In a bid to strengthen its efforts at conservation of endangered plant and animal species, India has decided to initiate the country-specific red list of endangered species.
The red list of species under threat published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is the best guideline for conservationists all around the world.
It is the referral index that points to the plants and animal species that are under looming threat of extinction and need protection.
India too has many species enlisted in the IUCN red list with the latest report indicating 57 animal species of India Critically Endangered (CR). But unfortunately, the country's own database of wild species is in an appalling condition. ‘Data insufficient' is all the information available on many species of India that are dying, sometimes even before their existence is known.
It is this void that the Environment Ministry of India has finally decided to fill. A high-level Environment Ministry panel has decided to bring its first report on the country's endangered species, both plants and animals, by the end of next year.
“To begin with, two documents, one each on ‘Red list of Indian Plants' and ‘Red list of Indian Animals' would be released during the COP-11 of the Convention on Biological Diversity to be held in New Delhi in October 2012," a Ministry document said. Read the full report here.
Source: Deccan Herald.
