On November 11, 2020, the Union Ministry of Environment Forests and Climate Change notified the limits of an eco-sensitive zone around the Mount Abu Wildlife Sanctuary in Rajasthan, bordering the state of Gujarat. An eco-sensitive zone is meant to serve as a “shock absorber” between the sanctuary and its adjoining areas, protecting the animals and restricting human activity close to the sanctuary.
Mount Abu is the only hill station between Rajasthan and Gujarat in southern Aravalli, India’s oldest fold mountain range. Rising from 300 metres to 1,722 metres above sea level, Mount Abu’s unique ecosystem is home to sloth bears, leopards, jungle cats, striped hyenas, porcupine and other wildlife. In 1960, 326 square km of this forested hilly terrain within Rajasthan’s Sirohi district was declared the Mount Abu Wildlife Sanctuary.
The eco-sensitive zone notified in November 2020, extends 6.08 km at its longest stretch, to the southwest, where sloth bears move between…