Conservation of Biodiversity and Wildlife

1. Conservation of Biodiversity and Wildlife “Every time we lose a species we break a life chain which has evolved over 3.5 billion years.” - Jeffrey McNeely

2. Biological Diversity • TEXT BOOK • It refers to the totality and variety of life on earth . • It includes : Genetic diversity with species. Variety among species. The range of ecosystems within which life exists and interacts.

3. Continued…….. • NET • Biodiversity is the variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or for the entire Earth. • Biodiversity is often used as a measure of the health of biological systems.

4. THE NOBLE BIODIVERSITY

5. PLANTS - 287,655 FUNGI - 74,000 – 120,000 LICHEN - 10,000 BIRDS - 10,243 MAMMALS - 5,416 ANIMALS - 1,250,000 FISHES - 29,300 REPTILES - 8,240 AMPHIBIANS - 5,743 TOTAL BIODIVERSITY 2004 approx. statistics

6. Species Distribution • The density of species is very high in the Southern Hemisphere. • 70% of the world’s species is found in just 12 countries • They are – Australia, Brazil, China, Columbia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Madagascar, Mexico, Peru and Congo. • The Hindu-Kush-Himalayas have at least 25,000plant species that is 10% of the world’s flora.

7. WHAT IS FLORA AND FAUNA ? • FLORA - The plants of a particular area • FAUNA- All the animals living in an area

8. WHAT IS WILDLIFE ? • TEXT BOOK • Wildlife is not only forests it is everywhere. • It includes all non-domesticated flora and fauna native to an area. • The flora and fauna are mutually dependent on each other. • Wildlife is seen as a part of the biodiversity of plants and animals, and micro-organisms.

9. Continued…….. • NET • Wildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals, and other organisms. • It can be found in all ecosystems, Deserts, rain forests, plains, and other areas, all have distinct forms of wildlife. • It also refers to animals that are untouched by human factors, most scientists agree that wildlife around the world is impacted by human activities.

10. THE VARIOUS TYPES OF ANIMALS --- WILDLIFE

11. HOW ARE THE FLORA AND FAUNA DEPENDENT ON EACH OTHER ? • The flora and fauna of an area are mutually dependent and have to be considered together. • The animals need plants for food and shelter. • In turn, animals and birds provide their waste as manure for the plants. • They propagate the seeds of plants.

12. LOSS OF WORLD’S BIODIVERSITY • The world is losing its biodiversity at an alarming rate. • The current loss of biodiversity is faster than ever before in human history and there is no sign of this process slowing down. • Many animal and plant populations have declined in numbers and geographical spread.

13. Continued…….. • There is a rate of disappearance of species called the background rate of extinction. • Now, human activities have increased the extinction rate by 100-1000 times compared to the background rate.

14. WHY DO WE LOSS BIODIVERSITY ? • Population explosion • Deforestation • Poaching • Genetic Pollution • Destruction of habitat • Hybridization • Climate Change • Clearing of land for agriculture • Bio Piracy • Unsustainable use of natural resources • Mass Hunting • Plain Cruelty

15. THE POACHING MENANCE

16. THE HEAT OF DEFORESTATION

17. THREATS TO WILDLIFE • Habitat Fragmentation and loss • Conflict over Habitat management • Human disturbance of Wildlife

18. HABITAT FRAGMENTATION AND DESTRUCTION OF GREAT APE IN CENTRAL AFRICA.

19. CLASSIFICATION OF THREATHENED SPECIES • Critically Endangered - The species is facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild in the immediate future. They are about to be wiped out of existence. • Endangered - The species is not critically endangered but is facing a risk of extinction in the wild in the coming future. • Vulnerable - The species is not in the first two categories but is facing high risk of extinction in the wild in the medium-term future.

20. THREATHENED SPECIES IN INDIA • Critically Endangered • Jenkin's Shrew • Malabar Large-spotted Civet • Namdapha Flying Squirrel • Pygmy Hog • Salim Ali's Fruit Bat • Sumatran Rhinoceros • Wroughton's Free-tailed Bat

21. FRUIT BAT CRITICALLY ENDANGERED Namdapha Flying Squirrel

22. Continued…….. • Endangered • Asiatic Lion • Asiatic Black Bear • Desert Cat • Great Indian Rhinoceros • Nilgiri Leaf Monkey • Indian Elephant or Asian Elephant • Chiru (Tibetan Antelope) • Ganges River Dolphin

23. Continued…….. • Endangered • Indus River Dolphin • Nicobar Shrew • Nilgiri Tahr • Particolored Flying Squirrel • Red Panda • Snow Leopard • Tiger Wild • Water Buffalo

24. ENDANGERED NILGIRI GREEN LEAF MONKEY ASIATIC LION

25. SNOW LEOPARD THE ENDANGERED ONE

26. Continued…….. • Vulnerable • Asiatic Wild Dog • Brown Bear • Dugong • GreyIndian Wolf • Himalayan Musk Deer • Asiatic Black Bear • Asiatic Wild Ass • Barasingha • Blackbuck

27. Continued…….. • Vulnerable • Four-horned Antelope • Himalayan Tahr • Nicobar Flying Fox • Royal Bengal Tiger • Sloth Bear • Takin • Wild Goat • Wild Yak • Lesser Panda

28. BARAHSINGHA VULNERABLE ROYAL BENGAL TIGER SLOTH BEAR

29. HUNTING • TEXT BOOK • Hunting is a deliberate killing of wild animals for pleasure and should be banned. • It should be allowed when there is a valid reason such as an animal posing grave danger to people or other animals in that area.

