2023-05-03 10:50:35
Types of Protected Areas in India-1) Wildlife Sanctuary-
A wildlife sanctuary is an area where animal habitats and their surroundings are protected from any sort of disturbance.
• Any area other than area comprised with any reserve forest or the territorial waters can be notified by the State Government, under Wildlife (Protection) Act (WPA) of 1972.
• Some restricted human activities are allowed inside the Sanctuary area details of which are given in WPA, 1972.
• There are more than 500 wildlife sanctuaries in India
2) National Park-
• A national park is a park in use for conservation purposes. It is more protected vis-a-vis protection in wildlife sanctuaries.
• Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972 gives both Central and State Government power to declare certain areas as national parks.
• No human activity is permitted inside the national park except for the ones permitted by the Chief Wildlife Warden of the state under the conditions given in WPA 1972.
• There are more than 100 national parks in India.
3) Biosphere Reserve-
• Biosphere Reserve is an international designation by UNESCO comprising terrestrial, marine and coastal ecosystems.
• A biosphere reserve is divided into core, buffer and transition zone in decreasing order of protection.
• There are 18 biosphere reserves in India, of which 13 are part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves, based on the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme.
4) Community Reserve or Conservation Reserves-
• It is a category of protected areas defined under the ‘Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972’ (introduced in the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act of 2002).
• It is an inhabited area which typically act as buffer zone to or connectors and migration corridors between established national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and reserved and protected forests of India. Parts of the land in this area are privately owned.
• Such areas are designated as conservation areas if they are uninhabited and completely owned by the Government of India but used for subsistence by communities.
• State Government after consulting with the central government and the local communities, declares any area as community or conservation reserve.
• Currently there are 127 community reserves in India and maximum in the state of Meghalaya.
5) Tiger Reserve-
• A National Park or Wildlife Sanctuary that is considered significant for protecting tigers can be additionally designated as a Tiger Reserve.
• They are governed by Project Tiger which is administrated by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).
• A Tiger Reserve consists of a ‘Core’ or ‘Critical Tiger Habitat’, which is to be managed as an inviolate area and a ‘Buffer’ or Peripheral area is immediately abutting a Core area, which may be accorded a lesser degree of habitat protection.
• There are currently 50 tiger reserves in the country.
6) Marine Protected Areas-
• A marine protected area (MPA) is essentially a space in the ocean where human activities are more strictly regulated than the surrounding waters - similar to parks on land.
• These places are given special protections for natural or historic marine resources by local, state, territorial, native, regional, or national authorities
7) Bird Sanctuary-
• Bird sanctuaries are nature facilities that ensure conservation of various species of birds and their natural habitats.
• There are more than 70 Bird Sanctuaries in India.
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