Image Source Apr 28, 2021 13:41 IST · 11 min read
Protected Areas in India
India has a network of 868 Protected Areas covering a total of 1,65,088 km2 of geographical area of the country which is approximately 5.02%.India has systematically designated its Protected Areas in four legal categories - National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries, Conservation Reserves and Community Reserves under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
National Park
A national park is a reserved area of land owned by the government which is protected from industrialization, human exploitation, and pollution.National Park are declared for the purpose of protecting, propagating or developing wildlife or its environment, like that of a Sanctuary. Unlike a Sanctuary, where certain rights can be allowed, in a National Park, no rights are allowed.
National Parks cannot be downgraded to the status of a "sanctuary".
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and its World Commission on Protected Areas, has defined it as a Category II type of protected areas.
India's first national park was established in 1936 as Hailey National Park, now known as Jim Corbett National Park, Uttarakhand.
Wildlife Sanctuaries
A wildlife sanctuary is a natural area owned by the government or a private agency for the protection of particular species of flora or fauna during a part of the year or in its entirety.Wildlife Sanctuaries are the areas of adequate ecological, faunal, floral, geomorphological, natural or zoological significance. The Sanctuary is declared for the purpose of protecting, propagating or developing wildlife or its environment.
Certain rights of people living inside the Sanctuary could be permitted.
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has defined it as a Category IV type of protected areas.
Conservation Reserves
Conservation Reserves can be declared by the State Governments in any area owned by the Government, particularly the buffer zones adjacent to National Parks and Sanctuaries and those areas which link one Protected Area with another.Such declarations should be made after having consultations with the local communities.
These are declared for the purpose of protecting landscapes, seascapes, flora and fauna and their habitat. The rights of people living inside a Conservation Reserve are not affected.
Community Reserves
These can be declared by the State Government in any private or community land, not comprised within a National Park, Sanctuary or a Conservation Reserve, where an individual or a community has volunteered to conserve wildlife and its habitat.As in the case of a Conservation Reserve, the rights of people living inside a Community Reserve are not affected.
Biosphere reserves
Biosphere Reserve (BR) is an international designation given by UNESCO to areas of terrestrial and coastal or marine ecosystems or its amalgamation.The biosphere reserve network was launched in 1971 by UNESCO, two years after the initiation of MAB - Man and the biosphere program.
Biosphere Reserves are nominated by national government which meets a minimal set of criteria under the Man and Biosphere Reserve Program of UNESCO.
The Government of India established 18 biospheres in the country (categories generally relating to IUCN Category V Protected areas).
11 of the 18 biosphere reserves in the country are a part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR) which is based on the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme list.
State wise list of Biosphere Reserves in India
| Name of Biosphere Reserve | Location (States) |
|---|---|
| Nilgiri | Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka |
| Nanda Devi | Uttarakhand |
| Nokrek | Meghalaya |
| Great Nicobar | Andaman And Nicobar. |
| Gulf of Mannar | Gulf of Mannar between India and Sri Lanka (Tamil Nadu). |
| Manas | Assam |
| Sunderbans | Part of the delta of Ganges and Brahmaputra river system (West Bengal). |
| Simlipal | Orissa. |
| Dibru-Saikhowa | Assam. |
| Dehang-Dibang | Arunachal Pradesh. |
| Pachmarhi | Madhya Pradesh |
| Khangchendzonga | Sikkim. |
| Agasthyamalai | Kerala. |
| Achanakamar - Amarkantak | M.P. and Chhattishgarh State. |
