Explain the following: Protected areas.
Protected areas: These areas are land or sea and are dedicated to the protection and maintenance of biological diversity. They include National Parks, Sanctuaries, and Biosphere reserves. As of September 2002, India has 581 protected areas. National parks: A national park is an area that is strictly reserved for the betterment of the wildlife and where activities like forestry, grazing, or cultivation are not permitted. In these parks, even private ownership rights are not allowed. Sanctuaries. A sanctuary is a protected area that is reserved for the conservation of only animals and human activities like harvesting of timber, collection of minor forest products and private ownership is allowed so long as they do not interfere with the well-being of animals. A biosphere reserve is a specified area in which multiple uses of the land are permitted by dividing it into certain zones, each zone is specified for a particular activity.
