The Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 has argubally been one of the most successful environmental legislations in world history. Recently, it underwent its most significant ammendments in 50 years. Here, the Wildlife (Protection) Ammendment Act 2022 will be reviewed.
A Bit of History about the Wildlife Protection Act
The Wildlife Protection Act was enacted in 1972 by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The objectives were:
- Prohibition of hunting of wild animals.
- Protection and management of wildlife areas and the animals, birds and plants in these areas.
- Establishing new protected areas such as National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries.
- Control of illegal wildlife trade
The Act, further paved the way for establishment of The National and State Board for Wildlife, Central Zoo Authority and National Tiger Conservation Authority, thereby strengthening the efforts for wildlife conservation in the country. WLPA is perhaps one of the most frequently amended laws of the country being amended in 1982,1991, 1993, 2002 and 2006.
The Amendment Bill was passed in Lok Sabha in August 2022 and in Rajya Sabha in December 2022. This was done after two rounds of Consultation with the Parliamentary Standing Committee. The total number of amendments proposed in the Bill are 50 including eleven amendments to definitions.
What has changed in the Wildlife (Protection) Ammendment Act 2022?
1) Changes in the preamble
Instead of words “protection of wild animals, birds and plants”, the words “conservation, protection and management of wildlife” were substituted in the preamble.
2) Reduction in number of schedules
The Bill reduces the number of schedules from six to four.
Schedule I – Animal species that will enjoy the highest level of protection including those which are critically endangered.
Schedule II Animal species that will be subject to a lesser degree of protection
Schedule III Protected Plant species
Schedule IV Specimens listed in the Appendices under CITES (scheduled specimens)
3) Implementation of CITES
Addition of Chapter VB provides regulation of international wildlife trade as per provisions laid by CITES. The Central Government shall form a Managing Authority and a Scientific Authority to regulate import export of specimens of species.
4) Management of Wildlife Sanctuaries
Under Section 33B, the Bill provides power to State governments to form an Advisory Committee consisting of Chief Wildlife Warden, members of legislature , wildlife NGOs and Panchayat Raj to manage wildlife sanctuaries. This Committee along with Gram Sabha shall formulate management plans for wildlife sanctuaries and conservation reserves. This is the first step to transfer the decision making process towards being people centric.
5) Criteria to declare animals “Vermin“
The Principal Act( Under Schedule V) and the amendment both use the term ‘Vermin’ to describe species which can be hunted under certain conditions, to keep their numbers in check. eg Mice, rats, crows.
6) References to Forests Rights Act, 2006 (FRA)
According to Clause 13, 15 and 17 which seek to amend Section 33, 35 and 38 of the principal Act, the management of Sanctuaries should be done according to provisions of the FRA act wherever applicable.
The Amendment Bill empowers the Gram Sabha and other local village institutions to collectively protect the forests, wild animals and biodiversity and take action against any activity posing threat to wildlife.
7) Permission to carry out subsistence fishing in and around Protected Areas
Under Section 29 and 33,The Bill allows low intensity, small-scale fishing in rivers and other water bodies in and around protected areas. This lifts the blanket ban which prohibits all types of fishing activity in and around Protected Areas, which had caused many people to lose their livelihood.
8) Invasive species
The amendment to Section 62A of the principal Act recognizes the threat to ecosystems from invasive alien species and also provides for the establishment of a Scientific Authority (as per CITES) to advise on matters related to trade of such species.
It also grants power to the Central Government to regulate or prohibit import, trade, possession or proliferation of such species.
9) Use of Protected Areas
Under the amendment of Section 29, the bill relaxes the norms on grazing of cattle and use of drinking water by the local communities living inside the protected areas until they are settled elsewhere.
10) Trade of Live Elephants
The amendment proposes a new subsection (4) under Section 43:” Provided that the transfer or transport of a captive elephant for a religious or any other purpose by a person having a valid certificate of ownership shall be subject to such terms and conditions as may be prescribed by the Central Government.” This amendment can lead to legalization of elephant trade in India. This is potentially problematic given the horrific plight of India’s captive elephants.
