Conservation of rare and unique species of flora and fauna seems to be challenging for the forest department. While both the state and union governments have launched several programmes and embarked on a mission to safeguard endemic species for the next generation, the efforts have failed to yield better results. In less than three years, as many as 17 species of rare fauna have been added to the existing list of those on the verge of extinction.
According to revelation made by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), the list of endangered fauna species which stood at 648 in 2013, has climbed to 665 in 2015, leaving many conservationists worried. Similarly, the number of endangered plant species too has gone up considerably. Union forest minister Prakash Javadekar had recently submitted a paper to the parliament quoting International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) report card stating that the list of endangered species is on the rise compared to previous years though the government has been working to contain their extinction from state forests.
"The rich biodiversity of India is facing threat as a result of large-scale manmade landscape modifications and over-exploitation of resources causing loss of natural ecosystems and habitats," Javadekar stated in his statement. As per the detailed report, as many as 8 bird species have slipped into endangered category, followed by 3 species of mammals and fishes each. The other species include one each from the reptilian, amphibian and molluscan categories.
As per the IUCN report, majority of the fauna that slipped into endangered category belong to the Himalayan region and northeastern India. However, some species like the striated bush frog endemic to Western Ghats and the Indian pangolin found across forests of southern India, have also made it to the list of endangered species. A senior conservationist working in Bandipur said, "The Indian pangolins are distinct compared to their counterparts in other Asian countries due to their large scales. In fact, poaching of pangolins and smuggling of their scales is gaining momentum in the last few years. Several seizures have been made in the recent past where huge quantity of pangolin scales are recovered," he clarified.
The striated bush frog was never sighted since its first appearance way back in 1891. It was sighted only in 2004 in the same vicinity, say IISc scientists.
