This document provides an overview of biodiversity, including its definition, levels, measurement, gradients, value, threats, and conservation efforts. It discusses India's biodiversity in particular, noting that India is one of 17 mega-diverse countries and contains a variety of forest and coastal ecosystems. The document also summarizes five mass extinction events and several international conventions focused on biodiversity conservation, including the Convention on Biological Diversity, CITES, CMS, and Ramsar Convention.

1. BIODIVERSITY, ITS
CONSERVATION AND
CONVENTIONS

2. INDEX
•Introduction
•Levels of biodiversity
•Measurement of biodiversity
•Gradients of biodiversity
•Biodiversity of India
•Values of biodiversity
•Threats to biodiversity
•Mass extinctions
•Conservation of biodiversity
•Conventions on biodiversity

3. INTRODUCTION
•BIODIVERSITY - ‘Bio’ means life and ‘Diversity’ means
variety.
•According to Convention of Biodiversity (CBD), 1992
Biological Diversity means the variability among the living
organisms from all sources including terrestrial, marine and
other aquatic ecosystems. This include diversity within
species, between species and of ecosystems.
•Term ‘Biological Diversity’ – Thomas Lovejoy in 1980
•Word ‘Biodiversity’ – Walter G. Rosen in 1985
•22ND May is celebrated as International Biological
Diversity day.

4. LEVELS OF BIODIVERSITY
1. GENETIC DIVERSITY 2. SPECIES DIVERSITY
3. ECOSYSTEM DIVERSITY
www.enwikipedia.in
www.researchgate.in www.researchgate.in

5. MEASURING BIODIVERSITY OVER SPATIAL
SCALES
This was described by Whittaker in 1972.
•Alpha Diversity- It refers to the diversity within a
particular area or ecosystem. It is expressed as
number of species per unit area (species richness).
•Beta Diversity- A comparison of diversity between
two ecosystem, usually measured as the amount of
species change between the ecosystems.
•Gamma Diversity- A measure of the overall
diversity within a large region.

6. GRADIENTS OF BIODIVERSITY
Biodiversity varies with changes in latitude and altitude.
The decrease in diversity when moving from lower latitudes
towards higher latitudes is referred to as Latitudinal Diversity
Gradient. Generally it is observed that the diversity richness is
more in the areas near the equator than at the poles.
For e.g. Colombia located near
equator has nearly 1400 species of
birds while Newyork at 41 degree N
has about 105 species and Greenland
at 71 degree N only about 56
species.
www.enwikipedia.in

7. Altitude affects the diversity richness inversely. High altitudes
are less diverse than lower altitudes due to lack of oxygen only a
few species are able to sustain life at higher altitudes.
www.researchgate.net

8. BIODIVERSITY OF INDIA
•Known for its rich heritage
•One of 17 mega-diverse countries
•Only 2.4%of the world's area, accounts 7-8% flora and fauna
•Having 10 bio geographic
zones possess diversity of
ecological habitats like
forest, grasslands, coastal
and marine ecosystems
and desert ecosystems.
•4 hotspots out of 34 at
global level, which is an
indicator of high degree of
endemism.
1. The Indo Burma
2. Western Ghats
3. Eastern Himalayas
4. Sunderland mapsofindia.com

9. •India include over 46,000 species of flora and 91,000 species of fauna.
•About 5,150 plant species and 1,837 animal species are endemic to
India.
•India has 16 major types and 251 subtypes of forests.
www.factmonster.com

10. Values of biodiversity
•Consumptive value- provide requirements that can be harvested and used
directly. (cereals, pulses, timber, biodiesel)
•Productive value- sold in markets as raw or processed form. (wool, cotton, dyes,
gums)
•Social value-many plants ( banyan, peepal, tulsi, mango) and animals like cow,
snake, peacock are regarded as holy and sacred.
•Ethical value- Each species is unique and has a right to exist.
•Aesthetic value- pleasure to see and smell flowers, listen birds singing.
•Optional value- its potential ability to provide economic benefit to human society
in future.
•Ecological value- maintain ecological balance, giving pure air and prevent soil
erosion.

