Abstract

Biodiversity, a measure of the health of biological system, is a variation in the life form in a given ecosystem over a time period. Biodiversity supports the earth’s life systems by stabilizing the founda-tion for crucial ecosystem services. Reviewing literature, this paper explains the current status of bio-diversity in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. The author chose these South Asian countries be-cause despite housing spectacular natural beauty and biological wealth and significantly contributing to the life support systems, biodiversity has been severely threatened by direct and/or indirect actions of human beings in this world’s second most densely populated region. Many natural habitats have been fragmented from excessive human pressures. Some species are in the verge of extinction. As further threats to biodiversity continue, it is likely that these countries might experience unprecedented envi-ronmental consequences, such as floods and climate change. In response to these possible unprece-dented changes, attempts have been made to conserve and improve the ecosystem services through the conservation of biodiversity; however, all these activities have been insufficient to replenish the lost resources that have been overexploited. The author argues that there is an urgent need of institutional setup to disseminate a highly reliable and meaningful information system at different levels, which is missing in these countries.

Keywords: South Asia, transboundary, institution, biodiversity, forest, hotspots, conservation.

JEL Classification: Q23, Q5.

Cite as: Bhandari, M. P. (2018). The Problems and Consequences of the Biodiversity Conservation: A Case Study from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. SocioEconomic Challenges, 2(1), 6-20. DOI: 10.21272/sec.2(1).6-20.2018

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