Representational Picture courtesy avenuemail.in shows Wild Life Sanctury near Jmashedpur,Jharkhand.

Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has approved 275 Eco-Sensitive Zones in the country. Out of these, six Eco-Sensitive Zones are in Gujarat and one is in Jharkhand.

The Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar provided the information to the Rajya Sabha on April 25, 2016 in reply to a question raised by Rajya Sabha Member Parimal Nathwani.

The Minister stated that total 282 proposals were received for declaration of Eco-Sensitive Zones around Wildlife Sanctuaries and Nationals parks from various State Governments. In Jharkhand, one Eco-Sensitive Zone protects Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary, said the minister.

The six Eco-sensitive Zones approved in Gujarat protect Marine National Park and Marine Wildlife Sanctuary, Girnar Wildlife Sanctuary, Narayan Sarovar Wildlife Sanctuary, Purna Wildlife Sanctuary, Vansda National Park and Thol Wildlife Sanctuary, he said.

The Ministry has approved/notified 275 proposals for declaration of Eco-sensitive Zones, of which 215 have been notified in the Gazette of India, of these 183 are draft notification and 32 are final notification, said the Mnister. He added that 275 proposals cover Eco-sensitive Zones around 404 Wildlife Sanctuaries and National Park.

Nathwani wanted to know about the details of criteria adopted for declaring eco-sensitive zone, effect of the same on local people and their livelihood and number of Eco-sensitive Zones approved/declared in the country.

According to the statement of the minister, the concept of Eco-sensitive Zone is to conserve biodiversity and endangered wildlife and protect environment around the protected areas such as National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries as a ‘Safety Zone’ without impeding legitimate socio-economic development of the area and also providing adequate opportunities for livelihood security of the local people.

The Eco-sensitive Zone is declared following factors like biological diversity of the area, their conservation, proximity to Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park and wildlife corridors, he said.

The Minister also added that restrictions are imposed on certain identified projects/activities which could have adverse impact on wildlife and activities which are eco-friendly are promoted in Eco-sensitive area. The issue of livelihood of local are taken into consideration while determining the extent of eco-sensitive area.

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