What is wildlife?

 

What is wildlife?

.Living things and especially mammals, birds, and fishes that are neither human nor domesticated. 2. A group of local or native animals is referred to as wildlife. 3. Undomesticated animal species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wild in an area without being introduced by humans. 4. Animals that grow or live in the wild without any human interference are known as wildlife.5.  Wildlife refers to plants and animals living in their natural habitat.

Aldo Leopold is acknowledged by some as the father of wildlife conservation in this country. What may be a surprise to some is that he was one of the early leaders of the American wilderness movement. The term wild life was given by W.G. Rosen. Notions of the wildlife of India were introduced in the west and also been made famous through. The Jungle Book in late 1800s by Rudyard Kipling.

Importance of Wildlife: -

 Importance wildlife as part of the world's ecosystems, wildlife provides balance and stability to nature's processes. The goal of wildlife conservation is to ensure the survival of these species, and to educate people on living sustainably with other species. It's been 43 years the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 was introduced in India by the Parliament for the protection of plants and animal species.

The Wildlife Protection Act was enacted by the Indian Parliament in 1972. This Act provides protection of the wildlife (flora and fauna) in the country. This act was enacted in order to ensure environmental and ecological security.

Aim of Wildlife Protection Act 1972: -

India's Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 is a comprehensive piece of legislation that regulates sanctuaries, national parks, and zoos among other protected locations. Its primary aim is to curb the illegal trade in wildlife and the derivative parts. : It balances nature's elements and the preservation of food chains. Wildlife provides a large gene pool. It aids in the conservation of a region's species. Wildlife provides different products such as foods and drugs.

The importance of wildlife can be categorized as ecological, economic and investigatory importance as well as conservation of biological diversities etc. . . . Animals have also been highly useful to us in providing food, clothing and source of income. Our life is almost impossible without the support of wildlife.

Animal, plant and marine biodiversity keeps ecosystems functional. Healthy ecosystems allow us to survive, get enough food to eat and make a living. When species disappear or fall in number, ecosystems and people—especially the world’s poorest—suffer.

In addition, nutritional, aesthetic, scientific, educational and ecological values may be ascribed to wildlife, but they are much more difficult to document and quantify.

Main features of Wildlife Protection Act:-

1. List of protected species of flora and fauna.

2. Banned and controlled hunting.

3. Protection of habitats.

4. Restricted trade of protected flora and fauna.

 

What was the first Wildlife Protection Act?

1934 The Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp Act: Duck Stamp Act, is an early example of a federal wildlife habitat protection law. Enacted in 1934, it is the first major federal legislation to provide a fund specifically for wildlife conservation purposes

Wildlife Protection Act, 1972

The Indian Parliament enacted the Wildlife (Protection) Act in 1972, which provides for the safeguard and protection of the wildlife (flora and fauna) in the country. This is important legislation and forms an integral part of the environment and ecology sections of the UPSC syllabus.

 

What are the features of Wildlife Protection Act 1972?

i) The wild animal becomes too dangerous for humans or; ii) is disabled or suffering from a disease from which it cannot recover. 2. Prohibition of Cutting/Uprooting Certain Plants: It does not permit the uprooting, damaging, possessing or selling of any specified plant from any forest land or any protected area.

 

What was the main objective of 1972 Wildlife Act?

The main purpose of the law is to ensure the protection of wildlife, birds, and plants. The law gives the federal government the power to declare certain areas such as a sanctuary or a national park, wildlife hunting bans and bring punishment for their violation.

This Act provides for the protection of the country’s wild animals, birds, and plant species, in order to ensure environmental and ecological security. Among other things, the Act lays down restrictions on hunting many animal species. The Act was last amended in the year 2006. An Amendment bill was introduced in the Rajya Sabha in 2013 and referred to a Standing Committee, but it was withdrawn in 2015.

Constitutional Provisions for the Wildlife Act

Article 48A of the Constitution of India directs the State to protect and improve the environment and safeguard wildlife and forests. This article was added to the Constitution by the 42nd Amendment in 1976.

Article 51A imposes certain fundamental duties for the people of India. One of them is to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers, and wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures.

