Elaborate Notes
Hunting and Poaching
Hunting refers to the legal act of pursuing and killing wild animals, often regulated by law for sport, food, or population control. Poaching, conversely, is the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, in violation of local, national, or international laws. It is a primary driver of biodiversity loss.
- Ecological Impact: The removal of a species, particularly a keystone species, can trigger a trophic cascade, leading to the degradation of the entire ecosystem.
- Example: The summary mentions the disappearance of cheetahs leading to grassland degradation. Ecologically, cheetahs (top predators) control the population of herbivores. Their removal can lead to an overpopulation of herbivores, resulting in overgrazing, which degrades grasslands and can lead to desertification. Historically, the Asiatic Cheetah became extinct in India in the 1950s, a loss attributed to widespread hunting and habitat loss. The recent reintroduction of African cheetahs in Kuno National Park is an attempt to restore this ecological balance.
- Primary Drivers:
- Illegal Wildlife Trade: This is a multi-billion dollar transnational crime. Animals and their parts are traded for various purposes.
- Investment & Status Symbols: Tiger parts (bones, skin), rhinoceros horns, and elephant ivory are sought after for traditional medicine (with no scientific basis) and as luxury items or investments. The work of organisations like TRAFFIC (The Wildlife Trade Monitoring Network) highlights the scale of this trade.
- Rare Birds: Species like the Spix’s Macaw have been driven to extinction in the wild due to the illegal pet trade.
- Tourism: While well-regulated ecotourism can support conservation, unregulated or unethical tourism can be detrimental. Trophy hunting, offered in some parts of the world, directly involves killing animals for sport. Safari tourism can cause stress to wildlife and habitat degradation if not managed sustainably.
- Illegal Wildlife Trade: This is a multi-billion dollar transnational crime. Animals and their parts are traded for various purposes.
- Species Driven to Extinction or Near-Extinction by Hunting:
- Amur Falcon in Nagaland: This is a conservation success story, not an extinction. These migratory birds were hunted in vast numbers in Nagaland. A massive conservation campaign by local communities and organisations led to a dramatic turnaround, making Nagaland a “Falcon Capital”. This illustrates how community action can reverse the impacts of hunting.
- Woolly Mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius): Extinct around 4,000 years ago. While climate change at the end of the Pleistocene epoch was a major factor, the “Pleistocene overkill hypothesis,” proposed by scientist Paul S. Martin in the 1960s, argues that human hunting pressure was a significant contributing cause for the extinction of many megafauna.
- Tasmanian Tiger (Thylacinus cynocephalus): This was the largest carnivorous marsupial of modern times. It became extinct on the Australian mainland thousands of years ago but survived in Tasmania. European settlers, viewing it as a threat to livestock, instituted a bounty system in the 19th century, leading to its systematic extermination. The last known individual died in captivity in 1936.
- Dodo Bird (Raphus cucullatus): A flightless bird endemic to the island of Mauritius. Its extinction in the mid-to-late 17th century is a classic example of human-induced extinction. It was not only hunted by sailors for food but was also outcompeted and preyed upon by invasive alien species they introduced, such as pigs, dogs, and rats, which destroyed the Dodo’s ground nests.
Invasive Alien Species (IAS)
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) provides a formal definition, highlighting that an IAS is a non-native species that establishes itself, spreads, and causes negative impacts on native biological diversity.
- Characteristics of Invasive Alien Species:
- Generalist: They can thrive in a wide variety of environmental conditions and make use of diverse resources, unlike specialist species which have narrow requirements.
- Pioneer Species: They are often the first to colonize disturbed ecosystems, quickly establishing a foothold before native species can recover.
- High Reproductive Rate (r-strategist): They produce a large number of offspring with minimal parental investment, ensuring rapid population growth. This includes long flowering/fruiting seasons and copious seed production.
- Aggressive Root Systems: In plants, this allows them to outcompete native flora for water and nutrients.
- Broad Native Range: Species that are successful over a large geographical area in their native habitat often have the genetic diversity and adaptability to thrive elsewhere.
- Examples in the Indian Context:
- Prosopis juliflora (Vilayati Babul): Introduced by the British in the 19th century in arid and semi-arid regions for fuelwood and to halt desertification. Its aggressive growth depletes groundwater tables and displaces native vegetation.
