In a novel initiative to protect wildlife and its habitat, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has joined hands with 12 Asian countries, including India, to establish a new trans-boundary Asian partnership on protected areas.
The new partnership will benefit the country’s network with 668 protected areas, covering an area of over 1,61,221.57 sq km.The other countries in the Asian partnership include Japan, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. The partnership will be jointly chaired by IUCN and the Government of Japan, as the first country co-chair.
Meanwhile, the conservationists are rather enthused over the proposed partnership considering that India has one of the largest networks of Protected Areas, covering nearly 4.90 per cent of the total geographic area. It comprises 102 National Parks, 515 Wildlife Sanctuaries, 47 Conservation Reserves and four Community Reserves. According to them, the partnership comes at a time when the protected areas in the country are threatened by the pace of development.
“The establishment of this group represents a new commitment from the Governments across Asia to work together for protected area,” Aban Marker Kabraji, Regional Director, IUCN Asia, one of the co-chairs of the initiative. It demonstrates a growing recognition towards the protected areas in multiple realms which are critical to human survival and to the times we live in,” he added.
The sources in IUCN further opined that protected areas are vital in tackling development challenges in Asia -one of the world’s most dynamic regions. They also help to reduce the risk of natural disasters, besides providing clean water and air along with enhancing food security, medicines and carbon storage to help mitigate climate change. Protected areas, however, are getting increasingly affected by the growing economic development in Asia and their ongoing conservation has trans-boundary implications, they said.
The idea originated at the first-ever Asia Parks Congress, which took place in Japan in November, 2013. The Congress took a pledge there for stronger collaboration in the face of the current Asia boom to ensure that protected areas contribute to progress in the region while conserving its rich bio-diversity.