BIODIVERSITY IN INDIA

Anand Charvin &

Bhakar Ningombam

A BIT ABOUT INDIA

• India is situated north of the equator between 66°E to 98°E and 8°N to 36°N. It is bordered by Nepal, China and Bhutan in the north; Bangladesh and Myanmar in the east; the Bay of Bengal in the south east; the Indian Ocean in the south; the Arabian Sea in the west; and Pakistan in the north-west.

• The varied edaphic, climatic and topographic conditions have resulted in a wide range of ecosystems and habitats such as forests, grasslands, wetlands, coastal and marine ecosystems, and deserts. The mountainous region covers an area close to 100 mha, arid and semi-arid zones are spread over 30 mha and the coastline is about 8000 km long.

INDIA'S BIODIVERSITY : STATUS• India, known for its rich heritage of biological diversity, has so

far documented over 91,200 species of animals and 45,500 species of plants in its ten bio-geographic regions.

It is recognized as one of the eight Vavilovian centres of origin and diversity of crop plants, having more than 300 wild ancestors and close relatives of cultivated plants, which are still evolving under natural conditions.

• India ranks among the top ten species-rich nations and shows high endemism. India has two biodiversity hot spots.

• Eastern Himalayas• Western Ghats

India is sharing 12.53 % of world’s total biodiversity

• The extent of species endemism in vascular plants alone ranges from 32 to 40% in the mountain ecosystems. Other groups, such as reptiles, amphibians and fish show more than 50% of species endemism in Western Ghats.

• Of the 979 bird species recorded from the Himalayan region, four Endemic Bird Areas have been delineated for priority conservation measures

FACTS ABOUT INDIAN BIODIVERSITY• In terms of species richness, India ranks seventh in

mammals, • Ninth in birds and fifth in reptiles.

terms of endemism of vertebrate groups, India’s position is tenth in birds with 69 species,

• fifth in reptiles with 156 species and seventh in amphibians with 110 species.

• India’s share of crops is 44% as compared to the world average of 11%. India also has 23.39% of its geographical area under forest and tree cover.

LEGISLATIONS RELEVANT TO BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION

Relevant key legislation Key features

Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972

Deals with protection of wildlife and habitats and provides for the protection of wild animals, birds

and plants and related matters, with a view to ensuring the ecological and environmental security

of the country.

Indian Forest Act, 1927Designed for forest management and protection, the transit of forest- and the duty liveable on timber and

other forest produce.

Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 Designed for the conservation of forests and related matters

Biological Diversity Act, 2002

Provides for conservation of biological diversity, sustainable use of its components, and fair and

equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the use of biological resources, knowledge and related

matters

Biological Diversity Rules, 2004 Deals with operationalizing the Biological Diversity Act.

THE NATIONAL BIODIVERSITY ACTION PLAN• Strengthening and integrating in-situ, on farm and ex-situ conservation • Augmentation of natural resource base and it sustainable utilization • Regulating introductions and managing invasive alien species• Assessment of vulnerability and adaptation to climate change and

desertification• Integration of biodiversity concerns in economic and social development• Impact of pollution• Developing and integrating biodiversity databases• Strengthening implementation of policy, legislative and administrative

measures for biodiversity conservation and management• Developing national capacities for biodiversity conservation and appropriate

use of new technologies• Use of economic instruments/valuation in biodiversity related decision-

making processes• International cooperation

Biodiversity Conservation

In situ

Protected area network

Biosphere reserves

Terrestrial Marine

National parks, Wildlife

sanctuariesSacred groves, Sacred lakes

Sacred groves, Sacred lakes

Ex situ

Sacred plants, Home gardens

Seed banks, Field gene banks.

Botanical gardens, Arboreta

zoological gardens, Aquarium

TREATS TO BIODIVERSITY

• Hunting.• Deforestation.• Climatic changes• Forest fires• Over Exploitation• Pollution• Habitat Fragmentation