Yamuna Bio-diversity
Park – a nature reclamation story
(A photo-blog)
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| Lotus in bloom in Yamuna Biodiversity Park phase-II |
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| Brochure of the Yamuna Bio-diversity Park |
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| The hind side of the brochure - displaying the map & location of the Park |
I read the following article in the ‘Pioneer’ some time
back and would like to reproduce a part from it - “Rapid industrialization and human encroachments had left the Capital
bereft of its natural glory. The development of this wilderness has set an
example for not just States within our country but also countries across the
globe that are now trying to emulate this nature reserve. Recently we had a
delegation of Canadian students to visit the park. Researchers from Britain and France
have also come in the recent times to the park,” said CR Babu, environment
professor at Delhi University….the Yamuna Biodiversity
Park has about 1,000
species of flowering plants which used to exist in the flood plains several
decades ago. These species have been thriving in the form of 20-25 plant
communities. It also has moist deciduous forests, dry deciduous forests
tropical thorn forests, scrub grasslands and the most biologically rich
grasslands. “The Yamuna
Biodiversity Park
is based on the ecosystem model. It is a 10-year-old plantation. The ecosystem
is fully developed. All the faunal elements have come on their own…”. Being a nature enthusiast, I was planning to
visit the destination since then, but could not precisely locate it on the
map. I was working for a few years in
the Delhi Development Authority and was aware of the such a project, but the
tight schedule kept me from visiting it.
However, when I returned to my parent cadre of Delhi Government, I got
posted in the Transport Department and further to that got deployed in
Burari. I knew that the Park was in the
vicinity, but no one seemed to have a clear idea about the place. I once tried by going towards the Wazirabad
barrage, but could not locate it. Later,
I found out some local contact and was able to visit the destination for the
first time November, 2015 and as many birds had not arrived, I took another
chance in end December, 2015 but it appears that Delhi and its surroundings
have been given a pass over this year by the migratory birds as the day
temperatures had remained much higher than normal throughout.
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| Common Moorhen in the Yamuna Bio-diversity Park |
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| Common teal in the Yamuna Bio-diversity Park phase-II |
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| Egret in action in the Yamuna Bio-diversity Park - phase-II |
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| Purple Heron in the Yamuna Bio-diversity Park - phase-II |
The brochure and
website for the destination informs that this project had been conceptualized
& designed in association with the academia from the Centre for
Environmental Management of Degraded Ecosystems (CEMDE), Delhi University
and other prominent institutes & Scientists, the park has been
intelligently demarcated on the basis of utility. There is a visitor's zone
with an Interpretation Centre & a Domesticated Biodiversity Zone
facilitating awareness trips & research. The result is an area of over 400
Acres depicting a rich kaleidoscope of flora & fauna in the middle of a
metropolis desperately looking for more green lungs. Having visited the place in person and having
a Honors Degree in Botany from Delhi
University, from the
little knowledge I hold, I would agree that the team has done an appreciable
work in restoring the flora & fauna as per the habitat and efforts have
been made to source the naturally occurring endemic species and help them
proliferate. The emphasis on natural
flora has in turn attracted the local avian fauna, as natural food like berries
& fruits have become available to them and thus, the effort to nudge in the
nature for reclamation of the land has paid rich dividends. The park is now in process of doing a second
project nearby and the work in this respect has already started for the second
phase, which is located nearby, but with a larger area and huge water
reservoir. The link to the website for
further information is - https://dda.org.in/greens/biodiv/yamuna-biodiversity-park.html
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| Cormorants flocking together at the Yamuna Biodiversity Park |
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| On for the hunt - Cormorants in Yamuna Bio-diversity Park |
At present there are three Birding hot spots that are
regularly explored by birders from Delhi and NCR
to watch and photograph various species of birds – Okhla Bird Sanctuary (which
I have covered in my earlier blog), Yamuna
Biodiversity Park
and Yamuna Khadar. The Yamuna Biodiversity Park
is situated in Burari areas Jagatpur Village, in North Delhi
and spread across an area of 457-acres of nature’s reserve, which has been
especially created to replicate the lost ecosystems of the Yamuna river and
reclaim the area by restoring its natural habitat. Once a barren land, it now
houses wetlands and forests, sheltering over 1500 plants, insects, birds, fish
and mammal species. Yamuna Khadar is
basically a wide partly cultivated and partly barren land on Yamuna bank which
can be covered from Jagatpur Bandh Marg which connects Wazirabad Road near Wazirabad crossing on
outer Ring road. The road goes almost parallel to Yamuna and few marsh areas
can be seen alongside and this is being developed as Phase-II of the Yamuna Biodiversity
Park. In years to come, if this ecological
experiment continues in the right earnest the naturalists in the coming years
will have the delight of watching more exotic migratory birds etc. visiting the
spot. The Yamuna Biodiversity Park is a
must visit destination for all nature lovers, as it will provide encouragement
to do a little for the environment and help it regain its balance.
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| A cacophony of water birds in the Yamuna Biodiversity Park - phase-II |
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| River gulls wading in the amuna Biodiversity Park - phase-II |
