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Introduction

Nameri Tiger Reserve (NTR) was notified by the Government of Assam (vide notification number FRW-95/99/70, dated 1 March 2000). NTR is situated in the northern part of Sonitpur District of Assam and along the foothills of the Eastern Himalaya of Arunachal Pradesh. It shares a common interstate boundary on the northern side with Pakke Tiger Reserve of Arunachal Pradesh. NTR lies between latitudes 26° 50′ 48″ N and 27° 03′ 43″ N and between longitudes 92° 39′ 00″ E and 92° 59′ 00″ E. NTR is well connected by road, rail and air networks. The nearest airports are Tezpur (40 km) and Guwahati (220 km). The nearest railway stations are Balipara (15 km), Rangapara (20 km), Biswanath Chariali (51 km) and Guwahati (200 km).

The total area of NTR is 344 km², of which 200 km² of Nameri National Park forms the core. Prior to the declaration of Nameri as a wildlife sanctuary in the year 1985, the entire forest of the present day core was part of Naduar Reserve Forest. In the year 1998, the status of Nameri Wildlife Sanctuary was elevated to that of a national park, and later on Nameri Tiger Reserve was declared in the year 2000. In the same year 80 km² of the remaining Naduar RF and 64 km² of Balipara RF were added as the eastern and western buffers, respectively. Further, 120 km² of Sonai-Rupai Wildlife Sanctuary was declared a satellite core in 2015.

The core is under the administrative control of the DFO, Western Assam Wildlife Division, Tezpur, who has been also designated Field Director for coordinating with the buffer area DFOs. The eastern and western buffers are under the control of the DFO, Sonitpur East Division and the DFO, Sonitpur West Division, respectively. The overall control of the PA as well as the wildlife division rests with the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) Assam and the Chief Wildlife Warden of Assam. The Field Director, NTR is assisted by an Assistant Conservator of Forest (ACF) who has also been re-designated Deputy Director of NTR. There is a beat office at the divisional headquarters at Tezpur and an office staff to assist the Field Director. During the visit of the MEE team, Mr. Nripen Kalita, DFO, Sonitpur West Division was holding additional charge of FD, NTR.

Every day field works, patrolling duties, anti-poaching drives, maintenance of park's infrastructure and implementation of various projects are carried out by the Range Officer, Nameri Wildlife Range under the supervision of the DFO cum Field Director. The range office is located at Potasali within the western buffer of NTR. There are no forest beats. But for ensuring the protection of forest and wildlife, 39 anti-poaching camps have been established at various places inside the core area. All the camps except Bogijuli and Paglabazar anti-poaching camps are located close to the Jia-bhoreli and Bordikorai River, which acts as a natural barrier for the core.

NTR belongs to the North-east Brahmaputra Valley Bio-geographic Province (9A) of the North-east India Bio-geographic Zone. The forest types are 1B/C2 (b), Upper Assam Valley Tropical Evergreen Forest; 2B/1S1, Sub-Himalayan Light Alluvial Semi-evergreen Forest; 2B/2S1, Pioneer Euphorbiaceous Scrub; 2B/2S2, Eastern Alluvium Secondary Semi-evergreen Forests; 2/E1, Cane Brakes; 3/C2d (iii), Eastern Heavy Alluvium Plains Sal; 3/1S1, Low Alluvial Savannah Woodland; and 4D/SS5, Eastern Dillenia Swamp Forest; (a) Dillenia–Biscofia composition, (b) Dillenia–Mesua composition.

NTR is home to eight globally threatened species, 11 threatened species and five near threatened species. It is one of the most important protected areas on the north bank landscape of Assam, and as a part of Sonitpur Elephant Reserve, it has been playing an important role in the conservation of the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) in Assam. Further, NTR is one of the few remaining breeding places of the rare and endangered white-winged wood duck (Asarcornis scutulata). There are three major wetlands, namely, Borghuli Beel, Kurua Beel and Magurmari Beel, which form the habitat of the white-winged wood duck. The key species of NTR are the leopard, elephant, clouded leopard and white-winged wood duck. The results of 3 years’ monitoring confirm that NTR is a low density tiger reserve with the tiger density varying from 1.3 to 1.5 tigers/100 km².

NTR shares the boundary of Pakke TR, Arunachal Pradesh, and the satellite core is adjacent to Doimara RF and contiguous to Eagle Nest WLS and Sessa Orchid WLS of Arunachal Pradesh. The two core areas are connected via Balipara RF and Chariduar RF. The entire landscape comes under Sonitpur Elephant Reserve. The corridors, viz, Kaziranga–Nameri Corridor (Borgang Corridor), Kaziranga–Nameri 2 Corridor (Jia-bhoreli Corridor) and Kaziranga–Papumpare Corridor (Burai River Corridor) were jointly delineated by WII and NTCA using tiger occupancy and other related data gathered over the years.

The average tourist visitation in NTR is around 8000 per annum. The Jia-bhoreli river rafting is the USP of NTR ecotourism. A 5 km long trail for wilderness experience and bird watching at Pota Sali Camp also awaits eco-tourists. Stay facilities are not provided within NTR. Privately managed eco-lodges and eateries are available in the fringes of NTR. Rubber boats are hired by tourists from private parties.

