Protected Areas, National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries of Assam

Assam sits at the junction of the Indo-Malayan and Palearctic biogeographic realms, making the state a mega-biodiversity hotspot in India’s Northeast. Flanked by the alluvial floodplains of the Brahmaputra and Barak river systems, Assam hosts 7 National Parks, 17 Wildlife Sanctuaries, 4 Tiger Reserves, 5 Elephant Reserves, and 1 Ramsar Site. These protected networks safeguard critical habitats for globally threatened species, including the Indian one-horned rhinoceros, Royal Bengal tiger, Asian elephant, wild water buffalo, golden langur, and Bengal florican.

Classification and Legal Status of Protected Areas

Categories of Conservation Networks

• National Parks: Category II protected areas under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, where human activities such as forestry, grazing, and private land ownership are strictly prohibited.
• Wildlife Sanctuaries: Category IV protected areas that offer species-oriented protection while permitting controlled traditional rights like regulated timber harvesting or cattle grazing.
• Tiger Reserves: Conservation areas managed under Project Tiger and supervised by the National Tiger Conservation Authority to preserve core tiger populations.
• Elephant Reserves: Administrative conservation landscapes established under Project Elephant to maintain habitat continuity and secure traditional migration corridors.
• Ramsar Sites: Wetlands designated under the Ramsar Convention to ensure wise ecological use and preserve international hydrological importance.

National Parks of Assam

Detailed Profiles of National Parks

• Kaziranga National Park: Located across Golaghat, Nagaon, Sonitpur, and Biswanath districts along the Brahmaputra river; declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985 and a Tiger Reserve in 2006; home to two-thirds of the world’s Indian one-horned rhinoceroses alongside high densities of tigers, Asian elephants, wild water buffaloes, and swamp deer.
• Manas National Park: Located in the Bhabar tract across Baksa and Chirang districts along the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas; designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985, a Project Tiger Reserve in 1973, and a Biosphere Reserve in 1989; contiguous with Bhutan’s Royal Manas National Park; protects endemic species such as the pygmy hog, hispid hare, Assam roofed turtle, and golden langur.
• Orang National Park: Situated on the northern bank of the Brahmaputra in Darrang and Sonitpur districts; declared a Tiger Reserve in 2016; often called “Mini Kaziranga” due to its matching riverine grassland landscape and high rhino density.
• Nameri National Park: Situated in Sonitpur district at the Himalayan foothills, sharing its northern boundary with Pakhui (Pakke) Tiger Reserve in Arunachal Pradesh; bisected by the Jia Bhoroli river; serves as a major refuge for the white-winged wood duck and golden mahseer.
• Dibru-Saikhowa National Park: Located in Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts; bounded by the Brahmaputra, Lohit, and Dibru rivers; forms a Biosphere Reserve containing the largest Salix swamp forest in northeastern India; famous for feral horses.
• Raimona National Park: Notified in June 2021 in Kokrajhar district within the Bodoland Territorial Region; lies within the Chirang-Ripu Elephant Reserve; forms an important ecological corridor connecting Phibsoo Wildlife Sanctuary in Bhutan.
• Dehing Patkai National Park: Notified in June 2021 across Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts; recognized as the “Amazon of the East” for its dense, contiguous stretch of tropical lowland rainforests and rich primate diversity.

Major Wildlife Sanctuaries and Conservation Reserves

Key Wildlife Sanctuaries and Species Profiles

• Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary: Located in Morigaon district near Guwahati; holds the highest population density of the Indian one-horned rhinoceros in the world within its small grassland core.
• Hollongapar Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary: Located in Jorhat district; contains India’s only non-human ape species, the western hoolock gibbon, alongside six other primate species including the slow loris and stump-tailed macaque.
• Chakrashila Wildlife Sanctuary: Situated in Dhubri and Kokrajhar districts; designated as India’s first sanctuary focused specifically on the conservation of the endangered golden langur; encompasses the Diplai Beel and Dheer Beel wetlands.
• Bornadi Wildlife Sanctuary: Located in Udalguri and Baksa districts along the Bhutan border; established primarily to protect the critically endangered pygmy hog and hispid hare.
• Deepor Beel Wildlife Sanctuary: Located on the southwestern edge of Guwahati in Kamrup Metropolitan district; serves as Assam’s sole Ramsar site, acting as a major staging ground for migratory waterbirds.
• Burachapori and Laokhowa Sanctuaries: Situated along the southern bank of the Brahmaputra in Sonitpur and Nagaon districts; form a vital eco-corridor facilitating wildlife movement between Kaziranga and Orang National Parks.

Overview of Key Protected Areas

Essential Facts and Key Trivia

• Assam houses over 70 percent of the world’s remaining population of the Indian one-horned rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis).
• The state bird of Assam, the white-winged wood duck (Asarcornis scutulata), relies heavily on the primary forest canopy of Nameri and Dibru-Saikhowa National Parks.
• Assam contains two UNESCO Natural World Heritage Sites: Kaziranga National Park and Manas National Park, both inscribed in 1985.
• The state features four designated Tiger Reserves: Manas, Nameri, Kaziranga, and Orang.
• India’s only ape species, the western hoolock gibbon (Hoolock hoolock), resides inside the Hollongapar Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary in Jorhat.
• Deepor Beel, a natural riverine wetland and former channel of the Brahmaputra River, was designated as Assam’s first and only Ramsar site in 2002.
• Dibru-Saikhowa National Park supports a wild population of feral horses, descendants of army stock left behind following World War II.
• Raimona and Dehing Patkai were both declared as National Parks in June 2021, bringing Assam’s total count of national parks to seven.