5/15/2022

Biodiversity
and
Conservation

CONTENTS
A) Introduction and Definitions
a) Levels: Genetics, Species and community/ecosystem diversity
b) Value of biodiversity
c) India as a mega diversity nation -
d) Biodiversity at global, national and local levels
e) Hot spot of biodiversity

B) Threat to biodiversity
a) Habitat Loss
b) Poaching of Wildlife
c) Man-Animal Conflicts

C) Conservation of Biodiversity
a) In-situ Conservation
b) Ex- Situ Conservation

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INTRODUCTION
What do you understand by Biodiversity?

The term biodiversity (from “biological diversity”) refers to the variety of life on Earth at all its
levels, from genes to ecosystems, and can encompass the evolutionary, ecological, and
cultural processes that sustain life.

Biodiversity comes from two words Bio meaning life and diversity meaning variability.

Biodiversity includes not only species we consider rare, threatened, or endangered but also
every living thing—from humans to organisms we know little about, such as microbes, fungi,
and invertebrates.

Levels (or types) of biodiversity

Biodiversity is usually explored at three levels -
genetic diversity, species diversity and
ecosystem diversity. These three levels work
together to create the complexity of life on Earth.
Genetic diversity
Genetic diversity is the variety of genes within a
species. A species may have different
populations, each having different genetic
compositions.
To conserve genetic diversity, different
populations of a species must be conserved.

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Levels (or types) of biodiversity(contd.)

Species diversity

Species diversity is the variety of species within a habitat or a region.

Some habitats, such as rainforests and coral reefs, have many
species. Others, such as salt flats or a polluted stream, have fewer.

Species are grouped together into families according to shared

characteristics. In India a lot of species of plants and animals are
endemic.

Invertebrates - animals without backbones - make up about 99% of all

animal species, and most of these are insects. Invertebrates
include crabs, snails, worms, corals and sea stars, as well as insects,
such as beetles and flies. Insects fill many vital roles in ecosystems as
pollinators, recyclers of nutrients, scavengers and food for others.

• Alpha diversity refers to the average species diversity

within a particular area, habitat, community or
ecosystem.

• It is measured by counting the number of taxa (distinct

groups of animals) within the ecosystem.

• Beta diversity is species diversity between ecosystems

refers to the ratio between alpha diversity and regional
diversity or comparison of taxa that are unique to each
of the ecosystem.

• Gamma diversity is the overall diversity for different

ecosystems within a region or total diversity over a large
area or region.

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Levels (or types) of biodiversity(contd.)

Community/Ecosystem Diversity:

Ecosystem Diversity can be defined as

the variety of different habitats,
communities and ecological processes. A
biological community is defined by the
species that occupy a particular area and
the interactions between those species. A
biological community together with its
associated physical environment is
termed an ecosystem.

Understand with Images

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Biodiversity at global, national and local levels

There are at present 1.8 million species known and documented by scientists in the world. However, scientists have
estimated that the number of species of plants and animals on earth could vary from 1.5 to 20 billion! Thus the
majority of species are yet to be discovered.

Most of the world’s bio-rich nations are in the South, which are the developing nations. In contrast, the majority of
the countries capable of exploiting biodiversity are Northern nations, in the economically developed world. These
nations however have low levels of biodiversity. Thus the developed world has come to support the concept that
biodiversity must be considered to be a ‘global resource’.

However, if biodiversity should form a ‘common property resource’ to be shared by all nations, there is no reason to
exclude oil, or uranium, or even intellectual and technological expertise as global assets. India’s sovereignty over its
biological diversity cannot be compromised without a revolutionary change in world thinking about sharing of all
types of natural resources.

Biodiversity at global, national and local levels

(contd.)
Countries with diversities higher than India are located in South America such as Brazil, and South East Asian
countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia.

While few of the other ‘megadiversity nations’ have developed the technology to exploit their species for
biotechnology and genetic engineering, India is capable of doing so.

