• Habitat is the combination of food resources, environmental variables, that promotes occupancy by individual of a given species, allows them to survive and reproduce
• Habitat constitutes the subset of physical environmental factors that a species require for its survival and reproduction

Relative Terms used in Habitat ecology

• Biosphere: any part of earth where organism can exist, many biomes can be in one biosphere
• Biome: habitat for several communities
• Habitat selection: choice among those available (to perform many activities)
• Habitat preference: choice of one habitat over another
• Habitat use: occupation of a given habitat without any preference
• Game management: “the art of making land produce sustained annual crops of wild game for recreational use.” ALDO LEOPOLD (1933)
• Habitat types:
  • Halo biotic (salt water)
  • Limno biotic (fresh water)
  • Geo biotic (terrestrial) /Biomes

Habitat management: The art and science of creating, maintaining or enhancing conditions on landscape to meet specified objectives for population of wildlife

The stability, increase or decline of wildlife species/or population depends directly on the quality and extent of available habitat

“Wildlife management is the art and science of making decisions and taking actions to manipulate wildlife to achieve specific human objectives.”

Basic considerations of Habitat Management

• Habitat inventory: What the habitat consists of?
• Habitat evaluation: How good is the habitat for study?
• Animals/or conservation objectives?
• Habitat monitoring: Is the habitat improving or deteriorating?
• Food: Adequacy of food supply, proper kind, available in sufficient quality at each season and stage of the animal cycle
• Water: it is crucial, available as open water, dew drops or at succulent plant parts, some are water dependant
• Cover: essential factor-escape cover, reproductive cover, roosting cover, ambush cover or for performing other behavioral activities

Objectives of habitat management

• To maintain and where necessary, restore the demographic indicators of growth relating to populations of all endangered, endemic, rare, vulnerable species of plant and animal, Species
• To maintain and where necessary, restore the catchment capability, Habitat
• To establish mechanism & create opportunities for enhancing management capability and knowledge in wildlife sciences. Institutional

In consistence with above objectives,

• To enhance the quality of educational, recreational and wilderness experience, Tourism
• To secure the religious interest of the pilgrims and to maintain & restore where necessary the integrity of cultural and historical monuments, Religious
• With sensitivity to cultural & economic well-being of the forest dwelling communities of humans, to reduce their dependency on forest-based resources. Human beings

Key issues of management

• Habitat related: fragmentation, degradation, forest fire, grazing, NTFP
• Management related: poaching, man-animal conflict, enclave settlement, lop-sided tourism
• Legal aspects: weakness/flaw in wildlife protection act, offence bailable/non- cognizable, disposal of seized wildlife stock, use of fire arms, delayed justice, lack of knowledge on other acts,
• Administrative: infrastructural constraints, vacancy of frontline staff, lack of coordination with others, lack of training/trained staff, Lack of physical fitness/motivation level amongst staff
• Constraint of release of fund

Managing key protection issues

• Site specific
• PA Management:
  • dynamic management of PA as per need,
  • reduction of conflict/tribal management,
  • habitat improvement: unburned patches-not used by rhinos
  • BZ activities
• Habitat amelioration:
  • consolidate of habitat,
  • weed eradication,
  • species specific plan filling,
  • swamps/open grassy patches,
  • water development,
  • snags/logs
• Law enforcement: strict and empowered enforcement -staff, legal-Act, management-future strategies: motivational, to curb poaching activities