Editorial, "Protect and promote Biodiversity" in LAW ANIMATED WORLD, 30 September 2012, Vol. 8, Part 2, No. 18 issue

PROTECT & PROMOTE BIODIVERSITY

at all costs, was the key message of the Earth Summit 1992 held at Rio de Janeiro at which our former Premier late Sri PV Narasimha Rao was a distinguished participant. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) adopted therein begins with the Preamble stating, “The Contracting Parties, Conscious of the intrinsic value of biological diversity and of the ecological, genetic, social, economic, scientific, educational, cultural, recreational and aesthetic values of biological diversity and its components; // Conscious also of the importance of biological diversity for evolution and for maintaining life sustaining systems of the biosphere, Affirming that the conservation of biological diversity is a common concern of humankind, Reaffirming that States have sovereign rights over their own biological resources; …also that States are responsible for conserving their biological diversity and for using their biological resources in a sustainable manner, Concerned that biological diversity is being significantly reduced by certain human activities…” and calls for strict conservation and promotion of biodiversity. There are about 2 million living species actually identified by the bio-scientists so far though their guess may point to a total of 5-30 million on our planet. Biodiversity is the strategic defence of the Nature which, if upset, would have calamitous consequences for our, as well for other, bio-species. The main causes for the decline in biodiversity are habitat loss, invasive alien species, over-exploitation of natural resources and pollution and Humans are said to be the culprits to be blamed for each of these factors. The images above show some bird species that became extinct due to human depredations but thousands more of the living species are on the road to extinction due to mindless destruction of forests, reckless mining and other industrial activities leading to severe pollution etc. In our own country tigers and lions are on the road to extinction despite some recent serious efforts to conserve their species. Truly as Friedrich Nietzsche remarked long back, “Man is the cruelest animal…”  Let us ardently hope that the forthcoming international Biodiversity Conference at Hyderabad in the first weeks of this October would seriously deliberate to find effective ways and means to conserve and promote biodiversity for the general well being and prosperity of all bio-species, including our homo sapiens, inhabiting Mother Earth. §§§