At a time, when the Green Ministry is trying to speed up clearances of infra projects, the Fifth National Report on Convention of Biodiversity prepared by the Environment Ministry, rings alarm bells over destruction of forest and biodiversity in the country, particularly in the global biodiversity hotspots of Himalayas, Western Ghats, North-East and the Nicobar Islands.
The report states that at a conservative estimate, the country has spent approximately `9,200 crore in the last financial year on activities that have a direct as well as indirect bearing on conservation of its biodiversity.
“Habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation through conversion of land use due to agriculture, urbanisation and industrial development, invasive alien species and over exploitation of natural resources, including plants and animals, are among the major threats faced by biodiversity in India,” says the report.
It further states that mining and quarrying has caused serious habitat loss and degradation, with severe consequences for the ecology of areas such as the Aravalli range and the Western Ghats.
An increasing incidence of forest fires is also a growing threat, particularly in the Himalaya and in areas with dry deciduous forests in Southern India. “Anthropogenic climate change remains an overarching threat, particularly for vulnerable ecosystems such as mountains and coastal areas,” says the report.
Expressing concerns over the loss and degradation of grasslands across the country, the report says that endangered grassland species as the Great Indian Bustard and its family --Bengal florican, lesser florican, Houbara Bustard have been gravely affected. The Blackbuck, Chinkara, Indian wolf, Golden jackal, Indian fox and Nilgai have also not been spared. Traditional hunting practices for bush meat are also threatening the populations of species in certain regions of North-East India.
According to the report, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands with some of the most pristine island ecosystems of the world is also facing habitat loss and degradation posing major threats to its marine biodiversity .
The Nicobar Islands are characterised by an absence of large mammals and the presence of a significant number of endemics, such as Nicobar tree shrew. They are fringed by one of the most spectacular reefs of the Indian ocean and considered to be globally significant.