its just some of the things about the biodiversity of nicobar islands... its threats n protection...

1. NICOBAR
ISLANDS

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 The Nicobar Islands are an archipelagic island
chain (cluster or collection of islands) in the
eastern Indian Ocean.
 Located 1,300 km southeast of the Indian
subcontinent, across the Bay of Bengal, they
form part of the Union Territory of Andaman
and Nicobar Islands, India.
 UNESCO has declared the islands a World
Biosphere Reserve.
 Nicobar group consists of a total of 1,953 sq. km.
 The nicobar group is made up of 28 islands, of
which 13 are inhabited.

3. NICOBAR ISLANDS REGION
 The nicobar group of
islands has three main
clusters, car nicobar,
middle nicobar and great
nicobar .
 The climate of these
islands is humid
tropical. The recorded
average annual rainfall
varies from 1,400 mm
to 3,000 mm and the
average annual
temperature varies from
24 °C to 28 °C with
relative humidity up to
80%.

4. BIODIVERSITY OF NICOBAR ISLANDS
 The Nicobar Islands are very rich in biodiversity,
harbouring unique endemic life forms.
 The islands have both rich terrestrial as well as marine
ecosystems, such as mangroves, coral reefs and sea
grass beds.
 The marine biodiversity includes marine mammals
such as whales, dolphins, dugong; marine turtles;
estuarine or salt water crocodile; fishes; prawns and
lobsters; corals; sea shells including rare and
endangered Trochus species and Giant Clam Shells and
numerous other marine life forms including
coelenterates and echinoderms etc.

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 The rich marine biodiversity includes
I. 25 species of marine mammals such as whales, dolphins,
dugong;
II. 4 species of marine turtles; estuarine or salt water
crocodile;
III. more than 1,000 species of fishes;
IV. about 50 species of prawns and lobsters;
V. more than 350 species of corals;
VI. 313 species of sea shells including rare and endangered
Trochus and Giant Clam Shells and thousands of other
marine life forms including coelenterates, echinoderms
etc.
VII. The sandy beaches on some islands provide nesting places
for four species of marine turtles.
VIII. The near shore waters are rich in fin fish, shell fish and
other economically important species such as sea shells,
sea cucumbers, crabs, lobsters etc.
IX. While seas around these islands are also rich in pelagic
fishes such as Tunas, Indian Mackerel, Seer fish, Sharks
etc.

6. THE STATUS OF MARINE MAMMALS AND REPTILES IN A&N ISLANDS
Faunal Group No. of Species Marine Species
Mammals 62 Dugong, Dolphins & Whales
Reptiles 104 Marine Turtles, Estuarine Crocodile, Sea
Snakes
THE STATUS OF MARINE FAUNAL GROUPS IN A&N ISLANDS
Faunal Group No. of Species
Fish 1283
Echinoderms 430
Molluscs 1583
Crustaceans 607
Corals 431*
Sponges 112

7. sea cows
Ctenactis triangularis
Green turtle

8. VEGETATION
 The total recorded forest area of the islands is 0.72 million ha which
constitutes 87% of the land area.
 The Reserved and Protected Forests constitute about 40% and 60%
respectively.
 From these islands, 2,395 terrestrial plant species and 118 species of
marine algae have been reported.
 The terrestrial flora consists of 2,200 species of angiosperms, 130 species
of pterydophytes, 50 species of lichens and 15 species of mosses and
hepatics.
 Some of the species of these forests are Diptercarpus costatus, Mesua
ferrea, Canarium manni, Hopea helferian, Diospyros marmorata,
Terminalia procera, Sageraea elliptica, Rhizophora mucronata,
Rhizophora apiculata, Bruguiera gymnorrhiza and Bruguiera parviflora,
Ceriops tagal, Kandelia candel, Xylocarpus granatum , Lamnitzera
littorea ,Acanthus ilicifolius etc .

9. Rhizophora mucronata Xylocarpus granatum
Terminalia procera
Hopea helferian

10. AVIFAUNA
 These islands are one of the Endemic Bird Areas.
 About 56 bird species and subspecies have been reported
from these Nicobar islands.
 Nine species are considered Restricted Range in the Nicobar
islands.
 For example, Nicobar Parakeet Psittacula caniceps is confined
to the Great Nicobar group while Nicobar Bulbul Hypsipetes
nicobariensis is present only in the Nancowry group.
 The nicobar scrub fowl and nicobar bulbul are found in
forested areas, but the bulbul can also be seen in gardens.

