Can edible insects complement conventional livestock? Desirability of insect nutrition for food security of a World Heritage Site and Biosphere Reserve

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arup Kumar Hazarika ◽  
Subhash Khanna ◽  
Unmilan Kalita
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Biosphere Reserve ◽  
World Heritage ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Nutrient Composition ◽  
World Heritage Site ◽  
Insect Nutrition ◽  
Edible Insect ◽  
Nutrient Profiling ◽  
Heritage Site

Background:: Background: Insects have formed a part of the human diet since pre-historic times. Entomophagy has garnered recent attention due to its increased role in food security as nutrient-rich alternatives of conventional livestock. Methods: We have made an effort in this paper to study the edible insect composition of Manas National Park, a UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site and Biosphere Reserve, located in the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot of Southern Asia. Edible insect variety was determined through a field reconnaissance while the nutrient composition (macronutrient and micronutrient) of each edible insect species was computed through biochemical analyses with a view to explore the possibility of promoting them as food/feed or as a base for nutritive products. We conducted nutrient profiling using the Nutrient Value Score (NVS) model and UK Ofcom nutrient profiling (NP) model. Results: Hymenoptera and Orthoptera were found to be the dominant orders with 4 species each followed by Hemiptera with 3 species, Lepidoptera with 2 species, Mantodea, Blattodea and Coleoptera with 1 species each. The nutrient analysis show that insects have rich nutrient composition that are comparable with typical livestock. Conclusion: Therefore, as realised during COVID-19, insects may prove to be an alternative, sustainable and cheaper sources of nutrients, necessary for ensuring global food security.

scholarly journals Diversity of edible insects in a Natural World Heritage Site of India: entomophagy attitudes and implications for food security in the region

PeerJ ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. e10248
Author(s):  
Arup Kumar Hazarika ◽  
Unmilan Kalita ◽  
Subhash Khanna ◽  
Tarali Kalita ◽  
Sangeeta Choudhury
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
World Heritage ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Field Investigation ◽  
World Heritage Site ◽  
Insect Diversity ◽  
Edible Insects ◽  
Habitat Types ◽  
Edible Insect ◽  
Heritage Site

Insects not only play a significant role in the ecological process of nature but since pre-historic times have also formed a part of the human diet. With a still growing population and skewed demographic structures across most societies of the world, their role as nutrient-rich food has been increasingly advocated by researchers and policymakers globally. In this study, we examine the edible insect diversity and entomophagy attitudes of ethnic people in Manas National Park, a UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site, located in Assam (India). The study involved a field investigation through which the pattern of entomophagy and the attitude towards insect-eating was studied. Following this, we examined the edible insect diversity and abundance at different sampling points. A total of 22 species of edible insects belonging to fifteen families and eight orders were recorded from different habitat types. Out of these 22 species, Orthopterans showed a maximum number of eight species followed by Hymenoptera (four), Hemiptera (three), Lepidoptera (two), Blattodea (two) and one species each from Coleoptera, Odonata, and Mantodea. Dominance, diversity, and equitability indices were computed along with the relative abundance of the insects concerning four habitat types. Aspects of the economic significance of entomophagy were also observed during the field investigation. To manage insects in the interest of food security, more attention should be given to sustainable collecting and rearing methods emphasizing their economic, nutritional, and ecological advantages.

scholarly journals INSAR COHERENCE AND POLARIMETRIC PARAMETERS BASED CHARACTERIZATION OF FLOODED AREA – CASE STUDY OF A NATURAL WORLD HERITAGE SITE KAZIRANGA NATIONAL PARK

2018 ◽  
Vol IV-5 ◽  
pp. 265-272
Author(s):  
A. S. Dini Das ◽  
S. Kumar ◽  
A. Babu ◽  
P. K. Thakur
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
World Heritage ◽  
Natural World ◽  
World Heritage Site ◽  
Alos Palsar ◽  
Kaziranga National Park ◽  
Heritage Site ◽  
L Band ◽  
Flooded Area

<p><strong>Abstract.</strong> Flood is a major threat to one of the UNESCO world heritage site of India-The Kaziranga National Park. Every year during the monsoon several hundreds of animals which include globally threatened species like single-horned Indian Rhinoceros of Kaziranga lose their lives due to the flood. The Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) can be used to monitoring the flood than the optical remote sensors because of their capability of all-weather and time-independent operability. The microwave L band is most suitable for the flood studies because of its higher penetration capability even through the vegetation. In this study, the advantages of SAR polarimetry and Interferometry of multi-temporal L band dual-pol data of ALOS PALSAR 2 were used to characterize the flooded area and also to monitor the flood extent. The H/ A/ Alpha decomposition gives a better characterization of the flooded area. The separability analysis is done with a different combination of decomposition parameters and the parameters having high-class separability between water and non-water areas are selected. Polarimetric classification using Random forest classifier is done on these selected decomposition parameters to classify the study into water and non-water areas. The classified images of different months before, during and after the flood time is used to quantitatively estimate the flood extent and for time series analysis. The Interferometric SAR coherence images along with the backscatter images are used to generate the RGB composites which also gives times series information on the flood impact.</p>

scholarly journals Ecological risk assessment of geohazards in Natural World Heritage Sites: an empirical analysis of Bogda, Tianshan

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 327-340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qin Liu ◽  
Zhaoping Yang ◽  
Hui Shi ◽  
Zhi Wang
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Ecological Risk ◽  
Ecological Risk Assessment ◽  
World Heritage ◽  
Natural World ◽  
Low Risk ◽  
World Heritage Site ◽  
Heritage Site ◽  
Risk Areas

Abstract Ecological risk assessment plays an important role in avoiding disasters and reducing losses. Natural world heritage site is the most precious natural assets on earth, yet few studies have assessed ecological risks from the perspective of world heritage conservation and management. A methodology for considering ecological threats and vulnerabilities and focusing on heritage value was introduced and discussed for the Bogda component of the Xinjiang Tianshan Natural World Heritage Site. Three important results are presented. (1) Criteria layers and ecological risk showed obvious spatial heterogeneity. Extremely high-risk and high-risk areas, accounting for 13.60% and 32.56%, respectively, were mainly gathered at Tianchi Lake and Bogda Glacier, whereas the extremely low-risk and low-risk areas, covering 1.33% and 17.51% of the site,were mainly distributed to the north and scattered around in the southwest montane region. (2) The level of risk was positively correlated with the type of risk, and as the level of risk increases, the types of risk increase. Only two risk types were observed in the extremely low-risk areas, whereas six risk types were observed in the high-risk areas and eight risk types were observed in the extremely high-risk areas. (3) From the perspective of risk probability and ecological damage, four risk management categories were proposed, and correlative strategies were proposed to reduce the possibility of ecological risk and to sustain or enhance heritage value.

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