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Comrades Editorial · 10 Oct 2026 (PDF)

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In this edition

  1. Reimagining Wildlife Conservation in India Wildlife

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Wildlife

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Reimagining Wildlife Conservation in India

Source This editorial is based on “From the brink to a comeback, hope for India’s wildlife” published in The Hindu on 08/10/2026. The article highlights that targeted species recovery and community-led stewardship, backed by proactive institutional interventions, can reverse wildlife declines—as seen in the Great Indian Bustard chick hatching in Kutch—despite persistent habitat, conflict, and climate challenges. Targeted species recovery programs and community-led stewardship are demonstrating that proactive institutional interventions can effectively reverse wildlife population declines and prevent extinctions. Recent milestones include the hatching of a Great Indian Bustard chick in Kutch, Gujarat, after a decade, alongside international recovery examples like the Iberian lynx (Spain/Portugal), scimitar-horned oryx (Chad), and saiga antelope (Kazakhstan). However, escalating pressures like infrastructure expansion, illegal wildlife trade, and climate extremes demand more dynamic interventions. Achieving sustainable conservation necessitates blending smart technology, bio-banking, robust community co-management, and landscape-scale ecological connectivity. What are the Key Regulations Governing Wildlife Conservation in India?
  • Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972:
    • The Act provides the principal legal framework for protecting wild animals and specified plants against hunting, capture and illegal exploitation.
    • Following the 2022 amendment, the Act has 4 schedules. Schedule I provides the strongest animal protection; Schedule II covers other protected animals; Schedule III protects specified plants; and Schedule IV covers CITES-listed specimens.
    • It provides for National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries, Conservation Reserves and Community Reserves.
    • Chapter VB implements CITES—Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, establishing Management and Scientific Authorities and regulating imports, exports and re-exports through permits and scientific scrutiny. The International Trade of Specimens Rules, 2023 provide operational procedures.
  • Indian Forest Act, 1927:
    • This Act protects the forest estate through legal classification, boundary settlement and control over damaging activities. Its framework includes Reserved Forests, Protected Forests and Village Forests.
    • Section 26 addresses offences in reserved forests, including unauthorised tree damage, clearing land and specified fire-related activities. Section 52 provides for seizure of forest produce and associated equipment where a forest offence is believed to have occurred.
  • Van (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam, 1980:
    • Formerly the Forest (Conservation) Act, this legislation controls changes in forest-land use and creates accountability for unlawful conversion.
    • Its forest-clearance framework enables examination of a project’s land requirements, alternatives and mitigation conditions. For wildlife, appraisal must address habitat fragmentation and corridor connectivity, alongside the loss of tree cover.
    • Section 3B addresses offences by government departments and authorities. It provides for liability of responsible officials, subject to statutory defences, and also covers offences attributable to consent, connivance or neglect.
  • Environment (Protection) Act, 1986:
    • The Act supports controls over environmental pressures that can disturb wildlife even without direct habitat clearance.
    • Sections 3 and 5 empower the Centre to take protective measures and issue binding directions, including restrictions on industries, operations and processes. Rules under this framework regulate different forms of pollution.
    • The Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000 prescribe silence-zone limits of 50 dB(A) Leq during daytime and 40 dB(A) Leq at night. These controls are relevant to disturbances from loudspeakers, vehicles and commercial activities around sensitive habitats.
  • Biological Diversity Act, 2002:
    • The Act regulates access to biological resources and associated traditional knowledge, linking commercial utilisation with benefits for eligible communities.
    • Amended in 2023, it operates alongside the Biological Diversity Rules, 2024 and Access and Benefit Sharing Regulations, 2025.
    • Its institutional framework comprises the National Biodiversity Authority, State Biodiversity Boards and local Biodiversity Management Committees. Depending on the applicant and activity, utilisation attracts prescribed approval, registration or intimation requirements, subject to statutory exemptions.
  • Scheduled Tribes And Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition Of Forest Rights) Act, 2006:
    • The Act creates a legal role for forest-dependent communities in protecting and managing ecosystems.
