Conserving biological diversity in South Asia
Royal Bengal tiger (top left). Great Asian one-horned rhino(bottom left)
SOUTH Asia comprises the sub-continent (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan) and two island counties Sri Lanka and Maldives. Governments of these seven countries collectively formed SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) to assist regional economic development. However, these countries contain huge amount of biological diversity of this planet and to protect this precious resource they must do collectively. The biological diversity includes the diversity within the plants, animals and microbes of this region. Due to physiographic and climatic variability various types of habitats are present to support varieties of plants and animals. To conserve this huge biological diversity various international organizations are working with the local government conservation agencies. Major issuesRestoration of Ganges: Ganges flows over India and Bangladesh contributing to water supply for a large area of these two countries. But discharging waste and water flow control by Farakka barrage have almost devastated the habitat of the aquatic animals like gangetic dolphin and Ghorial. Once present in tens of thousands, the Ganges river dolphins have dwindled abysmally to less than 2000 during the last century; some of the pronounced reasons for reduction are habitat fragmentation by dams and barrages, indiscriminate fishing and pollution of the river (WWF India, 2008). Protection of mangrove forest: Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have good amount of mangrove forest in global and regional context. India and Bangladesh share common patch of mangrove forest extending from southern West Bengal to southeastern part of Bangladesh. Mangroves cover a total of 257,500 hectares in Pakistan. These forests contain wide diverse varieties of plants and animals including viviparous plant species. Country wise biodiversity and conservation efforts India: India is the largest country of south Asia and possesses most diverse types of habitats for terrestrial, fresh water and marine animals. India stretches from the Himalayan Range to the north, all the way down to the tip of its southern peninsula, which juts into the Indian Ocean. Between these two climatic extremes lies the fertile Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Thar Desert to the west (bordering southeastern Pakistan). India's varied habitats coasts, rainforests, swamps, mountains among other are home to 7.6% of all mammalian, 12.6% of avian, 6.2% of reptilian, and 6.0% of flowering plant species globally. Among various wildlife found in India, WWF India is working to conserve Gharial (Gavialis gangeticus), Ganges River Dolphin (Platanista gangetica) Great Asian One-Horned Rhino (Rhinoceros unicornis), Smooth-coated Otter (Lutra perspicillata), Red Panda (Ailurus fulgens), Snow Leopard and Whale Shark (Rhincodon typus). The forest cover of India is assessed as 67.83 million hectares which constitute 20.64 per cent of the country's geographical area, ranging from the Himalayan Temperate to Dry Zone forests. Being a mega-biodiversity country the nation possesses high level of endemism. The forests play vital role in harboring more than 45,000 floral and 81,000 faunal species of which 5150 floral and 1837 faunal species are endemic. The nation has established 597 Protected Areas comprising 95 National Parks, 500 Wildlife Sanctuaries 2 conservation reserves covering 1.56 million ha area or 4.75 per cent geographical area of the country. Bhutan: With over 70% of Bhutan still under forest cover, and over 35% designated as protected areas, it might appear that forest and freshwater ecosystems are sufficiently protected(WWF). The tiger, one horned rhino, golden languor, clouded leopard, hispid hare and the sloth bear, grey languor, common leopard, goral and serow, Himalayan black bear, red panda, squirrel, sambar, wild pig and barking deer are example of numerous wild animals found in varied habitats of Nepal. Flora and birds abound with more than 770 species of bird and 5,400 species of plants known to occur throughout the Kingdom. Although Bhutan's natural heritage is still largely intact, pressures on the environment are already evident and likely to be fuelled by a complex array of forces. Bangladesh: In Bangladesh most prominent organization working for conservation of Biological diversity is IUCN Bangladesh. The notable projects of IUCN Bangladesh under implementation are as follow: * Community Based Sustainable Management of Tanguar Haor * Promoting Protected Area Co-management Initiatives * Linking Biodiversity with Livelihood in Selected Coastal Areas * Along with IUCN many other local organizations are working for conservation and sustainable use of the biological diversity. Among these the following are playing significant role. * Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies(BCAS) * Center for Natural Resource Studies(CNRS) * Wildlife and Nature