Throughout the world, the value of biologically rich natural areas is now being increasingly appreciated as being of
unimaginable value. International agreements such as the World Heritage Convention attempt to protect and
support such areas.

India is a signatory to the convention and has included several protected Areas as World Heritage sites. These
include Manas on the border between Bhutan and India, Kaziranga in Assam, Bharatpur in U.P., Nandadevi in the
Himalayas, and the Sunderbans in the Ganges delta in West Bengal.

India has also signed the Convention in the Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) which is intended to reduce the
utilization of endangered plants and animals by controlling trade in their products and in the pet trade.

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Value of Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the most precious gift of nature mankind is blessed with. As all the organisms
in an ecosystem are interlinked and interdependent, the value of biodiversity in the life of all
the organisms including humans is enormous.

Major values of biodiversity are as follows:

1. Environmental Value 2. Social Value 3. Ecosystem Services 4. Economic Value 5.

Consumptive use value 6. Productive Use Value 7. Ethical and Moral Value 8. Aesthetic
Value.

Reference : National Biodiversity action plan (India)

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1. Environmental Value:
The environmental value of biodiversity can be found by examining each ecosystem process and identifying the ecosystem
services that result. For instance, in wetlands the vegetation captures water- carried sediment and the soil organisms break down
a range of nutrients and pollutants washed into the area.

2. Social Value:
The social value of biodiversity includes aesthetic, recreational, cultural and spiritual values. To this can be added health benefits
resulting from recreational and other activities. While traditional societies which had a small population and required less
resources had preserved their biodiversity as a life supporting resource, modern man has rapidly depleted it even to the extent of
leading to the irrecoverable loss due to extinction of several species.

3. Ecosystem Services:
These services also support human needs and activities such as intensely managed production ecosystems.
Ecosystem service includes:
a. The production of oxygen by land based plants and marine algae;
b. The maintenance of fresh water quality by vegetation slowing run off, trapping sediment and removing nutrients and by soil
organisms breaking down pollutants;
c. The production and maintenance of fertile soil as a result of many interacting processes;
d. The provision of foods such as fish, pastures for cattle and sheep, timber, fire wood and harvested wildlife such as kangaroos
and native cut flowers;
e. The provision of native species and genes used in industry research and development, for instance, in traditional breeding and
biotechnology applications in agriculture, forestry, horticulture, mariculture, pharmacy, chemicals production and
bioremediation; and many more……

4. Economic Value:
The economic potential of biodiversity is immense in terms of food, fodder, medicinal, ethical and social values. Biodiversity forms the major
resource for different industries, which govern the world economy.
The salient features regarding the economical potential of biodiversity are given below:
1. The major fuel sources of the world including wood and fossil fuels have their origin due to biodiversity.
2. It is the source of food for all animals and humans.
3. Many important chemicals have their origin from the diverse flora and fauna, used in various industries.
4. Diverse group of animals are used for medical research during the testing of new drugs.

5. Consumptive use value:

This is related to natural products that are used directly for food, fodder, timber, fuel wood etc. Humans use at least 40,000 species of plants
and animals on a daily basis. Many people around the world still depend on wild species for most of their needs like food, shelter and clothing.
The tribal people are completely dependent on the forests for their daily needs.

6. Productive Use Value:

This is assigned to products that are commercially harvested and marketed. Almost all the present date agricultural crops have originated
from wild varieties. The biotechnologists continuously use the wild species of plants for developing new, better yielding and disease resistant
varieties. Biodiversity represents the original stock from which new varieties are being developed.

7. Ethical and Moral Value:

It is based on the principle of ‘live and let others live’. Ethical values related to biodiversity conservation are based on the importance of
protecting all forms of life. All forms of life have the right to exist on earth. Man is only a small part of the Earth’s great family of species

8. Aesthetic Value:
The beauty of our planet is because of biodiversity, which otherwise would have resembled other barren planets dotted around the universe.
Biological diversity adds to the quality of life and provides some of the most beautiful aspects of our existence. Biodiversity is responsible for
the beauty of a landscape.

