BIODIVERSITY AND ITS

CONSERVATION
DEFINITION
Biodiversity refers to variety and variability among all
groups of living organisms and the ecosystem
complexes in which they occur.
Biodiversity can be defined as the occurrence of different
types of genes, gene pools, species, habitats and
ecosystem in a given region.
LEVELS OF BIODIVERSITY
.
• Genetic Diversity - Each member of any animal or
plant species differs widely from other individuals in
its genetic makeup because of the large number of
combinations possible in the genes that give every
individual specific characteristics.
• Species Diversity - diversity among species in an
ecosystem. “Biodiversity hotspots" are excellent
examples of species diversity. The number of
species of plants and animals that are present in
a region constitutes its species diversity. Some
areas are more rich in species than others.
For example, the Western Ghats have a greater
amphibian species diversity than the Eastern Ghats.
• Ecosystem Diversity - diversity at a higher level of
organization, the ecosystem.
• Ecosystem diversity can be described for a specific
geographical region, or a political entity such as a
country, a State. Distinctive ecosystems include
land scapes such as forests, grasslands,
deserts, mountains, etc., as well as aquatic
ecosystems such as rivers, lakes, and the sea.
•  For example, India with its deserts, rain forests,
mangroves, coral reefs, wetlands, estuaries and
alpine meadows has a greater ecosystem diversity.
Global species diversity means total species present on the earth.
•i) According to IUCN (2018) the total number of plant and animal
species is slightly more than 1.5 million.
(ii) For many taxonomic groups, species inventories are more
complete in temperate than in tropical countries.
(iii) A more conservative and scientifically sound estimate by
Robert May, places the global species diversity at about 7 million.
(iv) More than 70% of all the species recorded are animals, while
plants comprise no more than 22% of the total.
(v) Among animals, insects are most species rich-taxonomic
group, making about 70% of the total. It means, out of every 10
animals, 7 are insects on the earth.
 India’s Major Biographic Habitats

S
.
Total Area
N Biogeographic Zone Biotic Province
(Sq. Km)
o
.
1 Trans Himalayan Upper Regions 186200
North-West Himalayan 6900
West Himalayas 720000
2 Himalayan
Central Himalayas 123000
East Himalayas 83000
Kutch 45000
3 Desert Thar 180000
Ladakh NA
Central India 107600
4 Semi Arid
Gujarat – Rajwara 400400
Malabar Coasts 59700
5 Western Ghats
Western Ghat Mountains 99300

Deccan plateau south 378000

Central plateau 341000
6 Deccan Peninsula Eastern plateau 198000
Chhota nagpur 217000
Central highlands 287000

Upper gangetic plains 206400

7 Gangetic Plain
Lower gangetic plain 153000
Brahmaputra valley 65200
8 North-East India
North-eastern hills 106200
• A bio-geographic Zone is a large
distinctive unit of similar ecology, biome
representation, community and species.

• The biotic province is secondary unit

within bio-geographic zone, giving weight
to particular community separated by
dispersal barriers or gradual change in
environmental factors for example North
West and Western Himalayas either side
of the Sutlej River.
• A biome is an ecological unit, not a bio-
geographical unit. It can be defined as
various similar ecosystems throughout the
world grouped together.
VALUE OF BIODIVERSITY
In terms of
≈ Commercial Utility
≈ Ecological Services
≈ Social and Aesthetic
Value
The multiple uses of Biodiversity or Biodiversity
value has been classified by McNeely et al in 1990
as follows:
» Consumptive Use Value
» Productive Use Value
» Social Value
» Aesthetic Value
» Option Value
» Ecosystem Service Value
Consumptive Use Value
Food
- 80,000 edible plant species
- 90% of food crops from wild tropical
plants
Drugs and Medicines
- 75% of world’s population depends
upon plants or plant extracts for
medicines.
Penicillin, used as an antibiotic is
derived
from a fungus called penicillium.
Tetracyclin from a bacterium.
Quinine is obtained from bark cinchona
tree.
Vimblastin and Vincristine, two anti
cancer drugs have been obtained from
periwinkle(catharanthus) plant.
Fuel
Forests used for Fuel Wood.
Fossil fuels Coal, Petroleum and natural
gas are also products of fossilized
biodiversity.
Productive Use Value
Commercially usable values where the
product is marketed and sold
» Wild Gene Resources – traded for use
by scientists for introducing desirable traits
in the crops and domesticated animals
» Others – Tusks of Elephants, Musk from
Musk deers, Silk from Silk Worms, Wool
from Sheep etc.
Industries dependant upon the productive
use value of Biodiversity.

