BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION

The olive ridley turtles at Orissa coast www.thehindubusinessline.com

The irony of their fate www.greenpeace.org

Biosphere- Complex system Many spps. Interlinking in form of a web. Keeping the whole system stable. Conservation- development of ways & strategies of protecting the diversity that exists in the biosphere.

Why to conserve? Bio-geo chemical cycles. N, P , S, C etc cycles. The gene pool of characters of environmental and human interest. Food webs and chains providing natural pest and disease control. And many other reasons.

Flora 10.9% of world flora 45364 plant spps.

Fauna 7.7% of the world’s About 94317 animal species

Bio diversity in agriculture Crop No. of wild relatives Millets 51 Fruits 104 Spices and condiments 27 Vegetables and pulses 55 Fibre crops 24 Oil seeds, tea, coffee, Tobacco and sugarcane 12 Medicinal plants 3000 Source-www.teriin.org

Conservation approaches In-situ Involves protection of natural areas with high biodiversity. Ex-situ here we conserve biodiversity in an artificial setting. www.indiantiger.org www.plantlife.org

Table: Threatened Animals of India by Status Category Ex EW CR EN VU LR/cd LR/nt DD 18 54 143 10 99 31 Legend Ex-extinct; EW-Extinct in the Wild; CR- Critically Endangered; VU-Vulnerable; LR/cd-Lower Risk conservation dependent; LR/nT- Lower Risk near threatened; DD-Data Deficient

Table: Threatened Plants of India by Status Category    Table: Threatened Plants of India by Status Category Ex EW CR EN VU LR/cd LR/nt DD 7 2 44 113 87 1 72 14   Legend Ex-extinct; EW-Extinct in the Wild CR- Critically Endangered VU-Vulnerable LR/cd-Lower Risk conservation dependent LR/nT- Lower Risk near threatened DD-Data Deficient Source: IUCN. 2000

Insitu conservation National parks (88), and sanctuaries (490) Expansion of the protected area network Population surveys and assessments and database creation Mapping of forest types, protected areas, and natural forests Improved protection efforts and a landscape approach to conservation Regular population-habitat viability and risk simulations Geographical information systems and remote sensing in planning and monitoring Creation of new conservation reserves                                                        Community reserves          Joint Forest management Voluntary, field based organizations and NGOs (non-governmental organizations)

Nilgiri Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka Nanda Devi Uttaranchal Nokrerk Meghalaya Manas Assam Sunderbans West Bengal Gulf of Mannar Tamil Nadu Great Nicobar Andaman and Nicobar Similpal Part of Mayurbhanj district (Orissa) Dibru-Saikhowa Part of Dibrugarh and Tinsukia district (Assam) Dehang Debang Part of Siang and Debang velley (Arunachal Pradesh) Pachmarhi Parts of Betul, Hoshangabad and Chindwara districts (Madhya Pradesh) Kanchanjanga Part of Kanchanjanga Hills (Sikkim)

The national parks and sanctuaries

Mapping the forests The two satellites were used for stratification of trees in and outside forest

Geographical information systems and remote sensing in planning and monitoring The vegetation map of india

Community conservation People protecting pelicans: an example of community conservation in India Kokkare Bellur is a village situated in Mandya District of Karnataka, India. For generations, storks and pelicans have been coming here and roosting on the trees in the village for six months. They breed here, feed in the water bodies spread within a distance of a few kilometers and then fly away to their summer grounds. The villagers consider them a good omen and harbinger of good rain and protected their habitat. Villagers have also established an orphanage for injured birds. This area would prove to be an excellent community managed reserve

Community reserves magma.nationalgeographic.com

Community reserves Pasgaonva Pond: A potential community reserve In Pilibhit district of Uttar Pradesh lies a 1 ha village pond, which is protected by the local people and is home to several migratory waterfowl. The people have traditionally protected the birds and there is a community-enforced ban on hunting and poaching of birds from the pond. Although small in area, this pond provides an example of traditional respect for wildlife through community enforced bans on hunting and poaching. Further, because of protection offered to the birds here, this pond teems with birdlife in the winter. Huge signboards listing birds seen in this area indicate that this pond hosts a number of migratory waterfowl.

Joint forest management Kuvarai village Andhra Pradesh www.fao.org

Ex-situ conservation Captive breeding and species reintroduction NBAGR NBPGR Biotechnology Seed banks Bioinformatics

Bioinformatics The terms bioinformatics and computational biology are often used interchangeably Bioinformatics and computational biology involve the use of techniques including applied mathematics, informatics, statistics ,computer science and biochemistry to solve biological problems usually on the molecular level. Eg. genome sequencing .

Bioinformatics

Bioinformatics

Seed banks

Dudwa rhino reintroduction The Dudwa forests were home to the one horned rhino a century and half ago. However due to rampant poaching for its valuable horn and for game hunting, it was wiped out from the area by the late 19th century. Rhinos were successfully reintroduced to Dudwa on 1 April, 1984 following a systematic reintroduction effort of captive bred stock. Suitable habitats were first earmarked prior to their reintroduction. About 27 km2 of grasslands and open forests with perennial source of water was earmarked as the rhino-reintroduction area and two monitoring stations established. Currently there are seven rhinos breeding successfully - 4 adult females, 1 adult male, and 2 sub-adult males.

Dudhwa- Lakhimpur-Kheri magma.nationalgeographic.com

  Project Tiger-A success in species conservation Tiger populations declined drastically from estimates of 40000 at the turn of the century (Gee, 1964) to 1800 by the 1970s. This led in 1973 to the initiation of Project Tiger with the objective of conserving and rescuing this species from annihilation. Twenty-three tiger reserves were set up along with the imposition of a total ban on hunting and trading in tiger products at the national and international levels and the implementation of habitat improvement and anti-poaching measures. Between 1973 to 1989, the species showed a marked recovery resulting in an increase in numbers to more than 4000 by 1989.

Project tiger magma.nationalgeographic.com

International efforts United nations environment programme World conservation union WWF Convention on international trade in endangered animals and plant species

Indian efforts The biodiversity bill 2002 India became party to convention on biodiversity (CBD) May 22nd international day on biodiversity celebrated.

Thanks.. Prashant Sharma Vibhas Chandra Abhishak Lahiri Nishi Kalpana Pandey