Spatial and Temporal Distribution of Water Holes in Sariska Tiger Reserve: A Case Study Demonstrating GIS Based Water Management in Landscape of Semi-Arid Aravalli Range, India

Spatial and temporal distribution data of all waterholes, both natural and artificial, in Sariska Tiger Reserve (STR) was collected for one year (March 2018 to February 2019). The close proximity of some perennial water holes to the religious places and heavy pressure of livestock in water holes suggests the need of supplementing water requirement to wild animals with artificial water holes. Besides this, a high congregation of artificial waterholes in some areas was observed leaving behind considerable areas as dry zones. We suggest to review the existing water management plan using GIS techniques based on spatial and temporal distribution of existing perennial water sources.