{"id":45342,"date":"2025-03-15T02:47:39","date_gmt":"2025-03-14T21:17:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=45342"},"modified":"2025-05-06T19:22:36","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T13:52:36","slug":"national-wildlife-board","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/national-wildlife-board\/","title":{"rendered":"National Wildlife Board: History, Role &#038; Conservation Impact"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>What\u2019s in Today\u2019s Article?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>National Wildlife Board Latest News<\/li>\n<li>History of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL)<\/li>\n<li>National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) \u2013 Overview<\/li>\n<li>Criticism of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL)<\/li>\n<li>National Wildlife Board FAQs<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>National Wildlife Board Latest News<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>PM Modi chaired his first-ever National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) meeting on March 3, World Wildlife Day, at Gir National Park.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>The board reviewed key wildlife conservation programs and announced new initiatives for gharials and the Great Indian Bustard, along with expanding Project Cheetah and Project Lion.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>This was the first full-body NBWL meeting since September 5, 2012, when it was chaired by then-PM Manmohan Singh.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>History of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL)<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Origins: Indian Board for Wildlife (IBWL)<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Established in March 1952 as the <i>Central Board for Wildlife<\/i>, renamed IBWL during its first meeting in November 1952 at <i>Lalitha Mahal Palace, Mysore<\/i>.<\/li>\n<li>Formed to address the decline in wildlife populations.<\/li>\n<li>First Chairman: Maharaja Sri Jayachamaraja Wadiyar of Mysore.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Early Contributions of IBWL<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Divided into <strong>four committees<\/strong>:\u00a0\n<ul>\n<li>National Parks<\/li>\n<li>Trophies and Trading<\/li>\n<li>Union and State Legislation<\/li>\n<li>Administrative Matters<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Key Decisions:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>1961:<\/strong> Declared the peacock as the national bird.<\/li>\n<li><strong>1972:<\/strong> Played a role in passing the Wild Life Protection Act (WLPA), providing a legal framework for wildlife conservation.<\/li>\n<li><strong>1973:<\/strong> Paved the way for Project Tiger.<\/li>\n<li><strong>1982<\/strong>: Established Keoladeo National Park in Rajasthan.<\/li>\n<li><strong>1983<\/strong>: Adoption of the National Wildlife Action Plan.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Transition to NBWL<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>In 2003, IBWL was restructured as NBWL through an amendment to The Wild Life Protection Act, 1972, giving it more regulatory authority.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) \u2013 Overview<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>It functions as the apex body for wildlife policy, conservation, and recommending new national parks and sanctuaries.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Composition<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Chairperson:<\/strong> Prime Minister of India.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Vice-Chairperson:<\/strong> Union Environment Minister.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Members (47 total):<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Chief of the Army Staff.<\/li>\n<li>Secretaries from key ministries (Defence, Tribal Affairs, Information &amp; Broadcasting, Finance).<\/li>\n<li>Three Lok Sabha MPs and one Rajya Sabha MP.<\/li>\n<li>Director General of Forests.<\/li>\n<li>Ten eminent conservationists, ecologists, and environmentalists.<\/li>\n<li>Five representatives from the non-governmental sector.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Functions and Responsibilities<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Frames wildlife conservation policies.<\/li>\n<li>Reviews and recommends setting up new protected areas.<\/li>\n<li>Evaluates projects affecting forests and wildlife.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Standing Committee<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Delegated key tasks such as assessing projects on forest land in and around protected areas.<\/li>\n<li>Its recommendations are advisory, and the Environment Ministry can overrule them.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Criticism of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL)<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Over the past decade, the NBWL has cleared several development projects in and around wildlife habitats, leading to controversy and protests from ecologists.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Key Controversial Approvals<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Ken-Betwa River Linking Project<\/strong> \u2013 Daudhan Dam to submerge nearly 100 sq km of <i>Panna National Park &amp; Tiger Reserve<\/i>.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li><strong>Vedanta Oil Exploration<\/strong> \u2013 Approved in the eco-sensitive zone of <i>Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary<\/i>, home to the endangered Hoolock Gibbon.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li><strong>Denotification of Galathea Bay Sanctuary (2021)<\/strong> \u2013 A vital nesting site for <i>leatherback sea turtles<\/i> in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Concerns Over Dilution of Powers<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>2014 Reconstitution:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Allegations of weakening the board\u2019s independence.<\/li>\n<li>Only three non-governmental members appointed (compared to seven in the UPA era).<\/li>\n<li>One appointee was from the Gujarat government-linked <i>Gujarat Ecological Education and Research Foundation (GEER)<\/i>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Standing Committee Composition Issues:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Held 50 meetings since 2014 without the required number of conservation experts and non-governmental members.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>National Wildlife Board FAQs<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Q1.<\/strong> What is the National Wildlife Board?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans.<\/strong> It is India&#8217;s apex body for wildlife policy, conservation, and protected area recommendations.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q2. <\/strong>When was the board established?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans. <\/strong>It was restructured in 2003 from the Indian Board for Wildlife, originally formed in 1952.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q3. <\/strong>Who chairs the NBWL?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans. <\/strong>The Prime Minister of India is the ex-officio chairperson of the NBWL.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q4. <\/strong>Why has the NBWL faced criticism?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans. <\/strong>It approved controversial projects harming wildlife and was restructured with fewer independent experts.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q5. <\/strong>What key conservation programs does NBWL oversee?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans. <\/strong>It manages Project Tiger, Project Cheetah, and new initiatives for gharials and the Great Indian Bustard.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/pm-modi-chairs-wildlife-board-meeting-history-role-9882943\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">IE<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/economictimes.indiatimes.com\/news\/india\/world-wildlife-day-pm-modi-goes-on-lion-safari-in-gujarat\/articleshow\/118675874.cms?from=mdr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">ET<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Learn about the National Wildlife Board\u2019s history, structure, key conservation policies, and controversies over its environmental impact.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":45343,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-45342","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45342","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45342"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45342\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45343"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45342"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}