- Lantana camara: Introduced as an ornamental plant from South America in the 1800s. It is now a noxious weed in over 40% of India’s tiger reserves, forming dense thickets that prevent the growth of native grasses and fodder for herbivores.
- Parthenium hysterophorus (Congress Grass): Believed to have entered India accidentally in the 1950s with contaminated wheat imported from the USA under the PL-480 scheme. It is an aggressive weed that reduces crop yield and causes severe allergies in humans and livestock.
- Eichhornia crassipes (Water Hyacinth): Known as the “Terror of Bengal,” this aquatic plant was introduced for its beautiful flowers. It forms dense mats on water bodies, blocking sunlight, depleting oxygen, and severely impacting aquatic ecosystems and inland water transport.
- Giant African Land Snail (Achatina fulica): Introduced to India in the 1840s. It is a voracious feeder on agricultural crops and native plants, and also a vector for human diseases.
- Common Myna and Rock Pigeon: While native to parts of the subcontinent, their ability to adapt to human-modified landscapes has allowed them to become invasive in other parts of the world, displacing local avifauna.
- Clownfish: While popular in aquariums, the release of non-native species of clownfish can threaten local marine ecosystems, though they are not considered a major invasive threat in India’s waters currently.
Man-Animal Conflict
Man-Animal Conflict (MAC) refers to negative interactions between humans and wildlife that result in harm to humans, their property (crops, livestock), or the wild animals themselves. It is a critical challenge for conservation in densely populated countries like India.
- Causes of MAC:
- Habitat Destruction and Fragmentation: This is the primary driver. As human populations expand, forests and other natural habitats are cleared for agriculture, industry, and urbanisation. This reduces the space and resources available for wildlife.
- Infrastructure Development: Linear infrastructure like roads, railway lines, and canals cut through forests, fragmenting habitats and creating barriers to animal movement. This increases the risk of accidents (e.g., elephants hit by trains) and forces animals into human-dominated areas. A study by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) has extensively documented the impact of such projects.
- Agricultural Expansion: The expansion of farms into forest peripheries creates a resource-rich interface. Elephants, wild boars, and nilgai are often attracted to palatable crops, leading to conflict with farmers.
- Unsustainable Tourism: Improper disposal of food waste in and around protected areas can attract animals like monkeys and boars, leading to their habituation to human presence and subsequent conflict.
- Solutions and Mitigation Strategies:
- Principle of Coexistence: This involves shifting mindsets from conflict to shared landscapes. It requires community participation and policy support.
- Community-based Models: The Sonitpur Model in Assam, developed by WWF-India, is a prime case study. It involved training community members to drive away elephant herds using non-lethal methods (torches, crackers), changing cropping patterns to less palatable crops (e.g., chilli, ginger), and promoting alternative livelihoods to reduce dependence on forests.
- Early Warning Systems: Using radio collars on herd leaders (e.g., elephants) to track their movement and sending out alerts via SMS, radio broadcasts, or community announcements can help people take preventive measures.
- Long-Term Habitat Management: Improving the quality of habitat within protected areas by increasing the prey base for carnivores (e.g., developing grasslands for deer) and regenerating food sources for herbivores can reduce the need for animals to venture out.
- Relocation (Translocation): This is a complex and often last-resort measure. The translocation of tigers from Ranthambore to Sariska Tiger Reserve in 2008 was a landmark event, aimed at re-establishing a tiger population where it had gone locally extinct due to poaching. While successful in the long run, it faced initial challenges, highlighting the difficulty of such interventions.
- Compensation and Insurance: Providing timely and adequate compensation for crop and livestock losses can reduce retaliatory killings of wildlife by aggrieved farmers. Schemes like Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana can be adapted to cover wildlife-related damage.
- Physical Barriers: Bee-fencing, pioneered in Africa, involves setting up fences with beehives. Elephants, being afraid of bee stings, tend to avoid these areas. This is a low-cost, eco-friendly solution that also provides communities with honey as a source of income.
- Wildlife Corridors: Constructing overpasses (eco-bridges) and underpasses across highways and railway lines allows safe passage for animals, maintaining habitat connectivity. The NH-44 (Seoni-Nagpur) stretch in the Pench tiger corridor is a notable example in India.