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Hotspots of Biodiversity
A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region with significant levels of biodiversity that is threatened
by human habitation.
To qualify as a biodiversity hotspot, a region must meet two strict criteria:
1.It must have at least 1,500 vascular plants as endemics — which is to say, it must have a high
percentage of plant life found nowhere else on the planet. A hotspot, in other words, is irreplaceable.
2.It must have 30% or less of its original natural vegetation. In other words, it must be threatened.
Around the world, 36 areas qualify under this definition. These sites support nearly 60% of the world's
plant, bird, mammal, reptile, and amphibian species, with a very high share of those species as
endemics. Some of these hotspots support up to 15,000 endemic plant species and some have lost up
to 95% of their natural habitat.

Global Hotspots of Biodiversity

Global 200: The earth’s biodiversity is distributed into specific ecological regions. Out of these, 200 regions are said
to be the richest, rarest, and most distinctive natural areas. These are referred to as the ‘Global 200’.

Most of these are located in developing nations including South Asia, South-East Asia and South America.

India is a major area for its biological assets, and is referred as mega-diversity nation.

Within India, the N-E states, Western Ghats and Himalayas are considered to be very rich in species.

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are also extremely rich in species and many subspecies have evolved here.

Mangrove river deltas are highly productive ecosystems and rich breeding grounds of marine and brackish water
species.

Among the endemic species, i.e., those found only in India, a large proportion are concentrated in these bio-rich
hotspots.

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India’s Globally recognised Hotspots of

Biodiversity
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are also extremely rich in species and many subspecies have evolved here.

Among the endemic species, i.e., those found only in India, a large proportion are concentrated in these bio-rich
hotspots.

The N-E states and the Western Ghats, each has 1500 endemic species

Corel reefs in Indian waters surround the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the Lakshdweep Islands, the gulf areas of
Gujarat, shallow seas off the coast of Tamil Nadu and the Angria bank are super rich in species and are now
considered as as important and species rich as the tropical evergreen forests.

Hotspots of biodiversity have been included in Protected area systems – National Parks and Wildlife sanctuaries – to
safeguard their flora and fauna

Bio-rich areas such as sacred groves are protected by local tribal folk across most forest tracts of India. They are
now referred to as “other effective” (area based ) conservation measures.

Biodiversity Hotspots in India

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India - A Mega Diversity Nation

India has:

 47,513 plant species

 91000 animal species

 410 mammal species
 526 reptile species
 1266 bird species
 405 amphibian species

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India - A Mega Diversity Nation

 Common plant species are:
 Teak, Sal, Mango, Ficus, Neem, Tamarind, Babul, Ber, Jamun, Tendu, Flame of the Forest, Coral tree,
Amla, Dipterocarps, Oak, Pine, Cycads, Coconut, Orchids, Drosera, Lotus, Grasses, Bamboo, Wild
relatives of crops

 Common animal species are:

Mammals: common deer species include sambar, chital (spotted deer), barasingha, barking deer, hangul
deer (Kashmir), the wild ass, Asiatic lion, black bug, Indian elephant, rare chausingha, nilgai, leopard, wolf,
jackal, fox, wild dog, Indian Pangolin, monkey species like bonnet macaque, rhesus macaque, common,
golden and capped langur, etc.

India - A Mega Diversity Nation

 Common animal species are:

Birds: 1200 species in India.
Forest Birds: Frugivores like Hornbills, parakeets, barbets, bulbuls, insectivorous birds like
flycatchers, bee-eaters, babblers, several birds of prey such as eagles, falcons and kites, many of
which are now endangered
Grassland birds: the Great Indian Bustard (most threatened species), floricans (threatened),
quails, munias, larks, etc.
Aquatic birds: waders, gulls, terns live along the seashore and many of these have lost their
habitat due to pollution. The freshwater aquatic birds stilts, egrets, sandpipers, storks, cranes,
spoonbills, herons flamingoes, pelicans, ducks, geese. Many species are migrant. They breed in
Northern Europe or Siberia and come to India during winters.

