Eco-sensitive zone

Also called: ESZ · Topic: Biodiversity and its Conservation · NCERT: Beyond NCERT

Meaning

An eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) is a buffer area around a national park or wildlife sanctuary. It is notified by the MoEFCC under the Environment (Protection) Act 1986. Inside it, human activities are sorted into prohibited, regulated and permitted, so that harm from outside does not reach the protected area [1].

ESZs act like a shock absorber. Mines, factories and towns can be built right up to a park's edge, and ESZs stop that. This makes them an area of real conflict between conservation and the needs of people living nearby, a conflict the Supreme Court has ruled on.

Explanation

Why ESZs are needed

• The problem: a protected area has no cushion at its edge.
• National parks and sanctuaries are declared under the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972.
• But that Act protects only the land inside the boundary.

• Mining, polluting industries and building just outside the boundary still harm the wildlife inside.

• The solution: a regulated belt around the park.

• Human activity in the ESZ is controlled, not fully stopped.
• Pressure from outside becomes weaker before it reaches the park.

How an ESZ is declared

• Legal basis: The ESZ is notified under the Environment (Protection) Act 1986, not under the Wildlife Act [1].
• Step by step [1]:
• The state government sends a proposal.
• The proposal must follow the Guidelines for Declaration of ESZ, 9 February 2011.
• The MoEFCC notifies the ESZ.

• The state must prepare a Zonal Master Plan (a plan that controls development in the zone) within two years of the notification.

• Width:

• It is generally up to 10 km from the protected-area boundary.

• The width can vary with the local ecology. It may be narrower or shaped differently at each site.

• Default rule: If an ESZ is not yet notified, or exists only in draft, any project within 10 km of a national park or sanctuary needs prior environmental clearance [1].

Three types of activity inside an ESZ

Type	Examples
Prohibited	Commercial mining, polluting industries, major hydroelectric projects
Regulated (allowed with permission and limits)	Hotels and resorts, felling of trees, building roads
Permitted	Local farming, organic farming, rainwater harvesting

• The idea is that local people can go on living and farming normally. Only harmful, large-scale activities are stopped.

What the Supreme Court said (T.N. Godavarman Thirumulpad v. Union of India)

• 3 June 2022 order:
• Every national park and wildlife sanctuary must have an ESZ of at least 1 km from its boundary.
• The 2011 guidelines must be strictly followed inside this zone [3].

• Where a state has sent no ESZ proposal, a 10 km ESZ applies [1].

• Why states objected:

• States such as Kerala objected because many towns, farms and homes lie within 1 km of protected areas.

• A single uniform rule would have frozen normal life there.

• 26 April 2023 modification:

• The uniform 1 km rule was modified.
• Activities are allowed if they strictly follow the MoEFCC's 9 February 2011 guidelines [3][4].
• The ban on mining within 1 km of protected-area boundaries stays in force across India, because such mining is hazardous to wildlife [4].

Where it occurs

• Who runs it: The MoEFCC (Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change) notifies ESZs. State governments propose them and prepare the Zonal Master Plans [1].
• Law and year: The Environment (Protection) Act 1986, applied through the Guidelines of 9 February 2011 [1].
• Where it applies: Around every national park and wildlife sanctuary in India. Where no ESZ has been notified, the 10 km default applies [1].
• Indian Himalayan Region: 92 ESZs and 2 Ecologically Sensitive Areas had been notified in 13 states (PIB, 2023) [2].
• Kerala and the Western Ghats: Settlements and farms lie close to protected areas here. This is where the 2022 order of a 1 km minimum faced the strongest objections.
• ESZ as a term: It is a category in Indian law. Other countries use their own buffer systems, such as the zones of UNESCO biosphere reserves.

Don't confuse with

• National park / wildlife sanctuary: These are the protected areas themselves, declared under the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972. The ESZ is the belt around them, notified under the Environment (Protection) Act 1986.
• Buffer zone of a biosphere reserve: It is one of three zones (core, buffer, transition) inside a biosphere reserve. Biosphere reserves come under a non-statutory MoEFCC programme, meaning no law creates them. An ESZ is a legal notification under a law.
• Conservation reserve: It is also often next to or between parks, acting as a corridor or buffer. But it is a protected area on government land, declared under the Wildlife Act (2002 amendment). It is not an ESZ under the Environment (Protection) Act.
• Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA): It is counted separately from ESZs. For example, the Himalayan figure is 92 ESZs and 2 ESAs [2]. An ESZ is always tied to the boundary of a national park or sanctuary.

Prelims Hooks

• ESZs are notified by the MoEFCC under the Environment (Protection) Act 1986, not the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 [1]. Exam trap: options that name the Wildlife Act are wrong.
• The ESZ guidelines are dated 9 February 2011. The state must prepare a Zonal Master Plan within two years of notification [1].
• Default rule: If no ESZ is notified, projects within 10 km of a park or sanctuary need prior environmental clearance [1].
• SC, 3 June 2022: a minimum ESZ of 1 km [3]. Modified on 26 April 2023, but the mining ban within 1 km remains across India [4].
• Prohibited in an ESZ: commercial mining, polluting industries, major hydel projects. Regulated: hotels, tree felling, roads. Permitted: local farming, organic farming, rainwater harvesting.
• Indian Himalayan Region: 92 ESZs + 2 ESAs in 13 states (PIB, 2023) [2].

Mains Points

• Development versus buffers (GS-III, environment):
• The buffer must stay intact to protect wildlife from mining, industry and crowding at the park edge.
• But people live, farm and build close to protected areas, as in Kerala and the Western Ghats.

• The SC's 1 km rule (2022) and its modification (2023) show this conflict. One uniform width did not suit every site [3][4].

• Weak implementation:

• Many ESZs stay in draft for a long time, so only the 10 km clearance rule works as a stop-gap [1].

• Zonal Master Plans are often late. Without them, development in the zone is not controlled.

• Way forward:

• Tailor each ESZ to the local ecology (up to 10 km).
• Finish the Zonal Master Plans within the two-year limit.
• Keep the 1 km mining ban strict.
• Keep local farming and livelihoods in the permitted list so people support the zone [1][4].

Related concepts

• Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972
• Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act 2022
• Conservation reserves and community reserves
• Biological Diversity Act 2002
• Biodiversity Management Committees

Read more

• India's conservation laws: the Wildlife Act, the Biological Diversity Act and eco-sensitive zones