Central idea

• The Supreme Court modified its judgment on mandatory eco-sensitive zones (ESZs) around protected forests, national parks, and wildlife sanctuaries across the country.
• The court has now made it clear that ESZs cannot be uniform across the country and has to be “protected area-specific.”

What are the Eco-sensitive Zones (ESZs)?

• Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZs) or Ecologically Fragile Areas (EFAs) are areas notified by the MoEFCC around Protected Areas, National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries.
• The purpose of declaring ESZs is to create some kind of “shock absorbers” to the protected areas by regulating and managing the activities around such areas.
• They also act as a transition zone from areas of high protection to areas involving lesser protection.

How are they demarcated?

• The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 does NOT mention the word “Eco-Sensitive Zones”.
• However, Section 3(2)(v) of the Act, says that Central Government can restrict areas in which any industries, operations or processes or class of industries, operations or processes shall be carried out or shall not, subject to certain safeguards.
• Besides Rule 5(1) of the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986 states that central government can prohibit or restrict the location of industries and carrying on certain operations or processes on the basis of certain considerations.
• The same criteria have been used by the government to declare No Development Zones (NDZs).

Defining its boundaries

• An ESZ could go up to 10 kilometres around a protected area as provided in the Wildlife Conservation Strategy, 2002.
• Moreover, in the case where sensitive corridors, connectivity and ecologically important patches, crucial for landscape linkage, are beyond 10 km width, these should be included in the ESZs.
• Further, even in the context of a particular Protected Area, the distribution of an area of ESZ and the extent of regulation may not be uniform all around and it could be of variable width and extent.

Activities Permitted and Prohibited

• Permitted: Ongoing agricultural or horticultural practices, rainwater harvesting, organic farming, use of renewable energy sources, and adoption of green technology for all activities.
• Prohibited: Commercial mining, saw mills, industries causing pollution (air, water, soil, noise etc), the establishment of major hydroelectric projects (HEP), commercial use of wood, Tourism activities like hot-air balloons over the National Park, discharge of effluents or any solid waste or production of hazardous substances.
• Under regulation: Felling of trees, the establishment of hotels and resorts, commercial use of natural water, erection of electrical cables, drastic change of agriculture system, e.g. adoption of heavy technology, pesticides etc, widening of roads.

What was the recent SC judgment?

• On June 3, 2022, the apex court had ordered a 1-km buffer zone for protected areas to act as a “shock absorber.”
• However, the Centre and several states, including Kerala, had returned to the apex court seeking modification of the judgment, saying the direction affected hundreds of villages in the peripheries of forests.

Impact of the Judgment

• Earlier judgement would have certainly hampered the day-to-day activities of the citizens residing in ESZs.
• It would also prevent villagers from reconstructing their houses, the government from constructing schools, dispensaries, anganwadis, and other basic structures for the improvement of the life of the villagers.
• The court also noted that it would be impossible for forest departments to conduct eco-development activities around national parks and sanctuaries.

Try this PYQ

With reference to ‘Eco-Sensitive Zones’, which of the following statements is/are correct?

1. Eco-Sensitive Zones are the areas that are declared under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972
2. The purpose of the declaration of Eco-Sensitive Zones is to prohibit all kinds of human activities, in those zones except agriculture.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

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