MAJOR WILDLIFE SANCTUARIES AND PROTECTED AREAS OF INDIA

PRERNA FOR IAS

         Mehnat Aapki, Guidance Humari

         Roz ki Prelims Practice — Experts ke Saath

MAJOR WILDLIFE SANCTUARIES AND PROTECTED AREAS OF INDIA

1. Introduction

• India has created a large network of National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries, Conservation Reserves and Community Reserves under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.
• The Wildlife Institute of India reports around 1,134 Protected Areas, including 106 National Parks and 574 Wildlife Sanctuaries. (Wildlife Institute of India)
• These areas conserve threatened species, forests, wetlands, grasslands and important ecological corridors.

2. Dudhwa Landscape — Uttar Pradesh

• Dudhwa National Park, rather than merely a wildlife sanctuary, forms part of the larger Dudhwa Tiger Reserve.
• Its Terai grasslands and forests support tigers, swamp deer, elephants and the greater one-horned rhinoceros.
• The Dudhwa Tiger Reserve covers more than 2,200 sq. km including core and buffer areas. (National Tiger Conservation Authority)

3. Kaziranga — Assam

• Kaziranga is a National Park and Tiger Reserve, internationally famous for the greater one-horned rhinoceros.
• Its floodplain grasslands, wetlands and forests also support tiger, elephant, wild buffalo and swamp deer.
• It is one of India’s most important conservation landscapes and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

4. Keoladeo National Park — Rajasthan

• Keoladeo National Park at Bharatpur, formerly known as Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, is a major wetland habitat.
• It supports large numbers of resident and migratory waterbirds.
• The park demonstrates the ecological importance of managed wetlands in arid and semi-arid landscapes.

5. Ranthambore — Rajasthan

• Ranthambore National Park forms the core of the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve.
• Its dry deciduous forests, lakes and rocky terrain provide habitat for tigers, leopards, sambar and chital.
• NTCA records the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve at about 1,411 sq. km, including core and buffer areas. (National Tiger Conservation Authority)

6. Periyar — Kerala