India has a network of 990 Protected Areas, including 106 National Parks, 564 Wildlife Sanctuaries, 99 Conservation Reserves, and 218 Community Reserves, covering a total of 1,73,053.69 km2 of the country's geographical area, accounting for approximately 5.26 percent of the country's total land area. In this article, we will discuss the Protected Areas which will be helpful for UPSC exam preparation.

What are Protected Areas (PA)?

• Protected areas are those where human occupation or resource exploitation is restricted.
• The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) provided the widely accepted definition across regional and global frameworks in its categorization guidelines for protected areas.
• There are various types of protected areas, with varying levels of protection depending on each country's enabling laws or the regulations of the international organisations involved.
• National Parks, Sanctuaries, Conservation / Community Reserves, and Tiger Reserves are all types of protected areas in India. Reserved Forests are not included.
• The Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972 (WLPA) established the concept of a protected area (PA).
• The term "protected area" also refers to Marine Protected Areas, the boundaries of which will include some area of ocean, as well as Transboundary Protected Areas, which overlap multiple countries and remove borders within the area for conservation and economic purposes.

Protected Areas of India

Types of Protected Areas

National Parks

• A national park is defined as an area with sufficient ecological, faunal, floral, geomorphological, natural, or zoological significance.
• A National Park, like a Sanctuary, is established for the purpose of protecting, propagating, or developing wildlife or its environment.
• The primary distinction between a Sanctuary and a National Park is the vesting of rights of those who live within.
• In contrast to a Sanctuary, where certain rights may be granted, no rights are granted in a National Park.
• No livestock grazing shall be permitted within a National Park, while in a Sanctuary, the Chief Wildlife Warden may regulate, control, or prohibit it.
• Furthermore, while removal or exploitation of wildlife or forest produce from a Sanctuary requires the State Board for Wildlife's approval, removal from a National Park requires the National Board for Wildlife's approval.
• There are 106 existing national parks in India, covering an area of 44,372.42 km2, or 1.35 percent of the country's geographical area.

Kaziranga National Park

Wildlife Sanctuaries

• A sanctuary is defined as an area of sufficient ecological, faunal, floral, geomorphological, natural, or zoological significance.
• The Sanctuary was established to protect, propagate, or develop wildlife or its environment. Certain rights of people living within the Sanctuary may be granted.
• Furthermore, before finally notifying the Sanctuary, the Collector may, in consultation with the Chief Wildlife Warden, allow the continuation of any person's right in or over any land within the Sanctuary during the settlement of claims.
• There are 564 existing wildlife sanctuaries in India, covering an area of 122509.33 km2, or 3.73 percent of the country's geographical area.

Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary

Conservation / Community Reserves

• Conservation reserves and community reserves are terms used to describe protected areas in India that serve as buffer zones, connectors, and migration corridors between established national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, and reserved and protected forests.
• Conservation areas are designated if they are uninhabited and entirely owned by the Government of India, but are used for subsistence by communities, and community areas if a portion of the lands is privately owned.
• These categories of protected areas were first introduced in the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act of 2002, which amended the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972.
• These categories were created in response to decreased protection in and around existing or proposed protected areas as a result of private land ownership and land use.
• People living within a Community Reserve have the same rights as those living within a Conservation Reserve.

Asan Wetland Conservation Reserve

Lalwan Community Reserve

Marine Protected Area (MPA)

• A marine protected area (MPA) is essentially a space in the ocean where human activities are more strictly regulated than in the surrounding waters, much like parks on land.
• Local, state, territorial, indigenous, regional, or national authorities provide special protection for natural or historic marine resources in these areas.
• Marine protected areas ensure long-term fish productivity and aid in the preservation of coral reefs, lagoons, estuaries, fauna, and flora along the coast.
• There are around 25 Marine Protected Areas in Peninsular India which includes both National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries.

Bhitarkanika, Odisha

Tiger Reserves

• The Government of India launched Project Tiger in 1973 to save the country's endangered tiger species.
• As a result, Tiger Reserves were established using a core/buffer strategy. The core areas are legally designated as a national park or a sanctuary, whereas the buffer or peripheral areas are a mix of forest and non-forest land that is managed as a multiple use area.
• Project Tiger, which is administered by the National Tiger Conservation Authority, governs 50 tiger reserves in India (NTCA).
• These project tiger areas cover a total area of 71027.10 km2.

Project Tiger

Biosphere Reserves

• Countries establish biosphere reserves, which are recognised by UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme, to promote sustainable development based on local community efforts and sound science.
• UNESCO launched the Biosphere Reserve programme in 1971.
• The goal of establishing a biosphere reserve is to preserve all forms of life in their entirety, including their support systems, in order to serve as a referral system for monitoring and evaluating changes in natural ecosystems.
• The world's first biosphere reserve was established in 1979; since then, the network of biosphere reserves has grown to 631 in 119 countries.
• India currently has 18 notified biosphere reserves.

Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve

Regulations/Laws Relating to Protected Areas

• The PAs are formed and governed by the provisions of the Wild Life (Protection) Act of 1972, which has been amended from time to time to reflect changing ground realities in wildlife crime control and PAs management.
• This Act is supplemented by other Acts, including the Indian Forest Act of 1927, the Forest (Conservation) Act of 1980, the Environment (Protection) Act of 1986, the Biological Diversity Act of 2002, and the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act of 2006.
• The Central Government's Wildlife Crime Control Bureau supplements provincial governments' efforts in wildlife crime control by enforcing CITES and controlling wildlife crimes with cross-border, interstate, and international ramifications.
• India is a signatory to several major international conventions, including the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, the UNESCO-World Heritage Committee, and the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS).

Challenges Regarding Protected Areas

• Wildlife conservation and management in India is currently facing a slew of complex ecological and social challenges.
• The contemporary wildlife conservation scenario in India is exemplified and characterised by issues such as:
  • habitat loss/fragmentation;
  • overuse of biomass resources in the context of biotic pressures increasing human-wildlife conflicts;
  • livelihood reliance on forests and wildlife resources;
  • poaching and illegal trade in wildlife parts and products;
  • the need to maintain a broad base of public support for wildlife conservation.
• To meet the challenges of conserving India's diverse wilderness resources, improved synergies and better coordination among a wide range of stakeholders are required.

Conserving Protected Areas

• Reduce local/tribal reliance on the forest by providing them with alternative livelihood options.
• Increased patrolling and vigilance to combat poaching and other crimes.
• People's awareness and sensitivity to the last strongholds of our country that support wildlife.
• Safeguard the most important areas for biodiversity, such as intact ecosystems.
• Wherever possible, ensure that conservation promotes land connectivity.
• Pursue conservation in various regions to ensure that the global network of protected areas reflects the diversity of our planet's nature and ecosystems;
• Promote indigenous-led conservation and support indigenous peoples' land rights.
• Increase conservation and protected area management funding, and transition to long-term funding sources that are reliable.
• Nations must collaborate with indigenous peoples and local communities to determine which conservation efforts are best suited to their land and seascapes, as well as wildlife.
• To ensure effective transboundary conservation measures, governments will also need to collaborate across borders.

Conclusion

The adoption of a National Policy for Wildlife Conservation in 1970 and the passage of the Wildlife (Protection) Act in 1972 resulted in a significant expansion of the network of protected areas. A number of national conservation projects, including Project Tiger, Project Elephant, Crocodile Breeding and Management Project, and others, have helped to strengthen the network.