Biodiversity Hotspot
The concept of a biodiversity hotspot was first articulated by British ecologist Norman Myers in two articles in The Environmentalist (1988, 1990) and later adopted and refined by Conservation International (CI). It identifies regions that are exceptionally rich in biodiversity but are also under severe threat.
- Criteria for Qualification: A region must meet two strict criteria to be classified as a hotspot by CI:
- High Endemism: It must contain at least 1,500 species of vascular plants (which constitute >0.5% of the world’s total) as endemics. Endemic species are those found nowhere else on Earth.
- High Threat Level: It must have lost at least 70% of its original primary vegetation.
- Global Status: There are currently 36 recognised biodiversity hotspots globally. They represent just 2.4% of the Earth’s land surface but support more than half of the world’s plant species as endemics and nearly 43% of bird, mammal, reptile, and amphibian species as endemics.
- Biodiversity Hotspots in India: India hosts four of the 36 global hotspots.
- The Himalayas: This includes the entire Indian Himalayan region. It is characterised by a vast range of altitudes and climates, supporting a unique assemblage of flora and fauna, including species like the Snow Leopard, Himalayan Tahr, and Red Panda.
- Western Ghats and Sri Lanka: This is a chain of mountains running parallel to India’s western coast. It is one of the world’s “hottest hotspots” due to its exceptional density of endemic species, particularly amphibians (over 80% are endemic) and reptiles. Key species include the Lion-tailed Macaque and Nilgiri Tahr.
- Indo-Burma Region: This large hotspot includes most of Northeast India (excluding Assam), Myanmar, and parts of neighbouring countries. It is known for its high floral diversity and is home to many primate species, including the Hoolock Gibbon (India’s only ape).
- Sundaland: This hotspot includes the Nicobar Islands group of India. The region is known for its rich terrestrial and marine ecosystems, including unique mangrove forests. The Saltwater Crocodile and the endemic Nicobar Megapode are found here.
Biodiversity Conservation
Biodiversity conservation refers to the protection, scientific management, and sustainable use of biological diversity to maintain it at its optimum level and derive sustainable benefits for present and future generations. The methods are broadly classified into two categories.
| Basis of Comparison | Ex-situ Conservation | In-situ Conservation |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Conservation of components of biological diversity outside their natural habitats. It involves moving threatened species to a protected, human-managed environment. | Conservation of ecosystems and natural habitats and the maintenance and recovery of viable populations of species in their natural surroundings. |
| Genetic Diversity | Can be less stable due to a smaller gene pool, leading to risks of inbreeding depression. | More stable as it allows species to evolve in their natural environment, maintaining a larger and more diverse gene pool. |
| Population Growth | Numbers can be increased rapidly through captive breeding programmes, artificial insemination, and other veterinary interventions. | Population growth is subject to natural ecological processes and carrying capacity, hence it is generally slower. |
| Behavioural Aspects | Animals may exhibit behavioural changes due to confinement and lack of natural stimuli. They may lose natural instincts for foraging or predator avoidance. | Behavioural patterns remain natural as the species lives and evolves in its native ecosystem. |
| Methods/Examples | - Zoological Parks (Zoos): e.g., National Zoological Park, Delhi. Regulated by the Central Zoo Authority (CZA). - Botanical Gardens: e.g., Indian Botanic Garden, Shibpur, Kolkata. - Gene Banks & Seed Banks: For preserving genetic material. e.g., National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR) in New Delhi. India also has a seed vault at Chang La, Ladakh. - Cryopreservation: Freezing of gametes, embryos, or tissues at very low temperatures (-196°C). - Captive Breeding Centres: e.g., Jatayu Conservation Breeding Centre, Pinjore, for vultures. | - Area-based Protection: Protecting an entire ecosystem. e.g., National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries, Biosphere Reserves, Conservation Reserves, Community Reserves. - Species-based Protection: Targeted conservation programmes for a specific endangered species. e.g., Project Tiger (1973), Project Elephant (1992). |
Biosphere Reserve (BR)
Biosphere Reserves are sites designated under UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme, launched in 1971. They are internationally recognised areas that demonstrate a balanced relationship between people and nature, promoting solutions for reconciling biodiversity conservation with its sustainable use.
