Protected Areas: National Parks, Sanctuaries and Reserves
India protects its wildlife through a network of national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, conservation reserves, community reserves, tiger reserves, elephant reserves and biosphere reserves. The legal base is the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 (amended 2022).
Categories
| Category | Key points |
|---|---|
| National Park | Strongest protection; no grazing, no human settlement; declared by the state government (Section 35) |
| Wildlife Sanctuary | Some human activity may be allowed; Section 26A |
| Conservation Reserve | On government land adjoining parks; added 2002 |
| Community Reserve | On private or community land; added 2002 |
| Tiger Reserve | Under Project Tiger (1973); managed by NTCA |
| Elephant Reserve | Under Project Elephant (1992); 33 elephant reserves (approx.) |
| Biosphere Reserve | UNESCO MAB programme; 18 in India, of which about 13 are in the UNESCO world network |
| Ramsar site | Wetland of international importance, under the Ramsar Convention, 1971 |
Numbers (check the latest official figure)
- About 106 national parks and about 567 wildlife sanctuaries (2023-24 data from the Wildlife Institute of India).
- Tiger reserves: about 58 (as of 2025; check NTCA).
- Tiger population: 3,682 (2022 estimate, announced in April 2023, about 75 percent of the global population).
- Biosphere reserves: 18.
- Ramsar sites: more than 90 (about 91 in 2025; India has the largest number in South Asia). Check the latest list on the Ramsar site and MoEFCC.
- World Heritage Sites: India has 44 (2025). Natural sites: Kaziranga, Manas, Keoladeo, Sundarbans, Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers, Western Ghats, Great Himalayan National Park; Khangchendzonga is a mixed site.
Notable national parks
| Park | State | Known for |
|---|---|---|
| Kaziranga | Assam | One-horned rhino, tiger, wild water buffalo; WHS |
| Manas | Assam | Tiger, elephant, golden langur; WHS and tiger reserve |
| Jim Corbett | Uttarakhand | India's first national park (1936, as Hailey National Park) |
| Ranthambore | Rajasthan | Tigers, historical fort |
| Gir | Gujarat | Asiatic lion only home |
| Sundarbans | West Bengal | Royal Bengal tiger, mangroves; WHS |
| Keoladeo (Bharatpur) | Rajasthan | Migratory birds; WHS and Ramsar |
| Periyar | Kerala | Elephant, tiger |
| Bandipur, Nagarhole | Karnataka | Tiger, elephant |
| Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Pench | Madhya Pradesh | Tiger (the Jungle Book setting is linked to Pench and Kanha) |
| Silent Valley | Kerala | Lion-tailed macaque |
| Namdapha | Arunachal Pradesh | Only park with four big cats (tiger, leopard, snow leopard, clouded leopard) |
| Great Himalayan | Himachal Pradesh | Snow leopard, western tragopan; WHS |
| Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers | Uttarakhand | Flowers, snow leopard; WHS |
| Hemis | Ladakh | Largest national park in India; snow leopard |
| Dachigam | J&K | Hangul (Kashmir stag) |
| Kishtwar High Altitude | J&K | Markhor, hangul, musk deer |
| Kuno | Madhya Pradesh | Cheetah reintroduction (project from 2022) |
| Simlipal | Odisha | Tiger, melanistic tigers |
| Kanger Ghati | Chhattisgarh | Hill myna |
Species and their homes
| Species | Home |
|---|---|
| Asiatic lion | Gir (Gujarat) |
| One-horned rhino | Kaziranga, Manas, Pobitora (Assam); Jaldapara (West Bengal); Dudhwa (UP) |
| Hangul | Dachigam (J&K) |
| Snow leopard | Himalayas, Hemis in Ladakh |
| Red panda | Sikkim, Arunachal |
| Lion-tailed macaque | Western Ghats (Silent Valley) |
| Nilgiri tahr | Eravikulam, Western Ghats |
| Great Indian bustard | Desert National Park (Rajasthan) |
| Gharial | National Chambal Sanctuary |
| Olive ridley turtle | Gahirmatha (Odisha) |
| Blackbuck | Velavadar (Gujarat) |
| Wild ass | Little Rann of Kutch (Gujarat) |
| Brow-antlered deer (Sangai) | Keibul Lamjao (Manipur), the only floating national park |
Keep practising
Notes are only half the work. Test yourself with questions and discuss doubts with other aspirants.
Prepared for exam revision from NCERT, standard geography textbooks, the Census of India 2011, the India State of Forest Report, IMD, Ministry of Agriculture and other official sources. Maps are schematic teaching maps, not Survey of India maps, and zone boundaries are approximate. Figures such as production, capacity, counts of parks and ports, and census status change, so check the latest official source before relying on them. Found a mistake? Tell us.