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Journalism of Courage
— Raj Shekhar
(The Indian Express has launched a new series of articles for UPSC aspirants written by seasoned writers and scholars on issues and concepts spanning History, Polity, International Relations, Art, Culture and Heritage, Environment, Geography, Science and Technology, and so on. Read and reflect with subject experts and boost your chance of cracking the much-coveted UPSC CSE. In the following article, Raj Shekhar draws attention to the critical need for biodiversity conservation.)
The protest against the government’s decision to auction off 400 acres of forested land in the heart of Hyderabad underlined the urgent need to balance development with environmental preservation and ensure that air quality, climate, and biodiversity are not compromised.
Biodiversity sustains us by helping to maintain ecological balance and supporting human well-being as well as environmental health. Ecological benefits from biodiversity include nutrient recycling, water purification, waste decomposition, the maintenance of food webs, etc. In addition, biodiversity supplies resources for agriculture, industries and the healthcare sector.
Apart from such direct benefits, biodiversity plays an important role in enhancing resilience towards environmental and climatic shocks like wildfires and floods. Similarly, genetic diversity helps species improve their adaptive potential to changing environmental conditions.
However, biodiversity is under threat from a range of anthropogenic activities – habitat destruction, expansion of agriculture, shifting cultivation, filling up of wetlands, introduction of alien species, pollution, conversion of rich biodiversity sites for human settlement, poaching, smuggling, degradation of coastal areas, overexploitation of resources, climate change and desertification.
It underlines the critical need for biodiversity conservation. Conservation of biodiversity is the management of human use of the biosphere so that it provides maximum benefits to the present generation while maintaining its potential to meet the needs and aspirations of future generations.
In this context, biodiversity parks as components of green infrastructure (GI) emerge as a nature-based solution for conserving and restoring biodiversity. These parks are nature reserves that protect the region’s biological diversity.
The fundamental idea behind a biodiversity park is to restore self-sustaining ecosystems with local flora and fauna. This not only supports biodiversity but also helps improve the quality of the overall urban ecological health. Incorporating biodiversity into green infrastructure through biodiversity parks is crucial for achieving biodiversity-specific Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These include:
SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) – by maintaining the genetic diversity of seeds, plants and animals;
SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) – by protecting and restoring water-related ecosystems;
SDG 14 – sustainable use of oceans, seas, and marine resources; and
SDG 15 – sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems and forests, halting and reversing land degradation and biodiversity loss.
To effectively realise these benefits and meet conservation goals, it is essential to adopt strategic approaches to biodiversity conservation. There are two basic strategies for biodiversity conservation – in situ and ex situ.
The in situ approach refers to the conservation of biological diversity within its natural habitat and allows ecosystems and species to thrive in their original environments. Areas under in-situ conservation include protected areas, biosphere reserves, sacred forests, and sacred lakes. Protected areas comprise wildlife sanctuaries and national parks.
The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 provides legal provisions for the establishment of protected areas. India closely follows the concept and definition of national parks as formulated by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 1969.
The Indian Board of Wildlife defines a national park (primarily governed under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972) as an area of adequate natural, biological and geomorphological interest, designated and created/protected by law to be preserved in perpetuity as national heritage.
A national park aims to preserve natural ecosystems by restricting human exploitation, prohibiting livestock grazing, and safeguarding biological, territorial, and aesthetic features. Public access is regulated to support educational, cultural, and recreational purposes, ensuring conservation while allowing inspiration and scientific study.
In comparison, wildlife sanctuaries are areas reserved primarily for the protection of animals. Operations such as harvesting of timber, collection of minor forest produce, and private ownership rights are usually allowed provided they do not affect animals/wildlife adversely.
The Man and Biosphere (MAB) Programme of UNESCO formulated the concept of biosphere reserves in 1975, which deals with the conservation of ecosystems and the genetic resources contained therein. A notable feature of biosphere reserves is the inclusion of local communities in it.
A biosphere reserve comprises three zones: core (protected area that conserves ecosystems and species), buffer (managed for research and education), and transition (area where sustainable human activities are promoted in harmony with conservation goals).
