Justice Nagarathna calls for making fragile, sensitive ecosystems absolute no-go zones

Justice Nagarathna urges strict protections for fragile ecosystems, emphasizing judicial responsibility in environmental governance amid rising tourism pressures.

Highlighting the stress on fragile ecosystems placed by unchecked tourism, Supreme Court judge, Justice B.V. Nagarathna, on Saturday (March 28, 2026) said governments must refrain from approving wildlife safaris in forest sanctuaries and make critical habitats absolute no-go zones.

“There is a need to seriously consider declaring certain areas as inviolable. Regions such as biologically significant areas, heritage sites, bio-corridors, and eco-sensitive zones play a critical role in harbouring biodiversity, regulating local ecosystems, and mitigating climate change through carbon sequestration,” Justice Nagarathna said.

The Supreme Court judge was delivering the Justice S.B. Sinha 4th Endowment Memorial Lecture at Ranchi on ‘Environmental Justice and Climate Change: How courts can lead the way forward’.

Specifically pointing to the environmental perils of tourism, the judge indicated that governments must categorically deny permission to human pleasure activities in sensitive zones.

“While public demand, for instance, for tourism continues to increase, unchecked tourism can place severe stress on fragile ecosystems and disrupt wildlife habitats. Governments must therefore refrain from approving them altogether. I mean tourism such as wildlife safaris in forest sanctuaries,” Justice Nagarathna said.

The top court judge said the impacts of environmental degradation, like climate change, affect different strata of society differently. Environmental issues are deeply intertwined with questions of social, economic, and political justice. Environmental harms are rarely distributed evenly; instead, they tend to disproportionately affect the poor and the marginalised, Justice Nagarathna pointed out.