BIODIVERSITY FOR UPSC
2010-International Year of Biodiversity
2011-2020-United Nations Decade on Biodiversity
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Types of Biodiversity
- Genetic Diversity
- Species Diversity
- Ecosystem Diversity
- Functional Diversity
There are 17 mega diverse countries in the World and 34 Biodiversity Hotspots. India is one of the mega diverse countries and has 3 bio diversity hotspots (Himalayas, Western Ghats and Indo-Burma)
Forest and Wildlife in India falls under the Concurrent List
The UN convention on biological diversity defines biodiversity as variability among living organisms from all sources including terrestrial, marine and aquatic ecological complexes which they are part of. There are various attributes of bio diversity such as composition, structure and function.
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), known informally as the Biodiversity Convention, is a multilateral treaty. The Convention has three main goals:
- Conservation of biological diversity (or biodiversity);
- Sustainable use of its components; and
- Fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from genetic resources
The Convention was opened for signature at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro on 5 June 1992 and entered into force on 29 December 1993. 2010 was the International Year of Biodiversity
The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety of the Convention, also known as the Biosafety Protocol, was adopted in January 2000. The Biosafety Protocol seeks to protect biological diversity from the potential risks posed by living modified organisms resulting from modern biotechnology.The Biosafety Protocol makes clear that products from new technologies must be based on the precautionary principle and allow developing nations to balance public health against economic benefits. It will for example let countries ban imports of a genetically modified organism if they feel there is not enough scientific evidence the product is safe and requires exporters to label shipments containing genetically modified commodities such as corn or cotton.
The Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization to the Convention on Biological Diversity is a supplementary agreement to the Convention on Biological Diversity.
The Biological Diversity Act, 2002 is an Act of the Parliament of India for preservation of biological diversity in India, and provides mechanism for equitable sharing of benefits arising out use of traditional biological resources and knowledge. The Act was enacted to meet the obligations under Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), to which India is a party.
Biodiversity has been defined under the Act as “the variability among living organisms from all sources and the ecological complexes of which they are part, and includes diversity within species or between species and of eco-systems“. The Act also defines, Biological resources as “plants, animals and micro-organisms or parts thereof, their genetic material and by-products (excluding value added products) with actual or potential use or value, but does not include human genetic material
The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) (2003) is a statutory autonomous body, headquartered in Chennai, under the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India established in 2003 to implement the provisions under the Act. State Biodiversity Boards (SBB) has been created in 28 States along with 31,574 Biological management committees (for each local body) across India.
A foreigner, non-resident Indian a foreign company or body corporate need to take permission from the NBA before obtaining any biological resources from India for research, survey, commercial utilisation. Indian citizens or body corporates need to take permission from the concerned State Biodiversity Board.
Result of research using biological resources from India cannot be transferred to a non-citizen or a foreign company without the permission of NBA. However, no such permission is needed for publication of the research in a journal or seminar, or in case of a collaborative research made by institutions approved by Central Government.
IUCN: The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resource. The organization is best known to the wider public for compiling and publishing the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, which assesses the conservation status of species worldwide.
It was involved in establishing the World Wide Fund for Nature and the World Conservation Monitoring Centre.
IUCN PROTECTED AREA CATEGORIES
- Category Ia: Strict Nature Reserve: These areas are often home to dense native ecosystems that are restricted from all human disturbance outside of scientific study, environmental monitoring and education.
- Category Ib: Wilderness Area: It is similar to a strict nature reserve, but generally larger and protected in a slightly less stringent manner. Human visitation is limited to a minimum, often allowing only those who are willing to travel of their own devices (by foot, by ski, or by boat)
- Category II — National Park: A national park is similar to a wilderness area in its size and its main objective of protecting functioning ecosystems. However, national parks tend to be more lenient with human visitation and its supporting infrastructure. National parks are managed in a way that may contribute to local economies through promoting educational and recreational tourism on a scale that will not reduce the effectiveness of conservation efforts.
- Category III — Natural Monument or Feature: A natural monument or feature (IUCN Category III) is a comparatively smaller area that is specifically allocated to protect a natural monument and its surrounding habitats. These monuments can be natural in the whole sense or include elements that have been influenced or introduced by humans.
- Category IV — Habitat/Species Management Area: Similar to a natural monument or feature, but focuses on more specific areas of conservation (though size is not necessarily a distinguishing feature), like an identifiable species or habitat that requires continuous protection rather than that of a natural feature.
- Category V — Protected Landscape/Seascape: A protected landscape or protected seascape covers an entire body of land or ocean with an explicit natural conservation plan, but usually also accommodates a range of for-profit activities.
- Category VI – Protected Area with sustainable use of natural resources: Protected Area with sustainable use of natural resources — a generally more encompassing classification that is focused on the mutually beneficial correlation between nature conservation and sustainable management of natural resources in correspondence the livelihoods of those who are dependent on both.
Click here for the: National Parks of India
THE UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON THE HUMAN ENVIRONMENT was held in Stockholm, Sweden from June 5 to June 16 in 1972. It is also known as the Stockholm Conference. The meeting agreed upon a Declaration containing 26 principles concerning the environment and development; an Action Plan with 109 recommendations, and a Resolution. One of the seminal issue that emerged from the conference is the recognition for poverty alleviation for protecting the environment. The Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in her seminal speech in the conference brought forward the connection between ecological management and poverty alleviation.
IT LED TO THE FORMATION OF UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME (UNEP)
UNEP: It is an agency that coordinates its environmental activities, assisting developing countries in implementing environmentally sound policies and practices. UNEP has aided in the formulation of guidelines and treaties on issues such as the international trade in potentially harmful chemicals, trans-boundary air pollution, and contamination of international waterways. The World Meteorological Organization and UNEP established the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 1988
The Stockholm Conference eventually led to three new international conventions, with IUCN involved in their drafting and implementation:
- Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage (1972):
Evolved into World Heritage Sites(India has 32 World heritage Sites). IUCN provides technical evaluations and monitoring
- CITES (Also known as WASHINGTON CONVENTION)- the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (1974)
Is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals. The convention was opened for signature in 1973. and CITES entered into force on 1 July 1975. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten the survival of the species in the wild, and it accords varying degrees of protection to more than 35,000 species of animals and plants. Participation is voluntary and although the convention itself does not provide for arbitration or dispute in the case of noncompliance, 36 years of CITES in practice has resulted in several strategies to deal with infractions by Parties
IUCN is a signatory party and the CITES secretariat was originally lodged with IUCN
- Ramsar Convention: Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (1975).
Is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands. The secretariat is still administered from IUCN’s headquarters. It is named after the city of Ramsar in Iran, where the Convention was signed in 1971. It is a convention on wetlands of International Importance, especially as Waterfowl Habitat). The Ramsar Convention works closely with five other organisations known as International Organization Partners (IOPs). These are Birdlife International, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Wetlands International and WWF International.
Click here for the:Ramsar Convention Sites in India
Biosphere reserves of India
The Indian government has established around eighteen Biosphere Reserves in India, (categories roughly corresponding to IUCN Category V Protected areas) which protect larger areas of natural habitat (than a National Park or Animal Sanctuary), and often include one or more National Parks and/or preserves, along with buffer zones that are open to some economic uses.
Click here for the: Biosphere Reserves in India
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