DR.

RAM MANOHAR LOHIYA NATIONAL LAW

UNIVERSITY, LKO

ENVIRONMENTAL LAW
Final Draft
TOPIC: Conservationist Approach to Environmental Management

SUBMITTED TO
SUBMITTED BY
Mr. A.K. TIWARI
ABHIJIT ANAND
Assistant Professor (Law)

ROLL NO.04

Faculty in-charge & HOD (Law)

SEMESTER 7TH

SECTION- A

Research Methodology
Aims and objectives:
Present project attempts to critically analyse the conservationist approach to environmental
management both in terms of approach and implementation. This project also seeks to come with
suggestions on the basis of failures of conservation approach.

Scope and Limitations:

Scope of the present project has been reduced to conceptualise and to analyse the role of
conservation philosophy in the field of forests and wildlife aspect of environment due to the
otherwise wide nature of the subject. Paucity of time and the word limit imposed were the major
hurdles that the researcher had to face while writing the project.

Research Questions:
I have attempted to answer the following questions :

What does the term conservation signify?

How is the conservationist approach different from other approaches to environmental

management?

How far is the conservationist approach reflected in Indian states perspective?

How successful has the conservationist approach been?.

Sources of Data:
Primarily secondary sources of data such as articles, books and electronic resources have been
used to answer the various research questions.

Introduction
In this ecological era where the words environment, green, conservation etc. come to us in
every form of print and electronic media, the need exists to grapple with this burgeoning
discourse of conservation which purportedly exists to save the environment and to meticulously
explore various aspects of it. Conservationists philosophical underpinning starts with a few
basic principles roughly following the logic that conservation of our natural resources is an

economically sound principle and with the belief that environmental protection is good for
todays and future generations. This principle recognizes the limitation of availability of natural
resources and hence advocates for the need to preserve the same.
To give a holistic picture of the conservationism, the researcher in the next few pages has firstly
introduced the concept of conservation, various meanings ascribed to the term, the philosophy
associated with it, the principles on which it stands and the methods by which it seeks to
preserve/conserve the natural resources. Thereafter the researcher has given account of the
various national laws to highlight the extent to which legal regime in India is influenced by the
dominant conservation discourse. The researcher in this section discusses only those aspects of
legislations which can positively be linked to the conservationist philosophy. The third section
gives account of encounter of conservationists with those who adopt human rights approach to
save the environment. Thereafter the researcher has made an attempt to critically analyze the
execution aspect of conservationists approach and to suggest a way out.

Philosophy of Conservation
Defining the limits of conservation is no less a thorny issue. The term lacks any consensual
homogeneous meaning and has come to mean different thing to different people. The traditional
conservationist approach to environment thwarts upon the anthropocentric view of environment
i.e. environment exists as a resource to be exploited by the man. It involves with in its ambit the
utilitarian principle of maximising benefits1. Thus conservationists argue that the environment
must be conserved for future generations solely on the basis that its resources are necessary for
mans welfare. Thus the conservationist approach is essentially uninterested in the intrinsic
qualities of the environment but rather in the potential of the environment to serve human
purposes. This approach comes across as a counter to the preservationist approach which
conceptualizes the relationship between man and the nature in the opposite manner.
Preservationists argue for preservation of nature for its intrinsic value irrespective of whether it
serves any human purpose. The conservationist approach regards the natural resources as
1 marketing.byu.edu/htmlpages/ccrs/proceedings99/jones.htm

economically valuable and also grants recognition to the fact that there are limits to these
resources. It therefore advocates the importance of conserving natural resources, while
prioritizing the importance of developing the non-human world in the quest for financial gain2.
In the early years, conservation ideas were associated with the wise use of resources such as
national forests, while the term preservation became associated with places like national parks.
As opposed to this dichotomy, as referred earlier also, in the absence of any singular meaning of
the term, some people view the conservation of nature as a unity in which all natural resources
are managed in an integrated and harmonious method to betterment of both material and spiritual
well-being of man-kind.
These definitions with certain profundity put forth the idea that conservation involves the
balancing of present and future. Today, conservationism reigns as the dominant environmental
philosophy, closely interwoven with the concepts of sustainable development and intergenerational equity. Sustainable development as a concept implies that environmental protection
shall constitute an integral part of the development process and can not be considered in isolation
from it. From its earliest days the practice to nature conservation has relied on a two pronged
approach. First is the strict protection and management of the most important areas of land or
water, which was originally employed to protect threatened species, but now more usually to
conserve whole assemblage of plants and animals as well the rare species. This approach of
safeguarding the important areas is more often than not referred to as fencing model to
conservation. The second approach is more an indirect one. This approach works through
influencing the attitudes and actions of people who affect the nature conservation resource. In
this approach attempt is made to educate and infuse ecological thinking and sense of need for
conservation of resources in to the local actors.

