WORLD BIODIVERISTY AT A GLANCE (2002)
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Numbers
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|
Percentage
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Bacteria
|
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|
10000
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|
1
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|
Protoctista
|
|
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80000
|
|
5
| |
|
Plants
|
|
|
270000
|
|
16
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|
Fungi
|
|
|
72000
|
|
4
| |
|
Mammals
|
|
|
4630
|
|
0.5
| |
|
Birds
|
|
|
9750
|
|
1
| |
|
Reptiles
|
|
|
8002
|
|
0.8
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|
Amphibia
|
|
|
4950
|
|
0.5
| |
|
Fish
|
|
|
25000
|
|
2
| |
|
Insects
and Myriapods
|
963000
|
|
58
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Arachnids
|
|
|
75000
|
|
5
| |
|
Molluscs
|
|
|
70000
|
|
4
| |
|
Crustacea
|
|
|
40000
|
|
2
| |
|
Nematodes
|
|
25000
|
|
2
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Source : Wonders of the Indian Wilderness by Erach Bharucha
Environmental Facts
India has just 2% of world’s land mass but accounts for 8% of world’s biodiversity.
India has some of the wettest, driest, hottest and coldest region on the planet. Two biodiversity hotspots are the Western Chats and the East Himalayan region.
11% of plant biodiversity is found in India, with over 15,000 species of flowering plants.
India has 2546 species of fishes, 198 species of amphibians, 423 species of mammals, 1331 species of birds, 408 species of reptiles and over 50,000 varieties of rice.
33% of species are endemic to the India, which means they are not found anywhere else in the world.
929 species in India are threatened today. Only 1% of the vast coastline is protected (75 km of 7516 km), the rest is vanishing due to unplanned development work and fisheries.
Every 20 minutes a species is becoming extinct in the world. The next could be from India.
Hopefully this awareness can encourage
everyone to priorities sustainability in their day-to-day life and in growth
& development activities.
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