Extinction which is known as the end of an organism or of a group of organisms, normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species.
Every day, upto 150 species are dying , and more than that are at the verge of extinction. This is “A CRISIS OF LIFE”, and it is up to us to stop it.
By exploiting the living world & putting our own welfare in danger we are dangerously impoverishing our planet. We need to be Understand that the greater the diversity of habitats, whether in water or on land, the greater the biodiversity will be.
Now to save the declining flora and fauna, our Govt has come up with a major plan to establish a TURTLE SANCTUARY in Allahabad, to protect the rich biodiversity of Ganga .
- The Ganga River is among the largest rivers in Asia, flowing for roughly over 2,500 km, from Goumukh in Uttarakhand to the Bay of Bengal at Ganga Sagar in West Bengal, covering 26% of India’s landmass.
- The Ganga Basin is home to a wide variety of relic, rare and endangered fauna like turtles ( Batagur Kachuga , Batagur dhongoka, Nilssonia gangetica, Chitra indica, Hardella thurjii etc.), the national Aquatic Animal – Gangetic dolphin ( platanista gangetica), the Gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) etc.
WHY
- There is an urgent need to protect the rich aquatic biodiversity of ganga and Yamuna as they are home to some of the most endangered fauna like Turtles, Dolphins, numerous migratory and residential birds etc.
- The aquatic wildlife of the Ganga basin, including the main stem Ganga River, is in peril due to reduction in water level, pollution and over exploitation of riverine resources, leading to habitat degradation.
- The increasing human population, industrial development, deforestation, fragmentation of river systems have an adverse impacts on aquatic species, particularly fish, Turtles with a steady decline seen in the populations of several species.
ABOUT THE PROJECT
- The Centre has approved setting up a turtle sanctuary in Allahabad and a river bio-diversity park at Sangam (confluence of rivers Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati ) in the city .
- The project, approved by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) under its 'Namami Gange' (Ganga rejuvenation) programme last week, includes a turtle rearing centre (permanent nursery at Triveni Pushp and makeshift annual hatcheries).
- The estimated cost of the Allahabad project is Rs 1.34 crore. It'll be a fully central funded project including the River Bio-diversity Park at Sangam (confluence of the rivers Ganga, Yamuna and mythical Sarasvati).
- The central government initiative will also improve people's understanding of the complexity of co-existence with the environment and help generate awareness for reducing the impact of human activities on critical natural resources, the statement asserted.
This project will provide much needed platform to make the visitors aware of their place in the ecosystem, their roles and responsibilities, improve their understanding of the complexity of co-existence with the environment and help generate awareness for reducing the impact of human activities on critical natural resources. The task of dissipating knowledge about river Ganga will be taken up ardently in this project, which is 100% centrally funded.
