Biodiversity Conservation
There are three categories of reasons for conservation.
Narrowly Utilitarian Arguments
- Humans derive economic benefits from nature, such as food, firewood, fibre, construction material, industrial products (tannins, lubricants, dyes, resins, perfumes), and medicines.
- More than 25% of drugs are derived from plants.
- 25,000 species of plants have medicinal value.
Broadly Utilitarian Arguments
Biodiversity provides many ecosystem services, for example:
- The Amazon forest (‘lung of the planet’) produces 20% of total O2 in the Earth’s atmosphere.
- Pollination through bees, bumblebees, birds, and bats.
- Aesthetic pleasures.
Ethical Arguments
- Every species has an intrinsic value. We have a moral duty to care for their well-being.
Biodiversity conservation is two types: In situ (on site) conservation and Ex situ (off site) conservation.
Types of Biodiversity Conservation
1. In Situ Conservation (On Site)
It is the conservation of genetic resources within natural or human-made ecosystems in which they occur. Examples include protected areas such as National Parks, Sanctuaries, Biosphere Reserves, cultural landscapes, and natural monuments.
- National Park: Strictly reserved for the welfare of wildlife, where private ownership, cultivation, and grazing are prohibited. Example: Eravikulam National Park in Kerala.
- Sanctuary: Protection is given only to animals. Collection of timber, minor forest products, and private ownership are allowed if they do not harm animals. Example: Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary in Kerala.
- Biosphere Reserves: Areas of land or coastal ecosystems for conservation and sustainable use.
- Sacred Forests (Sacred Groves): Forest fragments communally protected based on religious beliefs. Examples:
- Sacred groves in Khasi and Jaintia Hills in Meghalaya.
- Aravalli Hills of Rajasthan.
- Western Ghat regions of Karnataka and Maharashtra.
- Sarguja, Chanda, and Bastar areas (Madhya Pradesh).
India has 14 Biosphere Reserves, 90 National Parks, and 448 wildlife sanctuaries.
2. Ex Situ Conservation (Off Site)
It is the conservation of organisms outside their habitats. Examples include genetic resource centres, zoological parks, wildlife safari parks, botanical gardens, gene banks, and cryopreservation.
Hotspots
- These are regions with very high species richness, a high degree of endemism (species confined to a specific region), but are most threatened.
- There are 34 hotspots in the world.
- Three hotspots cover India’s biodiversity regions: Western Ghats & Sri Lanka, Indo-Burma, and Himalaya.
- All hotspots together cover only less than 2% of the Earth’s land area, but their species richness is extremely high. Protection of hotspots has reduced ongoing extinctions by 30%.
International Efforts for Conserving Biodiversity
- The Earth Summit or Convention on Biological Diversity (Rio de Janeiro, 1992) had three objectives:
- Conservation of biodiversity.
- Sustainable use of biodiversity.
- Sharing of benefits arising from genetic resources.
- The World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg, South Africa, 2002): 190 countries pledged to reduce the current rate of biodiversity loss.
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