THREAT TO BIODIVERSITY

IN CHHATTISGARH REGION

Prof. M. L. NAIK
AND
Dr. SANJU SINHA

(paper presented at Symposium in Raipur on 8th November 2009)

 "Biodiversity"
was coined as a contraction of
"biological diversity" in 1985,
THE MOST STRIKING FEATURE OF EARTH IS
THE EXISTANCE OF LIFE, AND THE MOST
STRIKING FEATURE OF LIFE IS ITS
DIVERSITY.

HUMAN DOMINATION OF EARTH’S

ECOSYSTEMS’ IS MARKEDLY REDUCING THE
DIVERSITY OF SPECIES WITHIN MANY
HABITATS WORLDWIDE, AND IS
ACCELERATING EXTINCTION.
THE WORLD THAT WILL EXIST IN 100 AND
1,000 YEARS WILL, UNAVOIDABLY, BE OF
HUMAM DESIGN, WHETHER DELIBERATE OR
HAPHAZARD.

THE EARTH WILL RETAIN ITS MOST

STRIKING FEATURES, ITS BIODIVERSITY,
ONLY IF HUMANNS HAVE THE PRESCIENCE
TO DO SO.
 FLORA & FAUNA
• FLORA : From Roman goddess of flowers.
The plant life that is present in a particular
region or habitat or at a particular time.

• FAUNA : The animal life that is present in a

particular region or habitat or at a
particular time.
 DIVERSITY
• Diversity is a reality created by individuals and
groups from a broad spectrum of demographic
and philosophical differences.
• Diversity is "otherness," or those human
qualities that are different from our own and
outside the groups to which we belong, yet are
present in other individuals and groups.
• Diversity is each of us and all of us
 DIVERSITY
• ALPHA: DIVERSITY WITHIN
A SITE
• GAMMA: DIVERSITY
BETWEEN SITES

• BETA: DIVERSITY OVER A LARGE AREA.

 BIODIVERSITY
(DEFINITION BY: CBD)

THE VARIABILITY AMONG LIVING

ORGANISMS FROM ALL SOURCES.
THIS INCLUDES THE GENETIC
DIVERSITY WITHIN SPECIES,
DIVERSITY BETWEEN SPECIES OF
FAUNA AND FLORA AND THE
DIVERSITY OF ECOSYSTEMS
 HOW MANY SPECIES ARE THERE IN
THE WORLD?

™ LINNEAUS IN 1758 NAMED 9000 SPECIES

™ TODAY 1.7-1.8 MILLION SPECIES

™ 56% INSECTS

™ AVERAGE LIFE SPAN OF A SPECIES

IS 4 MILLION YEARS.
Group Number of Described Species
Bacteria and blue-green algae 4,760
Fungi 46,983
Algae 26,900
Bryophytes (mosses and liverworts) 17,000
Gymnosperms (conifers) 750
Angiosperms (flowering plants) 250,000
Protozoans 30,800
Sponges 5,000
Corals and Jellyfish 9,000
Roundworms and earthworms 24,000
Crustaceans 38,000
Insects 751,000
Other Arthropods and minor invertebrates 132,461
Mollusks 50,000
Starfish 6,100
Fishes (teleosts) 19,056
Amphibians 4,184
Reptiles 6,300
Birds 9,198
Mammals 4,170
Total 1,435,662
 RECORDED No. OF SP. INDIA AND WORLD
(ESTIMATED No. RANGES FROM 2 – 15 MILLION)
GROUP No. OF SP. No. OF SP. % INDIA
(INDIA) (WORLD)
MAMMALS 350 4629 7.6
BIRDS 1224 9702 12.6
REPTILES 408 6550 6.2
AMPHIBIANS 197 4522 4.4
FISHES 2546 27730 11.7
ARTHROPODA 68389 987949 6.90
FLOWERING 15000 250000 6.6
PLANTS
No. OF ANIMAL & PLANT SP. ENDEMIC TO INDIA

MOLLUSCA
LAND 878
FRSHWATER 89
INSECTA 16,214
AMPHIBIA 110
REPTILES 214
AVES 69
MAMMALIA 38
PTERIDOPHYTA 200
ANGIOSPERMS 4950
RECORDED PLANT SP. : INDIA AND WORLD

