Part 1 - English version (PDF) - Convention on Biological Diversity

India’s Fourth National Report to the <strong>Convention</strong> on Biological Diversity
with 156 species and seventh in amphibians with 110 species. India’s share of crops is 44% as compared
to the world average of 11%. India also has 23.39% of its geographical area under forest and tree cover.
Table 1.2: Comparative position of species biodiversity in India
Group Estimated number Rank amongst
of species
Megadiverse countries
Higher plants 18664 IX
Mammals 390 VII
Birds 458 IX
Reptiles 521 V
Amphibian 231 IX
Fishes 5749 I
Source: Based on Arora & Ahuja 2006 (original source: http://earthtrends.wri.org)
Of the 34 globally identified
biodiversity hotspots, India
harbours four hotspots, i.e.,
Himalaya, Indo-Burma,
Western Ghats and Sri Lanka
and Sundaland. The main
attributes of these hotspots are
given in Table 1.3.
18
Table 1.3: Attributes of Indian biodiversity hotspots
S. No. Attributes Hotspots
Himalaya Indo-Burma W. Ghats & Sundaland
Sri Lanka
1. Hotspot original extent (km 2 ) 741,706 2,373,057 189,611 1501,063
2. Hotspot vegetation remaining (km 2 ) 185,427 118,653 43,611 10,0571
3. Endemic plant species 3,160 7000 3,049 15,000
4. Endemic threatened birds 8 18 10 43
5. Endemic threatened mammals 4 25 14 60
6.. Endemic threatened amphibians 4 35 87 59
7. Extinct species * 0 1 20 4
8. Human population density (people/km 2 ) 123 134 261 153
9. Area protected (km 2 ) 112,578 235,758 26,130 179,723
10. Area protected (km 2 ) in categories I-IV ** 77,739 132,283 21,259 77,408
*
Recorded extinction since 1500., ** Categories I-IV afford higher levels of protection
Source: www.biodiversityhotspots.org
1.2 INDIA’S BIODIVERSITY PROFILE
1.2.1 Faunal diversity
So far, nearly 91,212 faunal species (7.43% of the world’s faunal species) have been recorded in the
country. Whereas inventories of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fishes are fairly complete, a
large number of other life forms are yet to be described. Diversity of known faunal species in different
taxonomic groups is given in Table 1.4.
The Indian faunal groups show diverse range of endemism across groups (Table 1.5). Some of the
lower groups such as Mesozoa (100%), Acanthocephala (88.6%), Oligochaeta (77.8%), Platyhelminthes
(71.9%), Kinorhyncha (70%) show high degree of endemism. Among higher groups, Amphibia (61.2%)
and Reptilia (47%) deserve special mention.
As per the IUCN Red List (2008), India has 413 globally threatened faunal species, which is
approximately 4.9% of the world’s total number of threatened faunal species (Figures 1.2 and 1.3).