Vo l. 6(7), pp. 495-501, July 2014 DOI: 10.5897/IJBC2013.0630 Artic le Numb e r: 706E7F346197 ISSN 2141-243X Co pyright © 2014 Autho r(s) re ta in the c o p yrig ht o f this a rtic le http :/ / www.a c a d e mic jo urna ls.o rg / IJBC International Journal of Biodiversity and Conservation Review Biodiversity in Khajjiar Lake of Himachal Pradesh, India: Threats and conservation Vikram Singh* and H. S. Banyal Department of Biosciences, Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla-171 005 (HP), India. Received 28 August, 2013; Accepted 23 May, 2014 Faunal resources of Kalatop-Khajjiar sanctuary, which is one of the oldest preserved forests of the state are under severe anthropogenic pressure and need urgent attention of the field biologists as it is one of the most favoured tourist destinations in Himachal Pradesh. Biodiversity of Khajjiar area of Himachal Pradesh has 223 species of different faunal groups (invertebrates and 100 vertebrates), comprised of 93 genera, 79 families and 32 orders. Out of these, 3 species of butterflies are placed under Wildlife Protection Act (1972) and 13 mammals have been placed under Indian Wildlife Protection Act 1972. While nine species of mammals has been listed as threatened in Convention in Trade of Endangered Species (CITES). Two critically endangered birds, Indian White-backed Vulture and Red- headed Vulture are also recorded. Ecological equilibrium of the study area is no more in a balanced state due to increased development and human intervention. Key words: Khajjiar Lake, ecological imbalance, faunal diversity, pollution. INTRODUCTION Biodiversity, encompasses variety and variability of all life on earth. It has been generally defined as the ‘full variety of life on Earth’. More specifically, biodiversity is the study of the processes that create and maintain variations. It is concerned with the variety of individuals within popula- tions, the diversity of species within communities, and the range of ecological roles within ecosystems. Biological diversity or biodiversity refers to the diversity of life. Bio- diversity is the result of evolutionary plasticity of living organisms, and increased geometrically through perhaps 3.5 billion years, proliferating by trial and error, controlled by natural selection, filling almost every one of the habi- table ecological niches created in a likewise evolving world environment. The variability among living orga- nisms from all sources includes terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems, and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within spe- cies, between species, and of ecosystems. The word biodiversity which is the abbreviated from the word biological diversity appears to have come into pro- minence around 1980, when Norse and McManus (1980) first defined it. Its abbreviation into ‘biodiversity’ was apparently made by Walter (1985) during the first plan- ning meeting of the ‘National Forum on Biodiversity’ held at Washington DC in September 1986 (UNEP, 1995). The book entitled biodiversity (Wilson and Peters, 1988) introduced the notion of biodiversity and popularized this word among the scientific community as well as the *Corresponding author. E-mail: proliterate@yahoo.com. Tel: +91 9418484418. Author(s) agree that this article remain permanently open access under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 International License