AGENDA- Wildlife (Protection) amendment bill 2021; plugging loopholes in the field of wildlife protection is the need of the hour.

INTRODUCTION-

The Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Bill, 2021 was introduced in Lok Sabha by the Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on December 17, 2021 which attempts to amend the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972. The Act regulates the protection & conservation of wild animals, birds and plants. The Bill seeks to increase the species protected under the law, and implement the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

This bill was tabled in the Rajya Sabha recently and was sent to the parliamentary standing committee. Upon the deliberations, there were various constructive ideas and comments put through, the Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF) said the draft calls to insert a new section allowing the State Board for Wild Life (SBWL) to constitute a Standing Committee to exercise powers and perform duties as may be delegated to it by the Board.

The term “wildlife” itself suggests, undomesticated or grown in the wild or simply to all the flora and fauna that live in their natural habitat. The term wildlife is also defined under Section 2(37) of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. As per the section, wildlife refers to any animal, either aquatic or territorial, and vegetation that constitutes our natural habitat.

Wildlife conservation refers to a method of protecting/conserving the wild species and their natural habitat from the threats like poaching, smuggling, killing etc. The two main types of wildlife conservation in India:

Ex-situ conservation (the species remain in their natural habitats and the places are protected by protecting the whole ecosystem of the place); In-situ conservation (the protection of biodiversity or wild animals is taken from their natural habitat and shifted to a new safe place for their conversion).

Under Article 51(g), the constitution of India also guarantees the protection of wildlife and compassion for living creatures. In addition to this, Article 48 also put an obligation on the state to protect, safeguard and work for the improvement of forests and wildlife of the country. The subjects relating to the protection of wildlife are mentioned under the concurrent list, which means both the Centre and the state government are empowered to make law on this subject. Hence, The Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act, 2021, among other things, proposes reducing the number of schedules and establishing a Standing Committee of the State Board for Wildlife, and this research paper entails the discussion how intervention and effectiveness/refurbishing the loopholes is the need of the hour to encounter the outrageous challenge of wildlife conservation. And it’s certain that if soon, no stringent steps are taken to save wildlife, it would not be long before they will find a place only on the list of extinct species. And that would not be all! The extinction of wildlife species will certainly have a fatal impact on the human race as well. So, for us as humans, it becomes a great responsibility to save the wildlife, our planet and most importantly, our own selves.

KEY FEATURES OF THE BILL-

Forests Minister Bhupender Yadav introduced in Lok Sabha the Wildlife Protection (Amendment) Bill to ensure that the original 1972 Act complied with the requirements of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

According to the recent data by the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) and State Forest and Police Authorities, in the past three years (2018-2020), about 2054 cases were registered for killing or illegal trafficking of wild animals in India.

In order to control this grave problem, the WCCB has conducted a number of species-specific enforcement operations with the coordination of State Enforcement Agencies. WCCB is a statutory multi-disciplinary body which was established by the Government of India under the Ministry of Environment and Forests, to combat and delittle organized wildlife crime in the country.

As the amendment act proposes to reduce the number of schedules and establishing a Standing Committee of the State Board so in lieu of the same it’s designed in a way that-

“The Standing Committee shall consist of the Vice-Chairperson, the Member-Secretary, and not more than ten members, to be nominated by the Vice-Chairperson, from amongst the members of the State Board for Wildlife,” the draft says.

There is also the insertion of a new section 42A about surrender of wild animals and products.

Any article or animal surrendered under this Section shall become property of the State Government and the provisions of Section 39 shall be applicable to it.

CITES: CITES is an international agreement between governments to ensure that the international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten the survival of the species. Under CITES, plant and animal specimens are classified into 3 broad categories (appendices) based on the threat to their extinction. The Convention requires countries to regulate the trade of all listed specimens through the permits. It further seeks to regulate the possession of live animal specimens. The amendment bill thus seeks to implement these provisions of CITES.

Rationalising schedules: Currently, the Act has six schedules for specially protected plants (one), specially protected animals (four), and vermin species (one). The Bill reduces the total number of schedules to four by:

(i) reducing the number of schedules for specially protected animals to two (one for greater protection level),
(ii) removes the schedule for vermin species, and
(iii) inserts a new schedule for specimens listed in the Appendices under CITES (scheduled specimens).

