Biodiversity International Journal
Editorial
Open Access
Global biodiversity an overview and Indian
perspective
Editorial
Volume 3 Issue 1 - 2019
The earth formed 4.6 billion years ago and the first life form
came into existence 4 million years ago–simple unicellular bacterial
cells. Some 65 years ago the dinosaurs became extinct and human
species endured evolution about 200,000 years back. During the
course of its development, earth has seen several geological activities
that resulted in formation of continents that are seen in the present,
explained by Alfred Wegner in 1912 as a continental drift theory.
The enormous diversity of life forms in the biosphere has evolved
essentially through process of selection during the course of organic
evolution. The process of natural selection has played a significant
role in determining distribution and existence of species alongside the
phenomenon of speciation that has led to formation of new species
that exist during the current times. Thus, the process of continental
drift coupled with the phenomena of speciation and natural selection
has largely influenced life on Earth termed.
Nitesh Joshi
The importance of habitat or locality is highlighted by the fact that
in most of the cases such localities possess a number of endemic species
distributed in several taxonomic categories or groups. Endemism
represents a unique feature in the process of evolution which could
be perpetuated and sustained only in the locality with conservation
measures for propagation of these fragile organisms and their habitats.
Based on the degree of endemism in species conservations, Myers
has identified 12 such localities termed as biodiversity ‘hot–spots’
in tropical regions of the world. The eight hot–spots of biodiversity
cover 454,400kms2 or 0.3% of world’s total land surface but hold
15,555 endemic species of plants representing 6% of the total number
of species of plants worldwide. Thus about 49,955 endemic species
of plants occur in an area barely 786,400kms2 or 0.5% of the world’s
total land area.
Worldwide, conservation is reinventing itself where policy makers
and activists have realized that the world’s oldest conservation
initiatives and indeed its most ancient protected areas for wildlife,
are not those declared by rulers or governments. They were devised
by ‘ordinary’ people, who over generations innovated beliefs,
methods and customs to sustain natural ecosystems and their wildlife.
However, the forest cover and the biodiversity are being depleted at an
alarming rate, the major reasons being deforestation for development,
forest fires and windstorms. An estimated 16.1 million ha of natural
forest worldwide were lost annually during the 1990s. As a result of
continuous degradation of forest cover, the global carbon cycle has
been disturbed by 13% compared to the pre-industrial era.
Though the recognition for conservation of biodiverse areas
and its biodiversity was established in several Conferences, it was
only in late 1980s that systematic and concerted efforts took place
with the constitution of an “Ad hoc Working Group of Experts on
Biological Diversity” in 1987. The Rio Conference held in 1992
laid the foundation for conservation of forests under the Forest
Principles and Conservation of Biodiversity under the Convention
for Biodiversity (CBD). The CBD came into force on 29th December
1993, providing a framework for the sustainable management and
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Department of Botany, Rizvi College of Arts, Science and
Commerce, India
Correspondence: Nitesh Joshi, Department of Botany, Rizvi
College of Arts, Science and Commerce, Bandra (West) ,
Maharashtra, Mumbai – 400 050, India,
Email
Received: January 28, 2019 | Published: January 29, 2019
conservation of world’s natural resources. India is one of the first few
countries to have signed as well as ratified the CBD soon after the
it came into effect. The drafting of India’s Biological Diversity Act
2002 (BD Act), established in the year 2003 is innovative in providing
a combination of roles for the Authority to ensure conservation and
other related issues which cannot be managed merely by invoking
regulatory provisions.
India is one of the 17 mega diverse countries of the world and
with only 2.5% of the earth’s land area, it contributes about 8% of
the known global biodiversity. According to an assessment made
by the Forest Survey of India (FSI), the forest cover of the country
is about 6,75,538km2 and represents about 20.55% of India’s total
geographic area. India accounts for 8% of the recorded species of the
world which includes millions of races, subspecies and local variants
of species and the ecological processes and cycles that link organisms
into population, communities, and all different ecosystems. Currently
a network of 668 Protected Areas (PAs) has been established in India,
extending over 1, 61,221.57sq. kms. (4.90% of total geographic
area), comprising 102 National Parks, 515 Wildlife Sanctuaries,
47 Conservation Reserves and 4 Community Reserves. 39 Tiger
Reserves and 28 Elephant Reserves have been designated for species
specific management of tiger and elephant habitats. However, the ever
mounting human population, rapid expansion of agriculture, industry,
urbanization and large scale developmental projects such as dams,
highways, mining have led to habitat destruction, fragmentation,
degradation and over exploitation of biological resources are areas of
serious concerns in India. Coupled with these factors unsustainable
resource use practices and illegal trade of high value wildlife products
have severely threatened many species of flora and fauna.
One of the important protected area networks in Maharashtra, the
north–western part of peninsular India, is the Sanjay Gandhi National
Park (SGNP) as it is amidst the busiest metropolis, Mumbai. SGNP,
covering 103.36 km2, was established in 1969 with the main object of
preserving the picturesque natural environment, luxuriant vegetation
and its inhabitants and protect the catchment forests of Tulsi and Vihar
Lakes. Encroachments by slum colonies into densely forested areas
of the SGNP have been taking place gradually since the early 1970s,
steadily driving out several important faunal species from the national
park. Furthermore, high anthropogenic interference for fuelwood,
Biodiversity Int J. 2019;3(1):7‒8.
© 2019 Joshi. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits
unrestricted use, distribution, and build upon your work non-commercially.
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Copyright:
©2019 Joshi
Global biodiversity an overview and Indian perspective
illicit timber trades and uncontrolled use of lakes have resulted in
fragmentation of 40% of dense tree cover in the central region of the
SGNP.
The SGNP is home to leopard Panthera pardus fusca, it being the
main predator of the park. History of the status of leopards given by
the IUCN shows that from being categorized as “Least Concern” in
2002, the status of the animal has been raised as “Near Threatened” in
2008 in the IUCN Red Data List. The most volatile problem faced by
the park is leopards straying outside its limits. The burgeoning human
population inside its boundaries and development of residential
complexes on its outskirts have caused degradation and shrinking
of the leopard’s habitat. Consequently, incidences of man–animal
conflict in the park have risen. SGNP is the only site in India which
reports sustained human–leopard conflict from within the boundary
of a protected area.
In order to collate the existing biodiversity information on the
park and identify the threats it faces, the Forest Department of SGNP
has launched several initiation projects to assess the conservation
status of Panthera pardus fusca. With Mumbai having the distressing
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distinction of being one of the polluted and crowded cities in the
world, the SGNP is its only salvation. This fragile web of life that
has taken millions of years in creations is on the brink of destruction.
Neglected much longer, the forest and its vault of natural wealth
might be lost forever. An increasing number of corporate houses
taking interest in environmental issues through their Corporate
Social Responsibilities initiative is a sign that protection of the
forest is an optimistic possibility. Through concerted involvement
and pro activeness of public and private sectors, corporate houses,
the Municipal Corporation, departments of the park and electricity,
police and citizens of the city, the natural heritage of the park can be
conserved.
Acknowledgments
None.
Conflicts of interest
The author declares there is no conflicts of interest.
Citation: Joshi N. Global biodiversity an overview and Indian perspective. Biodiversity Int J. 2019;3(1):7‒8. DOI: 10.15406/bij.2019.03.00118