Finding Conservationists Law

One of the commonly accepted options for dealing with the crisis at hand is that of
environmental policy, legislation, and regulation, which can curb the effects of environmental
pollution and improve the quality of the environment. This section brings to the fore the extent to
2 www.crvp.org/book/Series02/II-7/chapter_vii.htm

which legal regime in India is influenced by the dominant conservation discourse. There exist
many a legislations with the objective of protecting the natural resources from depletion and
degradation which can be related to conservationism, hence this section picks on a very few
legislative documents to capture the all-pervasive attitude of the state.

National Conservation Strategy and the Policy Statement on Environment and

Development, 1992
This document declares that the progressive pressure on environment and natural resources
leading to, inter alia, worsening the standard of living of the poor who are directly dependent on
natural resources, necessitate a new thrust towards conservation and sustainable development.
It is further stated in the document that the conservation is the key element of the policy for
sustainable development. Framing a conservation strategy is, therefore considered to be an
imperative first step. Development requires the use and modification of natural resources;
conservation ensures the sustainability of development for the present and in the future. The
conservation strategy is to serve as a management guide for integrating environmental concerns
with developmental imperatives. The document gives piecemeal action plan for the conservation
of various natural resources. For the conservation of forests and wildlife, it advocates for
establishment of national parks and sanctuaries covering about 4% of the countrys area. As a
secondary measure, as referred to in preceding section, it also advocates for certain indirect
measures to be taken which foster environment conservation.

Forest Conservation Laws

In consonance with the observation made in the preceding section that the word conservation
defies any singular meaning the National Forest Policy, 1988 defines conservation so as to
include even preservation, maintenance, sustainable utilisation, restoration, and enhancement of
the natural environment3. It advocates for the conservation of total biological diversity, the
network of national parks, sanctuaries, biosphere reserves and other protected areas should be

3 See Preamble to National Forest Policy, 1988

strengthened and extended adequately4. Secondary measure, as referred to in the preceding

section is also provided for in the policy in the form of making fuel efficient chulhas as a
measure of conservation of fuel wood5.
Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 provides for a a process to conserve the forests by preventing
there use without the required permission from the Central Government. Under this act, before
one changes land use to non-forest purpose the person has to take the permission of the required
authorities regarding the same. It also states that before granting any permission the authorities
have to look at the kind of work that the person is intending to take because the act clearly
provides that any work which is ancillary to the conservation of forests should not prevented
under the act6.

The Wildlife Protection Act, 1972

The act provides for protection of wild animals, birds and plants and the matters incidental
thereto. This Act contains various provisions regulating hunting of wild birds and animals,
provided procedures for declaration of areas as Sanctuaries and National Parks and constituted a
Wild Life Advisory Board in each State to advice the Government on matters connected with the
protection of wildlife. An amendment was made in 1991 extending the protection of the Act to
plants as well, an area which had until then been neglected. The Act earmarks certain protected
areas with varying degrees of safeguards provided for each. Though the phrase protected areas
itself is not defined in the Act, it has been interpreted by the Supreme Court in Tarun Bharat
Sangh v. Union of India7to mean all areas which have legal protection against non-forest
activities. There are three categories of protected areas specified: Sanctuary, National Park and
Closed Areas8.
4 Para 3.3 of National Forest Policy 1988.
5 See, para, 4.3.4.5 of National Forest Policy 1988
6 Explanantion 2, Section 2, Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.
7 1993 SUPP (3) SCC 115

The Biological Diversity Act, 2002

The aim of the Act is to provide for conservation of biological diversity, sustainable use of its
components and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the use of biological
resources, knowledge and for matters connected or incidental to it. The act thrives for sustainable
utilization. Section 37 of the Act makes a provision for State Biodiversity Board to declare
certain areas of biological importance as heritage sites. Section 36 of the Act also provides for
the Central Government to develop national strategies, plans, programs for the conservation and
promotion and sustainable use of biological diversity including measures for identification and
monitoring of areas rich in biological resources, promotion of in situ, and ex situ, conservation of
biological resources, provide incentives for research, training and public education to increase
awareness with respect to bio-diversity.

