Environment & Ecology
Biodiversity and Conservation
GS Paper III
Biodiversity and Conservation — Quick Revision
One-page UPSC revision of biodiversity: levels, hotspots, IUCN Red List categories, threats, in-situ and ex-situ conservation and the Biological Diversity Act.
SyllabusGS III · General issues on environmental ecology, biodiversity and climate change (Prelims); conservation (GS III)
A last-week revision sheet for biodiversity. Focus on definitions, criteria and the categories UPSC loves to blur.
Concepts
| Concept | Key fact |
|---|---|
| Biodiversity | Popularised by E.O. Wilson; three levels — genetic, species, ecosystem |
| Alpha / beta / gamma | Within a community / between communities / whole region |
| Latitudinal gradient | Diversity decreases from equator to poles |
| Species–area relationship | Humboldt; log S = log C + Z log A; Z about 0.1–0.2 (regions), 0.6–1.2 (continents) |
| Rivet popper hypothesis | Paul Ehrlich — each species lost weakens the ecosystem |
| Megadiverse countries | 17 (Conservation International); India is one |
| India’s share | About 2.4% of world land area; about 7–8% of recorded species (MoEFCC) |
Hotspots
| Item | Key fact |
|---|---|
| Concept | Norman Myers, 1988 |
| Criteria | ≥1,500 endemic vascular plants; ≥70% of original vegetation lost |
| Number | 36 (Conservation International) |
| India | Himalaya; Indo-Burma; Western Ghats and Sri Lanka; Sundaland (Nicobar Islands) |
IUCN Red List
| Code | Category | Threatened? |
|---|---|---|
| EX | Extinct | — |
| EW | Extinct in the Wild | — |
| CR | Critically Endangered | Yes |
| EN | Endangered | Yes |
| VU | Vulnerable | Yes |
| NT | Near Threatened | No |
| LC | Least Concern | No |
| DD | Data Deficient | Not assessed for risk |
| NE | Not Evaluated | — |
IUCN: founded 1948, headquarters Gland (Switzerland); Red List since 1964; five criteria A–E.
Threats and Conservation
| Item | Key fact |
|---|---|
| Evil Quartet (NCERT) | Habitat loss and fragmentation; over-exploitation; alien invasions; co-extinctions |
| HIPPO (E.O. Wilson) | Habitat, Invasives, Pollution, Population, Over-harvesting |
| Invasives in India | Lantana, Parthenium, Eichhornia, Prosopis juliflora, African catfish |
| Recent extinctions | Dodo (Mauritius), quagga (Africa), thylacine (Australia), Steller’s sea cow (Russia); Bali, Javan, Caspian tigers |
| Cheetah in India | Declared extinct 1952 |
| In-situ | National parks, sanctuaries, biosphere reserves, sacred groves |
| Ex-situ | Zoos, botanical gardens, seed and gene banks, cryopreservation (−196 °C) |
| NBPGR | New Delhi; national gene bank for plants |
| Svalbard Global Seed Vault | Norway; opened 2008 |
Biological Diversity Act, 2002
| Item | Key fact |
|---|---|
| Purpose | Implements CBD; regulates access; benefit sharing |
| NBA | 2003, Chennai — approvals for foreign entities, IPR, transfer of results |
| SBBs | Regulate commercial access by Indian entities |
| BMCs | Local bodies; People’s Biodiversity Registers |
| Biodiversity Heritage Sites | Notified by States; first — Nallur Tamarind Grove, Karnataka (2007) |
| Amendment | Biological Diversity (Amendment) Act, 2023 |
High-yield facts
- Nicobar = Sundaland; Andaman = Indo-Burma.
- Threatened = CR + EN + VU; NT is not threatened.
- Hotspot = endemism + threat, not raw species count.
- Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (December 2022): 4 goals, 23 targets, “30 by 30”.
- IPBES Global Assessment (2019): about one million species threatened with extinction.
Traps
- Sacred groves and biosphere reserves are in-situ, not ex-situ.
- “Data Deficient” is not a threat category.
- The NBA is in Chennai, not New Delhi.
Related Topics
- Biodiversity: Hotspots, IUCN Red List and Conservation Strategies
- Biodiversity and Conservation — practice questions
- Protected Areas and Wildlife — quick revision
- All quick revision sheets
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