International Day for Biological Diversity
Theme : Water and Biodiversity

Akham Bonbirdhwaja Singh *

Of the three conventions borne out of Rio Earth Submit, the Convention of biological Diversity (CBD) was first to enter in to force. The other two conventions are the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) and UNCCD (United Nations Convention to Check Desertification).The CBD was opened for signature on June 5, 1992 and entered in to force on December 29, 1992.

So, with the idea of declaring the day CBD entered in to force as an international day, initially, the 29th December was designated as the International Day for Biological Diversity, as the convention entered in to force on this day. However, due to a number of holidays around this time all over the world, it was difficult for many countries to observe the celebrations.

Later, in the year 2000 the General Assembly of UN redesignated the 22nd May as the IBD or World Biodiversity Day because the full text of the biodiversity convention was adopted on this day in 1992 at Nairobi, Kenya. The IBD has been celebrated to popularise the importance of biodiversity and need to protect it. Biodiversity has huge potential for improving the socio economy of the people, to cure dangerous and incurable diseases, and contribute immensely in solving the climate problems.

It is estimated that there are 1.9 million species on earth, but it is regarded as gross underestimation. India has about 45000 plant species and 75000 animal species. Among them there could be many wonder drugs and tonics which can change the fortunes of many nations and poor villagers. We can take examples from trees and plants such as Trichopus zeylanicus ssp. travancoricus (Jeevani of Kani tribe of Kerala) and Panax ginseng (Ginseng of Korea), Cinchona pubescens (Cinchona), Atropa belladonna (Atropa), Azadirachta indica (Neem) etc.

The objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) include the conservation of biodiversity, its sustainable use, and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits resulting from such use recognising the property rights of the TK (traditional knowledge) holders. The observance of the IBD therefore is of extreme importance for mega biodiversity country like India and biodiversity rich state like Manipur.

This year, the theme of International Day of Biological Diversity is Water and Biodiversity. As we all are aware, this year 2013, the world is celebrating the International Year of Water Cooperation, so the theme of the IBD, 2013 has been chosen to coincide with the International Year of Water Cooperation. Once again, water is centre stage to all global issues. Be it climate change or livelihood or welfare of the people, they all depend on water ultimately.

I have discussed the water issues in this paper on 29th & 30th December 2012 (River Riparian Zone Protection and Soil and Water Conservation) and 5th & 6th April, 2013 (Right to Water as a Human Right).

The improvement of water use is central for all other dimensions of sustainable development. The ecosystems of the world also behave differently according to the water regime of the system. Water is crucial for all live forms on this planet. So, the theme for IBD of this year is on importance of water for biodiversity and vice versa and importance of water and biodiversity for sustaining the environment. Befittingly so, because the focus of global community has been on water for last few years. Let us see how much importance has been laid on water by the global community from the following decisions:

1. The year 2013 has been declared as International Year of Water Cooperation and the World Water Day, 2013 has been dedicated to water cooperation

2. Water has been a part of the United Nations Millennium Development Goal (MDG), to halve the proportion of people without safe drinking water by 2015

3. 2005-2015 has been declared International Decade for Action on Water and Life.

4. Water has been made a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution

5. Right to water is a human right as per resolution of UN Human Rights Council adopted on 24.9.2010.

6. Solutions to water management issues are included in the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020.

Water sustains life. No life can survive without water. When we have more water, we have more lives and more biodiversity. We have the proof of it in our wetlands. We classify our forest ecosystems also as per water regimes, because water underpins all ecosystems. The wet forests (like evergreen and semi evergreen forests types) have more biodiversity and drier forests (like dry deciduous and moist deciduous forests) have fewer plants and animals. The diversity we have in our forests in North East over one sqm. area could be more than that of one ha area in dry deciduous forests in western part of the country.

Water covers 70% of our globe, mostly as oceans. The oceans contain more than two and half lakhs species, it is believed that there are many more. Already there is rush for the oceanic resources. The oceans and seas are also wetlands, but let me confine this article to the inland wetlands, the lakes, ponds, rivers, riparian areas etc. In India, the wetlands support 47% of India’s fauna and flora and purely aquatic ones are up to 25%. The inland wetlands are hotbeds of biological activity and evolution.

We all know that all lives started from water, either plants or animals. So, the wetlands have all forms of lives in the stages of evolution. They have aquatic life, such as water animals like fishes, snails, molluscs, water insects, water plants such as fully and partly submerged, floating species. It also has amphibious ones such as frogs, turtles, snakes, reptiles, creepers, climbers, trees etc. The shores and banks are richer in diversity due to the edge effect. Close by, there are the terrestrial lives. So, wetlands are richest place of biodiversity.

In the wetlands, there are enough nutrients and water for the producers, enough food for the primary consumers and enough prey for the predators. Therefore, the whole drama of life activities goes on endlessly in the wetlands and so, different food chains are in existence at a time enriching it more and more with dynamic activities. The wetlands are priceless resources of biodiversity. The wetlands are also natural reservoirs of water, to receive water during sudden rains and flood and act as buffer, release water during dry period and mitigate draught.

They have immense capacity to mitigate climate change too. When we preserve wetland ecosystems, we preserve biodiversity and ensure clean water to ourselves. If we use pollutants and garbage as landfills in the lakes and ponds, the ecosystem is destroyed and the biodiversity is destroyed.

Suppose, if we fill up our lakes and wetlands with garbage and solid waste, can the rare plants like Iris bakeri (Kombirei) survive, can our native and indigenous fishes survive? Will the surviving ones contaminated with mercury, chlorine and other non degradable pesticide molecules be fit for human consumption? If we keep on throwing the household garbage and solid waste directly in to the rivers and lakes, what will happen to the water and fishes. Sometimes, it is frightening to think that way. Should we all still do nothing?

When we preserve water, we preserve biodiversity and when we preserve biodiversity, we preserve water. When we preserve water, we conserve soil. Water conservation is soil conservation and vice versa. When soil is conserved, it supports vegetation which houses our biodiversity. When we preserve forest ecosystems, we preserve biodiversity and in turn, we preserve water.

It is high time that we all step in to save our water sources, that way, the biodiversity shall be saved and by saving our biodiversity, our environment shall be saved. A sustainable system is what is needed. These are all interlinked. If we manage the forest ecosystem sustainably, we get both water and biodiversity in perpetuity.

Sustainable use of biodiversity is one of the components of sustainable environment. If we fill up all the lakes and ponds, pollute all the rivers; have constructions in the riparian areas, what will happen to our biodiversity? What will happen to our surface water regime, aquifers? From where can we get clean and safe water? We need to introspect and with this theme, the World Biodiversity Day of this year gives us an opportunity.