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| AERF Celebrates International Year of Biodiversity |
As we celebrates International Year of Biodiversity, every month, we will put up some interesting information on this page about various native, endemic, rare or threatened species from our study area that are critical for biodiversity conservation. So keep visiting our website to contribute to this awareness campaign. |
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| Farmers of the Forests:
hornbills |
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Hornbills are big charismatic
birds found in tropical and sub-tropical Africa and Asia.
They are one of the most distinctive birds and are
characterized by their brightly-coloured long, down-curved
bill with large casques. They have been known to mankind for
millennia and loom large in mythology of many indigenous
cultures of tropical Asia. Hornbills have become important
subjects for examining interesting behavioural and
ecological questions as well as serious conservation issues
because of their strong social monogamy, their propensity to
disperse seeds of rain- forest trees, and the fact that
their habitats are becoming increasingly fragmented.
Hornbills belong to the family Bucerotidae. Interestingly,
‘Buceros’ refers to ‘cow horn’ in Greek, and hornbills have
been given this name as the shape of their bill is similar
to it. The large bill assists in fighting, preening, and
constructing the nest, as well as catching prey. In some
species, the bill is quite large, and helps to serve as a
resonator for calls. Family Bucerotidae includes 57 living
species. In India, the hornbills can be seen in north
eastern India, south western parts of India and the Andaman
islands. Hornbills found in India are- Austen’s Brown,
Malabar grey, Indian Grey, Indian Pied, Oriental pied, Great
hornbill, Rufous necked and Narcondam Hornbill.
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Hornbills- the essential seed
dispersers
Asian hornbills tend to rely more heavily on fruit. Although
they are opportunistic omnivorous, the bulk of their diet,
by nutrients and by weight comes from fruits. Fruits offer
two basic types of energy rewards- carbohydrates in the form
of sugars and starches, and Lipids. Lipid rich drupes offer
a higher energy source than berries and figs. The rich diet
of fruits also provides for their water requirements. The
hornbills rely on a number of fruit bearing tree species
belonging to Lauraceae, Moraceae, Meliaceae, Myristicaceae
and Annonaceae. This is how they help in seed dispersals of
many trees belonging to the above mentioned families.
Interesting Breeding behaviour
After courtship, the female sits inside the tree cavity of a
large tree. She seals the cavity using wall made of mud,
droppings and fruit pulp. A small hole in the wall is left
for the male to provide food to the female and eventually
the chicks, numbering one or two. These nesting cavities are
used in the consecutive breeding season by the same pair.
There is only one narrow aperture in the cavity, for the
male to transfer food to the mother and eventually the
chicks. Hornbills are known for making monogamous pairs
AERF’s work on Hornbills in Konkan
Exhaustive conservation campaigns and behavioural research
for Great Pied Hornbill (Buceros bicornis) and Malabar Pied
Hornbill (Anthracoceros coronatus) are being carried out in
the disturbed forest habitats of Northern Western Ghats. Our
efforts have significantly emphasized the specific role
these two charismatic birds play in forest regeneration.
Under this project, 3 Great pied hornbill nests and 15
Malabar Pied Hornbill nests are being provided protection.
For more information please go to Applied Biodiversity Research Page
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| AERF’s contribution to Target 2010 |
AERF in spirit has always worked towards pragmatic approaches for Biodiversity Conservation. We at AERF realize that India is hosts a significantly large number of biodiversity rich ecosystems with unimaginable numbers of rare and endemic plants, animals and human communities. All these components are increasingly going extinct but which must be protected and conserved- Now. AERF is making a sustained effort to lead the local communities in its mission of conserving Biodiversity in the Northern Western Ghats and the Western Himalayas. |
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| Sacred Groves : Controlling Habitat fragmentation in Sacred Groves |
Sacred Groves are forest patches traditionally protected by communities in reverence of a deity. Once a safe haven for biodiversity to flourish, these forests are now facing the brunt of mass deforestation and habitat fragmentation. This has directly thumped upon some of the very crucial ecological processes such as mutualism between the rare, endemic, old growth fruit trees and their seed dispersers (such as Hornbills ). AERF has successfully mobilized local communities for its exhaustive campaigns for two species of hornbill: Great Pied Hornbill (Buceros bicornis) and Malabar Pied Hornbill (Anthracoceros coronatus). In depth research on hornbill behaviour and feeding ecology is being carried out in the disturbed forest habitats of northern Western Ghats.
These efforts have significantly emphasized the specific role these two charismatic birds play in habitat restoration. Through this conservation project, the Hornbills are being promoted as flagship species to promote conservation of some important rare and endemic tree species such as Antiaris toxicaria,Hydnocarpus pentandra, Saraca asoca, Strychnos nux-vomica, calophyllum inophyllum. To restore the degraded forest patches AERF raised and planted about 10,000 saplings of native tree species. AERF is also working with private forest owners to bring about Conservation Agreements. AERF is proud to state that till date about 45 ha of forests has been brought under protection for the next ten years. |
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“Biological diversity” means the variability among living organisms from all sources including, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are a part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems.’ (The convention on Biological Diversity; Johnson, 1993)
To put is simply, biological diversity is the variety and variability among living organisms and the ecological complexes in which they occur. |
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Scientists estimate that the total number of species could be anywhere between 13 million to 100 million in number. An unknown number of these valuable but still undiscovered species might be spiralling down to extinction every day. All these species together constitute a massive gene pool that could help human beings find solutions to most of their complicated problems. Therefore it is of utmost importance to bring down the rate of extinction and conserve what is left of Biodiversity. |
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A whole web of reasons is known to pose a threat to Biodiversity. Yet the biggest and the most prominent of these is Habitat Fragmentation caused by the exhaustive, unregulated, nsustainable economic development. Across the world, the prime forests are being cut open for mining and timber extraction. Habitats are being fragmented and the species being forced out of their habitats. This is especially true to the third world countries of the tropics that still have left with them a good old growth rainforests. |
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Biodiversity provides a large number of goods and Ecological Services that sustain our lives. Apart from the use value of Biodiversity, we as a species have an ethical and historical responsibility to conserve other living creatures that cohabit the world along with us. We must collectively understand that it is the combination of life forms and their interactions with each other and with the rest of the environment that has made Earth a uniquely habitable place for humans. |
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Year 2010 has been marked as the international year of biodiversity by CBD and its partner for the programme IUCN. In April 2002, a decision was taken by the parties to the Convention that by year 2010 they would significantly reduce the rate of Biodiversity loss at the global, regional and national level as a contribution to poverty alleviation and to the benefit of all life on Earth. This was certified by the World Summit on Sustainable Development and the United Nations General Assembly and was integrated under the Millennium Development Goals as a new target. |
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