Community reserves and Conservation reserves

What are Community reserves and Conservation reserves? How are they different from each other? What is their importance? Which are the main Community Conserved Areas in India? Read further to know more.

In India, protected lands that act as buffer zones, connectors, and migration corridors between established national parks, animal sanctuaries, and reserved and protected forests are considered conservation and community reserves.

The Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act of 2003, which updated the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972, created these types of protected zones for the first time. What are Conservation reserves? Let us discuss more on it more.

Conservation reserves

For the preservation of the land, sea, and habitat of fauna and plants, it is a state-owned region close to National Parks and sanctuaries.

• A Conservation Reserve Management Committee is in charge of managing it.
• Any property controlled by the government may be designated as a conservation reserve by the state government after discussing it with nearby communities.
• The first conservation reserve in the nation is located near Tiruppadaimarathur, Tamil Nadu.
• The village’s residents took steps to create a conservation reserve in order to protect the birds that nest there.
• Residents of conservation reserves are not subject to any restrictions on their privileges.
• India currently has 100 conservation reserves, which together encompass 4927.28 km2, or 0.15 per cent, of its total land area.

Then what about community reserves, they are described below.

Community Reserves

Any community or private land may be designated by the State Government as a Community Reserve provided the inhabitants of that community or the person concerned consent to provide such areas for the preservation of the local flora and fauna as well as their customs, cultures, and practises.

• The creation of such a place attempts to preserve biodiversity while simultaneously enhancing the socioeconomic circumstances of the local population.
• The Reserve is managed by a community reserve management committee.
• The State Government may designate the area as community land by notification if a community or a single person has offered to volunteer to conserve wildlife and its habitat.
• Within the Community Reserve, no changes to the way land are used are permitted unless they are authorised by a resolution that has been approved by both the State Government and the Management Committee.
• In India, there are 219 active community reserves, totalling 1446.28 km2, or 0.043 per cent of the nation’s landmass.

Also Read: Biodiversity Protection: Steps Taken By Indian Government (clearias.com)

Major Conservation Reserves in India

State wise list of major conservation reserves is discussed below:

Significance of Community Reserves And Conservation

In India, there are two types of protected area systems: community reserves and conservation reserves. Local communities and private organisations work together to administer these reserves.

• Community-led wildlife protection initiatives now can be recognised and legally supported thanks to changes made to the Wildlife Protection Act in 2003.
• It provides a flexible framework for protecting wildlife without compromising the demands of the local population.
• Due to private land ownership and use, protection in and around existing or prospective protected areas has declined. This has led to the creation of these categories.

Examples of Community Conserved Areas in India

Some examples Community Conserved Areas in India are discussed below :

• For more than 20 years, Gond tribal people in Maharashtra’s Mendha (Lekha) village have been defending 1800 acres of reserved and protected forest. This is a result of the conflict over tribal self-rule.
• In Uttaranchal, the residents of Jardhargaon village have been in charge of regenerating and safeguarding 600–700 ha of Reserved Forests and grasslands, as well as fighting against limestone mining and preserving hundreds of indigenous crop types in situ.
• The Kolavipalam fisherfolk group in Kerala protects sea turtle eggs, hatchlings, and nesting locations.
• The Painted Stork and Spot-billed Pelican nesting places at Kokkare Bellur village, Karnataka, have historically been protected by the locals.
• In the Loktak Lake basin, the Ronmei tribe of Manipur’s Tokpa Kabui hamlet has restored 600 acres of village forest. Hunting is prohibited in this area for the critically endangered Sangai deer (Brown Antlered Deer). Despite their imminent extinction, local groups all over the country are preserving thousands of sacred groves.
• The NGO Tarun Bharat Sangh is in charge of promoting forest regeneration, the resurrection of traditional water harvesting systems, the controlled use of water and forest resources, and the prohibition of villagers hunting wild animals in and around Rajasthan’s Sariska National Park.

Also read: Hotspots – World Heritage Sites – Biosphere Reserves – National Parks – Sanctuaries – Tiger Reserves

Conclusion

If the land is totally privately owned, uninhabited, and used for sustenance by communities, it is recognised as a community area. Conservation areas are those same places. Due to private land ownership and use, protection in and around existing or prospective protected areas has declined. This has led to the creation of these categories. The rights of residents of Community Reserves are the same as those of residents of Conservation Reserves.

Article Written By: Atheena Fathima Riyas