→ Paper and Pulp Industry

→ Plywood Industry
→ Railway Industry
→ Textile Industry
→ Leather Industry
→ Pearl Industry
Social Value
→Values associated with social life,
customs, religion and psycho-spiritual
aspects of the people.

→Plants like Tulsi, Peepal, Mango,

Lotus etc are considered holy and their
leaves,fruits and flowers are used in
worship.
Ethical Value
→ Ethical issues like

“ all life must be preserved ”.

→ Based on the concept of

“ Live and Let Live ”.

Aesthetic Value

→Eco-tourism

→Eco-tourism is estimated to generate

about 12 million dollars of revenue
annually.
 Option Values
→Values include the potential of biodiversity
that are presently unknown and need to be
explored.

→Option value is the value of knowing that

there are biological resources on this
biosphere that may one day prove to be an
effective option for something important in the
future.
Ecosystem Service Value
→Non-consumptive use value related to
self maintenance of the ecosystem and
various important ecosystem.

→Refers to services provided by ecosystems

like:
» Prevention of Soil Erosion.
» Prevention of floods.
» Maintenance of soil fertility.
» Cycling of nutrients.
» Pollutant absorption and reduction of
the threat of Global Warming.
Different categories of biodiversity value
clearly indicate that ecosystem, species and
genetic biodiversity all have enormous
potential and a decline in biodiversity will
lead to huge economic, ecological and
socio-cultural losses.
Biodiversity Value of some selected
organisms in monetary terms.

A male Lion living up to the age of 7 years

can generate up to $ 515000 due to its
aesthetic value as paid by tourists.

In a lifetime a Kenyan Elephant can earn

worth $ 1 million as tourist revenue.
.

Tourism to great barrier reef in Australia earns $ 2

billion each year.

A tree provides $ 19,62,150 worth of ecological

services as oxygen, clean air, water recycling,
fertile soil, erosion control, wild life habitat, toxic
gas moderation etc…

Whereas its worth is only $ 590 if sold in market

as timber.
Global Biodiversity
→ Roughly 1.8 million species are
known till date.
→ Most of the world’s bio-rich nations
are in the developing nations.
→ The majority of the countries capable
of exploiting bio-diversity are developed
nations.
International agreements – World Heritage
Convention attempt to protect and support
such areas
India is a signatory to the convention and
has included areas covering Manas on the
border between Bhutan and India,
Kaziranga in Assam, Nandadevi in the
Himalayas and the Sunderbans in the
Ganges delta in west Bengal.
Indian Biodiversity
Every country is characterized by its
own biodiversity depending upon its
climate.

India has rich biological diversity of

flora and fauna.

