Chapter -4: Biodiversity and its

conservation
Definition :
Biodiversity refers to variety and variability among the living
organisms and ecological complexes in which occur. This includes
diversity within species, between species and of the ecosystem.

Levels of biodiversity:
• Genetic diversity,
• Species diversity and
• Ecosystem diversity

Genetic diversity • It refers to the variation of

genes within the species stores as immense amount of
genetic information. Genetic variation is seen among the
individuals within a species. For instance, in cattle there are
many varieties with respect to color, milk yield, size or
disease resistance. For example, all rice varieties belong to
the species Oryza sativa, but there are thousands of wild
and cultivated varieties of rice.

Species diversity • It refers to the various

species found within a region. Variability found within a
species or between different species of a community.
Species diversity is measured by species richness (number
of species per unit area) and evenness or equitability
(evenness in the number of individuals of a species). • In the
 case of species richness, higher species diversity represents
greater species diversity. In the second case, evenness of
species represents higher species diversity.
Ecosystem diversity
It refers to the variations in the biological communities in which
the species live in a particular ecosystem of the area.
Measurement of biodiversity:
• alpha diversity: The diversity within a community is
called alpha diversity.
• Beta diversity: The diversity between communities is
called Beta diversity. Examples are Tropical Rain Forest
and Boreal Forest.
• Gamma diversity: The diversity of the habitats over total
landscape or geological area is referred to as Gamma
diversity. For example, Forest ecosystem, aquatic
ecosystem, Grasslands, Deserts, mangroves etc.
Biogeographical zones of India
India has been divided into ten recognizable
biogeographic zones as follows:
Biodiversity hotspots
Conservation International was a pioneer in defining and
promoting the concept of hotspots. In 1988, just one
year after scientist Norman Myers wrote the paper that
introduced the hotspots concept, Conservation
International adopted the idea of protecting these
incredible places as the guiding principle of our
investments. For nearly two decades thereafter,
hotspots were the blueprint for our work.

There are currently 36 recognized biodiversity

hotspots. These are Earth’s most biologically rich—yet
threatened—terrestrial regions.
To qualify as a biodiversity hotspot, an area must meet
two strict criteria:
• Contain at least 1,500 species of vascular plants
found nowhere else on Earth (known as "endemic"
species).
• Have lost at least 70 percent of its primary native
vegetation.
 Following the criteria must for an area to be
declared as Biodiversity Hotspot, there are major
four biodiversity hotspots in India:

