Once, Cheetah was prominently seen on the grasslands of India, but now, it’s an extinct animal. Many such extinctions have been recorded by the Wildlife Institute of India and the forest department. It has been observed that with rapid growth and industrialization, climate change, and some other natural reasons, extinctions have become the new normal. To limit any more extinctions of biodiversity, environmentalists recommend various Ex-situ and In-situ biodiversity conservation methods.
In this article, we will learn the concepts related to biodiversity conservation.
Biodiversity – Introduction
The word ‘bio’ means life and ‘diversity’ means variety. So, in simple terms, biodiversity means the variety of life that exists on the planet Earth. The term biodiversity was given by Edward Wilson.
As per the IUCN report of 2004, the total number of species of both plants and animals is more than 1.5 million, but the exact number is not yet discovered. More than 70% of all species recorded are animals, and among animals, insects occupy a maximum portion. This data shows that out of every 10 animals, 7 are insects. The number of fungi in the world is more than the combined total species of fish. Whereas plants occupy more than 22% of the total species.
Methods of Biodiversity Conservation
A. Ex-situ Conservation
In this type of conservation, the threatened animals and plants are taken out from their natural habitat and placed in a special area or location where they can be protected and given special care. For example – zoological parks, botanical gardens, wildlife safari parks, gene banks, germplasm banks, and seed banks.
Many animals have become extinct in the wild but few of them are kept in zoological parks. The gametes of threatened species can be preserved in viable, fertile conditions for long periods using cryopreservation techniques, In this, the eggs can be fertilized in vitro, and plants can be propagated using tissue culture methods. Seeds of different genetic strains of commercially important plants can be kept for long periods in seed banks.
B. In-situ Conservation
In this type of conservation method, species are protected in their natural habitat by making their habitats protected areas. For example- national parks, sanctuaries, biosphere reserves, etc.
Types of In-Situ Conservation Areas
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National Parks: These areas are maintained by the government and reserved for the betterment of wildlife, cultivation, grazing, forestry; and habitat manipulation is not allowed.
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Sanctuaries: They are tracts of lands with or without lake share where wild animals/fauna can take refuge without being hunted. Other activities like collection of forest products, harvesting of timber, private ownership of lands, tilling of land, etc. are allowed.
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Biosphere Reserves: They are multipurpose protected areas that are meant for preserving genetic diversity in representative ecosystems of various natural biomes and unique biological communities by protecting the wild populations, traditional lifestyles of tribals,, and domesticated plant/animal genetic resources. They are specified protected areas in which multiple uses of the land are permitted.
Reasons to Conserve Biodiversity
There are many reasons to conserve biodiversity. We can group them into three categories:
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Narrow Utilitarian: It is concerned with direct economic benefits from nature for food, firewood, fiber, construction material, industrial products of medical importance, etc.
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Broad Utilitarian: It is concentrated with indirect benefits from nature like photosynthesis, pollination, oxygen, etc.
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Ethical: It is our moral duty to care for the well-being of biodiversity and pass on our biological legacy in good order to future generations.
Key Points to Remember
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Biodiversity means the variety of life existing on the Earth.
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More organisms mean more biodiversity.
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More biodiversity will lead to a healthy food chain and food web.
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Currently, anthropological or man-made causes are the main reasons for biodiversity extinction.
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The in-situ method of conservation is done in the natural ecosystem or habitat.
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Examples of In-situ include national parks and wildlife sanctuaries.
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The Ex-situ method of conservation is carried out on man-made habitats or ecosystems.
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Examples of Ex-situ include zoological gardens, seed banks, and gene banks.
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For the existence of human beings and other living organisms, the conservation of biodiversity is the need of the hour.