10. Land Cover Change and Rhino Habitat Mapping of Kaziranga National Park, Assam

Kaziranga National Park in Assam is a habitat for the highest population of one-horned rhino in the world. Conservation management of the park has become a serious concern to maintain the wildlife in the park. The present study investigates land cover change within Kaziranga National Park during the last two decades (1990–2009) using remote sensing-GIS techniques and analyses habitat suitability for rhino to understand possible effect of land cover change on the rhino habitat. The change detection analysis has shown considerable reduction of grasslands areas and small water bodies. Furthermore, Habitat Suitability Model for rhino has been developed based on semi-quantitative Analytical Hierarchy Process. The result shows decline in the suitable habitats for rhino during this period. Assessment of rhino habitat change indicates that any change in the land cover trigger substantial change in the suitable habitats for rhino. Moreover, increase in rhino population as reported by census and reducing suitable habitat further limit the carrying capacity of the national park. The results from the present study may be used as baseline for future rhino habitat monitoring.