Biodiversity

What Is The Conservation Of Biodiversity

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What Is The Conservation Of Biodiversity

The preservation and careful management of plant and animal species in order to prevent their extinction is called conservation. Several steps have been taken by many national and international organizations towards conservation of biodiversity.

Forest Reserves

Forest reserves are large areas of forest cover that are protected from human exploitation. Strict laws have been enacted all over the world to prevent felling of trees in forest reserves. Thus, forest reserves have been established with an aim at serving the following purposes:

  • prevention of deforestation;
  • replenishment of lost forest cover by planting new trees (reforestation); and
  • protection of food and shelter meant for wildlife.

Wildlife Sanctuaries and National Parks

Wildlife sanctuaries and national parks are protected forests all across the world to preserve , certain plant and animal species. In India, there are more than four hundred wildlife sanctuaries and about a hundred national parks. Cutting trees and hunting animals in these areas is strictly prohibited.

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National Parks & Wildlife Sanctuaries in India

Some wildlife sanctuaries and national parks are: Bandhavgarh in Madhya Fradesh (tiger), Bandipur in Karnataka (tiger), Corbett in Uttarakhand (tiger), Dachigam in Jammu and Kashmir (Kashmir Stag), Oir in Gujarat (Asiatic lion), Kaziranga in Assam (Indian Rhinoceros), Kanha in Madhya Pradesh (tiger),  Sariska in Rajasthan (tiger), Periyar in Kerala (Asian elephant), and Keoladeo Ghana in Bharatpur (birds, including the Siberian crane). Birds like the Siberian crane travel large distances and come to India in groups during winter in order to escape cold, unfavourable conditions.
The movement of animals in large numbers from one place to another to overcome unfavourable conditions is called migration. Even though steps are being taken for protection of animals, illegal hunting (called poaching) is still a major threat to wildlife.

Poachers hunt animals for

  • body parts used in traditional medicine (e.g., Indian rhinoceros for horns and tiger for bones);
  • body parts valued as ornaments (e.g., Asian elephants for ivory and turtles for shells); and
  • fur and hides (e.g., deer and cattle for leather, alligators and snakes for skins, and wild cats, minks, and bears for fur).

Zoological Parks

A zoological park or zoo refers to any park, building, cage, enclosure, or premise in which animals are kept for public exhibition. Zoos play a major role in creating awareness among common people about the need to conserve nature. Some zoos serve as breeding centres for sawimfi ox Isaaks.

Botanical Gardens

Botanical gardens may be called ‘zoos’ of the plant world. They have been established to conserve rare and threatened plant species. There are about 1600 botanical gardens world over. Most botanical gardens also serve as seed banks and have reserves of seeds of several species of plants.

Organizations Involved in Conservation

Conserving the biodiversity is the duty of every human being. To promote conservation, government and non-government organizations at the international, national, and local levels are constantly organizing awareness programmes and issuing rules and regulations to protect, forests and wildlife.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) works towards assessing the global conservation status of plant and animal species. IUCN maintains a comprehensive list known as the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Here, species are classified into nine categories, on the basis of criteria like the rate of decline, population size, and area of geographical distribution.
The nine categories in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species are given below.

  • Extinct
  • Near threatened
  • Extinct in the wild
  • Least concern
  • Critically endangered
  • Data deficient
  • Endangered
  • Not evaluated
  • Vulnerable

The main aim of the IUCN Red List is to focus the attention of conservationists towards species that are under threat of becoming extinct. Few of the animals listed in the IUCN Red List are blue whale, African elephant, sea turtle, and Bengal tiger. IUCN also publishes a catalogue, called the Red Data Book, which lists rare species and those in danger of extinction.

In India, some non-government organizations (NGOs) share the job of conserving the environment with the government. While some organizations aim at spreading awareness among people, some work towards implementation of rules and regulations set up by the government in this regard. Still others focus on restoring habitats through fieldwork and surveys. Some of the famous Indian conservation programmes that have gamed recognition m the recent past are Project Tiger, the Van Mahotsava programme, and the Chipko movement.

Recycling Paper

Recycling paper is one of the ways of conserving trees. Paper is made of cellulose fibre, the main source of which is wood pulp obtained from trees. The pulp and paper industry is so huge that trees are planted and grown specifically to make paper.

Besides avoiding wastage of paper, we can also reuse and recycle it. Waste paper can be made into useful products like packaging, writing paper, and tissue paper. Recycling refers to manufacturing new products from materials that would otherwise be considered waste. The process of recycling involves collecting waste materials, sorting them, and processing them into raw materials that could be used to make new products.

