As large as it is, India has only two biodiversity hotspots.  One of them is Assam (the other is the Western Ghats). Despite its global importance to life on earth, Assam has only 24 reserves scattered across a vast expanse.  In total, these protected areas account for less than 2 percent of the 80,000 square kilometer area that stretches from Bangladesh in the south to Bhutan in the north. 

Although the smallest of all the reserves in Assam, the Hoollongapar Gibbon  Sanctuary is a vital refuge for over 1,000 species.  Surviving together, densely packed in a forest that is ultimately too small and has no perennial source of water inside the forest, they have nowhere to go but extinct.  Herbicides and pesticides wash through the sanctuary during the rainy season. Railroad tracks built during the British Raj sever the sanctuary from the river, stranding species without access to food or water during the dry season.  

Human-elephant conflict is inevitable here.  With their forests stripped of vegetation, hungry  elephants raid crops and houses, leading to conflict with the local community, often with fatal consequences.  Migrating elephants get ensnared in the barbed wire surrounding the tea plantations.

Despite the relentless pressures on the Hoollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary, there is still an opportunity to expand the habitat and ensure hope for the future. Saving Nature and our partners are fortifying and increasing the amount of forest protected in this important landscape for gibbons and other species. Working with our local partners to re-integrate isolated forest parcels will be an enormous gain for conservation.

To create the river corridor, Saving Nature has partnered with Aaranyak, a local NGO whose mission is to foster conservation of biodiversity in Northeast India. The multi-year plan envisions expanding the Hoollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary through a series of land acquisitions around the fringes, reclaiming degraded land with native trees. Once restored, we will turn the area over to the Assam Forest Department to manage and protect as part of the Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary. Land is expensive in India and we are purchasing land as it becomes available, so our project is expected to span multiple years.  Thanks to the support of a generous donor, we completed the first purchase in August 2022 and are now working to close the gap with additional and purchases. 

Phase I: Community Support (complete)

This initial phase included activities to identify, network with and build confidence among government and community stakeholders. Aaranyak engaged with the local and state governments and the surrounding community to create a coalition of support for the project. TIt also aimed to generate awareness among funding agencies and the local people, using print publications and multimedia. These activities are intended to facilitate broad support for the larger project.

Phase 2: Pilot Program

The second phase of the project entails a pilot program to acquire and restore the key connection to the river. Subsequent phases will scale up the effort to enlarge the protected area, with the ultimate vision of turning over the restored land to the Forest Department to manage as part of the Hoollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary.

Hoollongapar’s Gibbon Sanctuary is a jewel box of biodiversity. Crowded into just 8 square miles are over 1,000 species of plants, mammals, birds, butterflies, amphibians, and reptiles. The sanctuary’s ability to support the density of biodiversity over the long-term is uncertain. In addition to the gibbons, the reserve is home to the only nocturnal primate in the northeastern Indian states, the Bengal slow loris (Nycticebus bengalensis). The canopy is crowded with four species of macaques and one species of capped langur, all competing for the same scarce resources. Below the canopy are another 34 mammal species, including Indian elephants (Elephas maximus indicus),  leopards (Panthera pardus), and tigers (Panthera tigris). Other highlights include:

500 Plants. Hoollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary is named after the hollong tree (Dipterocarpus retusus), a native to Assam that can rise above 30 meters (about 100 feet) in height.  The hollong is a favorite of the gibbons and vital to their long-term survival.

300 Birds. Threatened species include: the Critically Endangered Slender-billed Vulture (Gyps tenuirostris), the Critically Endangered White-rumped Vulture (Gyps bengalensis), and the Endangered White-winged duck (Sarcornis scutulata).

41 Mammals. Endangered or Critically Endangered Species include: the Endangered Western hoolock gibbon (Hoolock hoolock), the Endangered Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), and the Critically Endangered Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla).

172 Butterflies. Over 11 percent of India’s butterflies can be found here, along with the nectar plants needed for their survival.