Biodiversity conversation

What is biodiversity conservation

Conservation of biodiversity is the practice of protecting, preserving, restoring and managing a variety of living organisms such as plants, animals, insects, micro-organisms and their ecosystems. With growing human caused threats, it is important to maintain the balance of nature while ensuring the long-term survival and health of these creatures. The Biodiversity Conservation Act of 2002 is one such act put in place to preserve India’s massive biodiversity. It provides a strict framework for conservation, sustainable use of resources, and fair sharing of benefits from biological resources.

Importance of biodiversity conservation

Biodiversity conservation is important for maintaining the health of our ecosystem, providing essential resources, and ensuring overall human well-being. It is after all critical for ensuring food security, supporting medical advancements, regulating an ideal climate, and building resilient ecosystems. If you are looking to understand in more detail as to why biodiversity is important, below are some benefits of conserving biodiversity:

• Food and water: Many plants and animals are food sources for humans and other living organisms
• Pollination: Insects and other animals play a vital role in pollinating, an essential for reproduction
• Climate regulation: Forests, water and other ecosystems help regulate the Earth’s climate by absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen
• Water purification: Wetlands and other ecosystems help to filter and purify water
• Erosion control: Trees help prevent erosion and landslides by holding soil in place

Methods of biodiversity conservation

There are two integral ways to conserve biodiversity, in-situ conservation and ex-situ conservation.

• In situ conservation involves protecting species in their natural habitats such as sanctuaries, reserves, natural parks and biodiversity hotspots. By protecting the entire ecosystem as is method of biodiversity conservation allows natural processes to continue and species to evolve.
• Ex-situ conservation is carried out when endangered or rare species have to be protected outside their natural habitat. At times when certain species are threatened in the wild, artificial environments such as Zoos, botanical gardens, captive breeding, seedbanks are created to breed, nurture, and often reintroduce these species into natural conditions.

Examples of biodiversity conservation

One of the classic biodiversity conservation examples is the Mahseer conservation by Tata Power. The company’s relentless efforts, over the course of 50 years, have brought the mighty mahseer back from the brink of extinction. Over a due course of time, Tata Power has produced millions of fingerlings, releasing them into lakes and rivers to restore populations and support ecosystem health.

Another prominent biodiversity conservation projects in India is Tree Mitra by Tata Power. A plantation drive that has planted hundreds of lakhs of saplings across multiple states.