About Authors:
Shanky Bhat*, Kushal Kandhari
M Phil-Ph.D Scholar
School of Environment and Sustainable Development
Central University of Gujarat,
Sector 30, Gandhinagar, Gujarat 382030
bhatsiya@gmail.com
Abstract:
For much of the time man lived in a hunter-gather society and thus depended entirely on biodiversity for sustenance. But, with the increased dependence on agriculture and industrialization, the emphasis on biodiversity has decreased. Indeed, the biodiversity, in wild and domesticated forms, is the source for most of humanity, food, medicine, clothing and housing, much of the cultural diversity and most of the intellectual and spiritual inspiration. It is, without doubt, the very basis of life. Further that, a quarter of the earth’s total biological diversity amounting to 1.7 million species, which might be useful to mankind in one way or other, would be in serious risk of existence over the next 2-3 decades. On realization that the erosion of biodiversity may threaten the very existence of life has awakened man to take steps to conserve it. In this paper, the overview of biodiversity status of India, its importance, threats to it and various approaches for biodiversity conservation, action plan and current status have been discussed.
Reference Id: PHARMATUTOR-ART-1984
Introduction
The concept of biodiversity (synonyms with biological diversity) has been known to man ever since he began to minutely observe the living being around him. The term biological diversity was used by Robert E. Jenkins and Thomas Lovejoy in 1980. The word biodiversity itself may have been coined by W. G. Rosen in 1985 [1,2]. The term biodiversity was used as the title for a symposium organized by national Research council in Washington in 1986. At about that time, as people became more aware of the extinction crisis, biodiversity emerged as a significant issue. It was given concrete expression in the World Resources Institute (WRI), World Bank (WB), and International Union of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) publications concerned with conservation of world’s biological diversity. However, biodiversity did not became a familiar term to general public until the United Nations Conference on the Environmental and Development (UNCED) held at Rio de Janerio (Brazil) in 1992. The Conference laid immense stress on the biological diversity of our earth planet and the need to preserve it for posterity. It defined the biodiversity [2]:
‘Biodiversity means the variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems.’ This is the single legally accepted definition of biodiversity adopted by the UN convention on Biological Diversity [1]. The most straight forward definition of biodiversity is the variation of life at all levels of biological organization. It includes diversity of forms right from the molecular unit to the individual organism, and then on to the population, community, ecosystem, landscape and biosphere levels. In the simplest sense, biodiversity may be defined as the sum total of species richness, i.e. the number of species of plants, animals and microorganisms occurring in a given region, country, continent of the entire globe. Broadly speaking, the term biodiversity includes genetic diversity, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and habit diversity [1, 2, 3 and 8].
Genetic diversity (Diversity of genes within a species). Genetic diversity refers to the variation of genes among the population and the individuals of the same species. There are about 1.7 million known species of living forms on the earth. Each one stores an immense amount of genetic information. For example, the number of genes is ~35,000 in Homo sapiens. Genetic variation within species constitutes distinct populations of the same species or genetic variation within population or varieties. Genetic variations represent the differences in the sequence of bases in nucleotides, which constitutes the genetic code. Genetic variations are due to gene mutations, and in an organism with sexual reproduction these can spread by crossing-over and recombination. Other kinds of genetic diversity can be seen at all levels of organization, including the amount of DNA per cell, chromosome structure and their number. Genetic diversity provides the raw materials for adaptation to changing environment and for the natural selection to act upon. If a species has more genetic variability, it can adapt better of to the changed environment. The amount of genetic variation is the basis of the evolution of new life forms (speciation). It has a key role in the maintenance of biodiversity at species levels.
Species diversity (Diversity among species). It refers to the variety of species within a region, i.e. the number of species per unit area at the site (species richness). An estimated 1.7 million species have been described to date. Species are the primary focus of evolutionary mechanisms and therefore the origin and evolution of species are principle agents in maintenance of global biodiversity.