11) Ownership of captive animals and trophies
Under section 42A, any person possessing a captive animal or a trophy can voluntarily surrender it to the government without expecting any compensation for the same. Such live animals will be taken under care of rescue centers if they are not suitable to be released in the wild.
12) Prohibition of renewal of license of firearms.
Under amendment of section 34, No renewal of any license under the Arms Act, 1959, shall be granted to any person residing within ten kilometers of a sanctuary except under the intimation to the Chief WildLife Warden or the authorized officer.”.
13) Enhanced penalties:
The Bill also enhances the penalties prescribed for violation of provisions of the Act. For ‘General violations’, the maximum fine has been increased from Rs 25,000 to Rs. 1 lakh. In the case of Specially protected animals, the minimum fine of Rs. 10,000 has been enhanced to Rs. 25,000.
14) Change in definition of ‘zoos’
Zoos will hereby serve as the areas for ex-situ conservation, rescue centers and breeding centers in addition to their purpose being that of exhibition of animals.
Does the Amendment Bill justify the current challenges to Wildlife Conservation?
No, there are many loopholes in the current amendment. Certain clauses and sections which were amended are not clearly defining the purpose for the amendment. Certain important topics like human-wildlife conflict, exploitation of animals on religious grounds, the illegal wildlife trade and conservation of endangered species are ignored in the Amendment Bill.
Certain topics such as conservation of marine biodiversity are not covered in this Bill.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Forest, Wildlife and Climate Change received around 60 memoranda citing objections and suggestions from well known wildlife NGO’s, wildlife experts, researchers as well as citizens of India on the proposed draft of the amendment bill in 2021. Few members of legislation also submitted their suggestions on the bill to the committee.
Based on these objections and suggestions, the Parliamentary Committee had submitted its recommendations to the Ministry of Forest, Wildlife and Climate Change. However, although the public comments drew attention to several lacunae in the draft, it cannot be said that those suggestions were actually implemented in the final bill.
Critisicm of the Wildlife (Protection) Ammendment Act 2022
Should the CITES be given so much importance?
The most important reason for introducing the Bill, being the need to provide legislative backing to commitments made by India over the past many years to the CITES.
The new Schedule IV added in the WLPA enlists all the species found in CITES appendices I, II and III and regulates their trade as prescribed via chapter VB. Under this chapter, any person having a registration certificate can legally posses, transfer and carry out captive breeding of Schedule IV species.
According to a recommendation suggested by Mr. Debi Goenka of Conservation Action Trust, the Chapter on CITES should be removed from the WLPA and enacted as a separate Act.
“We are suggesting this because whilst the WLPA is a restrictive/prohibitory Act, the CITES chapter enables the trade and breeding of exotic wildlife. There is a need to add a separate clause to the Act saying that the provisions of the CITES chapter would not apply to any species of wildlife that is found naturally in India.
The Parliamentary Committee also suggested introducing amendments in the relevant Sections of the principal Act without necessarily having an elaborate Chapter VB as proposed in the Bill.
Is elephant trade being legalized?
An unexpected exemption came in the form of an amendment under Section 43, which deals with trade of ‘live’ elephants.
While the Principal Act prohibited any form of commercial sale of wild animal, its parts or trophies, the amendment sought exemption to carry out trade and transport of live elephants for religious use after permission from Central and State governments.
Elephants being Schedule I species,under the principal act, elephants can only be owned when inherited. This major loophole can not only lead to smuggling of captive elephants, but also illegal capture of wild elephants.
Almost all Wildlife NGO’s have raised their concern over this issue and even have suggested scrapping this amendment altogether.
As rightfully put forth by Varun Goswami of Conservation Initiatives “this clause is prone to abuse and can severely impact elephant populations by legitimizing live trade of elephants, reviving a now-dying illegal trade in wild-caught elephants, and thus negating years of successful conservation efforts on this important and charismatic species”
According to PETA, while there are 2,675 captive elephants in India, only 1,251 ownership certificates have been issued by different states.
