Conservation of Biological Diversity

Conservation of biological diversity, often referred to simply as biodiversity conservation, is a crucial endeavor aimed at protecting the variety and variability of life on Earth. It encompasses the conservation of ecosystems, species, and genetic diversity, recognizing their intrinsic value as well as their essential contributions to human well-being and sustainable development. At its core, biodiversity conservation seeks to safeguard the intricate web of life that supports ecological balance, provides ecosystem services vital for human survival, and enriches our cultural heritage. Through concerted efforts in conservation science, policy-making, and community engagement, the goal is to mitigate threats such as habitat loss, climate change, invasive species, pollution, and overexploitation that imperil biodiversity worldwide. By promoting responsible stewardship and sustainable practices, biodiversity conservation strives to ensure that future generations inherit a resilient and biodiverse planet.

Table of Contents

Constraints in Biodiversity Conservation

Pressure from population growth and increased resource consumption, production of waste, breaking down of bio-geographical barriers. Lack of political will to prioritize or mainstream biodiversity conservation and to invest in its implementation. Lack of enabling policy, legal, and institutional environment. Failure to articulate clear goals and identify specific problems that need solving in order for goals to be met. Inherent difficulty of changing behavior that is having a negative impact on biodiversity. Difficulty of maintaining conservation values while promoting development. Simplistic assumptions about the effect of poverty alleviation on attitudes to biodiversity conservation. Simplistic assumptions about nature and functioning of communities. Need to reconcile conflicting needs of users while also meeting conservation goals. Scientific uncertainty or inadequate capacity creates uncertainty about outcomes of actions. Lack of capacity to control, selection of inappropriate control methods. Conflicting management goals, disagreement over permissible level of intervention. Uncertainty and conflict about optimal approach to conservation. Scarcity of skills in leadership, conflict management, and applying a multi-disciplinary approach. Conservation has no end-point; funding and project cycles are short-term, difficult to reconcile these timescales.

Critically Endangered (Mammals) Pygmy Hog (Porcula salvania) Conservation of Biological Diversity

Listed as Critically Endangered because its population size is estimated to number fewer than 250 mature individuals, with all individuals in a single subpopulation, and it is experiencing a continuing decline with adults weighing only Bkgs.

Range Description: In the past, this species was confirmed from only a very few locations in northern West Bengal and north-western Assam in India, but is believed likely to have occurred in tall, wet alluvial grasslands extending in a narrow belt south of the Himalayan foothills from north-western Uttar Pradesh and southern Nepal to Assam, possibly extending at intervals into contiguous habitats in southern Bhutan (Oliver 1980). However, it is now confined to very few locations in and around Manas National Park in north-western Assam.
Countries: India, Bangladesh, and Nepal.
Habitat and Ecology: The Pygmy Hog is the smallest and the rarest wild squid in the world. This species is dependent on early successional riverine communities, typically comprising dense tall grasslands, commonly referred to as ‘thatchland’, but which, in its pristine state, is intermixed with a wide variety of herbaceous plants and early colonizing shrubs and young trees.
Major Threat(s): The main threats to the survival of the Pygmy Hog are loss and degradation of habitat due to human settlements, agricultural encroachments, dry-season burning, livestock grazing, commercial forestry, and flood control schemes; the latter as a result of the disruption of natural successions and the replacements of former grasslands by later-stage communities or other developments.
Conservation Actions: The Pygmy Hog Conservation Programme (PHCP) is a broad-based research and conservation programme for this highly threatened species and its equally endangered habitats. It is being conducted under the aegis of a formal International Agreement, originally signed in New Delhi in 1995 and later renewed as a Memorandum of Understanding in 2001, between IUCN SSC Pigs Peccaries and Hippos Specialist Group, Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust (DWCT), the Forest Department, Government of Assam, and the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India.

