SCIENTIFIC NAMES PROVIDE THE BASIS FOR

ACCURATE AND EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

ABOUT PLANTS.

The correct application of scientifc names is necessary for the

synthesis and dissemination of information about the status of
plant diversity.

The classifcation of plants into groups that share a name and an

associated set of characters also allows plants

*to be identifed in an accurate and reproducible way,

*enables both the safe use of plants in applied fields such as

traditional medicine,

*the integration of digital datasets. 1

 HOW MANY VASCULAR PLANT SPECIES ARE THERE?

The International Plant Names Index, covering vascular plants, is

the product of a collaboration between Kew, Harvard University
Herbaria and the Australian National Herbarium. It provides the
most comprehensive and regularly updated listing of scientifc
names for vascular plants.

It currently contains 1,065,235 species names. Numbers of vascular

plant species described as new to science have regularly exceeded
2,000 per year for the past decade.

Plants are essential sources of food, medicine, shelter, fuel, feed,

and forage, and provide a wide range of additional ecosystem and
cultural services to humanity.

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In recognition of the tremendous value of useful plants
and of the increasing threats to their persistence, several
international agreements are in place. They are

1. Convention on Biological Diversity,

2. Convention of Sustainable Development Goals,
3. and the International Treaty on Plant Genetic
Resources for Food and Agriculture.

These have created conservation targets which must be

measured through quantitative indicators to
safeguard their genetic diversity.

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Forest dwellers and farmers are the best hope to preserve biodiversity and
ensure food security

The Dongria Kondh tribes of Niyamgiri Hills in the tribal area of Koraput, Odisha
are among the best conservationists in the world.

They are known for the spirited defence of their forested habitat against short-
sighted industrialisation, they have through millennia evolved a lifestyle that is
in perfect harmony with nature.

Across India, there are scores of indigenous people who have managed to lead
meaningful lives without wanton destruction of natural ecosystems.

These tribes, along with marginalised communities living on the fringes of

forests and millions of smallholder farmers, are the best hope that India has to
preserve biodiversity and ensure food security.

At a time when nature faces the threat of another mass extinction of species,
their importance cannot be emphasised enough because they offer us solutions
to avert an imminent meltdown.
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No silver bullet
There is no silver bullet to solve the problem of crop and biodiversity loss at the
national level. Fortunately, India’s farmers and tribes are innovative and they do have
local solutions.

The newly launched Agrobiodiversity Index report, compiled by Biodiversity

International, analyses the way in which countries are conserving and using their
agricultural biodiversity. The Index examines the ways that countries are responding to
the risks that low agricultural biodiversity, or agrobiodiversity, pose to food and
agriculture, namely malnutrition, poverty, climate change and variability, land
degradation, pests and diseases and biodiversity loss.

The first global assessment of biodiversity by a UN-backed panel held humans squarely
responsible for the looming mass extinction of species.

Without radical efforts towards conservation, the rate of species extinction will only
gather momentum.

The red flag comes close on the heels of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO). A loss in biodiversity puts food security and nutrition at risk.

The newly launched Agrobiodiversity Index report, compiled by Biodiversity

International, analyses the way in which countries are conserving and using their
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agricultural biodiversity.
At a higher risk
Although biodiversity loss is a global problem, it can be countered only with local
solutions. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach. A solution that has succeeded in a
temperate, wealthy nation may not be suitable for a country like India.

Our tropical homeland is rich in biodiversity, but the imperatives of relentless economic
growth, urbanisation, deforestation and overpopulation place it at risk more than many
other places.

Nothing can be achieved without the active participation of communities that live close
to nature — farmers and forest dwellers. It is now obvious that intensive agriculture,
exploitative forestry and overfishing are the main threats to biodiversity in India and the
world.

The UN agencies are unanimous that the best way to correct the present course is to
heed the accumulated wisdom of indigenous peoples, fishers and farmers.

The situation with our forests is even more dire. Instead of evicting forest dwellers from
their homes, we should be encouraging them to conserve and nurture their habitats.

Pressure from industrialisation does not care much about conservation and biodiversity.
The same holds true for the overexploitation of our rivers and seas.
To realise that there is hope for the natural ecosystem, we should act on the advice of
local communities. 6
Plant biodiversity is invaluable because it balances ecosystems, protects
watersheds, mitigates erosion, moderates climate, and provides shelter for animals.

Threats to plant biodiversity include the increasing human population, pollution,

deforestation, and species extinction.

Plant extinction is progressing at an alarming rate; this, in turn, affects other

species, which also become extinct because they depend on the delicate ecological
balance.

Efforts to preserve plant biodiversity currently include barcoding DNA analysis.

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Plants play a key role in ecosystems. They are a source of food and
medicinal compounds while also providing raw materials for many
industries. Rapid deforestation and industrialization, however,
threaten plant biodiversity. In turn, this threatens the ecosystem.

Biodiversity of plants ensures a resource for new food crops and

medicines. Plant life balances ecosystems, mitigates erosion,
moderates climate, and provides shelter for many animal species.

Threats to plant diversity, however, come from many angles. The

explosion of the human population, especially in tropical countries
where birth rates are highest and economic development is in full
swing, is leading to human encroachment into forested areas.

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To feed the larger population, humans need to obtain arable land
which leads to massive clearing of trees.

The need for more energy to power larger cities and economic
growth results in the construction of dams, the consequent flooding
of ecosystems, and increased emissions of pollutants.

Other threats to tropical forests come from poachers who log trees
for their precious wood. Several plants are on the endangered list of
tree species that are driven almost to extinction by indiscriminate
logging. Seed plants maintain close symbiotic relationships with
animals i.e., predators or pollinators.

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Therefore the disappearance of a single plant species can lead to
the extinction of connected animal species.

A real and pressing issue is that many plant species have not yet
been cataloged; their place in the ecosystem is unknown. These
unknown species are threatened by logging, habitat destruction,
and loss of pollinators. They may become extinct before we have
the chance to begin to understand the possible impacts resulting
from their disappearance.

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Efforts to preserve biodiversity take several lines of action, from
preserving heirloom seeds to barcoding species.

Heirloom seeds come from plants that were traditionally grown in

human populations, as opposed to the seeds used for large-scale
agricultural production.

Barcoding is a technique in which one or more short gene

sequences, taken from a well-characterized portion of the genome,
are used to identify a species through DNA analysis

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