Conservation of biodiversity

All life is interlinked: if species become endangered, the environment degrades, which can threaten human existence too. So biodiversity must be conserved.

The world conservation strategy suggests:

• preserve endangered species;
• prevent extinction through proper planning and management;
• preserve varieties of food crops, forage plants, timber trees, livestock and their wild relatives;
• each country should identify and protect the habitats of wild relatives;
• safeguard habitats where species feed, breed, rest and raise their young;
• regulate international trade in wild plants and animals.

In India: the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 led to national parks and sanctuaries, and biosphere reserves were declared.

Mega diversity countries are mostly tropical countries holding a large share of the world's species. The book lists 12: Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, China, India, Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia.

Biodiversity hotspots are areas identified as both very rich and threatened, so that resources can be focused there. They are defined by their vegetation, since plants set an ecosystem's primary productivity. In Madagascar, about 85 per cent of plants and animals are found nowhere else. The islands of Hawaii have unique species threatened by introduced species and land development.

People and policy:

• People must learn environment-friendly practices so that development is sustainable and in harmony with other life.
• Conservation with sustainable use works only with the involvement of local communities and individuals, supported by local institutions. The real problem is keeping the process of conservation going.
• India and 155 other nations signed the Convention on Biological Diversity at the Earth Summit, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June 1992.

Example (new): a national gene bank that stores seeds of old local wheat and millet varieties, and of their wild relatives, keeps traits such as drought or disease resistance safe for plant breeders, even if those varieties vanish from farmers' fields.