Module 4

BIODIVERSITY AND ITS CONSERVATION

Structure
Learning Objectives
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Biodiversity loss concerns
4.3 Value of Biodiversity
4.4 Biodiversity at Global, National and Local levels
4.5 India as a mega diversity nation
4.6 Biogeographical Regions of India
4.7 Biodiversity hotspots
4.8 Endemism in India
4.9 Endangered species of India
4.10 The Convention on Biological Diversity
4.11 Summary
4.12 Questions
4.13 Answers

Objectives
At the end of the unit you will be able to:
• Understand biodiversity and its importance
• Understand the biodiversity of our country in detail and learn
about the endemic and endangered species in our country.

4.1 Introduction
The following quote by Baba Dioum is the objective of any chapter
on biodiversity
“In the end, we will only conserve what we love.
We will only love what we understand.
We will only understand what we are taught.”
109
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Biodiversity is the variety of all forms of life, from genes to spe-

cies, through to the broad scale of ecosystems. The term was coined as the
compact form of “biological diversity” in 1985. It has developed a broad
meaning and also refers to the interrelatedness of genes, species, and
ecosystems and in turn, their interactions with the environment.
Three levels of biodiversity are commonly discussed—genetic, species,
and ecosystem diversity.

Genetic diversity is all the different genes contained in all the

liv-ing species including individual plants, animals, fungi, and
microorgan-isms.
Species diversity is all the different species, as well as the differ-
ences within and between different species. Roughly 1.4 million
species are known to science, but because many species are
undescribed, an estimated 10-30 million species likely exist at present.

Ecosystem diversity is all the different habitats, biological com-

munities and ecological processes, as well as variation within
individual ecosystems.

4.2 Biodiversity Loss Concerns

Biodiversity found on Earth today is the result of 3.5 billion years
of evolution. In the geological history there has been not only evolution
but also diversification and extinctions. Extinction is a natural event
which from a geological perspective can be said to be routine. Most
species that lived have gone extinct. The average rate over the past 200
million years (my) is 1-2 species per year, and 3-4 families per my. The
average duration of a species is 2-10 million years (based on last 200
million years). There have also been occasional episodes of mass ex-
tinction, when many taxa representing a wide array of life forms have
gone extinct in the same blink of geological time. In spite of several ex-
tinctions, the Earth supports more biodiversity today than in any other
period in history. The question then is why the fear of biodiversity loss?
110
 MODULE - 4

Higher rate of extinction: The story of extinction due to human

action started 1.65 million years ago, during the ice age, by hunting the
wooly mammoth. Since then it has continued and gained great speed. In
the modern era, due to human actions, species and ecosystems are
threatened with destruction to an extent rarely seen in earth history.
Species are becoming extinct at the fastest rate known in geological his-
tory , and most of these extinctions are tied to human activity. Roughly
about 400 years for the extinction of one mammal and 200 years for the
extinction of a bird is needed. But about 78 animals became extinct dur-
ing the first 75 years of the 20th century. Some conservation organiza-
tions estimate species are heading towards extinction at a rate of about
one every 20 minutes (Source: Conservation International).

Experts calculate that between 0.01 and 0.1 per cent of all spe-
cies will continue to become extinct each year, unless proper conserva-
tion measures are taken. That is if there are 100 million species on
Earth as some estimates suggest, then between 10,000 and 100,000
species are becoming extinct each year. One figure frequently cited is
that the rapid loss of species we are seeing today is estimated to be
between 1,000 and 10,000 times higher than the natural extinction
rate which was 1-2 species per year (Source: IUCN)

More than one third of species assessed in a 2009 major inter-

national biodiversity study, are threatened with extinction that is of the
47,677 species in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species of 2009,
17,291 are deemed to be at serious risk. The list reveals that 21 per cent
of all known mammals, 30 per cent of all known amphibians, 12 per cent
of all known birds, 28 per cent of reptiles, 37 per cent of freshwater
fishes, 70 per cent of plants and 35 per cent of invertebrates assessed so
far, are under threat. Never in the history of earth have so many species
been threatened, in so short a time and due to anthropogenic causes.
Importance of Biodiversity: Comparatively speaking just as it is impor-
tant to recognize the importance of all sorts of different skills in dif-
111
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

ferent individuals for the healthy progress of a community or nation, it is

important to respect the variety in terms of species and ecosystems for
the health of the world. Speaking with respect to mankind; since it cannot
be said which genes or species are going to prove beneficial to us, it is
best to assure the persistence of as many genes and species as possible,
that is it is important to preserve the diversity in all forms. For example
very recently a tropical seaweed is being studied for antima-larial drugs
as a group of chemical compounds that the sea weed uses to ward off
fungal attacks may have promising antimalarial properties for humans.
This is important as the malarial parasite has become resistant to most
drugs, even the latest called artemisinin and due to this resis-tance to
drugs more than a million people are dying each year of malaria

Biodiversity in terms of species and ecosystems provide clean,

consistent water flows, protection from floods and storms and a stable
climate. The loss of biodiversity is dangerous and its consequences are
immediate. It could mean unclean water due to lack of organic waste
decomposing species, less food for our survival, like less fish. It could
also mean a lack of forest resources such as plants for medicine, fewer
opportunities for livelihoods, for better health, education, and a better
life. In the long term, it also means less income overall and especially
for forest dependant communities, which are often already amongst
the poorest on Earth

Cultural diversity and biodiversity are intimately related to each

other. If we lose one, we risk losing the other. The diversity of societies,
cultures and languages that has developed throughout human history is
intimately related to biodiversity and its use. For example there are
primitive tribes still existing deep in the Amazon forests who have never
had any significant contact with the rest of humanity. Their ariel photo-
graphs and clips are now available (allowed only from an ariel distance of
1 km). The tribe’s survival is in serious jeopardy as influxesof
illegalloggers invade the Peru side of the border. Many NGO’s have been
cam-
112
 MODULE - 4

paigning to prevent this invasion. There is interest to preserve them

asthey represent as said by a BBC report, the last free people, the
example that life can be lived differently. If illegal logging and mining
activities advance towards them, then their uniqueness will be lost.

