Biodiversity

By – Supriya

Biodiversity means ” the variety of life on earth.” It is the variability of all living organisms – including animal and plant species  – the genes of all living organisms , and the terrestrial , aquatic and marine ecosystems of which they are part of . This , in essence , biodiversity represents all life. Biodiversity also includes the structure of the ecosystems and habitats that support essential living resources , including wildlife , fisheries and forests. It composes ecosystems that maintain oxygen in the air, enrich the soil , purify the water, protect against flood and regulate climate. Thus, it plays a great role in fulfilling basic human needs such as food , shelter and medicine. India contains a great wealth of biological diversity in its forests, its wetlands and in its marine areas. The country is one of the mega biodiversity centres in the world and has two of the world ‘s 18 ‘ biodiversity hotspots ‘, located in the Western Ghats and in the Eastern Himalayas . The total forest and tree cover of the country is estimated at 23.39 percent of the geographic area, of which forest cover accounts for 21 percent . India is estimated to have 49219 plant species representing 12.5% of the world ‘s flora and 868740 animal species representing 7.25% of the world ‘s fauna.  The United Nations General Assembly has declared 2011 as the International Year of Forests to raise awareness on sustainable management , conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests. To finance new models for high – value forest conservation in India,  through participatory approaches and mainstreaming of biodiversity conservation outcomes , the World Bank has approved financing of a US$15.36 million credit from the International Development Association (IDA) and a grant of US$ 8.14 million from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Trust Fund. The project seeks to demonstrate landscape conservation approaches in the Rann of Kutch in Gujarat and Askot in Uttarakhand.
Over the last century a great deal of damage has been done to the biodiversity existing on the earth. Increasing human population , greater consumption levels and inefficient use of our resources are some of the causes that have led to overexploitation and manipulation of ecosystems. Trade of rhino horn and tiger skin etc has also led to the extinction of species. According to the latest tiger census report released on March 28, 2011 by the National Tiger Conservation Authority , the current tiger population estimated is 1706. Although the population of tiger has increased over the years, tigers face the threat of being killed for their skin . Society ‘s growing consumption of resources and increasing populations have led to a rapid loss of biodiversity , eroding the capacity of Earth ‘s normal systems to provide essential goods and services on which human communities depend. To enumerate ways of conservation of biodiversity wealth of India. The National Conference on Environment and Biodiversity of India will be held from 20 th – 22nd December 2011 in New Delhi. The conference would not only feature the beauty of the vast forest resources of India but would also discuss ways to prevent the loss of precious forest belts. It is necessary that we realise the importance of our biological resources for the continued welfare of India ‘s population.

Thankyou!

Unknown's avatar

Published by 1111 EduPub

EduPub (Edupedia Publications Pvt Ltd) is a company dedicated to the development of the education, learning, research and innovation in the field of the research and books publication. We are pioneer in providing wide range of services to educational institutions, government agencies, individuals and corporates in the field of training and education, research and development, research and innovation. research and publication.