Man is integrally connected with the environment and natural ecosystem. Ecosystem provides us food, clean water, improves soil quality, helps in climate protection, recycle minerals, provide medicines and involved in many other human creative functions. Besides that ecosystem is made up of a wide variety of flora and fauna constitutes biodiversity. Sociologist Edward Wilson coined the term biodiversity that relates to species of animals, birds and plants. All organisms are dependent on each other. Hence the ecosystem is essential for nutrition. Microorganism (bacteria etc.) decomposes the dead plants, Bees pollinate plants/crops to save them, Birds control insect populations by eating them, Mammals eat fruits and excrete their seeds, hence it means that if one animal, plant or insect is destroyed, it can have a cascading effect on the entire ecosystem. Overexploitation of biological resources due to increasing global population is creating imbalance in the ecosystem. More than 50% of the world’s total GDP are depends on nature. Biodiversity loss would have a great negative impact on earth, environment. From an economic point of view this loss has been classified as one of the top five threats to the global economy.
Evolution of Ecosystem on the Earth:
The Earth has woven painstakingly the entire ecosystem in thousands of years of evolution with different biological species over the past 46 million years. The ecosystem is mainly made up of two components i.e. biotic and abiotic. The biotic component includes producer (green plants), consumers (animals) and decomposers (micro-organisms) and the abiotic component includes temperature, light, water, climate, various types of gases, soil etc. The term Biodiversity refers to the variation among the species, within the different species in an ecosystem. Before the human evolution on earth many types of plant and animal species were developed on earth that has an intimate relationship with all small and large biotic and abiotic elements. Hence, the biodiversity consist not only at the level of certain species, but also at the level of macromolecules, genes present within their cells, represent to biomes (large areas of land or sea that contain the same kind of life) in an ecosystem. That’s why there was an immense diversity or heterogeneity at all levels, from biological organization to the climate distributed geographically in all parts of the world. Some plants and insects had evolved since prehistoric times (dinosaur era). Prof. Peter Crane, Yale University, America has done a detailed study of the extremely rare “Ginkgo tree” present about 200 million years ago. This species found almost all over the earth and remained alive despite many changes and found extinct 20 lakh years ago. The research scholars at the University of Washington has found the earliest signs of life on Earth that has originated in the carbon-rich salt lakes present on all the seven continents. According to the researchers about four billion years ago on Earth’s early days, an abundance of carbon dioxide in the air may helped to have high levels of phosphorus in the lake that is one of the six essential chemical leads life form the lakes. Phosphorus is the backbone of DNA and RNA molecules, so high levels of phosphorus prevent phosphate molecules from combining with other chemicals, and in chemical reactions, proteins, RNA, and fats reaches to the molecules under construction and form the initial clumps of life.
Endangered Flora and Fauna Species:
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN-2004), the total number of plant and animal species described so far is a little more than 1.5 million. Over 70% of all species recorded are animals. Many species of flora and fauna are on the verge of extinction that keeps the ecosystem stable. An estimated 8,400 wildlife and plant species are endangered and about 30,000 species are in verge of extension. Every year an estimated 10,000 species are becoming extinct due to natural disaster and other reasons. A rise in global warming beyond the target temperature of 1.5 degrees Celsius caused a loss of around 90% of entire biodiversity. Due to this target limit of temperature rise, the year 2023 has been declared as the hottest year so far and if we do not maintain this balance the coming years may be more painful with rising heat with other natural calamities. To protect our biodiversity the Biodiversity Day is celebrated every year on 22 May.
Insects are the most species-rich taxonomic group on the Earth constitutes around 70% of the entire population of the species known on the earth. Hence, their extinction has been the subject of much research worldwide as they are called as engineer of the ecosystem. Plants (including algae, fungi, bryophytes, gymnosperms and angiosperms) are around 22% of known species of flora and fauna. In compared to the last 40 decades, the number of insects present today is a matter of concern due to increasing pesticides in farming and pollution of artificial bright light. It would be difficult to bring them back once lost their species. According to Brian D. Farrell of Harvard University insects are native to the earth and are an important link in biodiversity. Through pollination in the plants they manage to provide food around the world and also eliminate the unused waste materials. Sarah Lower, Scientist at Bucknell University has informed about more than 2,000 species of firefly insects belongs to the Lampiridae family of the Coleoptera group. Firefly in India is known as Jonaki Poka in Bengali and Jonaki Porua in Assamese is too now on the verge of extinction. Atlas moth butterfly is one of the largest insect is now in the list of rare species. Around 2400 species of butterflies are found in the world of them 1600 species are native in India in which around 150 species are endangered. The species like Tiger Hopper (Ocus subvittatus), Black Prince (Rohana parasite), Freak (Callinaga buddha), Great Yellow Sailor (Neptis radha), Tibetan Satyr (Oenis buddha), Scare Wall (Lasyumata maerula), Angled Peyrot (Callita decidia), Banded Lineblue (Prosotus aleuta), Powdered Oakblue (Arhopala bajalus) and Forest Hopper (Astickopterus jama) have not been seen in the Indian forest for the last 100 years.
