BIODIVERSITY

(Dr Mrutyunjaya Sahoo)

The word biodiversity is a combination of two words: “biological and diversity” and refers to
the variety of life on the Earth. Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a
given species, ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of
ecosystems.

The term biological diversity was used first by wildlife scientist and conservationist
Raymond F. Dasmann in the 1968.

Biodiversity is usually considered at four different levels:

The following are different types of biodiversity

1. Genetic diversity: variety in the genetic makeup among individuals within a species
2. Species diversity: variety among the species or distinct types of living organisms found
in different habitats of the planet.
3. Ecosystem or ecological diversity: variety of forests, deserts, grasslands, streams, lakes,
oceans, coral reefs, wetlands and other biological communities.
4. Functional diversity: refers to the variety of different functions or roles that different
species or individuals within a community play

(A) VALUES OF BIODIVERSITY

The value of biodiversity (in terms of its commercial utility, ecological services, social and
aesthetic values) is enormous. There are several ways that biodiversity and its various forms is
Valuable to humans. The biodiversity value may be classified as follows:

1. Consumptive Value: Biodiversity is an essential requirement for the maintenance of global

food supply. The main sources of human food include animals, fish and plant produces. A large
number of plants are consumed by human beings as food. A few animal species are consumed
by people who come from cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, buffaloes, chickens, ducks, fish, etc. Drugs
& medicines: About 75% of the world’s population depends upon plants or plant extracts for
medicines. The drug Penicillin used as an antibiotic is derived from a fungus called Penicillium.
Likewise, Tetracycline from bacteria which is used to cure malaria is obtained from the bark of

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Cinchona tree (contains chemical called quinine). Fuel: The fossil fuels like coal, petroleum
products and natural gas are the products of biodiversity.

2. Productive Value: Some of the organisms are commercially usable where the product is
marketed and sold. The animal products like tusks of elephants; musk/perfume from deer; silk
from silkworm; wool from sheep or goats; fur of many animals, etc. all of which are traded in
the market. Eg: Calabar bean was tradionally used as a poison in West Africa. Daisy plants were
first used as a lice remedy in the Middle East and this led to the Discovery of Pyrethrum.
Mosquito coils made from Pyrethrum are sold in the market. The bacterium Bacillus
thuringiensis produces toxic proteins that kill certain insects.

3. Social Value: These are the values associated with the social life, religion and spiritual
aspects of the people. Many of the plants are considered to be sacred in our country like Tulasi,
Mango leaves, Banana leaves. The leaves, fruits, flowers of some of the plants are used in
worship. Many animals like cow, snake, bull, peacock also have significant place in spiritual
and thus hold special importance. Thus, biodiversity has distinct social value, attached with
different societies.

4. Ethical Value: The ethical value means that human beings may or may not use a certain
species but knowing the very fact that this species exists in nature gives pleasure. For e.g.: A
peculiar species of Pigeon, grey/white bird with short legs is no more on this earth. Similarly,
Dodo species is also no more. Human beings are not deriving anything direct from Kangaroo,
giraffe but strongly feel that these species should exist in nature.

5. Aesthetic Value: Every one of us would like to visit vast stretches of lands to enjoy the
visible life. People from farther areas, spend a lot of time and money to visit wild life areas,
where they can enjoy the aesthetic value of biodiversity and this type of tourism is known as
eco-tourism. Eco-tourism is estimated to generate 12 billion dollars of revenue annually that
roughly gives the aesthetic value of biodiversity.

A study of the impact of environment on the mind was undertaken by Kaplan and
Kaplan (1989) in whom they found that being near nature relieved working stresses while
people who worked in closed environment or human made structures experienced much more
job stresses and illnesses.

(B) INDIA AS A MEGA DIVERSITY NATION

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India contains a great wealth of biodiversity in the forests, wet lands and marine areas. Hence
biodiversity can be observed at all levels i.e. locally, nationally and globally. India, as a
subcontinent representing a major part of South Asia is rich in flora and fauna and hence it is
one of the world’s “MEGADIVERSITY NATIONS”.

It is estimated that over 75000 species of animals and over 45000 species of plants are
found in India.

