National Parks

There are 92 existing national parks in India covering an area of 38,569.66 km 2, which is 1.17% of the geographical area of the country (National Wildlife Database, July 2004). In addition to the above 74 national parks covering an area of 16,630.08 km 2 are proposed in the Protected Area Network Report (Rodgers et al. 2002). The network of parks will go up 166 after full implementation of the above report. Maximum number of parks exist in size class less 100-500 km 2 and there are 7 parks, having more than 5,000 km 2.

Wildlife Sancturies
There area 492 existing wildlife sanctuaries in India covering an area of 117,077.41 km 2, which is 3.56% of the geographical area of the country. Another 217 sanctuaries are proposed in the Protected Area Network Report covering an area of 16,669.44 km 2.Maximum number of sanctuaries exist in size class less than 10 km 2 and there are only 2 sanctuaries, having more than 5,000 km 2.The network of sanctuaries will go up 709 after full implementation of the above report (Rodgers et al, 2002).

Biosphere Reserves
The programme of Biosphere Reserve was initiated under the 'Man & Biosphere' (MAB) programme by UNESCO in 1971. The purpose of the formation of the biosphere reserve is to conserve in situ all forms of life, along with its support system, in its totality, so that it could serve as a referral system for monitoring and evaluating changes in natural ecosystems. The first biosphere reserve of the world was established in 1979, since then the network of biosphere reserves has increased to 425 in 95 countries across the world ( MAB, 2003 ). Presently, there are 13 existing biosphere reserves in India.

Tiger Reserves
Project Tiger was launched by the Government of India in the year 1973 to save the endangered species of tiger in the country. Starting from nine (9) reserves in 1973-74 the number is grown up to twenty seven (27) in 1999-2000. A total area of 37,761 km 2 is covered by these project tiger areas, which is 1.15% of the total geographical area of the country. The estimated tiger population in these reserves was approximately 1,500 and the total population within the country was nearly 4,000 in 1992.