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Andaman White-toothed Shrew (Crocidura andamanensis)

Listed as Critically Endangered because its extent of occurrence is less than 100 km², all individuals are in a single location (South Andaman Island), and there is a continuing decline in the extent and quality of its habitat.
Range Description: This species was previously only known by the holotype from ‘South Andaman Island’, India in the eastern Indian Ocean. A single individual of this species was recently collected on Mount Harriet, South Andaman Island.

Countries: India (Andaman Is. – Regionally Extinct)

Habitat and Ecology: This species is a nocturnal animal that lives in tropical moist deciduous and evergreen forests, where it inhabits leaf litter and rock crevices.

Major Threat(s): This species is threatened by habitat loss due to anthropogenic activities on the island, except within the National Park. It is possible that the habitat of this species was damaged by the December 2004 tsunami event.

Conservation Actions: This species has been recorded from Mount Harriet National Park. Taxonomic research and field surveys to determine the population size, range, and current status of the available habitat, along with ongoing monitoring of populations, are needed.

Kondana Rat (Millardia kondana)

Range Description: This species is endemic to India, known only from the small Singharh plateau (about 1 km²), near Pune in Maharashtra. It has been reported from an elevation of about 1,270 m and is restricted to a single location based on surveys and observed habitat.

Countries: India (Maharashtra)

Habitat and Ecology: It is a nocturnal and fossorial species. It occurs in tropical and subtropical dry deciduous forests and tropical scrub. It has been found to occupy bushy scrub and sometimes builds nests.

Major Threat(s): The major threats to the species are general loss of habitat, overgrazing of vegetation, and disturbance from tourism.

Conservation Actions: It is listed in Schedule V (considered as vermin) of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. It is not known from any protected areas. Surveys, limiting factor research, habitat management, and captive breeding are recommended for this species.

Namdapha Flying Squirrel (Biswamoyopterus biswasi)

Range Description: This species is only known with certainty from a single specimen collected in Namdapha National Park (at altitudes of 100-350 m Tirap District, Arunachal Pradesh, and northeastern India). The surrounding area has been well surveyed, but there have been no verified sightings of the species since. It might be restricted to the area of a single valley within the park.

Habitat and Ecology: It is mostly crepuscular and arboreal. It occurs in dry deciduous montane forests occupying moist forest tracts along streams.

Major Threat(s): Poaching of animals for food within the park has been observed to be a major threat. The species appears to have a restricted range, with presumably some general habitat loss and degradation taking place. Additional threats include habitat loss through landslides and flooding.

Conservation Actions: The species is not protected by any legislation. It is known from Namdapha National Park, Arunachal Pradesh, India. There is a need to maintain suitable areas of habitat for this species and to undertake detailed field surveys to determine whether the species still persists and to establish its current distribution range.

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Kashmir Stag/Hangul (Cervus elaphus hanglu) Conservation of Biological Diversity

This species is listed as Least Concern due to a wide circumpolar distribution and presumed large populations. There have been range contractions and presumably population declines in some parts of the species’ range both in Eurasia and North America, but it is not believed to approach the threshold for the population decline criterion of the IUCN Red List (i.e., declining more than 30% in ten years or three generations). However, genetic mixing as a result of introductions of deer from different areas is a problem that should be addressed. It is a subspecies of Red Deer native to India.

Red Deer

Range Description: The red deer has a large global distribution extending from Europe and North Africa through central Asia, Siberia, the Far East, and North America. In India, it is found in the mountains of Kashmir valley and northern Chamba in Himachal Pradesh.

Habitat and Ecology: It inhabits open deciduous woodland, upland moors and open mountainous areas (sometimes above the tree line), natural grasslands, pastures, and meadows. In woodland, its diet consists mainly of shrub and tree shoots, but in other habitats, it also consumes grasses, sedges, and shrubs.

Major Threat(s): In India, the species historically declined due to intensive hunting until conservation measures were implemented in the late 1970s. High densities of domestic stock (primarily sheep) and human disturbance have also been contributing factors.

Endangered Mammals

Wild Ass/Khur (Equus hemionus)

Listed as Endangered: The Wild Ass is estimated to have declined by more than 50% over the past 16 years based on direct observation and potential/actual levels of exploitation. The decline is expected to continue by more than 50% over the next 10 to 21 years.

