Biodiversity and Conservation

The One Thing

Biodiversity is the variety of life at genetic, species, and ecosystem levels, and it underpins ecosystem functioning and human well-being. Its protection requires habitat conservation, sustainable resource use, effective legislation, restoration, and the active participation of local and indigenous communities.

Chronology

Who and What

• Biodiversity: The variety and variability of living organisms and the ecosystems in which they exist. It is studied at the levels of genetic diversity, species diversity, and ecosystem diversity.
• Genetic diversity: Variation in genes within a species, enabling populations to adapt to environmental changes and diseases.
• Species diversity: The variety and relative abundance of plant, animal, and microorganism species in an area.
• Ecosystem diversity: The variety of habitats, communities, and ecological processes, including forests, wetlands, grasslands, deserts, and oceans.
• Flora: The plant life found in a particular region or period.
• Fauna: The animal life found in a particular region or period.
• Endemic species: Species naturally restricted to a particular geographic area and not found elsewhere.
• Rare species: Species with small or restricted populations that may become threatened if conditions worsen.
• Threatened species: Species likely to become endangered if the causes of decline continue.
• Endangered species: Species facing a very high risk of extinction in the near future.
• Vulnerable species: Species likely to become endangered because their populations or habitats are declining.
• Extinct species: Species that no longer exist anywhere on Earth.
• Extinction: The permanent disappearance of a species from Earth.
• Biogeographic region: A broad area identified by its characteristic plants, animals, climate, and physical environment. India includes the Himalayas, deserts, semi-arid areas, forests, coasts, islands, and the Deccan Peninsula.
• Biodiversity hotspot: A region with exceptionally high endemic biodiversity that is under serious threat from habitat loss. India contains four global hotspots: the Himalaya, Indo-Burma, Western Ghats-Sri Lanka, and Sundaland, represented in India mainly by the Nicobar Islands.
• Species-area relationship: The relationship between area and species number, expressed as S = C A^Z, where S is the number of species, A is the area, C is a constant, and Z is the slope or exponent. Its logarithmic form is log S = log C + Z log A.
• Habitat fragmentation: The division of a large habitat into smaller isolated patches, reducing breeding populations and increasing the risk of local extinction.
• In-situ conservation: Conservation within natural habitats, including national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, biosphere reserves, conservation reserves, community reserves, and sacred groves.
• Ex-situ conservation: Conservation outside natural habitats, including seed banks, gene banks, botanical gardens, zoos, tissue-culture laboratories, and captive-breeding programmes.
• National park: A protected area managed mainly to conserve ecosystems and wildlife, with highly restricted human activities.
• Wildlife sanctuary: A protected area established to conserve wildlife, where some regulated human activities may be permitted.
• Biosphere reserve: A large protected area combining biodiversity conservation with research, education, and sustainable use by local communities.
• Sacred grove: A forest patch protected by local communities because of religious or cultural beliefs.
• Ecosystem services: Benefits obtained from nature, including food, water purification, pollination, climate regulation, soil formation, and recreation.
• Sustainable development: Development that meets present needs without reducing the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
• Conservation: The protection, careful management, restoration, and sustainable use of biodiversity and natural resources.
• International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN): The organisation that publishes the Red List, which assesses the extinction risk of species.
• Project Tiger: An Indian conservation programme launched in 1973 to protect tigers and their habitats.
• Project Elephant: An Indian conservation programme launched in 1992 to conserve elephants, their habitats, and important migration corridors.
• Convention on Biological Diversity: An international agreement adopted in 1992 at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, focusing on conservation, sustainable use, and fair sharing of benefits from genetic resources.
• Wildlife Protection Act: Indian legislation enacted in 1972 to protect wild animals, birds, and plants.
• Forest Conservation Act: Indian legislation enacted in 1980 to regulate the diversion of forest land for non-forest purposes.
• Biological Diversity Act: Indian legislation enacted in 2002 to support conservation, sustainable use, and fair benefit sharing.

