Preserving the Andaman and Nicobar Biodiversity
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a joint region of India. It comprises 572 islands, of that thirty eight are inhabited and arranged at the intersection of the Inlet of topographical range conjointly the Andaman Ocean.
1756, the Nicobar Islands fell and became a Danish colony. Denmark’s presence in the territory ended formally on 16 October 1868 when it sold the rights to the Nicobar Islands to Britain, which made them part of British India in 1869. In 1872 the Andaman and Nicobar islands were united under a single chief commissioner at Port Blair. During World War II, the islands were practically under Japanese control. Surrendered to the British in 1945. After independence Andaman and Nicobar naturally became a part of free India.
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands have a tropical rainforest canopy, made of a mixed flora with elements from Indian, Myanmar, Malaysian and endemic floral strains. So far, about 2,200 varieties of plants have been recorded, out of which 200 are endemic and 1,300 do not occur in mainland India.
The islands offer a rich environmental diversity. While the South Andaman forests have a profuse growth of epiphytic vegetation the Middle Andamans harbour mostly moist deciduous forests. North Andamans is characterised by the wet evergreen type, with plenty of woody climbers. The North Nicobar Islands are marked by the complete absence of evergreen forests, while such forests form the dominant vegetation in the central and southern islands of the Nicobar group. While there are grasslands in the Nicobars, there are deciduous forests in the Andamans. The forest coverage is claimed to be about 85% of the total land area.
This tropical rain forest also boasts rich with a diversity of animal life. About 50 varieties of forest mammals, 26 species of rodents, followed by 14 species of bats. About 270 species of birds are found in Andaman and Nicobar Islands .14 species from them are endemic, the majority of Nicobar island group. The territory is home for about 225 species of butterflies and moths. Ten species are endemic to these Islands. Mount Harriet National Park is one of the richest areas of butterfly and moth diversity on Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
The islands are well known for prized shellfish. Earliest recorded commercial exploitation began during 1929. Many cottage industries produce a range of decorative shell items. Giant clams, green mussels and oysters support edible shellfishery. The shells of scallops, clams, and cockle are burnt in kilns to produce edible lime.
All this rich flora and fauna has been open to exploitation sometime slow and sometimes dramatically rapid. There has been enough playing around with the ecosystem. Around 1962 there was an attempt to introduce the leopard, which was unsuccessful because of unsuitable habitat. Yet, Elephants also can be found in forested or mountainous areas of the islands, who were brought over from the mainland to help with timber extraction.
Similarly, the original population of the islands — the Great Andamanese, the Onge, the Jarawa and the Sentinelese, who were estimated to be around 5,000 150 years ago have shrunk dramatically. Studies have revealed that the indigenous Andamanese people may have been isolated from other populations during the Middle Paleolithic, which ended 30,000 years ago. Since that time, the Andamanese have diversified into linguistically and culturally distinct territorial groups. The Nicobar Islands on the other hand, appear to have been populated by people of various backgrounds speaking language unrelated to Andamanese.
The settler population has multiplied manifold and its impact on the indigenous has now reached critical levels. The onslaught of tourism has also had adverse effect on the indigenous people and the flora and fauna alike.
India has been developing defence facilities on the islands since the 1980s. The islands now have a key position in India’s strategic role in the Bay of Bengal and the Malacca Strait.
Rampant development, defence build-up and tourism has massively impacted this ancient and fragile ecosystem.
The significance of forests cannot be belittled. We depend on timberlands for our survival, from the air that we breathe to the wood we utilize. Other than giving living spaces for creatures and employments for people, woodlands moreover offer watershed assurance, anticipate soil disintegration and moderate climate change. Island environments too contribute to the support of biological system capacities: they give resistance against characteristic fiascos, supplement cycling, and soil and sand arrangement; and they contribute to the control of climate and diseases. As demonstrated by the deadly Tsunami of 2004. A healthy biological systems clean our water, filter our discuss, keep up our soil, direct the climate, reuse supplements and give us with nourishment. Biodiversity is the key marker of the wellbeing of a biological system. A wide assortment of species will adapt way better with dangers than a restricted number of them in expansive populaces.