Native: China, India, Iran, Mongolia, Turkmenistan.

Regionally extinct: Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Russian Federation, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Turkey.

Reintroduced: Israel, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan.

Habitat and Ecology: The Asiatic Wild Ass inhabits mountain steppe, steppe, semi-desert, and desert plains. They are usually found in desert steppe.

Major Threat(s): The Khur (Equus hemionus khur) in the Little Rann of Kutch is the subspecies subject to the most direct threat from increasing human activities. The ecology of the Wild Ass Sanctuary, for example, is threatened by the Sardar Sarovar Project of the Narmada Development Authority.

Conservation Actions: Over 30% of the Khur population is ranging outside the Protected Area. Mitigation measures for the increasing number of wildlife-human conflicts are urgently needed. There is a need for an assessment of the status of Khur along the India-Pakistan border adjoining the Rann. The Wild Ass Sanctuary was identified as one of the six landscape sites in India for biodiversity conservation through improved rural livelihoods, a program aided by the World Bank (Government of India, 2007).

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Himalayan Brown Bear (Ursus arctos isabellinus)

The Himalayan brown bear (Ursus arctos isabellinus) is a subspecies of the brown bear. Himalayan brown bears are known to have a sexual dimorphism, where males are larger than females. In October, these bears usually go into hibernation and emerge from their cave or den around April through May. It is India’s largest animal in the Himalayas. In Deosai National Park, Pakistan, they are the largest animals.

Range: The range of this brown bear includes Pakistan, Tibet, Nepal, and India.

Habitat: The Himalayan brown bear is an omnivore and is known to eat small mammals, insects, plants, roots, fruits, and berries.

Conservation Status: The conservation status of this bear is listed as endangered by the IUCN, and the trade of these animals is prohibited under the Wildlife Protection Act in Pakistan. It is thought that they may already be extinct in Bhutan.

Dhole, Red Dog, Indian Wild Dog, Asiatic Wild Dog (Cuon alpinus)

It is estimated that fewer than 2,500 mature individuals remain in the wild, and the declining population trend is expected to continue.

Range Description: Dholes are still found throughout much of India south of the river Ganges, especially in the Central Indian Highlands and the Western and Eastern Ghats of the southern states. They are also found throughout northeast India, in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, and West Bengal.

Habitat and Ecology: The dhole is found in a wide variety of vegetation types, including primary, secondary, and degraded forms of tropical dry and moist deciduous forest; evergreen and semi-evergreen forests; dry thorn forests; grassland-scrub-forest mosaics; and alpine steppe (above 3,000 m). They are not recorded from desert regions. In India, tropical dry and moist deciduous forests may represent optimal habitats, based on the regions thought to hold the largest dhole populations.

Threat: Main threats to the species include ongoing habitat loss, depletion of prey base, interspecific competition, persecution, and possibly disease transfer from domestic and feral dogs.

Conservation Actions: In India, the dhole is protected under Schedule 2 of the Wildlife Act of 1972 (permission is required to kill any individual unless in self-defense or if an individual is a mankiller). The creation of Project Tiger Reserves in India has provided some protection for populations of the dukhunensis subspecies.

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Golden Langur (Trachypithecus geei)

Listed as Endangered because of a serious population decline, estimated to be more than 50% over the last three generations (thirty years), inferred from observed reduction in the extent of its habitat; and because its population size is estimated to number fewer than 2,500 mature individuals, with an observed continuing decline in the number of mature individuals, and no subpopulation contains more than 250 mature individuals.

Himalayan Red Panda

Range Description: This species occurs only in Bhutan and northeastern India (Assam). It is confined to a forest belt in western Assam between the Manas River in the east, Sankosh in the west, and Brahmaputra in the south along the Indo-Bhutan border. Its distribution in Bhutan is limited to the foothills of the Black Mountains. The population in India is highly fragmented, with the southern population completely separated from the northern population due to the effects of human activities.

