Indian Cheetah, the pink-headed duck, and the Great Indian bustard have now gone extinct in India because of desertification.
This devastating news was announced this week by researchers who were attending the 14th meeting of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).
“A minimum of three to four species have already become extinct in India, such as India Cheetah, pink-headed duck, and the Great Indian Bustard,” Kailash Chandra, director of the Zoological Survey of India, told ANI News. “Many more are on the verge of becoming extinct and therefore fall into the category of critically endangered species. These specimens have reduced to less than 150.”
Chandra said they collected database from all over the country and collected more than 5.6 million specimens. This record gives a lot of information on how things might have changes in more than a century.
In order to reverse the process, Chandra stressed that humans need to regulate the factors that led to desertification, including the use of insecticides, pesticides, conversion of agricultural land, industries, chemicals and indiscriminate development.
India is reportedly facing a land degradation crisis, but it is important to note that it is not just India with such concerns.
The Indian Express reported that the ministers will announce land restoration.
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– More shark species closer to extinction than feared, IUCN Red List reports