• Eastern Himalayas
• Indo-Burma Region
• The Western Ghats
• Sundaland islands

The Himalayas
Considered the highest in the world, the Himalayas
(overall) comprises North-East India, Bhutan,
Central and Eastern parts of Nepal. This region (NE
Himalayas) holds a record of having 163
endangered species which includes the Wild Asian
Water Buffalo, One-horned Rhino; and as many as
10,000 plant species, of which 3160 are endemic.
This mountain range covers nearly 750,000 km2.
Indo – Burma Region
The Indo-Burma Region is stretched over a
distance of 2,373,000 km². In the last 12 years, 6
large mammal species have been discovered in this
region: the Large-antlered Muntjac, the Annamite
Muntjac, the Grey-shanked Douc, the Annamite
Striped Rabbit, the Leaf Deer, and the Saola. This
hotspot is also known for the endemic freshwater
turtle species, most of which are threatened with
extinction, due to over-harvesting and extensive
habitat loss. There are also 1,300 different bird
species, including the threatened White-eared
Night-heron, the Grey-crowned Crocias, and the
Orange-necked Partridge.
The Western Ghats
The Western Ghats are present along the western
edge of peninsular India and covers most of the
deciduous forests and rain forests. As per UNESCO,
it is home to at least 325 globally threatened flora,
fauna, bird, amphibian, reptile and fish species.
Originally, the vegetation in this region was spread
over 190,000 km2 but has been now reduced to
43,000 km2. The region is also known for the
globally threatened flora and fauna represented by
229 plant species, 31 mammal species, 15 bird
species, 43 amphibian species, 5 reptile species
and 1 fish species. UNESCO mentions that “Of the
total 325 globally threatened species in the
Western Ghats, 129 are classified as Vulnerable,
145 as Endangered and 51 as Critically
Endangered.”
Sundaland islands
The Sundaland hotspot lies in South-East Asia and
covers Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Brunei, and
Malaysia. In the year 2013, the Sundaland was
declared as a World Biosphere Reserve by the
United Nations. This region is famous for its rich
terrestrial and marine ecosystem. Sundaland is
one of the biologically richest hotspots in the
world which comprises 25,000 species of vascular
plants, of which 15,000 are found only in this
region.
USES OF BIODIVERSITY
Biodiversity is very essential for the health of biosphere
and it provides the raw materials for man in order to
make him adapt to the changing environment. • Man
derives many direct and indirect benefits from the living
things. Biodiversity provides ecological services also. The
uses of biodiversity are as follows.
Consumptive use value
• It includes food, medicine, fuel, fiber, timber, clothing,
etc. 80,000 species are edible wild plant species. 90% of
the crops have been domesticated from wild tropical
plants. 75% of the world population depends upon plants
for medicines.
• For instance, penicillin from a fungus name Penicillium,
quinine from a plant namely, Cinchona, tetracycline from
a bacterium and cancer-curing drugs like vinblastine and
vincristine from a plant namely, Catharanthus roseus
(Nithyakalyani) are obtained.
Productive use value.
• The products are commercially usable • The wild gene
resources are traded to introduce desirable traits in the
crops and domesticated animals. • Productive uses of
biological resources are fuel, timber, musk, tusk, ivory,
honey, fiber, gums, resins, medicines, silk, wool etc.
Social value
• Biodiversity in India is related to our religious, cultural
and spiritual uses. • Many plants like Tulsi, Pipal, Hibiscus
 and Datura are considered to be sacred. • Peacock, cow,
snake, bull and owl have a place in our spiritual arena.
Ethical value
• We must protect every life. It is based on the concept
‘Live and let live’
• We must enjoy watching all animals-Kangaroo, Giraffe,
Zebra etc., though they are not useful to us directly. We
should not cage birds for our pleasure and pastime.
Aesthetic value
• Biodiversity provides us a good deal for fun and
recreation. This type of tourism is known as ecotourism
which generates 12 billion dollars as income per year. • If
we have a lion in a zero, we get about Rs. 2 crores as
income per year. But if we kill the lion, we get only Rs.
50,000/- • A teak fetches Rs. 50,000/- if cut down; but it
lives, its value is priceless by way of its ecological role.
Option values or unknown benefits • We must try to
explore the potentials of biodiversity for future benefit
of mankind. We must protect the biodiversity in order to
find out drugs to fight diseases like cancer and AIDS.
Ecological value
• It refers to the services provided by ecosystems like
prevention of soil erosion, prevention of floods.
• maintenance of soil fertility, cycling of nutrients, fixation
of nitrogen, cycling of water, their role as carbon sinks,
pollutant absorption and reduction of the threat of
global warming etc.
BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY AT NATIONAL LEVEL
(Indian Biodiversity):
India has a rich biological diversity of flora and fauna.
 Overall six percent of the global species are found in
India.
It is estimated that India ranks 10th among the plant
rich countries of the world.
11th in terms of number of endemic species of higher
vertebrates.
• 6th among the centers of diversity and origin of
agricultural crops.
• India has 8.1% of the world’s total biodiversity in
contrast to her 2.4% of the world area.
• India occupies seventh position of plant rich nations
(megadiversity countries).
• India is one of the 12 megadiversity countries in the
world.
• The first position is occupied by Mexico.
• The Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt. of
India (2000) records 48,655 species of plants.
• 1,01,167 species of animals which is about 7% and
6.5% respectively of global flora and fauna.