11. ENDEMIC BIRD SPECIES
 Endemism is the ecological state of a species being
unique to a defined geographic location.
 Species endemic to the Nicobar islands:
I. Central Nicobar serpent eagle, Spilornis
minimus (often considered a subspecies of Crested
Serpent Eagle)
II. South Nicobar serpent eagle, Spilornis klossi
III. Nicobar sparrowhawk, Accipiter butleri
IV. Nicobar parakeet, Psittacula caniceps
V. Nicobar bulbul, Hypsipetes nicobariensis
VI. Nicobar jungle flycatcher, Rhinomyias nicobaricus

12. LIST OF THREATENED BIRDS
VULNERABLE
Nicobar Sparrowhawk Accipiter butleri
Nicobar Megapode Megapodius nicobariensis
Nicobar Bulbul Hypsipetes nicobariensis
NEAR THREATENED
Nicobar Serpent-Eagle Spilornis minimus
Nicobar Parakeet Psittacula caniceps

14. REASONS FOR THREAT TO BIODIVERSITY
 The island ecosystem Nicobar are under threat
due to one or more of the following reasons:
I. Encroachment on forestland,
II. mining of sand,
III. inappropriate fisheries,
IV. inappropriate and excessive forest working,
V. introduction of exotics,
VI. extraction of corals,
VII. poaching for corals,
VIII. impact of agriculture and human habitation.

15. LEGAL MEASURES FOR PROTECTION OF
BIODIVERSITY OF NICOBAR ISLANDS:
 The rich marine biodiversity of Andaman and Nicobar Islands has been
accorded protection under the following legal framework:
1. Regulation of Fishing by Foreign Vessels Act, 1981: Within India’s maritime zone,
fishing by foreign vessels is regulated by Regulation of Fishing by Foreign Vessels
Act, 1981, which prohibits fishing in country’s territorial waters as well as carrying of
any explosives, poisonous or noxious substance.
2.Coastal Regulation Zone, 1991/ Island Protection Zone, 2011 Notification: The
coastal areas and ecosystems have been provided further protection against internal
threats under the Central Government Notification of 1991, declaring a Coastal
Regulation Zone (CRZ) under Section 3(1) & Section 3(2)(v) of the Environment
(Protection) Act, 1986 (now IPZ as per Notification dated 6th January 2011). Under
CRZ/IPZ, ecologically important as well as fragile ecosystems, such as mangroves,
corals/coral reefs, areas close to breeding and spawning grounds of fish and other
marine life, along with National Parks, Marine National Parks, Sanctuaries, Reserved
Forests and wildlife habitats, have been put under the Island Coastal Regulation
Zone-(ICRZ-I), which accords the highest level of protection against rampant
unplanned development and resultant degradation. While ICZR area earlier included
only the designated coastal stretches from High Tide Line towards the landward side,
it now extends to the entire territorial waters of the country and the sea bed below it.

16. 3. Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972: Some of the important
endangered marine animals have been accorded special protection
under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 (WPA) wherever they
occur in Indian territories.
4. Establishment of marine protected areas: To make the process
of creation of PAs in marine areas easier, an amendment was made
in the WPA in 1991 under section 26A. According to this section,
any important or critical wildlife area occurring within the territorial
waters of India can be declared as a sanctuary in consultation with
the Chief Naval Hydrographer of the Central Government. In such
PAs, the activities damaging to the ecosystem are regulated without
affecting the right of innocent passage of any vessel or boat.
5. International Conventions: India is also a signatory to various
international conventions related to protection of fauna and flora,
such as Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), Ramsar Convention, United
Nations Convention on Law of Sea (UNCLOS), Convention on
Biological Diversity (CBD), Convention on the Conservation of
Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), etc. As it is clear,
sufficient legal measures exists both at the national and
international level which can provide effective protection to the
endangered marine animals and critical ecosystems of Nicobar
Islands.

17. THANK YOU!!!!