Biodiversity Conservation and Status of Indian Species:
India has around 350 species of mammals, 1224 species of birds, 408 species of snakes, 197 species of amphibians (living in both water and land), 2546 species of fish and 15,000 species of fruits. The vulnerable, threatened and endangered species in wetland areas includes 17% of water birds, 38% freshwater mammals, 33% fish species, 26% amphibians, 72% turtles (fresh water and 86% turtles of salt water), 43% crocodiles and 27% of coral reef-building species in Indian continent. However, the inclusion of aquatic plants may increase the number. India has the coverage of 740 protected areas in 161,081.62 sq. km has now been increased to 981 protected areas in 171,921 sq. km since 2014. It means that the geographical area has now been increased from 4.90% to 5.03%, due to increase of biospheres. Due to increase in forest cover the tiger population is too increased from 2,226 in 2014 to 2,967 in 2018, however, their mortality or death rate was very high between 2020 to 2023 is a matter of concern. The year 2020 has investigated the highest number of tiger’s death. The status report of the Leopard in India-2018 has revealed that the number of leopards has increased by 60% from 2014 from 8000 to 12172-13535. The reports of their killing are high in urban areas. Madhya Pradesh is blessed with white tigers are very less in number and only 80-100 white tigers are left in the country. The tiger’s population is endangered since 1947 and the last tiger was seen in 1948 was too killed in Surguja distt of Chhattisgarh state and declared extinct in 1952. According to the Zoological Society of London 91% of the tiger’s population were endangered in the world and only 7,000 tigers were left. It would be too early to say that how the new habitat for tiger conservation in Kuno, Madhya Pradesh would give the fruitful results to increase their population in the country. The wild elephants are synonymous of biodiversity as they remove old vegetation that helps to grow the new one. Other animals also depend on the way they built and depend on the water used by elephants by digging the land on the river banks during drought. Lawrence Anthony’s famous book “The Elephant Whisper” tells about the story of intelligence and sensitivity of elephants. However, the insecurity is risen on their population due to insensitive attitude of humans in day to day life are poring very heavy on them. After the wild life sanctuary in Assam the one-horned rhinoceros are found only in Dudhwa Sanctuary numbering only 44. Their rehabilitation project has been started in 2018 and their DNA profiles were prepared to distinguish them with Indian population. The tallest animal in the world Giraffe has declined rapidly. According to the Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) out of 9 species the 5 sup-species are declining and from 1985 to 2015 their number from 155,000 has fall down to 97000. Similarly, bears, snow leopard, species of dear, reptiles, birds and other wild animals are also gradually decreasing.
Classification of Ecosystem:
Indian Ecosystem is classified into two parts.
1). Terrestrial ecosystem: Consists of Indian forest that includes tropical rain forests, tropical deciduous forests, temperate broad-leaved forests, temperate coniferous forests and alpine and tundra forests; (b) grasslands; (c) Desert namely thar desert and Rann of Kutch; (d) Himalayan Hills includes Western Himalaya in Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, Central Himalaya cover the Nepal and the state of Uttarakhand in India; and Eastern Himalaya covers the parts of West Bengal, Sikkim, Bhutan, and Arunachal Pradesh. (A) Forest in India is situated in around 24% land in the country. Forest plays an important role in absorbing carbon di-oxide present in the atmosphere. Deforestation occurs due to wildfire and human interventions are causing huge loss to the forest ecosystem that also occurs due to the increase of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). (B). Grassland is the areas generally having less rainfall. The quality of soil in these areas is found poor with some herbs and bushes along with the grass. The grazing mammalians like cow, sheep, deer, rabbit, buffalo and goat are dependent on these grass land for their livelihood. The example of few prominent grassland in India are Banni and Vidi in Kutch, Gujarat; Ukhrul and Phumdi (floating grasslands) of Manipur; Margs or Bahaks of Jammu and Kashmir; Bugyal and Dzukou of Uttarakhand; Khajjiar of Himachal Pradesh; Saramati of Nagaland, Shola grasslands of Karnataka and Western Ghats. (C). Deserts are having less rainfall even less than 150 mm per year. Deserts in India cover the area of over 32 million square km. The State like Rajasthan has desert in the west, hilly areas in the south-west and plains in the east and south-east. The 85% of the Thar Desert falls in Indian continent and the rest is in Pakistan. The Jojoba plantation has reduced the effect of desertification practiced at some places in India. The species of Black buck, Chinkara, Indian wild ass, caracal, red fox, peafowl, wolf, sand grouse, leopard, Asiatic wild cat are prominent in this ecosystem. (D). The Himalayan Region: Due to the increase of one degree Celsius temperature between the years of 2000-2016 in Indian Himalayan region the glaciers have lost billions of tons of ice which is the major source of river water like Ganga, Brahmaputra etc. The rich culture and biodiversity in this region have many important animal species, but are at risk either due to frequent disasters, developmental work and over-exploitation of natural resources or due to human interventions.
