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

By: Utkarsh Singh