India has had a long history of conservation and sustainable use of natural resources

India has had a long history of conservation and sustainable use of natural resources, and over a period of time has developed a stable organizational structure for environment protection.  Strategies and plans for the conservation and sustainable use of biological resources based on local knowledge systems and practices is ingrained in Indian ethos and way of life. Applications and practices for use of biodiversity in the country have developed over the years in a traditional scientific process.

Environment protection is enshrined in the Constitution of India. Article 48-A and Article 51-A(G) of the Directive Principles of State Policy in the Constitution of India state that ‘the State shall endeavour to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wildlife in the country’, and ‘to protect and improve the national environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife, and to have compassion for the living creatures’. A focussed articulation of these concerns in programmes and policies began to be seen in the wake of 1972 Stockholm Conference which got further sharpened after 1992 Rio Conference. Between the Stockholm Conference  and the Rio Summit, India has been able to develop a stable organisational structure for environment protection in the country. Legislation, policies and programmes were evolved during this period which were geared towards this objective. Numerous and wide ranging policies, programmes and projects were initiated which directly or indirectly serve to protect, conserve and sustainably use the country’s biological resources.

India’s strategies for conservation and sustainable utilisation of biodiversity in the past have comprised providing special status and protection to biodiversity – rich areas by declaring them as National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries, Biosphere Reserves, ecologically fragile and sensitive areas, offloading pressure from reserve forests by alternative measures of fuelwood and fodder need satisfaction, by afforestation of degraded areas and wastelands, creation of ex-situ conservation facilities such as gene banks etc.

These programmes and projects are briefly described below.

1. Existing legal and policy regime

Major Central Acts relevant to biodiversity are:

-   Indian Forest Act, 1927

-   Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972

-   Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980

-   Environment (Protection) Act, 1986

-   Biological Diversity Act, 2002

These Acts have been amended from time to time and are supported by a number of State laws and statutes concerning forests and other natural resources.

Policies, strategies, and action plans directly relevant to biodiversity include:

-  National Forest Policy amended in 1988

-  National Conservation Strategy and Policy Statement for Environment and Sustainable Development

-  National Agricultural Policy

-  National Land Use Policy

-  National Fisheries Policy

-  National Policy and Macrolevel Action Strategy on Biodiversity

-  National Wildlife Action Plan

-  Environmental Action Plan

-  National Forestry Action Programme

In the year 2004, a draft National Environment Policy has been prepared and is under finalisation, which is a comprehensive policy statement to a common approach to the various sectoral, cross sectoral including fiscal approaches to environment management.

2.Surveys

Survey and inventorisation of the floral and faunal resources are carried out by the Botanical Survey of India (BSI) established in 1890, and the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) established in 1916. The Forest Survey of India established in 1981 assesses the forest cover, with a view to develop an accurate database for planning and monitoring purposes. The Wildlife Institute of India undertakes studies of endangered species of animals and critical ecosystems.

In addition, there are several other organizations involved in survey and inventorization of floral and faunal resources of the country.  These include:

·         The Fisheries Survey of India for commercially exploitable coastal and marine fish species

·         National Bureau of Plant Genetics Resources (NBPGR) for survey and collection of genetic material for wild races and cultivars.

·         National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (NBAGR) for survey of all the livestock breeds in their respective breeding tracts.

·         National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources (NBFGR) for survey of fish species.

·         National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) and Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) for monitoring of coastal and marine biodiversity.

·         Organizations such as Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON), Foundation for Revitalization of Local Health Traditions (FRLHT), university and other centers for producing information on biodiversity.

3. In situ conservation

Approximately 4.74% of the total geographical area of the country has been earmarked for extensive in situ conservation of habitats and ecosystems. A protected area network of 94 National Parks and 501 Wildlife Sanctuaries has been created. The results of this network have been significant in restoring viable population of large mammals such as tiger, lion, rhinoceros, crocodiles, elephants etc.

