Biodiversity threatened

environmentalist and advisor to the United Nations Environment Programme (unep), Rashmi Mayur, has warned of complete degradation in the sub-continent's ecology in the near future. Specifically, south India's unique biodiversity faced a serious threat. At a recent press conference, Mayur said a pointer to the degradation was the depletion of ground water levels in the last 25 years. The level has gone down by nine metres in the entire eastern coast. The region has also faced the grave prospect of floods and droughts alternately affecting the living systems. Denudation of the forest cover and the concomitant soil erosion in the area were other signs of a potential environmental breakdown in the near future, Mayur added. In Bangalore itself, more than 60 per cent of the total tree cover has disappeared over the years.