CSS-Integrated Development of wildlife habitats scheme (CSS-IDWH)
Posted 19 Aug 2025
Updated 21 Aug 2025
2 min read
Why in the news?
Gharial and Sloth Bear were recommended for inclusion under the Species Recovery Programme of Centrally Sponsored Scheme- Integrated Development of Wildlife (CSS-IDWH).
About CSS-IDWH Scheme
Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
Type: Centrally Sponsored Scheme
Purpose: Conducting wildlife protection and conservation activities.
Financial Assistance: Financial assistance is provided to State/UT Governments for
Supporting Protected Areas (National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries, Conservation Reserves and Community Reserves)
Protection of wildlife outside protected areas
Recovery programmes for saving critically endangered species and habitats
So far, 22 species including Snow Leopard, Asiatic Lion, Great Indian Bustard, Gangetic River Dolphin, etc. are included under it.
Key Components: Development of Wildlife Habitats; Project Tiger ; Project Elephant
About the Animals
Gharial
Sloth Bear
Habitat: Gharial prefers deep fast flowing rivers.
Range:
Nepal: Rapti–Narayani River
India (Ganges tributaries): Girwa (UP), Son (MP), Ramganga (Uttarakhand), Gandak (Bihar), Chambal (UP, MP, Rajasthan), Mahanadi (Odisha).
Features:
Specialised teeth for catching fish.
Thinnest and most elongated snout among crocodilians.
Adult males have a bulb-like structure on snout tip called ghara.
Only visibly sexually dimorphic crocodilian.
Most aquatic crocodilian species.
Threats
Dams, barrages, water diversion leading to habitat degradation.
Snout makes them prone to getting trapped and drowning in fishing nets.
Conservation Status
IUCN Red List: Critically Endangered
CITES: Appendix I
WPA, 1972: Schedule I
Conservation Efforts
Project Crocodile (1975), supported by UNDP & FAO
Gharial Conservation Breeding Program
National Gharial Conservation & Management Plan
Habitat: Found in forests and grasslands.
Range: Native to India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.
Features:
Name comes from long claws and unusual teeth, resembling a sloth.
Shaggy black coat, long snout
Specializes in eating termites and ants.
Does not hibernate unlike other bear species.
Solitary and mostly nocturnal.
Agile and known as one of the most aggressive animals in the Indian subcontinent.
Threats
Habitat loss and degradation.
Human retaliation due to conflict.
Global population estimated at fewer than 20,000.
Conservation Status
IUCN Red List: Vulnerable
CITES: Appendix I
WPA, 1972: Schedule I
Conservation Efforts: Daroji Sloth Bear Sanctuary (Karnataka) is first dedicated sloth bear sanctuary in Asia.
