A power point presentation on Wild Life conservation in India.
Text of Wildlife conservation in India(ppt)
By: Utkarsh Singh A presentation on: Wildlife Conservation
Meaning of wildlife conservation Wildlife: According to the
Wildlife Protection Act of 1972, wildlife includes any animal,
bees, butterfly, crustacean, fish and moth; and aquatic or land
vegetation, which form part of any habitat. Example: lion, deer,
crocodiles, whales, trees and shrubs in dense forests etc.
Therefore, wildlife refers to living organisms (flora and fauna) in
their natural habitats. But cultivated plants and domesticated
animals are not included in wildlife!
Benefits of Wildlife Wildlife is an essential component of
various food chains, food webs, biogeochemical cycles and energy
flow through various trophic levels. Preserves vitality and health
of environment and provides stability to various ecosystems
Did you know?? Wildlife is a symbol of national pride and
cultural heritage. Over 100 years ago, there were over 1 lakh
tigers across Asia whereas today this number is below 5000
worldwide. Wildlife is renewable source of a large variety of
commercial products like food, leathers, honey, herbal medicines,
timber etc. Scientists and medical researchers use wildlife animals
as research materials on which trial experiments are performed
before there actual application to human beings ( Eg.
Xenotransplantation). Project Tiger and Gir Lion Project have been
launched by the government of India to protect the tiger and lion
population in country.
Threats to wildlife 1. Habitat loss : Population growth, fast
industrialisation , urbanisation and modernisation have all
contributed to a large-scale destruction of natural habitat of
plants and animals. 2. Pollution: Air, water, soil and noise
pollution of the magnitude and toxicity never seen before is the
major factor. Natural habitats have been destroyed or damaged by
activities such as the indiscriminate use of synthetic materials,
release of radiations and oil spills in the sea, generation of
effluents and wastes of various kinds and toxicity, and their
unscientific disposal. Wildlife everywhere on the earth is under
threat of extinction and struggling hard for survival. 3.
Indiscriminate hunting: Indiscriminate killing and poaching of wild
animals for food, horn, fur, tusk etc. has resulted in reduction
and even extinction of many wild species.
4. Introduction of exotic species: Many native species have
known to disappear and their existence is under threat because of
the introduction of exotic and alien species.
National parks A national park is protected area of land in
which a typical ecosystem with all its wild plants and animals are
protected and preserved in natural surroundings. As of April 2012,
there were 102 national parks. Jim Corbett National Park in
Uttarakhand, established in 1936, was the first national park in
India. All national park lands then encompassed a total 39,919 km2,
comprising 1.21% of India's total surface area A total of 166
national parks have been authorized. Over 17 national parks and
sanctuaries have been selected for Project Tiger to protect and
increase tiger population in India.
NAME STATE IN WHICH LOCATED ANIMAL(S) PROTECTED Jim Corbett
National Park Uttarakhand Tiger (EN) Kaziranga National Park Assam
Rhinoceros (CR) Hazaribagh National Park Jharkhand Tiger (EN) Kanha
National Park MP Tiger (EN) Cheetah (VU) Sundarbans Tiger Reserve
West Bengal Bengal Tiger (EN) Gir National Park Gujarat Asiatic
lion (EN) Bandipur National Park Karnataka Elephant (VU) Tiger (EN)
Desert National Park Rajasthan Great Indian Bustard (CR) Black buck
(NT) EX = Extinct EW = extinct in the wild CR = critically
endangered EN = endangered VU = vulnerable NT = near threatened LC
= least concern Conservation status IMPORTANT NATIONAL PARKS OF
INDIA
Wildlife Sanctuary A sanctuary is a protected are of land,
wetland or sea reserved for the conservation of wild animals, birds
and plants. India has over 492 wildlife sanctuaries. These cover
over 3% of Indias total geographical area. Hunting of any kind is
prohibited in sanctuaries. Private ownership rights over
sanctuaries and limited human activities may be granted provided
they do not interfere with the normal activities(feeding, nesting,
breeding of wildlife
NAME STATE IN WHICH LOCATED ANIMAL/BIRD PROTECTED Keoladeo
Ghana Bird Sanctuary Rajasthan (Bharatpur) Siberian crane, famous
for birds Chilika Lake Bird Sanctuary Odisha Water fowls Cranes
Ducks Manas Wildlife Sanctuary Assam Panther Tiger Rhinoceros
Dachigam Sanctuary J&K Kashmiri stag Musk snow leopard
Madhumalai Wildlife Sanctuary Tamil Nadu (Nilgiri hills) Elephant
Four-horned antelope Nagarjunasagar Sanctuary AP Tiger Panther
Periyar Sanctuary Kerala Elephant Balmiki Nagar Tiger Reserve Bihar
Tiger Important national sanctuaries of India
Biosphere reserves are a specific category of protected area of
land and/or coastal area wherein tribal people native to the area
are an integral part of the system. The concept of Biosphere
Reserve was conceived by the UN and was launched in 1975 as a part
of UNESCOs Man and Biosphere Programme. In bioreserves various uses
of land are permitted by dividing it into 3 distinct zones viz,
Core Zone, Buffer Zone and Transition Zone. The government of India
has established 18 biosphere reserves. There are approximately 610
biosphere reserves located in 117 countries of the world. There are
18 biosphere reserves zones in India. Nine of the Eighteen
biosphere reserves are a part of the World Network of Biosphere
Reserves, based on the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme
