Introduction

The Indian Parliament enacted the Wildlife (Protection) Act in 1972, which provides for the
safeguard and
protection of the wildlife (flora and fauna) in the country. This is an important legislation and
forms an
integral part of the environment

Wildlife Protection Act, 1972

This Act provides for the protection of the country’s wild animals, birds and plant species, in
order to ensure environmental and ecological security. Among other things, the Act lays down
restrictions on hunting many animal species. The Act was last amended in the year 2006. An
Amendment bill was introduced in the Rajya Sabha in 2013 and referred to a Standing
Committee, but it was withdrawn in 2015.

Constitutional Provisions for the Wildlife Act

Article 48A -
of the Constitution of India directs the State to protect and improve the environment and the
safeguard wildlife and forests. This article was added to the Constitution by the 42nd
Amendment in 1976.
Article 51A -
imposes certain fundamental duties for the people of India. One of them is to protect and
improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife and to have
compassion for
living creatures.

Need for the Wildlife Protection Act

Wildlife is a part of ‘forests’ and this was a state subject until the Parliament passed this law in
1972.
Reasons for a nationwide law in the domain of environment particularly wildlife include the
following:
1. India is a treasure-trove of varied flora and fauna. Many species were seeing a rapid decline in
numbers. For instance, at the turn of the 20th century, India was home to close to 40000 tigers.
By the seventies, this number drastically reduced to about 1820.
2. A drastic decrease in the flora and fauna can cause ecological imbalance, which affects
many aspects of climate and the ecosystem.
3. The most recent Act passed during the British era in this regard was the Wild Birds and
Animals Protection, 1935. This needed to be upgraded as the punishments awarded to poachers
and traders of wildlife products were disproportionate to the huge financial benefits that accrue
to them.
4. There were only five national parks in India prior to the enactment of this Act.
Salient Features of Wildlife Protection Act
1-The Act provides for the formation of wildlife advisory boards, wildlife wardens, specifies their
powers and duties, etc.
2-It helped India become a party to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species of
Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
CITES is a multilateral treaty with the objective of protecting endangered animals and plants.
It is also known as the Washington Convention and was adopted as a result of a meeting of IUCN
members.
3-For the first time, a comprehensive list of the endangered wildlife of the country was
prepared.
4-The Act prohibited the hunting of endangered species.
5-Scheduled animals are prohibited from being traded as per the Act’s provisions.
6-The Act provides for licenses for the sale, transfer and possession of some wildlife species.
7-It provides for the establishment of wildlife sanctuaries, national parks, etc.
8-Its provisions paved the way for the formation of the Central Zoo Authority. This is the central
body responsible for the oversight of zoos in India. It was established in 1992.
9-The Act created six schedules which gave varying degrees of protection to classes of flora
and
fauna.
10-The National Board for Wildlife-
was constituted as a statutory organisation under the provisions of this Act.
o This is an advisory board that offers advice to the central government on issues of wildlife
conservation in India.
o It is also the apex body to review and approve all matters related to wildlife, projects of
national parks, sanctuaries, etc.
o The chief function of the Board is to promote the conservation and development of wildlife
and forests.
11-It is chaired by the Prime Minister.
12-The Act also provided for the establishment of the National Tiger Conservation Authority.
It is a statutory body of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change with an
overall supervisory and coordination part, performing capacities as given in the Act.
o Its mandate is to strengthen tiger conservation in India.
o It gives statutory authority to Project Tiger which was launched in 1973 and has put the
endangered tiger on a guaranteed path of revival by protecting it from extinction.

Protected Areas under the Wildlife Protection Act

There are five types of protected areas as provided under the Act. They are described below.
1-Sanctuaries:
Sanctuary is a place of refuge where injured, abandoned and abused wildlife is allowed to
live in peace in their natural environment without any human intervention.”
1. They are naturally-occurring areas where endangered species are protected from poaching,
hunting
and predation.
2. Here, animals are not bred for commercial exploitation.
3. The species are protected from any sort of disturbance.
4. Animals are not allowed to be captured or killed inside the sanctuaries.
5. A wildlife sanctuary is declared by the State government by a Notification. Boundaries can be
altered
altered
by a Resolution of the State Legislature.
6. Human activities such as timber harvesting, collecting minor forest products and private
ownership rights are permitted as long as they do not interfere with the animals’ well-being.
Limited human
activity is permitted.
7. They are open to the general public. But people are not allowed unescorted. There are
restrictions as
to who can enter and/or reside within the limits of the sanctuary. Only public servants (and his/
her
family), persons who own immovable property inside, etc. are allowed. People using the
highways
which pass through sanctuaries are also allowed inside.
8. Boundaries of sanctuaries are not generally fixed and defined.
9. Biologists and researchers are permitted inside so that they can study the area and its
inhabitants.
10. The Chief Wildlife Warden (who is the authority to control, manage and maintain all
sanctuaries) may grant permission to persons for entry or residence in the sanctuary for the
study of
wildlife, scientific research, photography, the transaction of any lawful business with persons
residing inside, and tourism.
11. Sanctuaries can be upgraded to the status of a ‘National Park’.
12. Examples: Indian Wild Ass Sanctuary (Rann of Kutch, Gujarat); Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary
in
Tamil Nadu (oldest bird sanctuary in India); Dandeli Wildlife Sanctuary (Karnataka).