Obligations under CITES: The Bill provides for the central government to designate a: (i) Management Authority, which grants export or import permits for trade of specimens, and (ii) Scientific Authority, which gives advice on aspects related to impact on the survival of the specimens being traded. It’s quintessential for every person engaging in trade of a scheduled specimen to report the details of the transaction to the Management Authority. As per CITES, the Management Authority may use an identification mark for a specimen. The Bill therefore prohibits and prevents any person from modifying or removing the identification mark of the specimen. Additionally, obtaining a registration certificate is mandatory for every person possessing live specimens of scheduled animals.
Invasive alien species: The Bill empowers the central government to regulate or prohibit the import, trade, possession or proliferation of invasive alien species (invasive alien species refers to plant or animal species which are not native to India and whose introduction may adversely impact wildlife or its habitat). The bill will ensure that the central government authorises an officer to seize and dispose of the invasive species.
Control of sanctuaries: The Act entrusts the Chief WildLife Warden (appointed by the state government) to control, manage and maintain all sanctuaries in a state. The Bill specifies that the actions of the Chief Warden must be in accordance with the management plans for the sanctuary. These plans will be prepared as per guidelines of the central government, and as approved by the Chief Warden. For sanctuaries falling under special areas, the management plan must be prepared after due consultation with the concerned Gram Sabha. Special areas include a Scheduled Area or areas where the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 is applicable. Scheduled Areas are economically backward areas with a predominantly tribal population, notified under the Fifth Schedule to the Constitution.
Conservation reserves: Under the Act, the state governments are given the liberty to declare areas adjacent to national parks and sanctuaries as a conservation reserve, for protecting flora and fauna, and their habitat as a wholesome move towards better protection of wildlife. The Bill further empowers the central government to also notify a conservation reserve.
Surrender of captive animals: The Bill provides for any person to voluntarily surrender any captive animals or animal products to the Chief WildLife Warden. No such compensation will be paid to the person for surrendering such items but the surrendered items will become the property of the state government.
Penalties: Seeing the unprecedented illegal activities the Act also prescribes imprisonment terms and fines for violating the provisions of the Act and has also increased these fines to make the rule more stringent.
Standing Committee of State Board for Wildlife:

The Bill proposes reducing the number of schedules and establishing a Standing Committee of the State Board for Wildlife.

These committees will function like the National Board for Wildlife which is responsible for monitoring protected areas in the country and awarding or denying permission to projects in light of its threat to wildlife.

Officials say that in most states, State Wildlife Boards fall under the responsibility of Chief Ministers, and are therefore neglected due to the paucity of time.

The state Standing Committees will be able to take decisions on wildlife management and permissions granted for projects, without having to refer most projects to the NBWL, and thus make it an independent body for efficient working.

Seized Species

There is also the insertion of a new section 42A about surrender of wild animals and products.

Any article or animal surrendered under this Section shall become property of the State Government and the provisions of Section 39 shall be applicable to it.

Reducing number of Schedules

The Ministry has also rationalised Schedules for Wildlife under the Act, bringing it down from 6 to 4 major schedules. A schedule I category of wildlife (such as Tigers) are the highest protected under the Act, the bill has kept the integrity of the original schedules and has not diluted them at all. But the rationalisation needed to be done because there were many discrepancies in the schedules and they were also ambiguous, so an attempt was made in this regard.

Wildlife Management Plans

The Ministry has mandated that Wildlife Management Plans which are developed for sanctuaries and national parks across the country, will now become a part of the WPA.

They will have to be approved by the Chief Wildlife Warden of the state, which will ensure far stricter and stringent protection to these protected areas. Earlier they would be protected through executive orders which did not have as many teeth and the entire process wasn’t monitored with vigilance.

The government said that amendment in the Wildlife Acai’s needed because of the requirement vis-a-vis the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). CITES, which came into force in July 1975, has assumed responsibility for the survival of almost 35,000 species of plants and animals.

India’s existing Wildlife Protection Act was first introduced in 1972, and it doesn’t comply with some of the requirements of CITES, to which 184 member countries are a party. This had caused CITES to blacklist India once from the trade of these species, and if blacklisted once more, India will be prohibited from trading in some of these crucial species, impacting the livelihood of a large portion of the population.

