List of National Parks in India

• India has 104 National Parks across its territory. Know about the significance, the location, and the details of all the National Parks here. Also, get to know the difference between a National Park and a Wild Life Sanctuary by cbseinsights.com

A national park is a park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently, there is a common idea: the conservation of ‘wild nature’ for posterity and as a symbol of national pride.  The boundaries of National Parks are well defined and no private activities are allowed inside the National Park such as developmental activities, industrial activities, forestry, poaching, hunting, and cultivation, etc.

National Parks in India

A national park has more restrictions as compared to a wildlife sanctuary. Their boundaries are fixed and defined. Here, no human activity is allowed. They cannot be downgraded to the status of a ‘sanctuary’. National parks can be declared both by the Central Government and State governments.

National parks in India are IUCN category II protected areas. India’s first national  park

 was established in 1936 as Hailey National Park, now known as Jim Corbett National Park, Uttarakhand. By 1970, India only had five national parks. In 1972, India enacted the Wildlife Protection Act and Project Tiger to safeguard the habitats of conservation-reliant species.

As of May 2020, there were 105 national parks encompassing an area of 40,501.13 km² (15,637.57 sq mi), under-protected areas of India category II comprising 1.23% of India’s total surface area. The Chief Wildlife Warden shall be the authority who shall control, manage, and maintain all protected areas.

Definition

• Protected Areas
• List of National Parks of India
• A complete list of National Parks in India: State-wise along with details of National Parks.

Protected Area Categories

IUCN protected area management categories classify protected areas according to their management objectives. The categories are recognized by international bodies such as the United Nations and by many national governments as the global standard for defining and recording protected areas and as such are increasingly being incorporated into government legislation.

IUCN Protected Area Categories System

View the publication: Guidelines for applying protected area management categories including IUCN WCPA best practice guidance on recognizing protected areas and assigning management categories and governance types.

Ia- Strict Nature Reserve: Category Ia are strictly protected areas set aside to protect biodiversity and also possibly geological/geomorphic features, where human visitation, use, and impacts are strictly controlled and limited to ensure the protection of the conservation values. Such protected areas can serve as indispensable reference areas for scientific research and monitoring more… 

Ib-Wilderness Area: Category Ib protected areas are usually large unmodified or slightly modified areas, retaining their natural character and influence without permanent or significant human habitation, which is protected and managed so as to preserve their natural condition. more…

II- National Park: Category II protected areas are large natural or near natural areas set aside to protect large-scale ecological processes, along with the complement of species and ecosystems characteristic of the area, which also provide a foundation for environmentally and culturally compatible, spiritual, scientific, educational, recreational, and visitor opportunities. more…

III- Natural Monument or Feature: Category III protected areas are set aside to protect a specific natural monument, which can be a landform, sea mount, submarine cavern, geological feature such as a cave or even a living feature such as an ancient grove. They are generally quite small protected areas and often have high visitor value. more…

IV- Habitat/Species Management Area: Category IV protected areas aim to protect particular species or habitats and management reflects this priority. Many Category IV protected areas will need regular, active interventions to address the requirements of particular species or to maintain habitats, but this is not a requirement of the category. more…

V- Protected Landscape/ Seascape: A protected area where the interaction of people and nature over time has produced an area of distinct character with significant, ecological, biological, cultural, and scenic value: and where safeguarding the integrity of this interaction is vital to protecting and sustaining the area and its associated nature conservation and other values. more…

VI- Protected area with sustainable use of natural resources: Category VI protected areas conserve ecosystems and habitats together with associated cultural values and traditional natural resource management systems. They are generally large, with most of the area in a natural condition, where a proportion is under sustainable natural resource management and where low-level non-industrial use of natural resources compatible with nature conservation is seen as one of the main aims of the area more… 

Declaration of the Protected Area by the State government:

• Initial notification: The State government may, by notification, declare its intention to constitute any area within or outside any reserve forest as a sanctuary/national park if it considers that such area is of adequate ecological, faunal, floral, geomorphological, natural, or zoological significance, for the purpose of protecting, propagating or developing wildlife or its environment.
• Final notification: After the initial notification has been issued and the period for preferring claims has elapsed, the State government may issue a notification specifying the limits of the area which can be comprised within the sanctuary and declare the said area shall be a sanctuary/national park from such date as may be specified in the notification.

