INAUGURATION AND WORKSHOP
DATE: 9-7-'11
TIME: 9:30A.M
VENUE: INAGURATION- GARDEN
SEMINAR- CONFERENCE HALL
St. Pious Degree College For Women,
Nacharam.
INCHARGE: Dept. of Zoology (Mrs. Grace Beena Paul and Ms. Divya Chandrika)
DIGNITARIES INVITED: Mr. S.Ashok Kumar (IAS Retd.), Dr. Tej Kumar (BCS President) and Prof. Suryakala (BCS General Secretary and Prof. in zoology, Nizam College)
Inauguration started at 9:30a.m by all the dignitaries invited, in the presence of the principal and the vice principal along with the staff of zoology department, witnessed by the students of zoology and botany.
It commenced with a speech by Ashok sir who spoke that the endangered butterflies are to be protected for which flora are required. Virtually every plant attracts butterflies. Large flowers are not required but even small flowered or small flowering plants are sufficient for butterflies.
Butterflies act as biological indicators; they disappear in case of polluted environments and that is the reason for them being endangered.
The smallest butterflies are upto 60 mm in size. The largest is Ornitropa, 11 inches in size, currently being protected by law.
Biopiracy is another reason for the endangerment of butterflies; meaning that butterflies are being smuggled for commercial purposes as they could cost lakhs of rupees.
He conveyed his happiness for our consciousness and organizing this for pursuing the significance of butterflies to environment. The importance of habitat and biodiversity conservation as also highlighted by him.
Over to Tej Kumar sir, he gave us a vivid illustrative detail of few butterflies, as follows:
The Great Orange Tip- extinct
The Clipper- found in only the Eastern Ghats
The Siam Tree Nymph- found in only the Western Ghats
Blumei- vulnerable
The Great Mormon- vulnerable.
Now, moving on to the conference hall for presentations, to be given by Ashok sir and Suryakala ma’am.
Introduction started by Grace madam who read out the Constitution of India (Part 4) that states the fundamental duty of an Indian citizen to protect and preserve his environment. Next, Divya madam motivated us by signifying the importance of natural conservation.
Starting up with Ashok sir’s PowerPoint presentation. His introduction slide consisted of illustrative biodiversity with tiger, Asian elephant, deer, tropical deciduous moist forest, king cobra, crimson rose butterfly, lotus, tortoise and peacock. The next slides are about biodiversity and Biopiracy. An apt definition for biodiversity was given. It was mentioned that India is one of the mega biodiversity centers with 22 hotspots. 10% of the total flora and fauna are threatened. India has:
MAMMALS- 1500
BIRDS- 2000
REPTILES- 450
AMPHIBIANS- 206
PHANEROGAMS- 15000
INSECTS- 80000
FISH- 2500
NEMATODA- 5200 varieties of species.
Andhra Pradesh stands 4th in terms of biodiversity with:
MAMMALS- 81
BIRDS- 452
REPTILES- 81
AMPHIBIANS- 21
PHANEROGAMS- 5000
BUTTERFLIES- 200+
FISH- 134 varieties of species.
TIGER RESERVES- 1
NATIONAL PARKS- 4
WILDLIFE SANCTUARIES- 2
Sir also produced a map on the sanctuaries and parks in A.P.
Later part of it enlightened the bioresources, science technology and industry, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and its goals, Biological Diversity Act, 2002 and the three tier system in it, their powers, committees and patent laws, cases of misuse/ biopiracy and traditional knowledge (ayurveda).
India is a veritable nation with over 90000 species of animals, 46000 species of plants, 50000 varieties of rice, 10562 types of tubers, 2196 varieties of sugarcane etc.
Presentation followed by Prof. Suryakala madam who threw light upon butterflies and biodiversity of the Deccan Plateau. She also illustrated the following families of butterflies:
PAPILLINOIDAE
PIERIDAE
NYMPHALIDAE
LYCAENIDAE
HESPERIDAE
RIODINIDAE
She later explained the need to conserve butterflies, the causes that endanger butterflies, measures to conserve butterflies, legal protections, The Butterfly Conservation Society of Hyderabad (BCS), objectives of the society and the wildlife sanctuaries of A.P.
With a thanks to the dignitaries for offering their time for us, the gathering dispersed!
