Acknowledgement: I am thankful to my Geography teacher, Mrs.

NazneenKhwaja, for her active support and necessary guidance in

preparation of this project on “Conservation of Wildlife in India”.I am thankful to my parents for providing me with constant help and necessary
support in making this project. They have always been with me when in doubt and pointed me in the right direction and patiently answered all
the queries that I had during preparation of the project. This project has provided me with a deep insight into the alarming situation of the
wildlife in India being exploited and the necessary steps and actions being taken for their conservation.

Introduction: Wildlife resources constitute a vital link in the survival of the human species and have been a subject of much fascination,
interest, and research all over the world. Today, when wildlife habitats are under severe pressure and a large number of species of wild fauna
have become endangered, the effective conservation of wild animals is of great significance. Because every one of us depends on plants and
animals for all vital components of our welfare, it is more than a matter of convenience that they continue to exist; it is a matter of life and
death. Being living units of the ecosystem, plants and animals contribute to human welfare. Considering the way we are galloping ahead,
oblivious of what legacy we plan to leave for future generations, the future does not seem too bright. Statisticians have projected that by 2020,
the human population will have increased by more than half, and the arable fertile land and tropical forests will be less than half of what they
are today. It is here that the concept of management and conservation of wildlife comes into play and India has developed various national
parks, sanctuaries, bio-reserves for protecting the wildlife.

HOW IS WILDLIFE ENDANGERED IN INDIA?

India is a bio-diverse country, with nearly 6.5% of the world's known wildlife species. Approximately, 7.6% of the world's mammals and 12.6%
of the world's birds are found in India. The illicit demand, globally, for wildlife and its products has seen the rise of wildlife crime across the
subcontinent In India, wildlife crime is a pervasive problem damaging ecosystems, impacting food security and affecting livelihoods of rural
communities. Major wildlife crime in India includes poaching of tigers, rhinos and the sale of Star tortoises..In India, the Wildlife (Protection)
Act, 1972 is a strong legislation that covers wildlife crime. However, the implementation and enforcement needs to be strengthened in order to
curb this transnational crime. The four most general reasons that lead to destruction of wildlife include overkill, habitat destruction and
fragmentation, impact of introduced species and chains of extinction. The other reasons posing danger to wildlife are as follows:
a) Climate change: Every year, many animals die due to abrupt climatic changes.
b) Unregulated Hunting and poaching: Unregulated hunting and poaching causes a major threat to wildlife
c) Pollution: Pollutants released into the environment are ingested by a wide variety of organisms leading to various diseases and
sometimes even death.
d) Over exploitation of wildlife resources by people is becoming a grave danger to sustenance of wild life.
e) Population: If the population is altered so is the amount of risk to wildlife. The less is the population, less is the disturbance to
wildlife.
Wildlife Conservation Initiatives by the Government of India:

The initiatives undertaken by the Government of India to conserve wildlife are as follows:

 The Forest Conservation Act 1980 was enacted to lessen the large-scale habitat destruction caused by deforestation.
 India also indorsed the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITIES) in 1976.
 The elephants have enjoyed an absolute protection in Uttar Pradesh, since the promulgation of a Wild Elephant Protection Act 1879
 Government has started several projects like Project Tiger, Project Elephant, Indian crocodile conservation Project.
Wildlife Sanctuaries and Reserves in India:
Various wildlife sanctuaries, parks, reserves have developed for wildlife protection. The names of popular wildlife reserves and sanctuaries are
as follows:

Corbett National Park, Uttar Pradesh Gir National Park, Sanctuary in Gujarat
Bandhavgarh National Park, Madhya Pradesh Kanha National Park, Madhya Pradesh
Sariska Wildlife Sanctuary, Rajasthan Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary, Kerala
Kaziranga National Park, Assam Sunderbans National Park, West Bengal
Chilika Lake, Orissa Rajgir Wildlife Sanctuary, Bihar
Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary The Palamu Tiger Reserve, Bihar
Manas Tiger Reserve, Assam Ranthambore Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan
WILDLIFE CONSERVATION PROJECTS:

The Government of India has undertaken many initiatives on the conservation of wildlife. Some important projects are:
 Project Elephant
 Project Tiger
 Project Hangul
 Indian Crocodile Conservation Project
  Protected Area Network
 GOI – UNDP Sea Turtle Project
 GOI – UNDP Wildlife Protected Area Management in Jaldapara Sanctuary, West Bengal
Kaziranga National Park (pronounced Assamese pronunciation: [kaziɹɔŋa ɹast(ɹ)iɔ uɪddan]) is a national park in the Golaghat and
Nagaon districts of the state of Assam, India. The sanctuary, which hosts two-thirds of the world's great one-horned rhinoceroses, is
a World Heritage Site.[2] According to the census held in March 2018 which was jointly conducted by the Forest Department of the
Government of Assam and some recognized wildlife NGOs, the rhino population in Kaziranga National Park is 2,413. Kaziranga is
home to the highest density of tigers among protected areas in the world, and was declared a Tiger Reserve in 2006 (now the
highest tiger density is in Orang National Park, Assam) . The park is home to large breeding populations of elephants, wild water
buffalo, and swamp deer.[4] Kaziranga is recognized as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International for conservation of avifaunal
species. When compared with other protected areas in India, Kaziranga has achieved notable success in wildlife conservation.

Conclusions: Wildlife habitat and species around the world are facing a crisis. It is estimated that global warming may cause the extinction of
15–37% of species by 2050. This is another aspect which needs attention because we could lose about 1.25 million species. Unlike other
environmental losses, this one cannot be reversed because nature does not give second chances to biodiversity. If we take into consideration
the conventional reasons why wildlife is disappearing, India is doing far better than other countries. India has launched an extensive protected
area network of research institutions in which legislation, socio-economic factors, and wildlife research are playing a great role. The future
depends on interaction between captive and wild animals, preservation of biodiversity, and genetic and demographic variations of species.