{"id":365927,"date":"2026-06-24T15:38:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T10:08:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/?p=365927"},"modified":"2026-06-24T15:38:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T10:08:10","slug":"ecologically-sensitive-areas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/ecologically-sensitive-areas\/","title":{"rendered":"Ecologically Sensitive Areas"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"jsx-ae24593a9a7b3824 amp-access-hide\">\n<div class=\"content-box-green\">\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong> The Western Ghats may soon receive stronger legal protection in at least three states through the notification of Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESAs).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"red-h2-box\"><strong>About Ecologically Sensitive Areas<\/strong><\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_365930\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-365930\" style=\"width: 459px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-365930\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ChatGPT-Image-Jun-24-2026-11_23_27-AM.png?resize=459%2C153&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Ecologically Sensitive Areas\" width=\"459\" height=\"153\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ChatGPT-Image-Jun-24-2026-11_23_27-AM.png?resize=300%2C100&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ChatGPT-Image-Jun-24-2026-11_23_27-AM.png?resize=768%2C257&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/ChatGPT-Image-Jun-24-2026-11_23_27-AM.png?w=967&amp;ssl=1 967w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 459px) 100vw, 459px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-365930\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: TH<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Ecologically Sensitive Areas<\/strong> are <strong>protected buffer areas<\/strong> around protected areas, such as <strong>national parks and wildlife sanctuaries.<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>It is also known as <strong>Ecologically Sensitive zones in some contexts.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>It is <strong>identified for special environmental protection<\/strong> because of its rich biodiversity, fragile ecosystems, or important ecological functions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Origin:<\/strong> The concept gained<strong> prominence under India&#8217;s National Wildlife Action Plan (2002-2016),<\/strong> which recognised that areas around national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, and wildlife corridors are vital for maintaining ecological connectivity.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Importance:<\/strong> \u00a0ESZs are created <strong>as \u201cshock absorbers\u201d for the protected areas<\/strong> to minimize the negative impact on<strong> \u201cfragile ecosystems\u201d by certain human activities taking place nearby.<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>These areas are also meant to<strong> act as a transition zone from areas requiring higher protection<\/strong> to those requiring lesser protection.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Notified under: <\/strong> It is <strong>notified under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>How are ESZs determined: <\/strong>The size of an ESZ is <strong>decided on a case-by-case basis.<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Around national parks and wildlife sanctuaries,<strong> it can extend up to 10 km from their boundaries.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>E<strong>cologically important corridors and landscape linkages beyond this limit<\/strong> may also be <strong>included<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Supreme Court Ruling (2022): <\/strong>In June 2022, the Supreme Court directed that <strong>every protected forest, national park, and wildlife sanctuary must have a mandatory eco-sensitive zone of at least 1 km from its boundary. <\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The Court stated that <strong>these buffer zones are essential to protect fragile ecosystems from human activities<\/strong> and to maintain ecological connectivity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Protection ESA Areas get:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Being declared an <strong>Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA) does not stop all development activities.<\/strong> Instead, it restricts or regulates activities that may harm the environment while promoting sustainable practices.<\/li>\n<li>Activities such as <strong>mining, quarrying, thermal power projects, highly polluting industries, and large construction projects are often prohibited or strictly controlled. <\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Other activities, including<strong> tree felling, road expansion, hotel construction, and intensive farming, are regulated.<\/strong> At the same time, <strong>eco-friendly practices like organic farming, rainwater harvesting, and green technologies are encouraged.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>ESA status also ensures that <strong>development projects undergo stricter environmental assessment,<\/strong> taking into account biodiversity, wildlife, water resources, and ecological connectivity before approval.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Designated ESA Areas in India:\u00a0<\/strong> The Centre has<strong> notified hundreds of protected areas, including national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and wetlands, as eco-sensitive zones<\/strong> to regulate development and preserve ecological connectivity.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Examples:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary<\/strong> in Rajasthan&#8217;s Aravalli range<\/li>\n<li><strong>Kaziranga-Karbi Anglong landscape<\/strong> in Assam<\/li>\n<li>Gir National Park in Gujarat<\/li>\n<li>Ranthambore Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan<\/li>\n<li>Sundarbans in West Bengal etc.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>News: The Western Ghats may soon receive stronger legal protection in at least three states through the notification of Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESAs). About Ecologically Sensitive Areas Ecologically Sensitive Areas are protected buffer areas around protected areas, such as national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. It is also known as Ecologically Sensitive zones in some contexts.\u00a0&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/ecologically-sensitive-areas\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Ecologically Sensitive Areas<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10366,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1566,4182,1760,12039],"tags":[11872,10503],"class_list":["post-365927","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-daily-factly-articles","category-environment","category-polity-and-nation","category-knolls","tag-9pm-daily-factly","tag-business-standard","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365927","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10366"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=365927"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365927\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=365927"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=365927"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=365927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}