TAXA INDIA WORLD % OF INDIA

BACTERIA 850 4000 21.25
VIRUSES UNKNOWN 4000 -
ALGAE 6,500 40,000 16.25
FUNGI 14,500 72,000 20.14

LICHENS 2,000 17,000 11.80

BRYOPHYTES 2,850 16,000 17.80
PTERIDOPHYTES 1,100 13,000 8.46
GYMNOSPERMS 64 750 8.53
ANGIOSPERMS 17,500 250,000 7.00
 WILD RELATIVES OF CROPS AND DOMESTIC
ANIMALS, INDIA
CROP WILD DOMESTIC No. OF
REL. ANIMAL BREEDS
MILLETS 51 CATTLE 27

FRUITS 104 SHEEP 40

SPICES AND CONDIMENTS 27 GOATS 22

VEGETABLE & PULSES 55 CAMELS 8

FIBRE CROPS 24 HORSES 6

OIL SEEDS, TEA, COFFEE, 12 DONKEYS 2

TOBACCO, SUGARCANE
MEDICINAL PLANTS 3000 POULTRY 18
BUFFALO 8
 "HOT-SPOTS"

"Hot-spots" are biologically rich areas with

high diversity and a large percentage of
endemic species. For example, 20% of the
world's plants are found on 0.5% of the earth's
surface.

A leading environmental conservation

organization has identified 24 places around
the world, calls biodiversity "hot spots."
 Global Biodiversity Hotspots
1. The Tropical Andes (Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia)
2. Madagascar
3. Brazil's Atlantic Forest Region
4. The Philippines
5. Meso-American forests
6. Wallacea (eastern Indonesia)
7. Western Sunda (in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei)
8. South Africa's Cape floristic region
9. The Antilles
10. Brazil's Cerrado
11. The Darién and Chocó of Panama, Colombia, and Western Ecuador
12. Polynesia and Micronesian Island complex, including Hawaii
13. Southwestern Australia
14. The Eastern Mediterranean region
15. The Western Ghats of India and the island of Sri Lanka
16. The Guinean forests of West Africa
17. New Caledonia
18. Eastern Himalayas
19. Southeastern Australia and Tasmania
 SIGNIFICANCE OF BIODIVERSITY
RELATIVELY RECENTLY
DISCOVERED
MICHAEL ZASLOFF 1986:
AFRICAN CLAWED FROG UNDERGONE
SURGERY PUT IN TO MURKY, BACTENA
FILLED WATER ALMOST NEVER GOT
INFECTIONS.
SKIN SECRETES PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN
ANTIBIOTIC – NAMED MAGAININS
(HEBREW = SHIELD)
TAXOL – FOR BREAST AND OVARIAN
CANCER FROM PACIFIC YEW TREE –
TAXUS SP.

SQUALAMINE FROM DOGFISH LIVER. A

STEROID TO FIGHT CANCER BY
CUTTING OFF BLOOD FLOW TO TUMER.

A SIMILAR MOLECULE IN HOLARRHENA

ANTIDYSENTERICA AND CHONEMORPHA.
INSTITUTO NACIONAL de BIODIVERSIDAD
de COSTA RICA (INBio) & MERCK & Co. Inc.
In Bio, A GROUP OF SCIENTISTS
MERCK WILL PAY $ 1 MILLION IN 2 YEARS (1991-
1993) FOR SEARCHING NEW MOLECULES
(MEDICINES) FROM PLANTS, INSECTS AND
MICROBES FROM PROTECTED FORESTS.
INBio WILL RECEIVE 5% OF ROYALTIES OF THE
SALE FROM SAMPLES.
GOVT. WILL GET 10% OF $ 1M AND 50% OF THE
ROYALTIES.
 ANTI-CANCER DRUGS

Drug Source Traditional use

Cantharidin Chinese Blister beetle + (abortifacient)

Etoposide, Podophyllum peltatum + (snake bites, weakness, condyloma,

podophyllotixin, lymphadenopathy, tumors)
teniposide

Monocrotaline Crotalaria spectabilis + (skin cancer)

Vincristine, Rosy periwinkle + (diabetes)

Vinblastine

Taxol Yew (Taxus brevifolia) _

 ANTIBIOTICS
(about 1,000 now known)
Antibiotic Source
Penicillin Penicillium chrysogenum
Cephalosporin C Cephalosporium acremonium
Griseofulvin Penicillium griseofulvum
Bacitracin Bacteria
chloromycin Bacteria
erythromycin Bacteria
streptomycin Bacteria
tetracycline Bacteria
mimosamycin Nudibranch, Sponge
 ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES

