Eco Culture and Biodiversity

Photo: Prasad

Macroeconomic trends force local communities into high productivity, fertiliser responsive agriculture, or raising animals for commercial purposes, replacing enormous range of traditional crops and animal varieties by a few that meet conditions for short term competitiveness. Languages, beliefs, traditions, and whole environmental-management systems are thus slowly being wiped out by a mainstream culture.

Abstract: Biodiversity, a complex topic covering aspects of biological variation, includes a range of living beings, the relationship among them and with the physical environment; and the sum total of their genetic make up. It encompasses species, ecosystems, and landscape diversity. Biodiversity changes through selective adjustments, from small biological variations, genetic mutations to ecosystem changes and results in novel behaviour among species, and societies.

The author is Head, Department of Zoology, Bankura Christian College, Bankura, West Bengal