8th Class Science Conservation of Plants and Animals Biodiversity Law

         Introduction

What is biodiversity?

The term biodiversity is used to describe the variety of lives found on earth. It also refers to the wide varieties of animals and plants and their habitats. Biodiversity is the very foundation that is crucial for the functioning of ecosystem. There are basically two components of our ecosystem, biotic and abiotic. We are dependent on the ecosystem for our health, security, social life, freedom etc. It is very complex, dynamic and varied, as the features of earth.

         Biodiversity Law

The efforts have been initiated long before to protect the wild fife from being extinct and endangered. It was in the Montreal meet of December 2003, the outlines of the role on the conservation of biological diversity, at international and national level, in creating awareness regarding the conservation of resources had been initiated. The laws regarding the biodiversity include environmental laws, rules and regulations for national biological diversity conservation activities. Like some other law, the impetus and mandate for this law is to spring up an international convention on biological diversity. The objective of CBD is biodiversity conservation, sustainable use of resources and equitable sharing of benefits from their uses.

         The Draft Law on Biodiversity

The draft law on biodiversity stands as follows:

(i) The main objective of the Act is the conservation of biodiversity and sustainable use of resource.

(ii) The Act proposes to set up the governing bodies at three levels to carry out its functions. At national level NBD will screen the proposals for transfer of genetic recourses and advice the central government of the steps, necessary to prevent the violation of the Acts provision.

(iii) The second level is at state level, where the state biodiversity boards will see the use within the state Jurisdiction. It will also manage the state biodiversity funds.

(iv) The third level is the local level, managed by managing committee, which will look at the transferring, uses and conservation of resources at community level.

(v) The law also mandates the NBD to challenge the IPRs, and who ever found violating the rules and its community rights.

The provisions of the biodiversity law provide us the basic framework of achieving control over the access to the genetic resources, in the interests of conservation, sustainable use and assuring benefit sharing, from the use of resources. However, there are still certain aspects that need to be addressed and it is hoped that this would be taken care of in the rules, to be framed under the law. Rule making is an administrative act, which does not need to conform to the rigorous standards of debate and discussion as a law.

     Provisions    

        The entire living and non living organisms together constitute the ecosystem of a place. The living component includes plants and animals and non living components are air, water and soil. The living components of the ecosystem are known as:

(a) Biotic

(b) A biotic

(c) Dead

(d) Microorganism

(e) None of these

Answer: (a)

Explanation

The entire ecosystem is divided into two parts living and nonliving. The living component is known as biotic.

        The law provides us the basic framework of achieving control over the access to the genetic resources. It is in the interests of achieving conservation, sustainable use and assuring benefit sharing, from the use of resources is called:

(a) Variations

(b) Biodiversity

(c) Conservation

(d) Mass conservation

(e) None of these

Answer: (b)

Explanation

The above stated law is called the law of biodiversity..