“Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) and
Botanical Survey of India (BSI) under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and
Climate Change conduct surveys of threatened and important species of fauna and
flora respectively of the country and document the faunal and floral diversity
of the country including the rare ones which are on the verge of extinction.
The Zoological
Survey of India, Kolkata published a booklet titled “Critically Endangered
Animal Species of India” in March 2011. The booklet provides details of fauna
which are critically endangered and on the verge of extinction. The findings of
the status survey of rare and endangered species of fauna have been published
by the Zoological Survey of India for the last 15 years as mentioned in
Annexure A. The Botanical Survey of India has published
four volumes of Red Data Book of Indian Plants, (Eds.
Jain & Rao, 1984; Nayar & Sastry 1987 – 1990) and Red List
of Threatened Vascular Plant Species in India (Rao et al. 2003), which provide information on
1236 species
belonging to different threatened categories like Critically Endangered,
Endangered, Vulnerable, etc.
For protection of
the interests of flora and fauna, the Government has established a
country-wide protected area network (678 Protected Areas (PAs) including 102
National Parks, 515 Wildlife Sanctuaries, 4 Community Reserves, and 57 Conservation
Reserves in different biogeographic regions), which primarily covers habitats
of threatened flora and fauna. Moreover, 9 of the 18 Biosphere Reserves
in India are part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves of
UNESCO. Specific
areas are designated by the Ministry/ Govt. of India as Ecologically
Sensitive Areas (ESAs), which are protected under the Environment (Protection)
Act 1986 (EPA). Several other steps to conserve/protect the wildlife and
species of flora and fauna undertaken by the Ministry/Govt. are mentioned
below:
(i)
The
Project Tiger and Project Elephant have been setup for protection of
charismatic species and their habitat including associated flora and fauna. The
Zoological Survey of India through the Ministry undertake status surveys of
endangered fauna in Protected Areas (PAs) and outside Protected Areas (PAs) of
the country and suggest government for protection of rare and endangered
species. Government of India has formulated various wildlife protection acts
for conservation and protection of rare and endangered species in India. There
are Ramsar sites of wetland importance and Natural Heritage Sites declared by
the Government of India for creating conducive environment for rare species of
animals. India is signatory to Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). India
is also a signatory to many international convention and treaties viz. Ramsar
Convention, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES),
Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), Conference of Parties (CoP) etc. which
are aiming at conservation of wildlife in the country.
(ii)
On the policy front some conservation oriented legislations
[Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972; Environment
(Protection) Act, 1986; National Biodiversity Act,
2002, etc.] ensure protection of threatened species and their habitats. Under
the provisions of Section 38 of the National Biodiversity Act, 2002, the
species are identified state-wise; Ministry
has already issued notifications for 14 states to this
effect. Further, the Ministry is in the process of including some
prioritised endangered plants, including some that are from the Himalaya,
in the relevant Schedule of Wildlife Protection Act (1972) to accord them legal
protection.
(iii)
The
Centrally Sponsored Scheme 'Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats' has
been modified in 2008-09 by including a new component namely 'Recovery of
Endangered Species' and 16 species have been identified for recovery. Funds for
the recovery of endangered species viz. Hangul in Jammu and Kashmir, Snow Leopard
in Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand, Vulture in Punjab, Haryana and Gujarat,
Swiftlet in Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Nilgiri Tahr in Tamil Nadu, Sanghai
Deer in Manipur and Snow Leopard in Arunachal Pradesh are being provided.
(iv)
The
Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, has been amended and made more stringent. The
punishment in cases of offences has been enhanced. The Act also provides for
forfeiture of any equipment, vehicle or weapon that is used for committing
wildlife offence.
(v)
The
State Governments have been requested to strengthen the field formations and
intensify patrolling in and around the Protected Areas.
(vi)
The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau has been set up for control of
poaching and illegal trade in wildlife and its products.
(vii)
Strict vigil is maintained through effective communication system.”
This
information was given by Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Environment,
Forest and Climate Change, Shri Anil Madhav Dave, in reply to a written
question in Lok Sabha today.
.
***
HK
Annexure A
§ Status Survey of
Endangered Species 1. Report-1. Golden Langur, Presbytisgeei Khajuria;
Phayre’s Leaf Monkey, Presbytisphayrei Blyth; Hispid Hare, Caprolagushisipidus
(Pearson).
§ Status and
review of the Western Tragopan Tragopanmelanocephalus in India - Anil
Mahabal and P.C. Tak ISBN 81-85874-87-5 2002 1-19.
§ Wroughton’s Free
Tailed bat Otomopswroughtoni - Ramakrishna, M.S. Pradhan and Sanjay
Thakur ISBN 81-8171-002-9 2003.
§ Status of
Himalayan Marmot - J.R.B. Alfred, R.M. Sharma, P.C. Tak and D.K. Sharma ISBN
81-8171-116-5.
§ Status of Kiang-
J.R.B. Alfred et al. ISBN 81-8171-093-2
§ Status of Indian
Edible-nest Swiftlet Colocolia unicolor (Jerdon) in Western Ghats and
Arabian Sea, India - Anil Mahabal, Satish Pande, R.M. Sharma and Shivkumar N.
Padnekar ISBN XXX-XX-8171-145-8.
§ Status of
Himalayan Salamander : V. D. Hegde and KaushikDeuti ISBN XXX-XX-8171-156-4.
§ Status ecology
and behaviour of Antilopecervicapra (Linnaeus, 1758) in proposed
community reserve for Blackbuck, Ganjam district, Orissa, India Arun Kumar Roy
Mahto, Ramakrishna and M. Raziuddin ISBN XXX-XX-8171-265-3.
§ Status of Trochusniloticus
(Linnaeus, 1767) in Andaman and Nicobar Islands Ramakrishna, C. Raghunathan, C.
Sivaperuman ISBN XXX-XX-8171-274-5.
§ Status of
Blackbuck Antilopecervicapra (Linnaeus, 1758) in Odisha AtinderMurmu,
Arun Kumar Mehto, SubirGuha and P.C. Soren ISBN XXX-XX-8171-317-9.
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