Ecology and Bio-diversity - 4

Leather belts are easily biodegradable. Leather product is naturally biodegradable and chemicals are added to prevent that. Leather products can last thousands of years and the toxic chemicals with which they are infused leach into the environment during that time. 

The Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB, or MaB) of UNESCO was established in 1971 to promote interdisciplinary approaches to management, research and education in ecosystem conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.

Population Explosion is the root cause behind the extinction of biodiversity. Options 1, 3 and 4 represent only the symptoms through which population explosion destroys biodiversity. As the world's population grows unsustainably, so do its unyielding demands for water, land, trees and fossil fuels — all of which come at a steep price for already endangered plants and animals.

The Red List for endangered species is published by IUCN. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data List), founded in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is the world's main authority on the conservation status of species.  

Most of the terrestrial hotspots are found at the Tropics. A variety of approaches has been utilised to identify areas of high species richness and endemism. The<span style="font-size:" 13.3333px;="" line-height:="" 15.3333px;=""> term 'hotspots' was coined by Norman Myers (1988) to indicate areas of high conservation value that are facing significant threats to conservation. In general, species diversity per unit area tends to increase with decreasing latitude, with highest diversity found in the Tropics. 

The process in which a harmful chemical enters the food chain and gets concentrated at each level in the food chain is bio-magnification.

<span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times" new="" roman";background:#fffbfb;mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa="">The main cause of mismanagement of natural resources is <span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times" new="" roman";mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa="">a large increase in population. As population is increasing day by day, their demand for natural resources is also increasing accordingly which leads to its mismanagement. 

<span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times" new="" roman";mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold="">2010 was celebrated by the UN as International Year of Biodiversity. The United Nations declared 2010 to be the International Year of Biodiversity. It is a celebration of life on earth and of the value of biodiversity for our lives. The world is invited to take action in 2010 to safeguard the variety of life on earth. 

<span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times" new="" roman";background:#fffbfb;mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa="">The features organisms adopt to survive well in a specific environment are called <span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times" new="" roman";mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa="">Adaptations. An adaptation in biology is a trait with a current functional role in the life history of an organism that is maintained and evolved by means of natural selection. An adaptation refers to both the current state of being adapted and to the dynamic evolutionary process that leads to the adaptation. Adaptations contribute to the fitness and survival of individuals. 

<span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times" new="" roman";mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold="">Ramsar Convention was related to wetlands protection. The Ramsar Convention launched its focus on tourism and wetlands on 2 February 2012, World Wetlands Day, with the slogan Wetlands and Tourism, a Great Experience, in partnership with the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).  

<span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times" new="" roman";background:#fffbfb;mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa="">Headquarter of IUCN is located at Gland. <span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times" new="" roman";background:white;mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa="">IUCN's work is supported by over 1,000 staff in 45 offices and hundreds of partners in public, NGO and private sectors around the world. The Union's headquarters are located in Gland, near Geneva, in Switzerland. 

<span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times" new="" roman";background:#fffbfb;mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa="">Global warming has resulted due to <span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times" new="" roman";mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa="">increased emissions of CO₂ from automobiles. The main cause of it is greenhouse effect. Naturally occurring amounts of greenhouse gases have a mean warming effect of about 33 °C (59 °F). The major greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide (CO₂) which causes 9-26% of greenhouse effect.

<span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times" new="" roman";background:#fffbfb;mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa="">Maximum range of biodiversity is noticed at Coral Reefs. <span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times" new="" roman";background:white;mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold="">Coral reefs<span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times" new="" roman";background:white;mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa=""> <span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times" new="" roman";background:white;mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa="">are underwater structures made from calcium carbonate secreted by corals. Coral reefs are colonies of tiny living animals found in marine waters that contain few nutrients. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, which in turn consist of polyps that cluster in groups. The polyps are like tiny sea anemones, to which they are closely related. 

<span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times" new="" roman";background:white;mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa="">Greenland <span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times" new="" roman";mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold="">is not a hotspot. Indonesia, Madagascar and Brazil are all the hotspots. <span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times" new="" roman";background:white;mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa="">A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region with a significant reservoir of biodiversity that is under threat from humans. 

<span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times" new="" roman";background:white;mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa="">Biosphere reserve <span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times" new="" roman";mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold="">is largest in area. <span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times" new="" roman";background:white;mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa="">The Biosphere Reserves of India protects larger areas of natural habitat than a National Park or Animal Sanctuary, and often includes one or more National Parks and/or preserves, along buffer zones that are open to some economic uses. 

“Convention on Biodiversity”, which was an attempt to highlight the problem of depletion of biodiversity, was convened in 1992. The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was opened for signature at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in June 1992 and became legally binding on December 29, 1993. As of December 3, 1996, 165 countries, including the European Union, had ratified the Convention. 

<span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times" new="" roman";mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold="">Convention on Biodiversity was held at Rio-de-Janeiro. UN Conference on Environment and Development, popularly known as the convention on biodiversity was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992. Agenda 21 contains strategies for preventing environmental degradation and establishing a basis for a sustainable way of life. 

<span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times" new="" roman";background:#fffbfb;mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa="">The recent Conference of UNFCCC was convened at Cancun. T<span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times" new="" roman";background:white;mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa="">he sixteenth session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC and the sixth session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol took place in Cancun and were hosted by the Government of Mexico. 

The maximum number of biosphere reserves is found in Europe and North America. Under UNESCO's Man and Biosphere Reserve Programme, there are currently 258 biosphere reserves recognized as part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves in Europe and North America.

<span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times" new="" roman";mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa="">7% <span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times" new="" roman";background:#fffbfb;mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa="">world's Mangroves lie in India. <span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times" new="" roman";background:white;mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa="">Mangroves occur on Asia's south coast, throughout the Indian subcontinent, in all southeast Asian countries, and on islands in the Indian Ocean,Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, South China Sea and the Pacific. 

<span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times" new="" roman";mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa="">Sabarimala and Tamil Nadu are the odd one out. All the other ones are the combinations of national parks and the place where they are located, but Sabarimala is a temple which is situated in Kerala. 

<span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times" new="" roman";background:#fffbfb;mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa="">The principle of “Common but Differentiated responsibility” is a product of <span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times" new="" roman";mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa="">Kyoto Protocol. The Kyoto Protocol is a protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, aimed at fighting global warming. The UNFCCC is an international environmental treaty with the goal of achieving the stabilization of greenhouse concentrations” in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system.

<span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times" new="" roman";background:#fffbfb;mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa="">Ramsar Convention for the protection of wetlands was held Iran.  The treaty was adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971 and the Convention's member countries cover all geographic regions of the planet.  

<span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times" new="" roman";background:#fffbfb;mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa="">Chipko movement was related to <span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times" new="" roman";mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa="">protection of forests. The Chipko movement is a movement that practiced the Gandhian methods of satyagraha and non-violent resistance, through the act of hugging trees to protect them from being felled. The modern Chipko movement started in the early 1970s in the Garhwal Himalayas of Uttarakhand.  

<span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times" new="" roman";background:#fffbfb;mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa="">Wildlife Protection Act in India was enacted in 1972. <span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times" new="" roman";background:white;mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa="">The Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 refers to a sweeping package of legislation enacted in 1972 by the Government of India<span style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Arial;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times" new="" roman";mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa="">. Before 1972, India only had five designated national parks.