Tribal girls using bamboo saplings in a

nursery at Mukhali near Silent Valley

Tribal women selling minor forest produce Leaf litter collection by women folk

Fig. 2.1

Act was implemented in 1972, with various Project Tiger

provisions for protecting habitats. An all- Tiger is one of the key wildlife species in
India list of protected species was also the faunal web. In 1973, the authorities
published. The thrust of the programme was realised that the tiger population had
towards protecting the remaining population dwindled to 1,827 from an estimated
of certain endangered species by banning 55,000 at the turn of the century. The major
hunting, giving legal protection to their threats to tiger population are numerous,
habitats, and restricting trade in wildlife. such as poaching for trade, shrinking
Subsequently, central and many state habitat, depletion of prey base species,
governments established national parks and growing human population, etc. The trade
wildlife sanctuaries about which you have of tiger skins and the use of their bones in
already studied. The central government also traditional medicines, especially in the
announced several projects for protecting Asian countries left the tiger population on
specific animals, which were gravely the verge of extinction. Since India and
threatened, including the tiger, the one- Nepal provide habitat to about two-thirds
horned rhinoceros, the Kashmir stag or of the surviving tiger population in the
hangul, three types of crocodiles – fresh world, these two nations became prime
water crocodile, saltwater crocodile and the targets for poaching and illegal trading.
Gharial, the Asiatic lion, and others. Most “Project Tiger ”, one of the well-
recently, the Indian elephant, black buck publicised wildlife campaigns in the world,
(chinkara), the great Indian bustard was launched in 1973. Tiger conservation
(godawan) and the snow leopard, etc. have has been viewed not only as an effort to
been given full or partial legal protection save an endangered species, but with
against hunting and trade throughout India.

14 CONTEMPORARY INDIA – II

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 Fig. 2.2: Rhino and deer in Kaziranga National Park

equal importance as a means of much of its forest and wildlife resources are
preserving biotypes of sizeable magnitude. either owned or managed by the government
Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand, through the Forest Department or other
Sunderbans National Park in West Bengal, government departments. These are classified
Bandhavgarh National Park in Madhya under the following categories.
Pradesh, Sariska Wildlife Sanctuary in
(i) Reserved Forests: More than half of the
Rajasthan, Manas Tiger Reserve in Assam
total forest land has been declared
and Periyar Tiger Reserve in Kerala are
reserved forests. Reserved forests are
some of the tiger reserves of India.
regarded as the most valuable as far as the
conservation of forest and wildlife resources
are concerned.
The conservation projects are now focusing
on biodiversity rather than on a few of its (ii) Protected Forests: Almost one-third of the
components. There is now a more intensive total forest area is protected forest, as
search for different conservation measures. declared by the Forest Department. This
Increasingly, even insects are beginning to find forest land are protected from any further
a place in conservation planning. In the depletion.
notification under Wildlife Act of 1980 and (iii) Unclassed Forests: These are other
1986, several hundred butterflies, moths, forests and wastelands belonging to
beetles, and one dragonfly have been added to both government and private individuals
the list of protected species. In 1991, for the and communities.
first time plants were also added to the list,
Reserved and protected forests are also
starting with six species.
referred to as permanent forest estates
maintained for the purpose of producing
timber and other forest produce, and for
Collect more information on the wildlife protective reasons. Madhya Pradesh has the
sanctuaries and national parks of India and largest area under permanent forests,
cite their locations on the map of India. constituting 75 per cent of its total forest area.
Jammu and Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh,
Uttarakhand, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West
Types and Distribution of Forest and
Bengal, and Maharashtra have large
Wildlife Resources
percentages of reserved forests of its total forest
Even if we want to conserve our vast forest and area whereas Bihar, Haryana, Punjab,
wildlife resources, it is rather difficult to Himachal Pradesh, Odisha and Rajasthan have
manage, control and regulate them. In India, a bulk of it under protected forests. All North-

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 Can you find out the reasons for the above mentioned problems?

eastern states and parts of Gujarat have a very own set of rules and regulations which do not
high percentage of their forests as unclassed allow hunting, and are protecting the wildlife
forests managed by local communities. against any outside encroachments.
The famous Chipko movement in the
Community and Conservation
Himalayas has not only successfully resisted
Conservation strategies are not new in our deforestation in several areas but has also
country. We often ignore that in India, forests shown that community afforestation with
are also home to some of the traditional indigenous species can be enormously
communities. In some areas of India, local successful. Attempts to revive the traditional
communities are struggling to conserve these conservation methods or developing new
habitats along with government officials, methods of ecological farming are now
recognising that only this will secure their widespread. Farmers and citizen’s groups like
own long-term livelihood. In Sariska Tiger the Beej Bachao Andolan in Tehri and
Reserve, Rajasthan, villagers have fought Navdanya have shown that adequate levels of
against mining by citing the Wildlife Protection diversified crop production without the use of
Act. In many areas, villagers themselves are synthetic chemicals are possible and
protecting habitats and explicitly rejecting economically viable.
government involvement. The inhabitants of In India joint forest management (JFM)
five villages in the Alwar district of Rajasthan programme furnishes a good example for
have declared 1,200 hectares of forest as the involving local communities in the
Bhairodev Dakav ‘Sonchuri’, declaring their management and restoration of degraded

16 CONTEMPORARY INDIA – II

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