BIODIVERSITY

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 BIODIVERSITY - DEFINITION

• The number and variety of plants, animals and other organisms

that exist in an ecosystem is known as biodiversity
• It is a measure of the variety of organisms present in
different ecosystems
• The richness of biodiversity depends on the climatic
conditions and area of the region
• Biodiversity is the result of 3.5 billion years of evolution

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 GENETIC DIVERSITY

• Genetic diversity is the amount of variation in genetic material

(DNA) within a species or within a population. The magnitude of
variation in genes of a species increases with increase in size and
environmental parameters of the habitat.
• Genetic diversity has the following importance:
• (i) It helps in speciation or evolution of new species;
• (ii) It is useful in adaptation to changes in environmental
conditions;
• (iii) It is important for agricultural productivity and development

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 SPECIES DIVERSITY

• It describes the variety in the number and abundance of the

species within a region
• To accurately determine species diversity, both the species
richness, which is the number of different species, and
the relative abundance, which is the number of individuals
within each species, must be considered
• The species richness depends largely on climatic conditions.
• When a species is confined entirely to a particular area, it is
termed as endemic species

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 ECOSYSTEM DIVERSITY

• It describes the assemblage and Interaction of spices living together and the
physical environment of a given area
• It relates varieties of habitats, biotic communities ecological processes in
biosphere. It also tells about the diversity within the ecosystem.
• For example, the landscapes like grass lands, deserts, mountains etc. show
ecosystem diversity
• The ecosystem diversity is due to diversity of niches, trophic levels and
ecological processes like nutrient cycling, food webs, energy flow, role of
dominant species and various related biotic interactions.
• Such type of diversity can generate more productive and stable ecosystems
or communities capable of tolerating various types of stresses e.g. drought,
flood etc.

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 BIODIVERSITY : DISTRIBUTION

• Biodiversity is not evenly distributed, rather it varies greatly across the

globe as well as within regions
• Among other factors, the diversity of all living things (biota) depends on
temperature, precipitation, altitude, soils, geography and the presence of
other species.
• Diversity consistently measures higher in the tropics and lower in polar
regions generally
• Rain forests that have had wet climates for a long time, have particularly
high biodiversity
• Terrestrial biodiversity is thought to be up to 25 times greater than ocean
biodiversity

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 BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOTS

• A biodiversity hotspot is a region with a high level of endemic

species that has experienced great habitat loss
• While hotspots are spread all over the world, the majority are
forest areas and most are located in the tropics
• Colombia is characterized by high biodiversity, with the highest
rate of species by area unit worldwide
• It has the largest number of endemics (species that are not found
naturally anywhere else) of any country
• About 10% of the species of the Earth can be found in Colombia

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 HOTSPOTS ….

• 34 biodiversity hotspots have been identified. They once

covered 15.7 percent of the Earth's land surface
• 86 % of the hotspots' habitat has already been destroyed
• The intact remnants of the hotspots now cover only 2.3 % of
the Earth's land surface.

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 LOSS OF BIODIVERSITY

• The main cause of the loss of biodiversity can be attributed to

the influence of human beings on the world's ecosystem
• Escalating human population is a major cause of biodiversity
loss
• Most of the biodiversity loss has happened post Industrial
Revolution through human activities

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 SPECIES LOSS RATE

• The planet has lost 52% of its biodiversity since 1970

according to a 2014 study by the World Wildlife Fund
• The Living Planet Report 2014 claims that "the number of
mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish across the globe
is, on average, about half the size it was 40 years ago“
• Of that number, 39% accounts for the terrestrial wildlife gone,
39% for the marine wildlife gone and 76% for the freshwater
wildlife gone
• Biodiversity took the biggest hit in Latin America

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 CAUSES OF BIODIVERSITY LOSS

• Alteration and loss of the habitats: the transformation of the natural areas
determines not only the loss of the vegetable species, but also a decrease in the
animal species associated to them.
• Introduction of exotic species and genetically modified organisms: species
originating from a particular area, introduced into new natural environments can
lead to different forms of imbalance in the ecological equilibrium. Refer to,
“Introduction of exotic species and genetically modified organisms”.
• Pollution: human activity influences the natural environment producing negative,
direct or indirect, effects that alter the flow of energy, the chemical and physical
constitution of the environment and abundance of the species;

