DR.

RAM MANOHAR LOHIYA NATIONAL LAW

UNIVERSITY

Session- 2017-18
“Environmental Law”
Final Draft:-

“Conservation of Bio-Diversity in India”

Submitted to: Submitted by:

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to extend special thanks and gratitude to my teacher, Dr.

Amandeep Singh Sir who gave me this golden opportunity to work on the
Project Topic “Conservation of Biodiversity in India”

 Throughout the research period I have been time and again guided by my
teacher.

I’d also like to convey my regards to Library Staff of my university for helping
me out and getting relevant material for me.
I would like to thank my university Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law ,for
giving me the chance to be a part of an unique research oriented curriculum
which indeed boosts the understanding of the subject.
I would also like to thank my parents, mentors and well-wishers who have been
a constant support and have time and again reviewed my work and have
provided their insights on the matter.

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 Table of Contents

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY..............................................................................................V

INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................1

Definition................................................................................................................................1

India’s biodiversity profile.....................................................................................................1

a) Faunal diversity..............................................................................................................2

b) Floral diversity................................................................................................................2

INDIA’S BIODIVERSITY: MAJOR THREATS AND CHALLENGES................................3

Habitat fragmentation, degradation and loss..........................................................................3

Shrinking genetic diversity.....................................................................................................5

Declining natural resource base and overexploitation of resources.......................................6

Invasive Alien Species...........................................................................................................7

Climate Change and Desertification.......................................................................................7

Pollution.................................................................................................................................8

Challenges..............................................................................................................................8

Other Conservation efforts by India.....................................................................................14

ROLE OF JUDICIARY...........................................................................................................19

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION.......................................................................21

BIBLIOGRAPHY....................................................................................................................23

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 INTRODUCTION

Biological diversity, or biodiversity, encompasses the variety of all life on earth. Biodiversity
manifests itself at three levels: species diversity which refers to the numbers and kinds of
living organisms; genetic diversity which refers to genetic variation within species; and
ecosystem diversity which denotes the variety of habitats, biological communities and
ecological processes. It encompasses the whole range of mammals, birds, reptiles,
amphibians, fish, insects and other invertebrates, plants, fungi and micro-organisms such as
protists, bacteria and viruses.

Definition
“biological diversity” means the variability among living organisms from all sources and the
ecological complexes of which they are part and includes diversity within species or between
species and of eco-systems1

The first most used definition of Bio-diversity sponsored by the UN. According to this
definition Biodiversity refers to “The variability among living, inter alia, territorial, marine
and other aquatic systems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes
diversity within species, between species and of eco-system”.2

India’s biodiversity profile

India is one of the 12-mega diverse countries of the world. With only 2.5% of the land area,
India already accounts for 7.8% of the global recorded species. India is also rich in traditional
and indigenous knowledge, both coded and informal. Notwithstanding the fact that current
knowledge of the number of species inhabiting the earth is still incomplete, estimates vary
from 8 to 14 million species. To date, about 1.7 million species have been described while
many more await discovery.

A wide variety in physical features and climatic situations has resulted in a diversity of
habitats and ecosystems such as forests, grasslands, mountains, wetlands, coastal and marine
(mangroves and coral reefs) and deserts. India is also one of the eight primary centres of
origin of cultivated plants and is an acknowledged centre of crop diversity, including about
375 closely related wild species mainly of rice, and several important pulses, millets,
1
Section 2(b) of Biological Diversity Act, 2002
2
Article 2 of Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) (UNEP 1992).
vegetables, fruits and fibre plants . In addition, nearly 140 breeds of domesticated animals
(such as cattle, sheep, goat, camel, horse and poultry) are also found here.

