Regulating Trade in Wildlife — Understanding CITES Let us begin with a simple question: Why does international wildlife trade need regulation?Because the demand for exotic animals, plants, skins, medicines, pets, timber, etc., often becomes so high that it pushes species toward extinction. To prevent this, the global community created CITES. What is CITES? Convention on…
Let us now move from national initiatives to the global architecture of biodiversity conservation.At the centre of this is the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) — one of the most important international environmental treaties in the world. Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) What is CBD? The CBD is a legally binding multilateral treaty adopted at…
After understanding in-situ and ex-situ conservation, let us now look at what India is doing at a national level to protect biodiversity. These initiatives focus on real-world challenges like highways cutting wildlife corridors, invasive species entering India, and ecological degradation of the Ghats. Wildlife Mitigation Measures — Eco-Bridges Modern infrastructure—especially highways—often splits natural habitats into…
Introduction Let us begin with a very basic idea: why do we even conserve biodiversity? Think of biodiversity as the software that runs the hardware of the planet 😊.If species disappear, ecosystems collapse like a computer that loses essential files.So, biodiversity conservation is not emotional charity — it is ecological necessity. Why is Biodiversity Conservation…
Biodiversity loss is not just an environmental issue—it directly affects human survival, health, economy, and even political stability. The collapse of ecosystems leads to multiple cascading impacts. Let us understand these consequences one by one. Consequences 1. Impact on Livelihoods Human life depends on ecosystem goods and services such as: When biodiversity declines: For example:…
Background When we look at nature, we see a delicate balance—species depend on habitats, food chains depend on species, and ecosystems depend on all of them. But today, several major forces (many of them man-made) are breaking this balance and causing large-scale biodiversity loss. Let’s understand these causes step by step. Natural Ecological Disturbances Natural…
Think of biodiversity as the “insurance policy” of life on Earth. The more diverse our ecosystems and species, the more resilient nature is. But today, this insurance is shrinking at a frightening pace. This shrinking—this decline in the number and variety of species—is what we call Biodiversity Loss. What Is Biodiversity Loss? Biodiversity loss means:…
To understand biodiversity hotspots, imagine the Earth as a huge museum of life. But within this museum, some “galleries” are extraordinarily precious—filled with rare, unique species found nowhere else. These special areas are called Biodiversity Hotspots. This idea was introduced by Norman Myers, a British biologist, and was later adopted and expanded by Conservation International…
Introduction When we talk about biodiversity at the global level, some countries shine brighter than others. These are called mega-diverse countries—nations that act like “banks of life,” holding a disproportionately high share of the world’s species. What makes a country mega-diverse? Think of them as the “powerhouses of global biodiversity.” 17 Mega-Diverse Countries Identified by…
Imagine the Earth as one enormous library. But instead of books, this library contains living organisms—plants, animals, microbes, fungi, corals, insects, everything. The sheer variety of life found here is what we call Biodiversity. The Amazon Rainforest is like the “central library” of this biodiversity—home to the most extraordinary variety of species on the planet….