Service Organism

Pollination bees, bats

Biodegradation micro - organisms
Soil aeration earthworms
Fertilization soil bacteria
CO2 - 02 exchange plants
Water storage plants
POTENTIAL NEW CROPS FROM TROPICAL AMERICA

Crop Product
Uvilla Fruit
Lulo Fruit
Pupunha Fruit
Guanabana Fruit
Vitamin C-rich fruit, palm hearts,
Buriti palm
oil, starch, wine, fiber.
Quinoa High-protein cereal
Amaranto High-protein cereal
 MEDICINES FROM WILDLIFE(from a list of 117)

Purpose Drug Source Traditional use

Immunosuppressant Cyclosporin Fungus, Tolypocladium
inflatum
Contraceptives Steroids Fungus, Rhizopus nigricans
Anti-inflammatory Cortisone and prednisone Fungus, Rhizopus nigricans
Cholesterol lowering Lovastatin Fungus, Aspergillus
terreus
Painkillers Aspirin Willow +
Codeine Opium poppy +
Morphine Opium poppy +
Cocaine Erthroxylum coca +
Tetrodotoxin Central American frog + (trance-inducer)
Antimalarial Quinine Cinchona (coffee + (Indian fever bark)
family)
Amebicide Emetine Cephaelis +
ipecacuanha
Heart stimulants Digitalis Foxglove +
Ouabain Strophanthus gratus + (arrow poison)
Pupil dilator Atropine Nightshade +
(Belladonna)
Antispasmodics for Scopolamine, Hyoscyamine Nightshade +
intestinal disorders (Belladonna)
Muscle relaxant Tubocurarine Chondrodendron + (arrow poison)
tomentosum
Hi h Bl d R i R lfi
Monogamous Animals May Be More
Likely To Die Out (May 27, 2003) --
New research reveals a surprising risk
factor for extinction: monogamy. Large
mammals that live in pairs or have small
harems are far more likely to die out than
those with big harems in reserves in
Earth Could Lose Thousands Of At-Risk
Species: Studies Indicate Extinctions Are
Not Random Events (April 14, 2000) --
Thousands of at-risk bird and mammal species
worldwide could eventually become extinct
due to the non-random nature of extinction
Rainforest Birds Keep Dying Out Long
After Logging Stops (October 4, 1999) --
Fragmented rainforests can keep losing
biodiversity for a century, according to new
research in the October issue of Conservation
Biology. While the bad news is that many
more species are likely to
 NORTH-SOUTH CONTROVERSY

• NORTH • SOUTH
• RICH COUNTRIES • POOR COUNTRIES
• North poor in • Rich in biodiversity
biodiversity • Poor in technology
• Superior in • Right on biodiversity
technology • Want free transfer of
• Globalisation of technology and
biodiversity benefits.
• Will sell biodiversity
to poor countries
PEOPLES BIODIVERSITY REGISTER
• LOCAL LEVEL DOCUMENTATION OF
BIODIVERSITY AND ASSOCIATED
KNOWLEDGE WITH MANAGEMENT
ISSUES.
• THROUGH DESIGNED AND LED BY
LOCALS
• CONTINUALLY UPDATED.
• ORGANISED TO GENERATE A VARIETY
OF PRODUCTS.
 CONVENTION ON BIOLOGICAL
DIVERSITY (CBD)
• OBJECTIVES:
• SUSTAINABLE USE OF COMPONENTS
• ACCESS TO GENETIC RESOURCES
• FAIR AND EQUITABLE SHARING OF
THE BENEFITS ARISING OUT OF
UTILIZATION OF GENETIC
RESOURCES
• PROTECTION FROM GMOs
 CONVENTION ON BILOGICAL
DIVERSITY (CBD)
• INDIA SIGNED THE CONVENTION ON 5TH
JUNE 1992

• RATIFIED ON 18TH FEB. 1994.

• BROUGHT IN TO FORCE ON 19TH MAY 1994.

• CONVENTION WILL PROVIDE FRAMEWORK

FOR SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT AND
CONSERVATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES
 RAMASAR (WETLANDS) CONVENTION

• INDIA, A CONTRACTED PARTY SINCE 1ST FEB.

