Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats

Flora and Fauna of India

  • According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN): India is a mega diverse country with only 2.4% of the world’s land area, accounts for 7-8% of all recorded species, including species of plants and species of animals.
  • There are about 45,000 species of plants, which is about 7% of world’s total. About 33% of these are endemic.
  • There are 15,000 flowering plants, which is 6% of world’s total. Roughly, 1,500 plant species are endangered.
  • There are 91,000 animal species, representing about 6.5% of world’s fauna. These include 60,000 insect species, 2,456 fish species, 1,230 bird species, 372 mammals, over 440 reptiles and 200 amphibians with largest concentration in Western Ghats and 500 molluscs.
  • Livestock diversity is high. There are 400 breeds of sheep, 27 of cattle and 22 of goats found in India.
  • It has also globally important populations of some of Asia’s rarest animals, such as the Bengal Fox, Asiatic Cheetah, Marbled Cat, Asiatic Lion, Indian Elephant, Asiatic Wild Ass, Indian Rhinoceros, Markhor, Gaur, Wild Asiatic Water Buffalo etc.

Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats

  • The Scheme consists of Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Project Tiger (CSS-PT), Development of Wildlife Habitats (CSS-DWH) and Project Elephant (CSS-PE).
  • The implementation of the schemes would be done through the respective States in designated Tiger Reserves, Protected Areas and Elephant Reserves.
  • The activities covered under the scheme include the staff development and capacity building, wildlife research and evaluation, anti-poaching activities, wildlife veterinary care, addressing man-animal conflicts and promoting eco-tourism.
  • Financial assistance is also provided to States for relocation of communities from within protected areas to other areas.

Need for integrated development of Wildlife Habitats

  • Constraints in financial resources to spent towards the protection of the biodiversity.
  • The recent studies show that India is failing on its conservation goals.
  • Unabated population growth, as at present, not only adds to the economic burden for all developmental activities, but also reduces the impact of economic growth on our society.
  • An integrated land and water management approach is extremely important to sustain the food production, animal husbandry and other activities.
  • Sustainability of the rural poor is increasingly affected due to unchecked development processes and failure of various conservation programmes.

Location: Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India

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