News: After Oil India Limited’s (OIL) permission to explore and extract oil and natural gas was rejected in Dibru- Saikhowa National Park, it has applied for carrying out a Research and Development Study in the same well.
About Dibru- Saikhowa National Park
- It is a national park and biosphere reserve located in Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts of Assam.
- The park is bordered by the Brahmaputra and Lohit Rivers in the north and Dibru river in the south.
- It is the largest salix swamp forest in north-eastern India with a tropical monsoon climate, marked by hot and wet summer and cool and dry winter.
- Conservation History:
- 1890- The area was declared as Dibru Reserved Forest.
- 1997- Dibru- Saikhowa Biosphere Reserve was declared.
- 1999- The sanctuary area was declared as a National Park.
- Flaura: It consists of moist mixed semi-evergreen forests, moist mixed deciduous forests, canebrakes and grasslands.
- Fauna: It houses Bengal tiger, clouded leopard, dhole, hoolock gibbon, Ganges dolphin, hog deer, water buffalo etc.
- It has been identified as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International given the avian biodiversity it supports.
- The park is known for its majestic feral horse population.
- Several indigenous tribal communities and tribes like Mishings, Sonowal Kacharis, Deoris inhabit the national park and its surrounding areas.
