IndiaPosted at: Sep 21 2026 3:35PM


Conservation both “constitutional and cultural” in India: Bhupender Yadav

Jaipur, Sep 21 (UNI) India’s commitment to species conservation is both “constitutional and cultural” and predates modern protected-area laws, Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said while addressing the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Global Conservation Conference in Jaipur on Monday.
The minister said the Constitution provides a framework that makes wildlife protection both a directive for the State and a duty of citizens, but added that the formal architecture was rooted in a deeper conservation ethos.
Highlighting India’s conservation efforts over the past decade, Yadav said the number of protected areas had increased from around 750 to more than 1,000.
He also pointed to the expansion of India’s network of Ramsar sites, saying their number had risen from 24 to 101 in the last 10 years.
Experts, however, cautioned that merely declaring areas as protected sites does not ensure their conservation. Several wetlands, they said, continue to face threats from untreated urban sewage, industrial effluents and illegal land encroachment.
Yadav also highlighted the expansion of India’s tiger-reserve network, which has grown from 47 to 58 reserves over the past decade.
However, the increase in reserves has not necessarily translated into improved habitat conditions or stable tiger populations across the network.
According to the Roadmap for Active Management of Tigers in India, published by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) in July, nearly 60 per cent of tiger reserves either lack adequate prey availability or have inadequate habitat conditions.
The contrasting assessments underline a larger challenge for India’s conservation efforts, expanding the formal network of protected areas while ensuring that these sites receive effective protection on the ground.
At the conference, Yadav also stressed the need to focus greater attention on grassland conservation, besides efforts to protect wetlands, forests and wildlife. UNI MBJ ATP SAS
Tags: #Conservation both “constitutional and cultural” in India: Bhupender Yadav
More News

BJP slams Congress, questions Ansari

21 Sep 2026 | 3:36 PM

New Delhi, Sep 21 (UNI) The BJP on Monday slammed the Congress, asserting that former Vice President Hamid Ansari’s recent comments on Hindutva and right wing ideology had “thoroughly exposed” the party’s ideological stance while accusing him of "creating misconceptions about the country.".

see more..

Conservation both “constitutional and cultural” in India: Bhupender Yadav

21 Sep 2026 | 3:35 PM

Jaipur, Sep 21 (UNI) India’s commitment to species conservation is both “constitutional and cultural” and predates modern protected-area laws, Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said while addressing the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Global Conservation Conference in Jaipur on Monday.

see more..

UNI NEWS DIGEST AT 1500 HRS ON SEPTEMBER 21

21 Sep 2026 | 3:10 PM

TOP STORIES OF THE DAY.

see more..

US-Denmark-Greenland Pact signals new era of Arctic strategic competition

21 Sep 2026 | 2:36 PM

Col Guru Saday Batabyal(Retd)
New Delhi, Sep 21 (UNI) On 18 September 2024, the United States, Denmark, and Greenland unveiled a security agreement that quietly but decisively reconfigured the strategic geometry of the Arctic. At the time, it appeared a forward-looking framework—important, certainly, but still embryonic. Two years later, in 2026, it has returned to the centre of geopolitical debate because the pact has entered its ratification and operationalisation phase.

see more..

Mamata Banerjee seeks urgent SC hearing on plea against ECI freeze on TMC symbol

21 Sep 2026 | 2:08 PM

New Delhi, Sep 21 (UNI) Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal on Monday urged the Supreme Court to urgently list Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee’s plea challenging the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) decision to freeze the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) name and its reserved ‘Flowers & Grass’ symbol amid a dispute between rival factions.

see more..