Context: Recently,  Supreme Court directed that every protected forest, national park and wildlife sanctuary across India must have a mandatory eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) of at least one km starting from their demarcated boundaries.

Key Points

• According to the Environment Ministry guidelines, the purpose of declaring ESZs is to create a “shock absorber” for the protected areas and ESZs would act as a transition zone from areas of high protection to those involving lesser protection.
• The court held that if any national park or protected forest already has a buffer zone extending beyond one km, that would prevail and further said that mining within the national parks and wildlife sanctuaries will not be permitted.
• Mining within the national parks and wildlife sanctuaries shall not be permitted. No permanent structure will be allowed within the ESZ.
• The Court directed the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) of each state and UT to submit a report in three months to the Court providing a list of activities continuing in the ESZ of every national park or wildlife sanctuary.
• The Court entrusted the PCCF to ensure that no new permanent structure comes up within ESZ and those already carrying out any activity will have to apply for permission afresh from the PCCF within six months.

About Eco-sensitive Zones (ESZs)

• Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZs) or Ecologically Fragile Areas (EFAs) are areas notified by the MoEFCC around Protected Areas, National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries.
• The purpose of declaring ESZs is to create some kind of “shock absorbers” to the protected areas by regulating and managing the activities around such areas.
• They also act as a transition zone from areas of high protection to areas involving lesser protection.
• The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 does not mention the word “Eco-Sensitive Zones”.
• An ESZ could go up to 10 kilometres around a protected area as provided in the Wildlife Conservation Strategy, 2002.
• Moreover, in the case where sensitive corridors, connectivity and ecologically important patches, crucial for landscape linkage, are beyond 10 km width, these should be included in the ESZs.

ESZ Guidelines classify activities under three categories:

• Prohibited: Commercial Mining, Setting of Saw Mill, Setting of industries causing pollution, establishment of major hydroelectric projects etc.

• Regulated: Felling of Trees, Establishment of hotels and resorts, erection of electrical cables, drastic change of agricultural systems etc.

• Permitted: Ongoing agriculture and horticulture practices by local communities, rain water harvesting, organic farming etc.

Many states are opposed to ESZ because of presence of minerals and resources side by side.
Local people in many areas are also opposed to ESZ for loss of livelihood due to restriction placed by it on various activities

By: Shubham Tiwari