Summary in Bullet Points:

Earth’s Biodiversity Overview:

 Animals vs. Plants:

o Animals: More than 70% of all recorded species.

o Plants (including algae, fungi, bryophytes, gymnosperms, and angiosperms): Only

Insect Dominance:

 Insects are the most species-rich animal group, making up over 70% of total animal species.

 Ratio: 7 out of every 10 animals on Earth are insects.

 Reason for High Insect Diversity: Requires further study, likely due to adaptability,
reproductive strategies, and ecological niches.

Fungal Diversity:

 Fungi species outnumber the combined total of:

o Fishes

o Amphibians

o Reptiles

o Mammals

 Biodiversity Representation: Figure 13.1 (not included here) visually represents the species
numbers across major taxa.

Summary in Bullet Points:

 Prokaryotic Species Are Not Included in biodiversity estimates.

 Uncertainty in Prokaryotic Diversity: Biologists are unsure of their exact number.

 Challenges in Identifying Microbial Species:

o Conventional taxonomic methods are not effective.

o Many microbes cannot be cultured in laboratory conditions.

 Alternative Identification Methods:

o Biochemical or molecular criteria can help classify prokaryotic species.

 Potential Diversity: If molecular criteria are used, prokaryotic diversity could be in the
millions.
Summary in Bullet Points:

India's Biodiversity Significance:

 Land Area vs. Species Diversity:

o India has only 2.4% of the world’s land area but harbors 8.1% of global species
diversity.

o One of the 12 mega-diverse countries in the world.

Recorded Species in India:

 Plants: ~45,000 recorded species.

 Animals: Nearly twice as many as plants.

Undiscovered Species (Based on May’s Global Estimates):

 Only 22% of total species have been recorded globally.

 Estimated undiscovered species in India:

o Plants: Over 1,00,000 species.

o Animals: Over 3,00,000 species.

Challenges in Documenting Biodiversity:

 Requires immense trained manpower (taxonomists) and long time to complete the
inventory.

 Many species may go extinct before being discovered.

 Metaphor: "Nature’s biological library is burning before we catalog all the books."

Summary in Bullet Points:

Broadly Utilitarian Argument for Biodiversity Conservation:

 Ecosystem Services Provided by Nature:

o Oxygen Production: The Amazon forest contributes 20% of Earth's oxygen through
photosynthesis.

o Pollination: Essential for fruit and seed production, performed by bees,

o Other Intangible Benefits:

 Aesthetic pleasures (walking through forests, blooming flowers).

Economic Perspective:

 Difficult to Assign a Price:

o Oxygen production—compare to the cost of an oxygen cylinder in hospitals.

o Pollination—imagine the costs if humans had to manually pollinate crops.

o Nature’s beauty and experiences—intangible benefits that cannot be easily valued in

Summary in Bullet Points:

Narrowly Utilitarian Arguments for Biodiversity Conservation:

 Economic Benefits from Nature:

o Food: Cereals, pulses, fruits.

o Fuel: Firewood.

o Materials: Fibre, construction materials.

o Industrial Products: Tannins, lubricants, dyes, resins, perfumes.

o Medicinal Products: Over 25% of global drugs come from plants.

Medicinal Importance:

 25,000 plant species contribute to traditional medicine.

 Tropical rainforests may have many undiscovered medicinal plants.

Bioprospecting (Exploring Biodiversity for Economic Benefits):

 Focus Areas: Molecular, genetic, and species-level diversity.

 Potential Benefits: Nations with rich biodiversity can gain enormous economic advantages
through bioprospecting.

Summary in Bullet Points:

 Importance of Protecting Biodiversity Hotspots: Strict protection could prevent nearly 30%
of mass extinctions.

 Legal Protection in India:

o Biosphere Reserves: 14

o National Parks: 90
 o Wildlife Sanctuaries: 448

 Cultural and Religious Conservation: India has a history of traditions that emphasize nature
protection.

 Sacred Groves:

o Forests set aside for religious and cultural protection.

o Locations:

 Khasi & Jaintia Hills (Meghalaya)

 Aravalli Hills (Rajasthan)

 Western Ghats (Karnataka, Maharashtra)

 Sarguja, Chanda & Bastar (Madhya Pradesh)

 Significance of Sacred Groves: They serve as the last refuge for many rare and endangered
plant species, especially in Meghalaya.

Summary in Bullet Points:

Ex Situ Conservation:

 Definition: Conservation method where threatened species are removed from their natural
habitat and placed in protected environments.

 Examples:

o Zoological parks

o Botanical gardens

o Wildlife safari parks

 Advancements:

o Cryopreservation: Long-term storage of gametes in viable condition.

o In vitro fertilization: Eggs can be fertilized outside the body.

o Tissue culture: Used for plant propagation.

o Seed banks: Store seeds of commercially important plants for future use.

Global Biodiversity Conservation Efforts:

 Biodiversity Conservation as a Global Responsibility: Since biodiversity transcends political

 Key International Agreements:

o World Summit on Sustainable Development (2002, Johannesburg):

 190 countries committed to reducing biodiversity loss.

 Target: Achieve a significant reduction in biodiversity loss by 2010 at global,