Importance of diversity

The following are extracts from a letter Chief Seattle, Head of the Suqua-
mish and other Indian tribes of Washington’s Puget Sound, wrote in
1851, responding to a treaty under which native Indians were to sell two
million acres of land for $150,000. Seattle’s letter to US President
Franklin Pierce is considered one of the most beautiful and profound
environmental state-ments ever made

“We will consider your offer to buy our land. If we decide to accept, I will
make one condition- the White Man must treat the beasts of this land as
his brothers. I am savage and do not understand any other way…

I have seen a thousand rotting buffaloes on the prairie, left by the White
Man who shot them from a passing train. I am savage and do not under-
stand how the smoking iron horse can be made more important than the
buffalo that we kill only to stay alive…

What is man without the beast?/ if all the beasts were gone, man would
die from a great loneliness of the spirit.

For whatever happens to the beasts, soon happens to man.

All things are connected...”

113
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

What are the main causes of biodiversity loss?

There are many threats and challenges to our natural world and
as a consequence of these multiple forces, many scientists fear that by the
end of next century, perhaps 25% of existing species will be lost.

These threats include:

Habitat loss and destruction: This is one of the greatest threats
to biodiversity. Habitat loss is directly linked to human induced pres-
sures on land. If a house in bulldozed, the members are killed or
wounded and those surviving have to look for new habitation in which
they may or may not succeed. That is the damage happening in the
wild as forest lands are taken over by man and is therefore the
greatest threat to biodiversity.

Alterations in ecosystem composition: Variety of species and

their interactions with their ecosystems is critical for not only saving
the species, but also for their successful future evolution. In the event
of alterations, either within species groups, or within the environment,
entire ecosystems can begin to change. Alterations to ecosystems are a
critical factor contributing to species and habitat loss.

Invasive alien species: The introduction of exotic species that

replace local and native species is cited as the second largest cause of
biodiversity loss. Alien invasive species replace, and often result in the
extinction of native species. The spread of non-native species
threatens many local species with extinction, and pushes the world’s
biota toward a more homogeneous and widely distributed sub-set of
survivors. The annual economic damage caused by invasive plant and
animal species is estimated to be in the region of US$ 1.4 trillion.

Over-exploitation: Over-hunting, over-fishing or over-collecting

of a species can quickly lead to its decline. Changing consumption pat-
terns of humans is often cited as the key reason for this unsustainable
114
 MODULE - 4

exploitation of natural resources. E.g. Box turtles in the US illegally col-

lected and exported as pets are very slow to reproduce and poaching
has resulted in their decline.

Pollution and contamination: Biological systems respond

slowly to changes in their surrounding environment and so pollution
and con-tamination cause irreversible damage to species and varieties
as spe-cies cannot immediately adapt. High level of DDT in birds
affects their ability to reproduce as it leads to thinning of egg shells.

Global climate change: Both climate variability and climate

change cause biodiversity loss. Species and populations may be lost
per-manently, if they are not provided with enough time to adapt to
chang-ing climatic conditions. For example Monarch butterfly could
lose their wintering habitats in the mountains of Mexico. Climate
change threat-ens to force species and ecosystems to migrate towards
higher latitudes, with no guarantee of suitable habitat or access routes

What are the solutions?

a. The most important solution is conservation of wildlife. There are
two major methods

In Situ Conservation Methods

In-situ conservation, is the conservation of species in their
natu-ral habitats and is considered the most appropriate way of
conserving biodiversity. It involves conserving the areas where
populations of spe-cies exist naturally and is an underlying condition
for the conservation of biodiversity. That’s why protected areas form a
central element of any national strategy is to conserve biodiversity.
These methods include the following:-
Biosphere reserves- These conserve some representative
ecosystemsas a whole. In India there are 17 biosphere reserves. e.g.
Nanda Devi (U.P) and Manas (Assam)
115
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

National Park- It is an area dedicated for the conservation of

wildlifealong with its environment. It is also open to tourists. Within a
Biosphere reserve there may be one or more national parks. e.g. Nilgiri
Biosphere Reserve (covering areas of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu)
has two National Parks viz. Bandipur and Nagarhole National Park.
Recently (Feb 2011) a deer was photographed in Nagarhole eating a
plastic cover. It reflects the negligent attitudes of tourists and officials
alike and is a big blot on conservation efforts. There are 99 National Parks
in the country and each National Park usually aims at conservation of
some particular species of wildlife along with others. For example,
Elephant in Bandipur (Karnataka), Tiger in Kanha (M.P.) etc.

Wildlife Sanctuaries-These are protected areas for wildlife

wherehunting and capturing of wildlife is prohibited but unlike
National Parks, private ownership rights and forestry operations are
permitted to an extent that they do not affect the wildlife adversely.
There are 523 wild-life sanctuaries in the country e.g. Ghana Bird
Sanctuary, Rajasthan(for 300 species of birds), Hazaribagh Sanctuary
in Bihar for Tiger and Leop-ard. There are also gene sanctuaries for
plants, like for pitcher plant in Northeast India.