The text of the bill introduced in the Parliament claimed that the stakeholders wanted reduced compliance burden “in order to encourage a conducive environment for collaborative research and investments, simplify the patent application process, widen the scope of levying access and benefit-sharing with local communities and for further conservation of biological resources”.

The term Conservation has not been explicitly defined in Indian statutes (although legally mentioned) but for general understanding, it means preservation, protection or restoration. These efforts are undertaken with an objective to ensure that the resources shall be used in a sustainable manner and the future generation also has access to these resources. Wildlife is a part of nature and it is our responsibility to protect it.

Conservation efforts are undertaken to integrate evolutionary theory with environmental reality. It helps us to predict how our wildlife would react to future environmental changes. In our rituals, there is the explanation of many trees and animals which are still considered as the sign of God and they are worshipped as God.

Some species were listed under English names, others under scientific names, some under families while others under orders. Such a categorisation was very confusing for wildlife and forest officials on the ground to implement.

The Ministry has also mandated that Wildlife Management Plans which are developed for sanctuaries and national parks across the country, will now become a part of the Wildlife Act and will have to be approved by the Chief Wildlife Warden of the state, which will ensure far stricter & vigilant protection to these protected areas. Earlier they would be protected through executive orders which did not have as much effectiveness.

Type of Violation	1972 Act	2021 Bill
General violation	Up to Rs 25,000	Up to Rs 1,00,000
Specially protected animals	At least Rs 10,000	At least Rs 25,000

PROS (Positive Effects)-

Establishment of ‘State Boards of Wildlife helps in Strengthening the grass-root level Wildlife Management Plans for sanctuaries and national parks across the country as they will now become a part of the Wildlife Act and will have to be approved by the Chief Wildlife Warden of the state, thereby increasing the scope for stricter & more effective protection for various species
The bill ensures clarity and ensures better care of seized live animals and disposal of seized wildlife parts and products, which will help in keeping a better check.
Decentralizing the functions of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL), with the establishment of Standing Committees of State Boards of Wildlife, to strengthen the grass-roots level impact.
Ensure the efficiency in work and speedy disposal of functions of NBWL.
Ensure far stricter protection to protected areas such as National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries, and entitlements of reserved areas..
The bill also aims to streamline the schedules mentioned in the original Act, shrinking them from six to four. The schedule is a categorization of wildlife depending on how critically endangered they are
Gun license around protected areas (Pas) has been restricted up to 10 km radius against 5 km earlier
According to the statement of objects and reasons of the bill, the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, was enacted to provide for the protection of wild animals, birds and plants with a view to ensure the ecological and environmental security of the country.
The bill seeks to include the aspects of “conservation” and “management” of wildlife which are covered by the Act and make amendments for better management of protected areas.
It proposes to rationalise and amend the schedules, which list out wildlife species, for the purposes of clarity, and ensure better care of seized live animals and disposal of seized wildlife parts and products.”The Wildlife Act broadly has two classes of animals, that is to say, (a) species listed in Schedule I and Part II of Schedule II; and (b) species listed in Part I of Schedule II, Schedule III, and Schedule IV, based on which their protection and penalties for contravention differ,” according to the bill.
Since the Act essentially has only these two levels of protection for animals, the segregation of protected animals or species in four schedules may not be appropriate and may cause confusion and be difficult for the public to understand. Therefore, it is proposed to rationalise and amend the schedules.
The bill seeks to enable control of invasive alien species and allow for transfer or transport of live elephants by persons having ownership certificates in accordance with conditions prescribed by the central government.
It also proposes to insert a new Chapter VB in the principal Act for regulation of international trade in endangered species of wild fauna and flora and allow state boards for wildlife to constitute standing committees.
India is a party to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, which requires that appropriate measures are taken to enforce the provisions of the convention.