Biogeographic regions of India: According to Wild life Institute of India, the country has 10
distinct biogeographic zones or regions. They are:

1. Trans – Himalayan Zone (High altitude; Karakoram and Ladakh Ranges in India)

2. Himalayan Zone

3. Desert Zone

4. Semi – arid Zone (Relatively low rain-fall areas; distributed in the states of Punjab,
Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat,
Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu; covering
approximately one-third of the country's geographical area.

5. Western Ghats

6. Deccan Plateau (The Deccan Plateau is a large plateau in western and southern India. It
covers most of the southern part of the country, including the states of
Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Telangana.)

7. Gangetic plain Zone (The Ganga plains stretch across the states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar
Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal)

8. NE Indian Zone

9. Coastal Zone

10. Islands around the country

(C) HOT SPOTS OF BIODIVERSITY

Areas which exhibit high species richness as well as high species endemism (state of a species
being found only in a single defined geographic location) are termed as hot spots of biodiversity.
Species which are restricted only to particular areas are known as endemic. India shows a
good number of endemic species. About 62% of amphibians and 50% of lizards are endemic to
India. Western Ghats are the site of maximum endemism. The term “Hot spots” was introduced
by Myers (1988). There are 25 such hot spots of biodiversity on a global level out of which two

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are present in India, namely the Eastern Himalayas and Western Ghats. These hotspots
covering less than 2% of the world’s land area are found to have about 50% of the
terrestrial biodiversity. According to Myers an area is designated as a hotspot when it meets
two strict criteria: it must contain at least 1,500 species of vascular plants (more than 0.5% of
the world's total) as endemics, and it has to have lost at least 70% of its primary vegetation.

a) Eastern Himalayas: They display an ultra-varies topography that fosters species

diversity and endemism. Recent studies have shown that North East India along with its
contiguous regions of Burma and Chinese provinces is an active centre of organic evolution
and is considered to be the cradle of flowering plants. Out of the world’s recorded flora,
30% are endemic to India of which 35000 are in the Himalayas.

b) Western Ghats: It extends along a 17000 km² strip of forests in Maharashtra, Karnataka,
Tamilnadu and Kerala and has 40% of the total endemic plant species. The major centers of
diversity are Agastyamalai Hills and Silent valley- the new Amambalam Reserve Basin. It is
reported that only 6.8% of the original forests are existing today while the rest has been
deforested or degraded, which raises a serious cause of alarm, because it means we have
already lost a huge proportion of the biodiversity.

(D) THREATS TO BIODIVERSITY

Extinction or elimination of a species is a natural process of evolution. In the geologic period,

the earth has experienced mass extinctions. During evolution, species have died out and have
been replaced by others. However, the rate of loss of species in geologic past has been a slow
process, keeping in view the vast span of time going back to 444 million years. The process of
extinction has become particularly fast in the recent years of civilization. Edward O. Wilson
prefers the acronym HIPPO, standing for habitat destruction, invasive species, pollution, human
overpopulation, and over-harvesting

Following are the major causes and issues related to threats to biodiversity:

1. Habitat destruction: Habitat destruction has played a key role in extinctions, especially
related to tropical forest destruction. Factors contributing to habitat loss are: overpopulation,
deforestation, pollution (air pollution, water pollution, soil contamination) and global warming
or climate change. Habitat size and numbers of species are systematically related. Physically
larger species and those living at lower latitudes or in forests or oceans are more sensitive to
reduction in habitat area. In some countries lack of property rights or lax law/regulatory

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enforcement necessarily leads to biodiversity loss (degradation costs having to be supported by
the community)

2. Poaching: Illegal trade of wildlife products by killing prohibited endangered animals i.e.
poaching is another threat to wildlife. Despite international ban on trade in products from
endangered species, smuggling of wildlife items like furs, hides, horns, tusks, live specimens
and herbal products worth millions of dollars per year continues. The developing nations in
Asia, Latin America and Africa are the richest source of biodiversity and have enormous wealth
of wildlife. The rich countries in Europe and North America and some affluent countries in Asia
like Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong are the major importers of the wildlife products or wildlife
itself. The trading of such wild life products is highly profit making for the poachers who just
hunt these prohibited wild lives and smuggle it to other countries mediated through mafia. The
worst part is that for every live animal that actually gets into the market about 50 additional
animals are caught and killed. If you are fond of rare plants, fish or birds, please make sure that
you are not going to the endangered species or wild-caught species. Doing so will help in
checking further decline of these species. Also do not purchase fur coat, purse or bag, or items
made of crocodile skin or python skin. You will certainly help in preserving biodiversity by
doing so.

