Context: Also known as the elongated tortoise (Indotestudo elongata), the sal forest tortoise, recently assessed as critically endangered, is heavily hunted for food. 23 of the 29 species of freshwater turtle and tortoise species found in India come under the threatened category in the IUCN red list and are under severe existential threat due to human activities.
Key Points

• Sal forest tortoise is heavily hunted for food. It is collected both for local use, such as decorative masks, and international wildlife trade.
• Around 29% of the predicted distribution of the species falls within high occurrence fire zones or areas where there is management burning.
• Sal forest tortoise in northeast India is exposed to the risk of jhum fire. Apart from the direct fatalities due to the forest fires, the fires also open up habitats, which increase the chance of people finding the tortoise easily.
• Forest fires also decrease soil moisture levels which may disturb forest floor ecosystem affecting the predominantly ground based animals.
• Conservation status: Sal forest tortoise has been recently assessed as critically endangered.
• According to the IUCN, the population of the species may have fallen by about 80% in the last three generations (90 years). Once widely distributed the Sal tortoise is now no longer common over its habitat.
• Concerns: 23 of the 29 species of freshwater turtle and tortoise species found in India come under the threatened category in the IUCN red list and are under severe existential threat due to human activities.

Faulty demarcation of protected areas:

• The study by Wildlife Institute of India found that the areas designated as protected areas have only a small overlap with the actual habitat of the Sal forest tortoise.
• Over 90% of the potential distribution of the Sal forest tortoise falls outside the current protected area network. In northeast India, the representation of the species in protected areas is least.
• There is little to no connectivity among most of the protected areas where the species is present.
• Protected areas are designated in a largely mammal-centric way. Many reptiles and amphibians which are equally threatened live outside protected areas where exploitation risk is more.

Monitoring:

• Given the fact that tortoises are equally threatened as the tigers, there is the need for regular monitoring of the species.
• Given the scarce information available on Sal forest tortoise, enhanced monitoring will help increase the understanding of the species and aid conservation efforts.
• In summer Sal forest tortoises select moist patches such as dry stream beds. Such areas should be protected from the spread of forest fire.
• Given that the species is found even in Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal, transboundary collaboration may aid the conservation efforts.