a) Faunal diversity

With 91,797 recorded species, India accounts for 7.4 percent of the world’s faunal species
(ZSI, 2011). A significant proportion of species under many taxa is found in India. This
includes as many as half of Merostomata, a third of Echiura and over a quarter of Phoronida
and Chaetognatha species. Among vertebrates, India accounts for 13.66 percent of bird,
12.12 percent fish, 8.58 percent mammal, 7.91 percent reptile and 5.60 percent amphibian
species in the world3 In terms of the world’s species-richness, India is fifth in reptiles,
seventh in mammals and ninth in birds 4

b) Floral diversity

India’s contribution to global floral diversity is even higher than its contribution to faunal
diversity. With over 45,500 recorded species, it accounts for nearly 11 percent of the
world’s floral species and ranks 10th in the world. The largest taxonomic group is
Angiosperms with 17,527 species, followed by Fungi and Algae that have 14,500 species
and 7,175 species respectively. In percentage terms, it accounts for over a fifth of the world’s
Fungi and around a sixth of the world’s Algae, Bryophyte and Lichen species.5

India contains 172 species of animal considered globally threatened by IUCN, or 2.9% of the
world's total number of threatened species6. These include 53 species of mammal, 69 birds,
23 reptiles and 3 amphibians. A workshop held in 1982 indicated that as many as 3,000-4,000
higher plants may be under a degree of threat in India. Since then, the Project on Study,
Survey and Conservation of Endangered species of Flora (POSSCEP) has partially
documented these plants, and published its findings in Red Data Books.

3
Zoological Survey of India, 2011. Faunal Resources of India , http://www.zsi.gov.in.
4
Report of Ministry of Environment &Forests, 2009
5
Botanical Survey of India (1983). Flora and Vegetation of India - An Outline. Botanical
Survey of India, Howrah. 24 pp
6
Groombridge, B. (ed). 1993. The 1994 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland,
Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. lvi + 286 pp.
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 INDIA’S BIODIVERSITY: MAJOR THREATS AND

CHALLENGES

Threat to biodiversity stems mainly from: habitat fragmentation, degradation and loss;
shrinking genetic diversity; invasive alien species; declining forest resource base; climate
change and desertification; over exploitation of resources; impact of development projects;
and impact of pollution.

Habitat fragmentation, degradation and loss

Habitat destruction is identified as the main threat to biodiversity. Under diverse natural
conditions, over a billion people in rural and urban areas live in harmony under a democratic
system in India. Their pressing needs for food, fibre, shelter, fuel and fodder combined with
compelling need for economic development exert enormous pressure on natural resources.
The loss and fragmentation of natural habitats affects all animal and plant species. We need
to not only stop any further habitat loss immediately but also to restore a substantial fraction
of the wilderness that has been depleted in the past. Various species of plants and animals are
on the decline due to habitat fragmentation and overexploitation, e.g. habitats of Great Indian
Bustard in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan, and of the Lion-tailed Macaque in
Western Ghats Habitat fragmentation is also one of the primary reasons leading to cases of
man animal conflict. Common property resources like pastures and village forests, which
served as a buffer between wildlife habitat and agriculture, have been gradually encroached
upon and converted into agricultural fields and habitation. Due to this, the villagers are
brought into a direct conflict with wild animals. The usual cases regarding man-animals
conflicts relate to leopards, elephants, tigers, monkeys, blue-bulls, wild boars and certain
birds.

Land is under considerable pressure, as the country supports around 17 percent of the world’s
population on less than 2.5 percent of global land area.

Shrinking genetic diversity

Shrinking genetic diversity leads to more vulnerability to diseases and pests and lesser
adaptability to environmental changes. This lesson has emerged from the world-wide
experience of drastically curtailed genetic diversity in agricultural biodiversity following the
so called Green and White Revolutions in agriculture-based economies, including India.

