BIODIVERSITY OF ANDAMAN & NICOBAR ISLANDS

Report Summary:

• Andaman & Nicobar Islands, comprising only 0.25% of country’s geographical area, is home to 11,009 species i.e. more than 10% of the country’s fauna species.
  
  
• A long period of isolation from the mainland made the islands hotspots for speciation (the formation of new and distinct species) resulting in hundreds of endemic species and subspecies.
  
  
• The Narcondam hornbill, the Nicobar megapode, the Nicobar treeshrew, the Long-tailed Nicobar macaque, and the Andaman day gecko, are among the 1,067 endemic faunal species found only on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and nowhere else.
  
  
• Marine Faunal Diversity:
  • 555 species of scleractinian corals (hard or stony corals) are found in the island ecosystem, all which are placed under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act (WPA).
    
    
  • Similarly, all species of gorgonian (sea fans) and calcerous sponge are listed under different schedules of the WPA.
    
    
  
  
  
• Threats:
  • Tourism, illegal construction and mining are posing a threat to the islands’ biodiversity, which is already vulnerable to volatile climatic factors.
    
    
  • Recent order by Government of India to relax the Restricted Area Permit (RAP) norms under the Foreigners (Restricted Areas) Order, 1963 has triggered further concerns.