    • Section 5 empowers forest-right holders, Gram Sabhas and village institutions to protect wildlife, forests and biodiversity; safeguard catchments and water sources; and ensure compliance with community decisions regulating access to forest resources.
  • Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960:
    • This Act protects individual animals against unnecessary suffering, including wild animals held or used by humans.
    • Section 3 requires persons responsible for animals to take reasonable measures for their wellbeing. Section 11 addresses cruelty such as painful transport, excessively restrictive confinement, unreasonable chaining and deprivation of food, water or shelter.
    • Section 22 regulates performing animals and permits prohibition of specified animals. Wild animals covered by performance restrictions include bears, monkeys, tigers, panthers and lions.
  • National Green Tribunal Act, 2010:
    • The Act provides specialised remedies for environmental damage affecting forests, biodiversity and wildlife habitats.
    • Section 15 enables relief, compensation and environmental restitution. Section 20 requires application of sustainable development, the precautionary principle and the polluter-pays principle when deciding cases.
    • The NGT hears civil cases involving a substantial environmental question arising from enactments in Schedule I of the NGT Act, 2010.
      • It lacks jurisdiction over claims based solely on the excluded Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 or Indian Forest Act, 1927, but can hear habitat-damage cases involving listed laws, including forest diversion under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 or pollution under the Water Act, 1974 or Air Act, 1981.
Key Supreme Court Rulings on Wildlife Conservation
  • M.K. Ranjitsinh v. Union of India, 2025: Directed implementation of conservation and monitoring measures, restrictions on specified future renewable-energy projects, and targeted undergrounding/rerouting of power lines for protection of the critically endangered Great Indian Bustard. Specified mitigation works were to be completed within two years.
  • T.N. Godavarman Proceedings, 2024–2025:
    • The March 2024 judgment directed assessment of ecological damage in Corbett and recovery of restoration costs from responsible persons/officials.
    • In November 2025, the Court prohibited tiger safaris in core/critical tiger habitats.
  • M.K. Ranjitsinh v. Union of India, 2024: Recognised constitutional protection against the adverse effects of climate change under Articles 14 and 21.
  • Hospitality Association of Mudumalai v. In Defence of Environment and Animals, 2020: Upheld Tamil Nadu’s notification protecting the Sigur Plateau elephant corridor in the Nilgiris. Recognised the importance of habitat connectivity for migration and long-term survival.
  • Centre for Environment Law, WWF-I v. Union of India, 2013: Directed urgent steps to establish a second population of Asiatic lions at Kuno, Madhya Pradesh, reducing the risks associated with confinement to one habitat.
  • Tarun Bharat Sangh, Alwar v. Union of India, 1993: Directed the closure of 262 mines identified within the protected forest area (Sariska Tiger Reserve) unless the necessary Central Government approval was obtained. State mining leases could not override the requirements of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.
What are the Key Challenges Associated with Wildlife Conservation in India?
  • Habitat Fragmentation, Infrastructure Intrusions & Broken Wildlife Connectivity:
    • Roads, railways, mining and settlements divide continuous habitats into smaller patches, restricting movement and access to food, water and breeding partners. Fragmentation creates barrier effects, collision risks and reduced gene flow.
    • NTCA states that approximately one-third of India’s tigers occur outside tiger reserves, based on the 2022 estimation. Their survival therefore depends substantially on connecting forests and shared landscapes beyond reserve boundaries
    • A 2025 Project Elephant review reported surveys covering 3,452 km of sensitive railway stretches, identifying 77 high-risk areas requiring mitigation. This demonstrates the scale of potential overlap between transport infrastructure and wildlife movement.
  • Human–Wildlife Conflict, Livelihood Losses & Erosion of Conservation Support:
    • Conservation becomes socially difficult when communities bear recurring risks to life, crops, livestock and property.
    • Government data recorded 629 human deaths from elephant attacks in 2023–24. Such losses make wildlife conservation a question of rural security and livelihood protection, alongside biodiversity preservation.
