Prepared By:

Dr. Vikas Rena

Assistant Professor
Department of Environmental Science,
School of Earth Sciences,
Central University of Rajasthan ©VR
 Value of Biodiversity
o The diversity of organism provide many ecological services free of cost for the
health of ecosystem and human too.
o The biodiversity is the source of food, medicine, pharmaceutical, drugs, fibers,
rubber, timber and natural products that sustain global trade.
o So, there are a lot of direct and indirect benefits derive by Human from living
world.
Primitive Society- Direct- Food, Clothing and Shelter
Industrialized Society- Direct + Indirect- global trade
o The multiple uses of biodiversity has been classified by MCNeely et al. in 1990
as described below:
1. Consumptive use value
2. Productive use value
3. Social value
4. Ethical and Moral value
5. Aesthetic value
6. Option value
7. Ecosystem Service Value
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 1. Consumptive use
Direct utilization of timber, food, fuelwood and fodder by
local communities.
• Food:
 Out of several edible plants species, only less than 20
plant species are cultivated to produce about 85% of
world food.
 Wheat, corn and rice are three most important crop
provide carbohydrate for two-third of human population.
 Forest dwellers needs food, building material, fodder,
medicines and variety of other products for daily use.
 Fisher-folk are completely dependent upon fish.
 Plant account for more than 80% of human diet.
 Fish provide about 3 billion people with most of their
intake of animal protein.

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Contd…
• Drugs and medicines:
 Plantago(Plant)- Isabgol- Bowel Disorder
 Extract of cherry and horhound- cough ailment
 Penicillium (Fungus)- Penicillin-
 Cinchona (Tree) – Quinine- Malaria
 Foxglove (Plant)- Digitaline- Heart Ailments
 Periwinkle (Plant) and Mayapple- Vinblastin and Vincristine-
Anticancer
 The AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) drug AZT
(azidothymidine), for example, is a synthetic derivative of a
compound from a sponge.
• Fuel:
 Fossil fuels, coal, petroleum and natural gas – Fossilized
biodiversity
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 2. Productive use value
• It comprises the derivative of food product as marketable goods.
• For pharmacist: the biodiversity act as raw material for new drug identified from
plant and animals.
• For industrialist: the biodiversity act as storehouse to develop new products.
• For the agricultural scientist: the biodiversity in the wild use for developing better
crops.
• The pharmaceuticals industries are very much dependent on identification of great
economic value compound of wild species of plant in undisturbed natural forest.

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Contd..
• Plants supply oils and lubricants, perfumes and fragrances,
dyes, paper, lumber, waxes, rubber and other elastic latexes,
resins, poisons, cork, and fibers.
• Animals provide wool, silk, fur, leather, lubricants, waxes, and
transportation, and they are important in medical research.
• Other derived products: Example: tusks of elephants, musk
from musk deer, silk from silk-worm, wool from sheep, fur of
many animals, lac from lac insects etc

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 Commonly used modern drugs derived from plant sources
Drug Plant source Use

Atropine Belladonna Anticholinergic; reduces

intestinal pain in diarrhea

Caffeine Tea, Coffee Stimulant

Codeine, Morphine Opium poppy Analgesic

Camphor Camphor tree Rubefacient: Increase local

blood supply

Menthal Mint Rubefacient: Increase local

blood supply, reduce pain

Papain Papaya Dissolve exess protein and

muscle during digestion

Penicillin penicillum fungi Antibiotic

Quinine Yellow cinchona Antimalarial

Reserpine Indian snakeroot

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 3. Social value
 The value associated with the social life, customs, religion and psycho-spiritual
aspect of the people
 The social and cultural value of biodiversity is devoted to preserve the
resources by traditional society.
 Many sacred plant and animals which are worshipped in India.
 Plants: Tulsi, Peepal, Mango, lotus, Bael etc.
 Animal species : cow, Bull snake, peacock, owl etc.

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 4. Ethical and Moral values
 The strongest ethical consideration involving
the value of organisms is how humans
perceive themselves in relation to other
species.
 It is based on the importance of protecting of
all forms of life with the concept of on the
concept of "Live and Let Live".
 Every creature of the earth has right to live on
the earth. We are one of a species out of this.
So, we don’t have right to destroy this. We
should conserve this.
 Natural worship is an age old tribal belief
based on the premise that all creations of
nature have to be protected.
 A large number of sacred grooves found in
several states of India which is preserved by
tribal people.
 The sacred grooves around these sites act as
gene banks for wild plants.
e.g. Kovil Kadu, Sacred grooves of Sikkim

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 5. Aesthetic value
• Biodiversity not only contribute to human survival and physical comfort; they
also provide mental health benefits, recreation, inspiration, and spiritual
solace
• The biodiversity has great aesthetic value
• Another reason to preserve the biodiversity is the its inherent value and
beauty.
• Any natural activities and its vicinity attract us. For example, listening the
birds, watching a complex web of spider, flowing of river, fish feeding etc.
• The symbol and vehicles of God and Goddess in Hinduism have very
important and devotional value.
– Example: Mouse is the vehicle of Lord Ganesha, Snakes as a symbol of
Lord Shiva etc.
– The presence of Tulsi in our courtyard of household for centuries
• Sacred plant in Indian village: Pipal (Ficus Religiosa), Khejri (Prosopis
cineraria) etc.
• Ecotourism
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 6. Option value
• The value include the potential of biodiversity that are presently unknown and
need to be explored. So, Keeping this value open for future is known as option
value.
• More than330,000 plant species are known, but at least 250,000 of themhave
not been assessed for their industrial, medicinal, or agricultural potential. The
same is true of most of the millions of microorganisms, fungi, and animals.
• There is a possibility that we may have some potential cure for AIDS or
cancer existing within the depths of a marine ecosystem, or a tropical
rainforest.
• For example: the production of Biofuels from Jatropha sp. or any other
species can be an alternative of fossil fuel for automobile in future.

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 7. Ecosystem Service Value
• The value of biodiversity include prevention of soil erosion,
prevention of floods, maintenance of soil fertility, cycling of
nutrients, fixation of nitrogen, cycling of water, role of ecosystem as
carbon sinks, pollutant absorption and reduction of threat of global
warming etc.
• Forests are not just a potential source of lumber; forests provide
watersheds from which we obtain fresh water, control the number
and severity of local floods, and reduce soil erosion.

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 The American alligator helps maintain
populations of smaller fishes by eating the gar, a
fish that preys on them. Alligators dig underwater
holes that other aquatic organisms use during
droughts when the water level is low. The nest
mounds they build are enlarged each year and
eventually form small islands colonized by trees
and other plants. In turn, the trees on these
islands support heron and egret populations. The
alligator habitat is maintained in part by
underwater “gator trails,” which help clear out
aquatic vegetation that might eventually form a
marsh.

Many flowering plant species depend on insects to transfer pollen for

reproduction. Animals, fungi, and microorganisms help keep the populations of
various species in check so that the numbers of one species do not increase enough
to damage the stability of the entire ecosystem. Soil dwellers, from earthworms to
bacteria, develop and maintain soil fertility for plants. Bacteria and fungi perform
the crucial task of decomposition, which allows nutrients to cycle in the
ecosystem. ©VR
Biodiversity at Global, National and Local
Levels
• 1.5 million species are known and described in the database which may be just
15% of the actual number of species lie on the earth.
• It is expected that 8 to 100 million species lie on the earth surface. Globally
about 1,70,000 flowering plants, 30,000 vertebrates and about 2,50,000 other
groups of species have been described.
• Terrestrial biodiversity is best described as Biomes and Biomes are the largest
ecological units present in different geographic area and are named after the
dominant vegetation. e.g. the tropical rainforests, tall grass prairies etc. it is
quite interesting to know that marine diversity is even much higher than
terrestrial diversity. “Sea is the cradle of every known animal phylum”.
• The economically developed nations exploited the biodiversity for their
development.
• After realization of biodiversity as a ‘common property resources’ for all the
nations, the developed nations started the practices of biodiversity conservation.
• The country which are moving towards biodiversity conservation are being
recognized.
• The country like India is a signatory in the World Heritage Convention (1972)
and included several protected areas as world heritage sites.

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• This convention include Nanda Devi and valley of flower in the Himalaya,
Sundarban in West Bengal, Western Ghats, Kaziranga in Assam, Manas on the
border of Bhutan and India and Great Himalayan National Park.
• India has also signed the Convention in the Trade of Endangered Species
(CITES, 1973) to control the utilization of endangered plant and animals.
• MoEFCC, a agency to implement CBD (Convention on Biological Diversity)
developed the strategy for Biodiversity conservation and formulated the
Biodiversity Act in 2002.

• The biodiversity is not evenly distribute throughout the Globe. The countries lying
mostly in tropics are characterized by high species richness and more endemic
species, called Mega diversity nations.
• About 17 countries belong to this category
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 India as Mega-Diversity Nation
Indian-Biodiversity
Contributes:
 6% of global species
 47,000 species of plants( 7% of global flora)
 81,000 species of animals (6.5% of global fauna)
 Total species >129,000
Rankings:
 10th rank in plant rich countries of the world.
 11th in terms of number of endemic species of higher vertebrates
 6th among the centre of diversity and origin of agricultural crops

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 Endemic species of India
 When a species is found only in a particular geographical region because of its
isolation, soil and climatic conditions, it is said to be endemic.
 India is one of the 17 megadiversity county in the world.
 33% of flowering plant of India is endemic to our country.
 It is also the land of endemic fauna.
 For example, 53% of freshwater fishes, 60% amphibians, 36% reptiles
and 10% mammals are endemic.
 The endemic are concentrated mainly in north-east, Western Ghats, north-west
Himalaya and Andaman Nicobar Islands.
 Other species are found only in India and are thus endemic or restricted to our
country.
 Some of these may have very localized
distribution and are considered highly endemic.
 To protect endangered species, India has created the Wildlife Protection Act
(1972). This includes lists of plants and animals categorized according to the
threat on their survival.
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 Endemic species in India

Tiger Dhole (Indian wild dog) Snow leopard is an

endangered species
found along the Himalayas

Golden Langur Black Buck Asiatic lion

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Indian peacock Lion tailed macaque Brown fish Owl (mainly found in
(Western Ghats) subtropical region )

Indian cobra Clouded leopard (foothills Indian elephant

of Himalaya)
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 Indian vulture Red panda (Eastern Himalaya) Olive ridley turtles found at the
coast of Orissa (Case Study:
Operation Kachhapa)

Oplismenus thwaitesii Gymnostachyum Impatiens sivarajanii

(Basket grass) febrifugum (flowering plant)
(medicinal plant)
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Ornithochilus cacharensis
(Orchid)

Phalaenopsis speciosa Nepenthes khasiana

(Orchid) (Pitcher plant)

• Endemism: 62% of amphibians and 50% of

lizards are restricted to India only and not found
elsewhere in the world.
• Centre of Origin: 160 species of crop plants and
320 species of wild relatives of cultivated crops
and nearly 5000 species of flowering plants had
their origin in India.
Dendrobium secundum
• Marine diversity: 7500 Km long coastline covers (Toothbrush orchid
mangroves, estuaries, coral reefs and back waters endemic to Sikkim)
where exists rich biodiversity of mollusls,
crustaceans (Crabs etc.) polychetes, seagrasses
and corals. ©VR
 Regional or Local Biodiversity
4 types of species richness:
1. Point richness: Number of species at a single point of time in a given
space
2. Alpha richness: Number of species in a small and homogenous area
3. Beta Richness: Rate of change in species-composition across different
habitats
4. Gamma Richness: Rate of change in species-composition across
landscape gradients
Sp. Note:
• Alpha richness is strongly correlated with its physical environmental
variables.
• Beta richness means the cumulative number of species increases as
more heterogeneous habitats are taken into consideration.

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 Hot spot of Biodiversity
• Norman Myers introduced the term “Biodiversity hotspot” in 1988 which
include a geographical region having:
– High species richness of endemic, rare and endangered species
– Relatively in small area
– Facing significant threat of habitat loss.
• Two main criteria to qualify as a Hotspot:
– it must contain at least 1,500 species of vascular plants (> 0.5% of the
world’s total) as endemics
– it has to have lost at least 70% of its original habitat.
• Around the world, 35 areas are qualify as hotspots. They just cover 2.3% of
Earth’s land surface but they support:
– More than half of world plant species as endemics
– About 43% of bird, mammal, reptile and amphibian species as endemics.

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Cont…
• There are total 35 hotspots identified in the
world. Among them four hotspot are
partially located in India
1. Himalayas
2. Indo-Burma
3. Western Ghats- Sri Lanka
4. Sundalands
1. Himalaya
• Includes the entire Indian Himalayan region
(and that falling in Pakistan, Tibet, Nepal,
Bhutan, China and Myanmar).
• Valleys in Sikkim are extremely rich in
endemic plant species, particularly orchids
• This is active centre of organic evolution
and is considered as cradle of flowering
plants
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 2. Indo-Burma
• Includes entire North-eastern India, except Assam and Andaman group of Islands
(and Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and southern China).
• It covers east of the Ganges-Brahmputra lowlands in the Indo-Chinese sub-
region.
• The hot-spot includes mixed wet evergreen , dry evergreen, deciduous and montane
forests. It also includes shrublands, woodlands, swamps, mangroves and seasonally
inundated grasslands.
• The hot spot is characterized by diverse bird species, large – antelered muntjac,
grey-shanked douc, the leaf deer and the saola..
• The hot-spot also holds remarkable endemism in freshwater turtle species.
3.Western Ghats and Sri Lanka
• Includes entire Western Ghats (and Sri Lanka) with strip of forests extended to
Maharshtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
• In 2012 the western Ghats have been included in World Heritage Sites.
• About 62% Amphibians and 50% lizard species are endemic to western ghats.
• The major centre of Diversity are Agastyamalai Hills and Silent Valley- the new
Amambalam reserve basin.
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Cont…
4. Sundaland:
• Includes Nicobar group of Islands (and Indonesia, Malaysia,
Singapore, Brunei, Philippines). It is one of the biologically richest
hot spot. It has about 25000 species of vascular plants, 60% of which
are endemic.
– 25,000 Plant species (15,000 endemic)
– 380 Mammal species (172 endemic)
– 452 Reptile species (243 endemic)
– 244 Amphibian species (196 endemic)
• Andaman and Nicobar alone have 2200 flowering plants and 120
species of fern.
• The Northeastern state have 1500 endemic plant species
• The Western Ghat is also a habitat of 1500 endemic plant species.

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 Threats to Biodiversity
HIPPO Dilemma
Habitat Loss
Introduced invasive Species
Pollution
Population Growth
Over-consumption
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 Threats to Biodiversity
• Habitat loss and fragmentation
• Introduction of Alien Invasive species
• Pollution and Disturbance
• Harvesting and Overexploitation
• Man-Wildlife Conflict
• Soil, water and atmospheric pollution
• Intensive agriculture and forestry
• Climate change

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 Habitat loss and fragmentation
• Destruction and loss of natural habitat is
the single largest cause of biodiversity loss.
• Forest and grassland conversion into
agricultural land, pastures, settlement area or
developmental projects.
• Wetland biodiversity is under serious threat
due to pollution and treating them as useless
ecosystems.
• Loss of habitat in installments divides the
habitat into small and scattered patches, the
phenomenon is known as habitat
fragmentation.
• Large cats and bears get badly threatened as
they breed only in interiors of forests and
habitat fragmentation adversely affect their
requirement of large territories.
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Contd…
• Wasteland is increasing
• Mangroves get cleared for fuelwood and prawn
forming leads of habitat loss of marine fish.
• Human activities likely to eliminate approx. 10
million sp. By the year 2050
• Rate of disappearance of tropical forest in India: 0.6%
per year.
• Project Tiger
– 268 in 1972 in 9 tiger reserve which increase to
1500 in 1997 in 23 tiger reserve.
• Examples:
– Extinction of Dodo in Madagascar
– Breeding and feeding habitat get affected by
Dam-Construction.

Dodo
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 Alien species
• Introduction of exotic weed and
disappearance of native species through lantana bushes
biotic interaction.
• Examples: lantana bushes, Eupatorium
shrubs, congress grass and water
hyacinth.
• The invasive species is a threat for island water hyacinth
ecosystem due to lack of competitors and
predators that control the population of
native ecosystem.
• Amazon sailfin catfish responsible for congress grass
destruction of fish population of wetlands Amazon sailfin catfish
of Kolkata.

