Our Biodiversity - Life and Future

There are around 10-12 million species present on earth, some of which are not even named yet! This vast majority of species live in different communities or ecosystems which are known as biodiversity. This extraordinary richness of life sustains such human activities as agriculture, forestry, and fisheries, and is the basis of our civilization. Biodiversity also has immense aesthetic, cultural, and spiritual values.

Biodiversity is the most optimum legacy humans have with them. It’s the life and future of the whole of mankind. Biodiversity might be the only legacy also that should be constant for passing on to the next upcoming generations. But because of humans, it is declining year by year.

Undescribed Species

Biologists have described hundreds of thousands of species on earth. Yet, much of the diversity of life remains to be described. Out of 12 million species, only 1.8 million species are described. In India, out of 9,000,000 species, only 1,000,000 new species are described every year. India has a unique biodiversity.

Some biologists have identified 34 global hotspots of biodiversity which have two common features: a very high proportion of endemic species and a high rate of biodiversity. Global hotspots in India are The Western Ghats, The Himalayas, Indo-Burma, and Sundaland.

Decline

Biodiversity throughout is declining due to the increasing population, its consumption, growing trade in natural products, misguided policies, and poor governance. The Forest Survey of India (FSI) monitors the change in forest cover and finds four main problems with this monitoring- first, the rules of FSI are biased towards overestimation. Second, the monitoring process is not looking at the forest composition. Third, the mandate of the FSI is restricted to areas classified as forests only, and fourth, this monitoring doesn't identify the causes of biodiversity change.

India needs to focus on monitoring processes and build local capacity to minimize loss and faster sustainable use of biodiversity. Today we might not understand it’s important but we are definitely facing the consequences of what we are doing to it. The increase in temperature, the rising global warming, melting of the glaciers are all the things that can’t be undone but can be prevented further to sustain life now and in the future.

Development

Creating National parks, tiger reserves, wildlife sanctuaries, and other protected areas is a great approach to conservation. Clearly, we need to develop a more comprehensive strategy to protect our biodiversity and need alternative approaches. The Forest Right Act, 2008 of local communities over forests and could provide a framework for participatory and decentralized conservation and management of biodiversity.

Rescuing Biodiversity

Around 440 million years ago, Homo sapiens were not responsible for the extinction of five distinct spasms. In 1992 to stop this, the Convention on Biological Diversity, or CBD, started. One year later, the aim of CBD was to reduce poverty and save species from getting harmed. But nearly two decades later, they didn't achieve their target. There is now another opportunity to make it work.

Parties of CBD hold their 10th conference in the Japanese city of Nagoya to reverse the tide of losses of species. Member countries also did well in 2002 to control losses of biodiversity. They are now challenged to focus more on climate change, habitat loss and degradation, excessive exploitation, the spread of invasive alien species, pollution, and many things, which affect our nature.

The key to conserving biodiversity is to recognize their role in providing ecosystem goods. In the conference, the group of 77 and China gave the suggestion that countries of the South should focus more on the conservation of biodiversity and use financial resources. As China is focusing on protecting 35 priority conservation areas, India also focuses on growth, but it needs to develop more. To save the world's species more ethically, restrictions should be made in the consumption of all-natural resources and allow for renewal of it.

What Is Waterlogging?

The saturation of soil with water is known as waterlogging. The soil is regarded as waterlogged when it is in the phase of near saturation with water for much time that its air phase is restricted and the anaerobic conditions prevail.

In India, there are some spots where waterlogging is no longer a problem because it is now directed towards biodiversity parks. They designed channels to take the rainwater to end up at a waterbody. By this process ponds that dry up during the summer are also revived.

Delhi Taking Care of Waterlogging

Waterlogged roads near Kashmiri Gate and Civil lines are a big problem. Delhi's Kamala Nehru Biodiversity Park is restoring the water bodies there. People say that rainwater naturally enters the depression through diversions created for the purpose.

A similar strategy has been adopted at the Tughlaqabad Biodiversity Park in South Delhi, using collected water for irrigation. At the Yamuna Biodiversity Park, any water that gets accumulated is diverted through a natural slope that has been designed to channel the water to take it to the river or in the lake, and because of these steps waterlogging is no longer a problem.

Conclusion

Overall, India is blessed with an enormous amount of biodiversity that sustains many of our economic endeavors and provides aesthetic, cultural, and spiritual values. This biodiversity is declining, and this decline is threatening our survival. As a country that seeks to be a global power, we have a special responsibility to document, monitor, and conserve our most precious asset.

By meeting these responsibilities, we can conserve biodiversity much more. We should take some steps to control our population, its consumption for the conservation of biodiversity. Every drop counts, and hence we can all do little contributions to make a big difference, not for anyone else, but ourselves, for our today, for our life, for the legacy this earth has given us, and for the life in front of us, the future for whom we should be held responsible for.

Written By - Pavas Shrigyan

Edited By - Neha Kundu