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Conserving the flagship large animal species (such as the lion, tiger, rhino and elephant) has
also attracted the concern that these projects should aim at broadening the genetic base (gene
pool) in breeding populations besides focusing on habitat protection. The decisive factor in
saving critically endangered species is maintaining the minimum size and genetic base of
inter-mating individuals rather than their total number which may include the non-breeding
individuals also. An assessment of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture illustrates
this point. These resources contribute to people’s livelihoods while providing food, medicine,
feed for domestic animals, fibre, clothing, shelter, energy and a multiple of other products
and services. India is remarkably rich in agriculturally important genetic resources. However,
both the number of crops grown on commercial scale and the number of their varieties grown
under different agro-ecosystems, have severely declined in recent decades reducing thereby
the agricultural biodiversity maintained in diverse farming systems. About 150 crops feed
most of the human population at present, but just 12 of them provide 80% of food energy
(with wheat, rice, maize and potato alone providing 60%). Also, about 30 mammalian and
bird species are used extensively, but just 15 of them account for over 90 per cent of global
livestock production. The Indian scenario is not very different. Choice of crops and farm
livestock in agricultural production systems is now getting largely influenced by market
trends and changing lifestyles, affecting the variety, taste and nutrition value of our food
basket. Landraces, developed and grown traditionally by farming communities through
generations, locally adapted obsolete cultivars and their wild relatives comprise crop genetic
resources.

Declining natural resource base and overexploitation of resources

India is endowed with diverse forest types ranging from the tropical wet evergreen forests in
North-East to the tropical thorn forests in the Central and Western India. The forests of the
country can be divided into 5 major groups based on climatic factors. These major groups
have been further divided into 16 forest types based on temperature and they are further
divided into several sub groups and type groups leading to 202 forest types and sub types
based on location specific climatic factor and plant species constitution. Forests face threats
on account of diversion of forest land for agriculture, industry, human settlements, and other
developmental projects. Construction of roads and canals, quarrying, shifting cultivation and
encroachments are other threats. Degradation of forests results from illicit felling, excess
removal of forest products, fodder, fuel wood, forest floor litter, overgrazing and forest fires.
As a result, some of the floristic and faunal components, including many keystone and

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endemic forest species are now left with a narrow eroding population which needs to be
urgently conserved. The rich diversity of medicinal plants (over 6500 species) in the country
needs conservation and sustainable utilization, as their habitats are either degraded or the
species are being overexploited. In fact, nearly 90% of the medicinal plants in trade are
harvested from the wild. With the increase in population in our country, natural forests,
woodlands and wetlands have been converted for agricultural use, fuelwood, timber and
human settlements.

Invasive Alien Species

Among the major threats faced by native plant and animal species (and their habitats), the one
posed by the invasive alien species is truly scaring since it is considered second only to that
of the habitat loss. The major plant Forest Invasive Species (FIS) include Lantana camara,
Eupatorium glandulosum, Parthenium species, Mimosa species, Eichhornia crassipes,
Mikania micrantha, Ulex enropaeus, Prosopis juliflora, Cytisus scoparius, Euphorbia
royleana etc. 7Alien aquatic weeds like water hyacinth and water lettuce are increasingly
choking waterways and degrading freshwater ecosystems.

Climate Change and Desertification

Climate change, on account of a buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere leading to
global warming, poses another significant threat to biodiversity, ecosystems, and the goods
and services they provide. There are indications that the projected changes in temperature and
CO2 concentration may alter growth, reproduction and host-pathogen relationships in both
plants and animals. It is believed that the ecosystems with undiminished species diversity,
and species with their genetic diversity intact, are likely to be in a much better position to
face the impact of climate change. Though the exact impact of climate change on India’s
natural resources is yet to be studied in detail, pioneering studies show that endemic
mammals like the Nilgiri tahr face an increased risk of extinction. 8Further, there are
indicative reports of certain species (e.g., Black-andrufous flycatcher (Ficedula nigrorufa)
shifting their lower limits of distribution to higher reaches, and sporadic dying of patches of
Shola forests with the rise in ambient surface temperatures.9

7
Ministry of Environment and Forests (2008). National Biodiversity Action Plan. New Delhi.
8
Sukumar R., H.S. Suresh and R. Ramesh (1995). Climate change and its impact on tropical
montane ecosystems in southern India. Journal of Biogeography, vol. 22, pp. 533-536.
9

