1. Biodiversity and its
conservation
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Made by Umesh
Swami

2. Topic
• Biodiversity
• Video on Biodiversity
• Importance of biodiversity
• Threats of Biodiversity
• Biodiversity Hotspots
• Biodiversity Conservation
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3. BIODIVERSITY
• The term
biodiversity (from
“biological
diversity”) refers to
the variety of life on
Earth at all its
levels, from genes
to ecosystems, and
can encompass the
evolutionary,
ecological, and
cultural processes 3

4. • Biodiversity is the variability among living organisms from
all sources, including terrestrial, marine, and other
aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which
they are part; this includes diversity within species,
between species, and of ecosystems.
• Biodiversity forms the foundation of the vast array
of ecosystem services that critically contribute to
human well-being.
• Biodiversity is important in human-managed as well as
natural ecosystems.
• Decisions humans make that influence biodiversity affect
the well-being of themselves and others.
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5. • Biodiversity is the foundation of ecosystem services to which
human well-being is intimately linked.
• No feature of Earth is more complex, dynamic, and varied than the
layer of living organisms that occupy its surfaces and its seas, and
no feature is experiencing more dramatic change at the hands of
humans than this extraordinary, singularly unique feature of Earth.
This layer of living organisms—the biosphere—through the
collective metabolic activities of its innumerable plants, animals,
and microbes physically and chemically unites the atmosphere,
geosphere, and hydrosphere into one environmental system within
which millions of species, including humans, have thrived.
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6. • Breathable air, potable water, fertile soils, productive lands,
bountiful seas, the equitable climate of Earth’s recent history,
and other ecosystem services are manifestations of the
workings of life.
• It follows that large-scale human influences over this biota have
tremendous impacts on human well-being. It also follows that
the nature of these impacts, good or bad, is within the power of
humans to influence
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8. IMPORTANCE OF BIODIVERSITY
• Biodiversity is important to most aspects of our lives. We value
biodiversity for many reasons, some utilitarian, some intrinsic.
This means we value biodiversity both for what it provides to
humans, and for the value it has in its own right. Utilitarian
values include the many basic needs humans obtain from
biodiversity such as food, fuel, shelter, and medicine. Further,
ecosystems provide crucial services such as pollination, seed
dispersal, climate regulation, water purification, nutrient cycling,
and control of agricultural pests.
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9. • Biodiversity also holds value for potential benefits not yet
recognized, such as new medicines and other possible
unknown services
• Biodiversity has cultural value to humans as well, for spiritual or
religious reasons for instance. The intrinsic value of biodiversity
refers to its inherent worth, which is independent of its value to
anyone or anything else. This is more of a philosophical
concept, which can be thought of as the inalienable right to
exist. Finally, the value of biodiversity can also be understood
through the lens of the relationships we form and strive for with
each other and the rest of nature. 9
IMPORTANCE OF BIODIVERSITY

10. • . We may value biodiversity because of how it shapes who we
are, our relationships to each other, and social norms. These
relational values are part of peoples’ individual or collective
sense of wellbeing, responsibility for, and connection with the
environment. The different values placed on biodiversity are
important because they can influence the conservation
decisions people make every day.
• Therefore, it is very important to conserve biodiversity
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IMPORTANCE OF BIODIVERSITY

11. IMPORTANCE OF BIO-DIVERSITY
Biodiversity and its maintenance are very important for sustaining
life on earth. A few of the reasons explaining the importance of
biodiversity are:
1. Ecological Stability
2. Economic Importance
3. Ethical Importance
4. Genetic Importance
5. Global Importance
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12. Ecological Stability
• Every species has a specific role in an ecosystem. They
capture and store energy and also produce and decompose
organic matter. The ecosystem supports the services without
which humans cannot survive. A diverse ecosystem is more
productive and can withstand environmental stress.
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13. Economic Importance
• Biodiversity is a reservoir of resources for the manufacture of
food, cosmetic products and pharmaceuticals.
• Crops livestock, fishery, and forests are a rich source of food.
• Wild plants such as Cinchona and Foxglove plant are used for
medicinal purposes.
• Wood, fibres, perfumes, lubricants, rubber, resins, poison and
cork are all derived from different plant species.
• The national parks and sanctuaries are a source of tourism.
They are a source of beauty and joy for many people.
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14. Ethical Importance
• All the species have a right to exist. Humans should not cause
their voluntary extinction.
• Biodiversity preserves different cultures and spiritual heritage.
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15. Genetic Importance
• Genetic diversity is the centre pillar for species and
ecosystem diversities and the main goal of conservation
genetics is to apply the knowledge of genetics to reduce
the risk of extinction.
• Poor adaptation of captive-bred endangered species
when they are reintroduced to the wild, solving the
problem of inbreeding and the high cost of conducting
researches were identified as some of the challenges in
the field of conservation genetics.
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16. Global Importance
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• Conservation International identifies ‘global biodiversity hotspots’ to
highlight where exceptional concentrations of endemic species exist
and to promote actions to stem biodiversity loss.
• Biodiversity hotspots were first identified by the British ecologist
Norman Myers in 1988 .
• It is defined the hotspots formally as biogeographic regions with
more than 1500 endemic vascular plant species and less than
30 per cent of original primary habitat

