Rapid urbanization, environmental degradation causing biodiversity loss: Expert

Nagpur: “Rapid urbanization, lack of public awareness and the environmental degradation are responsible for biodiversity loss today,” said Shalini Dhyani, scientist, environmental impact and sustainability division, National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (Neeri).
She was speaking on ‘Urban disasters and ecosystem-based approaches’ on the concluding day of three-day mega exhibition on science and technology by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).The exhibition, which was organized as a part of diamond jubilee celebrations of CSIR, witnessed participation of over 3,500 students of various schools and colleges.
Elaborating on the topic, Dhyani said that people don’t know how to reside in a clean surrounding. Also the unplanned development plays a major role in welcoming the disasters. “Look at the way trees are being cut in the name of infrastructural development. Deforestation has direct negative impact on our ecosystem. In the mad rush to build houses or colonies, people are not leaving any green space likes parks, gardens etc in their locality. People just think about building houses (or infrastructure) but no one gives a serious thought to sewage disposal.”
“Day by day our rivers and oceans are getting more and more polluted. As a result accessing clean water is becoming very difficult,” she said.
Dhyani added that the urban green spaces were becoming a thing of the past, with marshlands shrinking rapidly. “Water bodies are being completely polluted without giving any serious thought to loss of ecosystem. Thus it is very important to make smart use of available land and integrate urban green spaces with urban infrastructure,” she said.
Giving the example of the benefit of greenery around us, Dhyani said, “The best example can be found in Neeri itself. The campus is lush green, hence the internal temperature is usually 3 to 4 degrees Celsius less than the outside temperature,” she said.
Rima Biswas Mondal, scientist, waste water technology division, NEERI, delivered a lecture on how the smallest creatures on Earth help in solving the biggest environmental challenges. “Never underestimate the power of microbes. Though only 3% of the total microbial population are harmful to the humans, we are indiscriminately using bacteriostatic chemicals like Triclosan in soaps, detergents, liquid soaps and handwashes which claim to kill 99.99% of bacterial population,” she said.
Biswas also explained the life of microbes in extreme conditions.
“Micro-organisms are omnipresent and they are known to be present in this planet for 3.5 million years. They were the first life to have evolved on Earth. In those times, our planet didn't have any protective ozone layer and conditions were very harsh and devoid of any oxygen.”
“Those microbes belong to a special group of bacteria, called the Archea. Archea exist even now and are still known as inhabitants of extreme conditions,” she said.