Uttarakhand’s first private nature reserve was inaugurated by State Forest Minister Dinesh Aggarwal at Jabarkhet near Mussoorie on the weekend. Speaking on the occasion, he said that such a model of private conservation that links forest protection, livelihood promotion and sustainable tourism could set the trend for ecotourism development in Uttarakhand.
The brainchild of conservationist Sejal Worah and landowner Vipul Jain, the Jabarkhet Nature Reserve (JNR), set up on 100 acres of privately owned forest land in Mussoorie aims to demonstrate a model that combines conservation, education and ecotourism, while generating economic benefits for local communities and land owners.
Speaking on the occasion, the land owner Vipul Jain said, “Our family has owned the land for 85 years. My father, JP Jain spent about five decades managing the estate and taking great care to enrich the forest and protect the wildlife. This initiative is dedicated to his memory”.
Over the past two years, Worah, along with a small team of local community members worked towards managing the use of the forest, removing accumulated trash, clearing areas of invasive weeds, developing water sources for wildlife and minimising human disturbance. JNR now has nearly 300 species of flowering plants, 80 species of mushrooms and fungi, over 40 species of ferns and grassses, nearly 100 bird species and a diversity of other wildlife that includes goral, barking deer, wild boar, porcupine, marten, leopard cat, black bear, leopard and more, said Worah.