Socio-economic and Eco-biological Dimensions in Resource use and Conservation


Book Description

This book presents the outcomes of the 2017 national workshop and international conference organized by CEENR of ISEC, Bengaluru and Assam University Silchar. Addressing the threats to biodiversity and sustainable development resulting from the impacts of human induced pressures on ecosystems and global-warming-driven climate change is a major challenge. It requires increased knowledge and an enhanced information base in order to devise local policies to improve the adaptive capacity of vulnerable socio-ecological systems in developing countries. In this context, the book presents research that has the potential to benefit the environment and empower communities. It appeals to researchers investigating diverse aspects of socio-ecological-biological systems to create strategies for resource use, conservation and management to ensure sustainability.




Conservation of Biodiversity in the North Eastern States of India


Book Description

This volume presents part of the proceedings of NERC 2022, with an emphasis on conservation of bio-diversity in North-east India. This is a highly challenging and involved topic due to regionally diverse physiographic, geographical and eco-climatic conditions. Henceforth, systemic and holistic frameworks are required to disseminate upon the potential of science and technology for the conservation of the region’s bio-diversity. Notable among these frameworks refers to plant, microbial and animal bio-diversity conservation, value-added product development and sharing the benefits of such research for the perspective of bio-prospects, analysing critical environmental and climatic factors and their sensitivity upon urbanization strategies. Tools that are to be deployed for such insights involve plant, animal, and microbial bioscience and biotechnology, generalized rules for product design and development and survey based strategies. Addressing relevant competent methodologies and generic pedagogies, this volume on the bio-diversity conservation in North-eastern states of India aims to demonstrate the potential of pragmatic strategies that can be applied for the bio-diversity conservation in any region of world. Thereby, opportunities for nature linked livelihood security can be sought for the long term wellbeing of the humankind and ecology.




Biodiversity Hotspot of the Himalaya


Book Description

Biodiversity is declining at an alarming rate due to anthropogenic activities around the world. This book is the second volume in the new series Biodiversity Hotspots of the World, which highlights the 36 hotspot regions of the world, regions that have been designated as reaping maximum benefit from preservation efforts. This series is our humble attempt to document these hotspots as a conservation and preservation measure. The concise volumes in this series focus on the most interesting and important properties of these hotspots, covering physiography and climatology; vegetation and forest types; amphibian and reptile biodiversity; genetic diversity of crops, plants, fishes, butterflies, insects, birds, mammals, angiosperms, and gymnosperms; and much more. And of course, the unique threats and conservation efforts for the areas are addressed as well. The Himalayan Mountains are the highest mountain range in the world and include Mount Everest as well as eight other highest peaks of the world. While it is difficult to document the biodiversity of this inhospitable terrain, we do know that out of the 9,000 different species of plants recorded in the area, 3,500 plants are endemic to the Eastern Himalaya region. Anthropogenic activities including deforestation, fragmentation of habitats, pollution, high population, climate change, and poaching of wildlife pose serious threats to the biodiversity of the region. The highlands have exceptionally rich biodiversity, high endemism, and over 160 globally threatened species, including the densest population of Bengal tigers and the three largest herbivores on the continent: the Asian elephant, greater one-horned rhinoceros, and wild water buffalo. The region boasts the world’s richest counts of alpine flora within its temperate broad-leaved forests, with a total of 10,000 species of plants. This volume, Biodiversity Hotspot of the Himalayas, as well as the other volumes in this series, will be essential resources for researchers and practitioners in the fields of conservation biology, ecology, and evolution as the series concisely records the existing biodiversity of these hotspots of the world.




Biodiversity Hotspot of the Western Ghats and Sri Lanka


Book Description

Biodiversity is declining at an alarming rate due to anthropogenic activities around the world. This book is the first volume in the new series Biodiversity Hotspots of the World, which highlights the 36 hotspot regions of the world, regions that were designated as reaping maximum benefit from preservation efforts. This series is our humble attempt to document these hotspots as a conservation and preservation measure. This first volume in the series focuses on the Western Ghats and Sri Lanka, construed as forming a community of species because of their shared biogeographical history. The volume explores the diversity and conservation efforts of the extraordinarily rich species found here, including plants, many of which are found nowhere else in the world; forests, which face tremendous population pressure and have been dramatically impacted by demands for timber and agricultural land; as well as the hotspot’s diverse mammals, birds, insects, and amphibian species, and more. The volumes in this series will be essential resources for researchers and practitioners in the fields of conservation biology, ecology, and evolution.




Harnessing Wetlands for Sustainable Livelihood


Book Description

Wetlands form a unique ecosystem which is one of the richest among all the ecosystems from biodiversity point of view. The role of wetlands is enormous in enrichment of natural beauty, maintenance of environmental quality, control of floods, recharging of ground water level, livelihood support for the destitute community and so on. This book draws the expertise, in-depth knowledge and experiences of the scholars and stakeholders representing various disciplines to throw light on the significant issues of preservation, development and sustainable economic growth through inland freshwater wetlands. The book contains Twenty-Eight papers focusing on livelihood issues of the wetland dependent people and the effects on various related problems. It also provides a database on physical and chemical changes of the wetlands, land use/land cover changes in the fringe areas, impact on wetland’s productivity, biodiversity conservation and the livelihood support system for the people living in their surroundings. Therefore, this book will be useful for academicians, researchers, development authorities, NGOs, policy makers, planners and all the people concerned to preserve, protect and develop the wetlands for enhancing the environmental quality and socio-economic welfare of the society.




Wetlands and Agriculture


Book Description




Biodiversity: An Overview


Book Description

India’s phytodiversity is one of the most significant in the world. India is one of the twelve mega-biodiversity centers in the world and also an important center of origin of agrobiodiversity. It is therefore, very important to study, document and conserve the plant wealth of India and also of the world before its possible extinction. There are convincing scientific, economic and sociological reasons for giving priority to the conservation of the major centers of plant diversity throughout the world. The strategies to conserve the biodiversity include establishment of protected area network and corridors with emphasis on appropriate levels of management, reduction of anthropogenic pressure on natural populations by cultivating them elsewhere, programmes of augmentation, reintroduction and introduction of target taxa, restoration of degraded habitats, etc. The conservation strategies can be either, in-situ conservation of genetic resources within their ecosystem and natural habitat or ex-situ conservation of components of genetic material of biological diversity outside their natural habitat. The choice of conservation strategy depends upon the nature of the material to be conserved, i.e., the life cycle and mode of reproduction, size of individual population and ecological status. Ex-situ techniques include the establishment of botanical and zoological gardens, banks of pollen, seed tissue culture, DNA, etc. Establishment of forest reserves, national parks, protected areas and on farm conservation of valuable plant varieties is being promoted to facilitate their in-situ conservation.