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Site description (2004 baseline):

Tripura is a small state in northeast India, mostly hilly. Gumti is the largest wildlife sanctuary of the state, covering an area of 38,954 ha which includes about 4,200 ha of wetland. The state has three categories of lakes: oxbow lakes, tectonic/landslide lakes, and artificial reservoirs. The oxbow lakes, locally called beels, are mostly small and scattered in the plains.The largest artificial lake in the State is the Dumbur lake or Gumti Reservoir, which was formed due to the construction of a hydroelectric dam in 1974 across the Gumti river, near the confluence of the Raima and Sarma rivers. There are about 48 islands in the Reservoir (Choudhury, 2002), many of them are rich in wildlife, including primates (Ranjitsinh, 1989) and birds (A. U. Choudhury, pers. comm. 2003)

AVIFAUNA: Not much information is available on the bird life of Gumti Reservoir. Since its establishment, the Reservoir has started attracting waterfowl. Owing to deforestation in the catchment, about half of the reservoir has silted up, creating shallow zones, which are very attractive for waders and ducks. The site has more than 51 avian species (Choudhury 2002). According to Choudhury (pers. comm. 2003), this site would qualify for A1 and A4 criteria. Lesser Adjutant Leptoptilos javanicus, a Vulnerable species, and Darter Anhinga melanogaster, a Near Threatened species (BirdLife International 2001), are likely to be present in good numbers.

OTHER KEY FAUNA: The forested part of this Sanctuary, which also serves as the catchment area of the Reservoir and the Gumti river, is rich in non-human primates. The species are: Phayre’s Langur or Leaf Monkey Trachypithecus phayrei, Capped Langur Trachypithecus pileatus, Hoolock Gibbon Hylobates hoolock, Pig-tailed Macaque Macaca nemestrina, Rhesus Macaque Macaca mulatta, Slow Loris Nycticebus coucang (Gupta 2001, Ranjitsinh 1989, A. U. Choudhury pers. comm. 2003). Leopard Panthera pardus is the largest predator. Barking Deer Muntiacus muntjak is known to occur.

The Asiatic Elephant Elephas maximus is an occasional visitor.

MAIN THREATS: Deforestation of catchment area; Poaching; Siltation of the wetland.

During and after the construction of the hydroelectric dam and creation of a large reservoir, large-scale displacement of local people occurred when their agricultural fields and villages were submerged. The villagers were resettled on the nearby hills, leading to forest clearance and conflict with the local inhabitants. After the discovery of huge reserves of natural gas in Tripura, the importance of Gumti hydroelectric dam as a source of energy has decreased. Another issue is the silting of almost 2,000 ha, mainly due to deforestation in the catchment areas. Due to these various factors, there is a proposal by National Hydro Power Corporation (NHPC) and North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) (Bhaumik 2003) to de-commission the power plant, dismantle the dam and revert the submerged areas to the villagers. As a consequence this wetland IBA will also disappear.

Key contributor: Anwaruddin Choudhury.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Gumti Wildlife Sanctuary (India). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/gumti-wildlife-sanctuary-iba-india on 19/12/2024.