Study the changes in Habitat Quality of Indian Elephants in Uttarakhand region using InVEST Model

Study the changes in Habitat Quality of Indian Elephants in Uttarakhand region using InVEST Model

PRAGATI JHAMB*, G.AREENDRAN, P.K JOSHI, KRISHNA RAJ, ANKITA SHARMA

IGCMC, WWF-India, 172-B Lodi Estate, New Delhi 110003, India

TERI University 10, Institutional Area, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi 110070, India

Abstract: This study is an application of Remote sensing and GIS where InVEST Model has been used to see the changes in habitat quality of Indian Elephants in Uttarakhand region as this region is frequently visited by elephants from the neighboring areas. The state is facing a large number of Human Elephant conflicts because of human interference in the habitat region of elephants. The Landsat images of year 1998 and 2014 have been used to prepare landuse land cover maps and threat layers including urban area, agriculture and fallow land have been extracted from them. Also road layer has been used as threat which is downloaded from DIVA-GIS. The inputs including landuse landcover maps, threat layers, access layer, sensitivity table and threat table area fed to the model and outputs were generated. The outputs provided by the model include Habitat Quality and Degradation maps which clearly show the decline in the habitat quality of elephants in this region. Finally the overlay analysis has been performed to extract suitable area for elephants to survive.

Key Words: Biodiversity, ecosystem, endangered, habitat degradation, habitat suitability, Human elephant conflict (HEC).