Empowering Conservation: The Wildlife Policy of India

India is home to a wide variety of flora and fauna due to its different ecosystems, which span from the snow-covered Himalayas to the tropical rainforests of the Western Ghats. India’s exceptional biodiversity places it among the world’s 17 megadiverse nations. However, human activities like deforestation, habitat fragmentation, poaching, and illegal wildlife trade have put this rich natural legacy under growing jeopardy. Realising the need of conserving its wildlife, India passed the landmark Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act in 1972 to save both the nation’s species and its habitats. This paper explores the current wildlife policy in India in terms of several challenges and gaps that need to be addressed to ensure effective conservation and protection of the country’s biodiversity. This research analyses existing wildlife policy, identify the key issues and gaps, and proposes areas of improvement. 

India is a nation rich in biodiversity due to its rich historical legacy and abundance of rare and indigenous natural resources. Illegal trade and exploitation of natural resources continues to be a great concern and India faces a significant challenge in protecting and conserving its wildlife. This goal cannot be accomplished until and unless all government agencies, local residents living in and around the protected regions, law enforcement officers, non-profit and nongovernmental organisations, and the general public collaborate to achieve it (Niraj, Krausman & Dayal, 2012). Therefore, it is imperative that everyone preserve this abundant resource and keep the environment in balance.

Despite the country’s rigorous legal provisions for the very purpose of wildlife protection and conservation being provided by the laws pertaining to the protection of wildlife and their natural habitat, it is observed that the actual situation on the ground is different. This research identified weak enforcement and implementation of the Wildlife Protection Act as a major concern (Soni, 2020). Even the use of hazardous materials in industry, daily human activity, building and road construction, leisure, and entertainment activities has a negative impact on the environment, which in turn has an impact on wildlife and their natural habitat.

An important turning point in India’s history of wildlife conservation was the passage of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act in 1972. Before the legislation was passed, state-specific regulations that varied widely in their implementation oversaw wildlife conservation in India (Karanth et al, 2008). With the passage of the 1972 Act, a complete legislative framework for the conservation of wildlife nationwide was established for the first time.

The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (53 of 1972), provides the legal framework for the protection of various species of wild animals, management of their habitat and also for the regulation and control of trade in the products derived from various parts of wild animals (Karanth, Gupta & Vanamamalai, 2018). The Act was introduced at a period when animal population in India were rapidly declining because of widespread hunting and habitat destruction. Due to the threat of extinction facing the Bengal tiger in particular, Project Tiger, a significant conservation effort run under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, was started in 1973. The Act therefore established the groundwork for the nation’s conservation initiatives and has played a significant role in the recovery of a number of species over time, including the Asiatic lion and the Indian rhinoceros (Maikhuri et al, 2001). To read more click here: Wildlife Policy of India – Innovapolis