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Restoring Saurashtra’s grasslands is key to Asiatic lions thriving their habitat
Just like with lion conservation, grassland maintenance can also be done with the participation of local communities. They can help in replanting grasslands and clearing any woodlots, if required. Part of the proceeds from wood clearing can be shared with the panchayats.

Dheeraj Mittal | December 2, 2019

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Though lions are carnivores, there is an umbilical link between grass and the big cats. Grass is the starting point of most major food chains. Wild ungulates like spotted deer, blue bulls (nilgai), sambar, wild boars etc, which form the main prey-base of Asiatic lions, dependent on good grass. Their habitat comprises grasslands and open forest patches.

The Saurashtra region is interspersed with 106 reserved vidis (grasslands) maintained by the forest department and 434 non-reserved vidis controlled by other agencies. They are spread over almost 2,000 sq.km, making up 20% of total grassland cover in Gujarat. Private vidis, gauchars (community grasing-lands controlled by village panchayats) and government wastelands supplement these vidis. Most of these vidis are part of the 25,000 sq.km Greater Gir landscape, the present abode of Asiatic lions.

A good lion habitat must have a good prey-base. For a healthy prey-base, grasslands are the key. Lion conservation efforts are focused on habitat improvement and, by extension, on improvement of grasslands. Dispersal of lions from the core Gir forest was possible due to a matrix of grasslands and open patches in the Greater Gir area. It is imperative, therefore, to initiate landscape-level interventions to ensure that the lion population keeps thriving.
Since these big cats coexist with local agro-pastoralists, minimising competition for natural resources between wildlife and local communities is crucial. Productive grasslands can help achieve this. They can make a very good habitat for lions while also meeting requirements of the locals.

Lions have been dispersing out of the core Gir forest for the past 15 years. As of 2017, out of total 600+ Asiatic lions 167 were living outside protected forests, ie, 1/3rd of their population. The lions living outside protected forests have made these grasslands in revenue areas their home. Hence, these grasslands will be critical to lions’ further dispersal and sustaining their robust population growth seen over the past couple of decades.
Over a period of time, however, these grasslands have degraded owing to invasion of woody & shrubby species and have turned into somewhat unproductive woodlots or scrublands. Hardly any grass grows in them now. Instead, growth of species like lantana, prosopis, van tulsi and cassia defines their vegetation. This vegetation is unpalatable for most wild ungulates or domestic animals. The progressive degradation of grasslands has exacerbated some of the present problems like shortage of fodder, lack of good grazing grounds for maldharis (a semi-nomadic pastoralist community), increase in crop depredation by wild herbivores etc. Eventually, it can prove detrimental to animal husbandry, which, after agriculture, is the other major occupation in Saurashtra. As grasslands on forest fringes become unsuitable for wildlife and local livestock, the fringe further shifts towards agricultural fields and human settlements. This, in turn, is aggravating human-wildlife conflict.

In the long run, such a scenario may sour the unique sentiment and goodwill the local communities have for wildlife in general and lions in particular.

This gradual, unattended shift has affected both ecology and economics of the region. Village panchayats are unable to maintain their gauchars for lack of resources. Nor do they consider managing their gauchars and wastelands a priority. The continued apathy is resulting in large-scale encroachment on such swathes and soil mining from such patches. There aren’t many management interventions by the forest department either in the non-reserved vidis. The net result is that the landscape is suffering the tragedy of commons and a vicious self-perpetuating circle of unproductiveness.

For long-term ecological and economic security, all stakeholders need to make a collective effort. The forest and revenue departments and panchayats need to take up a joint mission to restore these grasslands. Good productive grasslands are extremely important for fodder security. For instance, the more than 1.6 crore kg of grass collected by the forest department from reserve vidis in 2018-19 will be available for distribution in the event of a drought. Grasslands are important for water security too as they serve as great watersheds. The conflict due to crop depredation and lions venturing into human habitations can also be mitigated if grasslands are maintained and managed properly. Wild herbivores naturally prefer open and productive patches and thereby keep carnivores interested in such areas. Grassland restoration will also help in the conservation of bustards, floricans, wolves, blackbucks and many other wild species that share a similar habitat. Reply