Projects- For the protection and conservation of certain animals

therehave been specific projects, like in India there have been, project
tiger, Gir Lion Project, Crocodile Breeding Project, Project Elephant,
Snow Leopard Project etc. The Global Tiger Recovery Programme, a
world-wide plan to bring the species back from the brink of extinction
which was forged in November 2010 at an international tiger
conservation meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia organized by Russian
Prime Minis-ter Vladimir Putin. It marks the first formalized
international initia-tive to save the tiger from extinction. Key NGOs
and global partners in the GTRP(The Global Tiger Recovery
Programme), include the World Bank’s Global Tiger Initiative, the
Global Tiger Forum, WWF (World
116
 MODULE - 4

Wildlife Fund), WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society), the Smithsonian

Institute, the Wildlife Trade Network TRAFFIC, CITES (Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species) and the International
Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).

Project Tiger- Numbering more than 100,000 at the turn of the

lastcentury, tigers have lost more than 97 percent of their population and
94 percent of their home range in just 100 years. Various pressures in the
later part of the last century led to the progressive decline of wilder-ness,
resulting in the disturbance of viable tiger habitats. At the IUCN General
Assembly meeting in Delhi, in 1969, serious concern was voiced about the
threat to several species of wildlife and the shrinkage of wil-derness in
the country. In 1970, a national ban on tiger hunting was im-posed .
Subsequently, the first ever all India tiger census was conducted in 1972
which revealed the existence of only 1827 tigers. In the same year, the
Wildlife Protection Act came into force. A ‘Task Force’ was then set up to
formulate a project for tiger conservation with an ecological approach.
The project was launched in 1973, and various tiger reserves were
created in the country on a ‘core-buffer’ strategy. The core areas were
freed from all sorts of human activities and the buffer areas were
subjected to ‘conservation oriented land use’. The project aims at tiger
conservation in specially constituted ‘tiger reserves’, which are repre-
sentative of various bio-geographical regions falling within our coun-try.
It strives to maintain a viable tiger population in the natural envi-
ronment. Initially, 9 tiger reserves were established in different States
during the period 1973-74, by pooling the resources available with the
Central and State Governments. Now there are 39 tiger reserves.

Ex Situ Conservation Methods

Ex-situ conservation is the preservation of components of biological
diversity outside their natural habitats. This involves conservation of
genetic resources, as well as wild and cultivated species, and draws on
a diverse body of techniques and facilities. Some of these include:
117
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

1.Gene banks, e.g. seed banks, sperm and ova banks, field banks;
2.In vitro plant tissue and microbial culture collections;
3.Captive breeding of animals and artificial propagation of plants, with
possible reintroduction into the wild; and
4.Collecting living organisms for zoos, aquaria, and botanic gardens for
research and public awareness.

Ex-situ conservation measures can be complementary to in-situ

methods as they provide an “insurance policy” against extinction.
These measures also have a valuable role to play in recovery
programmes for endangered species. The Kew Seed Bank in England
has 1.5 per cent of the world’s flora - about 4,000 species - on deposit.

There are 120 botanical gardens in India. We have the follow-

ing important gene bank facilities (a) National Bureau of Plant Genetic
Resources(NBPGR), New Delhi. Here cryopreservation of seeds, pollen
etc is done by using liquid Nitrogen at -196 degree centigrade. (b) Na-
tional Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources(NBAGR) at Karnal, Haryana
preserves the semen of domesticated bovine animals. (c) National
Facil-ity for Plant Tissue Culture Repository (NFPTCR) for the
conservation of varieties by tissue culture.

b. Other initiatives aimed at promoting beneficial conservation of

biodi-versity in countries around the world include:

There are Multilateral Environmental Agreements related to

biodiversity such as: The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD),
The Convention on International trade in Endangered Species of Wild
Fauna and Flora (CITIES), The Convention on Migratory Species (CMS),
The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands and The World Heritage Conven-
tion. These are agreements to facilitate steps for conservation all over
the world. Focus on their implementation are an important measure in
which all signatory countries participate.

118
 MODULE - 4

Increasing “Communication, Education and Public Awareness”

(CEPA) programmes related to biodiversity with an aim to relate bio-
diversity to people and their livelihoods. These include identifying and
creating opportunities for rural enterprises based on biodiversity such
as eco-tourism, bio-prospecting to benefit local communities, the envi-
ronment, species and their habitats.

Promoting an increase in the number, size, and connectivity of

protected areas, both on land and at sea is another important initiative
that governments need to take so that increase in wildlife is supported by
increase in habitat and does not result in man wildlife conflicts which
could dampen the conservation campaigns. The year 2010 was the In-
ternational Year of Biodiversity which aimed at focusing intensively on
biodiversity conservation. By the end of the year in October at the meet-
ing of the Convention on Biological Diversity that took place in Nagoya,
Japan, governments agreed to increase the extent of land-based pro-
tected areas and national parks to 17 per cent of the Earth’s surface, up
from around 12.5 per cent now, and to extend marine protected areas to
10 per cent, up from under one per cent currently.

4.3 Value of Biodiversity

It is important to understand how Biodiversity is valuable to us
from as many perspectives as possible so that we develop the under-
standing and initiative to preserve it.

Biophilic Value Wilson’s I984 book Biophilia brought the idea

that love of nature may have been hardwired into our genes by natural
selection. A monotonous environment produces wave patterns
contrib-uting to fatigue and so biotic as well as cultural diversity, from
the neu-rological point of view, may well be fundamental to the
general health. In a nutshell, Wilson’s biophilia hypothesis presents
love of nature as a universal biological adaptation of humans, selected
during the course of evolution.
119
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Transformative Value Contact with biodiversity can be the occa-

sion to reconsider our shallow, consumptive preferences and make us
adopt values that are objectively better. This reflection and realization
that proximity to nature brings forth is called transformative value.

Intrinsic Value Humans have no right to destroy biodiversity.

This is an assertion which may be justifiable from certain religious
standpoints. If God or sacred process created the natural world along-
side humans, then all creatures are imbued with sacredness: all have
intrinsic value. This is fundamentally a religious argument. There is no
scientific way to ‘prove’ that nonhuman organisms (or for that matter,
human organisms) have a right to exist.