Habitat and Ecology: This species is found in moist evergreen, dipterocarp, riverine, and moist deciduous forests, and occasionally in degraded habitats with secondary growth. This species experiences a considerable range in elevation from near sea-level in the south to above 3,000 m in the north. The diet consists of young and mature leaves, ripe and unripe fruits, and seeds, with most feeding spent on young leaves. This species prefers fruits and buds to leaves. In forest fragments, they may depend on cultivated crops such as tapioca, betel, and guava. It is diurnal and arboreal.

Major Threat(s): Due to habitat destruction, the populations of this species are restricted to fragmented forest pockets, especially in India. Habitat destruction is the major threat to this species in India.

Conservation Actions: This species is a Schedule I species in the Wildlife Protection Act (1972). It is also listed on CITES Appendix I. The Chakrashila Wildlife Sanctuary is the only protected habitat for this species in India.

Himalayan Wolf

Himalayan Wolf is the most endangered mammal of the Indian Subcontinent. The Himalayan Wolf was believed to be a subspecies of the gray wolf called the Tibetan wolf (Canis lupus chanco). However, recent studies on the Himalayan Wolf suggest that it should be considered as a distinct species, and it is given the name Canis himalayensis.

Range: There are only 350 Himalayan Wolves surviving in the trans-Himalayan region of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir in northern India.

Habitat: The wolf is considered to be carnivorous.

Threat: The major threat to the Himalayan Wolf is its conflict with local villagers in the region of its habitat. The wolf, locally known as Shanku, is considered a key threat to the livestock of the villagers. Another major problem affecting the whole wildlife in the Himalayan region is climate change. Global warming or increasing temperatures are causing glacier melt in the region, affecting the habitat of the Himalayan wolf which survives in this low-temperature region. Another major problem with the conservation of the Himalayan Wolf is the absence of a protected area. The Indian government has not yet declared any protected areas for this rare mammal species.

Conservation Process: Captive breeding programs have been started for the Tibetan wolves in four zoos in India. These are Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park, Darjeeling; Himalayan Zoological Park, Gangtok; Himalayan Nature Park, Kufri; and Pt. Gobind Vallabh Pant High Altitude Zoo, Nainital. These programs are for Tibetan wolves, and there is no special program for the Himalayan wolves. The captive breeding population is around 20. More funds and areas need to be allocated to these captive breeding programs to make them successful. Only Darjeeling Zoo is trying to solve this problem of the Himalayan endangered species by planning to set up an off-display breeding center.

Himalayan Musk Deer (Moschus chrysogaster)

Listed as Endangered: Because of a probable serious population decline, estimated to be more than 50% over the last three generations (approximately 21 years).

Range Description: This species occurs from the highlands of central China, south and west to the Himalayas, extending to eastern Nepal, Bhutan, and northeastern India.

Habitat and Ecology: This species is found on barren plateaus at high altitudes, where it occupies meadows, fell-fields, shrublands, or fir forests. Its main predators include yellow-throated marten, fox, wolf, and lynx.

Major Threat(s): The musk produced by this genus of primitive deer is highly valued for its cosmetic and alleged pharmaceutical properties in the international market. Musk deer also appear to require dense vegetation, either in the form of intact forests or shrublands; thus excessive forest clearing or grazing can preclude musk deer from using such lands.

Hog Deer (Axis porcinus)

The current most appropriate category for Hog Deer is endangered.
Range Description: The Hog Deer historically occurred from Pakistan, throughout northern and northeastern India, including the Himalayan foothill zone, east across non-Sundaic Southeast Asia and, marginally, southern China (southern Yunnan province), but is now reduced to isolated populations within this range.
Habitat and Ecology: Hog Deer have usually been reported from habitat consisting of wet or moist tall grasslands, often associated with medium- to large-sized rivers and appears to reach its highest densities in floodplain grasslands.
Major Threat(s): Hog Deer is threatened by hunting and by habitat loss and degradation. In Kaziranga National Park, where the largest population of this species is found, flooding is likely to be a major threat.
Conservation Actions: The Hog Deer is fully protected in Bangladesh, India, and probably most or all other range states. In India and Nepal, Hog Deer has benefited from conservation measures taken for Great Indian Rhinoceros and Barasingha in the same wet grassland habitats.

