Buffer Zone
A legally defined protected area surrounding a heritage monument — in India, 100 m prohibited and 200 m regulated zones under the AMASR Amendment Act 2010.
A buffer zone is a defined area surrounding a heritage monument or site within which development is restricted in order to protect the setting and integrity of the heritage asset. Buffer zones are a common feature of heritage protection legislation worldwide.
In India under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (Amendment and Validation) Act 2010, every ASI centrally protected monument has two legally defined zones: a Prohibited Area of 100 metres from the protected limits, within which no construction or mining is permitted; and a Regulated Area extending a further 200 metres (total 300 m from the protected limits), within which any construction requires prior permission from the National Monuments Authority.
For GIS work, buffer zone mapping is a standard task — computing the 100 m and 200 m distances from the precisely defined protected boundary of the monument and displaying the result as polygon layers. The accuracy of the buffer depends on the accuracy of the underlying protected boundary data.
Relevant Standards
- — AMASR Amendment Act 2010