To study the changes in habitat quality of Indian elephants in Uttarakhand region using invest model
Student name: Ms Pragati Jhamb
Guide: Dr P K Joshi
Year of completion: 2015
Host Organisation: IGCMC, WWF-India, New Delhi
Supervisor (Host Organisation): Dr G. Areendran
Abstract: Humanity is completely dependent on Nature to survive but nature does not depend on human
beings. Yet our society largely acts as if this is not so. We ignore or deny that our roots lie in the
Earth. The energy that powers our every cells, the nutrients that make up our bodies, the
ecosystem services that clean our water and air, these are all provided by the Nature from which
we evolved and of which we are a part. Exploitation of natural resources is an essential
condition of the human existence. Throughout history, humans have manipulated natural
resources to produce the materials they needed to sustain growing human populations. Often the
exploitation of nature has been done in a non-sustainable way, which is causing an increasing
concern. Some of the major problem which arise due to overexploitation of nature includes
Species extinctions, Deforestation, Destruction of wetlands, Soil erosion, Groundwater
contamination and depletion, Ozone Depletion etc.
With the passage of time, mankind is realizing that preserving the essential ingredients of life and
the rich natural diversity of the planet is indeed worthwhile. Remote Sensing and GIS have
played an important role in conservation and management of the natural resources and to
understand human wildlife conflicts. Recently due to habitat degradation and human
encroachments in forest areas, there have been increase in man-animal conflicts in different
parts of the country, so we have applied geospatial technology to study the changes in habitat
quality of Indian Elephants in Uttarakhand region as this region is frequently visited by
elephants from the neighboring areas.
KEYWORDS: Indian Elephant, Human Elephant Conflict, Habitat Quality& Degradation,
InVEST Model, Corridor
