India become first country to prepare checklist of more than one lakh species

New Delhi: Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav has said that India has become the first country in the world to prepare a checklist of its entire fauna, covering 104,561 species, positioning itself as a global leader in biodiversity documentation.

The Minister said, the silver lining is that India is a global champion in biodiversity conservation, adding that our tradition, ethos and values respect nature and promote biodiversity conservation.

He was speaking at the launch of Fauna of India Checklist Portal on the occasion of 109th Foundation Day of Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) in Kolkata.
“The Fauna of India Checklist Portal is the first comprehensive document on the faunal species reported from India” he added.

The Minister said, the faunal checklist will be an invaluable reference for taxonomists, researchers, academicians, conservation managers, and policymakers.

“It comprises 121 checklists of all known taxa covering 36 phyla. Endemic, threatened, and scheduled species have also been included in the list” he further added.

Inaugurating the Animal Taxonomy Summit-2024 organised by ZSI, Yadav congratulated ZSI for completing 109 glorious years dedicated to the service of our faunal biodiversity.

The Animal Taxonomy Summit–2024 is the second summit being organised by ZSI.

The three-day summit will witness 21 plenary/ lead lectures of eminent speakers/ experts from India as well as abroad and 142 oral/poster presentations. The summit will conclude on 3rd July 2024.

The recommendations will be conveyed to the Government of India for biodiversity conservation.

During the event, Yadav also released an iconic publication of ZSI, ‘Animal Discoveries– 2023’ comprising 641 new animal species and new records from India and ‘Plant Discoveries- 2023’ of Botanical Survey of India (BSI) comprising 339 new plant species and new records from the country published by scientists, faculties and researchers from India.

Other important publications ‘Fauna of India–109 barcodes’, ‘Catalogue of Hoverflies’, ‘Catalogue of Muscidae’ & ‘Flora of India Series’ were released by the union minister.