CMS
About –
Convention on the “Conservation of Migratory Species” of Wild Animal
- CMS an environmental under the aegis of the United Nations Environment Programme.
- CMS provides a global platform for the conservation and sustainable use of migratory animals and their habitats.
Organization –
- CMS came into force in 1983.
- CMS secretariat is located in Bonn, Germany.
- The CMS secretariat is provided and administered by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
Migratory Animals –
- Migratory animals are essential components of the ecosystems that support all life on Earth.
- By acting as pollinators and seed distributors they contribute to ecosystem structure and function
- They provide food for other animals and regulate the number of species in ecosystems.
- Migratory animals are potentially very effective indicators of environmental changes that affect us all.
Threats to Migratory Species –
- Unsustainable hunting and fishing practices
- Incidental capture in fisheries takes a heavy toll on thousands of species.
- Habitat loss and degradation –
- Destruction of wetlands, forests and grasslands removes food and shelter vital to life.
- The introduction of alien species and harmful effects of industrial and agricultural pollutants are further risks.
- Barriers to migration –
- roads, fences, dams , power lines and wind farms
- Disrupt migratory patterns and result in a significant number of deaths.
Process –
- CMS brings together the States and internationally coordinates the conservation measures for migratory animals.
- The agreements may range from legally binding treaties to less formal instruments, such as Memoranda of Understanding.
- Appendix I-
- Migratory species threatened with extinction are listed on Appendix I of the Convention.
- CMS Parties
Protect these animals
Conserve or restore the places where they live
Mitigate the obstacles to migration
Control other factors that might endanger them
- Appendix II –
- Migratory species that need or would significantly benefit from international co-operation are listed in Appendix II of the Convention.
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
About –
- The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data List)
- Founded in 1964, it is the world’s most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species.
- IUCN is the world’s main authority on the conservation status of species.
- A series of Regional Red List are produced by countries or organizations.
- The IUCN Red List is set upon precise criteria to evaluate the extinction risk of thousands of species and subspecies.
Classification –
- Species are classified by the IUCN Red List into nine groups.
- Criteria includes rate of decline, population size, area of geographic distribution, and degree of population and distribution fragmentation.
- Nine groups –
- Extinct (Ex) – No known individuals remaining
- Extinct in the wild – known only to survive in capacity, or as a naturalized population outside its historic range.
- Critically endangered – Extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.
- Endangered – High risk of extinction in the wild.
- Vulnerable – High risk of endangered in the wild.
- Near threatened – Likely to become endangered in the near future.
- Least concern – Lowest risk; does not qualify for a higher risk category.
- Data deficient – Not enough data to make an assessment of its risk of extinction.
- Not evaluated – Has not yet been evaluated against criteria.
Facts –
- When discussing the IUCN Red list, the official term threatened is a grouping of three categories: critically endangered, and vulnerable.
- CITIES aims to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threatened their survival.
Mangroves
Basics –
- Mangroves are salt tolerant trees and shrubs that grow in the intertidal regions of the tropical and subtropical coastlines
- They form unique intertidal at the edge of land and sea.
- Also called as mangroves forest biome, mangrove swamp and mangrove forest
Characteristics –
- Habitat –
- They grow abundantly in places where freshwater mixes with seawater along with sediments of accumulated deposits of mud.
- They need average temperatures of the coldest month higher than 20 c
- The shores must be free of strong wave action and tidal current.
- They need a large tidal range. This causes limited erosion and deposition of sediments.
- Adaptation –
- Breathing roots
- Underground tissue of many plant requires oxygen for respiration and in mangrove environment, oxygen in soils is very limited.
- Mangrove species have specialized above ground roots called breathing roots or pneumatophores to take up oxygen from the atmosphere.
- These roots have numerous pores through which oxygen enters into the underground tissues
- Silt roots –
- Roots diverge from stems and branches and penetrate the soil some distance away from the main stem.
- They provide the main physical support to the Mangroves, hence they are called as stilt roots.
- Salt filtration –
- Mangroves are salt tolerant trees adapted to live in harsh coastal conditions.
- They contain a complex salt filtration system and complex root system to cope with salt water immersion and wave action.
- Salt glands on the leaves also exclude salt.
- Viviparous –
- Mangrove species have unique way of reproduction, which is generally known as viviparous.
- In this method of reproduction, seeds germinate and develop into seedlings while the seeds are still attached to the parent tree.
