03A. India's Enviornment laws 1 - WLPA,1972

Context of India's Environment Laws

1. British wanted railways -> they need timber -> so they decided they need to control forests (before that tribals and people are in harmony with forest)

2. So british pushed out the tribals

3. So they made Indian forest act in 1927

4. Then in 1947 we gained independence

5. On the eve of Independence we gave statement that Forests are wealth of India not tribals, stil followed the exclsuionary principle

6. in 1972 stockholm conference happened - United National Conference on Human Environment -Only Swedish PM and Indian PM. She understood the value of Environemnt

- She added 51A(g), 48(A), To concurrent list

7. Then WLPA, 1972

8. water pollutuon act, 1974

9. Air act, 1981

even with all these the forest cover is decreasing

10. So Forest conservation act, 1980 is passed - forest land will not be diverted for non forest purposes

Even in 1988 the forest cover is decreasing even after all the acts, so now a bureaucrat came with joint Forest Management and this became successful

so after this success they came with

Forest Rights Act, 2006

Already lot of forest land is diverted so gvt came with Compensatory afforestation act in 2016

WLPA, 1972

1. Protect plants and animals

2. Proetcted area

3. Bodies to proetct wildlife

4. System of WPA

1. so gave schedules (gave 6 but now changed to 4)

2. NPs, WLS, Community reserves, conservation reserves, tiger reserve (core area of tiger reserve gets the status of NP or WLS)

Schedules in WLPA

1. Schedule 1

2. Scheule 2

3. Schedule 3

4. Schedule 3

What happened to vermin after 6->4 schedules

1. Animals with higher level of protection

2. Animals with Lower level of protection

3. Plants with proetction

4. Specimens in CITES

Central gvt gives list of vermins from time to time so that only then people can hunt

Hunting in WLPA

1. Self defence

2. With chief wild life warden if an animal is threat to human life or property

Bodies under the Act

1. National Board of Wildlife (NBWL)

2. NTCA

3. Central zoo authority (CZA)

4. Wildlife crime control Bureau

5. Chief wildlife warden

6. State board of wildlife

7. Tiger conservation foundation

8. Conservation reserve management committee

2022 amendment changes

1. Implementation of what

2. Defined what

3. Wild animals belongs to

4. captive animals / animals with people with certificate and elephant

5. Power of Chief Wildlife warden

1. Implementation of CITES as schedule 4

2. We also defined definition of invasive alien species

3. All wild animals are property of state gvt including the hunted animals, their parts, no commercial sale if the state hunted for security reasons

4. cannot sell parts , and gave right to transport elephants for religious purposes

5. Warden has to act as per GoI guidelines and tribals must be included in 5th and 6th schedule areas