3. Man-Wildlife Conflicts: We have discussed about the need to preserve and protect wildlife.
However, sometimes we come across conflicting situations when wildlife starts causing
immense damage and danger to man and under such conditions it becomes very difficult for the
forest department to pacify the affected villages and gain local support for wildlife conservation.
Instances of man animal conflicts keep on coming to lime light from several states in our
country. In Sambalpur, Orissa 195 humans were killed in the last 5years by elephants. In
retaliation, the villagers killed 95 elephants in the border region of Kote-Chamarajanagar belt in
Mysore have been reported recently. The man-elephant conflict in this region has arisen because
of massive damage done by the elephants to the farmer’s cotton and sugarcane crops. The
agonized villagers electrocute the elephants and sometimes hide explosives in the sugarcane
fields, which explode as the elephants intrude into their fields. In fact, more killings are done by
locals than by poachers.

Causes of Man-animal conflicts:

Dwindling habitats of tigers, elephants, rhinos and bears due to shrinking forests cover are
compelled to move outside the forests and attack the field or sometimes even humans.

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 Human encroachment into the forest areas has rendered all forest living animals to
trespass the borders of human civilizations. This is because the conflicts between man and
the wildlife have increased since it is an issue of survival of both

1. Invasive Non-Native Species: Species that are non-native to a particular area can
sometimes spread very quickly, for example the zebra mussel and Japanese knotweed
have spread rapidly in Ireland in the past two decades. As a result, these species can
destabilize an ecosystem by altering habitats affecting food webs.

2. Pollution/Litter: Pollution is always caused by humans. Pollution can have a huge

impact, altering the balance within ecosystems, and is the cause of death for millions of
animals and plants around the world every year.

3. Land Use Change/Increased Infrastructure Development: This is the alteration of

natural areas by humans, for example, the clearing of huge areas of rainforest in South
America for farming. In Ireland, upland open habitats, such as rough grassland, scrub and
heath, have been changed by agriculture and afforestation.

4. Intensive Farming Practices: Extensive use and concentrations of chemical and/or

biological pesticides and the removal of hedgerows are typical practices in modern-day
intensive farming. Often large areas of land are planted with a single crop (monocultures)
which greatly reduces the level of biodiversity in that area.

5. Climate Change: It is now widely accepted that the current global rate of change in
climate is as a result of human activity. As global air or sea temperature changes, even by
just 1 or 2 degrees, the habitats in which species live will also change and may even
become uninhabitable to some species.

(E) ENDANGERED AND ENDEMIC SPECIES

Endangered species: A species whose numbers are reduced to the point. That means
endangered species are in immediate danger of extinction. The International Union
Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classified the species of plants and animals as:

(a) Threatened species: Species (including animals, plants, fungi, etc.) which are vulnerable to
endangerment in the near future.

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(b) Rare species: Among the important endangered animal species, Indian wild ass; the
Kashmir stag, the Golden Langur, etc. are considered highly endangered. There are also
endangered bird species like Siberian crane; the great Indian Bustard; the florican, etc.

The IUCN published the data on endangered species of both plants and animals of India.
The data symbolizes the working signal for those species which are endangered and if not
protected are likely to become extinct in near future. 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 habitat, have been drastically reduced and if such species is not protected and
conserved, it is in immediate danger of extinction.

Endangered species of India

The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) publishes
the Red Data Book which includes the list of endangered species of plants and animals. The red
data symbolizes the warning signal for those species which are endangered and if not protected
are likely to become extinct in near future.

