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| National Chambal River Sanctuary |
| Madhya Pradesh,Uttar Pradesh,and Rajasthan |
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| Habitat Area (length x river width): |
128 km2 area with small patches of gharial habitat |
| Significance: |
High- the last stronghold of the gharials. |
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| Status: |
Threatened - An estimated 75% crash in the population between 1998 and 2006. |
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| Latest survey results (2007): |
208 adults |
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| Enforcement: |
Poor. Banditry and harrassment of enforcement personnel and researchers by |
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resource exploiting “mafias” makes enforcement dangerous and difficult. |
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Lack of enforcement |
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Fishing |
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Agriculture |
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Sand mining |
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Water extraction for irrigation. |
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Turtle poaching |
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| The Chambal River Sanctuary |
| Chambal River: Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan; India |
| A sanctuary that boasted close to 1500 gharials only a decade ago, the Chambal River Sanctuary now has a population of around 200 adults. Only 20 of the adults seen during the last census (2007) were adult males. During the 2006 season, 224 young gharials bred at Kukrail Breeding Centre were released at Pinhat. |
| The Chambal’s importance as a gharial habitat ranks the highest, as is contains the most significant remaining breeding populations of gharials. Its source is the Singar Chouri peak of the Vindhyas in Madhya Pradesh. There are four dams on the river that have reduced its flow drastically and the situation will be even worse when the hydroelectric dam at Rahughat is commissioned. |
| The notoriety of the Chambal as a stronghold of dacoits (bandits) preserved the habitat and its denizens for a couple of decades. When the dacoits surrendered and were rehabilitated, various armed groups, dubbed “mafias”, moved in to run exploitative activities like sand mining, fishing, and turtle poaching within the protected area. A District Collector who visited the place recently to put a stop to the illegal activities was attacked and the police accompanying him were helpless. Although the National Chambal Wildlife Sanctuary is governed by three states (Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan), there is little effective enforcement of conservation laws in some areas where dacoits and mafias hold sway. Cooperation of the tri-state governments on conservation of the Sanctuary is an essential element that will affect the survival of the gharials and the river as a whole. |
| Of critical importance for the Chambal is a constant conservation “presence” in the area to monitor the gharial population and other wildlife populations and also to attempt to discourage illegal resource exploiting activities. This is clearly dangerous work, as the “mafias” have a history of violence towards anyone thwarting their activity. But a group of dedicated researchers and conservationists have recently completed a thorough multi-species survey of this area, and the GCA and its partners have begun a research program that will continue to monitor the area. |
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