BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION

Athira S Natural Science

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Biodiversity Conservation There are many national and international organisations and legal systems working for the conservation of biodiversity. The government conserves biorich areas declaring them as protected.

Two types of conservation methods are prevalent. they are: 1) In-situ conservation method in which organisms are protected in their natural habitats. 2) Ex-situ conservation method in which organisms are protected outside their natural habitats.

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In-situ conservation Wild Life Sanctuary There are forest areas declared as protected areas to prevent the extinction of wild lives by protecting the ecosystem. Peppara, Periyar, Wayanadetc., are examples of wild life sanctuaries in Kerala.

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National Parks National Parks are designed to protect wild lives along with the protection of historical monuments, natural resources and geographical features of an area. Eravikulam, Silent Valley, Anamudi Shola, Mathikettan Shola and Pambadum Shola are the national parks in Kerala.

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Community Reserves Community reserves are areas protected with the participation of the public. These are ecologically important places located in populated areas.The Kadalundi Community Reserve spread over the districts of Malappuram and Kozhikode is an example.

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Biosphere Reserves These are vast regions designed with an aim to protect world's important ecosystems, biodiversity and genetic resources. Biosphere reserves like the Nilgiris and Agasthyarkoodam include areas belonging to Kerala too.

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Sacred groves These are small areas of biodiversity protected in regions inhabited by human beings. Due to changes in life style many of these which were highly bio-rich have been destroyed. Only a few are remaining now. Sacred groves play an important role in the conservation of water in the region too.

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Ecological hotspots Ecological hotspots are areas rich in endemic species but facing the threat of habitat destruction. Each hotspot is ecologically a very important area of biodiversity. Out of the 34 hotspots all over the world, 3 of them are in India. They are the Western Ghats, North-Eastern Himalayas and the Indo-Burma region.

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Ex-situ conservation Zoological gardens Zoological gardens are conservation centres where different varieties of animals are protected and housed separately and where necessary arrangements are made available for their reproduction. They also function as conservation centres of organisms which have become extinct in wild. There are zoological gardens at Thiruvananthapuram and Thrissur in Kerala.

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Botanical gardens These are wide research centres where rare and important plants of diverse species are protected. We can identify many plants and get more information about them by visiting a botanical garden. Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanical Garden and Research Institute (JNTBGRI) at Palode in Thiruvananthapuram and Malabar Botanical Garden (MBG) at Olavanna in Kozhikode are examples.

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Gene Banks These are research centres with facilities to collect seeds and gametes to preserve them for a long time. Organisms can be recreated out of them whenever required. Rajiv Gandhi Centres for Biotechnology at Thiruvananthapuram is an example.