Conservation and protection of wildlife in India
India has the following kinds of protected areas, in the sense of the word designated by IUCN:
• National Parks
• Wildlife sanctuaries
• Biosphere reserves
• Reserved and protected forests
• Conservation reserves and community reserves
• Private protected areas
• Conservation areas
As in May 2012, the protected areas of India cover 156,700 square kilometres (60,500 sq mi), roughly 4.95% of the total surface area.
There are four categories of Protected areas in India constituted under the provisions of Wildlife ( Protection) ACT, 1972. Tiger Reserves are constituted by including the areas of National parks and Wildlife sanctuaries. There are 50 tiger reserves in India.
National Parks No-104 Area 40501.03 % in geographical area - 1.23
Wildlife Sanctuaries No, 551 Area -118931.80 % in geographical area 3.51
Conservation Reserves No.88 Area -2594.03 % of geographical area-0.08
Community Reserves No. 127 Area 72.61 % of geographical area -0.002
Total Protected Areas No. 870 Area 162,099.47 km2 % of geographical area -4.93
(Source -ENVIS Centre, Wildlife Institute of India, 2018)
National parks
National parks (IUCN Category II): India's first national park is Jim Corbett National Park, established in 1936. By 1970, India had 5 national parks; today it has 105 national parks. In terms of area, they encompassed a total 40,501.03 sq.km, comprising 1.23% of India's total surface area.
Wildlife sanctuaries
Wildlife sanctuaries (IUCN Category IV): India has 551 animal sanctuaries,covering about 1,18,932 Sq km(comprising 3.51 % of India's total surface area.) referred to as Wildlife Sanctuaries. Among these, the 50 Tiger Reserves are governed by Project Tiger, and are of special significance in the conservation of the tiger. Latest tiger reserve is Kamlang Tiger Reserve in Arunachal Pradesh. Now, the number of Tiger Reserves in India is 50.
Biosphere reserves
Biosphere reserve (UNESCO designation roughly corresponding to IUCN Category V): The Indian government has established Biosphere reserves, for protecting larger areas of natural habitat, and often include one or more national parks and/or preserves, along buffer zones that are open to limited economic activities. The Indian government has established 18 Biosphere Reserves of India.
Reserved and protected forests
Reserved forests and protected forest (IUCN Category IV or VI, depending on protection accorded): These are forested lands where logging, hunting, grazing and other activities may be permitted on a sustainable basis to members of certain communities. In reserved forests, explicit permission is required for such activities. In protected forests, such activities are allowed unless explicitly prohibited. Thus, in general reserved forests enjoy a higher degree of protection with respect to protected forests.
Conservation and community reserves
Conservation reserve and Community reserve (IUCN Category V and VI respectively): These are areas adjoining existing protected areas which are of ecological value and can act as migration corridors, or buffer zones. Conservation reserves are designated government owned land from where communities may earn a subsistence, while community reserves are on mixed government/private lands. Community reserves are the only privately held land accorded protection by the government of India.
Private protected areas
Private protected areas: These are regions which are owned by an individual or an organisation / corporation not affiliated to the government or a communal body. Even though Indian legislation does not provide protection to such areas, some NGOs are using methods such as land trusts to help in the conservation effort, and providing limited means of protection.
The World Land Trust, another non-profit organization, in partnership with the Wildlife Trust of India has funded two significant privately owned protected land holdings in India. The purpose of the holdings are to provide migration corridors to herds of Indian elephants,and the corresponding project is called the Wild Lands Corridor. The two corridors are:
• The Siju-Rewak corridor in the Garo Hills , of Meghalaya, for connection between the Siju Wildlife Sanctuary and the Rewak Reserved Forest. This is one of only four forded corridors across the Simsang River, which bisects the Garo Hills. This region also contains large omnivores and carnivores like the Bengal tiger, clouded leopard and the Himalayan black bear.
• The Tirunelli-Kudrakote corridor, of Kerala between the Tirunelli Reserved Forest and the Kudrakote Reserved Forest acts as a migration corridor for India's largest extant elephant population. The region is part of the Western Ghats, a biodiversity hotspot which is home to the Nilgiri tahr, Salim Ali's fruit bat and 13 endemic bird species including the Malabar parakeet. The trust is in the process of reallocation of villages in the corridor, and is planning to register the corridor as a reserved forest once reallocation is complete, so that standard government protection is obtained.
