Lok Sabha Question No. 4166 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-03-28
Subject: Rare Species
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: BANSHILAL MAHTO

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.4166

TO BE ANSWERED ON 28.03.2017

## Rare Species

4166.

DR. BANSHILAL MAHATO

Will  the  Minister  of  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND  CLIMATE  CHANGE  be  pleased  to state:

- (a) whether the Government has conducted any survey to find out rare species of plants and animals in the country which are on the verge of extinction;
- (b) if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) the details of the steps taken/ proposed to be taken by the Government for the protection and conservation of rare plants and animals?

## ANSWER

MINISTER  OF  STATE  (INDEPENDENT  CHARGE)  FOR  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI ANIL MADHAV DAVE)

- (a)  Yes  Sir.  Zoological  Survey  of  India  (ZSI)  and  Botanical  Survey  of  India  (BSI)  under  the Ministry  of  Environment,  Forest  and  Climate  Change  conduct  surveys  of  threatened  and important species of fauna and flora respectively  of the country and document the faunal and floral diversity of the country including the rare ones which are on the verge of extinction.
- (b) The Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata published a booklet titled 'Critically Endangered Animal  Species  of  India'  in  March  2011.  The  booklet  provides  details  of  fauna  which  are critically endangered and on the verge of extinction. The findings of the status survey of rare and endangered species of fauna have been published by the Zoological Survey of India for the last 15 years as mentioned in Annexure A. The Botanical Survey of India has published four volumes of Red Data Book of Indian Plants, (Eds. Jain & Rao, 1984; Nayar & Sastry 1987 - 1990) and Red  List  of  Threatened  Vascular  Plant  Species  in  India  (Rao et  al. 2003),  which  provide information on 1236 species belonging to different threatened categories like Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable, etc.
- (c) For protection of the interests of flora and fauna, the Govt. of India has established a countrywide  protected  area  network  (678  Protected  Areas  (PAs)  including  102  National  Parks,  515 Wildlife  Sanctuaries,  4  Community  Reserves,  and  57  Conservation  Reserves  in  different biogeographic regions), which primarily covers habitats of threatened flora and fauna. Moreover, 9 of the 18 Biosphere Reserves in India are part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves of

UNESCO. Specific areas are designated by the Ministry/ Govt. of India as Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESAs), which are protected under the Environment (Protection) Act 1986 (EPA). Several other  steps  to  conserve/protect  the  wildlife  and  species  of  flora  and  fauna  undertaken  by  the Ministry/Govt. are mentioned below:

- (i)  The  Project  Tiger  and  Project  Elephant  have  been  setup  for  protection  of  charismatic species and their habitat including associated flora and fauna. The Zoological Survey of India through the Ministry undertake status surveys of endangered fauna in Protected Areas (PAs) and outside Protected Areas (PAs) of the country and suggest government for protection of rare and endangered species. Government of India has formulated various wildlife protection acts for conservation and protection of rare and endangered species in India. There are Ramsar sites of wetland importance and Natural Heritage Sites declared by the Government of India for  creating  conducive  environment  for  rare  species  of  animals.  India  is  signatory  to Convention  on  Biological  Diversity  (CBD).  India  is  also  a  signatory  to  many  international convention  and  treaties  viz.  Ramsar  Convention,  Convention  on  International  Trade  in Endangered  Species  (CITES),  Convention  on  Migratory  Species  (CMS),  Conference  of Parties (CoP) etc. which are aiming at conservation of wildlife in the country.
- (ii)  On  the  policy  front  some  conservation  oriented  legislations  [Wildlife  (Protection)  Act, 1972; Environment  (Protection)  Act,  1986; National  Biodiversity  Act,  2002,  etc.]  ensure protection of threatened species and their habitats. Under the provisions of Section 38 of the National  Biodiversity  Act,  2002,  the  species  are  identified  state-wise; Ministry  has  already issued  notifications  for  14  states  to  this  effect. Further,  the  Ministry  is  in  the  process  of including some prioritised endangered plants, including some that are from the Himalaya, in the relevant Schedule of Wildlife Protection Act (1972) to accord them legal protection.
- (iii) The Centrally Sponsored Scheme 'Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats' has been modified in 2008-09 by including a new component namely 'Recovery of Endangered Species' and  16  species  have  been  identified  for  recovery.  Funds  for  the  recovery  of  endangered species  viz.  Hangul  in  Jammu  and  Kashmir,  Snow  Leopard  in  Jammu  and  Kashmir  and Uttarakhand,  Vulture  in  Punjab,  Haryana  and  Gujarat,  Swiftlet  in  Andaman  &  Nicobar Islands,  Nilgiri  Tahr  in  Tamil  Nadu,  Sanghai  Deer  in  Manipur  and  Snow  Leopard  in Arunachal Pradesh are being provided.
- (iv) The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, has been amended and made more stringent. The punishment in cases of offences has been enhanced. The Act also provides for forfeiture of any equipment, vehicle or weapon that is used for committing wildlife offence.
- (v)  The  State  Governments  have  been  requested  to  strengthen  the  field  formations  and intensify patrolling in and around the Protected Areas.

(vi)The  Wildlife  Crime  Control  Bureau  has  been  set  up  for  control  of  poaching  and  illegal trade in wildlife and its products.

- (vii) Strict vigil is maintained through effective communication system.

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## Annexure A

-  Status  Survey  of  Endangered  Species  1.  Report-1.  Golden  Langur, Presbytisgeei Khajuria; Phayre's Leaf Monkey, Presbytisphayrei Blyth; Hispid Hare, Caprolagushisipidus (Pearson).
-  Status  and  review  of  the  Western  Tragopan Tragopanmelanocephalus in  India  -  Anil Mahabal and P.C. Tak ISBN 81-85874-87-5 2002 1-19.
-  Wroughton's  Free  Tailed  bat Otomopswroughtoni -  Ramakrishna,  M.S.  Pradhan  and Sanjay Thakur ISBN 81-8171-002-9 2003.
-  Status of Himalayan Marmot - J.R.B. Alfred, R.M. Sharma, P.C. Tak and D.K. Sharma ISBN 81-8171-116-5.
-  Status of Kiang- J.R.B. Alfred et al. ISBN 81-8171-093-2
-  Status of Indian Edible-nest Swiftlet Colocolia unicolor (Jerdon) in  Western Ghats and Arabian Sea, India - Anil Mahabal, Satish Pande, R.M. Sharma and Shivkumar N. Padnekar ISBN 978-81-8171-145-8.
-  Status of Himalayan Salamander : V. D. Hegde and KaushikDeuti ISBN 978-81-8171156-4.
-  Status  ecology  and  behaviour  of Antilopecervicapra (Linnaeus,  1758)  in  proposed community reserve for  Blackbuck, Ganjam district,  Orissa,  India  Arun  Kumar  Roy  Mahto, Ramakrishna and M. Raziuddin ISBN 978-81-8171-265-3.
-  Status of Trochusniloticus (Linnaeus, 1767) in Andaman and Nicobar Islands Ramakrishna, C. Raghunathan, C. Sivaperuman ISBN 978-81-8171-274-5.
-  Status  of  Blackbuck Antilopecervicapra (Linnaeus,  1758)  in  Odisha  AtinderMurmu, Arun Kumar Mehto, SubirGuha and P.C. Soren ISBN 978-81-8171-317-9.