Legal framework for wildlife protection

A set of recommendations made by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment, Forests and Climate Change on the Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Bill, 2021 has huge significance for the Northeast region, a biodiversity hotspot. The proposed legislation provides legal framework for the protection of various species of wild animals and plants, management of their habitat and the regulation and control of trade in wild animals, plants and their parts and products, which explain the significance of the amendments for the region. The committee in its report submitted on April 21 highlighted one specific amendment that has caused considerable anguish in the wildlife conservation community is the one relating to the creation of a Standing Committee of the State Board for Wild Life (SBWL). The Ministry has justified the provision in the Bill stating that it would make functioning of the SBWL more purposeful. The parliamentary committee, however, says that the legitimate worry is that such a Standing Committee with no more than twelve members will be packed with official members, exercise all powers of the SBWL and take decisions independent of the SBWL itself and end up being a rubber stamp for faster clearances of projects. It notes that all State Governments that appeared before the committee insisted that the Chief Minister should continue to chair the SBWL. This Committee recommended that if a Standing Committee of the SBWL is to be formed, then it must mandatorily have at least one-third of the non-official members of the SBWL; at least three institutional members such National Tiger Conservation Authority, Indian Council of Ecosystem and Forestry; and the Director of the Wildlife Institute of India or his/her nominee and same should also be applicable to NBWL as well. The SBWL advises the State Government on selection and management of projects or activity inside protected areas and NBWL approval is a must for diversion of a wildlife habitat. The proposed amendments in the Bill needs careful consideration to see if these could dilute the checks and balances in place for preventing rampant destruction of forest and wildlife habitat for pushing development projects. The most important reason given by the Ministry before the Committee for introducing the Bill is the urgent need to provide legislative backing to commitments made by India over the past many years to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The Committee has agreed that such domestic legislation has now become essential to demonstrate India's long-standing commitment to implement in letter and spirit, the provisions of CITES but insisted that the most appropriate way to do so would have been to bring amendments in the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 and not in the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 since the mandate of CITES is the sustainable use of bio-diversity. "The approach proposed in the Bill will make the principal Act too unwieldy and complicated and could introduce contradictions since the basic construct of the 1972 Act has always been prohibitive whereas the underlying theme of CITES is facilitative or enabling," states the report. The Ministry, however, insists that the proposed provisions related to CITES have laid down the regulations based on which international trade may be conducted in CITES listed species and they also provide regulations for the possession, transfer, etc. of such live animals, and the breeding/artificial propagation of listed animals and plants. It insisted that these regulations do not exist in legislation currently and are being introduced for the first time. Therefore, the argument that the provisions are "enabling" rather than "regulatory" is simply not true. Allaying apprehension that the provisions of the new chapter on CITES may allow for breeding and trade of native Indian species listed in Schedules I and II, the Ministry clarified that registration of possession, licensing of breeding, etc., of CITES-listed species will not apply to native species listed in Schedules I and II. The Committee stated that it is in broad agreement with the amendments proposed for the protection of native Indian gene pool, but pointed out that species could be alien and invasive as far as a particular ecosystem within the country is concerned. Invasive alien species may not be just restricted to those from outside India and there must be a well-considered scientific and transparent process for proposing, evaluating, listing (and delisting as well) invasive alien species, along with enabling provisions directing the formulation of specific management measures, it adds. Reports of alien fish species posing extinction threats to several indigenous fish species and release of invasive turtle species into natural water bodies in the region highlight the threat posed to native gene pool. As these amendments have long-term ramifications in a biodiversity hotspot like the Northeast, experts' suggestions merit active consideration by the Central Government before the final Bill draft is tabled in the Parliament.