Wildlife Conservation: Protected Areas, Laws and Species Projects

Constitutional and legal basis

The 42nd Amendment (1976):

• added Article 48A (a Directive Principle): the State shall protect and improve the environment and safeguard forests and wildlife;
• added Article 51A(g) (a Fundamental Duty): citizens must protect the natural environment, including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife, and have compassion for living creatures;
• moved forests and protection of wild animals and birds from the State List to the Concurrent List.

The Supreme Court has read the right to a healthy environment into Article 21. In *M.K. Ranjitsinh* (2024) it recognised a right against the adverse effects of climate change, in a case about great Indian bustard habitat and power lines.

Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 (WPA):

• provides for protected areas and schedules of species;
• bans hunting of scheduled animals except in specified cases;
• regulates trade;
• sets up the National Board for Wildlife (chaired by the Prime Minister), the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA, through the 2006 amendment) and the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB, 2007).

The 2022 amendment:

• cut the schedules from six to four: Schedule I (highest protection), Schedule II (lesser protection), Schedule III (plants) and Schedule IV (CITES-listed specimens);
• implemented CITES;
• added provisions for invasive species and conservation reserves;
• allowed the transfer of captive elephants for "religious or any other purpose", which critics opposed.

Protected area network

Types under the WPA:

• National parks: the strictest protection. No human activity such as grazing, and no rights of people are allowed. Boundaries can be changed only by a resolution of the State Legislature. India has about 107 national parks.
• Wildlife sanctuaries: some activities (such as grazing) may be permitted. There are about 570+.
• Conservation reserves and community reserves (from the 2002/2003 amendment): buffers and corridors on government land and on community or private land.
• Tiger reserves (notified under Section 38V): a core (critical tiger habitat) and a buffer.

Coverage: together, protected areas cover about 5.3–5.5% of India's area (about 1,000+ PAs).

UNESCO Man and Biosphere (MAB) biosphere reserves: India has 18, of which 12 are in the UNESCO World Network. The first was Nilgiri (1986, UNESCO 2000), and Cold Desert (Himachal) was added in 2025. Each has three zones:

• core: strictly protected;
• buffer: research and education;
• transition: sustainable human use.

Eco-sensitive zones: areas around protected areas, notified under the Environment Protection Act. The Supreme Court (2022) required a 1 km ESZ around PAs but modified the order in 2023 for practical reasons.

Major parks:

• Hemis (Ladakh), the largest national park;
• Jim Corbett (Uttarakhand), the first national park (1936, as Hailey National Park);
• Kaziranga (Assam), home of the one-horned rhino;
• Gir (Gujarat), the only home of the Asiatic lion;
• Sundarbans (WB), with mangrove tigers;
• Keibul Lamjao (Manipur), the only floating national park, home of the sangai deer.

Species-specific projects

Project Tiger (1 April 1973):

• launched with 9 reserves; there are now about 58 tiger reserves (2025). Among the newest are Madhav (MP, 2025) and Ratapani (MP, 2024);
• administered by the NTCA;
• the All India Tiger Estimation is held every four years. In 2022, the minimum number was 3,167, with a mean estimate of 3,682. That is about 75% of the world's wild tigers;
• leading states: Madhya Pradesh (785), Karnataka, Uttarakhand and Maharashtra;
• assessed by Management Effectiveness Evaluation, where Periyar and Satpura have been rated among the best;
• the International Big Cat Alliance (2023, launched at the 50 years of Project Tiger event) covers seven big cats.

Project Elephant (1992): 33 elephant reserves. The 2017 count was about 29,964 elephants. The 2025 synchronised DNA-based estimate reported about 22,446; it used a different method, so the two figures are not directly comparable. Human–elephant conflict and train collisions are major issues. Elephants were declared the National Heritage Animal in 2010.

Other projects:

• Crocodile Conservation Project (1975, H.R. Bustard), which saved the gharial and mugger;
• Project Snow Leopard (2009). The first national assessment (SPAI, published 2024) estimated about 718 snow leopards, mostly in Ladakh;
• Project Great Indian Bustard. Fewer than about 150 birds remain, mostly in Rajasthan. They are threatened by collisions with power lines; the Supreme Court has ordered undergrounding of lines in priority areas;
• Project Dolphin (2020). The first estimate (2025) counted about 6,327 river dolphins. The Gangetic dolphin is the National Aquatic Animal (2009);
• Project Cheetah (2022);
• SECURE Himalaya (with UNDP);
• the vulture action plan (2020–25);
• Asiatic Lion Conservation Project. The 2025 census counted 891 lions in Gujarat, up from 674 in 2020.

Wildlife crime and trade

Wildlife trade: after drugs and arms, it is among the largest illegal trades in the world. In India the targets include tiger parts, pangolins (India's most trafficked mammal), star tortoises, red sanders, ivory, rhino horn and birds.

Enforcement:

• the WCCB, with operations such as "Operation Turtshield";
• TRAFFIC India (WWF and IUCN);
• CITES listing.

Rhino poaching in Assam has fallen sharply because of strict enforcement. Assam burned its stock of rhino horns in 2021.

Analysis: conservation and people

Human–wildlife conflict: crop raiding, livestock losses and human deaths (from elephants, tigers and leopards) are rising as habitats shrink. Responses include compensation, early warning systems, corridors and barriers. Kerala declared human–wildlife conflict a state-specific disaster in 2024.

Relocation from core areas: relocation must be voluntary with fair packages (NTCA guidelines). Conflicts arise with Forest Rights Act claims.

Corridors: wildlife corridors connect fragmented PAs; NTCA has mapped 32 tiger corridors. Linear infrastructure must include underpasses, as on NH-44 through the Pench landscape.

Community conservation:

• Bishnoi traditions (Rajasthan), going back to the Khejarli massacre of 1730;
• sacred groves: the devrai of Maharashtra and the orans of Rajasthan;
• community reserves in Nagaland, such as the Amur falcon conservation in Pangti.

Common prelims traps

• National parks cannot permit grazing; sanctuaries may.
• The National Board for Wildlife is chaired by the PM.
• After 2022 the WPA has four schedules.
• Gir is the only home of the Asiatic lion; Kaziranga has the most one-horned rhinos.

Quick self-test

1. *What does a biosphere reserve's transition zone allow?* Sustainable human activities and settlement.
2. *How often are tigers counted in India?* Every four years.
3. *Why is the great Indian bustard at risk from power lines?* Its poor frontal vision makes it collide with lines.

Practice: Mains question

*"Project Tiger has been a conservation success, but human–wildlife conflict threatens its gains." Discuss. (250 words)*

Key terms

• Critical tiger habitat: the core area of a tiger reserve, kept inviolate for tiger conservation.
• Inviolate space: an area free of human settlement and use.
• Wildlife corridor: a strip of habitat that links two protected areas, allowing animals to move.
• Ex-situ conservation: conservation outside natural habitats, such as zoos and seed banks.

• Flagship species: a charismatic species that draws support for conserving a whole habitat.