The two way conflict: conservationism v. Indigenous people

Therefore what emerges from the study of various laws and policy documents is that the
environmental perspective adopted by India is that of conservationists. But the methods adopted
for the execution of the same involve command and control approach of disassociating people
from the very resources to be accorded protection. The provisions to eliminate human
intervention within national parks and sanctuaries operate harshly against forest communities 9.
Tribal activists argue against protected areas because they deprive forest dwellers of access to
common property resources, uproot communities and halt the developmental activities. This
process of severance of forest dwellers from their traditional access to forest produce makes
them averse to the whole idea of conservation. Conservationists though sympathise with this yet
maintain that best preserved wilderness in India are within the national parks and sanctuaries10.
8 Wildlife Protection (Amendment) Act, 2002 has omitted the category of closed
area
9 S Divan, et.al., Environmental Law And policy In India (New Delhi: OUP, 2001),
p.335.
10 Id.

It has been observed by scholars that the protection afforded by the Protection areas has resulted
in increase in the population of some species (such as elephants, wild boar, nilgai). This results in
a spill-over of animals the result of which is the human animals encounter leading to human
injury and death. In this situation the hostile feeling among the local communities had built up11.
The Schedule Tribes (Recognition of Forest Rights) Bill 2005 can be located within this larger
movement which brings forth the tussle between the protection of conservation of forests and
wild life and promotion of human rights and attempts at balancing the same. Though this move
also falls short of making the forest dwellers partners in the whole conservation programme12.

Fencing Model: Finding Faults & The Way Ahead

The preceding sections in the paper lead to the conclusion that not only the tools of creating
parks as a part of the conservation strategy have failed but they have undermined the forestdwelling communities ability to protect forest. Existing legal regime adopts a command-control
and exclusionary approach towards protection of natural resources. A look at National Wildlife
Action Plan 2002-2016 would disclose that still the thrust is on legally notified protected areas as
the major vehicle of conservation13.
A look at Wild Life Protection Act, 1972 reveals that there is absent existence of provision
requiring the integration of knowledge of communities into planning. The entire process of
determination and settlement of rights is not participatory as it fails to involve the affected local
communities in the area and decision making rests virtually completely in the hands of the
bureaucracy/officials of the state government14.
11 A Kothari, Conservation in India: A New Direction, Economic and Political
Weekly,
12 critical analysis of the Bill see, M K Ramesh, The Schedule Tribes(Recognition of
Forest Rights) Bill 2005
13 www.flonnet.com/fl1905/19050770.htm
14 S Upadhyay, Forest Laws, Wildlife Laws and the Environment,

Project Tiger and the failure surrounding it indicate toward non-feasibility of the fencing
approach which was adopted as a legacy of colonial times to deal with biodiversity management
and nature conservation. The case to abandon such approach is strong more so in the context of
developing countries, such as India, where governments are unable to control the access to and
use of protected resources through the fencing model. Adherence to protected area approach
would be ineffective and highly undesirable because local communities will inevitably
overexploit resources due to the costs associated with exploitation for each individual are only a
fraction of the benefits.15 Moreover, if local communities comply with the law, they will
internalize the direct cost of preservation, with the benefits accruing to national or international
interests. This paradox between the costs and benefits of conservation under the fencing model
make it unlikely that local communities will assist conservation programs. Thus, there is a strong
theoretical justification for turning away from this age-old ineffective model.
The

forest conservation program cannot succeed without the willing support and cooperation of

the people. It is essential, therefore, to inculcate in the people, a direct interest in forests, their
development and conservation, and to make them conscious of the value of trees, wildlife and
nature in general.
Therefore need exists for emergence of such a conservation strategy which involves maximum
community participation towards conservation. For illustration it would be useful to look at more
than three hundred year old Chipko movement of Rajasthan. In this case the Maharaja of Jodhpur
decided to cut the trees, but the felling of trees was not allowed. Three hundred and sixty people
were killed but not even a single tree could be cut. Though such affection was more due to
religious beliefs but what is noteworthy is the factum of existence of such an environmental ethic
and resultant conservation..
Developing such an environmental ethic should be the aim for any conservation Programme. For
this is required the conceptualization of Joint Protected Area Management which has the
objective of conserving natural ecosystems and their wildlife while ensuring the concerns of

