Bio Diversity

The important and desirable variety of plant and animal life in the world is termed as biodiversity.      

The variation found in trees, herbs, shrubs or animals can be termed as biodiversity. As we know that there are many rare species and to save those species and to balance the ecosystem conservation of biodiversity is very important.

The cause of biodiversity depletion can be natural or man-made. Natural causes include floods, earthquakes, landslides etc. Man-Made causes include deforestation, pollution, mining activity, desertification, etc.

Biodiversity depletion has resulted in the loss of many species like  stellar’s sea cow(Russia), Dodo(Mauritius), Thylacine(Australia), Quagga(Africa) and three sub species(Bali, Javan, Caspian) of tiger etc. More than 15,500 species are facing threat worldwide. Degradation of habitat either by deforestation or by pollution is the main cause of biodiversity losses. Also, animals are being killed by human beings to make leather bags.

According to a report only 200 white tigers and 3890 wild tigers are left in the world. The Amur leopard is one of the world’s most endangered wild cats as only 57 Amur leopards are left in the world.

White Tigers

 

Wild Tigers

If we talk about birds, then we have lost many birds also. For example:  Dodo, Labrador duck and the Laughing owl etc. According to a report the rarest bird in this world today is the Spix’s Macaw. For the last 100 years, only about 60 birds of this specie could have been supported. Kagu is nearly a flightless bird. Nowadays, between 250  and 1000 birds of this specie are left in this world.

Dodo

Kagu

There are mainly two methods used for conserving biodiversity:

v  In Situ Conservation method (On Site conservation method):

v  Ex Situ Conservation  method (Off Site conservation method):

Let us understand these methods.

In Situ Conservation method (On Site conservation method):

In this method the species are protected in their natural habitat. There are certain protected areas in which species are preserved. Some are listed below:

·         National park: State government declares some areas in which the habitat of animals are protected. It is known as national park. Animals live freely in national park. Only tourists are allowed. Any other activity which can damage the habitat of animals is not allowed over there. About 103 national parks are there in India.  Gir National Park in Gujarat, Kanha National Park in Mahya Pradesh, Dudhwa National Park in Uttar Pradesh are some of the National Parks located in India.

·          Wildlife sanctuary: It is a naturally occurring sanctuary which protects the species from hunters. No predation is there. In India there are about 543 wildlife sanctuaries.

·         Biospheres reserves: They are very large protected area. Here research or training can also be done. These areas may include national parks or wildlife sanctuaries. There are 18 biosphere reserves in India.

Ex Situ Conservation method (Off Situ conservation method):

In this method the species are protected outside their natural habitat. Conservation of genetic resources is there. Unlike in-situ conservation, ex-situ conservation measures give an “insurance policy” against extinction.