Revision summary
India’s living wealth varies by biogeographic zone: Himalaya, north-east, Western Ghats, Deccan, desert, coasts, and islands. Hotspots and farm genetic resources both count as biodiversity. The 2002 Act sets NBA, State boards, and local BMCs, plus ABS and People’s Biodiversity Registers. That mesh fights bio-piracy and records local flora and fauna beside wildlife law. Registers and ABS must be real, and EIA must read them, or the Act stays a form.
Model answer
Flow diagram
flowchart TD V[Himalaya Ghats NE desert coast islands] --> BD[Varied flora fauna] ACT[BDA 2002] --> NBA[NBA SBB BMC] ACT --> ABS[Access benefit sharing] ACT --> PBR[People's Biodiversity Registers] NBA --> BD ABS --> COM[Community conservation]
Conclusion
- Fund BMCs to monitor and restore (sacred groves, tanks, village forests), not only to fill registers.
- Speed honest ABS so communities see money and so science is not choked.
- Link heritage sites and PBRs to Environmental Impact Assessment so a road cannot skip documented biodiversity.
- Treat crop and livestock diversity (seed keeper, pastoral breed) as fauna and flora under the same care, not only tigers.
India’s biodiversity changes with mountain, desert, Ghats, Deccan, coast, and island, and with the farm as well as the forest. The Biological Diversity Act, 2002 helps by creating NBA–SBB–BMC, ABS, and local registers that protect flora, fauna, and knowledge. It works when those bodies are alive and tied to land-use decisions, not when they are only offices.
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Describe various measures taken in India for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) before and after signing 'Sendai Framework for DRR (2015-2030)'. How is this framework different from 'Hyogo Framework for Action, 2005'? (250 Words, 15 Marks).
Next question in the 2018 paper (Q18). View answer →
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Does the 2002 Act replace the Wildlife (Protection) Act?
No. It adds community registers, heritage sites, and benefit-sharing. Hunting and trade in scheduled species still sit mainly under wildlife law.
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Why do local registers matter for a tiger or a tree?
Because much flora and lesser fauna live outside national parks. A village list can stop silent loss and support a fair ABS claim.
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