Ecosystem diversity (Diversity at the level of community/ecosystem). In an ecosystem there may exist different landforms, each of which supports different but specific vegetation’s. Ecosystem diversity in contrast to genetic and specific diversity is difficult to assess quantitatively since the boundaries of the communities, which constitute the various sub-ecosystems are elusive. Ecosystem diversity could best understood if one studies the communities in various ecological niches within the given ecosystem; each ecosystem is associated with defined species complexes. These complexes are related to composition and structure of the ecosystem.
Habitat diversity-It involves more than just the kind of communities and species- it depends on the spatial arrangement of habitats across a large and on the fluxes of energy, nutrients, disturbances and organisms across the area. Ecological use three different terms for various practical measures of biodiversity [1, 3]:
1. Alpha diversity. It refers to diversity within a particular area, community or ecosystem, and is measured by counting the number of taxa within the ecosystem (usually species).
2. Beta diversity. It refers to species diversity between ecosystems and is measured by comparing the number of texa that are unique to each of the ecosystems.
3. Gamma diversity. It is a measure of overall diversity for different ecosystems within a region. Species diversity in natural habitats is a high in warm areas and decreases with increasing latitude and altitude. On land, diversity is higher in areas of higher rainfall and lower in drier areas. Tropical moist forests undoubtedly, are the richer areas. These comprise only 7% of the world surface area, but contain over 90% of all species.
Ecological role of biodiversity All species provide some kind of function to an ecosystem. They can capture and store energy, produce organic material, decompose organic material, help to recycle water and nutrients throughout the ecosystem, control erosion or pests, fix atmospheric gases, and help regulate climate. These physiologically processes are important for ecosystem function and human survival [3, 4].
Diverse is the ecosystem better able to withstand environmental stress and consequently is more productive. The loss of a species is thus likely to decrease the ability of the system to maintain itself or to recover from damage or disturbance. Just like a species with high genetic diversity, an ecosystem with high biodiversity may have a greater chance of adapting to environmental change. In other words, the more species comprising an ecosystem, the more stable the ecosystem is likely to be.
Economic role of biodiversity For all humans, biodiversity is first a resource for daily life. One important part of biodiversity is cr op diversity, which is also called agro biodiversity. Most people see biodiversity as a reservoir of resources to be drawn upon for the manufacture of food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic products. Some of the important economic commodities that biodiversity supplies to humankind are:
1. Modern agriculture: Biodiversity is used as a source of material for breeding improved varieties, and as biopesticides, biofertilizers etc.
2. Food: Crops, livestock, forestry and fish. Mangroves and coral reefs in coastal zone support fisheries. Aesthetic and cultural benefits
Biodiversity has great aesthetic value. Examples of aesthetic value include eco-tourism, bird watching, wildlife, gardening, etc. Eco-tourism is a source of economical wealth for many areas, such as many parks and forests, where wild nature and animals are a source of beauty and joy for many people.
Biodiversity is also part of many cultural and religious beliefs. In many Indian villages and towns, plants like Ocimum sanctum (Tulsi), Ficus religiosa (Pipal), and Prosopis cineraria (Khejri) and various other trees are considered sacred and worshipped by the people. Several birds, animals and even snake have been considered sacred. Also, we recognize several animals as symbols of national and heritage.
Scientific role of biodiversity Biodiversity is important because each species can give scientists some clue as to how the life evolved and will continue to evolve on Earth. In addition, biodiversity helps scientists understand how life functions and the role of each species in sustaining ecosystems.
Biodiversity conservation methods We must make every effort to preserve, conserve and manage biodiversity. Protected areas, from large wilderness reserves to small sites for particular species and reserves for controlled uses, will all be part of this process. Protected areas are legally established sites managed for conservation of biodiversity. Worldwide about 8,163 protected areas cover over 750 million hectares of marine and terrestrial ecosystems, amounting to 1.5 percent of Earth’s surface. [4, 5]
India is the second most populous country, and therefore any plan attempting at conservation must consider socio-economic development as the mounting human pressure threatens the biotic resources of the country [6, 7]. Furthermore, ours is predominantly an agriculture country, and hence, policy makers should realize that conservation and sustainable utilization of biodiversity is the key to all developmental planning projects.
