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| Kambalakonda Wildlife Sanctuary, Eastern Ghats Pic courtesy: Srichakra Pranav, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons |
V Nilesh | Hyderabad
In India, there’s a massive gap between the forest areas that need protection and the forest areas that are currently protected. Thousands of unprotected endemic flora and fauna species fall through this gap and are extremely vulnerable to extinction. There’s an urgent need to expand India's Protected Area Network to include forest areas that are home to these endemic species, highlights a study by ISRO's National Remote Sensing Center, Hyderabad.
What are Endemic Species?
Endemic species of flora (plants) and fauna (animals) exist only in a particular geographical region and cannot be found anywhere else in the world.
I believe it is common sense as to why the endemic species need to be conserved — because they are unique, as they aren’t found anywhere else! Some species are so unique that their habitats are located within just one state or a small forest range.
The Endemic Species Wealth of India
12,696 species of flora and 29,787 species of fauna are found only in India and nowhere else.
According to the Botanical Survey of India, there are 48,218 species of flora (flora includes flowering and non-flowering plants, algae, lichen, and fungi). Of these, 12,696, or about 26% of all flora species in India are endemic!
According to the Zoological Survey of India, there are 98,156 species of fauna in India (apart from mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and fishes, fauna also includes a wide variety of invertebrates). Of these, 29,787 species, or about 30% of all fauna species in India, are endemic.
India’s Protected Area Network
India has a network of 870 protected forests, known as Protected Areas, spread over 165,158.54 square kilometers, covering 5.02% of the country’s total geographic area. This is twice the geographical area of Ireland.
The 870 Protected Areas in India comprise 104 National Parks, 551 Wildlife Sanctuaries, 88 Conservation Reserves, and 127 Community Reserves.
While forests exist outside these Protected Areas, they are not as well protected as Wildlife Sanctuaries or National Parks that have special protection measures and trained staff to implement them.
These are Not Enough to Protect Endemic Species, Highlights NRSC Study
A team of scientists, headed by Dr. C. Sudhakar Reddy, Head, Forest Biodiversity and Ecology Division, National Remote Sensing Center, an arm of the Indian Space Research Organization in Hyderabad, conducted a brilliant, much-required study.
The scientists took a representative sample of 1,322 endemic flora species and 1,326 endemic fauna species for the study. They studied the geographic distribution of these endemic species and analyzed their representation in the 870 Protected Areas.
What they found is shocking — more than half of the endemic fauna species and almost half of the endemic flora species in India exist outside the Protected Areas. As forests outside the Protected Areas receive less protection and government attention, these endemic species are vulnerable to exploitation and extinction.
The Shocking Findings
According to the published study, “Of the 1322 endemic plant species, 735 (55.60%) were recorded from 240 protected areas, while 587 species (44.40%) were found outside protected areas.”
When you look deeper, an ugly picture emerges from the details. The distribution of the existing endemic species in protected areas is highly skewed, as 61% of the endemic flora species (451 species) are found in a single protected area.
A much less number of endemic fauna species exist in Protected Areas, although their distribution is slightly less skewed. Of the 1,326 endemic fauna species, 457 species (34%) are distributed in the protected areas. This means 869 fauna species exist outside the protected areas.
These numbers are just for the sample size of 1,322 endemic flora species and 1,326 endemic fauna species considered for the study. If all the 12,696 endemic species of flora and 29,787 endemic species of fauna are considered, the outcomes might reveal an even more shocking picture.
The study titled ‘Patterns of animal and plant discoveries, distribution and endemism in India—implications on the effectiveness of the protected area network’ has been published in the Springer journal, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment.
Indian Endemic Species at a Higher Risk
The study points out that the Indian fauna and flora are characterized by “a narrow distribution range and high levels of endemism.” This means that in small geographical regions, many diverse endemic species are found in India. This means that the geographic spread of most Indian endemic species is usually small.
Why is this worrisome? Because Indian endemic species are present in small numbers over a small area. Even minor disturbances in their habitat due to deforestation, poaching, or climate change are enough to wipe them out into extinction.
Moral of the Story
Conservation should not just be about declaring some patches of forests as Wildlife Sanctuaries or National Parks. It should also take into consideration biodiversity and, essentially, the protection of endemic species.
The scientists point out in their study, “If the conservation goal is species representation, then the expansion of the network of protected area system must account for biodiversity patterns, rather than rely on general percentage-based area targets.”
The study by C. Sudhakar Reddy and other scientists at NRSC is the first step toward analyzing the gap between the protected and unprotected endemic species.
They suggest a way forward: "This study attempted to provide the first prototype national gap analysis in assessing the effectiveness of protected areas in representing endemic species. It is pointing out the requirement for identifying many geographic regions under an extension of the protected area network. The nationwide studies of assessment of biodiversity across community level to species level are required as a first step towards addressing essential biodiversity variables. There is a need for creating comprehensive geo-spatial data on all endemic and threatened species for effective conservation plans. A Regional Gap Analysis Program is required for identifying endemic species and threatened species, which are not represented within the existing protected area network.”
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