Spiritual Value Biologists find spiritual value in biodiversity pre-

cisely because of, not despite, their science. People turn to spirituality,
when confronted with vast unknowns that defy logical explanation. In an
analog to traditional religions, biodiversity’s spiritual power is linked to
our lack of knowledge of it. Since some biologists spend their profes-
sional lives surrounded by biodiversity, its unfathomable complexity and
its sublime beauty, all combine with feelings of humiliating igno-rance to
infuse spiritual feelings. The more they learn, the more awe they feel; and
the unknowns, the gaps that the world of science can’t fill, leave further
room for values and spirituality and aesthetics to rush in.

Aesthetic Value Biodiversity’s spiritual value is similarly

insepa-rable from its aesthetic value. What gives pleasure is beautiful.
What makes us feel transcendent we find beautiful. The more beautiful
we find it, the more it moves us spiritually, the more we appreciate it.

Scientific Value The most obvious value biologists might pro-

mote for biodiversity is that it has value for science. As the raw
material for biological study, biodiversity is essential for the scientific
endeavor to continue unhindered.
120
 MODULE - 4

Ecological Value We may value biodiversity because we value

the continued healthy functioning of ecosystems as such, regardless of
any services biodiversity performs for us. More often, however,
humans ben-efit from such ecosystem services, like protection from
floods, providing clean water etc. It’s folly for us to act in ways that are
adversely affecting the ability of ecosystems to provide these services
that we’re depen-dent on. But we’re doing that more and more as we
pollute and destroy habitats, or alter habitats in one fashion or
another. We’re changing the environment faster than our ability to
understand the consequences of how we’re changing it.

Economic Value There are direct and indirect benefits of biodi-

versity. The indirect benefits include the free ecosystem services pro-
vided by biodiversity which save us billions of dollars annually. To lose
them might bankrupt us, not only ecologically, but economically. These
include stability of biosphere, nutrient cycling, gene flow, water purifi-
cation etc. We can also extract from nature materials and services that
directly augment human wealth and well-being. Tropics are the major
biodiversity centres, gradually decreasing towards the poles. Direct
benefits the tropics have provided involve basically food, fodder, fuel,
fibre, medicine etc. These include corn, rice, coffee, orchids, tea, choco-
late, morphine, tobacco, cocaine, dahlias, cotton, bamboo, pepper, honey
bees, vanilla, milk, peppers, cinnamon, dates, quinine, rubber, bananas,
mahogany, pineapples, sorghum, coconuts, nuts, pumpkins, beans, cane
sugar, molasses etc. Quinine the cure for malaria is obtained from Cin-
chona tree. Some of these products have consumptive use values where
the biodiversity product can be harvested and consumed directly e.g. fuel,
food, drugs etc. Productive use values are the commercially usable values
where the product is marketed and sold, like lumber, silk , wool. In fact
instead of more of lumber, if the wildlands are mined for genetic material,
the economic benefits could be even greater, where discovered species
could provide medicine, and new raw material for industries etc.
Biodiversity, is thus our most valuable but least appreciated resource,
that needs to be looked from the perspective of extracting knowledge and
diversity benefits to be most useful.
121
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Social Value These are the values associated with the social life,
customs, religion and psycho spiritual aspects of the people e.g. many
plants are considered holy and sacred in our country like Tulsi, Peepal,
Lotus, Bael etc.

Option Values These are the potentials of biodiversity that are

presently unknown and need to be explored like the potential cure of
AIDS or cancer existing within the depths of a marine ecosystem, or a
tropical rainforest. It also includes value in terms of option to visit bio-
diverse areas.

4.4 Biodiversity at Global, National and Local levels

Global Biodiversity-It can be studied basically under two head
of Terrestrial Biodiversity and Marine (or aquatic ) Biodiversity.

Terrestrial Biodiversity- This can be best described as biomes

which are the largest ecological units present in different geographic
areas and are named based on the dominant vegetation e.g tall grass
prairies, tropical rainforests, desert etc. The variety of species in these
biomes has developed over time in highly specialized niches and that
makes them more vulnerable to extinction when their natural home or
niche is destroyed. Among all the biomes the Tropical rainforests are
richest and many cures and potential cures to diseases like malaria,
can-cer, AIDS have come from this storehouse. But hardly around 3%
of the species is known. Extinction is an irreversible process and we
become poorer in diversity by around 0.1% every
year(100,000species), where natural extinction rate is only 1 species
per year. Given this scenario imagine how many potential benefits we
are losing forever, every year! Marine Diversity- Sea is the cradle of
every known animal phylum. Out of the 35 existing phyla of
multicellular animals, 34 are marine and 16 of these are exclusively
marine. But ironically this diversity is very less explored and described
though marine diversity is much higher than terrestrial biodiversity!
122
 MODULE - 4

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) notes that

• 75% of genetic diversity of agricultural crops has been lost
• 75% of the world’s fisheries is fully or over exploited
• Up to 70% of the world’s known species risk extinction if the
glob-al temperatures rise by more than 3.5°C
• 1/3rd of reef-building corals around the world are threatened
with extinction
• Every second a parcel of rainforest the size of a football field
disap-pears

