MAJOR WILDLIFE SANCTUARIES AND PROTECTED AREAS OF INDIA

PRERNA FOR IAS

         Mehnat Aapki, Guidance Humari

         Roz ki Prelims Practice — Experts ke Saath

MAJOR WILDLIFE SANCTUARIES AND PROTECTED AREAS OF INDIA

1. Introduction

• India has created a large network of National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries, Conservation Reserves and Community Reserves under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.
• The Wildlife Institute of India reports around 1,134 Protected Areas, including 106 National Parks and 574 Wildlife Sanctuaries. (Wildlife Institute of India)
• These areas conserve threatened species, forests, wetlands, grasslands and important ecological corridors.

2. Dudhwa Landscape — Uttar Pradesh

• Dudhwa National Park, rather than merely a wildlife sanctuary, forms part of the larger Dudhwa Tiger Reserve.
• Its Terai grasslands and forests support tigers, swamp deer, elephants and the greater one-horned rhinoceros.
• The Dudhwa Tiger Reserve covers more than 2,200 sq. km including core and buffer areas. (National Tiger Conservation Authority)

3. Kaziranga — Assam

• Kaziranga is a National Park and Tiger Reserve, internationally famous for the greater one-horned rhinoceros.
• Its floodplain grasslands, wetlands and forests also support tiger, elephant, wild buffalo and swamp deer.
• It is one of India’s most important conservation landscapes and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

4. Keoladeo National Park — Rajasthan

• Keoladeo National Park at Bharatpur, formerly known as Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, is a major wetland habitat.
• It supports large numbers of resident and migratory waterbirds.
• The park demonstrates the ecological importance of managed wetlands in arid and semi-arid landscapes.

5. Ranthambore — Rajasthan

• Ranthambore National Park forms the core of the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve.
• Its dry deciduous forests, lakes and rocky terrain provide habitat for tigers, leopards, sambar and chital.
• NTCA records the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve at about 1,411 sq. km, including core and buffer areas. (National Tiger Conservation Authority)

6. Periyar — Kerala

• Periyar Tiger Reserve is an important protected landscape of the Western Ghats.
• It is well known for Asian elephants, tigers, gaur, deer and aquatic ecosystems associated with Periyar Lake.
• NTCA records its total tiger-reserve area at about 925 sq. km. (National Tiger Conservation Authority)

7. Chilika and Nalabana — Odisha

• Chilika Lake itself is a large brackish-water lagoon, not simply a wildlife sanctuary.
• Within it, Nalabana Bird Sanctuary is an important protected habitat for migratory waterbirds.
• Chilika supports flamingos, pelicans, ducks, waders and the Irrawaddy dolphin, making it internationally important for wetland biodiversity.

8. Nanda Devi — Uttarakhand

• Nanda Devi is a National Park, situated in the high Himalayas of Uttarakhand.
• Its alpine and sub-alpine ecosystems support species such as snow leopard, Himalayan musk deer and bharal.
• The region is environmentally fragile because of steep terrain, glaciers and sensitivity to climatic change.

9. Gir, Satpura and Namdapha

• The Gir protected-area landscape in Gujarat is the last natural stronghold of the Asiatic lion.
• Satpura National Park and Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh supports tiger, leopard, gaur and diverse forest wildlife.
• Namdapha National Park and Tiger Reserve in Arunachal Pradesh contains exceptionally rich biodiversity across tropical to montane ecosystems.
• NTCA recognises both Satpura and Namdapha as major Tiger Reserves. (National Tiger Conservation Authority)

10. Conservation Significance

• Protected areas conserve biodiversity, watersheds, forests, genetic resources and ecosystem services.
• Major threats include habitat fragmentation, poaching, invasive species, forest fires and human–wildlife conflict.
• The Ministry of Environment emphasises protected-area management, habitat improvement and conflict-mitigation measures under the Wildlife Protection framework. (Ministry of Environment and Forests)
• For examination purposes, an important distinction must be maintained: Kaziranga, Ranthambore, Dudhwa, Nanda Devi, Satpura and Namdapha are National Parks; Keoladeo is a National Park; Nalabana is a bird sanctuary within the Chilika ecosystem.
• Effective conservation requires scientific management, wildlife corridors, local-community participation and strict protection of habitats.