2). Aquatic Ecosystem: The aquatic ecosystem is classified into two types (A) Freshwater ecosystem in which the water has little or no salinity such as: lakes, rivers, ponds, streams etc. It is further divided into three parts, i.e. (A-1) Lentic (stagnant water) ecosystem: In this type of ecosystem the depth and nature of stagnant water may vary at different places. This system may have rich vegetation, flowers like lotus and water lilies and plants and other creatures like crabs, frogs, reptiles and insects makes the basic part of food chain. (A-2) Lotic (running water) ecosystem: Due to changing speed, nature of flowing water in one direction and nutrients present therein this system affects the life cycle of living organisms. The slow rivers may have larger animal, however, the fast moving water may contain plants and microorganisms. (A-3) Swamp or Wetland: Any natural, stable or unstable or artificial, permanent, temporary water bodies located near to fresh or coastal water are termed as wetland. Wetland generally have depth not exceed six meters are swamp or water-saturated land. These include swamp (marshy forest land), marsh (marshy shrub land), mangrove (coastal shrub land), Bogs, peat lands, fans, coral reef areas, rivers, lakes, flooded forests, dams, canals, springs, desert springs etc. Even glaciers and deltas, paddy fields, fish hatcheries, shrimp ponds, biodiversity maintenance reservoirs, water absorbing and flood control areas are included in the categories of wetland.
(B). Marine/Ocean Ecosystem:
This ecosystem has ideal salinity (salty water) that maintains the nutritional value for the survival of the fauna and flora species. This ecosystem contains a wide range of plant varieties, algae and coral reef species. Due to excessive exploitation of coral reef their population has been widely affected and less than 50% of Coral reef species is now left in the world. Coral reefs in India are protected in the First Schedule under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972. Marine ecosystem is further classified as (B-1) Ocean Ecosystem: It is the largest aquatic ecosystem with a huge biodiversity of living organisms like sharks, turtles, dolphins, whales etc. (B-2) Estuarine Ecosystem: In this estuary area the sea meets with the water of rivers, springs etc. This area may contain high mineral reserves, nutrients, growth of vegetation and microorganisms etc. (B-3) Coastal Ecosystem: In this ecosystem the land area meets the sea shore have abundance of species of algae, insects, crabs, snails, lobsters, turtles, small fishes etc.
Biodiversity Hot-Spots:
These are the areas found only in the tropical regions on the earth where different types of fauna and flora species were found in abundance with their rich biodiversity. The biodiversity hotspot regions are (a) Himalayan region spread across an area of more than 2500 km with more than 5,800 plant species and other animals. Sikkim with a geographical area of 7,298 sq. km alone has 4,200 plant species of which 60% are endemic. (b) Western and Eastern Ghats: The Western Ghats spanning in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala and Sri Lanka includes the Agasthemalai Hills, Serene Valley, Periyar National Park and gardens etc. The Eastern Ghats of Himalayas extended from north-east India to Bhutan (c) Indo-Burma region: This region includes a small part of India from the eastern Bangladesh to Malaysia (d) Sundar Forest region (Sundervan): Includes all the islands like Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and India’s Andaman Nicobar Islands.
