Context
World Wildlife Conservation Day (December 4) serves as an occasion to not only celebrate the country’s rich biodiversity but also evaluate if enough is being done to protect the critically endangered species that find a home here.
Indias’s Rich Biodiversity at a Glance
- India’s rich biodiversity is one of the reasons that it has been historically identified as a megadiverse country.
- possessing only 2.4% of the world’s land area, India accounts for 7-8% of all recorded species, which includes 45,000 species of plants and 91,000 species of animals.
- India has 10 biogeographic zones and is home to significant biodiversity: 8.58% of mammal species, 13.66% of avian species, 7.91% of reptiles, 4.66% of amphibians, 11.72% of fish, and 11.80% of plant species.
- Four of the 34 globally identified biodiversity hotspots, namely the Himalaya, Indo-Burma, the Western Ghats-Sri Lanka and Sundaland, are located in India.
Complications Faced by India’s Rich Biodiversity
- As the most populous country in the world and with 65% of the population aged under 35, India’s growth trajectory implies a hunger for natural resources.
- This unfortunately conflicts with wildlife habitat, bringing several species — of the land and air — too close to comfort with human settlements.
- The number of critically endangered species has risen from 47 in 2011 to 73 in 2022 – the most updated estimates made available by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change.
- Of the nine species of mammals considered critically endangered, eight are endemic, which means that their habitat is limited to a small geographic area within India.
- These include the Kashmir Stag or Hangul, Malabar Large-spotted Civet, Andaman Shrew, Jenkin’s Shrew, Nicobar Shrew, Namdapha Flying Squirrel, Large Rock Rat and Leafletted Leaf-nosed Bat.
- Birds such as the Great Indian Bustard face threats from sources such as powerlines in Rajasthan and often fail to garner the attention.
- In India several species of butterfly are facing extinction and in Western Ghats alone, out of the 370 butterfly species, 70 are at the brink of extinction.
- During 1951 to 1972, India has lost about 34,02,000 hectares of forest area which represents an annual loss of 1,55,000 hectares.
Conservation Policies and Legislation in India
- International Treaties: India is a signatory to various international agreements, including the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.
- Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980: The act seeks to conserve forests and biodiversity by restricting the use of forest land for non-forest purposes.
- Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: The Wildlife Protection Act is a vital legislation that protects wildlife and their habitats. It controls hunting and trade of species and designates protected areas such as national parks and wildlife sanctuaries.
- National Biodiversity Act: The National Biodiversity Act of 2002 was enacted to regulate the management of biological resources in India, ensuring the fair sharing of benefits derived from these resources.