To conserve the representative ecosystems, a Biosphere Reserve Programme is being implemented. Fourteen biodiversity rich areas of the country have been designated as Biosphere Reserves applying the UNESCO/MAB criteria. These reserves aim at conserving the biological diversity and genetic integrity of plants, animals and microorganisms in their totality as part of the natural ecosystems, so as to ensure their self-perpetuation and unhindered evolution of the living resources.

Programmes have also been launched for scientific management and wise use of wetlands, mangroves, and coral reef ecosystems. 60 wetlands, 35 mangrove areas and four coral reef areas have been identified for intensive conservation and management purposes. The various activities under these programmes include protection, catchment area treatment, pollution control, weed control, wildlife conservation, sustainable fisheries development, environmental education and peoples’ participation. National and sub-national level committees oversee and guide these programmes to ensure strong policy and strategic support.

To focus attention on urban wetlands threatened by pollution and other anthropogenic activities, State Governments have identified lakes that could be included in the National Lake Conservation Plan (NLCP). The activities of the NLCP include formulation of perspective plans for conservation based on resource survey using remote sensing technology and GIS, studies on biodiversity and related ecological matters, prevention of pollution from point and non-point sources, treatment of catchmen areast, desilting and weed control.

The Project Tiger, launched in 1973 has succeeded in stabilising and increasing the tiger population in the country. Project Elephant, launched in 1991-92 aims at ensuring long-term survival of viable population of elephants by restoring their lost and degraded habitats, mitigating man-elephant conflicts and establishment of a database on the migration and population dynamics of elephants. It integrates the concerns of improving the quality of life of people living around elephant habitats while maintaining viable population of elephants. Eleven elephant reserves have been identified for intensive management. Rhinos have been given special attention in selected sanctuaries and national parks in the North East and North West India. All these programmes, though focussed on a single species, have a wider impact as they conserve habitats and a variety of other species in those habitats.

The Tura Range in Garo Hills of Meghalaya is a gene sanctuary for preserving the rich native diversity of wild Citrus and Musa species.  Sanctuaries for rhododendrons and orchids have been established in Sikkim.

The Ministry of Environment and Forests constituted the National Afforestation and Eco-development Board (NAEB) in August 1992.  NAEB has evolved specific schemes for promoting afforestation and management strategies, which help the states in developing specific afforestation and management strategies and eco-development packages for augmenting biomass production through a participatory planning process of Joint Forest Management and  microplanning.

4.  Ex-situ conservation

To complement in situ conservation, attention has been paid to ex-situ conservation measures. According to currently available survey, Central Government and State Governments together run and manage 33 Botanical Gardens. Universities have their own botanic gardens. There are 275 zoos, deer parks, safari parks, aquaria etc. A Central Zoo Authority was set up to secure better management of zoos. A scheme entitled Assistance to Botanic Gardens provides one-time assistance to botanic gardens to strengthen and institute measures for ex-situ conservation of threatened and endangered species in their respective regions.

5. National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan

India prepared a National Policy and Macrolevel Action Strategy on Biodiversity (1999) through an extensive consultative process. This document is a macro level statement of policies, gaps and further actions needed for conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity. For preparing detailed microlevel action plans at state and regional levels based on this framework document, India had accessed funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) for preparing a National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP).  The NBSAP process has been undertaken in India from 2000-2005 by MoEF in a consultative and decentralized manner. The biodiversity strategy and action plans have been prepared for 33 States and Union Territories, 18 sub-state sites, 10 ecoregions and 13 themes. The final technical report of the NBSAP process prepared through an extensive consultative process has been received and the plan is under preparation and finalization.

6. Programmes on biodiversity conservation of other concerned Ministries

Some activities relevant to biodiversity conservation are also taken up under various programmes of concerned Ministries and Departments of Government of India. For example, the Department of Biotechnology supports a number of autonomous and non-government institutions in setting up facilities for micropropagation of endangered plants, especially medicinal plants. The Department of Science & Technology and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research have sponsored research and development projects in the area of biodiversity conservation throughout the country. CSIR laboratories in the country have ongoing programmes on biodiversity including those on conservation of medicinal plants and culture of microorganisms which are useful in soil reclamation and marine biodiversity.