History of wildlife protection legislation in India

•The first such law was passed by the British Indian Government in 1887 called the Wild Birds Protection Act, 1887. The law sought to prohibit the possession and sale of specified wild birds that were either killed or captured during a breeding session. •A second law was enacted in 1912 called the Wild Birds and Animals Protection Act. This was amended in 1935 when the Wild Birds and Animals Protection (Amendment) Act 1935 was passed. •During the British Raj, wildlife protection was not accorded a priority. It was only in 1960 that the issue of protection of wildlife and the prevention of certain species from becoming extinct came into the fore.

Need for the Wildlife Protection Act

Wildlife is a part of ‘forests’ and this was a state subject until the Parliament passed this law in 1972. Now it is Concurrent List. Reasons for a nationwide law in the domain of environment particularly wildlife include the following:

1. India is a treasure-trove of varied flora and fauna. Many species were seeing a rapid decline in numbers. For instance, it was mentioned by Edward Pritchard Gee (A naturalist), that at the turn of the 20th century, India was home to close to 40000 tigers. But, a census in 1972 showed this number drastically reduced to about 1827. 2. A drastic decrease in the flora and fauna can cause ecological imbalance, which affects many aspects of climate and the ecosystem. 3. the most recent Act passed during the British era in this regard was the Wild Birds and Animals Protection, 1935. This needed to be upgraded as the punishments awarded to poachers and traders of wildlife products were disproportionate to the huge financial benefits that accrue to them.  4. There were only five national parks in India prior to the enactment of this Act.

Salient Features of Wildlife Protection Act

This Act provides for the protection of a listed species of animals, birds, and plants, and also for the establishment of a network of ecologically-important protected areas in the country.

•The Act provides for the formation of wildlife advisory boards, wildlife wardens, specifies their powers and duties, etc.

• It helped India become a party to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

• CITES is a multilateral treaty with the objective of protecting endangered animals and plants.

• It is also known as the Washington Convention and was adopted as a result of a meeting of IUCN members.

• For the first time, a comprehensive list of the endangered wildlife of the country was prepared.

• The Act prohibited the hunting of endangered species.

• Scheduled animals are prohibited from being traded as per the Act’s provisions.

• The Act provides for licenses for the sale, transfer, and possession of some wildlife species.

• It provides for the establishment of wildlife sanctuaries, national parks, etc.

• Its provisions paved the way for the formation of the Central Zoo Authority. This is the central body responsible for the oversight of zoos in India. It was established in 1992.

• The Act created six schedules which gave varying degrees of protection to classes of flora and fauna.

• Schedule I and Schedule II (Part II) get absolute protection, and offences under these schedules attract the maximum penalties.

• The schedules also include species that may be hunted.

• The National Board for Wildlife was constituted as a statutory organization under the provisions of this Act.

• This is an advisory board that offers advice to the central government on issues of wildlife conservation in India.

• It is also the apex body to review and approve all matters related to wildlife, projects of national parks, sanctuaries, etc.

• The chief function of the Board is to promote the conservation and development of wildlife and forests.

• It is chaired by the Prime Minister.

• The Act also provided for the establishment of the National Tiger Conservation Authority.

• It is a statutory body of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change with an overall supervisory and coordination part, performing capacities as given in the Act.

• Its mandate is to strengthen tiger conservation in India.

• It gives statutory authority to Project Tiger which was launched in 1973 and has put the endangered tiger on a guaranteed path of revival by protecting it from extinction.

Protected Areas under the Wildlife Protection Act

There are five types of protected areas as provided under the Act. They are described below.

1.         Sanctuaries

2.         National Parks

3.         Conservation Reserves

4.         Community Reserves

5.         Tiger Reserves

 

1. Sanctuaries: “Sanctuary is a place of refuge where injured, abandoned, and abused wildlife is allowed to live in peace in their natural environment without any human intervention.” 1. They are naturally-occurring areas where endangered species are protected from poaching, hunting, and predation. 2. Here, animals are not bred for commercial exploitation. 3. The species are protected from any sort of disturbance. 4. Animals are not allowed to be captured or killed inside the sanctuaries. 5. A wildlife sanctuary is declared by the State government by a Notification. Boundaries can be altered by a Resolution of the State Legislature. 6. Human activities such as timber harvesting, collecting minor forest products, and private ownership rights are permitted as long as they do not interfere with the animals’ well-being. Limited human activity is permitted. 7. They are open to the general public. But people are not allowed unescorted. There are restrictions as to who can enter and/or reside within the limits of the sanctuary. Only public servants (and his/her family), persons who own immovable property inside, etc. are allowed. People using the highways which pass through sanctuaries are also allowed inside. 8. Boundaries of sanctuaries are not generally fixed and defined. 9. Biologists and researchers are permitted inside so that they can study the area and its inhabitants. 10. The Chief Wildlife Warden (who is the authority to control, manage and maintain all sanctuaries) may grant permission to persons for entry or residence in the sanctuary for the study of wildlife, scientific research, photography, the transaction of any lawful business with persons residing inside, and tourism. 11. Sanctuaries can be upgraded to the status of a ‘National Park’.12.Examples: Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary (Rann of Kutch, Gujarat); Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary in Tamil Nadu (oldest bird sanctuary in India); Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary (Karnataka).

