Biodiversity, Protected Areas and Conservation

Levels of biodiversity

• Genetic diversity: variation within a species (e.g. thousands of rice varieties).
• Species diversity: variety of species in a region.
• Ecosystem diversity: variety of habitats such as forests, wetlands, deserts and reefs.

India as a megadiverse country

India has about 2.4% of the world's land area but roughly 7–8% of recorded species. It hosts 4 of the world's 36 biodiversity hotspots: the Himalaya, Indo-Burma, Western Ghats–Sri Lanka and Sundaland (Nicobar Islands).

In-situ vs ex-situ conservation

• In-situ (in the natural habitat): National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries, Biosphere Reserves, Conservation and Community Reserves.
• Ex-situ (outside the habitat): zoos, botanical gardens, seed banks, gene banks, cryopreservation.

Protected areas under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972

Feature	National Park	Wildlife Sanctuary
Human activity	No livestock grazing. Land rights vest in the State Government before final declaration; tourism or research entry may be permitted under Sections 28 and 35(8).	Some activities may be permitted
Boundary change	State Government boundary changes require a recommendation of the National Board for Wild Life (Section 35(5)).	State Government boundary changes require a recommendation of the National Board for Wild Life (Section 26A(3)).

Biosphere Reserves (UNESCO Man and Biosphere Programme, 1971) have three zones: core, buffer and transition. India's first was Nilgiri (1986).

IUCN Red List categories

Extinct → Extinct in the Wild → Critically Endangered → Endangered → Vulnerable (the three "threatened" categories) → Near Threatened → Least Concern.

Key conventions

• CBD (Rio, 1992) with the Cartagena (biosafety) and Nagoya (access and benefit-sharing) Protocols.
• CITES (1973): regulates international trade in wild species.
• Ramsar Convention (1971): wetlands of international importance.

Prelims tips

1. National Park = stricter than Sanctuary.
2. Core zone of a Biosphere Reserve is legally protected and undisturbed.

Analogy

A Biosphere Reserve is like a fried egg. The yolk (core zone) is left completely untouched; the white around it (buffer zone) allows research and limited use; and the plate around the egg (transition zone) is where villages and farms carry on daily life in harmony with the reserve.