WILDLIFE
PROTECTION ACT OF 1972 - ENVIRONMENT
News:
Why does Kerala want the
Centre to amend the Wildlife Protection Act?
What's
in the news?
●
Kerala Legislative Assembly unanimously
passed a resolution urging the Union Government to amend relevant sections of
the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 to address the escalating human-animal
conflict in the state.
Key
takeaways:
●
Kerala has seen a steady rise in
human-animal conflict in recent years.
●
Attacks from wild animals not only pose a
threat to life, but have also wreaked havoc in the state’s agriculture sector.
●
The issue has now come to a head after a
radio-collared wild elephant strayed into a village, chased people and trampled
a person to death in Wayanad.
Section
11 of the Act:
●
It regulates hunting of wild animals.
●
As per clause (1)(A) of the section 11,
the Chief Wildlife Warden (CWLW) of
a state may — if satisfied that a wild animal specified in Schedule I (mammals)
has become dangerous to human life or disabled or diseased beyond recovery —
permit hunting or killing of such animal.
●
The section gives powers to the CWLW to
order killing of such a wild animal, if it cannot be tranquillised or relocated
after capturing.
Demands
of Kerala:
Amend
Section 11 of Wildlife Protection Act, 1972:
●
Kerala wants to amend the Section 11 (1)
(A) so as to devolve the above-mentioned powers of the CWLW to Chief Conservators of Forests (CCF)
instead.
●
Such an amendment, the state feels, would
simplify procedures for dealing with wild animals posing a threat to human
life, by enabling speedy and timely decisions to be taken at a more localised
level.
●
Kerala has five CCFs, each in charge of a
different region of the state.
Declare
Wild Boar as Vermin:
●
Kerala also wants the Centre to declare
wild boar as vermin, as per section 62 of the Wildlife Protection Act.
●
According to Section 62, the Union
Government can notify any wild animal in Schedule II of the Act (which protects
it from hunting), as vermin for a period of time in an area/state.
●
An
animal is declared as vermin when it poses threat to life and crops.
●
Once declared as vermin, wild boar would
lose its protection from hunting, thus enabling the state and citizens to cull
the wild boar population to protect against the menace the species poses to
life and livelihood.
Wildlife
Protection Act, 1972:
●
The Wildlife Protection Act 1972 is a
comprehensive law enacted to protect India’s wildlife and biodiversity.
●
The Wildlife Protection Act 1972 provides
for the protection of wild animals and
plants and regulates the hunting, trade, and commercial exploitation of
wildlife.
●
The Wildlife Protection Act 1972 includes
provisions for declaring protected areas
and empowers the government to take measures to conserve and protect wildlife.
●
It also provides for the establishment of
the Wildlife Advisory Board to
advise the government on wildlife-related matters.
Constitutional
Provisions for the Wildlife Act:
●
The 42nd
Amendment Act, 1976, Forests and Protection of Wild Animals and Birds was
transferred from State to Concurrent List.
●
Article
51 A (g) of the Constitution states that it shall be the
fundamental duty of every citizen to protect and improve the natural
environment including forests and Wildlife.
●
Article
48 A
in the Directive Principles of State policy, mandates that the State shall endeavour
to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and
wildlife of the country.
Features:
●
The act also lists schedules of plants and
animals that are afforded varying degrees of protection and monitoring by the
government.
●
India's entry to the CITES (Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) was made
easier by the Wildlife Act.
●
Earlier, Jammu and Kashmir was not covered
by the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. The Indian Wildlife Protection Act now
applies to J&K as a result of the Reorganization Act.
Schedules
under the Act:
Schedule
I:
●
It covers endangered species that need rigorous protection.
●
A person is liable to the harshest
penalties for violation of the law under this Schedule.
●
Species under this Schedule are prohibited
to be hunted throughout India, except under threat to human life or in case of
a disease that is beyond recovery.
●
Some of the animals listed under Schedule
I include the Black Buck, Snow Leopard, Himalayan Bear and Asiatic Cheetah.
Schedule
II:
●
Animals under this list are also accorded high protection with the prohibition on
their trade.
●
Some of the animals listed under Schedule
II include Assamese Macaque, Himalayan Black Bear and Indian Cobra.
Schedule
III & IV:
●
Species that are not endangered are included under Schedule III and IV.
●
This includes protected species with hunting prohibited but the penalty for any
violation is less compared to the first two schedules.
●
Animals protected under Schedule III
include Chital (spotted deer), Bharal (blue sheep), Hyena, and Sambhar (deer).
●
Animals protected under Schedule IV
include Flamingo, Hares, Falcons, Kingfishers, Magpie, and Horseshoes Crabs.
Schedule
V:
●
This schedule contains animals that are
considered as vermin (small wild
animals that carry disease and destroy plants and food). These animals can be
hunted.
●
It includes only four species of wild
animals: Common Crows, Fruit Bats, Rats and Mice.
Schedule
VI:
●
It provides for regulation in the cultivation of a specified plant and restricts its
possession, sale and transportation.
●
Both cultivation and trade of specified
plants can only be carried out with the prior permission of the competent
authority.
●
Plants protected under Schedule VI include
Beddomes’ cycad (Native to India), Blue Vanda (Blue Orchid), Red Vanda (Red
Orchid), Kuth (Saussurea lappa), Slipper orchids (Paphiopedilum spp.) and
Pitcher plant (Nepenthes khasiana).
Protected
Areas Under the Act:
There are five types of
protected areas under the Act such as
●
Wildlife
Sanctuaries
●
National
Parks
●
Conservation
Reserves
●
Community
Reserves
●
Tiger
Reserves
Bodies
Constituted under the Act:
1.
National Board for Wildlife (NBWL):
●
NBWL serves as an apex body for the review
of all wildlife-related matters and for the approval of projects in and around
national parks and sanctuaries.
●
The Prime
Minister of India acts as a chairperson of the Board.
2.
State Board for Wildlife (SBWL):
●
The Chief
Minister of the state/UT is the chairperson of the board.
3.
Central Zoo Authority (CZA):
●
The Central Zoo Authority consists of a
total 10 members including the Chairperson and a Member-Secretary.
●
The authority provides recognition to zoos
and is also tasked with regulating the zoos across the country.
●
It lays down guidelines and prescribes
rules under which animals may be transferred among zoos nationally and
internationally.
4.
National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA):
●
The Union
Environment Minister is the Chairperson of NTCA and the State Environment
Minister is the Vice-Chairperson.
●
The Central Government on the
recommendations of NTCA declares an area as a Tiger Reserve.
5.
Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB):
●
The act provided for the constitution of
WCCB to combat organized wildlife crime in the country.
Recent
Changes:
Wildlife
(Protection) Amendment Act, 2022:
●
The Act seeks to increase the species
protected under the law and implement CITES.
●
The
number of schedules has been reduced to four:
●
Schedule
I
- contains animal species enjoying the highest level of protection.
●
Schedule
II
- for animal species subject to a lesser degree of protection.
●
Schedule
III
- for protected plant species, and
●
Schedule
IV
- for scheduled specimens under CITES.
●
The Act permits the use of elephants for 'religious or any other purposes'.
●
The penalties have also been increased for
general and specially protected animals' violations.