and Phragmites. However these grasslands are not restricted to a certain area, rather they are widely distributed into the forest and wetlands. Grassland provides rich habitat for many game birds and also nesting and foraging habitat for Sarus Cranes.4. Wetlands
The wetland comprises scattered pond, lakes, mud-pool, marshes, stream canal, rainwater basin, oxbow lakes and rivers. The major rivers are Tinau and Danob situated in the eastern part of the study area. Other minor rivers are Telar, Kothi, Harhawa, Koilihawa etc. There are few seasonal oxbow lakes and a number of rainwater basins among which oxbow lakes of Khuda Bagar, rain water depression of Semari and ponds of Ahirauli are the important wetlands.Sizes of these wetlands ranged from 1 to 150 ha and the number of publicly owned wetland (eg; Jignihawa Lake) was greater than state owned wetland (eg; Gaindahawa Lake). The size of these wetlands depends completely on the amount of precipitation received. Most of the village ponds were larger in 1996 because the rainfall was higher than in 1995. However the status of both privately and government owned wetlands were fairly suitable for wildlife use. Wetland is the major nesting sites for Sarus Cranes.
Rupandehi district consist of wetland in various forms, such as pond, lake, mud pool, flood plain, marshes, stream canal, rain water basin, oxbow lakes and rivers. Usually, in village area, villagers constructed small pond for cultivating fishes for economical benefits.
Gaidahawa Lake:
The most significant lake of Rupandehi district is Gaidahawa Lake. This lake is situated at ward no. 1 of Bishnupura VDC. Total area of this lake is 11 ha. The lake is surrounded by dense forest to the west to north, private land to the east and forest area and settlements to the south. This lake is state owned. The lake is used for irrigation, fishing, aquaculture, grazing and landfill. Eighty percent of the shoreline of the lake comprised scrub and open forest and 10% is in use for grassland and 10% for pasture. Fishing is a major source economic activity of the local people. The other major use of this site is for livestock grazing in the surrounding grassland and forest.Jignihawa Lake:
Another significant wetland of Rupandehi district is Jignihawa Lake, which is situated at Maryadpur VDC. This lake is surrounded by private farmland. Local people used this wetland for grazing during winter season. The land is privately owned and was leased for fisheries. This is a nesting site of Sarus Crane and other resident wetland birds. And it is an important wintering site for Gray Headed Plovers. Storks, Ibis and Teals forage in this wetland.Semari Lake:
Semari is a seasonal wetland, situated at Semari VDC, the land ownership belongs to Government and locally called as “Aath numbari Jagga”(Eight Number Land). This wetland is surrounded by Private farmland. Major threats for this wetland is human encroachment. This wetland provides a regular nest site for Sarus Crane and also an important feeding habitat for a number of water birds and storks.
Siktihwa and Sagaha Lake:
Siktihawa Tal and Sagaha Tal are situated at Khudabagar VDC. These are meandering oxbow lakes in the middle of settlement. The Land belongs to the government. Major threat for these wetlands is human encroachment. These wetlands are good nesting and foraging habitat for Sarus Crane, storks and other wetland birds. Major uses of these wetlands are irrigation, fishing, domestic uses, aquaculture. Siktihawa Lake is intensively used for water-chestnut cultivation and fishery.
Danob River:
The Donob River flows through 20 VDCs, which have 23,475 households with a population of 1,55456. It is a permanent river flowing from the hills. Major uses of the river are irrigation, fishing, power production and recreational.
Tinau River:
Tinau River is the most important river system of Rupandehi district. It flows through 15 VDCs of the district. It is a perennial river. This river originates from narrows gorge north of Butwal Municipality. The river makes a wide floodplain near Bethari, which is suitable for many flora and fauna. It is a major source of irrigation.
Telar River:
Telar River has a great significance from cultural perspectives. The river flows near the LDT area. Telar River creates a flood plain near Parsa Market. The land covered by Telar flood plain is owned by government and surrounded by private land as well as other lands. Major uses of the river are irrigation, fishing, grazing and also have religious value. The Telar River flows through nine VDCs. The Telar River has been mentioned in the ancient travel log of Chinese Traveler flowing near the birthplace of Buddha.
Harahawa River and Koilihawa River:
The Harahawa River passes through the LDT area. Besides these rivers, other river rivulets are Koilihawa, Kothi etc. During the study period, the fish specimens were collected from above mentioned areas. For the collection of fishes, local fishing techniques were applied.
Fishes
The present survey recorded 44 species of fishes around the Rupandehi. These 44 fish species belongs to 17 families and 7 orders.The Catfishes are the most common species recorded in the area which is represented by 14 species, followed by Carps (7 spp), Barbs (5 species), Murrels, Perch and Eels (4 species each), Featherbacks and Loach (2 species each) and herrings by one species only.
Herpetofauna
Herpetological expedition recorded altogether 21 species. It included 2 species of Toads, 4 Frogs, 2 Turtles, 6 Lizards and 7 Snakes. The status of Herpetofauna reveals that the district represents 14.7% of the total herpetofauna found in Nepal. To discuss separately, 2 toads, out of 4 in Nepal were recorded from Rupandehi. So far, 60 species of snakes have been recorded in Nepal, of which, only 7 species were found in Rupandehi, which include one of the protected species of Nepal i.e. Asiatic Rock Python. However, not a single species of Crocodiles and Salamander were recorded from the region. Two species of Crocodile and one species of Salamander occur in Nepal, of which Gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) has been protected by HMG, Nepal.Birds
Birds were classified into six homogenous Eco-groups according to their feeding habits. They include swimming and diving, shore and waders, birds of prey, terrestrial, arboreal and aerial.The second ecogroups, shore and waders, represent 19.04% of the total birds found in the area. The Eco-group includes Egrets, Storks, Cranes, Ibises, Spoonbills etc.
Two species of Cranes (out of 15 species in the world) were recorded from this area. One of this, i.e., the Sarus Crane, is the tallest flying bird of the world and furthermore it is globally endangered and also protected species of Nepal. Among the five species of Storks found in the area, Openbilled Storks reside with a significant population size (recorded up to 500 flocking in one occasion). Another protected bird of Nepal i.e. Black Storks was also recorded during the survey. There are total 8 species of storks found in Nepal out of which 5 species are found in Rupandehi District. The presence of storks in this area is very significant.
The third ecogroups,a total of 33 Birds of Prey were recorded from this area, which represent 15.70% of the total birds of the district. This Eco-group includes Kites, Hawks, Eagles, Vultures, Harriers etc. However, four species of Vultures were recorded with significant flock size, from the area.
The fourth ecogroups, Terrestrial Birds, hold very little percentage among the birds of the district i.e. 1.42%. This result may be due to the lack of grasslands and scrub forest in the area. Most of the grasslands have been converted into farmlands within the last few decades. And probably they have been hunted heavily.
The fifth ecogroup, the Arboreal birds hold the highest percentage (58.60%) among the bird ecogroups. Altogether half of the birds are under Passeriformes order in the world. These birds are generally called as modern birds and stay mostly in the forest. Furthermore, since they spend most of their lifetime in trees for feeding with some exceptions, they have been classified as Arboreal birds.
The sixth ecogroup, Only two species of Aerial birds (Red rumped swallow and Barn swallow) were recorded from the area. These birds are seen mostly in air i.e. flying with mouth with sticky saliva wide open to catch insects.