Ramsar Convention on Wetland Conservation: An international convention was organized in Ramsar city of Iran on 2nd February 1971 for the purpose of conservation and sustainable use of wetlands. In this convention around 172 countries of the world have participated which came into force on December 21, 1975. The Ramsar Convention is to recognize the fundamental ecological functions and resources of the wetlands for their economic, cultural, scientific and recreational values. India is a part of this convention since February 01, 1982 having 75 Ramsar sites in the country out of total 2413 sites worldwide. Australia’s Cobourg Peninsula became the world’s first Ramsar site in 1974, however, the Pantanal located in Brazil, Giri-Tumba-Mendombe of Congo and Queen Maud Gulf of Canada are the world’s largest wetlands spread more than an area of 60 thousand square kilometers. According to the Global Wetland Outlook (Ramsar Convention), the 35% of the world’s Ramsar sites have already been disappeared between the periods of 1970 to 2015. Ramsar sites listed as ‘Wetlands of International Importance’ are those sites, where the changes in ecological patterns have occurred, are occurring or are likely to occur as a result of technological development, pollution or other human intervention and being listed in the Montreux records. Keoladeo National Park of Rajasthan and Loktak Lake of Manipur in India are listed in Montreux record.
Renuka (named after the mother of sage Parshuram) wetland area located at Sirmaur, Himachal Pradesh is the smallest Ramsar site in India. The floating Keibul Lamjao island in “Loktak Lake” of Manipur is the only natural habitat of “Brow-antlered Deer” (Sangai Deer) in India. Similarly in Leh region the “Tsomoriri Lake” is one of the highest lakes in the world having both freshwater and saltwater simultaneously is the only breeding ground for the endangered “Black neck Crane” (Grus nigricollis) and “Bar headed Geese” (Anser indicus). Sasthamkotta Lake in Kerala due to the bacteria-killing “Kavaborus” larvae has an exceptional water quality and purity. The major threat to these natural Indian wetlands are due to natural causes like sea level rise, climate change, storms and harmful species like water hyacinth, salvinia as they compete with other native vegetation and block water ways. For wetland conservation the World Wetlands Day is celebrated every year on 02 February all over the world. The Government of India has issued guidelines in January, 2020 for the implementation of Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has launched a portal named ‘Wetlands of India’ in 2021.
Protected Biosphere Reserves of India: These reserves are established as buffer zones (national parks and sanctuaries) to conserve the geographical natural landscape of the fauna and flora and to protect the local human being resides in this protected zone. On the basis of UNESCO’s Man and Biosphere Reserve Program of 1972, there are 686 biosphere reserves in 122 countries, out of that 18 protected biosphere reserves are available in India and 12 biosphere of the country are the part of this global program. These areas are divided into three parts (1) Core area (completely protected for wildlife), (2) buffer zone (a completely controlled area around the core area, allowing only limited activities such as tourism, fishing, grazing, research and educational activities), and (3) transition zone (the outermost area of the reserve used as a zone for the management and local people’s cooperation. The 18 protected biosphere regions of India are (1) Cold Desert, Himachal Pradesh (2) Nanda Devi, Uttarakhand (3) Kanchenjunga, Sikkim (4) Dehangbangde, Arunachal Pradesh (5) Manas, Assam (6) Dibru Saikhowa, Assam (7) Nokrek, Meghalaya (8) Panna, Madhya Pradesh (9) Pachmarhi, Madhya Pradesh (10) Achanakmar Amarkantak, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh (11) Kutch, Gujarat (12) Similipal, Odisha (13) Sundarbans, West Bengal (14) Seshachalam, Andhra Pradesh (15) Agastyamalai, Tamil Nadu and Kerala (16) Nilgiri, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka (17) Gulf of Mannar, Tamil Nadu, and (18) Great Nicobar, Andaman and Nicobar Islands. These includes the bio reserves included in the UNESCO list. The biodiversity and its conservation is a wide subject and to understand its sole objectives the in-depth studies and scientific research is to be promoted separately at all levels as a part of the course curriculum to spare knowledge to save these endangered species that are going to be extinct. Instead to keep the dead and extinct animals in the museum, the national museums are to be designed with the live and rare animals to safeguard their species and varieties shielded with glass on one or two sides in close human observations with their natural activities. These too may not be the protected areas to visit as a tourist but may help the local people to know more about the living organism that may be protected and may create enthusiasm to live along with the nature. Few science parks are serving the functions with few models, but studies of herbarium are important at such places including knowledge about the flora and fauna. This will help to understand the nature from the beginning and to reverse the nature with natural calamities and disasters occurring due to Green House gases and human interventions.