CONS (negative effects)-

No accountability board-The bill allows for commercial trade in elephants which is problematic because it effectively gives legal sanctity to commercial trade in live elephants. Wild Asian elephants are taken from forests, often illegally, to maintain the high demand for captive elephants. This could affect wild populations of elephants.
Another amendment in the bill has given excessive delegation and unrestricted power to the Central government to declare a species as vermin. Once a wild animal is declared as vermin, it enjoys no legal protection and has the same status as a domestic animal. It can be killed, traded, and tamed.
By Decentralising the functions of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL), the State Board for Wildlife would be rendered defunct. It is important to point out that NBWL, headed by the Prime Minister, has not met since 2014. All its statutory functions are carried out by the Standing Committee, with no accountability board.
Section-28 (b) has been amended to grant permission for film-making without causing any adverse impact to habitat/wildlife. Film shooting was banned in 1978 to avoid accidents and tragedies. It is not a welcome move since protected areas are already overcrowded with tourists.
Amendment of the Schedules under Amendment Clause 41 to rationalize the schedules and use updated taxonomy is welcome.
Many species/species groups are missing from the Schedule. Apart from mammals, most other faunal groups are incompletely listed, especially amphibians and reptiles.
In addition, the basis or criteria for inclusion/exclusion is not clear.
Detailed lists of species, focusing on birds, that need to be included or reorganized within Schedules.
The bill also lacks to encourage the importance of including research and habitats in the Preamble and creating enabling provisions

CRITICISM & WAY FORWARD-

The NCF said SBWLs would be rendered defunct due to the amendment suggested. “This has already happened with the National Board for Wildlife. This is not desirable as this will dilute the scrutiny, evaluation and assessment that proposed projects are given,” it said. Criticising another proposal, the Initiative for Forest and Environment said “an exception has been carved out by excluding from the general prohibition contained in section 43”, thereby implying that sale and purchase of elephants will no longer be legally prohibited. The draft also calls for the inclusion of invasive alien species in the Act, but another comment submitted to the parliamentary panel said it was unclear as to what process will be followed in how species will be listed and whether both plants and animals will be included. “There needs to be a well-considered scientific and transparent process for proposing, evaluating, listing and delisting invasive alien species, along with enabling provisions directing the formulation of specific management measures,” it said.

In conclusion, the amendments are more technical and the need of the hour is to plug loopholes in the field of wildlife protection, conservation, and management. When the Bill was first proposed in October 2021, it had irked activists and environmentalists in the country because the provisions for the amendment were not publicized, and neither were they made available in vernacular languages. Legal advocacy firm, Legal Initiative for Forest and Environment (LIFE) termed it as “a Bill aimed to facilitate the destruction of India’s Biodiversity and usurp people’s right”. Activists are of the opinion that enough time should have been given to raise objections and seek clarification on the provisions of the Bill.

Talking about the Bill, Ritwick Dutta, an environmental lawyer at LIFE said that “on the positive side, the bill is intended to ensure that provisions with respect to the Convention are part of the domestic law. Besides, the Bill aims to also make the law simple by streamlining the schedules. However, there are issues of concern which need to be addressed.”

The Wild Life Protection Act (1972) is the principal legislation governing the protection and conservation of wildlife in India. Now in its 50th year, the Act is proposed to be amended by the Central Government. The proposed amendments are under consideration by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment, Forests and Climate Change, whose Chairman, Mr Jairam Ramesh, has invited comments from the public. Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF) has prepared and submitted to the Parliamentary Committee a detailed set of comments on the proposed amendments on 12th January. Major and minor concerns over the Amendments, including:

New amendments related to invasive alien species
Amendments to the Schedules and species listed therein, including many significant omissions and errors
Detailed lists of species, focusing on birds, that need to be included or reorganised within Schedules
Proposed removal of Vermin (Schedule V) from the Act and suggested replacement by a focus on Animal Damage Control
Need for better, transparent, and dynamic process of notification of species in Schedules and revisions
Alignment with rights of local people and provisions of Forest Rights Act
Importance of including research and habitats in the Preamble and creating enabling provisions
Comments on specific amendment clauses

CONCLUSION-

Wildlife conservation is very essential for sustainable development. It’s a sunrise effect seeing the wildlife conservation efforts in India are increasing now. There are various efforts that have been made at both the National and the International levels like Project Tiger, Project Elephant, Captive breeding program etc., But still, there is a long way to go. First and foremost, we should curb the overexploitation of our natural resources and put in a combined step for a better world and start a program to show the importance of wildlife conservation in our life. So that the people should understand their responsibilities and use the natural source least and only for fair use. Access to everything is dangerous, so we should take measures while using the tree and animals for our food. Further the amendment bill comes with both pros & cons, however all old amendments require effective alteration as per time and circumstances, so does this and hence effective ground level check is needed and proper deliberations on negative effects of implementing the bill is the need of the hour.

REFERENCES-