1982.
• HAS SITES COVERING 192,973 ha. WETLANDS:
• CHILKA LAKE
• KEOLADEO (GHANA) NATIONAL PARK
• WULAR LAKE
• HARIKE LAKE
• LOKTAK LAKE
• SAMBHAR LAKE
 BIODIVERSITY BILL, INDIA, 2002

• MAIN INTENT OF THE LEGISLATION:

• TO PROTECT INDIA’S RICH BIODIVERSITY AND
ASSOCIATED KNOWLEDGE AGAINST THEIR USE
BY FOREIGN INDIVIDUALS WITHOUT SHARING
BENEFITS, & CHECK BIOPIRACY.
• SETTING UP OF :
• A NATIONAL BIODIVERSITY AUTHORITY(NBA).
• STATE BIODIVERSITY BOARDS (SBBs). AND
• BIDIVERSITY MANAGEMENT COMMITTEES
(BMCs)
 PATENTS OBTAINED IN OTHER COUNTRIES
THE BIOPIRACY
Azadirachta indica, Curcuma longa, Zingiber
officinale, Vitis vinifera, Phyllanthus niruri,
Brassica campestris, Cuminum cynimum,
Momordica carantia, Artocarpus integrifolia,
Annona squamosa, Cassia fistula, Ricinus
communis, Solanum nigrum, Centella asiatica,
Amaranthus spinosus, Impatiens balsamina,
Terminalia chebula, Plantago ovata, Jatropha
curcas, Piper nigrum.
 DIVERSITY LOSS
THERE HAS BEEN PUNCTUATED
EXTINCTION AT INTERVALS OF 26 MILLION
YEARS DURING THE PAST 250 MILLION
YEARS.

NO PRECISE ESTIMATE OF SPECIES LOSS

CAN BE MADE BECAUSE WE DO NOT KNOW
THE NUMBER OF SPECIES ORIGINALLY
PRESENT.

HOWEVER, EXTINCTION IS PROCEEDING

FASTER THAN IT DID PRIOR TO 1800.
CURRENT ESTIMATED EXTINCTION RATE

ONE SPECIES OUT OF EVERY THOUSAND

SPECIES PER YEAR.
EXTINCTION RATE IN PALEOZOIC AND
MESOZOIC OF MARINE FAUNA WAS ONE OUT
OF EVERY MILLION TO ONE OUT OF EVERY 10
MILLION PER YEAR.
THUS THE RATE OF EXTINCTION IS 1,000 TO
10,000 TIMES THAT BEFORE HUMAM
INTERVENTION.
ON THE BASIS OF GLOBAL WARMING
SCENARIOS FOR 2050, 15 – 37% OF SPECIS
WILL BE COMITTED TO EXTINCTION
 LOSS OF BIODIVERSITY
¾TROPICAL RAIN FORESTS ALTHOUGH COVER
ONLY 7% OF THE EARTH SURFACE BUT
HARBOUR MORE THAN 50% SPECIES.

¾TROPICAL FORESTS ARE CRUCIBLE FOR

DISAPPEARENCE OF SPECIES.

¾TROPICAL FORESTS DECREASED BY 1,13,00,000

ha PER YEAR BETWEEN 1981 AND 1985.

¾MAJOR CAUSE: POVERTY AND ABRUPT

POPULATION INCREASE AND THEY ARE
INTERLOCKING EACH OTHER.
 POLLUTION AND BIODIVERSITY

• BIODIVERSITY MAY BE LOW OR

HIGH AT LOW POLLUTION LEVEL.

• LOW WITH VERY HIGH POLLUTION.

• HIGHER AT INTERMEDIATE
POLLUTION LEVEL
 PERCENTAGE OF TROPICAL FOREST
SPECIES LIKELY TO BECOME EXTINCT

40
At current deforestation rate
Tropical forest species %

30 50% increase in deforestation rate

20

10
POLLUTION AND EXTREMOPHILES

• A HABITAT WITH REDUCED

BIODIVERSITY IS CALLED EXTREME
HABITAT.

• EXTREMOPHILES ARE ORGANISMS

INHABITING EXTREME HABITATS.

• ORGANISMS TOLERANT TO MULTIPLE

ENVIRONMENTAL HABITATS ARE
POLYEXTREMOPHILES.
Mass extinctions
Extinction period
Late Cambrian
(~500 million years ago)
Late Ordovician
(440 million years ago)
Late Devonian
(~365 million years ago)
End Permian
(245 million years ago)
Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T)
(65 million years ago)
Cause and effects
Changing sea levels
Glaciation (ice age)
Global cooling
96% of marine species and 75%
of terrestrial vertebrate families
became extinct during this, the
largest, mass extinction – caused
by fluctuations in sea level and
ocean salinity resulting from
climate change
Famed for extinction of dinosaurs
and widely thought to have been
caused by meteor impact
Source: BBC Education (Ref 34)
 How Can We Estimate Rates of Species Loss?