National Biodiversity- Compared to Global diversity, India ranks

10th among the countries that are rich in flora, 11th in terms of number of
endemic species of higher vertebrates and 6th among the centers of
diversity and origin of agricultural crops. Since India has a variety of
climates, it houses an immense variety of species too becoming one of the
12 mega diversity nations. Apart from the wild diversity, the domes-
ticated diversity is also important and it is not just accidental nor purely
natural as it is the outcome of thousands of years of deliberate selection,
cross breeding and other manipulations that farmers have tried out
leading to the diversification of a single species collected from the wild in
the past into thousands of varieties. India has among the world’s larg-est
diversity of domesticated animals, with some 26 breeds of cattle, 40 of
sheep and 20 of goats etc. Scientists have discovered that migratory
pastorals in Rajasthan had selected and helped develop a new breed of
sheep called Dheri in response to the increasing drought incidence and
declining pasture availability. Many tribal villages in the hills of north east
India have been known to grow over 20 rice varieties within a sin-gle
year in their terraced fields. A village in Nagaland was found to have 70
varieties and in another region of Koraput district in Orissa scientists
identified over 1500 varieties. The system of Baranaja in Garhwal that is
sowing a mixture of 12 types of grains in a single plot of land was a useful
way of retaining soil moisture and constant supply of food as the different
crops are harvested at different times. Diversification provides
123
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

safeguard against unpredictable issues like drought, pest infestation

etc as some varieties of crops withstand where others succumb.
Depen-dence on single high yielding varieties and hybrid breeds has
destroyed the hard work of our farmers; the domesticated diversity of
our country has brought in more risks to farming with dependence on
single variet-ies.
Regional or Local Biodiversity- At local level the habitat is more
orless homogenous and so species diversity is low and as the region
con-sidered increases, more heterogeneous habitats are considered
and the diversity of the species increases. Therefore regional diversity
needs to be considered on four counts
1. Point richness-The number of species that can be found at
a single point in a given space.
2. Alpha richness-The number of species found in a small
homog-enous area.
3. Beta richness-The rate of change in species composition
across different habitats.
4. Gamma richness-The rate of change across large landscape
gra-dients( taken on different contour lines of a slope).

Self Assessment Questions

1. The total number of species at risk according to IUCN Red list of
Threatened species 2009, is …………………………..
2. The most appropriate way of conserving biodiversity is
………………………
3. Gene bank is an example of ……………………… conservation mea-
sure.
4. India ranks ………………………. globally among the centres of
diver-sity and origin of agricultural crops
5. The rate of change in species composition across different habi-
tats is considered under …………….. richness of regional diversity.
6. Which according to you is the most important value of biodiver-
sity and why?
124
 MODULE - 4

4.5 India as a Mega-Diversity Nation

Biodiversity rich countries are called mega-diversity countries. In

biodiversity, this concept emphasis more on regions with species
richness, threatened species and endemic species. It is mainly located in
the afro-tropical, Eurasian, and the Indo-Malayan bio-geographic realms.
Mega-diversity nations are Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil,
Zaire, Madagascar, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia and In-dia. This
India is among the twelve biodiverse nations of the world and this is
owing to many factors. India has different types of regions and climates
and ecosystems which favours its positioning as a Megadiver-sity Nation.
The main features that allot India this status are
a) Endemism-India shows a good number of endemic species, that
is, the species restricted to only a particular area. Western
Ghats are the site of maximum endemism. About 62% of
amphibians and 50% of lizards are endemic.
b) Centre of Origin-A large number of species are known to have
originated in India. Around 5000 species of flowering plants,
166 species of crop plants, 320 species of wild relatives of
culti-vated crops have originated from India.
c) Marine Diversity-More than 340 species of corals of the world
are found here. There is a rich diversity of mollusks crusta-
ceans, mangroves and sea grasses in the various marine
ecosys-tems across the 7,500km long coastline of the country.

4.6 Bio-geographical Regions of India

Biogeography deals with the geographical distribution of plants

and animals. Communities of plants and animals in different
geographi-cal areas of the world differ widely from each other.
Biogeography is divided into two branches: i] Phyto-geography and ii]
Zoo-geography. Phyto-geography (plant geography) deals with origin,
distribution and environmental interrelationships of plants.
Zoogeography deals with the migration and distribution of animals.
125
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

From the stand point of biodiversity, India is given the status of

a “Mega-diversity” nation. There are 10 biogeographic zones which
are distinguished clearly in India. They are as follows—
1 Trans Himalayan zone
2 Himalayan zone
3 Desert zone
4 Semiarid zone
5 Western ghat zone
6 Deccan plateau zone
7 Gangetic plain zone
8 North east zone
9 Islands present near the shore line
10 Coastal zone

1 Trans Himalayan zone:

This is the northern most area of the country around Himala-yas.
This zone is not related to mountains but it is the area present sur-
rounding the mountains. This region shows 1. Irregular vegetation, 2. it
has the richest wild sheep producing quality wool and also a goat com-
munity which is qualitatively and quantitatively superior in the world.
3. Snow leopard is a special animal observable in this zone. 4. Migra-
tory birds like black neck crane are seen here. The great Indian
bustard which is an endangered variety is also seen in the grasslands
west to this zone. It comprises 5.7 % of the country’s landmass.

2. Himalayan zone:
This is a hilly region with good flora and fauna, exhibiting maxi-
mum biodiversity. There are national parks in this zone. It comprises
7.2 % of the country’s landmass.

3. Desert zone:
ThisisapartofRajasthanstate,fromwhere,thegreatdesertofwest-
ern India namely ‘Thar desert’ begins. It also comprises the salty desert of
Gujarat apart from the sand desert of Rajasthan, 6.9% of the country’s
landmass. Desert zone has areas like Jaisalmir surrounded by sand dunes.
126
 MODULE - 4

4. Semi arid zone:

It begins in Rajasthan and extends up to some parts in the state
of Punjab and Haryana. This zone exisits between the desert and the
Deccan plateau, including the Aravalli hill range and comprises 15.6 %
of the country’s landmass. In this area, ground water and surface
water is much less. Dry xerophytic vegetation is predominant, fauna is
also minimum.