Laxity in declaring Invasive species
The bill declares any species not native to India as being invasive. However IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) defines any problematic species, introduced outside its natural past or present distribution as invasive. The focus should be the alien nature of the species to the ecosystem and the problem it creates for those growing within the ecosystem.
What is considered vermin?
The term Vermin sounds derogatory according to many experts. Also the criteria for declaring any species as ‘vermin’ has not been defined. Any animal listed in schedule II, if declared a vermin can lose its protection and be hunted or culled.Mr. Praveen Bhargav of Wildlife First had recommended including feral dogs as ‘vermin’ owing to an increase in threats to wild herbivores.
What about marine wildlife?
India has a coastline of 7000 km and a varied range of marine biodiversity. The island groups are fragile ecosystems harboring many endemic species.
All marine resources are protected under the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) of 1991 which extends its protection to the coral reefs aiso. However not all coral reefs are protected under this Act.Tourism industry, construction, mining and quarrying activities pose threat to not only the coral reefs but the entire marine ecosystem. Certain CITES listed marine species are consumed as food in India and their trade may soon be rendered illegal.
Schedules remain ambigious
One of the frequent criticisms received from experts is lack of taxonomical accuracy while enrolling the species in their respective schedules. Many endangered species are not listed in Schedules I and II and some are omitted completely.
Several migratory birds which are listed in CITES appendices but not specified currently in Schedule I -IV in the Principal Act, are winter visitors to India. These species are hunted widely by the local gangs, however neither these birds are notified, nor are they referred to in the Amendment bill.
According to NGO’s ‘ATREE’ and ‘Biodiversity Collaborative’, “there should be an alignment of schedules with the IUCN Red list.“
Less power to State Wildlife Board
The Bill has amended Section 6 which will allow the State Boards of Wildlife (SBWL) to establish a Standing Committee for exercising powers thereby reducing the State’s hold over its wildlife.
Illegal trade between India and China
The illicit wildlife trade includes trafficking in animal parts such as ivory rhino horns, tiger bones and genitals, leopard pelts and paws, and bear paws and shark fins, for use in traditional African and Asian medicines. Certain parts are also traded for making clothing, rugs and wall hangings.
CITES Appendices provide an exhaustive taxonomical list of species that cannot be traded internationally. However, the WLPA and its amendment have failed to impose prohibition for trade in these species locally.
Commercial wildlife trade and captive breeding is legal in China which increases chances of poaching and cross border illegal trade in India. But this issue is not covered adequately under the Act.
Can zoos aid in conservation?
Wildlife experts have raised concern over the importance given to zoos and also questioned the mere existence of such areas which are used to display animals for recreation purposes.
Are the penalties suffecient?
The Bill gives a vague description about the penalties to be applied if the species in Schedule I and II are harmed or killed. Also it does not provide any explanation regarding accidental deaths (eg. road kills, bycatch in fishing).
This will allow activities such as mining, deforestation and polluting rivers with industrial effluents to be carried out rampantly.
Conclusion
It has been 50 years ever since the Wildlife Protection Act came into existence, signifying an end to rampant poaching, decimating illegal wildlife trade and providing protection to abundant wildlife of the country. Did it really happen?
The 2022 Amendment Bill tries to upgrade the Act by introducing newer strategies, better management plans and science based conservation. However it falls short to address the new age conservation challenges.
Written by: Dr. Nupur Sawant
Help us Help Them! Think Wildlife Foundation is a non profit organization with various conservation initiatives. Our most prominent campaign is our Caring for Pari intiative. Pari is a rehabilitated elephant at the Wildlife SoS Hospital. 25% of the profits from our store are donated to the elephant hospital for Pari. Other than buying our wonderful merchandise, you could donate directly to our Caring For Pari fundraiser.