Biodiversity Profile of Tamil Nadu The term 'Biodiversity' refers to the variety and variability found among the living organisms. Three levels of biodiversity recognized are Ecosystem diversity, Species diversity and Genetic diversity. Of these the Species diversity is easy to comprehend. The biodiversity database developed by the ENVIS Node of the Department of Environment deals only with the Species diversity. Tamil Nadu has a geographical area of 13 million hectares which constitutes about 4 % of the land area of the country. The state's rich biodiversity is facing a serious threat from growing human and livestock population and also from various developmental activities. Conserving the bio diversity in the wake of depleting natural resources has assumed considerable importance. The State has had a long history of taxonomical surveys and ecological research; but available information on its biodiversity is rather scattered. Hence it was decided to develop a database on biodiversity of Tamil Nadu. In this connection, a one-day workshop on biodiversity of Tamil Nadu was organised on December 5, 2002 involving 30 experts on floral, faunal and microbial diversity from all over the State. During the workshop, it was decided to prepare a checklist of floral, faunal and microbial diversity of Tamil Nadu. The database was prepared under the guidance of Dr. D. Narasimhan, Lecturer, Madras Christian College on Floral Diversity, Dr. K. Venkataraman, Joint Director, Marine Biological Station, Zoological Survey of India on Faunal Diversity and Dr. K. Natarajan, Professor, CAS in Botany, University of Madras on Fungal diversity. Environmental queries on Biodiversity could be asked using the query form available in the website. This is a unique attempt to make a web based Biodiversity information system for Tamil Nadu. I welcome your suggestion for further improvement.