Biosphere reserves serve three functions: conserving biodiversity, promoting sustainable development, and supporting research, monitoring, and education to advance global conservation efforts.
India’s sacred forests/groves and lakes, protected for religious reasons and folk deities (such as Ayyanar and Amman), play an important role in biodiversity conservation. States like Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Meghalaya have sacred forests/groves, which often provide safe refuge to rare species.
Similarly, sacred lakes, like Khecheopalri in Sikkim, protect aquatic life from degradation. It reflects traditional conservation practices that support ecological balance and biodiversity preservation. Other in-situ conservation measures include Conservation Reserves and Community Reserves, which are created under the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act, 2002.
It refers to the preservation of components of biodiversity outside their natural habitats. For ex situ conservation of biodiversity, germplasm banks or gene banks are established to preserve genetic material outside natural habitat. These include botanical gardens, zoos (Nandankanan Zoo, Bhubaneswar), genetic resource centres, seed banks (The Indian Seed Vault in Ladakh), tissue culture labs, DNA banks, cryopreservation facilities, and captive breeding programmes.
In comparison to in situ methods, ex situ conservation measures take lesser geographical area. An example of ex-situ measures can be seen in Uttar Pradesh where the Miyawaki method was employed during Maha Kumbh 2025 to plant native plants and saplings – usually 3-5 plants per square meter to grow green infrastructure and support biodiversity conservation.
Such efforts are further strengthened by legal framework for biodiversity conservation – both constitutional and statutory.
India has both constitutional and statutory provisions for biodiversity conservation. The Constitution provides directives to the state and imposes fundamental duties on citizens.
Article 48-A (Directive Principles of State Policy) directs the state to protect and improve the environment and safeguard forests and wildlife.
Article 51-A(g) (Fundamental Duties) imposes a duty on every citizen to protect and improve the natural environment and to have compassion for living creatures.
In addition to constitutional directives, there are statutory provisions for biodiversity protection and conservation: the Fisheries Act, 1897, the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, the Biological Diversity Act, 2002.
The Biological Diversity Act, 2002 was born out of India’s attempt to realise the objectives enshrined in the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), 1992, which India ratified in 1994. The key objectives of the Act are – the conservation of biodiversity, sustainable use of its resources, and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilisation of genetic resources, through a just process.
Similarly, the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) 1999 (later updated in 2008) was formulated to implement the CBD mandates. In 2014, amendments were made to align the plan with the Aichi Biodiversity targets, adopted at CBD COP 10 at Nagoya, 2010).
Building on this, India further launched the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) 2024-2030 at COP 16 in Cali, Colombia to align it with the Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity Framework adopted at COP 15, which replaces the Aichi targets. It sets 23 national Biodiversity targets to guide conservation efforts through 2030.
In addition, India has several key legislative measures for ecosystem protection and conservation: the Indian Forests Act, 1927, Forest Conservation Act, 1980, the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, Environment Protection Act, 1986, Coastal Regulation Zone Notification, 2011, Wetland Rules, 2010.
Moreover, India has also implemented species-specific conservation efforts, such as Project Tiger (1973), Project Elephant (1992), Snow Leopard Conservation Project (2009), Vulture Conservation Program (2006), and One-Horned Rhino Conservation (2005).
At the same time, India has been part of various global conventions and initiatives, including Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB), International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) – since 1969, Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) – ratified in 1994, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) – since 1976, Ramsar Convention (1982), Bonn Convention on Migratory Species (1983), and Global Tiger Forum (1995).
What is the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP), and how does it contribute to biodiversity conservation in India?
Explain the role of sacred forests and sacred lakes in biodiversity conservation with examples.
Give examples of ex-situ conservation efforts in India and their importance for preserving biodiversity.
What is the Miyawaki method, and how was it applied in Uttar Pradesh during Maha Kumbh 2025 for biodiversity conservation?
Discuss the constitutional provisions for the protection of biodiversity in India?
(Raj Shekhar is pursuing his Ph.D. in Geography from Jawaharlal Nehru University.)
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