**6. Recommendations for sustaining national parks**

Government policies for conservation and sustainable development of protected areas must respect the social and cultural traditions of the community while preparing rules and regulations. The management and action plans of the government should consider the improved development of both local people and protected area. Also, the state rules must consider the local adaptation and cultural traditions of a specific community. Thus, the selection of a conservation approach must be chosen wisely based upon the needs and requirements of the protected area. For example, the "sustainable use" approach may not be effective for species that are highly sensitive to human interference. Similarly, "preservationism" will not be effective in protected areas with a high density of local people that are highly dependent on forests for their livelihoods. Further, the governmental policies like compensation policy are governed by the bureaucratic style that is quite different from the environmental governance at local levels. Therefore, such policies are needed to be designed in such a manner that it considers the ecological and social dimension of human-wildlife conflicts so as to achieve better conservation and development priorities [38].

The governmental action plans must be clear enough and transparent in order to avoid conflicts and disputes. For example, the agreements for resource use and conservation between park officials and local communities must be very clear and transparent. Similarly, the rights and duties of local communities and forest should be undoubtedly defined, so as to avoid any disputes later on. Also, there should not be any incompatibility or inconsistency between state rules and local institutions. Further, the boundaries and zones of any protected area should be clearly

demarcated for the effective implementation of action plans. The governance and legislation must be conveyed effectively to the forest officials and local people in order to develop confidence and local participation. Thus, increasing awareness about their rights will be effective for sustainable forest management in India [23].

Enforcement and implementation of governmental policies have remained a great challenge for the effective management and sustainability of protected areas in the country. This can be overcome by employing a sufficient number of local people as forest staff and forest guards. This forest staff should be trained well and equipped with modern facilities and good communication skills. In cases where human resettlements are necessary for conservation, newer sites must provide a better quality of life for the local population in order to achieve effective and voluntary human relocations. The government must put forward examples of providing improved necessary facilities (such as education, medical, household, etc.), good infrastructure (such as water supply, sewerage, transportation, and electricity, etc.), income sources, and other cultural-, religious- and ritual-oriented requirements with the relocated sites. This will develop a positive attitude and respect for rules associated with conservation.

India has scope for both collaboratively managed and community conserved protected areas because many of the protected areas in the country are distinguished by human settlements and resource use [8, 39]. Thus, the participation of local people becomes necessary for achieving sustainability in such areas because these people will be directly involved in any intervention to be implemented. These people including women should be encouraged to get involved in management plans by providing incentives in the form of social and economic benefits. The economic benefits generated from the developmental activities like tourism should be shared and rewarded for effective conservation activities of the local people. However, in many cases, wildlife conservation became a second priority for villagers. Therefore, national parks should not be always projected for economic benefits; rather we must highlight the roles of wildlife and forests for essential services and ecological balance. Local communities should be encouraged to protect the environment and bioresources for future use.

If any conflicts or disputes arise during implementation, they must be minimized through communication and respecting the local cultural rules in order to develop confidence in governmental policies and good relations with forest officials. Therefore, the formation of some local conservation councils that chiefly include local people and associated NGOs will be effective for moderating disputes and management of the protected area. Further, the efficiency of any protected area depends on basic management practices such as enforcement, local participation, boundary demarcation, and direct compensation to local communities. Therefore, effective management of national parks demands increase and moderation in funding [6]. Thus, businessmen, industrialists, private organizations, and international bodies should provide financial assistance to the protected area development.

Tourism activities that operate within ecological capacities and also contribute to the economic prosperity of local communities can be referred to as sustainable tourism. This approach can generate economic benefits to local communities, which might be more supportive of conservation as well as development. Further, tourism also makes people aware from corporate and other external agencies about the beauty of charismatic animals and undisturbed forest landscapes. Thus, tourism helps to raise funding for biodiversity conservation which would be more effective for keeping conservation programs longer. However, the sustainability of each protected area must be ensured before promoting any tourism-related activities. To accomplish this, the number of tourists needs to be regulated depending upon

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*Sustainable Management of National Parks and Protected Areas for Conserving Biodiversity…*

the carrying capacity of each protected area. Further, impacts of tourism need to be evaluated periodically, and infrastructural facilities should be developed by promoting low-impact activities such as walking trails and other nonconsumptive wildlife utilization. Local communities participate actively and support conservation when they see direct economic benefits from activities such as tourism. Tourism that involves local communities can further result in fruitful development

Protected areas were initially established to conserve biodiversity in the face of inevitable human-centered development. However, they have emerged as a critical tool for not only safeguarding species but also for poverty alleviation, improving human livelihoods, and overall development of a nation. This broadened scope of protected areas has posed several challenges for effective conservation and sustainable management. Among major challenges, human activities such as extractive resource use, grazing, development, and tourism are disproportionately degrading and compromising the sustainability of the forests in such protected areas. The lack of baseline data and research is exaggerating the issue, and therefore, further studies need to carefully assess these impacts in order to develop effective management

The conservation paradigm in the country has been shifted from "preservationism" to "sustainable use" approach during the past decades. Now, local resource use and socioeconomic development are advocated, which often compromise the long-term ecological balance and biodiversity conservation. Therefore, a sustainable future demands a balanced approach including both preservationism and sustainable use depending on the needs of target species to be conserved and local inhabitants. The diverse ecosystems and ethnic groups of India do not allow a single conservation approach to be implemented successfully across the country. Therefore, a feasible approach based on primary field data should be promoted for the successful conservation of the species and ecosystems. Further, the success and failure of any protected areas should be judged on the basis of conservation of species and ecosystems rather than planning whether to restrict or allow local

The authors are grateful to the Chairperson, Department of Botany, Panjab

University, Chandigarh, for providing all necessary facilities required for work. Abhishek Kumar and Meenu Patil are thankful to the University Grants Commission, Government of India, New Delhi, for the financial support in the form of Junior Research Fellowship [UGC Ref. No.: 507-(OBC) (CSIR-UGC NET DEC. 2016)]. The corresponding author also acknowledges the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, for the support in the form of

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.92435*

of these protected areas.

**7. Conclusions**

strategies.

communities and other such factors.

**Acknowledgements**

PURSE Grant.

**Conflict of interest**

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

*Sustainable Management of National Parks and Protected Areas for Conserving Biodiversity… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.92435*

the carrying capacity of each protected area. Further, impacts of tourism need to be evaluated periodically, and infrastructural facilities should be developed by promoting low-impact activities such as walking trails and other nonconsumptive wildlife utilization. Local communities participate actively and support conservation when they see direct economic benefits from activities such as tourism. Tourism that involves local communities can further result in fruitful development of these protected areas.
