National Chambal Sanctuary - Conservation Management

Conservation Management

The sanctuary is protected under India's Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. The sanctuary is administered by the Department of Forest under the Project Officer with headquarter at Morena, Madhya Pradesh.

Parts of the sanctuary are threatened by extensive illegal sand mining, which is endangering the fragile lotic ecosystem critical for Gharial breeding.

On December 27, 2010, the Minister for Environment and Forests, Jairam Ramesh, during a visit to the Madras Crocodile Bank, announced the formation of a National Tri-State Chambal Sanctuary Management and Coordination Committee for gharial conservation on 1,600 km2 (620 sq mi) of the National Chambal Sanctuary. The Committee members will comprise representatives of three states' Water Resources Ministries, states' Departments of Irrigation and Power, Wildlife Institute of India, Madras Crocodile Bank, the Gharial Conservation Alliance, Development Alternatives, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, Worldwide Fund for Nature and the Divisional Forest officers of the three states. The Committee will plan strategies for protection of gharials and their habitat. It will conduct further research on the species and its ecology and evaluate the related socio-economic elements of dependent riparian communities. Funding for this new initiative will be mobilized as a sub-scheme of the ‘Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats’ in the amount of Rs. 50 to 80 million (USD 1 million to 1.7 million) each year for five years. This project has long been advocated by herpetologist Rom Whitaker.