ENDANGERED SPECIES IN INDIA

Critically Endangered
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Jenkins Shrew Malabar Large-spotted Civet: Kerala, Karnatka Namdapha Flying Squirrel: NE India Pygmy Hog (wild pig): Assam Salim Alis fruit bat: Tamil Nadu Wroughtons Free-tailed Bat: Karnataka, Assam Sumatran Rhinoceros: NE India

Keywords: ias, study material, general studies, general knowledge, wildlife conservation

Other important endangered species

Now the world's rarest monkey, the endangered Golden Langur, is found in the Chakrashila Wildlife Sanctuary in Assam
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Asiatic lion Asiatic Black bear Desert Cat Great Indian Rhinoceros Golden Leaf Monkey (Golden Langur) Kashmir Stag Lion-tailed Macaque Nilgiri Leaf Monkey Indian Elephant Nicobar Shrew Nilgiri Tahr

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Red Panda Wild Water Buffalo Woolly Flying Squirrel

Keywords: ias, study material, general studies, general knowledge, wildlife conservation

SPECIAL CONSERVATION PROJECTS IN INDIA

All wildlife conservation efforts are implemented by the Ministry of Environment and Forests unless otherwise noted Project Tiger
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First established in 1972 in the Jim Corbett National Park First tiger census in 1972 reported existence of only 1827 tigers. By the 1990s tiger population rose to 3500; however, by 2008 it had dropped to 1411. By 2005, entire population Sariska Tiger Reserve had been wiped out Re-population of Tiger Reserves started in 2008 when Sariska Tiger Reserve received two tigers via a translocation scheme 41 Tiger Reserves covering an area over 37000 sq km Cover the following tiger habitats o Shivalik-Terai Conservation Unit o North-east Conservation Unit o Sunderbands Conservation Unit o Central Indian Conservation Unit o Eastern Ghat Conservation Unit o Western Ghat Conservation Unit Largest Tiger Reserve is the Nagarjuna-Srisailam Tiger Reserve in Andhra Pradesh. Established in 1982, it suffers from a poor density of tiger population attributed to left-wing extremism

Keywords: ias, study material, general studies, general knowledge, wildlife conservation

Project Elephant
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Launched in 1992 Latest Elephant Reserve is Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary in Karnatka (2010/11) Currently there are 25 Elephant Reserves covering a land area 58000 sq km Largest Elephant Reserve is the Mysore Elephant Reserve in Karnataka (2002)

Overview of wildlife in India

India is home to about 60-70% of the worlds biodiversity India has about 7.6% of all mammalian, 12.6% of avian, 6.2% of reptilian and 6.0% of flowering plant species India contains 172 (around 2.9%) of the worlds threatened species Famous mammals in Indian wildlife: Asian Elephant, Bengal Tiger, Asiatic Lion, Leopard, Sloth Bear, Indian Rhinoceros, Wild Asian Water Buffalo etc Large-scale conservation efforts now underway Protected areas in India cover 4.5% of territory

Keywords: ias, study material, general studies, general knowledge, wildlife conservation

Recent extinctions
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Indian/Asian Cheetah Javan Rhinoceros Sumatran Rhinoceros Pink-headed duck Himalayan Quail

Keywords: ias, study material, general studies, general knowledge, wildlife conservation

PROTECTED AREAS IN INDIA

1. National Parks 1. India currently has 96 national parks, with plans to expand it to 166 2. Oldest National Park: Jim Corbett National Park (1935) 3. Newest National Park: Chandoli National Park, Maharashtra (2004). Part of Sahyadri Tiger Reserve 2. Wildlife Sanctuary 1. India has over 500 wildlife sanctuaries 2. Among these are 28 Tiger Reserves governed by Project Tiger 3. Biosphere Reserves 1. Protect larger areas of natural habitat than National Parks or Wildlife Sanctuaries 2. Often include one or more National Parks inside the Reserve 3. Includes buffer zone that are open for nominal economic use 4. Protection is granted not only to the flora and fauna in the Reserve but also to habiting human communities and their ways of life 5. There are 15 Biosphere Reserves in India 6. 7 of the 15 are part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves 4. Reserved Forests and Protected Forests 1. Declared by the state governments (unlike Wildlife Sanctuaries or National Parks) 2. These are forested lands where human activity (like hunting, logging, grazing etc) may be permitted on a sustainable basis 3. The key difference between Reserved Forests and Protected Forests is that in Reserved Forests explicit permission is required for such activities whereas in Protected Forests such activities are permitted unless explicitly prohibited 5. Village Forests and Panchayat Forests 1. Forested lands administered by a village or a panchayat on a sustainable basis 2. The flora, fauna and habitat are accorded some degree of protection by the community 6. Private Protected Areas 1. Regions owned by an individual or an organization not affiliated to the government 2. Not legally protected by the government; however, NGOs and land trust help in conservation 3. Most private protected areas before Independence were used as royal hunting grounds by the Princely States; they were absorbed as Wildlife Sanctuaries and National Parks following Independence 4. Prominent Private Protected Areas managed by the Wildlife Trust of India include 1. Siju-Rewak Corridor (Garo Hills, Meghalaya): a protected migration corridor between the Siju Wildlife Sanctuary and the Rewak Reserved Forest. Caters to Bengal Tiger, Clouded Leopard and Himalayan Black Bear 2. Tirunelli-Kudrakote Corridor (Kerala): a protected migration corridor for Indias largest elephant population between the Tirunelli Reserved Forest and the Kudrakote Reserved Forest

