India has prepared a checklist of its entire fauna: Bhupendra Yadav

According to the Union minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav,India has become the first country in the world to prepare a checklist of its entire fauna population. -covering 104,561 species. This makes India the global  leader in biodiversity documentation and conservations.

The minister gave this information at a ceremony held in Kolkata to observe the 109th anniversary of the  Zoological Survey of India in Kolkata,West Bengal on 30 June 2024. He also formally launched the Fauna of India Checklist Portal maintained by the Zoological Survey of India which contains the check list of India’s entire known -104,561 fauna species.

The minister also inaugurated the 2nd Animal Taxonomy Summit-2024 organised by Zoological Survey of India at Kolkata.

Fauna of India Checklist Portal

The launch of the Fauna of India Checklist Portal is seen as a significant step in the biodiversity documentation in India.It comprises 121 checklists of all known taxa covering 36 phyla. The checklist includes all the endemic (found in a particular region), threatened, and scheduled species.

The detailed fauna checklist will be invaluable for scientific research in the country. It will help scientists, researchers, and the government to better understand the country's rich ecological diversity and make informed decisions about sustainable management of natural resources.

He also participated with childrens and women in the ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' campaign and they planted saplings. The ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the occasion of World Environment Day on 5 June 2024.

Second Animal Taxonomy Summit-2024 

The 2nd  Animal Taxonomy Summit was organised by the Zoological Survey of India at Kolkata from 30 June -. 3 July 2024. 

Around 350 delegates from four countries are participating in the summit meeting . The delegates from the famous Natural History Museum, London are also participating in the summit. 

The recommendations made by the eminent experts at the meeting will be forwarded to the  Government of India for biodiversity conservation.

About Zoological Survey of India 

The Zoological Survey of India was set up on 1 July 1916 at Kolkata (earlier Calcutta).

It was set up to study and document the fauna of the country.

It  is under the administrative control of the  Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

Headquarters : Kolkata, It has 16 regional centers .

Director : Dr Dhriti Banerjee