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Site description (2004 baseline):

This site includes two protected areas and a reserve forest in South Garo Hills district in western Meghalaya. The protected areas are Balpakram National Park (22,000 ha) and Siju Wildlife Sanctuary (518 ha), while the reserve forest is Baghmara (4,429 ha). The first two are contiguous, while the reserve forest is linked through unclassified forests. Balpakram literally means “continuous wind blow”. The Garos believe that it is the land of departed souls. The site, well known for its beautiful scenery, contains expansive tracts of relatively undisturbed forest clad hills and gorges. The area supports a large Asian Elephant Elephas maximus population (Anon. 2002, Choudhury 1999). Balpakram is comprised of a plateau of c. 700 ha at 797 m above msl from which originate a number of rivers that have cut deep gorges (up to nearly 800 m) and valleys in various directions. Mahadeo is one such spectacular canyon. The area is rich in minerals, notably coal (with a possible reserve of 107 million tonnes), limestone, mica, feldspar and beryl. Siju WLS is contiguous with Balpakram, and is also hilly with the River Simsang along its western boundary. The famous Siju cave is just outside the boundary of the Sanctuary. Baghmara RF located closeby touches the India-Bangladesh international border. It is a low hilly undulating country with marshy depressions. We have considered all three areas as one IBA. As the area is relatively remote, the forest cover is still intact. Eight forest types have been identified in this IBA: Tropical Evergreen forest on the gorges and steep slopes; Tropical Semievergreen or Mixed Evergreen forest in depressions on the plateau and surrounded by grassland or secondary forest; Riverine forest in areas subject to periodic inundation; grassland and tree savanna confined to Rongcheng and Lumsorjong areas and maintained through browsing and burning; Tropical Deciduous forest, which is a successional type and man-made forest; Bamboo forest, dominated by Bambusa sp. and Melocanna bambusifolia; and secondary formations in areas of shifting cultivation (Kumar and Rao 1985).

AVIFAUNA: This site is the known westernmost distributional limit of the Whitewinged Duck Cairina scutulata in its global range (Choudhury 1996a, 2002). The Balpakaram Complex is extremely rich in avian diversity, with about 250 species identified till now. It lies in the Eastern Himalayas Endemic Bird Area (EBA-130) and covers at least two biomes: Biome-9 (Indo-Chinese Tropical Moist Forests) and Biome-8 (Sino-Himalayan Temperate Forests). The following are some interesting species of Balpakram Complex: Mountain Bamboo Partridge Bambusicola fytchii, White-cheeked Partridge Arborophila atrogularis, Grey-peacock Pheasant Polyplectron bicalcaratum, Common Hill Partridge Arborophila torqueola, Grey-headed Parakeet Psittacula finschii, Striated Bulbul Pycnonotus striatus, White-throated Bulbul Alphoixus flaveolus, Black Bulbul Hypsipetes leucocephalus, Blue-throated Barbet Megalaima asiatica, Bay Woodpecker Blythipicus pyrrhotis, Shortbilled Minivet Pericrocotus brevirostris, Orange-bellied Leafbird Chloropsis hardwickii, Slaty-backed Forktail Enicurus schistaceus, Slaty-bellied Tesia Tesia olivea, Grey-bellied Tesia T. cyaniventer, Streaked Spiderhunter Arachnothera magna, Maroon Oriole Oriolus traillii, Grey Treepie Dendrocitta frontalis, Nepal House Martin Delichon nipalensis, Pale-headed Woodpecker Gecinulus grantia, Black-backed Forktail Enicurus immaculatus, Lesser Necklaced Laughingthrush Garrulax monileger, Greater Necklaced Laughingthrush G. pectoralis and Sultan Tit Melanochlora sultanea.

OTHER KEY FAUNA: The area supports a diverse fauna and, is an important refuge for Asian Elephant and the Tiger Panthera tigris. Seven species of primates are present, namely Assamese Macaque Macaca assamensis, Rhesus Macaque M. mulatta, Stump-tailed macaque M. arctoides, Pig-tailed macaque M. nemestrina, Capped Langur Trachypithecus pileata and Hoolock Gibbon Hylobates hoolock, and Slow Loris Nycticebus coucang. Carnivores include Wild Dog Cuon alpinus, Himalayan Black Bear Ursus thibetanus, Leopard Panthera pardus, Clouded Leopard Neofelis nebulosa, Golden Cat Catopuma temmincki, Red Panda Ailurus fulgens (Choudhury 1996b) and a number of other small felids. Ungulates include Wild Boar Sus scrofa, Sambar Cervus unicolor, Barking deer Muntiacus muntjak, Water Buffalo Bubalus arnee (=bubalis), Gaur Bos frontalis, Goral Nemorhaedus goral and Serow N. sumatraensis.

MAIN THREATS: Coal and limestone mining in the nearby areas; Plan to a build dam; Felling of trees; Jhum cultivation; Disturbance to birds (poaching, trapping); Firewood collection; Livestock grazing.

Balpakram is often in the news for notoriety rather than fame. There was a controversy about the actual size of the Park, as a lot of money was involved in purchasing land for the Park. Recently, insurgency has become a major issue in the area. Coal mining in the nearby areas is also a major concern. There is a proposal for a dam on the Simsang river, while a proposal of major cement plant near Siju was shelved due to protest from environmental groups. There are about 500 inhabitants, mostly Garo tribals, in the six villages within the protected area. While it may not be desirable to evict them from their ancestral homes, environmental awareness and eco-development programmes should be started to minimize the damage to the forest. Balpakram is an important area as it is an elephant habitat. It is suggested that adjacent reserve forests and some forest areas from West Khasi Hills district should be included in the Park to make it more compact and to reduce man-animal conflict.

Key contributors: Anwaruddin Choudhury, Kulojyoti Lahkar and Firoz Ahmed.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Balpakram Complex (India). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/balpakram-complex-iba-india on 22/11/2024.