Lion-tailed Macaque (Macaca silenus)

Listed as Endangered as the total number of mature individuals is less than 2,500 with no subpopulation having more than 250 mature individuals. There are estimates of a continued decline of over 20% of the populations in the next approximately 25 years, along with hunting and continued loss of habitat.
Range Description: This species is endemic to the Western Ghats hill ranges in southwestern India from the Kalakkadu Hills north to Anshi Ghat, in the states of Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. Although the species has a relatively wide range, its area of occupancy is small and severely fragmented.
Habitat and Ecology: Mainly arboreal, this species prefers the upper canopy of primary tropical evergreen rainforest but may also be found in monsoon forest in hilly country and in disturbed forest. It is even known to persist in areas with human-planted fruit trees such as Jackfruit, guava, passionfruit, and others, although populations fluctuate based on fruit tree availability within a forest fragment. They are frugivorous/insectivorous.
Major Threat(s): The major threat to this species today is habitat fragmentation, with many of these fragments being further decreased. In the past, habitat loss was due mainly to timber harvest and the creation of exotic plantations such as tea, eucalyptus, and coffee. Habitat degradation seems to be the biggest threat to the conservation of lion-tailed macaques wherever they occur in Kerala.
Conservation Actions: There should be management of private lands, which hold perhaps a quarter of the remaining populations: this would ideally include maintaining coffee and cardamom plantations where populations remain. The second major need is to improve the remaining fragments that are not in conflict with agriculture. Further management of this species requires the remediation of the effects of habitat disturbance and fragmentation, including the linking of forest fragments and the manipulation of demographic structures.

Greater One-horned Rhino, Great Indian Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis)

The Greater One-horned Rhinoceros populations are increasing overall due to strict protection, especially in India. However, some populations are decreasing, especially in Nepal and parts of northeastern India. The species is currently confined to fewer than ten sites.
Range Description: Currently, the Indian rhinoceros exists in a few small subpopulations in Nepal and India (West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Assam).
Habitat and Ecology: The species inhabits the riverine grasslands of the Terai and Brahmaputra Basins. The species prefers these alluvial plain grasslands, but was known to occur in adjacent swamps and forests. The diet includes mainly grasses, but also some fruit, leaves, shrub and tree branches, and cultivated crops.
Major Threat(s): This species declined to near extinction in the early 1900s, primarily due to widespread conversion of alluvial plains grasslands to agricultural development, which led to human-rhino conflicts and easier accessibility for hunters. However, poaching, mainly for the use of the horn in Traditional Chinese Medicine, has remained a constant threat and the success is precarious without continued and increased support for conservation efforts in India and Nepal. Poaching has led to decreases in several important populations.
Conservation Actions: The species has been included on CITES Appendix I since 1975. The Indian and Nepalese governments have taken major steps towards Indian Rhinoceros conservation, especially with the help of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and other non-governmental organizations. With the support of the IUCN SSC Asian Rhino Specialist Group, an Indian Rhino Vision 2020 and a Nepal Rhino Action Plan have been developed.

Vulnerable Mammals

Chiru, Tibetan Antelope (Pantholops hodgsonii)

