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Thursday, November 08, 2007


 

Environment  |  Ecology | Tourism  |  Wildlife

   Biodiversity


   

India has a rich and varied heritage of biodiversity, encompassing a wide spectrum of habitats from tropical rainforests to alpine vegetation and from temperate forests to coastal wetlands. India figured with two hotspots - the Western Ghats and the Eastern Himalayas.

India contributes significantly to latitudinal biodiversity trend. With a mere 2.4% of the world's area, India accounts for 7.31% of the global faunal total with a faunal species count of 89,451 species.

 

India has two major realms called the Palaearctic and the Indo-Malayan, and three biomass, namely the tropical humid forests, the tropical dry/deciduous forests, and the warm desert/semi-deserts. India has ten biogeographic regions including the Trans-Himalayan, the Himalayan, the Indian desert, the semi-arid zone(s), the Western Ghats, the Deccan Peninsula, the Gangetic Plain, North-East India, and the islands and coasts.

India is one of the 12 centres of origin of cultivated plants. India has 5 world heritage sites, 12 biosphere reserves, and 6 Ramsar wetlands. Amongst the protected areas, India has 88 national parks and 490 sanctuaries covering an area of 1.53 lakh sq. km.

India's record in agro-biodiversity is equally impressive. There are 167 crop species and wild relatives. India is considered to be the centre of origin of 30,000-50,000 varieties of rice, pigeon-pea, mango, turmeric, ginger, sugarcane, gooseberries etc and ranks seventh in terms of contribution to world agriculture.

 

The welfare of a nation can scarcely be inferred from a measurement of national income. (Beyond Gdp And Progress , Deccan Herald, HAZEL HENDERSON, Nov 06, 2007)

Planting trees or raising plantations doesnot recover lost habitats or create pristine natural forests. It is, therefore, no antidoteto habitat fragmentation. (“Greening India” But Losing Forests, Hindu, PRAVEEN BHARGAV, Nov 02, 2007)

Communities with real power and even greater responsibility are the only hope. (The Future Of Indian Forests , Hindu, A N Sudarsan Rao , Oct 26, 2007)

How do you save the Amazon rainforest? Easy. All you need is a bit of cash and a computer. (Amazon Sold Online — To Protect It, Hindu, Editorial, The Hindu, Oct 25, 2007)

Rising global temperatures caused by climate change could trigger a huge extinction of plants and animals, according to a study. (Climate Change And Extinction Of Species, Hindu, Alok Jha, Oct 25, 2007)

Despite pollution from industrial effluents, garbage and sewage, the Ganga riverine system teems with life. ('Ganga Has More Life In It Than A Forest', Times of India, Correspondent or Reporter, Oct 22, 2007)

Amidst the Incredible India@60 blitzkrieg in New York was an event that didn’t attract the attention it should have. (Look Northeast Policy, Indian Express, Pamela Philipose, Oct 22, 2007)

Since global warming is threatening to pose serious problems, it is time to embark on afforestation programmes and restore degraded forest areas to raise more trees to protect the environment, according to V.T. Kandasamy, Deputy . . . . . (“Grow More Trees, Save Environment” , Hindu, Correspondent or Reporter, Oct 17, 2007)

If we dont take action to halt climate change, we will be guilty of taking no action at all during one of the most crucial crises for mankind. (The Silent Haemorrhaging Of The Worlds Biodiversity , Deccan Herald, JANARDHAN ROYE, Oct 17, 2007)

Wildlife biologist, K. Ullas Karanth, heads the Centre for Wildlife Studies, Bangalore, and is a Senior Scientist with Wildlife Conservation Society, New York. (‘Doomsday Scenarios Do Not Help’, Hindu, Correspondent or Reporter, Oct 15, 2007)

When India enacted the Biological Diversity Act in 2002, it made it mandatory for all foreign entities (individual, corporate, organisation or individual) to seek the permission of the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) before . . . . (Who Decides On Bio-Security?, Business Line, Kanchi Kohli , Oct 10, 2007)

IT is now being realised the world over that there is a definite relationship between the economy, the environment and biodiversity. (The Poisoning Of Punjab, Tribune, Sarbjit Dhaliwal, Oct 05, 2007)

A road map for rescuing farmers from the prevailing agrarian crisis in several parts of the country (Revival Of Agriculture, Hindu, S. Mahendra Dev , Oct 03, 2007)

The KIA is about changing domestic regulation in agriculture to promote and protect US commercial interests. (Indo-Us Kia :Another Hazardous Deal , Deccan Herald, Editorial, The Deccan Herald, Oct 01, 2007)

The 2007 Red List of endangered plants, animals, birds, and sea life released by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) offers a gloomy forecast for many species that make the earth unique. (More Species In The Red, Hindu, Editorial, The Hindu, Sep 29, 2007)

Whether there was a Ram Sethu or not, the Sethusamudram project had to be opposed as it threatens the marine ecology and fishermen’s livelihoods and also lays opens the southern shoreline to the risk of a tsunami, a panel of "experts" said in . . . . (‘Dredging Will Open Coast To Tsunamis’, Asian Age, R. Bhagwan Singh, Sep 29, 2007)

As India turns 60, some corrective measures need to be taken to change the existing system.... (India At 60: Think About The Future , Deccan Herald, S N CHARY, Sep 28, 2007)

The Nayakrishi Andolon (New Agriculture Movement) in Bangladesh experiments with an alternative to micro-credit. (To Measure Poverty, You May Have To Go Chak, Business Line, D. Murali , Sep 27, 2007)

Natural systems are in turmoil with human numbers growing at alarming rates. By the end of this century, we homo-sapiens will wipe out more than 10 million species with desertification and climate change happening at such an alarming rate. (It Is In Our Hands To Minimise Extinction , Deccan Herald, Editorial, The Deccan Herald, Sep 26, 2007)

The story of superlatives in China is not only about population numbers. (The Ungood Earth, Times of India, NARAYANI GANESH, Sep 25, 2007)

 

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