"India's conservation future requires landscape connectivity beyond protected areas"
OECMs (Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures)
Areas outside formal PAs delivering positive biodiversity outcomes through varied governance arrangements.
Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework
2022 CBD agreement setting the 30x30 conservation target for land and oceans.
India has built one of the developing world's most extensive Protected Area (PA) networks over the past five decades, encompassing national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, conservation reserves, and community reserves under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. The NCERT notes that India has 14 biosphere reserves, 90 national parks, and 448 wildlife sanctuaries, alongside a rich tradition of community-based conservation through sacred groves — found in the Khasi and Jaintia Hills of Meghalaya, the Aravalli Hills, and the Western Ghats. These PAs have provided a robust scientific foundation for conserving flagship species and critical habitats.
However, the classical model of conservation — centred on demarcated, legally notified sites — was designed for a world of relatively stable climates and slower infrastructure growth. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), to which India is a signatory, has progressively expanded its framework to recognise that formal PAs alone cannot secure biodiversity at the landscape scale. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), adopted in 2022, set the landmark 30x30 target — protecting or conserving at least 30% of the world's land and ocean areas by 2030 — and explicitly included Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs) as a qualifying mechanism alongside traditional PAs.
OECMs are geographically defined areas outside formal protected areas that are governed and managed in ways that achieve positive, sustained, long-term outcomes for biodiversity. They may include community-managed forests, sacred groves, privately owned wildlife estates, corporate conservation zones, or government-managed lands with a primary objective other than conservation (such as defence estates or water catchment areas) that nonetheless deliver significant biodiversity benefits. The CBD's Decision 14/8 (2018) established the first formal definition and criteria for OECMs, and the IUCN has since developed guidance for their identification and reporting.
The conceptual distinction between a PA and an OECM is important: a PA is notified specifically for conservation, with legal restrictions on land use; an OECM achieves conservation outcomes in addition to its primary management objective, without necessarily carrying formal conservation designation. …
The most important strategy for the conservation of biodiversity together with traditional human life is the establishment of
With reference to 'Eco-Sensitive Zones', which of the following statements is/are correct?
1.Eco-Sensitive Zones are the areas that are declared under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
2.The purpose of the declaration of Eco-Sensitive Zones is to prohibit all kinds of human activities in those zones except agriculture.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Consider the following statements:
Once the Central Government notifies an area as a 'Community Reserve'
1.the Chief Wildlife Warden of the State becomes the governing authority of such forest
2.hunting is not allowed in such area
3.people of such area are allowed to collect non-timber forest produce
4.people of such area are allowed traditional agricultural practices
How many of the above statements are correct?
With reference to Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs), which of the following statements is/are correct?
1.OECMs are formally defined under the Convention on Biological Diversity.
2.An area can qualify as an OECM only if its primary management objective is biodiversity conservation.
3.OECMs count toward the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework's 30x30 target.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
Assertion (A): Ecological corridors are considered foundational to modern conservation strategy rather than peripheral additions to protected area networks.
Reason (R): Wildlife populations confined to isolated protected areas face risks of inbreeding, genetic erosion, and local extinction over time.
Which of the following is correct?
Which of the following are recognised as potential OECM (Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures) sites under CBD guidance?
1.Sacred groves managed by local communities
2.Defence establishment lands with incidental biodiversity value
3.Zoological parks and botanical gardens
4.Water catchment forests managed by state governments
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
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