Biodiversity

The pavement burns the skin of my soles through my thick shoes, and the merciless sun blazes through my sunglasses making me squint in the blinding light. I look around for some shade but the tiny umbrella in my bag, my only saviour, proves useless. Delhi’s tree-lined streets are barren, the beautiful green shady canopies scarce .

Uttarakhand is blessed with an immense amount of natural resources such as forests, wildlife and water, but if you are looking for some research-based information that quantifies, classifies and organizes this information, there isn’t much out there.

What’s the best way to find out if a spot is ‘touri

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Green pastures and meadows, tall trees, lakes, wells and the river…those are my memories of Delhi. It wasn’t too long ago that one woke up early to the sounds of lawns being watered, children running off to school and people walking in the parks. A flurry of activity but quite different from what it is today.

A fluttering butterfly or a dashing cheetah immediately bring vivid images to mind. Does the image of a plant stir us as much? Are we as fascinated watching a flower bloom? Probably not. Maybe that’s why there is such a large focus on endangered animals and birds and not so much on plant species that are dying out.

Two rivers – the Dibru and the Lohit - flow along together and meet a third - the Brahmaputra. This vast patch of land they give birth to is a treasure trove for wildlife and the Dibru Saikhowa National Park is located right there. To its south, exists a vast expanse of swamps and marshes interspersed with sandy islands.

Ufrenkhal – the village
Driving towards Ufrenkhal, a village in Pauri Garhwal (Uttarakhand), I see a lush, green mountain covered with deodar, banj and utees trees. Little did I realize that this diverse and dense forest, which is alive with wildlife, is very new. 40 years ago, this vast area was a firing range!

Biodiversity information management using informatics techniques began in 1970s and since then there have been several initiatives by taxonomists, researchers and curators across the world.