15 D Nathan, Case For Local Forest Management: Environmental Services,

Internalisation of Costs and Markets, Economic and Political Weekly, July 28, 2001

local traditional communities, through programs which ensure a partnership between these
communities and government agencies16.
The government though has initiated several Joint Forest Management programs with local
communities to respond to the near total destruction of forests in rural areas yet the state retains
the power to disband these local communities involvement without cause.
In this context use of Joint Forest Management Programme as a strategy tool for conservation is
laudable as it attempts to make protection of forests a rewarding activity. This system has been
used extensively in some states, especially in Kerala where, in the Periyar Tiger Reserve, the
people who earlier poached and engaged in anti-conservation activities so to speak were given
a hand in the management of the reserve. They have been given employment as tourist guides
and they are now conservators of the forests and wildlife. This has not however, been recognised
in all states where the locals are still considered hindrances to the administration of forests,
possibly as a result of the Centralising trend of all the laws and policies. Here the researcher is
not opposing the nodal role to be played by the government. In a situation of growing demand
and dwindling supply, sustainable management of forests will certainly require some degree of
centralized authority. This authority however needs to have a lot of flexibility, as rigid
centralized control often leads to distorted priorities, much to the detriment of common and local
needs. It is essential therefore to decentralize the control over natural resources to a desirable
extent. To make it possible for the people to collectively exercise this control, it is important that
the conditions are created for effective management of forests, with peoples participation and
involvement at the grassroots level by creating appropriate local bodies and institutional
structures.

16 A Kothari, Conservation in India: A New Direction, Economic and Political

Weekly

Conclusion
Therefore what appears from the discussion in the preceding pages is that conservation as
philosophy thwarting upon the anthropocentric view of nature advocates for importance of
conserving natural resources, while prioritising the importance of developing the non-human
world in the quest for financial gain. In the initial years there conservationism was marked as
opposed to preservationist approach which proceeded to save the environment for its intrinsic
values.
Conservation in the modern day context has been closely associated with the theoretical tools of
sustainable development and inter-generational equity. Policy makers around the world seek to
embark upon the path of development in a way that causes the least environmental damage while
at the same time ensuring continued future economic growth.
Generally conservationists adopt two pronged strategy to conserve the natural resources. The
first and foremost being the protected area management approach which believes in delineating
the human agency from the very resources to be accorded protection. This approach over a
period of time has come under serious criticisms and has also been proved to be ineffective. This
approach also gives rise to conflicting claims between the rights of those who have been living in
the forests for centuries and of conservationists aspirations
After this author undertook an examination of the existing laws, policies and tried to explore the
link between them and the conservation philosophy. It was found that though there exist a
positive link between them yet the command-control method and the exclusionary approach
proved to be unsatisfactory to yield any result Hence there existed need for reform in close
fencing model. This came in the form of community based reservation where the
interdependence between people and the forests is recognised exists scope for active community
participation in the protection and development of forest land.

Bibliography
Table Of Statutes

Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.

Indian Forest Act, 1927.

The Biological Diversity Act, 2002.

The Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

Wildlife Protection (Amendment) Act, 2002.

Articles

A Kothari, Conservation in India: A New Direction, Economic and Political Weekly,

October 28, 1995.

Kothari,

Conservation

Priorities,

available

at, www.flonnet.com/fl1905/19050770.htm

M K Ramesh, The Schedule Tribes(Recognition of Forest Rights) Bill 2005: Movement

Beyond Rhetoric and Political Correctness?, Environmental Law and Policy Reading
Material 2005, 149.

R Jones, Towards An Understanding Of The Cultural Specificity Of The Environment,

available at, marketing.byu.edu/htmlpages/ccrs/proceedings99/jones.htm .

R P Mishra, Sustainable Development- The Ecological Perspectives, 25 in S

Chattopadhyay, et.al., eds. Sustainable Development-Issues and Case Studies, (New Delhi:
Concept Publishing Company, 1997).

S Chattopadhyay, Application of Sustainable Development Concept- Some Issues, 86,

in S Chattopadhyay, et.al., eds. Sustainable Development-Issues and Case Studies, (New
Delhi: Concept Publishing Company, 1997).

Books

R P Mishra, Environmental Ethics: A Dialogue of Culture, (New Delhi: Concept

Publishing Co., 1995).

S Chattopadhyay, et.al., eds. Sustainable Development-Issues and Case Studies, (New

Delhi: Concept Publishing Company, 1997).

S Upadhyay, Forest Laws, Wildlife Laws and the Environment, (New Delhi:
Butterworths Publication, 2002).

S Divan, et.al., Environmental Law And policy In India (New Delhi: OUP, 2001).