Critical Wildlife Habitat

Subject: Environment

Context:

Hardline conservationists fail to see possibilities of people-wildlife coexistence

Concept:

• CWH is a provision under the Forest Rights Act, 2006 (FRA).
• The Act primarily focuses on recognising the historically-denied rights of forest-dwellers to use and manage forests.
• FRA defines CWHs as ‘areas of national parks and sanctuaries where it has been specifically and clearly established, case by case, on the basis of scientific and objective criteria, that such areas are required to be kept as inviolate for the purposes of wildlife conservation
• The power to notify the rules to designate a CWH rests with Ministry of Environment and Forests. The State Government are needed to initiate the process for notification of a  critical wildlife habitat by submitting an application on a case  by case basis, to the Ministry of Environment and Forests, which is the nodal agency under the said Act. Critical Wildlife Habitats are thus, declared by Central Government ONLY.
• Before a critical wildlife area is notified, not only do the rights of the tribals and forest dwellers have to be settled, but also scientific evidence has to be provided to establish that people’s presence would adversely impact the wildlife in area.