5. Western ghats:
It represents the mountainous western zone of south
peninsular India having rich flora and fauna with tropical rain forests
extending from Konkan region of Maharashtra up to the western part
of Kerala generally called Malabaar coast of Arabian Sea. It occupies
5.8% of the landmass. Wild relatives of cultivated plants like banana,
mango, citrus, black pep-per are found abundantly in this part.

6. Deccan Plateau zone:

This is the central table land of South India with rich flora and
fauna. But some areas represent semiarid type of vegetation. Rainfall
occurs mainly by the south west monsoon and so limited number of
dense forests is present in Deccan. Deccan plateau is represented in
the states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh,
Tam-ilnadu, Karnataka and Kerala and occupies 42% of the landmass.

7.Gangetic plain:
Defined by the Ganges river system, these plains are relatively homog-
enous. It occupies 11% of the country’s landmass.

8. North-East India:
These are the plains and non-Himalayan hill ranges of northeastern
part of India with a wide variation of vegetation. It occupies 5.2% of
the country’s landmass.
127
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

9. Islands:
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal, with a highly
diverse set of biomes constitute 0.03% of the country’s landmass.

10. Coasts:
A large coastline distributed both to the west and east, with distinct
dif-ferences between the two; Lakshadeep islands are included in this
with the percent area being negligible.

4.7 Biodiversity hotspots

Biodiversity is not distributed uniformly over the earth. Some

areas, particularly along the tropics, are rich in species. Many species in
these areas are threatened with extinction. However, the fund for con-
servation is rather limited and hence it is important to fix priority areas of
conservation. In 1988 British ecologist, Norman Myres forwarded a
concept called hotspots to identify the most major criteria for designat-
ing an area as hotspot. These are: (i) richness in endemic species, and
(ii) impact by human activities. Endemic species are those restricted to
certain localized areas of the earth and rarely found outside of it. Plant
diversity is the biological basis for hotspot designation. To qualify as a
hotspot, a region must support 1,500 endemic plant species, 0.5 per-
cent of the global total. To qualify as a hotspot, a region must also have
lost more than 70 percent of its original habitat, that is, it retains only
30% or less of its original primary vegetation. Existing primary vegeta-
tion is the basis for assessing human impact in a region. Identification
of hotspot helps pin point priority areas for conservation.

According to the classification of Norman Myres’ there are 25

hotspots scattered in different parts of the world. Even though the 25
biodiversity hotspots together represent only1.4 percent of the earth’s
land area, they contain 44 percent of all plant species and 35 percent
of all terrestrial vertebrate species in the world. Each of these hotspots
128
 MODULE - 4

is under severe pressure due to anthropogenic interventions and has

already lost at least 70 percent of its original natural vegetation. The
potential anthropogenic activities in hotspots place the natural values
at risk, and it is likely this risk will increase in the future in the absence
of active conservation and management. Eight of the hottest hot-spots
recognized currently are Madagascar, Philippines, Sundaland, Brazil
At-lantic Coast, Caribbean Basin, Indo Burma, Western Ghats, Eastern
Arc and coastal forests of Tanzania/Kenya. Because the natural values
of hotspots are largely intact, undertaking action now to maintain
these values will contribute to the efforts in biodiversity conservation.
India is part of two hotspots- Indo-Burma (earlier Eastern Hi-
malayas ) and Western Ghats and Sri Lanka . Of late, conservationists
named nine new ‘Biodiversity Hotspots’, making the total to 34, which
also include the Himalayas .
The Western Ghats: These are also known as the Sahyadri Hills.
It is a mountain chain running from the north to the South and is iso-
lated by the Arabian Sea to the West, the arid Deccan Plateau to the
East, and the Vindhya-Satpura ranges to the North. The vegetation
types are: scrub jungles and grasslands at low altitudes, dry and moist
decidu-ous forests, montane grasslands and sholas, and the tropical
evergreen and semi evergreen forests. Complex topography, high
rainfall and rela-tive inaccessibility have helped the region retain its
biodiversity. Of the 15,000 flowering plant species in India , there are
an estimated 4,780 species in the Western Ghats region. There is also a
great diversity of traditional crop plants and an equal diversity of
animal life. A large number of amphibians, freshwater fishes and
invertebrate groups are endemic to Western Ghats .
Eastern Himalayas: The Indo-Burma hotspot encompasses
2,373,000square km of tropical Asia east of the Ganges-Brahmaputra
lowlands. Indo-Burma has immense biological treasure. New large
mammal species keep getting discovered; the large antlered muntjac,
the Annamite muntjac, the grey-shanked douc, the Annamite striped
rabbit, the leaf deer, and the saola. This hotspot also holds remarkable
129
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

endemism in freshwater turtle species most of which are threatened

with extinction due to over harvesting and habitat loss. Bird life is also
very diverse, having almost 1300 different bird species, including the
threatened white-eared night-heron, the grey-crowned crocias, and
the orange necked partridge.

4.8 Endemism in India

The Indian Subcontinent is home to 49,219 species of plants, 350 spe-

cies of mammals, 1,330 species of birds, 275 species of snakes, 408
oth-er reptile species, 197 species of amphibians, 2,456 species of
fishes, 700 species of ants, 1442 species of spiders.
Endemic animals and birds are species that are found only lo-cally
and are found no where else in the world. The endemism of Indian
biodiversity is highly determined primarily in the North-East, , North-
West Himalaya , Western Ghats and the Andaman and Nicobar islands.
• Of the 49,219 plant species, 5,150 are endemic and distributed
into 141 genera under 47 families corresponding to about 30% of
the world’s recorded flora, which means 30% of the world’s
recorded flora is endemic to India. Of these endemic species,
3,500 are found in the Himalayas and adjoining regions
and 1,600 in the Western Ghats alone.
• About 62% of the known amphibian species is endemic
with the majority occurring in the Western Ghats.
• Nearly 50% of the lizards of India is endemic with a high
degree of endemicity in the Western Ghats.
• There are 42 species of Endemic birds in India out of which
35 are found in Western Ghats.
• Some Endemic mammals are Lion-tailed macaque(Macaca si-
lenus) Nilgiri Langur (Trachypithecus johni) Brown palm civet
(Paradoxurus jerdoni) Nilgir tahr (Hemitragus hylocrius)
130
 MODULE - 4