11. THREATS TO BIODIVERSITY

12. Prosopis juliflora
The wild kikar or Prosopis juliflora was brought to Delhi from Mexico by the British
more than a century ago. The exotic plant became invasive and wiped out most of
the native plants and along with it the animals, which once used to roam in the
ridges. With its deep roots, it had also wreaked havoc on city’s groundwater.
The kikar’s leaf contains toxins,
which when falls on the ground,
inhibits the growth of other plants.
That is why several native plants
were almost wiped away. But these
toxins hardly have any effect on
these climbers.
Over the past few years, the Delhi
government had been trying hard to
find out ways to eliminate the kikar.
While the government had allocated
Rs 50 lakh in its budget in 2017, the
forest department had approached
the Forest Research Institute to
finalise a plan to do away with the
menacing species.
Indianbiodiversity.in

13. FIVE MAJOR MASS EXTINCTIONS

14. High carbon dioxide levels cause plants to thicken their leaves, which
could worsen climate change effects, researchers say
In a paper published online Oct. 1 by the journal Global Biogeochemical Cycles,
the researchers report that, when they incorporated this information into global
climate models under the high atmospheric carbon dioxide levels expected later
this century, the global “carbon sink” contributed by plants was less productive —
leaving about 6.39 billion tons, of carbon in the atmosphere per year. Those levels
are similar to the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere each year due to
human-generated fossil fuel emissions — 8.8 billion tons.
scene near the Wayqecha Cloud
Forest Biological Station in Peru’s
Manú National Park.
www.washingtonresearch.com

15. BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION

16. www.mapsofindia.com

17. www.geographyandyou.com

18. www.geographyandyou.com

19. A STEP TOWARDS DOLPHIN CONSERVATION

21. CONVENTION ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
At the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, world leaders agreed on a comprehensive
strategy for "sustainable development" -- meeting our needs while ensuring that we
leave a healthy and viable world for future generations.
196 countries signed and participated in this.
The Convention establishes three main goals:
•the conservation of biological diversity
•the sustainable use of its components
•the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits from the use of genetic resources.
Convention on International Trade
in Endangered Species (CITES)
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) entered into
force in 1975 and over 180 countries, or Parties, have
signed up, committing to protect over 35,000 animal
and plant species from unsustainable or illegal
international trade. Arguably the strongest of the
biodiversity conventions, its provisions are translated
into national legislation by Parties; it provides a legal
framework for the regulation of trade in those species
that are exploited commercially for international
trade.
www.cicwildlife.org

22. The Convention on the
Conservation of Migratory
Species of Wild Animals
(CMS)
•The Convention was signed in 1979 in Bad
Godesberg, a suburb of Bonn (hence the
name), and entered into force in 1983.
•The Convention on the Conservation of
Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS;
also known as the Bonn Convention) aims
to conserve terrestrial, marine and avian
migratory species throughout their range.
The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for
Food and Agriculture
•Signed in Rome in 2001, entered into force in 2004
•The objectives of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and
Agriculture are the conservation and sustainable use of all plant genetic resources for food
and agriculture and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of their use, in
harmony with the Convention on Biological Diversity, for sustainable agriculture and food
security.
www.unbonn.org

23. RAMSAR CONVENTION
Date signed: 2 February 1971
Number of parties: 169
Date effective: 21 December 1975
Location: Ramsar, Mazandaran
The Convention on Wetlands, called the Ramsar Convention, is the
intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for the conservation and
wise use of wetlands and their resources.
WORLD HERITAGE CONVENTION
Created in 1972, the primary mission of the Convention is to identify and protect
the world's natural and cultural heritage considered to be of Outstanding Universal
Value.
Location- Paris, France
Effective- 17 December 1975

24. THANK YOU