Sessa Orchid Sanctuary

Infobox Indian Jurisdiction
native_name= Sessa Orchid Sanctuary
other_name =
type= wildlife sanctuary
iucn_category = IV
latd = 27.2
longd = 92.5
locator_position=right
inset_

inset_map_size = 100px
inset_map_x = 175px
inset_map_y = 225px
inset_map_marker = yes
inset_map_marker_size = 4x4px
inset_map_default = yes
skyline = Coelogyne nitida.jpg
skyline_caption = Coelogyne nitida
state_name= Arunachal Pradesh
district= West Kameng
nearest_city = Bomdila
blank_title_1 = | blank_value_1 = | blank_title_2 = Governing body | blank_value_2 = [http://arunachalpradesh.nic.in/tourism.htm Secretary (Political), Government of Arunachal Pradesh]
altitude=
area_total= 100
precip=
temp_summer=
temp_winter=
established_title = Established
established_date = 1989
website=
footnotes = Website: [http://sfri.nic.in/sessa.htm SESSA ORCHID SANCTUARY & NURSERY] "'

Sessa Orchid Sanctuary is a 100 km2 protected area of India in the Himalayan foothills in Bhalukpong Forest Division of West Kameng District, Arunachal Pradesh. It conjoins Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary to the southwest. It is a part of the Kameng Protected Area Complex (KPAC), which is an Elephant Reserve. [http://www.clsp.jhu.edu/people/zak/ramana/wapLocEaglenest.htm#EaglenestMap See map] . The department of Environment & Forests has developed trekking routes for visitors to enjoy the natural habitats of orchids. There are deep gorges and valleys, high peaks and rugged terrain that are rewarding for nature lovers and adventure tourists. A nursery includes representative specimens of various orchid species of the sanctuary and a demonstration farm of Cymbidium hybrids for cut-flower production. Most of Sessa has traditionally been claimed by the Bugun tribe as part of their territory.

Geography & climate

Sessa and Eaglenest together occupy a rough east-west rectangle with Sessa occupying the north-east quadrant. The Bhalukpong-Bomdila highway (and Pakke immediately beyond) are its eastern boundary. It is bounded to the north by the Tenga River valley. [Athreya Ramana M, Kartikeyan S., The Wildlife Sanctuaries in the Dafla Hills of Arunachal Pradesh [http://www.aoc.nrao.edu/~sbhatnag/Nature/warunachal/Docs/kameng94_rep.pdf Sessa Orchid Sanctuary] ] Altitude is convert|900|m|ft|0 to convert|3250|m|ft|0. Sessa and Eaglenest ridges rise to convert|3250|m|ft|0 and convert|2700|m|ft|0 respectively and are the first major barriers to the monsoon as it moves north from the plains of Assam. These ridges get over mm to in|num=3000|abbr=no|spell=Commonwealth|precision=2|wiki=yes of rain on the southern slopes and about mm to in|num=1500|abbr=no|spell=Commonwealth|precision=2|wiki=yes on the northern slopes. [Choudhury A. 2003: Birds of Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary and Sessa Orchid Sanctuary,Arunachal Pradesh, India. Forktail 19:1]

Sessa sanctuary is drained by the Tippi Naala (Tippi river) which joins the Kameng river at Tippi village on the Bhalukpong-Bomdila highway. [http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/ams/india/ng-46-02.jpgTopographic map] [Army Map Service, Corp of Engineers (1955) Series U502, Sheet NG-46-2, Towang, India; Bhutan; China, topographic map 1:250,000, retrieved 10/2/2007 [http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/ams/india/ng-46-02.jpgTopographic map] ]

Sessa is part of the Kameng protected area complex (KPAC), the largest contiguous closed-canopy forest tract of Arunachal Pradesh, which includes Sessa, Eaglenest, Pakke, Nameri, and Sonai Rupai sanctuaries and associated reserved forest blocks. The Complex covers 3500 km2 in area and ranges from convert|100|m|ft|0 to convert|3300|m|ft|03300m in altitude. [Official website of West Kameng District (6/21/2007) [http://westkameng.nic.in/geography.htm Geography] ] .

