Conservation reserves and community reserves of India

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Conservation reserves and community reserves in India are terms denoting protected areas of India which typically act as buffer zones to or connectors and migration corridors between established national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and reserved and protected forests of India. Such areas are designated as conservation areas if they are uninhabited and completely owned by the Government of India but used for subsistence by communities, and community areas if part of the lands are privately owned. Administration of such reserves would be through local people and local agencies like the gram panchayat , as in the case of communal forests. (See Communal forests of India)

Community reserves are the first instances of private land being accorded protection under the Indian legislature. It opens up the possibility of communally owned for-profit wildlife resorts, and also causes privately held areas under non-profit organizations like land trusts to be given protection. (See Private protected areas of India)

These protected area categories were first introduced in the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act of 2002 − the amendment to the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. [1] These categories were added because of reduced protection in and around existing or proposed protected areas due to private ownership of land, and land use. A case in point was the Melghat Tiger Reserve where a large area was left unprotected due to private ownership.

Amendments to the Wild life protection act in 2003, provided a mechanism for recognition and legal backing to the community initiated efforts in wildlife protection. It provides a flexible system to achieve wildlife conservation without compromising community needs. Tiruvidaimarudur Conservation Reserve, declared on February 14, 2005, is the First Conservation Reserve to be established in the country. It is an effort of a village community who wanted to protect the birds nesting in their village. [2]

These categories roughly correspond to IUCN Category V (conservation reserves) and VI (community reserves) protected areas.

Tiruppadaimarathur conservation reserve near Thirunelveli District of Tamil Nadu, declared in 2005, is the first Conservation Reserve in the country. [3]

In 2012, Rajasthan government in India declared "Jawai Bandh forests" as a conservation reserve forest. Jawai Bandh forest is situated in Pali district and it is in close proximity of Kumbalgarh Sanctuary.keshopur chamb gurdaspur (Punjab) conservation reserve India's first community reserve. [4] Recently, Gogabeel, an ox-bow lake in Bihar’s Katihar district, has been declared as the state’s first ‘Community Reserve’. 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 Reserve and the first protected area for marine birds in India - PM Sayeed Marine Birds Conservation Reserve in Lakshadweep UT. [5]

Recently, Rankhar, a village situated in the Jalor district of Rajasthan, was declared a conservation reserve. It is the 16th conservation reserve of Rajasthan.[ citation needed ]

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve</span> Tiger reserve in Tamil Nadu, India

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tiruvidaimarudur Conservation Reserve</span>

Tiruppadaimarathur Conservation Reserve is an IUCN Category V protected bird nesting area in the 2.84 hectares compound of Siva temple in Thiruppudaimarudur village, Tirunelveli District, Tamil Nadu, South India. It was declared 14 February 2005 and is the first Conservation Reserve to be established in India. The reserve is 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary</span> Protected area in Tamil Nadu, India

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conservation in India</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve</span> Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu, India

Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve is a protected area and tiger reserve located along the area straddling both the Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats in the Erode District of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The Sathyamangalam Forest Division is part of the Bramhagiri-Nilgiris-Eastern Ghats Elephant Reserve notified in 2003. In 2008, part of the Sathyamangalam Forest Division was declared as a wildlife sanctuary and enlarged in 2011, it covers a forest area of 1,411.6 km2 (545.0 sq mi). It is the largest wildlife sanctuary in Tamil Nadu. In 2013, an area of 1,408.6 km2 (543.9 sq mi) of the erstwhile sanctuary was notified as a tiger reserve. It was the fourth tiger reserve established in Tamil Nadu as a part of Project Tiger and is the third largest in the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of Tamil Nadu</span> Overview of and topical guide to Tamil Nadu

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Tamil Nadu:

The Dr KK Mohammed Koya Sea Cucumber Conservation Reserve is the first sea cucumber conservation area in the world, announced following reports of smuggling of sea cucumbers and other vulnerable species for trade in East Asia. It is located in the Cheriyapani Reef in the Indian Union Territory of Lakshadweep. It was formed in 2020 and covers an area of 239 km2. Together with the Attakoya Thangal Marine Conservation Reserve and the PM Sayeed Marine Birds Conservation reserve, it forms a marine protected area (MPA) of 685 km2.

PM Sayeed Marine Birds Conservation Reserve is the first protected area for marine birds in India. It is located in the Indian Union Territory of Lakshadweep. It was formed in 2020. It covers an area of 62 km2.

References

  1. ↑ Article [usurped] in The Hindu, December 8, 2002
  2. ↑ Tamil Nadu Forest Dept. (2007) Wild Biodiversity, retrieved 9/11/2007 Tiruppadaimarathur Conservation Reserve Archived 2007-10-12 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ↑ "Tamil Nadu Forest Department". Archived from the original on 2012-05-04. Retrieved 2012-05-18.
  4. ↑ Conservation Reserve in Rajasthan
  5. ↑ Badri Chatterjee (29 February 2020). "World's first sea cucumber conservation area in Lakshadweep". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
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