Conservation Reserves under Wildlife Law

A conservation reserve is a protected-area category created under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, for government-owned land. Its legal purpose is to protect landscapes, seascapes, flora, fauna and their habitats, especially around existing protected areas or along ecological linkages. Its declaration combines statutory protection with consultation and participatory management.

Legal purpose and spatial role

The legal purpose under Section 36A is to conserve landscapes, seascapes, flora, fauna and their habitats. The category is particularly intended for areas adjoining National Parks or sanctuaries and for ecological linkages connecting one protected area with another.

• Conservation reserves can protect buffers, corridors and other government-owned areas whose ecological value extends beyond the boundaries of existing protected areas.
• Declaration brings such areas within a statutory conservation and management framework without converting them into National Parks or sanctuaries.

Area and declaration

The State Government may declare a government-owned area as a conservation reserve after consultation with local communities. The reserve is formally notified under Section 36A.

• Where the proposed reserve includes land owned by the Central Government, the State Government must obtain its prior concurrence.
• The statutory requirement is consultation with local communities; Section 36A does not describe it as a requirement of consent.

Protection after declaration

Selected legal safeguards applicable to sanctuaries also apply to a conservation reserve, as far as may be. These include specified duties and restrictions on persons within the reserve, prohibition of fire and harmful substances, and measures for the security of wildlife and habitat improvement.

• The applicable provisions include Sections 27(2)-(4), 30, 32 and 33(b)-(c) of the Act.
• These provisions support prevention of wildlife offences, protection from fire or injurious substances, and active conservation management.

Participatory management

Under Section 36B, the State Government must constitute a Conservation Reserve Management Committee. The committee advises the Chief Wildlife Warden on conserving, managing and maintaining the reserve.

• Its membership represents the Forest or Wildlife Department, village panchayats within the reserve's jurisdiction, wildlife conservation organisations, and the Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Departments.
• This arrangement combines statutory wildlife administration with participation by local institutions and conservation organisations.