Biodiversity in India

Biodiversity in India

India, a mega diverse country with only 2.4% of the world’s land area, accounts for 7-8% of all recorded species, including over 45,000 species of plants and 91,000 species of animals. The most biodiversity rich regions are the Western Ghats (4 % area) and North East (5.2% area). The country’s diverse physical features and climatic conditions have resulted in a variety of ecosystems such as forests, wetlands, grasslands, desert, coastal and marine ecosystems.

Four of 34 globally identified biodiversity hotspots are in India, namely, The Himalayas, the Western Ghats, the North-East, and the Nicobar Islands. In terms of species richness, India ranks 7th in mammals, 9th in birds and 5th in reptiles. World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC) of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) has identified a total of 17 megadiverse countries.

MEGA DIVERSE COUNTRIES

The megadiverse country is a term used to refer to the world’s top biodiversity rich countries. These were identified in 1988 by Conservation International , to promote the awareness for biodiversity conservation among world nations. According to CI, there are 17 of these nations, which are mostly located in the tropical and subtropical region.

Criteria:

The principle criterion is endemism,first at the species level and then at higher taxonomic levels such as genus and family. To qualify as a Megadiverse country , a country must:

• Have at least 5000 of the world’s plants as endemics(native restricted to a certain place)
• Have marine ecosystems within its borders.

Purpose of this classification:

Country focused method raises awareness for biodiversity conservation in nations with high

biological diversity ,with many species unique to that country. This concept complements that of Biodiversity hotspots and high biodiversity wilderness areas to achieve significant coverage of the world’s biological resources. This classification primarily aims to demonstrate how a small number of countries hold a large portion of global diversity and therefore have a disproportionate political responsibility for conservation and biodiversity management.

List of 17 megadiverse countries according the conservation international :

The national gene bank at National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR), Delhi is primarily responsible for conservation of unique accessions on a long-term basis, as base collections for posterity, predominantly in the form of seeds.

Biomes of India :

The term biome means the main groups of plants and animals living in areas of certain climate patterns. It includes the way in which animals, vegetation and soil interact together. The plants and animals living in the area are adapted to that environment. The five Biomes of India are as under:

• Tropical Humid Forests
• Tropical Dry or Deciduous Forests (including Monsoon Forests)
• Warm deserts and semi-deserts
• Coniferous forests
• Alpine meadows.

9 Botanical (Floristic) Regions of India :

• Western Himalayas,
• Eastern Himalayas,
• West Indian Desert,
• Gangetic Plains,
• Assam,
• Central India,
• Malabar,
• The Deccan,
  

Biogeography

It is the aspect of geography which deals with the correlation among the animals, plants and their geography. It is studied under following 2 heads:

1. Phyto-geography (plant geography) deals with origin, distribution and environmental interrelationships of plants.
2. Zoogeography deals with the migration and distribution of animals.

 Biodiversity Hotspots

Biodiversity hotspots, as defined by British biologist Norman Myers, are biogeographic regions characterised by high species richness, a high degree of endemism, and sometimes severe levels of habitat loss.  Conservation International (CI) adopted Myers’ hotspots, and in 1996, it undertook a reassessment of the  hotspots concept.

Conservation International (CI) is an American non-profit environmental organisation working towards protecting nature for the benefit of people.

According to CI, to qualify as a hotspot, a region must meet two strict criteria:

• It must contain at least 1,500 species of vascular plants (> 0.5% of the world’s total) as endemic – which is to say that it must have a high percentage of plant life found nowhere else on the planet. A hotspot, in other words, is irreplaceable.

• It must have lost at least 70% of its original habitat. (It must have 30% or less of its original natural vegetation). In other words, it must be threatened.

In 1999, CI identified 25 biodiversity hotspots. Currently, 36 areas qualify as hotspots representing just 2.5% of the earth’s land surface. They support more than half of the world’s plant species as endemics and nearly 43% of bird, mammal, reptile, and amphibian species as endemics.

In 2011, the Forests of the East Australia region was identified as the 35th biodiversity hotspot. In 2016, the North American Coastal Plain region was identified as the 36th biodiversity hotspot.

HOW DID THE CONCEPT OF BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOTS BEGIN?

In 1988, British ecologist Norman Myers published a seminal paper identifying 10 tropical forest “hotspots.” These regions were characterised both by exceptional levels of plant endemism and serious levels of habitat loss. Conservation International, one of CEPF’s global donor organisations, adopted Myers’ hotspots as its institutional blueprint in 1989. In 1996, the organisation made the decision to undertake a reassessment of the hotspots concept, including an examination of whether key areas had been overlooked. Three years later an extensive global review was undertaken, which introduced quantitative thresholds for the designation of biodiversity hotspots and resulted in the designation of 25.

In 2005, an additional analysis brought the total number of biodiversity hotspots to 34, based on the work of nearly 400 specialists. In 2011, the Forests of East Australia was identified as the 35th hotspot by a team of researchers from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) working with Conservation International.In February 2016, the North American Coastal Plain was recognized as meeting the criteria and became the Earth’s 36th hotspot.

