By Marcellus D’Souza

Apr 20: After the Central government notified one-km buffer zone around the wildlife sanctuaries in Goa, the Goa government has finally prepared Zonal Master Plan for these ecologically sensitive areas.

The plan which is in draft stage will be notified shortly and involve a buffer zone Mhadei, Bhagwan Mahaveer, Netravali, Cotigao, Bondla and Dr Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary at Chorao wild life sanctuaries.

The Central government had directed State to prepare Zonal Master Plan for the wild life sacturies in 2013. The Zonal Master Plan will categorise various activities permitted, prohibited and regulated wihin the wildlife sanctuaries. The Zonal Master Plan has demarcated all the existing and proposed urban settlements, village settlements, types and kinds of forest, agriculture areas, horticultural areas, mining leases, lakes and other water bodies, according to a notification put out by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC).

The Wildlife Conservation Strategy of 2002 recommends a buffer of 10 km around sanctuaries. The Supreme Court had upheld the policy and directed states and the Centre on several occasions to enforce the eco-sensitive zone (ESZ).

An office memorandum (OM) on August 8, 2019, published on the environment ministry website, said that projects outside the boundary of the notified ESZ of a sanctuary or national park but within 10 km radius of the park will not need prior clearance from the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL).

Such proposals will now get environmental clearance from the ministry’s expert appraisal committee (EAC), which will ensure “appropriate conservation measures in the form of recommendations will be made,” the memorandum said. It nullifies previous OMs dated February 27, 2007 and December 2, 2009, which made the NBWL’s approval mandatory for projects within a 10 km radius of the park.

Projects located within the notified ESZ will require the NBW’sL nod, which can be applied for together with the initial “terms of reference” application. Mining will be prohibited within the notified ESZ or within only one km from the boundary of the park, whichever is higher according to the OM.

But in many states, protected areas do not have an ESZ of 10 km as specified by the Supreme Court. Some have a buffer zone of a few hundred metres to one-km radius, while other states still have not notified an ESZ. In cases where the ESZ notification is in the draft stage, a nod from NBWL is needed and can be applied for along with environmental clearance.

For example, the Jim Corbett National Park has not notified its ESZ, but its draft notification provides a buffer of 1 km, while Bandipur Tiger Reserve has notified an ESZ of 7.7 km radius. ESZ for other tiger reserves like Nagarhole, Biligiriranga Temple Sanctuary and Ranthambore haven’t been notified.

The Wildlife Conservation Strategy of 2002 recommends a buffer of 10 km around sanctuaries. The SC had upheld the policy and directed states and the Centre on several occasions to enforce the ESZ.