National Wildlife Board: History, Role & Conservation Impact

15-03-2025

04:32 AM

1 min read

What’s in Today’s Article?

PM Modi chaired his first-ever National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) meeting on March 3, World Wildlife Day, at Gir National Park.
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.
This was the first full-body NBWL meeting since September 5, 2012, when it was chaired by then-PM Manmohan Singh.

Origins: Indian Board for Wildlife (IBWL)
- Established in March 1952 as the Central Board for Wildlife, renamed IBWL during its first meeting in November 1952 at Lalitha Mahal Palace, Mysore.
- Formed to address the decline in wildlife populations.
- First Chairman: Maharaja Sri Jayachamaraja Wadiyar of Mysore.
Early Contributions of IBWL
- Divided into four committees:
  - National Parks
  - Trophies and Trading
  - Union and State Legislation
  - Administrative Matters
Key Decisions:
- 1961: Declared the peacock as the national bird.
- 1972: Played a role in passing the Wild Life Protection Act (WLPA), providing a legal framework for wildlife conservation.
- 1973: Paved the way for Project Tiger.
- 1982: Established Keoladeo National Park in Rajasthan.
- 1983: Adoption of the National Wildlife Action Plan.
Transition to NBWL
- In 2003, IBWL was restructured as NBWL through an amendment to The Wild Life Protection Act, 1972, giving it more regulatory authority.

It functions as the apex body for wildlife policy, conservation, and recommending new national parks and sanctuaries.

Chairperson: Prime Minister of India.
Vice-Chairperson: Union Environment Minister.
Members (47 total):
- Chief of the Army Staff.
- Secretaries from key ministries (Defence, Tribal Affairs, Information & Broadcasting, Finance).
- Three Lok Sabha MPs and one Rajya Sabha MP.
- Director General of Forests.
- Ten eminent conservationists, ecologists, and environmentalists.
- Five representatives from the non-governmental sector.

Delegated key tasks such as assessing projects on forest land in and around protected areas.
Its recommendations are advisory, and the Environment Ministry can overrule them.

Over the past decade, the NBWL has cleared several development projects in and around wildlife habitats, leading to controversy and protests from ecologists.

Ken-Betwa River Linking Project – Daudhan Dam to submerge nearly 100 sq km of Panna National Park & Tiger Reserve.
Vedanta Oil Exploration – Approved in the eco-sensitive zone of Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary, home to the endangered Hoolock Gibbon.
Denotification of Galathea Bay Sanctuary (2021) – A vital nesting site for leatherback sea turtles in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

2014 Reconstitution:
- Allegations of weakening the board’s independence.
- Only three non-governmental members appointed (compared to seven in the UPA era).
- One appointee was from the Gujarat government-linked Gujarat Ecological Education and Research Foundation (GEER).
Standing Committee Composition Issues:
- Held 50 meetings since 2014 without the required number of conservation experts and non-governmental members.

Q1. What is the National Wildlife Board?

Ans. It is India's apex body for wildlife policy, conservation, and protected area recommendations.

Q2. When was the board established?

Ans. It was restructured in 2003 from the Indian Board for Wildlife, originally formed in 1952.

Q3. Who chairs the NBWL?

Ans. The Prime Minister of India is the ex-officio chairperson of the NBWL.

Q4. Why has the NBWL faced criticism?

Ans. It approved controversial projects harming wildlife and was restructured with fewer independent experts.

Q5. What key conservation programs does NBWL oversee?

Ans. It manages Project Tiger, Project Cheetah, and new initiatives for gharials and the Great Indian Bustard.

Source: IE | ET