Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation in Rajasthan

1. Statutory and Institutional Mechanism

1.1 The Biological Diversity Act, 2002 and the Rajasthan State Biodiversity Board

In accordance with sovereign obligations under the **United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD, Rio 1992)**, the Parliament of India enacted the **Biological Diversity Act, 2002**.

Rajasthan State Biological Diversity Rules, 2010:

- Notified by the Government of Rajasthan on **2 March 2010**. - In pursuance of Rule 4, the **Rajasthan State Biodiversity Board (RSBB)** was formally constituted at Jaipur on **14 September 2010**. - **Statutory Mandate:** 1. Conservation of biological diversity across terrestrial and desert ecosystems. 2. Sustainable utilization of bio-resources without genetic erosion. 3. Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits (ABS) arising out of commercial exploitation of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge.

Three-Tier Governance Structure:

- **National Level:** National Biodiversity Authority (NBA, Chennai). - **State Level:** Rajasthan State Biodiversity Board (RSBB, Jaipur). - **Local Level:** Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) established at every Gram Panchayat, Panchayat Samiti, Zila Parishad, and Urban Local Body.

People's Biodiversity Registers (PBRs):

- Formulated by local BMCs, PBRs constitute legal documents recording comprehensive traditional knowledge, local landraces, medicinal plants, livestock breeds, and wild flora/fauna. - Rajasthan has achieved comprehensive formulation of PBRs across all 11,000+ Gram Panchayats.

Biodiversity Heritage Sites (BHS):

Notified under Section 37 of the Act to protect unique, ecologically fragile habitats outside national parks: - **Akal Wood Fossil Park (Jaisalmer):** 180 million-year-old Jurassic-era petrified tree fossils. - **Ram Saminagar Oran (Jodhpur):** Protected sacred Khejri woodland.

2. Wetlands and Ramsar Sites in Rajasthan

2.1 The Ramsar Convention and Rajasthan's 2 Ramsar Sites

Signed on **2 February 1971** at Ramsar, Iran, the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance provides the framework for wetland conservation. Rajasthan contains **2 designated Ramsar Sites**:
Ramsar Site District Date of Designation Surface Area Ecological Character & Conservation Status
1. Keoladeo Ghana National Park Bharatpur 1 October 1981 28.73 sq. km Fresh-to-brackish inland swamp; wintering hub for thousands of trans-Himalayan migratory birds. Placed on the Montreux Record in 1990 due to hydrological disruption and invasive weed proliferation (Prosopis juliflora).
2. Sambhar Salt Lake Jaipur, Nagaur, Ajmer 23 March 1990 240 sq. km India's largest inland hyper-saline depression; critical wintering biotope for Greater and Lesser Flamingos; colonized by specialized micro-algae (Spirulina). In 2019, suffered massive mortality of 20,000+ migratory birds due to an avian botulism outbreak.

Proposed Additional Ramsar Sites in Rajasthan:

1. **Menar Wetland ('Bird Village', Udaipur):** Celebrated community-protected bird sanctuary. 2. **Khichan (Phalodi):** International congregation haven for Demoiselle Cranes. 3. **Chandlai Bandh (Jaipur):** Waterfowl congregation reservoir. 4. **Kanwas Bird Sanctuary (Kota):** Hadoti wetland reserve. 5. **Badopal (Hanumangarh):** Canal seepage wetland along IGNP.

3. Desertification, Land Degradation & Research Institutions

3.1 Desertification Realities and the ISRO Desertification Atlas

- **Desertification:** The persistent degradation of dryland ecosystems under the combined impact of climatic variations and unsustainable anthropogenic pressures (over-grazing, devegetation, deep mechanical tubewell extraction, open-cast mining). - **ISRO Space Applications Centre (SAC, Ahmedabad) Desertification Atlas (2021):** - Approximately **62.90% of Rajasthan’s geographical expanse** is undergoing land degradation and desertification. - Principal degradation driver: **Wind Erosion (44.41%)**, followed by **Vegetation Degradation (8.91%)** and **Water Erosion (1.12%)**. - Desert encroachment is historically active through gaps in the northern Aravalli barrier (Wind Gaps), permitting dune movement toward eastern plains.

3.2 Premier Arid Research Institutes in Jodhpur

1. Central Arid Zone Research Institute (CAZRI):

- **Establishment:** **1959** (evolved from the 1952 Desert Afforestation Station) under ICAR. - **Headquarters:** **Jodhpur**. - **Mandate:** Scientific sand dune stabilization, arid agro-forestry, solar-powered agricultural engineering, and drought-tolerant crops.

2. Arid Forest Research Institute (AFRI):

- **Establishment:** **1987–1988** under ICFRE (Dehradun). - **Headquarters:** **Jodhpur**. - **Mandate:** Afforestation in desert wastelands, tissue-culture propagation of Tecomella undulata and Prosopis cineraria, and saline soil remediation.

4. Sacred Groves (Orans) & Community Conservation

4.1 Ecological Significance of Orans

- **Oran:** Traditional community forest tracts consecrated to localized folk deities (Baba Ramdevji, Gogaji, Pabuji, Tejaji, Karni Mata). - **Normative Rules:** Traditional taboos strictly ban axe felling, hunting, and commercial exploitation. - **Hydrological Functions:** Orans form pristine vegetative **catchments (Agor)** feeding village Nadis and tanks. - **Judicial Rulings:** The Supreme Court of India directed the state to survey and record all Orans as **'Deemed Forests'** in land revenue records to shield them from green energy transmission corridors.

5. Endangered Wildlife of the Arid Biome

  1. Great Indian Bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps): Critically Endangered (CR); state bird; threatened by overhead power transmission lines across Jaisalmer.
  2. Caracal (Caracal caracal / Vernacular 'Siyagosh'): Endangered felid limited to Ranthambhore, Sariska, and Kailadevi ravines.
  3. Indian Pangolin (Manis crassicaudata): Heavily poached for illicit international scale trafficking.
  4. Desert Cat (Felis lybica ornata): Solitary nocturnal feline adapted to sand dunes.
  5. Indian Spiny-tailed Lizard (Saara hardwickii): Herbivorous fossorial reptile inhabiting saline Thar depressions.

6. Pollution Control & State Climate Action Plan

6.1 Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board (RSPCB)

- **Constitution:** Established on **7 February 1975** under Section 4 of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974. - **Headquarters:** Jaipur. - **Statutory Acts Enforced:** 1. Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974. 2. Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981. 3. Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

6.2 Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) & Zero Liquid Discharge

Textile dyeing clusters in Pali, Balotra, Jodhpur, and Sanganer severely contaminated ephemeral desert streams (Bandi, Luni, Jojari rivers). The National Green Tribunal (NGT) mandated **Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD)** technology and high-capacity CETPs to recycle 100% of industrial effluents.

6.3 State Action Plan on Climate Change (SAPCC)

Formulated to build climate resilience across water resources, agriculture, livestock, and desert forestry in alignment with India's National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC).