Biggest loss seen in Kodagu. | |
| The Western Ghats, home to wet to dry evergreen forests, moist to dry deciduous forests and grasslands, are shrinking forest cover. |
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| "In the last 20 years by analysing satellite photos and forest cover maps, forest cover in the south-western ghats (Kerala) has seen a reduction of 24 per cent in its geographical area, while the forests in the central western ghats (comprising Kodagu and Hassan) region has shrunk 12 per cent. The northern parts (Karnataka-Goa) of the Western Ghats are more or less intact with minor losses," said Dr B R Ramesh, tropical botanist, at French Institute of Pondicherry (IFP)-India. |
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| Ramesh, speaking at a meeting to take forward taxonomy (scientific classification of species) organised by Biotik (Biodiversity Informatics and Cooperation in Taxonomy for Interactive0shared Knowledge base) said, "The alarming rate of shrinkage in geographical area is likely to endanger 45 per cent of 4,000 plant species, 29 per cent of 1,153 vertebrates and 22 floristic types." |
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| The main reason cited for shrinkage in south western ghats is expansion of area under agriculture, whereas in the central western ghats, the biggest loss is in Kodagu which saw expansion of coffee cultivation. |
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| "In central western ghats, forest and reserve forests saw 100 per cent conversion to coffee estates there by destroying wild fauna and flora," said Ramesh. |
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| According to Dr Pierre Grard, project director Biotik, a project to create a network of South Asian and European partners interested in sharing their knowledge in applied computer science for taxonomy has been initiated. |
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| "As part of the project we are preparing two CD-ROMs for identifying tree species in two 'hot-spots' of biodiversity: the rainforests in the Western Ghats of India and in the northern Annamite Mountain range of Laos PDR. The project work is divided into six overlapping activities over a period of three years," he added. |
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| IFP-india, which is part of the Biotik project, to address the constraints on specific identification software with graphical and multimedia interface, has developed a tree species identification system (IDAO). |
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| Giving a demonstration if IDAO, Ramesh said this is an attempt to link traditional taxonomy to modern IT to arrive at desired results faster. This will be instrumental in understanding and assessing the biodiversity of these highly significant areas. |
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| IFP has brought three decades of ecological work in the Western Ghats region to the project and is targeting about 600 tree species to create the knowledge base. |
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| "The application with the identification system assisted by IDAO software will include a graphical database on character states of the species along with the live and herbarium specimen photographs, illustrations and descriptions (botanical and ecological)," said Ramesh. |
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| Bruno Rouot, Attache for Science and Technology "" Bangalore, French Embassy in India in his address said that in the last 28 years of science and technology cooperation, CEFIPRA approved 350 projects of which biotech's share is 7 per cent and life science 21 per cent. |
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