| Kachchh | Gujarat |
| Cold Desert | Himachal Pradesh. |
| Seshachalam Hills | Andhra Pradesh. |
| Panna | Madhya Pradesh. |
State wise list of National Parks in India
| State/Union Territory | Total Parks | National Parks Name |
|---|---|---|
| Andaman & Nicobar Islands | 9 | Campbell Bay National Park |
| Galathea Bay National Park | ||
| Mahatama Gandhi Marine (Wandoor) National Park | ||
| Middle Button Island National Park | ||
| Mount Harriett National Park | ||
| North Button Island National Park | ||
| Rani Jhansi Marine National Park | ||
| Saddle Peak National Park | ||
| South Button Island National Park | ||
| Andhra Pradesh | 3 | Papikonda National Park |
| Rajiv Gandhi (Rameswaram) National Park | ||
| Sri Venkateswara National Park | ||
| Arunachal Pradesh | 2 | Mouling National Park |
| Namdapha National Park | ||
| Assam | 5 | Dibru-Saikhowa National Park |
| Kaziranga National Park | ||
| Manas National Park | ||
| Nameri National Park | ||
| Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park | ||
| Bihar | 1 | Valmiki National Park |
| Chhattisgarh | 3 | Guru Ghasidas (Sanjay) National Park |
| Indravati (Kutru) National Park | ||
| Kanger Valley National Park | ||
| Goa | 1 | Mollem National Park |
| Gujarat | 4 | Vansda National Park |
| Blackbuck (Velavadar) National Park | ||
| Gir National Park | ||
| Marine (Gulf of Kachchh) National Park | ||
| Haryana | 2 | Kalesar National Park |
| SultaNational Parkur National Park | ||
| Himachal Pradesh | 5 | Great Himalayan National Park |
| Inderkilla National Park | ||
| Khirganga National Park | ||
| Pin Valley National Park | ||
| Simbalbara National Park | ||
| Jammu and Kashmir | 4 | City Forest (Salim Ali) National Park |
| Dachigam National Park | ||
| Kishtwar National Park | ||
| Jharkhand | 1 | Betla National Park |
| Karnataka | 5 | Anshi National Park |
| Bandipur National Park | ||
| Bannerghatta National Park | ||
| Kudremukh National Park | ||
| Nagarahole (Rajiv Gandhi) National Park | ||
| Kerala | 6 | Anamudi Shola National Park |
| Eravikulam National Park | ||
| Mathikettan Shola National Park | ||
| Pambadum Shola National Park | ||
| Periyar National Park | ||
| Silent Valley National Park | ||
| Madhya Pradesh | 9 | Bandhavgarh National Park |
| Fossil National Park | ||
| Indira Priyadarshini Pench National Park | ||
| Kanha National Park | ||
| Madhav National Park | ||
| Panna National Park | ||
| Sanjay National Park | ||
| Satpura National Park | ||
| Van Vihar National Park | ||
| Maharashtra | 6 | Chandoli National Park |
| Gugamal National Park | ||
| Nawegaon National Park | ||
| Pench (Jawaharlal Nehru) National Park | ||
| Sanjay Gandhi (Borivali) National Park | ||
| Tadoba National Park | ||
| Manipur | 1 | Keibul-Lamjao National Park |
| Meghalaya | 2 | Balphakram National Park |
| Nokrek Ridge National Park | ||
| Mizoram | 2 | Murlen National Park |
| Phawngpui Blue Mountain National Park | ||
| Nagaland | 1 | Intanki National Park |
| Odisha | 2 | Bhitarkanika National Park |
| Simlipal National Park | ||
| Rajasthan | 5 | Mukundra Hills National Park |
| Desert National Park | ||
| Keoladeo Ghana National Park | ||
| Ranthambhore National Park | ||
| Sariska National Park | ||
| Sikkim | 1 | Khangchendzonga National Park |
| Tamil Nadu | 5 | Guindy National Park |
| Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park | ||
| Indira Gandhi (Annamalai) National Park | ||
| Mudumalai National Park | ||
| Mukurthi National Park | ||
| Ladakh | 1 | Hemis National Park |
| Telangana | 3 | Kasu Brahmananda Reddy National Park |
| Mahaveer Harina Vanasthali National Park | ||
| Mrugavani National Park | ||
| Tripura | 2 | Clouded Leopard National Park |
| Bison (Rajbari) National Park | ||
| Uttar Pradesh | 1 | Dudhwa National Park |
| Uttarakhand | 6 | Corbett National Park |
| Gangotri National Park | ||
| Govind National Park | ||
| Nanda Devi National Park | ||
| Rajaji National Park | ||
| Valley of Flowers National Park | ||
| West Bengal | 6 | Buxa National Park |
| Gorumara National Park | ||
| Jaldapara National Park | ||
| Neora Valley National Park | ||
| Singalila National Park | ||
| Sunderban National Park |