Abstract: Insects constitute the bulk of the biodiversity and play pivotal roles in ecosystem functioning, including pollination, herbivory, decomposition. They also serve as a crucial prey base for wide range of animals, right from other insects and birds to mammals. Numerous insect species continue to be discovered from extremely small areas of tropics, indicating the high potential diversity of these lesser-known taxa in the tropics. Many of these insect species are highly endemic and are vulnerable to habitat disturbances and climatic changes. Recent studies suggest that insects in the tropics are already existing at the limits of their temperature range and could be among the first to face extinct due to global changes.
However, traditional conservation policies have focused mainly on charismatic wild mammals, such as tigers and elephants, with the assumption that protecting these species will safeguard their habitats and provide umbrella protection for other lesser organisms. Unfortunately, this approach has led to an overemphasis on "protectionism," with resources focused solely on increasing the population of these animals, often at the expense of habitat quality within protected areas and the larger biodiversity that supports human life outside these areas. While formulating conservation policies and legislations, insects and other invertebrates, which comprise more than 80% of the biodiversity, are overlooked.
Due to their small size and modest needs, most insects and other invertebrates occupy ecological niches that are more numerous, smaller in all dimensions and more sensitive compared to those of vertebrates. As a result, every ecosystem, every fragment small or large is crucial for conservation of insects. Since the majority of species remain undescribed and data on the distribution and abundance of only a few described species are available, assessing the threat status of each species according current conservation norms may not be practical. Consequently, very little is known about the extent of loss in insect diversity and the effectiveness of tropical forest management in minimising such loss. Conservation of biodiversity cannot be encompassed and the goals of Convention on Biological Diversity cannot rely solely on protecting a few selected taxa within designated areas; instead, it necessitates a consensus across various taxa and preservation of heterogeneity of habitats to ensure the ecosystems functions and continue providing its services for the supporting the life on earth aligning with the goals of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
About the speaker: Priyadarsanan Dharma Rajan [known as Priyan among conservation circles] is an ecologist, and entomologist. His research spans across conservation & sustainability sciences, insect biosystematics, and conservation policies. A trained taxonomist and ecologist, Priyan has described over 150 species and several genera of insects new to science. He has authored five books, more than 100 research papers, and several popular articles. His research emphasizes biodiversity assessment, conservation of less charismatic taxa and habitats, and the ecological impacts of habitat disturbances, climate change and conservation policies.
Being a conservation & sustainability researcher and practitioner, Priyan is a strong advocate for a new conservation paradigm - ‘Deliberative Democratic Conservation (DDC)’ for the effective conservation and sustainability in the human-dominated landscapes. This approach aims to formulate conservation policies and priorities by fostering consensus through deliberations among stakeholders. It seeks to establish enduring, efficient, and inclusive institutional mechanisms for addressing conservation and sustainability challenges. His application of DDC in conservation of Vembanad Lake (Kerala, India)- the largest tropical wetland ecosystem on the southwest coast of India and a designated Ramsar site is a widely acclaimed conservation model (www.vembanad.org). He is a member of various National and International Scientific & academic bodies, and on the Board of Editors of many journals.