India's National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan process in 2000-2003 was possibly the world's largest such exercise, involving over 50,000 people from all walks of life. It resulted in over 70 action plans at local, state, thematic, ecoregional, and national levels. Several methods were used to elicit participation and get inputs, including from local communities. This presentation describes the results, including the key strategies and actions on conservation, sustainable use, equity, governance, and planning. It also notes that unfortunately the Government of India pulled out of the final product, perhaps worried about its clear recommendation that the economy and polity needed fundamental changes if biodiversity conservation and related social equity were to be achieved.

1. Biodiversity in India
Highlights of the
Final Technical Report
of the
National Biodiversity
Strategy and Action Plan

2. What is biodiversity?
• The variety of life around us
Ecosystem diversity
(forests, farmlands)
Species diversity
(bamboo, rice)
Genetic diversity
(30 varieties of rice)
Ecosystem diversity
(forests, farmlands)
Species diversity
(bamboo, rice, forest
trees)
Genetic diversity
(Varieties of rice)

3. India’s biodiversity: Ecosystems
• Natural ecosystem diversity
– 10 Biogeographic Zones
– > 200 types of forest, 5-6 grassland,
13 wetland, 3 desert, marine/coastal
Sunita Rao

4. India’s biodiversity: Ecosystems
• Agricultural ecosystem diversity
– 20 Agro-Ecological Zones
– Settled, shifting
– Cultivated, pastoral, fisheries

5. India’s biodiversity: Species
• 8% of world’s diversity on 2.4% of its area
• Wild species diversity
– 47,000 wild plant species
(33% flowering plants endemic
to India)

6. India’s biodiversity: Species
• Wild species diversity
– 90,000 wild animal species (62% amphibians
endemic)
– ? Species of micro-organisms

7. India’s biodiversity: Species
• Domesticated species diversity
– 166 crop species originate in India
– Amongst world’s highest livestock diversity

8. India’s biodiversity: Genetic
Genetic diversity within each species
– Diversification within crops/livestock, e.g.
• Rice: 50,000 - 300,000 varieties
• Mango: >1000 varieties
• Sorghum: >5000 varieties
• 27 cattle, 40 sheep, 22 goat, 18 poultry
breeds
• Centre of diversity for rice, wheat, sugarcane,
legumes, sesame, eggplant,
okra, citrus, banana, mango,
jamun, jute, ginger, millets….

9. Why is biodiversity important?
• Ethical / moral: all species have a right to the
earth’s resources
• Humanity’s survival: climatic stability,
water cycles, oxygen, soil fertility…
defence against disasters

10. Why is biodiversity important?
• Ecosystem-dependent people (70% of India’s
population): food, medicine, livelihoods, fuel,
shelter, clothing: use of over 10,000
plant/animal species

11. Why is biodiversity important?
• Agricultural/industrial development: genetic
resources, raw materials
• Aesthetic resource

12. Destruction of India’s biodiversity
• Habitat loss
– >50% forest disappeared in last 200
years
– >70% waterbodies polluted or drained
out
– >40% mangroves destroyed
Smitu Kothari

13. Destruction of India’s biodiversity
• Species loss
– >6% of wild plants/animals threatened
– 2 mammals, 3 birds, 15-20 plants extinct
– 2/3rds species could become extinct in next 50
years
• Genetic loss
– Most indigenous agricultural diversity
threatened
Vivek Gour-Broome

14. Impacts of biodiversity loss
• Climatic, water, soil instability
• Productivity loss in natural & agricultural ecosystems
• Loss of livelihood resources (esp. from CPRs)
• Loss of critical health/nutrition inputs
• Less resilience for farmers/pastoralists, narrowing
genetic base for country’s agriculture
• Loss of potential medicinal and industrial benefits
• Erosion of traditional knowledge base
GREATEST IMPACT ON THE POOR

15. One Vision of the Future:
National Biodiversity Strategy
and Action Plan
• 70 action plans across country: local,
state, ecoregional, thematic
• National plan built from these

16. India’s most participatory planning exercise:India’s most participatory planning exercise:
workshops, public hearings, festivals, yatras,workshops, public hearings, festivals, yatras,
students’ events, boat/cycle rallies...students’ events, boat/cycle rallies...