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 CAUSES OF BIODIVERSITY
LOSS….
• Climate change: for example, heating of the Earth’s surface
affects biodiversity because it endangers all the species that
adapted to the cold due to the latitude (the Polar species) or the
altitude (mountain species).
• Overexploitation of resources: when the activities connected with
capturing and harvesting (hunting, fishing, farming) a renewable
natural resource in a particular area is excessively intense, the
resource itself may become exhausted, as for example, is the case
of sardines, herrings, cod, tuna and many other species that man
captures without leaving enough time for the organisms to
reproduce.

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 LOSS OF BIODIVERSITY…..

• Habitat loss and degradation

• Habitat loss and degradation create the biggest single source
of pressure on biodiversity worldwide
• For terrestrial ecosystems, habitat loss is largely accounted for
by conversion of wild lands to agriculture, which now accounts
for some 30% of land globally
• In some areas, it has recently been partly driven by the
demand for biofuels

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 CLIMATE CHANGE

• Climate change is already having an impact on biodiversity,

and is projected to become a progressively more significant
threat in the coming decades
• Loss of Arctic sea ice threatens biodiversity across an entire
biome and beyond
• The related pressure of ocean acidification, resulting from
higher concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, is
also already being observed

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IMPORTANCE OF BIODIVERSITY

• At least 40 per cent of the world’s economy and 80 per cent of

the needs of the poor are derived from biological resources. In
addition, the richer the diversity of life, the greater the
opportunity for medical discoveries, economic development,
and adaptive responses to such new challenges as climate
change.

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 BIOSPHERE RESERVES

• Biosphere reserves are areas comprising terrestrial, marine and coastal ecosystems. Each
reserve promotes solutions reconciling the conservation of biodiversity with its sustainable use.
• Biosphere reserves are nominated by national governments and remain under the sovereign
jurisdiction of the states where they are located. Their status is internationally recognized.
• There are 669 biosphere reserves in 120 countries, including 16 transboundary sites. They are
distributed as follows:
• 70 in 28 countries in Africa
• 30 in 11 countries in the Arab States
• 142 in 24 countries in Asia and the Pacific
• 302 in 36 countries in Europe and North America
• 125 in 21 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

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 ZONES IN A BIOSPHERE
RESERVE
• A biosphere reserve is divided into three zones: Core, buffer and manipulation.
• (i) Core Zone:
• In core or natural zone human activity is not allowed. This area is legally protected and
undisturbed ecosystem.
• (ii) Buffer zone:
• The immediate surrounding area of core zone is buffer zone. Here limited human activities
live like research, education and research strategy is permitted.
• (iii) Manipulation zone:
• Manipulation or transition zone is the outermost or peripheral area of biosphere reserve.
With the cooperation of reserve management and local people several human activities
like settlements, cropping, recreation, and forestry are carried out without disturbing the
environment. Buffer zone has different parts like forestry, agriculture, tourism and
restoration regions.

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ZONES OF BIOSPHERE RESERVE

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 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
BIOSPHERES, NATIONAL PARKS,
WILD LIFE SANCTUARIES
• Biosphere Reserves are the biggest entity among the three
• The level of restriction in the increasing order is Biosphere
Reserves, Wildlife Sanctuaries and National Parks
• The Indian government has established 18 Biosphere
Reserves, over 441 Wild Life sanctuaries and 102 national
parks

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 IMPORTANCE OF BIOSPHERE

• 1. Conservation:
• Biosphere reserves conserve genetic resources, species, ecosystems and landscapes
without uprooting inhabitants. Rather the traditional life style and traditional resources of
the local people are maintained.
• 2. Development:
• Sustainable economic, cultural, social and ecological developments are ensured.
• 3. Restoration:
• Biosphere reserve helps to rebuild any damage caused to ecosystems and habitats.
• 4. Education and Research:
• Biosphere reserve provides a lot of scientific information for specific scientific studies and
research. Exchange of information on restoration, conservation and development of
biosphere can be made at national and international levels.

