Shankar IAS Test: Protected Area Network - UPSC MCQ

• The Wild Life (Protection) Act of 1972 provided for the declaration of certain areas by the State Government as wildlife sanctuaries if the area was thought to be of adequate ecological, geomorphological and natural significance. National Park (NP)

• National Parks are declared in areas that are considered to be of adequate ecological, geomorphological and natural significance although, within the law, the difference in conservation value of a National Park from that of a sanctuary is not specified in the WPA 1972.

• Difference between the two: National Parks enjoy a greater degree of protection than sanctuaries. • Certain activities which are regulated in sanctuaries, such as grazing of livestock, are prohibited in National Parks. • Wildlife sanctuary can be created for a particular species (for e.g. grizzled giant squirrel w.l.s in srivilliputhur) whereas the national park is not primarily focused on a particular species. • The Central Government may also declare, Wild Life Sanctuary and National Park under certain conditions.

Entry into the Protected Area

• No person other than-

1. A public servant on duty

2. A person who has been permitted by the Chief Wild Life Warden or the authorized officer to reside within the limits of the sanctuary/National Park

3. A person who has any right over immovable property within the limits of the sanctuary/National Park

4. A person passing through the sanctuary/National Park along a public highway

5. The dependents of the person referred to in clause (a), (b) or (c) above, Shall enter or reside in the sanctuary/National Park, except under and in accordance with the conditions of a permit granted.

• Conservation Reserve and Community Reserves are the outcome of Amendments to the Wildlife protection act in 2003.

• It provided for a mechanism to provide recognition and legal backing to the community-initiated efforts in wildlife protection.

• The Amendment Act of 2003 provided for the creation of a new type of protected area called a Conservation Reserve.

• The State Government may, after having consultations with the local communities, declare any area owned by the Government as a conservation reserve.

• Tiruppadaimarathur conservation reserve in Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu is the first conservation reserve established in the Country.

• It is an effort of the village community to protect the birds nesting in their village and acted for declaration of conservation reserve.

• The Amendment Act of 2003 provided for the creation of a new type of protected area called a Community Reserve.

• The State Government may notify any community land or private land as a Community Reserve, provided that the members of that community or individuals concerned are agreeable to offer such areas for protecting the fauna and flora, as well as their traditions, cultures and practices.

• The State Government may, where the community or an individual has volunteered to conserve wildlife and its habitat, declare the area by notification as community reserve.

• No change in land use pattern shall be made within the Community Reserve, except in accordance with a resolution passed by the Management Committee and approval of the same by the State Government.

• Sacred groves comprise of patches of forests or natural vegetation – from a few trees to forests of several acres – that are usually dedicated to local folk deities.

• People believe that any kind of disturbance will offend the local deity, causing diseases, natural calamities or failure of crops. For example, the Garo and the Khasi tribes of northeastern India completely prohibit any human interference in the sacred groves. In other groves, deadwood or dried leaves may be picked up, but the live tree or its branches are never cut. For example, the Gonds of central India prohibit the cutting of a tree but allow fallen parts to be used.

• THE MAN AND BIOSPHERE (MAB): The Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme is an Intergovernmental Scientific Programme aiming to set a scientific basis for the improvement of the relationships between people and their environment globally.

• Launched in the early 1970s, it proposes an interdisciplinary research agenda and capacity building that target the ecological, social and economic dimensions of biodiversity loss and the reduction of this loss.

• The agenda of the MAB Programme is defined by its main governing body, the International Coordinating Council in concertation with the broader MAB Community.

1. Biosphere Reserve (BR) is an international designation by UNESCO:
   This statement is correct. Biosphere Reserves are indeed designated by UNESCO as part of the Man and the Biosphere (MAB) program, which aims to promote sustainable development by balancing biodiversity conservation with human needs.

2. BRs are special environments for both people and nature and are living examples of how human beings and nature cannot co-exist while respecting each other’s needs:
   This statement is incorrect. Biosphere Reserves are actually designed to show how humans and nature can co-exist while respecting each other’s needs. The purpose of Biosphere Reserves is to demonstrate sustainable practices, where humans can live in harmony with nature while conserving biodiversity and ecosystem services.

Thus, the correct answer is:

a) 1 only.

• Structure and design of Biosphere Reserves: In order to undertake complementary activities of biodiversity conservation and development of sustainable management aspects, Biosphere Reserves are demarcated into three inter-related zones.

• The Core Zone: The core zone should be kept absolutely undisturbed. It must contain suitable habitat for numerous plant and animal species, including higher-order predators and may contain centres of endemism. The core zone is to be kept free from all human pressures external to the system.

• The Buffer Zone: Buffer Zone adjoins or surrounds core zone. Its uses and activities are managed in ways that protect the core zone. Research and educational activities are to be encouraged. Human activities, if natural within BR, are likely to be permitted to continue if these do not adversely affect the ecological diversity.

• The Transition Zone: The Transition Zone is the outermost part of a Biosphere Reserve. This is usually not delimited one and is a zone of cooperation where conservation, knowledge and management skills are applied and uses are managed in harmony with the purpose of the Biosphere Reserve.

• World Heritage Sites means “Sites any of various areas or objects inscribed on the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) World Heritage List”.

• The sites are designated as having outstanding universal value under the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.

This Convention, which was adopted by the UNESCO in 1972 (and enforced in 1975) provides a framework for international cooperation in preserving and protecting cultural treasures and natural areas throughout the world.