Description
"Section '3' of the ESZ notification provides guidelines for the preparation of the ZMP." Union Minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey today informed the Rajya Sabha that 92 Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESZs) and 2 Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESAs) have been notified in 13 states in the Himalayan region of India. In a written response to Rajya Sabha, he said: "To manage and conserve biodiversity in protected areas, the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change has notified Ecologically Sensitive Zones (EEZs) around protected areas."
“As part of the Wildlife Conservation Strategy, in 2002 it was decided that an area around each protected area should be notified as an ecologically sensitive area in order to create a buffer zone as additional protection around the protected areas (PA)” he added. .
Mr. Choubey further stated that the very purpose of the ESZ declaration is to create a kind of "buffer" for the specialized ecosystem, such as protected areas or other natural sites, to act as a transition zone between areas of high protection and zones less protected.
In order to protect biodiversity in ecologically significant areas, the ministry also notifies Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESAs), which possess unique biological resources and require special attention for their conservation.
"The investigation and identification of the ZEEs are carried out by the respective state governments for the consideration of the central government for the declaration of ZEEs in the respective states around national parks and wildlife sanctuaries, in accordance with the guidelines formulated by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC)”, he added.
Based on state government proposals and recommendations, the department notified ESZs under the Environmental Protection Act of 1986.
"Section '3' of the ESZ Notification provides the guidelines for the preparation of the Zonal Master Plan (ZMP) by the respective State Government and directs the preparation of the Tourism Master Plan that is part of the Zonal Master Plan based on the Plan Zonal Master Capacity study of the relevant ESZ plan," the statement read.
