Biodiversity - All about it

Biodiversity(BD)

The variety(i.e. diversity) of living organisms around us

Significance for India

• One of the 12 mega-diversity countries (~8% of total species in the world found here)
• 10th in world and 4th in Asia w.r.t. plant diversity (~47000 plant species)
• around 89000 animal species

Why so much diversity

Diversity of Physical Environment

• Relief
• Land
• Soil
• Climate
• Temperature
• Precipitation
• Duration of Sunlight

Types of Vegetation

TBD (ncert class 9 ch. 5, savinder singh)

Wildlife

TBD (ncert class 9 ch. 5, savinder singh)
Endangered Species in India

Initiatives not to degrade the BD

At National Level

MoEF is the nodal agency.
Objectives :
1. Conservation of natural resources (out of scope here)
2. Prevention and abatement of pollution (out of scope here)
3. Welfare of animals

Constitutional Provisions

1. DPSP : To protect and improve the environment and to safeguard forest and wildlife. (Art 48A added by 42nd am.)
2. F. Duty : To protect and improve natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures.
3. Article 21
4. 7th Schedule
5. Both environment and wildlife were moved to concurrent list by 42nd amendment.

Laws 

• Wildlife (Protection) Act (1972)
• 2006 amendment : NTCA, WCCB to monitor and control illegal trade in wildlife
• Biodiversity Act (2002) : 
• NBA at Chennai, SSBs at state level and BD Mgmt Committees at each local body level
• Following CBD, India enacted this
• Aims to conserve BD and associated knowledge and equitable sharing of benefit.
• National Biodiversity Fund
• NBA will have the power of a civil court
• provision of notifying Natural Heritage Site
• Indian Forest Act, 1927 and State Forest Acts
• Defined state ownership of forests. Categorized into
• Reservers Forest
• Protected Forest
• Village Forest
• Forest Conservation Act, 1980

Policies

National Wildlife Action Plan (2002-2016) :

• Emphasizes people participation and support for wildlife conservation

National Forest Policy (1998)

Organizations 

Botanical Survey of India

• Research org for 
• taxonomic and floristic studies
• studies on fragile ecosystems and PAs
• Inventorying endemic and threatened plant species
• evolving conservation strategies
• multiplication and maintenance
• documentation of traditional knowledge
• National database

Zoological Survey of India

Forest Survey of India

• org for assessing 
• forest and tree cover
• Estimation of growing stock of wood

Genetic Engg Approval Committee

• Year 1989 : MoEF notified a set of rules
• Objective of these rules : To ensure that R & D of products from LMOs are conducted in a scientific manner
• Genetic Engineering Approval committee was set up. It approves
• activities
• GM crops
• Release of GM foods had been approved but is on hold till Ministry of Health and Family Welfare --> Food Safety and Standard Authority is operational. 

National Board for Wildlife

• Chaired by Minister, MoEF
• Gives approval for projects related to wildlife conservation