Sheikh Jamal Inani National Park

Asia > Bangladesh > Sheikh Jamal Inani National Park

Summary

• Western hoolock gibbons (Hoolock hoolock) are present in Sheikh Jamal Inani National Park.
• It has been estimated that 18 individuals occur in the site.
• The gibbon population trend is decreasing.
• The site has a total size of 70.85 km².
• Key threats to gibbons are human encroachment, collection of fuelwood and non-timber forest products.
• Conservation activities are not documented.

Site characteristics

Sheikh Jamal Inani National Park, previously known as Inani Reserve Forest, was declared a National Park in 2019. The site is located in southern Bangladesh. The park encompasses the last remnants of degraded natural forest in Cox’s Bazar South Forest Division and supports many wildlife species of conservation concern (Kabir et al. 2021). At the core of the gibbon habitat in the park, the following threatened species are also found: Asian Elephants, Elephas maximus, Phayre’s Langur, Trachypithecus phayrei, Elongated Tortoise, Indotestudo elongata, Capped Langur, Trachypithecus pileatus, Northern Pig-tailed Macaque, Macaca leonina, Indian Leopard, Panthera pardus, and Asiatic Softshell Turtle, Amyda cartilaginea (Kabir et al. 2021). The forests of the national park also form a wildlife corridor between Myanmar and Bangladesh, known as the Asian Elephant corridor. The vegetation of Sheikh Jamal Inani National Park is mixed-evergreen forest dominated by degraded secondary forests (Kabir et al. 2021).

Table 1. Basic site information for Sheikh Jamal Inani National Park

Area	70.85 km²
Coordinates	21.155036 N, 92.087779 E
Designation	National Park
Habitat types	Subtropical/Tropical Heavily Degraded Former Forest

IUCN habitat categories Site designations

Ape status

The park likely supported a larger gibbon population during a 2003–2004 survey. In addition, habitat quality was much better at that time (Kabir et al. 2021). Gibbons have now become locally extinct in Ukhia (Kabir et al. 2021).It was revealed in a 2021 study that Sheikh Jamal Inani National Park supports the fourth largest population of Western Hoolock Gibbons in Bangladesh, after the larger populations in Lawachara National Park, Adampur Reserved Forest, and Kaptai National Park (Kabir et al. 2021).

Table 2. Ape population estimates in Sheikh Jamal Inani National Park

Species	Year	Total number indiv. (95% CI)	Total number groups (95% CI)	Density ​​[groups/km²​] (95% CI)	Area	Method	Source	Comments	A.P.E.S. database ID
Hoolock hoolock	2021	18	7		Sheikh Jamal Inani National Park	Fixed-point triangulation	Kabir et al. 2021

Threats

The majority of Rohingya refugees coming from Myanmar, have settled around or inside the Ukhia Reserved Forest, Sheikh Jamal Inani National Park, and Teknaf Wildlife Sanctuary (Kabir et al. 2021). Makeshift camps and collection of fuel-wood have resulted in forest degradation, habitat loss and habitat fragmentation, as well as increased elephant-human conflict (Kabir et al. 2021). The extraction of forest products by local communities and refugees are also adversely impacting gibbons and other wildlife species and the quality of their habitats. Loss of food adequate sources and changes in habitat structures have led to lower encounter rates and lower reproductive output in the park, in comparison to other sites (Kabir et al. 2021).

Table 3. Threats to apes in Sheikh Jamal Inani National Park

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Quantified severity	Description	Year of threat
1. Residential & commercial development		Unknown
2. Agriculture & aquaculture		Unknown
3. Energy production & mining		Unknown
4. Transportation & service corridors		Unknown
5. Biological resource use	5.2 Gathering terrestrial plants	Medium		Refugees and the local population collect forest products (Kabir et al. 2021).	Ongoing (2021)
	5.3 Logging & wood harvesting	High	An estimated 6,800 tons of fuelwood is required each month by the refugee population, of which approximately 50% is collected from the site's forests (Kabir et al. 2021).	Widespread collection of fuelwood by local people and refugees (Kabir et al. 2021).	Ongoing (2021)
6. Human intrusion & disturbance	6.2 War, civil unrest & military exercises	High		Impacts on the habitat by refugees is estimated to cover 44% of the 60,000 ha landscape encompassing Sheikh Jamal Inani National Park, Ukhia Forest Range and Teknaf Wildlife Sanctuary (Kabir et al. 2021).	Ongoing (2021)
7. Natural system modifications		Unknown
8. Invasive & other problematic species, genes, diseases		Unknown
9. Pollution		Unknown
10. Geological Events		Absent
11. Climate change & severe weather		Unknown
12. Other options		Absent

IUCN Threats list

Conservation activities

Liquefied petroleum gas and improved cooking stoves have been distributed since 2018 to Rohingya refugees and local communities to reduce the demand for firewood from the site and nearby forests (Kabir et al. 2021). Small-scale fuel-wood collection continues to pose a threat, even though the demand for fuelwood dropped with the provision of gas (Kabir et al. 2021).

Table 4. Conservation activities in Sheikh Jamal Inani National Park

Category	Specific activity	Description	Year of activity
1. Residential & commercial development	Not reported
2. Agriculture & aquaculture	Not reported
3. Energy production & mining	Not reported
4. Transportation & service corridors	Not reported
5. Biological resource use	Not reported
6. Human intrusion & disturbance	Not reported
7. Natural system modifications	Not reported
8. Invasive & other problematic species, genes, diseases	Not reported
9. Pollution	Not reported
10. Education & Awareness	Not reported
11. Habitat Protection	11.2. Legally protect primate habitat	The site was designated as a national park in 2019.	Ongoing (2021)
12. Species Management	Not reported
13. Livelihood; Economic & Other Incentives	Not reported

Conservation activities list (Junker et al. 2017)

Challenges

Table 5. Challenges reported for Sheikh Jamal Inani National Park

Challenge	Source
Not reported

Research activities

Documented behaviours

Table 6. Ape behaviors reported for Sheikh Jamal Inani National Park

Behavior	Source
Not reported

External links

Relevant datasets

A.P.E.S Portal

References

Kabir, M. T., Ahsan, M. F., Cheyne, S. M., Sah, S. A. M., Lappan, S., Bartlett, T. Q., & Ruppert, N. (2021). Population assessment of the endangered Western Hoolock Gibbon Hoolock hoolock Harlan, 1834 at Sheikh Jamal Inani National Park, Bangladesh, and conservation significance of this site for threatened wildlife species. Journal of Threatened Taxa, 13(7), 18687-18694.

Page completed by: A.P.E.S. Wiki team Date:30/12/2021