ARAVALI DIVERSITY-BIO PARK

Aravali diversity-bio Park, Gurgaon, (or Aravalli Biodiversity Park,

Gurgaon) spreads over 153.7 hectares, near the Guru Dronacharya metro
station in Gurgaon, Haryana, India. The park, contains ecologically
restored and semi arid land vegetation. The park was opened to the public
on World Environment Day, 5 June 2010. The park includes a number of
trails and a native plant nursery and interpretive displays at the entrance.
On 2022, the park was declared India's first OECM site- a tag given by
the IUCN to areas that are not protected but support rich biodiversity. In
April 2021, Municipal Corporation of Gurugram signed a Memorandum
of Understanding (MOU) with Hero MotoCorp Ltd to maintain the park
for 10 year.

PLANT AND ANIMAL LIFE : -

The natural vegetation of the park falls within the Northern Tropical Dry
Deciduous Forest (including Anogeissus pendula and Boswellia forest
edaphic sub-types) and Northern Tropical Thorn Forest types recognised
by Champion and Seth. The park has over 300 species of native plants,
including a large number of arid region lithophytes.

Over 185 bird species are reported from the park, which is
an eBird hotspot. A recent study found a wide variety of native bird
species using the park, with ecologically restored areas showed higher
encounter rates of birds than unrestored areas with weeds. Reptiles
like Bengal monitor and mammals like northern or five-striped palm
squirrel, nilgai, golden jackal, Indian hare, common palm civet,
and Indian grey mongoose, are found in the park.

Long-billed Pipit

Black Drongo

Lesser Whitethroat

Steppe Eagle
 •

White-eared Bulbul

RESTORATION : -

The site where the Aravali Biodiversity Park, Gurgaon, is located had
many mining pits operating during the 1980s and 1990s, and also a stone
crushing zone with eight active crushers. Mining and stone crushing came
to a halt after a Supreme Court ban in 2002, implemented only since 2009.
The mining activities and other disturbances had resulted in barren hill
slopes, a deep water table, and poor soil cover. The remnant forests on the
site were highly degraded and invaded by Prosopis juliflora (locally
known as vilayati keekar or baavlia).

In 2010, a group of concerned and passionate citizens called 'iamgurgaon',

consisting of Latika Thukral, Swanzal Kak Kapoor, Atal Kapoor, Gayatri
Singh and the Late Atal Kapoor took up the initiative of ecological
restoration of the Aravali Biodiversity Park, Gurgaon. They hired
ecological restoration practitioner Vijay Dhasmana to restore the
damaged landscape in 2011. Thereafter the vision was revised to bring
back the original Aravali forest vegetation of the region. Seedlings of
about 200 native plant species were raised from seeds collected from
remnant natural forests and vegetated areas in Mangar, Nahargarh, and
Kumbhalgarh in the Aravalli Range. Invasive alien species such
as Prosopis juliflora were carefully removed and native plants of
the Aravalli Range were planted. These included native species such
as Boswellia serrata (local name: salai), Sterculia
urens (kullu), Anogeissus pendula (dhau), Holarhenna
pubescens (indrajao), Mitragyna parvifolia (kaim), Wrightia
tinctoria (khirni), Commiphora wightii (guggul), Helicteris
isora (marodphali), Albizia odorotissima (kala basa), Mallotus
philippensis (sinduri) and many others. A large part of seedlings planted
were watered through drip irrigation. The Park also maintains a variety of
habitats including grasslands and a seasonal pond near an old quarry site.