WILDLIFE INSTITUTE OF INDIA (WII) (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Env and Eco)

Context: The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) has begun work on a decade-long management plan for the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary with a focus on increasing the leopard population, and simultaneously mitigating the man-animal conflict.

Wildlife Institute of India (WII)

• About: It is an autonomous natural resource service institution under the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate change, Government of India, was established in 1982.
• Located at: Dehradun, India. 
• Establishment: 1982.
• Headquarters: Dehradun, Uttarakhand.
• Objective: It offers training programs, academic courses, and advisory in wildlife research and management.

oWII carries out wildlife research in areas of study like Biodiversity, Endangered Species, Wildlife Policy, Wildlife Management, Wildlife Forensics, Spatial Modelling, Eco-development, Ecotoxicology, Habitat Ecology and Climate Change. 

oThe All India Tiger Estimation (Tiger Census), is done by WII along with National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and state forest departments.

Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary

• Coverage Area: 32.71 km2 area on the Southern Delhi Ridge of Aravalli hill range.
• Location: Delhi-Haryana border lies in Southern Delhi as well as northern parts of Faridabad and Gurugram districts of Haryana state.
• It is also part of the Sariska-Delhi Wildlife Corridor, which runs from the Sariska Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan to Delhi Ridge.
• Vegetation: Dry deciduous,
• Flora: Consists of Prosopis juliflora as the dominant exotic species and Diospyros montana as the dominant native species in the sanctuary.
• Fauna: Golden Jackals, Striped-Hyenas, Indian crested-Porcupines, Civets, Jungle Cats, Snakes, Monitor Lizards, Mongoose etc.