Biodiversity and Conservation in India: Forests, Wildlife, and Environmental Challenges

Posted on Sep 2, 2024 in Geography

Biodiversity and Conservation in India

The Importance of Biodiversity

Humans, along with all living organisms, form a complex web of ecological systems. We are only a part of this system and are very much dependent on it for our own existence. For example, plants, animals, and microorganisms recreate the quality of the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the soil that produces our food—without which we cannot survive.

Forests play a key role in the ecological system as these are also the primary producers on which all other living beings depend. Biodiversity, or biological diversity, is immensely rich in wildlife and cultivated species, diverse in form and function, but closely integrated into a system through multiple networks of interdependencies.

Flora and Fauna in India

India is one of the world’s richest countries in terms of its vast array of biological diversity and has nearly 8 percent of the total number of species in the world (estimated to be 1.6 million). This is possibly twice or thrice the number yet to be discovered. These diverse flora and fauna are so well integrated into our daily life that we take them for granted. But, lately, they are under great stress mainly due to insensitivity to our environment.

Over 81,000 species of fauna and 47,000 species of flora are found in this country. Of the estimated 47,000 plant species, 15,000 flowering species are endemic (indigenous) to India. At least 10 percent of India’s recorded wild flora and 20 percent of its mammals are on the threatened list. Many of these would now be categorized as ‘critical’ (on the verge of extinction) like the cheetah, pink-headed duck, mountain quail, forest spotted owlet, and plants like Madhuca insignis, a species of grass. No one can say how many species may have already been lost.

Seventy-nine species of mammals, 44 of birds, 15 of reptiles, and 3 of amphibians are threatened. 1,500 plant species are considered endangered. Flowering plants and vertebrate animals have recently become extinct at a rate estimated to be 50 to 100 times the average expected natural rate.

Vanishing Forests

Deforestation in India is staggering. The forest and tree cover in the country is estimated at 78.92 million hectares, which is 24.01 percent of the total geographical area (dense forest 12.24 percent; open forest 8.99 percent; and mangrove 0.14 percent). According to the State of Forest Report (2013), the dense forest cover has increased by 10,098 sq km since 1997. However, this apparent increase in the forest cover is due to plantation by different agencies.

Based on the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), we can classify species as follows:

• Normal Species: Species whose population levels are considered to be normal for their survival, e.g., cattle, sal, pine, rodents.
• Endangered Species: Species which are in danger of extinction. The survival of such species is difficult if the negative factors that have led to a decline in their population continue to operate, e.g., blackbuck, crocodile, Indian wild pig, Indian rhino, lion-tailed macaque, sangai.
• Vulnerable Species: These are species whose population has declined to levels from where it is likely to move into the endangered category in the near future if the negative factors continue to operate, e.g., blue sheep, Asiatic elephant, Gangetic dolphin.
• Rare Species: Species with small populations may move into the endangered or vulnerable category if the negative factors affecting them continue to operate, e.g., the Himalayan brown bear, wild Asiatic buffalo, desert fox, and hornbill.
• Endemic Species: Species which are only found in some particular areas usually isolated by natural or geographical barriers, e.g., the Andaman teal, Nicobar pigeon, Andaman wild pig, mithun in Arunachal Pradesh.
• Extinct Species: These are species which are not found after searches of known or likely areas where they may occur. A species may be extinct from a local area, region, country, continent, or the entire earth, e.g., the Asiatic cheetah, pink-headed duck.

Causes of Deforestation and Biodiversity Loss

The greatest damage inflicted on Indian forests was during the colonial period due to the expansion of railways, agriculture, commercial and scientific forestry, and mining activities. Even after Independence, agricultural expansion continues to be one of the major causes of depletion of forest resources. Between 1951 and 1980, according to the Forest Survey of India, over 26,200 sq. km. of forest area was converted into agricultural land all over India.

Substantial parts of the tribal belts, especially in northeastern and central India, have been deforested or degraded by shifting cultivation (jhum), a type of ‘slash and burn’ agriculture. Large-scale development projects have also contributed to the loss of forests. Since 1951, over 5,000 sq km of forest was cleared for river valley projects. Clearing of forests is still continuing with projects like the Narmada Sagar Project in Madhya Pradesh, which would inundate 40,000 hectares of forest.

Mining is another factor behind deforestation. The Buxa Tiger Reserve in West Bengal is seriously threatened by dolomite mining. It has disturbed the natural habitat of many species and blocked the migration route of several others, e.g., the great Indian elephant.

