The flora and fauna, which were found in abundance along the banks of Yamuna in Delhi 100 years ago, have successfully been revived. With the reintroduction of several extinct medicinal plants in the flood plains of the river-Yamuna Biodiversity Park (YBP), environmentalists are hopeful to restore river’s pristine glory.
The first phase of the ambitious project of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA)-YBP is complete and attracting significant number of migratory birds.
As environmentalists put it, rapid urbanistion in the city especially on the banks of the river was primarily responsible for vanishing of the flora and fauna. However, they have been revived in the Yamuna Biodiversity Park, which is spread over an area of 457 acres. Of this, 157 acres of land has been developed in the first phase; while the remaining area will be developed in the second phase that will take at least five to six years.
According to the environmentalists and scientists, these species of plants have been collected from jungles in the adjoining States — including Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand — and revived in Delhi by creating favourable conditions. The medicinal and fruit plants such as tylophora asthemetica, ceropegie bulbosa, gala, khirnis, white variety of jamun, which once found in abundance in the Yamuna basin forests, have been reintroduced for conservation. These species had almost vanished from the Yamuna in Delhi over the last 100 years.
The Biodiversity Park, which is the first of its kind in the world, is also providing a home to a variegated hue of birds and species of animals besides enhancing the conservational, educational and cultural value. It a collective attempt by the DDA and Centre for Environmental of Degraded Ecosystems of Delhi University to bring back the vanishing flora and fauna. This park was once a barren land and has been now been completely overhauled into a biologically rich nature reserve attracting people even from the foreign countries. Students and researchers have shown a keen interest in the park.
“Rapid industrialistion 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.
A team of scientists was assigned the task to bring back this vanishing flora and fauna. “These scientists surveyed all along the floodplains, upstream and downstream. They decided to bring back the plant species found along the river Yamuna and grow in the form of communities. This was a challenging task as 157 acres that was allotted to them was located in Jagatpur village in the upstream of Wazirabad reservoir. This area used to be an active floodplain but now a bund was created consequent to which no vegetation was possible in the area and only salt loving plants like Suda Fruicticosa could grow. However, now there are over 1,200 species of plants,” Babu said adding the transformation took place as the scientist first grew grasses known as leptochoal Fusca and few other grasses which changed the Ph of soil from 10 to seven. Once the soil became neutral they added farmyard manure like cow dung. Thereafter they planted samplings of various plant species.
The scientists said 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,” said Dr Ekta Khurana, ecologist at the park.
The environmentalists have also created a wetland in the park that harbours 60 species of fish including Katla and Rohu. They said along with the vegetation also came a large population of mongoose Indian heir, Corcupine and most interestingly wild pigs. It also has a butterfly conservatory which contains 55 different species of butterflies. At the beginning there were just 35 species of birds but today there are 200 species. It also has a conservatory of about 450 species of fruit yielding trees. Its herbal conservatory boasts of at least 350 medical plants. It is also equipped with an excellent interpretational centre.
“A huge wetland has already been created and more wetlands and marshes will soon be developed. Sixty per cent of the area will be under wetland marshes. Forty per cent of the area will be flood plains, forest and grasslands that can sustain the annual flood events. These wetlands will impound the floodwater and will serve as a habitat for many resident as well as migratory birds in the future,” said Dr Mohammed Faizal, Entomologist at the Yamuna Biodiversity Park.
Another scientist Dr AK Singh, a plant taxonomist at the park said, “The entire project will take nearly six years to get completed .The project is lagging because of local issues like demarcation of land.”
In the first phase, nearly 100 acres of wetland were created which will hold 500 million gallons of floodwater. This, according to environmentalist, will recharge the groundwater that will ultimately benefit people living along the alluvium plains of Delhi.
The Biodiversity Park, which represents Delhi’s natural heritage and rich biological diversity of the flood plains of Yamuna River, has also become a means of promoting natural education among school and college students.
As many as 40,000 students and public from all across the world visit the park annually. This park is however open to public only if they come in groups and are accompanied by a guide. This has been done in order to prevent the jungle from further pollution.