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 INDIA – BIOSPHERE RESERVES

• The Indian government has established 18 Biosphere

Reserves in India
• They protect larger areas of natural habitat (than a National
Park or Animal Sanctuary), and often include one or more
National Parks, along with buffer zones that are open to some
economic uses
• Protection is granted not only to the flora and fauna of the
protected region, but also to the human communities who
inhabit these regions, and their ways of life.

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 BIOPIRACY

• The practice of commercially exploiting naturally occurring

biochemical or genetic material, especially by obtaining patents
that restrict its future use, while failing to pay fair compensation to
the community from which it originates
• Bioprospecting : The search for biological resources &
accompanying indigenous knowledge for the purpose of
commercial exploitation
• A process of appropriation and commercialization of natural
products ranging from plants and animals
• Bioprospecting is legal but may promote biopiracy

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 BIOPIRACY …..

• Biopiracy operates through unfair application of patents to genetic

resources and traditional knowledge
• Biopiracy is the theft or usurpation of genetic materials especially
plants and other biological materials by the patent process
• example: use of indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants for
patenting by medical companies without recognizing the fact that
the knowledge is not new, or invented by the patenter
• Biopiracy deprives the indigenous community to the rights to
commercial exploitation of the technology that they themselves
had developed

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 COLUMBIAN EXCHANGE

The Columbian Exchange was the widespread transfer of plants, animals,

culture, human populations, technology, and ideas between the Americas
(NEW World) and the Old World in the 15th and 16th centuries, related to
European colonization and trade after Christopher Columbus’s 1492 voyage
• The contact between the two areas circulated a wide variety of new crops and
livestock, which supported increases in population in both hemispheres,
although diseases initially caused precipitous declines in the numbers
of indigenous peoples of the Americas
• Traders returned to Europe with maize, potatoes, and tomatoes, which became
very important crops in Europe by the 18th century
• The term was first used in 1972 by American historian Alfred W. Crosby in
his environmental history book The Columbian Exchange.

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 BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION
• Biodiversity conservation is about saving life on Earth in all its forms and
keeping natural ecosystems functioning and healthy
• Conservation is of two kinds : In-situ conservation and Ex-situ conservation
• In-situ conservation, the conservation of species in their natural habitats, is
considered the most appropriate way of conserving biodiversity.
• Conserving the areas where populations of species exist naturally is an
underlying condition for the conservation of biodiversity. That's why protected
areas form a central element of any national strategy to conserve biodiversity
• A protected area is a geographically defined area that is designated or
regulated and managed to achieve specific conservation objectives. It may be
set aside for the protection of biological diversity, and of natural and
associated cultural resources and is managed through legal or other effective
means.
• This includes national parks and nature reserves, sustainable use reserves
(biospheres), wilderness areas and heritage sites

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 EX-SITU CONSERVATION

• 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 or
species, and draws on a diverse body of techniques and facilities. Some of these include:
• Gene banks, e.g. seed banks, sperm and ova banks, field banks;
• In vitro plant tissue and microbial culture collections;
• Captive breeding of animals and artificial propagation of plants, with possible reintroduction into
the wild; and
• 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

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 CONVENTION ON BIOLOGICAL
DIVERSITY(CBD)- 1993
• The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), known informally as the Biodiversity Convention, is
a multilateral treaty

• The Convention has three main goals:

• conservation of biological diversity (or biodiversity);

• sustainable use of its components; and

• fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from genetic resources

• In other words, its objective is to develop national strategies for the conservation and sustainable use of biological
diversity. It is often seen as the key document regarding sustainable development

• The Convention was opened for signature at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro on 5 June 1992 and entered into
force on 29 December 1993

• It secured rights to control access to genetic resources for the countries in which those resources are located

• One objective of the CBD is to enable lesser-developed countries to better benefit from their resources and
traditional knowledge

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