Sessa is in an area under claim of Chinese sovereignty [Borders_of disputed_regions [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
] ] , in the jurisdiction of Cuona County of Shannan Prefecture of the Tibet Autonomous Region.

Orchids

Sessa is noted for the occurrence of more than 200 orchid species with 5 new and endemic species. [Govt. of Arunachal Pradesh, National Informatics Centre, Arunachal Pradesh State Unit, Orchid Tourism [http://arunachalpradesh.nic.in/tourism-orchid.htm Orchid Tourism] ] Sub-tropical types include the genera Dendorbium, Bulbophyllum, Coelogyne, Eria, Phaius and Liparis. The sanctuary is unique in having 7 endemic species of saprotrophic orchids. [State Forest Research Institute,Department of Environment & Forests, Government of Arunachal Pradesh, retrieved 10/3/2007 [http://sfri.nic.in/sessa.htm SESSA ORCHID SANCTUARY & NURSERY, SESSA] ] 12 rare species of different families were found in one study of the area. [Padmawathe, R (2006) Edge related changes in species composition in vascular epiphyte in forests of Sessa Orchid Sanctuary, Arunachal Pradesh, Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, retrieved 10/3/2007 [http://www.wii.gov.in/publications/msc_dess/2001/padmawathe_content_summary.pdf species composition] ]

Orchid Research and Development Centre

The Government of Arunachal Pradesh in the late 70s created a post of Orchidologist in the Forest Department and in 1989 established the Orchid Research and Development Centre (ORDC) at Tipi, and the Sessa Orchid Sanctuary 20 km away. The ORDC is actively engaged in exploration and collection of Orchid species, cultivation in orchidaria and gardens for their taxonomic study, conservation of rare and endangered species, creation of germplasm collections and multiplication of rare species through tissue culture techniques. The ORDC discovered the new species: Biermannia jainiana, Cleistoma tricallosum, Dendrobium kentrophyllum, Epipogium sessanum, Eria jengingensis, Eria lohitensis, Gastrodia arunachalenisis and Herminium longilonbatum. [ENVIS Centre Sikkim on Tourism, Physical Setting, retrieved 10/2/2007 [http://www.scstsenvis.nic.in/manipur2.html ORCHIDS-The Jewel of Arunachal Pradesh] ] , [State Forest Research Institute, Department of Environment & Forests, Government of Arunachal Pradesh, [http://sfri.nic.in/p_orchidology.htm ORCHIDOLOGY-RESEARCH PAPERS] ]

Conservation

The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF), a consortium of major international andregional organizations, has identified the Eastern Himalayan region around Arunachal Pradesh(Nepal, Bhutan and all of North-East India) as a critical global biodiversity rich areadeserving of conservation focus. They identified the North-Bank Landscape (i.e. north bank of Brahmaputra, extending up the Eaglenest and Sessa slopes) and the Tawang region as worthy of particular focus. [Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund, Project database [http://www.cepf.net/xp/cepf/project_database/eastern_himalayas.xml Eastern Himalayas Region Strategic Directions] ]

Sessa is within the Conservation International Himalaya Biodiversity Hotspot area. [Conservation International (2007) Himalaya - conservation action and protected areas, retrieved 10/1/2007 [http://www.biodiversityhotspots.org/xp/hotspots/himalaya/Pages/conservation.aspx Himalaya - conservation action and protected areas] ]

Birdlife International has designated Sessa and Eaglenest Sanctuaries as an Important Bird Area (IBA IN344), with Blyth's Tragopan identified as a vulnerable species of the area. [BirdLife International (2006) BirdLife IBA Factsheet, retrieved 10/1/2007 [http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/sites/index.html?action=SitHTMDetails.asp&sid=18041&m=0 IN344 Eaglenest and Sessa Sanctuaries] ]

Visitor information

Visitors may contact the DFO Pakke WLS Division, Seijosa, East Kameng District or The Range Officer (WL), Sessa Orchid Sanctuary, Sessa, West Kameng District or the Asst. Orchidologist, Tipi Orchid Center, Tipi, West Kameng District. [The Hindu (9/3/2005) retrieved 10/3/07 [http://www.hindu.com/mp/2005/09/03/stories/2005090301990300.htm Sessa Orchid Sanctuary] ]

Notes