What are National Parks?
The areas having rich flora and fauna with a lot of natural, geomorphological, and ecological significance that are marked by the government are called National parks.
For example,
- Huge mountains
- Lakes
- Rivers
- Medicinal trees
The main aim of National Parks is to protect and develop wildlife or its environment.
All kinds of human activities that damage the environment are prohibited in a national park. For example,
- Cultivation
- Hunting
- Forestry
- Grazing
- Encroachment
- Habitat destruction
People living in such areas need to seek the permission of the relevant authorities if they require procuring of any forest produce.
The government allows recreational activities for people in National Park like camping and other activities which are designed to help educate people about the need for conservation. These parks act like awareness arenas for common people.
What are Wildlife Sanctuaries?
A place where animals find both shelter and protection is called a Wildlife Sanctuary.
It protects the endangered animal species which are threatened by humans or other factors. For example, Tigers. The project Save Tigers was a massive movement in India. India has 537 wildlife sanctuaries, out of which 50 are tiger reserves governed by Project Tiger.
Wildlife sanctuaries protect the animals from being poached or hunted. They allow activities like timber collection and collection of forest products but these require prior permission too.
Summary
| National Parks | The areas having rich flora and fauna are called National parks. For example,
Huge mountains Lakes Rivers Medicinal trees |
| Wildlife Sanctuaries | A place where animals find both shelter and protection is called a Wildlife Sanctuary. It protects the endangered animal species which are threatened by humans or other factors. |
Did you know?
The first national park, set up in India, was by the name Hailey National Park which is now popularly known as Jim Corbett National Park.