Banni Grasslands Reserve
However, since the earthquake of 1819 the river Indus changed its course and now flows through Sindh in neighbouring country of Pakistan effectively turning this entire region arid.
[4][5] Banni grassland is peculiar to the Rann of Kutch, it has some forty Sindhi speaking Maldhari (cattle breeders) hamlets, home to the Halaypotra, Hingora, Hingorja, Jat and Mutwa tribes .
[3][13][14] Asiatic cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) that used to occur here are now locally extinct in India and elsewhere, except a very small critically endangered and fragmented population of last few, estimated to be below 100, thought to be surviving only in the central desert of Iran.
[23][24] Monsoon rains each year form several marshy wetlands which dot the Banni grasslands and the areas adjacent to it, all being ephemeral or seasonal in nature.
[25] These wetlands are located on the flyway of Palearctic migratory birds and play a very important role as foraging, roosting, resting and staging grounds for millions of waders, waterfowl, cranes and other feathered migrants that visit the area from August and staying until March every year.
[30][31] The main sources of income of Maldharis pastoralist communities such as the Halaypotra, Hingora, Hingorja, Jat, Ker, and Mutwa who live here with their livestock are sale of high quality ghee, milk, wool, animals and handicrafts.
[4][9][32][33][34] Prosopis juliflora, a non-native, thorny, shrubby species of mesquite locally known as ganda bawal, was planted in the area to help the Gujarat State forest department fight salinity ingress and barrenness in the Banni region of Kutch.
[38][39] This was aimed at containing the brazen spread of the wild weed, the decision however backfired with an equally mindless chopping for profit where often native trees were also cut down under the garb[40] resulting in the crucial green cover in the region getting reduced to less than 10 per cent in 2004.
The number of dwarf bee hives in one square kilometre area has reduced to only 20–25 from the earlier 60–70 colonies in and around the Banni grasslands after the large scale tree felling.
[47] The Gujarat State government is developing Chari-Dhand Wetland Conservation Reserve, along with the surrounding areas in and around the Banni grasslands in the district of Kutch, for ecotourism.
[48][49] A 270 km stretch has also been specially created in the grasslands of the Banni for the Adani Desert Car Rally organised by Kutch Infrastructure Development Society.
