2. BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
• Biological diversity - or biodiversity - is the term given to the
variety of life on Earth and the natural patterns it forms.
• The term biodiversity was coined as a contraction of biological
diversity by E.O. Wilson in 1985.
• India has to its credit a large number of national parks, wildlife
sanctuaries and Hotspots of the estimated 10 million species
worldwide, only 1.7 million have been described till today.
• The distribution of these species is highly uneven.
3. Threats to Biodiversity
Some of the activities have direct effects on species and
ecosystems, such as:
a) Habitat loss/ degradation
b) Over exploitation (such as overfishing)
c) Spread of Non-native Species/ Diseases
Some human activities have indirect but wide-reaching effects on
biodiversity, including:
a) Climate change
b) Pollution
4. • According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature
(IUCN), globally about one third of all known species are
threatened with extinction. That includes 29% of all amphibians,
21% of all mammals and 12% of all birds.
• If we do not stop the threats to biodiversity, we could be facing
another mass extinction
• Based on current trends, an estimated 34,000 plant and 5,200
animal species – including one in eight of the world's bird
species – face extinction.
• It is estimated that one species becomes extinct every 20
minutes.
5. WILDLIFE RESOURCES
• Wild life resources include all animals, which grow and
propagate naturally without any sort of human interference.
• They remain in wild form without any sort of friendly
association with man. Invariably they are in forests.
• Wildlife serves as a resource to maintain the ecological balance
as well as source of entertainment besides acting as source to
produce the meat, skins and other animal products.
6. BIOSPHERE RESERVES
• Biosphere Reserves are large areas of bio diversity where flora
and fauna are protected.
• The Indian government has established 18 Biosphere Reserves
of India, which protect larger areas of natural habitat (than a
National Park or Wildlife Sanctuary).
• Biosphere Reserves of India often include one or more National
Parks or sanctuaries.
• Protection is granted not only to the flora and fauna of the
protected region, but also to the human communities who
inhabit these regions, and their ways of life.
7. 1989 Gulf of Mannar(Tamil Nadu): Dugong or Sea Cow
1989 Sundarbans(West Bengal): Royal Bengal Tiger
1990 Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve(Andaman and Nicobar
Islands): Saltwater Crocodile
BIOSPHERE RESERVES IN KERALA
1986 Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve
2001 Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve
8. WILDLIFE SANCTUARIES
• A sanctuary is a protected area with Natural environment
having optimum conditions and protection for wild animals.
• Shooting and hunting are prohibited in a sanctuary.
• But the degree of protection is lower than a national park.
• Manipulation up to an extent is allowed with permission of
competent authority which does not harm wild life.
• Operations such as harvesting of timber, collection of minor
forest products and private ownership rights are allowed so
long as they do not affect the animals adversely.
9. • Jim Corbett National Park, Uttaranchal
• Gir National Park and Sanctuary, Sasangir, Gujarat
• Keoladeo Ghana National Park, Bharatpur, Rajasthan
• Bandipur Wildlife Sanctuary Karnataka
• Kaziranga National Park, Assam
Wildlife Sanctuaries in Kerala
There are Five National Parks and 13 Wildlife Sanctuaries in
Kerala.
• Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary (Tiger Reserve)
• Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary
• Idukki Wildlife Sanctuary
11. NATIONAL PARKS
• India's first national park was established in 1936 as Hailey
National Park, now known as Jim Corbett National Park,
Uttarakhand.
• By 1970, India only had five national parks.
• In 1972, India enacted the Wildlife Protection Act and Project
Tiger to safeguard the habitats of conservation reliant species.
• Further federal legislation strengthening protections for wildlife
was introduced in the 1980s.
• As of April 2012, there were 112 national parks.
12. List of National Parks in Kerala
• 1978 Eravikulam National Park, Idukki district, 97 km²
• 1982 Periyar National Park, Idukki district, 350 km²
• 1984 Silent valley National Park, Palakkad district, 89.52 km²
• 2003 Mathikettan shola National pPark, Idukki district, 12.82
km²
• 2003 Anamudi shola National Park in Idukki district is composed
of mannavan shola, idivara shola and pullardi shola, covering a
total area of 7.5 km².
• 2003 Pambadum shola National Park, Idukki district, 1.318 km²
• Proposed Karimpuzha National Park, 230 km
13. ZOO
• Man-made areas or zoological gardens are where animals are
confined within enclosures and displayed to the public.
• Here animals are allowed to breed in captivity.
• Setting up zoos in India has helped conserve animals, rare as
well as endangered species.
• Moreover, zoos play a major role in research and education
sector for the study of the animal kind along with plant life.
1) Mysore Zoo 2) Chennai Zoo 3) Hyderabad Zoo
4) Delhi Zoo 5) Darjeeling Zoo
14. Zoos in Kerala
• There are two main zoos in Kerala one at Thiruvananthapuram
and another at Thrissur.
• Both these zoo have museums, botanical and zoological
garden in the zoo premises.
• The wildlife includes tiger, lion, deer, hippopotamus, monkeys,
crocodiles etc. Besides these there are birds and snakes as
well.
• The main aim of the zoo is conservation of animals as most of
the animals at present fall under the category of endangered
species.
15. The purpose of wildlife conservation is to
protect wild flora and fauna against the
encroachment of expanding human activity.
The planet’s human population grew by 1.6
billion people, between 1990 and 2010 (30%
growth rate). The ever increasing amount of
commercial activity that this brings with
associated use and abuse of the earth’s
resources damages the prospects of survival
of wild flora and fauna.
16. REFERENCES
• The Importance Of Biodiversity - Dr. Nitasha Malhotra
• http://iscexamnotes-content.blogspot.in/2010/04/biodiversity-of-
india.html
• http://www.vigyanprasar.gov.in/Radioserials/Conserving_Biodiv
ersity2.pdf
• https://www.cbd.int/2010/biodiversity
• www.biologydiscussion.com
• www.kerenvis.nic.in/https
• www.quora.com