Causes and Consequences

• India’s environmental variety produces high biodiversity. Its varied climate, landforms, soils, and ecosystems support diverse flora and fauna. Its biogeographic regions include the Himalayas, deserts, semi-arid areas, forests, coasts, islands, and the Deccan Peninsula, making India a recognised megadiverse country.

• Species richness generally increases from the polar regions towards the tropics. Warmer climates, longer growing seasons, and greater habitat variety in tropical regions provide more opportunities for species to survive and diversify.

• Biodiversity has ecological, economic, cultural, and scientific value. It supports food security, medicines, livelihoods, genetic resources, ecological stability, soil fertility, water regulation, and climate moderation. Ecosystem services also include food, water purification, pollination, climate regulation, soil formation, and recreation.

• Every species contributes to ecosystem functioning and resilience. Biodiversity is therefore valuable not only through direct human use but also because species support food chains, ecological interactions, and the capacity of ecosystems to withstand change.

• Human activities are increasing extinction rates. The global background extinction rate is estimated at roughly 1 species per million species per year, whereas present extinction rates are much higher because of human activities.

• Habitat destruction and fragmentation reduce populations. Habitat fragmentation divides large habitats into smaller isolated patches, reducing breeding populations and increasing the risk of local extinction. Habitat conservation is usually more effective than protecting individual species alone because habitats provide food chains, breeding sites, migration routes, and ecological interactions.

• Overexploitation, pollution, invasive alien species, climate change, and illegal wildlife trade intensify biodiversity loss. These pressures can reduce population size, damage habitats, alter ecological relationships, and push vulnerable or threatened species towards extinction.

• Conservation requires both in-situ and ex-situ approaches. In-situ conservation maintains species within natural habitats such as national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, biosphere reserves, conservation reserves, community reserves, and sacred groves. Ex-situ conservation uses seed banks, gene banks, botanical gardens, zoos, tissue-culture laboratories, and captive-breeding programmes to protect species outside their natural habitats.

• Natural habitats and external facilities perform different functions. In-situ conservation preserves ecological conditions and interactions, while ex-situ conservation can protect species that are critically threatened in the wild. Both methods are therefore necessary.

• Legal and institutional measures support conservation. The Wildlife Protection Act of 1972, Project Tiger in 1973, the Forest Conservation Act of 1980, the Convention on Biological Diversity and Project Elephant in 1992, and the Biological Diversity Act of 2002 provide national and international frameworks for protecting biodiversity.

• Effective conservation must combine environmental and social objectives. Scientific planning, strong laws, habitat protection, restoration, sustainable livelihoods, and participation by local and indigenous communities are required. Local communities possess traditional knowledge and are directly affected by changes in forests, wildlife, water, and land resources.

• Sustainable development limits environmental damage. Human development should operate within ecological limits so that present resource use does not destroy the natural systems on which future generations depend. Conservation must also address social justice, livelihood needs, and fair sharing of benefits from biological resources.

• Reliable evidence strengthens conservation work. Conservation projects and presentations should use maps, photographs, species lists, field observations, interviews, and properly cited data.

What Gets Asked

• Explain the three levels of biodiversity—genetic, species, and ecosystem diversity—and distinguish their significance.
• Assess why India is a megadiverse country, referring to its biogeographic regions and the four biodiversity hotspots: the Himalaya, Indo-Burma, Western Ghats-Sri Lanka, and Sundaland, represented in India mainly by the Nicobar Islands.
• Explain the species-area relationship using S = C A^Z and log S = log C + Z log A, and discuss why species richness generally increases towards the tropics.
• Compare habitat destruction and fragmentation with overexploitation, pollution, invasive alien species, climate change, and illegal wildlife trade as causes of biodiversity loss.
• Compare in-situ and ex-situ conservation, using national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, biosphere reserves, sacred groves, seed banks, gene banks, botanical gardens, zoos, tissue-culture laboratories, and captive-breeding programmes.
• Evaluate how legislation, conservation projects, international agreements, scientific evidence, sustainable livelihoods, and local community participation contribute to successful conservation.