6% of the global species are found in

India.
The total number of species found in
India is 150,000.
Out of a total of 25 biodiversity
hotspots in the world, India posses
2, one in the northern region and one
in the western ghats.
Regional Biodiversity
Four types – based upon their distribution.
→ Point Richness – refers to the number of
species that can be found at a single point
in a given space.
→ Alpha Richness – refers to the number of
species found in a small homogeneous
area.
→ Beta Richness – refers to the rate of
change in species composition across
different habitats.
→ Gamma Richness – refers to the rate of
change across large landscape.
INDIA AS MEGA DIVERSITY NATION
India is one of the 12 mega diversity countries in the world.
 Australia
 Brazil
 China
 Columbia
 Ecuador
 The United States
 India
 Indonesia
 Madagascar
 Mexico
 Peru
 The democratic Republic of Congo
→The ministry of environment and
forests, Govt. of India records 47000
species of plants and 81000 species of
animals i.e., 7% and 6.5% of the global
flora and fauna.
Endemism – Species which are restricted to
a particular area are known as endemic.
About 62% of amphibians and 50% lizards
are endemic to India.
Western Ghats are the site of maximum
endemism.
→ India is Centre of origin –
A large number of species are known to
have originated in India.
→ Marine Diversity – 7500 km long Indian
coastline is rich in mangroves, coral reefs
etc…
→ More than 340 species of corals of the
world are found here.
→ Several species of sea grasses are found
in India.
HOT SPOTS OF BIODIVERSITY
→Areas which exhibit high species richness
as well as high species endemism are
termed as hot spots of biodiversity.
→The term was introduced by Myers(1988).
→There are 25 hot spots at global level.
→According to Myers et al an area is
designated as a hotspot when it contains
atleast 0.5% of the plant species as
endemics.
→The hotspots cover less than 2% of the
world’s land but are found to have 50% of
the terrestrial biodiversity.
→The Indian hotspots are not only rich in
floral wealth and endemic species of
plants but also reptiles, amphibians,
swallow tailed butterflies and some
mammals.
Global Hot Spots of Biodiversity

→ Tropical Andes
→ Mesoamerican Forests
→ Caribbean
→ Brazil’s Atlantic Forests
→ Darien of Panama Western Ecuador
→ Central Chile
→ California Floristic Province
→ Madagascar
→Eastern Arc and Coastal Forest of
Tanzania.
→ Western Africa Forests.
→ Cape Floristic Province
→ Succulent Karoo
→ Mediterranean Basin
→ Caucasus
→ Sundal Land
→ Wallacea
→ Philippines.
→ Indo-Burma Eastern Himalayas
→ South Central China
→ Western Ghats of India
→ South Western Australia
→ New Caledonia
→ New Zealand
→ Polynesia/Micronesia
Threats to Biodiversity
→Extinction or elimination of a species is a natural
process of evolution.
→However, the rate of loss of species has been a
slow process.
→The process of extinction has become
particularly fast in the recent years of human
civilization.
→One of the estimates by E O. Wilson puts the
figure of extinction at 10,000 species per year.
Major causes for loss of Biodiversity
→Loss of Habitat – Destruction and loss of natural
habitat is the single largest cause of biodiversity
loss.
→Billions of hectares of forests and grasslands
have cleared over the past 10,000 years.
→Sometimes the loss of habitat is in installments
so that the habitat is divided in to small and
scattered patches – Habitat fragmentation.
→Poaching – Illegal trade of wildlife products.
→Man-Wild Life Conflicts
In Sambhalpur, Orissa 195 humans were killed in the last
five years by Elephants. In retaliation the villagers killed
98 elephants and badly injured 30 others.

The Man-Elephant Conflicts in the regions of Kote-

Chamrajanagar has arisen because of massive damage
done by the elephants to the cotton and sugar cane
crops.

In 2004, a man eating tiger was reported to kill 16 Nepalese

people and one 4 year child inside the royal Chitwan
National Park.

June 2004, two men were killed by leopard in Powai,

Mumbai.
Causes for Man-Animal Conflict
• Dwindling habitat of tigers, elephants, rhinos and
bears due to shrinking forests.
• Usually the ill and weak animals have tendency
to attack humans.
• Insufficient food supply.
• Encroachment of wild-life corridors.
• The cash compensation paid by the government
in lieu of the damage caused to the farmers is not
enough. The agonized farmer therefore gets
revengeful and kills wild animals.
Remedial Measures to Curb the Conflicts.

• Tiger conservation project has made

provisions for making available vehicles,
tranquillizer guns, binoculars and radio
sets etc… to tactfully deal with any
imminent danger.
• Adequate crop compensation and cattle
compensation scheme must be started,
along with substantial cash compensation
for loss of human life.
• Cropping pattern should be changed near
the forest borders and adequate fodder,
fruit and water should be made available to
the elephants with in the forest zone.

