Urban Wilderness in and around Kolhapur Municipal Corporation Limits

Nilisha Desai; Jay Samant

Volume : VI, Issue : V, May - 2016

Urban Wilderness in and around Kolhapur Municipal Corporation Limits

Nilisha Desai, Jay Samant

Abstract :

The very identity of many of the world‘s better known towns and cities is based on their natural wilderness which includes forests, woodlands, grasslands, wetlands, coast, hills etc. In any urban environs these Urban Wilderness (UW) habitats, however small and fragmented they may appear, play a critical role in maintaining local ecological balance, life support systems, minimizing impact of pollution, and recycling organic substances to keep the urban environment clean, green and healthy by maintaining local biodiversity. However, today particularly in the context of developing countries, the UW areas and the biodiversity in and around the growing towns and cities are the most neglected and threatened assets without any regard to their ecological, social, cultural, aesthetic value. Therefore it is imperative to protect and conserve these priceless natural possessions, thus there is an urgent need to assess the UW potential of every urban area for ‘green city‘ management, before it is too late. There is a mosaic of wilderness habitats, such as streams, river, marshland, tanks, grasslands, woodlands, hills, and gardens, in and around Kolhapur city and its suburban areas with rich biodiversity potential. Though, these are being seriously threatened due to ongoing ill planned developmental activities. The present study was carried out in and around the proposed Kolhapur Municipal Corporation(KMC) limits using Google Earth Satellite images, ground truthing, and field observations of indicator biodiversity taxa in 5 major urban wilderness habitats such as wetlands, grasslands, hills, woodlands and gardens by covering a total of 77 representative field sites in 191.09 Km2 area . The study revealed a comprehensive picture of the present status, threats and conservation potential of these urban wilderness habitats.