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Pollution and Disturbance
• Natural disturbance are very much natural man-made
differ from man-made disturbance. Eg.
Fire
• Some human disturbance like synthetic
compounds like pesticides and massive
release of radiation or spillover of oil spillover of oil in sea
in sea.
• Pollution due to pesticides. Eg.
Pesticides linked with declining of fish
eating birds and falcon.
• Biomagnification
• Nitrogen deposition
• Eutrophication (nutrient enrichment)
• Effect of anti-inflammatory drug
(diclofenac) on vultures.
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 Harvesting and overexploitation
• The exploitation include:
– Hunting
– Fisheries
– The impact of trade in species and
species-parts
• Due to exploitation, many species are
getting threated at global level such as birds
(30%), mammals (33%), amphibians (6%),
reptiles and marine fishes.
• The fishing often takes large incidental
catches of non-target species, and trawling
can destroy whole marine communities that
lives on sea floor.
Illegal poaching
• Illegala trade of wildlife products by killing
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prohibited endangered species.
Contd…

• Smuggling of wildlife items like, furs, hides, horns, tusks, live specimen and herbal
products
– E.g. Skin and bones of tigers, ivory of elephants, horns of rhinos, perfumes of the
musk deer.
– Coral and shells use to sell on the beaches of Chennai, Kanyakumari, and Andaman
and Nicobar islands.
• The worse part of poaching is that for every live animal that actually gets into the
market, about 50 additional animals are caught and killed.
• Many medicinal plants are getting overharvested that lead for threated of these species.

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 Man Wildlife Conflicts
• Due to conflicts between man and wildlife, both
become threat for each other.
Examples:
– 195 humans were killed in Sambalpur, Orissa. And
in counter attack, the villagers killed 98 elephants
and badly injured 30 elephants.
– In Kote-Chamarajanagar belt in Mysore, the man-
elephant conflict has arisen because of the massive
damage done by the elephants to the farmer’s cotton
and sugarcane crops. The agonized farmers
electrocute the elephants and sometimes hide
explosives in the sugarcane fields.
– In 2004, a man eating tiger was reported to kill 16
Nepalese people and one 4 years child, which created
a terror situation in Royal Chitwan National Park
240 km. south-west of Kathmandu.
– In 2004, two men were killed by leopards in Powai,
Mumbai. A paic situation was created by leopards
from Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Mumbai by
killing 14 persons during 19 attacks.
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 Cont…
• The major cause of confliction between man and wildlife are:
– Habitat loss which compels the wild animals to come outside forest and attack
the field and sometimes even humans. The main reason behind such habitat
dwindling is human encroachment into the forest area.
– Man-eating tendency: Usually the ill, weak and injured wild animals have a
tendency to attck human. But the biggest problem is that if human-flesh is tested
once then the tiger does not eat any other animal. At the same time, its also very
difficult to trace and cull the maneating tiger and in the process many innocent
tigres are also killed.
– Scarcity of food- When the favourite staple food of wild-animals is not
available within their natural habitat move out of forest in search of food.

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Contd…

– The elephants get injured by the Electric wiring put by the farmers around their ripe
crop field.
– Due to development of human settlement in the path (Corridors), following which the
wild animals migrate seasonally in groups, has been disrupted and animals attack the
human-settlement.
– The cash compensation paid by the government in lieu of the damage caused to the
farmers crop is not enough therefore the agonized farmer gets revebgeful and kills the
wild animals.
• Remedial Measures to curb the conflict:
1. Conservation Projects, Like Tiger Conservation Project
2. Adequate Crop Compensation
3. Solar Powered fencing
4. Cropping pattern: it should be changed near the forest borders and adequate fodder, fruit
and water should be available within the forest zones.
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5. Wildlife Corridors should be provided for mass migration of big animals.
Contd…
E.g. Kokkare Bellur, Karnataka: Coexistence (Human and wildlife)
– Promote for breeding and nesting of pelicans, painted storks, ibis and
other migratory bird by planting more trees (like Tamarandus sp.).

Painted Stork

Pelicans

Black-headed White-Ibis
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 Climate change
• Climate change is a major threat for all the species
present on the globe.
• Due to climate change, the global temperature is rising
(0.74 ºC in global mean surface temperature relative to
pre-industrial levels), more extreme weather events,
changing pattern of rainfall and drought can
expected to have significant impacts on biodiversity.
• It can affect directly and indirectly to the species in
the form of:
– Loss of polar habitat
– Ocean acidification
– Loss of coral reefs
– Shifting of weather
– Effect on food chain

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