Kaziranga–Karbi Anglong Wildlife Corridor

Recent visual evidence and camera-trap studies indicate year-round wildlife movement from Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve to the Karbi Anglong hills, strengthening the case for protecting a wider ecological landscape around Kaziranga.

Key facts

• Kaziranga and Karbi Anglong form a single ecological landscape, although they are physically separated by National Highway 37. 
  • The Karbi Anglong highlands provide important refuge for animals, particularly when large parts of Kaziranga are submerged during floods.
• A WWF-India camera-trap exercise recorded more than 30 species, including tiger, black panther and golden cat, using the Karbi Anglong landscape through wildlife corridors.
• Kaziranga is connected to the Karbi Anglong landscape through nine identified wildlife corridors. Important corridors include Panbari, Haldhibari, Amguri and Kanchanjhuri.
• These corridors face increasing pressure from construction, industrial activity, habitat fragmentation and other human interventions, threatening the free movement of wildlife.
• The Integrated Regional Office of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shillong, had recommended protection of the identified corridors following a site inspection. 
  • The issue highlights the need to convert ecological evidence into effective legal protection.

Why is an extended buffer important?

• A wildlife corridor is a natural or semi-natural route that allows animals to move between fragmented habitats. 
  • Such corridors are crucial for seasonal migration, access to food and water, breeding and genetic exchange.
• The Eco-Sensitive Zone around a protected area acts as a transition area where activities having adverse environmental impacts can be regulated. 
• In the case of Kaziranga, conservationists argue that protection should reflect actual wildlife movement and habitat use, rather than being restricted to an arbitrary distance from the protected-area boundary.

Way forward

• The government should undertake a scientific assessment of wildlife habitat-use patterns and identify critical movement routes.
• The nine identified corridors should receive appropriate legal and ecological protection.
• Community participation should be strengthened because several animals move through community forests.
• Alternative livelihoods and skill-development programmes can reduce dependence on forest resources while creating local conservation incentives.
• Infrastructure development should incorporate wildlife-sensitive planning, particularly around roads and industrial areas.

Prelims Pointers

• Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve is part of the Brahmaputra floodplain ecosystem.
• Karbi Anglong hills provide elevated refuge during severe flooding in Kaziranga.
• Wildlife corridors help maintain landscape connectivity and genetic diversity.
• Eco-Sensitive Zones are regulated under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
• Habitat fragmentation is a major threat to wildlife movement and long-term biodiversity conservation.

Exam Hook –Prelims Question

1. Consider the following statements:

1. Wildlife corridors facilitate movement between fragmented habitats.
2. Eco-Sensitive Zones are established under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
3. The Karbi Anglong hills can provide refuge to Kaziranga wildlife during floods.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Answer: 1, 2 and 3.

One-line takeaway

Kaziranga’s conservation success depends not only on protecting the park but also on securing the wider Kaziranga–Karbi Anglong ecological landscape and its wildlife corridors.