17. NBSAP:
Key Strategies and Actions
• Conservation of biodiversity
• Sustainable use of biological resources
• Equity in decision-making, benefit-sharing
• Laws/policies, awareness/education, capacity,
funding, technologies

18. NBSAP:
Key Strategies and Actions
Conserving wild biodiversity (wildlife):
• Expansion of conserved sites (protected areas,
community conserved sites, heritage sites,
IBAs, etc) to 10% of India, with 2% inviolate
• Greater focus on threatened species, incl. plants
and small fauna

19. Official protected areas
• Nearly 600 protected areas
• Need to move towards participatory
conservation, e.g. Periyar, Chilika
Chilika Lagoon
B a y o f
B e n g a l

20. Gaddis
Changpas
Pipens
Heronries
Traditional
tanks
Yuksam
Bishnois
Sacred
mangroves
Sacred
groves
Tragopan, and
Golden langur
protection
Turtle
conservation
Turtle
conservation
Community
Forestry
Van Panchayats
Grassland
management JFM
COMMUNITY CONSERVED AREAS
Arvari
Sansad
Sacred
groves

21. Conservation of India’s
biodiversity (contd.)
• Domesticated ecosystems and
plants/animals

22. NBSAP:
Key Strategies and Actions
Conserving agricultural biodiversity
• Notifying agrobiodiversity protected areas and
landscapes
• Linking Public Distribution System and local
grains
• Promoting organic and biodiverse food
• Reviving home gardens, encouraging urban
agriculture

23. Conserving agricultural biodiversity
People’s initiatives
•Beej Bachao Andolan: Himalayan crops
•Deccan Development Society: Dryland crops
•SEVA, ANTHRA, Lokhit Pashu Palak Sansthan: Livestock
•Others: Navadanya, Green Foundation, ADS, Timbuktu Collective

24. •Reviving traditional diversity, promoting cultivated and wild foods
•Securing people’s access and control over ex situ collections
•Creating community gene banks
•Empowering women/dalit farmers, securing land rights
•Creating consumer-producer links (Zaheerabad org. food restaurant)
•Linking to PDS
DDS: integrating conservation, equity,
& livelihoods through agrobiodiversity

25. Root causes of biodiversity loss
• Unsustainable model of development, lack
of integration of biodiversity into
development sectors

26. • ‘Development’ vs. biodiversity in a
globalising world
– Biodiversity as a raw material or dump
– Commercialisation and privatisation of
bio-resources for urban/industrial
consumption / trade
– Absence of environmental orientation in
rural development and poverty alleviation
approaches
– Monocultural visions (e.g. agriculture)
– Lack of recognition of full value of
biodiversity (e.g. mangroves w.r.t.
cyclones and tsunami…or Mumbai’s
water security!)

27. NBSAP:
Key Strategies and Actions
• Re-orientation of development model, with
biodiversity and livelihoods as central concerns
• Planning at landscape (and seascape) levels; building
up to national land/water use plan
• Integration of biodiversity into all sectoral
planning….EIAs
• Full valuation of biodiversity into economic planning
and budgeting

28. Root causes of biodiversity loss
• Inequities in decision-making and control over
natural resources
• Alienation of communities from resource base;
erosion of traditional rights/practices

29. NBSAP:
Key Strategies and Actions
• Governance of natural resources starting from smallest
decision-making unit at village and city level…
strengthening institutions of self-governance
(panchayats, village assemblies, tribal councils,
district committees…)
• Participatory protected area management
• Community management or participation across rural
and urban landscape

30. Root causes of biodiversity loss
• Cultural/ethical value
changes….consumerism!

31. NBSAP:
Key Strategies and Actions
• Sustaining livelihoods based on biological
resources
(forest, aquatic, agricultural produce)
Challenge: how to make these sustainable and equitable
– Impact assessment of human uses
– Rights and responsibilities
– Controlling the market
– Special privileges to marginalised sections
– Promoting, protecting traditional knowledge

32. NBSAP:
Key Strategies and Actions
Tools….
• Enhancing knowledge of biodiversity and impacts
of human use (including indirect impacts of
consumerism)
• Maintaining publicly accessible databases
• Doing outreach, communication, education,
training
• Generating and using appropriate technologies
• Generating innovative funding, taxing luxury
consumerism

33. The struggle continues…
• Final national document not accepted by government
(though several local/state plans accepted and being
implemented)
• National report published and disseminated by civil society
• After 3 years (2007), government comes out with its own
version of action plan….very dilute, general, unfocused
• Why did people’s plan not become official plan?
– Too ambitious?
– Lack of interest?
– Vision too radically different from ‘official’ economic
growth / globalisation models?

34. Contact
Ashish Kothari, Coordinator, NBSAP
process
ashishkothari@vsnl.com