Banni Grassland Reserve

About Banni Grassland Reserve:

• Banni Grasslands Reserve or Banni grasslands form a belt of arid grassland ecosystem on the outer southern edge of the desert of the marshy salt flats of Rann of Kutch, Gujarat.
• They are currently legally protected under the status as a protected or reserve forest.
• Wildlife Institute of India (WII) has identified this grassland reserve as one of the last remaining habitats of the cheetah in India and a possible reintroduction site for the species.
• Banni grassland is peculiar to the Rann of Kutch, it has some forty Sindhi speaking Maldhari (cattle breeders) hamlets.
• Important wildlife includes:
  • Nilgai, blackbuck, wild boar, golden jackal, desert fox, Indian wild ass etc.

Threats to grassland ecosystem:

• The Banni grasslands are under pressure due to man-made factors which are overgrazing, invasion by Prosopis juliflora, an exotic thorny tree, and natural factors which are recurring droughts and salinity ingress.

About Maldharis:

• Maldharis are a tribal herdsmen community in Gujarat.
• "Maldhari" is an occupational term which refers to people from a variety of castes and communities.
• They are mainly a pastoral community and their sources of cash income are sale of high-quality ghee, milk, wool, animals and handicrafts..

PRACTICE QUESTION

Banni Grasslands, recently seen in news is found in:

(a) Assam

(b) Gujarat

(c) Bihar

(d) West Bengal

Answer