2. National Parks: “National Parks are the areas that are set by the government to conserve the natural environment.”

1. A national park has more restrictions as compared to a wildlife sanctuary. 2. National parks can be declared by the State government by Notification. No alteration of the boundaries of a national park shall be made except on a resolution passed by the State Legislature. 3.The main objective of a national park is to protect the natural environment of the area and biodiversity conservation. 4. The landscape, fauna, and flora are present in their natural state in national parks. 5. Their boundaries are fixed and defined. 6. Here, no human activity is allowed.7. Grazing of livestock and private tenurial rights are not permitted here.8. Species mentioned in the Schedules of the Wildlife Act are not allowed to be hunted or captured.9. No person shall destroy, remove, or exploit any wildlife from a National Park or destroy or damage the habitat of any wild animal or deprive any wild animal of its habitat within a national park. 10. They cannot be downgraded to the status of a ‘sanctuary’.

Examples: Bandipur National Park in Karnataka; Hemis National Park in Jammu & Kashmir; Kaziranga National Park in Assam.

3. Conservation Reserves: The State government may declare an area (particularly those adjacent to sanctuaries or parks) as conservation reserves after consulting with local communities.

4. Community Reserves: The State government may declare any private or community land as a community reserve after consultation with the local community or an individual who has volunteered to conserve the wildlife.

5. Tiger Reserves: These areas are reserved for the protection and conservation of tigers in India. They are declared on the recommendations of the National Tiger Conservation Authority.

Schedule of Wild Life Protection Act (WPA) 1972

Schedule I:-This Schedule deals with endangered species.

Because these species require strict protection, the greatest punishments for law violations are listed in this Schedule. Species listed in this Schedule are forbidden from being hunted in India, unless they pose a threat to human life. Species on this list have absolute protection.It is illegal to trade these animals.

Ex. Tiger, blackbuck, Himalayan Brown Bear, Brow-Antlered Deer, Blue whale, Common Dolphin, Cheetah, Clouded Leopard, hornbills, Indian Gazelle, and other animals are examples.

Schedule II

Animals on this list are also afforded high protection, with trade prohibited. They cannot be hunted unless there is a threat to human life or they are suffering from a disease/disorder that is beyond recovery.

Animals include the Assamese Macaque, Pig Tailed Macaque, Stump Tailed Macaque, Bengal Hanuman langur, Himalayan Black Bear, Himalayan Newt/ Salamander, Jackal, Flying Squirrel, Giant Squirrel, Sperm Whale, Indian Cobra, and King Cobra.

Schedules III and IV:-

It contain non-endangered species.

This includes protected species where hunting is prohibited, but the penalty for any violation is less severe than in the first two schedules. Schedule III animals include - Chital (spotted deer), Bharal (blue sheep), Hyena, Nilgai, Sambhar (deer), and Sponges.  Schedule IV animals include - Flamingos, Hares, Falcons, Kingfishers, Magpies, Horseshoe Crabs

Schedule V: -

Animals are referred to as "vermin" and can be hunted.

Includes only four animals: mice, rats, common crows, and flying foxes (fruit eating bats).

Schedule VI:-

It regulates the cultivation of a specific plant and restricts its possession, sale, and transportation.

Plant cultivation and trade are only permitted with the prior approval of a competent authority.

Plants include the: Beddomes' cycad (Native to India), Blue Vanda (Blue Orchid), Red Vanda (Red Orchid), Kuth (Saussurea lappa), Slipper orchids (Paphiopedilum spp.),  Pitcher plant (Nepenthes khasiana)