2-National Parks:
National Parks are the areas that are set by the government to conserve the natural
environment.”
1. A national park has more restrictions as compared to a wildlife sanctuary.
2. National parks can be declared by the State government by Notification. No alteration of the
boundaries of a national park shall be made except on a resolution passed by the State
Legislature.
3. The main objective of a national park is to protect the natural environment of the area and
biodiversity conservation.
4. The landscape, fauna and flora are present in their natural state in national parks.
5. Their boundaries are fixed and defined.
6. Here, no human activity is allowed.
7. Grazing of livestock and private tenurial rights are not permitted here.
8. Species mentioned in the Schedules of the Wildlife Act are not allowed to be hunted or
captured.
9. No person shall destroy, remove or exploit any wildlife from a National Park or destroy or
damage
the habitat of any wild animal or deprive any wild animal of its habitat within a national park.
10. They cannot be downgraded to the status of a ‘sanctuary’.
11. Examples: Bandipur National Park in Karnataka; Hemis National Park in Jammu & Kashmir;
Kaziranga National Park in Assam. See more on List of National Parks in India.

3. Conservation Reserves:
The State government may declare an area (particularly those adjacent to
sanctuaries or parks) as conservation reserves after consulting with local communities.

4. Community Reserves:
The State government may declare any private or community land as a
community reserve after consultation with the local community or an individual who has
volunteered to
conserve the wildlife.

5. Tiger Reserves:
These areas are reserved for the protection and conservation of tigers in India. They are
declared on the recommendations of the National Tiger Conservation Authority.
Major-threats to wildlife—
1-Habitat destruction
As human populations expand, habitats are being rapidly converted for urbanization, human
infrastructure, and agriculture. This can lead to isolated animal populations, which result in
reduced genetic diversity and a higher risk of inbreeding. Loss of habitat is a particular concern
for specialized species that require limited diets and strict habitats.1
2-Pollution
Various forms of pollution, such as plastic waste, chemical runoff, and air pollution,
contaminate environments and harm wildlife. Small-scale gold mining in the Amazon destroys
aquatic habitats and pollutes fish—half of the fish tested in Amazon rivers were found to have
unsafe levels of mercury.2 Further research has found that mercury pollution can affect
animals’ neurodevelopment and inhibit their ability to hunt and evade predators, compromising
their survival.3
3-Disease
Free-ranging animals are susceptible to a range of diseases that have devastating
consequences. For example, chytridiomycosis is a fatal disease found in amphibians that has
caused immense suffering and contributed to the decline or extinction of around 200 frog and
amphibian species.4 Illegal activities, such as the illegal wildlife trade, have exacerbated the
problem.
4-Starvation
Starving animals endure suffering as they struggle for sustenance, leading to a compromised
immune system, susceptibility to disease, and, ultimately, death. One prominent example is the
North Atlantic right whale, whose food sources are dwindling due to climate change-related
shifts in their primary prey. This has resulted in emaciation, decreased reproductive success,
and increased deaths.6
5-Climate change
Rising temperatures, prolonged droughts, and altered weather patterns disrupt crucial life
cycles like migration and breeding. For instance, rising temperatures have altered the
geographic distribution of native Hawaiian birds, such as the ‘amakihi and i’iwi, due to the
spread of avian malaria via mosquitoes. This has forced them to occupy a higher geographic
range with cooler temperatures to avoid disease transmission.7
6-Human-Wildlife Conflict
Habitat loss fuels conflict between wild animals and humans as they’re increasingly brought
into closer proximity. For example, elephant numbers have increased in Kenya over recent
years, increasing by 5% annually.8 The problem? They’ve started to forage on farmers’ crops
who depend on them for their livelihood. As a result, some farmers injure elephants9 or even
resort to retaliatory killings.10 Looking at it with a lens of welfare for individuals, the reality is
that we don’t know if increasing animal numbers is best, and need more research to know for
sure how to help them.

Conclusion
The Act is comprehensive and covers almost every aspect of protecting and conserving wildlife.
The law’s exhaustiveness is reflected from the fact that it allows for the establishment of
numerous committees and authorities that would exercise powers with specific goals such as
the Tiger conservation authority. It also allows for the delegation of powers.
But with such division of powers to different authorities at times create the issue of
accountability since the powers are dispersed. Too many committees and authorities tend to
dilute the objective of the act the more power gets divided the better chances of failure in
monitoring it arises.
The need is to have a strong regulatory framework at the centre that can create checks and
balances within the sub-framework. Because just making different committees and assigning
work to different authorities will not lead to wildlife conservation unless the implementation of
the Act gets better. There is also a strong system needed for the protection of animals from