Conserving biodiversity To conserve biodiversity, the immediate task is to device and enforce time bound programme for saving plant and animal species as well as habitat of biological resources. Hence for conservation of biodiversity following steps have to be taken [6]:
1. Conservation of biodiversity through a network of protected areas including National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries, Biosphere Reserves, Tiger Reserves, Marine Reserves, Gene Banks, Wetlands, Mangroves, Coral Reefs, etc.;
2. Rehabilitation of rural poor/tribes displaced due to creation of protected areas;
3. Conservation of micro-organisms which help in reclamation of wastelands and revival of biological potential of land;
4. Protection and sustainable use of genetic resources/germplasm through appropriate laws and practices;
5. Regular access to biological resources of the country with the purpose of securing equitable share in benefits arising out of the use of biological resources and associated knowledge relating to it;
6. Control of over-exploitation through TRAFFIC, CITES and other agencies, and also through treaties/protocols//environmental protection laws at National/International level;
7. Protection of domesticated plant and animal species in order to conserve indigenous genetic diversity;
8. Maintenance of corridors between different nature reserves for the possible migration of species in response to climate, or any other disturbing factor;
9. Support for protecting traditional skills and knowledge for conservation;
10. Multiplication and breeding of threatened species through modern techniques of tissue culture and biotechnology;
11. Discouragement of monoculture introduction; and
12. Restriction on introduction of exotic species without adequate investigations
Conclusion:
It is imperative that the phenomenon of biodiversity is very vast, complex and interdependent and there is no single over-arching effect of diversity on either productivity or stability.
The realized effects will depend heavily on environmental context and the time scale over which the effects are studied. However, it has become obvious that biodiversity is indeed important for both managed and natural ecosystems, though the relative contributions of diversity and composition remain unclear. It is therefore necessary for legislators to understand the basic science in order to maintain diversity at its current levels. If current human growth and resource management patterns do not change, it is likely that we will lose many important species, and the ecosystems of the world may never recover. In present paper the various conservation strategies by government, voluntary organizations, public participation as well as the individual efforts have been discussed, that how they commutatively plays a major role for the conservation of the biodiversity.
Human is only one more of natural creatures and should not be alien to the other life-forms. We have no moral right to destroy nature and other beings that dwell on earth. We should treat all animals and plants with compassion. Every individual can make a small and yet significant effort in the race to save our planet and conserve biodiversity.
References
[1] Sharma, P. D. (2012). Ecology and Environment. ISBN-13: 978-81-7133-965-5.
[2] Agrawal, K. C. (2009). Biodiversity: Concept, Conservation and Management. ISBN: 81-89153 05-6.
[3] Ahluwalia, V. K.; Malhotra, S. (2008). Environmental Science. ISBN-13: 978-1-42007-069-9.
[4] Balvanera, P.; Daily, G. C.; Ehrlich, P. R.;. Ricketts, T. H.; Bailey, S. A.; Kark, S.; Kremen, C.; Pereira, H. (2001). Conserving Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. Science.
[5] Chaturvedi, Mahendra (2010). Biodiversity and Conservation. ISBN: 978-93-80388-03-8.
[6] National Biodiversity Action Plan (2008). Government of India. Ministry of Environment and Forests.
[7] Pandey,B. N.; Singh, Shiveh P.; Singh, Rashmi (2010). Sustainable Management and Conservation of Biodiversity. ISBN: 978-93-80428-01-7.
[8] The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) cbd.int
NOW YOU CAN ALSO PUBLISH YOUR ARTICLE ONLINE.
SUBMIT YOUR ARTICLE/PROJECT AT articles@pharmatutor.org
Subscribe to Pharmatutor Alerts by Email
FIND OUT MORE ARTICLES AT OUR DATABASE
.png)
