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. Biodiversity is a measure of the relative diversity among organisms present in different ecosystems. "Diversity" includes diversity within a species and among species, and comparative diversity among ecosystems.
Biodiversity found on Earth today consists of many millions of distinct biological species, which is the product of four billion years of evolution
- Biological diversity is important because of the way relationships between species and habitats combine to provide yet more variation in the living world. Any human activity that diminishes this 'bio - diversity' could therefore impoverish our own quality of life, reduce the resources available to us and ultimately jeopardise the survival of our descendants.
We should seek to conserve biodiversity because:
it confers direct benefits as natural processes protect our planet
it provides the raw material of food, clothing and medicines
it enhances our quality of life, by adding variety to our surroundings
it helps shape our culture and inspires our poets, painters, writers and composers
it is heritage we should not deny to the next generation
it is affected enormously by what we do.
Over the last century, a great deal of damage has been done to the biodiversity existing on the earth. Increasing human population, increasing consumption levels, and decreasing efficiency of use of our resources are some of the causes that have led to overexploitation and manipulation of ecosystems. Trade in wildlife, such as rhino horn, has led to the extinction of species. Consequences of biodiversity loss can be great as any disturbance to one species gives rise to imbalance in others.
The factors that threaten biodiversity have been variously categorized. Jared Diamond describes an "Evil Quartet" of habitat destruction, overkill, introduced species, and secondary extensions. Edward O. Wilson prefers the acronym HIPPO, standing for Habitat destruction, Invasive species, Pollution, Population, and Overharvesting .
India is one of the mega biodiversity centres in the world and has two of the world's 18 ‘biodiversity hotspots’ located in the Western Ghats and in the Eastern Himalayas (Myers 1999). The forest cover in these areas is very dense and diverse and of pristine beauty, and incredible biodiversity. The sacred groves of India are some of the areas in the country where the richness of biodiversity has been well preserved. The Thar desert and the Himalayas are two regions rich in biodiversity in India. There are 89 national parks and 504 wildlife sanctuaries in the country, the Chilka Lake being one of them. This lake is also an important wetland area. Learn more through map on biodiversity in India.
To prevent such loss, the Government of India is setting up biosphere reserves in different parts of the country. These are multipurpose protected areas to preserve the genetic diversity in different ecosystems. Till 1999, ten biosphere reserves had been set up, namely Nilgiri, Nandadevi, Nakrek, Great Nicobar, Gulf of Mannar, Manas, Sunder bans, Similipal, and Dibru Saikhowa. A number of NGOs are being involved in the programme to create awareness. But legal protection is provided only to national parks and sanctuaries, which cover about 4.5% of India’s land area.
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