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Location: Himachal Pradesh, India
Area: 754,4 kmē
Established: 1984
In 1980, the Himachal Wildlife Project
(HWP) surveyed the upper Beas region to help establish the
boundaries of the park. An area comprising the watersheds of Jiwa,
Sainj, and Tirthan rivers became the Great Himalayan National Park
in 1984. Starting from an altitude of 1,700 metres above mean sea
level, the highest peak within the Park approaches almost 5,800
metres. The area of the National Park at the moment is 754.4 kmē and
it is naturally protected on the northern, eastern and southern
boundaries by permanent snow or steep ridges. To facilitate
conservation a 5 km wide buffer area, extending from the western
periphery of the Park, has been classified as the Eco development
Project Area (EPA) or Ecozone. The EPA has an area of 326.6 kmē
(including 61 kmē of Tirthan wildlife sanctuary) with about 120
small villages, comprising 1600 households with a population of
about 16,000. Since, the Indian Wildlife Protection Act 1972 does
not permit any habitation in the National Park, an area of 90 kmē in
Sainj valley encompassing the two villages of Shakti and Marore has
been classified as Sainj Wildlife Sanctuary (WLS). These two
villages although technically "outside" the National Park, are
physically located between two parts of GHNP. Thus the total area
under the National Park administration is 1,171 kmē.
Lush coniferous forests, emerald meadows strewn with exotic flora,
soaring snowy peaks and pristine glaciers make for an ideal
Himalayan retreat.The secluded Sainj and Tirthan valleys are home to
a plethora of fauna - wild mountain goats like the bharal, goral and
serow, the brown bear and predators like the leopard and the elusive
snow leopard. Different varieties of pheasants - monal, khalij
cheer, tragopan and other exotic Himalayan birds can be found in the
region. The Himalayas have been a source of awe and inspiration for
millennia to countless individuals. They are the largest, tallest
and geologically youngest mountains on our planet. In India, they
are the Dehvbumi--the home of the gods. The Himalaya are also one of
the most fragile mountain regions of the world and hold an enormous
repository of biological diversity which is increasingly under
pressure from human activities. The unique ecological aspects of the
Western Himalaya led to the creation of the Great Himalayan National
Park (GHNP) in the Kullu district of India's mountain state of
Himachal Pradesh. These features include biodiversity, sparse human
populations, inaccessibility, little tourism, and a local economy
based on traditional livelihoods.
GHNP is a major source of water for the rural and urban centers of
the region with four major rivers of the area originating from the
glaciers in the Park. It is also a source of sustenance and
livelihood for the local community living close to GHNP. In addition
to lumber, the forest environment provides local people with
Non-Timber Forest Produce (NTFP) such as honey, fruit nuts, bark of
birch and yew, flowers and fuel wood. Globally, as well as locally,
the Great Himalayan National Park has a very high public profile.
The international community regards at it as a pilot site where the
community based Biodiversity Conservation approach is being tested.
The local people in the Ecozone (or Buffer Zone adjacent to the
park) of GHNP recognize the fact that they have overexploited the
medicinal herbs and NTFPs, and their sheep and goats have overgrazed
the pastures.
Park Biogeography
The GHNP is at the junction of world's two major faunal regions: the
oriental to the south and palaearctic to the north. The temperate
forest flora-fauna of GHNP represents the western most extension of
the Sino-Japanese Region. The high altitude ecosystem of the
Northwest Himalaya has common plant elements with the adjacent
Western and Central Asiatic region. As a result of its 4,100 m
elevation range the Park has a diversity of zones with their
representative flora and fauna, such as alpine, glacial, temperate,
and sub tropical forests. These biogeography elements are result of
geological evolution of Himalaya which continues today from the
action of plate tectonics and continental drift. Over 100 million
years ago, the Indian sub-continent broke off from the large,
southern landmass, Gondwanaland and moved north. It eventually
slammed into the northern land mass, Laurasia, and formed the
gigantic folded mountains of the Himalaya. Due to this union of
Gondwanaland and Asiatic landmasses, exchange of flora and fauna was
possible and this ultimately led to the unique biogeographically
features in the region.
Timeline of Creation
It took twenty years from inception to
inauguration for GHNP to be realized as part of the Indian National
Park system. The following is a brief timeline:
1980: Preliminary Park survey of the watersheds of Tirthan, Sainj,
and Jiwanal in Banjar area of Kullu district 1983: Continued Park
survey, the Banjar area of Kullu district.
1984: Notification by state of Himachal Pradesh of the intention to
create the Great Himalayan National Park with buffer zone.
1987: First Management Plan of the Great Himalayan National Park.
1988: Settlement Proceedings and settling of rights of local
communities
1992: The Himachal Wildlife Project re-assesses wildlife abundance,
livestock grazing, and herb collection and reviewed the existing
management plan.
1994: The Government of HP revised the Notification of intention to
include the Sainj Wildlife Sanctuary and the upper Parvati
watershed.
1994-1999: Conservation of Biodiversity Project (CoB), the Wildlife
Institute of India, Dehradun conducts research to assist in the
management of the Park.
1999: Declaration of Award upon Completion of Settlement
Proceedings. Monetary compensation for individuals who had rights of
forest produce in the park area, including a package for providing
alternative income generation activities to everybody living in the
Ecodevelopment Project Area or Ecozone.
Final Notification of the Great Himalayan National Park. The GHNP
becomes the latest and newest National Park of India.
The Conservation of Biodiversity (CoB) Project completed on 31
December 1999.
Park Biodiversity
The Great Himalayan National Park is
home to more than 375 faunal species. So far species of 31 mammals,
181 birds, 3 reptiles, 9 amphibians, 11 annelids, 17 mollusks and
127 insects belonging to six orders have been identified and
GHNP Fauna documented. Most of the Himalayan fauna has been given
protection under the high priority protection category of Schedule I
of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. The state government
of Himachal Pradesh has banned hunting in the state for more than
ten years: The ban continues. A trek of 35 to 45 km in any of the
Park's valleys brings one into the high altitude habitat (3,500 m
and above) of animals such as blue sheep, snow leopard, Himalayan
brown bear, Himalayan tahr, and musk deer. Best sightings can be
made in autumn (September-November) as animals start their seasonal
migration to lower altitudes. The GHNP also supports a great
diversity of plant life thanks to its wide altitude range and
relatively undisturbed habitats. From the lofty pines
GHNP Flora and spruces and the great, spreading horse chestnuts of
the lower valleys, to the dense cushions and prostrate branches of
the alpine herbs and junipers, the Park presents an endless variety
of vegetation. Although some areas have been modified by grazing,
this is one of the few areas of the Western Himalayas where the
forests and alpine meadows can be seen in something approaching
their original state. The sub alpine zone is richest in species,
followed by the alpine and upper temperate zones.
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