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India - A Mega Diversity Nation

 Common animal species are:
Reptiles: India has wide variety of reptiles with high level of endemism. Lizards are threatened due to skin
trade. The most common Indian snakes include the rock python, the grass snake, and the vine snake
We rarely appreciate the fact that only few species such as the king cobra, cobra, krait, Russell’s viper are
venomous while most other snakes are harmless.
The star tortoise is found in arid lands and illegally exported for pet trade.
The olive ridley turtle is a marine turtle and comes to nest in large numbers on the coast of Odisha. This
unique phenomenon is called arribada.
Many turtles are becoming increasingly rare due to poaching of adults and eggs.
The crocodile is our largest reptiles and poached for its prized skin.
Ghariyal is endemic to India and is highly threatened.

India - A Mega Diversity Nation

 Common animal species are:
 Ambhibians: frogs, toads and skinks are most common and found in N-E and Western Ghats. It is now
believed that global warming and increasing levels of UV radiation may be seriously affecting
amphibian population in some areas.
 Invertebrates: include a variety of taxa that live in land and water ecosystems. Microscopic animals like
protozoa and zooplankton form the basis of food chain in aquatic habitats. Coral is formed by colonies
of polyp-like animals. Worms, molluscs, spiders, crabs, jellyfish and octopus are few better known
invertebrates found in India. India is also rich in butterflies and moth species
 Marine life: fishes, crabs, shrimps – used as food, marine turtles and whales – killed for their fat,
overharvesting, mechanized boats with giant, small-meshed nets are major cause of depletion.
Whales, sharks an dolphins that live in Indian Ocean are now threatened due to fishing in the deep
sea.

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Threat to Biodiversity
1. Habitat Loss
Habitat loss refers to the disappearance of natural
environments that are home to particular plants and animals.
There are three major types of habitat loss: habitat destruction,
habitat degradation, and habitat fragmentation.

Habitat Destruction:

Habitat destruction is the process by which natural habitat is

damaged or destroyed to such an extent that it no longer is
capable of supporting the species and ecological communities
that naturally occur there. It often results in the extinction of
species and, as a result, the loss of biodiversity.

Habitat Degradation
Habitat degradation is another consequence of
human development. Humans indirectly cause
habitat degradation through pollution, climate
change, and the introduction of invasive species,
all of which reduce the quality of the
environment, making it difficult for native plants
and animals to thrive

Habitat Fragmentation
Human development also leads to habitat
fragmentation, as wild areas are carved
up and split into smaller pieces.
Fragmentation reduces animal ranges
and restricts movement, placing animals
in these areas at higher risk of extinction.
Breaking up habitat can also separate
animal populations, reducing genetic
diversity

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2. Poaching of Wildlife

Poaching is the illegal hunting, capturing, and often

killing of wild animals.
It has been done for a number of reasons, including
claiming the land for human use, but recently,
the illegal act is being done for other ridiculous
motives, especially the desire for rare animal
products such as ivory, fur, organs, skin, bones, or
teeth.

Other activities such as killing a wild or protected

animal without a license, in a prohibited manner,
while trespassing, or exceeding one’s bag limit is
also considered as poaching.

The image provided depicts the species worst hit

during 2015-16 in India due to poaching.

