In situ conservation

In situ (on site) conservation protects the whole ecosystem, and with it biodiversity at every level: save the entire forest to save the tiger.

Ex situ (off site) conservation is the right approach when a plant or animal is endangered or threatened, meaning it runs a very high risk of dying out in the wild in the near future, and must be rescued urgently.

Species needing protection far outnumber conservation resources, so conservationists picked biodiversity hotspots for maximum protection: regions with very high species richness and a high degree of endemism (species found only there).

Initially 25 hotspots were identified; nine more were added, making 34. Hotspots are also regions of accelerated habitat loss.

Three hotspots cover India's richest regions: Western Ghats and Sri Lanka, Indo-Burma, and Himalaya.

All 34 hotspots together occupy under 2 per cent of the Earth's land, yet hold a very large number of species; strictly protecting them could cut the ongoing mass extinctions by almost 30 per cent.

India gives legal protection to its biodiversity-rich regions. Its protected network counts 448 wildlife sanctuaries, 90 national parks and 14 biosphere reserves.

Sacred groves are forest tracts set aside by religious and cultural tradition, where every tree and animal is venerated and fully protected. Examples: the Khasi and Jaintia Hills of Meghalaya, the Aravalli Hills of Rajasthan, the Western Ghats in Karnataka and Maharashtra, and Sarguja, Chanda and Bastar in Madhya Pradesh.

In Meghalaya, sacred groves are the last refuges of many rare and threatened plants.