Management Strengths:

NTR is one of the most important protected areas on the north bank landscape of Assam, and as a part of Sonitpur Elephant Reserve has been playing an important role in the conservation of Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) in Assam. NTR belongs to the North-east Brahmaputra Valley Bio-geographic Province (9A) of the North-east India Bio-geographic Zone. NTR is home to eight globally threatened species, 11 threatened species and five near-threatened species. NTR is one of the few remaining breeding places of the rare and endangered white-winged wood duck (Asarcornis scutulata).
The eco-sensitive zone notification has been issued by MOEF&CC on 27 October 2020. 120 km² of Sonai-Rupai Wildlife Sanctuary was declared the satellite core of NTR in June 2015. The corridors, viz, Kaziranga–Nameri 2 Corridor (Jia-bhoreli Corridor), Kaziranga–Nameri Corridor (Borgang Corridor) and Kaziranga–Papumpare Corridor (Burai River Corridor) were jointly delineated by WII and NTCA using tiger occupancy and other related data gathered over the years.
Nameri NP shares the boundary of Pakke TR, Arunachal Pradesh and the satellite core is adjacent to Doimara RF, contiguous to Eagle Nest WLS and Sessa Orchid WLS, Arunachal Pradesh. The two core areas are connected via Balipara RF and Chariduar RF. There are no revenue/forest villages both in the core and in the satellite core.
39 manned APCs are operationalised for ensuring protection. Day and night, foot and elephant patrolling is done regularly. The existing section of the Assam Forest Protection Force (AFPF) is used as the strike force for dealing with wildlife crime in the buffer as well as the core of NTR. The sites of animal presence and human disturbances (threat) are mapped and strategic patrolling of the threat-prone areas is carried out.
Grassland management and weed eradication are integral parts of habitat management. The activities undertaken for grassland management are cutting of tree seedlings in grasslands in November and completing the task before grassland burning, and girdling of species such as Albizia odoratissima and Salmalia malabarica in November. Uprooting/cutting of weeds, and protecting the evicted area to prevent against re-encroachment and prevention of illegal grazing of grasslands is carried out by the management.
For calculating the carrying capacity of tigers in NTR, the methodology used is the equation of Hayward et al (2007). The current tiger abundance as estimated through the camera trap-based monitoring exercise is below the carrying capacity of NTR. The animals of Nameri and Pakke share a common landscape and movement pattern. The tiger population shows a stable trend, but it is below the carrying capacity.
The ecotourism conducted in NTR is non consumptive and non-intrusive. The Jia-bhoreli River rafting is the USP of the NTR eco-tourism. A 5 km long trail for wilderness experience and bird watching at Pota Sali camp also awaits eco-tourists. The trail and the watch towers are maintained well by the NTR management. Stay facilities are not provided within NTR.
The Sanctuary Nature Guide to NTR (published by Sanctuary Nature Foundation in association with Western Assam Wildlife Division and Balipara Foundation) takes tourists to a road less travelled with information on the flora and fauna, birding, history and accommodation and has a map. This publication with comprehensive tourism information is in the public domain.

Management Weaknesses:

The scientific TCP of the NTR core, buffer and corridor areas expired in 2018.
The post of FD, NTR is vacant and the DFO, Sonitpur West Division is holding an additional charge of DFO, Western Assam Wildlife Division (FD, NTR). The sanctioned strength of the field staff is 133, and the staff in position is only 67, which is tantamount to 50% of field posts lying vacant.
In NTR, the core is managed by the DFO cum Field Director, NTR whereas the eastern and western buffers are under the control of the DFO, Sonitpur East Division and the DFO, Sonitpur West Division, respectively. While the core is under the control of the wildlife division, the buffers are under the control of the territorial divisions. Currently, there is a big difference in the approach and management strategies adopted for the core and for the buffers.
HWC happens in the buffer areas of NTR. The NTR management assists the territorial staff in dealing with HWC. From the discussions, it could be inferred that inordinate delays occur in paying compensation. Sonitpur West and Sonitpur East forest divisions have RRTs in position, but their preparedness is low. Currently, the data on elephant-related conflicts is maintained by the respective buffer area DFOs, but no systematic information about livestock depredation has been maintained by either the core or the buffer management teams.
The eastern buffer is more or less completely encroached and around 17 km² of sal and mixed forest is left over in the western buffer. Further, opportunistic cultivation of riverine islands, clearing of native vegetation which offer cover for the wildlife on the move, and dumping of pesticides and other agrochemicals have serious repercussions on the ecosystem. The threat of encroachment remains high.
The pressure on the natural resources of NTR for illegal exploitation, competition by domestic livestock for the herbivore resource base, invasion by weed species such as Chromolaena odoratum and Mikania micrantha and woodland encroachment in grasslands are high. Further, the fringe-area villagers are dependent on the satellite core for meeting their fuelwood, fodder and small timber requirements. 150 families have encroached an about 5 km² area of the NTR core/satellite core. The proposal and estimate for eviction from the encroached area and for restoration of the area after eviction was sent to the concerned authority for approval. Eviction is yet to be done.
Summer and winter uniforms are provided to the permanent staff, fixed pay staff and camp labourers. 39 Home Guards are not supplied with any uniforms. The state ration allowance of Rs.2000 per month and ration allowance of Rs.860 per month provided by Project Tiger are only up to the rank of Deputy Ranger. Home Guards do not fall in the ambit of any staff welfare activities.
APCs are frequently attacked by elephants, and no elephant-poof trenches/fences are constructed in APCs. The field staff posted in the APCs are not provided with quarters. There are no quarters for even the Range Officer at Kalamata. Most of the vehicles are old and prone to frequent breakdowns.
Equipment such as night vision devices, smart patrol devices, laptops, GPS and camera traps are all in short supply. Veterinary facilities are insignificant. Logistic infrastructure, such as rescue cages, specialised vans, tranquilising guns and medical equipment, is the need of the hour.
Inordinate delays are noticed in the release of NTCA funds by the state government. This has resulted in partial utilization with a resultant relegation of priority activities. During 2019–20, NTCA sanctioned Rs.218.41 lakhs and released the first instalment of Rs.154.72 lakhs on 27 September. The state government released the amount only on 27 March 2020, after a gap of six months, resulting in partial utilization, of only Rs.143.776 lakhs. In 2020–21, the allotment got reduced to Rs.170.43 lakhs and the utilisation was Rs.119.23 lakhs. During 2021–22, the allotment was Rs.139.87 lakhs and the utilisation was Rs.104.90 lakhs.
Record of training is not maintained properly. Staff Development Plan is not prepared and implemented.
Even though 18 EDCs were formed from the fringe villages, only one EDC, viz, Torajan Bongaon EDC is operative.

