BIODIVERSITY

ENDEMIC SPECIES OF INDIA :
Plants and animals are distributed
differentially on the globe .
#The highly restricted organisms
unlike humans , gray rats etc., are
referred to as endemic species ,
because they are unique to a
specific region.

# India has many endemic species
which includes plants and
vertebrates . The endemic areas in
India are North-East India , the
Western Ghats , the Eastern
Himalayas and the North-Western .
FACT: Andaman &Nicobar islands
contribute atleast 220 species to the endemic flora of
India.

World Conservation Monitoring
Centers(WCMC)’s has catalogued
the following places in India as
areas important for conservation:
1) Agastyamalai Hills-Western
Ghats
2)Silent Valley- Western Ghats
3) New Amarambalan Reserve-
Western Ghats

4) Periyar National Park- Western
Ghats
5) Eastern and Western Himalayas
FACTS:- 44 species of mammal are endemicto India.
55 birdspecies areendemic to Indiaconcentrated in
areas of high rainfall.
214 reptiles and 110 amphibiansare endemic species of
India.

ENDANGERED
SPECIES OF INDIA

India contains 215 species of animals
considered globally threatened by
INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR
CONSERVATION OF NATURE AND
NATURAL RESOURCES(IUCN).It includes
86 species of mammal ,70 birds ,25
reptiles and 3 amphibians. India has
some of Asia’s rarest animals such as
Bengal Fox ,Marbled Cat ,Asiatic Lion
,Asiatic Cheetah ,Gaur etc.,

DISTRIBUTION OF SPECIES IN
SOME MAJOR GROUPS OF FLORA
AND FAUNA :
S.NO PLANTS NUMBER ANIMALS NUMBER
1 FUNGI 21,000 MOLLUS CA 6 ,04 2
2 BACTERIA 8 50 LOWER GROUPS 9 ,9 79
3 ALGAE 2,500 ARTHRAPODA 57,525
4 BRYOPHYTES 2,500 AMPHIBIA 25,4 8 6
5 GYMNOS PERMS 6 4 BIRDS 1,228
6 PTERIDOPHYTES 1,022 REPTILES 4 28
7 ANGIOS PERM 8 5,000 MAMMALS 372
GROUP WISE DISTRIBUTION

HOTSPOTS OF
BIODIVERSITY

HOTSPOTS OF BIODIVERSITY
Hotspots are regions that harbour
a great biodiversity of endemic
species and at the same time
have been significantly impacted
and altered by human activities.

To qualify as a hotspot a region must
satisfy the following conditions:-
# Must support 1500 endemic plant
species and 0.5% of the global total.
# Existing primary vegetation is the basis
for assessing human impact in a region.
# Must have lost more than 70% of its
original habitat.

LIST OF GLOBAL HOTSPOTS :
There are 25 hotspots identified in
the world. They are listed below:-
1) Tropical Andes
2) Mesoamerica
3) Caribbean
4) Western Ecuador
5) Central Chile
6) Madagascar
7) Western African Forest
8) Succulent Karoo
9) Caucasus
10) Wallacea

11) Indo-Burma
12) Western Ghats
13) New Caledonia
14) Polynesia
15) Brazil’s Atlantic Forest
16) Brazil’s Cerrado
17) California Floristic Province
18) Cape Floristic Province
19) Mediterranean Species
20) Philippines
21) South Central China
22) South West Australia
23) Sundarland
24) New Zealand
25) Eastern Arc and Coastal Forest of
Tanzania/Kenya

HOTSPOTS IN INDIA:
Out of 25 global hotspots there are 4
hotspots located in India extending into
neighbouring countries like the Indo-
Burma, Srilanka, Pakistan, Tibet etc.,
The 4 hotspots are:-
1) North-Eastern India
2) Eastern Himalayas
3) Western Ghats
4) Andaman and Nicobar

z
North- Eastern
India

THREATS TO
BIODIVERSITY

Extinction is a part of the evolutionary
process ,but today’s rate of extinction
is much greater than the scale at
which species disappear due to
evolution alone.
Conservation figures predict a loss
of atleast 2 species an hour. Almost
99.9% of all animals that once lived on
earth are now extinct.

The following is a list of prominent
threats to biodiversity :
1) Habitat degradation and loss
2) Pollution
3) Global environmental change
4) Invasion of non-native species
5) Over-exploitation of resources

The consequences of the above are loss
of potentially valuable organisms and
biological compound for agriculture,
silviculture (growing and cultivation of
trees) and medicine.
medicines

Causes for Man-Animal Conflict :
It refers to the interaction between
human beings and the resultant
negative impact on resources or
wildlife or
their habitat.

It occurs when growing population
overlap with the available resources
and hence causing reduction in their
lives.
The conflict takes many forms ranging
from loss of life or injury to humans
and animals both wild and
domesticated as a competition for
scarce resources to loss and
degradation of habitat.

How to manage this conflict ?
There are two ways to prevent –first is the
traditional technique which aims at
controlling animal population.
Modern method depends
on ecological understanding of
the wildlife and its environment
to minimize conflict.
E.g. Humans behavioural and
measures to reduce interactions
between human and animal.

CONSERVATION OF
BIODIVERSITY

The establishment of protected areas
is one of the strategies used in the
management of environmental resources .
`A protected area` is defined as “an area
of land or sea especially dedicated to the
protection and maintenance of biological
diversity and of natural and associated
cultural resources so as to manage
through legal or other effective means”.

The main purpose for establishment and
management of protected areas are
identified as :
1) Scientific research
2) Wilderness protection
3) Preservation of cultural and traditional
attributes
4) Maintenance of environmental services
5) Tourism and recreation
6) Education
7) Sustainable use of resources

To conserve rare and threatened
species it is necessary to protect
their natural habitats and specific
measures are taken at present to
avoid exploitation and illegal trade.
The two known ways are namely
1)In-situ conservation
2)Ex-situ conservation

IN-SITU CONSERVATION :
This is the conservation of genetic resources
through their maintenance within natural or
human-made ecosystems in which they occur.
Natural habitats are declared as protected
areas.
This system of protected areas includes
Biosphere Reserve ,National Parks ,Wildlife
Sanctuaries ,World Heritage Sites ,Sacred
Groves ,National Monuments ,Cultural
Landscapes

EX-SITU CONSERVATION :
This is the conservation outside their
habitats ,which includes
Botanical Gardens ,Arboreta ,Herbal
Gardens ,Seed Banks ,Pollen Banks,
Semen Bank ,Ovum Bank ,Biotechnology
Use (Tissue Culture ,Genetic Engineering
etc.,)

HENCE CONSERVE
AND PROTECT
BIODIVERSITY
“COME FORTH
INTO THE LIGHT OF
THINGS, LET NATURE
BE
YOUR TEACHER”

THANK YOU
BY:
FATHIMASHAHIN.AR