- Main Objectives:
- Conservation: Protection of ecosystems, species, and genetic variation, including both biological and cultural diversity.
- Development: Fostering economic and human development that is socio-culturally and ecologically sustainable.
- Logistic Support: Supporting research, monitoring, education, and information exchange related to local, national, and global conservation and development issues.
- Zonal Structure: Each BR is structured into three interrelated zones:
- Core Area: This is a strictly protected zone dedicated to conservation. It is kept as pristine as possible and is free from human interference. The core areas of BRs are often existing National Parks or Wildlife Sanctuaries.
- Buffer Zone: This area surrounds or adjoins the core area. Activities are managed in ways that help protect the core area. Permissible activities include limited and sustainable tourism, fishing, controlled grazing, research, and educational activities.
- Transition Zone: The outermost part of the reserve, where the greatest level of human activity is permitted. This is an area of active cooperation between reserve management and local communities for sustainable resource management. It includes settlements, agriculture, managed forests, and areas for intensive recreation.
- Biosphere Reserves in India:
- India has a network of 18 designated Biosphere Reserves. These are first designated by the central government.
- Of these 18, 12 are part of the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR) under the MAB Programme. This recognition facilitates international cooperation and knowledge sharing.
- The 12 BRs in the WNBR are:
- Nilgiri (2000)
- Gulf of Mannar (2001)
- Sunderban (2001)
- Nanda Devi (2004)
- Nokrek (2009)
- Pachmarhi (2009)
- Simlipal (2009)
- Achanakmar-Amarkantak (2012)
- Great Nicobar (2013)
- Agasthyamalai (2016)
- Khangchendzonga (2018)
- Panna (2020)
- The remaining 6 BRs not yet on the UNESCO list are: Manas, Dibru-Saikhowa, Dihang-Dibang, Cold Desert, Seshachalam, and Rann of Kutch.
Prelims Pointers
- Poaching: The illegal hunting of wild animals.
- Trophic Cascade: An ecological phenomenon triggered by the addition or removal of top predators, involving reciprocal changes in the relative populations of predator and prey through a food chain.
- Extinct Species due to Hunting: Dodo Bird (Mauritius), Tasmanian Tiger (Australia), Passenger Pigeon (North America). The Woolly Mammoth’s extinction involved both climate change and human hunting.
- Invasive Alien Species (IAS): Defined by IUCN as a non-native species that threatens native biological diversity.
- Characteristics of IAS: Generalists, pioneer species, high reproductive rate (r-strategists), tolerant to wide conditions.
- Examples of IAS in India:
- Prosopis juliflora (Vilayati Babul)
- Lantana camara
- Parthenium hysterophorus (Congress Grass)
- Eichhornia crassipes (Water Hyacinth)
- Giant African Land Snail
- Man-Animal Conflict Mitigation:
- Sonitpur Model (Assam): Community-based model for mitigating human-elephant conflict.
- Bee-fencing: Used to deter elephants.
- Eco-bridges/Wildlife Underpasses: Structural measures to provide safe passage for wildlife across linear infrastructure.
- Relocation Example: Tigers were translocated from Ranthambore to Sariska Tiger Reserve.
- Biodiversity Hotspot:
- Concept given by Norman Myers (1988).
- Promoted by Conservation International (CI).
- Two Criteria: 1) Must have at least 1500 endemic vascular plants. 2) Must have lost at least 70% of its original habitat.
- Total global hotspots: 36.
- Four Hotspots in India: Himalayas, Western Ghats & Sri Lanka, Indo-Burma, Sundaland.
- Conservation Methods:
- In-situ: Conservation in the natural habitat (e.g., National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries, Biosphere Reserves).
- Ex-situ: Conservation outside the natural habitat (e.g., Zoos, Botanical Gardens, Gene Banks, Cryopreservation).
- Ex-situ Institutions:
- Central Zoo Authority (CZA): Regulates zoos in India.
- National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR): India’s nodal organisation for management of plant genetic resources.
- Jatayu Conservation Breeding Centre: Located at Pinjore, Haryana, for vulture conservation.
