New Delhi – A growing number of private landowners in India are embracing rewilding, intentionally allowing portions of their property to recover to a natural state for biodiversity gains, aligning with the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. However, this promising trend is being severely hampered by legal ambiguity and the fear that their conservation efforts could lead to state intervention or the loss of their land tenure.
Conservationists and landowners note that while private rewilding offers a significant boost to India’s biodiversity goals by supplementing the existing network of national parks, the country lacks clear laws, incentives, or protections for individuals engaging in the practice. This regulatory void leaves them vulnerable to scrutiny under various existing acts.
The Fear of ‘Deemed Forest’ Classification
The primary deterrent for private rewilding efforts is the risk of having their land retrospectively classified as a “deemed forest” under the Forest (Conservation) Act,1980. This fear stems from the Supreme Court’s landmark 1996 T.N. Godavarman case judgment, which mandated that any land exhibiting the ecological characteristics of a forest must be protected under the Act, regardless of its official notification or ownership status.
For landowners like Bopanna Pattada, who has successfully left acres of his coffee plantation in Karnataka’s Kodagu district to grow wild attracting animals like civet cats, mouse deer, and multiple elephant herds this ambiguity creates a constant apprehension of losing access to his own property. In ecologically fragile regions like Wayanad, Kerala, conservationist Ahmed Chamanwala faces similar fears that his 600 acre property, which acts as a crucial wildlife corridor surrounded by tiger reserves, could be notified as “vested forest” under state revenue laws without compensation.
Experts Highlight Benefits and Legal Grey Zones
Experts emphasize the huge potential of private rewilding for biodiversity. Wildlife scientist T.R. Shankar Raman notes that if institutions and private individuals allow even small portions of land to regenerate, it could create hundreds of new habitats supplementing India 600 -odd wildlife sanctuaries and national parks.
However, as Shankar Raman points out, once wildlife naturally recolonizes private land a form of rewilding the Wildlife Protection Act applies. For instance, if a protected animal dies on private property, the landowner can face legal scrutiny, even if not at fault, which acts as a powerful disincentive. There is currently no central law or policy that formally recognizes or incentivizes private conservation efforts, forcing landowners to operate in a legal grey zone.
Potential Avenues for Protection
Environmental lawyer Gouri Joshi notes that recent legal mechanisms may offer some relief and clarity for private landholders:
• 2023 Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act: This amendment was intended to strengthen the regulatory framework and reduce the ambiguity surrounding the definition of a forest, though its full impact on private rewilding is yet to be determined.
• Biodiversity Heritage Sites (BHS): Under the Biological Diversity Act, private land can be designated as a BHS, provided the owner can document and demonstrate its ecological and heritage value through active restoration.
• Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures (OECM): Land can also be designated as an OECM, which allows the owner to retain possession while guaranteeing long-term ecological protection. The main limitation of these conservation designations is that they may affect the land’s future saleability.
Ultimately, conservationists caution that the fundamental principle guiding all rewilding efforts must be to not destroy an intact ecosystem with the belief that it can be restored later, as certain vital components, once lost, are nearly impossible to bring back. The consensus remains that clear government policy is desperately needed to assure landowners that regeneration will not lead to loss of tenure, actively encouraging them to contribute to national biodiversity goals.