Towards a Landscape Conservation Strategy: Analysis of Jhum Landscape and Proposed Corridors for Managing Elephants in South Garo Hills District and Nokrek Area, Meghalaya

Abstract

In the South Garo Hills District and Nokrek area of Western Meghalaya, statistical analyses suggest very low elephant densities and greatest declines of elephants in areas with >10% bamboo and secondary forest (6-10 years old) and >10% scrub and abandonedjhum fields (old fallow jhum 3-6 years old). Elephant densities are hi'ghest, and declines are the least, in areas with >25% semi-evergreen forest (old secondary forests 15-30+ years old). Data on elephant sign (use) in the field generally support these findings, with selection by elephants (ie., use significantly exceeding availability) for native semi-evergreen forest, and lack of selection (use significantly less than availability) for deciduous forests (including Sal forest, Teak, and Cashew plantations) and for scrub and abandonedjhum fields. To maintain elephant populations in the South Garo Hills District and Nokrek area, we suggest official delineation of 7 elephant habitat corridors that we mapped as having low degree of fragmentation of forest cover and a high proportion of contiguous, semi-evergreen and evergreen forest cover.