    • Compensation for a documented loss may still leave lost working time, guarding expenses and psychological distress unaddressed.
  • Organised Poaching, Transnational Trafficking & Growing Exotic-Pet Demand:
    • Wildlife crime increasingly connects local extraction with international markets, sophisticated networks and demand for live animals.
    • TRAFFIC’s November 2025 report recorded Indian seizures representing 23 tigers during January–June 2025, compared with 25 throughout 2024. It demonstrates continuing illegal trade.
    • E.g., 5 orangutans were discovered in Balasore, Odisha, in September 2026 highlighting India’s emerging role as a market for foreign wildlife.
  • Invasive Alien Plants, Forage Depletion & Disrupted Ecological Relationships:
    • Invasive plants can degrade habitats even where forest boundaries and canopy cover remain intact.
    • A December 2025 Nature Sustainability study, analysing 2006–2022 monitoring across 277,000 km², estimated that approximately 15,500 km² of natural areas annually were invaded by at least one additional alien plant species during the study period. Plants such as Lantana camara and Chromolaena odorata can form dense stands and suppress native regeneration.
    • The study estimated annual exposure of approximately 11,200 km² of herbivore occupancy to potential forage loss. Declining native vegetation can therefore weaken the prey base supporting large carnivores.
  • Climate Extremes, Forest Fires & Marine-Ecosystem Instability:
    • Warming, drought and ocean heat stress can undermine habitats despite protection from direct human exploitation.
    • ISFR 2023 recorded 2,03,544 forest-fire detections during the 2023–24 fire season. Heat and dryness can increase fire vulnerability, although ignition causes vary.
    • The Nature Conservation Foundation’s Lakshadweep monitoring programme, operating since 1998, reports witnessing 4 devastating mass coral-bleaching events.
    • Shorter recovery intervals can alter species composition, breeding conditions and food availability.
  • Veterinary-Drug Toxicity, Contaminated Food Chains & Coordination Gaps:
    • Wildlife can be harmed by substances introduced through livestock treatment and other activities outside protected-area administration.
    • NSAID (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) like nimesulide residues in livestock carcasses expose scavenging vultures to toxic substances. In January 2025, the conservation partnership SAVE highlighted scientific evidence demonstrating its toxicity to vultures.
  • Small-Population Traps, Skewed Sex Ratios & Recovery Uncertainty:
    • A surviving population may still be unable to reproduce or withstand disease, accidents and environmental fluctuations.
    • A March 2026 government report stated that Gujarat’s wild Great Indian Bustard population consisted of only 3 females, with no surviving local males. An existing population had therefore lost its capacity to produce fertile eggs naturally.
    • Small populations face demographic chance events, potential genetic-diversity loss and dependence on assisted breeding.
What Steps Should be Taken for Sustainable Conservation of Wildlife in India?
  • Institutionalizing Landscape-Scale Connectivity & Eco-Corridor Protection:
    • Transition from isolated Protected Areas (PAs) to contiguous landscape management that protects linear migratory pathways and gene flow across fragmented forest patches.
    • Mandate wildlife-friendly civil designs—such as eco-ducts, canopy bridges, and underpasses (e.g., the NH-44 Pench corridor and Samruddhi Mahamarg eco-ducts)—for all linear infrastructure projects intersecting critical wildlife habitats.
    • Legally notify critical wildlife corridors—such as the 150 elephant corridors validated by Project Elephant and the Wildlife Institute of India (WII)—under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 as Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZs).
  • Deployment of AI-Driven Surveillance & Smart Wildlife Monitoring:
    • Integrate remote sensing, IoT, and AI telemetry to transition from manual anti-poaching patrols to real-time predictive monitoring.
    • Scale AI-based systems like Indian Railways’ Gajraj System—which utilizes Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) vibration sensors across sensitive railway tracks—to eliminate train-elephant collisions.
    • Upgrade the MSTrIPES (Monitoring System for Tigers - Intensive Protection and Ecological Status) platform using thermal-imaging drones, acoustic sensors, and AI-driven spatial analytics to detect illegal human encroachments and track rewilded species.
