Context: The Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife (SC-NBWL) granted in-principle clearance for a Central Railway third line project requiring over 200 hectares of forest land within the Satpura-Melghat tiger corridor.
About The Satpura-Melghat Tiger Corridor:
What It Is?
- The Satpura-Melghat Tiger Corridor is a crucial ecological land bridge covering approximately 7,325 square kilometers of natural forest and agricultural landscape across Central India. It connects the core tiger populations of the Satpura Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh with the Melghat Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra.
Geographic Location & Range:
- States Covered: Madhya Pradesh (Betul, Narmadapuram districts) and Maharashtra (Amravati district).
- Landscape Network: Connects key protected areas including Satpura National Park, Bori Sanctuary, Pachmarhi Sanctuary (in MP), and Gugamal National Park, Wan, Narnala, and Ambabarwa Sanctuaries (in Maharashtra).
Key Features:
- High Natural Habitat Coverage: Maintains over 60% natural habitat area dominated by tropical dry to moist deciduous forests interspersed with local farmlands.
- Key Focal Mammal & Avian Wildlife: Serves as a vital movement zone for major carnivores and ungulates, including the Tiger (Panthera tigris), Leopard, Sloth Bear, Striped Hyena, and the endangered Forest Owlet.
- Indigenous Community Stewardship: The landscape is inhabited predominantly by tribal communities (making up roughly 54% of the local population), primarily from the Korku and Gond tribes.
- Inter-Landscape Network Hub: Links the broader Central Indian Tiger Landscape by forming critical physical connections with adjoining corridors, such as the Satpura-Pench and Melghat-Bor wildlife corridors.
- Linear Infrastructure Pressure: Exposed to high human modification indices due to expanding transportation networks—including railway line expansions (such as the Jujharpur-Chichonda section) and state highways.
Significance:
- Facilitates movement between isolated tiger reserves, preventing genetic inbreeding and allowing tiger and mammal populations to colonize new territories across Central India.
- Protects contiguous forest canopy across the Satpura and Gawilgarh hill ranges, helping preserve watershed security, prevent human-wildlife conflict, and maintain regional ecological balance.
