International Symposium on
Biodiversity and Molecular Evolution
Programme:
Theme: Biodiversity, defined as variability within species, between species and of ecosystems, is no longer only in ~he vocabulary of biologists in general and ecologists and environmentalists in particular but has pervaded almost every walk of public life. The uneven distribution of biodiversity on. the planet Earth further deepened the divide between the North and South. However, biodiversity is a resource and its concentration in the South, economically speaking, actually reduces the economic gap between the North and South. In recent times, commendable efforts have been made to conserve biodiversity at the global level. To begin with, it is imperative to appraise biodiversity of the South while attempting conservation. This takes us to the realm of estimation of biodiversity, in all its manifestations-a daunting task indeed - considering the lack of experts and resources in the South. This is further compounded by the fact that we have to race against time to. Enumerate biodiversity before ,we lose many species to human induced extinction. Hence, we thought it fit to conduct this symposium in which leading scientists would discuss this issue of biodiversity in detail based on 'their field of specialization. As Theodosius Dobzhansky put it "nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of Evolution"- this symposium also addresses some evolutionary aspects of biodiversity. This International Symposium is a part of the Diamond Jubilee Celebrations of Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda College.