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In addition to climate change, India also faces the threat of desertification. Around 69
percent of India’s geographical area could be classified as dry land (arid, semi-arid and dry
sub-humid). Remote sensing data indicate that around 32 percent of the country’s
geographical area (c. 105 million hectares) is undergoing the process of land degradation.
The three main processes contributing to desertification are water erosion, vegetal
degradation and wind erosion.10

Pollution
Pollution (both point and nonpoint-source) is a serious threat to biodiversity. Its major causes
are rapid industrialization and increasing use of fertilizers and pesticides. For example,
consumption of fertilizers in India increased from 69.8 kg per hectare in 1991 to 113.3 kg per
hectare in 2006, an increase of over 62 percent. 11 Many areas have become contaminated with
heavy metals and pesticides due to improper disposal of industrial effluents and municipal
waste. It is estimated that nearly 70 percent of India’s surface water resources are
contaminated by pollutants (ibid). Many species such as gharial, Siberian crane (Grus
leucogeranus) and Gangetic river dolphin have been badly affected by pollution. Between
2007 and 2008, over 100 gharials in the Chambal River died from suspected consumption of
contaminated fish.12 Rampant veterinary use of the drug diclofenac has resulted in the
populations of three vulture species – White-backed vulture (Gyps bengalensis), Slender-
billed vulture (Gyps tenuirostris) and Long-billed vulture (Gyps indicus) – declining by as
much as 99 percent.13

Challenges
In addition to the above-mentioned threats, India faces several challenges in biodiversity
governance. Two key challenges are related to the knowledge base for biodiversity
conservation and the linkage and expansion of protected areas.

There is lack of a comprehensive information base on biodiversity, with only 70 percent of

the country’s land area surveyed so far. 14 A shortage of qualified taxonomists for carrying
out taxonomic studies in the country has hampered the survey process. For instance, some
10
Space Applications Centre (2007). Desertification & Land Degradation Atlas of India.
Ahmedabad: Indian Space Research Organisation.
11
Ministry of Environment and Forests (2009a). State of Environment Report India, 2009.
New Delhi.
12
Ministry of Environment and Forests (n.d.). The Gharial: Our River Guardian. New Delhi.
13
Ministry of Environment and Forests and Zoological Survey of India (2011). Critically
Endangered Animal Species of India. New Delhi
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groups, such as soil microorganisms and marine flora and fauna, have not been sufficiently
studied. Similarly, there is inadequate understanding of genetic diversity. Conservation
planners often need to choose between ‘single large or several small’ protected areas.

Due to land scarcity and population pressure, planners in India have often chosen in favour of
a large number of relatively small protected areas. These are not always large enough to
support viable populations of threatened fauna, and fragments of forest are vulnerable to fire
and edge-effects. Creating corridors to expand and connect protected areas is crucial for long-
term conservation success, to facilitate gene flow and also to respond to potential range shifts
due to climate change. However, areas between protected areas are currently undergoing
rapid changes in land use, which result in loss or degradation of natural habitat. It is also
increasingly difficult to expand the protected area network (especially National Parks and
Wildlife Sanctuaries) on account of a perceived conflict between protected areas and local
people’s dependence on them for livelihoods. The need for expansion of the protected area
network can be illustrated through an example. Out of 463 Important Bird Areas (IBAs)
identified in the country, as many as 199 (43 percent) are not officially protected.15

Other key challenges pertain to insufficient human resources, insurgency or unrest in some
parts of the country, inadequate financial resources and equipment, increasing human-animal
conflict due to relatively small protected areas and rising human populations, adverse impact
of tourism in some areas, indiscriminate use of fertilizers and pesticides, lack of
documentation of traditional knowledge pertaining to biodiversity and lack of proper
economic valuation of biodiversity in the national accounting process (NFC, 2006; MoEF,
2008, 2009b).

