2

ACT XIV OF 2014 ACT XIV OF 2014 BALOCHISTAN WILDLIFE (PROTECTION, PRESERVATION, CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT) ACT, 2014 An Act to provide protection, preservation, conservation, sustainable and management to the Wildlife, and establishment and management of protection areas in the Province of Balochistan. [Gazette of Balochistan, Extraordinary, 28th March, 2014] CHAPTER I PRELIMINARY 2. Definitions.---In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context-- (a) "Act" means the Balochistan Wildlife (Protection, Preservation, Conservation and Management) Act, 2014; (b) "Alien Species" are species, which enter into an 'Ecosystem' and exert harmful influences over other members of the Ecosystem, where their presence is not desirable; (c) "Animal" means amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals, their young, and in the cases of reptiles, birds and their eggs also, but excluding livestock, poultry and pets. (d) "Animal article" means an article made from any captive animal or wild animal, and includes an article or object in which the whole or any part of such animal has been used; (e) "Animal display" means exhibiting any wild animal dead or alive publicly for any purpose; (f) "Appendix" means an updated Appendix of Convention on International Trade on Endangered Species (CITES) of Wild Fauna and Flora and Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) of Wild Animals, as specified and amended or updated by the Conference of the Parties to these Conventions in their meetings; (g) "Appendix-I of CITES "includes all species threatened with extinction, which are or may be affected by import and export of living specimens of wild fauna and flora and their parts, products and derivatives; (h) " Appendix-II of CITES" includes-- (i) all species which, although not necessarily now threatened with extinction, may become so unless import and export of specimens of such species is subject to strict regulation in order to avoid utilization incompatible with their survival; and (ii) other species which must be subject to regulation in order that import and export of specimens of certain species referred to hereinabove sub-clause (i) may be brought under effective control; (i) "Appendix-III of CITES" includes all species which any State Party identifies as being subject to regulation within its jurisdiction for the purpose of preventing or restricting exploitation, and as needing the co-operation of other States Parties in the control of import and export; (j) "Appendix-I of CMS" lists migratory species which are endangered; (k) "Appendix-II of CMS" lists migratory species which have an unfavorable conservation status and which require international agreements for their conservation and management, as well as those which have a conservation status which would significantly benefit from the international co-operation that could be achieved by an international agreement. A migratory species may be listed both in Appendix-I and Appendix-II of CMS; (l) "Article" means an article made from whole or part of any wild, captive, bred or pet animal of wild origin; (m) "Big Game Special Permit" means a special permit issued under this Act for hunting of big game animals specified in Part- C of Schedule-I; (n) "Biological Diversity or Biodiversity" means the variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within and between species of animals and plants of wild origin; and of habitats and ecosystems; (o) "Biological Resources" include genetic resources, organisms or parts thereof, populations, or any other biotic component of ecosystems with actual or potential use or value for humanity; (p) "Biosphere Reserve" means an area of terrestrial and coastal/marine ecosystems or a combination thereof, which is internationally recognized within the framework of UNESCO's Programme on Man and the Biosphere (MAB)'s Statutory Framework of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves and is declared as such under section 40; (q) "Biotechnology" means any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms, or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use; (r) "Breeding facility" means an area established as such under section 50 of this Act; (s) "Buffer Zone" generally means an area within or around a Protected Area, which may act as a Transition Zone between the core zone and multiple use zone of the protected area with respect to protection and utilization of natural resources therein. The Buffer Zone in the context of a Biosphere Reserve means an area which usually surrounds or adjoins the core areas, and is used for cooperative activities compatible with sound ecological practices, including environmental education, recreation, ecotourism, other livelihood opportunities and applied and basic research; (t) "CBD" means the Convention on Biological Diversity (1992) as ratified by the Government of Pakistan, inclusive of its Articles as are amended by the Conference of Parties to the Convention in their meetings from time to time; (u) "Certificate", "License", "Special License", "Private License", "Permit", "Special Permit" "Big Game Hunting Permit", "Trophy Hunting Permit" or "Private Permit" means respectively a certificate, license, special license, private license, permit, special permit, big game permit, trophy hunting permit or private permit respectively granted or issued under this Act; (v) "Chapter" means a Chapter of this Act unless specified otherwise; (w) "CITES Management Authority" means a national management authority of Pakistan, designated in accordance with Article IX of CITES, authorized to regulate the import and export of CITES specimens to and from Pakistan respectively; (x) "Conservation" includes protection, preservation and sustainable use of biological resources including biodiversity, wildlife, landscapes and the associated cultural elements in the Protected Areas and outer countryside; (y) "Conservation area" is an area declared as such under section 46 of this Act. (z) "Conservation Status of Species of Wild Animals" will be taken as: (i) "favourable" when: (a) population dynamics data indicate that the species are maintaining itself on a long term basis as a viable component of its ecosystems, (b) the distribution and abundance of the species approach historic coverage and levels to the