Wildlife Habitats Development Scheme

Syllabus: GS3/ Environment

Context

• The Union Cabinet has approved the Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats scheme for the 15th Finance Commission cycle for an overall outlay of ₹2,602.98 crore.

Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats (IDWH)

• IDWH is an on-going Centrally Sponsored Scheme which has been made operational by adding more components and activities to the erstwhile Scheme – “Assistance for the Development of National Parks and Sanctuaries”.
• The scheme has following components;
  • Support to Protected Areas (National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries, Conservation Reserves and Community Reserves)
  • Protection of Wildlife Outside Protected Areas
  • Recovery programmes for saving critically endangered species and habitats
• The scheme envisages to boost technological interventions in different thematic areas in tiger and wildlife bearing forests.

Different Scheme under IDWH

• Project Tiger: It was launched by the Central government in 1973, in a bid to promote conservation of the tiger.
  • Project Tiger currently uses technology such as the M-STrIPES (Monitoring System for Tigers, Intensive Protection and Ecological Status) application for day-to-day management practices. 
• Project Elephant: Project Elephant (PE) was launched by the Government of India in the year 1992 as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme with the following objectives:
  • To protect elephants, their habitat and corridors
  • To address issues of man-elephant conflict
  • Welfare of domesticated elephants
• Development of Wildlife Habitat: It includes Project Dolphin and Project Lion.
  • The Project Dolphin is proposed to be supported by provisioning of Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) and passive acoustic monitoring devices for enumeration of dolphins as well as their habitat

Significance of the scheme

• The scheme has a livelihood generation of more than 50 lakh man days through direct engagement in addition to indirect employment through eco-tourism and ancillary activities.
• 55 tiger reserves, 33 elephant reserves and 718 protected areas and their zones are going to benefit under it.
  • In addition, the cause of keystone species occupying these landscapes, especially the tiger, the elephant, the cheetah, the snow leopard and the lion, which act as an indicator of these ecosystems will be furthered.

Source: PIB