The Number of species living on islands increases or decreases with the area
of the island. The diversity of reptiles and amphibians in the West Indies is
depicted here. A reduction of 90 percent in area from one island to the next
results in a 50 percent loss of species.
Source: World Conservation Monitoring Centre, "Global
Biodiversity" Chapman & Hall, London, 1992).
 Future Options
We do not know what our value systems will be in
the future, or what the value systems of our
successors will be. Perhaps they will need vast
quantities of some species that we now consider
insignificant or even harmful. Many of the natural
sources of medicines are, in fact, poisonous.

Contd.
Nobody could have predicted that bread mold would
be the source of one of the most useful antibiotics; that
armadillos would have been useful in medical
research because they are the only experimental
animal that can be infected with leprosy; or that the
Madagascar periwinkle would be a source of an
antileukemic drug, or that a heat-loving microbe
living in a hot spring at Yellowstone National Park
would provide a key ingredient in the DNA
fingerprinting work was so important in the O.J.
Simpson trial.
 A new discipline “ECOLOGICAL
ECONOMICS” is developing,
including the environmental science
and the public policy
 VALUE OF BIODIVERSITY

• WELL BEING AND SURVIVAL OF MAN

DEPENDS ON MILLIONS OF SPECIES OF
PLANTS & ANIMALS

• USED IN AGRICULTURE, MEDICINE,

FOOD AND INDUSTRY
 IUCN RED LIST CATEGORIES
EXTINCT
EXTINCT IN
THE WILD

CRITICALLY
ENDANGERED
THREATENED ENDANGERED
ADEQUATE VULNERABLE
DATA
NEAR
EVALUATED THREATENED
LOWER RISK
LEAST
CONCERN
DATA
DEFICIENT
NOT
EVALUATED
COSERVATION STATUS OF PLANT SPECIES FOR ONE PLACE

IUCN THREAT CATAGORY NO. OF PLANT SPECIES

EXTINCT 19
EXTINCT/ENGANGERED 43
ENDANGERED 149
ENDANGERED/VULNERABLE 2
VULNERABLE 108
RARE 256
INDETERMINATE 719
INSUFFICIENTLY KNOWN 9
NO INFORMATION 1441
NOT THREATENED 374
TOTAL 3120
IUCN RED LIST THREAT CATEGORY OF INDIAN
ANIMALS (1994)

GROUP ENDAN VULNE RARE INDETER INSUFFI TOTAL

GERED RABLE MINATE CIENTLY
KNOWN

MAMM. 13 20 2 5 13 53
BIRDS 6 20 25 13 5 69
REPTILE 6 6 4 5 2 23
S
AMPHI. 0 0 0 3 0 3
FISHES 0 0 2 0 0 2
INVERT 1 3 12 2 4 22
TOTAL 26 49 45 28 24 172
EX SITU CONSERVATION:

1. ZOOS
2. AQUARIA
3. BOTANICAL GARDENS & ARBORETA
4. SEED BANKS
5. MICROCONSERVATION
 SEED BANKS

SEEDS STORED IN COLD AND DRY

CONDITIONS.

RAIPUR 10,000 to 12,000 VARITIES OF RICE

In 1958, Charles Elton stated "we are living
in a period of the world's history when the
mingling of thousands of kinds of organisms
from different parts of the world is setting up
terrific dislocations in nature..."
Invasive alien species are second only

to habitat loss in importance, in the

erosion of biodiversity.
Although conventional wisdom suggests
that invasive exotic organisms thrive
because they escape the natural enemies
that kept them in check in their native
ranges, a new study suggests the opposite.
Exotics that are in the presence of their
natural enemies actually do better in their
introduced ranges.
Doon Valley in Western Himalaya:

46% of woody flora and 20% of herbaceous

flora are exotics. Sapium sebiferum Roxb.
(Euphorbiaceae) a most troublesome
invasive sp. has invaded the area.
Prosopis juliflora is pushing ground water table
down and drying up surface soil killing vegetation
in Delhi green lands. DU biologists and botanists
are awaiting Supreme Court ruling on a
presentation how the weed caused devastation in
the Delhi green areas and pushed border regions to
the preliminary stage of desertification.