March 25, 2023

Beyond forests: protecting India's buffer zones

topic:	Conservation
located:	India
editor:	Bindu Gopal Rao

Protection of forests in India is governed by several pieces of legislation, most notably the Indian Forest Act of 1927 and the National Forestry Policy of 1988, and is enforced strictly through a network of forest officers and personnel who patrol the forests.

In recent years, however, conservationist movements have been turning their attention towards the buffer areas that surround these forests, suggesting that conservation activities should expand to these spaces. The Indian government approved creating buffer zones around Pench and Melghat tiger reserves in Maharashtra in 2010.

Buffer zones are important since they are spaces with a lot of wildlife activity, and since people live on the fringes, especially local and tribal communities, there are risks of human-animal conflict that need mitigation.

The Supreme Court of India mandated in June 2022 that every national park and wildlife sanctuary in the country should have a one kilometre eco-sensitive zone (ESZ). However, there has been pushback from farmers who believe that this will impact their existing lifestyle and eventually push them out of their land.

Nevertheless, many NGOs have conscientiously worked towards the promotion of buffer zones by involving local participation. One such case is Planet Life Foundation, a Goa-based NGO that has rejuvenated a private conservation hotspot in the buffer area of the Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary. They have done this by involving locals, whose lands have been leased by the foundation for a fee, as well as by creating water holes. The team also works with local schools to involve and sensitise school children to these activities. 

The organisation has also installed a bird hide to monitor the kind of birds that are returning to the land that was once converted for agriculture. “This is a model that works to everyone’s advantage. While we are ensuring that the forest is rejuvenated naturally because of our involvement, the farmer also feels there is a monetary benefit for him,” says Pankaj Lad, founder of Planet Life Foundation and partner of Nature's Nest Resort Goa.

Likewise, the Satpuda Foundation, another NGO, is working in Pench, Maharashtra to conserve the buffer zones in participation with the local communities that inhabit the space. Recently experts also called out for the need to have mini protected areas in the buffer zones of the Sundarbans in West Bengal.

While these efforts have advanced the protection of buffer zones, there is also a need for more government participation and regulation in these areas to make a larger impact. After all, protecting the buffer will help protect the forests.

Image by Mirza Yawar Baig

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