Environmental Biotechnology and Sustainable Biodiversity

Copenhagen on "Global Warming and Climate Change", in December 2009 has brought recognition all over the world about the importance of sustainable environment and biodiversity. The environment whether terrestrial or aquatic including biodiversity in the current scenario is getting degraded slowly in some places and faster in other places due to human interventions and also through natural calamities. Rapid industrialization, urbanization and other developments have resulted in a threatened clean environment and depleted natural resources.

Therefore, it is felt that unless proper precautions and preventive measures are taken at right time to protect our precious environment and biodiversity, the question of survival of life on this planet becomes crucial. At this turning point, the primary role of environmental biotechnology becomes pivotal in developing better approaches to protect and sustain the environment. The emergence and acceptance of the concept of sustainable development warrants the scope of environmental biotechnology to be enlarged to address issues like environmental monitoring, restoration of environmental quality, resource / residue / waste-recovery / utilization / treatment, and substitution of the non-renewable resource base with renewable resources etc.

Keeping in view the importance of the subject the present book on `Environmental Biotechnology and Sustainable Biodiversity’ has been prepared which contains eleven chapters addressing at least some of the issues as mentioned above. First three chapters of the book deal with current environmental status concerning both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and required biotechnological interventions to manage the same. Comprehensive information on management of bio-medical waste to sustain clean and healthy environment has been covered in chapter four. Rest of the chapters provide detailed information on present status of the biodiversity of both terrestrial and aquatic environment and action plan that is essential to rejuvenate and protect the same. We are grateful to all the contributors of various chapters who made untiring efforts to generate the wealth of information on various aspects of Environmental Biotechnology and Sustainable Biodiversity and Supported us to make this book.