The animals that are listed under the critically endangered category are as under:

1) Malabar Large Spotted Civet

2) Namdapha Flying Squirrel

3) Salim Ali's Fruit Bat

4) Sumatran Rhinoceros

Endangered Species are as under:

1) Asiatic Lion

2) Asiatic Black Bear

3) Desert Cat

4) Great Indian Rhinoceros

5) Indian Elephant (or) Asian Elephant

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Threatened Species are as under:

1) Indian Wild Ass

2) Leopard

Endemic species of India

India has two biodiversity hot-spots and thus possesses a large number of endemic species. The
endemic species are those taxa whose distribution is confined to a restricted area due to their
specific ecological niches and edaphic gradients. Therefore, the habitats of endemic species are
far more vulnerable than other species. Endemic species once lost, it is a loss of biodiversity of
these species forever. In India there are about 5725 endemic taxa of angiosperms (33.5% of
Indian flora) which are located in 25 hot spots. The major hotspots in India which contain
largest number of endemic plant species are the Southern Western Ghats and Eastern Himalayas
with 1286 and 1808 endemic species respectively. There are about 1272 species of endemic
angiosperms out of 3800 species occurring in Kerala (33.5% of Kerala flora) which represent
22.6% of Indian endemics. Seventy percent of the 1272 species of endemics have the major
areas of distribution in Kerala with spill over in adjacent regions. On the basis of the study of the
distributional range, about 102 endemic species occur exclusively in Kerala. A large number out
of a total of 81,000 of animals in our country is endemic. The Western Ghats are particularly
rich in amphibians (frogs, toads, etc) and reptiles (lizards, crocodiles, etc) about 62%
amphibians and 50% lizards are endemic to Western Ghats.

(F) CONSERVATION OF BIODIVERSITY

In order to maintain and conserve biodiversity, the Ministry of Environment and Forests,
government of India has already taken several steps to manage wildlife, the objectives of which
are:

1. Maintenance of a number of species in protected areas like National Parks & Sanctuaries.

2. To improve the biosphere reserves

3. Implement strict restrictions of export of rare plants and animals

4. Educate the public on these through the government agencies and NGO’s.

A) In-situ conservation: The preservation of species in its natural ecosystem is called in-situ
conservation. As a consequence, protected areas are being identified and maintained for natural

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conservation of species by individual countries. For the conservation and management of
endangered species several projects have been established. These are:

Tiger Projects: Corbett National Park, Uttarakhand is the oldest National Park of India having
1318.54 sq km. It was one of the nine Tiger Reserves created at the launch of the Project Tiger
in 1973.

Gir Lion Projects: The Gir Forest of Gujarat where lions are found. This has an area of 1412 sq
kms and declared as a National Park.

Elephant Projects: The objective was to ensure long-term survival of population of elephants
(not come into operations). Project Elephant (PE), a centrally sponsored scheme, was launched
in February 1992 to provide financial and technical support to major elephant bearing States in
the country for protection of elephants and their habitats. The Project is being implemented in
13 States/UTs, viz, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala,
Meghalaya, Nagaland, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. There
are about 7000 protected areas in the world which include a variety of National parks,
Sanctuaries etc. which vary in size (between 100 to 500 sq km) purpose protection of one or
more species and their habitats. In India, there are 39 National Parks and 492 wildlife
sanctuaries.

National Parks: These are protected areas exclusively for wild life. Human activities like
hunting, Firewood collection, timber harvesting etc., are restricted in these areas so that wild
plants and animals could grow in a protected environment

The following measures should be adopted for the conservation of biodiversity:

1. Over grazing in the forest and areas of vegetation should be controlled because it may
2. Destroy the useful rare plants.
3. The habitat of plants and animals should be conserved.
4. The natural condition of ecosystem should be studied and researched in time and again,
then
5. Specific programs for conservation should be conducted.
6. Human activities should be done without destroying natural environment.
7. Illegal hunting and smuggling of animals and plants should be strictly avoided.
8. Effective laws and rules should be adopted for the conservation of rare animals and
plants.

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 9. Industries are established from the raw materials. During the process of collecting raw
materials, care should be taken not to destroy useful plants and habitats of animals.
10. Public awareness should be created about the importance of rare animals and plants,
causes of rareness and measures for their preservation.

B) Ex-situ conservation: The conservation of elements of biodiversity out of the context of

their natural habitats is referred to as ex-situ conservation. Zoos, botanical gardens and seed
banks are all example of ex-situ conservation. In India we have the following important gene
and seed bank facilities.

i) National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR) is located in New Delhi. Here
agricultural and horticultural crops are stored by cryopreservation of seeds, pollens etc. by
using liquid nitrogen at a low temperature as low as -1960C.

ii) National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (NBAGR) located at Karnal, Haryana. It
preserves the semen of domesticated bovine animals.

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