By:

Group 1

1.Naveen

2.Neetesh

3.Nilay

4.Pankaj

6.Pankaj yadav

A presentation on:Wildlife Conservation

Introduction

• The Constitution of India clearly states that it is the duty of the state to ‘protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country’.

• The Department of Environment was established in India in 1980.This later became the Ministry of Environment and Forests in 1985.

Contd..:

• The EPA (Environment Protection Act), 1986 came into force soon after the Bhopal Gas Tragedy and is considered an umbrella legislation as it fills many gaps in the existing laws.

• Thereafter a large number of laws came into existence as the problems began arising, for example, Handling and Management of Hazardous Waste Rules in 1989.

Forest and wildlife

• 1927 - The Indian Forest Act and Amendment, 1984, – It was enacted to ‘consolidate the law related to forest, the

transit of forest produce, and the duty leviable on timber and other forest produce’.

• 1972 - The Wildlife Protection Act, Rules 1973 and Amendment 1991 – Provides for the protection of birds, animals and plants

and for all matter connected there with.

• 1980 - The Forest (Conservation) Act and Rules, 1981, provides for the protection of and the conservation of the forests.

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

D i d y o u k n o w ? ?

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.

Project Tiger and Gir Lion Project have been launched by the

government of India to protect the tiger and lion population in

country.

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 )

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.

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 it’s conservation.

• 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 UNESCO’s “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

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

actions.

“ 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

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 India’s 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 stringent by altering several definitions in

the previous Act.

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: AFRICAN CONVENTION ON THE CONSERVATION OF NATURAL

RESOURCES, 1968.

CONVENTION OF WETLANDS OF INTERNATIONAL IMPORTANCE (RAMSAR CONVENTION), 1971

CONSERVATION AND PROTECTION OF THE WORLD CULTURE AND NATIONAL HERITAGE ACT, 1972

Other measures taken for

Wildlife conservation

Breeding programmes for endangered species

Prevention of poaching, hunting and biopiracy

Penalties

• Wildlife protection act (9 sept . 1972).

• Section 51 deals with penalties.

– Any person who contravenes any provision or rule of this act shall be punished with imprisonment for extent of 3 years , or fine extending upto Rs 25000 or both.

• The Indian Forest Act.

• Under section 33 of this act imprisonment for a term of 6 months or more or fine of Rs 5,000 or both is the penalty for any person who violates any of the rule under this act.

Group 1