Factors causing for loss of biodiversity

• Loss of Habitat: Habitat destruction is the massive
destruction of a species’ natural habitat, making it
impossible to maintain its native ecosystem and
species.
• Hunting and poaching: Hunting is the root cause of
extinction of large numbers of animals holding
position in food web. Due to this, the various
species in the region are adversely affected as they
face food scarcity or complete food unavailability
 compared with the normal situation. Hunting is
extensive operator of loss of biodiversity.
• Climatic changes: Global warming is the long-term
increase in Earth’s average air temperature (which
has occurred largely from human activities) over
the past one to two centuries. It can refer
specifically to such warming that is due to the
influence of rising concentrations of carbon
dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gases in
the atmosphere. As the concentration of these
gases increases, the ability of Earth’s atmosphere
to retain energy from incoming sunlight (most of
which is released as heat energy back to space at
night) also increases.
• Pesticide and chemical fertilizer
• Invasive species: The introduction of invasive
species is the tremendous threat to biodiversity
crisis. The species, which is not native to the
ecosystem, arrives or is introduced mostly via
humans in the new ecosystem and start to
pullulate is called as invasive species.
• Environmental pollution: Pollution is the addition
of unneeded or harmful nutrients or substances to
an ecosystem. In a polluted area the quality of
food, water, or other habitat resources declines,
sometimes to the point where some species must
move away or perish if the pressure is too great.
• Man, and wildlife conflict:
• Population explosion
• Natural disasters: Droughts, floods and storms
damage ecosystems and destroy habitats and
food. They may also change the food web, making
it difficult for plants and animals to repopulate the
area. Droughts can also rapidly destroy vast areas
and promote fires that can seriously damage
biodiversity. Natural disasters such as volcanoes,
forest fires, floods, hurricanes, droughts, plagues
and tsunamis can be devastating to biodiversity.
• Over exploitation of resources: Overexploitation
(overhunting and overfishing) is the process of
harvesting too many aquatic or terrestrial animals,
which depletes the stocks of some species while
driving others to extinction.
• Deforestation: Deforestation is the main reason
for this extinction. Forests are cleared to create
residential and commercial areas, resulting in the
loss of habitat to a large extent.
• Conservation of biodiversity
What is Biodiversity Conservation?
Biodiversity conservation is the protection and
management of biodiversity to obtain resources
for sustainable development.
Biodiversity conservation has three main
objectives:
• To preserve the diversity of species.
• Sustainable utilization of species and ecosystem.
• To maintain life-supporting systems and essential
ecological processes.
Conservation Methods
 Biodiversity refers to the variability of life on earth.
It can be conserved in the following ways:

• In-situ Conservation: In-situ conservation of

biodiversity is the conservation of species within
their natural habitat. In this method, the natural
ecosystem is maintained and protected.
Certain protected areas where in-situ conservation
takes place include national parks, wildlife
sanctuaries and biosphere reserves.

National Parks
These are small reserves maintained by the
government. Its boundaries are well demarcated
and human activities such as grazing, forestry,
habitat and cultivation are prohibited. For eg.,
Kanha National Park, and Bandipur National Park.

Wildlife Sanctuaries
These are the regions where only wild animals are
found. Human activities such as timber harvesting,
cultivation, collection of woods and other forest
products are allowed here as long as they do not
interfere with the conservation project. Also,
tourists visit these places for recreation.

Biosphere Reserves
Biosphere reserves are multi-purpose protected
areas where the wildlife, traditional lifestyle of the
inhabitants and domesticated plants and animals
 are protected. Tourist and research activities are
permitted here.
• Ex-situ Conservation: Ex-situ conservation of
biodiversity involves the breeding and
maintenance of endangered species in artificial
ecosystems such as zoos, nurseries, botanical
gardens, gene banks, etc. There is less competition
for food, water and space among the organisms.
IUCN red list of endangered animals in India
The International Union for Conservation of
Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also
known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book,
founded in 1964, is the world's most
comprehensive inventory of the global
conservation status of biological species.
The International Union for Conservation of
Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species has
evolved to become the world’s most
comprehensive information source on the global
conservation status of animal, fungi and plant
species.

The IUCN Red List is a critical indicator of the

health of the world’s biodiversity. Far more than a
list of species and their status, it is a powerful tool
to inform and catalyze action for biodiversity
conservation and policy change, critical to
protecting the natural resources we need to
survive. It provides information about range,
population size, habitat and ecology, use and/or
trade, threats, and conservation actions that will
help inform necessary conservation decisions.