- Seedlings (propagules) photosynthesize while still attached to the mother tree and the parent tree supplies water and necessary nutrients.
- They are buoyant and float in the water for sometime before rooting themselves on suitable soil.
Uses –
- Mangroves and their associated biodiversity are utilised largely for livelihood, traditional use and for subsistence economy.
- It is considered as a best form of coastal bioshield since it plays a critical role in reducing the impact of cyclonic storms, hurricanes and tsunami.
- It also avoids or reduces soil erosion.
- It enhances fishery productivity of the adjacent coastal waters by acting as a nursery ground for commercially important fish, prawn and crabs.
- They are also rich in biodiversity and act as habitats for wildlife.
- Mangroves trees provide nesting sites for many shore birds.
- They serve as home for crab-eating monkeys, proboscis monkeys, fishing cats, lizards, bats, and other animals.
Threats –
- Variations in river and surface run-off
- Inhibit the tropical coastal deltas of fresh water and silt, cause losses of mangroves species diversity and organic production.
- Soil reclamation for agriculture and aquaculture.
- Clear cutting of mangroves trees and building dikes.
- Clear cutting of the mangroves for their hard wood – important export product for building constructions in areas large concentration of termites, the wood is resistant against these termites.
- Use of pesticides and fertilizers
- Coastal development activities
- Climate change
- Spills of oil, toxic chemicals and dumping of waste into the water causes localized impacts on the mangroves.
Mangroves in India –
- In India, mangroves occur on the West Coast, on the East Coast and on Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
- The deltas of the Ganga, the Mahanadi, the Krishna, the Godavari, and the Kaveri are covered by such vegetation.
- The mangroves of Sunderbans are the largest single block of tidal halophytic mangroves in the world.
- In the Ganga-Brahmaputra delta, Sundari trees are found, which provide durable hard timber.
- Royal Bengal Tiger is the famous animal in these forests.
- Turtles Crocodiles, Gharials and Snakes are also found in these forests.
- Area wise distribution of mangroves in India –
- West Bengal
- Andaman and Nicobar Islands
- Maharashtra
- Gujarat
- Andhra Pradesh
- Tamil Nadu
- Orissa
- Karnataka
- Goa
- Kerala
- initiatives –
- National mangrove Committee was constituted in 1976 to advise the government about mangroves conservation and development.
- On the basis of the National mangrove Committee’s recommendation, 15 mangrove areas were identified for conservation.
- The plans broadly cover survey and demarcation, natural regeneration in selected areas, afforestation, protection measures, fencing and awareness programmes.
- Zoological Survey of India has set up 25 permanent monitoring stations in five islands of the Sunderbans.
- These monitoring stations will study the impact of climate change on the mangroves and its fauna.
- ZSI is collaborating with Botanical Survey of India to study the life cycle of plants influenced by climate variations
Facts –
- Shrimp farming causes approximately a quarter of the destruction of mangrove forests.
- Xyiocorpus; a species of mangroves is used as a mild poison for catching fish.
- Baratang Island Mangroves is located in Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
- Bhitarkanika Mangroves –
- Bhitarkanika Mangroves is India’s second largest mangroves forest, located in Odisha.
- Bhitarkanika is created by the river delta of Brahmani and Baitarani rivers
- It is one of the important Ramsar Wetland in India.
- Godavari and Krishna mangroves –
- Third rich mangroves in biological diversity after the mangroves of the Sunderbans and Mahanadi
- Godavari, Krishna mangroves is vital for Calimere Wildlife and Pulicat Lake Bird Sanctuary.
Coral Reefs
Basics –
Coral reefs are diverse underwater ecosystems held together by calcium carbonate structures secreted by corals.
- They are characterized by high biomass production and a rich faunal and floral diversity.
- Coral reefs are fragile ecosystems, as the they are very sensitive to water temperature.
Characteristics –
- Habitat –
- They are most commonly found at shallow depths in tropical waters, but deep water and cold water corals also exist on smaller scales in other areas.
- The vast majority of these islands are volcanic in origin.
- Shallow-water reefs form only in a zone extending from 300 N to 300 S of the equator.
- They grow only at depths shallower than 150 m (490 ft) because of their need for sunlight, and cannot grow above sea level.
- The optimum temperature for most coral reefs is 26-270 C (79-810 F), and few reefs exist in waters below 180 C (640 F).
- Formation –
- The bulk of coral reefs are made up of coral skeletons from mostly intact coral colonies.
- Coral reefs are built from limestone skeletons of tiny organisms called polyps.
