Odisha semi-evergreen forests
The Odisha semi-evergreen forests are a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of eastern India. The ecoregion covers an area of on the coastal plain of Odisha state, bounded by the Eastern Highlands moist deciduous forests west and north-west, transitioning from the huge ecoregion Lower Gangetic Plains moist deciduous forests along the north coastland, and surrounding the smaller ecoregion Godavari-Krishna mangroves along a stretch of the south-east coast by the Bay of Bengal.
Several of Odisha's largest cities, including Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Puri, Chhatrapur, Kendrapara, and Bhadrak, lie within this ecoregion, and it has been extensively cleared for agriculture and urbanization. According to the WWF, 96% of the ecoregion's area has been cleared, and only 4% remains in the original semi-evergreen rain forest. Much of the remaining forest has been degraded by grazing and fuelwood harvesting.
Fauna
This ecoregion does not harbour any endemic species, but despite the heavy anthropogenic changes of the landscape and the almost total deforestation, several large mammals are still living here, including elephant and tiger. Important mammals in need of special attention here, includes the tiger, Asian elephant, gaur, dhole, sloth bear, and chousingha.The birdlife in the Odisha semi-evergreen ecoregion is quite diverse with 215 known species. The lesser florican is globally threatened and has found a sanctuary here.
Protected areas
Of the total ecoregion area, about 12.8% is protected.- Balukhand-Konark Wildlife Sanctuary
- Chilka Wildlife Sanctuary, including the Nalbana Bird Sanctuary
- Nandankanan Wildlife Sanctuary