Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary - Threats

Threats

A growing threat is human population in the villages close to the sanctuary and encroachment in areas surrounding Bhadra Wildlife Reserve. Grazing by the thousands of cattle that belong to the villagers are a threat. Livestock carry diseases like foot and mouth disease to the herbivours in the park. During the 1989-99 time period, rinderpest wiped out most of the Gaur population, which numbered more than a thousand, reducing the population to its present numbers. With proactive programs of inoculating local cattle, the population of Gaur is again on the rise.

Another concern due to closeness of the population is procurement of non-timber forest products for commercial purposes and the procurement of timber for firewood. These affect the health of the forest in a long run. The other large threats are fishing and illegal poaching of wild animals.

Management practises of the forest department are habitat improvement, boundary consolidation, protection against poaching and fires, and infrastructure development. However, operating funds are insufficient and often delayed and the sanctuary management is understaffed. There are problems with frequent fires which adversely affect the habitat and biodiversity of Bhadra. Timber smuggling of valuable trees is a big problem.

Tunga-Bhadra Lift Irrigation Project promises to bring water to the rainshadow areas of Chikmagalur district by transferring water from the Tunga River to the Bhadra River, however poses a threat of disturbance to the natural habitat of Bhadra sanctuary.

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