30. Continued…….. • NET • Hunting is the practice of pursuing living animals (usually wildlife) for food, recreation, or trade. • The species which are hunted are referred to as game and are usually large or small mammals or migratory or non-migratory game birds.

31. POACHING • TEXT BOOK • Poaching is illegal hunting. • It is primarily done to make money. • Due to poaching many species have become threatened and has led to heavy loss of biodiversity around the world. • Poaching generally happens when a animal may be protected or may be in a protected area.

32. CAT FAMILY IS MOSTLY POACHED FOR ITS SKIN

33. Continued…….. • NET • Poaching is the illegal hunting, fishing, or eating of wild plants or animals contrary to local and international conservation and wildlife management laws. • Violations of hunting laws and regulations are normally punishable by law and, collectively, such violations are known as poaching.

34. CRUELTY TOWARDS ANIMALS • Harsh hunting that causes pain and suffering : Whales are hunted with harpoons, clubbing Seals to death, catching Wild animals with steel jaw traps. • Transportation: long travel over seas and land in packed containers and trucks is stressful for the animals. • Keeping in confined spaces: animals in zoos do not have enough space to roam about as they have in the wild.

35. Continued…….. • Experimentation: students and scientists perform experiments and test medicines on animals which is very painful and stressful.

36. CRUELTY TOWARDS ANIMALS

37. BIOPIRACY • TEXT • Bio piracy is the exploitation of indigenous knowledge without proper compensation. • It leads to the loss of biodiversity.

38. Continued…….. • NET • Bio piracy is a negative term for the appropriation of legal rights over indigenous knowledge - particularly indigenous biomedical knowledge - without compensation to the indigenous groups who originally developed such knowledge.

39. WHEN CAN ONE SAY THAT IT IS A CASE OF BIO PIRACY ? • Traditional communities all over the world posses extensive knowledge of local plant species and their medicinal value. • A pharmaceutical company may collect such knowledge about a plant and make a patented drug out of it. • If the company sells the drug without making any payment to the community that shared its knowledge, then it would be made a case of BIOPIRACY.

40. TYPES OF CONSERVATION OF BIODIVERSITY • In-Situ (on-site) conservation tries to protect species where they are living, i.e. in their natural habitat. • Ex-Situ (off-site) conservation attempts to preserve and protect the species in a place away from their natural habitat.

41. IN-SITU Conservation • It identifies and protects natural areas that have high biodiversity. • It includes the establishment of • Natural parks – in these parks, dwellings and private ownership of land are not permitted. Traditional activities like grazing and fuel wood collection are a also prohibited. • Sanctuaries – in sanctuaries only some specific high class activities, which do not harm the biodiversity, are permitted.

42. Continued…….. • Natural Reserves – these are larger areas in which the wild flora and fauna are protected. However, people are allowed to lie in the same area and are also allowed to carry on their traditional practices and activities.

43. THE OBJECTIVE BEHIND IT ? • The main objective behind In-Situ Conservation is to preserve large areas undeveloped land so that ecosystems and biodiversity can continue to flourish and evolve.

44. NATIONAL PARKS (INDIA) • Kaziranga National Park, Assam • Manas Wildlife Sanctuary, Assam • Keoladeo Ghana National Park, Rajasthan • Sunderban National Park, West Bengal • Nanda Devi National Park, Uttaranchal

45. ONE OF THE TIGERS OF THE SUNDERBAN NATIONAL PARK

46. THE FAMOUS RHINOS OF THE KAZIRANGA NATIONAL PARK

47. BIOSPHERE RESERVES(INDIA) • Nilgiri, Western Ghats • Kerala and Karnataka • Nanda Devi, Uttaranchal • Manas , Assam • Sunderbans, West Bengal • Gulf of Mannar, Tamil Nadu • Similipal, Orissa • Dehang Debang, Arunachal Pradesh • Pachmarhi, Madhya Pradesh

48. AN EXAMPLE OF THE RICH BIODIVERSITY OF GULF OF MANNAR

49. EX-SITU Conservation • It is impossible to preserve all biodiversity by the In-Situ Conservation. • Given the population and other pressures, we cannot set aside the required huge land area. • So, where the population of a species has dwindled to extremely low levels, Ex-Situ Conservation is the way.

50. Continued…….. • In this type of conservation we conserve biodiversity in an artificial setting. • This includes the storage of seeds in banks, breeding of captive animal species in zoos, and setting up botanical gardens, aquariums and research institutes.