What Are The Main Causes Of Biodiversity Loss

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Reasons for Loss of Biodiversity

Several species of plants and animals have become extinct in the last two centuries and there are many that face the threat of extinction. As life on Earth relies on the interactions and interdependencies among different plants and animals, biodiversity is essential for our own survival. Loss of biodiversity (because of extinction) is, therefore, one of the leading environmental problems today. Some of the major causes for loss of biodiversity are given below.

Destruction of forests: The loss or continual degradation of forest habitat due to natural or human- related causes is called deforestation. Following are the main reasons for deforestation.

  • Requirement of wood is one of the main reasons trees are felled for. Wood is used as a fuel, for making furniture, in construction, and for making paper, boats, ships, artworks, and rayon. It is also processed to make plywood (used for making furniture) and hardboard (used in construction, and for making furniture).
  • Overgrazing by cattle is also a key factor that contributes to deforestation.
  • Rapid urbanization and increase in human population have led to conversion of forests to agricultural land. Forests have also been cleared for construction of roads, railway tracks, and dams.

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Destruction of forests has the following adverse effects.

  • Roots of trees help in binding the soil particles together. When trees are destroyed, soil is left loose and becomes prone to being eroded (i.e., being carried away) by wind and moving water. Loss of topsoil, which is rich in humus and nutrients, due to erosion reduces the fertility of soil. Over time, the fertile soil gets converted into a desert. This is called desertification.
  • Forests are the natural habitat of many species of animals and birds. Cutting down trees destroys the homes of these species, which poses a threat to their survival.
  • As trees take in carbon dioxide and give out oxygen during photosynthesis, their destruction disturbs the balance of these gases in the atmosphere. Increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere may lead to an increase in global temperature.
  • Trees draw ground water using their roots and release water vapour into the atmosphere through a process called transpiration. If a large number of trees are destroyed, overall transpiration .rate will be greatly reduced. This can make the atmosphere drier and lead to reduced rainfall.
  • Trees help to absorb the rainwater that falls on the ground. If they are destroyed, this excess water could cause floods.
  • Loss of trees may lead to reduction in the binding capacity of soil particles during rainy season. This may, in turn, lead to landslides in mountainous regions.

Pollution: Pollution of air, water, and land adversely affects many plants and animals.

Climatic changes: Natural and human activities have led to global climatic changes. Species that are not able to adjust to the changing climate become extinct.

Killing of animals: Many animals are killed for their meat, skin, and other body parts.

Natural disasters: Earthquakes, floods, droughts, cyclones, tsunamis, and hurricanes also contribute to the reduction of plant and animal species in many areas.

What is Biodiversity

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What is Biodiversity

Our planet is full of different types of plants and animals. They live in a variety of places like forests, grasslands, rainforests, deserts, oceans, and polar regions.

The number and variety of plants, animals, and other organisms that exist is known as biodiversity. One can use the term biodiversity while talking about the organisms of a particular region or of the Earth as a whole. Depending on the size and climatic conditions, some regions show higher biodiversity than others. Before discussing various issues concerning biodiversity, let us familiarize ourselves with a few terms associated with it.

  • Species: A group or class of animals or plants having certain common and permanent characteristics that clearly distinguish it from other groups. For example, Homo sapiens or human beings form one type of animal species.
  • Habitat: The natural environment of a plant or animal species, where it lives, multiplies, and thrives naturally is called its habitat.
  • Endemic species: Plant and animal species confined to a specific geographical area are called endemic species. The giant panda, for example, is endemic to the mountains of Sichuan, Gansu, and Shanxi Provinces in China. In India, the Asiatic Lion is endemic to Gir National Park in Gujarat.What is Biodiversity 1
  • Extinct species: Species that no longer exist anywhere on the Earth are called extinct species.
    Dinosaurs and the dodo bird are examples of extinct species.
  • Endangered species: Species that are at a high risk of getting extinct in their habitat are called, endangered species.
  • Vulnerable species: Species that exist in low numbers and may become endangered because of habitat destruction, overexploitation, or other environmental disturbances are called vulnerable species.
  • Threatened species: Endangered and vulnerable species are together described as threatened species. Black rhinoceros, blue whale, African elephant, sea turtle, Indian rhinoceros, Bengal tiger, and Asian elephant are examples of threatened species.
  • Flora and fauna: The numerous species of plants living in their habitat are called the flora of a place. The numerous species of animals living in their habitat are called the fauna of a place.