list Biosphere reserves
NAME STATE IN WHICH LOCATED ANIMAL(S) PROTECTED Nilgiri
Biosphere Reserve Tamil Nadu Kerala Karnataka Nilgiri Tahr
Lion-tailed macaque Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve Tamil Nadu
Dugong Sea Cow Sundarbans National Park West Bengal Royal Bengal
Tiger Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve Uttarakhand Nokrek Biosphere
Reserve Meghalaya Red Panda Panchmarhi Biosphere Reserve Madhya
Pradesh Giant Squirrel Flying Squirrel Simlipal Biosphere Reserve
Odisha Royal Bengal Tiger Wild Elephant Gaur Achanakmar- Amarkantak
Biosphere Reserve Chhattisgarh Madhya Pradesh Wide range of flora
and fauna Nicobar Islands Andaman & Nicobar Islands Saltwater
Crocodile 9 of the 18 Biosphere Reserves which are part of the
World Network of Biosphere Reserves
Conservation measures The conservation strategies should
include the following programmes and policies: Protection of
threatened/useful plants and animals species living in natural
habitats, zoological and botanical gardens, seed gene, tissue
culture and DNA banks. Preservation of critical habitats of animal
and plant species plus the management of life supporting systems in
the surrounding habitats. Hunting and international trade in wild
animals and plants products should be regulated and a strict vigil
should be maintained upon these actions. Role of government and
NGOs in spreading awareness programmes among common people about
values of wildlife and its conservation.
IUCN(International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural
Resources) The International Union for Conservation of Nature
(IUCN, Union internationale pour la conservation de la nature
[UICN], in French) is an international organisation dedicated to
finding "pragmatic solutions to our most pressing environment and
development challenges". The organization publishes the IUCN Red
List of Threatened Species, which assesses the conservation status
of species. It works for the enlistment and preservation of
endangered species of plants and animals. Now known as the World
Conservation Union, it aims to impart information about the
distribution and status of threatened species, develop awareness
about the importance of threatened biodiversity and guide their
conservation programmes and
Protected areas and threatened species could most effectively
be safeguarded if local people considered it in their own interest
to do so. Working with rather than against local people became a
major working principle for IUCN. The IUCN programme for 2013-2016.
IUCN's stated vision is "a just world that values and conserves
nature". Its mission is to "influence, encourage and assist
societies throughout the world to conserve nature and to ensure
that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically
sustainable
The union has identified and documented endangered species of
plants and animals and has placed them into eight Red list
categories. The red list categories can be regrouped into four main
categories as follows: EXTINCT SPECIES ENDANGERD SPECIES
VULNERNABLE SPECIES RARE SPECIES
Other measures taken for Wildlife conservation Breeding
programmes for endangered species Prevention of poaching, hunting
and biopiracy
Enforcement of legal provisions Some important legal provisions
related to wildlife protection and conservation: Forest
conservation act, 1980 National forest policy, 1988 Wildlife
protection act, 1972 ( amended 1991, 2002 )
Forest conservation act, 1980 India is one among a few
countries in the world which has a Forest Act since 1927. The act
was reformulated in 1980 and later amended in 1988. The Act
empowered the government and the forest department oTo create and
manage reserved forests, protected forests and village forests. oTo
protect non-governmental forests and forest land. oTo control
movement of forest produce. oTo control and regulate cattle
grazing.
In the year 1952, India formulated her first forest policy
which laid more emphasis on revenue generation than on
sustainability of forests and their natural functions. The new
forest policy emphasises conservation of forests as a natural
heritage and ensures environmental stability and maintenance of
ecological balance including atmospheric equilibrium which is so
vital for life and growth of all life forms including wildlife.
National forest policy, 1988
Wildlife protection act, 1972(Amended 1991, 2002) The act was
passed by the Parliament of India to protect Indias wildlife.
Before 1972,India only had five designated national parks. Among
other reforms, the Act established schedules of protected plant and
animal species; hunting or harvesting these species was largely
outlawed. The main objective of the Act are as follows: Prohibition
on hunting of specified plants and/or animals. Setting up and
management of national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. Control of
trade and commerce in wildlife, and wildlife products. Setting up
of wildlife advisory board from state level to block and panchayat
levels and empowering zoo authorities with control and management
of zoos and for captive breeding. The amendment to this Act in 2002
brought in the concept of Community Reserves and made the provision
of the Act more
International rules and laws Many nations have reached
bilateral/multilateral agreements and have framed rules and
regulations for protection and conservation of wildlife. Some of
these are: AFRICANCONVENTIONONTHECONSERVATIONOFNATURAL
RESOURCES,1968. CONVENTIONOFWETLANDSOFINTERNATIONALIMPORTANCE
(RAMSARCONVENTION),1971
CONSERVATIONANDPROTECTIONOFTHEWORLDCULTUREAND
NATIONALHERITAGEACT,1972