- Corals secrete hard carbonate exoskeletons which support and protect the coral polyps.
- The polyps belong to a group of animals known as Cnidaria.
- Reef building corals are a symbiotic association of polyps and zooxanthellae.
- Types –
- Fringing reef – directly attached to a shore, or borders it with and intervening shallow channel or lagoon
- Barrier reef – reef separated from a mainland or island shore by a deep channel or lagoon.
- Atoll reef- more or less circular or continuous barrier reef extends all the way around a lagoon without a central island.
- Ecosystem services –
- Habitat
- tourism, fisheries and shoreline protection
- Threats –
- Climate change, oceanic acidification (coral bleaching)
- blast fishing, cyanide fishing for aquarium fish
- overuse of reef resources, sunscreen use
- harmful land-use practices, including urban and agricultural runoff
- violent storms, flooding high and low temperature extremes, El Nino events
- Coral reefs in India –
- Coastal areas
- Gulf of Kutch in the north west (some of the most northerly reefs in the world)
- Palk Bay and the Gulf of Mannar (with numerous fringing reefs around small islands) in the south east
- Islands
Andaman and Nicobar Islands –
- Fringing reefs
- Barrier reef on the west coast(320 km long)
Largest reefs areas
- A&N Islands –(953 Km2)
- Lakshadweep Islands (816.1 Km2)
- Gujarat (460.2 Km2)
- Tamil Nadu (94.3 Km2)
Facts –
- Coral reefs are called as rainforests of the sea, shallow coral reefs form some of the divers ecosystems on Earth.
- They occupy less than 0.1% of the world’s ocean surface, yet they provide a home for at least 25% of all marine species
- Largest reefs –
- The Great Barrier Reef (2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands), Australia
- Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System
- Andros, Bahamas Barrier Reef
- The Indo-Pacific region (including the Red sea, Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia and the Pacific) account for 91.9% of the total reefs.
- Hermatypic corals along the shore are reported from Quilon in the Kerala coast to Enayem in Tamil Nadu.
- The coral reefs of India come under the jurisdiction of the department of forests and wildlife
- corals are not included in the wildlife protection act
Protected Areas
Introduction –
- Protected areas are those in which human occupation or at least the exploitation of resources is limited.
- Protected areas are designated with the objective of conserving biodiversity
- Protected areas are essential for biodiversity conservation, often providing habitat and protection from hinting for threatened and endangered species.
- There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the laws of country.
- The term “protected area” also includes –
- Marine Protected Areas, the boundaries of which will include some area of ocean
- Trans boundary Protected areas that overlap multiple countries which remove the borders inside the area for conservation
IUCN Protected area categories –
- Categories used to classify protected areas in a system developed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
- Categories method is recognised on a global scale by national governments and international bodies such as the UN and CBD
- Categories –
Categories I a – Strict Nature Reserve –
- Area which is protected from all but light human use in order to preserve the geological and geomorphical features of the region and its biodiversity.
Category Ib – Wilderness Area-
- similar to a strict nature reserve, but generally larger and protected in a slightly less stringent manner
Category II – National Park –
- similar to a wilderness area in its size and its main objective of protecting functioning ecosystems
Category III – Natural Monument or Feature –
- comparatively smaller area that is specifically allocated to protected a natural monument and its surrounding habitats
Category IV – Habitat/Species Management Area –
- similar to a natural monument or feature, but focuses
Category V – Protocol Landscape/Seascape –
- covers an entire body of land or ocean with an explicit natural conservation plan, but usually also accommodates a range of for-profit activities
Categories VI – Protected Area with sustainable use of natural resources
Protected areas in India –
- National parks
- Wildlife sanctuaries
- Biosphere reserves
- Conservation reserves
- Community reserves
Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 –
- The Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 was enacted on 9 September 1972
- Objective –
- The Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 was enacted with the objective of effectively controlling poaching and illegal trade in wildlife and its derivatives.
- It extends to the whole of India, except the State of Jammu and Kashmir which has its own wildlife act.
- Amended in the year 2006 to give statutory to project tiger.
- Schedules –
It has six schedule which give varying degrees of protection.
Schedule I and part II of Schedule II –
- Includes species which require absolute protection
- Offences under these prescribed the highest penalties
- Species listed in Schedule III and Schedule IV are also protected, but the penalties are much lower
- Schedule V includes the animals which may be hunted
- The plants in Schedule VI are prohibited from cultivation and planting