March 3 is observed each year as World Wildlife Day to highlight the importance of conserving flora and fauna. The theme of World Wildlife Day for his year is ‘Wildlife Conservation Finance: Investing in People and Planet.’. Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired the National Board for Wildlife’s seventh meeting here, on the occasion of the World Wildlife Day, and announced the Asiatic lion population estimation to be held in May this year.
World Wildlife Day 2025
Why In News
- March 3 is observed each year as World Wildlife Day to highlight the importance of conserving flora and fauna. The theme of World Wildlife Day for his year is ‘Wildlife Conservation Finance: Investing in People and Planet.’.
PM Modi’s Visit
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired the National Board for Wildlife’s seventh meeting here, on the occasion of the World Wildlife Day, and announced the Asiatic lion population estimation to be held in May this year.
- Soon after completing his lion safari at Gir National Park in the morning, Modi headed for the NBWL meeting, at Sasan in Gujarat’s Junagadh district, which was attended by Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav and other members.
- On the occasion, Modi laid the foundation stone for the National Referral Centre-Wildlife at Junagadh and announced the 16th Asiatic lion population estimation to be carried out in May this year.
- He also announced the setting up of a Centre of Excellence for Human-Wildlife Conflict Management, SACON, at Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, and unveiled a book on river dolphins.
- The NBWL, a statutory body that advises the government on wildlife conservation, has 47 members, including the Chief of Army Staff, members from different states, representatives from NGOs working in this field, chief wildlife wardens and secretaries from various states.
- The prime minister is the ex-officio chairperson of the NBWL, and the Union environment, forests and climate change minister is the board’s vice-chairperson. The central government has approved more than Rs 2,900 crore for Project Lion, meant for the conservation of Asiatic lions for which Gujarat is the only abode, stated a government release.
- Currently, the Asiatic lions inhabit nearly 30,000 square kilometres across 53 talukas in 9 districts of Gujarat, it said. Additionally, as part of a national project, a National Referral Centre for Wildlife is being established on over 20.24 hectares of land at New Pipalya in Junagadh district, it said.
- A high-tech monitoring centre for wildlife tracking and a state-of-the-art hospital have also been set up in Sasan to strengthen conservation efforts, the release said.
Key Takeaways
- In 2013, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) proclaimed March 3 as the UN World Wildlife Day to celebrate and raise awareness of protecting the world’s wild animals and plants. This was as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) was signed in 1973 on this day.
- CITES is an international agreement between governments that serves as a landmark agreement on conservation. Its primary objective is to ensure the sustainability of endangered species by regulating international trade in wild animals and plants. The goal is to prevent such trade from threatening the survival of these species.
- A State or regional economic integration organization for which the Convention has entered into force is called a Party to CITES. Currently there are 185 Parties. The CITES Secretariat is administered by UNEP (The United Nations Environment Programme) and is located in Geneva, Switzerland. The Conference of the Parties to CITES is the supreme consensus-based decision-making body of the Convention and comprises all its parties.
How Does CITES Work
- The species covered under CITES are listed in three Appendices, according to the degree of protection they need.
- Appendix I includes species threatened with extinction. Trade in specimens of these species is permitted rarely, only in “exceptional circumstances”, such as gorillas, and lions from India.
- Appendix II includes species not necessarily threatened with extinction, but in which trade must be controlled to ensure their survival. For example, certain kinds of foxes and Hippopotamuses.
- Appendix III contains species that are protected in at least one country, which has asked other CITES Parties for assistance in controlling the trade, like the Bengal fox or the Golden Jackal from India. Different procedures are given category-wise to engage in the trade of species in each of the lists.
Species in News
- Indian star tortoise is listed in the CITES Appendix I and Schedule I of India’s Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, which provides absolute protection to animals listed under it. It also has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 2016. The punishment for trafficking of the species is jail term anywhere between three to seven years along with a fine of along with a fine not less than Rs. 25,000, according to the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
- Pangolins : Globally there are eight pangolin species, four each in Africa and Asia. India is home to two species – Indian pangolin Manis crassicaudata and Chinese pangolin Manis pentadactyla. Indian pangolins are found in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
- In India, the species (Indian pangolin) is widely distributed and has been recorded in Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal.
- In India, both Indian pangolins and Chinese pangolins are listed in Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, of 1972. Since 2017, all pangolin species have been listed in Appendix I of the CITES. Chinese Pangolin is classified as ‘Critically Endangered’ on the IUCN Red List while the Indian Pangolin is classified as ‘Endangered’ on the IUCN Red List.
- Lion (Panthera Leo) : Native to Africa and Asia, the lion is the most social cat, and lives in groups called prides. They prefer open forests such as scrubland, and adult males have a prominent mane. Project Lion was announced in August 2020 to secure the future of Asiatic lions through comprehensive, long-term
- August 10 is observed as World Lion Day annually to raise awareness of the rapidly diminishing lion population and the critical need for their conservation. Lions are classified as ‘Vulnerable‘ on the IUCN Red List and are listed in Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. The species is listed in Appendix II of CITES, while the Asiatic lion subspecies (Panthera leo persica) is listed in Appendix I.
- One-horned Rhinoceros : The Indian rhinoceros, also known as the one-horned rhinoceros, is found only in the Brahmaputra valley, parts of North Bengal, and parts of southern Nepal. This species has long been a target for poachers due to their belief in the medicinal properties of its horn and the threat it poses as an agricultural pest. The Indian rhino is listed as ‘Vulnerable‘ on the IUCN Red List and is included in CITES Appendix I. The black, Javan, and Sumatran rhino species are classified as ‘Critically Endangered’ on the IUCN Red List.
- Tiger (Panthera Tigris) : According to the fifth cycle of the All India Tiger Estimation 2022 summary report, India is home to about 3,167 tigers, accounting for more than 70 per cent of the world’s wild tigers. Project Tiger, a centrally sponsored scheme, was launched in 1973 in nine reserves for the conservation of Tiger.
- Currently, the IUCN status of the tiger is endangered, and it is protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
