Biodiversity and India

Biodiversity and India

India is home to several well known large mammals including  the Asian elephant, Bengal tiger, Asiatic lion, leopard and Indian rhinoceros. There are a wide range of ecozones – desert, high mountains highlands, tropical and temperate forests, swamplands, plain, grasslands, area surrounding rivers as well as archipelago. There are three biodiversity hotspot: the Western Ghats, the Eastern Himalayas and the hilly ranges at India –Manmar border. These hotspots have numerous endemic species. Since India is one of the eighteen mega-diverse countries, it is home to 7.6% of all mammalian, 12.6% of all avian, 6.2% of all reptilian, 4.4% of all amphibian 11.7% of all fish and 6.0% of all flowering plant species in the world. The protected areas in India  sum upto 92 national parks, 355 wildlife sanctuaries, 28 tiger reserves, 15 biosphere reserves, 4 coral reefs 34 mangrove forests, 19 zoos. Many national and international  agencies are working for conservation of biodiversity mainly  Project tiger and Project Elephant. India  joined International Convention on biological Diversity in 1994. The objectives of the convention are : conservation of biological diversity sustainable use   of its component and, fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the  utilization of genetic resources. A national policy and action strategy on biodiversity to consolidate the ongoing efforts of conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity and to establish a policy and program regime for the purpose, was released by the government on May 2000. To achieve these goals Biodiversity Bill 2000 was passed  in Parliament in December 2002. This bill seeks to check bio-piracy, protect biological biodiversity and local growers through a three –tier structure of central and state boards and local committees. These will regulate access to plant and animal genetic resources and share the benefits. The proposed National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) will deal with all cases of access foreigners. Its approval will be required,  before obtaining any intellectual property right on an invention based on a biological resource from  India or an its traditional knowledge. It will oppose such rights given in other countries. The NBA will enjoy the power of a civil court. In addition, the Centre may issue directives to any state, if it feels that a naturally rich area is threatened by overuse, abuse or neglect.

 The Upcoming Events

The world is preparing to celebrate yet another milestone in 2012 through the United Nation Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD). The 11^th conference of parties meeting, Convention on Biological diversity (CBD-COP 11), will be held in October, 2012. It is hailed as the most progressive multilateral environmental agreement, offering a unique opportunity to operate on the principles of sustainable development.

     Extinction is normal but the gravest part of the both evolution and biodiversity crisis; it is irreversible; species arise and die. However the rate of extinction is alarmingly high, mainly due to human activity. Humans cause large environmental disruptions that result in loss of biodiversity. Human impacts have  elevated the rate of  extinction by at least a thousand times the natural rate of extinction. Mass extinctions of this magnitude have occurred five times in the history of our planet; the last brought the end of the dinosaur age. Some of these disruptions are the clear-cutting  of forests and the deposition of contaminated sediments in lakes and oceans. Disruption ,such as these lead to the fragmentation, degradation and loss of habitats.

     Scientists predict that, as a result of human activities. Average2 ° C – 5°C in the near future. If the climate warms by only 2°C -5°c, some species will need to shift their ranges by as much 500 to 800 kilometers within a single century. Some habitats, such as alpine tundra, could be eliminated as forests expand up to the mountain slops.

    Organisms, that are able to disperse easily such as most birds, may be able to shift their  ranges as rapidly as the climate changes; provided that appropriate habitats exist in the new area. About 8,000 years ago, when in North America glaciers retreated, the ranges of some of the coniferous trees expanded northward. On the other hand, some earthworm species spread only very slowly into the areas that had been covered by ice. If the earth’s surface warms up, new climates will develop and some existing climates will disappear. The change of temperature will impact more at low elevations in the tropics.  Adaptation to those climates may prove to be difficult for many tropical organisms. Although there has been little change in tropical region, the night temperature is slowly becoming warmer. During the warmer night, trees use more of their energy  reserves which resulted in the reduction, of about 20 per cent, in the average growth rates of a few tree species. In 1998, the highest sea surface temperature caused corals to lose their endosymbiotic dino flagellates and increased the mortality world –wide.

     To preserve biodiversity, there is an urgent need to protect areas, restore habitat and develop programs to increase population of endangered species.