This presentation discusses wildlife conservation in India. It covers the key laws and organizations related to wildlife protection, including the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972, the Forest Conservation Act of 1980, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The document outlines the main threats to wildlife such as habitat loss and pollution, and emphasizes the importance of conservation efforts like protected areas and breeding programs.

1. A presentation on:
By:
Group 1
1.Naveen
2.Neetesh
3.Nilay
4.Pankaj
6.Pankaj yadav
Wildlife Conservation

2. Introduction
• The Constitution of India clearly states that it
is the duty of the state to ‘protect and
improve the environment and to safeguard
the forests and wildlife of the country’.
• The Department of Environment was
established in India in 1980.This later became
the Ministry of Environment and Forests in
1985.

3. Contd..:
• The EPA (Environment Protection Act), 1986
came into force soon after the Bhopal Gas
Tragedy and is considered an umbrella
legislation as it fills many gaps in the existing
laws.
• Thereafter a large number of laws came into
existence as the problems began arising, for
example, Handling and Management of
Hazardous Waste Rules in 1989.

4. Forest and wildlife
• 1927 - The Indian Forest Act and Amendment, 1984,
– It was enacted to ‘consolidate the law related to forest, the
transit of forest produce, and the duty leviable on timber
and other forest produce’.
• 1972 - The Wildlife Protection Act, Rules 1973 and
Amendment 1991
– Provides for the protection of birds, animals and plants
and for all matter connected there with.
• 1980 - The Forest (Conservation) Act and Rules, 1981,
provides for the protection of and the conservation of
the forests.

5. Meaning of wi ldl ife conservat ion
• Wildlife:
• According to the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972,
wildlife includes any animal, bees, butterfly, crustacean,
fish and moth; and aquatic or land vegetation, which
form part of any habitat.
Therefore, wildlife refers to living organisms (flora and fauna) in
their natural habitats.
Example: lion, deer, crocodiles, whales, trees and
shrubs in dense forests etc.
 But cultivated plants and domesticated animals are not
included in wildlife!

6. Benefits of Wildlife
• Wildlife is an essential component of various
food chains, food webs, biogeochemical cycles
and energy flow through various trophic
levels.
• Preserves vitality and health of environment
and provides stability to various ecosystems

7. Did y ou know? ?
Wildlife is a symbol of national pride and cultural heritage.
Over 100 years ago, there were over 1 lakh tigers across Asia
whereas today this number is below 5000 worldwide.
Wildlife is renewable source of a large variety of commercial
products like food, leathers, honey, herbal medicines, timber etc.
Scientists and medical researchers use wildlife animals as
research materials on which trial experiments are performed
before there actual application to human beings.
Project Tiger and Gir Lion Project have been launched by the
government of India to protect the tiger and lion population in
country.

8. Enforcement of legal provisions
Some important legal provisions related to
wildlife protection and conservation:
Forest conservation act, 1980
National forest policy, 1988
Wildlife protection act, 1972
( amended 1991, 2002 )

9. Threats to wildlife
Wildlife everywhere on the earth is under threat of
extinction and struggling hard for survival.
1. Habitat loss :
 Population growth, fast industrialisation , urbanisation and
modernisation have all contributed to a large-scale destruction of
natural habitat of plants and animals.
2. Pollution:
 Air, water, soil and noise pollution of the magnitude and toxicity never
seen before is the major factor.
 Natural habitats have been destroyed or damaged by activities such
as the indiscriminate use of synthetic materials, release of radiations
and oil spills in the sea, generation of effluents and wastes of various
kinds and toxicity, and their unscientific disposal.
3. Indiscriminate hunting:
 Indiscriminate killing and poaching of wild animals for food, horn, fur,
tusk etc. has resulted in reduction and even extinction of many wild
species.

10. 4. Introduction of exotic species:
 Many native species have known to disappear and
their existence is under threat because of the
introduction of exotic and alien species.

11. Conservation measures
The conservation strategies should include the following
programmes and policies:
Protection of threatened/useful plants and animals species living
in natural habitats, zoological and botanical gardens, seed gene,
tissue culture and DNA banks.
Preservation of critical habitats of animal and plant species plus
the management of life supporting systems in the surrounding
habitats.
Hunting and international trade in wild animals and plants
products should be regulated and a strict vigil should be
maintained upon these actions.
Role of government and NGOs in spreading awareness
programmes among common people about values of wildlife and
it’s conservation.

