Of the 34 biodiversity hotspots in the world the Northeast is home to some rare breeds of flora and fauna that could hardly be seen anywhere in the globe. Of late, a study revealed here, found that the northern region can boast of about sixty per cent of the butterflies found in the entire globe.
Out of the world’s15,000 odd butterflies, Assam houses more than 800 of the exotic winged variety. This is perhaps, largely due to the abundance of the entire North East India. The study also revealed that Kaziranga, famous for the unicornis, alone houses about 300 of the exotic species The worrying part is that there is a gradual decline due to deforestation and very less conservation activities. In the state of Assam, as over much of the Indian sub-continent, there is very little conservation activity directed towards butterflies. This decline in species, so typical of the third-world today, is an indication of the ongoing global environmental crisis, and if not checked will perhaps reach a point where downward trends can no longer be reversed.
by Mubina Akhtar
