Analysis of Threats to Gir Ecosystem

Abstract

An indepth analysis of threats to Gir ecosystem has been attempted in this paper. The major threats to which Gir forest is vulnerable are mostly anthropogenic which inter alia include illegal grazing by domestic livestock, encroachment in the P.A., illegal removal offorest produce, poaching, traffic and transport, pilgrimage, tourism, development of industries and large scale mining, forest fires and man-wild animal conflicts. The quantitative and qualitative assessment of these threats depicting trends in recent past have been described in detail. Narrow genetic base due to inbreeding also poses a significant threat to the survival of Asian Lion. Administrative shortcomings which are proving to be a bottleneck in the efficient management of the P A have also been discussed.