23 Vol. 37: No. 1 Junuary-March 2010 23 23 ANTHROPOGENIC THREATS IN THE NATIONAL CHAMBAL SANCTUARY, MADHYA PRADESH, INDIA by S.R. Taigor and R.J. Rao Introduction A nthropogenic processes have physically, chemically and biologically modified India’s great river ecosystems. The impact of anthropogenic forces on the river ecosystem is either equivalent or greater than natural forces. The importance of human–environment interaction studies are widely recognized to understand the impact of anthropogenic activities on river ecosystems (Singh and Singh, 2006). Many countries have pledged to reduce the accelerated rate of the loss of biodiversity by 2010 (Convention on Biological Diversity, http:// www.biodiv.org). Asian countries went further by committing themselves to halt the loss of biodiversity in Asia by 2010. In order to judge whether these ambitious goals are met, detailed information on different components of biodiversity are necessary. Such information needs to be collected by properly designed monitoring systems (Pereira and Cooper, 2006). Recently, much work has been focused on describing the desirable properties of monitoring systems or the indicators proposed to measure large-scale trends in biodiversity (Gregory et al., 2003; Weber et al., 2004; Balmford et al., 2005; Gregory et al., 2005; Mace et al., 2005; Heer et al., 2005). Major ecological studies on crocodiles and freshwater turtles have been conducted in the Chambal River from 1983 onwards (Singh, 1985; Rao, 1988, 1990; Rao and Sharma, 1997; Rao et al., 1995; Sharma, 1991; Hussain, 1991). A part of the Chambal River is protected under the National Chambal Sanctuary. In the Sanctuary, human activities are increasing and are affecting the aquatic animal diversity and their habitats. The impact of anthropogenic threats in the National Chambal Sanctuary on aquatic animal diversity, particularly crocodiles and freshwater turtles, are discussed in this paper. Sand mining at Piparai in the National Chambal Sanctuary, India | Anthropogenic threats in the National Chambal Sanctuary |