The decline is estimated to have exceeded 50% and continuing over a period of 3 generations (est. 18-20 years, 1983-2003). Recently reported improvements in its overall conservation situation indicate the potential for a possible revised uplisting.
Range Description: The main stronghold of the species is in the remote Chang Tang area of northwestern Tibet. A small number occur seasonally in northeast Ladakh, in the extreme north of India. Formerly occurred in a small area of northwest Nepal.
Habitat and Ecology: Inhabit high altitude plains, undulating hills plateau, and montane valleys at elevations of 3,700-5,500 m. Most populations are highly migratory or nomadic, moving hundreds of kilometers between summer and winter ranges.
Major Threat(s): Chiru have long been hunted for their underfur (shahtoosh), which is renowned for its quality and which has traditionally been transported to Srinagar in Kashmir, where it is woven into an extremely fine fabric used to make shawls. This hunting escalated to a commercial scale in the late 1980s and 1990s, becoming the major threat to Chiru and leading to a severe decline in numbers.
Conservation Actions: Listed on Appendix I of CITES. The Chiru is legally protected in China and India, but enforcement of the law over the vast area of its habitat has been problematic. However, enforcement efforts have recently been intensified, public awareness of the Chiru within China has increased, and some populations have evidently begun to respond.

Himalayan Tahr (Hemitragus jemlahicus)

Listed as Near Threatened because this species is believed to be in significant decline (but probably at a rate of less than 30% over three generations, taken at 21 years).
Range Description: This species is found in the Himalayas including China (southern Tibet), north India (Jammu and Kashmir to Sikkim), and Nepal. It is introduced in New Zealand and Western Cape Province of South Africa.
Habitat and Ecology: The Himalayan tahr inhabits steep rocky mountain sides, especially between 3,000-4,000 m, with woods and rhododendron scrub. The species eats grass, other herbs, and some fruits. The Himalayan tahr is diurnal and lives in small groups of 2-20 individuals, excluding older solitary males.
Major Threat(s): In India, Himalayan tahr is sometimes hunted for meat, and there is apparently significant competition with livestock for summer grazing in some areas. Nevertheless, many areas of prime tahr habitat are sufficiently isolated, rugged, and seasonally snow-covered, so the degree of disturbance, livestock grazing, and habitat alteration by humans is minimized.
Conservation Actions: Listed as Category I species in China. It is not listed on CITES. In India, protected areas with Himalayan tahr include: Jammu and Kashmir – Kishtwar National Park (locally threatened); Himachal Pradesh – Great Himalayan National Park (confirmed), and Daranghati (locally threatened). The lack of population data precludes a satisfactory status designation within its relatively restricted range.

Indian Blackbuck (Antelope cervicapra)

The blackbuck is an ungulate species of antelope native to the Indian subcontinent that has been classified as near threatened by IUCN since 2003.
Range Distribution: Blackbucks ranged in open plains from the base of the Himalayas to the neighborhood of Cape Comorin, and from the Punjab to Lower Assam. They were abundant in the North-Western Provinces, Rajputana, parts of the Deccan, and on the plains near the coast of Orissa and Lower Bengal. The Black Buck (Krishna Saar) is an endangered and fully protected species in Nepal.
Habitat: They like to live in open grassland and dry thorn and scrubland.
Food Habit: Blackbuck are herbivore animals. They graze the soft grass and eat leaves, herbs, and shrubs.
Threat: The main threats to the species are poaching, predation, habitat destruction, overgrazing, diseases, inbreeding, and sanctuary visitors.
Conservation: In India, hunting of blackbucks is prohibited under the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. Blackbucks can be seen in zoos.

Gaur (Bos gaurus)

The gaur, also called Indian bison, is the largest extant bovine and is native to South Asia and Southeast Asia. The species is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1986.
Range Description: Gaur historically occurred throughout mainland South and Southeast Asia, including Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, China, Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Myanmar, India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal. Today, the species is seriously fragmented within its range and regionally extinct in Sri Lanka.
Habitat and Ecology: They are basically diurnal. In other areas, they have become largely nocturnal due to forest molestation caused by people. Wild gaur graze and browse on a wider variety of plants than any other ungulate species of India, with a preference for the upper portions of plants, such as leaf blades, stems, seeds, and flowers of grass species, including kadam.
Threats: Gaurs are highly threatened by poaching for trade to supply international markets, but also by opportunistic hunting and specific hunting for home consumption.
Conservation: Bos gaurus is listed in CITES Appendix I and is legally protected in all range states.