Subject: Biodiversity

Why In The News?

The NCDC has rejected a Lancet study claiming that over 50% of Indian patients undergoing a specific gastrointestinal procedure are colonised with multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs), calling the findings inaccurate.

1) What is Antibiotic Resistance:

• Definition: Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) occurs when microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites) become resistant to antimicrobial drugs such as antibiotics, antifungals, antivirals, antimalarials, and anthelmintics.
• Impact on Treatment: Standard treatments become ineffective, leading to persistent infections that can spread to others.
• Natural Phenomenon: Resistance develops naturally as bacteria evolve, reducing the effectiveness of drugs.
• Superbugs: Microorganisms that develop AMR are often called “superbugs.”
• Global Threat: The WHO identifies AMR as one of the top ten global health threats.

2) Causes of Antibiotic Resistance:

• High Disease Burden: A high prevalence of communicable diseases (tuberculosis, diarrhoea, respiratory infections) increases antimicrobial use.
• Weak Public Health System: An overburdened health system limits diagnostic capacity, leading to improper treatment.
• Poor Infection Control: Hygiene lapses in hospitals and clinics promote the spread of resistant bacteria.
• Misuse of Antibiotics: Overprescription, self-medication, incomplete antibiotic courses, and unnecessary use of broad-spectrum antibiotics accelerate resistance.
• Easy Access: Unregulated over-the-counter antibiotic availability increases inappropriate use.
• Lack of Awareness: Low public awareness about AMR contributes to misuse of antibiotics.
• Inadequate Surveillance: Limited monitoring systems hinder tracking and understanding of AMR spread.

3) Implications of AMR:

• Healthcare Impact: AMR makes previously effective antibiotics ineffective, causing prolonged illnesses, severe symptoms, and higher mortality from common infections such as pneumonia, UTIs, and skin infections.
• Increased Healthcare Costs: Resistant infections require costlier drugs, longer hospital stays, and sometimes invasive procedures, raising expenses for patients, health systems, and governments.
• Challenges in Medical Procedures: AMR increases risks in surgeries, chemotherapy, and organ transplants because infections may not respond to standard antibiotics.
• Limitations in Treatment Options: Growing resistance reduces the availability of effective antibiotics, potentially creating a post-antibiotic era where common infections become untreatable and potentially fatal.

4) About National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC):

• Organizational Affiliation: NCDC functions under the Indian Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
• Purpose: Established as a national centre of excellence for the control of communicable diseases.
• Leadership: The Director, an officer of the Public Health sub-cadre of Central Health Service, serves as the administrative and technical head of the institute.
• Headquarters: Located in New Delhi.
• Branches: NCDC has 8 regional branches at Alwar (Rajasthan), Bengaluru (Karnataka), Kozhikode (Kerala), Coonoor (Tamil Nadu), Jagdalpur (Chhattisgarh), Patna (Bihar), Rajahmundry (Andhra Pradesh), and Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh).

Why in the News?

India unveiled its National Red List Roadmap and Vision 2025–2030 at the IUCN World Conservation Congress 2025 in Abu Dhabi.

About National Red List Roadmap and Vision (2025–2030):

• Purpose: Marks India’s first coordinated national effort to scientifically assess the extinction risk of ~11,000 species of plants and animals by 2030 using IUCN Red List methodology, the global benchmark for species assessment.
• Aim: To establish a science-based, nationally coordinated red-listing system that strengthens biodiversity planning, conservation policy, and threat mitigation.
• Strategic Alignment: Supports India’s commitments under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KM-GBF), reaffirming India’s leadership in global biodiversity governance.
• Outcome Goal: To publish National Red Data Books on flora and fauna by 2030, serving as authoritative reference guides for ecological protection and management.

Key Features of the Initiative:

• Scientific Alignment: Adopts IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria, ensuring uniformity and comparability with international conservation assessments.
• Scope and Coverage: Envisions evaluation of 11,000 terrestrial and marine species, encompassing major ecological regions across India.
• Core Outputs:
  • Peer-reviewed species assessments with global visibility.
  • Publication of National Red Data Books and creation of a digital public database for species data and risk analysis.
• Institutional Framework:
  • Implemented jointly by the Botanical Survey of India (BSI) and Zoological Survey of India (ZSI).
  • Partner agencies include IUCN India, Centre for Species Survival: India – Wildlife Trust of India (CSS: India–WTI), and the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC).
• Funding and Resources: Total outlay of ₹95 crore, comprising ₹80 crore from BSI and ZSI budgets and ₹15 crore mobilised for training and international collaboration.
• Capacity Building: Creation of a cadre of 300 trained species assessors and development of national training modules on biodiversity evaluation.
• Policy Integration: The data generated will inform India’s National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, legislative updates, and species recovery prioritisation through 2030.

Need for such a profile:

• India’s Biodiversity Profile: Recognised as one of the 17 megadiverse nations, India hosts four biodiversity hotspots, the Himalayas, Western Ghats, Indo-Burma, and Sundaland (Nicobar Islands).
• Ecological Richness: Despite covering only 2.4% of global land area, India shelters 8% of global flora and 7.5% of fauna, with 28% of plants and 30% of animals being endemic.

Why in the News?

A new species of wasp, Nesolynx banabitanae, has been discovered in Central Park (Banabitan), Salt Lake, Kolkata.

About ‘Nesolynx banabitanae’:

• Taxonomic Family: Belongs to the Eulophidae family — known for parasitic and hyperparasitic wasps.
• Type of Species: It is a hyperparasitoid, meaning it parasitises other parasitoid wasps rather than directly preying on host insects.
• Host Interaction: Parasitises the ichneumonid parasitoid Charops aditya, which itself attacks caterpillars of the Common Palmfly (Elymnias hypermnestra) and Common Castor (Ariadne merione) butterflies.
• Significance: Only the seventh known wasp species discovered in India, adding to the country’s limited record of Nesolynx genus.
• Etymology: Named banabitanae after “Banabitan”, the local Bengali name for Central Park, where it was first identified.

Significance:

• Ecological Role: Contributes to multitrophic ecological interactions by adding a fourth trophic level influencing population dynamics of butterflies and their parasitoids.
• Scientific Relevance: Enhances understanding of hyperparasitoid behaviour, urban insect ecology, and biodiversity conservation in anthropogenic landscapes.
• Analytical Importance: The SEM-based structural mapping provides baseline data for future phylogenetic and taxonomic comparisons within Nesolynx.

Why in the News?

The Karnataka government declared 8.6 acres of green cover at Cantonment Railway Colony in Bengaluru as a Biodiversity Heritage Site (BHS), the second such site in the city after Gandhi Krishi Vigyan Kendra (GKVK).

About Biodiversity Heritage Sites (BHS):

• Legal Basis: Recognized under Section 37(1) of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 as ecologically sensitive areas of high biodiversity.
• Notifying Authority: The State Government, in consultation with local bodies, can declare an area as a BHS.
• Objective: Conserves wild and domesticated species, including rare, threatened, and keystone species, vital for ecological balance.
• Significance: Marked as ecologically fragile zones, essential for sustaining local ecosystems and long-term sustainability.
• Community Role: Local communities and institutions are actively involved in management and protection.
• Restrictions Put: Declaration does NOT restrict customary uses; aims to enhance quality of life through conservation.
• Institutional Support: State Biodiversity Boards (SBBs) and Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) assist in proposing, managing, and monitoring BHS.
• First BHS in India: Nallur Tamarind Grove, Bengaluru, Karnataka, notified in 2007.