Biodiversity of India, early explorations, conservation efforts, importance to livelihoods, etc.

1. FLORISTIC DIVERSITY: EXPLORATION, UTILISATION & CONSERVATION Invited Lecture in National Seminar on Biodiversity- An Endless Exploration St. Aloysius College (Autonomous), Mangalore February 22, 2010 Dr. M. JayakaraBhandary Department of Botany G. A. S. College, Karwar Karnataka, India Email:jaikarb@yahoo.com

2. WHAT IS BIODIVERSITY? Biodiversity is “the variability among all living organisms from all sources, including, inter-alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems”. CBD

3. TOTAL WEALTH OF LIFE ON EARTH…… PLANTS+ANIMALS+MICROORGANISMS+ ECOSYSTEMS WHICH INVOLVE THEM GENES – GENETIC DIVERSITY SPECIES – SPECIES DIVERSITY ECOSYSTEMS - ECOSYSTEM DIVERSITY

4. ESTIMATES…. GLOBAL APPROXIMATION - 80 – 120 LAKH SPECIES DISCOVERED & DESCRIBED SO FAR – 16 LAKH ONLY INDIA 2.2% LAND AREA 7.5% SPECIES (1.2 LAKH SPECIES) ONE OF THE 12 MEGADIVERSITY NATIONS

5. THE BIODIVERSITY SUPER POWERS!

7. GROUP GLOBAL DIVERSITY INDIA ENDEMICS Prokaryotes Fungi Algae Angiosperms Insects Molluscs Fishes Amphibia Reptiles Birds Mammals 4,800 69,000 26,900 2,50,000 8,00,000 50,000 23,000 4,200 6,300 9,000 4,000 850 23,000 2,500 17,500 60,000 5,050 2,500 204 446 1,250 372 - - - 5,750 - - - 110 187 70 44 SPECIES DIVERSITY….

9. 70 Birds, 187 reptiles, 110 amphibia …..Eastern Himalaya & The Western Ghats Treasures of Endemics under serious threats TWO among the 25 (Now 34)GLOBAL HOTSPOTS

10. GROUP Eastern Himalaya Western Ghats Andaman & Nicobar Islands Angiosperms Reptiles Amphibia Mammals 3,500 20 25 - 1, 720 91 84 7 144 23 2 - INDIAN CENTRES OF ENDEMISM…

11. Biodiversity Hotspots Norman Myers 1988, 2000 18/25/34? Centers of Diversity, endemism(1500spp) and threat (70% lost). 1.4% Area, 60% Plants

12. The Western Ghats 1700 plants, 84 amphibia, 16 birds, 7 mammals – Found no where else! 213 spp of endemic plants occur in Dakshina Kannada & Udupi Districts. © Jayakara Bhandary

13. Some Western Ghats endemics © Jayakara Bhandary © Jayakara Bhandary Garcinia indica Artocarpus hirsuta Calophyllum apetalum Myristica malabarica Vateria indica… Moullava spicata

15. KARNATAKA… Diverse Ecosystems (Forests, Grasslands, wetlands, Mangroves, agri fields, etc.) …Biologically Rich 22,000 species ? 4,500 plants, 500 birds, 800 fishes, 160 reptiles, 160 mammals, 70 amphibians … © Jayakara Bhandary

16. Floristic explorations – Pages from History Earliest Records of Medicinal Plants in Materia medica (1000 – 0 BC) Samhithas – Charaka (600 plants), Sushruta (760 Plants) Vrikshayurveda Sarangadhara samhitha …

17. European Influence…. Indian Botany reborn in the 16th century with the arrival of Portuguese. GARCIA DA ORTA – Physician, settled in Goa - OS COLOQUIOS in 1565 (observations on medicinal plants based on conversation with locals)

19. Heinrich van Rheede – Dutch Governor of Malabar – HORTUS MALABARICUS 12 VOLUMES, 794 PLATES Employed about 200 plant collectors, 15 local physicians, Artists, etc. Linnaeus used this work as a basis to name many Indian plants in his Species Plantarum (1753).