14
Ministry of Environment and Forests (2009). India’s Fourth National Report to the
Convention on Biological Diversity. New Delhi.
15
National Forest Commission (2006). Report of the National Forest Commission. New
Delhi: Ministry of Environment and Forests.
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 The Legislative and Executive Measures for Conservation of Bio

Diversity in India

Realizing the importance of conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity as well as fair
and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of it, India has developed a relatively robust
legislative and policy framework for biodiversity governance. Although some measures date
back several decades,16concerted action on this front started from the 1970s onwards. This
section provides an overview of the biodiversity governance systems in the country. The idea
of protection of the environment, including biodiversity, is enshrined in the Constitution of
India. It enjoins both the State and the citizens to take appropriate steps in this direction.
Article 48-A of the Constitution of India states that `[t]he State shall endeavour to protect and
improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country’, and Article
51-A (g) states that `[i]t shall be the duty of every citizen of India to protect and improve the
natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife and to have compassion for
living creatures’.

Legislative measures
Numerous legislations (acts, rules, circulars and orders) relating to environmental protection
as well as specific laws relating to forests, wildlife and biodiversity have been passed taking
into account governmental and civil society concerns.

1) Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972

 Deals with protection of wildlife and habitats and provides for the protection of wild
animals, birds and plants and related matters, with a view to ensuring the ecological
and environmental security of the country
2) Indian Forest Act, 1927
 Designed for forest management and protection, the transit of forest and the duty
liveable on timber and other forest produce.
3) Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980
 Designed for the conservation of forests and related matters

4) Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act, 2001

16
For example, the Indian Board for Wildlife was constituted as early as 1952 to advise the
government on wildlife conservation measures (NFC, 2006)
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  Provides for the establishment of an effective system for protection of plant varieties,
the rights of farmers and plant breeders, and to encourage the development of new
varieties of plants.
5) Biological Diversity Act, 2002
After an extensive and intensive consultation process involving the stakeholders, the
Central Government has brought Biological Diversity Act,2002 with the following
salient features:-
 to regulate access to biological resources of the country with the purpose of securing
equitable share in benefits arising out of the use of biological resources; and
associated knowledge relating to biological resources;
 to conserve and sustainably use biological diversity;
 to respect and protect knowledge of local communities related to biodiversity;
 to secure sharing of benefits with local people as conservers of biological resources
and holders of knowledge and information relating to the use of biological resources;
 conservation and development of areas of importance from the standpoint of
biological diversity by declaring them as biological diversity heritage sites;
 Protection and rehabilitation of threatened species and to involve institutions of state
governments in the broad scheme of the implementation of the Biological Diversity
Act through constitution of committees.
6) Biological Diversity Rules, 2004
 Deals with operationalizing the Biological Diversity Act.
7) The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest
Rights) Act, 2006
 Recognizes and vests the traditional rights to forest dwelling communities over access
to forest goods and occupation in forest lands.

Policy Gaps
 Lack of policies for protection of wetlands, grasslands, sacred grooves and other areas
significant from the point of view of biodiversity.

 Lacunae in economic policy, institutional and governance system.

 Inadequate enforcement of existing laws.

 Poor implementation of wildlife protection act 1972 as amended in 1991

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 Inadequate implementation of eco-development programmes.

 Need for enhanced role of NGOs and other institutions.

 Need for political commitment and good will.

 Need for providing Institutional Structure.

 Need for more sectoral financial outlay.

 Human resource development – limited local community participation.

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 ROLE OF JUDICIARY

The shortcomings of the executive in coping with the pressures on the environment brought
about by change in the country's economic policies had thrust the responsibility of
environmental protection upon the judiciary. This has meant that in India, the Judiciary in
some instances had had to not only exercise its role as an interpreter of the law but has also
had to take upon itself the role of constant monitoring and implementation necessitated
through a series of public interest litigations that have been initiated in various courts.

The Judiciary has contributed to conservation of biological diversity in India by widening the
scope of locus standi and entertaining Public interest litigation in India, enunciating a web of
doctrines and interpreting Constitutional law from environmental perspectives.