Many foresters and environmentalists hold the view that the greatest degrading factors behind the depletion of forest resources are grazing and fuel-wood collection. The fact remains that a substantial part of the fuel-fodder demand is met by lopping rather than by felling entire trees.

The forest ecosystems are repositories of some of the country’s most valuable forest products, minerals, and other resources that meet the demands of the rapidly expanding industrial-urban economy. These protected areas, thus, mean different things to different people, and therein lie conflicts. Teak monoculture has damaged the natural forest in South India, and Chir Pine (Pinus roxburghii) plantations in the Himalayas have replaced the Himalayan oak and Rhododendron forests.

Habitat destruction, hunting, poaching, over-exploitation, environmental pollution, poisoning, and forest fires are factors that have led to the decline in India’s biodiversity. Other important causes of environmental destruction are unequal access, inequitable consumption of resources, and differential sharing of responsibility for environmental well-being. Over-population in third-world countries is often cited as the cause of environmental degradation. However, an average American consumes 40 times more resources than an average Somalian. Similarly, the richest five percent of Indian society probably cause more ecological damage because of the amount they consume than the poorest 25 percent. The former shares minimum responsibilities for environmental well-being.

Social Impacts of Environmental Degradation

The destruction of forests and wildlife is not just a biological issue. The biological loss is strongly correlated with the loss of cultural diversity. Such losses have marginalized many indigenous and forest-dependent communities, who depend on components of the forest and wildlife for food, medicine, culture, spirituality, etc. Within the poor, women are affected more than men. In many societies, women bear the responsibility of collection of fuel, fodder, water, and other needs. As these resources are depleted, the drudgery of women increases, and sometimes they have to walk for more than 10 km to collect these resources. This causes serious health problems for women and negligence of home and children because of the increased hours of work, which often has serious social implications. The impact of degradation such as drought or deforestation-induced floods also hits the poor the hardest. Poverty in these cases is a direct outcome of environmental destruction.

Conservation of Forest and Wildlife in India

Forest and wildlife are vital to the quality of life and environment in the subcontinent. It is imperative to adapt to sound forest and wildlife conservation strategies. Conservation preserves the ecological diversity and our life support systems—water, air, and soil. It also preserves the genetic diversity of plants and animals for better growth of species and breeding. For example, in agriculture, we are still dependent on traditional crop varieties. Fisheries, too, are heavily dependent on maintaining aquatic biodiversity.

In the 1960s and 1970s, conservationists demanded a national wildlife protection program. The Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act was enforced in 1972, with provisions for protecting habitats. An all-India list of protected species was also published. The thrust of the program was towards protecting the remaining populations of certain endangered species by banning hunting, giving legal protection to their habitats, and restricting trade in wildlife. Subsequently, central and many state governments established national parks and wildlife sanctuaries.

The government announced projects for protecting specific animals which were threatened: the tiger, the one-horned rhino, the Kashmir stag, three types of crocodiles—freshwater crocodile, saltwater crocodile, and the Gharial—the Asiatic lion, the Indian elephant, blackbuck, the great Indian bustard, and the snow leopard, etc., have been given legal protection against hunting and trade throughout India.

Project Tiger

The tiger is one of the key wildlife species in the faunal web. In 1973, the authorities realized that the tiger population had reduced to 1,827 from 55,000 at the turn of the century. The threats to the tiger population are numerous: poaching for trade, shrinking habitat, depletion of prey base species, growing human population, etc. The trade of tiger skins and the use of their bones in traditional medicines, especially in Asian countries, left the tiger population on the verge of extinction. Since India and Nepal provide habitat to about two-thirds of the surviving tiger population in the world, these two nations became prime targets for poaching and illegal trading.

Project Tiger, the well-publicized wildlife campaign, was launched in 1973. Initially, it showed success as the tiger population went up to 4,002 in 1985 and 4,334 in 1989. But in 1993, the population of the tiger had dropped to 3,600. There were 39 tiger reserves in India covering an area of 32,137 sq km.

Tiger conservation has been viewed not only as an effort to save an endangered species but, with equal importance, as a means of preserving biotypes of sizeable magnitude. Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand, Sunderbans National Park in West Bengal, Bandhavgarh National Park in Madhya Pradesh, Sariska Wildlife Sanctuary in Rajasthan, Manas Tiger Reserve in Assam, and Periyar Tiger Reserve in Kerala are some of the tiger reserves of India.

