National and Local Biodiversity Conservation Programme

Programmes for the conservation of biodiversity should be conducted at national, local and individual levels. Organizations and associations too must be encouraged. Conservation programmes can be effectively implemented when there is assistance from all. Some of the major conservation programmes and efforts are given below:

1. National Park, Reserve wildlife and Conservation Area: National Parks, Reserves and Conservation Area have been established as protected areas in different parts of Nepal. There are 9 National Parks, 4 Wildlife Reserves and 3 Conservation Areas in Nepal. About 18.5 percent of the total area fall under such protected areas including buffer zones. The Wildlife Reserves, Conservation Areas and National Parks are helping to conserve the living beings in in-situ that is, in their original places. The in-situ conservation provides the vegetation, animals and birds the natural environment. Conservation of biodiverity in its original place is in-situ conservation. The in-situ conservation help various species to be conserved in the original site in the protected form. The effort provides the biodiversity conservation. The living beings get proper natural environment, food and habitat there. This is why National Parks, Wildlife Reserves and Conservation Areas have been set up in different parts of the country. Chitwan National Park, Sagarmatha National Park, Rara National Park, She-phosksundo National Park, Langtang National Park, Khaptad National Park, Koshitappu Wildlife Reserve, Parsa Wildlife Reserve, Dhorpatan Hunting Reserve, Annapurna Conservation Area, Makalu-Barun Conservation Area, Gokarna Conservation Area, Nagarjun Conservation Area etc are some examples.
2. Artificial Conservation Site: The in-situ Conservation is not possible for all types of living beings. If they are not given appropriate natural environment, they become extinct. Therefore, ex-situ (artificial natural environment) should be created for the conservation of disappearing and rare living beings. This type of conservation is known as ex-situ conservation. Thus, the conservation of living things can be done in other favorable places.

Importance of Biodiversity

Biodiversity is main source to meet the needs of people. Biodiversity is used in human activities related to settlement, life style, social functions and economic activities. The importance of biodiversity can be presented as:

1. Agriculture Product: The crops like paddy, wheat, maize, barley etc. are the main foods of people. The source of these foods is the agricultural biodiversity. In the ancient time, people brought the useful species from the forest and cultivated to produce food for them then they selected best seeds to get high yield. These processes contributed in the development of best agricultural crops, which are the sources of food for people.
2. Animal Products: Animals are the source of milk, meat, eggs, labor and other raw materials. Fish is another sources of food. Birds are the beauty of nature. They can be used for food and other purposes. Dogs are pet animals. Some medicines are made by using some animals products. People can conduct animal farming to produce more production. Thus, all of the animal products are the products of biodiversity.
3. Plant Products: Plants are the sources of food, flowers and raw materials are either obtained from forests or from agricultural land. Industries use leaves, barks, fruits and materials. Several species of mushrooms, medicinal herbs, fruits, vegetables and plant products are collected and marketed. Plants have the economic value in improvement of living standard of the people.
4. Improvement of Breeds: Animals and plants are used for breeding to produce new varieties. It is for improving their production and quality. Wild animals, birds and other living beings are valuable source that can be used for breeding. This breeding can help to improve the quality of the established domesticates. Within domesticates they can be crossed to generate new varieties in the world. These improved varieties/ hybrids produce high yield of excellent quality.
5. Conservation of Soil: Land is one of the important natural resources. Soil erosion deteriorates the quality of land. Vegetation is the basic ground that protects the land. The vegetation and plants conserve moisture of the land. Their roots contribute to keep together the particles of soil.
6. Conservation of Watershed: The vegetation and plants contribute in the conservation of sources of water. Plants absorb water and helps to remain in soil. The plants also speed down the evaporation process. Thus, there is close relationship among the biodiversity, water sources and watershed.
7. Natural Scene: Nature is full of biodiversity. The plants and animals in the nature have their own habitat and life styles. There is diversity of plants and animals withe the diversity of geographical structure. The diversity of plants and animals keep the beauty of the nature. Thus, biodiversity has contributed to make a most valuable natural scene.

Concept of Biodiversity

Biodiversity is composed of two words 'bio' and 'diversity'. Literally 'bio' means living being and 'diversity' means variety. So, biodiversity refers to the variety of living beings. Biodiversity of a location means the existence of organisms and species of living beings per square unit. It indicates a total of the living heritage of the earth and their states as well as differences. It indicates the system and structure of living beings in the nature.

In short, the biodiversity is the total number of the living organisms on the earth. Biodiversity can be classified into three groups i.e. ecosystem, genes and species. That's why, biodiversity is the degree of species diversity existed in a particular region i.e. natural habitat.

The biodiversity differs according to the geographical regions, climatic conditions and adaptability characters of the living beings. Some species of biodiversity are found in land, some are in land, some are in water whereas others are found even in atmosphere. The nature of ecosystem differs the biodiversity of a place to another. Accordingly they, too, are maintaining their ecosystem. Biodiversity of an area refers to existing organism, gene, animals and ecosystem per unit of land. In totality, biodiversity refers to the existing number of living organism and their diversity.

Species diversity include living beings and vegetation like man, animals, birds, plants and trees etc. the species of bacteria and virus, too are contained in it. Species denote the number of group of living beings according to their similarity.

Ecosystem is the habitat of living beings. Living beings survive according to their capacity and adaptation. Biodiversity is the result of the structure of ecosystem too. Every living beings have own genetic characteristics. For example, people in mountain can easily adopt in pretty cold whereas the people in the terai can tolerate very hot.

Genes control physical characteristics, growth and development. They change and reproduce themselves. They are passed on from one generation to another. It is because of genes that the organisms living in the terai can bear more heat than the organisms living in the mountains.