 In 1996, Supreme Court issued sweeping directions to oversee the enforcement of Forest
Laws across the nation. In T.N. Godavarman Tirumalpad vs Union of India 17, Supreme
Court issued sweeping directives to enforce the Forest Conservation Act, 1980.34 The Court
ordered to close wood based industries and on exploitation of forest and forest product. The
Court also created Central and State committees to enforce the directions it issued in this
case. The court recognized that FCA was enacted with a view to check ecological imbalance
caused by rapid deforestation. It was clearly stated by the Court that the provisions of the act
must apply to all the forests irrespective of the ownership or classification thereof.
Forest Conservation Law has also been significantly been impacted through another case,
Centre for Environmental Law (WWF) – India v. Union of India 18 concerning national parks
and sanctuaries. While hearing this case, the Supreme Court through one of its interim orders
on 13-11-2000 has restrained all State Governments from de-reserving national parks,
sanctuaries and forests.

The Court had also confronted with the issues of mining activities in the forest areas. The
court had clearly laid down prohibition of mining activities in the forest areas. 19 The Supreme
Court made it categorically clear that renewal of mining licence after FCA came into force
can be made only on getting prior permission from the Central Government. 20 The Supreme
17
AIR 1996 SC 1228
18
(1998) 6 SCC 483
19
Rural Litigation and Environment Kendra v.State of Uttar Pradesh AIR 1988 SC 2187,
Tarun Bharat Sangh Alwar v. Union of India AIR1992 SC 514.
20
Ambika Quarry Works v The State of Gujarat , AIR 1987 SC 1073
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Court observed21 “the primary duty was to the community and that duty took precedence , in
our opinion, in these cases. The obligation to the society must predominate over the
obligation to the individuals.”

The Court had firmly disallowed the non-forest activities and granting of lease for non-forest
activities in forests. Renewal of stone crushing lease without prior permission of the from the
Central Government22 was considered a serious breach of duty in the case Dhirendra
agrawal v. State of Bihar.23The use of forest land for non-forest purpose was clearly denied
by the court in the case of State of Bihar v. Banshi Ram Modi.24Similarly excavations of iron
ore25 and tourism26 in forest were highly criticised by the Supreme Court.

21
Id, p 1076.
22
It is mandatory under section 2 of FCA, 1980.
23
AIR 1993 Pat 109
24
AIR 1985 SC 814
25
B V Joshi v State of Andhra Pradesh AIR 1989 AP 122
26
Union of India v Kamath Holiday resorts Pvt. Ltd. AIR 1996 SC 1040
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 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

Conclusion
This is a critical moment in earth’s history, a time when humanity must choose its future. Our
planet earth is perhaps the only human habitat in the vast universe and we owe it to posterity
to preserve the divine heritage of our biosphere without pollution, degradation and
destruction. The long term perspective for sustainable development requires the broad based
participation of various stakeholders in policy formulation, decision-making and
implementation at all levels in particular of issues of biological diversity and this must be
encouraged. While progress towards sustainable development has been made through
meetings, agreements and changes in environmental governance, real change has been slow.
To effectively address environmental problems, policy-makers should design policies that
tackle both pressures and the drivers behind them. Economic instruments such as market
creation and charge systems may be used to help spur environmentally sustainable behaviour.

India with a strong commitment to contribute towards achieving the target is making
concerted efforts to significantly reduce the current rate of biodiversity loss. Towards this,
taking into account its national priorities and needs, India has formulated a number of
policies, legislations and action plans which define national goals and targets. Some of the
more recent ones are as follows:

 The NEP (2006) seeks to achieve balance between conservation and development by
mainstreaming environmental concerns in all developmental activities.
 Within five years of ratifying the CBD, a National Policy and Macro-level Action
Strategy on Biodiversity was developed in 1999. Thereafter, preparation of micro-
level action plans was undertaken through a UNDP/GEF project on NBSAP from
2000-2004. This was an extensive exercise involving a large number of people from
various sectors. Subsequent to the approval of NEP in May, 2006, preparation of
NBAP was taken up by revising the 1999 document so that it is in consonance with
the NEP and using the NBSAP project report as one of the inputs. The NBAP 2008
defines targets, activities and associated agencies for achieving the goals.
 NAPCC (2008) outlines a number of steps to simultaneously advance development
paradigms and climate change related objectives of adaptation and mitigation. Eight

