Biodiversity Conservation - Challenges for Future and Way Forward

Although Protected areas (PA) are effective in Biodiversity governance a noticeable change to a landscape oriented approach and a ‘People inclusive’ approach is observed. PA’s are increasingly becoming isolated islands of wilderness areas in a matrix of domesticated landscapes and species. This has led to newer paradigms for conservation practices at the landscape level such as ecologically sensitive areas, community conserved areas. Adoption of new adaptive approaches may offer ways to further expand the protected area network since they allow for sustainable use of natural resources with people’s participation. The economic potential of Biodiversity is unidentified which is considered as one of the factors for the rapid depletion of biodiversity and extinction of species. Financing biodiversity is vital for its conservation and management and mobilizing adequate finance is acknowledged as a huge challenge. Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) is an emerging internal financial option. Successful models of conservation practices should be communicated, scaled up and replicated and a repertoire of pioneering models that can be employed in different circumstances should be developed. Indian experience of balancing conservation and development by employing a range of stratagem for biodiversity management is detailed.

Keywords: Benefit sharing, biodiversity governance, biodiversity loss, community reserves, corridor, ecologically sensitive areas, elephant, flagship species, fragmentation, hotspots, management, national park, protected area, tiger, tourism, wildlife sanctuary.