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Friday 22 May 2015

World Biodiversity Day — 22nd May





WORLD BIODIVERISTY  AT A GLANCE (2002)




Numbers


Percentage

Bacteria



10000


1

Protoctista



80000


5

Plants



270000


16

Fungi



72000


4

Mammals



4630


0.5

Birds



9750


1

Reptiles



8002


0.8

Amphibia



4950


0.5

Fish



25000


2

Insects and Myriapods

963000


58

Arachnids



75000


5

Molluscs



70000


4

Crustacea



40000


2

Nematodes


25000


2

Source : Wonders of the Indian Wilderness by Erach Bharucha

 

Environmental  Facts

India has just 2% of world’s land mass but accounts for 8% of world’s biodiversity.

India has some of the wettest, driest, hottest and coldest region on the planet. Two biodiversity hotspots are the Western Chats and the East Himalayan region.

 

11% of  plant  biodiversity  is found  in  India, with  over 15,000 species  of flowering  plants.

 

India has 2546 species of fishes, 198 species of amphibians, 423 species of mammals, 1331 species of birds, 408 species of reptiles and over 50,000 varieties of rice.

 

33% of species are endemic to the India, which means they are not found anywhere else in the world.

 

929 species in India are threatened today. Only 1% of the vast coastline is protected (75 km of 7516 km), the rest is vanishing due to unplanned development work and fisheries.

 

Every 20  minutes a species  is  becoming  extinct  in the  world. The next  could  be from India.

 

Hopefully this awareness can encourage everyone to priorities sustainability in their day-to-day life and in growth & development activities.

  

 

 



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