Ketaki Bapat

The diversity of India does not restrict itself to culture, languages, and traditions but also extends to the varied flora and fauna.  India, one of the 17 mega-biodiverse countries in the world, accounts for 7-8 percent of the world’s recorded species and four of the 34 global biodiversity hotspots. The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), a Statutory Body set up by the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) facilitates conservation, sustainability of biodiversity and use of biological resources.

Globally, there has been a 7% loss of intact forests since 2000, and recent assessments indicate that over a million species might be lost forever during the next several decades. Further, climate change and the ongoing pandemic will put additional stresses on our natural ecosystems. A World Bank report (Mani, 2015) estimates that the gradual diminishment of India’s rich natural asset-base and the reduction in flow of ecosystem services may be resulting in annual losses of at least 5.7% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP)...read more on NOPR