Participation of private sector: It underlines increased role of private sector in wildlife conservation. It lays down that Governmentwill ensure that adequate and sustained funding including Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds are made available for implementation of plan.
Government has launched SECURE Himalaya Project
The aim of the scheme "Secure Himalaya" is to protect Snow leopards by saving their habitats and to improve the ecology of life of the Himalayan ranges and hill communities- all among the worst victims of climate change.
The Secure Himalaya project, launched by the Union Environment Ministry in collaboration with United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Sikkimwill be covered.
Among the key areas of focus, this project will work on preventing snow leopard smuggling and hunting.
In India, the economic value generated from the snow leopard habitats is sharply estimated, the amount of $ 4 billion per year, out of which $3 billion comes from power generation, $ 0.5 billion from livestock and agriculture, while $ 0.4 billion comes from tourism.
It has been stated in the project's objectives that "snow leopard, its prey, its ecosystems have to face various direct and indirect risks .fragmentation of the ecological environment and region is a direct threat and due to the high reliance of local communities on natural resources and unplanned infrastructure. "
It was emphasised that there is a need to focus on the emerging threats of illegal wildlife trade and wildlife crime.
The SECURE - securing livelihoods, conservation, sustainable use and restoration of high range Himalayan ecosystems - is meant for specific landscapes. It include Changthang (Jammu and Kasmir), Lahaul - Pangi and Kinnaur (Himachal Pradesh), Gangotri - Govind and Darma - Byans Valley in Pithoragarh (Uttarakhand) and Kanchenjunga - Upper Teesta Valley (Sikkim).
The project also outlined that the remoteness and relative seclusion has made the mountain communities, that includes many tribal communities, among the last bastions of globally significant indigenous knowledge and cultural heterogeneity.
Turtle Sanctuary To Be Set Up In Allahabad
In order to protect the rich aquatic biodiversity of river Ganga from escalating anthropogenic pressures, development of a Turtle sanctuary in Allahabad along with a River Biodiversity Park at Sangam have been approved under Namami Gange programme.
The projectwould include development of River Biodiversity Park at Sangam (confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and mythical Sarasvati), establishment of a Turtle Rearing Centre (Permanent nursery at TriveniPushp and makeshift annual hatcheries) and awareness about the importance of river Ganga and imperativeness of its conservationhasbeenapproved.
This project will provide much needed platform to make the visitors aware of their place in the ecosystem, their roles and responsibilities, improve their understanding of the complexity of co-existence with the environment and help generate awareness for reducing the impact of human activities on critical natural resources.
The task of dissipating knowledge about river Ganga will be taken up ardently in this project, which is 100% centrally funded.
The sustenance of more than 2000 aquatic species including threatened gharials, dolphins and turtles in river Ganga exemplifies the rich biodiversity of this lifeline to over 40 per cent of the country’s population.
Rivers Ganga and Yamuna at Allahabad are home to some of the most endangered fauna like turtles (Batagurkachuga, Batagurdhongoka, Nilssoniagangetica, Chitraindica, Hardellathurjii etc.), the National Aquatic Animal - Gangetic dolphin (Platanistagangetica), the Gharial (Gavialisgangeticus) and numerous migratory and resident birds.
Scientists have obtained the first evidence of the elusive snow leopard in Arunachal Pradesh. Camera traps have captured images of the big cat at Thembang village’s Community Conserved Area, a community-owned reserve, in West Kameng district.
The presence of the species outside protected areas highlights the importance of community support for conservation as well as landscape-scale planning, says World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF-India), which conducted the camera trap study.
The camera-trapping, part of a State-wide survey initiated in March 2017 by WWF-India in collaboration with the Arunachal Pradesh Environment and Forest Department, focused on unexplored snow leopard habitats.
