SIGNIFICANCE OF BIODIVERSITY 

Natural environment needs to be placed at the heart of all decision makers. The services provided by healthy natural environment are very often taken for granted. Contributing to our well-being, the biodiversity embodies the foundation for the ecosystem services that we rely on in our everyday lives such as clean air, water food, recreation and landscape. It is vital to acknowledge the ambiguity of biodiversity in the environment. 

The imperativeness of biodiversity was formally conceded on a global scale in 1992 when 153 nations signed the Convention on Biodiversity at Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Biodiversity refers to the existence of numerous plants and animals that collectively make up a healthy and liveable environment. 

WHAT IS A MEGA DIVERSE NATION AND HOW DOES INDIA FIT INTO THIS CATEGORY 

A mega-diverse country is one that harbours a preponderance of the Earth’s species and is therefore considered extensively bio-diverse. To qualify as a Mega diverse Country, a country must have at least 5000 of the world’s plants as endemics and have marine ecosystems within its borders.

India stands out as one of the top most countries in the list of mega diverse nations. An 18% of endemic species reside in India. India is home to nearly half of the entire marine flora and 12% of world's bird species. India only consists of 2% of the earth's entire landmass but it houses 8% of the entire world's biodiversity. Along with high biodiversity of Indian wild plants and animals, there is also huge diversity of cultivated crops and breeds of domestic livestock. India also comprises of a few biodiversity hot spots such as Western Ghats, Himalayas, Sundaland and Indo-Burma region.[1]

CHALLENGES INDIA FACES AS A MEGA DIVERSE NATION

Despite the copious biodiversity over the Indian terrain, numerous conflicting issues have arisen that pose a challenge towards India to maintain its title as a mega diverse nation.  The ‘bio- rich’ areas such as tropical forests, wetlands, and coral reefs are threatened to face extinction in the near future. Due to unsustainable practices over grasslands and agricultural lands, several badlands have emerged over the decade. The loss of wild habitats due to rapid human population growth and short term economic development are major contributors to the rapid global annihilation of biodiversity. Habitat loss of the fauna poses a colossal threat to the biodiversity, as large as a 10 million elimination of species by 2050. 

The flora and fauna of Indian islands have also been hit by human incursion. The introduction of unsolicited species into islands such as 'congress grass' has led to the extinction of several other species in the region. Traditional farming practices such as 'slash and burn' in the Himalayas and 'rab' in the Western Ghats have evolved to be unsustainable for the ecosystem as the population has increased. As far as the marine ecosystem is concerned, the over fishing along the coasts of India has severely declined the fish stock and a mammoth extinction of turtles can be seen over the coast of Orissa. [2]

It is not hard to decipher that these challenges do not have limited local effects in India but it is a global phenomenon having its grassroots engraved into sheer negligence. The planet has seemingly reached the brink of tolerance towards this negligence and it is vital that humans realise that we only share this planet with millions of other species that need to coexist with humans. We can no longer remain spectators. We need to think globally but act locally, rededicating ourselves to protecting biodiversity in forests, coastal ecosystems and in our own neighbourhood.

SOURCES: 

[1] https://www.ugc.ac.in/oldpdf/modelcurriculum/Chapter4.pdf

[2]http://www.biologydiscussion.com/biodiversity/7-causes-of-biodiversity-loss-in-india-explained/4497