Agnes Krocha
A favorite ‘nature game’ I played in childhood was about collecting samples of varieties of plants as one possibly could collect from a certain patch of land and then comparing the varieties of plants collected with playmates. The one who collected the most variety of plants was declared the winner. I don’t remember how many varieties of plants I could collect then but I am sure if I were to play that game again I can still collect hundreds of varieties of plants from our land because we are blessed abundantly in every sense of the word when it comes to natural wealth.
Just take a short nature walk and look around you. You will find diverse forms of life, be it worms or insects, grasses or flowers or trees or animals (Actually I can’t say much about birds or wild animals. I heard a preacher saying that we, nagas, having no more wild animals and birds to kill, have now started killing each other – that head-hunting spirit, BEWARE!).
Biological diversity, popularly termed biodiversity, in the simplest of terms, is the variety of forms of living organisms. It is also referred to as the ‘total biological wealth’. Biodiversity involves genetic diversity (i.e., the amount of genetic variability among individuals of a single species and between species) and ecological diversity (i.e., the number of species in a community of organisms). Scholars have estimated that there may be about 30 million species on earth including plants, microorganisms and animals, while only about 1.5 million species are on record, i.e., identified so far. Among these the majority are insects (7, 50,000), 41,000 are vertebrates (i.e., those having backbones or spinal columns), 2, 50,000 are plants, 1, 00,000 are fungi and the rest are invertebrates and micro-organisms. Fortunately or unfortunately most of the land that nurtures the world’s flora and fauna are located in poor countries and that includes us. We don’t know how many thousands of species of insects, animals, birds or plants are found in Nagaland. But without doubt, ours is a goldmine in biodiversity.
Although we are so rich in biodiversity, little attention is so far paid to conserve this large spectrum of flora and fauna. Biodiversity is taken no more than a frill to environment and forestry agencies which have no expertise of product development from biodiversity. We have yet to comprehend the vast social, economic, scientific, technological, ecological and political potential of biodiversity. It is dreadful to think that with no awareness of our own richness in biodiversity, we may end up exporting biodiversity to our disastrous loss.
The sad thing is often those entrusted with conservation of biodiversity have no idea whatsoever about the work of those engaged in utilization and vice versa. There is little interaction between the two. POLICY MAKERS have to realize that conservation and sustainable utilization of biodiversity has to be central to all development and planning.
It is said that each day the world is losing one plant and one animal species. This threatens the very survival of mankind. Perhaps many of us are not even aware that our daily basic needs are met through biodiversity, the food you eat, the clothes you wear, the shelter you have are all products of biodiversity. The usefulness of different plants and animals cannot be overemphasized. From the oxygen we breathe to the medicines and cosmetics we use, the conservation of clean air, water and soil are possible only through biodiversity.
When varieties of plants or animals are destroyed, the genetic diversity within the species is reduced. Species such as rice and maize, for instance, contain only a fraction of the genetic diversity they possessed only a few decades ago. Each variety within a species contains unique genes and the diversity of genes within a species increases its capacity to adapt to pollution, disease and other changes in the environment.
So, at the end of the day, if we have preserved the numerous varieties of plants and animals, we have done it in our own interest and for our own welfare.
(The writer has done M.Sc (Environmental Science and Technology) and B.Ed. She also writes and teaches science in a High School)
aggiekrocha@gmail.com
