ECO-SENSITIVE ZONE

Keywords- Eco-sensitive zone, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change,
Protected Areas, Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972, Fifth Schedule of the Constitution,
Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA) 1996, Forest Rights Act (FRA)-
2006, Article 244 , Human rights
 GS Paper-3: Conservation, Environmental Pollution and Degradation, Environmental
Impact Assessment.
Reference:
 Recently, controversy has erupted over the proposed eco-sensitive zone around the
Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary in Kerala.
 The controversy stems from a notification by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and
Climate Change that considered the proposed eco-sensitive zone as a unique and
suitable solution for all communities there.
 Ecologically Sensitive Zones (ESZs) aim to conserve 'Protected Areas' - National
Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries by converting them from low protection area to high
protection area.
 The purpose of Ecologically Sensitive Zones (ESZ) is to create an environment of peace
between both man and nature.
 However, the creation of these zones has provoked protests in Kerala and some other
areas, which are likely to emerge in other parts of the country.
Concerns of farming communities:
 The lives of thousands of farmers living in the villages around the sanctuary are expected
to be badly affected.
 Farmers will not be allowed to use their land and planted trees without the permission of
forest officials.
 There will be a ban on construction of roads, houses and all other development activities
in eco-sensitive areas.
Protected Areas:
 Protected areas cover 5.26% of India's land area in the form of 108 national parks and
564 wildlife sanctuaries.
 These areas have been notified under the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972.
 National Parks do not allow even those activities in 'Reserve Forests' that are allowed by
Wildlife Sanctuaries.
Eco-Sensitive Zones:
 Eco-sensitive zones are notified areas by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and
Climate Change around protected areas, national parks and wildlife sanctuaries.
 The Wildlife Conservation Policy of 2002 has notified eco-sensitive zones under section
3(2)(v) and rule 5(viii) and (x) of the Environment Protection Act 1986.

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 The basic objective of these zones is to regulate certain activities around national parks
and wildlife sanctuaries so as to minimize the negative effects of such activities on the
fragile ecosystem comprising the protected areas.
 They also act as a transition zone from areas of high security to areas of low security.
Extention of Eco-sensitive Zones:
 3.4% of the country's total land area comes under the eco-sensitive zone.
 Governments have notified 341 eco-sensitive zones in 29 states and five union
territories, while another 85 eco-sensitive zones are on the waiting list for notification.
 Protected areas and eco-sensitive zones cover 8.66% of the total land area of India.
 Eco-sensitive zones spread outside protected areas in notified forests, most of which
also fall under the jurisdiction of Gram Sabhas under the FRA.
 The eco-sensitive zone ranges from 0 to 45.82 km from the boundary of a protected
area. (The extent of the eco-sensitive zone in Pin Valley National Park, Himachal
Pradesh is 45.82 km.)
 Eco-sensitive zones in ten states, including Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat,
Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan
and Telangana, fall under Scheduled Areas notified under the Fifth Schedule of the
Constitution.
 Such scheduled areas cover more than 11% of the country's land area and are
mostly densely forested and hilly.
 These Scheduled Areas are predominantly populated by Scheduled Tribe groups and
are notified by the President under Article-244 of the provisions of the Panchayats
(Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA) 1996.
 The Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006 recognizes customary and traditional rights (both
individual and collective) of forest dwellers on forest lands including protected areas.
 PESA recognizes habitation-level gram sabhas to be competent to protect and conserve
community resources on forest and revenue lands in scheduled areas.
 PESA and FRA are the two major legislations of the Central Government, which
effectively ensured the participation of Scheduled Areas in governance in independent
India.
Significance of Eco-Sensitive Zones:
 Eco-sensitive zones reduce the impact of urbanization and other developmental
activities.
 Protected areas provide protection and benefits to local communities by being based on
a core and buffer model of management.
 Eco-sensitive zones in protected areas, wildlife sanctuaries and national parks form a
kind of 'shock absorber'.
 Eco-sensitive zones help in in-situ conservation, which refers to the conservation of an
endangered species in its natural habitat. For example, the conservation of the one-
horned Rhinoceros of Kaziranga National Park, Assam.
 Eco-sensitive zones are helpful in the extention of forests.
 These zones have proved to be very useful in reducing human-animal conflict.

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In Eco-Sensitive Zones:
 Prohibited Activities
o Commercial mining - The regulation shall not prohibit the excavation of earth for
repair of houses and manufacture of country tiles or bricks for housing for personal
consumption.
o Establishment of saw mills.
o Establishment of polluting industries (water, air, soil, noise etc.).
o Commercial use of firewood - for hotels and other business related establishments.
o Establishment of major hydroelectric projects.
o Use or production of any hazardous substance.
o Carrying out tourism related activities like flying over the National Park area by
any aircraft, hot air balloons.
o Flow and discharge of solid waste into natural water bodies or terrestrial area.
 Regulated Activities
o Felling of trees - with permission from the appropriate authority.
o Establishment of hotels - as per the approved master plan, which takes care of the
residences.
o Drastic changes in agricultural systems.
o Commercial use of natural water resources including groundwater harvesting -
as per the approved master plan, which takes care of the habitats and does not
impose any restrictions on the movement of wild animals.
o Construction of power cables - Promotion of underground cabling.
 Permissible Activities
o Agricultural and horticultural practices carried on by local communities –
However, excessive expansion of some of these activities should be regulated as per
the master plan.
o Rain water harvesting - should be actively promoted.
o Organic farming - should be actively promoted.
o Use of renewable energy sources - should be actively promoted.
o Adoption of green technology for all activities - to be actively promoted.
Conclusion:
 State governments should follow the directions set by the central government and the
Supreme Court for the conservation of biodiversity in eco-sensitive zones and the
rights of local communities, their economic potential and livelihood
 The zonal master plan prepared for the protection of eco-sensitive zones should be
overseen by a committee consisting of a wildlife warden, an ecologist and an official from
the local government.
 The court also allowed states to increase or decrease the minimum width of eco-sensitive
zones in the public interest.
 The National Wildlife Action Plan (2002-2016) has also supported this approach.

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Mains Exam Question- What are Eco-Sensitive Zones? Write about its significance and
extention in the country.