The Maharashtra government has declared ‘Atpadi Conservation Reserve’ as a new conservation reserve in Sangli district.
Key points
- The state government notified the conservation reserve in exercise of the powers conferred by section 36-A of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 and of all other powers enabling it in that behalf.
- The new reserve will help preserve the habitat of wolves, jackals, foxes and hyenas in the area, besides other mammals like deers, civets, rabbits and more that abound in the region.
- The Atpadi Conservation Reserve connects the Maini Conservation Area in the west with the Madhok Bird Sanctuary to its north-east boundary.
- The small new sanctuary hosts rich flora and fauna comprising three types of forest cover — the semi-evergreen, moist deciduous and dry deciduous, has 35 species of trees, 15 species of shrubs, 14 of vines,116 species of herbs and one parasitic plant.
- The new reserve comprises an important grassland ecosystem inhabited by all the four canids (hyena, wolk, jackal and foxes) in the country.
About Conservation reserves
- Conservation reserves and community reserves in India are terms denoting protected areas of India (Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act of 2002). They acts act as buffer zones to or connectors and migration corridors between established national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and reserved and protected forests of India.
- These protected area categories were first introduced in the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act of 2002 − the amendment to the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972.
- The State Government may, after having consultations with the local communities, declare any area owned by the Government, particularly the areas adjacent to National Parks and sanctuaries and those areas which link one protected area with another, as a conservation reserve.
- The State Government shall constitute a conservation reserve management committee to advise the Chief Wild Life Warden to conserve, manage and maintain the conservation reserve.
- A person can be permitted by the Chief Wild Life Warden or the authorised officer to reside within the limits of the sanctuary.
- No person is allowed to tease or molest any wild animal or litter the grounds of sanctuary.
- No person is allowed to use, in a sanctuary, chemicals, explosives or any other substances which may cause injury to, or endanger, any wild life in such sanctuary.
