Kishtwar National Park (Jammu Kashmir)

Kishtwar National Park is located in Doda District, some 40 km northeast of Kishtwar Town. The Rinnay River, south by Kibar Nala catchment, bound it to the northeast by the main divide of the Great Himalaya and to the west by Marwa River. 33*20'-34*00'N, 75*40'-76*10'E

The national park includes the catchments of the Kiar, Nanth and Kibar nalas, all of
which drain southwest into Marwa River, which join the Chenab River just
above Kishtwar Town. The terrain is by and large rugged and precipitous, with narrow
valleys bounded by high ridges opening out in their upper glacial parts. The area lies
in the Central Crystalline belt of the Great Himalaya. Rocks are strongly folded in place
s and composed mainly of granite, gneiss and schist, with the occasional bed of marble
. The shallow, slightly alkaline soils are mostly alluvial with gravel deposits (Kurt, 1976; Bacha, 1986).

The power of the monsoon is weak. Mean annual rainfall at Palmar and Sirshi (1,761m), located near the fringe of the national park, is 827mm and 741mm, respectively. Preciptation is maximal and in excess of 100mm per month in March and April, and again in July and August. Most snow falls in December and January when the whole area becomes snowbound. Mean maximum and minimum temperatures recorded at Sirshi are 13*C and -7*C in January and 35*C and 11*C in July, respectively (Kurt, 1976; Bacha, 1986).

Based on the altered classification of Champion and Seth (1968), some 13 vegetation types are represented (Bacha, 1986). In general, silver fir Abies pindrow and spruce Picea wallichiana, mixed with cedar Cedrus deodara and blue pine Pinus griffithii are biggest from 2,400m to 3,000m. Prominent is the small expanse of chilgoza pina P. gerardiana in the Dachan Range. At lower altitudes (1,700-2,400m) occur almost clean stands of cedar and blue pine, and moist temperate deciduous forest, represented by horsechestnut Aesculus indica, walnut Juglans regia, maple Acer spp., poplar Populus ciliata, hazel Corylus cornuta, bird cherry Padus cornuta, ash Fraxinus cornuta and yew Taxus wallichiana. The sub-alpine zone, from 3,000m to the tree line at 3,700m, supports mostly silver fir and birch Betula utilis forest and this combines with birch-rhododendron Rhododendron campanulatum scrub, above which is alpine pasture.

The area is so it is said is among the richest in fauna in the Himalaya (Ranjitsinh, 1979). Bacha (1986) lists 14 classes of large mammals that are present. Remarkable species include brown bear Ursus arctos, leopard Panthera pardus (V), snow leopard P. uncia (E), Himalayan musk deer Moschus chrysogaster (V), hangul Cervus elaphus hanglu (E) and ibex Capra ibex sibirica. In addition to those listed, wild boar Sus scrofa, Indian muntjac Muntiacus muntjac, serow Capricornis sumatraensis, Himalayan tahr Hemitragus jemlahicus, bharal Pseudois nayaur and possibly markhor Capra falconeriare present (Kurt, 1976, 1978; Ranjitsinh, 1979; Rodgers, in prep.). The brown bear population is perhaps the largest found anywhere in the Himalaya (Ranjitsinh, 1979). The size of the hangul population is unknown, but it may be limited to only a few animals (Kurt, 1978).
Some 28 common species of birds are listed by Bacha (1986). Among the pheasants, Himalayan monal Lophophorus impejanus and koklass Pucrasia macrolopha are present, but the status of Himalayan snowcock Tetraogallus himalayensis and western tragopan Tragopan melanocephalus (E) is not known (Rodgers, in prep.).

CULTURAL HERITAGE: Racial groups incorporates Thakurs, Kashmiris, Gujars, Rajputs and Brahmans (Bacha, 1986).

LOCAL HUMAN POPULATION There are no enduring settlements but some 115 families of nomadic grazers, with 15,000 head of livestock, and an unspecified number of families from nearby villages, with 10,000 head, have grazing rights in the national park. Some agriculture is practiced in peripheral areas (Bacha, 1986).

VISITORS AND VISITOR FACILITIES (KISHTWAR NATIONAL PARK) The area is a potential tourist attraction but there are almost no facilities at present. Forest rest houses exist at Ekhala and Sirshi. An additional two, with catering facilities for tourists, are planned for the tract between Sirshi and Yurdu (Bacha, 1986).

CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT: Kishtwar is debatably the most important Himalayan area in the state on account of its fairly great size and miscellaneous mammalian fauna, including a number of rare and endangered species. Its forests were exploited to their severe disadvantage up until 1948, since when logging has been scientifically managed and finally stopped with the establishment of the national park (Bacha, 1986).

The national park has only just been allocated as one of seven snow leopard reserves under a project launched by Central Government and intended at conserving the species, its prey populations and its fragile mountain habitat (ref.). A management plan has been prepared for the period 1986-1987 to 1989-90 (Bacha, 1986), according to which the national park will be zoned into core and buffer areas of 27,500ha and 15,000ha, respectively. No grazing will be allowed in the core zone; existing grazing rights being remunerated for through payment and provision of alternative grazing grounds.