Biodiversity · Western Ghats
Protected areas near Honavar
Honavar sits between a Ramsar wetland, a lion-tailed macaque sanctuary and a chain of reserves that protect the forests and rivers of Uttara Kannada.
At a glance
| Area | District | Size | About |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sharavathi Lion-tailed Macaque Wildlife Sanctuary | Shivamogga & Uttara Kannada | about 930 km² | Sanctuary first notified in 1974 (431 km², including 124 km² of reservoir). Expanded in 2019 to protect the lion-tailed macaque. It lies east of Honavar, beyond Gerusoppa. |
| Aghanashini Estuary | Uttara Kannada | 4,801 ha | A Ramsar Wetland of International Importance (site 2534), a short drive north of Honavar. Rich in clams, fish and waterbirds. |
| Mookambika Wildlife Sanctuary | Udupi | about 370 km² | Notified in 1974 around Kollur. Borders the Sharavathi LTM sanctuary to the south. Lion-tailed macaques, tigers and great hornbills. |
| Bedthi Conservation Reserve | Uttara Kannada | about 57 km² | Declared in 2011 for hornbills and the medicinal climber Coscinium fenestratum. |
| Hornbill Conservation Reserve | Uttara Kannada (Dandeli) | 52.5 km² | Declared in 2011 along the Kali River to protect four species of hornbill. |
| Kali Tiger Reserve | Uttara Kannada | about 1,300 km² | Declared as Anshi-Dandeli Tiger Reserve in 2007 and renamed in 2015. Camera traps recorded 22 mammal species. North of Honavar, around Dandeli. |
The Sharavathi LTM sanctuary
The original Sharavathi Valley Wildlife Sanctuary was ordered in 1972 and finally notified in 1974. It covered 431 km², about 124 km² of it the Linganamakki reservoir, with 31 islands and heights from 94 m at Nagavalli to 1,102 m at Edigudda. Rainfall averages about 4,500 mm. Surveys there have recorded about 215 plant species, 46 lichens and 173 butterflies.
In 2019 the sanctuary was expanded to about 930 km² by adding the Aghanashini Lion-tailed Macaque Conservation Reserve (about 300 km², declared in 2011) and about 200 km² of reserve forests. In December 2023 the Union environment ministry notified an eco-sensitive zone of about 679 km² around it, reaching up to 5.25 km from the boundary and covering 154 villages. Mining, new hydroelectric projects and new polluting industries are banned in the zone.
The sanctuary is also listed as a Key Biodiversity Area. Its animals include tigers, leopards, dholes, gaur, sambar, spotted deer, barking deer, mouse deer, wild boar, porcupines, common langurs and lion-tailed macaques, with pythons and king cobras.
A marine sanctuary?
In March 2020 the State Board for Wildlife approved in principle a marine sanctuary covering the coast between Karwar and Honavar. Read about the Olive Ridley turtles of Tonka and the threats and conservation work along the coast.
Research behind this page (7)
- Energy & Wetlands Research Group (2013). Status of forest in Shimoga district. ENVIS Technical Report 53, Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru.
- Deccan Herald (22 December 2023). Eco-sensitive zone notified for Sharavathi Valley Lion-tailed Macaque Sanctuary.
- Dandekar P. (c. 2011). Novel conservation reserves on Kali, Bedthi and Aghanashini in the Western Ghats. SANDRP.
- Key Biodiversity Areas Partnership. Sharavathi Valley Wildlife Sanctuary (KBA 18232) factsheet.
- Ramsar Information Sheet: Aghanashini Estuary, India (site no. 2534).
- Tripathy B.R., Patel I., Pai O. et al. (2024). Establishing a baseline of mammal diversity in Kali Tiger Reserve through camera trapping. Biologia.
- Vohra S. (2022). An upcoming port in Karnataka is shrinking space for olive ridley turtles. Mongabay-India, 15 July 2022 (journalism).
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