INTRODUCTION:

All life on earth is part of one great, interdependent system. It

interacts with, and depends on, the non-living components of the planet:

atmosphere, oceans, freshwaters, rocks, and soils. Humanity depends

totally on this community of life - this biosphere - of which we are an

integral part. Biological diversity, or biodiversity, is the variety of the

world's organisms, including their genetic diversity and the assemblages

they form. It is the blanket term for the natural biological wealth that

undergirds human life and well-being. The breadth of the concept reflects

the interrelatedness of genes, species, and ecosystems.

The variation of the living nature on the planet earth -the

biodiversity or diversity of life - is still overwhelming. Our planet supports

between 3 and 30 million species of plants, animals, fungi, single-celled

prokaryotes such as bacteria, and single-celled eukaryotes such as

protozoans. Of this total, only about 1.4 million species have been named

so far, and fewer than 1 percent have been studied for their ecological

relationships and their role in ecosystems. A little more than half the

named species are insects, which dominate terrestrial and freshwater

communities worldwide; the laboratories of systematists are filled with

insect species yet to be named and described. Hence, the relationships of

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organisms to their environments and the roles that species play in the

biosphere are only beginning to be understood. From which does this

richness arise.

Mass Extinction: The Social Problem of the Century

Despite numerous conservation efforts in the past, evidence pointed

to a continued decline in almost all species worldwide. The 1996 Red List

of Threatened Animals issued by the International Union for Conservation

of Nature and Natural Resources identified 5,205 species in danger of

extinction. In tropical forests alone, for example, biologists estimated that

three species were being extinguished every hour. Much of the decline or

mass extinction was caused by the destruction of habitats, especially

logging. Only 6 percent of the Earth's forests were formally protected,

which left the remaining 33.6 million"'sq km (13 million sq mi) vulnerable

to exploitation.

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Biodiversity: A New Strategy for Conservation

Although the idea of conservation or protection is probably as old as

the human species, the use of the word in its present context is relatively

recent. Over the years conservation has acquired many connotations: to

some it has meant the protection of wild nature, to others the sustained

production of useful materials from the resources of the Earth. The most

widely accepted definition, presented in 12SO in World Conservation

Strategy by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and

Natural Resources, is that of "the management of human use of the

biosphere so that it may yield the greatest sustainable benefit while

maintaining its potential to meet the needs and aspirations of future

generations". The document defines the objectives of the conservation of

living resources as: maintenance of essential ecological processes and

life-support systems, preservation of genetic diversity, and guarantee of

the sustainable use of species and ecosystems. More generally,

conservation involves practices that perpetuate the resources of the Earth

on which human beings depend and that maintain the diversity of living

organisms that share the planet. This includes such activities as the

protection and restoration of endangered species, the careful use or

recycling of scarce mineral resources, the rational use of energy resources,

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and the sustainable use of soils and living resources. Conservation is

necessarily based on a knowledge of ecology (the science concerned with

the relationship between life and the environment), but ecology itself is

based on a wide variety of disciplines, and conservation involves human

feelings, beliefs, and attitudes as well as science and technology.

Aims and Objectives:

1) To increase public awareness through media, government agencies,

NGOS etc.

2) The important strict restriction on export of rare plants and animals.

3) The presence cell variants of old and new flora, fauna and microbes.

4) To protect all critically and conserved the natural habitats.

5) Maintenance of biodiversity, its saving by using sustainability.

Materials and Method:

Many methods for quantifying the benefit of biodiversity.

1) Change in productivity method.

2) Contingent valuation method.

3) Hedonic pricing method.

4) Travel cost method.

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Chapter Scheme:

1) Introduction

2) Review of Literature

3) Material and Method

4) Result and Discussion

5) Summary and Conclusion

References :

1) Btown, W. L. (1983); Genetic Diversity And Genetic Vulnerability

– An Appraisal, Econ Botany; 37 : 1-12.

2) Tilman, D. (1999); The Consequences of Biodiversity; A search for

General Principle, Ecology.

3) WCE; (1980), “World Conservation Strategy”, prepared by IUCN,

UNEP, WWF, FAO And UNESCO

Signature of Supervisor Signature of Student

Dr. (Ku.) Vimal P. Dakhane Miss. Rama P. Sakhare
Dr. Ambedkar College of Arts, Dr. Ambedkar College of Arts,
Commerce & Science, Chandrapur Commerce & Science, Chandrapur
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