4. 9 Endangered species of India

The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural

Resources (IUCN) publishes the Red Data Book of threatened species
(species threatened with extinction) which includes the list of endan-
gered species of plants and animals of all countries. It is done to under-
stand the species at risk of extinction, provide awareness of the degree
of threat, and plan conservation strategies. As mentioned earlier there
are 47,677 species in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species of 2009
of which 17,291 are at serious risk, which is more than 1/3 rd of the
as-sessed species. Also as per the IUCN report 2009, the total
endangered species in India are 687, of which mammals are 96, birds
75, reptiles 25, amphibians 65, fish 64, mollusk 2, other invertebrates
113, plants 247. In India recently Karnataka Forest department
prepared its own list of endangered species to identify which species
of Karnataka are reduced to a critical level. This is important to make
conservation priorities and plan specific conservation methods suited
to endangered species of the region. Red list was initiated in 1963 and
has eight categories of spe-cies. The basic four are as follows

A species is said to be endangered when its number has been

re-duced to a critical level or whose habitats have been drastically
reduced and if such a species is not protected and conserved, it is in
immediate danger of extinction.

A specie is said to be in vulnerable category if its population is

facing continuous decline due to overexploitation or habitat destruc-
tion. Such species are still abundant, but under a serious threat of be-
coming endangered if causal factors are not checked.

Species which are not endangered or vulnerable at present, but

are at a risk are categorized as rare species. These are usually endemic.
131
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

A species is said to be extinct when it is not seen in the wild for

50 years at a stretch e.g. Dodo, passenger pigeon. Extinction is an irre-
versible process. Nothing can be done about India’s loss of the magnifi-
cient Cheetah except look up pictures and regret that a wonderful and
competent creation of nature can never be seen again only due to the
ruthlessness of man. Stand in any vegetated area and look around and
you would have to be immensely lucky to chance sighting any bird of
colourful plumages as they have either been already traded to rarity or
extinction for their pretty feathers, taking away the little joys of
sighting beautiful birds.

Critically Endangered
• Jenkin’s Shrew (Crocidura jenkensii). (Endemic to India.)
• Malabar Large-spotted Civet (Viverra civettina).
• Himalayan Wolf (Canis himalayensis) (Endemic to India and Nepal.
• Namdapha Flying Squirrel (Biswamayopterus biswasi).
(Endemic to India.)
• Pygmy Hog (Sus salvanius).
• Salim Ali’s Fruit Bat (Latidens salimalii). (Endemic to India.
• Sumatran Rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis).
• Wroughton’s Free-tailed Bat (Otomops wroughtoni). (Endemic
to India.)
• Indian Vulture

Some of the Endangered species

• Asiatic Lion (Panthera leo persica)
• Asiatic Wild Dog/ Dhole (Cuon alpinus)
• Asiatic Black Bear (Selenarctos thibetanus)
• Desert Cat (Felis libyca ornata)
• Great Indian Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis)
• Hispid Hare (Caprolagus hispidus)
• Hoolock Gibbon (Hylobates hoolock)
• Flamingo
132
 MODULE - 4

Feb 19 2011 Report regarding a species of frog considered extinct

Researchers have rediscovered frog species including one last

seen in India more than a century ago, potentially offering clues on why
they have survived a global crisis killing amphibians. Scientists estimate
that more than 30 percent of amphibians are facing extinction due to a
mysterious fungus that has spread in the world. (study led by IUCN and
Conservation International) In India researchers found five species in the
biologically diverse Western Ghats region, one of them the florescent
Cha-lazodes Bubble-nest Frog which is a florescent green frog which has
black pupils with golden patches, it had last been seen in 1874 that is
136 years ago. It is believed to live by day inside reeds.

142 flora fauna species in Karnataka state face extinction,

Feb7, 2011, Bangalore Mirror.

The IUCN prepares a nationwide survey but it is difficult to find

out what species are disappearing from the state forests. So the forest
de-partment sounded a red alert compiling a red list of plants and
animals facing extinction in the state. It was concluded from the study
that in the last 10 years, 39 species of flora have either become extinct or
are facing the threat of extinction.

A forest official said, “It is helpful to have a ready list of what we might
lose in the days to come. Using the list, we can prepare an action plan
and focus our conservation activities”. The forest minister has directed
officials to publish the red list in their jurisdictional areas and take ade-
quate measures to protect and conserve such species. Some of the
species that are included in the red list are –the Malabar Civet, Indian
Vulture, wild areca nut and gurjan balsam.

133
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

4.10 The Convention on Biological Diversity

On 29 dec, 1993, there came to force an international treaty of
far reaching significance for the future of humanity’s troubled relation-
ship with the earth: the Convention on Biological Diversity. What makes
this treaty significant is that it deals not only with conservation aspects
but also with the realms of national and international politics as this
is a field that significantly influences biodiversity conservation. The in-
terests in money making reflected in intellectual property rights which
sometimes is even claimed for species has negative effects on biodiver-
sity conservation efforts.

Three areas of thrust are: the conservation of Biological Diver-

sity, the sustainable use of biological resources and the equitable shar-
ing of the benefits of such use. The third aspect reflects that the
financial and technological benefits of any species should be shared
and not mo-nopolized in a way negatively affecting the aims and
efforts of biodiver-sity conservation.