extent that potentially suitable ecosystems exist and to the extent consistent with wise wildlife management, and (c) the range of the species is neither currently being reduced, nor is likely to be reduced, on a long-term basis, and (ii) "un-favourable" if-- a. the sum of the influences acting on the species may affect its long-term distribution and abundance; and b. there is not sufficient habitat at present or in the foreseeable future to maintain viable population of the species on a long-term basis; (aa) Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (1973) (hereinafter called the "CITES") as inclusive of its Articles and Appendices as amended and includes the Resolutions, guidelines, explanations and elaborations as adopted by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan; (bb) "Community" means a community that is managing a Community Game Reserve or a Conservancy or is involved in management of any other type of Protected Area; (cc) "Community Game Reserve" means an area in de-jure or de-facto ownership of a community, which is managed for sustainable hunting and declared as such under section 39; (dd) "Core Zone" means that part of a protected area, where all kinds of biotic interference is strictly prohibited unless specifically permitted; (ee) "Council" means the Balochistan Council for Conservation of Wildlife, constituted under section 7; (ff) "Countryside recreation" means outdoor recreation in the Protected Areas and outer countryside; (gg) "Cruelty to Wild Animal" means an act directed towards a wild animal, which is against the natural instinct and behaviour of the wild animal and has negative effect on the health of the wild animal. This may include over-running, baiting, beating, mutilation, starvation, keeping thirsty, overcrowding or ill treatment to a wild animal; (hh) "Dealer" means a person who sells, purchases or barters any wild animal, its parts, products and derivatives; and cuts, carves, polishes, preserves, cleans or otherwise prepares any product or derivative or manufactures any article therefrom; (ii) "Department" means the Forest and Wildlife Department, Government of Balochistan; (jj) "Derivative" means an article extracted from a wild animal or a part of a wild animal used in any article and includes oil extracted from the fat of mammals, birds and reptiles; (kk) "Desertification" means land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities; (ll) "Ecosystem" means a dynamic complex of plant, wild animal and micro-organism communities and their non-living environment interacting as a functional unit; (mm) "Endangered" in relation to a particular species means the species which is in danger of extinction in the Province or Pakistan or throughout all or a significant portion of its range; (nn) "Exotic" refers to a species, both floral and faunal, which does not occur in an area naturally and is introduced or intended to be introduced from outside of its natural occurrence; (oo) "Ex-situ conservation" means the conservation of components of biological diversity outside their natural habitats; (pp) "Game Animal" means a wild animal included in Schedule-I, which may be hunted under a valid license; (qq) "Game Reserve" means a State owned area designated under section 37, which is managed for sustainable hunting; (rr) "Genetic material" means any material of plant, wild animal, microbiological or other origin containing functional units of heredity; (ss) "Genetic resources" means genetic material of actual or potential value; (tt) "Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)" are the organisms, created as a result of genetic engineering; (uu) "Government" means the Government of Balochistan; (vv) "Guidelines" means the Guidelines notified under this Act unless specified otherwise; (ww) "Habitat" means any area, which contains suitable living conditions for a species, group of species or communities of wild animals or plants or a place or type of site where an organism or population naturally occurs or natural environment including biotic and nonbiotic factors essential for free survival of a wild animal or a plant species; (xx) "Hunting" means any act directed to killing, shooting, trapping or capturing of a wild animal and includes taking the nest or egg of a wild animal; (yy) "Indigenous" refers to a species of wild animal native to the Province or the neighbouring area of another province of Pakistan or an adjoining country; (zz) "In-situ conditions" means conditions where genetic resources exist within ecosystems and natural habitats, and, in the case of domesticated or cultivated species, in the surroundings where they have developed their distinctive properties; (aaa) "In-situ conservation" means the conservation of ecosystems and natural habitats and the maintenance and recovery of viable populations of species in their natural surroundings and, in the case of domesticated or cultivated species, in the surroundings where they have developed their distinctive properties; (bbb) "Invasive Species" are the species introduced in a habitat where they outgrow the native species, and may reach a level where they could become a weed or a pest; (ccc) "Land" means the terrestrial bio-productive system that comprises soil, vegetation, other biota, and the ecological and hydrological processes that operate within the system; (ddd) "MEAs" means Multi-lateral Environmental Agreements as mentioned in this Act and to which Pakistan is a Party; (eee) "Meat" means the flesh, fat, blood or any edible part of wild animal, whether fresh or preserved; (fff) "Migratory Species" means the entire population or any geographically separate part of the population of any species or lower taxon of wild animals, a significant proportion of whose members cyclically and predictably cross one or more provincial or national jurisdictional boundaries; (ggg) "Natural Heritage" includes-- (i) geological and physiographical formations and precisely delineated areas which constitute the habitat of threatened species of wild animals and plants of outstanding provincial, national or universal value from the point of view of science or conservation; (ii) natural features consisting of physical and biological formations or groups of such formations, which are of outstanding provincial, national or universal value from the aesthetic or scientific