The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has issued a notification to expand the Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ) around the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve from 1,1102 sq km. to 1,344 sq km.
An area of three km. to 16 km. from the boundary of the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve has been demarcated as critical tiger habitat, and has hence been established as an ESZ. One of the most important policies of the notification is that no new commercial construction is to be sanctioned within one km. of the protected zones, except temporary eco-tourism operations. The ESZ includes the villages of Chandrapur, Bhadrawai, Warora, Chimur, and Sindewahi, and also forms a part of the wildlife corridor.
All developmental activities within the ESZ are to be strictly regulated, and the Centre has directed the state to prepare a zonal master plan to take the Tiger Conservation Plan into consideration. The expansion of the eco-sensitive zone will prove to reap great benefits as the notification bars commercial mining, stone quarrying, crushing units, wood industries, and expanding polluting industries in and around the area.
Although the notification issued by the MoEF will be advantageous to the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve, the Centre seems to have overlooked the importance of creating large eco-sensitive zones around other reserves in the country. The Centre proposes to establish as little as 200 metres as eco-sensitive zones around wildlife reserves as opposed to the Centre's own guidelines of determining 10 km as an ESZ.
Reserves such as the Bir Bhadson Wildfire Sanctuary, the Kaimur Wildlife Sanctuary, the Pranahita Wildlife Sanctuary, and the Kitham Bird Sanctuary, all have eco-sensitive zones from an area as minimal as 25 metres to a mere five kilometres. Wildlife experts have reiterated the importance of maintaining a large eco-sensitive zone, as it is vital to protect ecosystems. According to wildlife lawyer Sanjay Upadhyay, and former member of the National Board for Wildlife Prerna Bindra, the primary concern is that the ESZ's are defined by convenience and other considerations rather than ecological reasons.
Source: Times of India
Source: India Today
