---
title: "Eco-Sensitive Zone: India Buffer Rules | Model Diplomat"
description: "An Eco-Sensitive Zone is a regulated buffer around India's protected areas, crucial for limiting ecological damage and preserving biodiversity."
url: "https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/glossary/eco-sensitive-zone"
---

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Model Diplomat Research Team · Last reviewed June 22, 2026

TL;DR

- An Eco-Sensitive Zone is a regulated buffer area around protected forests, national parks, and wildlife sanctuaries in India where activities are restricted to limit ecological damage.
- What is the legal basis for declaring an Eco-Sensitive Zone?
- How wide is an Eco-Sensitive Zone?
- What activities are prohibited inside an Eco-Sensitive Zone?
- How does an Eco-Sensitive Zone differ from a tiger reserve buffer zone?

[Civil Service & Diplomatic Exams](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/civil-services/glossary)Updated June 22, 2026

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## Timeline

1. 4 December 2006

   Union of India and, more consequentially, in its order of directing states to demarcate such zones, a directive periodically renewed in the T.N.

2. 3 June 2022

   The Supreme Court's order of in \*In Re: T.N.

3. 26 April 2023

   On the Court partially relaxed that blanket directive, exempting existing residences and allowing flexibility where notifications were already in force, ack…

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Example

On 3 June 2022 the Supreme Court of India ordered a mandatory one-kilometre Eco-Sensitive Zone around every national park and wildlife sanctuary, a directive it partially relaxed on 26 April 2023 after Kerala objected.

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