VPE 511: Environment and Environmental Hygiene (2+1)

CONSERVATION OF BIODIVERSITY

• The enormous value of biodiversity emphasizes the need to conserve biodiversity. Biodiversity is a natural reservoir with tremendous economic potential.
• Wildlife is a gift of nature to be nutured. Biodiversity is an important resource for man and nation. So its conservation and rational use are the need of the hour to achieve sustainable development.
• World wide fund for Nature (WWF 1994) works to conserve biological diversity as follows.
• Creating and maintaining systems of effective and sustainable protected areas.
• Promoting practices of sustainable development
• Conserving certain species of special concern.
• Promoting environmental education to enable people to manage the natural resources sustainablely.
• Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) helps to provide policy guidelines which regulate the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. The code of conduct for Responsible Fisheries adopted in 1995, provides principles to conserve, manage and sustainable use living aquatic resources. F.A.O encourages all countries to implement this code. A model of Forest Harvesting Practice was published 1996 to encourage improved management to help conserve forests. The codes were developed for the Asia-Pacific and, West and Central African regions.
• The International Plant Protection Convention is to protect plants by setting standards for pest control. This protects biodiversity by preventing pests including invasive alien species.
• In India, Biological Diversity Act 2002, regulates access to biological resources of the country with the purpose of securing equitable share in benefits arising out of the biological resources and knowledge relating to biological resources.
• National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) which was set up under the Biological Diversity Act 2002, deals with requests for access to genetic resources by foreigners. It protects resources and ensures economic benefits to local communities.

Methods of Conservation

• There are two methods of conservation of biodiversity.
• In-situ conservation (within habitat)
• Ex-situ conservation (outside habitats)

In-situ conservation of Biodiversity

• This is achieved by protection of wild flora and fauna in the natural habitat itself. This is called ‘in situ’ or site conservation. E.g. Biosphere Reserves , National Parks, Sanctuaries and Reserve forests. There are 13 Biosphere reserves, 80 national parks and 420 wildlife sanctuaries and 120 Botanical gardens in India.

Ex-situ Conservation of Biodiversity

• Preserving plants and animals away from their natural habitat is called Ex-situ conservation.
• In the National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (NBAGR) Karnal, Haryana, the semen of Domesticated bovine animals is protected. About 90 million cattle were being produced world wide by 1977 using artificial insemination involving frozen semen.
• In the National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources, Allahabad, several fish species are preserved.
• Tissue culture methods help in conservation of varieties of crop plants and trees. Moreover, aromatic plants and medicinal plants are also conserved by means of Gene bank. (Seed bank, Pollen bank, DNA libraries, etc.)