point of view; and (iii) natural sites or precisely delineated natural areas of outstanding provincial, national or universal value from the point of view of science, conservation or natural beauty; (hhh) "Natural Heritage Site" means an area having rich natural heritage declared as such under section 41; (iii) "National park" means an area declared as such under section 35 of this Act; (jjj) "Offence" means an act punishable under this Act; (kkk) "Officer" means any authorized Officer appointed as such under section 5 (2) to carry out all or any of the purposes of this Act or to do any act required by this Act or the rules made thereunder; (lll) "outer countryside" means the geographical areas that are rural in character and are located outside the Protected Area; (mmm) "owner" includes owners in case of movable or immovable property held jointly in private ownership; (nnn) "parts of a Wild Animal" include trophy, skin, horn, bone, claw, meat, fat, blood, feather and plumage; (ooo) "person" includes an individual or group of persons or an organization in the public sector or of a civil society, a partnership or a company in the private sector whether incorporated or otherwise; (ppp) "prescribed" means prescribed by the rules and regulations made under this Act; (qqq) "private Game Reserve" means an area of land held in private ownership that is declared as such under section 38 and is managed for sustainable hunting; (rrr) "product" means an article made of a wild animal or plant or of a part of a wild animal or plant as defined here above in clause (e); (sss) "Protected Animal" means a wild animal included in Schedule- III whose hunting, killing, trapping, capturing, possession or trade is not allowed; (ttt) "Protected Area" means a geographically defined area of land and/or sea, including especially dedicated to the protection and maintenance of biological diversity, and of natural and associated cultural resources, which is dealt with in Chapter-VII; (uuu) "Province" means the Province of Balochistan; (vvv) "Ramsar Convention" means The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, Especially as Habitats of Migratory Waterfowl; (www) "Re-export" means export of any specimen of a wild animal that has previously been imported; (xxx) "Regulation" means a regulation made under this Act unless specified otherwise; (yyy) "Rescue Centre" means an institution or facility designated by the CITES Management Authority to look after the welfare of living wild animals, particularly those that have been confiscated or found injured or the young ones of wild animals that are orphan and cannot survive at their own; (zzz) "Rules" means a the rules made under this Act; (aaaa) "Schedule" means the Schedule appended to this Act; (bbbb) "Significant Biodiversity" means ecosystems and habitats containing high species diversity, large number of endemic or threatened species, wilderness of social, economic, cultural or scientific importance, or which are unique, representative or associated with key evolutionary or other biological processes, including threatened wild relatives of domesticated or cultivated species of medicinal, aromatic, agricultural or other economic value or indicator species of the biological diversity; (cccc) "Sink" means any process, activity or mechanism which removes a greenhouse gas, an aerosol or a precursor of a greenhouse gas from the atmosphere; (dddd) "Small Game Hunting License" means a license issued under this Act for hunting of small game animals specified in Part-A and Part-B of Schedule-I; (eeee) "Species" means any wild animal or plant species, sub-species, or geographically separate population thereof; (ffff) "Specimen" means and includes-- (a) any wild animal or plant, whether alive or dead; and (ii) any readily recognizable part of a wild animal or of a plant in a Protected Area or product thereof or derivative therefrom; (gggg) "State owned area" means an area of land or coast that is the property of the Government or over which Government has proprietary rights; (hhhh) "Sustainable Use" means the use of components of biological resources in a way and at a rate that does not lead to their long-term decline, thereby maintaining potential to meet the needs and aspirations of present and future generations; (iiii) "Taking" means taking, removing, hunting, shooting, capturing, killing, or harassing of a wild animal or fishing in a protected area or attempting to engage in any such act; (jjjj) "Technology" includes biotechnology; (kkkk) "Transition Zone" means a zone of Biosphere Reserve as defined in section 40; (llll) "Trophy" means and inter alia, includes, any dead wild animal or its horn, antler, tooth, tusk, bone, hoof, claw, skin, hair, plumage, feather, egg, shell or other durable part, whether in a raw form or a manufactured or processed article through taxidermy or otherwise; and includes, skins, and specimens of such wild animals mounted in whole or in part; (mmmm) "Trophy Hunting Permit" means a permit issued under this Act for hunting of big game animals specified in Part-C of Schedule-I for trophy of head, horn or skin; (nnnn) "Waterfowl" are birds ecologically dependent on wetlands; (oooo) "Wetlands" are areas of marsh, fen, peat land or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six metres; (pppp) "Wild Animal" includes wild, captive bred or pet mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian and invertebrate species of wild origin including its young, and eggs in the case of reptile and bird, parts, products and derivatives but excludes livestock and poultry; (qqqq) "Wildlife" includes wild animals and their habitats including vegetation, soil, water, organic resources and invertebrate organisms; (rrrr) "Wildlife Sanctuary" means a State owned area of land or coast declared as such under section 34, which is managed for protection of wild animals, especially for their undisturbed breeding or staging and wintering of migratory waterfowl; and (ssss) "Zoo" or "Zoological Garden" means a place to keep or house wild animals of indigenous and exotic species to provide for conservation of threatened species, recreation and education to the general public, conduct research, and breed wild animal species for their display, multiplication, or even for re-introduction in the wild with the permission of the Government.