GS PAPER II: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.

Context: Lightning kills herd of 18 elephants in Assam. The incident happened in Kandali Proposed Reserve Forest.

Asian Elephant

• It is distributed througout the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, from India in the west, Nepal in the north, Sumatra in the south, and to Borneo in the east.
• The Asian elephant is the largest living land animal in Asia.
• Since 1986, the Asian elephant has been listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, as the population has declined by at least 50 percent over the last three elephant generations, which is about 60–75 years.
• It is primarily threatened by loss of habitat, habitat degradation, fragmentation and poaching.
• The Asian elephant is listed on CITES Appendix I.
  • CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild

Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals.

Project Elephant

• It is a centrally sponsored scheme launched in February 1992.
• Aim: To provide financial and technical support to major elephant bearing States in the country for protection of elephants, their habitats and corridors.
• It also seeks to address the issues of human-elephant conflict and welfare of domesticated elephants.
• The Project is being implemented in 16 States / UTs, viz. Andhra Pradesh , Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Jharkhand , Karnataka , Kerala , Meghalaya , Nagaland , Orissa , Tamil Nadu , Uttaranchal , Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
• The project seeks to ensure the long-term survival to the populations of elephants in their natural habitats by protecting the elephants, their habitats and migration corridors.
• Other goals: supporting the research of the ecology and management of elephants, creating awareness of conservation among local people, providing improved veterinary care for captive elephants.
• Project Elephant has been formally implementing MIKE (Monitoring of Illegal Killing of Elephants) programme of CITES in 10 ERs (Elephant Reserve) since January 2004. It is mandated by COP resolution of CITES.

What is a reserve forest?

• Forest reserves are portions of state lands where commercial harvesting of wood products is excluded to capture elements of biodiversity that can be missing from sustainably harvested sites.
• A reserved forest is the forests accorded a certain degree of protection.
• The term was first introduced in the Indian Forest Act, 1927 in British Raj, to refer to certain forests granted protection under the British crown in British India.
• Land rights to forests declared to be Reserved forests are typically acquired and owned by the Government of India.
• Unlike national parks of India or wildlife sanctuaries of India, reserved forests are declared by the respective state governments.
• In Reserved forests, rights to all activities like hunting, grazing, etc. are banned unless specific orders are issued otherwise.
• The first Reserve Forest Of India was Satpura National Park.
• Protected forests are of two kinds - demarcated protected forests and undemarcated protected forests, based on whether the limits of the forest have been specified by a formal notification.

What is the process of earmarking the land as a forest?

• Under Section 4 of The Indian Forest Act, 1927, the state government can “constitute any land a reserved forest” by issuing a notification in the Official Gazette, “declaring that it has been decided to constitute such land a reserved forest”, and “specifying, as nearly as possible, the situation and limits of such land”
• The government must also appoint a Forest Settlement Officer (FSO) “to inquire into and determine the existence, nature and extent of any rights alleged to exist in favour of any person in or over any land comprised within such limits or in or over any forest-produce, and to deal with the same”.
• The FSO will seek suggestions and objections from residents and others within 45 days of initiating the process.
• After taking into account the suggestions and objections, the process of turning the land into a reserved forest will be completed.
• Thereafter, the area will be protected from any construction.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/lightning-kills-herd-of-18-elephants-in-assam/article34551208.ece?homepage=true

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