Declared by the Central Government:

Category	No.	Total Area (km2)	Coverage % of Country
National Parks	105	40,564.03	1.23
Wildlife Sanctuaries (WLSs)	553	119,756.97	3.64
Conservation Reserves (CRs)	86	3,858.25	0.12
Community Reserves	163	833.34	0.03
Protected Areas (PAs)	907	1,65,012.59	5.02

• The Central Government may declare an area to be a sanctuary/national park if it is satisfied that the area is of adequate ecological, faunal, floral, geomorphological, natural, or zoological significance, for the purpose of protecting, propagating, or developing wildlife or its environment.

Protected Areas

In simplest terms, protected areas are regions or zones of land or sea which are given certain levels of protection for conservation of biodiversity and socio-environmental values. In these areas,human intervention and exploitation of resources are limited.

Protected Areas are the principal mechanism of conservation of biodiversity on Earth and serve as the most important units for in-situ biodiversity conservation.

Protected Areas of India (As on December, 2019)

As of December 2019, there are 907 notified protected areas covering 5.02% of India’s land area. This is far below Target 11 of the Aichi Targets – which states that by 2020, at least 17% of terrestrial and inland water areas should be conserved under Protected Areas.

There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection. Examples include national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, marine protected areas, community reserves, etc.

In terms of protection, National Parks > Wildlife Sanctuary > Reserved forests > Protected forests

Different IUCN categories of Protected areas

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), through its World Commission on Protected Areas, has put forward six Protected Area Management Categories. The categories are as follows:

• Category I a– Strict Nature Reserve: Protected areas managed mainly for science and receives the least human intervention. E.g. Urwald Rothwald in Austria
• Category I b – Wilderness Area: Wilderness protection. E.g. wilderness areas in the Sami native region in Finland
• Category II – National Park: ecosystem protection and recreation
• Category III – Natural Monument or Feature: Conservation of specific natural features. E.g. cliffs, caves, forest groves. E.g. Cono de Arita in Argentina.
• Category IV – Habitat/Species Management Area: Conservation of specific species that require protection.
• Category V – Protected Landscape/Seascape: Conservation of entire area. It permits the surrounding community to interact. Example: Great Barrier Reef in Australia
• Category VI – Protected Area with sustainable use of natural resources: Conservation of ecosystem and habitats together with associated cultural values and traditional natural resource management systems.
• Forests and wildlife are included in the Concurrent List of the Indian Constitution. Therefore, the Union government makes the policies and plans for Wildlife Conservation. On the other hand, the State Forest Departments are the ones implementing those national policies and plans at the state level.

National Board for Wildlife (NBWL)puts forward a policy framework for wildlife conservation in India. The Board was constituted under Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. It is chaired by the Prime Minister.

National Board for Wildlife

• It is a “Statutory Organization” constituted under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
• Its role is “advisory” in nature and advises the Central Government on framing policies and measures for the conservation of wildlife in the country.
• The primary function of the Board is to promote the conservation and development of wildlife and forests.
• It has the power to review all wildlife-related matters and approve projects in and around national parks and sanctuaries.
• No alternation of boundaries in national parks and wildlife sanctuaries can be done without the approval of the NBWL.
• Composition: The NBWL is chaired by the Prime Minister. It has 47 members including the Prime Minister. Among these, 19 members are ex-officio members. Other members include three Members of Parliament (two from Lok Sabha and one from Rajya Sabha), five NGOs, and 10 eminent ecologists, conservationists, and environmentalists.
• National Board for Wildlife may make recommendations on the setting up of and management of national parks, sanctuaries, and other protected areas and on matters relating to the restriction of activities in those areas.
• The State Board for Wildlife shall advise the State government on the selection and management of areas to be declared as protected areas.  
• Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 (with Amendment Acts of 2003 and 2006)
• It provides for the protection of plants and animals in India. The aim of the Act is to ensure the ecological and environmental security of India.
• It is the principal act that contains provisions for setting up and managing national parks, sanctuaries, and other protected areas.

In India, there are four major categories of Protected areas. These protected areas are constituted under the provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

The four categories of protected areas are:

1. Wildlife Sanctuaries
2. National Parks
3. Community Reserves
4. Conservation Reserves

Apart from these protected areas, India also has the following:

• Biodiversity Reserves
• Tiger Reserves
• Elephant Reserves

List of National Parks (As on December, 2020) 

NOTE:- For updated and latest details of the National Parks, click on the name of the park……