22. 18th Century….. Koenig – 1768 William Roxburgh (Army surgeon) FATHER OF BOTANY IN INDIA Plants of Coromandal Cost Hortus Bengalensis Flora Indica Unpublished Icones (2533 colour plates)

24. Flora of British India – J. D. Hooker 7 vols. 1872-1897 Flora of Madras Presidency – Gamble 1915-1936 Flora of Bombay Presidency – T. Cooke 1901-08 ….BSI, FRI, Universities etc continued explorations.. DIGITAL FLORAS…

25. Isoglossa variegata -discovered in the Princess of Wales Conservatory at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew among more than 250 new plant and fungus species discovered and described by the gardens' botanists in the past year. 20 new species were discovered in Brazil

26. Scientists have found over 350 new species in the Eastern Himalayas over the past ten years Impatiens namchabarwensis

27. Two new species each of bamboo and cinnamon and three species of ginger were among total 167 plants discovered by scientists in 2008 in the country. Endless Exploration… CinnamomumChartocerus

30. Habitat destruction

31. Overexploitation …..

33. Exotic weed invasion…. Ipomoea carnea from S. America Eichornia crassipes

34. THREATENED PLANTS

35. DISAPPEARING PLANTS DIONEA PITCHER PLANT DROSERA

36. SPECIES BELIEVED TO BE EXTINCT ….RECENTLY RELOCATED HUBBARDIA HEPTANEURON, From Jog Falls, Karnataka, India

37. WHY SHOULD WE WORRY ? © Jayakara Bhandary MATERIAL RESOURCES (Food, medicine, material needs…) ECOSYSTEM SERVICES (Climate, Water , soil….) ETHICS, AESTHETICS © Jayakara Bhandary © Jayakara Bhandary © Jayakara Bhandary

40. Ecological

41. Economic

42. Aesthetic

44. © Jayakara Bhandary © Jayakara Bhandary © Jayakara Bhandary © Jayakara Bhandary BIODIVERSITY in traditional livelihoods

45. ENCASHING DIVERSITY….. FUTURE POWERFUL TECHNOLOGIES GENE BASED. BIOTECHNOLOGICAL WORLD – BIODIVERSITY IS BASE THE BIODIVERSITY DIVIDE… DEVELOPED COUNTRIES TECHNOLOGY + ECONOMY. WANT EASY, CHEAP ACCESS TO BIODIVERSITY RESOURCES AND RELATED KNOWLEDGE CONCENTRATED IN TROPICAL DEVELOPING COUNTRIES. DEVELOPING COUNTRIES RIGHTS + RETURNS.

46. INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS….. CONVENTION ON BIODIVERSITY (CBD) – 1992 More than 170 signatories Objectives: Biodiversity conservation, Sustainable exploitation & Equitable sharing of profits. 2002 December – Biodiversity Act of India SOVEREIGN RIGHTS OVER BIODIVERSITY ESTABLISHED Biodiversity management responsibilities - National B.D. Authority – National Authority State B. D. Boards – at State levels & Local B. D. Management committees – at Local body levels

48. Eisner 1989, Reid et al, 1993.

49. The systematic search for genes, natural compounds, designs and whole organisms in wild life with a potential for product development by biological observation, and biophysical, biochemical and genetic methods without disruption to nature.

51. CONSERVATION

56. PA’S OF KARNATAKA 5 National parks 21 Wildlife sanctuaries Total 6447 sq. kms 3.6% geographical area 17.5% of the Forest area © Jayakara Bhandary

61. Traditional, community-linked, oldest form of forest conservation.

62. Occur in Asia, Africa, Europe, America and Australia.

63. Early manifestation of nature worship, played important role in conservation of forest and constituent biodiversity elements..

68. LOCAL NEEDS© Jayakara Bhandary Aerial roots of mangroves

69. Mangrove diversity….. © Jayakara Bhandary Excoecaria agallocha Aegiceras corniculatum © Jayakara Bhandary © Jayakara Bhandary Bruguiera gymnorrhiza Acrostichum aureum (Mangrove fern) Lumnitzera racemosa

70. THREATS…… Deforestation / Private ownership Sand/Shell mining Prawn Farming / Ghazni conversion Tourism activities © Jayakara Bhandary

71. © Jayakara Bhandary MYRISTICA SWAMPS…only habitats for Myristica fatua, Gymnacranthera canarica, & Semicarpus kathalekanensis (New species)

72. Semecarpus anacardium Restricted to the Myristica swamps of Uttara Kannada Only 250 plants allover the world Species Recovery Pgm. © Jayakara Bhandary

73. Paracautleya bhatii – new species from Manipal, Udupi District. ISACHNE veldcampii – NEW GRASS

74. PEOPLE’S BIODIVERSITY REGISTERS Biodiversity records at Panchayath levels prepared with local’s participation. Students, Teachers can play vital roles List of species,, status, changes, Benefits, Traditional Knowledge, conservation needs, Local aspirations, participatory mapping………

75. Waiting to be fully explored…. Sharavathy Valley, Karnataka Slide Nos. 6,28,34, 43, 44-46, 48-50 Borrowed from: ‘THE STORY OF LIFE’ THANK YOU © Jayakara Bhandary © Jayakara Bhandary © Jayakara Bhandary Dandeli Karnataka