Conservation Reserve and Community Reserve

About:

• Conservation Reserve and community Reserves are the outcome of amendments to the wildlife protection act, 2003.
• It provided for the mechanism to provide recognition and legal backing to the community initiated efforts in wildlife protection.
• It provides for a flexible system wherein the wildlife conservation is achieved without compromising the community needs.
• Conservation reserves and community reserves are terms denoting protected areas of the country which typically act as buffer zones to or connectors and migration corridors between established national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and reserved and protected forests.

Conservation Reserves:

• The amendment act of 2003 provided for the creation of new type of protected area called a conservation reserve.
• It is an area owned by the state government adjacent to the national parks and sanctuaries for protecting the landscape, seascape, and habitat of fauna and flora. It is managed through a conservation reserve management committee.
• The state government may, after having consultations with the local communities, declare any area owned by the government as a conservation reserve.
• Tiruppadaimarathur conservation reserve in tirunelveli, tamilnadu is the first conservation reserve established in the country. It is an effort of the village community to protect the birds nesting in their village and acted for declaration of conservation reserve.

Community Reserve:

• The amendment act of 2003 provide for the creation of a new type of protected area called a community reserve.
• The state government may notify any community land or private land as a community reserve, provided that the members of that community or individuals concerned are agreeable to offer such areas for protecting the fauna and flora, as well as their traditions, cultures and practices.
• The declaration of such an area is aimed at improving the socio-economic conditions of the people living in such areas as well as conserving wildlife. The reserve is managed through a community reserve management committee.
• The state government may, where the community or individual has volunteered to conserve wildlife and its habitat, declare the area by notification as community reserve.
• No change in land use pattern shall be made within the community reserve, except in accordance with a resolution passed by the management committee and approval of the same by the state government.