It is the complex collection of innumerable organisms – the biodiversity – which makes our lives both pleasant and possible. Diversity imparts stability to the natural systems. As the system becomes more complex with several trophic levels and each trophic level composed of a number of forms, its vulnerability to chance variations in climatic conditions, on-slaught of insect’s pests and pathogens and adversities imposed by man diminishes.

Under adverse conditions a few constituent organisms or species may be affected but the basic functions of the system – bio-geo-chemical cycles and the flow of energy – continue along other channels and the system remains viable. In a homogenous system with little biodiversity these alternative channels are not available.

There has been a rapid degeneration of biological diversity during the preceding century. A large number of organisms have disappeared completely from the face of our planet. In immediate future this loss is expected to occur at a faster rate as human enterprise expands and resources diminish. This will seriously affect human lives and will be detrimental to the ability of our future generations to meet their own needs. The rapid degeneration of biological diversity has to be arrested. Two important strategies are being employed to check the rapid loss of biodiversity.

1. Ex-situ conservation: conservation of species, reproductive cells, plant parts etc. under artificial conditions away from natural home of the species.

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2. In-situ conservation: conservation of species at places where they occur naturally.

Both these methods have their own limitations and are only partially affective. With all our sincere efforts, it is suspected that a large number of species shall be lost. And even if we are able to save a large number of species from extinction we shall most probably be interrupting the vital process of evolution.

We have not only to preserve the biodiversity, but we have to preserve it in such a way that the process of evolution – the adjustment and adoptation which the species undergoes in response to a changing environment -continues uninterruptedly. Otherwise, the organisms which we thus conserve could be total failure and of little use to us as they would not have weathered the adversities of a perpetually changing environment.

The only sensible way of conserving biological diversity is to conserve the natural habitats, natural ecosystems with all its constituents’ in-tact. Wild life and man have existed together ever since man appeared on this planet and so they will in future.

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Both have influenced each other in the course of evolution and they shall continue to do so in future as well. Man with his superior intellectual capacities should assume stewardship of this planet, manage things in such a way that both man and wildlife may live together for all times to come. This will be in the interest of humanity only for man cannot exist all alone.