BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION 

PROTECTED AREAS OF INDIA

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classify Protected areas are those in which human occupation or at least the exploitation of resources is limited.

The term “protected area” also includes Marine Protected Areas, the boundaries of which will include some area of ocean, and Transboundary Protected Areas that overlap multiple countries which remove the borders inside the area for conservation and economic purposes.

• National Parks 
• Wildlife Sanctuaries 
• Conservation Reserves  
• Community Reserves  
• Marine Protected Areas  

NATIONAL PARKS:

• National parks are also established for the protection of flora and fauna. They are protected areas intended to provide a natural habitat with all natural resources to the animals where they can freely roam and use the habitat.

• These areas are extended and diverse enough to protect the entire ecosystem including the flora, fauna, historic objects and the natural landscapes.

An area, whether within a sanctuary or not, can be notified by the state government to be constituted as a National Park, by reason of its ecological, faunal, floral, geomorphological, or zoological association or importance, needed to for the purpose of protecting & propagating or developing wildlife therein or its environment.

No human activity is permitted inside the national park except for the ones permitted by the Chief Wildlife Warden of the state under the conditions given in CHAPTER IV, WPA (Wildlife Protection Act) 1972.

There are 104 existing national parks in India covering an area of 40501.13 km2, which is 1.23% of the geographical area of the country (National Wildlife Database, May 2019).

WILDLIFE SANCTUARIES

Any area other than area comprised with any reserve forest or the territorial waters can be notified by the State Government to constitute as a sanctuary if such area is of adequate ecological, faunal, floral, geomorphological, natural. or zoological significance, for the purpose of protecting, propagating, or developing wildlife or its environment. Some restricted human activities are allowed inside the Sanctuary area details of which are given in CHAPTER IV, WPA 1972.There are 551 existing wildlife sanctuaries in India covering an area of 119775.80 km2, which is 3.64 % of the geographical area of the country (National Wildlife Database, May 2019).

CONSERVATION RESERVES AND COMMUNITY RESERVES

Conservation reserves and community reserves in India are terms denoting protected areas of India which typically act as buffer zones to or connectors and migration corridors between established national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and reserved and protected forests of India. Such areas are designated as conservation areas if they are uninhabited and completely owned by the Government of India but used for subsistence by communities and community areas if part of the lands is privately owned.

These protected area categories were first introduced in the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act of 2002 − the amendment to the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. These categories were added because of reduced protection in and around existing or proposed protected areas due to private ownership of land, and land use.

MARINE PROTECTED AREAS

A Marine Protected Area (MPA) is essentially a space in the ocean where human activities are more strictly regulated than the surrounding waters – similar to parks we have on land.

These are notified under wildlife protection act 1972. Marine protected areas are essential to safeguard biodiversity and to sustain vibrant seas and can increase biomass and biodiversity in tropical and temperate ecosystems.

They serve as insurance policies against the impacts of fishing and other destructive activities. The important species found in the Indian waters include, Dugongs, Whales, Dolphins, Olive Ridley Turtles, a variety of fishes including the Whale Sharks & other sharks, Giant Groupers, Sea cucumbers, horseshoe crabs, seashells, soft & hard corals, etc.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN BIOSPHERE RESERVE AND NATIONAL PARK:

Comparison:

Wildlife Sanctuary (WLS) & National Park (NP)