Case Study
Tigers Safety in India: Source WWF and The Times of India

There are only 13 countries that still have tigers. They live in
increasingly isolated pockets of land in Asia and the Russian Far East in
Indonesia, Ma-laysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar,
Bangladesh, Bhu-tan, India, Nepal, China and Russia.India has half of the
world’s remaining wild tigers.

The Indian Government released new tiger population numbers on March

28, 2011 for the first time since 2007, indicating that numbers have in-
creased. The figures were presented at the International Tiger Conserva-
tion Conference, a three day meeting (March 28-30), held in New Delhi. The
count was conducted by India’s National Tiger Conservation Author-
134
 MODULE - 4

ity with key partners, including WWF, in the largest tiger population sur-
vey ever undertaken. The techniques and the methodology used by
experts of WII on the tiger census, like camera traps, remained the same
this time also as they were in the last census of 2006-07 with the only
difference that this time the Wild life Institute of India has used the help
of NGOs like World Wide Fund, Wildlife Trust of India and Aaranyak
which provided the logistics for the census.

The government estimated current tiger numbers in India at

1,706,up from 1,411 during the last count in 2007. However, the 1,706
figure includes an additional tiger reserve in the count, the Sundarbans,
that contained 70 tigers. This area was not counted in 2007. Therefore,
when comparing the previous survey with the current one, the official
estimate stands at 1,636 when leaving out the Sundarbans, or an
increase of 225. Therefore though there have been depressing reports of
further decline over the past years, it is obvious that if tiger have been
lost at certain re-serves they have also been added in other places.

India’s tiger population is on the rise but their habitat is

shrinking.Uttarakhand -225(up47 from 2006), Uttar Pradesh- 120 (up
13), MP 257-(down 43), Tamilnadu-163(up87) The main growth in tiger
numbers be-tween the last two census have taken place in well protected
tiger reserves which are close to their holding capacity . Several areas in
India, includ-ing those that are not Tiger Reserves and outside national
parks, were intensively surveyed for the first time. The Moyar Valley and
Sigur Pla-teau in Southwest India’s Western Ghats Complex, that has
been a focus of recent WWF conservation efforts, was found to contain
more than 50 tigers. Similarly, the Ramnagar Forest Reserve outside
Corbett National Park showed a good number of tigers.

135
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

This means that tigers are increasingly moving closer to human popula-
tion, increasing the chances of man wildlife conflict. All national parks are
close to their holding capacity like Ranthambore, Bandhavgarh, Kazi-ranga
and the adjacent forests of Bandipur-Nagarhole-Mudumalai-Way-anad,
which the latest count shows is the single biggest tiger habitat in the world
and contains an estimated 382 big cats. Rising numbers usually goes hand
in hand with an increase in their territory. In the past , tigers have moved
from one source population to the other through ‘corridors’ – wild patches
that link one tiger forest with another.. Without the corridors there would
be increase in inbreeding which weakens the predator strain. But
development projects and growth pressures are increasingly snap-ping
down these links, for instance the link between Ranthambore and Sa-riska
has degraded. Bandhavgarh, a national park rich with high density of tigers
has no corridors for the predators to move out. With some effort it can be
linked to Sanjay-Dogri and to Palamau in Jharkhand. Therefore the current
scenario is that, a lot has now to be done to make space for the growing
tiger numbers and also to avoid man wildlife conflict.

4.11 Summary
• Biodiversity refers to the number and variety of species, of ecosys-
tems, and of the genetic variation contained within species.
• India is among the twelve biodiverse nations of the world and it
is part of two biodiversity hotspots
• Biodiversity is threatened by the sum of all human activities. It is
useful to group threats into the categories of over-hunting,
habitat destruction, invasion of non-native species, pollution, and
climate change.
• Unless we counter these threats that we impose on biodiversity we
would be loosing our advantages. The convention of Biological Di-
versity is one of many efforts globally to conserve biodiversity.

136
 MODULE - 4

4.12 Terminal Questions

1. Explain biodiversity, its importance and threats to it.

2. What is national biodiversity?
3. Write a note on conservation of biodiversity. Include the status
of protection of Tigers in the country.
4. Prepare a list of the most relevant and latest statistal information
re-lated to biodiversity.
5. What are the reasons that India is considered among the mega
di-verse countries?
6. Write briefly about the biodiversity hotspots in India
7. Write briefly about the Convention on Biological Diversity and on
Endemism in India

4.13 Answers

Self Assessment Questions

1. 47,677
2. In situ methods
3. Ex situ
4. 6th
5. Beta
6. E.g. ecological value as biodiversity loss would be the loss of
valu-able ecosystem services.

Terminal Questions
1. Refer in section 4.1 and 4.2
2. Refer in section 4.4
3. Refer in section 4.2 (What are the solutions) and Case sudy
4. Refer all sections
5. Refer section 4.5
6. Refer in section 4.7
7. Refer in section 4.10 and 4.8
137
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

References

Understanding Biodiversity, by Ashish Kothari, Orient Longman,1997

http://www.unep.org/iyb/about_iyb.asp
http://www.scribd.com/doc/41279963/Biodiversity
http://www.dhushara.com/book/diversit/restor/takacs.htm
http://www.globalchange.umich.edu/globalchange2/current/lec-
tures/biodiversity/biodiversity.html
http://indiasendangered.blogspot.com/2010/03/indias-endangered-
species.html
http://www.jamaicachm.org.jm/BHS/conservation.htm
http://www.wildindia.org/wiki/Endemic
http://www.kerenvis.nic.in/isbeid/biodiversity.htm
http://www.conservation.org/where/priority_areas/hotspots/asia-
pacific/Indo-Burma/Pages/default.
138