Overview |
Vision The Threatened Taxa Monitoring System (TTMS) is a dynamic online data system of the three kingdoms of biodiversity of South Asia. The region of South Asia with eight countries including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka is a distinct biogeographic unit in itself with rich and unique fauna, flora and fungi. Since 1995, there have been a series of exercises called Conservation Assessment and Management Plan (CAMP) Workshops. organised and facilitated by Zoo Outreach Organisation and the IUCN SSC Conservation Breeding Specialist Group’s South Asian network, which have helped determine the status of more than 2,500 faunal and floral taxa in the region. Several reports and publications have emanated from these workshops and the results have been circulated widely within the region and abroad. The status of taxa which were derived using the IUCN Red List Criteria and Categories have had wide application in several national and international conservation and taxonomic decisions. The assessments have helped the global databases such as the Global Amphibian Assessment (GAA) and Global Mammal Assessment (GMA), and will have inputs into the Global Reptile Assessment (GRA) and Global Freshwater Diversity Assessments of the Species Survival Commission (SSC) of the World Conservation Union (IUCN). The IUCN has a website of redlisted species of the world. The TTMS website is dedicated to South Asian taxa. Regional assessments are an important aspect of understanding the status of wildlife taxa and for conservation action. The site will display national assessments of many fauna and flora derived using the IUCN Regional Guidelines. This will include, in course of time, the detailed “Taxon Data Sheet” profile of the organism created from the knowledge of several experts. Species listing/checklists of taxa of selected groups of fauna, flora and fungi will be included in the first phase (process already begun).. Information regarding the status and all the data compiled in deriving the information will be put up in the second phase in a matter of weeks. All this information is already with us and only needs to be put in a format friendly for the user. The site will be a repository of information critical to monitoring the status of taxa in the region with continuous input from our strategic partners in the various taxon networks we sponsor and others. Some of the key data available will include: scientific name, authority and date, synonyms, common names, habitat information, elevation, niche, distribution information, distribution map, threats to habitat, threats to populations, population numbers, population trends, conservation status, presence in protected areas, recent field work, conservation action recommendations, captive/cultivation information, bibliography, etc. The information compiled is based on extensive literature search and from scientists/ field biologists/ foresters who provided information in workshops as well as their occasional contributions from time to time. The working groups and post-workshop evaluation of information acted as peer-review of the data compiled at the CAMP workshops. For endemic taxa, the information provided and the status derived is at the global level. In most cases, this information is more accurate than global listings as the data compiled is very current, involving local knowledge from field researchers. For taxa with a wide distribution beyond the South Asian region, the regional as well as national assessment assessment is provided for every country in which the taxa occurs. The three phases of the website : Phase I: Current taxonomic listing of all groups assessed until date, such as selected South Asian mammal groups (rodents, insectivores, chiroptera, primates), amphibians, and Indian orchids, spiders, mammals, reptiles. Phase II:Detailed text on status listing with justification and basic information including distribution maps of all assessed taxa. Phase III: Photographic information of taxa appended in Phase II, plus detailed information on other taxa as and when assessed. The system is intended to be used for online updation of information and monitoring of the status of taxa in the wild. Threatened Taxa Monitoring System
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