3. Man-Wildlife Conflict

Human-wildlife conflict (HWC) refers to struggles that arise when the presence
or behaviour of wildlife poses actual or perceived direct, recurring threats to
human interests or needs, often leading to disagreements between groups of
people and negative impacts on people and/or wildlife.
Causes of Human-wildlife Conflict:
Lack of Protected Area: Marine and terrestrial protected areas only
cover 9.67% globally. About 40% of the African lion range and 70% of the
African and Asian elephant ranges fall outside protected areas.
In India, 35% tiger ranges currently lie outside protected areas.
Wildlife-borne Infections: Covid-19 pandemic – sparked by a zoonotic disease
is driven by the close association of people, their livestock, and wildlife and by
the unregulated consumption of wild animals.
With closer and more frequent and diverse contact between animals and
people, the probability of animal microbes being transferred to people
increases.

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4. Biological Invasion

Invasive Species: Exotic species or weeds, not a part of the natural vegetation, have been imported into the
country from abroad and have invaded or occupied large tracts of our natural forests
◦ Examples: Lantana, water hyacinth, Parthenium (congress grass), Eupatorium
◦ These invasive shrubs and weeds grow at the expense of the diverse rabge of plant species and have
negative impact on the diversity of insects, birds and other wildlife species, which depend largely on
local plant species.
◦ Island flora and fauna have been most seriously affected by human activity. The Dodo in Madagaskar is
a well-known example.

Classification of Endangered Species (IUCN)

DD (Data Deficient)
NE (Not Evaluated)

LC

NT

VU

EN

CR

EW

EX

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Case Studies
The Great Indian Bustard : Listed as critically endangered species with ~150 individuals left exclusively in India. Direct and
indirect human exploitation, habitat loss, changed cropping pattern, being low and heavy flyers-face a high risk of fatal collisions
with power lines. Currently the largest population is present in the Thar landscape in Rajasthan. Schedule 1 of the Wildlife
Protection Act, 1972 gave the highest protection status to this bird.

Siberian Crane : Critically endangered, the third rarest and the most threatened species of crane. India lost this migratory bird
species forever. Last bird was seen in India in 2002.

Guarat’s gentle giant- The Whale Shark : Known to be the largest fish on the earth. Plankton-feeding, migratory shark species is
found along the Indian coastline. Unsustainable and unregulated capture to meet international trade demands for shark fins,
liver oil, skin, meat are the major threats. Also, accidental entanglement in trawl nets, collision with boats and extensive coastal
pollution are additional threats. Conservation efforts are in place jointly by Wildlife Trust of India, MoEF, Tata Chemicals and local
fisherman.

Olive Ridley Turtles : Migratory turtle species face serious threats across their migratory route, habitat and nesting beaches, due
to human activities, poaching for their meat, eggs and shell, leather, accidental killing of adults due to entanglement in trawl nets
and gill-nets of fisher-folk.

WWF along with local fishermen community has been involved in protecting these turtles at the mass nesting site in Odisha. The
Odisha Govt has made it mandatory for trawls to use TEDs (Turtle Excluder Devices), a net specially designed with an exit cover
for the turtles to escape If caught accidentally.

Keystone Species

A keystone species is an organism that helps define an entire ecosystem. Without its keystone species,
the ecosystem would be dramatically different or cease to exist altogether.

Keystone species have low functional redundancy. This means that if the species were to disappear
from the ecosystem, no other species would be able to fill its ecological niche. The ecosystem would be
forced to radically change, allowing new and possibly invasive species to populate the habitat.
Any organism, from plants to fungi, may be a keystone species; they are not always the largest or
most abundant species in an ecosystem. However, almost all examples of keystone species
Banyan Tree
Termite Colonies, insects, etc: ecosystem engineers

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Conservation of Biodiversity
Biodiversity knows no political boundaries and its conservation is therefore a
collective responsibility of all nations. The historic Convention on Biological
Diversity (‘The Earth Summit’) held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, called upon all
nations to take appropriate measures for conservation of biodiversity and
judicial utilization of its benefits.

We know that ecosystems are undergoing change due to pollution, invasive

species, overexploitation by humans, and climate change. Most people are
beginning to recognize that diversity at all levels - gene pool, species and
community level is important and needs to be conserved.