NOTE: Critical ecosystem partnership fund (CEPF) is a global program that provides funding and technical assistance to non- governmental organisations and other private sector partners to protect critical ecosystems. They focus on biodiversity hotspots, the earth’s biologically richest yet most endangered areas. CEPF is a joint initiative of I’ Agence Française de Développement, Conservation International, the European Union, the Global Environment Facility, the Government of Japan, the MacArthur Foundation and the World Bank.

Biodiversity Hotspots in India :

1) Himalaya: Includes the entire Indian Himalayan region of India and of Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, China, & Myanmar.

2) Indo-Burma: Includes entire North-Eastern India, Andaman Group of Islands and Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and southern China.

3) Sundalands: Includes Nicobar group of Islands, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, and the Philippines.

4) Western Ghats and Sri Lanka.

HOPE SPOTS

Hope Spot Network is a joint initiative of Mission Blue (a global coalition) & IUCN. A hope spot is the Marine Protected Area that needs special protection because of its wildlife & significant underwater habitats. Lakshadweep Islands and Andaman Nicobar Islands are the Hope Spots Sites from India.

HIGH BIODIVERSITY WILDERNESS AREA

A High-Biodiversity Wilderness Area (HBWA) is an elaboration on the IUCN Protected Area

classification of a Wilderness Area (Category Ib), which outlines five vast wilderness areas of

particularly dense and important levels of biodiversity. The largest intact ecosystem of the world that holds significant levels of global biodiversity.

The sub-classification was the initiative of Conservation International (CI) in 2003 to identify regions in which at least 70 percent of their original vegetation has remained intact in order to ensure that this is safeguarded and these regions do not become biodiversity hotspots.

HBWAs consists of 5 of the 24 major wilderness areas that hold globally significant levels of

biodiversity. The 5 HBWAs are : 1. Amazonia, 2. the Congo forest of central Africa, 3. New Guinea, 4. the Miombo- Mopane woodlands of Southern Africa (including the Okvango delta), 5. Northern American desert complex of Northern Mexico and South Western part of USA.

In the past, the HBWAs were mostly considered to have low vulnerability because of their low level of past habitat loss. However , recent analysis suggest that the high cultivation potential of many HBWAs makes them a target for future agriculture expansion.

IUCN

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an organisation working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. It was established in 1948 and located at Gland VD, Switzerland. It is involved in data gathering and analysis research, field projects and education on conservation, sustainable development and biodiversity. IUCN’s mission is to influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve nature and to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable. It influences governments and industries through partnerships by providing information and advice.

The organisation collects, compiles and publishes the IUCN red list of threatened species and their conservation status in the world. It plays a vital role in the implementation of several international conventions on nature conservation and biodiversity.

Red Data Book : Red Data book or Red list is a catalogue of taxa facing risk of extinction. IUCN – International Union of Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, which is renamed as WCU – World Conservation Union (Morges Switzerland) maintains the Red Data book. The concept of Red list was mooted in 1963.

The purpose of preparation of Red List are :

• To create awareness on the degree of threat to biodiversity
• Identification and documentation of species at high risk of extinction
• Provide global index on declining biodiversity
• Preparing conservation priorities and help in conservation of action
• Information on international agreements on conservation of biological diversity

Red list has eight categories of species :

1. i) Extinct
2. ii) Extinct in wild

iii) Critically Endangered

1. iv) Endangered
2. v) Vulnerable
3. vi) Lower risk

vii) Data deficiency

viii) Not evaluated

When is a species considered critically endangered?

Critically endangered is the highest risk category assigned by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List to wild species. There are five quantitative criteria to determine whether a taxon is threatened.

A taxon is Least Concern when it has been evaluated against the criteria and does not qualify for Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable or Near Threatened. Widespread and abundant taxa are included in this category.

A taxon is Near Threatened when it has been evaluated against the criteria but does not qualify for Critically Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable now, but is close to qualifying for or is likely to qualify for a threatened category in the near future

A taxon is Vulnerable when the best available evidence indicates that it meets any of the following criteria:

• Reduction in population (> 50% over the last 10 years)
• Population size estimated to number fewer than 10,000 mature individuals,
• Probability of extinction in wild is at least 10% within 100 years, and
• Considered to be facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.

A taxon is Endangered when the best available evidence indicates that it meets any of the following criteria:

• Reduction in population size (70% over the last 10 years),
• Population size estimated to number fewer than 250 mature individuals,
• Quantitative analysis showing the probability of extinction in wild in at least 20% within 20 years.
• Considered to be facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild

A taxon is Critically Endangered when the best available evidence indicates that it meets any of the following criteria:

• Reduction in population (> 90% over the last 10 years),
• Population size (number less than 50 mature individuals),
• Quantitative analysis showing the probability of extinction in wild in at least 50% in their 10 years)
• Considered to be facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.

A taxon is Extinct in the Wild when it is known only to survive in cultivation, in captivity or as a naturalised population (or populations) well outside the past range.

A taxon is Extinct when there is no reasonable doubt that the last individual has died.

A taxon is Data Deficient when there is inadequate information to make a direct, or indirect, assessment of its risk of extinction based on its distribution and/or population status. A taxon in this category may be well studied, and its biology well known, but appropriate data on abundance and/or distribution are lacking. Data Deficient is therefore not a category of threat.