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 national missions form the core of the NAPCC and represent multipronged, long-term
and integrated strategies for achieving key goals.
 In pursuance to the CBD objectives, India enacted the BDA in 2002 following a
widespread consultative process over a period of eight years. The Biological Diversity
Rules were notified thereafter in 2004. The Act gives effect to the provisions of the
CBD. It also addresses access to biological resources and associated traditional
knowledge to ensure equitable sharing of benefits arising out of their use to the
country and its people, thereby contributing to achieving the third objective of the
CBD. India is one of the first few countries to have enacted such legislation. The Act
is to be implemented through a three-tiered institutional structure: NBA, SBBs and
BMCs. NBA were set up in 2003. Twenty two states have established SBBs, and
BMCs are in the process of being set up in some states. Efforts are being made to
strengthen the implementation of this Act, including through capacity building of the
institutional structures under UNDP and UNEP/GEF projects.
 India has adopted NWAP to give policy imperatives for wildlife conservation.

Recommendations
 Most of the legal provisions pertain mainly to use/exploitation of biological resources,
rather than their conservation. Even Wild Life Protection Act 1972, focuses on
protection rather than conservation. Protection under Wild Life Protection Act is
largely directed towards large animal species (charismatic terrestrial species) rather
than the large spectrum of fauna and flora also found in the marine realm.
 The existing laws relating to biodiversity shall be examined in order to bring them in
tune with the provisions of convention to reflect current understanding of biodiversity
conservation. There is a need for comprehensive legislation on biodiversity
conservation and use especially fisheries policies, which is generally ignored.
 Formulation of policies for protection of wetlands, grasslands, sacred groves, marine
flora and fauna and other areas is significant from the point of view of biodiversity.
 Documentation of biodiversity.
 Increase allocation of financial resources for conservation of biodiversity.
 Integrating conservation with development.
 There should be continuous monitoring of biodiversity use for review of results of
implementation of policies and programmes.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Articles
1. Alfred, J. R. B. (2006). Faunal resources and sustainable utilization. In: Verma, D.D.,
Arora, S. and Rai, R.K. (Eds.), Perspectives on Biodiversity: A Vision for
Megadiverse Countries. Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India,
New Delhi.
2. Ali, R. (2008). Biological invasion in the Indian context. Current Science, 95 (3): 296
3. Arora S. and Ahuja V. (2006). Biodiversity Conservation in Mega diverse Countries:
A Profile. In: Verma, D.D., Arora, S. and Rai, R.K. (Eds.), Perspectives on
Biodiversity: A Vision for Mega diverse Countries. Ministry of Environment and
Forests, Government of India, New Delhi. pp. 21-39.
4. Bhandari, M.M. (1990). Flora of the Indian Desert. 2nd edition. Scientific Publishers,
Jodhpur, India. pp. 459

Web-links
1. Papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm? abstractid=355141
2. www.suite101.com/content/the-importance- of - diversity-a214198
3. http://moef.nic.in/soer/2001/ind_bio.pdf
4. http://www.environment.tn.nic.in/SoE/images/biodiversity.pdf
5. http://www.globalchange.umich.edu/globalchange2/current/lectures/biodiversity/biodi
versity.html
6. ttp://news.mongabay.com/2006/1025-biodiv.html

Books
1. Arjun Prasad Nagore, Biological Diversity and International Environmental Law,
A.P.H.Publishing Corporation, New Delhi, 1996.
2. Ashish Kothari, Understanding Biodiversity, Orient Longman, Hyderabad, 1997.
3. John Copeland Nagle, J.B.Ruhl, The Law of Biodiversity and Ecosystem
Management, Foundation Press, New York, 2002.

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