BIODIVERSITY: Threats and Conservation

 

Introduction

• The term “Biodiversity” is a concise form of “Biological Diversity” and was coined by Walter G. Rosen in 1986.
• The variety and variability of organisms around us, is referred to as “Biodiversity”.
• It is the variability among living organisms from all sources including terrestrial, marine, freshwater, desert ecosystem around the ecological complex of which they are a part. This includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystem. Thus, biodiversity encompasses the whole range of mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, fishes, fishes, insects, worms, protozoans, plants, fungi, algae, micro-organisms (bacteria, viruses). The range and number of there organisms vary in different ecosystem and climatic condition. Rich biodiversity is the indicator of balance ecosystem.
• According to reports of IUCN, 1980, the earth support 13-14 million species of plants and animals of which 1.75 million species have been described which is result of 3 billion years of evolution involving mutation, recombination and natural selection.

Threats of Biodiversity

• Biodiversity is a source of significant, economic aesthetic health and cultural, benefits. It forms the foundation of sustainable development. There is a general scientific consequences that the world is becoming loss. Biologically diverse in terms of genes, species and ecosystem.
• Rapid loss of biodiversity causes a global threat to human well being. The scale of human impact on biological diversity is increasing rapidly the cause of Worldwide patterns of consumption, production and trades.
• Besides, agricultural, industrial settlement, development and population growth adversely effect the biodiversity.
• Land degradation is linked to biodiversity at ecosystem level where it decreases the productivity of the habitat, increase soil erosion and sedimentation of aquatic ecosystem. Such consequences increase the flood and drought and enhances the desertification. It causes the habitat loss leading to species extinction as well as invasion of exotic species that are able to compete better endemic species. 
• Wide spread deforestation reduces local, regional and global species diversity and also causes climatic change and enhances green house effect. There will be species migration to higher latitude and altitude. As a result of warming particularly in mountain.
• Pollution from organic and inorganic wastes can be transported across natural boundaries and effect fisheries as well as other freshwater biodiversity due to biomagnification and bioaccumulation of non-degradable pollutant.
• Large number of species gradually disappear due to catastrophe geological time scale. For example- extinction of dinosaur, cretaceous and tertiary period.
• Habitat loss leads to the fragmentation of continuous stretches of land and consequently fragments the wild life population in habituating them. These small population are increasingly vulnerable to inbreeding depression and extinction, not only that, it also leads to primary food species for wildlife, decline in food species of wildlife.
• Poaching is another threat of extinction of species.
• Over exploitation of natural resources, fishing, catching of animal species are serious threat to biodiversity.
• Disturbance in migratory root of several fishes (Hilsa due to siltation and construction of dam), the migratory fish are unable to reach their spawning grounds and face extinction.
• IUCN has recognized eight red list categories of species like (i) extinct in wild, (ii) critically endangered, (iii) endangered, (iv) vulnerable, (v) lower risk, (vi) data deficient, (vii) not evaluated, extinct.
• IUCN red list is a catalogue of those taxes which are facing the risk of extinction. The uses of red list are as follows-
• To develop awareness about the importance of threatened biological diversity.
• Identification and documentation of endangered species.
• Providing global index of decline of biodiversity.
• Definitely conservation priorities at the local level and guiding conservation action.

Conservation of Biodiversity

• The Ministry of Environment and forests (MoEF) is the main agency in the Government of India for planning, promotion, coordination and overseeing the implementation of the environmental and forestry programs. The mandates of MoEF included survey of flora, fauna, forests and wildlife, conservation of natural resources.
• These are two basic strategies of biodiversity conservation-

1.       In-situ (on site)

2.       Ex-situ (off site)

1. In-situ conservation (within natural habitat)

This includes protection of a group of typical ecosystems through a network of protected areas, i.e., conservation in natural habitat. It includes biosphere reserve, national park and wildlife sanctuaries.

-          Protected areas:-

• The areas of land or sea, specially for protection and maintenance of biodiversity and of natural and associated cultural resources. These areas are managed through legal or effective means.
• World Conservation Monitoring center (WCMC) has recognized 37,000 protected areas around the world.
• In India, approximately 4.7% of the total geographical area of the country has been earmarked for extensive in-situ conservation of habitats and ecosystems. A protected area network of 89 national parks and 492 wildlife sanctuaries has been created (MoEF,2002).  

                               List of some major National Parks of India

S.No.	Name	State	Established	Area (in km2)
1.	Corbett	Uttaranchal	1921	1318.5
2.	Dudhwa	Uttar Pradesh	1977	490.29
3.	Gir	Gujrat	1965	258.71
4.	Kanha	Madhya Pradesh	1955	940
5.	Kaziranga	Assam	1974	471.71

 

* Jim Corbett National Park, Nainital, Uttaranchal is the first National park in India.

- Biosphere Reserve program:-

• Biosphere reserves are a special category of protected areas of land or coastal environments, wherein people are an integral component of the system.
• A terrestrial biosphere reserve consists of core, buffer and transition zones.
• The natural or core zone comprises an undisturbed and legally protected ecosystem.
• The buffer zone surrounds the core area, and is managed to accommodate a grater variety of resources use strategies and research and educational activities.
• The transition zone, the outermost part of the biosphere reserve. This is an area of active cooperation between reserve management and the local people, wherein activities like settlements, cropping, forestry, recreation and other economic uses continue in harmony with people and conservation goals. 
  

                                         List of some major Biosphere Reserves of India

S.No	Name	State	Established	Area (in km2)
1.	Nanda Devi	Uttaranchal	1982	5,860.69
2.	Manas	Assam	1990	2837
3.	Gulf of mannar	Tamil Nadu	1980	10,500
4.	Great nicobar	Andaman & Nicobar Islands	1989	885
5.	Panchmarhi	Madhya Pradesh	1999	4,926.28

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        Sacred forests or groves and sacred lakes:-

• Sacred grooves is another aspect of biodiversity protection controlled by local habitats.
• In India and other Asian countries, a traditional strategy for the protection of biodiversity has been in practice in the form of sacred groves. These forest patches of varying dimensions are protected by local people due to their religious sanctity.

 2. Ex- situ conservation (outside natural habitats)

This includes protection of plants, animals in outside their natural habitat for medicinal or other purposes, i.e., it includes seed bank, botanical gardens, zoological gardens, aquarium etc.

-          Seed-gene banks

It make the easiest way to store germplasm of wild and cultivated plants at low temperature.

-          Cryopreservation  

This type of in-vitro conservation is done in liquid nitrogen at a temperature of -196°C. This is particularly useful for conserving vegetative propagated crops, e.g., potato.

-          Botanical gardens

An scheme entitled “Assistance to Botanic Gardens” provides one-time assistance to botanic gardens to strengthen and institute measure for ex-situ conservation of threatened and endangered plant species in their respective regions.

-          Zoological parks

In India, there are 275 Zoos, deer parks, safari parks, aquaria, etc. A central ‘Zoo Authority’ was set up to secure better management of Zoos.