mTopic: Wildlife Conservation Efforts in

India( topic for girls)

➢Index (includeall sub topics with page
number)Sub topics
1.What is considered as ‘wildlife’ and need of
conservation.
Wildlife traditionally refers to undomesticated animal species, but has come to include
all organisms that grow or live wild in an area without being introduced by humans.[1] Wildlife can
be found in all ecosystems. Deserts, forests, rainforests, plains, grasslands, and other areas,
including the most developed urban areas, all have distinct forms of wildlife. While the term
in popular culture usually refers to animals that are untouched by human factors, most scientists
agree that much wildlife is affected by human activities.[2]

Humans have historically tended to separate civilization from wildlife in a number of ways,

including the legal, social, and moral senses. Some animals, however, have adapted to suburban
environments. This includes such animals as domesticated cats, dogs, mice, and rats. Some
religions declare certain animals to be sacred, and in modern times, concern for the natural
environment has provoked activists to protest against the exploitation of wildlife for human
benefit or entertainment.
Global wildlife populations have decreased by 68% since 1970 as a result of human activity,
particularly overconsumption, population growth and intensive farming, according to a
2020 World Wildlife Fund's Living Planet Report and the Zoological Society of London's Living
Planet Index measure, which is further evidence that humans have unleashed a sixth mass
extinction event.[3][4] According to CITES, it has been estimated that annually the international
wildlife trade amounts to billions of dollars and it affects hundreds of millions of animal and plant
specimen.[5]
. Wildlife conservation can be defined as the practice of protecting animal species
and their habitats. Which includes protecting both the animals and their habitat.
Generally, we apply wildlife conservation to species that are in danger of
becoming extinct by unnatural causes. These can be causes such as pollution,
climate change, unreasonable laws. Moreover, quotas can lead to excessive hunting
and high number of wild animals in captivity.

Examples of this can be the pollution of water that threatens marine wildlife. Or
rise in water temperatures, r esulting in the Great Barrier Reef to lose its colours
and large parts of the corals on reef to die. The number of corals on the reef has
declined by 89% since 2016. The Great Barrier Reef is also supporting thousands
of different species and marine mammals. Other examples are shootings of wolves;
usually, people do this to protect livestock like sheep rather than invest in fencing
or other measure to protect them. There is also a huge problem with captivation of
threatened species like elephants.

The eco-system is all about relationships between different organisms connected through
food webs and food chains. Even if a single wildlife species gets extinct from the eco-
system, it may disturb the whole food chain ultimately leading to disastrous results.
Consider a simple example of a bee that is vital for growth of certain crops due to their
pollen carrying roles. If bees get reduced in numbers, the growth of food crops would
definitely lower owing to lack of pollination.

Similarly, if a specie gets increased in number, again it can have an adverse effect on the
ecological balance. Consider another simple case of carnivores which is getting reduced
every day due to human poaching and hunting. The reduction of these carnivores is
leading to increase in the number of herbivores who are dependent on forest vegetation
for their survival. It would not be long, when the number of herbivores in forests would
soar to such a great extent that they would move to agricultural lands and villages for
their food needs. Thus, saving wildlife plays a great role in ensuring a check on the
ecological balance thereby, maintaining a healthy eco-system.

2.Ministry and departments of Wildlife conservation

in India.
The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) is the nodal agency in the
administrative structure of the Central Government for planning, promotion, co-ordination
and overseeing the implementation of India's environmental and forestry policies and
programmes. The main activities undertaken by the ministry include conservation and survey
of the flora of India and fauna of India, forests and other wilderness areas; prevention and
control of pollution; afforestation, and land degradation mitigation.