17. Threats to Biodiversity
• Over the last century, humans have come to dominate
the planet, causing rapid ecosystem change and
massive loss of biodiversity across the planet. This has
led some people to refer to the time we now live in as
the “anthropocene.”(denoting the current geological age,
viewed as the period during which human activity has been the
dominant influence on climate and the environment).
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18. Threats to Biodiversity
• While the Earth has always experienced changes and
extinctions, today they are occurring at an unprecedented rate
• Major direct threats to biodiversity include habitat loss
and fragmentation, unsustainable resource use,
invasive species, pollution, and global climate change.
The underlying causes of biodiversity loss, such as a
growing human population and overconsumption are
often complex and stem from many interrelated factors.
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19. Threats to Biodiversity
• The good news is that it is within our power to change
our actions to help ensure the survival of species and
the health and integrity of ecological systems. By
understanding threats to biodiversity, and how they play
out in context, we can be best prepared to manage
conservation challenges.
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20. Threats to Biodiversity
• The conservation efforts of the last decades have made a
significant difference in the state of biodiversity today. Over
100,000 protected areas—including national parks, wildlife
refuges, game reserves, and marine protected areas, managed
both by governments and local communities—provide habitat
for wildlife, and help keep deforestation in check.When
protecting habitat is not enough, other types of conservation
actions such as restoration, reintroduction, and the control of
invasive species, have had positive impacts. And these efforts
have been bolstered by continuous efforts to improve
environmental policies at local, regional, and global scales.
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21. Threats to Biodiversity
• Finally, the lifestyle choices of individuals and
communities can have a large effect on their impacts on
biodiversity and the environment. While we might not be
able to prevent all negative human impacts on
biodiversity, with knowledge we can work to change the
direction and shape of our effects on the rest of life on
Earth.
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22. BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOTS
• Biodiversity is the collection of flora and fauna of
a place.
• Biodiversity Hotspot is a region which is a prime
location for the existence of rich biodiversity but
also faces the threat of destruction. It is a place
which needs our immediate and constant
attention to survive and thrive in the future as
well.
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23. BIODIVERSITY IN INDIA
• India is one of the most diverse nations in the world. It
ranks ninth in terms of plant species richness. Two of
the world’s 25 biodiversity hotspots are found in India. It
is the origin of important crop species such as pigeon
pea, eggplant, cucumber, cotton and sesame. India is
also a centre of various domesticated species such as
millets, cereals, legumes, vegetables, medicinal and
aromatic crops, etc.
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24. BIODIVERSITY IN INDIA
• India is equally diverse in its
faunal wealth. There are
about 91000 animal species
found here.
• However, diversity is
depleting at a drastic rate
and various programmers
on biodiversity
conservation are being
launched to conserve nature.
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25. Biodiversity Conservation
Biodiversity conservation is the protection and management of biodiversity to
obtain resources for sustainable development.
• Biodiversity conservation has three main objectives:
 To preserve the diversity of species.
 Sustainable utilization of species and ecosystem.
 To maintain life-supporting systems and essential ecological processes.
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26. Biodiversity and its Conservation Methods
• Biodiversity refers to the variability of life on earth. It
can be conserved in the following ways:
• In-situ Conservation
• Ex-situ Conservation
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27. In-situ Conservation
• In-situ conservation of biodiversity is the conservation of species within their
natural habitat. In this method, the natural ecosystem is maintained and
protected.
• The in-situ conservation has several advantages. Following are the important
advantages of in-situ conservation:
• It is a cost-effective and convenient method of conserving biodiversity.
• A large number of living organisms can be conserved simultaneously.
• Since the organisms are in a natural ecosystem, they can evolve better and can
easily adjust to different environmental conditions.
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28. Ex-situ Conservation
• Ex-situ conservation of biodiversity involves the breeding and maintenance of endangered
species in artificial ecosystems such as zoos, nurseries, botanical gardens, gene banks, etc.
There is less competition for food, water and space among the organisms.
• Ex-situ conservation has the following advantages:
• The animals are provided with a longer time and breeding activity.
• The species bred in captivity can be reintroduced in the wild.
• Genetic techniques can be used for the preservation of endangered species.
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29. It is believed that an area with higher species abundance has a
more stable environment compared to an area with lower species
abundance. We can further claim the necessity of biodiversity by
considering our degree of dependency on the environment. We
depend directly on various species of plants for our various needs.
Similarly, we depend on various species of animals and microbes for
different reasons.
Biodiversity is being lost due to the loss of habitat, over-exploitation
of resources, climatic changes, pollution, invasive exotic species,
diseases, hunting, etc. Since it provides us with several economic
and ethical benefits and adds aesthetic value, it is very important to
conserve biodiversity.
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