India is one of the

12 megadiverse
countries in the world,
commanding 7%-8% of
the world's biodiversity
and supporting 16%
of the major forest
types, varying from
alpine pastures in
the Himalayas to
temperate, ~sub-tropical,
tropical forests, and
mangroves in the
coastal areas. However,
the country is facing
several challenges with
regard to maintaining
its megadiverse status.
Dr Yogesh Gokhale
analyses India's position
from the domestic, as
well as international
point of view, and finds
what the country needs
to do to safeguard its
rich biodiversity.
r
OOVER
STORY
26
TERRAGREEN AUGUST 2010
27 TERRAGREEN AUGUST 2010
Every now and then, we hear news of tigers being killed or poisoned by
people for the 'crime' of cattle lifting. But, do you know that there are
people in India who believe that cattle lifting by a tiger is its right? The
Madia Gond tribals of Mendha-Lekha, Maharashtra, believe that the act is
justified because humans are living in the tiger's habitat, forcing it to
resort to such means of survival.
The total area of Mendha-Lekha village is about 1600 ha, of
which 80% is forest. Threat to natural resources and livelihood
of the villagers led to the emergence of 'Mawa Mate, Mawa
Raj' concept in the village, meaning "in our village, we are
the government': Mendha-Lekha believes in Gram Swaraj
(village democracy), based on Gram Sabha (village
assembly), and has put in place numerous measures to
protect the environment, such asthe creation of aVan
Suraksha Samiti (Forest Protection Committee) with
the villagers. It is really interesting to seethe way the
Madia Gonds have internalized the environment as
part of their developmental aspirations.
However, caseslike this are in stark contrast to
those of the city dwellers, who are completely
distanced from nature. For instance, the
population of domestic sparrows has been
reducing in various cities of India for the past
many years. But, there is hardly any concern
about this amongst the urban communities.
Many cannot even imagine the gravity of
the situation.
The truth is that each and every living
organism on the earth-that makes up
its biological diversity or biodiversity-is
quintessential for survival of the human raceand
the planet.
WHAT IS BIODIVERSITY?
Biodiversity is the term given to the variety of life
on the earth and the natural patterns it forms. It is
formally defined in the Biological Diversity Act 2002 as
"the variability among living organisms from all sources
and the ecological complexes of which they are part,and
includes diversity within species or between species and
of ecosystems':
The recent interest in biodiversity can be traced back to
the Rio Earth Summit of 1992, where world leaders agreed on
a comprehensive 'sustainaole development' strategy, leading to
the creation of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). CBD
establishes three broad goals: conservation of biological diversity;
sustainable use of its components; and fair and equitable sharing of the
benefits from the use of genetic resources. India was among the first countries
to sign the CBD(on 5 June 1992).Since then, biodiversity has emerged as a major