‘Discovery of new species from Mumbai’s Aarey Colony pushes need to protect entire green lung as forest’

One new animal species was discovered and a new record of one has been documented from the city’s recently designated forest area in Aarey Colony, Goregaon, while

One new animal species was discovered and a new record of one has been documented from the city’s recently designated forest area in Aarey Colony, Goregaon, while 17 other new species and records have been identified from Maharashtra in 2019, according to the ‘Animal Discoveries 2019’ annual report by the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), under the Union environment ministry.

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Experts said the new species discoveries encouraged the state’s recent decision to declare Aarey a forest. Not just last year, but the 1,287-hectare (ha) green lung had witnessed six new discoveries and another five rediscoveries of spiders, scorpions and geckos over 10 years. Each of these discoveries has been published annually by ZSI.

“The recent designation of Aarey as a forest is important as the commitment made to ensure the natural vegetation of any area remains protected automatically develops a network for the safety of the area’s biodiversity and livelihood. We expect more discoveries from this green lung in coming years,” said Kailash Chandra, director, ZSI.

Around 25% of Aarey or 328.9 hectares was last month declared as a reserved forest by the Maharashtra government. The area will soon be made part of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) by the state. In 2019, a new species of jumping spider was discovered, identified as Jerzego sunillimaye. This was the first ever species of genus Jerzego, whose taxonomic details, mating behaviour, and egg development were documented. However, this was the fourth species under this genus in the world and second from India. The species was named to honour senior Maharashtra forest officer Sunil Limaye. The ZSI 2019 report also showed a new record from Aarey of an insect species (heptacarus neotropicus), originally described from France and recorded from Aarey last year.

State environment minister Aaditya Thackeray, who led the move to declare Aarey a forest, said, “It is undoubtedly exciting that even in 2020 as we think we know everything about our environment, and we deal with a pandemic, we have so many species being newly described. These findings only tell us how less we still know about our own planet and nature. The good news is that the present Maharashtra government is pro-environment, working on sustainable development and we are committed to the cause.”

Aarey has been identified to have the fourth-highest butterfly species diversity along the Western Ghats and in Maharashtra. Combined with this, a checklist of 48 species of reptiles and 12 amphibian species was collated by wildlife biologists and researchers — Zeeshan Mirza and Rajesh Sanap — to highlight the importance of Aarey’s biodiversity.

The group had presented their records in 2019 in their attempt to save the green lung from proposed development.

“Declaring Aarey a forest was crucial as in such ecosystems, every single component is essential right from a leopard to something as small as a spider or an insect,” said Sanap adding, “When the land is protected, these species are protected too, which gives us [as researchers] opportunities to keep working. Such policies will ensure that we are tackling environmental issues in a right way and that we put our environment above all else for our own benefit.”

Researcher at National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Bengaluru Mirza said, “Saving an area as a forest in a place like Mumbai where the value of every square metre is so high and precious, is commendable. However, forest declaration is just the first step.

There are specific conservation measures needed such as developing a nature interpretation centre, allowing focused accessibility, and involving locals through employment for eco-tourism to ensure this area remains protected.”

Last month, the Maharashtra government also decided to move the Metro-3 car shed out of Aarey and shift it to Kanjurmarg. However, the fate of other projects such as the 32-storey Metro Bhavan, a slum rehabilitation project for SGNP encroachers across 90-acres, and the plan for a ramp (for Metro-3 connecting the underground metro to overhead Metro 6) are all yet to be decided by the state.

“Discoveries at Aarey have not happened randomly. It is a natural process, which has taken millions of years for the coming up of this forest. Cutting trees and acquiring spaces for construction projects at this green lung followed by compensatory afforestation was always a cosmetic idea. Destroying biodiversity does not take much time but restoring it takes a lifetime,” said noted herpetologist Varad Giri, after whom a new gecko species (Giri’s geckoella) described to science was discovered from Aarey in 2016.

Meanwhile, new species of geckos, frogs, spiders, and new records of insects and crabs were the highlights for Maharashtra in 2019, according to ZSI’s report.

“Researchers from Maharashtra have been working hard and the state has been annually recording over 15 new species or records, which shows the abundant biodiversity in the state,” said Chandra.

Wildlife researcher Tejas Thackeray, younger son of CM Uddhav Thackeray, said Maharashtra was emerging as a state where greener alternatives were being scouted for and implemented swiftly, such as shifting the Metro car shed from Aarey to Kanjurmarg, and most importantly declaring Aarey a protected area, forming a rich green patch even beyond the limits of SGNP.

“As a naturalist, it gives me immense joy in seeing the state government take bold decisions, where conservation of wildlife and the environment is consistently prioritised without hampering the development that citizens need and deserve in a rapidly developing city and state,” said Thackeray, adding that for Aarey, it was simply about protecting a patch of land in the middle of a city like Mumbai, where a wide plethora of biodiversity already exists, known for prolifically producing new species annually.

“With jerzego sunillimaye, a pretty tiny jumping spider being the latest addition, no other city will have such a long list of species in the world. Sampling and surveys across multi-taxas will surely reveal many more cryptic undescribed species. But for now, what makes me happy is that Luna, the stunning female leopard in Aarey, along with her cubs and all the tiny scorpions, spiders and geckos are safe,” said Thackeray.