- Biosphere Reserve (BR):
- Concept launched by UNESCO under its Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme in 1971.
- Three Zones: Core (strictly protected), Buffer (limited human activity), Transition (sustainable human activity).
- Total BRs in India: 18.
- BRs recognised under UNESCO’s MAB World Network: 12.
- The latest Indian BR added to the MAB network is Panna (2020).
Mains Insights
Hunting, Poaching, and Man-Animal Conflict
- Socio-Economic Drivers and Security Implications (GS-III): Poaching is not merely an environmental issue but is deeply linked to poverty, lack of alternative livelihoods, and organized crime. International wildlife trafficking networks often have links with drug smuggling and terrorism financing. Addressing poaching requires a multi-pronged strategy that includes strengthening law enforcement (e.g., Wildlife Crime Control Bureau), providing economic incentives for local communities to participate in conservation, and international cooperation to dismantle trafficking syndicates.
- Development vs. Conservation Debate (GS-III): Man-Animal Conflict is a direct manifestation of the conflict between developmental aspirations and conservation needs. Infrastructure projects like highways and dams are crucial for economic growth but often fragment critical wildlife habitats. The challenge for policymakers is to integrate environmental concerns into development planning through robust Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) and mitigation measures like wildlife corridors, as mandated by bodies like the National Board for Wildlife.
- Ethical Dimensions (GS-IV): MAC raises ethical questions about the rights of animals versus the rights and safety of humans. A compassionate and ethical approach calls for solutions based on the principle of coexistence rather than extermination or displacement of wildlife. It involves fostering empathy in communities and holding authorities accountable for implementing mitigation strategies that respect both human and animal lives.
Invasive Alien Species
- Ecological and Economic Impacts (GS-III): IAS are considered the second-biggest threat to biodiversity after habitat loss. They disrupt ecosystem functions, outcompete native species leading to their decline, and alter nutrient cycles. Economically, they cause massive losses to agriculture (e.g., Parthenium) and fisheries (e.g., Water Hyacinth), and the cost of their management and control is substantial.
- Policy and Management Challenges: The management of IAS is complex because they are widespread and difficult to eradicate once established. Effective policy requires a three-stage hierarchical approach: 1) Prevention (strong quarantine measures at borders), 2) Early detection and rapid response, and 3) Control and management of established populations. The lack of a comprehensive national policy specifically for managing IAS is a significant gap in India’s environmental governance framework.
Conservation Approaches: Hotspots, In-situ vs. Ex-situ
- Critique of the Hotspot Approach: While the hotspot strategy is effective in prioritizing conservation efforts where biodiversity is most concentrated and threatened, it has been critiqued for several reasons.
- Neglect of other areas: It may lead to the neglect of ‘coldspots’ like arid regions or tundra, which may have lower species diversity but unique ecosystems and provide vital ecosystem services.
- Focus on species, not ecosystems: The criteria are heavily based on species counts (plants) and might not adequately represent the importance of overall ecosystem health or functionality.
- Reactive rather than proactive: It focuses on regions that have already lost a significant portion of their habitat, rather than protecting large, intact wilderness areas before they become threatened.
- Complementarity of In-situ and Ex-situ Conservation: The debate is not about which approach is superior but how they can be integrated. In-situ conservation is the most holistic and ideal method as it conserves the entire ecosystem and allows for continued evolution. However, for species on the brink of extinction (critically endangered), ex-situ conservation through captive breeding becomes a crucial “last resort” to prevent their complete disappearance. The ultimate goal of ex-situ programmes is often the reintroduction of the species back into its natural habitat, thus linking back to in-situ conservation (e.g., Vulture and Cheetah reintroduction programmes).
- Biosphere Reserves as a Holistic Model (GS-I & GS-III): The BR concept is one of the most progressive models for conservation because it does not view humans as separate from the environment. By zoning for different levels of human activity, it attempts to integrate conservation with the social and economic needs of local communities. The success of a BR hinges on the active participation of these communities in the management of the buffer and transition zones. This approach aligns with India’s traditional ethos of living in harmony with nature and is crucial for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, challenges remain in effective implementation, resolving conflicts over resource use, and ensuring equitable benefit-sharing with local populations.