Immediate Actionable Points:

Ad hoc management of NTR without a TCP is not acceptable.
The post of FD, NTR is vacant, and the DFO, Sonitpur West Division is holding an additional charge of the DFO, Western Assam Wildlife Division (FD, NTR). Following the all-India pattern, the DFO, Western Assam Wildlife Division, Dolabari, Tezpur has to be re-designated the FD, NTR. The ACF need to be re-designated the AFD, NTR. Immediate action is recommended for the redesignation and posting of an independent FD, NTR.
The HWC management needs to be revamped with a fully equipped and functional RRT. It is desirable to bring in payment of compensation under the ambit of citizen services with a time limit set for ensuring compliance. The data on elephant-related conflicts and the data on livestock depredation has to be maintained with the FD and NTR.
It is recommended that a mechanism/protocol be evolved to ensure timely submission of a prioritised APO/timely release of the state share and for full utilisation of the allotment. There is a delay in the release of a 10% State share under Project Tiger. To circumvent delay, the possibility of release of 10% APO as state share along with plan funds may be probed.
The threat of encroachment remains high in NTR. Opportunistic cultivators of riverine islands need to be evicted then and there. Approximately 150 families have encroached on an about 5 km² area of the NTR core/satellite core. The eastern buffer is more or less completely encroached and around 17 km² of sal and mixed forest is left over in the western buffer. Eviction of illegal encroachments is recommended. The pending proposal and estimate for eviction of the encroached area and for restoration of the area post-eviction may be expedited.
Veterinary facilities are insignificant. The wildlife in NTR is vulnerable to diseases from livestock. Logistic infrastructure, such as rescue cages, specialised vans, tranquilising guns and medical equipment, is to be procured. Prophylactic immunization of cattle is necessary. Further, to mitigate the human–elephant conflict, it is recommended that the services of a veterinary doctor along with the minimum support staff be provided to NTR.
Even though 18 EDCs were formed from the fringe villages, only one EDC, viz, Torajan Bongaon EDC, is operative. It is recommended that the Eco-Development Programme be implemented in all 18 villages in consultation with the villagers and after the due process of micro-planning and signing of MoUs. EDC members can be roped in for regular patrolling/protection and management, as part of a quid-pro-quo commitment.
The 39 APCs need infrastructure. Mandatory field equipment for M-STRiPES patrolling, torches, range finders, GPS, camera traps, night vision devices, smart patrol devices, laptops, etc. need to be provided. All the APCs are to be provided with sufficient numbers of walkie-talkies. Optimal staff amenities are to be provided in each of the APCs.
Wireless networks need strengthening with a wireless signal booster. The proposal pending due to a paucity of funds should be expedited.
It is recommended that all casual workers be enrolled in e-ashram and Ayushman yojana.
Filling up all vacancies of frontline staff positions in NTR is warranted.
Capacity building of staff in an ongoing manner is recommended. Further, it is also recommended that a Record of training be maintained and Staff Development Plan is prepared and implemented.
A proposal for upgrading the existing interpretation centre by using modern Audiovisual devices and a 3-D display cum lecture hall is pending for want of funds. The sanction and execution should be expedited on priority.
The TR should maintain a complaint register showing the logs of complaints received, enquired, and disposed of. Written order should be issued on complaint handling and disposal system including intimation to complainant.

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Nameri Tiger Reserve

Introduction

Management Strengths:

Management Weaknesses:

Immediate Actionable Points:

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