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Assam Floods Part II

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July 20, 2017

Click here for Part I

What was the issue?

The recent floods in Assam highlighted the role played by humans in destabilizing the flood plain ecosystem and animals life.

What are the advantages of floods?

  • Floods play an important role in maintaining key ecosystem functions and biodiversity.
  • They link the river with the land surrounding it, fill wetlands, increase the connectivity between aquatic habitats, and move both sediment and nutrients around the landscape.
  • For many species, floods trigger breeding events, migration, and dispersal. These natural systems are resilient to the effects of floods.
  • Apart from the environmental benefits, flooding also helps the economy through increased agricultural and fish production, recharge of groundwater resources etc..

Is flooding a bizarre event inKaziranga?

  • The Kaziranga national park is situated on the south bank of the river Brahmaputra.
  • It primarily consists of alluvial grasslands, woodlands, tropical moist mixed deciduous forest, and tropical semi-evergreen forest.
  • It is basically a flood plain.
  • Floods are the primary means by which it keeps its own health alive and that of the animals that inhabits it.
  • Not having floods or stopping them will have disastrous effect on the park and its inhabitants.
  • All wildlife are known to deal with the floods from time immemorial.

What constitutes to the unnatural death of animals?

  • The reason for the unnaturally number of death high is not the, floods.
  • The main problem is the human encroachment on the flood plains.
  • Wild animals tend to move to high grounds at the time of floods, but these high grounds surrounding the park are obstructed by land mafias.
  • The animals attempted to reach the hills of KarbiAnglong by crossing the highway.
  • This led to death of manyby collisions with speeding vehicles on the highway that passes alongside Kaziranga.
  • Many animals are killed by the opportunistic killing of those who come across these stranded migrating animals, mainly for their meat.
  • There have also been cases where poachers have ventured inside Kaziranga and killed rhinos stranded in highlands.

 

Source: Indian Express

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