17-708: Nakti Dam Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area and wildlife sanctuary located in Jamui district of the Indian state of Bihar . The sanctuary covers an area of 3.33 km (1.29 sq mi) and was declared as a protected area on 22 July 1987. The sanctuary hosts about 136 species of local and migratory birds. Major avifauna include Indian courser , sand grouse , yellow-wattled lapwing , Indian robin , and bar-headed goose . Protected areas of India There are four categories of protected areas in India, constituted under
34-814: A reserve forest ) and protected forest in India is a forest accorded a certain degree of protection. The concept was introduced in the Indian Forest Act of 1927 during the British Raj to refer to forests granted protection under the British crown in British India, but not associated suzerainties . After Indian independence , the Government of India retained the status of the reserved and protected forests, and extended protection to other forests. Many forests that came under
51-458: 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. Reserved forests and protected forest ( IUCN Category IV or VI , depending on protection accorded): These are forested lands where logging, hunting, grazing and other activities may be permitted on a sustainable basis to members of certain communities. In reserved forests, explicit permission
68-604: Is required for such activities. In protected forests, such activities are allowed unless explicitly prohibited. Thus, in general reserved forests enjoy a higher degree of protection with respect to protected forests. 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
85-530: 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 ) A "Common Important Forest" in India is a forest governed by local communities in a way compatible with sustainable development . Such forests are typically called village forests or panchayat forests , reflecting
102-704: The Kumaon Division of Uttarakhand , Forest Co-operative Societies in Himachal Pradesh and Van Samrakshan Samiti s in Andhra Pradesh . Legislation pertaining to communal forests vary from state to state, but typically the state government retains some administrative control over matters like staff appointment, and penalization of offenders. Such forests typically conform to the IUCN Category VI Protected Areas , but protection may be enforced by
119-563: The Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act of 2002 , has agreed to protect communally owned areas of ecological value. Conservation Areas in India refer to well-demarcated large geographical entities with an established conservation plan, and were part of a joint Indo-US project on "landscape management and protection". The project ran from 1996 to 2002. These areas are home to many Conservation reliant species . Reserved forests and protected forests of India A reserved forest (also called
136-467: The Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 . Tiger reserves consist of areas under national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. There are 53 tiger reserves in India. As of January 2023, the protected areas of India cover 173,629.52 square kilometres (67,038.73 sq mi), roughly 5.28% of the total geographical area of the country. India has the following kinds of protected areas , in the sense of
153-613: The Indian forest act 1927. Protected forests are often upgraded to wildlife sanctuaries , which in turn may be upgraded to the status of national parks , with each category receiving a higher degree of protection and government funding. For example, Sariska National Park was declared a reserved forest in 1955, a wildlife sanctuary in 1958, and a Tiger Reserve in 1978, before becoming a national park in 1992. Due to faster population growth in forest and tribal areas, naturally available forest resources ( NTFP ) are becoming inadequate to provide
170-458: The conservation of the Bengal tiger . The Indian government has established 18 biosphere reserves (categories roughly correspondingly to IUCN Category V Protected areas ) to protect larger areas of natural habitat than a typical national park or animal sanctuary , and that often include one or more national parks or reserves, along with buffer zones that are open to some economic uses. Protection
187-594: The fact that the administration and resource use of the forest occurs at the village and panchayat (an elected rural body) levels. Hamlets, villages and communities of villages may actually administer such a forest. Such community forests are usually administered by a locally elected body, usually called the Forest Protection Committee , Village Forest Committee or the Village Forest Institution . Such committees are known as Van Panchayat s in
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#1732883773269204-705: The fringes of the forest, who sustain their livelihood partially or wholly from forest resources or products. These are the forests, which enjoy judicial fortification based on legitimate systems. These are the protected forests with the natural habitat exhibiting a high degree of protection from any kind of poaching and hunting. These may also be utilized for the small and short contexts in various countries. The examples are Attappadi reserve forest in Kerala and Palani Hills forest conservation area in Tamil Nadu. Protected forests are either demarcated or undemarcated, based on whether
221-615: The jurisdiction of the Government of India during the political integration of India were initially granted such protection. Unlike National Parks or wildlife sanctuaries , reserved forests and protected forests are declared by the respective state governments . At present, reserved forests and protected forests differ in one important way: Activities including hunting, grazing, etc. in reserved forests are banned unless specific orders are issued otherwise. In protected forests , such activities are sometimes allowed for communities living on
238-548: The limits of the forest have been specified by a formal notification. A protected forest is land notified under the provisions of the Indian Forest Act or the State Forests Act. In protected forests, all activities are permitted unless they are expressly prohibited. A protected forest is land that is a reserved forest, and over which the government has property rights, as declared by a state government under section 29 of
255-585: The local communities or the government depending on local legislation. Maharashtra is the state with the most forest land while Haryana has the least. Private protected areas of India refer to protected areas inside India whose land rights are owned by an individual or a corporation / organization, and where the habitat and resident species are offered some kind of protection from exploitative activities like hunting, logging, etc. The Government of India did not provide any legal or physical protection to such entities, but in an important amendment introduced by
272-431: The total geographical area of the country. Wildlife sanctuaries of India are classified as IUCN Category IV protected areas . Between 1936 and 2022, 567 wildlife sanctuaries were established in the country that cover 122,564.86 km (47,322.56 sq mi), roughly 3.73% of the geographical area of the country. Among these, the 53 tiger reserves are governed by Project Tiger , and are of special significance for
289-556: The word designated by IUCN : National parks in India are IUCN category II protected areas . India's first national park was established in 1936 as Hailey National Park, now known as Jim Corbett National Park , Uttarakhand . By 1970, India only had five national parks. In 1972, India enacted the Wildlife Protection Act and Project Tiger in 1973 to safeguard the habitats of conservation reliant species . As of January 2023, India has 106 national parks covering 44,402.95 square kilometres (17,144.07 sq mi), roughly 1.35% of
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