Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZs)
An Eco-Sensitive Zone is a buffer area notified around a Protected Area (National Park, Wildlife Sanctuary, Tiger Reserve) under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, meant to act as a "shock absorber" regulating land use and development so that activity outside the park's legal boundary does not degrade the core area. ESZs are not additional protected areas but zones of regulated (not prohibited) activity — permitting eco-tourism and non-polluting local livelihoods while restricting mining, major industry and large construction.
- The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) issued Guidelines for Declaration of ESZs around National Parks/Wildlife Sanctuaries on 9 February 2011.
- In Goa Foundation v Union of India (2006), the Supreme Court had directed that, in the absence of a state-notified ESZ, a default 10 km buffer would apply.
- In T.N. Godavarman Thirumulpad v Union of India (order dated 3 June 2022), the Supreme Court mandated a minimum 1 km ESZ around every national park and wildlife sanctuary in the country, to be diluted below 1 km only with the Court's express approval "in exceptional cases." This order was later modified in April 2023 after the Court found a uniform 1 km rule impractical for all protected areas and left final ESZ widths to be examined case by case.
- ESZ notification for a specific park requires an Expert Committee's site-specific "zonal master plan" and final approval by the Union Government, not a unilateral state decision.
● Tracked since August 17, 2026 · last seen August 23, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes
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