• Wild-life corridors should be provided for

mass migration of animals during
unfavorable periods.
• 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…

• A species is said to be endangered when

its number has been reduced to a critical
level or whose habitats, have been
drastically reduced an dif such a species is
not protected and conserved, it is in
immediate danger of extinction.
• A species is said to be in vulnerable
category if its population is facing a
continuous decline due to over exploitation
or habitat destruction. Such a species is till
abundant, but under a serious threat of
becoming endangered if casual factors are
not checked.
• Species which are not endangered or
vulnerable at present, but are at a risk are
categorized as rare species. These
species are usually endemic.
Endangered Species of India
• Red Data Book published by IUCN
includes the list of endangered species of
plants and animals.
• In India, nearly 450 plant species have
been identified in the categories of
endangered.
• Existence of 150 mammals and 150
species of birds is estimated to be
threatened while an unknown number of
species of insects are endangered.
A few Species of endangered reptiles, birds,
mammals and plants:

a. Reptiles: Gharial, Green Sea Turtle,

Tortoise, Python.
b. Birds:Great Indian Bustard, Pelican
Peacock, Great Indian Hornbill, Siberian
White Crane.
c. Carnivores: Indian Wolf, Red Fox, Sloth
Bear, Red Panda, Tiger, Leopard Striped
Hyena Indian Lion, Golden Cat, Dugong.
d. Primates: Hoolock Gibbon, Lion tailed
Macaque, Nilgiri Langur,
Capped Monkey, Golden
Monkey.
e. Plants: Number of species of
Orchids, Rhododendrons,
Medicinal plants like
Rauvolfia Serpentina, the
sandal wood tree Santalum,
Cycus Bedoni etc…
Zoological Survey of India reported that Cheetah
Pink headed Duck and mountain Quail have
already become extinct from India.
Endemic Species of India
• India has two Biodiversity Hot Spots and
thus possesses a large number of
endemic species.
• Indian Subcontinent has about 62%
endemic flora, restricted mainly to
Himalayas, Khasi Hills and Western
Ghats.
• Indian endemic flora includes Orchids and
species like Sapria Himalayana, Uvaria
Lirida, Nepenthes Khasiana, Pedicularis
perroter etc…
• The Western Ghats are particularly rich in
amphibians and reptiles.
• About 62% amphibians and 50% lizards
are endemic to western ghats.
• Different species of Monitor Lizards,
Reticulated Python and Indian
Salamandar and Viviparous Toad are
some important species of our country.
Conservation of Biodiversity
The enormous value of Biodiversity due to their
generic, commercial, medical, aesthetic,
ecological and optional importance emphasizes
the need to conserve Biodiversity.
There are two approaches to Biodiversity
Conservation:
→ In Situ Conservation – This is achieved by
protection of wild life flora and fauna in nature
itself. E.g., Biosphere Reserves, National Parks,
Sanctuaries, Reserve Forests etc…
→ Ex Situ Conservation – This is done by
establishment of gene banks, seed banks, zoos,
botanical gardens, culture collections etc…
In Situ Conservation
• At present there are 7 major Biosphere
Reserves, 80 National Parks, 420 Wild-Life
Sanctuaries and 120 botanical gardens in India
covering 4% of geographic area.
• The Biosphere Reserves conserve some
representative ecosystems as a whole for long
term in situ conservation. In India we have
Nanda Devi, Nokrek Manas, Sunderbans, Gulf
of Mannar, Nilgiri, Great NIcobars and Similipal
Biosphere reserves.
• A National Park is an area dedicated for
the conservation of wild-life along with its
environment. It is also meant for
enjoyment through tourism but without
impairing the environment.
• Each National Park usually aims at
conservation specifically of some
particular species of wild-life along with
others.
• Wild-Life Sanctuaries are protected areas
where killing, hunting, shooting or
capturing of wild-life is prohibited except
under the control of highest authority.
• Private Ownership rights are permissible
and forestry operations are also permitted
to an extent that do not affect the wild-life
adversely.
Ex Situ Conservation
• This type of conservation is mainly done for
conservation of crop varieties, the wild relatives
of crops and all the local varieties with the main
objective of conserving the total genetic
variability of the crop species for future crop
improvement programs.
• In India there are 3 important gene bank/seed
bank facilities:
→ NBPGR
→ NBAGR
→ NBFGR