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Site description (2004 baseline):

The site includes two reserve forests, Norpuh Blocks I and II in the southern part of Jaintia Hills district. The area has some of the finest primary forests remaining in Meghalaya. Block I, established in June 1909, lies west of Lubha, the main river of the area, while Block II, established in March 1918, is eastward of the river. Both are near the India-Bangladesh international boundary. Block II is also contiguous with Barail IBA site of Assam. The terrain is rugged, with steep slopes, deep gorges and narrow valleys. Other major rivers are Prang (Hari) and Apha. Although these forests are on National Highway-44, and can be reached easily, accessibility to the interior areas is very difficult because of the extremely rugged terrain and steep slopes and lack of roads to the interior. The climate of Norpuh (also spelled as Narpuh) forests is tropical monsoon type, with a hot and wet summer, and a cool and drier winter. The area often receives very heavy rainfall, may be more than 6,000 mm, from the southwest monsoon. In the lower warmer areas, Cachar Tropical Evergreen Forest is found, whereas in the higher cooler areas, Khasi Subtropical Hill Forest is seen (Champion and Seth 1968). There are grassy areas in the forest openings and in abandoned jhums. The area is known for its rich biodiversity but no systematic work has been done. The IBA site is likely to yield species new to science, especially among amphibians, reptiles, invertebrates and plants.

AVIFAUNA: More than 140 species of birds have been recorded at this site (Lahkar 2002). Two globally threatened species, Rufous-necked Hornbill Aceros nipalensis and Tawny-breasted Wren-babbler Spelaeornis longicaudatus are found here, perhaps in significant numbers. The Tawny-breasted Wren-babbler, an endemic bird of India, has a very small known range in Meghalaya, Assam and Manipur (Ali and Ripley 1987, BirdLife International 2001). The site lies in Eastern Himalayas Endemic Bird Area (EBA-130). According to Stattersfield et al. (1998), 21 species can be considered as Restricted Range in this EBA. From the available literature (Lahkar 2002), four are found here. Perhaps some more are yet to be identified. This site lies in Biome-9 (Indo-Chinese Tropical Moist Forest). In this Biome, BirdLife International (undated) has listed 19 species that represent the typical bird assemblage. The following four species of this biome have been seen by Lahkar (2002): Whitecheeked Hill Partridge Arborophila atrogularis, Grey Peacock Pheasant Polyplectron bicalcaratum, Black-backed Forktail Enicurus immaculatus and Sultan Tit Melanochlora sultanea. As the site has relatively intact Tropical Evergreen Forest in lower warmer areas and Sub-tropical Evergreen Forest in cooler higher areas, many species of Biome-7 and Biome-8 are found here in winter. Some interesting species of these biomes are: Mountain Bamboo-Partridge Bambusicola fytchii, Grey-headed Parakeet Psittacula finschii, Blue-throated Barbet Megalaima asiatica, Bay Woodpecker Blythipicus pyrrhotis, Blyth’s Kingfisher Alcedo hercules, Black-winged Cuckoo-Shrike Coracina melaschistos, Short-billed Minivet Pericrocotus brevirostris, White-throated Bulbul Alophoixus flaveolus, Orange-bellied Chloropsis Chloropsis hardwickii, Slaty-backed Forktail Enicurus schistaceus, Nepal Tit- Babbler Alcippe nipalensis, Small Niltava Niltava macgrigoriae, Streaked Spiderhunter Arachnothera magna, Maroon Oriole Oriolus traillii, Grey Treepie Dendrocitta formosae, Rufous-bellied Niltava Niltava sundara, Lesser Necklaced Laughingthrush Garrulax monileger, Greater Necklaced Laughingthrush G. pectoralis and Yellow-breasted Babbler Macronous gularis. This site is selected as an IBA as it has globally threatened species (A1 criteria) and restricted range species (A2 criteria).

OTHER KEY FAUNA: The site is rich in primates with seven species, namely Slow Loris Nycticebus coucang, Stump-tailed macaque Macaca arctoides, Pigtailed Macaque M. nemestrina, Rhesus Macaque M. mulatta, Assamese Macaque M. assamensis, Capped Langur Trachypithecus pileata, and Hoolock gibbon Hylobates hoolock (Choudhury 1998). The presence of endangered mammals such as the Tiger Panthera tigris, Leopard P. pardus, Clouded Leopard Neofelis nebulosa, Yellow-throated marten Mustela strigidorsa, Dhole or Wild Dog Cuon alpinus, Golden Cat Catopuma temmincki, Chinese Pangolin Manis pentadactyla, Asian Elephant Elephas maximus, Serow Nemorhaedus sumatraensis and Asiatic Brush-tailed Porcupine Atherurus macrourus shows the importance of this IBA. Other notable mammals include the Himalayan Black Bear Ursus thibetanus, Large Indian civet Viverra zibetha, Small Indian civet Viverricula indica, Himalayan Palm Civet Paguma larvata, Binturong Arctictis binturong, Leopard cat Prionailurus bengalensis and Jungle cat Felis Chaus. The ungulates present are Sambar Cervus unicolor, Barking Deer or Muntjak Muntiacus muntjak and Gaur Bos frontalis (Choudhury 1999).

MAIN THREATS: Encroachment (settlement and agriculture); Hunting, poaching; Jhum cultivation; Illegal felling of trees; Speeding vehicles; Pollution from motor vehicles.

This site, and to some extent Saipung Reserve Forest, are the only areas of some significance in Jaintia Hills where primary forest is still found. There is some primary forest outside the reserve forests also. The National Highway-44 that connects southern Assam, Mizoram and Tripura with the rest of the country is busy and has made the area accessible, a number of animals are crushed to death by speeding vehicles, while increased accessibility has resulted in encroachment and felling of trees in some areas. The Narpuh forest Blocks I and II, and some contiguous forests outside, should be brought under the protected area network. The proposal for a Sanctuary is pending for many years (Choudhury 1999). Charaching is still a major problem for hornbills, pheasants and other larger birds and mammals. Earlier, some forest areas of Norpuh and nearby areas were destroyed mainly due to betelnut plantation, for jhum cultivation, orchards (mainly oranges), and firewood collection.

Key contributors: Kulojyoti Lahkar and Anwaruddin Choudhury.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Norpuh Reserve Forests (India). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/norpuh-reserve-forests-iba-india on 22/11/2024.