Expanding Conservation Efforts

The conservation projects are now focusing on biodiversity rather than on a few of its components. There is now a more intensive search for different conservation measures. Increasingly, even insects are beginning to find a place in conservation planning. In the notification under the Wildlife Act of 1980 and 1986, several hundred butterflies, moths, beetles, and one dragonfly have been added to the list of protected species. In 1991, for the first time, plants were also added to the list, starting with six species.

Types and Distribution of Forest and Wildlife Resources

Even if we want to conserve our vast forest and wildlife resources, it is rather difficult to manage, control, and regulate them. In India, much of its forest and wildlife resources are either owned or managed by the government through the Forest Department or other government departments. These are classified under the following categories:

1. Reserved Forests: More than half of the total forest land has been declared reserved forests. Reserved forests are regarded as the most valuable as far as the conservation of forest and wildlife resources are concerned.
2. Protected Forests: Almost one-third of the total forest area is protected forest, as declared by the Forest Department. This forest land is protected from any further depletion.
3. Unclassed Forests: These are other forests and wastelands belonging to both government and private individuals and communities.

Reserved and protected forests are also known as permanent forest estates maintained for producing timber and other forest produce and for protective reasons. Madhya Pradesh has the largest area under permanent forests, constituting 75 percent of its total forest area. Jammu and Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Maharashtra have large percentages of reserved forests of their total forest area, whereas Bihar, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, and Rajasthan have a bulk of it under protected forests. All Northeastern states and parts of Gujarat have a very high percentage of their forests as unclassed forests managed by local communities.

Community and Conservation

Conservation strategies are not new in our country. We often ignore that in India, forests are also home to some of the traditional communities. In some areas of India, local communities are struggling to conserve these habitats along with government officials, recognizing that only this will secure their own long-term livelihood. In Sariska Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan, villagers have fought against mining by citing the Wildlife Protection Act. In many areas, villagers themselves are protecting habitats and explicitly rejecting government involvement. The inhabitants of five villages in the Alwar district of Rajasthan have declared 1,200 hectares of forest as the Bhairodev Dakav ‘Sonchuri,’ declaring their own set of rules and regulations which do not allow hunting and are protecting the wildlife against any outside encroachments.

Sacred Groves – A Wealth of Diverse and Rare Species

Nature worship is an age-old tribal belief based on the premise that all creations of nature have to be protected. Such beliefs have preserved several virgin forests in pristine form called Sacred Groves (the forests of God and Goddesses). These patches of forest or parts of large forests have been left untouched by the local people, and any interference with them is banned. Certain societies revere a particular tree which they have preserved from time immemorial. The Mundas and the Santhal of the Chota Nagpur region worship mahua (Bassia latifolia) and kadamba (Anthocaphalus cadamba) trees, and the tribals of Odisha and Bihar worship the tamarind (Tamarindus indica) and mango (Mangifera indica) trees during weddings. To many of us, peepal and banyan trees are considered sacred.

Indian society comprises several cultures, each with its own set of traditional methods of conserving nature and its creations. Sacred qualities are often ascribed to springs, mountain peaks, plants, and animals which are closely protected. You will find troops of macaques and langurs around many temples. They are fed daily and treated as a part of temple devotees.

In and around Bishnoi villages in Rajasthan, herds of blackbuck (chinkara), nilgai, and peacocks can be seen as an integral part of the community, and nobody harms them.

Community-Based Conservation Initiatives

The Chipko movement in the Himalayas has successfully resisted deforestation in several areas but has also shown that community afforestation with indigenous species can be successful. Attempts to revive the traditional conservation methods or developing new methods of ecological farming are widespread. Farmers and citizens’ groups like the Beej Bachao Andolan in Tehri and Navdanya have shown that adequate levels of diversified crop production without the use of chemicals are possible and economically viable.

In India, the joint forest management (JFM) program shows a good example of involving local communities in the management and restoration of degraded forests. The program has been in existence since 1988 when Odisha passed the first resolution for joint forest management. JFM depends on the formation of local (village) institutions that undertake protection activities on degraded forest land managed by the forest department. In return, the members of these communities are entitled to intermediary benefits like non-timber forest produces and share in the timber harvested by successful protection.

The lesson from the dynamics of environmental destruction and reconstruction in India is that local communities everywhere have to be involved in some kind of natural resource management. But there is still a long way to go before local communities are at center-stage in decision-making. We must accept only those economic or developmental activities that are people-centric, environment-friendly, and economically rewarding.

onomically rewarding.