More than 50 animal species critically endangered

New Delhi: Out of 96,000 animal species in the country, more than 50 have been assessed as "critically endangered" and 310 as "endangered", the Rajya Sabha was informed on Monday.

"Studies conducted by Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) have recorded 96,000 species of animals from India.

"Among these, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed 18 species of amphibians, 14 varieties of fish, 13 birds and 10 mammals as critically endangered and 310 species as endangered, including 69 fish, 38 mammals and 32 amphibians," Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said in a written reply.

He said as per the data available with Botanical Survey of India (BSI), out of 19,156 species of vascular plants, 1,236 species belong to different threatened categories like critically endangered, endangered and vulnerable.

He said towards conservation of threatened species, the government has established 730 Protected Areas, including 103 national parks, 535 wildlife sanctuaries, 26 community reserves and 66 conservation reserves, which primarily cover habitats of threatened megafauna such as tiger, rhino, elephant and others.

"Moreover, nine of the 18 biosphere reserves in India are part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves of UNESCO," Javadekar said.

He said the National CAMPA Advisory Council has approved the funding for recovery programme of various endangered species.

These include Dugong with a budget of Rs 23.58 crore, Gangetic River Dolphin with Rs 23 crore, Great Indian Bustard with Rs 108.25 crore, Manipur Brow Antlered deer with budgetary support of Rs 99.95 crore and wild Buffalo with Rs 2 crore.