7. Conservation Areas 1. Large, well-designated areas where landscape conservation is undergoing, and contains different kinds of constituent protected lands as well as privately owned lands 2. These were primarily part of a joint Indo-US project on landscape management and protection. The project ran from 1996 to 2002

The forestry sector in India has traditionally been one of the most organized sectors with more than 140 years of scientific management. However, of late, like other sectors it has been affected by several factors among which are rapid increase in human and livestock population, insufficient infrastructure, inadequate investment and diversion of forestland for agriculture and developmental activities. In addition, there are several other problems which are unique to the forestry sector. These include inadequate public awareness about multiple functions of forests, undervaluation of forest contribution to GDP, technological weakness, insufficient funds and lack of community capacity. Sustainability of forest ecosystems is an essential component of environmental conservation efforts and any degradation of forests will have an adverse impact on various systems such as water resources, agriculture, biodiversity, environment, climate change and human health besides the subsistence and livelihood opportunities of forest-dependent communities living in and around forests. Having about 2.5% of the worlds geographic area, India is supporting 16% of the planets human population and 18% of the cattle population. About 41% of forest cover has already been degraded and dense forests are also losing their crown density. A large percentage of Indias livestock population grazes in forests causing damage to regeneration and productivity. The requirements for fuelwood, timber and other forest products are much more than what is

available sustainably from forests, although the deficit is being met from agroforestry and imports. The deficit of forest products compared to demand is extremely large, which will further increase in future with increase in population, high economic growth and rise in literacy levels. It is also to be noted that availability of NWFPs and their value-added products are vital for the economy of 350-400 million rural people living in and around forests. The National Forest Policy was revised in 1988 with the principal aim of environmental stability and ecological balance, including atmospheric equilibrium, which are vital for the sustenance of all life forms. This policy gives priority to the sustenance and livelihood needs of the forest-dependent communities, particularly tribals and also involves them in protection, conservation and management of forests. The present forest policy was formulated four years before the Earth Summit which embodied all elements of SFM. India forests are primarily considered as social and environmental resources. India at present has assigned more than 22 million hectares of forests to the community under JFM with benefit sharing mechanisms. India made efforts to recognize the tenurial rights of tribals on forests with the issuance of guidelines to state governments in 1990. India has also taken a milestone step to provide occupation and habitation rights to forest-dependent communities living in and around forests through national level legislation along with the right to protect, conserve and regenerate forests. Community decision making will increase in future. The empowerment of communities with ownership of NWFPs for the purpose of collection, processing, trade and marketing is a key step for improving the economy of forest-dependent communities. The Government of India has to anticipate building their capacity further. India has strong legal, policy and institutional frameworks for the sustainable development of forests in the country. The institutional framework is shifting from a regulatory to a

participatory mode of administration, and it will be more people-oriented in future. The promulgation of the Forest Conservation Act 1980 was a milestone step in the history of forestry for the conservation of forests. The Wildlife Protection Act provides a legal regime for wildlife conservation in the country. India is in the process of amending the Indian Forest Act 1927 with respect to the people-oriented approach of the National Forest Policy 1988. The Schedule Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 assigned rights to protect around 40 million hectares of community forest resources to village level democratic institutions. The fine tuning of other forest-related legislations is needed with respect to the said Act. India recently reviewed its forest-related policies and legislations through the National Forest Commission. The Commission has also given certain recommendations for the sustainable development of forests without suggesting any amendments in the National Forest Policy, 1988. The major task before the country is to rehabilitate degraded forests and increase their productivity, augment the contribution of forests towards poverty alleviation of the people living in and around forests, and extend the area under forest and tree cover to 33%. The lack of capacity of the community and inadequate investment are the major challenges for the country to overcome the constraints in the implementation of SFM. The country has taken steps for addressing regulatory and policy constraints for trees grown on private land to achieve 33% forest and tree cover. Another big task for the country is to bridge the demand and supply gap of wood and wood products. The demand and supply gap will be bridged mainly from import and private sectors in the country. India will be a considerable market for wood and wood-based products and its demand will more than treble by 2020. Indias forests will be fulfilling the socio-economic needs of the people living in and around forests and

ecological security of the nation in the future. It is very important to understand the multidisciplinary function of forests. Overgrazing is causing degradation to forests. A separate grazing policy is urgently needed. The forestry sector is impacted directly by the policies of other sectors such as agriculture, rural development, panchayati raj, education, energy, and water resources and indirectly by the policies relating to petroleum, chemicals and fertilizers, and industry and commerce. There is a need to invest more than US$1.5 billion in the forestry sector to implement SFM. The contribution of the national budget is around 30% of this need. There will be more investment by private entrepreneurs to grow more trees in the agroforestry sector. India has developed an innovative funding mechanism at the national level to supplement the efforts of the state governments in the implementation of SFM. India has also enacted the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 to provide assured employment of 100 days to the adult members of each family. Afforestation and plantation are activities under this scheme. Huges financial resources are available for plantations and afforestation. India is looking forward to overcoming the challenges induced by high human and livestock population, change in demographic structure, poverty in forest fringe areas, high economic growth, particularly in urban areas, and climate change, with policy and legislative interventions along with capacity building of community and R&D for high productivity in future. India will be a net importer of wood and wood products but must focus on production forestry to become self-sufficient in wood production. The forest and tree cover will expand but the quality of forest may suffer due to grazing and domestic energy requirements in rural areas. Communities will play a crucial role in the implementation of SFM by 2020. The ecological security of the nation will be maintained through the protected area network