India - France Partnership on Kaziranga Project

Tags: Environment National News

India and France are collaborating under the Kaziranga Project in the Kaziranga National Park in Assam.

Important facts

• With France and India technical and financial support, the Indo-Pacific Parks Partnership will facilitate partnership activities for natural parks of the Indo-Pacific region. 

• These activities include biodiversity conservation, wildlife management and engagement with local communities.

About the Kaziranga project

• The Kaziranga project is a part of a larger Assam Project on Forest and Biodiversity Conservation (APFBC) for which the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) has committed funding of €80.2 million for a 10-year period, between 2014-2024. 

• The project envisages afforestation of 33,500 hectares of land by 2024 and training of 10,000 community members in alternative livelihoods.

• The AFD program has been most effective in skill development in the area, especially in the forest dwelling communities.

• The Assam government has started a massive reforestation drive with the help of AFD.

About Kaziranga National Park

• It is a national park in the state of Assam, India. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is spread over an area of 42,996 hectares.

• Two-thirds of the world's one-horned rhinoceros are found in this sanctuary.

• Kaziranga is home to the highest density of tigers among protected areas in the world, and was declared a Tiger Reserve in 2006.

• It is the largest undivided representative area of Brahmaputra valley floodplain grassland.

• It has been recognized by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area.