Hanbook on Biodiversity.p65 08/09/2008, 11:58 AM104

A comprehensivehandbook on biodiversity

A K Ghosh, PhDCentre for Environment and Development

Kolkata

The Energy and Resources Institute

Prelims.p65 08/09/2008, 11:56 AM1

© The Energy and Resources Institute 2008

ISBN 978-81-7993-165-3

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproducedin any form or by any means without prior permission of TheEnergy and Resources Institute.

Published byT E R I PressThe Energy and Resources InstituteDarbari Seth BlockIHC Complex, Lodhi RoadNew Delhi – 110 003India

Printed on recycled paper.

Printed in India at Multiplexus (India), New Delhi, India

Tel. 2468 2100 or 4150 4900Fax 2468 2144 or 2468 2145

India +91 • Delhi (0) 11E-mail teripress@teri.res.in

Web www.teriin.org

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Contents

PREFACE .......................................................................................................... V

BIODIVERSITY AND ITS ORIGIN ........................................................................... 1

BIODIVERSITY: GLOBAL AND LOCAL TRENDS ........................................................ 5

BIODIVERSITY IN LAND AND WATER ................................................................... 13

MOUNTAINS TO OCEANS ................................................................................. 19

AGRICULTURAL BIODIVERSITY ........................................................................... 25

DIVERSITY IN DOMESTICATED ANIMALS ............................................................. 35

MICROBIAL DIVERSITY ..................................................................................... 43

MEGADIVERSE COUNTRIES AND HOT SPOTS ........................................................ 49

PROJECTING BIODIVERSITY ............................................................................... 57

BIODIVERSITY AND CIVIL SOCIETY ..................................................................... 67

TRIBAL CULTURE AND BIODIVERSITY .................................................................. 73

VALUE OF BIODIVERSITY .................................................................................. 77

BUSINESS IN BIODIVERSITY ............................................................................... 83

BIODIVERSITY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY ................................................................ 89

THREATS TO BIODIVERSITY ............................................................................... 95

HUMAN SOCIETY AND LOSS OF BIODIVERSITY ................................................. 105

GLOBAL CONCERNS AND LOCAL EFFORTS ....................................................... 111

BIODIVERSITY AND CLIMATE CHANGE ............................................................. 115

REFERENCES ................................................................................................ 125

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Preface

The conservation of biological diversity has become aglobal issue since the UN Conference on Environment andDevelopment held in Brazil in 1992 focused the need forurgent action, through its historic ‘Convention onBiological Diversity’. Since then, nearly 200 countriesaround the world pledged to save these vital resourcessustaining the human society and the intricate matrix of lifearound us. India, as one of the megadiverse countries,possesses nearly 9% of global biodiversity in 2.4% ofglobal space; with almost every ecosystem in India, a richassemblage of species could be located including many new,rare or exotic ones. The dependency of human society onmaterial of biological origin is hardly appreciated but inreality, food, fuel, medicine, textile, paper, beverages, andspices sustaining our life system, either entirely orsignificantly, depend on these resources. However, theimpacts of unplanned development or lack of perceptionhas taken significant toll of this vast resource base. Thepresent publication has attempted to focus on the aspectsthat we ought to know for our own benefit and for thecoming generations to ensure a better quality of life.

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Diversity of lifeThe origin of life remains one of the most phenomenal events in theuniverse. Nearly three and a half billion years ago, the planetwitnessed pulsating life in shallow, warm seas. Since then, theamazing process of evolution enabled living forms to segregate intoan array of what is now called species.1 Some remained single cells,while others changed into distinct multicellular plants and animals.Thus, today’s world is teeming with life forms of all shapes andsizes—from those that are invisible to naked eyes (such as virus andbacteria) to huge elephants and banyan trees.

Biodiversity comprises these millions of diverse biologicalspecies, living together under a common habitat.

Evolution of manThe earliest recorded human or the ‘man-ape’ is scientificallyknown as Australopithecus afriensis. Scientists believe they lived inthe savannas and woodlands of Africa, three to five million yearsago. The adult man-ape walked on his two legs and made use of his

1 BIODIVERSITY AND ITS ORIGIN

1 A species is a population whose members are able to interbreed freely undernatural conditions.

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2 A comprehensive handbook on biodiversity

arms and hands for huntingand gathering food. Theancient man-ape finally splitinto three distinct species —Australopithecus boisei, A.robusta, and Homo habilis.The modern human species iscalled H. sapiens, which impliesthat the earliest ancestors ofman could be H. habilis. Theearliest known H. habilis washardly 1.5 m tall and weighedaround 45 kg, with a brain halfthe size of that of modern human beings.

Grapling with the threat of extinctionLiving organisms have evolved considerably over the three and ahalf billion years of life on the earth, but many became extinct atdifferent geological times. Some of the geological eras areOrdovician, Devonian, Permian, Triassic, and Cretaceous. The firstwave of extinction came 439 million years ago, during theOrdovician period, when 85% of the marine animal species diedout (this was the period when no animals lived on land). During theDevonian extinction, 367 million years ago, the calamity was justas severe. But it was during the Permian extinction, about 245million years ago, that 95% of animal species disappeared. Thenext wave of extinction during the Triassic era, about 208 millionyears ago, was less severe. The most recent large-scale massextinction occurred during the Cretaceous–Tertiary period, whichled to the end of dinosaurs. David Jablonski, a paleontologist at theUniversity of Chicago, carefully presented proof for the occurrenceof such events. New life forms also evolved after every massextinction, which did not necessarily have characteristics andfeatures similar to the extinct organisms.

The Homo habilis began shapingweapons out of bones

Hanbook on Biodiversity.p65 08/09/2008, 11:56 AM2

A Comprehensive Handbook onBiodiversity

Publisher : TERI Press ISBN : 9788179931653 Author : A K Ghosh

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