12. Biosphere reserves
• Biosphere reserves are a specific category of protected
area of land and/or coastal area wherein tribal people
native to the area are an integral part of the system.
• The concept of Biosphere Reserve was conceived by the
UN and was launched in 1975 as a part of UNESCO’ s
“Man and Biosphere” Programme.
• In bioreserves various uses of land are permitted by
dividing it into 3 distinct zones viz, Core Zone, Buffer
Zone and Transition Zone.
• The government of India has established 18 biosphere
reserves.
There are approximately 610 biosphere reserves located in 117
countries of the world.
There are 18 biosphere reserves zones in India.
Nine of the Eighteen biosphere reserves are a part of the World
Network of Biosphere Reserves, based on the UNESCO Man and
the Biosphere (MAB) Programme list

13. IUCN(International Union for
Conservation of Nature and Natural
Resources)
• The International Union for Conservation of
Nature (IUCN, Union internationale pour la conservation de la
nature [UICN], in French) is an international
organisation dedicated to finding "pragmatic solutions to our
most pressing environment and development challenges".
• The organization publishes the IUCN Red List of Threatened
Species, which assesses the conservation status of species.
• It works for the enlistment and preservation of endangered
species of plants and animals.
Now known as the World Conservation Union, it aims to impart
information about the distribution and status of threatened
species, develop awareness about the importance of threatened
biodiversity and guide their conservation programmes and
actions.

14. “ Protected areas and threatened species could most effectively be
safeguarded if local people considered it in their own interest to do so.
Working with rather than against local people became a major working
principle for IUCN. ”
The IUCN programme
for 2013-2016.
“ IUCN's stated vision is "a just world
that values and conserves nature". Its
mission is to "influence, encourage and
assist societies throughout the world to
conserve nature and to ensure that any
use of natural resources is equitable and
ecologically sustainable ”

15. The union has identified and documented
endangered species of plants and animals and has
placed them into eight “Red list” categories. The red list
categories can be regrouped into four main categories
as follows:
• EXTINCT SPECIES
• ENDANGERD SPECIES
• VULNERNABLE SPECIES
• RARE SPECIES

16. Forest conservation act, 1980
• India is one among a few countries in the world
which has a Forest Act since 1927.
• The act was reformulated in 1980 and later
amended in 1988.
The Act empowered the government and the forest
department
oTo create and manage reserved forests, protected forests and village
forests.
oTo protect non-governmental forests and forest land.
oTo control movement of forest produce.
oTo control and regulate cattle grazing.

17. National forest policy, 1988
• In the year 1952, India formulated her first forest
policy which laid more emphasis on revenue
generation than on sustainability of forests and
their natural functions.
• The new forest policy emphasises conservation of
forests as a natural heritage and ensures
environmental stability and maintenance of
ecological balance including atmospheric
equilibrium which is so vital for life and growth of
all life forms including wildlife.

18. Wildlife protection act, 1972 (Amended 1991, 2002)
The act was passed by the Parliament of India to protect India’s wildlife.
Before 1972,India only had five designated national parks. Among other
reforms, the Act established schedules of protected plant and animal species;
hunting or harvesting these species was largely outlawed.
The main objective of the Act are as follows:
 Prohibition on hunting of specified plants and/or animals.
 Setting up and management of national parks and wildlife sanctuaries.
 Control of trade and commerce in wildlife, and wildlife products.
 Setting up of wildlife advisory board from state level to block and panchayat levels
and empowering zoo authorities with control and management of zoos and for
captive breeding.
 The amendment to this Act in 2002 brought in the concept of Community Reserves
and made the provision of the Act more stringent by altering several definitions in
the previous Act.

19. International rules and laws
Many nations have reached bilateral/multilateral
agreements and have framed rules and regulations for
protection and conservation of wildlife.
Some of these are:
 AFRICAN CONVENTION ON THE CONSERVATION OF NATURAL
RESOURCES, 1968.
 CONVENTION OF WETLANDS OF INTERNATIONAL IMPORTANCE
(RAMSAR CONVENTION), 1971
 CONSERVATION AND PROTECTION OF THE WORLD CULTURE AND
NATIONAL HERITAGE ACT, 1972

20. Other measures taken for
Wildlife conservation
Breeding programmes for endangered
species
Prevention of poaching, hunting and
biopiracy

21. Penalties
• Wildlife protection act (9 sept . 1972).
• Section 51 deals with penalties.
– Any person who contravenes any provision or rule
of this act shall be punished with imprisonment
for extent of 3 years , or fine extending upto Rs
25000 or both.

22. • The Indian Forest Act.
• Under section 33 of this act imprisonment for
a term of 6 months or more or fine of Rs 5,000
or both is the penalty for any person who
violates any of the rule under this act.

23. Group 1