Conservation of biodiversity is important to:

 Prevent the loss of genetic diversity of a species,

 Save a species from becoming extinct, and

 Protect ecosystems damage and degradation and at the same time help
humans to survive by making sustainable use of resources Reference : EPA

Conservation of Biodiversity
The Biological Diversity Act of 2002 has brought in the concept of conservation
of biodiversity along with sustainable use of resources.

This is midway between a strict environmental approach and a new strategy

which takes into account the rights of local people for the use of their
livelihood

In the recent past, Conservation Reserves and Community Reserves have

been added through an amendment of the Wildlife Protection Act, 2003.

Reference : EPA

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Methods of Conserving Biodiversity

In-Situ Conservation

In situ conservation means the conservation of ecosystem and natural habitat and maintenance and
recovery of viable population of species in the natural surrounding where they have developed their
distinctive characteristics.
Conservation of a species is best done by protecting its habitat along with all the other species that live
in it in nature. This is in-situ conservation, which is conserving a species in its own environment by
creating National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries.
The Need for Protected Area Corridors
Animals such as elephants require different types of habitats to feed in different seasons. They utilize
open grasslands after the rains when the young grass shoots are highly nutritious. As the grasses dry,
they move into the forests to feed on foliage from the trees and bamboos. Thus, corridors between
protected areas have to be kept intact for elephants to migrate seasonally.

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Aim of In-situ Conservation:

1. Creation of protected areas
2. The protection and restoration of degraded areas
3. Development of strategies for sustainable marine environments
4. Creation of natural corridors
5. Empowerment of local resources
6. Development of alternative and sustainable mechanisms

Mechanisms of implementing in-situ conservation:

In situ conservation can be achieved by creating a “Protected area Network” which
comprises of the following three areas, differing based on the degree of protection
offered.

a) Sacred groves
b) National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries
c) Biospheres

Reference : IUCN (https://www.iucn.org/theme/protected-areas/about/protected-area-categories )

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Reference : Slideshare

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BENEFITS OF PROTECTED AREAS/Biodiversity :

(Understanding with infographics)

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Ex-Situ Conservation

It is literally an ‘off site’ conservation policy that involves a couple of techniques linking the
transfer of an objective species, experiencing various threats, away from its native habitat to
a much safer abode, like in a Botanical Garden, Zoological Garden, Seed Bank or Gene
Bank etc.
The prime goal of this technique is to adequately backing conservation strategies by
guaranteeing the existence of vanishing and threatened taxa/species and the maintenance
of allied genetic diversity thereof.
It further supports the idea of reintroduction of species in its natural or original habitat as the
species under varying threat perception are preserved in safe custody till the casual factors
threatening their survival in the wild have been return to normalcy and the reintroduction
becomes possible

Ex-Situ Conservation
In this type of conservation the threatened animals and plants are taken out from their natural
habitat and placed in a special area or location where they can be protected and given special
care. Zoological parks, botanical gardens and wildlife safari parks serve this purpose.

There are many animals that have become extinct in the wild but few of them are kept in
zoological parks. Some of the examples of ex-situ conversation are gene banks, germplasm
banks, seed banks.

Gametes of threatened species can be preserved in viable, fertile conditions for long periods using
cryopreservation techniques, eggs can be fertilized in vitro, and plants can be propagated using
tissue culture methods. Seeds of different genetic strains of commercially important plants can be
kept for long periods in seed banks.

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Ex-Situ Conservation
Successful Indian stories of ex-situ conservation:
1. The Darjeeling Zoo ; successfully bred several Himalayan mammals
2. The Madras Crocodile Bank Trust and Centre for Herpetology: three species of
crocodiles
3. The Guwahati Zoo: The Pigmy Hog
4. The Delhi Zoo: Manipur brow-antlered deer
5. The BNHS: breeding centre for endangered vultures

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