3.Conservation efforts -National parks, Biosphere

Reserves, Sanctuaries etc.
Article 48 of the Constitution of India says, "The state shall endeavour to protect and improve the
environment and to safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country" and Article 51-A states that
"it shall be the duty of every citizen of India to protect and improve the natural environment
including forests, lakes, rivers, and wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures."[21] The
committee in the Indian Board for Wildlife, in their report, defines wildlife as "the entire natural
uncultivated flora and fauna of the country" while the Wildlife (protection) Act 1972 defines it as
"any animal, bees, butterflies, crustacea, fish, moths and aquatic or land vegetation which forms
part of any habitat."[

Despite the various environmental issues faced, the country still has rich and varied wildlife

As of 2020-21, there are 981 protected areas including 104 National Parks, 566 Wildlife
Sanctuaries, 97 Conservation Reserves and 214 Community Reserves. In addition there are 51
Tiger Reserves, 18 Biosphere Reserves and 32 Elephant Reserves.
Hundreds of India's bird populations are in serious decline, according to a study spanning over
25 years.[23]
In 2020 the Indian government created the world's first sea cucumber reserve in Lakshadweep-
Dr KK Mohammed Koya Sea Cucumber Conservation Reserve, the largest marine conservation
reserve - Attakoya Thangal Marine Conservation Reserve and the first protected area for marine
birds in India - PM Sayeed Marine Birds Conservation Reserve.[24]
Gir forest in India has the only surviving population of Asiatic lions in the world. In the late 1960s,
there were only about 180 Asiatic lions. There were 523 Asiatic lions in the Gir sanctuary in
Gujarat state which in 2018 increased to more than 600
The Indian government has established eighteen biosphere reserves of India which protect
larger areas of natural habitat and often include one or more national parks and/or preserves,
along buffer zones that are open to some economic uses. Protection is granted not only to the
flora and fauna of the protected region, but also to the human communities who inhabit these
regions, and their ways of life.
The protected areas are:

 Achanakmar Wildlife Sanctuary

 Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve
 Dibru-Saikhowa National Park
 Dihang-Dibang Biosphere Reserve
 Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve
Etc..

4.RedList categories.
The list of critically endangered species in India from various categories are given below:

Critically Endangered Mammals

1. Pygmy Hog 
2. Andaman White-toothed Shrew 
3. Jenkin’s Andaman Spiny Shrew 
4. Nicobar White-tailed Shrew 
5. Kondana Rat 
6. Large Rock Rat or Elvira Rat 
7. Namdapha Flying Squirrel 
8. Malabar Civet 
9. Sumatran Rhinoceros 
10. Javan Rhinoceros 

Critically Endangered Birds

1. Aythya Baeri
2. Forest Owlet
3. Great Indian Bustard
4. Bengal Florican
5. Siberian Crane
6. Spoon-billed Sandpiper
7. Sociable Lapwing
8. Jerdon’s Courser
9. White-backed Vulture
10. Red-headed Vulture
11. White-bellied Heron
12. Slender-billed Vulture
13. Indian Vulture
14. Pink-headed Duck
15. Himalayan Quail

Critically Endangered Reptiles

 1. Gharial 
2. Hawksbill Turtle
3. River Terrapin
4.  Bengal Roof Turtle
5. Sispara day gecko 

Critically Endangered Fishes

1. Pondicherry Shark 
2. Ganges Shark 
3. Knife-tooth Sawfish 
4. Large-tooth Sawfish 
5. Narrow-snout Sawfish 

5.Challenges faced.
By far the most urgent threat is the pressure from illegal hunting or poaching. We still
have substantial amounts of forests left in some areas, particularly in the huge swathes
of the tribal belts of Central and North East India, but they are “empty forests”. The
wildlife in them has mostly been killed off, eaten or sold. The killers come in a variety of
forms: they may be local people hunting for the pot, using snares or guns, or they may
be the lowest link in a mafia that is involved in the massive international illegal trade in
wildlife that is today almost as big as the drug trade.

In addition, during the past decade, reckless development in the form of new highways,
mines, dams and even so-called ecotourism have emerged as major indirect threats to
wildlife habitats both inside nature reserves, as well as outside them. There are powerful
lobbies pushing these projects..

➢Conclusion-conclude with your learning about this

topic.
frame it up
➢Bibliography
oWebsite references –provide http// address
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildlife
2. https://www.globalteer.org/importance-of-wildlife-conservation/
3. https://www.india.gov.in/topics/environment-forest/wildlife#:~:text=The%20Ministry%20of
%20Environment%20and,and%20forestry%20policies%20and%20programmes.

4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildlife_of_India
5. https://byjus.com/free-ias-prep/iucn-red-list/
6. https://www.conservationindia.org/articles/conservation-at-crossroads-an-interview-with-dr-
ullas-karanth