With reference to India, consider the following Central Acts: Which of the above Acts have relevance to/bearing on the biodiversity conservation in the country?

Answer: (c) 1, 2, 3 and 4

The Biological Diversity Act, 2002 lists all such laws as relevant — trade, customs, mining and forests all affect biodiversity.

Statement by statement

1. ✓ YES Import–export controls regulate trade in wildlife and plants.

2. ✓ YES Mining law affects forests and habitats (and mine closure/restoration).

3. ✓ YES Customs enforces bans on wildlife smuggling at borders.

4. ✓ YES The Indian Forest Act governs reserved and protected forests.

The idea

“Relevance to or bearing on” is a wide phrase. Biodiversity is lost in three main ways: habitat is destroyed, species are over-used, and species are traded. Any law that controls land, forests or trade therefore affects it.

Indian Forest Act → controls forest land → Mining Act → controls where and how land is dug up → Import and Export Act → controls trade in plants and animals → Customs Act → stops smuggling at the border

The trap

Customs and trade laws don’t look “environmental”, but they are the front line against wildlife smuggling.

Also know

India’s CITES duties are carried out through the foreign trade policy and the customs department. The 1947 trade Act was later replaced by the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992. The Indian Forest Act, 1927 creates three classes of forest: reserved, protected and village forests.