  • Intelligence-Led Enforcement, Wildlife Forensics & Digital Trafficking Disruption:
    • Develop secure case-sharing arrangements among the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, Customs, police and forest departments. Analyse repeat offenders, transport routes, courier consignments and associated financial transactions to identify organisers and beneficiaries.
    • Equip field teams with standard collection kits and train them in chain of custody, DNA preservation and digital evidence handling.
    • Require relevant platforms to verify applicable seller permits and CITES documentation, preserve suspicious listing records and establish reporting channels.
  • Empowering Community-Led Co-Management & Traditional Knowledge:
    • Institutionalize revenue-sharing models through Eco-Development Committees (EDCs), allocating a direct percentage of eco-tourism revenue to local Panchayats for village infrastructure and sustainable livelihoods.
    • Incorporate Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) from forest-dwelling communities (e.g., Soliga tribes in BRT Tiger Reserve, Karnataka) into fire-line management, tracking, and invasive weed control.
  • Implementing Climate-Resilient & Adaptive Habitat Restoration:
    • Construct solar-powered perennial water points and micro-check dams inside water-stressed reserves to prevent climate-induced animal dispersal into agricultural fringes during summer months.
    • Expand ex-situ translocations and prey-base restoration to build ecological buffer capacity (e.g., Project Cheetah at Kuno and Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary, Gaur reintroduction in Bandhavgarh).
  • Advanced Bio-Banking, Genetic Management & Disease Surveillance:
    • Counter inbreeding depression in isolated metapopulations (e.g., Asiatic Lions in Gir, Sangai deer in Manipur) through high-throughput genomic sequencing, pedigree tracking, and managed gene flow.
    • Expand the capacity of the Laboratory for the Conservation of Endangered Species (LaCONES - CCMB, Hyderabad) to maintain cryo-bank repositories of gametes, tissues, and embryos of critically endangered Indian fauna.
    • Establish a national One Health Wildlife Disease Surveillance Network to monitor, vaccinate, and mitigate zoonotic and spillover infections (e.g., Canine Distemper Virus-CDV, Kyasanur Forest Disease) along livestock-wildlife interfaces.
  • Institutionalizing Multi-Layered Human-Wildlife Conflict (HWC) Mitigation:
    • Deploy eco-friendly, bio-barrier systems (e.g., chili-bee hive fences, lemongrass cultivation, acoustic deterrents) that generate supplementary rural income while creating physical buffers around crop fields.
    • Install thermal camera arrays and motion-sensor tripwires along forest fringes that broadcast automated SMS and WhatsApp alerts to local villagers and Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) upon carnivore/herbivore movement.
    • Streamline immediate ex-gratia compensation claims via direct bank transfers (DBT) using mobile apps to mitigate retaliatory killings, alongside expanding conflict coverage under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY).
  • Innovating Green Financing & Transboundary Landscape Governance:
    • Capitalize on the Green Credit Programme (GCP) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds to finance habitat restoration, while issuing outcome-based Wildlife Social Impact Bonds for endangered species recovery.
    • Deepen international ecological diplomacy to secure transboundary corridors, such as the Terai Arc Landscape (TAL) with Nepal, the Sundarbans Delta Framework with Bangladesh, and the Kanchenjunga Landscape with Bhutan.
    • Strengthen joint operational anti-poaching protocols, real-time intelligence sharing, and transboundary wildlife corridors to secure migratory routes for flagship species.
Conclusion
  • Wildlife conservation in India must evolve beyond isolated protected enclaves toward dynamic, landscape-scale ecological governance. While strong statutory frameworks like WPA 1972 provide a solid foundation, overcoming habitat fragmentation, climate extremes, and human-wildlife friction requires active community co-management and AI-driven monitoring. By blending traditional ecological knowledge with bio-banking, smart infrastructure, and green financing, India can effectively safeguard its unique megadiverse heritage while ensuring resilient, harmonious coexistence.