Conservation Society of Bangladesh Nepal: Recognising Nepal's susceptibility to ecological risks as early as the 1960s, by mid 1970s, the Government took the first initiative to establish national parks and reserves in areas of biological and natural significance. But later conservation in Nepal was hindered by lack of participation by local people and necessary research works. However, now King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation (in brief KMTNC, established in 1982) is working to complement the government's efforts in nature conservation and sustainable development. For the past one and a half decade, KMTNC has successfully undertaken over 80 small and large projects on nature conservation, bio-diversity protection, natural resource management and sustainable rural development. The Trust's activities in the lowland are based in and around the Royal Chitwan National Park (RCNP) and the Royal Bardia National Park (RBNP) located in the central and western regions of Nepal, respectively. Similarly, the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) and the Manaslu Conservation Area Project (MCAP) are two major projects in the mountain environment. Fourteen plant species new to Nepal identified: A team of ethnobotanists from Kathmandu have recorded 14 new plant species for Nepal recently. The species were catalogued following a plant collection and inventorying expedition in Ilam and Pancthar districts of eastern Nepal, in the foothills of the Kangchenjunga mountains.(WWF, 18 Mar 2008). Pakistan: In Pakistan Both IUCN and WWF are working for conservation of biological diversity and integrity of nature .In most of the projects, WWF Pakistan extends support to local community initiatives. Thus basic principles, advocacy, lobbying with excellence, partnership with local bodies and capacity building at all levels, ensure sustainability at the field and policy level. In 1985 IUCN Country Office was established in Karachi to initiate the implementation of the NCS. Since then IUCN Pakistan has grown into the largest country programme with five programme offices and a number of offices in the field. IUCN works closely with the government at the national and provincial levels as well as with civil society at large. Sri Lanka: Modern conservation in Sri Lanka started with establishment of IUCN's country office in August 1988 in Colombo. To date, IUCN Sri Lanka has been engaged in the conservation of small cetaceans and marine turtles. At the invitation of the Department of Wildlife Conservation, IUCN Sri Lanka prepared a National Action Plan for Marine Turtle Conservation. IUCN Sri Lanka is also involved in biodiversity assessments in marine and coastal ecosystems. In the marine and coastal realm, IUCN focuses on marine and coastal habitats, threatened marine species, Integrated Coastal Zone Management, and Marine Protected Areas. In coastal zone management, IUCN Sri Lanka has been involved in three projects funded by the ADB, namely, the Coastal Resource Management project in the south and south western coasts of Sri Lanka, ADB Eastern Province Coastal Community Development project and the ADB Regional Technical Assistance project on Coastal and Marine Resource Management and Poverty Reduction in South Asia. Maldives: This country is actually, conglomerate of tiny islands. The islands are particularly important for resident and breeding birds. Birds of special concern include endemic subspecies, the Maldivian pond heron (Ardeola grayii phillipsi), white tern (Gygis alba monte), lesser frigate (Fregata ariel iredalei), black-naped tern (Sterna sumatrana), brown-winged tern (S. anaethetus), and large-crested tern (S. bergi) (Zuhair 1997; Olson and Dinerstein 1998). Thirteen to fourteen seabirds are known to nest on Maldives. Terrestrial animals are limited on these islands. The only native mammals on the islands are two species of fruit bat, Indian flying fox (Pteropus giganteus ariel) and a subspecies of variable flying fox (Pteropus hypomelanus Maris).Among the conservation organisations only WWF has started working in Maldives but yet no full-pledge project has been run. Conclusion
South Asia contains almost all types of biomes present on the earth ranging from desert to snow covered mountains. The plants and animals of these varied habitats are facing problems due to indiscriminate development spree of human societies throughout the region. Among the countries of south Asia Bhutan and Nepal contain unusual concentration of biological diversity with small land area. India has the largest land area to support various types of habitats for different plants and animals. Pakistan has mountaine, mangrove and plainland habitats. Maldives and Sri Lanka have mostly marine habitats. Bangladesh has its mangrove and wetland habitats. Conservation of biological resources of these landforms and habitats needs collective effort of SAARC member countries which can foster better outcome than the individual efforts.
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